2,802 research outputs found
On the investigations of galaxy redshift periodicity
In this article we present a historical review of study of the redshift
periodicity of galaxies, starting from the first works performed in the
seventies of the twentieth century until the present day. We discuss the
observational data and methods used, showing in which cases the discretization
of redshifts was observed. We conclude that galaxy redshift periodisation is an
effect which can really exist. We also discussed the redshift discretization in
two different structures: the Local Group of galaxies and the Hercules
Supercluster. Contrary to the previous studies we consider all galaxies which
can be regarded as a structure member disregarding the accuracy of velocity
measurements. We applied the power spectrum analysis using the Hann function
for weighting, together with the jackknife error estimator. In both the
structures we found weak effects of redshift periodisation.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Part. and Nucl. Lett. 200
The Distribution of Redshifts in New Samples of Quasi-stellar Objects
Two new samples of QSOs have been constructed from recent surveys to test the
hypothesis that the redshift distribution of bright QSOs is periodic in
. The first of these comprises 57 different redshifts among all
known close pairs or multiple QSOs, with image separations 10\arcsec,
and the second consists of 39 QSOs selected through their X-ray emission and
their proximity to bright comparatively nearby active galaxies. The redshift
distributions of the samples are found to exhibit distinct peaks with a
periodic separation of in identical to that claimed
in earlier samples but now extended out to higher redshift peaks and 4.47, predicted by the formula but never seen before. The periodicity
is also seen in a third sample, the 78 QSOs of the 3C and 3CR catalogues. It is
present in these three datasets at an overall significance level -
, and appears not to be explicable by spectroscopic or similar
selection effects. Possible interpretations are briefly discussed.Comment: submitted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, 15 figure
The Structure of Rapidly Rotating Late-Type Spiral Galaxies: I. Photometry, HI and Optical Kinematics
We present I-band photometry, long-slit optical spectroscopy, and new
aperture synthesis HI observations for eight late-type spirals with rotation
velocities in the range 243 km/s < V_{rot} < 308 km/s. The sample will be used
to study the structure and angular momentum of disks at the high-mass end of
the spiral galaxy population; here we discuss the basic properties of these
``fast rotators'', and derive hybrid optical/HI rotation curves for each.
Despite the presence of HI warps and low-mass companions in many systems, their
kinematics are regular and there is excellent agreement between optical and HI
tracers near the optical radius r_{opt}. At high inclinations at which
projection effects are negligible, the sample galaxies exhibit flat,
featureless rotation curves out to their last measured points at
1.7r_{opt}--3.5 r_{opt}. The intermediate inclination systems are also
consistent with a constant rotation amplitude for r > 0.5 r_{opt}. We therefore
find no evidence for declining rotation curves at the high-mass end of the
late-type spiral galaxy population. Combining our data with the compilation of
spirals with reliable outer HI kinematics from the work of Casertano & van
Gorkom, we find no convincing trends between logarithmic outer rotation curve
slopes and rotation amplitudes or surface brightnesses for galaxies with
V_{rot} > 220 km/s. Correlations between these slopes and morphological types
or disk scale lengths are also marginal in this regime.Comment: v2: minor changes to match proofs. 23 pages, 15 figures, AJ in press.
For version with high resolution figures, see
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~spekkens/papers/fast1.pd
A Search for Molecular Gas in GHz Peaked Spectrum Radio Sources
We present searches for molecular gas (CO, OH, CS, and Ammonia) in six GHz
Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources. We do not detect gas in any source and
place upper limits on the mass of molecular gas which are generally in the
range 1E9 to a few times 1E10 solar masses. These limits are consistent with
the following interpretations: (1) GPS sources do not require very dense gas in
their hosts, and (2) The GPS sources are unlikely to be confined by dense gas
and will evolve to become larger radio sources
Quantified HI Morphology V: HI Disks in the Virgo Cluster
We explore the quantified morphology of atomic hydrogen (HI) disks in the
Virgo cluster. These galaxies display a wealth of phenomena in their Hi
morphology, e.g., tails, truncation and warps. These morphological disturbances
are related to the ram-pressure stripping and tidal interaction that galaxies
undergo in this dense cluster environment. To quantify the morphological
transformation of the HI disks, we compute the morphological parameters of CAS,
Gini, and M20 and our own GM for 51 galaxies in 48 HI column density maps from
the VIVA project. Some morphological phenomena can be identified in this space
of relatively low resolution HI data. Truncation of the HI disk can be cleanly
identified via the Concentration parameter (C<1) and Concentration can also be
used to identify HI deficient disks (1<C<5). Tidal interaction is typically
identified using combinations of these morphological parameters, applied to
(optical) images of galaxies. We find that some selection criteria (Gini-M20,
Asymmetry, and a modified Concentration-M20) are still applicable for the
coarse (~15" FWHM) VIVA HI data. The phenomena of tidal tails can be reasonably
well identified using the Gini-M20 criterion (60% of galaxies with tails
identified but with as many contaminants). Ram-pressure does move HI disks into
and out of most of our interaction criteria: the ram-pressure sequence
identified by Vollmer et al. (2009) tracks into and out of some of these
criteria (Asymmetry based and the Gini-M20 selections, but not the
Concentration-M20 or the GM based ones). Therefore, future searches for
interaction using HI morphologies should take ram-pressure into account as a
mechanism to disturb HI disks enough to make them appear as gravitationally
interacting. One mechanism would be to remove all the HI deficient (C<5) disks
from the sample, as these have undergone more than one HI removal mechanism.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by MNRAS, appendixes not include
Neutral Gas Distribution and Kinematics of the Nearly Face-on Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232
We have analyzed high velocity resolution HI synthesis observations of the
nearly face-on Sc galaxy NGC 1232. The neutral gas distribution extends well
beyond the optical extent of the galaxy. As expected, local peaks in the HI
column density are associated with the spiral arms. Further, the HI column
density drops precipitously near the center of the galaxy. Closed contours in
the velocity field suggest either that the system is warped, or that the
rotation curve declines. The velocity dispersion is approximately constant
throughout the system, with a median value of 9.9 +/- 1.8 km/s. When corrected
for rotational broadening, there is no indication of a radial trend in the
neutral gas velocity dispersion in this galaxy.Comment: 14 pages of text, 10 pages of figures. Accepted to the A
The 74MHz System on the Very Large Array
The Naval Research Laboratory and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
completed implementation of a low frequency capability on the VLA at 73.8 MHz
in 1998. This frequency band offers unprecedented sensitivity (~25 mJy/beam)
and resolution (~25 arcsec) for low-frequency observations. We review the
hardware, the calibration and imaging strategies, comparing them to those at
higher frequencies, including aspects of interference excision and wide-field
imaging. Ionospheric phase fluctuations pose the major difficulty in
calibrating the array. Over restricted fields of view or at times of extremely
quiescent ionospheric ``weather'', an angle-invariant calibration strategy can
be used. In this approach a single phase correction is devised for each
antenna, typically via self-calibration. Over larger fields of view or at times
of more normal ionospheric ``weather'' when the ionospheric isoplanatic patch
size is smaller than the field of view, we adopt a field-based strategy in
which the phase correction depends upon location within the field of view. This
second calibration strategy was implemented by modeling the ionosphere above
the array using Zernike polynomials. Images of 3C sources of moderate strength
are provided as examples of routine, angle-invariant calibration and imaging.
Flux density measurements indicate that the 74 MHz flux scale at the VLA is
stable to a few percent, and tied to the Baars et al. value of Cygnus A at the
5 percent level. We also present an example of a wide-field image, devoid of
bright objects and containing hundreds of weaker sources, constructed from the
field-based calibration. We close with a summary of lessons the 74 MHz system
offers as a model for new and developing low-frequency telescopes. (Abridged)Comment: 73 pages, 46 jpeg figures, to appear in ApJ
A multi-agency project of the Western Australian Salinity Action Plan supported by the Natural Heritage Trust
Land Monitor is a multi-agency project of the Western Australian Salinity Action Plan supported by the Natural Heritage Trust. It will provide land managers and administrators with baseline salinity and vegetation data for monitoring changes over time, and land height data from which contours accurate to two metre intervals can be produced. The Project will also provide estimates of areas at risk from secondary or future salinisation. Land Monitor will cover the 18 million hectares of agricultural area of south-west, Western Australia.
Sequences of calibrated Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images integrated with landform information derived from height data, ground truthing and other existing mapped data sets are used as the basis for monitoring changes in salinity and woody vegetation. Heights are derived on a 10m grid from stereo aerial photography flown at 1:40,000 scale, using soft-copy automatic terrain extraction (image correlation) techniques.
Proposed Land Monitor products include salinity maps, predicted salinity maps, enhanced imagery, vegetation status maps and spectral / temporal statistics. These products will be available in a range of formats and scales, from paddock, farm to catchment and shire scales to suit customer needs
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