2,115 research outputs found
The Tolman Surface Brightness Test for the Reality of the Expansion. III. HST Profile and Surface Brightness Data for Early-Type Galaxies in Three High-Redshift Clusters
Photometric data for 34 early-type galaxies in the three high-redshift
clusters Cl 1324+3011 (z = 0.76), Cl 1604+4304 (z = 0.90), and Cl 1604+4321 (z
= 0.92), observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and with the Keck
10-meter telescopes by Oke, Postman & Lubin, are analyzed to obtain the
photometric parameters of mean surface brightness, magnitudes for the growth
curves, and angular radii at various Petrosian eta radii. The angular radii at
eta = 1.3 mag for the program galaxies are all larger than 0.24". All of the
galaxies are well resolved at this angular size using HST whose point-spread
function is 0.05", half width at half maximum. The data for each of the program
galaxies are listed at eta = 1.0, 1.3, 1.5, 1.7, and 2.0 mag. They are
corrected by color equations and K terms for the effects of redshift to the
rest-frame Cape/Cousins I for Cl 1324+3011 and Cl 1604+4304 and R for Cl
1604+4321. The K corrections are calculated from synthetic spectral energy
distributions derived from evolving stellar population models of Bruzual &
Charlot which have been fitted to the observed broad-band (BVRI) AB magnitudes
of each program galaxy. The listed photometric data are independent of all
cosmological parameters. They are the source data for the Tolman surface
brightness test made in Paper IV.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
The Dipole Observed in the COBE DMR Four-Year Data
The largest anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the
mK dipole assumed to be due to our velocity with respect to the
CMB. Using the four year data set from all six channels of the COBE
Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR), we obtain a best-fit dipole amplitude
mK in the direction , where the first
uncertainties are statistical and the second include calibration and combined
systematic uncertainties. This measurement is consistent with previous DMR and
FIRAS resultsComment: New and improved version; to be published in ApJ next mont
A new Tolman test of a cosmic distance duality relation at 21 cm
Under certain general conditions in an expanding universe, the luminosity
distance (d_L) and angular diameter distance (d_A) are connected by the
Etherington relation as d_L = d_A (1 + z)^2. The Tolman test suggests the use
of objects of known surface brightness, to test this relation. In this letter,
we propose the use of redshifted 21 cm signal from disk galaxies, where neutral
hydrogen (HI) masses are seen to be almost linearly correlated with surface
area, to conduct a new Tolman test. We construct simulated catalogs of
galaxies, with the observed size-luminosity relation and realistic redshift
evolution of HI mass functions, likely to be detected with the planned Square
Kilometer Array (SKA). We demonstrate that these observations may soon provide
the best implementation of the Tolman test to detect any violation of the
Etherington relation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, v2: published versio
Sarnoff JND Vision Model for Flat-Panel Design
This document describes adaptation of the basic Sarnoff JND Vision Model created in response to the NASA/ARPA need for a general-purpose model to predict the perceived image quality attained by flat-panel displays. The JND model predicts the perceptual ratings that humans will assign to a degraded color-image sequence relative to its nondegraded counterpart. Substantial flexibility is incorporated into this version of the model so it may be used to model displays at the sub-pixel and sub-frame level. To model a display (e.g., an LCD), the input-image data can be sampled at many times the pixel resolution and at many times the digital frame rate. The first stage of the model downsamples each sequence in time and in space to physiologically reasonable rates, but with minimum interpolative artifacts and aliasing. Luma and chroma parts of the model generate (through multi-resolution pyramid representation) a map of differences-between test and reference called the JND map, from which a summary rating predictor is derived. The latest model extensions have done well in calibration against psychophysical data and against image-rating data given a CRT-based front-end. THe software was delivered to NASA Ames and is being integrated with LCD display models at that facility
Cosmic Mach Number as a Function of Overdensity and Galaxy Age
We carry out an extensive study of the cosmic Mach number (\mach) on scales
of R=5, 10 and 20h^-1Mpc using an LCDM hydrodynamical simulation. We
particularly put emphasis on the environmental dependence of \mach on
overdensity, galaxy mass, and galaxy age. We start by discussing the difference
in the resulting \mach according to different definitions of \mach and
different methods of calculation. The simulated Mach numbers are slightly lower
than the linear theory predictions even when a non-linear power spectrum was
used in the calculation, reflecting the non-linear evolution in the simulation.
We find that the observed \mach is higher than the simulated mean by more than
2-standard deviations, which suggests either that the Local Group is in a
relatively low-density region or that the true value of \Omega_m is ~ 0.2,
significantly lower than the simulated value of 0.37. We show from our
simulation that the Mach number is a weakly decreasing function of overdensity.
We also investigate the correlations between galaxy age, overdensity and \mach
for two different samples of galaxies --- DWARFs and GIANTs. Older systems
cluster in higher density regions with lower \mach, while younger ones tend to
reside in lower density regions with larger \mach, as expected from the
hierarchical structure formation scenario. However, for DWARFs, the correlation
is weakened by the fact that some of the oldest DWARFs are left over in
low-density regions during the structure formation history. For giant systems,
one expects blue-selected samples to have higher \mach than red-selected ones.
We briefly comment on the effect of the warm dark matter on the expected Mach
number.Comment: 43 pages, including 15 figures. Accepted version in ApJ. Included
correlation function of different samples of galaxies, and the cumulative
number fraction distribution as a fcn. of overdensity. Reorganized figures
and added some reference
A z=0.9 supercluster of X-ray luminous, optically-selected, massive galaxy clusters
We report the discovery of a compact supercluster structure at z=0.9. The
structure comprises three optically-selected clusters, all of which are
detected in X-rays and spectroscopically confirmed to lie at the same redshift.
The Chandra X-ray temperatures imply individual masses of ~5x10^14 Msun. The
X-ray masses are consistent with those inferred from optical--X-ray scaling
relations established at lower redshift. A strongly-lensed z~4 Lyman break
galaxy behind one of the clusters allows a strong-lensing mass to be estimated
for this cluster, which is in good agreement with the X-ray measurement.
Optical spectroscopy of this cluster gives a dynamical mass in good agreement
with the other independent mass estimates. The three components of the
RCS2319+00 supercluster are separated from their nearest neighbor by a mere <3
Mpc in the plane of the sky and likely <10 Mpc along the line-of-sight, and we
interpret this structure as the high-redshift antecedent of massive (~10^15
Msun) z~0.5 clusters such as MS0451.5-0305.Comment: ApJ Letters accepted. 5 pages in emulateapj, 3 figure
Synergistic and Non-synergistic Associations for Cigarette Smoking and Non-tobacco Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study
Cigarette smoking, various metabolic and lipid-related factors and hypertension are well-recognized cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Since smoking affects many of these factors, use of a single imprecise smoking metric, e.g., ever or never smoked, may allow residual confounding and explain inconsistencies in current assessments of interactions. Using a comprehensive model in pack-years and cigarettes/day for the complex smoking-related relative risk (RR) of CVD to reduce residual confounding, we evaluated interactions with non-tobacco risk factors, including additive (non-synergistic) and multiplicative (synergistic) forms. Data were from the prospective Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study from four areas of the U.S. recruited in 1987-89 with follow-up through 2008. Analyses included 14,127 participants, 207,693 person-years and 2,857 CVD events. Analyses revealed distinct interactions with smoking: including statistical consistency with additive (body mass index, waist to hip ratio, diabetes mellitus, glucose, insulin, high density lipoproteins [HDL] and HDL(2)); and multiplicative (hypertension, total cholesterol, low density lipoproteins, apolipoprotein B, total cholesterol to HDL ratio and HDL(3)) associations, as well as indeterminate (apolipoprotein A-I and triglycerides) associations. The forms of the interactions were revealing but require confirmation. Improved understanding of joint associations may help clarify the public health burden of smoking for CVD, links between etiologic factors and biological mechanisms, and the consequences of joint exposures, whereby synergistic associations highlight joint effects and non-synergistic associations suggest distinct contributions. Joint associations for cigarette smoking and non-tobacco risk factors were distinct, revealing synergistic/multiplicative (hypertension, TC, LDL, apoB, TC/HDL, HDL(3)), non-synergistic/additive (BMI, WHR, DM, glucose, insulin, HDL, HDL(2)) and indeterminate (apoA-I and TRIG) associations. If confirmed, these results may help better define the public health burden of smoking on CVD risk and identify links between etiologic factors and biologic mechanisms, where synergistic associations highlight joint impacts and non-synergistic associations suggest distinct contributions from each factor
Spectral longwave emission in the tropics - FTIR measurement at the sea-surface and comparison with fast radiation codes
Longwave emission by the tropical western Pacific atmosphere has been measured at the ocean surface by a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroradiometer deployed aboard the research vessel John Vickers as part of the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment. The instrument operated throughout a Pacific Ocean crossing, beginning on 7 March 1993 in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and ending on 29 March 1993 in Los Angeles, and recorded longwave emission spectra under atmospheres associated with sea surface temperatures ranging from 291.0 to 302.8 K. Precipitable water vapor abundances ranged from 1.9 to 5.5 column centimeters. Measured emission spectra (downwelling zenith radiance) covered the middle infrared (5-20 mu m) with one inverse centimeter spectral resolution. FTIR measurements made under an entirely clear field of view are compared with spectra generated by LOWTRAN 7 and MODTRAN 2, as well as downwelling flux calculated by the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM-2) radiation code, using radiosonde profiles as input data for these calculations. In the spectral interval 800-1000 cm(-1), these comparisons show a discrepancy between FTIR data and MODTRAN 2 having an overall variability of 6-7 mW m(-2) sr(-1) cm and a concave shape that may be related to the representation of water vapor continuum emission in MODTRAN 2. Another discrepancy appears in the spectral interval 1200-1300 cm(-1), where MODTRAN 2 appears to overestimate zenith radiance by 5 mW m(-2) sr(-1) cm. These discrepancies appear consistently; however, they become only slightly larger at the highest water vapor abundances. Because these radiance discrepancies correspond to broadband (500-2000 cm(-1)) flux uncertainties of around 3 W m(-2), there appear to be no serious inadequacies with the performance of MODTRAN 2 or LOWTRAN 7 at high atmospheric temperatures and water vapor abundances. On average, CCM-2 flux calculations agree to within 1 W m(-2) with downwelling flux estimates from the FTIR data over all sea surface temperatures, although this result has a scatter of +/-12 W m(-2) at high sea surface temperatures
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