76,653 research outputs found
K+A Galaxies as the Aftermath of Gas-Rich Mergers: Simulating the Evolution of Galaxies as Seen by Spectroscopic Surveys
Models of poststarburst (or "K+A") galaxies are constructed by combining
fully three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy mergers with
radiative transfer calculations of dust attenuation. Spectral line catalogs are
generated automatically from moderate-resolution optical spectra calculated as
a function of merger progress in each of a large suite of simulations. The
mass, gas fraction, orbital parameters, and mass ratio of the merging galaxies
are varied systematically, showing that the lifetime and properties of the K+A
phase are strong functions of merger scenario. K+A durations are generally less
than ~0.1-0.3 Gyr, significantly shorter than the commonly assumed 1 Gyr, which
is obtained only in rare cases, owing to a wide variation in star formation
histories resulting from different orbital and progenitor configurations.
Combined with empirical merger rates, the model lifetimes predict
rapidly-rising K+A fractions as a function of redshift that are consistent with
results of large spectroscopic surveys, resolving tension between the observed
K+A abundance and that predicted when one assumes the K+A duration is the
lifetime of A stars (~1 Gyr). The effects of dust attenuation, viewing angle,
and aperture bias on our models are analyzed. In some cases, the K+A features
are longer-lived and more pronounced when AGN feedback removes dust from the
center, uncovering the young stars formed during the burst. In this picture,
the K+A phase begins during or shortly after the bright starburst/AGN phase in
violent mergers, and thus offers a unique opportunity to study the effects of
quasar and star formation feedback on the gas reservoir and evolution of the
remnant. Analytic fitting formulae are provided for the estimates of K+A
incidence as a function of merger scenario.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures; ApJ; minor changes to reflect accepted versio
Quasars Are Not Light-Bulbs: Testing Models of Quasar Lifetimes with the Observed Eddington Ratio Distribution
We use the observed distribution of Eddington ratios as a function of
supermassive black hole (BH) mass to constrain models of AGN lifetimes and
lightcurves. Given the observed AGN luminosity function, a model for AGN
lifetimes (time above a given luminosity) translates directly to a predicted
Eddington ratio distribution. Models for self-regulated BH growth, in which
feedback produces a 'blowout' decay phase after some peak luminosity (shutting
down accretion) make specific predictions for the lifetimes distinct from those
expected if AGN are simply gas starved (without feedback) and very different
from simple phenomenological 'light bulb' models. Present observations of the
Eddington ratio distribution, spanning 5 decades in Eddington ratio, 3 in BH
mass, and redshifts z=0-1, agree with the predictions of self-regulated models,
and rule out 'light-bulb', pure exponential, and gas starvation models at high
significance. We compare the Eddington ratio distributions at fixed BH mass and
fixed luminosity (both are consistent, but the latter are much less
constraining). We present empirical fits to the lifetime distribution and show
how the Eddington ratio distributions place tight limits on AGN lifetimes at
various luminosities. We use this to constrain the shape of the typical AGN
lightcurve, and provide simple analytic fits. Given independent constraints on
episodic lifetimes, most local BHs must have gained their mass in no more than
a couple of bright episodes, in agreement with merger-driven fueling models.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, accepted to ApJ (revised to match accepted
version; modeling and tests of redshift evolution added
September 11: Symbolism And Responses To 9/11
Professors Hopkins and Hopkins review the impact of 9/11 as a symbol in American politics. Following the terrorist attacks, 9/11 became a simple reference condensing wide-ranging events and emotions. Various interpretations emerged about what caused 9/11 and enabled the attacks. The authors claim that 9/11 allowed US leaders to pursue certain policy prescriptions that otherwise would have been blocked. Among four possible prescriptions for responding to the attacks, the Bush administration chose a praetorian policy of preventive war, with Iraq as its first example. In the authors’ view, by pursuing an expansive but highly militarized response, the US has overlooked the need to alleviate the conditions that made 9/11 possible. The authors recommend that the US, as part of a multilateral effort, allocate major resources to expanding global public goods, including measures that strengthen barriers to proliferation, enhance fighting of global crime, and reduce incentives for terrorism, especially ones arising in failing states where distorted education and weak protection of human rights encourage organized terrorism
The Spectator in the Picture
This paper considers whether pictures ever implicitly represent internal spectators of the scenes they depict, and what theoretical construal to offer of their doing so. Richard Wollheim's discussion (Painting as an Art, ch.3) is taken as the most sophisticated attempt to answer these questions. I argue that Wollheim does not provide convincing argument for his claim that some pictures implicitly represent an internal spectator with whom the viewer of the picture is to imaginatively identify. instead, I defend a view on which the external spectator simply imagines herself interacting, psychologically and otherwise, with the depicted scene. I explore some of the consequences of the two positions for pictorial aesthetics, arguing that the view I favour is at least as competent as Wollheim's at accommodating those phenomena we have any reason to think hold
Is the Quality of Numerical Subroutine Code Improving?
We begin by using a software metric tool to generate a number of software complexity measures and we investigate how these values may be used to determine subroutines which are likely to be of substandard quality. Following this we look at how these metric values have changed over the years. First we consider a number of freely available Fortran libraries (Eispack, Linpack and Lapack) which have been constructed by teams. In order to ensure a fair comparison we use a restructuring tool to transform original Fortran 66 code into Fortran 77. We then consider the Fortran codes from the Collected Algorithms from the ACM (CALGO) to see whether we can detect the same trends in software written by the general numerical community. Our measurements show that although the standard of code in the freely available libraries does appear to have improved over time these libraries still contain routines which are effectively unmaintainable and untestable. Applied to the CALGO codes the metrics indicate a very conservative approach to software engineering and there is no evidence of improvement, during the last twenty years, in the qualities under discussion
- …