1,196 research outputs found
Quadrilateral-octagon coordinates for almost normal surfaces
Normal and almost normal surfaces are essential tools for algorithmic
3-manifold topology, but to use them requires exponentially slow enumeration
algorithms in a high-dimensional vector space. The quadrilateral coordinates of
Tollefson alleviate this problem considerably for normal surfaces, by reducing
the dimension of this vector space from 7n to 3n (where n is the complexity of
the underlying triangulation). Here we develop an analogous theory for
octagonal almost normal surfaces, using quadrilateral and octagon coordinates
to reduce this dimension from 10n to 6n. As an application, we show that
quadrilateral-octagon coordinates can be used exclusively in the streamlined
3-sphere recognition algorithm of Jaco, Rubinstein and Thompson, reducing
experimental running times by factors of thousands. We also introduce joint
coordinates, a system with only 3n dimensions for octagonal almost normal
surfaces that has appealing geometric properties.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures; v2: Simplified the proof of Theorem 4.5 using
cohomology, plus other minor changes; v3: Minor housekeepin
The Vega Debris Disk -- A Surprise from Spitzer
We present high spatial resolution mid- and far-infrared images of the Vega
debris disk obtained with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS).
The disk is well resolved and its angular size is much larger than found
previously. The radius of the disk is at least 43" (330 AU), 70"(543 AU), and
105" (815 AU) in extent at 24, 70 and 160 um, respectively. The disk images are
circular, smooth and without clumpiness at all three wavelengths. The radial
surface brightness profiles imply an inner boundary at a radius of 11"+/-2" (86
AU). Assuming an amalgam of amorphous silicate and carbonaceous grains, the
disk can be modeled as an axially symmetric and geometrically thin disk, viewed
face-on, with the surface particle number density following an r^-1 power law.
The disk radiometric properties are consistent with a range of models using
grains of sizes ~1 to ~50 um. We find that a ring, containing grains larger
than 180 um and at radii of 86-200 AU from the star, can reproduce the observed
850 um flux, while its emission does not violate the observed MIPS profiles.
This ring could be associated with a population of larger asteroidal bodies
analogous to our own Kuiper Belt. Cascades of collisions starting with
encounters amongthese large bodies in the ring produce the small debris that is
blown outward by radiation pressure to much larger distances where we detect
its thermal emission. The dust production rate is >~10^15 g/s based on the MIPS
results. This rate would require a very massive asteroidal reservoir for the
dust to be produced in a steady state throughout Vega's life. Instead, we
suggest that the disk we imaged is ephemeral and that we are witnessing the
aftermath of a large and relatively recent collisional event, and subsequent
collisional cascade.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. (Figures 2,
3a, 3b and 4 have been degraded to lower resolutions.
Interstellar extinction and polarization -- A spheroidal dust grain approach perspective
We extend and investigate the spheroidal model of interstellar dust grains
used to simultaneously interpret the observed interstellar extinction and
polarization curves. We compare our model with similar models recently
suggested by other authors, study its properties and apply it to fit the
normalized extinction and the polarizing efficiency
measured in the near IR to far UV region for several
stars seen through one large cloud. We conclude that the model parameter
being the angle between the line of sight and the magnetic field
direction can be more or less reliably determined from comparison of the theory
and observations. This opens a way to study the spatial structure of
interstellar magnetic fields by using multi-wavelength photometric and
polarimetric observations.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures and 4 tables, To appear in MNRAS (added
Self-reported impact of developmental stuttering across the lifespan
Aim To examine the phenomenology of stuttering across the lifespan in the largest prospective cohort to date. Method Participants aged 7 years and older with a history of developmental stuttering were recruited. Self-reported phenotypic data were collected online including stuttering symptomatology, co-occurring phenotypes, genetic predisposition, factors associated with stuttering severity, and impact on anxiety, education, and employment. Results A total of 987 participants (852 adults: 590 males, 262 females, mean age 49 years [SD = 17 years 10 months; range = 18â93 years] and 135 children: 97 males, 38 females, mean age 11 years 4 months [SD = 3 years; range = 7â17 years]) were recruited. Stuttering onset occurred at age 3 to 6 years in 64.0%. Blocking (73.2%) was the most frequent phenotype; 75.9% had sought stuttering therapy and 15.5% identified as having recovered. Half (49.9%) reported a family history. There was a significant negative correlation with age for both stuttering frequency and severity in adults. Most were anxious due to stuttering (90.4%) and perceived stuttering as a barrier to education and employment outcomes (80.7%). Interpretation The frequent persistence of stuttering and the high proportion with a family history suggest that stuttering is a complex trait that does not often resolve, even with therapy. These data provide new insights into the phenotype and prognosis of stuttering, information that is critically needed to encourage the development of more effective speech therapies
A Herschel study of the properties of starless cores in the Polaris Flare dark cloud region using PACS and SPIRE
The Polaris Flare cloud region contains a great deal of extended emission. It
is at high declination and high Galactic latitude. It was previously seen
strongly in IRAS Cirrus emission at 100 microns. We have detected it with both
PACS and SPIRE on Herschel. We see filamentary and low-level structure. We
identify the five densest cores within this structure. We present the results
of a temperature, mass and density analysis of these cores. We compare their
observed masses to their virial masses, and see that in all cases the observed
masses lie close to the lower end of the range of estimated virial masses.
Therefore, we cannot say whether they are gravitationally bound prestellar
cores. Nevertheless, these are the best candidates to be potentialprestellar
cores in the Polaris cloud region.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A&
BLAST05: Power Spectra of Bright Galactic Cirrus at Submillimeter Wavelengths
We report multi-wavelength power spectra of diffuse Galactic dust emission
from BLAST observations at 250, 350, and 500 microns in Galactic Plane fields
in Cygnus X and Aquila. These submillimeter power spectra statistically
quantify the self-similar structure observable over a broad range of scales and
can be used to assess the cirrus noise which limits the detection of faint
point sources. The advent of submillimeter surveys with the Herschel Space
Observatory makes the wavelength dependence a matter of interest. We show that
the observed relative amplitudes of the power spectra can be related through a
spectral energy distribution (SED). Fitting a simple modified black body to
this SED, we find the dust temperature in Cygnus X to be 19.9 +/- 1.3 K and in
the Aquila region 16.9 +/- 0.7 K. Our empirical estimates provide important new
insight into the substantial cirrus noise that will be encountered in
forthcoming observations.Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal. Maps and other data are
available at http://blastexperiment.info
Circumstellar Dust Disks in Taurus-Auriga: The Submillimeter Perspective
We present a sensitive, multiwavelength submillimeter continuum survey of 153
young stellar objects in the Taurus-Auriga star formation region. The
submillimeter detection rate is 61% to a completeness limit of ~10 mJy
(3-sigma) at 850 microns. The inferred circumstellar disk masses are
log-normally distributed with a mean mass of ~0.005 solar masses and a large
dispersion (0.5 dex). Roughly one third of the submillimeter sources have disk
masses larger than the minimal nebula from which the solar system formed. The
median disk to star mass ratio is 0.5%. The empirical behavior of the
submillimeter continuum is best described as F_nu ~ nu^(2.0 +/- 0.5) between
350 microns and 1.3 mm, which we argue is due to the combined effects of the
fraction of optically thick emission and a flatter frequency behavior of the
opacity compared to the ISM. This latter effect could be due to a substantial
population of large dust grains, which presumably would have grown through
collisional agglomeration. In this sample, the only stellar property that is
correlated with the outer disk is the presence of a companion. We find evidence
for significant decreases in submillimeter flux densities, disk masses, and
submillimeter continuum slopes along the canonical infrared spectral energy
distribution evolution sequence for young stellar objects. The fraction of
objects detected in the submillimeter is essentially identical to the fraction
with excess near-infrared emission, suggesting that dust in the inner and outer
disk are removed nearly simultaneously.Comment: accepted by Ap
A panchromatic study of BLAST counterparts: total star-formation rate, morphology, AGN fraction and stellar mass
We carry out a multi-wavelength study of individual galaxies detected by the
Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) and identified at
other wavelengths, using data spanning the radio to the ultraviolet (UV). We
develop a Monte Carlo method to account for flux boosting, source blending, and
correlations among bands, which we use to derive deboosted far-infrared (FIR)
luminosities for our sample. We estimate total star-formation rates for BLAST
counterparts with z < 0.9 by combining their FIR and UV luminosities. Star
formation is heavily obscured at L_FIR > 10^11 L_sun, z > 0.5, but the
contribution from unobscured starlight cannot be neglected at L_FIR < 10^11
L_sun, z < 0.25. We assess that about 20% of the galaxies in our sample show
indication of a type-1 active galactic nucleus (AGN), but their submillimeter
emission is mainly due to star formation in the host galaxy. We compute stellar
masses for a subset of 92 BLAST counterparts; these are relatively massive
objects, with a median mass of ~10^11 M_sun, which seem to link the 24um and
SCUBA populations, in terms of both stellar mass and star-formation activity.
The bulk of the BLAST counterparts at z<1 appear to be run-of-the-mill
star-forming galaxies, typically spiral in shape, with intermediate stellar
masses and practically constant specific star-formation rates. On the other
hand, the high-z tail of the BLAST counterparts significantly overlaps with the
SCUBA population, in terms of both star-formation rates and stellar masses,
with observed trends of specific star-formation rate that support strong
evolution and downsizing.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 44 pages, 11
figures. The SED template for the derivation of L_FIR has changed (added new
figure) and the discussion on the stellar masses has been improved. The
complete set of full-color postage-stamps can be found at
http://blastexperiment.info/results_images/moncelsi
BLAST: The Mass Function, Lifetimes, and Properties of Intermediate Mass Cores from a 50 Square Degree Submillimeter Galactic Survey in Vela (l = ~265)
We present first results from an unbiased 50 deg^2 submillimeter Galactic
survey at 250, 350, and 500 micron from the 2006 flight of the Balloon-borne
Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST). The map has resolution ranging
from 36 arcsec to 60 arcsec in the three submillimeter bands spanning the
thermal emission peak of cold starless cores. We determine the temperature,
luminosity, and mass of more than one thousand compact sources in a range of
evolutionary stages and an unbiased statistical characterization of the
population. From comparison with C^(18)O data, we find the dust opacity per gas
mass, kappa r = 0.16 cm^2 g^(-1) at 250 micron, for cold clumps. We find that
2% of the mass of the molecular gas over this diverse region is in cores colder
than 14 K, and that the mass function for these cold cores is consistent with a
power law with index alpha = -3.22 +/- 0.14 over the mass range 14 M_sun < M <
80 M_sun. Additionally, we infer a mass-dependent cold core lifetime of t_c(M)
= 4E6 (M/20 M_sun)^(-0.9) years - longer than what has been found in previous
surveys of either low or high mass cores, and significantly longer than free
fall or likely turbulent decay times. This implies some form of non-thermal
support for cold cores during this early stage of star formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Maps available
at http://blastexperiment.info
Training of Instrumentalists and Development of New Technologies on SOFIA
This white paper is submitted to the Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010 Decadal
Survey (Astro2010)1 Committee on the State of the Profession to emphasize the
potential of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to
contribute to the training of instrumentalists and observers, and to related
technology developments. This potential goes beyond the primary mission of
SOFIA, which is to carry out unique, high priority astronomical research.
SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP aircraft with a 2.5 meter telescope. It will enable
astronomical observations anywhere, any time, and at most wavelengths between
0.3 microns and 1.6 mm not accessible from ground-based observatories. These
attributes, accruing from the mobility and flight altitude of SOFIA, guarantee
a wealth of scientific return. Its instrument teams (nine in the first
generation) and guest investigators will do suborbital astronomy in a
shirt-sleeve environment. The project will invest $10M per year in science
instrument development over a lifetime of 20 years. This, frequent flight
opportunities, and operation that enables rapid changes of science instruments
and hands-on in-flight access to the instruments, assure a unique and extensive
potential - both for training young instrumentalists and for encouraging and
deploying nascent technologies. Novel instruments covering optical, infrared,
and submillimeter bands can be developed for and tested on SOFIA by their
developers (including apprentices) for their own observations and for those of
guest observers, to validate technologies and maximize observational
effectiveness.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, White Paper for Astro 2010 Survey Committee on
State of the Professio
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