16,528 research outputs found
Geology and petrology of the Anvil Rock sandstone of southern Illinois.
Cover title.Issued also as thesis, University of Illinois.Bibliography: p. 46-49
The Phoenix Deep Survey: X-ray properties of faint radio sources
In this paper we use a 50ks XMM-Newton pointing overlapping with the Phoenix
Deep Survey, a homogeneous radio survey reaching muJy sensitivities, to explore
the X-ray properties and the evolution of star-forming galaxies. UV, optical
and NIR photometry is available and is used to estimate photometric redshifts
and spectral types for radio sources brighter than R=21.5mag (total of 82).
Sources with R<21.5mag and spiral galaxy SEDs (34) are grouped into two
redshift bins with a median of z=0.240 and 0.455 respectively. Stacking
analysis for both the 0.5-2 and 2-8keV bands is performed on these subsamples.
A high confidence level signal (>3.5sigma) is detected in the 0.5-2keV band
corresponding to a mean flux of ~3e-16cgs for both subsamples. This flux
translates to mean luminosities of ~5e40 and 1.5e41cgs for the z=0.240 and
0.455 subsamples respectively. Only a marginally significant signal (2.6sigma)
is detected in the 2-8keV band for the z=0.455 subsample. We argue that the
stacked signal above is dominated by star-formation. The mean L_X/L_B ratio and
the mean L_X of the two subsamples are found to be higher than optically
selected spirals and similar to starbursts. We also find that the mean L_X and
L_1.4 of the faint radio sources studied here are consistent with the L_X-L_1.4
correlation of local star-forming galaxies. Moreover, the X-ray emissivity of
sub-mJy sources to z~0.3 is found to be elevated compared to local HII
galaxies. The observed increase is consistent with L_X evolution of the form
(1+z)^3. Assuming that our sample is indeed dominated by starbursts this is
direct evidence for evolution of such systems at X-ray wavelengths. Using an
empirical L_X to SFR conversion we estimate a global SFR density at z~0.3 of
\~0.029M_o/yr/Mpc in agreement with previous studies.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Phoenix Deep Survey: spectroscopic catalog
The Phoenix Deep Survey is a multi-wavelength survey based on deep 1.4 GHz
radio imaging, reaching well into the sub-100 microJy level. One of the aims of
this survey is to characterize the sub-mJy radio population, exploring its
nature and evolution. In this paper we present the catalog and results of the
spectroscopic observations aimed at characterizing the optically ``bright''
(R<~ 21.5 mag) counterparts of faint radio sources. Out of 371 sources with
redshift determination, 21% have absorption lines only, 11% show AGN
signatures, 32% are star-forming galaxies, 34% show narrow emission lines that
do not allow detailed spectral classification (due to poor signal-to-noise
ratio and/or lack of diagnostic emission lines) and the remaining 2% are
identified with stars. For the star-forming galaxies with a Balmer decrement
measurement we find a median extinction of A(Ha)=1.9 mag, higher than that of
optically selected samples. This is a result of the radio selection, which is
not biased against dusty systems. Using the available spectroscopic
information, we estimate the radio luminosity function of star-forming galaxies
in two independent redshift bins at z~0.1 and 0.3 respectively. We find direct
evidence for strong luminosity evolution of these systems consistent with L(1.4
GHz) ~ (1+z)^(2.7).Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures. References added, and minor changes to reflect
published versio
Microprogram scheme for automatic recovery from computer error
Microprogram scheme enables computer to recover from failure in one of its two central processing units during time duration of instruction in which failure occurs. Microprogram advantages include - /1/ built-in interpretive capability, /2/ selection of processing interrupts by priority, and /3/ economical use of bootstrap sequence
Galaxy disks do not need to survive in the L-CDM paradigm: the galaxy merger rate out to z~1.5 from morpho-kinematic data
About two-thirds of present-day, large galaxies are spirals such as the Milky
Way or Andromeda, but the way their thin rotating disks formed remains
uncertain. Observations have revealed that half of their progenitors, six
billion years ago, had peculiar morphologies and/or kinematics, which exclude
them from the Hubble sequence. Major mergers, i.e., fusions between galaxies of
similar mass, are found to be the likeliest driver for such strong
peculiarities. However, thin disks are fragile and easily destroyed by such
violent collisions, which creates a critical tension between the observed
fraction of thin disks and their survival within the L-CDM paradigm. Here we
show that the observed high occurrence of mergers amongst their progenitors is
only apparent and is resolved when using morpho-kinematic observations which
are sensitive to all the phases of the merging process. This provides an
original way of narrowing down observational estimates of the galaxy merger
rate and leads to a perfect match with predictions by state-of-the-art L-CDM
semi-empirical models with no particular fine-tuning needed. These results
imply that half of local thin disks do not survive but are actually rebuilt
after a gas-rich major merger occurring in the past nine billion years, i.e.,
two-thirds of the lifetime of the Universe. This emphasizes the need to study
how thin disks can form in halos with a more active merger history than
previously considered, and to investigate what is the origin of the gas
reservoir from which local disks would reform.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Accepted in ApJ. V2 to match proof
corrections and added reference
Spatially Resolved Galaxy Star Formation and its Environmental Dependence I
We use the photometric information contained in individual pixels of 44,964
(0.019<z<0.125 and -23.5<M_r<-20.5) galaxies in the Fourth Data Release (DR4)
of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the effects of environment on
galaxy star formation (SF). We use the pixel-z technique, which combines
stellar population synthesis models with photometric redshift template fitting
on the scale of individual pixels in galaxy images. Spectral energy
distributions are constructed, sampling a wide range of properties such as age,
star formation rate (SFR), dust obscuration and metallicity. By summing the
SFRs in the pixels, we demonstrate that the distribution of total galaxy SFR
shifts to lower values as the local density of surrounding galaxies increases,
as found in other studies. The effect is most prominent in the galaxies with
the highest star formation, and we see the break in the SFR-density relation at
a local galaxy density of (Mpc/h). Since our method
allows us to spatially resolve the SF distribution within galaxies, we can
calculate the mean SFR of each galaxy as a function of radius. We find that on
average the mean SFR is dominated by SF in the central regions of galaxies, and
that the trend for suppression of SFR in high density environments is driven by
a reduction in this nuclear SF. We also find that the mean SFR in the outskirts
is largely independent of environmental effects. This trend in the mean SFR is
shared by galaxies which are highly star forming, while those which are weakly
star forming show no statistically significant correlation between their
environment and the mean SFR at any radius.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figures. Referee's comments included and matches version
accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. For high resolution
figures, see http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~welikala/pixelz/paper1
Kinematic characteristics of elite men's 50 km race walking.
Race walking is an endurance event which also requires great technical ability, particularly with respect to its two distinguishing rules. The 50 km race walk is the longest event in the athletics programme at the Olympic Games. The aims of this observational study were to identify the important kinematic variables in elite men's 50 km race walking, and to measure variation in those variables at different distances. Thirty men were analysed from video data recorded during a World Race Walking Cup competition. Video data were also recorded at four distances during the European Cup Race Walking and 12 men analysed from these data. Two camcorders (50 Hz) recorded at each race for 3D analysis. The results of this study showed that walking speed was associated with both step length (r=0.54,P=0.002) and cadence (r=0.58,P=0.001). While placing the foot further ahead of the body at heel strike was associated with greater step lengths (r=0.45,P=0.013), it was also negatively associated with cadence (r= -0.62,P<0.001). In the World Cup, knee angles ranged between 175 and 186° at initial contact and between 180 and 195° at midstance. During the European Cup, walking speed decreased significantly (F=9.35,P=0.002), mostly due to a decrease in step length between 38.5 and 48.5 km (t=8.59,P=0.014). From this study, it would appear that the key areas a 50 km race walker must develop and coordinate are step length and cadence, although it is also important to ensure legal walking technique is maintained with the onset of fatigue
Silicon web process development
A barrier crucible design which consistently maintains melt stability over long periods of time was successfully tested and used in long growth runs. The pellet feeder for melt replenishment was operated continuously for growth runs of up to 17 hours. The liquid level sensor comprising a laser/sensor system was operated, performed well, and meets the requirements for maintaining liquid level height during growth and melt replenishment. An automated feedback loop connecting the feed mechanism and the liquid level sensing system was designed and constructed and operated successfully for 3.5 hours demonstrating the feasibility of semi-automated dendritic web growth. The sensitivity of the cost of sheet, to variations in capital equipment cost and recycling dendrites was calculated and it was shown that these factors have relatively little impact on sheet cost. Dendrites from web which had gone all the way through the solar cell fabrication process, when melted and grown into web, produce crystals which show no degradation in cell efficiency. Material quality remains high and cells made from web grown at the start, during, and the end of a run from a replenished melt show comparable efficiencies
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