12,988 research outputs found
New age-metallicity diagnostic diagram for the Washington photometric system
The age calibration of the Washington deltaT1 index is mainly used to
estimate ages of star clusters older than 1 Gyr, no age-metallicity degeneracy
effect is considered. We have profusely exploited synthetic T1 versus C-T1
colour magnitude diagrams aiming at exploring the intrinsic behaviour of the
deltaT1 index. The analysis shows that deltaT1 varies with age and metal
content as well. In general, the dependence on age weakens for ages greater
than ~ 6 Gyr, and results even less sensitive to age as the metallicity
decreases. For ages younger than ~ 5 Gyr deltaT1 shows a strong correlation
with both age and metallicity. The deltaC index -defined as deltaT1 for the C
passband- is also a combined measurement of age and metallicity. We introduce a
new age-metallicity diagnostic diagram, deltaT1 versus deltaC - deltaT1, which
has shown the ability of unambiguously providing age and metallicity estimates,
simultaneously. The new procedure allows to derive ages from 1 up to 13 Gyr and
metallicities [Fe/H] from -2.0 up to +0.5 dex, and is independent of the
cluster reddening and distance modulus. It does solve the constraints found in
the deltaT1 index and surpasses the performance of the standard giant branch
metallicity method. All these features make the diagnostic diagram a powerful
tool for estimating accurate ages as well as metallicities.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Peaks and Troughs in Helioseismology: The Power Spectrum of Solar Oscillations
I present a matched-wave asymptotic analysis of the driving of solar
oscillations by a general localised source. The analysis provides a simple
mathematical description of the asymmetric peaks in the power spectrum in terms
of the relative locations of eigenmodes and troughs in the spectral response.
It is suggested that the difference in measured phase function between the
modes and the troughs in the spectrum will provide a key diagnostic of the
source of the oscillations. I also suggest a form for the asymmetric line
profiles to be used in the fitting of solar power spectra.
Finally I present a comparison between the numerical and asymptotic
descriptions of the oscillations. The numerical results bear out the
qualitative features suggested by the asymptotic analysis but suggest that
numerical calculations of the locations of the troughs will be necessary for a
quantitative comparison with the observations.Comment: 18 pages + 8 separate figures. To appear in Ap
Direct and alignment-insensitive measurement of cantilever curvature
We analytically derive and experimentally demonstrate a method for the
simultaneous measurement of deflection for large arrays of cantilevers. The
Fresnel diffraction patterns of a cantilever independently reveals tilt,
curvature, cubic and higher order bending of the cantilever. It provides a
calibrated absolute measurement of the polynomial coefficients describing the
cantilever shape, without careful alignment and could be applied to several
cantilevers simultaneously with no added complexity. We show that the method is
easily implemented, works in both liquid mediums and in air, for a broad range
of displacements and is especially suited to the requirements for multi-marker
biosensors.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 figures, letter forma
Strong Coupling Solver for the Quantum Impurity Model
We propose a fast impurity solver for the general quantum impurity model
based on the perturbation theory around the atomic limit, which can be used in
combination with the local density approximation (LDA) and the dynamical mean
field theory (DMFT). We benchmark the solver in the two band Hubbard model
within DMFT against quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and numerical renormalization
group (NRG) results. We find that the solver works very well in the
paramagnetic Mott insulator phase. We also apply this impurity solver to the
DMFT study of the anti-ferromagnetic phase transition in the unfrustrated Bethe
lattice. The Neel temperature obtained by the fast impurity solver agrees very
well with the QMC results in the large Hubbard U limit. The method is a
promising tool to be used in combination with the LDA+DMFT to study Mott
insulators starting from first principles.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. to be published in Physical Review
Religion and Attitudes toward Same-Sex Marriage among U.S. Latinos
Objectives. This study examines links between multiple aspects of religious involvement and attitudes toward same-sex marriage among U.S. Latinos. The primary focus is on variations by affiliation and participation, but the possible mediating roles of biblical beliefs, clergy cues, and the role of religion in shaping political views are also considered.
Methods. We use binary logistic regression models to analyze data from a large nationwide sample of U.S. Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Forum in late 2006.
Results. Findings highlight the strong opposition to same-sex marriage among Latino evangelical (or conservative) Protestants and members of sectarian groups (e.g., LDS), even compared with devout Catholics. Although each of the hypothesized mediators is significantly linked with attitudes toward same-sex marriage, for the most part controlling for them does not alter the massive affiliation/attendance differences in attitudes toward same-sex marriage.
Conclusions. This study illustrates the importance of religious cleavages in public opinion on social issues within the diverse U.S. Latino population. The significance of religious variations in Hispanic civic life is likely to increase with the growth of the Latino population and the rising numbers of Protestants and sectarians among Latinos
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