12,662 research outputs found
A near zero velocity dispersion stellar component in the Canes Venatici dwarf spheroidal galaxy
We present a spectroscopic survey of the newly-discovered Canes Venatici
dwarf galaxy using the Keck/DEIMOS spectrograph. Two stellar populations of
distinct kinematics are found to be present in this galaxy: an extended,
metal-poor component, of half-light radius 7'.8(+2.4/-2.1), which has a
velocity dispersion of 13.9(+3.2/-2.5) km/s, and a more concentrated
(half-light radius 3'.6(+1.1/-0.8) metal-rich component of extremely low
velocity dispersion. At 99% confidence, the upper limit to the central velocity
dispersion of the metal-rich population is 1.9 km/s. This is the lowest
velocity dispersion ever measured in a galaxy. We perform a Jeans analysis on
the two components, and find that the dynamics of the structures can only be
consistent if we adopt extreme (and unlikely) values for the scale length and
velocity dispersion of the metal-poor population. With a larger radial velocity
sample and improved measurements of the density profile of the two populations,
we anticipate that it will be possible to place strong constraints on the
central distribution of the dark matter in this galaxy.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, accepted by MNRA
Trade costs, 1870â2000
What has driven trade booms and trade busts in the past century and a half? Was it changes in global output or in the costs of international trade? To address this question, we derive a micro-founded measure of aggregate bilateral
trade costs based on a standard model of trade in differentiated goods. These trade costs gauge the difference between observed bilateral trade and frictionless trade in terms of an implied markup on retail prices of foreign goods. Thus, we are able to estimate the combined magnitude of tariffs, transportation costs, and all other macroeconomic frictions that impede international
trade but that are inherently difficult to observe. We use this measure to examine the growth of global trade between 1870 and 1913, its retreat from 1921 to 1939, and its subsequent rise from 1950 to 2000. We find that trade cost
declines explain roughly 55 percent of the preâWorld War I trade boom and 33 percent of the postâWorld War II trade boom, while a precipitous rise in trade costs explains the entire interwar trade bust
High redshift AGNs from the 1Jy catalogue and the magnification bias
We have found a statistically significant (99.1 \%) excess of red ()
galaxies with photographic magnitudes , taken from the APM Sky
Catalogue around radiosources from the 1Jy catalogue. The amplitude,
scale and dependence on galaxy colours of the observed overdensity are
consistent with its being a result of the magnification bias caused by the weak
gravitational lensing of large scale structures at redshift
and are hardly explained by other causes, as obscuration by dust.Comment: uuencoded file containing 3 ps files: the main text, a table and a
figure. To appear in ApJ Letter
Timescapes Data and Secondary Analysis: Working across the Projects
The Timescapes Secondary Analysis Project comprises a range of activities including work
bridging Timescapes data and external data sets (undertaken primarily through the YLT
project), and work across the Timescapes projects. This second task has entailed a
consideration of cross-project data on the âcommon questionsâ and analysis of data on themes
held in common across all, or sub-sets of, the Timescapes projects. This working paper takes
the latter concern with common themes as a focus
Debates in Qualitative Secondary Analysis: Critical Reflections
This paper is a companion piece to Irwin and Winterton (2011). The current paper takes as a focus some issues relating to the possibility for, and effective conduct of, qualitative secondary data analysis.i We consider some challenges for the re-use of qualitative research data, relating to distance from the production of primary data, and related knowledge of the proximate contexts of data production. With others we argue that distance and partial knowledge of proximate contexts may constrain secondary analysis but that its success is contingent on its objectives. So long as data analysis is fit for purpose then secondary analysis is no poor relation to primary analysis. We discuss some examples of secondary analysis in practice. We further discuss debates regarding research contexts, with reference to practical resources, and to evolving historical contexts of research. We argue there is much to be gained from more critical reflection on a set of âmiddle rangeâ issues regarding how contextual saliences are conceptualised, or assumed, within methodologies and extant data sets. In developing our ideas about secondary analysis we argue for more critical reflection on how effective knowledge claims are built. It is this agenda which we develop in the companion working paper, with specific reference to building effective secondary analysis across Timescapes data sets
On the accretion origin of a vast extended stellar disk around the Andromeda galaxy
We present the discovery of an inhomogenous, low-surface brightness, extended
disk-like structure around the Andromeda galaxy (M31) based on a large
kinematic survey of more than 2800 stars with the Keck/DEIMOS spectrograph. The
stellar structure spans radii from 15 kpc out to ~40 kpc, with detections out
to R ~ 70 kpc. The constituent stars lag the expected velocity of circular
orbits in the plane of the M31 disk by ~40 kms and have a velocity dispersion
of ~30 kms. The color range on the upper RGB shows a large spread indicative of
a population with a significant range of metallicity. The mean metallicity of
the population, measured from Ca II equivalent widths, is [Fe/H] = -0.9 +/-
0.2. The morphology of the structure is irregular at large radii, and shows a
wealth of substructures which must be transitory in nature, and are almost
certainly tidal debris. The presence of these substructures indicates that the
global entity was formed by accretion. This extended disk follows smoothly on
from the central parts of M31 disk with an exponential density law of
scale-length of 5.1 +/- 0.1 kpc, similar to that of the bright inner disk. The
population possesses similar kinematic and abundance properties over the entire
region where it is detected in the survey. We estimate that the structure
accounts for approximately 10% of the total luminosity of the M31 disk, and
given the huge scale, contains ~30% of the total disk angular momentum. This
finding indicates that at least some galactic stellar disks are vastly larger
than previously thought and are formed, at least in their outer regions,
primarily by accretion. [abridged]Comment: 20 pages, 30 figures, ApJ submitte
An application of high authority/low authority control and positivity
Control Dynamics Company (CDy), in conjunction with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), has supported the U.S. Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratory (AFWAL) in conducting an investigation of the implementation of several DOD controls techniques. These techniques are to provide vibration suppression and precise attitude control for flexible space structures. AFWAL issued a contract to Control Dynamics to perform this work under the Active Control Technique Evaluation for Spacecraft (ACES) Program. The High Authority Control/Low Authority Control (HAC/LAC) and Positivity controls techniques, which were cultivated under the DARPA Active Control of Space Structures (ACOSS) Program, were applied to a structural model of the NASA/MSFC Ground Test Facility ACES configuration. The control systems design were accomplished and linear post-analyses of the closed-loop systems are provided. The control system designs take into account effects of sampling and delay in the control computer. Nonlinear simulation runs were used to verify the control system designs and implementations in the facility control computers. Finally, test results are given to verify operations of the control systems in the test facility
Why is CDMA the solution for mobile satellite communication
It is demonstrated that spread spectrum Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems provide an economically superior solution to satellite mobile communications by increasing the system maximum capacity with respect to single channel per carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems. Following the comparative analysis of CDMA and FDMA systems, the design of a model that was developed to test the feasibility of the approach and the performance of a spread spectrum system in a mobile environment. Results of extensive computer simulations as well as laboratory and field tests results are presented
Are dwarf spheroidal galaxies dark matter dominated or remnants of disrupted larger satellite galaxies? -- A possible test
The failure of standard cosmolocical models in accounting for the statistics
of dwarf satellites and the rotation curve of gas-rich dwarf galaxies in detail
has led us to examine whether earlier non-equilibrium models of dwarf
spheroidal satellites without any dark matter should be reconsidered in more
detail. Such models can explain the high dispersion of the dwarf spheroids by
the projection of disrupted tidal debris. We show in the case of Milky Way
satellites, that these models predict a significant spread in the apparent
magnitude of horizontal branch stars which is correlated with sky position and
velocity. In particular, the models produce a strong correlation of radial
velocity with the long axis of the dwarf. Current data do not set strong enough
constraints on the models, but we suggest that photometric and spectroscopic
surveys of extra-tidal stars of nearby dwarf spheroids in the Milky Way and
Andromeda can falsify these models without dark matter.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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