On the coupling of massless particles to scalar fields

It is investigated if massless particles can couple to scalar fields in a special relativistic theory with classical particles. The only possible obvious theory which is invariant under Lorentz transformations and reparametrization of the affine parameter leads to trivial trajectories (straight lines) for the massless case, and also the investigation of the massless limit of the massive theory shows that there is no influence of the scalar field on the limiting trajectories. On the other hand, in contrast to this result, it is shown that massive particles are influenced by the scalar field in this theory even in the ultra-relativistic limit.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, uses titlepage.sty, LaTeX 2.09 file, submitted to International Journal of Theoretical Physic

The Galactic Kinematics of Mira Variables

The galactic kinematics of Mira variables derived from radial velocities, Hipparcos proper motions and an infrared period-luminosity relation are reviewed. Local Miras in the 145-200day period range show a large asymmetric drift and a high net outward motion in the Galaxy. Interpretations of this phenomenon are considered and (following Feast and Whitelock 2000) it is suggested that they are outlying members of the bulge-bar population and indicate that this bar extends beyond the solar circle.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure, to be published in Mass-Losing Pulsating Stars and their Circumstellar Matter, Y. Nakada & M. Honma (eds) Kluwer ASSL serie

Deprojection of Rich Cluster Images

We consider a general method of deprojecting 2D images to reconstruct the 3D structure of the projected object, assuming axial symmetry. The method consists of the application of the Fourier Slice Theorem to the general case where the axis of symmetry is not necessarily perpendicular to the line of sight, and is based on an extrapolation of the image Fourier transform into the so-called cone of ignorance. The method is specifically designed for the deprojection of X-ray, Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) and gravitational lensing maps of rich clusters of galaxies. For known values of the Hubble constant, H0, and inclination angle, the quality of the projection depends on how exact is the extrapolation in the cone of ignorance. In the case where the axis of symmetry is perpendicular to the line of sight and the image is noise-free, the deprojection is exact. Given an assumed value of H0, the inclination angle can be found by matching the deprojected structure out of two different images of a given cluster, e.g., SZ and X-ray maps. However, this solution is degenerate with respect to its dependence on the assumed H0, and a third independent image of the given cluster is needed to determine H0 as well. The application of the deprojection algorithm to upcoming SZ, X-ray and weak lensing projected mass images of clusters will serve to determine the structure of rich clusters, the value of H0, and place constraints on the physics of the intra-cluster gas and its relation to the total mass distribution.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, 2 Postscript figures, uses as2pp4.sty. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Also available at: http://astro.berkeley.edu:80/~squires/papers/deproj.ps.g

A dwarf galaxy remnant in Canis Major: the fossil of an in-plane accretion onto the Milky Way

We present an analysis of the asymmetries in the population of Galactic M-giant stars present in the 2MASS All Sky catalogue. Several large-scale asymmetries are detected, the most significant of which is a strong elliptical-shaped stellar over-density, close to the Galactic plane at (l=240, b=-8), in the constellation of Canis Major. A small grouping of globular clusters (NGC 1851, NGC 1904, NGC 2298, and NGC 2808), coincident in position and radial velocity, surround this structure, as do a number of open clusters. The population of M-giant stars in this over-density is similar in number to that in the core of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. We argue that this object is the likely dwarf galaxy progenitor of the ring-like structure that has recently been found at the edge of the Galactic disk. A numerical study of the tidal disruption of an accreted dwarf galaxy is presented. The simulated debris fits well the extant position, distance and velocity information on the ``Galactic Ring'', as well as that of the M-giant over-densities, suggesting that all these structures are the consequence of a single accretion event. The disrupted dwarf galaxy stream orbits close to the Galactic Plane, with a pericentre at approximately the Solar circle, an orbital eccentricity similar to that of stars in the Galactic thick disk, as well as a vertical scale height similar to that of the thick disk. This finding strongly suggests that the Canis Major dwarf galaxy is a building block of the Galactic thick disk, that the thick disk is continually growing, even up to the present time, and that thick disk globular clusters were accreted onto the Milky Way from dwarf galaxies in co-planar orbits.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figures (2 in colour), accepted for publication in MNRA

Reconstructing Three-dimensional Structure of Underlying Triaxial Dark Halos From Xray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Observations of Galaxy Clusters

While the use of galaxy clusters as {\it tools} to probe cosmology is established, their conventional description still relies on the spherical and/or isothermal models that were proposed more than 20 years ago. We present, instead, a deprojection method to extract their intrinsic properties from X-ray and Sunyaev--Zel'dovich effect observations in order to improve our understanding of cluster physics. First we develop a theoretical model for the intra-cluster gas in hydrostatic equilibrium in a triaxial dark matter halo with a constant axis ratio. In this theoretical model, the gas density profiles are expressed in terms of the intrinsic properties of the dark matter halos. Then, we incorporate the projection effect into the gas profiles, and show that the gas surface brightness profiles are expressed in terms of the eccentricities and the orientation angles of the dark halos. For the practical purpose of our theoretical model, we provide several empirical fitting formulae for the gas density and temperature profiles, and also for the surface brightness profiles relevant to X-ray and Sunyaev--Zel'dovich effect observations. Finally, we construct a numerical algorithm to determine the halo eccentricities and orientation angles using our model, and demonstrate that it is possible in principle to reconstruct the 3D structures of the dark halos from the X-ray and/or Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect cluster data alone without requiring priors such as weak lensing informations and without relying on such restrictive assumptions as the halo axial symmetry about the line-of-sight.Comment: Accepted version, new discussions added, typos and minor mistakes corrected, ApJ in press (2004, Feb. 1 scheduled, Vol. 601, No. 2 issue),26 pages, 7 postscript figure

Initial conditions for disc galaxies

We present a general recipe for constructing N-body realizations of galaxies comprised of near-spherical and disc components. First, an exact spherical distribution function for the spheroids (halo & bulge) is determined, such that it is in equilibrium with the gravitational monopole of the disc components. Second, an N-body realisation of this model is adapted to the full disc potential by growing the latter adiabatically from its monopole. Finally, the disc is sampled with particles drawn from an appropriate distribution function, avoiding local-Maxwellian approximations. We performed test simulations and find that the halo and bulge radial density profile very closely match their target model, while they become slightly oblate due to the added disc gravity. Our findings suggest that vertical thickening of the initially thin disc is caused predominantly by spiral and bar instabilities, which also result in a radial re-distribution of matter, rather than scattering off interloping massive halo particles.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, MNRAS accepted; typo in email address fixe

Quantifying the heart of darkness with GHALO - a multi-billion particle simulation of our galactic halo

We perform a series of simulations of a Galactic mass dark matter halo at different resolutions, our largest uses over three billion particles and has a mass resolution of 1000 M_sun. We quantify the structural properties of the inner dark matter distribution and study how they depend on numerical resolution. We can measure the density profile to a distance of 120 pc (0.05% of R_vir) where the logarithmic slope is -0.8 and -1.4 at (0.5% of R_vir). We propose a new two parameter fitting function that has a linearly varying logarithmic density gradient which fits the GHALO and VL2 density profiles extremely well. Convergence in the density profile and the halo shape scales as N^(-1/3), but the shape converges at a radius three times larger at which point the halo becomes more spherical due to numerical resolution. The six dimensional phase-space profile is dominated by the presence of the substructures and does not follow a power law, except in the smooth under-resolved inner few kpc.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS Letters, for full sized images, see http://www.itp.uzh.ch/news.htm