22,651 research outputs found
The Las Campanas Infra-red Survey. V. Keck Spectroscopy of a large sample of Extremely Red Objects
(Abridged) We present deep Keck spectroscopy, using the DEIMOS and LRIS
spectrographs, of a large and representative sample of 67 ``Extremely Red
Objects'' (EROs) to H=20.5, with I-H>3.0, in three of the Las Campanas Infrared
Survey fields. Spectroscopic redshifts are determined for 44 sources, of which
only two are contaminating low mass stars. When allowance is made for
incompleteness, the spectroscopic redshift distribution closely matches that
predicted earlier on the basis of photometric data. Our spectra are of
sufficient quality that we can address the important question of the nature and
homogeneity of the z>0.8 ERO population. A dominant old stellar population is
inferred for 75% of our spectroscopic sample; a higher fraction than that seen
in smaller, less-complete samples with broader photometric selection criteria
(e.g. R-K). However, only 28% have spectra with no evidence of recent star
formation activity, such as would be expected for a strictly passively-evolving
population. More than ~30% of our absorption line spectra are of the `E+A' type
with prominent Balmer absorption consistent, on average, with mass growth of
5-15% in the past Gyr. We use our spectroscopic redshifts to improve earlier
estimates of the spatial clustering of this population as well as to understand
the significant field-to-field variation. Our spectroscopy enables us to
pinpoint a filamentary structure at z=1.22 in the Chandra Deep Field South.
Overall, our study suggests that the bulk of the ERO population is an
established population of clustered massive galaxies undergoing intermittent
activity consistent with continued growth over the redshift interval 0.8<z<1.6.Comment: 27 pages, including 14 figures and appendix of spectra (at low
resolution). Full resolution paper can be found at
http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~md . To appear in MNRA
Chemical abundances and winds of massive stars in M31: a B-type supergiant and a WC star in OB10
We present high quality spectroscopic data for two massive stars in the OB10
association of M31, OB10-64 (B0Ia) and OB10-WR1 (WC6). Medium resolution
spectra of both stars were obtained using the ISIS spectrograph on the William
Hershel Telescope. This is supplemented with HST-STIS UV spectroscopy and KeckI
HIRES data for OB10-64. A non-LTE model atmosphere and abundance analysis for
OB10-64 is presented indicating that this star has similar photospheric CNO, Mg
and Si abundances as solar neighbourhood massive stars. A wind analysis of this
early B-type supergiant reveals a mass-loss rate of M_dot=1.6x10^-6
M_solar/yr,and v_infty=1650 km/s. The corresponding wind momentum is in good
agreement with the wind momentum -- luminosity relationship found for Galactic
early B supergiants. Observations of OB10W-R1 are analysed using a non-LTE,
line-blanketed code, to reveal approximate stellar parameters of log L/L_solar
\~ 5.7, T~75 kK, v_infty ~ 3000 km/s, M_dot ~ 10^-4.3 M_solar/yr, adopting a
clumped wind with a filling factor of 10%. Quantitative comparisons are made
with the Galactic WC6 star HD92809 (WR23) revealing that OB10-WR1 is 0.4 dex
more luminous, though it has a much lower C/He ratio (~0.1 versus 0.3 for
HD92809). Our study represents the first detailed, chemical model atmosphere
analysis for either a B-type supergiant or a WR star in Andromeda, and shows
the potential of how such studies can provide new information on the chemical
evolution of galaxies and the evolution of massive stars in the local Universe.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, MNRAS accepted version, some minor revision
Effective Radii and Color Gradients in Radio Galaxies
We present de Vaucouleurs' effective radii in B and R bands for a sample of
Molonglo Reference Catalogue radio galaxies and a control sample of normal
galaxies. We use the ratio of the scale lengths in the two bands as an
indicator to show that the radio galaxies tend to have excess of blue color in
their inner region much more frequently than the control galaxies. We show that
the scale length ratio is a useful indicator of radial color variation even
when the conventional color gradient is too noisy to serve the purpose.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, (LaTeX: aaspp4, epsfig), to appear in ApJL 199
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Making Sense of Family Deaths in Urban Senegal: Diversities, Contexts, and Comparisons
Despite calls for cross-cultural research, Minority world perspectives still dominate death and bereavement studies, emphasizing individualized emotions and neglecting contextual diversities. In research concerned with contemporary African societies, on the other hand, death and loss are generally subsumed within concerns about AIDS or poverty, with little attention paid to the emotional and personal significance of a death. Here, we draw on interactionist sociology to present major themes from a qualitative study of family deaths in urban Senegal, theoretically framed through the duality of meanings-in-context. Such themes included family and community as support and motivation; religious beliefs and practices as frameworks for solace and (regulatory) meaning; and material circumstances as these are intrinsically bound up with emotions. Although we identify the experience of (embodied, emotional) pain as a common response across Minority and Majority worlds, we also explore significant divergencies, varying according to localized contexts and broader power dynamics
Holography in asymptotically flat space-times and the BMS group
In a previous paper (hep-th/0306142) we have started to explore the
holographic principle in the case of asymptotically flat space-times and
analyzed in particular different aspects of the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS)
group, namely the asymptotic symmetry group of any asymptotically flat
space-time. We continue this investigation in this paper. Having in mind a
S-matrix approach with future and past null infinity playing the role of
holographic screens on which the BMS group acts, we connect the IR sectors of
the gravitational field with the representation theory of the BMS group. We
analyze the (complicated) mapping between bulk and boundary symmetries pointing
out differences with respect to the AdS/CFT set up. Finally we construct a BMS
phase space and a free hamiltonian for fields transforming w.r.t BMS
representations. The last step is supposed to be an explorative investigation
of the boundary data living on the degenerate null manifold at infinity.Comment: 31 pages, several changes in section 3 and 7 and references update
Models of the ICM with Heating and Cooling: Explaining the Global and Structural X-ray Properties of Clusters
(Abridged) Theoretical models that include only gravitationally-driven
processes fail to match the observed mean X-ray properties of clusters. As a
result, there has recently been increased interest in models in which either
radiative cooling or entropy injection play a central role in mediating the
properties of the intracluster medium. Both sets of models give reasonable fits
to the mean properties of clusters, but cooling only models result in fractions
of cold baryons in excess of observationally established limits and the
simplest entropy injection models do not treat the "cooling core" structure
present in many clusters and cannot account for entropy profiles revealed by
recent X-ray observations. We consider models that marry radiative cooling with
entropy injection, and confront model predictions for the global and structural
properties of massive clusters with the latest X-ray data. The models
successfully and simultaneously reproduce the observed L-T and L-M relations,
yield detailed entropy, surface brightness, and temperature profiles in
excellent agreement with observations, and predict a cooled gas fraction that
is consistent with observational constraints. The model also provides a
possible explanation for the significant intrinsic scatter present in the L-T
and L-M relations and provides a natural way of distinguishing between clusters
classically identified as "cooling flow" clusters and dynamically relaxed
"non-cooling flow" clusters. The former correspond to systems that had only
mild levels (< 300 keV cm^2) of entropy injection, while the latter are
identified as systems that had much higher entropy injection. This is borne out
by the entropy profiles derived from Chandra and XMM-Newton.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
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