Liquid crystal light valve structures

An improved photosensor film and liquid crystal light valves embodying said film is provided. The photosensor film and liquid crystal light valve is characterized by a significant lower image retention time while maintaining acceptable photosensitivity. The photosensor film is produced by sputter depositing CdS onto an ITO substrate in an atmosphere of argon/H2S gas while maintaining the substrate at a temperature in the range of about 130 C to about 200 C and while introducing nitrogen gas into the system to the extent of not more than about 1% of plasma mixture. Following sputter deposition of the CdS, the film is annealed in an inert gas at temperatures ranging from about 300 C to about 425 C

Multi-Phase Gas Dynamics in a Weak Barred Potential

The structure of the interstellar medium in the central kpc region of a galaxy with a weak bar-like potential is investigated taking into account realistic cooling and heating processes and the self-gravity of the gas. Using high resolution hydrodynamical simulations, it is revealed that the resonant structures (e.g. smooth spiral shocks and a nuclear ring) are very different from those seen in past numerical models where simple models of the ISM, i.e. non-self-gravitating, isothermal gas were assumed. We find that the pc-scale filaments and clumps form large scale spirals, which resemble those seen in real galaxies. The fine structures are different between the arms and in the nuclear region. The next generation millimeter interferometer (ALMA) may reveal the fine structures of the cold gas in nearby galaxies. We also find a large scale anisotropy in the gas temperature, which is caused due to non-circular velocity field of the gas.The damped orbit model based on the epicyclic approximation explains the distribution of the hot (> 10^4 K) and cold (< 100 K) gases appearing alternately around the galactic center. Because of the temperature anisotropy, cold gases observed by molecular lines do not necessarily represent the real gas distribution in galaxies. Position-Velocity diagrams depend strongly on the viewing angles. As a result, the rotational velocity inferred from the PV maps could be two times larger or smaller than the true circular velocity.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, to appear in PASJ, vol. 56, no.6 (2001

The Virgo High-Resolution CO Survey. II. Rotation Curves and Dynamical Mass Distributions

Based on a high-resolution CO survey of Virgo spirals with the Nobeyama Millimeter-wave Array, we determined the dynamical centers using velocity fields, and derived position-velocity diagrams (PVDs) along the major axes of the galaxies across their dynamical centers. We applied a new iteration method to derive rotation curves (RCs), which reproduce the observed PVDs. The obtained high-accuracy RCs generally show steep rise in the central 100 to 200 pc regions, followed by flat rotation in the disk. We applied a deconvolution method to calculate the surface-mass density (SMD) using the RCs based on two extreme assumptions that the mass distribution is either spherical or thin-disk shaped. Both assumptions give nearly identical results, agreeing with each other within a factor of two at any radii. The SMD distributions revealed central massive cores with peak SMD of 10^4 - 10^5 Msun pc^-2 and total mass within 200 pc radius of the order of about 10^9 Msun Correlation analysis among the derived parameters show that the central CO-line intensity is positively correlated with the central SMD, which suggests that the deeper is the gravitational potential, the higher is the molecular gas concentration in the nuclei regardless morphological types.Comment: PASJ 2003 in press, Latex 12 pages, 6 figures (Bigger gif/ps figures available at http://www.ioa.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/radio/virgo2

The Virgo CO Survey: VI. Gas Dynamics and Star Formation Along the Bar in NGC 4303

We present CO interferometer observations of the barred galaxy NGC 4303 (M61). This galaxy has a gas concentration at the central region and offset ridges in the bar. Sharp velocity gradients are apparent across the ridges. Analyses of the CO data and the newborn stellar clusters revealed in HST images indicate the existence of unresolved molecular clouds with masses of 10^4-6Msun. The observed shear velocity gradient across the ridges is too small to break up giant molecular clouds. Therefore, the clouds are likely to survive passage through the ridges. We discuss a cloud orbit model in a bar potential. The model reproduces the narrow offset ridges and sharp velocity gradients across the ridges in NGC 4303. We discuss cloud-cloud collisions (and close interactions) as a possible triggering mechanism for star formation. The newborn stellar clusters in NGC 4303 are located predominantly at the leading sides of the offset ridges, where cloud orbits are densely populated and suggest a high collisional frequency and possibly a high rate of triggered star formation. Cloud-based dynamics is less dissipative than smooth hydrodynamic models, possibly extending the timescales of gas dynamical evolution and gas fueling to central regions in barred galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables. PASJ, accepted (Apr. issue), high resolution version "http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~koda/paper/n4303/koda_n4303.pdf

Acceleration Method of Neighbor Search with GRAPE and Morton-ordering

We describe a new method to accelerate neighbor searches on GRAPE, i.e. a special purpose hardware that efficiently calculates gravitational forces and potentials in $N$-body simulations. In addition to the gravitational calculations, GRAPE simultaneously constructs the lists of neighbor particles that are necessary for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). However, data transfer of the neighbor lists from GRAPE to the host computer is time consuming, and can be a bottleneck. In fact, the data transfer can take about the same time as the calculations of forces themselves. Making use of GRAPE's special treatment of neighbor lists, we can reduce the amount of data transfer if we search neighbors in the order that the neighbor lists, constructed in a single GRAPE run, overlap each other. We find that the Morton-ordering requires very low additional calculation and programming costs, and results in successful speed-up on data transfer. We show some benchmark results in the case of GRAPE-5. Typical reduction in transferred data becomes as much as 90%. This method is suitable not only for GRAPE-5, but also GRAPE-3 and the other versions of GRAPE.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

A Water Maser and Ammonia Survey of GLIMPSE Extended Green Objects (EGOs)

We present the results of a Nobeyama 45-m water maser and ammonia survey of all 94 northern GLIMPSE Extended Green Objects (EGOs), a sample of massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) identified based on their extended 4.5 micron emission. We observed the ammonia (1,1), (2,2), and (3,3) inversion lines, and detect emission towards 97%, 63%, and 46% of our sample, respectively (median rms ~50 mK). The water maser detection rate is 68% (median rms ~0.11 Jy). The derived water maser and clump-scale gas properties are consistent with the identification of EGOs as young MYSOs. To explore the degree of variation among EGOs, we analyze subsamples defined based on MIR properties or maser associations. Water masers and warm dense gas, as indicated by emission in the higher-excitation ammonia transitions, are most frequently detected towards EGOs also associated with both Class I and II methanol masers. 95% (81%) of such EGOs are detected in water (ammonia(3,3)), compared to only 33% (7%) of EGOs without either methanol maser type. As populations, EGOs associated with Class I and/or II methanol masers have significantly higher ammonia linewidths, column densities, and kinetic temperatures than EGOs undetected in methanol maser surveys. However, we find no evidence for statistically significant differences in water maser properties (such as maser luminosity) among any EGO subsamples. Combining our data with the 1.1 mm continuum Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey, we find no correlation between isotropic water maser luminosity and clump number density. Water maser luminosity is weakly correlated with clump (gas) temperature and clump mass.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, accepted. Emulateapj, 24 pages including 24 figures, plus 9 tables (including full content of online-only tables