862 research outputs found
Galaxy filaments as pearl necklaces
Context. Galaxies in the Universe form chains (filaments) that connect groups
and clusters of galaxies. The filamentary network includes nearly half of the
galaxies and is visually the most striking feature in cosmological maps.
Aims. We study the distribution of galaxies along the filamentary network,
trying to find specific patterns and regularities.
Methods. Galaxy filaments are defined by the Bisous model, a marked point
process with interactions. We use the two-point correlation function and the
Rayleigh Z-squared statistic to study how galaxies and galaxy groups are
distributed along the filaments.
Results. We show that galaxies and groups are not uniformly distributed along
filaments, but tend to form a regular pattern. The characteristic length of the
pattern is around 7 Mpc/h. A slightly smaller characteristic length 4 Mpc/h can
also be found, using the Z-squared statistic.
Conclusions. We find that galaxy filaments in the Universe are like pearl
necklaces, where the pearls are galaxy groups distributed more or less
regularly along the filaments. We propose that this well defined characteristic
scale could be used to test various cosmological models and to probe
environmental effects on the formation and evolution of galaxies.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in A&
Alignment of galaxies relative to their local environment in SDSS-DR8
We study the alignment of galaxies relative to their local environment in
SDSS-DR8 and, using these data, we discuss evolution scenarios for different
types of galaxies. We defined a vector field of the direction of anisotropy of
the local environment of galaxies. We summed the unit direction vectors of all
close neighbours of a given galaxy in a particular way to estimate this field.
We found the alignment angles between the spin axes of disc galaxies, or the
minor axes of elliptical galaxies, and the direction of anisotropy. The
distributions of cosines of these angles are compared to the random
distributions to analyse the alignment of galaxies. Sab galaxies show
perpendicular alignment relative to the direction of anisotropy in a sparse
environment, for single galaxies and galaxies of low luminosity. Most of the
parallel alignment of Scd galaxies comes from dense regions, from 2...3 member
groups and from galaxies with low luminosity. The perpendicular alignment of S0
galaxies does not depend strongly on environmental density nor luminosity; it
is detected for single and 2...3 member group galaxies, and for main galaxies
of 4...10 member groups. The perpendicular alignment of elliptical galaxies is
clearly detected for single galaxies and for members of < 11 member groups; the
alignment increases with environmental density and luminosity. We confirm the
existence of fossil tidally induced alignment of Sab galaxies at low z. The
alignment of Scd galaxies can be explained via the infall of matter to
filaments. S0 galaxies may have encountered relatively massive mergers along
the direction of anisotropy. Major mergers along this direction can explain the
alignment of elliptical galaxies. Less massive, but repeated mergers are
possibly responsible for the formation of elliptical galaxies in sparser areas
and for less luminous elliptical galaxies.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Discovery of a massive supercluster system at
Superclusters are the largest relatively isolated systems in the cosmic web.
Using the SDSS BOSS survey we search for the largest superclusters in the
redshift range .
We generate a luminosity-density field smoothed over
to detect the large-scale over-density regions. Each individual over-density
region is defined as single supercluster in the survey. We define the
superclusters in the way that they are comparable with the superclusters found
in the SDSS main survey.
We found a system we call the BOSS Great Wall (BGW), which consists of two
walls with diameters 186 and 173 Mpc, and two other major superclusters
with diameters of 64 and 91 Mpc. As a whole, this system consists of
830 galaxies with the mean redshift 0.47. We estimate the total mass to be
approximately . The morphology of the
superclusters in the BGW system is similar to the morphology of the
superclusters in the Sloan Great Wall region.
The BGW is one of the most extended and massive system of superclusters yet
found in the Universe.Comment: 4 pages, accepted as a letter in A&
Wavelet analysis of the formation of the cosmic web
According to the modern cosmological paradigm galaxies and galaxy systems
form from tiny density perturbations generated during the very early phase of
the evolution of the Universe. Using numerical simulations we study the
evolution of phases of density perturbations of different scales to understand
the formation and evolution of the cosmic web. We apply the wavelet analysis to
follow the evolution of high-density regions (clusters and superclusters) of
the cosmic web. We show that the positions of maxima and minima of density
waves (their spatial phases) almost do not change during the evolution of the
structure. Positions of extrema of density perturbations are the more stable,
the larger is the wavelength of perturbations. Combining observational and
simulation data we conclude that the skeleton of the cosmic web was present
already in an early stage of structure evolution.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, revised versio
Flux- and volume-limited groups/clusters for the SDSS galaxies: catalogues and mass estimation
We provide flux-limited and volume-limited galaxy group and cluster
catalogues, based on the spectroscopic sample of the SDSS data release 10
galaxies. We used a modified friends-of-friends (FoF) method with a variable
linking length in the transverse and radial directions to identify as many
realistic groups as possible. The flux-limited catalogue incorporates galaxies
down to m_r = 17.77 mag. It includes 588193 galaxies and 82458 groups. The
volume-limited catalogues are complete for absolute magnitudes down to M_r =
-18.0, -18.5, -19.0, -19.5, -20.0, -20.5, and -21.0; the completeness is
achieved within different spatial volumes, respectively. Our analysis shows
that flux-limited and volume-limited group samples are well compatible to each
other, especially for the larger groups/clusters. Dynamical mass estimates,
based on radial velocity dispersions and group extent in the sky, are added to
the extracted groups. The catalogues can be accessed via http://cosmodb.to.ee
and the Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center (CDS).Comment: 16 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&
Photographing the Earth G324: The Can Do GeoCam payload
The flight of the Charleston County School District Can Do Project GeoCam payload on STS-57 was the climax of a decade long endeavor to bring the promise and excitement of the space program directly into the classroom. The payload carried four cameras designed to take high resolution photographs of the Earth under the direction of children operating the first ever student control room. During the course of the flight, the students followed the Shuttle's orbital tract, satellite weather images and selected a target list that was sent up to the crew each night as part of the execute package. Targets from this list, as well as ones chosen by the crew visually, resulted in the successful collection of photographic runs at many interesting sites on three on three continents
A correlated-polaron electronic propagator: open electronic dynamics beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation
In this work we develop a theory of correlated many-electron dynamics dressed
by the presence of a finite-temperature harmonic bath. The theory is based on
the ab-initio Hamiltonian, and thus well-defined apart from any
phenomenological choice of collective basis states or electronic coupling
model. The equation-of-motion includes some bath effects non-perturbatively,
and can be used to simulate line- shapes beyond the Markovian approximation and
open electronic dynamics which are subjects of renewed recent interest. Energy
conversion and transport depend critically on the ratio of electron-electron
coupling to bath-electron coupling, which is a fitted parameter if a
phenomenological basis of many-electron states is used to develop an electronic
equation of motion. Since the present work doesn't appeal to any such basis, it
avoids this ambiguity. The new theory produces a level of detail beyond the
adiabatic Born-Oppenheimer states, but with cost scaling like the
Born-Oppenheimer approach. While developing this model we have also applied the
time-convolutionless perturbation theory to correlated molecular excitations
for the first time. Resonant response properties are given by the formalism
without phenomenological parameters. Example propagations with a developmental
code are given demonstrating the treatment of electron-correlation in
absorption spectra, vibronic structure, and decay in an open system.Comment: 25 pages 7 figure
An integrative approach based on probabilistic modelling and statistical inference for morpho-statistical characterization of astronomical data
This paper describes several applications in astronomy and cosmology that are
addressed using probabilistic modelling and statistical inference
Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory of Open Quantum Systems in the Linear-Response Regime
Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) has recently been extended
to describe many-body open quantum systems (OQS) evolving under non-unitary
dynamics according to a quantum master equation. In the master equation
approach, electronic excitation spectra are broadened and shifted due to
relaxation and dephasing of the electronic degrees of freedom by the
surrounding environment. In this paper, we develop a formulation of TDDFT
linear-response theory (LR-TDDFT) for many-body electronic systems evolving
under a master equation, yielding broadened excitation spectra. This is done by
mapping an interacting open quantum system onto a non-interacting open
Kohn-Sham system yielding the correct non-equilibrium density evolution. A
pseudo-eigenvalue equation analogous to the Casida equations of usual LR-TDDFT
is derived for the Redfield master equation, yielding complex energies and Lamb
shifts. As a simple demonstration, we calculate the spectrum of a C atom
in an optical resonator interacting with a bath of photons. The performance of
an adiabatic exchange-correlation kernel is analyzed and a first-order
frequency-dependent correction to the bare Kohn-Sham linewidth based on
Gorling-Levy perturbation theory is calculated.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
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