21,199 research outputs found
The properties of the stellar populations in ULIRGs I: sample, data and spectral synthesis modelling
We present deep long-slit optical spectra for a sample of 36 Ultraluminous
Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), taken with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on
La Palma with the aim of investigating the star formation histories and testing
evolutionary scenarios for such objects. Here we present the sample, the
analysis techniques and a general overview of the properties of the stellar
populations. Spectral synthesis modelling has been used in order to estimate
the ages of the stellar populations found in the diffuse light sampled by the
spectra in both the nuclear and extended regions of the target galaxies. We
find that adequate fits can be obtained using combinations of young stellar
populations (YSPs,t_YSP<=2 Gyr), with ages divided into two groups: very young
stellar populations (VYSPs, t_VYSP <=100 Myr) and intermediate-young stellar
populations (IYSPs, 0.1 < t_IYSP <= 2 Gyr). Our results show that YSPs are
present at all locations of the galaxies covered by our slit positions, with
the exception of the northern nuclear region of the ULIRG IRAS 23327+2913.
Furthermore, VYSPs are presents in at least 85% of the 133 extraction apertures
used for this study. Old stellar populations (OSPs, t_{OSP} > 2 Gyr) do not
make a major contribution to the optical light in the majority of the apertures
extracted. In fact they are essential for fitting the spectra in only 5% (7) of
the extracted apertures. The estimated total masses for the YSPs (VYSPs+IYSPs)
are in the range 0.18 x 10^{10} <= M_YSP <= 50 x 10^{10} Msun. We have also
estimated the bolometric luminosities associated with the stellar populations
detected at optical wavelengths, finding that they fall in the range 0.07 x
10^{12} < L_bol < 2.2 x 10^{12} Lsun. In addition, we find that reddening is
significant at all locations in the galaxies.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Quantum probability distribution of arrival times and probability current density
This paper compares the proposal made in previous papers for a quantum
probability distribution of the time of arrival at a certain point with the
corresponding proposal based on the probability current density. Quantitative
differences between the two formulations are examined analytically and
numerically with the aim of establishing conditions under which the proposals
might be tested by experiment. It is found that quantum regime conditions
produce the biggest differences between the formulations which are otherwise
near indistinguishable. These results indicate that in order to discriminate
conclusively among the different alternatives, the corresponding experimental
test should be performed in the quantum regime and with sufficiently high
resolution so as to resolve small quantum efects.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, LaTeX; Revised version to appear in Phys. Rev. A
(many small changes
Near-infrared photometry of isolated spirals with and without an AGN. I: The Data
We present infrared imaging data in the J and K' bands obtained for 18 active
spiral galaxies, together with 11 non active galaxies taken as a control
sample. All of them were chosen to satisfy well defined isolation criteria so
that the observed properties are not related to gravitational interaction. For
each object we give: the image in the K' band, the sharp-divided image
(obtained by dividing the observed image by a filtered one), the difference
image (obtained by subtracting a model to the observed one), the color J-K'
image, the ellipticity and position angle profiles, the surface brightness
profiles in J and K', their fits by bulge+disk models and the color gradient.
We have found that four (one) active (control) galaxies previously classified
as non-barred turn out to have bars when observed in the near-infrared. One of
these four galaxies (UGC 1395) also harbours a secondary bar. For 15 (9 active,
6 control) out of 24 (14 active, 10 control) of the optically classified barred
galaxies (SB or SX) we find that a secondary bar (or a disk, a lense or an
elongated ring) is present. The work presented here is part of a large program
(DEGAS) aimed at finding whether there are differences between active and non
active galaxies in the properties of their central regions that could be
connected with the onset of nuclear activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement
Serie
The luminosity function of Palomar 5 and its tidal tails
We present the main sequence luminosity function of the tidally disrupted
globular cluster Palomar 5 and its tidal tails. For this work we analyzed
imaging data obtained with the Wide Field Camera at the INT (La Palma) and data
from the Wide Field Imager at the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope at La Silla down to a
limiting magnitude of approximately 24.5 mag in B. Our results indicate that
preferentially fainter stars were removed from the cluster so that the LF of
the cluster's main body exhibits a significant degree of flattening compared to
other GCs. This is attributed to its advanced dynamical evolution. The LF of
the tails is, in turn, enhanced with faint, low-mass stars, which we interpret
as a consequence of mass segregation in the cluster.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in the proceedings of the
conference "Satellites and tidal streams" held at La Palma, Canary Islands,
May 26 - 30, 200
Ambiguities of arrival-time distributions in quantum theory
We consider the definition that might be given to the time at which a
particle arrives at a given place, both in standard quantum theory and also in
Bohmian mechanics. We discuss an ambiguity that arises in the standard theory
in three, but not in one, spatial dimension.Comment: LaTex, 12 pages, no figure
Probability distribution of arrival times in quantum mechanics
In a previous paper [V. Delgado and J. G. Muga, Phys. Rev. A 56, 3425 (1997)]
we introduced a self-adjoint operator whose eigenstates
can be used to define consistently a probability distribution of the time of
arrival at a given spatial point. In the present work we show that the
probability distribution previously proposed can be well understood on
classical grounds in the sense that it is given by the expectation value of a
certain positive definite operator which is nothing but a
straightforward quantum version of the modulus of the classical current. For
quantum states highly localized in momentum space about a certain momentum , the expectation value of becomes indistinguishable
from the quantum probability current. This fact may provide a justification for
the common practice of using the latter quantity as a probability distribution
of arrival times.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, no figures; A Note added; To be published in Phys.
Rev.
Determination of the chemical potential using energy-biased sampling
An energy-biased method to evaluate ensemble averages requiring test-particle
insertion is presented. The method is based on biasing the sampling within the
subdomains of the test-particle configurational space with energies smaller
than a given value freely assigned. These energy-wells are located via unbiased
random insertion over the whole configurational space and are sampled using the
so called Hit&Run algorithm, which uniformly samples compact regions of any
shape immersed in a space of arbitrary dimensions. Because the bias is defined
in terms of the energy landscape it can be exactly corrected to obtain the
unbiased distribution. The test-particle energy distribution is then combined
with the Bennett relation for the evaluation of the chemical potential. We
apply this protocol to a system with relatively small probability of low-energy
test-particle insertion, liquid argon at high density and low temperature, and
show that the energy-biased Bennett method is around five times more efficient
than the standard Bennett method. A similar performance gain is observed in the
reconstruction of the energy distribution.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
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