3,354 research outputs found
A Geometric Model for Odd Differential K-theory
Odd -theory has the interesting property that it admits an infinite number
of inequivalent differential refinements. In this paper we provide a bundle
theoretic model for odd differential -theory using the caloron
correspondence and prove that this refinement is unique up to a unique natural
isomorphism. We characterise the odd Chern character and its transgression form
in terms of a connection and Higgs field and discuss some applications. Our
model can be seen as the odd counterpart to the Simons-Sullivan construction of
even differential -theory. We use this model to prove a conjecture of
Tradler-Wilson-Zeinalian regarding a related differential extension of odd
-theoryComment: 36 page
Exploring the inner region of Type 1 AGNs with the Keck interferometer
The exploration of extragalactic objects with long-baseline interferometers
in the near-infrared has been very limited. Here we report successful
observations with the Keck interferometer at K-band (2.2 um) for four Type 1
AGNs, namely NGC4151, Mrk231, NGC4051, and the QSO IRAS13349+2438 at z=0.108.
For the latter three objects, these are the first long-baseline interferometric
measurements in the infrared. We detect high visibilities (V^2 ~ 0.8-0.9) for
all the four objects, including NGC4151 for which we confirm the high V^2 level
measured by Swain et al.(2003). We marginally detect a decrease of V^2 with
increasing baseline lengths for NGC4151, although over a very limited range,
where the decrease and absolute V^2 are well fitted with a ring model of radius
0.45+/-0.04 mas (0.039+/-0.003 pc). Strikingly, this matches independent radius
measurements from optical--infrared reverberations that are thought to be
probing the dust sublimation radius. We also show that the effective radius of
the other objects, obtained from the same ring model, is either roughly equal
to or slightly larger than the reverberation radius as a function of AGN
luminosity. This suggests that we are indeed partially resolving the dust
sublimation region. The ratio of the effective ring radius to the reverberation
radius might also give us an approximate probe for the radial structure of the
inner accreting material in each object. This should be scrutinized with
further observations.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Arm & Interarm Star Formation in Spiral Galaxies
We investigate the relationship between spiral arms and star formation in the
grand-design spirals NGC 5194 and NGC 628 and in the flocculent spiral NGC
6946. Filtered maps of near-IR (3.6 micron) emission allow us to identify "arm
regions" that should correspond to regions of stellar mass density
enhancements. The two grand-design spirals show a clear two-armed structure,
while NGC 6946 is more complex. We examine these arm and interarm regions,
looking at maps that trace recent star formation - far-ultraviolet (GALEX NGS)
and 24 micron emission (Spitzer, SINGS) - and cold gas - CO (Heracles) and HI
(Things). We find the star formation tracers and CO more concentrated in the
spiral arms than the stellar 3.6 micron flux. If we define the spiral arms as
the 25% highest pixels in the filtered 3.6 micron images, we find that the
majority (60%) of star formation tracers occurs in the interarm regions; this
result persists qualitatively even when considering the potential impact of
finite data resolution and diffuse interarm 24 micron emission. Even with a
generous definition of the arms (45% highest pixels), interarm regions still
contribute at least 30% to the integrated star formation rate tracers. We look
for evidence that spiral arms trigger star or cloud formation using the ratios
of star formation rate (SFR, traced by a combination of FUV and 24 micron
emission) to H_2 (traced by CO) and H_2 to HI. Any enhancement of SFR / M(H_2)
in the arm region is very small (less than 10%) and the grand design spirals
show no enhancement compared to the flocculent target. Arm regions do show a
weak enhancement in H_2/HI compared to the interarm regions, but at a fixed gas
surface density there is little clear enhancement in the H_2/HI ratio in the
arm regions. Thus, it seems that spiral arms may only act to concentrate the
gas to higher densities in the arms.Comment: 11 pages, 9 Figures, accepted by Ap
Polaron physics and crossover transition in magnetite probed by pressure-dependent infrared spectroscopy
The optical properties of magnetite at room temperature were studied by
infrared reflectivity measurements as a function of pressure up to 8 GPa. The
optical conductivity spectrum consists of a Drude term, two sharp phonon modes,
a far-infrared band at around 600 cm, and a pronounced mid-infrared
absorption band. With increasing pressure both absorption bands shift to lower
frequencies and the phonon modes harden in a linear fashion. Based on the shape
of the MIR band, the temperature dependence of the dc transport data, and the
occurrence of the far-infrared band in the optical conductivity spectrum the
polaronic coupling strength in magnetite at room temperature should be
classified as intermediate. For the lower-energy phonon mode an abrupt increase
of the linear pressure coefficient occurs at around 6 GPa, which could be
attributed to minor alterations of the charge distribution among the different
Fe sites.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Observations of GRB 060526 Optical Afterglow with Russian-Turkish 1.5-m Telescope
We present the results of the photometric multicolor observations of GRB
060526 optical afterglow obtained with Russian-Turkish 1.5-m Telescope (RTT150,
Mt. Bakirlitepe, Turkey). The detailed measurements of afterglow light curve,
starting from about 5 hours after the GRB and during 5 consecutive nights were
done. In addition, upper limits on the fast variability of the afterglow during
the first night of observations were obtained and the history of afterglow
color variations was measured in detail. In the time interval from 6 to 16
hours after the burst, there is a gradual flux decay, which can be described
approximately as a power law with an index of -1.14+-0.02. After that the
variability on the time scale \delta t < t is observed and the afterglow
started to decay faster. The color of the afterglow, V-R=~0.5, is approximately
the same during all our observations. The variability is detected on time
scales up to \delta t/t =~ 0.0055 at \Delta F_\nu/F_\nu =~ 0.3, which violates
some constraints on the variability of the observed emission from
ultrarelativistic jet obtained by Ioka et al. (2005). We suggest to explain
this variability by the fact that the motion of the emitting shell is no longer
ultrarelativistic at this time.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Astronomy Letters, 2007, 33, 797, The on-line
data tables and the original text in Russian can be found at
http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/grb/060526/indexeng.htm
Supernova 1996cr: SN 1987A's Wild Cousin?
We report on new VLT optical spectroscopic and multi-wavelength archival
observations of SN1996cr, a previously identified ULX known as Circinus Galaxy
X-2. Our optical spectrum confirms SN1996cr as a bona fide type IIn SN, while
archival imaging isolates its explosion date to between 1995-02-28 and
1996-03-16. SN1996cr is one of the closest SNe (~3.8 Mpc) in the last several
decades and in terms of flux ranks among the brightest radio and X-ray SNe ever
detected. The wealth of optical, X-ray, and radio observations that exist for
this source provide relatively detailed constraints on its post-explosion
expansion and progenitor history, including an preliminary angular size
constaint from VLBI. The archival X-ray and radio data imply that the
progenitor of SN1996cr evacuated a large cavity just prior to exploding: the
blast wave likely expanded for ~1-2 yrs before eventually striking the dense
circumstellar material which surrounds SN1996cr. The X-ray and radio emission,
which trace the progenitor mass-loss rate, have respectively risen by a factor
of ~2 and remained roughly constant over the past 7 yr. This behavior is
reminiscent of the late rise of SN1987A, but 1000 times more luminous and much
more rapid to onset. Complex Oxygen line emission in the optical spectrum
further hints at a possible concentric shell or ring-like structure. The
discovery of SN1996cr suggests that a substantial fraction of the closest SNe
observed in the last several decades have occurred in wind-blown bubbles. An
Interplanetary Network position allows us to reject a tentative GRB association
with BATSE 4B960202. [Abridged]Comment: 25 pages with tables, 12 figures (color), accepted to ApJ, comments
welcome; v2 - updated to reflect the subsequent rejection of our tentative
GRB association based on a revised error region from the Interplanetary
Network (thanks to Kevin Hurley) and include a few additional references; v3
- corrected some errors in Tables 7 and
The clustering of massive galaxies at z~0.5 from the first semester of BOSS data
We calculate the real- and redshift-space clustering of massive galaxies at
z~0.5 using the first semester of data by the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic
Survey (BOSS). We study the correlation functions of a sample of 44,000 massive
galaxies in the redshift range 0.4<z<0.7. We present a halo-occupation
distribution modeling of the clustering results and discuss the implications
for the manner in which massive galaxies at z~0.5 occupy dark matter halos. The
majority of our galaxies are central galaxies living in halos of mass
10^{13}Msun/h, but 10% are satellites living in halos 10 times more massive.
These results are broadly in agreement with earlier investigations of massive
galaxies at z~0.5. The inferred large-scale bias (b~2) and relatively high
number density (nbar=3e-4 h^3 Mpc^{-3}) imply that BOSS galaxies are excellent
tracers of large-scale structure, suggesting BOSS will enable a wide range of
investigations on the distance scale, the growth of large-scale structure,
massive galaxy evolution and other topics.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, matches version accepted by Ap
Transversity and Transverse Spin in Nucleon Structure through SIDIS at Jefferson Lab
The JLab 12 GeV upgrade with a proposed solenoid detector and the CLAS12
detector can provide the granularity and three-dimensional kinematic coverage
in longitudinal and transverse momentum, , with to precisely measure the leading twist
chiral-odd and -odd quark distribution and fragmentation functions in SIDIS.
The large experimental reach of these detectors with a 12 GeV CEBAF at JLab
makes it {\em ideal} to obtain precise data on the {\em valence-dominated}
transversity distribution function and to access the tensor charge.Comment: 7 Pages, 2 figures. Summary of the working group on Transversity and
Transverse Spin Physics, from the workshop, "Inclusive and Semi-Inclusive
Spin Physics with High Luminosity and LargeAcceptance at 11 GeV", Thomas
Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLAB), December 13-14, 2006,
Jefferson Lab, Newport News, VA USA. Serves as input for the Nuclear Physics
Long Range Plan on QCD and Hadron Physic
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