31,979 research outputs found
Swift/UVOT grism monitoring of NGC 5548 in 2013: an attempt at MgII reverberation mapping
Reverberation-mapping-based scaling relations are often used to estimate the
masses of black holes from single-epoch spectra of AGN. While the
radius-luminosity relation that is the basis of these scaling relations is
determined using reverberation mapping of the H line in nearby AGN, the
scaling relations are often extended to use other broad emission lines, such as
MgII, in order to get black hole masses at higher redshifts when H is
redshifted out of the optical waveband. However, there is no radius-luminosity
relation determined directly from MgII. Here, we present an attempt to perform
reverberation mapping using MgII in the well-studied nearby Seyfert 1, NGC
5548. We used Swift to obtain UV grism spectra of NGC 5548 once every two days
from April to September 2013. Concurrent photometric UV monitoring with Swift
provides a well determined continuum lightcurve that shows strong variability.
The MgII emission line, however, is not strongly correlated with the continuum
variability, and there is no significant lag between the two. We discuss these
results in the context of using MgII scaling relations to estimate
high-redshift black hole masses.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Stability of the Submillimeter Brightness of the Atmosphere Above Mauna Kea, Chajnantor and the South Pole
The summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the area near Cerro Chajnantor in Chile,
and the South Pole are sites of large millimeter or submillimeter wavelength
telescopes. We have placed 860 GHz sky brightness monitors at all three sites
and present a comparative study of the measured submillimeter brightness due to
atmospheric thermal emission. We report the stability of that quantity at each
site.Comment: 6 figure
Subband Engineering Even-Denominator Quantum Hall States
Proposed even-denominator fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) states
suggest the possibility of excitations with non-Abelian braid statistics.
Recent experiments on wide square quantum wells observe even-denominator FQHE
even under electrostatic tilt. We theoretically analyze these structures and
develop a procedure to accurately test proposed quantum Hall wavefunctions. We
find that tilted wells favor partial subband polarization to yield Abelian
even-denominator states. Our results show that tilting quantum wells
effectively engineers different interaction potentials allowing exploration of
a wide variety of even-denominator states
First Steps Toward Change in Teacher Preparation for Elementary Science
Unless introductory undergraduate science classes for prospective elementary teachers actively incorporate the philosophy of inquiry-based learning called for in K-l2 science education refom little will change in elementary science education. Thus, at James Madison University, we have developed a new integrated science core curriculum called Understanding our World [1]. This course sequence was not only designed to fulfill general education science requirements. but also to focus on content areas our students will need to know as teachers. The objectives of these courses are based on the National Science Education Standards and Virginia’s Science Standards of Learning, including earth and space science, chemistry, physics, life sciences, and environmental science [2,3]. As an integrated package, this course sequence addresses basic science content, calculation skills, the philosophy and history of science, the process of how science is done, the role of science in society, and applications of computers and technology in science. Keeping in mind that students tend to teach in the same way they were taught, Understanding our World core classes embrace the concepts associated with reform in elementary math and science
Reverberation Mapping of Active Galactic Nuclei
Reverberation mapping is a proven technique that is used to measure the size
of the broad emission-line region and central black hole mass in active
galactic nuclei. More ambitious reverberation mapping programs that are well
within the capabilities of Hubble Space Telescope could allow us to determine
the nature and flow of line-emitting gas in active nuclei and to assess
accurately the systematic uncertainties in reverberation-based black hole mass
measurements.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Planets to Cosmology: Essential
Science in Hubble's Final Years, ed. M. Livio (Cambridge: CUP), in press
(2005
IREEL: remote experimentation with real protocols and applications over emulated network
This paper presents a novel e-learning platform called IREEL. IREEL is a virtual laboratory allowing students to drive experiments with real Internet applications and end-to-end protocols in the context of networking courses. This platform consists in a remote network emulator offering a set of predefined applications and protocol mechanisms. Experimenters configure and control the emulation and the end-systems behavior in order to perform tests, measurements and observations on protocols or applications operating under controlled specific networking conditions. A set of end-to-end mechanisms, mainly focusing on transport and application level protocols, are currently available. IREEL is scalable and easy to use thanks to an ergonomic web interface
1 um Excess Sources in the UKIDSS - I. Three T Dwarfs in the SDSS Southern Equatorial Stripe
We report the discovery of two field brown dwarfs, ULAS J0128-0041 and ULAS
J0321+0051, and the rediscovery of ULAS J0226+0051 (IfA 0230-Z1), in the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) southern equatorial stripe. They are found in the
course of our follow-up observation program of 1 um excess sources in the
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey. The Gemini
Multi-Object Spectrographs spectra at red optical wavelengths (6500-10500 A)
are presented, which reveal that they are early-T dwarfs. The classification is
also supported by their optical to near-infrared colors. It is noted that ULAS
J0321+0051 is one of the faintest currently known T dwarfs. The estimated
distances to the three objects are 50-110 pc, thus they are among the most
distant field T dwarfs known. Dense temporal coverage of the target fields
achieved by the SDSS-II Supernova Survey allows us to perform a simple
time-series analysis, which leads to the finding of significant proper motions
of 150-290 mas/yr or the transverse velocities of 40-100 km/s for ULAS
J0128-0041 and ULAS J0226+0051. We also find that there are no detectable,
long-term (a-few-year) brightness variations above a few times 0.1 mag for the
two brown dwarfs.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal; Typos correcte
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