709 research outputs found
Metallicity Gradients in the Intracluster Gas of Abell 496
Analysis of spatially resolved ASCA spectra of the intracluster gas in Abell
496 confirms there are mild metal abundance enhancements near the center, as
previously found by White et al. (1994) in a joint analysis of Ginga LAC and
Einstein SSS spectra. Simultaneous analysis of spectra from all ASCA
instruments (SIS + GIS) shows that the iron abundance is 0.36 +- 0.03 solar
3-12' from the center of the cluster and rises ~50% to 0.53 +- 0.04 solar
within the central 2'. The F-test shows that this abundance gradient is
significant at the >99.99% level. Nickel and sulfur abundances are also
centrally enhanced. We use a variety of elemental abundance ratios to assess
the relative contribution of SN Ia and SN II to the metal enrichment of the
intracluster gas. We find spatial gradients in several abundance ratios,
indicating that the fraction of iron from SN Ia increases toward the cluster
center, with SN Ia accounting for ~50% of the iron mass 3-12' from the center
and ~70% within 2'. The increased proportion of SN Ia ejecta at the center is
such that the central iron abundance enhancement can be attributed wholly to SN
Ia; we find no significant gradient in SN II ejecta. These spatial gradients in
the proportion of SN Ia/II ejecta imply that the dominant metal enrichment
mechanism near the center is different than in the outer parts of the cluster.
We show that the central abundance enhancement is unlikely to be due to ram
pressure stripping of gas from cluster galaxies, or to secularly accumulated
stellar mass loss within the central cD. We suggest that the additional SN Ia
ejecta near the center is the vestige of a secondary SN Ia-driven wind from the
cD (following a more energetic protogalactic SN II-driven wind phase), which
was partially smothered in the cD due to its location at the cluster center.Comment: 25 pages AASTeX; 6 encapsulated PostScript figures; accepted for
publication in ApJ. Replaced with revised versio
Target and (Astro-)WISE technologies - Data federations and its applications
After its first implementation in 2003 the Astro-WISE technology has been
rolled out in several European countries and is used for the production of the
KiDS survey data. In the multi-disciplinary Target initiative this technology,
nicknamed WISE technology, has been further applied to a large number of
projects. Here, we highlight the data handling of other astronomical
applications, such as VLT-MUSE and LOFAR, together with some non-astronomical
applications such as the medical projects Lifelines and GLIMPS, the MONK
handwritten text recognition system, and business applications, by amongst
others, the Target Holding. We describe some of the most important lessons
learned and describe the application of the data-centric WISE type of approach
to the Science Ground Segment of the Euclid satellite.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Proceedngs IAU Symposium No 325 Astroinformatics
201
Astro-WISE: Chaining to the Universe
The recent explosion of recorded digital data and its processed derivatives
threatens to overwhelm researchers when analysing their experimental data or
when looking up data items in archives and file systems. While current hardware
developments allow to acquire, process and store 100s of terabytes of data at
the cost of a modern sports car, the software systems to handle these data are
lagging behind. This general problem is recognized and addressed by various
scientific communities, e.g., DATAGRID/EGEE federates compute and storage power
over the high-energy physical community, while the astronomical community is
building an Internet geared Virtual Observatory, connecting archival data.
These large projects either focus on a specific distribution aspect or aim to
connect many sub-communities and have a relatively long trajectory for setting
standards and a common layer. Here, we report "first light" of a very different
solution to the problem initiated by a smaller astronomical IT community. It
provides the abstract "scientific information layer" which integrates
distributed scientific analysis with distributed processing and federated
archiving and publishing. By designing new abstractions and mixing in old ones,
a Science Information System with fully scalable cornerstones has been
achieved, transforming data systems into knowledge systems. This break-through
is facilitated by the full end-to-end linking of all dependent data items,
which allows full backward chaining from the observer/researcher to the
experiment. Key is the notion that information is intrinsic in nature and thus
is the data acquired by a scientific experiment. The new abstraction is that
software systems guide the user to that intrinsic information by forcing full
backward and forward chaining in the data modelling.Comment: To be published in ADASS XVI ASP Conference Series, 2006, R. Shaw, F.
Hill and D. Bell, ed
Detection of interstellar CH_3
Observations with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) onboard the {\it
Infrared Space Observatory} (ISO) have led to the first detection of the methyl
radical in the interstellar medium. The branch at 16.5
m and the (0) line at 16.0 m have been unambiguously detected
toward the Galactic center SgrA. The analysis of the measured bands gives a
column density of (8.02.4) cm and an excitation
temperature of K. Gaseous at a similarly low excitation
temperature and are detected for the same line of sight. Using
constraints on the column density obtained from and
visual extinction, the inferred abundance is
. The chemically related
molecule is not detected, but the pure rotational lines of are seen
with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS). The absolute abundances and the
and ratios are inconsistent with published
pure gas-phase models of dense clouds. The data require a mix of diffuse and
translucent clouds with different densities and extinctions, and/or the
development of translucent models in which gas-grain chemistry, freeze-out and
reactions of with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and solid
aliphatic material are included.Comment: 2 figures. ApJL, Accepte
Photometric selection and redshifts for quasars in the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 4
We present a catalog of quasars and corresponding redshifts in the
Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) Data Release 4. We trained machine learning (ML)
models, using optical ugri and near-infrared ZYJHK_s bands, on objects known
from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopy. We define inference subsets
from the 45 million objects of the KiDS photometric data limited to 9-band
detections. We show that projections of the high-dimensional feature space can
be successfully used to investigate the estimations. The model creation employs
two test subsets: randomly selected and the faintest objects, which allows to
fit the bias versus variance trade-off. We tested three ML models: random
forest (RF), XGBoost (XGB), and artificial neural network (ANN). We find that
XGB is the most robust model for classification, while ANN performs the best
for combined classification and redshift. The inference results are tested
using number counts, Gaia parallaxes, and other quasar catalogs. Based on these
tests, we derived the minimum classification probability which provides the
best purity versus completeness trade-off: p(QSO_cand) > 0.9 for r < 22 and
p(QSO_cand) > 0.98 for 22 < r < 23.5. We find 158,000 quasar candidates in the
safe inference subset (r < 22) and an additional 185,000 candidates in the
reliable extrapolation regime (22 < r < 23.5). Test-data purity equals 97% and
completeness is 94%; the latter drops by 3% in the extrapolation to data
fainter by one magnitude than the training set. The photometric redshifts were
modeled with Gaussian uncertainties. The redshift error (mean and scatter)
equals 0.01 +/- 0.1 in the safe subset and -0.0004 +/- 0.2 in the
extrapolation, in a redshift range of 0.14 < z < 3.63. Our success of the
extrapolation challenges the way that models are optimized and applied at the
faint data end. The catalog is ready for cosmology and active galactic nucleus
(AGN) studies.Comment: We publicly release the catalog at
kids.strw.leidenuniv.nl/DR4/quasarcatalog.php , and the code at
github.com/snakoneczny/kids-quasar
Towards an Understanding of the Mid-Infrared Surface Brightness of Normal Galaxies
We report a mid-infrared color and surface brightness analysis of IC 10, NGC
1313, and NGC 6946, three of the nearby galaxies studied under the Infrared
Space Observatory Key Project on Normal Galaxies. Images with < 9 arcsecond
(170 pc) resolution of these nearly face-on, late-type galaxies were obtained
using the LW2 (6.75 mu) and LW3 (15 mu) ISOCAM filters. Though their global
I_nu(6.75 mu)/I_nu(15 mu) flux ratios are similar and typical of normal
galaxies, they show distinct trends of this color ratio with mid-infrared
surface brightness. We find that I_nu(6.75 mu)/I_nu(15 mu) ~< 1 only occurs for
regions of intense heating activity where the continuum rises at 15 micron and
where PAH destruction can play an important role. The shape of the
color-surface brightness trend also appears to depend, to the second-order, on
the hardness of the ionizing radiation. We discuss these findings in the
context of a two-component model for the phases of the interstellar medium and
suggest that star formation intensity is largely responsible for the
mid-infrared surface brightness and colors within normal galaxies, whereas
differences in dust column density are the primary drivers of variations in the
mid-infrared surface brightness between the disks of normal galaxies.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, uses AAS LaTeX; to appear in the November
Astronomical Journa
High Precision Astrometry with MICADO at the European Extremely Large Telescope
In this article we identify and discuss various statistical and systematic
effects influencing the astrometric accuracy achievable with MICADO, the
near-infrared imaging camera proposed for the 42-metre European Extremely Large
Telescope (E-ELT). These effects are instrumental (e.g. geometric distortion),
atmospheric (e.g. chromatic differential refraction), and astronomical
(reference source selection). We find that there are several phenomena having
impact on ~100 micro-arcsec scales, meaning they can be substantially larger
than the theoretical statistical astrometric accuracy of an optical/NIR
42m-telescope. Depending on type, these effects need to be controlled via
dedicated instrumental design properties or via dedicated calibration
procedures. We conclude that if this is done properly, astrometric accuracies
of 40 micro-arcsec or better - with 40 micro-arcsec/year in proper motions
corresponding to ~20 km/s at 100 kpc distance - can be achieved in one epoch of
actual observationsComment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. Accepted by MNRA
Infrared Space Observatory Spectra of R Coronae Borealis Stars. I. Emission Features in the Interval 3 - 25 microns
Infrared Space Observatory 3 - 25 m spectra of the R Coronae Borealis
stars V854 Cen, R CrB, and RY Sgr are presented and discussed. Sharp emission
features coincident in wavelengths with the well known Unidentified Emission
Features are present in the spectrum of V854 Cen but not of R CrB or RY Sgr.
Since V854 Cen is not particularly H-poor and has a 1000 times more H than the
other stars, the emission features are probably from a carrier containing
hydrogen. There is a correspondence between the features and emission from
laboratory samples of hydrogenated amorphous carbon. A search for C in
emission or absorption proved negative. Amorphous carbon particles account for
the broad emission features seen between 6 - 14 m in the spectrum of each
star.Comment: 11 pages with 2 tables and 4 figures in ApJ print page form. Accepted
for publication in Ap
Warm molecular hydrogen in the Spitzer SINGS galaxy sample
(simplified) Results on the properties of warm H2 in 57 normal galaxies are
derived from H2 rotational transitions, obtained as part of SINGS. This study
extends previous extragalactic surveys of H2, the most abundant constituent of
the molecular ISM, to more common systems (L_FIR = e7 to 6e10 L_sun) of all
morphological and nuclear types. The S(1) transition is securely detected in
the nuclear regions of 86% of SINGS galaxies with stellar masses above 10^9.5
M_sun. The derived column densities of warm H2 (T > ~100 K), even though
averaged over kiloparsec-scale areas, are commensurate with those of resolved
PDRs; the median of the sample is 3e20 cm-2. They amount to between 1% and >30%
of the total H2. The power emitted in the sum of the S(0) to S(2) transitions
is on average 30% of the [SiII] line power, and ~4e-4 of the total infrared
power (TIR) within the same area for star-forming galaxies, which is consistent
with excitation in PDRs. The fact that H2 emission scales tightly with PAH
emission, even though the average radiation field intensity varies by a factor
ten, can also be understood if both tracers originate predominantly in PDRs,
either dense or diffuse. A large fraction of the 25 LINER/Sy targets, however,
strongly depart from the rest of the sample, in having warmer H2 in the excited
states, and an excess of H2 emission with respect to PAHs, TIR and [SiII]. We
propose a threshold in H2 to PAH power ratios, allowing the identification of
low-luminosity AGNs by an excess H2 excitation. A dominant contribution from
shock heating is favored in these objects. Finally, we detect, in nearly half
the star-forming targets, non-equilibrium ortho to para ratios, consistent with
FUV pumping combined with incomplete ortho-para thermalization by collisions,
or possibly non-equilibrium PDR fronts advancing into cold gas.Comment: ApJS, in pres
Disk Galaxies in the Outer Local Supercluster: Optical CCD Surface Photometry and Distribution of Galaxy Disk Parameters
We report new B-band CCD surface photometry on a sample of 76 disk galaxies
brighter than B_T = 14.5 mag in the Uppsala General Catalogue of Galaxies,
which are confined within a volume located in the outer part of the Local
Supercluster. With our earlier published I-band CCD and high S/N-ratio 21cm HI
data (Lu et al. 1993), this paper completes our optical surface photometry
campaign on this galaxy sample. As an application of this data set, the B-band
photometry is used here to illustrate two selection effects which have been
somewhat overlooked in the literature, but which may be important in deriving
the distribution function of disk central surface brightness (CSB) of disk
galaxies from a diameter or/and flux limited sample: a Malmquist-type bias
against disk galaxies with small disk scale lengths (DSL) at a given CSB; and a
disk inclination dependent selection effect that may, for example, bias toward
inclined disks near the threshold of a diameter limited selection if disks are
not completely opaque in optical. Taking into consideration these selection
effects, we present a method of constructing a volume sampling function and a
way to interpret the derived distribution function of CSB and DSL. Application
of this method to our galaxy sample implies that if galaxy disks are optically
thin, CSB and DSL may well be correlated in the sense that, up to an
inclination-corrected limiting CSB of about 24.5 mag per square arcsec that is
adequately probed by our galaxy sample, the DSL distribution of galaxies with a
lower CSB may have a longer tail toward large values unless the distribution of
disk galaxies as a function of CSB rises rapidly toward faint values.Comment: 27 pages including 9 figures and 2 tables. To appear in the October
20, 1998 issue of the Astrophysical Journa
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