2,828 research outputs found
IT Data Mining Tool Uses in Aerospace
Data mining has a broad spectrum of uses throughout the realms of aerospace and information technology. Each of these areas has useful methods for processing, distributing, and storing its corresponding data. This paper focuses on ways to leverage the data mining tools and resources used in NASA's information technology area to meet the similar data mining needs of aviation and aerospace domains. This paper details the searching, alerting, reporting, and application functionalities of the Splunk system, used by NASA's Security Operations Center (SOC), and their potential shared solutions to address aircraft and spacecraft flight and ground systems data mining requirements. This paper also touches on capacity and security requirements when addressing sizeable amounts of data across a large data infrastructure
The Planetary Nebula System and Dynamics in the Outer Halo of NGC 5128
The halos of elliptical galaxies are faint and difficult to explore, but they
contain vital clues to both structure and formation. We present the results of
an imaging and spectroscopic survey for planetary nebulae (PNe) in the nearby
elliptical NGC 5128. We extend the work of Hui et al.(1995) well into the halo
of the galaxy--out to distances of 100 and 50 kpc along the major and minor
axes. We now know of 1141 PNe in NGC 5128, 780 of which are confirmed. Of these
780 PNe, 349 are new from this survey, and 148 are at radii beyond 20 kpc. PNe
exist at distances up to 80 kpc (~15 r_e), showing that the stellar halo
extends to the limit of our data. This study represents by far the largest
kinematic study of an elliptical galaxy to date, both in the number of velocity
tracers and in radial extent. We confirm the large rotation of the PNe along
the major axis, and show that it extends in a disk-like feature into the halo.
The rotation curve of the stars flattens at ~100 km/s with V/sigma between 1
and 1.5, and with the velocity dispersion of the PNe falling gradually at
larger radii. The two-dimensional velocity field exhibits a zero-velocity
contour with a pronounced twist, showing that the galaxy potential is likely
triaxial in shape, tending toward prolate. The total dynamical mass of the
galaxy within 80 kpc is ~5 x 10^{11} M_sun, with M/L_B ~ 13. This mass-to-light
ratio is much lower than what is typically expected for elliptical galaxies.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures (figures 3-8 best viewed in color), accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Improved Constraints on the Acceleration History of the Universe and the Properties of the Dark Energy
We extend and apply a model-independent analysis method developed earlier by
Daly & Djorgovski to new samples of supernova standard candles, radio galaxy
and cluster standard rulers, and use it to constrain physical properties of the
dark energy as functions of redshift. Similar results are obtained for the
radio galaxy and supernova data sets. The first and second derivatives of the
distance are compared directly with predictions in a standard model based on
General Relativity. The good agreement indicates that General Relativity
provides an accurate description of the data on look-back time scales of about
ten billion years. The first and second derivatives are combined to obtain the
acceleration parameter, assuming only the validity of the Robertson-Walker
metric, independent of a theory of gravity and of the physical nature of the
dark energy. The acceleration of the universe at the current epoch is indicated
by the analysis. The effect of non-zero space curvature on q(z) is explored. We
solve for the pressure, energy density, equation of state, and potential and
kinetic energy of the dark energy as functions of redshift assuming that
General Relativity is the correct theory of gravity, and the results indicate
that a cosmological constant in a spatially flat universe provides a good
description of each of these quantities over the redshift range from zero to
about one. We define a new function, the dark energy indicator, in terms of the
first and second derivatives of the coordinate distance and show how this can
be used to measure deviations of w from -1 and to obtain a new and independent
measure of Omega.Comment: 46 pages, submitted for publicatio
The Metal-Enriched Outer Disk of NGC 2915
We present optical emission-line spectra for outlying HII regions in the
extended neutral gas disk surrounding the blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 2915.
Using a combination of strong-line R23 and direct oxygen abundance
measurements, we report a flat, possibly increasing, metallicity gradient out
to 1.2 times the Holmberg radius. We find the outer-disk of NGC 2915 to be
enriched to a metallicity of 0.4 Z_solar. An analysis of the metal yields shows
that the outer disk of NGC 2915 is overabundant for its gas fraction, while the
central star-foming core is similarly under-abundant for its gas fraction. Star
formation rates derived from very deep ~14 ks GALEX FUV exposures indicate that
the low-level of star formation observed at large radii is not sufficient to
have produced the measured oxygen abundances at these galactocentric distances.
We consider 3 plausible mechanisms that may explain the metal-enriched outer
gaseous disk of NGC 2915: radial redistribution of centrally generated metals,
strong galactic winds with subsequent fallback, and galaxy accretion. Our
results have implications for the physical origin of the mass-metallicity
relation for gas-rich dwarf galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ April 8th, 201
The Globular Cluster System of NGC 5128 II. Ages, Metallicities, Kinematics, and Formation
We present a study of the nearby post-merger giant elliptical galaxy, NGC
5128 (Centaurus A), in which we use the properties of its globular cluster (GC)
and planetary nebula (PN) systems to constrain its evolution. Using photometric
and spectroscopic data for 215 GCs presented in Paper I, we study trends in
age, metallicity, and kinematics for the GC system. We confirm that the GC
metallicity distribution is bimodal, and show that these two sub-populations
have different properties. Using spectral line index measurements of the
brightest clusters, the metal-poor GCs have old ages like the Milky Way
globular clusters, while the metal-rich GCs have H-beta line-strengths that
could be interpreted as a mean age of ~5 (+3/-2) Gyr. Both populations appear
to have [Mg/Fe] ratios consistent with that of the Galactic GC system, although
this quantity is not very well-constrained. The kinematics of the metal-rich
GCs are similar to those of the planetary nebulae, exhibiting significant
rotation about a misaligned axis, while the metal-poor GCs have a higher
velocity dispersion and show a weaker kinematic correlation with the field
stars. The total gravitating mass of NGC 5128 derived from the GCs is in
excellent agreement with the value derived from stellar (PN) kinematics. We
suggest that these and other data support a picture in which the main body of
NGC 5128 was formed 3-8 Gyr ago by the dissipational merger of two unequal-mass
disk galaxies supplemented by the continual accretion of both gas-rich and
gas-poor satellites.Comment: 15 pages, 21 figures (figures 14-20 best viewed in color), accepted
for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Mapping the Galactic Halo. V. Sgr dSph Tidal Debris 60 degrees from the Main Body
As part of the Spaghetti Project Survey (SPS) we have detected a
concentration of giant stars well above expectations for a smooth halo model.
The position (l~350, b~50) and distance (~50 kpc) of this concentration match
those of the Northern over-density detected by SDSS (Yanny et al. 2000, Ivezic
et al. 2000). We find additional evidence for structure at ~80 kpc in the same
direction. We present radial velocities for many of these stars, including the
first published results from the 6.5m Magellan telescope. The radial velocities
for stars in these structures are in excellent agreement with models of the
dynamical evolution of the Sgr dwarf tidal debris, whose center is 60 degrees
away. The metallicity of stars in these streams is lower than that of the main
body of the Sgr dwarf, which may indicate a radial metallicity gradient prior
to disruption.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures accepted in Astrophysical Journal Letter
Tunable Conductivity and Conduction Mechanism in a UV light activated electronic conductor
A tunable conductivity has been achieved by controllable substitution of a
novel UV light activated electronic conductor. The transparent conducting oxide
system H-doped Ca12-xMgxAl14O33 (x = 0; 0.1; 0.3; 0.5; 0.8; 1.0) presents a
conductivity that is strongly dependent on the substitution level and
temperature. Four-point dc-conductivity decreases with x from 0.26 S/cm (x = 0)
to 0.106 S/cm (x = 1) at room temperature. At each composition the conductivity
increases (reversibly with temperature) until a decomposition temperature is
reached; above this value, the conductivity drops dramatically due to hydrogen
recombination and loss. The observed conductivity behavior is consistent with
the predictions of our first principles density functional calculations for the
Mg-substituted system with x=0, 1 and 2. The Seebeck coefficient is essentially
composition- and temperature-independent, the later suggesting the existence of
an activated mobility associated with small polaron conduction. The optical gap
measured remains constant near 2.6 eV while transparency increases with the
substitution level, concomitant with a decrease in carrier content.Comment: Submitted for publicatio
An H I Survey of Six Local Group Analogs. II. H I Properties of Group Galaxies
We have conducted an H I 21cm emission-line survey of six loose groups of galaxies chosen to be analogs to the Local Group. The survey was conducted using the Parkes multibeam instrument and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) over a 1Mpc2 area and covering the full depth of each group, with an MH I sensitivity of 7 Ă— 105 M. Our survey detected 110sources, 61 of which are associated with the six groups. All of these sources were confirmed with ATCA observations or were previously cataloged by HIPASS. The sources all have optical counterparts and properties consistent with dwarf irregular or late-type spiral galaxies. We present here the H I properties of the groups and their galaxies. We derive an H I mass function (HIMF) for the groups that is consistent with being flatter than the equivalent field HIMF. We also derive a circular velocity distribution function, tracing the luminous dark matter halos in the groups, that is consistent with those of the Local Group and HIPASS galaxies, both of which are shallower than that of clusters or predictions from cold dark matter models of galaxy formation
Mammals of Nebraska: Checklist, Key, and Bibliography
The Recent mammalian fauna of Nebraska is composed of 89 native species, 8 domestic species that can have feral populations, and 4 wild species introduced by humans, but not by intentional action. Thus, the included checklist and dichotomous key contain 101 species of mammals. Of the native species, 36 are rodents, 20 carnivores, 13 bats, 7 shrews and mole, 7 even-toed ungulates, 4 rabbits and hares, 1 armadillo, and 1 opossum. Another 8 species are identified as potentially occurring in peripheral areas of Nebraska. The bibliography includes 1693 entries that each contain data concerning one or more species of mammals from Nebraska
Halo Star Streams in the Solar Neighborhood
We have assembled a sample of halo stars in the solar neighborhood to look
for halo substructure in velocity and angular momentum space. Our sample
includes red giants, RR Lyrae, and red horizontal branch stars within 2.5 kpc
of the Sun with [Fe/H] less than -1.0. It was chosen to include stars with
accurate distances, space velocities, and metallicities as well as
well-quantified errors. We confirm the existence of the streams found by Helmi
and coworkers, which we refer to as the H99 streams. These streams have a
double-peaked velocity distribution in the z direction. We use the results of
modeling of the H99 streams by Helmi and collaborators to test how one might
use v_z velocity information and radial velocity information to detect
kinematic substructure in the halo. We find that detecting the H99 streams with
radial velocities alone would require a large sample. We use the velocity
distribution of the H99 streams to estimate their age. From our model of the
progenitor of the H99 streams, we determine that it was accreted between 6 and
9 Gyr ago. The H99 streams have [alpha/Fe] abundances similar to other halo
stars in the solar neighborhood, suggesting that the gas that formed these
stars were enriched mostly by Type II SNe. We have also discovered in angular
momentum space two other possible substructures, which we refer to as the
retrograde and prograde outliers. The retrograde outliers are likely to be halo
substructure, but the prograde outliers are most likely part of the smooth
halo. The retrograde outliers have significant structure in the v_phi direction
and show a range of [alpha/Fe]. The methods presented in this paper can be used
to exploit the kinematic information present in future large databases like
RAVE, SDSSII/SEGUE, and Gaia.Comment: 46 pages, 13 figures, and 9 tables. Minor changes to text to match
proofed version of the paper. Low resolution figures. High resolution version
at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~kepley/solar_streams.p
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