278 research outputs found
A simple analysis of halo density profiles using gravitational lensing time delays
Gravitational lensing time delays depend upon the Hubble constant and the
density distribution of the lensing galaxies. This allows one to either model
the lens and estimate the Hubble constant, or to use a prior on the Hubble
constant from other studies and investigate what the preferred density
distribution is. Some studies have required compact dark matter halos (constant
M/L ratio) in order to reconcile gravitational lenses with the HST/WMAP value
of the Hubble constant (72 +/- 8 km/s /Mpc and 72 +/- 5 km/s /Mpc,
respectively). This is in direct contradiction with X-ray, stellar dynamical,
and weak lensing studies, which all point towards extended halos and isothermal
density profiles. In this work, we examine an up-to-date sample of 13 lensing
galaxies resulting in a data set consisting of 21 time delays. We select
systems in which there is a single primary lensing galaxy (e.g. excluding
systems undergoing mergers). Analysis is performed using analytic models based
upon a powerlaw density profile (rho \propto r^-n) of which the isothermal
profile is a special case (n = 2). This yields a value of n = 2.11+/-0.12
(3sigma) for the mean profile when modeling with a prior on the Hubble
constant, which is only consistent with isothermality within 3 sigma. Note that
this is a formal error from our calculations, and does not include the impact
of sample selection or simplifications in the lens modeling. We conclude that
time delays are a useful probe of density profiles, in particular as a function
of the environment in which the lens resides, when combined with a prior on the
Hubble constant.Comment: A&A accepte
Modeling the Images of Relativistic Jets Lensed by Galaxies with Different Mass Surface Density Distributions
The images of relativistic jets from extragalactic sources produced by
gravitational lensing by galaxies with different mass surface density
distributions are modeled. In particular, the following models of the
gravitational lens mass distribution are considered: a singular isothermal
ellipsoid, an isothermal ellipsoid with a core, two- and three-component models
with a galactic disk, halo, and bulge. The modeled images are compared both
between themselves and with available observations. Different sets of
parameters are shown to exist for the gravitationally lensed system B0218+357
in multicomponent models. These sets allow the observed geometry of the system
and the intensity ratio of the compact core images to be obtained, but they
lead to a significant variety in the Hubble constant determined from the
modeling results.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, will be published in the Astronomy Letters,
2011, v.37, N4, pp. 233-24
The Timing of Nine Globular Cluster Pulsars
We have used the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope to time nine previously
known pulsars without published timing solutions in the globular clusters M62,
NGC 6544, and NGC 6624. We have full timing solutions that measure the spin,
astrometric, and (where applicable) binary parameters for six of these pulsars.
The remaining three pulsars (reported here for the first time) were not
detected enough to establish solutions. We also report our timing solutions for
five pulsars with previously published solutions, and find good agreement with
past authors, except for PSR J1701-3006B in M62. Gas in this system is probably
responsible for the discrepancy in orbital parameters, and we have been able to
measure a change in the orbital period over the course of our observations.
Among the pulsars with new solutions we find several binary pulsars with very
low mass companions (members of the so-called "black widow" class) and we are
able to place constraints on the mass-to-light ratio in two clusters. We
confirm that one of the pulsars in NGC 6624 is indeed a member of the rare
class of non-recycled pulsars found in globular clusters. We also have measured
the orbital precession and Shapiro delay for a relativistic binary in NGC 6544.
If we assume that the orbital precession can be described entirely by general
relativity, which is likely, we are able to measure the total system mass
(2.57190(73) M_sun) and companion mass (1.2064(20) M_sun), from which we derive
the orbital inclination [sin(i) = 0.9956(14)] and the pulsar mass (1.3655(21)
M_sun), the most precise such measurement ever obtained for a millisecond
pulsar. The companion is the most massive known around a fully recycled pulsar.Comment: Published in ApJ; 33 pages, 5 figures, 7 table
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Testing for spatial autocorrelation: the regressors that make the power disappear
We show that for any sample size, any size of the test, and any weights matrix outside a small class of exceptions, there exists a positive measure set of regression spaces such that the power of the Cli-Ord test vanishes as the autocorrelation increases in a spatial error model. This result extends to the tests that dene the Gaussian power envelope of all invariant tests for residual spatial autocorrelation. In most cases, the regression spaces such that the problem occurs depend on the size of the test, but
there also exist regression spaces such that the power vanishes regardless of the size. A characterization of such particularly hostile regression spaces is provided
First-principles study of the structural energetics of PdTi and PtTi
The structural energetics of PdTi and PtTi have been studied using
first-principles density-functional theory with pseudopotentials and a
plane-wave basis. We predict that in both materials, the experimentally
reported orthorhombic phase will undergo a low-temperature phase
transition to a monoclinic ground state. Within a soft-mode framework,
we relate the structure to the cubic structure, observed at high
temperature, and the structure to via phonon modes strongly
coupled to strain. In contrast to NiTi, the structure is extremely close
to hcp. We draw on the analogy to the bcc-hcp transition to suggest likely
transition mechanisms in the present case.Comment: 8 pages 5 figure
NICMOS images of JVAS/CLASS gravitational lens systems
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) infrared images of four gravitational
lens systems from the JVAS/CLASS gravitational lens survey and compare the new
infrared HST pictures with previously published WFPC2 HST optical images and
radio maps. Apart from the wealth of information that we get from the flux
ratios and accurate positions and separations of the components of the lens
systems that we can use as inputs for better constraints on the lens models we
are able to discriminate between reddening and optical/radio microlensing as
the possible cause of differences observed in the flux ratios of the components
across the three wavelength bands. Substantial reddening has been known to be
present in the lens system B1600+434 and has been further confirmed by the
present infrared data. In the two systems B0712+472 and B1030+074 microlensing
has been pinpointed down as the main cause of the flux ratio discrepancy both
in the optical/infrared and in the radio, the radio possibly caused by the
substructure revealed in the lensing galaxies. In B0218+357 however the results
are still not conclusive. If we are actually seeing the two "true" components
of the lens system then the flux ratio differences are attributed to a
combination of microlensing and reddening or alternatively due to some
variability in at least one of the images. Otherwise the second "true"
component of B0218+357 maybe completely absorbed by a molecular cloud and the
anomalous flux density ratios and large difference in separation between the
optical/infrared and radio that we see can be explained by emission from either
a foreground object or from part of the lensing galaxy.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures (original higher resolution figures can be
obtained at the e-mail above), to appear in MNRAS (accepted
Conceptual learning : the priority for higher education
The common sense notion of learning as the all-pervasive acquisition of new behaviour and knowledge, made vivid by experience, is an incomplete characterisation, because it assumes that the learning of behaviour and the learning of knowledge are indistinguishable, and that acquisition constitutes learning without reference to transfer. A psychological level of analysis is used to argue that conceptual learning should have priority in higher education
Formation and evolution of compact binaries in globular clusters: II. Binaries with neutron stars
In this paper, the second of a series, we study the stellar dynamical and
evolutionary processes leading to the formation of compact binaries containing
neutron stars (NSs) in dense globular clusters (GCs). For this study, 70 dense
clusters were simulated independently, with a total stellar mass ~2x10^7Msun,
exceeding the total mass of all dense GCs in our Galaxy.
We find that, in order to reproduce the empirically derived formation rate of
low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), we must assume that NSs can be formed via
electron-capture supernovae (ECS) with typical natal kicks smaller than in
core-collapse supernovae. Our results explain the observed dependence of the
number of LMXBs on ``collision number'' as well as the large scatter observed
between different GCs. We predict that the number of quiescent LMXBs in
different GCs should not have a strong metallicity dependence. In our cluster
model the following mass-gaining events create populations of MSPs that do not
match the observations: (i) accretion during a common envelope event with a NS
formed through ECS, and (ii) mass transfer (MT) from a WD donor. Some processes
lead only to a mild recycling. In addition, for MSPs, we distinguish
low-magnetic-field (long-lived) and high-magnetic-field (short-lived)
populations. With this distinction and by considering only those mass-gaining
events that appear to lead to NS recycling, we obtain good agreement of our
models with the numbers and characteristics of observed MSPs in 47 Tuc and
Terzan 5, as well as with the cumulative statistics for MSPs detected in GCs of
different dynamical properties. We find that significant production of merging
double NSs potentially detectable as short gamma-ray bursts occurs only in very
dense, most likely core-collapsed GCs. (abridged)Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, 12 tables, MNRAS accepte
The Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey: II. Gravitational lens candidate selection and follow-up
We report the final results of the search for gravitationally lensed flat-spectrum radio sources found in the combination of CLASS (Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey) and JVAS (Jodrell-Bank VLA Astrometric Survey). VLA observations of 16,503 sources have been made, resulting in the largest sample of arcsec-scale lens systems available. Contained within the 16,503 sources is a complete sample of 11,685 sources having two-point spectral indices between 1.4 and 5 GHz flatter than -0.5 and 5 GHz flux densities 30 mJy. A subset of 8,958 sources form a well-defined statistical sample suitable for analysis of the lens statistics. We describe the systematic process by which 149 candidate lensed sources were picked from the statistical sample on the basis of possessing multiple compact components in the 0.2 arcsec-resolution VLA maps. Candidates were followed up with 0.05 arcsec resolution MERLIN and 0.003 arcsec VLBA observations at 5 GHz and rejected as lens systems if they failed well-defined surface brightness and/or morphological tests. Maps for all the candidates can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/research/gravlens/index.html. We summarize the properties of each of the 22 gravitational lens systems in JVAS/CLASS. Twelve are double-image systems, nine are four-image systems and one is a six-image system. Thirteen constitute a statistically well-defined sample giving a point-source lensing rate of 1:690190. The interpretation of the results in terms of the properties of the lensing galaxy population and cosmological parameters will be published elsewhere. (Abridged
The Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey: I. Source selection and observations
The Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) is an international collaborative
program which has obtained high-resolution radio images of over 10000
flat-spectrum radio sources in order to create the largest and best studied
statistical sample of radio-loud gravitationally lensed systems. With this
survey, combined with detailed studies of the lenses found therein, constraints
can be placed on the expansion rate, matter density, and dark energy (e.g.
cosmological constant, quintessence) content of the Universe that are
complementary to and independent of those obtained through other methods. CLASS
is aimed at identifying lenses where multiple images are formed from compact
flat-spectrum radio sources, which should be easily identifiable in the radio
maps. Because CLASS is radio-based, dust obscuration in lensing galaxies is not
a factor, and the relative insensitivity of the instrument to environmental
conditions leads to nearly uniform sensitivity and resolution over the entire
survey. In four observing seasons from 1994-1999, CLASS has observed 13783
radio sources with the VLA at 8.4 GHz at 0.2 arcsecond resolution. When
combined with the JVAS survey, the CLASS sample contains over 16,000 images. A
complete sample of 11685 flat-spectrum sources was observed, selected from GB6
catalogue at 4.85 GHz and the NVSS at 1.4 GHz. So far, CLASS has found 16 new
gravitational lens systems, and the JVAS/CLASS survey contains a total of 22
lenses. (Abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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