445 research outputs found
EXPLORING FACTORS AFFECTING ATRAZINE CONCENTRATION IN THE BIG BLUE RIVER BASIN
Atrazine is a herbicide commonly used on corn and sorghum. Consumption of atrazine adversely affects humans. Environmental factors are related to atrazine concentration in the surface waters of the Big Blue River Basin using regression techniques. The usefulness of environmental factors as predictors of surface water atrazine contamination appears to depend on the time period
Global Properties of M31's Stellar Halo from the SPLASH Survey: III. Measuring the Stellar Velocity Dispersion Profile
We present the velocity dispersion of red giant branch (RGB) stars in M31's
halo, derived by modeling the line of sight velocity distribution of over 5000
stars in 50 fields spread throughout M31's stellar halo. The dataset was
obtained as part of the SPLASH (Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of
Andromeda's Stellar Halo) Survey, and covers projected radii of 9 to 175 kpc
from M31's center. All major structural components along the line of sight in
both the Milky Way (MW) and M31 are incorporated in a Gaussian Mixture Model,
including all previously identified M31 tidal debris features in the observed
fields. The probability an individual star is a constituent of M31 or the MW,
based on a set of empirical photometric and spectroscopic diagnostics, is
included as a prior probability in the mixture model. The velocity dispersion
of stars in M31's halo is found to decrease only mildly with projected radius,
from 108 km/s in the innermost radial bin (8.2 to 14.1 kpc) to to 90
km/s at projected radii of to 130 kpc, and can be parameterized with
a power-law of slope . The quoted uncertainty on the power-law
slope reflects only the precision of the method, although other sources of
uncertainty we consider contribute negligibly to the overall error budget.Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
The Role of Dwarf Galaxies in Building Large Stellar Halos
The hierarchical theory of galaxy formation rests on the idea that smaller
galactic structures merge to form the galaxies that we see today. The past
decade has provided remarkable observational support for this scenario, driven
in part by advances in spectroscopic instrumentation. Multi-object spectroscopy
enabled the discovery of kinematically cold substructures around the Milky Way
and M31 that are likely the debris of disrupting satellites. Improvements in
high-resolution spectroscopy have produced key evidence that the abundance
patterns of the Milky Way halo and its dwarf satellites can be explained by
Galactic chemical evolution models based on hierarchical assembly.
These breakthroughs have depended almost entirely on observations of nearby
stars in the Milky Way and luminous red giant stars in M31 and Local Group
dwarf satellites. In the next decade, extremely large telescopes will allow
observations far down the luminosity function in the known dwarf galaxies, and
they will enable observations of individual stars far out in the Galactic halo.
The chemical abundance census now available for the Milky Way will become
possible for our nearest neighbor, M31. Velocity dispersion measurements now
available in M31 will become possible for systems beyond the Local Group such
as Sculptor and M81 Group galaxies. Detailed studies of a greater number of
individual stars in a greater number of spiral galaxies and their satellites
will test hierarchical assembly in new ways because dynamical and chemical
evolution models predict different outcomes for halos of different masses in
different environments.Comment: Astro2010 Decadal Survey White Paper, 8 page
Elemental Abundances in M31: The Kinematics and Chemical Evolution of Dwarf Spheroidal Satellite Galaxies
We present deep spectroscopy from Keck/DEIMOS of Andromeda I, III, V, VII, and X, all of which are dwarf spheroidal satellites of M31. The sample includes 256 spectroscopic members across all five dSphs. We confirm previous measurements of the velocity dispersions and dynamical masses, and we provide upper limits on bulk rotation. Our measurements confirm that M31 satellites obey the same relation between stellar mass and stellar metallicity as Milky Way (MW) satellites and other dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. The metallicity distributions show trends with stellar mass that are similar to those of MW satellites, including evidence in massive satellites for external influence, like pre-enrichment or gas accretion. We present the first measurements of individual element ratios, like [Si/Fe], in the M31 system, as well as measurements of the average [α/Fe] ratio. The trends of [α/Fe] with [Fe/H] also follow the same galaxy mass–dependent patterns as MW satellites. Less massive galaxies have more steeply declining slopes of [α/Fe] that begin at lower [Fe/H]. Finally, we compare the chemical evolution of M31 satellites to M31's Giant Stellar Stream and smooth halo. The properties of the M31 system support the theoretical prediction that the inner halo is composed primarily of massive galaxies that were accreted early. As a result, the inner halo exhibits higher [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] than surviving satellite galaxies
Elemental Abundances in M31: Iron and Alpha Element Abundances in M31’s Outer Halo
We present [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] abundances, derived using spectral synthesis techniques, for stars in M31's outer stellar halo. The 21 [Fe/H] measurements and 7 [α/Fe] measurements are drawn from fields ranging from 43 to 165 kpc in projected distance from M31. We combine our measurements with existing literature measurements, and compare the resulting sample of 23 stars with [Fe/H] and 9 stars with [α/Fe] measurements in M31's outer halo with [α/Fe] and [Fe/H] measurements, also derived from spectral synthesis, in M31's inner stellar halo (r < 26 kpc) and dSph galaxies. The stars in M31's outer halo have [α/Fe] patterns that are consistent with the largest of M31's dSph satellites (And I and And VII). These abundances provide tentative evidence that the [α/Fe] abundances of stars in M31's outer halo are more similar to the abundances of Milky Way halo stars than to the abundances of stars in M31's inner halo. We also compare the spectral synthesis–based [Fe/H] measurements of stars in M31's halo with previous photometric [Fe/H] estimates, as a function of projected distance from M31. The spectral synthesis–based [Fe/H] measurements are consistent with a large-scale metallicity gradient previously observed in M31's stellar halo to projected distances as large as 100 kpc
Elemental Abundances in M31: Iron and Alpha Element Abundances in M31's Outer Halo
We present [Fe/H] and [/Fe] abundances, derived using spectral
synthesis techniques, for stars in M31's outer stellar halo. The 21 [Fe/H]
measurements and 7 [/Fe] measurements are drawn from fields ranging
from 43 to 165 kpc in projected distance from M31. We combine our measurements
with existing literature measurements, and compare the resulting sample of 23
stars with [Fe/H] and 9 stars with [/Fe] measurements in M31's outer
halo with [/Fe] and [Fe/H] measurements, also derived from spectral
synthesis, in M31's inner stellar halo (26 kpc) and dSph galaxies. The
stars in M31's outer halo have [/Fe] patterns that are consistent with
the largest of M31's dSph satellites (And I and And VII). These abundances
provide tentative evidence that the [/Fe] abundances of stars in M31's
outer halo are more similar to the abundances of Milky Way halo stars than to
the abundances of stars in M31's inner halo. We also compare the spectral
synthesis-based [Fe/H] measurements of stars in M31's halo with previous
photometric [Fe/H] estimates, as a function of projected distance from M31. The
spectral synthesis-based [Fe/H] measurements are consistent with a large-scale
metallicity gradient previously observed in M31's stellar halo to projected
distances as large as 100 kpc.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in The
Astronomical Journa
Multi-Element Abundance Measurements from Medium-Resolution Spectra. II. Catalog of Stars in Milky Way Dwarf Satellite Galaxies
We present a catalog of Fe, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti abundances for 2961 red giant
stars that are likely members of eight dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky
Way (MW): Sculptor, Fornax, Leo I, Sextans, Leo II, Canes Venatici I, Ursa
Minor, and Draco. For the purposes of validating our measurements, we also
observed 445 red giants in MW globular clusters and 21 field red giants in the
MW halo. The measurements are based on Keck/DEIMOS medium-resolution
spectroscopy combined with spectral synthesis. We estimate uncertainties in
[Fe/H] by quantifying the dispersion of [Fe/H] measurements in a sample of
stars in monometallic globular clusters. We estimate uncertainties in Mg, Si,
Ca, and Ti abundances by comparing our medium-resolution spectroscopic
measurements to high-resolution spectroscopic abundances of the same stars. For
this purpose, our DEIMOS sample included 132 red giants with published
high-resolution spectroscopy in globular clusters, the MW halo field, and dwarf
galaxies. The standard deviations of the differences in [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe]
(the average of [Mg/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], and [Ti/Fe]) between the two samples
is 0.15 and 0.16, respectively. This catalog represents the largest sample of
multi-element abundances in dwarf galaxies to date. The next papers in this
series draw conclusions on the chemical evolution, gas dynamics, and star
formation histories from the catalog presented here. The wide range of dwarf
galaxy luminosity reveals the dependence of dwarf galaxy chemical evolution on
galaxy stellar mass.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, 4 machine-readable tables (available in the
source file; click "Other formats"); accepted for publication in ApJ
Supplements; updated acknowledgments in v
Stellar Kinematics in the Complicated Inner Spheroid of M31: Discovery of Substructure Along the Southeastern Minor Axis and its Relationship to the Giant Southern Stream
We present the discovery of a kinematically-cold stellar population along the
SE minor axis of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) that is likely the forward
continuation of M31's giant southern stream. This discovery was made in the
course of an on-going spectroscopic survey of red giant branch (RGB) stars in
M31 using the DEIMOS instrument on the Keck II 10-m telescope. Stellar
kinematics are investigated in eight fields located 9-30 kpc from M31's center
(in projection). A likelihood method based on photometric and spectroscopic
diagnostics is used to isolate confirmed M31 RGB stars from foreground Milky
Way dwarf stars: for the first time, this is done without using radial velocity
as a selection criterion, allowing an unbiased study of M31's stellar
kinematics. The radial velocity distribution of the 1013 M31 RGB stars shows
evidence for the presence of two components. The broad (hot) component has a
velocity dispersion of 129 km/s and presumably represents M31's virialized
spheroid. A significant fraction (19%) of the population is in a narrow (cold)
component centered near M31's systemic velocity with a velocity dispersion that
decreases with increasing radial distance, from 55.5 km/s at R_proj=12 kpc to
10.6 km/s at R_proj=18 kpc. The spatial and velocity distribution of the cold
component matches that of the "Southeast shelf" predicted by the Fardal et al.
(2007) orbital model of the progenitor of the giant southern stream. The
metallicity distribution of the cold component matches that of the giant
southern stream, but is about 0.2 dex more metal rich on average than that of
the hot spheroidal component. We discuss the implications of our discovery on
the interpretation of the intermediate-age spheroid population found in this
region in recent ultra-deep HST imaging studies.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal. Changes from previous version: expanded discussion in
sections 4.2 and 7.2, removal of section 7.1.4 and associated figure
(discussion moved to section 7.1.2
Ionic Tuning of Cobaltites at the Nanoscale
Control of materials through custom design of ionic distributions represents
a powerful new approach to develop future technologies ranging from spintronic
logic and memory devices to energy storage. Perovskites have shown particular
promise for ionic devices due to their high ion mobility and sensitivity to
chemical stoichiometry. In this work, we demonstrate a solid-state approach to
control of ionic distributions in (La,Sr)CoO thin films. Depositing a Gd
capping layer on the perovskite film, oxygen is controllably extracted from the
structure, up-to 0.5 O/u.c. throughout the entire 36 nm thickness. Commensurate
with the oxygen extraction, the Co valence state and saturation magnetization
show a smooth continuous variation. In contrast, magnetoresistance measurements
show no-change in the magnetic anisotropy and a rapid increase in the
resistivity over the same range of oxygen stoichiometry. These results suggest
significant phase separation, with metallic ferromagnetic regions and
oxygen-deficient, insulating, non-ferromagnetic regions, forming percolated
networks. Indeed, X-ray diffraction identifies oxygen-vacancy ordering,
including transformation to a brownmillerite crystal structure. The unexpected
transformation to the brownmillerite phase at ambient temperature is further
confirmed by high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy which
shows significant structural - and correspondingly chemical - phase separation.
This work demonstrates room-temperature ionic control of magnetism, electrical
resistivity, and crystalline structure in a 36 nm thick film, presenting new
opportunities for ionic devices that leverage multiple material
functionalities
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