489 research outputs found
The Effect of Dust Extinction on the Observed Properties of Galaxies in the Near-Infrared
Galaxies behind the Milky Way suffer size reduction and dimming due to their
obscuration by dust in the disk of our Galaxy. The degree of obscuration is
wavelength dependent. It decreases towards longer wavelengths. Compared to the
optical, the Near InfraRed (NIR) band extinction is only
that of the band. This makes NIR surveys well suited for galaxy surveys
close to the Galactic Plane where extinction is severe.
While Galactic obscuration is less prominent in the NIR it is not negligible.
In this paper we derive empirical relations to correct isophotal radii and
magnitudes of galaxies observed in the NIR for foreground absorption. We
simulate extinction in the , and bands on 64 (unobscured) galaxies
from the 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas \citep{jarrett}. We propose two methods for
the extinction correction, the first is optimized to provide the most accurate
correction and the second provides a convenient statistical correction that
works adequately in lower extinction regions. The optimized correction utilizes
the galaxy surface brightness, either the disk central surface brightness,
, or the combined disk plus bulge central surface brightness, elliptical
and disk/spiral Hubble types. A detailed comparison between the different
methods and their accuracy is provided.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures and 8 tables. Accepted by the MNRAS: Accepted 2009
September 18. Received 2009 September 18; in original form 2009 July 1
HI Bright Galaxies in the Southern Zone of Avoidance
A blind survey for HI bright galaxies in the southern Zone of Avoidance, (212
deg < l < 36 deg; |b| < 5 deg), has been made with the 21 cm multibeam receiver
on the Parkes 64 m radiotelescope. The survey, sensitive to normal spiral
galaxies to a distance of about 40 Mpc and more nearby dwarfs, detected 110
galaxies. Of these, 67 have no counterparts in the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic
Database. In general, the uncataloged galaxies lie behind thicker obscuration
than do the cataloged objects. All of the newly-discovered galaxies have HI
flux integrals more than an order of magnitude lower than the Circinus galaxy.
The survey recovers the Puppis cluster and foreground group (Kraan-Korteweg &
Huchtmeier 1992), and the Local Void remains empty. The HI mass function
derived for the sample is satisfactorily fit by a Schechter function with
parameters alpha = 1.51 +- 0.12, Phi* = 0.006 +- 0.003, and log M* = 9.7 +-
0.10.Comment: To appear in The Astronomical Journa
Anomalous wave reflection from the interface of two strongly nonlinear granular media
Granular materials exhibit a strongly nonlinear behaviour affecting the
propagation of information in the medium. Dynamically self-organized strongly
nonlinear solitary waves are the main information carriers in granular chains.
Here we report the first experimental observation of the dramatic change of
reflectivity from the interface of two granular media triggered by a noncontact
magnetically induced initial precompression. It may be appropriate to name this
phenomenon the "acoustic diode" effect. Based on numerical simulations, we
explain this effect by the high gradient of particle velocity near the
interface.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Chiral Solitons in Generalized Korteweg-de Vries Equations
Generalizations of the Korteweg-de Vries equation are considered, and some
explicit solutions are presented. There are situations where solutions engender
the interesting property of being chiral, that is, of having velocity
determined in terms of the parameters that define the generalized equation,
with a definite sign.Comment: 9 pages, latex, no figures. References added, typos correcte
Driftscan Surveys in the 21cm Line with the Arecibo and Nancay Telescopes
Driftscan methods are highly efficient, stable techniques for conducting
extragalactic surveys in the 21cm line of neutral hydrogen. Holding the
telescope still while the beam scans the sky at the sidereal rate produces
exceptionally stable spectral baselines, increased stability for RFI signals,
and excellent diagnostic information about system performance. Data can be
processed naturally and efficiently by grouping long sequences of spectra into
an image format, thereby allowing thousands of individual spectra to be
calibrated, inspected and manipulated as a single data structure with standard
tools that already exist in astronomical software. The behavior of spectral
standing waves (multi-path effects) can be appraised and excised in this
environment, making observations possible while the Sun is up. The method is
illustrated with survey data from Arecibo and Nancay.Comment: 7 pages; Latex; 1 encapsulated postscript figure; 4 jpeg images; 1
gif image. Presented at the workshop `HI in the Local Universe', Sydney, May
13-15 1996. Accepted for publication by Publications of the Astronomical
Society of Australia. Complete manuscript with encapsulated figures is
available at
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/Publications/HI_workshop/proceedings.htm
Supernova type Ia luminosities, their dependence on second parameters, and the value of H_0
A sample of 35 SNe Ia with good to excellent photometry in B and V, minimum
internal absorption, and 1200 < v < \approx 30000 km/s is compiled from the
literature. As far as their spectra are known they are all Branch-normal. For
29 of the SNe Ia also peak magnitudes in I are known. The SNe Ia have uniform
colors at maximum, i.e. =-0.012 mag (sigma=0.051) and =-0.276 mag
(sigma=0.078). In the Hubble diagram they define a Hubble line with a scatter
of =0.21-0.16 mag, decreasing with wavelength. The scatter is further
reduced if the SNe Ia are corrected for differences in decline rate Delta_m_15
or color (B-V). A combined correction reduces the scatter to sigma<=0.13 mag.
After the correction no significant dependence remains on Hubble type or
galactocentric distance. The Hubble line suggests some curvature which can be
differently interpreted. A consistent solution is obtained for a cosmological
model with Omega_M=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, which is indicated also by much more
distant SNe Ia. Absolute magnitudes are available for eight equally blue
(Branch-normal) SNe Ia in spirals, whose Cepheid distances are known. If their
well defined mean values of M_B, M_V, and M_I are used to fit the Hubble line
to the above sample of SNe Ia one obtains H_0=58.3 km/s/Mpc, or, after
adjusting all SNe Ia to the average values of Delta_m_15 and (B-V), H_0=60.9
km/s/Mpc. Various systematic errors are discussed whose elimination tends to
decrease H_0. The finally adopted value at the 90-percent level, including
random and systematic errors, is H_0=58.5 +/- 6.3 km/s/Mpc. Several higher
values of H_0 from SNe Ia, as suggested in the literature, are found to depend
on large corrections for variations of the light curve parameter and/or on an
unwarranted reduction of the Cepheid distances of the calibrating SNe Ia.Comment: 42 pages, including 9 figures; submitted to Ap
SN 1986J VLBI. The Evolution and Deceleration of the Complex Source and a Search for a Pulsar Nebula
We report on VLBI observations of supernova 1986J in the spiral galaxy NGC
891 at two new epochs, 1990 July and 1999 February, t=7.4 and 15.9 yr after the
explosion, and on a comprehensive analysis of these and earlier observations
from t~4 yr after the explosion date, which we estimate to be 1983.2 +/- 1.1.
The source is a shell or composite, and continues to show a complex morphology
with large brightness modulations along the ridge and with protrusions. The
supernova is moderately to strongly decelerated. The average outer radius
expands as t^(0.71 +/- 0.11), and the expansion velocity has slowed to 6000
km/s at t=15.9 yr from an extrapolated 20,000 km/s at t=0.25 yr. The structure
changes significantly with time, showing that the evolution is not
self-similar. The shell structure is best visible at the latest epoch, when the
protrusions have diminished somewhat in prominence and a new, compact component
has appeared. The radio spectrum shows a clear inversion above 10 GHz. This
might be related to a pulsar nebula becoming visible through the debris of the
explosion. The radio flux density between 1.5 and 23 GHz decreases strongly
with time, with the flux density proportional to t^(-2.94 +/- 0.24) between
t~15 to 19 yr. This decrease is much more rapid than that found in earlier
measurements up to t~6 yr.Comment: 24 pages, 9 Figures, LaTeX Accepted for Publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
New HI-detected Galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance
We present the first results of a blind HI survey for galaxies in the
southern Zone of Avoidance with a multibeam receiver on the Parkes telescope.
This survey is eventually expected to catalog several thousand galaxies within
Galactic latitude |b|<5 degrees, mostly unrecognised before due to Galactic
extinction and confusion. We present here results of the first three detections
to have been imaged with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The
galaxies all lie near Galactic longitude 325 degrees and were selected because
of their large angular sizes, up to 1.3 degrees. Linear sizes range from 53 to
108 kpc. The first galaxy is a massive 5.7x10^11 solar mass disk galaxy with a
faint optical counterpart, SGC 1511.1--5249. The second is probably an
interacting group of galaxies straddling the Galactic equator. No optical
identification is possible. The third object appears to be an interacting pair
of low column density galaxies, possibly belonging to an extended Circinus or
Centaurus A galaxy group. No optical counterpart has been seen despite the
predicted extinction (A(B) = 2.7 - 4.4 mag) not being excessive. We discuss the
implications of the results, in particular the low HI column densities (~10^19
atoms/sq.cm) found for two of the three galaxies.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures (Fig.1 in three parts, Fig.5 in two parts). To
appear in Astronomical Journal (Dec 1998). See
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/multibea
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