2,016 research outputs found
Visual Search for Galaxies near the Northern Crossing of the Supergalactic plane by the Milky Way
We have visually examined twelve Palomar red Plates for galaxies at low
Galactic latitude b, where the Supergalactic Plane (SGP) is crossed by the
Galactic Plane (GP), at Galactic longitude l ~135 degrees. The catalogue
consists of 2575 galaxy candidates, of which 462 have major axis diameters d >=
0.8 arc min (uncorrected for extinction). Galaxy candidates can be identified
down to |b| ~ 0 degrees. One of our galaxy candidates (J24 = Dwingeloo 1) has
recently been discovered independently in 21cm by Kraan-Korteweg et al. (1994)
as a nearby galaxy. Comparisons with the structures seen in the IRAS and UGC
catalogues are made. We compare the success rate of identifying galaxies using
the IRAS Point Source Catalogue under different colour selection criteria. The
criteria that require both the 60 micron and 100 micron fluxes to be of high
quality, have the highest probability of selecting a galaxy (with d >= 0.6 arc
min), but at the expense of selecting a smaller number of galaxies in total.Comment: uuencoded compressed postscript, without figures. The figures are
available at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/preprint/PrePrint.htm
Measuring the Mach number of the Universe via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect
We introduce a new statistic to measure more accurately the cosmic sound
speed of clusters of galaxies at different redshifts. This statistic is
evaluated by cross-correlating cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations
caused by the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect from observed clusters of galaxies with
their redshifts. When clusters are distributed in redshift bins of narrow
width, one could measure the mean squared cluster peculiar velocity with an
error \sigma_{C_S^2}\lsim (300{\rm km/s})^2. This can be done around z>0.3 with
clusters of flux above 200 mJy which will be detected by PLANCK, coupled with
high resolution microwave images to eliminate the cosmological part of the CMB
fluctuations. The latter can be achieved with observations by the planned ALMA
array or the NSF South Pole telescope and other surveys. By measuring the
cosmic sound speed and the bulk flow in, e.g., 4 spheres of ~ 100h^{-1}Mpc at
z=0.3, we could have a direct measurement of the matter density
0.21<\Omega_m<0.47 at 95 % confidence level.Comment: Ap.J.Letters, submitte
The Cosmological Constant in the Quantum Multiverse
Recently, a new framework for describing the multiverse has been proposed
which is based on the principles of quantum mechanics. The framework allows for
well-defined predictions, both regarding global properties of the universe and
outcomes of particular experiments, according to a single probability formula.
This provides complete unification of the eternally inflating multiverse and
many worlds in quantum mechanics. In this paper we elucidate how cosmological
parameters can be calculated in this framework, and study the probability
distribution for the value of the cosmological constant. We consider both
positive and negative values, and find that the observed value is consistent
with the calculated distribution at an order of magnitude level. In particular,
in contrast to the case of earlier measure proposals, our framework prefers a
positive cosmological constant over a negative one. These results depend only
moderately on how we model galaxy formation and life evolution therein.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures; matches the version published in Phys. Rev.
One-point Statistics of the Cosmic Density Field in Real and Redshift Spaces with A Multiresolutional Decomposition
In this paper, we develop a method of performing the one-point statistics of
a perturbed density field with a multiresolutional decomposition based on the
discrete wavelet transform (DWT). We establish the algorithm of the one-point
variable and its moments in considering the effects of Poisson sampling and
selection function. We also establish the mapping between the DWT one-point
statistics in redshift space and real space, i.e. the algorithm for recovering
the DWT one-point statistics from the redshift distortion of bulk velocity,
velocity dispersion, and selection function. Numerical tests on N-body
simulation samples show that this algorithm works well on scales from a few
hundreds to a few Mpc/h for four popular cold dark matter models.
Taking the advantage that the DWT one-point variable is dependent on both the
scale and the shape (configuration) of decomposition modes, one can design
estimators of the redshift distortion parameter (beta) from combinations of DWT
modes. When the non-linear redshift distortion is not negligible, the beta
estimator from quadrupole-to-monopole ratio is a function of scale. This
estimator would not work without adding information about the scale-dependence,
such as the power-spectrum index or the real-space correlation function of the
random field. The DWT beta estimators, however, do not need such extra
information. Numerical tests show that the proposed DWT estimators are able to
determine beta robustly with less than 15% uncertainty in the redshift range 0
< z < 3.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures, ApJ accepte
Stimulus-dependent dynamics of p53 in single cells
Many biological networks respond to various inputs through a common signaling molecule that triggers distinct cellular outcomes. One potential mechanism for achieving specific input-output relationships is to trigger distinct dynamical patterns in response to different stimuli. Here we focused on the dynamics of p53, a tumor suppressor activated in response to cellular stress. We quantified the dynamics of p53 in individual cells in response to UV and observed a single pulse that increases in amplitude and duration in proportion to the UV dose. This graded response contrasts with the previously described series of fixed pulses in response to Îł-radiation. We further found that while Îł-triggered p53 pulses are excitable, the p53 response to UV is not excitable and depends on continuous signaling from the input-sensing kinases. Using mathematical modeling and experiments, we identified feedback loops that contribute to specific features of the stimulus-dependent dynamics of p53, including excitability and input-duration dependency. Our study shows that different stresses elicit different temporal profiles of p53, suggesting that modulation of p53 dynamics might be used to achieve specificity in this network
Observational Tests of FRW World Models
Observational tests for the Cosmological Principle are reviewed. Assuming the
FRW metric we then summarize estimates of cosmological parameters from various
data sets, in particular the Cosmic Microwave Background and the 2dF galaxy
redshift survey. These and other analyses suggest a best-fit Lambda-Cold Dark
Matter model with Omega_m = 1 - Omega_lambda = 0.3 and H_0 = 70 km/sec/Mpc. It
is remarkable that different measurements converge to this `concordance model',
although it remains to be seen if the two main components of this model, the
dark matter and the dark energy, are real entities or just `epicycles'. We
point out some open questions related to this fashionable model.Comment: 11 pages with 3 figures included. Invited review at ``The Early
Universe and Cosmological Observations: a Critical Review'', UCT, Cape Town,
July 2001, to appear in "Classical and Quantum Gravity
Large scale distribution of total mass versus luminous matter from Baryon Acoustic Oscillations: First search in the SDSS-III BOSS Data Release 10
Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs) in the early Universe are predicted to
leave an as yet undetected signature on the relative clustering of total mass
versus luminous matter. A detection of this effect would provide an important
confirmation of the standard cosmological paradigm and constrain alternatives
to dark matter as well as non-standard fluctuations such as Compensated
Isocurvature Perturbations (CIPs). We conduct the first observational search
for this effect, by comparing the number-weighted and luminosity-weighted
correlation functions, using the SDSS-III BOSS Data Release 10 CMASS sample.
When including CIPs in our model, we formally obtain evidence at of
the relative clustering signature and a limit that matches the existing upper
limits on the amplitude of CIPs. However, various tests suggest that these
results are not yet robust, perhaps due to systematic biases in the data. The
method developed in this Letter, used with more accurate future data such as
that from DESI, is likely to confirm or disprove our preliminary evidence.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Mass of Clusters in Simulations
We show that dark matter haloes, in n--body simulations, have a boundary
layer (BL) with precise features. In particular, it encloses all dynamically
stable mass while, outside it, dynamical stability is lost soon. Particles can
pass through such BL, which however acts as a confinement barrier for dynamical
properties. BL is set by evaluating kinetic and potential energies (T(r) and
W(r)) and calculating R=-2T/W. Then, on BL, R has a minimum which closely
approaches a maximum of w= -dlog W/dlog r. Such ``requirement'' is
consistent with virial equilibrium, but implies further regularities. We test
the presence of a BL around haloes in spatially flat CDM simulations, with or
without cosmological constant. We find that the mass M_c, enclosed within the
radius r_c, where the requirement is fulfilled, closely approaches the
mass M_{dyn}, evaluated from the velocities of all particles within r_c,
according to the virial theorem. Using r_c we can then determine an individual
density contrast Delta_c for each virialized halo, which can be compared with
the "virial" density contrast (Omega_m: matter
density parameter) obtained assuming a spherically symmetric and unperturbed
fluctuation growth. The spread in Delta_c is wide, and cannot be neglected when
global physical quantities related to the clusters are calculated, while the
average Delta_c is ~25 % smaller than the corresponding Delta_v; moreover if
is defined from the radius linked to Delta_v, we have a much worse
fit with particle mass then starting from {\it Rw} requirement.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, contribution to the XXXVIIth Rencontres de
Moriond, The Cosmological Model, Les Arc March 16-23 2002, to appear in the
proceeding
The Tidal Evolution of Local Group Dwarf Spheroidals
(Abridged) We use N-body simulations to study the evolution of dwarf
spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) driven by galactic tides. We adopt a
cosmologically-motivated model where dSphs are approximated by a King model
embedded within an NFW halo. We find that these NFW-embedded King models are
extraordinarily resilient to tides; the stellar density profile still resembles
a King model even after losing more than 99% of the stars. As tides strip the
galaxy, the stellar luminosity, velocity dispersion, central surface
brightness, and core radius decrease monotonically. Remarkably, we find that
the evolution of these parameters is solely controlled by the total amount of
mass lost from within the luminous radius. Of all parameters, the core radius
is the least affected: after losing 99% of the stars, R_c decreases by just a
factor of ~2. Interestingly, tides tend to make dSphs more dark-matter
dominated because the tightly bound central dark matter ``cusp'' is more
resilient to disruption than the ``cored'' King profile. We examine whether the
extremely large M/L ratios of the newly-discovered ultra-faint dSphs might have
been caused by tidal stripping of once brighter systems. Although dSph tidal
evolutionary tracks parallel the observed scaling relations in the
luminosity-radius plane, they predict too steep a change in velocity dispersion
compared with the observational estimates hitherto reported in the literature.
The ultra-faint dwarfs are thus unlikely to be the tidal remnants of systems
like Fornax, Draco, or Sagittarius. Despite spanning four decades in
luminosity, dSphs appear to inhabit halos of comparable peak circular velocity,
lending support to scenarios that envision dwarf spheroidals as able to form
only in halos above a certain mass threshold.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figs., accepted by Ap
A seeded ambient temperature ferrit process for the treatment of AMD waters: Magnetite formation in the presence and absence of calcium ions under steady state operation
An ambient temperature ferrite process has been developed for the removal of iron and non-ferrous metals from AMD waters. The process involves the controlled formation of magnetite (Fe3 O4 ) that has the capacity to substitute divalent and trivalent cations as part of the lattice, thus forming a stable easy-to-separate ferrite. This paper reports on continuous operations of the process in the absence and presence of Ca2+, which is well known to impede ferrite formation. In the first instance, the process involves the precipitation of hydroxy-metals at pH 10.5 and their subsequent adsorption onto magnetite seed in a contact stabilisation reactor. Second, liquid-solid separation is effected and the solid fraction is subsequently treated in an oxidising reactor in which a fraction of the ferrous species is oxidised to an intermediate ferric precipitate. Finally, both ferrous and ferric species undergo crystalchemical processing and are incorporated into stable magnetite. Results indicate that Ca2+ interference can be overcome by maintaining a high ratio of precipitated ferrous species to dissolved Ca2+. It was found that in order to attain the required high Fe2+:Ca2+ ratio, the solid ferrous-hydroxy species concentration in the oxidation reactor should be maintained at above 1 200 mg Fe/l. Ferrous to calcium ratios greater than 3 were found to favour magnetite formation. In the absence of Ca2+, a solid ferroushydroxy species concentration of approximately 500 mg/l was sufficient for magnetite formation. Operating the process at ferroushydroxy concentrations of lower than 1 200 and 500 mg/l in the presence and absence of calcium respectively enhanced the formation of other iron oxides, primarily goethite. In all experiments the iron concentration in the effluent was less than 1 mg/l, the sludge volume index (SVI) extremely low (< 4 ml/g) and the percentage of ferrous-hydroxy species in the sludge can be reduced to about 1%. These features, together with the potential to incorporate heavy metals into a stable compound, make the process very promising for AMD treatment
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