7,125 research outputs found
GRBs as Probes of Massive Stars Near and Far
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts are the manifestations of massive stellar
death. Due to the immense energy release they are detectable from most of the
observable universe. In this way they allow us to study the deaths of single
(or binary) massive stars possibly throughout the full timespan massive stars
have existed in the Universe. GRBs provide a means to infer information about
the environments and typical galaxies in which massive stars are formed. Two
main obstacles remain to be crossed before the full potential of GRBs as probes
of massive stars can be harvested: i) we need to build more complete and well
understood samples in order not to be fooled by biases, and ii) we need to
understand to which extent GRBs may be intrinsically biased in the sense that
they are only formed by a limited subset of massive stars defined by most
likely a restricted metallicity interval. We describe the status of an ongoing
effort to build a more complete sample of long-duration GRBs with measured
redshifts. Already now we can conclude that the environments of GRB progenitors
are very diverse with metallicities ranging from solar to a hundredth solar and
extinction ranging from none to A_V>5 mag. We have also identified a sightline
with significant escape of Lyman continuum photons and another with a clear
2175AA extinction bump.Comment: Invited review - in "Massive Stars as Cosmic Engines", IAU Symp. 250
(Kauai), ed. F. Bresolin, P. A. Crowther, and J. Puls (Cambridge University
Press), p. 443-456. Typos and refs correcte
No Evidence for Evolution in the Far-Infrared-Radio Correlation out to z ~ 2 in the eCDFS
We investigate the 70 um Far-Infrared Radio Correlation (FRC) of star-forming
galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS) out to z > 2. We use
70 um data from the Far-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (FIDEL),
which comprises the most sensitive (~0.8 mJy rms) and extensive far-infrared
deep field observations using MIPS on the Spitzer Space Telescope, and 1.4 GHz
radio data (~8 uJy/beam rms) from the VLA. In order to quantify the evolution
of the FRC we use both survival analysis and stacking techniques which we find
give similar results. We also calculate the FRC using total infrared luminosity
and rest-frame radio luminosity, qTIR, and find that qTIR is constant (within
0.22) over the redshift range 0 - 2. We see no evidence for evolution in the
FRC at 70 um which is surprising given the many factors that are expected to
change this ratio at high redshifts.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Short-time Gibbsianness for Infinite-dimensional Diffusions with Space-Time Interaction
We consider a class of infinite-dimensional diffusions where the interaction
between the components is both spatial and temporal. We start the system from a
Gibbs measure with finite-range uniformly bounded interaction. Under suitable
conditions on the drift, we prove that there exists such that the
distribution at time is a Gibbs measure with absolutely summable
interaction. The main tool is a cluster expansion of both the initial
interaction and certain time-reversed Girsanov factors coming from the
dynamics
Effect of nanostructuration on compressibility of cubic BN
Compressibility of high-purity nanostructured cBN has been studied under
quasi-hydrostatic conditions at 300 K up to 35 GPa using diamond anvil cell and
angle-dispersive synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. A data fit to the Vinet
equation of state yields the values of the bulk modulus B0 of 375(4) GPa with
its first pressure derivative B0' of 2.3(3). The nanometer grain size (\sim20
nm) results in decrease of the bulk modulus by ~9%
Gravitational detection of a low-mass dark satellite at cosmological distance
The mass-function of dwarf satellite galaxies that are observed around Local
Group galaxies substantially differs from simulations based on cold dark
matter: the simulations predict many more dwarf galaxies than are seen. The
Local Group, however, may be anomalous in this regard. A massive dark satellite
in an early-type lens galaxy at z = 0.222 was recently found using a new method
based on gravitational lensing, suggesting that the mass fraction contained in
substructure could be higher than is predicted from simulations. The lack of
very low mass detections, however, prohibited any constraint on their mass
function. Here we report the presence of a 1.9 +/- 0.1 x 10^8 M_sun dark
satellite in the Einstein-ring system JVAS B1938+666 at z = 0.881, where M_sun
denotes solar mass. This satellite galaxy has a mass similar to the Sagittarius
galaxy, which is a satellite of the Milky Way. We determine the logarithmic
slope of the mass function for substructure beyond the local Universe to be
alpha = 1.1^+0.6_-0.4, with an average mass-fraction of f = 3.3^+3.6_-1.8 %, by
combining data on both of these recently discovered galaxies. Our results are
consistent with the predictions from cold dark matter simulations at the 95 per
cent confidence level, and therefore agree with the view that galaxies formed
hierarchically in a Universe composed of cold dark matter.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Nature (19 January
2012
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Chemistry of hydrogen oxide radicals (HO_x) in the Arctic troposphere in spring
We use observations from the April 2008 NASA ARCTAS aircraft campaign to the North American Arctic, interpreted with a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem), to better understand the sources and cycling of hydrogen oxide radicals (HO_x≡H+OH+peroxy radicals) and their reservoirs (HO_y≡HO_x+peroxides) in the springtime Arctic atmosphere. We find that a standard gas-phase chemical mechanism overestimates the observed HO_2 and H_2O_2 concentrations. Computation of HO_x and HO_y gas-phase chemical budgets on the basis of the aircraft observations also indicates a large missing sink for both. We hypothesize that this could reflect HO_2 uptake by aerosols, favored by low temperatures and relatively high aerosol loadings, through a mechanism that does not produce H_2O_2. We implemented such an uptake of HO_2 by aerosol in the model using a standard reactive uptake coefficient parameterization with γ(HO_2) values ranging from 0.02 at 275 K to 0.5 at 220 K. This successfully reproduces the concentrations and vertical distributions of the different HO_x species and HO_y reservoirs. HO_2 uptake by aerosol is then a major HO_x and HO_y sink, decreasing mean OH and HO_2 concentrations in the Arctic troposphere by 32% and 31% respectively. Better rate and product data for HO_2 uptake by aerosol are needed to understand this role of aerosols in limiting the oxidizing power of the Arctic atmosphere
Limits on the luminosity function of Ly-alpha emitters at z = 7.7
The Ly-alpha luminosity function (LF) of high-redshift Ly-alpha emitters
(LAEs) is one of the few observables of the re-ionization epoch accessible to
date with 8-10 m class telescopes. The evolution with redshift allows one to
constrain the evolution of LAEs and their role in re-ionizing the Universe at
the end of the Dark Ages.
We have performed a narrow-band imaging program at 1.06 microns at the CFHT,
targeting Ly-alpha emitters at redshift z ~ 7.7 in the CFHT-LS D1 field. From
these observations we have derived a photometric sample of 7 LAE candidates at
z ~ 7.7.
We derive luminosity functions for the full sample of seven objects and for
sub-samples of four objects. If the brightest objects in our sample are real,
we infer a luminosity function which would be difficult to reconcile with
previous work at lower redshift. More definitive conclusions will require
spectroscopic confirmation.Comment: 12 pages, accepted to Astronomy and Astrophysic
Q1208+1011: Search for the lensing galaxy
We present a high-resolution spectrum of the high redshift, lensed quasar
Q1208+1101, obtained with the echellette spectrograph on the Multiple Mirror
Telescope. We examine the new and published spectra and provide an updated list
of high-confidence metal-line absorption systems at z=1.1349, 2.8626, 2.9118,
2.9136, 2.9149. Combining this with a simple model of the gravitational lens
system allows us to constrain the possible lens redshifts. The high-redshift (z
> 2.5) and low-redshift (z < 0.4) candidates can be ruled out with high
confidence. The current spectra effectively probe about 40% of the redshift
range in which the lens is expected. In that range, there is only one known
metal-line absorption system, an MgII absorber at z=1.1349. We consider the
possibility that this system is the lensing galaxy and discuss the implied
parameters of the galaxy.Comment: Latex 24 pages, 6 figures. accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
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Sources of carbonaceous aerosols and deposited black carbon in the Arctic in winter-spring: implications for radiative forcing
We use a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem CTM) to interpret observations of black carbon (BC) and organic aerosol (OA) from the NASA ARCTAS aircraft campaign over the North American Arctic in April 2008, as well as longer-term records in surface air and in snow (2007–2009). BC emission inventories for North America, Europe, and Asia in the model are tested by comparison with surface air observations over these source regions. Russian open fires were the dominant source of OA in the Arctic troposphere during ARCTAS but we find that BC was of prevailingly anthropogenic (fossil fuel and biofuel) origin, particularly in surface air. This source attribution is confirmed by correlation of BC and OA with acetonitrile and sulfate in the model and in the observations. Asian emissions are the main anthropogenic source of BC in the free troposphere but European, Russian and North American sources are also important in surface air. Russian anthropogenic emissions appear to dominate the source of BC in Arctic surface air in winter. Model simulations for 2007–2009 (to account for interannual variability of fires) show much higher BC snow content in the Eurasian than the North American Arctic, consistent with the limited observations. We find that anthropogenic sources contribute 90% of BC deposited to Arctic snow in January-March and 60% in April–May 2007–2009. The mean decrease in Arctic snow albedo from BC deposition is estimated to be 0.6% in spring, resulting in a regional surface radiative forcing consistent with previous estimates.Earth and Planetary SciencesEngineering and Applied Science
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