Dynamics of neutrino-driven winds: inclusion of accurate weak interaction rates in strong magnetic fields

Solving Newtonian steady-state wind equations with accurate weak interaction rates and magnetic fields (MFs) of young neutron stars considered, we study the dynamics and nucleosynthesis of neutrino-driven winds (NDWs) from proto neutron stars (PNSs). For a typical 1.4 M$_{\odot}$ PNS model, we find the nucleosynthesis products are closely related to the luminosity of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos. The lower the luminosity is, the larger effect to the NDWs caused by weak interactions and MFs is. At a high anti-neutrino luminosity of typically $8\times 10^{51}$ erg s$^{-1}$, neutrinos and anti-neutrinos dominate the processes in a NDW and the MFs hardly change the wind's properties. While at a low anti-neutrino luminosity of $10^{51}$ erg s$^{-1}$ at the late stage of a NDW, the mass of product and nucleosynthesis are changed significantly in the strong MFs, they are less important than those in the early stage when the anti-neutrino luminosity is high. Therefore for the most models considered for the NDWs from PNSs, based on our calculations the influences of MFs and the net weak interactions on the nucleosynthesis is not significant.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in RA

Effect of Electron Screening on the Collapsing Process of Core-Collapse Supernovae

By using an average heavy nuclei model, the effects of the electron screening on electron capture (EC) in core-collapse supernovae are investigated. A one-dimension code based on the Ws15M_{\sun} progenitor model is utilized to test the effects of electron screening during the collapsing process. The results show that, at high densities, the effects of EC on electron capture becomes significant. During the collapsing stage, the EC rate is decreased, the collapse timescale is prolonged and the leakage of the neutrino energy is increased. These effects lead to an appreciable decrease in the initial energy of the bounce shock wave. The effects of electron screeening in the other progenitor models are also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS in pres

The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys

We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte

Chemical Evolution of Mn in Three Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

Based on an improved model, more reasonable nucleosynthesis and explosion rate of SNeIa and CCSNe, we studied Mn evolution for three local dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), considering the detailed SNe yield and explosion rates for different types of progenitors. The results can explain the main observation of Mn abundance for tens stars in those dSphs, and give some constraints to the nucleosynthesis and explosion ratio of different types of supernovae and Star Formation Rates (SFR) in those dSphs

A new estimation of manganese distribution for local dwarf spheroidal galaxies

The distribution of abundance for iron-peak elements in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) is important for galaxy evolution and supernova (SN) nucleosynthesis. Nowadays, manganese (Mn) is one of the most observed iron-peak elements in local dSphs. Studies of its distributions allow us to derive and understand the evolution history of these dSphs. We improve a phenomenological model by a two-curve model including a new initial condition, that includes detailed calculations of SN explosion rates and yields. We compare the results with the observed Mn distribution data for three dSphs: Fornax, Sculpture and Sextans. We find that the model can describe the observed Fe and Mn distributions well simultaneously for the three dSphs. The results also indicate that the initial conditions should be determined by the low metalli city samples in the beginning time of the galaxies and the previous assumption of metellicity-dependant Mn yield of SNIa is not needed when a wide mass range of core-collapse SNe is included. Our method is applicable to the chemical evolution of other iron-peak elements in dSphs and can be modified to provide more detailed processes for the evolution of dSphs