1,428 research outputs found
QSO 0130-4021: A third QSO showing a low Deuterium to Hydrogen Abundance Ratio
We have discovered a third quasar absorption system which is consistent with
a low deuterium to hydrogen abundance ratio, D/H = 3.4 times 10^-5. The z ~ 2.8
partial Lyman limit system towards QSO 0130-4021 provides the strongest
evidence to date against large D/H ratios because the H I absorption, which
consists of a single high column density component with unsaturated high order
Lyman series lines, is readily modeled -- a task which is more complex in other
D/H systems. We have obtained twenty-two hours of spectra from the HIRES
spectrograph on the W.M. Keck telescope, which allow a detailed description of
the Hydrogen. We see excess absorption on the blue wing of the H I Lyman alpha
line, near the expected position of Deuterium. However, we find that Deuterium
cannot explain all of the excess absorption, and hence there must be
contamination by additional absorption, probably H I. This extra H I can
account for most or all of the absorption at the D position, and hence D/H = 0
is allowed. We find an upper limit of D/H < 6.7 times 10^-5 in this system,
consistent with the value of D/H ~ 3.4 times 10^-5 deduced towards QSO
1009+2956 and QSO 1937-1009 by Burles and Tytler (1998a, 1998b). This
absorption system shows only weak metal line absorption, and we estimate [Si/H]
< -2.6 -- indicating that the D/H ratio of the system is likely primordial. All
four of the known high redshift absorption line systems simple enough to
provide useful limits on D are consistent with D/H = 3.4 +/- 0.25 times 10^-5.
Conversely, this QSO provides the third case which is inconsistent with much
larger values.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Ap
A Spin Modulated Telescope to Make Two Dimensional CMB Maps
We describe the HEMT Advanced Cosmic Microwave Explorer (HACME), a balloon
borne experiment designed to measure sub-degree scale Cosmic Microwave
Background anisotropy over hundreds of square degrees, using a unique two
dimensional scanning strategy. A spinning flat mirror that is canted relative
to its spin axis modulates the direction of beam response in a nearly
elliptical path on the sky. The experiment was successfully flown in February
of 1996, achieving near laboratory performance for several hours at float
altitude. A map free of instrumental systematic effects is produced for a 3.5
hour observation of 630 square degrees, resulting in a flat band power upper
limit of (l(l+1)C_l/2 pi)^0.5 < 77 microK at l = 38 (95% confidence). The
experiment design, flight operations and data, including atmospheric effects
and noise performance, are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
The COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment Search for the Cosmic Infrared Background: I. Limits and Detections
The DIRBE on the COBE spacecraft was designed primarily to conduct systematic
search for an isotropic CIB in ten photometric bands from 1.25 to 240 microns.
The results of that search are presented here. Conservative limits on the CIB
are obtained from the minimum observed brightness in all-sky maps at each
wavelength, with the faintest limits in the DIRBE spectral range being at 3.5
microns (\nu I_\nu < 64 nW/m^2/sr, 95% CL) and at 240 microns (\nu I_\nu < 28
nW/m^2/sr, 95% CL). The bright foregrounds from interplanetary dust scattering
and emission, stars, and interstellar dust emission are the principal
impediments to the DIRBE measurements of the CIB. These foregrounds have been
modeled and removed from the sky maps. Assessment of the random and systematic
uncertainties in the residuals and tests for isotropy show that only the 140
and 240 microns data provide candidate detections of the CIB. The residuals and
their uncertainties provide CIB upper limits more restrictive than the dark sky
limits at wavelengths from 1.25 to 100 microns. No plausible solar system or
Galactic source of the observed 140 and 240 microns residuals can be
identified, leading to the conclusion that the CIB has been detected at levels
of \nu I_\nu = 25+-7 and 14+-3 nW/m^2/sr at 140 and 240 microns respectively.
The integrated energy from 140 to 240 microns, 10.3 nW/m^2/sr, is about twice
the integrated optical light from the galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field,
suggesting that star formation might have been heavily enshrouded by dust at
high redshift. The detections and upper limits reported here provide new
constraints on models of the history of energy-releasing processes and dust
production since the decoupling of the cosmic microwave background from matter.Comment: 26 pages and 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophyical
Journa
A Census of Intrinsic Narrow Absorption Lines in the Spectra of Quasars at z = 2-4
We use Keck HIRES spectra of 37 optically bright quasars at z = 2-4 to study narrow absorption lines that are intrinsic to the quasars (intrinsic NALs, produced in gas that is physically associated with the quasar central engine). We identify 150 NAL systems, which contain 124 C IV, 12 N V, and 50 Si IV doublets, of which 18 are associated systems (within 5000 km s-1 of the quasar redshift). We use partial coverage analysis to separate intrinsic NALs from NALs produced in cosmologically intervening structures. We find 39 candidate intrinsic systems (28 reliable determinations and 11 that are possibly intrinsic). We estimate that 10%-17% of C IV systems at blueshifts of 5000-70,000 km s-1 relative to quasars are intrinsic. At least 32% of quasars contain one or more intrinsic C IV NALs. Considering N V and Si IV doublets showing partial coverage as well, at least 50% of quasars host intrinsic NALs. This result constrains the solid angle subtended by the absorbers to the background source(s). We identify two families of intrinsic NAL systems, those with strong N V absorption and those with negligible absorption in N V but with partial coverage in the C IV doublet. We discuss the idea that these two families represent different regions or conditions in accretion disk winds. Of the 26 intrinsic C IV NAL systems, 13 have detectable low-ionization absorption lines at similar velocities, suggesting that these are two-phase structures in the wind rather than absorbers in the host galaxy. We also compare possible models for quasar outflows, including radiatively accelerated disk-driven winds, magnetocentrifugally accelerated winds, and pressure-driven winds, and we discuss ways of distinguishing between these models observationally.The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 171:1-28 (2007)journal articl
Measuring the Stellar Masses of z~7 Galaxies with Spitzer Ultrafaint Survey Program (SURFS UP)
We present Spitzer/IRAC observations of nine -band dropouts highly
magnified (2<mu<12) by the Bullet Cluster. We combine archival imaging with our
Exploratory program (SURFS UP), which results in a total integration time of
~30 hr per IRAC band. We detect (>3sigma) in both IRAC bands the brightest of
these high-redshift galaxies, with [3.6]=23.80+-0.28 mag, [4.5]=23.78+-0.25
mag, and (H-[3.6])=1.17+-0.32 mag. The remaining eight galaxies are undetected
to [3.6]~26.4 mag and [4.5]~26.0 mag with stellar masses of ~5x10^7 M_sol. The
detected galaxy has an estimated magnification of mu=12+-4, which implies this
galaxy has an ultraviolet luminosity of L_1500~0.3 L*_{z=7} --- the lowest
luminosity individual source detected in IRAC at z>7. By modeling the broadband
photometry, we estimate the galaxy has an intrinsic star-formation rate of
SFR~1.3 M_sol/yr and stellar mass of M~2x10^9 M_sol, which gives a specific
star-formation rate of sSFR~0.7 Gyr^-1. If this galaxy had sustained this
star-formation rate since z~20, it could have formed the observed stellar mass
(to within a factor of ~2), we also discuss alternate star-formation histories
and argue the exponentially-increasing model is unlikely. Finally, based on the
intrinsic star-formation rate, we estimate this galaxy has a likely [C II] flux
of = 10^{-17} erg/s/cm2.Comment: Accepted to ApJL. 6 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
Cosmic Microwave Background Dipole induced by double inflation
The observed CMBR dipole is generally interpreted as the consequence of the
peculiar motion of the Sun with respect to the reference frame of the CMBR.
This article proposes an alternative interpretation in which the observed
dipole is the result of isocurvature perturbations on scales larger than the
present Hubble radius. These perturbations are produced in the simplest model
of double inflation, depending on three parameters. The observed dipole and
quadrupole can be explained in this model, while severely constraining its
parameters.Comment: Latex, 9 pages, no figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.
A Keck Survey of Gravitational Lens Systems: I. Spectroscopy of SBS 0909+532, HST 1411+5211, and CLASS B2319+051
We present new results from a continuing Keck program to study gravitational
lens systems. We have obtained redshifts for three lens systems, SBS 0909+532,
HST 1411+5211, and CLASS B2319+051. For all of these systems, either the source
or lens redshift (or both) has been previously unidentified. We find (z_l, z_s)
= (0.830, 1.377) for SBS 0909+532; (z_l, z_s) = (0.465, 2.811) for HST
1411+5211, although the source redshift is still tentative; and (z_l1, z_l2) =
(0.624, 0.588) for the two lensing galaxies in CLASS B2319+051. The background
radio source in B2319+051 has not been detected optically; its redshift is,
therefore, still unknown. We find that the spectral features of the central
lensing galaxy in all three systems are typical of an early-type galaxy. The
observed image splittings in SBS 0909+532 and HST 1411+5211 imply that the
masses within the Einstein ring radii of the lensing galaxies are 1.4 x 10^{11}
and 2.0 x 10^{11} h^{-1} M_sun, respectively. The resulting B band
mass-to-light ratio for HST 1411+5211 is 41.3 +/- 1.2 h (M/L)_sun, a factor of
5 times higher than the average early-type lensing galaxy. This large
mass-to-light is almost certainly the result of the additional mass
contribution from the cluster CL 3C295 at z = 0.46. For the lensing galaxy in
SBS 0909+532, we measure (M/L)_B = 4^{+11}_{-3} h (M/L)_sun where the large
errors are the result of significant uncertainty in the galaxy luminosity.
While we cannot measure directly the mass-to-light ratio of the lensing galaxy
in B2319+051, we estimate that (M/L)_B is between 3-7 h (M/L)_sun.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomical Journal. 21 pages, including
7 figure
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