Nuclear modification at sqrt{s_{NN}}=17.3 GeV, measured at NA49

Transverse momentum spectra up to 4.5 GeV/c were measured around midrapidity in Pb+Pb reactions at sqrt{s_{NN}}=17.3 GeV, for pi^{+/-}, p, pbar and K^{+/-}, by the NA49 experiment. The nuclear modification factors R_{AA}, R_{AA/pA} and R_{CP} were extracted and are compared to RHIC results at sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV. The modification factor R_{AA} shows a rapid increase with transverse momentum in the covered region. The modification factor R_{CP} shows saturation well below unity in the pi^{+/-} channel. The extracted R_{CP} values follow the 200 GeV RHIC results closely in the available transverse momentum range for all particle species. For pi^{+/-} above 2.5 GeV/c transverse momentum, the measured suppression is smaller than that observed at RHIC. The nuclear modification factor R_{AA/pA} for pi^{+/-} stays well below unity.Comment: Proceedings of Quark Matter 2008 conferenc

Faint counts as a function of morphological type in a hierarchical merger model

The unprecedented resolution of the refurbished Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has led to major advances in our understanding of galaxy formation. The high image quality in the Medium Deep Survey and Hubble Deep Field has made it possible, for the first time, to classify faint distant galaxies according to morphological type. These observations have revealed a large population of galaxies classed as irregulars or which show signs of recent merger activity. Their abundance rises steeply with apparent magnitude, providing a likely explanation for the large number of blue galaxies seen at faint magnitudes. We demonstrate that such a population arises naturally in a model in which structure forms hierarchically and which is dynamically dominated by cold dark matter. The number counts of irregular, spiral and elliptical galaxies as a function of magnitude seen in the HST data are well reproduced in this model.We present detailed predictions for the outcome of spectroscopic follow-up observations of the HST surveys. By measuring the redshift distributions of faint galaxies of different morphological types, these programmes will provide a test of the hierarchical galaxy formation paradigm and might distinguish between models with different cosmological parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 3 postscript figures included. To be published as a Letter in Monthly Notices of the RAS. Postscript version available at http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~cmb/counts.htm

An RXTE study of M87 and the core of the Virgo cluster

We present hard X-ray observations of the nearby radio galaxy M87 and the core of the Virgo cluster using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. These are the first hard X-ray observations of M87 not affected by contamination from the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC4388. Thermal emission from Virgo's intracluster medium is clearly detected and has a spectrum indicative of kT=2.5keV plasma with approximately 25% cosmic abundances. No non-thermal (power-law) emission from M87 is detected in the hard X-ray band, with fluctuations in the Cosmic X-ray Background being the limiting factor. Combining with ROSAT data, we infer that the X-ray spectrum of the M87 core and jet must be steep (Gamma_core>1.90$ and Gamma_jet>1.75), and we discuss the implications of this result. In particular, these results are consistent with M87 being a mis-aligned BL-Lac object.Comment: 8 pages, 2 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Experimental determination of optimum coil pitch for a planar mesh-type micromagnetic sensor

To overcome the directional properties of a planar meander-type sensor, a new planar micromagetic sensor having mesh-type configuration is reported in this paper. Analytical models are usually used for the characterization of the planar-type sensors. Sensors having mesh-type configuration have been fabricated for the derivation of the optimum coil pitch