1,260 research outputs found
Sigma One
We demonstrate that it is possible to calculate not only the mean of an
underlying population but also its dispersion, given only a single observation
and physically reasonable constraints (i.e., that the quantities under
consideration are non-negative and bounded). We suggest that this
counter-intuitive conclusion is in fact at the heart of most modeling of
astronomical data.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal. 13 pages, 4 figure
The Feinheit method: A phase-independent formulation of the period-luminosity relation for Cephids
The tight correlation between color and luminosity during the cyclical variation of a Cepheid is calibrated and shown to be a direct means by which most of the phase-dependent temperature-induced amplitude of the variable can be transformed away. The resulting Feinheit function, F = V - alpha (B-V) gives rise to a random-phase period-luminosity relation with an rms scatter of less than 0.20 mag. A comparison shows that the blue Feinheit method for distance determinations method from single-phase observations is as accurate as near-infrared photometry but has the added advantage of being able to use panoramic detectors for the data acquisition. The Feinheit function is identified as the surface area variation of the Cepheid during its cycle
Two New Tests of the Metallicity Sensitivity of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity Relation (The Leavitt Law)
We undertake a new test of the metallicity sensitivity of the Leavitt Law for
Classical Cepheids. We derive an empirical calibration of the apparent
luminosities of Cepheids as measured from the optical through the mid-infrared
(0.45-8.0um) as a function of spectroscopic [Fe/H] abundances of individual
Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud from Romaniello et al. (2008). The
cumulative trend over the entire wavelength range shows a nearly monotonic
behavior. The sense of the trend is consistent with differential
line-blanketing in the optical, leading to stars of high metallicity being
fainter in the optical. This is followed by a reversal in the trend at longer
wavelengths, with the cross-over occurring near the K band at about 2.2um,
consistent with a subsequent redistribution of energy resulting in a mild
brightening of Cepheids (with increased metallicity) at mid-infrared
wavelengths. This conclusion agrees with that of Romaniello et al. based on a
differential comparison of the mean V- and K-band Leavitt Laws for the Galaxy,
SMC and LMC, but is opposite in sign to most other empirical tests of the
sensitivity of Cepheid distances to mean [O/H] HII region abundances. We also
search for a correlation of Cepheid host-galaxy metallicity with deviations of
the galaxy's Cepheid distance from that predicted from a pure Hubble flow.
Based on Cepheid distances to 26 nearby galaxies in the local flow, only a very
weak signal is detected giving Dmu_o = -0.17 (+/- 0.31) ([O/H] - 8.80) - 0.21
(+/-0.10). This is in agreement with previous determinations, but statistically
inconclusive.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal. 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Cepheid and Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances To the Dwarf Irregular Galaxy IC10
We present color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions of stars in the
nearby galaxy IC 10, based on VI CCD photometry acquired with the COSMIC
prime-focus camera on the Palomar 5m telescope. The apparent I-band luminosity
function of stars in the halo of IC 10 shows an identifiable rise at I~21.7
mag. This is interpreted as being the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) at
M_V~-4 mag. Since IC 10 is at a very low Galactic latitude, its foreground
extinction is expected to be high and the uncertainty associated with that
correction is the largest contributor to the error associated with its distance
determination. Multi-wavelength observations of Cepheid variable stars in IC 10
give a Population I distance modulus of 24.1 +- 0.2 mag, which corresponds to a
linear distance of 660 +- 66 kpc for a total line-of-sight reddening of E(B-V)
= 1.16 +- 0.08 mag, derived self-consistently from the Cepheid data alone.
Applying this Population I reddening to the Population II halo stars gives a
TRGB distance modulus of 23.5 +- 0.2 mag, corresponding to 500 +- 50 kpc. We
consider this to be a lower limit on the TRGB distance. Reconciling the Cepheid
and TRGB distances would require that the reddening to the halo is
E(B-V) = 0.31 mag lower than that into the main body of the galaxy.
This then suggests that the Galactic extinction in the direction of IC10 is
(B-V) ~ 0.85
Palomar/Las Campanas Imaging Atlas of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies: II. Surface Photometry and the Properties of the Underlying Stellar Population
We present the results from an analysis of surface photometry of B, R, and
Halpha images of a total of 114 nearby galaxies drawn from the Palomar/Las
Campanas Imaging Atlas of Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies. Surface brightness and
color profiles for the complete sample have been obtained. We determine the
exponential and Sersic profiles that best fit the surface brightness
distribution of the underlying stellar population detected in these galaxies.
We also compute the (B-R) color and total absolute magnitude of the underlying
stellar population and compared them to the integrated properties of the
galaxies in the sample. Our analysis shows that the (B-R) color of the
underlying population is systematically redder than the integrated color,
except in those galaxies where the integrated colors are strongly contaminated
by line and nebular-continuum emission. We also find that galaxies with
relatively red underlying stellar populations (typically (B-R)>~1mag) show
structural properties compatible with those of dwarf elliptical galaxies (i.e.
a smooth light distribution, fainter extrapolated central surface brightness
and larger scale lengths than BCD galaxies with blue underlying stellar
populations). At least ~15% of the galaxies in the sample are compatible with
being dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies experiencing a burst of star formation.
For the remaining BCD galaxies in the sample we do not find any correlation
between the recent star formation activity and their structural differences
with respect to other types of dwarf galaxies.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJS. Postscript
files of panels f1a-f1o of figure 1 are available online at
http://www.ociw.edu/~agpaz/astro-ph/apjs2004
Fuzzy Surfaces of Genus Zero
A fuzzy version of the ordinary round 2-sphere has been constructed with an
invariant curvature. We here consider linear connections on arbitrary fuzzy
surfaces of genus zero. We shall find as before that they are more or less
rigidly dependent on the differential calculus used but that a large number of
the latter can be constructed which are not covariant under the action of the
rotation group. For technical reasons we have been forced to limit our
considerations to fuzzy surfaces which are small perturbations of the fuzzy
sphere.Comment: 11 pages, Late
High Resolution Rotation Curves of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies
High resolution Halpha rotation curves are presented for five low surface
brightness galaxies. These Halpha rotation curves have shapes different from
those previously derived from HI observations, probably because of the higher
spatial resolution of the Halpha observations. The Halpha rotation curves rise
more steeply in the inner parts than the HI rotation curves and reach a flat
part beyond about two disk scale lengths. With radii expressed in optical disk
scale lengths, the rotation curves of the low surface brightness galaxies
presented here and those of HSB galaxies have almost identical shapes. Mass
modeling shows that the contribution of the stellar component to the rotation
curves may be scaled to explain most of the inner parts of the rotation curves,
albeit with high stellar mass-to-light ratios. On the other hand, well fitting
mass models can also be obtained with lower contributions of the stellar disk.
These observations suggest that the luminous mass density and the total mass
density are coupled in the inner parts of these galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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