79 research outputs found
Short-term emission line and continuum variations in Mrk110
We present results of a variability campaign of Mrk110 performed with the
9.2-m Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory. The high S/N
spectra cover most of the optical range. They were taken from 1999 November
through 2000 May. The average interval between the observations was 7.3 days
and the median interval was only 3.0 days. Mrk110 is a narrow-line Seyfert 1
galaxy. During our campaign the continuum flux was in a historically low stage.
Considering the delays of the emission lines with respect to the continuum
variations we could verify an ionization stratification of the BLR. We derived
virial masses of the central black hole from the radial distances of the
different emission lines and from their widths. The calculated central masses
agree within 20%. Furthermore, we identified optical HeI singlet emission lines
emitted in the broad-line region. The observed line fluxes agree with
theoretical predictions. We show that a broad wing on the red side of the
[OIII]5007 line is caused by the HeI singlet line at 5016A.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures, A&A Latex. Accepted for publication in A&A Main
Journa
Tomimatsu-Sato geometries, holography and quantum gravity
We analyze the Tomimatsu-Sato spacetime in the context of the
proposed Kerr/CFT correspondence. This 4-dimensional vacuum spacetime is
asymptotically flat and has a well-defined ADM mass and angular momentum, but
also involves several exotic features including a naked ring singularity, and
two disjoint Killing horizons separated by a region with closed timelike curves
and a rod-like conical singularity. We demonstrate that the near horizon
geometry belongs to a general class of Ricci-flat metrics with
symmetry that includes both the extremal Kerr and
extremal Kerr-bolt geometries. We calculate the central charge and temperature
for the CFT dual to this spacetime and confirm the Cardy formula reproduces the
Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We find that all of the basic parameters of the
dual CFT are most naturally expressed in terms of charges defined intrinsically
on the horizon, which are distinct from the ADM charges in this geometry.Comment: 20+1 pages, 3 figures, changed title, expanded discussion, matches
version published in CQ
The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury VI. The Ancient Star Forming disk of NGC 404
We present HST/WFPC2 observations across the disk of the nearby isolated
dwarf S0 galaxy NGC 404, which hosts an extended gas disk. Our deepest field
reaches the red clump and main-sequence stars with ages <500 Myr. Although we
detect trace amounts of star formation at times more recent than 10 Gyr for all
fields, the proportion of red giant stars to asymptotic giants and main
sequence stars suggests that the disk is dominated by an ancient (>10 Gyr)
population. Detailed modeling of the color-magnitude diagram suggests that ~70%
of the stellar mass in the NGC 404 disk formed by z~2 (10 Gyr ago) and at least
~90% formed prior to z~1 (8 Gyr ago). These results indicate that the stellar
populations of the NGC 404 disk are on average significantly older than those
of other nearby disk galaxies, suggesting that early and late type disks may
have different long-term evolutionary histories, not simply differences in
their recent star formation rates. Comparisons of the spatial distribution of
the young stellar mass and FUV emission in GALEX images show that the brightest
FUV regions contain the youngest stars, but that some young stars (<160 Myr)
lie outside of these regions. FUV luminosity appears to be strongly affected by
both age and stellar mass within individual regions. Finally, we use our
measurements to infer the relationship between the star formation rate and the
gas density of the disk at previous epochs. We find that most of the history of
the NGC 404 disk is consistent with star formation that has decreased with the
gas density according to the Schmidt law. However, 0.5-1 Gyr ago, the star
formation rate was unusually low for the inferred gas density, consistent with
the possibility that there was a gas accretion event that reignited star
formation ~0.5 Gyr ago. Such an event could explain why this S0 galaxy hosts an
extended gas disk.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap
The SDSS-II Supernova Survey: Parameterizing the Type Ia Supernova Rate as a Function of Host Galaxy Properties
Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Supernova Survey-II, we measure the
rate of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) as a function of galaxy properties at
intermediate redshift. A sample of 342 SNe Ia with 0.05<z<0.25 is constructed.
Using broad-band photometry we use the PEGASE spectral energy distributions
(SEDs) to estimate host galaxy stellar masses and recent star-formation rates.
We find that the rate of SNe Ia per unit stellar mass is significantly higher
(by a factor of ~30) in highly star-forming galaxies compared to passive
galaxies. When parameterizing the SN Ia rate (SNR_Ia) based on host galaxy
properties, we find that the rate of SNe Ia in passive galaxies is not linearly
proportional to the stellar mass, instead a SNR_Ia proportional to M^0.68 is
favored. However, such a parameterization does not describe the observed SN Ia
rate in star-forming galaxies. The SN Ia rate in star-forming galaxies is well
fit by SNR_Ia = 1.05\pm0.16x10^{-10} M ^{0.68\pm0.01} + 1.01\pm0.09x10^{-3}
SFR^{1.00\pm0.05} (statistical errors only), where M is the host galaxy mass
and SFR is the star-formation rate. These results are insensitive to the
selection criteria used, redshift limit considered and the inclusion of
non-spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia. We also show there is a dependence
between the distribution of the MLCS light-curve decline rate parameter,
\Delta, and host galaxy type. Passive galaxies host less luminous SNe Ia than
seen in moderately and highly star-forming galaxies, although a population of
luminous SNe is observed in passive galaxies, contradicting previous assertions
that these SNe Ia are only observed in younger stellar systems. The MLCS
extinction parameter, A_V, is similar in passive and moderately star-forming
galaxies, but we find indications that it is smaller, on average, in highly
star-forming galaxies. We confirm these results using the SALT2 light-curve
fitter.Comment: 46 pages, submitted to Ap
Localization of preformed Cooper pairs in disordered superconductors
International audienceThe most profound effect of disorder on electronic systems is the localization of the electrons transforming an otherwise metallic system into an insulator. If the metal is also a superconductor then, at low temperatures, disorder can induce a pronounced transition from a superconducting into an insulating state. An outstanding question is whether the route to insulating behaviour proceeds through the direct localization of Cooper pairs or, alternatively, by a two-step process in which the Cooper pairing is first destroyed followed by the standard localization of single electrons. Here we address this question by studying the local superconducting gap of a highly disordered amorphous superconductor by means of scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. Our measurements reveal that, in the vicinity of the superconductor-insulator transition, the coherence peaks in the one-particle density of states disappear whereas the superconducting gap remains intact, indicating the presence of localized Cooper pairs. Our results provide the first direct evidence that the superconductor-insulator transition in some homogeneously disordered materials is driven by Cooper-pair localization
A direct localization of a fast radio burst and its host
Fast radio bursts are astronomical radio flashes of unknown physical nature
with durations of milliseconds. Their dispersive arrival times suggest an
extragalactic origin and imply radio luminosities orders of magnitude larger
than any other kind of known short-duration radio transient. Thus far, all FRBs
have been detected with large single-dish telescopes with arcminute
localizations, and attempts to identify their counterparts (source or host
galaxy) have relied on contemporaneous variability of field sources or the
presence of peculiar field stars or galaxies. These attempts have not resulted
in an unambiguous association with a host or multi-wavelength counterpart. Here
we report the sub-arcsecond localization of FRB 121102, the only known
repeating burst source, using high-time-resolution radio interferometric
observations that directly image the bursts themselves. Our precise
localization reveals that FRB 121102 originates within 100 mas of a faint 180
uJy persistent radio source with a continuum spectrum that is consistent with
non-thermal emission, and a faint (25th magnitude) optical counterpart. The
flux density of the persistent radio source varies by tens of percent on day
timescales, and very long baseline radio interferometry yields an angular size
less than 1.7 mas. Our observations are inconsistent with the fast radio burst
having a Galactic origin or its source being located within a prominent
star-forming galaxy. Instead, the source appears to be co-located with a
low-luminosity active galactic nucleus or a previously unknown type of
extragalactic source. [Truncated] If other fast radio bursts have similarly
faint radio and optical counterparts, our findings imply that direct
sub-arcsecond localizations of FRBs may be the only way to provide reliable
associations.Comment: Nature, published online on 4 Jan 2017, DOI: 10.1038/nature2079
Narcissism and Creativity: The Function of Triangulation in Franz Rosenzweig's Life and Work: The Gritli Letters.
No abstract available
The healing significance of the Negev's Bedouin Dervish
Among the Bedouins of the Negev desert, Israel, there are Dervish healers specializing in what are now called psychiatric disorders. Five Dervish (three male, two female) were interviewed and observed with reference to concepts of etiology, symptom classification, diagnosis, stages of treatment, and aftercare. The conclusion examines reasons why Bedouins might want to seek treatment from a Dervish, rather than a modern health care practitioner.Bedouin Dervish Islam mental health traditional healing
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