91,211 research outputs found
The Narrow-band Ultraviolet Imaging Experiment for Wide-field Surveys (NUVIEWS)-I: Dust scattered continuum
We report on the first results of the Narrow-band Ultraviolet Imaging
Experiment for Wide-field Surveys (NUVIEWS), a sounding rocket experiment
designed to map the far-ultraviolet background in four narrow bands. This is
the first imaging measurement of the UV background to cover a substantial
fraction of the sky. The narrow band responses (145, 155, 161, and 174 nm, 7-10
nm wide) allow us to isolate background contributions from dust-scattered
continuum, H2 fluorescence, and CIV 155 nm emission. In our first flight, we
mapped one quarter of the sky with 5-10 arcminute imaging resolution. In this
paper, we model the dominant contribution of the background, dust-scattered
continuum. Our data base consists of a map of over 10,000 sq. degrees with 468
independent measurements in 6.25 by 6.25 sq. degree bins. Stars and
instrumental stellar halos are removed from the data. We present a map of the
continuum background obtained in the 174 nm telescope. We use a model that
follows Witt, Friedman, and Sasseen (1997: WFS) to account for the
inhomogeneous radiation field and multiple scattering effects in clouds. We
find that the dust in the diffuse interstellar medium displays a moderate
albedo (a=0.55+/-0.1) and highly forward scattering phase function parameter
(g=0.75+/-0.1) over a large fraction of the sky, similar to dust in star
forming regions. We also have discovered a significant variance from the model.Comment: 16 pages, 3 ps figures, submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letter
Standardization and qualification of computer programs for circuit design
Study presents methods and initial procedures which may be obtained for development of more efficient uniform network analysis input language and theoretical tools to prove equivalence of data representations
Implications of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking with vector-like quarks and a ~125 GeV Higgs boson
We investigate the implications of models that achieve a Standard Model-like
Higgs boson of mass near 125 GeV by introducing additional TeV-scale
supermultiplets in the vector-like 10+\bar{10} representation of SU(5), within
the context of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. We study the resulting
mass spectrum of superpartners, comparing and contrasting to the usual
gauge-mediated and CMSSM scenarios, and discuss implications for LHC
supersymmetry searches. This approach implies that exotic vector-like fermions
t'_{1,2}, b',and \tau' should be within the reach of the LHC. We discuss the
masses, the couplings to electroweak bosons, and the decay branching ratios of
the exotic fermions, with and without various unification assumptions for the
mass and mixing parameters. We comment on LHC prospects for discovery of the
exotic fermion states, both for decays that are prompt and non-prompt on
detector-crossing time scales.Comment: 32 pages. v2: references added, figure caption 5.3 correcte
Prototype construction of a compiler for network analysis feasibility study
Feasibility of unified compilers for network analysi
Determination of the Rb ng-series quantum defect by electric-field-induced resonant energy transfer between cold Rydberg atoms
Resonant energy transfer between cold Rydberg atoms was used to determine
Rydberg atom energy levels, at precisions approaching those obtainable in
microwave spectroscopy. Laser cooled Rb atoms from a magneto-optical trap were
optically excited to 32d Rydberg states. The two-atom process 32d(j=5/2) +
32d(j=5/2) -> 34p(j=3/2) + 30g is resonant at an electric field of
approximately 0.3 V/cm. This process is driven by the electric dipole-dipole
interaction, which is allowed due to the partial f character that the g state
acquires in an electric field. The experimentally observed resonant field,
together with the Stark map calculation is used to make a determination of the
Rb ng-series quantum defect: delta_g (n=30) = 0.00405(6)
Astrometric planet search around southern ultracool dwarfs III. Discovery of a brown dwarf in a 3-year orbit around DE0630-18
Using astrometric measurements obtained with the FORS2/VLT camera, we are
searching for low-mass companions around 20 nearby ultracool dwarfs. With a
single-measurement precision of 0.1 milli-arcseconds, our survey is sensitive
to a wide range of companion masses from planetary companions to binary
systems. Here, we report the discovery and orbit characterisation of a new
ultracool binary at a distance of 19.5 pc from Earth that is composed of the
M8.5-dwarf primary DE0630-18 and a substellar companion. The nearly edge-on
orbit is moderately eccentric (e=0.23) with an orbital period of 1120 d, which
corresponds to a relative separation in semimajor axis of approximately 1.1 AU.
We obtained a high-resolution optical spectrum with UVES/VLT and measured the
system's heliocentric radial velocity. The spectrum does not exhibit lithium
absorption at 670.8 nm, indicating that the system is not extremely young. A
preliminary estimate of the binary's physical parameters tells us that it is
composed of a primary at the stellar-substellar limit and a massive brown-dwarf
companion. DE0630-18 is a new very low-mass binary system with a
well-characterised orbit.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Discovery of a Spin-Down State Change in the LMC Pulsar B0540-69
We report the discovery of a large, sudden, and persistent increase in the
spin-down rate of B0540-69, a young pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud, using
observations from the Swift and RXTE satellites. The relative increase in the
spin-down rate of 36% is unprecedented for B0540-69. No accompanying change in
the spin rate is seen, and no change is seen in the pulsed X-ray emission from
B0540-69 following the change in the spin-down rate. Such large relative
changes in the spin-down rate are seen in the recently discovered class of
'intermittent pulsars', and we compare the properties of B0540-69 to such
pulsars. We consider possible changes in the magnetosphere of the pulsar that
could cause such a large change in the spin-down rate.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Astrometric planet search around southern ultracool dwarfs II: Astrometric reduction methods and a deep astrometric catalogue
We describe the astrometric reduction of images obtained with the FORS2/VLT
camera in the framework of an astrometric planet search around 20
M/L-transition dwarfs. We present the correction of systematic errors, the
achieved astrometric performance, and a new astrometric catalogue containing
the faint reference stars in 20 fields located close to the Galactic plane. We
detected three types of systematic errors in the FORS2 astrometry: the relative
motion of the camera's two CCD chips, errors that are correlated in space, and
an error contribution of yet unexplained origin. The relative CCD motion has
probably a thermal origin and usually is 0.001-0.010 px (~0.1-1 mas), but
sometimes amounts to 0.02-0.05 px (3-6 mas). This instability and
space-correlated errors are detected and mitigated using reference stars. The
third component of unknown origin has an amplitude of 0.03-0.14 mas and is
independent of the observing conditions. We find that a consecutive sequence of
32 images of a well-exposed star over 40 min at 0.6" seeing results in a median
r.m.s. of the epoch residuals of 0.126 mas. Overall, the epoch residuals are
distributed according to a normal law with a chi2~1. We compiled a catalogue of
12000 stars with I-band magnitudes of 16-22 located in 20 fields, each covering
~2x2'. It contains I-band magnitudes, ICRF positions with 40-70 mas precision,
and relative proper motions and absolute trigonometric parallaxes with a
precision of 0.1 mas/yr and 0.1 mas at the bright end, respectively.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A&A on
March 14, 201
Astrometric orbit of a low-mass companion to an ultracool dwarf
Little is known about the existence of extrasolar planets around ultracool
dwarfs. Furthermore, binary stars with Sun-like primaries and very low-mass
binaries composed of ultracool dwarfs show differences in the distributions of
mass ratio and orbital separation that can be indicative of distinct formation
mechanisms. Using FORS2/VLT optical imaging for high precision astrometry we
are searching for planets and substellar objects around ultracool dwarfs to
investigate their multiplicity properties for very low companion masses. Here
we report astrometric measurements with an accuracy of two tenths of a
milli-arcsecond over two years that reveal orbital motion of the nearby L1.5
dwarf DENIS-P J082303.1-491201 located at 20.77 +/- 0.08 pc caused by an unseen
companion that revolves about its host on an eccentric orbit in 246.4 +/- 1.4
days. We estimate the L1.5 dwarf to have 7.5 +/- 0.7 % of the Sun's mass that
implies a companion mass of 28 +/- 2 Jupiter masses. This new system has the
smallest mass ratio (0.36 +/- 0.02) of known very low-mass binaries with
characterised orbits. With this discovery we demonstrate 200 micro-arcsecond
astrometry over an arc-minute field and over several years that is sufficient
to discover sub-Jupiter mass planets around ultracool dwarfs. We also show that
the achieved parallax accuracy of < 0.4 % makes it possible to remove distance
as a dominant source of uncertainty in the modelling of ultracool dwarfs.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics. The reduced astrometry data will be made publically available
through the CD
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