The Slitless Spectroscopy Data Extraction Software aXe

The methods and techniques for the slitless spectroscopy software aXe, which was designed to reduce data from the various slitless spectroscopy modes of Hubble Space Telescope instruments, are described. aXe can treat slitless spectra from different instruments such as ACS, NICMOS and WFC3 through the use of a configuration file which contains all the instrument dependent parameters. The basis of the spectral extraction within aXe are the position, morphology and photometry of the objects on a companion direct image. Several aspects of slitless spectroscopy, such as the overlap of spectra, an extraction dependent on object shape and the provision of flat-field cubes, motivate a dedicated software package, and the solutions offered within aXe are discussed in detail. The effect of the mutual contamination of spectra can be quantitatively assessed in aXe, using spectral and morphological information from the companion direct image(s). A new method named 'aXedrizzle' for 2D rebinning and co-adding spectral data, taken with small shifts or dithers, is described. The extraction of slitless spectra with optimal weighting is outlined and the correction of spectra for detector fringing for the ACS CCD's is presented. Auxiliary software for simulating slitless data and for visualizing the results of an aXe extraction is outlined.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in PASP. A high resolution version is available at http://www.stecf.org/software/slitless_software/axe/axe_PASP.pd

“Prothetic h-” in Khotanese and the reconstruction of Proto-Iranic

Workshop presentation about reconstruction of sounds preserved only in marginal daughter languages attested later than the earliest daughter

Metallicities of Emission-Line Galaxies from HST ACS PEARS and HST WFC3 ERS Grism Spectroscopy at 0.6 < z < 2.4

Galaxies selected on the basis of their emission line strength show low metallicities, regardless of their redshifts. We conclude this from a sample of faint galaxies at redshifts between 0.6 < z < 2.4, selected by their prominent emission lines in low-resolution grism spectra in the optical with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and in the near-infrared using Wide-Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Using a sample of 11 emission line galaxies (ELGs) at 0.6 < z < 2.4 with luminosities of -22 < M_B < -19, which have [OII], H\beta, and [OIII] line flux measurements from the combination of two grism spectral surveys, we use the R23 method to derive the gas-phase oxygen abundances: 7.5 < 12+log(O/H) < 8.5. The galaxy stellar masses are derived using Bayesian based Markov Chain Monte Carlo (\piMC^2) fitting of their Spectral Energy Distribution (SED), and span the mass range 8.1 < log(M_*/M_\sun) < 10.1. These galaxies show a mass-metallicity (M-L) and Luminosity-Metallicity (L-Z) relation, which is offset by --0.6 dex in metallicity at given absolute magnitude and stellar mass relative to the local SDSS galaxies, as well as continuum selected DEEP2 samples at similar redshifts. The emission-line selected galaxies most resemble the local "green peas" galaxies and Lyman-alpha galaxies at z~0.3 and z~2.3 in the M-Z and L-Z relations and their morphologies. The G-M_{20} morphology analysis shows that 10 out of 11 show disturbed morphology, even as the star-forming regions are compact. These galaxies may be intrinsically metal poor, being at early stages of formation, or the low metallicities may be due to gas infall and accretion due to mergers.Comment: 24 pages with 7 figure

Collective Excitations and Ground State Correlations

A generalized RPA formalism is presented which treats pp and ph correlations on an equal footing. The effect of these correlations on the single-particle Green function is discussed and it is demonstrated that a self-consistent treatment of the single-particle Green function is required to obtain stable solutions. A simple approximation scheme is presented which incorporates for this self-consistency requirement and conserves the number of particles. Results of numerical calculations are given for $^{16}$O using a G-matrix interaction derived from a realistic One-Boson-Exchange potential.Comment: 16 Pages + 2 Figures (included at the end as uuencoded ps-files), TU-18089

The road to the red sequence: A detailed view of the formation of a massive galaxy at z~2

(Abridged) We present here a detailed analysis of the star formation history (SFH) of FW4871, a massive galaxy at z=1.893+-0.002. We compare rest-frame optical and NUV slitless grism spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope with a large set of composite stellar populations to constrain the underlying star formation history. Even though the morphology features prominent tidal tails, indicative of a recent merger, there is no sign of on-going star formation within an aperture encircling one effective radius, which corresponds to a physical extent of 2.6 kpc. A model assuming truncation of an otherwise constant SFH gives a formation epoch zF~10, with a truncation after 2.7 Gyr, giving a mass-weighted age of 1.5 Gyr and a stellar mass of 0.8-3E11Msun, implying star formation rates of 30-110 Msun/yr. A more complex model including a recent burst of star formation places the age of the youngest component at 145 Myr, with a mass contribution lower than 20%, and a maximum amount of dust reddening of E(B-V)<0.4 mag (95% confidence levels). This low level of dust reddening is consistent with the low emission observed at 24 micron, corresponding to rest-frame 8 micron, where PAH emission should contribute significantly if a strong formation episode were present. The colour profile of FW4871 does not suggest a significant radial trend in the properties of the stellar populations out to 3Re. We suggest that the recent merger that formed FW4871 is responsible for the quenching of its star formation.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. In press (Astronomical Journal

Catalytic activity of nanoalloys from gold and palladium

We present a quantitative study of the catalytic activity of well defined faceted gold palladium nanoalloys which are immobilized on cationic spherical polyelectrolyte brushes. The spherical polyelectrolyte brush particles used as carriers for the nanoalloys consist of a solid polystyrene core onto which cationic polyelectrolyte chains of 2 aminoethylmethacrylate are attached. Au Pd nanoalloy particles with sizes in the range from 1 to 3 nm have been generated which are homogeneously distributed on the surface of the spherical polyelectrolyte brushes. The reduction of 4 nitrophenol has been chosen as a well controlled model reaction allowing us to determine the catalytic activity of the nanoalloys as a function of the Au Pd composition. The absorption behavior was studied by Langmuir Hinshelwood kinetics. We find a pronounced maximum of the catalytic activity at 75 molar Au. A comparison of gold, platinum, palladium and gold palladium alloy nanoparticles is made in terms of Langmuir Hinshelwood kinetics. Density functional calculations for Au Pd clusters with up to 38 atoms show that the density of states at the Fermi level increases with increasing Pd content, and that the highest occupied orbitals are associated with Pd atoms. The calculations confirm that small changes in the atomic arrangement can lead to pronounced changes in the particles electronic properties, indicating that the known importance of surface effects is further enhanced in nanoalloy

Ionic and electronic structure of sodium clusters up to N=59

We determined the ionic and electronic structure of sodium clusters with even electron numbers and 2 to 59 atoms in axially averaged and three-dimensional density functional calculations. A local, phenomenological pseudopotential that reproduces important bulk and atomic properties and facilitates structure calculations has been developed. Photoabsorption spectra have been calculated for $\mathrm{Na}_2$, $\mathrm{Na}_8$, and $\mathrm{Na}_9^+$ to $\mathrm{Na}_{59}^+$. The consistent inclusion of ionic structure considerably improves agreement with experiment. An icosahedral growth pattern is observed for $\mathrm{Na}_{19}^+$ to $\mathrm{Na}_{59}^+$. This finding is supported by photoabsorption data.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. B 62. Version with figures in better quality can be requested from the author