3,395 research outputs found
The Ionization State of Sodium in Galactic Winds
Roughly 80% of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) show blue shifted
absorption in the resonance lines of neutral sodium, indicating that cool winds
are common in such objects, as shown by Rupke et al and by Martin. The neutral
sodium (NaI) columns indicated by these absorption lines are ~
10^{13}-3x10^{14}/cm^2, while the bolometric luminosity varies by a factor of
only four. We show that the gas in ULIRG outflows is likely to be in
photoionization equilibrium. The very small ULIRG sample of Goldader et al.
demonstrates that the ratio of ultraviolet flux to far infrared flux varies by
a factor from object to object. While the Goldader sample does not
overlap with those of Rupke et al. and Martin, we show that such a large
variation in ultraviolet flux will produce a similar variation in the column of
neutral sodium for a fixed mass flux and density. However, if the cold gas is
in pressure equilibrium with a hot outflow with a mass loss rate similar to the
star formation rate, the range of ionization state is significantly smaller.
Measurements of the UV flux for objects in the Martin and Rupke et al. catalogs
will definitively determine if photoionization effects are responsible for the
wide variation seen in the sodium columns. If they are, a determination of the
gas density and mass loss rate in the cool winds will follow, with attendant
improvements in our understanding of wind driving mechanisms and of the effects
of galaxies on their surroundings.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Ap
On The Nature of Variations in the Measured Star Formation Efficiency of Molecular Clouds
Measurements of the star formation efficiency (SFE) of giant molecular clouds
(GMCs) in the Milky Way generally show a large scatter, which could be
intrinsic or observational. We use magnetohydrodynamic simulations of GMCs
(including feedback) to forward-model the relationship between the true GMC SFE
and observational proxies. We show that individual GMCs trace broad ranges of
observed SFE throughout collapse, star formation, and disruption. Low measured
SFEs (<<1%) are "real" but correspond to early stages, the true "per-freefall"
SFE where most stars actually form can be much larger. Very high (>>10%) values
are often artificially enhanced by rapid gas dispersal. Simulations including
stellar feedback reproduce observed GMC-scale SFEs, but simulations without
feedback produce 20x larger SFEs. Radiative feedback dominates among mechanisms
simulated. An anticorrelation of SFE with cloud mass is shown to be an
observational artifact. We also explore individual dense "clumps" within GMCs
and show that (with feedback) their bulk properties agree well with
observations. Predicted SFEs within the dense clumps are ~2x larger than
observed, possibly indicating physics other than feedback from massive (main
sequence) stars is needed to regulate their collapse.Comment: Fixed typo in the arXiv abstrac
Hot Settling Accretion Flow onto a Spinning Black Hole
We study the structure and properties of hot MHD accretion onto a Kerr black
hole. In such a system, the hole is magnetically coupled to the inflowing gas
and exerts a torque onto the accretion flow. A hot settling flow can form
around the hole and transport the angular momentum outward, to the outer edge
of the flow. Unlike other hot flows, such as advection- and
convection-dominated flows and inflow-outflow solutions (ADAFs, CDAFs, and
ADIOS), the properties of the hot settling flow are determined by the spin of
the central black hole, but are insensitive to the mass accretion rate.
Therefore, it may be possible to identify rapidly spinning BHs simply from
their broad-band spectra.
Observationally, the hot settling flow around a Kerr hole is somewhat similar
to other hot flows in that they all have hard, power-law spectra and relatively
low luminosities. Thus, most black hole candidates in the low/hard and,
perhaps, intermediate X-ray state may potentially accrete via the hot settling
flow. However, a settling flow will be somewhat more luminous than
ADAFs/CDAFs/ADIOS, will exhibit high variability in X-rays, and may have
relativistic jets. This suggests that galactic microquasars and active galactic
nuclei may be powered by hot settling flows. We identify several galactic X-ray
sources as the best candidates.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to Ap
Gusty, gaseous flows of FIRE: galactic winds in cosmological simulations with explicit stellar feedback
We present an analysis of the galaxy-scale gaseous outflows from the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) simulations. This suite of hydrodynamic cosmological zoom simulations resolves formation of star-forming giant molecular clouds to z = 0, and features an explicit stellar feedback model on small scales. Our simulations reveal that high-redshift galaxies undergo bursts of star formation followed by powerful gusts of galactic outflows that eject much of the interstellar medium and temporarily suppress star formation. At low redshift, however, sufficiently massive galaxies corresponding to L* progenitors develop stable discs and switch into a continuous and quiescent mode of star formation that does not drive outflows far into the halo. Mass-loading factors for winds in L* progenitors are η ≈ 10 at high redshift, but decrease to η ≪ 1 at low redshift. Although lower values of η are expected as haloes grow in mass over time, we show that the strong suppression of outflows with decreasing redshift cannot be explained by mass evolution alone. Circumgalactic outflow velocities are variable and broadly distributed, but typically range between one and three times the circular velocity of the halo. Much of the ejected material builds a reservoir of enriched gas within the circumgalactic medium, some of which could be later recycled to fuel further star formation. However, a fraction of the gas that leaves the virial radius through galactic winds is never regained, causing most haloes with mass M_h ≤ 10^(12) M_⊙ to be deficient in baryons compared to the cosmic mean by z = 0
Diode-Pumped Long-Pulse-Length Ho:Tm:YLiF4 Laser at 10 Hz
An optical efficiency of 0.052 under normal mode operation for diode-pumped Ho:Tm:YLiF4 at a pulse repetition frequency of 10 Hz has been achieved. Laser output energy of 30 mJ in single Q-switched pulses with 600-ns pulse length were obtained for an input energy of 3 J. A diffusion-bonded birefringent laser rod consisting of Ho:Tm-doped and undoped pieces of YLF was utilized for 10-Hz operation
Cold Mode Gas Accretion on Two Galaxy Groups at z2
We present Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) integral field spectroscopy (IFS)
observations of rest-frame UV emission lines , C IV 1548 \AA, 1550\AA and He II 1640 \AA observed in the circumgalactic
medium (CGM) of two radio-loud quasar host galaxies. We detect extended
emission on 80-90 kpc scale in in both systems with C IV, and He
II emission also detected out to 30-50 kpc. All emission lines show kinematics
with a blue and redshifted gradient pattern consistent with velocities seen in
massive dark matter halos and similar to kinematic patterns of inflowing gas
seen in hydrodynamical simulations. Using the kinematics of both resolved emission and absorption, we can confirm that both kinematic
structures are associated with accretion. Combining the KCWI data with
molecular gas observations with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
(ALMA) and high spatial resolution of ionized gas with Keck OSIRIS, we find
that both quasar host galaxies reside in proto-group environments at . We
estimate M of warm-ionized gas within 30-50 kpc from
the quasar that is likely accreting onto the galaxy group. We estimate inflow
rates of 60-200 Myr, within an order of magnitude of the outflow
rates in these systems. In the 4C 09.17 system, we detect narrow gas streams
associated with satellite galaxies, potentially reminiscent of ram-pressure
stripping seen in local galaxy groups and clusters. We find that the quasar
host galaxies reside in dynamically complex environments, with ongoing mergers,
gas accretion, ISM stripping, and outflows likely playing an important role in
shaping the assembly and evolution of massive galaxies at cosmic noon.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 6 tabes. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Nonstimulated early visual areas carry information about surrounding context
Even within the early sensory areas, the majority of the input to any given cortical neuron comes from other cortical neurons. To extend our knowledge of the contextual information that is transmitted by such lateral and feedback connections, we investigated how visually nonstimulated regions in primary visual cortex (V1) and visual area V2 are influenced by the surrounding context. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and pattern-classification methods to show that the cortical representation of a nonstimulated quarter-field carries information that can discriminate the surrounding visual context. We show further that the activity patterns in these regions are significantly related to those observed with feed-forward stimulation and that these effects are driven primarily by V1. These results thus demonstrate that visual context strongly influences early visual areas even in the absence of differential feed-forward thalamic stimulation
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Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit
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