360 research outputs found
Interstellar extinction towards the inner Galactic Bulge
DENIS observations in the J (1.2 micron) and K_S (2.15 micron) bands together
with isochrones calculated for the RGB and AGB phase are used to draw an
extinction map of the inner Galactic Bulge. The uncertainty in this method is
mainly limited by the optical depth of the Bulge itself. A comparison with
fields of known extinction shows a very good agreement. We present an
extinction map for the inner Galactic Bulge (approx. 20 sq. deg.)Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A as a letter, see
also http://www-denis.iap.fr/articles/extinction
Non-divergent pseudo-potential treatment of spin-polarized fermions under 1D and 3D harmonic confinement
Atom-atom scattering of bosonic one-dimensional (1D) atoms has been modeled
successfully using a zero-range delta-function potential, while that of bosonic
3D atoms has been modeled successfully using Fermi-Huang's regularized s-wave
pseudo-potential. Here, we derive the eigenenergies of two spin-polarized 1D
fermions under external harmonic confinement interacting through a zero-range
potential, which only acts on odd-parity wave functions, analytically. We also
present a divergent-free zero-range potential treatment of two spin-polarized
3D fermions under harmonic confinement. Our pseudo-potential treatments are
verified through numerical calculations for short-range model potentials.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures (subm. to PRA on 03/15/2004
Mid-Infrared Selected Quasars I: Virial Black Hole Mass and Eddington Ratios
We provide a catalog of 391 mid-infrared-selected (MIR, 24m)
broad-emission-line (BEL, type 1) quasars in the 22 deg SWIRE Lockman Hole
field. This quasar sample is selected in the MIR from Spitzer MIPS with Jy, jointly with an optical magnitude limit of r (AB) 22.5 for
broad line identification. The catalog is based on MMT and SDSS spectroscopy to
select BEL quasars, extends the SDSS coverage to fainter magnitudes and lower
redshifts, and recovers a more complete quasar population. The MIR-selected
quasar sample peaks at 1.4, and recovers a significant and constant
(20\%) fraction of extended objects with SDSS photometry across magnitudes,
which was not included in the SDSS quasar survey dominated by point sources.
This sample also recovers a significant population of . We then investigate the continuum luminosity and line profiles of these
MIR quasars, and estimate their virial black hole masses and the Eddington
ratios. The SMBH mass shows evidence of downsizing, though the Eddington ratios
remain constant at . Compared to point sources in the same redshift
range, extended sources at show systematically lower Eddington ratios.
The catalog and spectra are publicly available online.Comment: 72 pages, 27 figures, 16 tables; ApJ accepte
Electric Dipole Radiation from Spinning Dust Grains
We discuss the rotational excitation of small interstellar grains and the
resulting electric dipole radiation from spinning dust. Attention is given to
excitation and damping of rotation by: collisions with neutrals; collisions
with ions; plasma drag; emission of infrared radiation; emission of microwave
radiation; photoelectric emission; and formation of H_2 on the grain surface.
We introduce dimensionless functions F and G which allow direct comparison of
the contributions of different mechanisms to rotational drag and excitation.
Emissivities are estimated for dust in different phases of the interstellar
medium, including diffuse HI, warm HI, low-density photoionized gas, and cold
molecular gas. Spinning dust grains can explain much, and perhaps all, of the
14-50 GHz background component recently observed in CBR studies. It should be
possible to detect rotational emission from small grains by ground-based
observations of molecular clouds.Comment: 59 pages, 19 eps figures, uses aaspp4.sty . Submitted to Ap.
The X-ray Properties of z>4 Quasars
We report on a search for X-ray emission from quasars with redshifts greater
than four using the ROSAT public database. Our search has doubled the number of
z>4 quasars detected in X-rays from 6 to 12. Most of those known prior to this
work were radio-loud and X-ray selected sources; our study increases the number
of X-ray detected, optically selected z>4 quasars from one to seven. We present
their basic X-ray properties and compare these to those of lower redshift
quasars. We do not find any evidence for strong broad-band spectral differences
between optically selected z>4 quasars and those at lower redshifts.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures included, LaTeX emulateapj.sty, accepted for
publication in the Astronomical Journa
350 Micron Dust Emission from High Redshift Objects
We report observations of a sample of high redshift sources (1.8<z<4.7),
mainly radio-quiet quasars, at 350 microns using the SHARC bolometer camera at
the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Nine sources were detected (>4-sigma)
and upper limits were obtained for 11 with 350 micron flux density limits
(3-sigma) in the range 30-125mJy. Combining published results at other
far-infrared and millimeter wavelengths with the present data, we are able to
estimate the temperature of the dust, finding relatively low values, averaging
50K. From the spectral energy distribution, we derive dust masses of a few 10^8
M_sun and luminosities of 4-33x10^{12} L_sun (uncorrected for any
magnification) implying substantial star formation activity. Thus both the
temperature and dust masses are not very different from those of local
ultraluminous infrared galaxies. For this redshift range, the 350 micron
observations trace the 60-100 micron rest frame emission and are thus directly
comparable with IRAS studies of low redshift galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, 2 PS figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Detection of M of molecular gas in the host galaxy of the SDSS quasar J0927+2001
We have detected emission by the CO 5-4 and 6-5 rotational transitions at from the host galaxy of the SDSS quasar J0927+2001 using
the Plateau de Bure interferometer. The peak line flux density for the CO 5-4
line is mJy, with a line FWHM = km s. The
implied molecular gas mass is M. We also
detect the 90 GHz continuum at mJy, consistent with a 47K dust
spectrum extrapolated from higher frequencies. J0927+2001 is the second example
of a huge molecular gas reservoir within the host galaxy of a quasar within 1
Gyr of the big bang. Observations of J0927+2001 are consistent with a massive
starburst coeval with a bright quasar phase in the galaxy, suggesting the rapid
formation of both a super-massive black hole through accretion, and the stellar
host spheroid, at a time close to the end of cosmic reionization.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, to appear in ApJ Letter
Detection of 1.6 Ă 10^(10) M_â of Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxy of the z = 5.77 SDSS Quasar J0927+2001
We have detected emission by the CO(5-4) and (6-5) rotational transitions at z = 5.7722 ± 0.0006 from the host galaxy of the SDSS quasar J0927+2001 using the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. The peak line flux density for the CO(5-4) line is 0.72 ± 0.09 mJy, with a line FWHM = 610 ± 110 km s^(-1). The implied molecular gas mass is (1.6 ± 0.3) Ă 10^(10) M_â. We also detect the 90 GHz continuum at 0.12 ± 0.03 mJy, consistent with a 47 K dust spectrum extrapolated from higher frequencies. J0927+2001 is the second example of a huge molecular gas reservoir within the host galaxy of a quasar within 1 Gyr of the big bang. Observations of J0927+2001 are consistent with a massive starburst coeval with a bright quasar phase in the galaxy, suggesting the rapid formation of both a supermassive black hole through accretion, and the stellar host spheroid, at a time close to the end of cosmic reionization
Quasars in the MAMBO blank field survey
Our MAMBO 1.2 mm blank field imaging survey of ~0.75 sqd has uncovered four
unusually bright sources, with flux densities between 10 and 90 mJy, all
located in the Abell 2125 field. The three brightest are flat spectrum radio
sources with bright optical and X-ray counterparts. Their mm and radio flux
densities are variable on timescales of months. Their X-ray luminosities
classify them as quasars. The faintest of the four mm bright sources appears to
be a bright, radio-quiet starburst at z~3, similar to the sources seen at lower
flux densities in the MAMBO and SCUBA surveys. It may also host a mildly
obscured AGN of quasar-like X-ray luminosity. The three non-thermal mm sources
imply an areal density of flat spectrum radio sources higher by at least 7
compared with that expected from an extrapolation of the lower frequency radio
number counts.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication by A&
Optical monitoring of the z=4.40 quasar Q 2203+292
We report Cousins R-band monitoring of the high-redshift (z=4.40) radio quiet
quasar Q 2203+292 from May 1999 to October 2007. The quasar shows maximum
peak-to-peak light curve amplitude of ~0.3 mag during the time of our
monitoring, and ~0.9 mag when combined with older literature data. The rms of a
fit to the light curve with a constant is 0.08 mag and 0.2 mag, respectively.
The detected changes are at ~3-sigma level. The quasar was in a stable state
during the recent years and it might have undergone a brightening event in the
past. The structure function analysis concluded that the object shows
variability properties similar to those of the lower redshift quasars. We set a
lower limit to the Q 2203+292 broad line region mass of 0.3-0.4 M_odot.
Narrow-band imaging search for redshifted Ly_alpha from other emission line
objects at the same redshift shows no emission line objects in the quasar
vicinity.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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