521 research outputs found
Statistical Properties of Galactic Starlight Polarization
We present a statistical analysis of Galactic interstellar polarization from
the largest compilation available of starlight data. The data comprises ~ 9300
stars of which we have selected ~ 5500 for our analysis. We find a nearly
linear growth of mean polarization degree with extinction. The amplitude of
this correlation shows that interstellar grains are not fully aligned with the
Galactic magnetic field, which can be interpreted as the effect of a large
random component of the field. In agreement with earlier studies of more
limited scope, we estimate the ratio of the uniform to the random
plane-of-the-sky components of the magnetic field to be B_u/B_r = 0.8.
Moreover, a clear correlation exists between polarization degree and
polarization angle what provides evidence that the magnetic field geometry
follows Galactic structures on large-scales. The angular power spectrum C_l of
the starlight polarization degree for Galactic plane data (|b| < 10 deg) is
consistent with a power-law, C_l ~ l^{-1.5} (where l ~ 180 deg/\theta is the
multipole order), for all angular scales \theta > 10 arcmin. An investigation
of sparse and inhomogeneous sampling of the data shows that the starlight data
analyzed traces an underlying polarized continuum that has the same power
spectrum slope, C_l ~ l^{-1.5}. Our findings suggest that starlight data can be
safely used for the modeling of Galactic polarized continuum emission at other
wavelengths.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures. Minor corrections and some clarifications
included. Matches version accepted for publication by the Astrophysical
Journa
Constraining stellar assembly and AGN feedback at the peak epoch of star formation
We study stellar assembly and feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN)
around the epoch of peak star formation (1<z<2), by comparing hydrodynamic
simulations to rest-frame UV-optical galaxy colours from the Wide Field Camera
3 (WFC3) Early-Release Science (ERS) Programme. Our Adaptive Mesh Refinement
simulations include metal-dependent radiative cooling, star formation, kinetic
outflows due to supernova explosions, and feedback from supermassive black
holes. Our model assumes that when gas accretes onto black holes, a fraction of
the energy is used to form either thermal winds or sub-relativistic
momentum-imparting collimated jets, depending on the accretion rate. We find
that the predicted rest-frame UV-optical colours of galaxies in the model that
includes AGN feedback is in broad agreement with the observed colours of the
WFC3 ERS sample at 1<z<2. The predicted number of massive galaxies also matches
well with observations in this redshift range. However, the massive galaxies
are predicted to show higher levels of residual star formation activity than
the observational estimates, suggesting the need for further suppression of
star formation without significantly altering the stellar mass function. We
discuss possible improvements, involving faster stellar assembly through
enhanced star formation during galaxy mergers while star formation at the peak
epoch is still modulated by the AGN feedback.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
Iatrogenic post-intubation tracheal rupture treated conservatively without intubation: a case report
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens
A New approach for a Galactic Synchrotron Polarized Emission Template in the Microwave Range
We present a new approach in modelling the polarized Galactic synchrotron
emission in the microwave range (20-100 GHz), where this radiation is expected
to play the leading role in contaminating the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
data. Our method is based on real surveys and aims at providing the real
spatial distributions of both polarized intensity and polarization angles. Its
main features are the modelling of a polarization horizon to determine the
polarized intensity and the use of starlight optical data to model the
polarization angle pattern. Our results are consistent with several existing
data, and our template is virtually free from Faraday rotation effects as
required at frequencies in the cosmological window.Comment: 12 pages with 15 figures, submitted to MNRA
Images of the Early Universe from the BOOMERanG experiment
The CMB is the fundamental tool to study the properties of the early universe and of the
universe at large scales. In the framework of the Hot Big Bang model, when we look to
the CMB we look back in time to the end of the plasma era, at a redshift ~ 1000, when
the universe was ~ 50000 times younger, ~ 1000 times hotter and ~ 10^9 times denser
than today. The image of the CMB can be used to study the physical processes there, to
infer what happened before, and also to study the background geometry of our Universe
Highly efficient synthesis of the tricyclic core of Taxol by cascade metathesis
An efficient enantioselective synthesis of the ABC tricyclic core of the anticancer drug Taxol is reported. The key step of this synthesis is a cascade metathesis reaction, which leads in one operation to the required tricycle if appropriate fine-tuning of the dienyne precursor is performed
â„“-space spectroscopy of the Cosmic Microwave Background with the BOOMERanG experiment
The BOOMERanG experiment has recently produced detailed maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background, where sub-horizon structures are resolved with good signal to noise ratio. A power spectrum (spherical harmonics) analysis of the maps detects three peaks, at multipoles â„“ = (213_(-13)^(+10)),(541_(-32)^(+20))(845_(-25)^(+12)). In this paper we discuss the data analysis and the implications of these results for cosmology
Cosmological Parameters from the 2003 flight of BOOMERANG
We present the cosmological parameters from the CMB intensity and
polarization power spectra of the 2003 Antarctic flight of the BOOMERANG
telescope. The BOOMERANG data alone constrains the parameters of the
CDM model remarkably well and is consistent with constraints from a
multi-experiment combined CMB data set. We add LSS data from the 2dF and SDSS
redshift surveys to the combined CMB data set and test several extensions to
the standard model including: running of the spectral index, curvature, tensor
modes, the effect of massive neutrinos, and an effective equation of state for
dark energy. We also include an analysis of constraints to a model which allows
a CDM isocurvature admixture.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Ap
Measuring CMB Polarization with BOOMERANG
BOOMERANG is a balloon-borne telescope designed for long duration (LDB)
flights around Antarctica. The second LDB Flight of BOOMERANG took place in
January 2003. The primary goal of this flight was to measure the polarization
of the CMB. The receiver uses polarization sensitive bolometers at 145 GHz.
Polarizing grids provide polarization sensitivity at 245 and 345 GHz. We
describe the BOOMERANG telescope noting changes made for 2003 LDB flight, and
discuss some of the issues involved in the measurement of polarization with
bolometers. Lastly, we report on the 2003 flight and provide an estimate of the
expected results.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, To be published in the proceedings of "The
Cosmic Microwave Background and its Polarization", New Astronomy Reviews,
(eds. S. Hanany and K.A. Olive). Fixed typos, and reformatted citation
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