278 research outputs found
ISO observations of a sample of Compact Steep Spectrum and GHz Peaked Spectrum Radio Galaxies
We present results from observations obtained with ISOPHOT, on board the ISO
satellite, of a representative sample of seventeen CSS/GPS radio galaxies and
of a control sample of sixteen extended radio galaxies spanning similar ranges
in redshift (0.2 = 10^26 W/Hz).
The observations have been performed at lambda = 60, 90, 174 and 200 microns.
Seven of the CSS/GPS sources have detections >= 3 sigma at one or more
wavelengths, one of which is detected at >= 5 sigma. By co-adding the data we
have obtained average flux densities at the four wavelengths. We found no
evidence that the FIR luminosities of the CSS/GPS sources are significantly
different from those of the extended objects and therefore there is not any
support for CSS/GPS sources being objects "frustrated" by an abnormally dense
ambient medium. The two samples were then combined, providing FIR information
on a new sample of radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts. We compare this
information with what previously known from IRAS and discuss the average
properties of radio galaxies in the redshift range 0.2 - 0.8. The FIR emission
cannot be accounted for by extrapolation of the synchrotron radio spectrum and
we attribute it to thermal dust emission. The average FIR luminosity is >=
6*10^11 L_sun. Over the observed frequency range the infrared spectrum can be
described by a power law with spectral index alpha >~1.0 +/- 0.2. Assuming the
emission to be due to dust, a range of temperatures is required, from >=80 K to
\~25 K. The dust masses required to explain the FIR emission range from 5*10^5
M_sun for the hotter component up to 2*10^8 M_sun for the colder one.
(abridged)Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press, 16 pages, 2 Figure
Distribution of the molecular absorption in front of the quasar B0218+357
The line of sight to the quasar B0218+357, one of the most studied lensed
systems, intercepts a z=0.68 spiral galaxy, which splits its image into two
main components A and B, separated by ca. 0.3'', and gives rise to molecular
absorption. Although the main absorption component has been shown to arise in
front of image A, it is not established whether some absorption from other
velocity components is also occuring in front of image B. To tackle this
question, we have observed the HCO+(2-1) absorption line during the
commissioning phase of the new very extended configuration of the Plateau de
Bure Interferometer, in order to trace the position of the absorption as a
function of frequency. Visibility fitting of the self-calibrated data allowed
us to achieve position accuracy between ~12 and 80 mas per velocity component.
Our results clearly demonstrate that all the different velocity components of
the HCO+(2-1) absorption arise in front of the south-west image A of the
quasar. We estimate a flux ratio fA/fB = 4.2 (-1.0;+1.8 at 106 GHz.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A Letter special issue for the new
extended configuration of the Plateau de Bure Interferomete
Evidence for Ordered Magnetic Fields in the Quasar Environment
At a distance of 20 pc from the purported supermassive black hole powering
quasars, temperatures and densities are inferred from optical observations to
be ~10**4 K and ~10**4 cm**-3. Here we present Very Long Baseline
Interferometry radio observations revealing organized magnetic fields on the
parsec scale in the hot plasma surrounding the quasar OQ172 (1442+101). These
magnetic fields rotate the plane of polarization of the radio emission coming
from the core and inner jet of the quasar. The derived rotation measure (RM) is
40,000 rad m**-2 in the rest frame of the quasar. Only 10 mas (a projected
distance of 68 pc) from the nucleus the jet absolute values of RM fall to less
than 100 rad m**-2.Comment: in press at ApJ Letters, 12 page LaTeX document includes 4 postscript
figure
Gemini IFU, VLA, and HST observation of the OH Megamaser Galaxy IRAS17526+3253
We present a multiwavelength study of the OH megamaser galaxy (OHMG)
IRAS17526+3253, based on new Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph Integral Field
Unit (GMOS/IFU) observations, Hubble Space Telescope F814W and H+[N{\sc
ii}] images, and archival 2MASS and 1.49GHz VLA data. The HST images clearly
reveal a mid-to-advanced stage major merger whose northwestern and southeastern
nuclei have a projected separation of 8.5kpc. Our HST/H+[N{\sc
ii}] image shows regions of ongoing star-formation across the envelope on
10kpc scales, which are aligned with radio features, supporting the
interpretation that the radio emission originates from star-forming regions.
The measured H luminosities imply that the unobscured star-formation
rate is 10-30\,Myr. The GMOS/IFU data reveal two
structures in northwestern separated by 850\,pc and by a discontinuity in the
velocity field of ~200~km~s. We associate the blue-shifted and
red-shifted components with, respectively, the distorted disk of northwestern
and tidal debris, possibly a tail originating in southeastern. Star-formation
is the main ionization source in both components, which have SFRs of
2.6-7.9\,Myr and 1.5-4.5\,Myr,
respectively. Fainter line emission bordering these main components is
consistent with shock ionization at a velocity 200~km~s and may be
the result of an interaction between the tidal tail and the northwestern
galaxy's disk. IRAS17526+3253 is one of only a few systems known to host both
luminous OH and HO masers. The velocities of the OH and HO maser
lines suggest that they are associated with the northwestern and southeastern
galaxies, respectively.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA
The puzzling case of the radio-loud QSO 3C 186: a gravitational wave recoiling black hole in a young radio source?
Context. Radio-loud AGNs with powerful relativistic jets are thought to be
associated with rapidly spinning black holes (BHs). BH spin-up may result from
a number of processes, including accretion of matter onto the BH itself, and
catastrophic events such as BH-BH mergers. Aims. We study the intriguing
properties of the powerful (L_bol ~ 10^47 erg s^-1) radio-loud quasar 3C 186.
This object shows peculiar features both in the images and in the spectra.
Methods. We utilize near-IR Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images to study the
properties of the host galaxy, and HST UV and Sloan Digital Sky Survey optical
spectra to study the kinematics of the source. Chandra X-ray data are also used
to better constrain the physical interpretation. Results. HST imaging shows
that the active nucleus is offset by 1.3 +- 0.1 arcsec (i.e. ~11 kpc) with
respect to the center of the host galaxy. Spectroscopic data show that the
broad emission lines are offset by -2140 +-390 km/s with respect to the narrow
lines. Velocity shifts are often seen in QSO spectra, in particular in
high-ionization broad emission lines. The host galaxy of the quasar displays a
distorted morphology with possible tidal features that are typical of the late
stages of a galaxy merger. Conclusions. A number of scenarios can be envisaged
to account for the observed features. While the presence of a peculiar outflow
cannot be completely ruled out, all of the observed features are consistent
with those expected if the QSO is associated with a gravitational wave (GW)
recoiling BH. Future detailed studies of this object will allow us to confirm
this type of scenario and will enable a better understanding of both the
physics of BH-BH mergers and the phenomena associated with the emission of GW
from astrophysical sources.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics. New appendix adde
The Compact Structure of Radio-Loud Broad Absorption Line Quasars
We present the results of EVN+MERLIN VLBI polarization observations of 8
Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasars at 1.6 GHz, including 4 LoBALs and 4 HiBALs
with either steep or flat spectra on VLA scales. Only one steep-spectrum
source, J1122+3124, shows two-sided structure on the scale of 2 kpc. The other
four steep-spectrum sources and three flat-spectrum sources display either an
unresolved image or a core-jet structure on scales of less than three hundred
parsecs. In all cases the marginally resolved core is the dominant radio
component. Linear polarization in the cores has been detected in the range of a
few to 10 percent. Polarization, together with high brightness temperatures
(from 2*10^9-5*10^10 K), suggest a synchrotron origin for the radio emission.
There is no apparent difference in the radio orphologies or polarization
between low-ionization and high-ionization BAL QSOs nor between flat- and
steep-spectrum sources. We discuss the orientation of BAL QSOs with both flat
and steep spectra, and consider a possible evolutionary scenario for BAL QSOs.
In this scenario, BAL QSOs are probably the young population of radio sources,
which are Compact Steep Spectrum or GHz peaked radio source analog at the low
end of radio power.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables; accepted for publication in MNRA
The new generation CMB B-mode polarization experiment: POLARBEAR
We describe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization experiment
called Polarbear. This experiment will use the dedicated Huan Tran Telescope
equipped with a powerful 1,200-bolometer array receiver to map the CMB
polarization with unprecedented accuracy. We summarize the experiment, its
goals, and current status
A direct image of the obscuring disk surrounding an active galactic nucleus
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are generally accepted to be powered by the
release of gravitational energy in a compact accretion disk surrounding a
massive black hole. Such disks are also necessary to collimate powerful radio
jets seen in some AGN. The unifying classification schemes for AGN further
propose that differences in their appearance can be attributed to the opacity
of the accreting material, which may obstruct our view of the central region of
some systems. The popular model for the obscuring medium is a parsec-scale disk
of dense molecular gas, although evidence for such disks has been mostly
indirect, as their angular size is much smaller than the resolution of
conventional telescopes. Here we report the first direct images of a pc-scale
disk of ionised gas within the nucleus of NGC 1068, the archetype of obscured
AGN. The disk is viewed nearly edge-on, and individual clouds within the
ionised disk are opaque to high-energy radiation, consistent with the unifying
classification scheme. In projection, the disk and AGN axes align, from which
we infer that the ionised gas disk traces the outer regions of the long-sought
inner accretion disk.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, PSfig, to appear in Nature. also available at
http://hethp.mpe-garching.mpg.de/Preprint
Canalization of the evolutionary trajectory of the human influenza virus
Since its emergence in 1968, influenza A (H3N2) has evolved extensively in
genotype and antigenic phenotype. Antigenic evolution occurs in the context of
a two-dimensional 'antigenic map', while genetic evolution shows a
characteristic ladder-like genealogical tree. Here, we use a large-scale
individual-based model to show that evolution in a Euclidean antigenic space
provides a remarkable correspondence between model behavior and the
epidemiological, antigenic, genealogical and geographic patterns observed in
influenza virus. We find that evolution away from existing human immunity
results in rapid population turnover in the influenza virus and that this
population turnover occurs primarily along a single antigenic axis. Thus,
selective dynamics induce a canalized evolutionary trajectory, in which the
evolutionary fate of the influenza population is surprisingly repeatable and
hence, in theory, predictable.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures, 10 supporting figure
Area-level deprivation and adiposity in children: is the relationship linear?
OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that childhood obesity is inversely associated with deprivation, such that the prevalence is higher in more deprived groups. However, comparatively few studies actually use an area-level measure of deprivation, limiting the scope to assess trends in the association with obesity for this indicator. Furthermore, most assume a linear relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate associations between area-level deprivation and three measures of adiposity in children: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study in which data were collected on three occasions a year apart (2005-2007). SUBJECTS: Data were available for 13,333 children, typically aged 11-12 years, from 37 schools and 542 lower super-output areas (LSOAs). MEASURES: Stature, mass and WC. Obesity was defined as a BMI and WC exceeding the 95th centile according to British reference data. WHtR exceeding 0.5 defined obesity. The Index of Multiple Deprivation affecting children (IDACI) was used to determine area-level deprivation. RESULTS: Considerable differences in the prevalence of obesity exist between the three different measures. However, for all measures of adiposity the highest probability of being classified as obese is in the middle of the IDACI range. This relationship is more marked in girls, such that the probability of being obese for girls living in areas at the two extremes of deprivation is around half that at the peak, occurring in the middle. CONCLUSION: These data confirm the high prevalence of obesity in children and suggest that the relationship between obesity and residential area-level deprivation is not linear. This is contrary to the 'deprivation theory' and questions the current understanding and interpretation of the relationship between obesity and deprivation in children. These results could help make informed decisions at the local level
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