770 research outputs found
Adaptive optics observations of the gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J1405+0959
We present the result of Subaru Telescope multi-band adaptive optics
observations of the complex gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J1405+0959,
which is produced by two lensing galaxies. These observations reveal
dramatically enhanced morphological detail, leading to the discovery of an
additional object 0. 26'' from the secondary lensing galaxy, as well as three
collinear clumps located in between the two lensing galaxies. The new object is
likely to be the third quasar image, although the possibility that it is a
galaxy cannot be entirely excluded. If confirmed via future observations, it
would be the first three image lensed quasar produced by two galaxy lenses. In
either case, we show based on gravitational lensing models and photometric
redshift that the collinear clumps represent merging images of a portion of the
quasar host galaxy, with a magnification factor of 15 - 20, depending on the
model.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables. Submitted to MNRA
Infrared Imaging of z=2.43 Radio Galaxy B3 0731+438 with the Subaru Telescope - Detection of H Ionization Cones of a Powerful Radio Galaxy
We report on infrared imaging observations of the z=2.429 radio galaxy B3
0731+438 with the Subaru telescope. The images were taken with the K'-band
filter and the 2.25 um narrow-band filter to examine the structure and
properties of the Ha+[N II] 6548,6583 emission-line components. The Ha+[N II]
emission-line image shows biconical lobes with an extent of 40 kpc, which are
aligned with the radio axis. The rest-frame equivalent widths of the emission
lines at these cones are as large as 1100 AA, and can be well explained by a
gas-cloud model photoionized by power-law continuum radiation. The isotropic
ionizing photon luminosity necessary to ionize the hydrogen gas in these cones
amounts to 1e57(photons/s), which is larger than that in the majority of
radio-loud QSOs. From these results, we propose that the Ha alignment effect in
this object is produced by biconical gas clouds, which are swept up by the
passage of radio jets, and are ionized by strong UV radiation from a hidden
AGN. The continuum image consists of two components, a stellar-like point
source and an extended diffuse galaxy. These are supposed to be a type-2 AGN
and its host galaxy. The SED is fitted by a combination of spectra of a
reddened dust-scattered AGN and an instantaneous starburst population of 500
Myr old. The stellar mass of the galaxy is estimated to be 3e11 M_solar, which
is as large as that of typical 3C radio galaxies at z=1.Comment: 12 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses PASJ2.sty, PASJ95.sty,
PASJadd.sty. Accepted for publication in PASJ (2000
Multi time-step wavefront reconstruction for tomographic adaptive-optics systems
In tomographic adaptive-optics (AO) systems, errors due to tomographic wavefront reconstruction limit the performance and angular size of the scientific field of view (FoV), where AO correction is effective. We propose a multi time-step tomographic wavefront reconstruction method to reduce the tomographic error by using measurements from both the current and previous time steps simultaneously. We further outline the method to feed the reconstructor with both wind speed and direction of each turbulence layer. An end-to-end numerical simulation, assuming a multi-object AO (MOAO) system on a 30 m aperture telescope, shows that the multi time-step reconstruction increases the Strehl ratio (SR) over a scientific FoV of 10 arc min in diameter by a factor of 1.5–1.8 when compared to the classical tomographic reconstructor, depending on the guide star asterism and with perfect knowledge of wind speeds and directions. We also evaluate the multi time-step reconstruction method and the wind estimation method on the RAVEN demonstrator under laboratory setting conditions. The wind speeds and directions at multiple atmospheric layers are measured successfully in the laboratory experiment by our wind estimation method with errors below 2 ms^(−1). With these wind estimates, the multi time-step reconstructor increases the SR value by a factor of 1.2–1.5, which is consistent with a prediction from the end-to-end numerical simulation
Statistics of turbulence parameters at Maunakea using the multiple wavefront sensor data of RAVEN
Prior statistical knowledge of atmospheric turbulence is essential for designing, optimizing and evaluating tomographic adaptive optics systems. We present the statistics of the vertical profiles of C^2_N and the outer scale at Maunakea estimated using a SLOpe Detection And Ranging (SLODAR) method from on-sky telemetry taken by a multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) demonstrator, called RAVEN, on the Subaru telescope. In our SLODAR method, the profiles are estimated by fitting the theoretical autocorrelations and cross-correlations of measurements from multiple Shack–Haltmann wavefront sensors to the observed correlations via the non-linear Levenberg–Marquardt Algorithm (LMA). The analytical derivatives of the spatial phase structure function with respect to its parameters for the LMA are also developed. From a total of 12 nights in the summer season, a large ground C^2_N fraction of 54.3 per cent is found, with median estimated seeing of 0.460 arcsec. This median seeing value is below the results for Maunakea from the literature (0.6–0.7 arcsec). The average C^2_N profile is in good agreement with results from the literature, except for the ground layer. The median value of the outer scale is 25.5 m and the outer scale is larger at higher altitudes; these trends of the outer scale are consistent with findings in the literature
H Emission Nebulosity Associated with KH 15D
An H emission filament is found in close proximity to the unique object
KH 15D using the adaptive optics system of the Subaru Telescope. The morphology
of the filament, the presence of spectroscopic outflow signatures observed by
Hamilton et al., and the detection of extended H emission from KH 15D by
Deming, Charbonneau, & Harrington suggest that this filament arises from
shocked H in an outflow. The filament extends about 15" to the north of KH
15D.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Astrophysical Journal Letters, in pres
A Subarcsecond Companion to the T Tauri Star AS 353B
Adaptive optics imaging of the bright visual T Tauri binary AS 353 with the
Subaru Telescope shows that it is a hierarchical triple system. The secondary
component, located 5.6" south of AS 353A, is resolved into a subarcsecond
binary, AS 353Ba and Bb, separated by 0.24". Resolved spectroscopy of the two
close components shows that both have nearly identical spectral types of about
M1.5. Whereas AS 353A and Ba show clear evidence for an infrared excess, AS
353Bb does not. We discuss the possible role of multiplicity in launching the
large Herbig-Haro flow associated with AS 353A.Comment: AASTeXv5.0, 21 pages, 5 figures, Astronomical Journal, in pres
First Detection of NaI D lines in High-Redshift Damped Lyman-alpha Systems
A Near-infrared (1.18-1.35 micron) high-resolution spectrum of the
gravitationally-lensed QSO APM 08279+5255 was obtained with the IRCS mounted on
the Subaru Telescope using the AO system. We detected strong NaI D 5891,5897
doublet absorption in high-redshift DLAs at z=1.062 and 1.181, confirming the
presence of NaI, which was first reported for the rest-frame UV NaI
3303.3,3303.9 doublet by Petitjean et al. This is the first detection of NaI D
absorption in a high-redshift (z>1) DLA. In addition, we detected a new NaI
component in the z=1.062 DLA and four new components in the z=1.181 DLA. Using
an empirical relationship between NaI and HI column density, we found that all
"components" have large HI column density, so that each component is classified
as DLA absorption. We also detected strong NaI D absorption associated with a
MgII system at z=1.173. Because no other metal absorption lines were detected
in this system at the velocity of the NaI absorption in previously reported
optical spectra (observed 3.6 years ago), we interpret this NaI absorption
cloud probably appeared in the line of sight toward the QSO after the optical
observation. This newly found cloud is likely to be a DLA based upon its large
estimated HI column density. We found that the N(NaI)/N(CaII) ratios in these
DLAs are systematically smaller than those observed in the Galaxy; they are
more consistent with the ratios seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This is
consistent with dust depletion generally being smaller in lower metallicity
environments. However, all five clouds of the z=1.181 system have a high
N(NaI)/N(CaII) ratio, which is characteristic of cold dense gas. We tentatively
suggest that the host galaxy of this system may be the most significant
contributor to the gravitational-lens toward APM 08279+5255.Comment: 22 pages, 6 Postscript figures, 3 tables, ApJ in press (Vol.643, 2
June 2006
`imaka - a ground-layer adaptive optics system on Maunakea
We present the integration status for `imaka, the ground-layer adaptive
optics (GLAO) system on the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope on
Maunakea, Hawaii. This wide-field GLAO pathfinder system exploits Maunakea's
highly confined ground layer and weak free-atmosphere to push the corrected
field of view to ~1/3 of a degree, an areal field approaching an order of
magnitude larger than any existing or planned GLAO system, with a FWHM ~ 0.33
arcseconds in the visible and near infrared. We discuss the unique design
aspects of the instrument, the driving science cases and how they impact the
system, and how we will demonstrate these cases on the sky.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Direct Observation of the Extended Molecular Atmosphere of o Cet by Differential Spectral Imaging with an Adaptive Optics System
We present new measurements of the diameter of o Cet (Mira) as a function of
wavelength in the 2.2 micron atmospheric window using the adaptive optics
system and the infrared camera and spectrograph mounted on the Subaru
Telescope. We found that the angular size of the star at the wavelengths of CO
and H2O absorption lines were up to twice as large as the continuum
photosphere. This size difference is attributable to the optically thick CO and
H2O molecular layers surrounding the photosphere. This measurement is the first
direct differential spectroscopic imaging of stellar extension that resolves
individual molecular lines with high spectral-resolution observations. This
observation technique is extremely sensitive to differences in spatial profiles
at different wavelengths; we show that a difference in diameter much smaller
than the point spread function can be measured.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Impaired Delta Np63 Expression is Associated with Poor Tumor Development in Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder
The oncogenic isoform of the p63 protein, delta Np63 (ΔNp63), plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many epithelial carcinomas, and emerging evidences suggest that ΔNp63 is a promising drug target. However, the functions of ΔNp63 in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder (TCCB) are poorly defined. In this study, a ΔNp63 shRNA expression vector was transfected into TCCB cell line 5637 and cell cycling, cell proliferation and protein expression were assessed by flow cytometry and 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-dimethyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The ΔNp63 shRNA expression vector was also injected into 5637 cell xenograft tumors in nude mice, and tumor size was measured, tumor tissue morphology was assessed by immunohistopathology and transmission electron microscopy. In the in vitro study, ΔNp63 shRNA transfection caused successful ΔNp63 gene silencing and resulted in significant arrest of cell cycling and cellular proliferation (p<0.05) as well as cyclin D1 expression. In the nude mouse xenograft model, ΔNp63 shRNA greatly inhibited tumor growth, induced tumor cell apoptosis (p<0.05) and resulted in cyclin D1 downregulation. Our data suggest that ΔNp63 may play an oncogenic role in TCCB progression through promoting cell survival and proliferation. Intratumoral administration of ΔNp63-specific shRNA suppressed tumor ΔNp63 expression and cellular proliferation while promoted tumor cellular apoptosis, and therefore inhibited tumor growth and improved survival of xenograft-bearing mice, which was not accompanied by significant signs of systemic toxicity
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