2,142 research outputs found
Direct UV observations of the circumstellar envelope of alpha Orionis
Observations were made in the IUE LWP camera, low dispersion mode, with alpha Ori being offset various distances from the center of the Long Wavelength Large Aperture along its major axis. Signal was acquired at all offset positions and is comprised of unequal components of background/dark counts, telescope-scattered light, and scattered light emanating from the extended circumstellar shell. The star is known from optical and infrared observations to possess an extended, arc-minute sized, shell of cool material. Attempts to observe this shell with the IUE are described, although the deconvolution of the stellar signal from the telescope scattered light requires further calibration effort
Merging of globular clusters within inner galactic regions. II. The Nuclear Star Cluster formation
In this paper we present the results of two detailed N-body simulations of
the interaction of a sample of four massive globular clusters in the inner
region of a triaxial galaxy. A full merging of the clusters takes place,
leading to a slowly evolving cluster which is quite similar to observed Nuclear
Clusters. Actually, both the density and the velocity dispersion profiles match
qualitatively, and quantitatively after scaling, with observed features of many
nucleated galaxies. In the case of dense initial clusters, the merger remnant
shows a density profile more concentrated than that of the progenitors, with a
central density higher than the sum of the central progenitors central
densities. These findings support the idea that a massive Nuclear Cluster may
have formed in early phases of the mother galaxy evolution and lead to the
formation of a nucleus, which, in many galaxies, has indeed a luminosity
profile similar to that of an extended King model. A correlation with galactic
nuclear activity is suggested.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to ApJ, main journa
The Megamaser Cosmology Project. X. High Resolution Maps and Mass Constraint for SMBHs
We present high resolution (sub-mas) VLBI maps of nuclear H2O megamasers for
seven galaxies. In UGC6093, the well-aligned systemic masers and high-velocity
masers originate in an edge-on, flat disk and we determine the mass of the
central SMBH to be M_SMBH = 2.58*10^7Msun(+-7%). For J1346+5228, the
distribution of masers is consistent with a disk, but the faint high-velocity
masers are only marginally detected, and we constrain the mass of the SMBH to
be in the range 1.5-2.0*10^7Msun. The origin of the masers in Mrk1210 is less
clear, as the systemic and high-velocity masers are misaligned and show a
disorganized velocity structure. We present one possible model in which the
masers originate in a tilted, warped disk, but we do not rule out the
possibility of other explanations including outflow masers. In NGC6926, we
detect a set of redshifted masers, clustered within a pc of each other, and a
single blueshifted maser about 4.4pc away, an offset that would be unusually
large for a maser disk system. Nevertheless, if it is a disk system, we
estimate the enclosed mass to be M_SMBH<4.8*10^7 Msun . For NGC5793, we detect
redshifted masers spaced about 1.4pc from a clustered set of blueshifted
features. The orientation of the structure supports a disk scenario as
suggested by Hagiwara et al.(2001). We estimate the enclosed mass to be M
SMBH<1.3*10^7 Msun. For NGC2824 and J0350-0127, the masers may be associated
with pc or sub-pc scale jets or outflows.Comment: Accepted by Ap
Plasduino: an inexpensive, general purpose data acquisition framework for educational experiments
Based on the Arduino development platform, Plasduino is an open-source data
acquisition framework specifically designed for educational physics
experiments. The source code, schematics and documentation are in the public
domain under a GPL license and the system, streamlined for low cost and ease of
use, can be replicated on the scale of a typical didactic lab with minimal
effort. We describe the basic architecture of the system and illustrate its
potential with some real-life examples.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, presented at the XCIX conference of the
Societ\`a Italiana di Fisic
A Deep Chandra Observation of the Distant Galaxy Cluster MS1137.5+6625
We present results from a deep Chandra observation of MS1137.5+66, a distant
(z=0.783) and massive cluster of galaxies. Only a few similarly massive
clusters are currently known at such high redshifts; accordingly, this
observation provides much-needed information on the dynamical state of these
rare systems. The cluster appears both regular and symmetric in the X-ray
image. However, our analysis of the spectral and spatial X-ray data in
conjunction with interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data and published
deep optical imaging suggests the cluster has a fairly complex structure. The
angular diameter distance we calculate from the Chandra and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
effect data assuming an isothermal, spherically symmetric cluster implies a low
value for the Hubble constant for which we explore possible explanations.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap
Dynamics of the Globular Cluster System Associated with M87 (NGC 4486). II. Analysis
We present a dynamical analysis of the globular cluster system associated
with M87 (= NGC 4486), the cD galaxy near the dynamical center of the Virgo
cluster. The analysis utilizes a new spectroscopic and photometric database
which is described in a companion paper (Hanes et al. 2001). Using a sample of
278 globular clusters with measured radial velocities and metallicities, and
new surface density profiles based on wide-field Washington photometry, we
study the dynamics of the M87 globular cluster system both globally --- for the
entire cluster sample --- and separately --- for the metal-rich and metal-poor
globular cluster samples. This constitutes the largest sample of radial
velocities for pure Population II tracers yet assembled for any galaxy. We
discuss the implications of our findings for models for the formation of giant
elliptical galaxies, globular cluster systems, and the Virgo cluster.
(ABRIDGED)Comment: 28 pages, 19 postscript figures, 1 jpeg image. See
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/ast/ast-rap.html to download the manuscript
with higher quality figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Merging of globular clusters within inner galactic regions. I. Do they survive the tidal interaction?
The main topic of this paper is the investigation of the modes of interaction
of globular clusters (GCs) moving in the inner part of a galaxy. This is
tackled by means of high-resolution N-body simulations, whose first results are
presented in this article. Our simulations dealt with primordial very massive
(order of 10^7 solar masses) GCs that were able to decay, because of dynamical
friction, into the inner regions of triaxial galaxies on a time much shorter
than their internal relaxation time. To check the disruptive role of both tidal
forces and GC-GC collisions, we maximised the tidal interaction considering GCs
on quasi-radial orbits.
The available CPU resources allowed us to follow 8 oscillations of the GCs
along their orbits and the main findings are: i) clusters with an initial high
enough King concentration parameter (c>=1.2), preserve up to 50% of their
initial mass; ii) the inner density distribution of the survived clusters keep
a King model profile; iii) GC-GC collisions have a negligible effect with
respect to that caused by the passage through the galactic center; iv) the
orbital energy dissipation due to the tidal interaction is of the same order of
that caused by dynamical friction; v) complex sub-structures like "ripples" and
"clumps" formed, as observed around real clusters.
These findings support the validity of the hypothesis of merging of GCs in
the galactic central region, with modes that deserve further careful
investigations.Comment: LaTeX 2e, AASTeX v5.x, 23 pages with 14 figures. Accepted for
publication on the Astrophysical Journal. Final version with major change
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