629 research outputs found
Random Forest Classification of Stars in the Galactic Centre
Near-infrared high-angular resolution imaging observations of the Milky Way's
nuclear star cluster have revealed all luminous members of the existing stellar
population within the central parsec. Generally, these stars are either evolved
late-type giants or massive young, early-type stars. We revisit the problem of
stellar classification based on intermediate-band photometry in the K-band,
with the primary aim of identifying faint early-type candidate stars in the
extended vicinity of the central massive black hole. A random forest
classifier, trained on a subsample of spectroscopically identified stars,
performs similarly well as competitive methods (F1=0.85), without involving any
model of stellar spectral energy distributions. Advantages of using such a
machine-trained classifier are a minimum of required calibration effort, a
predictive accuracy expected to improve as more training data becomes
available, and the ease of application to future, larger data sets. By applying
this classifier to archive data, we are also able to reproduce the results of
previous studies of the spatial distribution and the K-band luminosity function
of both the early- and late-type stars.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Dynamics of gas and dust clouds in active galactic nuclei
We analyse the motion of single optically thick clouds in the potential of a
central mass under the influence of an anisotropic radiation field
~|cos(\theta)|, a model applicable to the inner region of active galactic
nuclei. Resulting orbits are analytically soluble for constant cloud column
densities. All stable orbits are closed, although they have non-trivial shapes.
Furthermore, there exists a stability criterion in the form of a critical
inclination, which depends on the luminosity of the central source and the
column density of the cloud.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; language corrections, minor formatting change
Detecting cosmic rays using CEMOS sensors in consumer devices
Since the time of Victor Hess and his balloon flight that demonstrated that cosmic rays increased with altitude, new detection methods have become widely available to be used on current day flights. One such method is to utilize CCDs with long duration exposures. During the exposures the CCD is exposed to cosmic rays which then leave a track. This phenomenon is caused by the CCD\u27s inability to distinguish between photons of light and charged particles. Such tracks can then be separated from the CCD\u27s background noise and classified
Core Collapse and Then? The Route to Massive Star Explosions
The rapidly growing base of observational data for supernova explosions of
massive stars demands theoretical explanations. Central of these is a
self-consistent model for the physical mechanism that provides the energy to
start and drive the disruption of the star. We give arguments why the delayed
neutrino-heating mechanism should still be regarded as the standard paradigm to
explain most explosions of massive stars and show how large-scale and even
global asymmetries can result as a natural consequence of convective overturn
in the neutrino-heating region behind the supernova shock. Since the explosion
is a threshold phenomenon and depends sensitively on the efficiency of the
energy transfer by neutrinos, even relatively minor differences in numerical
simulations can matter on the secular timescale of the delayed mechanism. To
enhance this point, we present some results of recent one- and two-dimensional
computations, which we have performed with a Boltzmann solver for the neutrino
transport and a state-of-the-art description of neutrino-matter interactions.
Although our most complete models fail to explode, the simulations demonstrate
that one is encouragingly close to the critical threshold because a modest
variation of the neutrino transport in combination with postshock convection
leads to a weak neutrino-driven explosion with properties that fulfill
important requirements from observations.Comment: 14 pages; 3 figures. Invited Review, in: ``From Twilight to
Highlight: The Physics of Supernovae'', Eds. W. Hillebrandt and B.
Leibundgut, Springer Series ``ESO Astrophysics Symposia'', Berli
On the Evolution of Thermonuclear Flames on Large Scales
The thermonuclear explosion of a massive white dwarf in a Type Ia supernova
explosion is characterized by vastly disparate spatial and temporal scales. The
extreme dynamic range inherent to the problem prevents the use of direct
numerical simulation and forces modelers to resort to subgrid models to
describe physical processes taking place on unresolved scales.
We consider the evolution of a model thermonuclear flame in a constant
gravitational field on a periodic domain. The gravitational acceleration is
aligned with the overall direction of the flame propagation, making the flame
surface subject to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The flame evolution is
followed through an extended initial transient phase well into the steady-state
regime. The properties of the evolution of flame surface are examined. We
confirm the form of the governing equation of the evolution suggested by
Khokhlov (1995). The mechanism of vorticity production and the interaction
between vortices and the flame surface are discussed. The results of our
investigation provide the bases for revising and extending previous
subgrid-scale model.Comment: 15 pages, 22 postscript figures. Accepted for publication by the
Astrophysical Journal. High resolution figures can be found at
http://flash.uchicago.edu/~zhang/research_paper.htm
Unrecognized Astrometric Confusion in the Galactic Centre
The Galactic Centre is a highly crowded stellar field and frequent
unrecognized events of source confusion, which involve undetected faint stars,
are expected to introduce astrometric noise on a sub-mas level. This confusion
noise is the main non-instrumental effect limiting the astrometric accuracy and
precision of current near-infrared imaging observations and the long-term
monitoring of individual stellar orbits in the vicinity of the central
supermassive black hole. We self-consistently simulate the motions of the known
and the yet unidentified stars to characterize this noise component and show
that a likely consequence of source confusion is a bias in estimates of the
stellar orbital elements, as well as the inferred mass and distance of the
black hole, in particular if stars are being observed at small projected
separations from it, such as the star S2 during pericentre passage.
Furthermore, we investigate modeling the effect of source confusion as an
additional noise component that is time-correlated, demonstrating a need for
improved noise models to obtain trustworthy estimates of the parameters of
interest (and their uncertainties) in future astrometric studies.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Directional Camera Control on High Altitude Balloons
The research reported in this paper examined the design and control of a gimbal for solar eclipse tracking and video recording. The gimbal design required 3 axes of rotation to allow for full range of motion. Utilizing individual brushless motors for each of the axes ensure minimum rotational requirements on each axes. In controlling the gimbal, both a mathematical and visual method were utilized. The mathematical method is a modified version of what is currently used for solar array pointing. The visual method looks at where the position of the sun is within the image and determines what angle changes are required. Utilizing a combination of these methods helps to eliminate error that accumulates within the onboard gyros due to the erratic behavior of balloon motion during flight. Elimination of this error ensures accurate video recording of the solar eclipse
Supernova Simulations with Boltzmann Neutrino Transport: A Comparison of Methods
Accurate neutrino transport has been built into spherically symmetric
simulations of stellar core collapse and postbounce evolution. The results of
such simulations agree that spherically symmetric models with standard
microphysical input fail to explode by the delayed, neutrino-driven mechanism.
Independent groups implemented fundamentally different numerical methods to
tackle the Boltzmann neutrino transport equation. Here we present a direct and
detailed comparison of such neutrino radiation-hydrodynamical simulations for
two codes, Agile-Boltztran of the Oak Ridge-Basel group and Vertex of the
Garching group. The former solves the Boltzmann equation directly by an
implicit, general relativistic discrete angle method on the adaptive grid of a
conservative implicit hydrodynamics code with second-order TVD advection. In
contrast, the latter couples a variable Eddington factor technique with an
explicit, moving-grid, conservative high-order Riemann solver with important
relativistic effects treated by an effective gravitational potential. The
presented study is meant to test both neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics
implementations and to provide a data basis for comparisons and verifications
of supernova codes to be developed in the future. Results are discussed for
simulations of the core collapse and post-bounce evolution of a 13 solar mass
star with Newtonian gravity and a 15 solar mass star with relativistic gravity.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, revised version, to appear in Ap
- âŠ