2,628 research outputs found
Planetary nebulae in the elliptical galaxy NGC 821: kinematics and distance determination
Using a slitless spectroscopy method with the 8.2 m Subaru telescope and its
FOCAS Cassegrain spectrograph, we have increased the number of planetary nebula
(PN) detections and PN velocity measurements in the flattened elliptical galaxy
NGC 821. A comparison with the detections reported previously by the Planetary
Nebula Spectrograph (PN.S) group indicates that we have confirmed most of their
detections. The velocities measured by the two groups, using different
telescopes, spectrographs and slitless techniques, are in good agreement. We
have built a combined sample of 167 PNs and have confirmed the keplerian
decline of the line-of-sight velocity dispersion reported previously. We also
confirm misaligned rotation from the combined sample. A dark matter halo may
exist around this galaxy, but it is not needed to keep the PN velocities below
the local escape velocity as calculated from the visible mass. We have measured
the m(5007) magnitudes of 145 PNs and produced a statistically complete sample
of 40 PNs in NGC 821. The resulting PN luminosity function (PNLF) was used to
estimate a distance modulus of 31.4 mag, equivalent to 19 Mpc. We also
estimated the PN formation rate. NGC 821 becomes the most distant galaxy with a
PNLF distance determination. The PNLF distance modulus is smaller than the
surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distance modulus by 0.4 mag. Our kinematic
information permits to rule out the idea that a shorter PNLF distance could be
produced by the contamination of the PNLF by background galaxies with emission
lines redshifted into the on-band filter transmission curve.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 16 figure
Distribution of the S-matrix in chaotic microwave cavities with direct processes and absorption
We quantify the presence of direct processes in the S-matrix of chaotic
microwave cavities with absorption in the one-channel case. To this end the
full distribution P_S(S) of the S-matrix, i.e. S=\sqrt{R}e^{i\theta}, is
studied in cavities with time-reversal symmetry for different antenna coupling
strengths T_a or direct processes. The experimental results are compared with
random-matrix calculations and with numerical simulations based on the
Heidelberg approach including absorption. The theoretical result is a
generalization of the Poisson kernel. The experimental and the numerical
distributions are in excellent agreement with random-matrix predictions for all
cases.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Design of one-dimensional Lambertian diffusers of light
We describe a method for designing a one-dimensional random surface that acts
as a Lambertian diffuser. The method is tested by means of rigorous computer
simulations and is shown to yield the desired scattering pattern.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
Doorway States and Billiards
Whenever a distinct state is immersed in a sea of complicated and dense
states, the strength of the distinct state, which we refer to as a doorway, is
distributed in their neighboring states. We analyze this mechanism for 2-D
billiards with different geometries. One of them is symmetric and integrable,
another is symmetric but chaotic, and the third has a capricious form. The fact
that the doorway-state mechanism is valid for such highly diverse cases, proves
that it is robust.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, Accepted in Proceedings of "Symmetries in
Nature", Symposium in Memoriam Marcos Moshinsk
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