17,047 research outputs found
The case for a cold dark matter cusp in Draco
We use a new mass modelling method, GravSphere, to measure the central dark
matter density profile of the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Draco's star
formation shut down long ago, making it a prime candidate for hosting a
'pristine' dark matter cusp, unaffected by stellar feedback during galaxy
formation. We first test GravSphere on a suite of tidally stripped mock
'Draco'-like dwarfs. We show that we are able to correctly infer the dark
matter density profile of both cusped and cored mocks within our 95% confidence
intervals. While we obtain only a weak inference on the logarithmic slope of
these density profiles, we are able to obtain a robust inference of the
amplitude of the inner dark matter density at 150pc, . We show that, combined with constraints on the density profile at larger
radii, this is sufficient to distinguish a Cold Dark Matter
(CDM) cusp that has from alternative dark matter models
that have lower inner densities. We then apply GravSphere to the real Draco
data. We find that Draco has an inner dark matter density of , consistent with a CDM cusp. Using a velocity independent
SIDM model, calibrated on SIDM cosmological simulations, we show that
Draco's high central density gives an upper bound on the SIDM cross section of
at 99% confidence. We conclude that
the inner density of nearby dwarf galaxies like Draco provides a new and
competitive probe of dark matter models.Comment: 19 pages, 11 Figures. Final version accepted for publication in MNRA
Dark matter heats up in dwarf galaxies
Gravitational potential fluctuations driven by bursty star formation can
kinematically 'heat up' dark matter at the centres of dwarf galaxies. A key
prediction of such models is that, at a fixed dark matter halo mass, dwarfs
with a higher stellar mass will have a lower central dark matter density. We
use stellar kinematics and HI gas rotation curves to infer the inner dark
matter densities of eight dwarf spheroidal and eight dwarf irregular galaxies
with a wide range of star formation histories. For all galaxies, we estimate
the dark matter density at a common radius of 150pc, . We find that our sample of dwarfs falls into two
distinct classes. Those that stopped forming stars over 6Gyrs ago favour
central densities , consistent with cold dark matter cusps, while those with more
extended star formation favour , consistent with shallower dark matter cores. Using
abundance matching to infer pre-infall halo masses, , we show that
this dichotomy is in excellent agreement with models in which dark matter is
heated up by bursty star formation. In particular, we find that steadily decreases with increasing stellar mass-to-halo
mass ratio, . Our results suggest that, to leading order, dark
matter is a cold, collisionless, fluid that can be kinematically 'heated up'
and moved around.Comment: 22 pages, 10 Figures. Final version accepted for publication in MNRA
On the formation of dwarf galaxies and stellar halos
Using analytic arguments and a suite of very high resolution (10^3 Msun per
particle) cosmological hydro-dynamical simulations, we argue that high
redshift, z ~ 10, M ~ 10^8 Msun halos, form the smallest `baryonic building
block' (BBB) for galaxy formation. These halos are just massive enough to
efficiently form stars through atomic line cooling and to hold onto their gas
in the presence of supernovae winds and reionisation. These combined effects,
in particular that of the supernovae feedback, create a sharp transition: over
the mass range 3-10x10^7 Msun, the BBBs drop two orders ofmagnitude in stellar
mass. Below ~2x10^7 Msun, galaxies will be dark with almost no stars and no
gas. Above this scale is the smallest unit of galaxy formation: the BBB.
A small fraction (~100) of these gas rich BBBs fall in to a galaxy the size
of the Milky Way. Ten percent of these survive to become the observed LG dwarf
galaxies at the present epoch. Those in-falling halos on benign orbits which
keep them far away from the Milky Way or Andromeda manage to retain their gas
and slowly form stars - these become the smallest dwarf irregular galax ies;
those on more severe orbits lose their gas faster than they can form stars and
become the dwarf spheroidals. The remaining 90% of the BBBs will be accreted.
We show that this gives a metallicity and total stellar mass consistent with
the Milky Way old stellar halo (abridged).Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, one figure added to match accepted version. Some
typos fixed. MNRAS in pres
A high Eddington-ratio, true Seyfert 2 galaxy candidate: implications for broad-line-region models
A bright, soft X-ray source was detected on 2010 July 14 during an
XMM--Newton slew at a position consistent with the galaxy GSN 069 (z=0.018).
Previous ROSAT observations failed to detect the source and imply that GSN 069
is now >240 times brighter than it was in 1994 in the soft X-ray band. We
report here results from a ~1 yr monitoring with Swift and XMM-Newton, as well
as from optical spectroscopy. GSN 069 is an unabsorbed, ultra-soft source in
X-rays, with no flux detected above ~1 keV. The soft X-rays exhibit significant
variability down to timescales of hundreds of seconds. The UV-to-X-ray spectrum
of GSN 069 is consistent with a pure accretion disc model which implies an
Eddington ratio of ~0.5 and a black hole mass of ~ 1.2 million solar masses. A
new optical spectrum, obtained ~3.5 months after the XMM-Newton slew detection,
is consistent with earlier spectra and lacks any broad line component,
classifying the source as a Seyfert 2 galaxy. The lack of cold X-ray absorption
and the short timescale variability in the soft X-rays rule out a standard
Seyfert 2 interpretation of the X-ray data. We discuss our results within the
framework of two possible scenarios for the broad-line-region (BLR) in AGN,
namely the two-phase model (cold BLR clouds in pressure equilibrium with a
hotter medium), and models in which the BLR is part of an outflow, or
disc-wind. Finally, we point out that GSN 069 may be a member of a population
of super-soft AGN whose SED is completely dominated by accretion disc emission,
as it is the case in some black hole X-ray binary transients during their
outburst evolution. The disc emission for a typical AGN with larger black hole
mass than GSN 069 does not enters the soft X-ray band, so that GSN 069-like
objects would likely be missed by current X-ray surveys, or mis-classified as
Compton-thick candidates. (ABRIDGED)Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
The XMM-Newton Slew Survey: Towards The Whole X-ray Sky and the Rarest X-ray Events
The data collected by XMM-Newton as it slews between pointings currently
cover almost half the entire sky, and many familiar features and new sources
are visible. The soft-band sensitivity limit of the Slew is close to that of
the RASS, and a large-area Slew-RASS comparison now provides the best
opportunity for discovering extremely rare high-variability objects.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of "X-ray Astronomy 2009: Present Status,
Multi-Wavelength Approach and Future Perspectives", Bologna, Italy, September
7-11, 2009, AIP, eds. A. Comastri, M. Cappi, and L. Angelin
New multi-channel electron energy analyzer with cylindrically symmetrical electrostatic field
This paper discusses an electron energy analyzer with a cylindrically
symmetrical electrostatic field, designed for rapid Auger analysis. The device
was designed and built. The best parameters of the analyzer were estimated and
then experimentally verified.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
The XMM-Newton Slew Survey
XMM-Newton, with the huge collecting area of its mirrors and the high quantum
efficiency of its EPIC detectors, is the most sensitive X-ray observatory ever
flown. This is strikingly evident during slew exposures, which, while yielding
only at most 14 seconds of on-source exposure time, actually constitute a 2-10
keV survey ten times deeper than all other "all-sky" surveys. The current
(April 2005) XMM archive contains 374 slew exposures which give a uniform
coverage over around 10,000 square degrees (approx. 25% of the sky). Here we
describe the results of pilot studies, the current status of the XMM-Newton
Slew Survey, up-to-date results and our progress towards constructing a
catalogue of slew detections in the full 0.2-12 keV energy band.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, XMM-Newton EPIC Consortium Meeting, Schloss
Ringberg, Germany, April 2005, to appear in MPE Repor
From state terrorism to state errorism: Post-pinochet Chile's long search for truth and justice
Patio 29 lies in the northern sector of Santiago's General Cemetery. To the naked eye, it is a grim unweeded field of some twelve hundred rusted tin crosses. But to the families of the 1,197 detained-disappeared during Augusto Pinochet's brutal dictatorship, Patio 29 is both a site of horror and a site of hope. Its story begins in September-December 1973 when 320 early victims of the repression were brought there in makeshift wooden crates that held as many as three bodies each, and buried in unmarked graves. A few years later, two hundred of those graves were exhumed by the military, and the remains presumably cremated. For another decade, the mass grave remained silent, yielding few of its secrets to the families' demands to know: Where are they? Today, nineteen years into the so-called transition to democracy, Patio 29-the most important single finding in relation to Chile's detained-disappeared-still refuses to reveal the identities of those victims, pressing upon the government of Michelle Bachelet a new question: Who are they? First state terror, now state error have conspired to make Patio 29 one of Chile's principal horror-cum-hopescapes. © 2010 by The Regents of the University of California and the National Council on Public History. All rights reserved
- …