8,156 research outputs found
A detailed description of the sequential probability ratio test for 2-IMU FDI
The sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) for 2-IMU FDI (inertial measuring unit failure detection/isolation) is described. The SPRT is a statistical technique for detecting and isolating soft IMU failures originally developed for the strapdown inertial reference unit. The flowchart of a subroutine incorporating the 2-IMU SPRT is included
Detailed Abundances for the Old Population near the Galactic Center: I. Metallicity distribution of the Nuclear Star Cluster
We report the first high spectral resolution study of 17 M giants
kinematically confirmed to lie within a few parsecs of the Galactic Center,
using R=24,000 spectroscopy from Keck/NIRSPEC and a new linelist for the
infrared K band. We consider their luminosities and kinematics, which classify
these stars as members of the older stellar population and the central cluster.
We find a median metallicity of =-0.16 and a large spread from
approximately -0.3 to +0.3 (quartiles). We find that the highest metallicities
are [Fe/H]<+0.6, with most of the stars being at or below the Solar iron
abundance. The abundances and the abundance distribution strongly resembles
that of the Galactic bulge rather than disk or halo; in our small sample we
find no statistical evidence for a dependence of velocity dispersion on
metallicity.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A
Solution of Orthopositronium lifetime Puzzle
The intrinsic decay rate of orthopositronium formed in powder
is measured using the direct correction method such that the time
dependence of the pick-off annihilation rate is precisely determined. The decay
rate of orthopositronium is found to be , which is consistent with our previous measurements with
about twice the accuracy. Results agree well with the QED
prediction, and also with a result reported very recently using nanoporous
film
Halos of Spiral Galaxies. III. Metallicity Distributions
(Abriged) We report results of a campaign to image the stellar populations in
the halos of highly inclined spiral galaxies, with the fields roughly 10 kpc
(projected) from the nuclei. We use the F814W (I) and F606W (V) filters in the
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, on board the Hubble Space telescope. Extended
halo populations are detected in all galaxies. The color-magnitude diagrams
appear to be completely dominated by giant-branch stars, with no evidence for
the presence of young stellar populations in any of the fields. We find that
the metallicity distribution functions are dominated by metal-rich populations,
with a tail extending toward the metal poor end. To first order, the overall
shapes of the metallicity distribution functions are similar to what is
predicted by simple, single-component model of chemical evolution with the
effective yields increasing with galaxy luminosity. However, metallicity
distributions significantly narrower than the simple model are observed for a
few of the most luminous galaxies in the sample. It appears clear that more
luminous spiral galaxies also have more metal-rich stellar halos. The
increasingly significant departures from the closed-box model for the more
luminous galaxies indicate that a parameter in addition to a single yield is
required to describe chemical evolution. This parameter, which could be related
to gas infall or outflow either in situ or in progenitor dwarf galaxies that
later merge to form the stellar halo, tends to act to make the metallicity
distributions narrower at high metallicity.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures (ApJ, in press
Kinematics and Metallicity of M31 Red Giants: The Giant Southern Stream and Discovery of a Second Cold Component at R = 20 kpc
We present spectroscopic observations of red giant branch (RGB) stars in the
Andromeda spiral galaxy (M31), acquired with the DEIMOS instrument on the Keck
II 10-m telescope. The three fields targeted in this study are in the M31
spheroid, outer disk, and giant southern stream. In this paper, we focus on the
kinematics and chemical composition of RGB stars in the stream field located at
a projected distance of R = 20 kpc from M31's center. A mix of stellar
populations is found in this field. M31 RGB stars are isolated from Milky Way
dwarf star contaminants using a variety of spectral and photometric
diagnostics. The radial velocity distribution of RGB stars displays a clear
bimodality -- a primary peak centered at v = -513 km/s and a secondary one at v
= -417 km/s -- along with an underlying broad component that is presumably
representative of the smooth spheroid of M31. Both peaks are found to be
dynamically cold with intrinsic velocity dispersions of sigma(v) = 16 km/s. The
mean metallicity and metallicity dispersion of stars in the two peaks is also
found to be similar: [Fe/H] = -0.45 and sigma([Fe/H]) = 0.2. The observed
velocity of the primary peak is consistent with that predicted by dynamical
models for the stream, but there is no obvious explanation for the secondary
peak. The nature of the secondary cold population is unclear: it may represent:
(1) tidal debris from a satellite merger event that is superimposed on, but
unrelated to, the giant southern stream; (2) a wrapped around component of the
giant southern stream; (3) a warp or overdensity in M31's disk at R > 50 kpc
(this component is well above the outward extrapolation of the smooth
exponential disk brightness profile).Comment: 32 pages, 13 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Ap
Enamel of Yalkaparidon Coheni: Representative of a Distinctive Order of Tertiary Zalambdodont Marsupials
The enamel of an incisor and a premolar of Yalkaparidon coheni was examined by scanning electron microscopy in fractured and in sectioned, polished surfaces. The enamel of both teeth demonstrated: complete, ovoid and horse-shoe shaped prisms in a Pattern 2 arrangement; a simple parallel prism course; and, enamel tubules in abundance in the premolar but restricted to the innermost enamel in the incisor. Overall, the enamel ultrastructure supports the marsupial affiliation proposed for Yalkaparidon coheni but does not unambiguously ally it with any other order of marsupials.
The observation of a significant ultrastructural difference between the anterior and posterior teeth of a marsupial emphasizes the need to sample both if available. In pursuing this, we report here also the lack of tubules in the anterior teeth of the extant Tarsipes rostratus. This together with a similar absence of typical marsupial tubules from the incisor of the extinct Yalkaparidon coheni, would suggest that the wombat is not the only surviving marsupial to have experimented so extensively with this particular structural feature. It is likely that further study will demonstrate an unexpected and relative lack of tubules in the incisor enamel of other fossil Australian marsupials
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