3,081 research outputs found
QSO Absorption Line Constraints on Intragroup High-Velocity Clouds
We show that the number statistics of moderate redshift MgII and Lyman limit
absorbers may rule out the hypothesis that high velocity clouds are infalling
intragroup material.Comment: 4 pages, no figures; submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters;
revised version, more general and includes more about Braun and Burton CHVC
High Resolution STIS/HST and HIRES/Keck Spectra of Three Weak MgII Absorbers Toward PG 1634+706
High resolution optical (HIRES/Keck) and UV (STIS/HST) spectra, covering a
large range of chemical transitions, are analyzed for three single-cloud weak
MgII absorption systems along the line of sight toward the quasar PG 1634+706.
Weak MgII absorption lines in quasar spectra trace metal-enriched environments
that are rarely closely associated with the most luminous galaxies (>0.05L^*).
The two weak MgII systems at z=0.81 and z=0.90 are constrained to have >=solar
metallicity, while the metallicity of the z=0.65 system is not as
well-constrained, but is consistent with >1/10th solar. These weak MgII clouds
are likely to be local pockets of high metallicity in a lower metallicity
environment. All three systems have two phases of gas, a higher density region
that produces narrower absorption lines for low ionization transitions, such as
MgII, and a lower density region that produces broader absorption lines for
high ionization transitions, such as CIV. The CIV profile for one system (at
z=0.81) can be fit with a single broad component (b~10 km/s), but those for the
other two systems require one or two additional offset high ionization clouds.
Two possible physical pictures for the phase structure are discussed: one with
a low-ionization, denser phase embedded in a lower density surrounding medium,
and the other with the denser clumps surrounding more highly ionized gas.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures; to appear in ApJ on May 20, 200
The Population of Weak Mg II Absorbers I. A Survey of 26 QSO HIRES/Keck Spectra
We present a search for "weak" MgII absorbers [those with W_r(2796) < 0.3 A
in the HIRES/Keck spectra of 26 QSOs. We found 30, of which 23 are newly
discovered. The spectra are 80% complete to W_r(2796) = 0.02 A and have a
cumulative redshift path of ~17.2 for the redshift range 0.4 < z < 1.4. The
number of absorbers per unit redshift, dN/dz, is seen to increase as the
equivalent width threshold is decreased; we obtained dN/dz = 1.74+/-0.10 for
our 0.02 <= W_r(2796) < 0.3 A sample. The equivalent width distribution follows
a power law with slope -1.0; there is no turnover down to W_r(2796) = 0.02 A at
= 0.9. Weak absorbers comprise at least 65% of the total MgII absorption
population, which outnumbers Lyman limit systems (LLS) by a factor of
3.8+/-1.1; the majority of weak MgII absorbers must arise in sub-LLS
environments. Tentatively, we predict that ~5% of the Lyman-alpha forest clouds
with W_r(1215) > 0.1 A will have detectable MgII absorption to W_r,min(2796) =
0.02 A and that this is primarily a high-metallicity selection effect (Z/Z_sun]
> -1). This implies that MgII absorbing structures figure prominently as
tracers of sub-LLS environments where gas has been processed by stars. We
compare the number density of W_r(2796) > 0.02 A absorbers with that of both
high and low surface brightness galaxies and find a fiducial absorber size of
35h^-1 to 63h^-1 kpc, depending upon the assumed galaxy population and their
absorption properties. The individual absorbing "clouds" have W_r(2796) <= 0.15
A and their narrow (often unresolved) line widths imply temperatures of ~25,000
K. We measured W_r(1548) from CIV in FOS/HST archival spectra and, based upon
comparisons with FeII, found a range of ionization conditions (low, high, and
multi-phase) in absorbers selected by weak MgII.Comment: Accepted Version: 43 pages, PostScript figures embedded; accepted to
ApJ; updated version includes analysis of CIV absorptio
Extremely Red Objects in The Lockman Hole
We investigate Extremely Red Objects (EROs) using near- and mid-infrared
observations in five passbands (3.6 to 24 micron) obtained from the Spitzer
Space Telescope, and deep ground-based R and K imaging. The great sensitivity
of the IRAC camera allows us to detect 64 EROs in only 12 minutes of IRAC
exposure time, by means of an R-[3.6] color cut (analogous to the traditional
red R-K cut). A pure infrared K-[3.6] red cut detects a somewhat different
population and may be more effective at selecting z > 1.3 EROs. We find 17% of
all galaxies detected by IRAC at 3.6 or 4.5 micron to be EROs. These
percentages rise to about 40% at 5.8 micron, and about 60% at 8.0 micron. We
utilize the spectral bump at 1.6 micron to divide the EROs into broad redshift
slices using only near-infrared colors (2.2/3.6/4.5 micron). We conclude that
two-thirds of all EROs lie at redshift z > 1.3. Detections at 24 micron imply
that at least 11% of 0.6 1.3 EROs are
dusty star-forming galaxies.Comment: to appear in the special Spitzer issue of the ApJ
LBT and Spitzer Spectroscopy of Star-Forming Galaxies at 1 < z < 3: Extinction and Star Formation Rate Indicators
We present spectroscopic observations in the rest-frame optical and near- to
mid-infrared wavelengths of four gravitationally lensed infrared (IR) luminous
star-forming galaxies at redshift 1 < z < 3 from the LUCIFER instrument on the
Large Binocular Telescope and the Infrared Spectrograph on Spitzer. The sample
was selected to represent pure, actively star-forming systems, absent of active
galactic nuclei. The large lensing magnifications result in high
signal-to-noise spectra that can probe faint IR recombination lines, including
Pa-alpha and Br-alpha at high redshifts. The sample was augmented by three
lensed galaxies with similar suites of unpublished data and observations from
the literature, resulting in the final sample of seven galaxies. We use the IR
recombination lines in conjunction with H-alpha observations to probe the
extinction, Av, of these systems, as well as testing star formation rate (SFR)
indicators against the SFR measured by fitting spectral energy distributions to
far-IR photometry. Our galaxies occupy a range of Av from ~0 to 5.9 mag, larger
than previously known for a similar range of IR luminosities at these
redshifts. Thus, estimates of SFR even at z ~ 2 must take careful count of
extinction in the most IR luminous galaxies. We also measure extinction by
comparing SFR estimates from optical emission lines with those from far-IR
measurements. The comparison of results from these two independent methods
indicates a large variety of dust distribution scenarios at 1 < z < 3. Without
correcting for dust extinction, the H-alpha SFR indicator underestimates the
SFR; the size of the necessary correction depends on the IR luminosity and dust
distribution scenario. Individual SFR estimates based on the 6.2 micron PAH
emission line luminosity do not show a systematic discrepancy with extinction,
although a considerable, ~0.2 dex scatter is observed.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal; 14 pages, 8
figure
Resource Availability and Entrainment Are Driven by Offsets Between Nutriclines and Winter Mixed‐Layer Depth
While phytoplankton play a key role in ocean biogeochemical cycles, the availability and supply pathways of resources that support their growth remain poorly constrained. Here, we show that the availability of various resources varies over several orders of magnitude throughout the Atlantic Ocean, causing regional contrasts in resource deficiency. Regional variations in the relative availability of nitrogen, phosphorous, silicon, iron, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and cadmium are important and result from the contrasts between winter mixing depths and differences in vertical profiles of the different resources. The winter-time thickening of the mixed layer may replenish or deplete resources via entrainment, depending on the vertical nutrient profile. For nutrients like nitrate, phosphate, and cadmium, entrainment is a consistent source term. While for others, such as manganese and iron, entrainment can reduce ocean resource availability, particularly in subtropical regions. Any future change to the depth of winter-time mixing will cause region-specific changes in relative availability of different resources that may have important ecological consequences
Impossible protest: noborders in Calais
Since the closure of the Red Cross refugee reception centre in Sangatte, undocumented migrants in Calais hoping to cross the border to Britain have been forced to take refuge in a number of squatted migrant camps, locally known by all as ‘the jungles.’ Unauthorised shanty-like residences built by the migrants themselves, living conditions in the camps are very poor. In June 2009, European ‘noborder’ activists set up a week-long protest camp in the area with the intention of confronting the authorities over their treatment of undocumented migrants. In this article, we analyse the June 2009 noborder camp as an instance of ‘immigrant protest.’ Drawing on ethnographic materials and Jacques Rancière's work on politics and aesthetics, we construct a typology of forms of border control through which to analyse the different ways in which the politics of the noborder camp were staged, performed and policed. Developing a critique of policing practices which threatened to make immigrant protest ‘impossible’, we highlight moments of protest which, through the affirmation of an ‘axiomatic’ equality, disrupted and disarticulated the borders between citizens and non-citizens, the political and non-political
Global and regional emissions estimates for N2O
We present a comprehensive estimate of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions using observations and models from 1995 to 2008. High-frequency records of tropospheric N2O are available from measurements at Cape Grim, Tasmania; Cape Matatula, American Samoa; Ragged Point, Barbados; Mace Head, Ireland; and at Trinidad Head, California using the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) instrumentation and calibrations. The Global Monitoring Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA/ESRL) has also collected discrete air samples in flasks and in situ measurements from remote sites across the globe and analyzed them for a suite of species including N2O. In addition to these major networks, we include in situ and aircraft measurements from the National Institute of Environmental Studies (NIES) and flask measurements from the Tohoku University and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) networks. All measurements show increasing atmospheric mole fractions of N2O, with a varying growth rate of 0.1-0.7% per year, resulting in a 7.4% increase in the background atmospheric mole fraction between 1979 and 2011. Using existing emission inventories as well as bottom-up process modeling results, we first create globally gridded a priori N2O emissions over the 37 years since 1975. We then use the three-dimensional chemical transport model, Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers version 4 (MOZART v4), and a Bayesian inverse method to estimate global as well as regional annual emissions for five source sectors from 13 regions in the world. This is the first time that all of these measurements from multiple networks have been combined to determine emissions. Our inversion indicates that global and regional N2O emissions have an increasing trend between 1995 and 2008. Despite large uncertainties, a significant increase is seen from the Asian agricultural sector in recent years, most likely due to an increase in the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, as has been suggested by previous studies.</p
- …