Nucleons, Nuclear Matter and Quark Matter: A unified NJL approach

We use an effective quark model to describe both hadronic matter and deconfined quark matter. By calculating the equations of state and the corresponding neutron star properties, we show that the internal properties of the nucleon have important implications for the properties of these systems.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, Section 5 extended, references adde

Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Bright Lyman-break Galaxy Candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Not LBGs After All

We present deep Hubble Space Telescope ACS and NICMOS images of six bright Lyman-break galaxy candidates that were previously discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that five of the objects are consistent with unresolved point sources. Although somewhat atypical of the class, they are most likely LoBAL quasars, perhaps FeLoBALs. The sixth object, J1147, has a faint companion galaxy located ~0.8 arcsec to the southwest. The companion contributes ~8% of the flux in the observed-frame optical and infrared. It is unknown whether this companion is located at the same redshift as J1147.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in A

An Alternative Approach To Measuring Reverberation Lags in Active Galactic Nuclei

Motivated by recent progress in the statistical modeling of quasar variability, we develop a new approach to measuring emission-line reverberation lags to estimate the size of broad-line regions (BLRs) in active galactic nuclei. Assuming that all emission-line light curves are scaled, smoothed, and displaced versions of the continuum, this alternative approach fits the light curves directly using a damped random walk model and aligns them to recover the time lag and its statistical confidence limits. We introduce the mathematical formalism of this approach and demonstrate its ability to cope with some of the problems for traditional methods, such as irregular sampling, correlated errors, and seasonal gaps. We redetermine the lags for 87 emission lines in 31 quasars and reassess the BLR size--luminosity relationship using 60 H-beta lags. We confirm the general results from the traditional cross-correlation methods, with a few exceptions. Our method, however, also supports a broad range of extensions. In particular, it can simultaneously fit multiple lines and continuum light curves which improves the lag estimate for the lines and provides estimates of the error correlations between them. Determining these correlations is of particular importance for interpreting emission-line velocity--delay maps. We can also include parameters for luminosity-dependent lags or line responses. We use this to detect the scaling of the BLR size with continuum luminosity in NGC 5548.Comment: match to the version accepted to ApJ. New code release available at http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~yingzu/spear.htm

Multicomponent metal-organic framework membranes for advanced functional composites.

The diverse chemical and structural properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) make them attractive for myriad applications, but their native powder form is limiting for industrial implementation. Composite materials of MOFs hold promise as a means of exploiting MOF properties in engineered forms for real-world applications. While interest in MOF composites is growing, research to date has largely focused on utilization of single MOF systems. The vast number of different MOF structures provides ample opportunity to mix and match distinct MOF species in a single composite to prepare multifunctional systems. In this work, we describe the preparation of three types of multi-MOF composites with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF): (1) co-cast MOF MMMs, (2) mixed MOF MMMs, and (3) multilayer MOF MMMs. Finally, MOF MMMs are explored as catalytic membrane reactors for chemical transformations

Telescope Parallel Actuator Mount: Control and Testing

This thesis approaches the task of designing a control system for the Parallel Actuator Mount developed by Dr. John Ridgely and Mr. Garrett Gudgel. It aims to create a base framework that directly controls the telescope and can be expanded to accept external command. It incorporates lower priced components and develops more easily approachable software with great functionality. An open-loop method for velocity control is established. Developing repeatable tests is a major focus. Testing finds the control methods developed result in velocity error of less than 5% and position error of less than 1.5% despite several mechanical issues and inaccuracies. Design guidelines are established that allow for the easy implementation of a Parallel Actuator Mount on other systems. This paper proves that the Parallel Actuator Mount is a potentially viable system for aiming a telescope when an astronomer does not require full sky coverage. The tests showed too much error to fully recommend the system as built and tested, but there are paths to increase accuracy of the system without greatly increasing the complexity or cost. The inclusion of a method of feedback, including a plate solver and an inertial measurement unit, would greatly improve the system. It may also be of use to modify the software to include a variable time step for the velocity control

Neutron Star Properties from an NJL Model Modified to Simulate Confinement

The NJL model has recently been extended with a method to simulate confinement. This leads in mean field approximation to a natural mechanism for the saturation of nuclear matter. We use the model to investigate the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter and then use it to compute the properties of neutron stars.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, to be published in the proceedings for QCD Down Under Workshop, Adelaide, March 10-19, 200

BLR kinematics and Black Hole Mass in Markarian 6

We present results of the optical spectral and photometric observations of the nucleus of Markarian 6 made with the 2.6-m Shajn telescope at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. The continuum and emission Balmer line intensities varied more than by a factor of two during 1992-2008. The lag between the continuum and Hbeta emission line flux variations is 21.1+-1.9 days. For the Halpha line the lag is about 27 days but its uncertainty is much larger. We use Monte-Carlo simulation of the random time series to check the effect of our data sampling on the lag uncertainties and we compare our simulation results with those obtained by random subset selection (RSS) method of Peterson et al. (1998). The lag in the high-velocity wings are shorter than in the line core in accordance with the virial motions. However, the lag is slightly larger in the blue wing than in the red wing. This is a signature of the infall gas motion. Probably the BLR kinematic in the Mrk 6 nucleus is a combination of the Keplerian and infall motions. The velocity-delay dependence is similar for individual observational seasons. The measurements of the Hbeta line width in combination with the reverberation lag permits us to determine the black hole mass, M_BH=(1.8+-0.2)x10^8 M_sun. This result is consistent with the AGN scaling relationships between the BLR radius and the optical continuum luminosity (R_BLR is proportional to L^0.5) as well as with the black-hole mass-luminosity relationship (M_BH-L) under the Eddington luminosity ratio for Mrk 6 to be L_bol/L_Edd ~ 0.01.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Implementing PCAC in Nonperturbative Models of Pion Production

Traditional few-body descriptions of pion production use integral equations to sum the strong interactions nonperturbatively. Although much physics is thereby included, there has not been a practical way of incorporating the constraints of chiral symmetry into such approaches. Thus the traditional few-body descriptions fail to reflect the underlying theory of strong interactions, QCD, which is largely chirally symmetric. In addition, the lack of chiral symmetry in the few-body approaches means that their predictions of pion production are in principle not consistent with the partial conservation of axial current (PCAC), a fact that has especially large consequences at low energies. We discuss how the recent introduction of the ``gauging of equations method'' can be used to include PCAC into traditional few-body descriptions and thereby solve this long standing problemComment: Contribution to Proceedings, 1st Asia-Pacific Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Noda/Kashiwa, Japan, 23-28 August 1999, to be published by Springer-Verlag as "Few-Body Systems Supplement". 7 pages, revtex, epsf, 3 Postscript figure

Calculating Kaon Fragmentation Functions from NJL-Jet Model

The Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) - Jet model provides a sound framework for calculating the fragmentation functions in an effective chiral quark theory, where the momentum and isospin sum rules are satisfied without the introduction of ad hoc parameters. Earlier studies of the pion fragmentation functions using the NJL model within this framework showed qualitative agreement with the empirical parameterizations. Here we extend the NJL-Jet model by including the strange quark. The corrections to the pion fragmentation functions and corresponding kaon fragmentation functions are calculated using the elementary quark to quark-meson fragmentation functions from NJL. The results for the kaon fragmentation functions exhibit a qualitative agreement with the empirical parameterizations, while the unfavored strange quark fragmentation to pions is shown to be of the same order of magnitude as the unfavored light quark's. The results of these studies are expected to provide important guidance for the analysis of a large variety of semi-inclusive data.Comment: 9 pages, 14 figure

Monte Carlo Simulations of Hadronic Fragmentation Functions using NJL-Jet Model

The recently developed Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) - Jet model is used as an effective chiral quark theory to calculate the quark fragmentation functions to pions, kaons, nucleons, and antinucleons. The effects of the vector mesons rho, K* and phi on the production of secondary pions and kaons are included. The fragmentation processes to nucleons and antinucleons are described by using the quark-diquark picture, which has been shown to give a reasonable description of quark distribution functions. We incorporate effects of next-to-leading order (NLO) in the Q^2 evolution, and compare our results with the empirical fragmentation functions.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figure