1,925 research outputs found
Is the Redshift Clustering of Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts Significant?
The 26 long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with known redshifts form a
distinct cosmological set, selected differently than other cosmological probes
such as quasars and galaxies. Since the progenitors are now believed to be
connected with active star-formation and since burst emission penetrates dust,
one hope is that with a uniformly-selected sample, the large-scale redshift
distribution of GRBs can help constrain the star-formation history of the
Universe. However, we show that strong observational biases in ground-based
redshift discovery hamper a clean determination of the large-scale GRB rate and
hence the connection of GRBs to the star formation history. We then focus on
the properties of the small-scale (clustering) distribution of GRB redshifts.
When corrected for heliocentric motion relative to the local Hubble flow, the
observed redshifts appear to show a propensity for clustering: 8 of 26 GRBs
occurred within a recession velocity difference of 1000 km/s of another GRB.
That is, 4 pairs of GRBs occurred within 30 h_65^-1 Myr in cosmic time, despite
being causally separated on the sky. We investigate the significance of this
clustering. Comparison of the numbers of close redshift pairs expected from the
simulation with that observed shows no significant small-scale clustering
excess in the present sample; however, the four close pairs occur only in about
twenty percent of the simulated datasets (the precise significance of the
clustering is dependent upon the modeled biases). We conclude with some
impetuses and suggestions for future precise GRB redshift measurements.Comment: Published in the Astronomical Journal, June 2003: see
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2003AJ....125.2865
Polarization dependence of emission spectra of multiexcitons in self-assembled quantum dots
We have investigated the polarization dependence of the emission spectra of
p-shell multiexcitons of a quantum dot when the single particle level spacing
is larger than the characteristic energy of the Coulomb interactions. We find
that there are many degenerate multiexciton states. The emission intensities
depend on the number of degenerate initial and final states of the optical
transitions. However, unlike the transition energies, they are essentially
independent of the strength of the Coulomb interactions. In the presence of
electron-hole symmetry the independence is exact.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, published in Solid State Commu
Evidence for a Positive Cosmological Constant from Flows of Galaxies and Distant Supernovae
Recent observations of high-redshift supernovae seem to suggest that the
global geometry of the Universe may be affected by a `cosmological constant',
which acts to accelerate the expansion rate with time. But these data by
themselves still permit an open universe of low mass density and no
cosmological constant. Here we derive an independent constraint on the lower
bound to the mass density, based on deviations of galaxy velocities from a
smooth universal expansion. This constraint rules out a low-density open
universe with a vanishing cosmological constant, and together the two favour a
nearly flat universe in which the contributions from mass density and the
cosmological constant are comparable. This type of universe, however, seems to
require a degree of fine tuning of the initial conditions that is in apparent
conflict with `common wisdom'.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. Slightly revised version. Letter to Natur
Two Conditions for Galaxy Quenching: Compact Centres and Massive Haloes
We investigate the roles of two classes of quenching mechanisms for central
and satellite galaxies in the SDSS (): those involving the halo and
those involving the formation of a compact centre. For central galaxies with
inner compactness ,
the quenched fraction is strongly correlated with
with only weak halo mass dependence. However, at higher and lower
, sSFR is a strong function of and mostly
independent of . In other words, divides galaxies into those with high sSFR
below and low sSFR above this range. In both the upper and lower regimes,
increasing shifts the entire sSFR distribtuion to lower sSFR
without a qualitative change in shape. This is true even at fixed , but
varying at fixed adds no quenching information. Most of the
quenched centrals with are dense (), suggesting compaction-related
quenching maintained by halo-related quenching. However, 21% are diffuse,
indicating only halo quenching. For satellite galaxies in the outskirts of
halos, quenching is a strong function of compactness and a weak function of
host . In the inner halo, dominates quenching, with
of the satellites being quenched once . This regional effect is greatest for the least massive
satellites. As demonstrated via semi-analytic modelling with simple
prescriptions for quenching, the observed correlations can be explained if
quenching due to central compactness is rapid while quenching due to halo mass
is slow.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS accepte
Enhanced Momentum Feedback from Clustered Supernovae
Young stars typically form in star clusters, so the supernovae (SNe) they
produce are clustered in space and time. This clustering of SNe may alter the
momentum per SN deposited in the interstellar medium (ISM) by affecting the
local ISM density, which in turn affects the cooling rate. We study the effect
of multiple SNe using idealized 1D hydrodynamic simulations which explore a
large parameter space of the number of SNe, and the background gas density and
metallicity. The results are provided as a table and an analytic fitting
formula. We find that for clusters with up to ~100 SNe the asymptotic momentum
scales super-linearly with the number of SNe, resulting in a momentum per SN
that can be an order of magnitude larger than for a single SN, with a maximum
efficiency for clusters with 10-100 SNe. We argue that additional physical
processes not included in our simulations -- self-gravity, breakout from a
galactic disk, and galactic shear -- can slightly reduce the momentum
enhancement from clustering, but the average momentum per SN still remains a
factor of 4 larger than the isolated SN value when averaged over a realistic
cluster mass function for a star-forming galaxy. We conclude with a discussion
of the possible role of mixing between hot and cold gas, induced by
multi-dimensional instabilities or preexisting density variations, as a
limiting factor in the buildup of momentum by clustered SNe, and suggest future
numerical experiments to explore these effects.Comment: 19 pages, 26 figures, revised to reflect accepted version. Discussion
regarding resolution effects has changed; additional analysis into galactic
and gravitational effects has been adde
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