514 research outputs found
Inclination-Independent Galaxy Classification
We present a new method to classify galaxies from large surveys like the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey using inclination-corrected concentration,
inclination-corrected location on the color-magnitude diagram, and apparent
axis ratio. Explicitly accounting for inclination tightens the distribution of
each of these parameters and enables simple boundaries to be drawn that
delineate three different galaxy populations: Early-type galaxies, which are
red, highly concentrated, and round; Late-type galaxies, which are blue, have
low concentrations, and are disk dominated; and Intermediate-type galaxies,
which are red, have intermediate concentrations, and have disks. We have
validated our method by comparing to visual classifications of high-quality
imaging data from the Millennium Galaxy Catalogue. The inclination correction
is crucial to unveiling the previously unrecognized Intermediate class.
Intermediate-type galaxies, roughly corresponding to lenticulars and early
spirals, lie on the red sequence. The red sequence is therefore composed of two
distinct morphological types, suggesting that there are two distinct mechanisms
for transiting to the red sequence. We propose that Intermediate-type galaxies
are those that have lost their cold gas via strangulation, while Early-type
galaxies are those that have experienced a major merger that either consumed
their cold gas, or whose merger progenitors were already devoid of cold gas
(the ``dry merger'' scenario).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 7 pages in emulateap
CP violation and modular symmetries
We reconsider the origin of CP violation in fundamental theory. Existing
string models of spontaneous CP violation make ambiguous predictions, due to
the arbitrariness of CP transformation and the apparent non-invariance of the
results under duality. We find an unambiguous modular CP invariance condition,
applicable to predictive models of spontaneous CP violation, which circumvents
these problems; it strongly constrains CP violation by heterotic string moduli.
The dilaton is also evaluated as a source of CP violation, but is likely
experimentally excluded. We consider the prospects for explaining CP violation
in strongly-coupled strings and brane worlds.Comment: 6 pages, REVTeX 4b5+amssymb. 2 references added, substantially the
same as published versio
String corrections to gauge couplings from a field theory approach
An effective field theory approach is introduced to compute one-loop
radiative corrections to the gauge couplings due to Kaluza-Klein states
associated with a two-torus compactification. The results are compared with
those of the string in the field theory ``limit'' alpha'-> 0. The whole U and
the leading T moduli dependence of the gauge dependent part of the string
corrections to gauge couplings can be recovered using the effective field
theory approach.Comment: 8 pages, Late
Globular Cluster Systems in Brightest Cluster Galaxies. III: Beyond Bimodality
We present new deep photometry of the rich globular cluster (GC) systems
around the Brightest Cluster Galaxies UGC 9799 (Abell 2052) and UGC 10143
(Abell 2147), obtained with the HST ACS and WFC3 cameras. For comparison, we
also present new reductions of similar HST/ACS data for the Coma supergiants
NGC 4874 and 4889. All four of these galaxies have huge cluster populations (to
the radial limits of our data, comprising from 12000 to 23000 clusters per
galaxy). The metallicity distribution functions (MDFs) of the GCs can still be
matched by a bimodal-Gaussian form where the metal-rich and metal-poor modes
are separated by ~0.8 dex, but the internal dispersions of each mode are so
large that the total MDF becomes very broad and nearly continuous from [Fe/H] =
-2.4 to Solar. There are, however, significant differences between galaxies in
the relative numbers of \emph{metal-rich} clusters, suggesting that they
underwent significantly different histories of mergers with massive, gas-rich
halos. Lastly, the proportion of metal-poor GCs rises especially rapidly
outside projected radii R > 4 R_eff, suggesting the importance of accreted
dwarf satellites in the outer halo. Comprehensive models for the formation of
GCs as part of the hierarchical formation of their parent galaxies will be
needed to trace the systematic change in structure of the MDF with galaxy mass,
from the distinctly bimodal form in smaller galaxies up to the broad continuum
that we see in the very largest systems.Comment: In press for Astrophysical Journa
Mechanisms of baryon loss for dark satellites in cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations
We present a study of satellites in orbit around a high-resolution, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) galaxy simulated in a cosmological context. The simulated galaxy is approximately of the same mass as the Milky Way. The cumulative number of luminous satellites at z= 0 is similar to the observed system of satellites orbiting the Milky Way although an analysis of the satellite mass function reveals an order of magnitude more dark satellites than luminous satellites. Some of the dark subhaloes are more massive than some of the luminous subhaloes at z= 0. What separates luminous and dark subhaloes is not their mass at z= 0, but the maximum mass the subhaloes ever achieve. We study the effect of four mass-loss mechanisms on the subhaloes: ultraviolet (UV) ionizing radiation, ram-pressure stripping, tidal stripping and stellar feedback, and compare the impact of each of these four mechanisms on the satellites. In the lowest mass subhaloes, UV is responsible for the majority of the baryonic mass-loss. Ram-pressure stripping removes whatever mass remains from the low-mass satellites. More massive subhaloes have deeper potential wells and retain more mass during reionization. However, as satellites pass near the centre of the main halo, tidal forces cause significant mass-loss from satellites of all masses. Satellites that are tidally stripped from the outside can account for the luminous satellites that are of lower mass than some of the dark satellites. Stellar feedback has the greatest impact on medium-mass satellites that had formed stars, but lost all their gas by z= 0. Our results demonstrate that the missing-satellite problem is not an intractable issue with the cold dark matter cosmology, but is rather a manifestation of baryonic processe
String theories as the adiabatic limit of Yang-Mills theory
We consider Yang-Mills theory with a matrix gauge group on a direct
product manifold , where is a two-dimensional
Lorentzian manifold and is a two-dimensional open disc with the boundary
. The Euler-Lagrange equations for the metric on
yield constraint equations for the Yang-Mills energy-momentum tensor. We show
that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric on is scaled down, the
Yang-Mills equations plus constraints on the energy-momentum tensor become the
equations describing strings with a worldsheet moving in the based
loop group , where is the boundary of
. By choosing and putting to zero all parameters in besides , we get a string moving in . In
arXiv:1506.02175 it was described how one can obtain the Green-Schwarz
superstring action from Yang-Mills theory on while
shrinks to a point. Here we also consider Yang-Mills theory on a
three-dimensional manifold and show that in the limit when
the radius of tends to zero, the Yang-Mills action functional
supplemented by a Wess-Zumino-type term becomes the Green-Schwarz superstring
action.Comment: 11 pages, v3: clarifying remarks added, new section on embedding of
the Green-Schwarz superstring into d=3 Yang-Mills theory include
Diverse Stellar Haloes in Nearby Milky Way-Mass Disc Galaxies
We have examined the resolved stellar populations at large galactocentric
distances along the minor axis (from 10 kpc up to between 40 and 75 kpc), with
limited major axis coverage, of six nearby highly-inclined Milky Way-mass disc
galaxies using HST data from the GHOSTS survey. We select red giant branch
stars to derive stellar halo density profiles. The projected minor axis density
profiles can be approximated by power laws with projected slopes of between
and and a diversity of stellar halo masses of , or of the total galaxy stellar masses. The typical
intrinsic scatter around a smooth power law fit is dex owing to
substructure. By comparing the minor and major axis profiles, we infer
projected axis ratios at kpc between . The GHOSTS
stellar haloes are diverse, lying between the extremes charted out by the
(rather atypical) haloes of the Milky Way and M31. We find a strong correlation
between the stellar halo metallicities and the stellar halo masses. We compare
our results with cosmological models, finding good agreement between our
observations and accretion-only models where the stellar haloes are formed by
the disruption of dwarf satellites. In particular, the strong observed
correlation between stellar halo metallicity and mass is naturally reproduced.
Low-resolution hydrodynamical models have unrealistically high stellar halo
masses. Current high-resolution hydrodynamical models appear to predict stellar
halo masses somewhat higher than observed but with reasonable metallicities,
metallicity gradients and density profiles.Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Evidence for coupling between the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and the Milky Way warp
Using recent determinations of the mass and orbit of Sagittarius, I calculate
its orbital angular momentum. From the latest observational data, I also
calculate the angular momentum of the Milky Way's warp. I find that both
angular momenta are directed toward l=270, b=0, and have magnitude 2-8x10^12
M_Sun kpc km s^-1, where the range in both cases reflects uncertainty in the
mass. The coincidence of the angular momenta is suggestive of a coupling
between these systems. Direct gravitational torque of Sgr on the disk is ruled
out as the coupling mechanism. Gravitational torque due to a wake in the halo
and the impulsive deposition of momentum by a passage of Sgr through the disk
are still both viable mechanisms pending better simulations to test their
predictions on the observed Sgr-MW system.Comment: 11 pages, to appear in the February 1 issue of ApJ
Extragalactic archeology with the GHOSTS Survey I. - Age-resolved disk structure of nearby low-mass galaxies
We study the individual evolution histories of three nearby low-mass edge-on
galaxies (IC 5052, NGC4244, and NGC5023). Using resolved stellar populations,
we constructed star count density maps for populations of different ages and
analyzed the change of structural parameters with stellar age within each
galaxy.
We do not detect a separate thick disk in any of the three galaxies, even
though our observations cover a wider range in equivalent surface brightness
than any integrated light study. While scale heights increase with age, each
population can be well described by a single disk. Two of the galaxies contain
a very weak additional component, which we identify as the faint halo. The mass
of these faint halos is lower than 1% of the mass of the disk. The three
galaxies show low vertical heating rates, which are much lower than the heating
rate of the Milky Way. This indicates that heating agents, such as giant
molecular clouds and spiral structure, are weak in low-mass galaxies. All
populations in the three galaxies exhibit no or only little flaring. While this
finding is consistent with previous integrated light studies, it poses strong
constraints on galaxy simulations, where strong flaring is often found as a
result of interactions or radial migration.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in strong-coupling lattice QCD at high density
We determine the patterns of spontaneous symmetry breaking in strong-coupling
lattice QCD in a fixed background baryon density. We employ a
next-nearest-neighbor fermion formulation that possesses the SU(N_f)xSU(N_f)
chiral symmetry of the continuum theory. We find that the global symmetry of
the ground state varies with N_f and with the background baryon density. In all
cases the condensate breaks the discrete rotational symmetry of the lattice as
well as part of the chiral symmetry group.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX 4; added discussion of accidental degeneracy of
vacuum after Eq. (35
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