10,403 research outputs found
Microlensing events from the 11-year observations of the Wendelstein Calar Alto Pixellensing Project
We present the results of the decade-long M31 observation from the
Wendelstein Calar Alto Pixellensing Project (WeCAPP). WeCAPP has monitored M31
from 1997 till 2008 in both R- and I-filters, thus provides the longest
baseline of all M31 microlensing surveys. The data are analyzed with the
difference imaging analysis, which is most suitable to study variability in
crowded stellar fields. We extracted light curves based on each pixel, and
devised selection criteria that are optimized to identify microlensing events.
This leads to 10 new events, and sums up to a total of 12 microlensing events
from WeCAPP, for which we derive their timescales, flux excesses, and colors
from their light curves. The color of the lensed stars fall between (R-I) =
0.56 to 1.36, with a median of 1.0 mag, in agreement with our expectation that
the sources are most likely bright, red stars at post main-sequence stage. The
event FWHM timescales range from 0.5 to 14 days, with a median of 3 days, in
good agreement with predictions based on the model of Riffeser et al. (2006).Comment: 44 pages, 16 figures, 5 tables. ApJ accepte
Cosmic variance of the galaxy cluster weak lensing signal
Intrinsic variations of the projected density profiles of clusters of
galaxies at fixed mass are a source of uncertainty for cluster weak lensing. We
present a semi-analytical model to account for this effect, based on a
combination of variations in halo concentration, ellipticity and orientation,
and the presence of correlated haloes. We calibrate the parameters of our model
at the 10 per cent level to match the empirical cosmic variance of cluster
profiles at M_200m=10^14...10^15 h^-1 M_sol, z=0.25...0.5 in a cosmological
simulation. We show that weak lensing measurements of clusters significantly
underestimate mass uncertainties if intrinsic profile variations are ignored,
and that our model can be used to provide correct mass likelihoods. Effects on
the achievable accuracy of weak lensing cluster mass measurements are
particularly strong for the most massive clusters and deep observations (with
~20 per cent uncertainty from cosmic variance alone at M_200m=10^15 h^-1 M_sol
and z=0.25), but significant also under typical ground-based conditions. We
show that neglecting intrinsic profile variations leads to biases in the
mass-observable relation constrained with weak lensing, both for intrinsic
scatter and overall scale (the latter at the 15 per cent level). These biases
are in excess of the statistical errors of upcoming surveys and can be avoided
if the cosmic variance of cluster profiles is accounted for.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; submitted to MNRA
The sizes of galaxy halos in galaxy cluster Abell 1689
The multiple images observed in galaxy cluster Abell 1689 provide strong
constraints not only on the mass distribution of the cluster but also on the
ensemble properties of the cluster galaxies. Using parametric strong lensing
models for the cluster, and by assuming well motivated scaling laws between the
truncation radius s and the velocity dispersion sigma of a cluster galaxy we
are able to derive sizes of the dark matter halos of cluster galaxies.
For the scaling law expected for galaxies in the cluster environment (s
propto sigma), we obtain s = 64^{+15}_{-14} (sigma / 220 km/s) kpc. For the
scaling law used for galaxies in the field with s propto sigma^2 we find s =
66^{+18}_{-16} (sigma / 220 km/s)^2 kpc. Compared to halos of field galaxies,
the cluster galaxy halos in Abell 1689 are strongly truncated.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in the Ap
Weak Lensing Reconstruction and Power Spectrum Estimation: Minimum Variance Methods
Large-scale structure distorts the images of background galaxies, which
allows one to measure directly the projected distribution of dark matter in the
universe and determine its power spectrum. Here we address the question of how
to extract this information from the observations. We derive minimum variance
estimators for projected density reconstruction and its power spectrum and
apply them to simulated data sets, showing that they give a good agreement with
the theoretical minimum variance expectations. The same estimator can also be
applied to the cluster reconstruction, where it remains a useful reconstruction
technique, although it is no longer optimal for every application. The method
can be generalized to include nonlinear cluster reconstruction and photometric
information on redshifts of background galaxies in the analysis. We also
address the question of how to obtain directly the 3-d power spectrum from the
weak lensing data. We derive a minimum variance quadratic estimator, which
maximizes the likelihood function for the 3-d power spectrum and can be
computed either from the measurements directly or from the 2-d power spectrum.
The estimator correctly propagates the errors and provides a full correlation
matrix of the estimates. It can be generalized to the case where redshift
distribution depends on the galaxy photometric properties, which allows one to
measure both the 3-d power spectrum and its time evolution.Comment: revised version, 36 pages, AAS LateX, submitted to Ap
Dinâmica de crescimento de angico (Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil) no Pantanal Mato-Grossense.
bitstream/CNPF-2009-09/41784/1/circ-tec102.pd
Growth dynamics of Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil and Tabebuia impetiginosa from Pantanal Mato-grossense, Brazil.
O uso de informações obtidas por estudos com anéis de crescimento é cada vez mais freqüente e são muito importantes para florestas naturais tropicais onde a demanda por madeira é grande, mas geralmente não existem dados disponÃveis sobre o crescimento das espécies arbóreas para a estruturação de programas de manejo. O Pantanal da Nhecolândia, sub-região do Pantanal Mato-Grossense, pode ser visto como uma dessas regiões onde as florestas naturais são sistematicamente cortadas para extração de madeira, ou para implantação de pastagens cultivadas. Fatores climáticos e edáficos, caracterÃsticos do Pantanal, sub-região da Nhecolândia, induzem a formação de anéis anuais de crescimento. Objetivou-se, com este trabalho, determinar a idade e os incrementos radiais de Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil e Tabebuia impetiginosa, pela análise dos anéis de crescimento. Discos de oito árvores de Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil e seis de Tabebuia impetiginosa foram coletados em julho de 1996, na fazenda Nhumirim, de propriedade da Embrapa Pantanal, localizada na sub-região da Nhecolândia. As árvores de Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil e Tabebuia impetiginosa apresentavam 14 a 30 e 15 a 30 anos respectivamente, com crescimento anual médio, em diâmetro a 1,3 m do solo, variando de 5,4 a 8,0 mm em Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil e de 4,8 a 11,6 mm em Tabebuia impetiginosa. O tempo médio para Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil e Tabebuia impetiginosa atingirem 40 cm de diâmetro foi estimado em, no mÃnimo, 55 anos
Simplifying Random Satisfiability Problem by Removing Frustrating Interactions
How can we remove some interactions in a constraint satisfaction problem
(CSP) such that it still remains satisfiable? In this paper we study a modified
survey propagation algorithm that enables us to address this question for a
prototypical CSP, i.e. random K-satisfiability problem. The average number of
removed interactions is controlled by a tuning parameter in the algorithm. If
the original problem is satisfiable then we are able to construct satisfiable
subproblems ranging from the original one to a minimal one with minimum
possible number of interactions. The minimal satisfiable subproblems will
provide directly the solutions of the original problem.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figure
The old and heavy bulge of M31 I. Kinematics and stellar populations
We present new optical long-slit data along 6 position angles of the bulge
region of M31. We derive accurate stellar and gas kinematics reaching 5 arcmin
from the center, where the disk light contribution is always less than 30%, and
out to 8 arcmin along the major axis, where the disk makes 55% of the total
light. We show that the velocity dispersions of McElroy (1983) are severely
underestimated (by up to 50 km/s) and previous dynamical models have
underestimated the stellar mass of M31's bulge by a factor 2. Moreover, the
light-weighted velocity dispersion of the galaxy grows to 166 km/s, thus
reducing the discrepancy between the predicted and measured mass of the black
hole at the center of M31. The kinematic position angle varies with distance,
pointing to triaxiality. We detect gas counterrotation near the bulge minor
axis. We measure eight emission-corrected Lick indices. They are approximately
constant on circles. We derive the age, metallicity and alpha-element
overabundance profiles. Except for the region in the inner arcsecs of the
galaxy, the bulge of M31 is uniformly old (>12 Gyr, with many best-fit ages at
the model grid limit of 15 Gyr), slightly alpha-elements overabundant
([alpha/Fe]~0.2) and at solar metallicity, in agreement with studies of the
resolved stellar components. The predicted u-g, g-r and r-i Sloan color
profiles match reasonably well the dust-corrected observations. The stellar
populations have approximately radially constant mass-to-light ratios (M/L_R ~
4-4.5 for a Kroupa IMF), in agreement with stellar dynamical estimates based on
our new velocity dispersions. In the inner arcsecs the luminosity-weighted age
drops to 4-8 Gyr, while the metallicity increases to above 3 times the solar
value.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
The Wendelstein Calar Alto Pixellensing Project (WeCAPP): the M31 Nova catalogue
We present light curves from the novae detected in the long-term, M31
monitoring WeCAPP project. The goal of WeCAPP is to constrain the compact dark
matter fraction of the M31 halo with microlensing observations. As a by product
we have detected 91 novae benefiting from the high cadence and highly sensitive
difference imaging technique required for pixellensing. We thus can now present
the largest CCD and optical filters based nova light curve sample up-to-date
towards M31. We also obtained thorough coverage of the light curve before and
after the eruption thanks to the long-term monitoring. We apply the nova
taxonomy proposed by Strope et al. (2010) to our nova candidates and found 29
S-class novae, 10 C-class novae, 2 O-class novae and 1 J-class nova. We have
investigated the universal decline law advocated by Hachichu and Kato (2006) on
the S-class novae. In addition, we correlated our catalogue with the literature
and found 4 potential recurrent novae. Part of our catalogue has been used to
search for optical counter-parts of the super soft X-ray sources detected in
M31 (Pietsch et al. 2005). Optical surveys like WeCAPP, and coordinated with
multi-wavelength observation, will continue to shed light on the underlying
physical mechanism of novae in the future.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables, A&A accepted for publication. The
appendix is stored in the Data Conservanc
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