3,076 research outputs found
The Distribution of Dark Matter in a Ringed Galaxy
Outer rings are located at the greatest distance from the galaxy center of
any feature resonant with a bar. Because of their large scale, their morphology
is sensitive to the distribution of the dark matter in the galaxy. We introduce
here how study of these rings can constrain the mass-to-light ratio of the bar,
and so the percentage of dark matter in the center of these galaxies. We
compare periodic orbits integrated in the ringed galaxy NGC 6782 near the outer
Lindblad resonance to the shape of the outer ring. The non-axisymmetric
component of the potential resulting from the bar is derived from a
near-infrared image of the galaxy. The axisymmetric component is derived
assuming a flat rotation curve. We find that the pinched non-self-intersecting
periodic orbits are more elongated for higher bar mass-to-light ratios and
faster bars. The inferred mass-to-light ratio of the bar depends on the assumed
inclination of the galaxy. With an assumed galaxy inclination of i=41 degrees,
for the orbits to be consistent with the observed ring morphology the
mass-to-light ratio of the bar must be high, greater than 70% of a maximal disk
value. For i=45 degrees, the mass-to-light ratio of the bar is of
the maximal disk value. Since the velocity field of these rings can be used to
constrain the galaxy inclination as well as which periodic orbit is represented
in the ring, further study will yield tighter constraints on the mass-to-light
ratio of the bar. If a near maximal disk value for the bar is required, then
either there would be little dark matter within the bar, or the dark matter
contained in the disk of the galaxy would be non-axisymmetric and would rotate
with the bar.Comment: AAS Latex + jpg Figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
A Bose-Einstein condensate interferometer with macroscopic arm separation
A Michelson interferometer using Bose-Einstein condensates is demonstrated
with coherence times of up to 44 ms and arm separations up to 0.18 mm. This arm
separation is larger than that observed for any previous atom interferometer.
The device uses atoms weakly confined in a magnetic guide and the atomic motion
is controlled using Bragg interactions with an off-resonant standing wave laser
beam.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Searching for Machos (and other Dark Matter Candidates) in a Simulated Galaxy
We conduct gravitational microlensing experiments in a galaxy taken from a
cosmological N-body simulation. Hypothetical observers measure the optical
depth and event rate toward hypothetical LMCs and compare their results with
model predictions. Since we control the accuracy and sophistication of the
model, we can determine how good it has to be for statistical errors to
dominate over systematic ones. Several thousand independent microlensing
experiments are performed. When the ``best-fit'' triaxial model for the mass
distribution of the halo is used, the agreement between the measured and
predicted optical depths is quite good: by and large the discrepancies are
consistent with statistical fluctuations. If, on the other hand, a spherical
model is used, systematic errors dominate. Even with our ``best-fit'' model,
there are a few rare experiments where the deviation between the measured and
predicted optical depths cannot be understood in terms of statistical
fluctuations. In these experiments there is typically a clump of particles
crossing the line of sight to the hypothetical LMC. These clumps can be either
gravitationally bound systems or transient phenomena in a galaxy that is still
undergoing phase mixing. Substructure of this type, if present in the Galactic
distribution of Machos, can lead to large systematic errors in the analysis of
microlensing experiments. We also describe how hypothetical WIMP and axion
detection experiments might be conducted in a simulated N-body galaxy.Comment: 18 pages of text (LaTeX, AASTeX) with 12 figures. submitted to the
Astrophysical Journa
A Neutral Hydrogen Survey of Polar-Ring Galaxies: I. Green Bank Observations of the Northern Sample
We present the results of a neutral hydrogen survey conducted with the Green
Bank 140-foot radio telescope of 47 northern objects in the polar-ring galaxy
atlas of Whitmore \etal\ (1990). We detected 39 of these above our detection
limit of 1.7 \hbox{Jy\CDOT\KMS}; the average measured flux of 21 Jy\CDOT\KMS\
corresponds to an average neutral hydrogen mass of \MSUN
for a Hubble constant of \KMS \ Mpc. For the polar-ring
galaxies in our sample that have also been observed with radio arrays, we find
that the 21\AMIN\ (FWHM) Green Bank beam often includes much more flux than
found by the synthesis instruments for the polar rings alone; some of these
galaxies are known to have gas-rich companions. We compare the neutral hydrogen
content of the sample to the blue luminosity and IRAS fluxes. The \HI-to-blue-
light ratios of the confirmed and probable polar rings are around unity in
solar units, indicating that polar ring galaxies (or their environments) are as
gas-rich as typical irregular galaxies. For their blue luminosity, the
confirmed polar rings are underluminous in the far-infrared, as compared with
the rest of the sample. They are also FIR-underluminous for their \HI\ masses,
which suggests that most of the gas in the ring may be in stable orbits, rather
than flowing inward to trigger star formation in the central galaxy. The more
disordered class of `related objects,' which includes a number of obvious
mergers, is highly luminous in the far-infrared.Comment: 34 pages, LaTeX file, Institute for Advanced Study number AST 93/4
Stabilizing an Attractive Bose-Einstein Condensate by Driving a Surface Collective Mode
Bose-Einstein condensates of Li have been limited in number due to
attractive interatomic interactions. Beyond this number, the condensate
undergoes collective collapse. We study theoretically the effect of driving
low-lying collective modes of the condensate by a weak asymmetric sinusoidally
time-dependent field. We find that driving the radial breathing mode further
destabilizes the condensate, while excitation of the quadrupolar surface mode
causes the condensate to become more stable by imparting quasi-angular momentum
to it. We show that a significantly larger number of atoms may occupy the
condensate, which can then be sustained almost indefinitely. All effects are
predicted to be clearly visible in experiments and efforts are under way for
their experimental realization.Comment: 4 ReVTeX pages + 2 postscript figure
Probing Dark Matter
Recent novel observations have probed the baryonic fraction of the galactic
dark matter that has eluded astronomers for decades. Late in 1993, the MACHO
and EROS collaborations announced in this journal the detection of transient
and achromatic brightenings of a handful of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud
that are best interpreted as gravitational microlensing by low-mass foreground
objects (MACHOS). This tantalized astronomers, for it implied that the
population of cool, compact objects these lenses represent could be the elusive
dark matter of our galactic halo. A year later in 1994, Sackett et al. reported
the discovery of a red halo in the galaxy NGC 5907 that seems to follow the
inferred radial distribution of its dark matter. This suggested that dwarf
stars could constitute its missing component. Since NGC 5907 is similar to the
Milky Way in type and radius, some surmised that the solution of the galactic
dark matter problem was an abundance of ordinary low-mass stars. Now Bahcall et
al., using the Wide-Field Camera of the recently repaired Hubble Space
Telescope, have dashed this hope.Comment: 3 pages, Plain TeX, no figures, published as a News and Views in
Nature 373, 191 (1995
Recommended from our members
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Manufacturng Research ICMR2005: Advances in Manufacturing Technology and Management
The International Conference on Manufacturing Research (ICMR) is an annual event, normally held in the early part of September. For many years, it was an UK National Conference that had successfully brought academics and industrialists together to share their knowledge and experiences. Now the conference has developed as a major international event with a growing number of international delegates participating to exchange their research findings with UK researchers and practitioners. The next conference (ICMR2005) will be held at Cranfield University, a distinctive postgraduate university focusing on engineering, management and applied science
Intermittent implosion and pattern formation of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive interaction
The collapsing dynamics of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with
attractive interaction are revealed to exhibit two previously unknown
phenomena. During the collapse, BEC undergoes a series of rapid implosions that
occur {\it intermittently} within a very small region. When the sign of the
interaction is suddenly switched from repulsive to attractive, e.g., by the
Feshbach resonance, density fluctuations grow to form various patterns such as
a shell structure.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, RevTeX, epsf.sty, corrected loss rate
Lupus-TR-3b: A Low-Mass Transiting Hot Jupiter in the Galactic Plane?
We present a strong case for a transiting Hot Jupiter planet identified
during a single-field transit survey towards the Lupus Galactic plane. The
object, Lupus-TR-3b, transits a V=17.4 K1V host star every 3.91405d.
Spectroscopy and stellar colors indicate a host star with effective temperature
5000 +/- 150K, with a stellar mass and radius of 0.87 +/- 0.04M_sun and 0.82
+/- 0.05R_sun, respectively. Limb-darkened transit fitting yields a companion
radius of 0.89 +/- 0.07R_J and an orbital inclination of 88.3 +1.3/-0.8 deg.
Magellan 6.5m MIKE radial velocity measurements reveal a 2.4 sigma K=114 +/-
25m/s sinusoidal variation in phase with the transit ephemeris. The resulting
mass is 0.81 +/- 0.18M_J and density 1.4 +/- 0.4g/cm^3. Y-band PANIC image
deconvolution reveal a V>=21 red neighbor 0.4'' away which, although highly
unlikely, we cannot conclusively rule out as a blended binary with current
data. However, blend simulations show that only the most unusual binary system
can reproduce our observations. This object is very likely a planet, detected
from a highly efficient observational strategy. Lupus-TR-3b constitutes the
faintest ground-based detection to date, and one of the lowest mass Hot
Jupiters known.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
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