3,361 research outputs found
The Distribution of Metallicity in the IGM at z~2.5: OVI and CIV Absorption in the Spectra of 7 QSOs
We present a direct measurement of the metallicity distribution function for
the high redshift intergalactic medium. We determine the shape of this function
using survival statistics, which account for both detections and non-detections
of OVI and CIV associated with HI absorption in quasar spectra. Our OVI sample
probes the metal content of ~50% of all baryons at z~2.5. We find a median
intergalactic abundance of [O,C/H]=-2.82; the differential abundance
distribution is approximately lognormal with mean ~-2.85 and
\sigma=0.75 dex. Some 60-70% the Lya forest lines are enriched to observable
levels ([O,C/H]>-3.5) while the remaining ~30% of the lines have even lower
abundances. Thus we have not detected a universal metallicity floor as has been
suggested for some Population III enrichment scenaria. In fact, we argue that
the bulk of the intergalactic metals formed later than the first stars that are
thought to have triggered reionization. We do not observe a significant trend
of decreasing metallicity toward the lower density IGM, at least within regions
that would be characterized as filaments in numerical simulations. However, an
[O/H] enhancement may be present at somewhat high densities. We estimate that
roughly half of all baryons at these redshifts have been enriched to
[O/H]>=-3.5. We develop a simple model for the metallicity evolution of the
IGM, to estimate the chemical yield of galaxies formed prior to z~2.5. We find
that the typical galaxy recycled 0.1-0.4% of its mass back into the IGM as
heavy elements in the first 3 Gyr after the Big Bang.Comment: 23 pages in emulateapj, 19 figures. Accepted to ApJ, pending review
of new changes. Revised comparison between our results and Schaye et al
(2003
V819 Tau: A Rare Weak-Lined T Tauri Star with a Weak Infrared Excess
We use Spitzer data to infer that the small infrared excess of V819 Tau, a
weak-lined T Tauri star in Taurus, is real and not attributable to a
"companion" 10 arcsec to the south. We do not confirm the mid-infrared excess
in HBC 427 and V410 X-ray 3, which are also non-accreting T Tauri stars in the
same region; instead, for the former object, the excess arises from a red
companion 9 arcsec to the east. A single-temperature blackbody fit to the
continuum excess of V819 Tau implies a dust temperature of 143 K; however, a
better fit is achieved when the weak 10 and 20 micron silicate emission
features are also included. We infer a disk of sub-micron silicate grains
between about 1 AU and several 100 AU with a constant surface density
distribution. The mid-infrared excess of V819 Tau can be successfully modeled
with dust composed mostly of small amorphous olivine grains at a temperature of
85 K, and most of the excess emission is optically thin. The disk could still
be primordial, but gas-poor and therefore short-lived, or already at the debris
disk stage, which would make it one of the youngest debris disk systems known.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
The Metallicity and Dust Content of HVC 287.5+22.5+240: Evidence for a Magellanic Clouds Origin
We estimate the abundances of S and Fe in the high velocity cloud HVC
287.5+22.5+240, which has a velocity of +240 km/s with respect to the local
standard of rest and is in the Galactic direction l~287, b~23. The measurements
are based on UV absorption lines of these elements in the Hubble Space
Telescope spectrum of NGC 3783, a background Seyfert galaxy, as well as new H I
21-cm interferometric data taken with the Australia Telescope. We find
S/H=0.25+/-0.07 and Fe/H=0.033+/-0.006 solar, with S/Fe=7.6+/-2.2 times the
solar ratio. The S/H value provides an accurate measure of the chemical
enrichment level in the HVC, while the super-solar S/Fe ratio clearly indicates
the presence of dust, which depletes the gas-phase abundance of Fe. The
metallicity and depletion information obtained here, coupled with the velocity
and the position of the HVC in the sky, strongly suggest that the HVC
originated from the Magellanic Clouds. It is likely (though not necessary) that
the same process(es) that generated the Magellanic Stream is also responsible
for HVC 287.5+22.5+240.Comment: AASTEX, 3 postscript figures, AJ, 1998, Jan issu
Automated mining of the ALMA archive in the COSMOS field (A3COSMOS): II. Cold molecular gas evolution out to Redshift 6
We present new measurements of the cosmic cold molecular gas evolution out to redshift 6 based on systematic mining of the ALMA public archive in the COSMOS deep field (A3COSMOS). Our A3COSMOS dataset contains ~700 galaxies (0.3 < z < 6) with high-confidence ALMA detections in the (sub-)millimeter continuum and multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Multiple gas mass calibration methods are compared and biases in band conversions (from observed ALMA wavelength to rest-frame Rayleigh-Jeans(RJ)-tail continuum) have been tested. Combining our A3COSMOS sample with ~1,000 CO-observed galaxies at 0 < z < 4 (75% at z < 0.1), we parameterize galaxies' molecular gas depletion time and molecular gas to stellar mass ratio (gas fraction) each as a function of the stellar mass, offset from the star-forming main sequence (Delta MS) and cosmic age (or redshift). Our proposed functional form provides a statistically better fit to current data (than functional forms in the literature), and implies a "downsizing" effect (i.e., more-massive galaxies evolve earlier than less-massive ones) and "mass-quenching" (gas consumption slows down with cosmic time for massive galaxies but speeds up for low-mass ones). Adopting galaxy stellar mass functions and applying our function for gas mass calculation, we for the first time infer the cosmic cold molecular gas density evolution out to redshift 6 and find agreement with CO blind surveys as well as semi-analytic modeling. These together provide a coherent picture of cold molecular gas, SFR and stellar mass evolution in galaxies across cosmic time
Accretion in the Early Kuiper Belt II. Fragmentation
We describe new planetesimal accretion calculations in the Kuiper Belt that
include fragmentation and velocity evolution. All models produce two power law
cumulative size distributions, N_C propto r^{-q}, with q = 2.5 for radii less
than 0.3-3 km and q = 3 for radii exceeding 1-3 km. The power law indices are
nearly independent of the initial mass in the annulus, the initial eccentricity
of the planetesimal swarm, and the initial size distribution of the
planetesimal swarm. The transition between the two power laws moves to larger
radii as the initial eccentricity increases. The maximum size of objects
depends on their intrinsic tensile strength; Pluto formation requires a
strength exceeding 300 erg per gram. Our models yield formation timescales for
Pluto-sized objects of 30-40 Myr for a minimum mass solar nebula. The
production of several `Plutos' and more than 10^5 50 km radius Kuiper Belt
objects leaves most of the initial mass in 0.1-10 km radius objects that can be
collisionally depleted over the age of the solar system. These results resolve
the puzzle of large Kuiper Belt objects in a small mass Kuiper Belt.Comment: to appear in the Astronomical Journal (July 1999); 54 pages including
7 tables and 13 figure
Emission from Water Vapor and Absorption from Other Gases at 5-7.5 Microns in Spitzer-IRS Spectra of Protoplanetary Disks
We present spectra of 13 T Tauri stars in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming
region showing emission in Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)
5-7.5 micron spectra from water vapor and absorption from other gases in these
stars' protoplanetary disks. Seven stars' spectra show an emission feature at
6.6 microns due to the nu_2 = 1-0 bending mode of water vapor, with the shape
of the spectrum suggesting water vapor temperatures > 500 K, though some of
these spectra also show indications of an absorption band, likely from another
molecule. This water vapor emission contrasts with the absorption from warm
water vapor seen in the spectrum of the FU Orionis star V1057 Cyg. The other
six of the thirteen stars have spectra showing a strong absorption band,
peaking in strength at 5.6-5.7 microns, which for some is consistent with
gaseous formaldehyde (H2CO) and for others is consistent with gaseous formic
acid (HCOOH). There are indications that some of these six stars may also have
weak water vapor emission. Modeling of these stars' spectra suggests these
gases are present in the inner few AU of their host disks, consistent with
recent studies of infrared spectra showing gas in protoplanetary disks.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, to appear in the 20 August, 2014, V791 - 2 issue
of the Astrophysical Journa
Bohmian trajectories and the Path Integral Paradigm. Complexified Lagrangian Mechanics
David Bohm shown that the Schr{\"o}dinger equation, that is a "visiting card"
of quantum mechanics, can be decomposed onto two equations for real functions -
action and probability density. The first equation is the Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ)
equation, a "visiting card" of classical mechanics, to be modified by the
Bohmian quantum potential. And the second is the continuity equation. The
latter can be transformed to the entropy balance equation. The Bohmian quantum
potential is transformed to two Bohmian quantum correctors. The first corrector
modifies kinetic energy term of the HJ equation, and the second one modifies
potential energy term. Unification of the quantum HJ equation and the entropy
balance equation gives complexified HJ equation containing complex kinetic and
potential terms. Imaginary parts of these terms have order of smallness about
the Planck constant. The Bohmian quantum corrector is indispensable term
modifying the Feynman's path integral by expanding coordinates and momenta to
imaginary sector.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 46 references, 48 equation
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