1,703 research outputs found
Hadron widths in mixed-phase matter
We derive classically an expression for a hadron width in a two-phase region
of hadron gas and quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The presence of QGP gives hadrons
larger widths than they would have in a pure hadron gas. We find that the
width observed in a central Au+Au collision at
GeV/nucleon is a few MeV greater than the width in a pure hadron gas. The part
of observed hadron widths due to QGP is approximately proportional to
.Comment: 8 pages, latex, no figures, KSUCNR-002-9
The Carnegie Hubble Program: The Distance and Structure of the SMC as Revealed by Mid-infrared Observations of Cepheids
Using Spitzer observations of classical Cepheids we have measured the true
average distance modulus of the SMC to be mag (corresponding to kpc), which is
mag more distant than the LMC. This is in agreement with previous results from
Cepheid observations, as well as with measurements from other indicators such
as RR Lyrae stars and the tip of the red giant branch.
Utilizing the properties of the mid--infrared Leavitt Law we measured precise
distances to individual Cepheids in the SMC, and have confirmed that the galaxy
is tilted and elongated such that its eastern side is up to 20 kpc closer than
its western side. This is in agreement with the results from red clump stars
and dynamical simulations of the Magellanic Clouds and Stream.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 38 Pages, 11 figures. Figure 9 is
interactive. Spitzer photometry for all Cepheids available as online tabl
Calibration of the Mid-Infrared Tully-Fisher Relation
Distance measures on a coherent scale around the sky are required to address
the outstanding cosmological problems of the Hubble Constant and of departures
from the mean cosmic flow. The correlation between galaxy luminosities and
rotation rates can be used to determine distances to many thousands of galaxies
in a wide range of environments potentially out to 200 Mpc. Mid-infrared (3.6
microns) photometry with the Spitzer Space Telescope is particularly valuable
as the source of the luminosities because it provides products of uniform
quality across the sky. From a perch above the atmosphere, essentially the
total magnitude of targets can be registered in exposures of a few minutes.
Extinction is minimal and the flux is dominated by the light from old stars
which is expected to correlate with the mass of the targets.
In spite of the superior photometry, the correlation between mid-infrared
luminosities and rotation rates extracted from neutral hydrogen profiles is
slightly degraded from the correlation found with I band luminosities. A color
correction recovers a correlation that provides comparable accuracy to that
available at I band (~20% 1sigma in an individual distance) while retaining the
advantages identified above. Without the color correction the relation between
linewidth and [3.6] magnitudes is M^{b,i,k,a}_{[3.6]} = -20.34 - 9.74 (log
W_{mx}^{i} -2.5). This description is found with a sample of 213 galaxies in 13
clusters that define the slope and 26 galaxies with Cepheid or tip of the red
giant branch distances that define the zero point. A color corrected parameter
M_{C_{[3.6]}} is constructed that has reduced scatter: M_{C_{[3.6]}} = -20.34 -
9.13 (log W_{mx}^{i} -2.5). Consideration of the 7 calibration clusters beyond
50 Mpc, outside the domain of obvious peculiar velocities, provides a
preliminary Hubble Constant estimate of H_0=74+/-5 km/s/Mpc.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 14 pages, 11
figures, 4 table
The Space Density of Extended Ultraviolet (XUV) Disks in the Local Universe and Implications for Gas Accretion on to Galaxies
We present results of the first unbiased search for extended UV (XUV)-disk
galaxies undertaken to determine the space density of such galaxies. Our sample
contains 561 local (0.001 < z < 0.05) galaxies that lie in the intersection of
available GALEX deep imaging (exposure time > 1.5 x 10^4 s) and SDSS DR7
footprints. We explore modifications to the standard classification scheme for
our sample that includes both disk- and bulge-dominated galaxies. Visual
classification of each galaxy in the sample reveals an XUV-disk frequency of up
to 20% for the most nearby portion of our sample. On average over the entire
sample (out to z=0.05) the frequency ranges from a hard limit of 4% to 14%. The
GALEX imaging allows us to detect XUV-disks beyond 100 Mpc. The XUV regions
around XUV-disk galaxies are consistently bluer than the main bodies. We find a
surprisingly high frequency of XUV emission around luminous red (NUV-r > 5) and
green valley (3 < NUV-r < 5) galaxies. The XUV-disk space density in the local
universe is > 1.5-4.2 x 10^-3 Mpc^-3. Using the XUV emission as an indicator of
recent gas accretion, we estimate that the cold gas accretion rate onto these
galaxies is > 1.7-4.6 x 10^-3 Msun Mpc^-3 yr^-1. The number of XUV-disks in the
green valley and the estimated accretion rate onto such galaxies points to the
intriguing possibility that 7%-18% of galaxies in this population are
transitioning away from the red sequence.Comment: 19 pages, 24 figures, ApJ in Pres
Secondary phi meson peak as an indicator of QCD phase transition in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions
In a previous paper, we have shown that a double phi peak structure appears
in the dilepton invariant mass spectrum if a first order QCD phase transition
occurs in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions. Furthermore, the transition
temperature can be determined from the transverse momentum distribution of the
low mass phi peak. In this work, we extend the study to the case that a smooth
crossover occurs in the quark-gluon plasma to the hadronic matter transition.
We find that the double phi peak structure still exists in the dilepton
spectrum and thus remains a viable signal for the formation of the quark-gluon
plasma in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions.Comment: 8 pages, 9 uuencoded postscript figures included, Latex, LBL-3572
Cryptotomography: reconstructing 3D Fourier intensities from randomly oriented single-shot diffraction patterns
We reconstructed the 3D Fourier intensity distribution of mono-disperse
prolate nano-particles using single-shot 2D coherent diffraction patterns
collected at DESY's FLASH facility when a bright, coherent, ultrafast X-ray
pulse intercepted individual particles of random, unmeasured orientations. This
first experimental demonstration of cryptotomography extended the
Expansion-Maximization-Compression (EMC) framework to accommodate unmeasured
fluctuations in photon fluence and loss of data due to saturation or background
scatter. This work is an important step towards realizing single-shot
diffraction imaging of single biomolecules.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The Carnegie Hubble Program: The Infrared Leavitt Law in IC 1613
We have observed the dwarf galaxy IC 1613, at multiple epochs in the mid-infrared using Spitzer and contemporaneously in the near-infrared using the new FourStar near-infrared camera on Magellan. We have constructed Cepheid period–luminosity relations in the J, H, K_s, [3.6] and [4.5] bands and have used the run of their apparent distance moduli as a function of wavelength to derive the line-of-sight reddening and distance to IC 1613. Using a nine-band fit, we find E(B − V) = 0.05 ± 0.01 mag and an extinction-corrected distance modulus of μ_0 = 24.29 ± 0.03_(statistical) ± 0.03_(systematic) mag. By comparing our multi-band and [3.6] distance moduli to results from the tip of the red giant branch and red clump distance indicators, we find that metallicity has no measurable effect on Cepheid distances at 3.6 μm in the metallicity range −1.0 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ 0.2, hence derivations of the Hubble constant at this wavelength require no correction for metallicity
UV properties of early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster
We study the UV properties of a volume limited sample of early-type galaxies
in the Virgo cluster combining new GALEX far- (1530 A) and near-ultraviolet
(2310 A) data with spectro-photometric data available at other wavelengths. The
sample includes 264 ellipticals, lenticulars and dwarfs spanning a large range
in luminosity (M(B)<-15). While the NUV to optical or near-IR color magnitude
relations (CMR) are similar to those observed at optical wavelengths, with a
monotonic reddening of the color index with increasing luminosity, the (FUV-V)
and (FUV-H) CMRs show a discontinuity between massive and dwarf objects. An
even more pronounced dichotomy is observed in the (FUV-NUV) CMR. For
ellipticals the (FUV-NUV) color becomes bluer with increasing luminosity and
with increasing reddening of the optical or near-IR color indices. For the
dwarfs the opposite trend is observed. These observational evidences are
consistent with the idea that the UV emission is dominated by hot, evolved
stars in giant systems, while in dwarf ellipticals residual star formation
activity is more common.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in
Astrophysical Journal Letter
Extinction law variations and dust excitation in the spiral galaxy NGC 300
We investigate the origin of the strong radial gradient in the
ultraviolet-to-infrared ratio in the spiral galaxy NGC 300, and emphasize the
importance of local variations in the interstellar medium geometry, concluding
that they cannot be neglected with respect to metallicity effects. This
analysis is based upon a combination of maps from GALEX and Spitzer, and from
the ground (UBVRI, Halpha and Hbeta). We select ionizing stellar clusters
associated with HII regions of widely varying morphologies, and derive their
fundamental parameters from population synthesis fitting of their spectral
energy distributions, measured to eliminate local backgrounds accurately. From
these fits, we conclude that the stellar extinction law is highly variable in
the line of sight of young clusters of similar ages. In the particular model
geometry that we consider most appropriate to the sampled regions, we checked
that our findings are not significantly altered by the correct treatment of
radiative transfer effects. The variations are systematic in nature: extinction
laws of the Milky Way or LMC type are associated with compact HII regions (the
compacity being quantified in two different ways), while clusters surrounded by
diffuse HII regions follow extinction laws of the 30 Doradus or SMC type. The
Calzetti starburst attenuation law, although most often degenerate with the 30
Doradus extinction law, overpredicts ionizing photon fluxes by large amounts.
We also find that the extinction law variations are correlated with the column
density of dust species emitting in the near- and mid-infrared. Finally, we
briefly discuss the nebular to stellar extinction ratios, and the excitation of
aromatic band carriers, invalidating their claimed association with cold dust.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ -- figure 6 abridged her
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