15,820 research outputs found
Major Galaxy Mergers Only Trigger the Most Luminous AGN
Using multiwavelength surveys of active galactic nuclei across a wide range
of bolometric luminosities (10^{43}<L_{bol}(erg/s<5x10^{46}) and redshifts
(0<z<3), we find a strong, redshift-independent correlation between the AGN
luminosity and the fraction of host galaxies undergoing a major merger. That
is, only the most luminous AGN phases are connected to major mergers, while
less luminous AGN appear to be driven by secular processes. Combining this
trend with AGN luminosity functions to assess the overall cosmic growth of
black holes, we find that ~50% by mass is associated with major mergers, while
only 10% of AGN by number, the most luminous, are connected to these violent
events. Our results suggest that to reach the highest AGN luminosities -where
the most massive black holes accreted the bulk of their mass - a major merger
appears to be required. The luminosity dependence of the fraction of AGN
triggered by major mergers can successfully explain why the observed scatter in
the M-\sigma relation for elliptical galaxies is significantly lower than in
spirals. The lack of a significant redshift dependence of the
L_{bol}-f_{merger} relation suggests that downsizing, i.e., the general decline
in AGN and star formation activity with decreasing redshift, is driven by a
decline in the frequency of major mergers combined with a decrease in the
availability of gas at lower redshifts.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astrophysical Journal Letters, 6 pages in
emulateapj format, 3 figure
The Accuracy of Morphological Decomposition of Active Galactic Nucleus Host Galaxies
In order to assess the accuracy with which we can determine the morphologies
of AGN host galaxies, we have simulated more than 50,000 ACS images of galaxies
with z < 1.25, using image and noise properties appropriate for the GOODS
survey. We test the effect of central point-source brightness on host galaxy
parameter recovery with a set of simulated AGN host galaxies made by adding
point sources to the centers of normal galaxies. We extend this analysis and
also quantify the recovery of intrinsic morphological parameters of AGN host
galaxies with a set of fully simulated inactive and AGN host galaxies.
We can reliably separate good from poor fit results using a combination of
reasonable error cuts, in the regime where L_{host}:L_{PS} > 1:4. We give
quantitative estimates of parameter errors as a function of
host-to-point-source ratio. In general, we separate host and point-source
magnitudes reliably at all redshifts; point sources are well recovered more
than 90% of the time, although spurious detection of central point sources can
be as high as 25% for bulge-dominated sources. We find a general correlation
between Sersic index and intrinsic bulge-to-total ratio, such that a host
galaxy with Sersic n < 1.5 generally has at least 80% of its light from a disk
component. Likewise, "bulge-dominated" galaxies with n > 4 typically derive at
least 70% of their total host galaxy light from a bulge, but this number can be
as low as 55%. Single-component Sersic fits to an AGN host galaxy are
statistically very reliable to z < 1.25 (for ACS survey data like ours). In
contrast, two-component fits involving separate bulge and disk components tend
to over-estimate the bulge fraction by ~10%, with uncertainty of order 50%.Comment: 45 pages, 20 figures, submitted to ApJ ; Accepted Version --
additions to introduction and conclusions; title changed, was "Simulations of
AGN Host Galaxy Morphologies
Encounters with whales '93 : a conference to further explore the management isues relating to human/whale interactions
Within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park there has also been an increase over the past few years in the number of tourist operators applying for permits to run commercial whale watching activities. In the Whitsunday Islands region, which is already a heavily used recreational and commercial tourism area, dedicated whale watch tours commenced in 1990 and have become more popular each year. In the southern Great Barrier Reef the island resorts among the Capricorn/Bunker Group of islands have engaged in whale watching for many years, but largely as an incidental part of their operations.
An increase in the opportunities to view whales for the general public also brings with it the increased potential for harassment of these creatures. This is particularly significant when whale watching is occurring in the
critical offshore breeding and nursery areas for these endangered species. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority was aware of the need to discuss with other management agencies the requirement for updated
guidelines for whale watching activities, together with a range of other important management issues
Vibrational Fundamentals of CF2N2 from the Ultraviolet Absorption Spectrum
Vibration fundamentals of cyclic difluorodiazirine compound from ultraviolet absorption spectru
Conformal Field Theories in Fractional Dimensions
We study the conformal bootstrap in fractional space-time dimensions,
obtaining rigorous bounds on operator dimensions. Our results show strong
evidence that there is a family of unitary CFTs connecting the 2D Ising model,
the 3D Ising model, and the free scalar theory in 4D. We give numerical
predictions for the leading operator dimensions and central charge in this
family at different values of D and compare these to calculations of phi^4
theory in the epsilon-expansion.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures - references updated - one affiliation modifie
Spin-dependent transport in a quasiballistic quantum wire
We describe the transport properties of a 5 m long one-dimensional (1D)
quantum wire. Reduction of conductance plateaux due to the introduction of
weakly disorder scattering are observed. In an in-plane magnetic field, we
observe spin-splitting of the reduced conductance steps. Our experimental
results provide evidence that deviation from conductance quantisation is very
small for electrons with spin parallel and is about 1/3 for electrons with spin
anti-parallel. Moreover, in a high in-plane magnetic field, a spin-polarised 1D
channel shows a plateau-like structure close to which
strengthens with {\em increasing} temperatures. It is suggested that these
results arise from the combination of disorder and the electron-electron
interactions in the 1D electron gas.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, latex to be published in Phys. Rev. B (15/3/2000
Combinatorial Bounds and Characterizations of Splitting Authentication Codes
We present several generalizations of results for splitting authentication
codes by studying the aspect of multi-fold security. As the two primary
results, we prove a combinatorial lower bound on the number of encoding rules
and a combinatorial characterization of optimal splitting authentication codes
that are multi-fold secure against spoofing attacks. The characterization is
based on a new type of combinatorial designs, which we introduce and for which
basic necessary conditions are given regarding their existence.Comment: 13 pages; to appear in "Cryptography and Communications
Factorization of correlations in two-dimensional percolation on the plane and torus
Recently, Delfino and Viti have examined the factorization of the three-point
density correlation function P_3 at the percolation point in terms of the
two-point density correlation functions P_2. According to conformal invariance,
this factorization is exact on the infinite plane, such that the ratio R(z_1,
z_2, z_3) = P_3(z_1, z_2, z_3) [P_2(z_1, z_2) P_2(z_1, z_3) P_2(z_2,
z_3)]^{1/2} is not only universal but also a constant, independent of the z_i,
and in fact an operator product expansion (OPE) coefficient. Delfino and Viti
analytically calculate its value (1.022013...) for percolation, in agreement
with the numerical value 1.022 found previously in a study of R on the
conformally equivalent cylinder. In this paper we confirm the factorization on
the plane numerically using periodic lattices (tori) of very large size, which
locally approximate a plane. We also investigate the general behavior of R on
the torus, and find a minimum value of R approx. 1.0132 when the three points
are maximally separated. In addition, we present a simplified expression for R
on the plane as a function of the SLE parameter kappa.Comment: Small corrections (final version). In press, J. Phys.
Anomalous spin-dependent behaviour of one-dimensional subbands
We report a new electron interaction effect in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires.
Using DC-bias spectroscopy, we show that large and abrupt changes occur to the
energies of spin-down (lower energy) states as they populate. The effect is not
observed for spin-up energy states. At B=0, interactions have a pronounced
effect, in the form of the well-known 0.7 Structure. However, our new results
show that interactions strongly affect the energy spectrum at all magnetic
fields, from 0 to 16T, not just in the vicinity of the 0.7 Structure.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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