102 research outputs found
LEGUS Discovery of a Light Echo Around Supernova 2012aw
We have discovered a luminous light echo around the normal Type II-Plateau
Supernova (SN) 2012aw in Messier 95 (M95; NGC 3351), detected in images
obtained approximately two years after explosion with the Wide Field Channel 3
on-board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) by the Legacy ExtraGalactic
Ultraviolet Survey (LEGUS). The multi-band observations span from the
near-ultraviolet through the optical (F275W, F336W, F438W, F555W, and F814W).
The apparent brightness of the echo at the time was ~21--22 mag in all of these
bands. The echo appears circular, although less obviously as a ring, with an
inhomogeneous surface brightness, in particular, a prominent enhanced
brightness to the southeast. The SN itself was still detectable, particularly
in the redder bands. We are able to model the light echo as the time-integrated
SN light scattered off of diffuse interstellar dust in the SN environment. We
have assumed that this dust is analogous to that in the Milky Way with R_V=3.1.
The SN light curves that we consider also include models of the unobserved
early burst of light from the SN shock breakout. Our analysis of the echo
suggests that the distance from the SN to the scattering dust elements along
the echo is ~45 pc. The implied visual extinction for the echo-producing dust
is consistent with estimates made previously from the SN itself. Finally, our
estimate of the SN brightness in F814W is fainter than that measured for the
red supergiant star at the precise SN location in pre-SN images, possibly
indicating that the star has vanished and confirming it as the likely SN
progenitor.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, to appear in the Astrophysical Journa
STAR CLUSTER PROPERTIES in TWO LEGUS GALAXIES COMPUTED with STOCHASTIC STELLAR POPULATION SYNTHESIS MODELS
Hierarchical Star Formation in Nearby LEGUS Galaxies
Hierarchical structure in ultraviolet images of 12 late-type LEGUS galaxies
is studied by determining the numbers and fluxes of nested regions as a
function of size from ~1 to ~200 pc, and the number as a function of flux. Two
starburst dwarfs, NGC 1705 and NGC 5253, have steeper number-size and flux-size
distributions than the others, indicating high fractions of the projected areas
filled with star formation. Nine subregions in 7 galaxies have similarly steep
number-size slopes, even when the whole galaxies have shallower slopes. The
results suggest that hierarchically structured star-forming regions several
hundred parsecs or larger represent common unit structures. Small galaxies
dominated by only a few of these units tend to be starbursts. The
self-similarity of young stellar structures down to parsec scales suggests that
star clusters form in the densest parts of a turbulent medium that also forms
loose stellar groupings on larger scales. The presence of super star clusters
in two of our starburst dwarfs would follow from the observed structure if
cloud and stellar subregions more readily coalesce when self-gravity in the
unit cell contributes more to the total gravitational potential.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for ApJ
Observations of the planetary nebula SMP LMC 058 with the JWST MIRI medium resolution spectrometer
During the commissioning of JWST, the medium-resolution spectrometer (MRS) on the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) observed the planetary nebula SMP LMC 058 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The MRS was designed to provide medium resolution (R = λ/Δλ) 3D spectroscopy in the whole MIRI range. SMP LMC 058 is the only source observed in JWST commissioning that is both spatially and spectrally unresolved by the MRS and is a good test of JWST's capabilities. The new MRS spectra reveal a wealth of emission lines not previously detected in this planetary nebula. From these lines, the spectral resolving power (λ/Δλ) of the MRS is confirmed to be in the range R = 4000-1500, depending on the MRS spectral sub-band. In addition, the spectra confirm that the carbon-rich dust emission is from complex hydrocarbons and SiC grains and that there is little to no time evolution of the SiC dust and emission line strengths over a 17-yr epoch. These commissioning data reveal the great potential of the MIRI MRS for the study of circumstellar and interstellar material.</p
Measurement of the W-pair cross section in collisions at 172 GeV
The e+e- --> W+W- cross section is measured in a data sample collected by ALEPH at a mean centre--of--mass energy of 172.09 GEV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.65 pb-1. Cross sections are given for the three topologies, fully leptonic, semi-leptonic and hadronic of a W-pair decay. Under the assumption that no other decay modes are present, the W-pair cross section is measured to be 11.7 +- 1.2 (stat.) +- 0.3 (syst.) pb. The existence of the triple gauge boson vertex of the Standard Model is clearly preferred by the data. The decay branching ratio of the W boson into hadrons is measured to be B(W --> hadrons) = 67.7 +- 3.1 (stat.) +- 0.7 (syst.)%, allowing a determination of the CKM matrix element |Vcs|= 0.98 +- 0.14 (stat.) +- 0.03 (syst.)
Measurement of the tau lepton lifetime with the three-dimensional impact parameter method.
A new method is presented for the measurement of the mean lepton lifetime using events in which 's are pair-produced and both 's decay to hadrons and . Based on the correlation between the two 's produced at a symmetric collider, the 3DIP method relies on the three-dimensional information from a double-sided vertex detector and on kinematic constraints for the precise measurement of the decay angles. Using the data collected from 1992 to 1994 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a lifetime of \fs is obtained from the sample in which both 's decay to one charged track, and \fs from the sample in which one decays to one prong and the other to three prongs. The results show small statistical correlations with those derived from other methods. When combined with the previously published ALEPH measurements, the resulting lifetime is \fs
Measurement of the tau lepton lifetime with the three-dimensional impact parameter method.
A new method is presented for the measurement of the mean lepton lifetime using events in which 's are pair-produced and both 's decay to hadrons and . Based on the correlation between the two 's produced at a symmetric collider, the 3DIP method relies on the three-dimensional information from a double-sided vertex detector and on kinematic constraints for the precise measurement of the decay angles. Using the data collected from 1992 to 1994 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a lifetime of \fs is obtained from the sample in which both 's decay to one charged track, and \fs from the sample in which one decays to one prong and the other to three prongs. The results show small statistical correlations with those derived from other methods. When combined with the previously published ALEPH measurements, the resulting lifetime is \fs
Measurement of the tau lepton lifetime with the three-dimensional impact parameter method.
A new method is presented for the measurement of the mean lepton lifetime using events in which 's are pair-produced and both 's decay to hadrons and . Based on the correlation between the two 's produced at a symmetric collider, the 3DIP method relies on the three-dimensional information from a double-sided vertex detector and on kinematic constraints for the precise measurement of the decay angles. Using the data collected from 1992 to 1994 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a lifetime of \fs is obtained from the sample in which both 's decay to one charged track, and \fs from the sample in which one decays to one prong and the other to three prongs. The results show small statistical correlations with those derived from other methods. When combined with the previously published ALEPH measurements, the resulting lifetime is \fs
Measurement of the tau lepton lifetime with the three-dimensional impact parameter method.
A new method is presented for the measurement of the mean lepton lifetime using events in which 's are pair-produced and both 's decay to hadrons and . Based on the correlation between the two 's produced at a symmetric collider, the 3DIP method relies on the three-dimensional information from a double-sided vertex detector and on kinematic constraints for the precise measurement of the decay angles. Using the data collected from 1992 to 1994 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a lifetime of \fs is obtained from the sample in which both 's decay to one charged track, and \fs from the sample in which one decays to one prong and the other to three prongs. The results show small statistical correlations with those derived from other methods. When combined with the previously published ALEPH measurements, the resulting lifetime is \fs
Measurement of the tau lepton lifetime with the three-dimensional impact parameter method.
A new method is presented for the measurement of the mean lepton lifetime using events in which 's are pair-produced and both 's decay to hadrons and . Based on the correlation between the two 's produced at a symmetric collider, the 3DIP method relies on the three-dimensional information from a double-sided vertex detector and on kinematic constraints for the precise measurement of the decay angles. Using the data collected from 1992 to 1994 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a lifetime of \fs is obtained from the sample in which both 's decay to one charged track, and \fs from the sample in which one decays to one prong and the other to three prongs. The results show small statistical correlations with those derived from other methods. When combined with the previously published ALEPH measurements, the resulting lifetime is \fs
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