8,026 research outputs found
The Dwarf Spheroidal Companions to M31: WFPC2 Observations of Andromeda I
Images have been obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 camera of
Andromeda I, a dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy that lies in the outer halo of
M31. The resulting color-magnitude diagrams reveal for the first time the
morphology of the horizontal branch in this system. We find that, in a similar
fashion to many of the galactic dSph companions, the horizontal branch (HB) of
And~I is predominantly red. Combined with the metal abundance of this dSph,
this red HB morphology indicates that And I can be classified as a ``second
parameter'' system in the outer halo of M31. This result then supports the
hypothesis that the outer halo of M31 formed in the same extended chaotic
manner as is postulated for the outer halo of the Galaxy.Comment: 26 pages using aas2pp4.sty, including 2 tables and 7 figures, to be
published in AJ. Figure 1 is in gif form. To include in main ps file, use xv
to create a ps file called Da_Costa.fig1.ps and uncomment appropriate lines
in .tex fil
Electron Neutrino Mass Measurement by Supernova Neutrino Bursts and Implications on Hot Dark Matter
We present a new strategy for measuring the electron neutrino mass (\mnue)
by future detection of a Galactic supernova in large underground detectors such
as the Super-Kamiokande (SK). This method is nearly model-independent and one
can get a mass constraint in a straightforward way from experimental data
without specifying any model parameters for profiles of supernova neutrinos. We
have tested this method using virtual data generated from a numerical model of
supernova neutrino emission by realistic Monte-Carlo simulations of the SK
detection. It is shown that this method is sensitive to \mnue of 3 eV
for a Galactic supernova, and this range is as low as the prediction of the
cold+hot dark matter scenario with a nearly degenerate mass hierarchy of
neutrinos, which is consistent with the current observations of solar and
atmospheric neutrino anomalies and density fluctuations in the universe.Comment: 4 pages including 1 figure, accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
Gravitational wave bursts from cusps and kinks on cosmic strings
The strong beams of high-frequency gravitational waves (GW) emitted by cusps
and kinks of cosmic strings are studied in detail. As a consequence of these
beams, the stochastic ensemble of GW's generated by a cosmological network of
oscillating loops is strongly non Gaussian, and includes occasional sharp
bursts that stand above the ``confusion'' GW noise made of many smaller
overlapping bursts. Even if only 10% of all string loops have cusps these
bursts might be detectable by the planned GW detectors LIGO/VIRGO and LISA for
string tensions as small as . In the implausible case
where the average cusp number per loop oscillation is extremely small, the
smaller bursts emitted by the ubiquitous kinks will be detectable by LISA for
string tensions as small as . We show that the strongly
non Gaussian nature of the stochastic GW's generated by strings modifies the
usual derivation of constraints on from pulsar timing experiments. In
particular the usually considered ``rms GW background'' is, when G \mu \gaq
10^{-7}, an overestimate of the more relevant confusion GW noise because it
includes rare, intense bursts. The consideration of the confusion GW noise
suggests that a Grand Unified Theory (GUT) value is
compatible with existing pulsar data, and that a modest improvement in pulsar
timing accuracy could detect the confusion noise coming from a network of cuspy
string loops down to . The GW bursts discussed here might
be accompanied by Gamma Ray Bursts.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, Revtex, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Observational constraints on the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune from new measurements near 10 micron
Uranus was detected at 10.3, 11.6 and 12.5 micrometers approximately 1 micrometer spectral bandpasses, with respective brightness temperatures of 74.0 + 0.9 or -1.1, 67.6 + 0.5 or -0.7, and 65.5 + 0.6 or -0.7 K and the first detection of Neptune at 10.3 micrometers with a brightness temperature of 77.5 + 0.7 or -0.9 K. We also detected Neptune at 11.36 micrometers with 2% spectral resolution at 81.0 + 0.8 or -0.9 K. The 10 micrometers continuous of both Uranus and Neptune may in part be due to reflected solar radiation as well as thermal emission. If all of the observed flux is reflected light, then the maximum geometric albedo of Uranus is 0.115 + or - 0.020, and that of Neptune is 0.229 + or - 0.043. In the context of previous observations in this region, the maximum stratospheric C2H6 mixing ratio is found to be 3 x 10 to the -8 power for Uranus and 3 x 10 to the -6 power for Neptune. A value for the maximum mixing ratio in the stratosphere of Neptune on the order of 1 - 0.004 appears to be consistent with the available data
Decay of the Z Boson into Scalar Particles
In extensions of the standard model, light scalar particles are often
possible because of symmetry considerations. We study the decay of the Z boson
into such particles. In particular, we consider for illustration the scalar
sector of a recently proposed model of the 17-keV neutrino which satisfies all
laboratory, astrophysical, and cosmological constraints.Comment: 11 pages (2 figures, not included) (Revised, Oct 1992). Some
equations have been corrected and 1 figure has been eliminate
Collapse of a Circular Loop of Cosmic String
We study the collapse of a circular loop of cosmic string. The gravitational
field of the string is treated using the weak field approximation. The
gravitational radiation from the loop is evaluated numerically. The memtric of
the loop near the point of collapse is found analytically.Comment: 15 page
Large Extra Dimensions, Sterile neutrinos and Solar Neutrino Data
Solar, atmospheric and LSND neutrino oscillation results require a light
sterile neutrino, , which can exist in the bulk of extra dimensions.
Solar , confined to the brane, can oscillate in the vacuum to the zero
mode of and via successive MSW transitions to Kaluza-Klein states of
. This new way to fit solar data is provided by both low and
intermediate string scale models. From average rates seen in the three types of
solar experiments, the Super-Kamiokande spectrum is predicted with 73%
probability, but dips characteristic of the 0.06 mm extra dimension should be
seen in the SNO spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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