42,678 research outputs found
Catalogue of candidate emission-line objects in the Small Magellanic Cloud
H\alpha and [O III] narrow band, wide field (7 * 7 degree), CCD images of the
Small Magellanic Cloud were compared and a catalogue of candidate planetary
nebulae and H\alpha emission-line stars was compiled. The catalogue contains
131 planetary nebulae candidates, 23 of which are already known to be or are
probable planetary nebulae or very low excitation objects. Also, 218
emission-line candidates have been identified with 113 already known. Our
catalogue therefore provides a useful supplement to those of Meyssonnier &
Azzopardi (1993) and Sanduleak, MacConnell & Davis Phillip (1978). Further
observations are required to confirm the identity of the unknown objects.Comment: 8 pages, accepted by MNRA
Accurate laboratory ultraviolet wavelengths for quasar absorption-line constraints on varying fundamental constants
The most precise method of investigating possible space-time variations of
the fine-structure constant, using high-redshift quasar absorption lines, is
the many-multiplet (MM) method. For reliable results this method requires very
accurate relative laboratory wavelengths for a number of UV resonance
transitions from several different ionic species. For this purpose laboratory
wavelengths and wavenumbers of 23 UV lines from MgI, MgII, TiII, CrII, MnII,
FeII and ZnII have been measured using high-resolution Fourier Transform (FT)
spectrometry. The spectra of the different ions (except for one FeII line, one
MgI line and the TiII lines) are all measured simultaneously in the same FT
spectrometry recording by using a composite hollow cathode as a light source.
This decreases the relative uncertainties of all the wavelengths. In addition
to any measurement uncertainty, the wavelength uncertainty is determined by
that of the ArII calibration lines, by possible pressure shifts and by
illumination effects. The absolute wavenumbers have uncertainties of typically
0.001 to 0.002 cm^(-1) (0.06 to 0.1 mAA at 2500 AA), while the relative
wavenumbers for strong, symmetric lines in the same spectral recording have
uncertainties of 0.0005 cm^(-1) (0.03 mAA at 2500 AA) or better, depending
mostly on uncertainties in the line fitting procedure. This high relative
precision greatly reduces the potential for systematic effects in the MM
method, while the new TiII measurements now allow these transitions to be used
in MM analyses.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 10 pages, 9 figure
Strong Limit on a Variable Proton-to-Electron Mass Ratio from Molecules in the Distant Universe
The Standard Model of particle physics assumes that the so-called fundamental
constants are universal and unchanging. Absorption lines arising in molecular
clouds along quasar sightlines offer a precise test for variations in the
proton-to-electron mass ratio, mu, over cosmological time and distance scales.
The inversion transitions of ammonia are particularly sensitive to mu compared
to molecular rotational transitions. Comparing the available ammonia spectra
observed towards the quasar B0218+357 with new, high-quality rotational
spectra, we present the first detailed measurement of mu with this technique,
limiting relative deviations from the laboratory value to |dmu/mu| <
1.8x10^{-6} (95% confidence level) at approximately half the Universe's current
age - the strongest astrophysical constraint to date. Higher-quality ammonia
observations will reduce both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in
these measurements.Comment: Science, 20th June 2008. 22 pages, 5 figures (12 EPS files), 2
tables, including Supporting Online Material; v2: Corrected reference for
laboratory mu-variation bound
Criteria for Core-Collapse Supernova Explosions by the Neutrino Mechanism
We investigate the criteria for successful core-collapse supernova explosions
by the neutrino mechanism. We find that a
critical-luminosity/mass-accretion-rate condition distinguishes non-exploding
from exploding models in hydrodynamic one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional
(2D) simulations. We present 95 such simulations that parametrically explore
the dependence on neutrino luminosity, mass accretion rate, resolution, and
dimensionality. While radial oscillations mediate the transition between 1D
accretion (non-exploding) and exploding simulations, the non-radial standing
accretion shock instability characterizes 2D simulations. We find that it is
useful to compare the average dwell time of matter in the gain region with the
corresponding heating timescale, but that tracking the residence time
distribution function of tracer particles better describes the complex flows in
multi-dimensional simulations. Integral quantities such as the net heating
rate, heating efficiency, and mass in the gain region decrease with time in
non-exploding models, but for 2D exploding models, increase before, during, and
after explosion. At the onset of explosion in 2D, the heating efficiency is
2% to 5% and the mass in the gain region is 0.005 M_{\sun}
to 0.01 M_{\sun}. Importantly, we find that the critical luminosity for
explosions in 2D is 70% of the critical luminosity required in 1D. This
result is not sensitive to resolution or whether the 2D computational domain is
a quadrant or the full 180. We suggest that the relaxation of the
explosion condition in going from 1D to 2D (and to, perhaps, 3D) is of a
general character and is not limited by the parametric nature of this study.Comment: 32 pages in emulateapj, including 17 figures, accepted for
publication in ApJ, included changes suggested by the refere
Big bang nucleosynthesis as a probe of fundamental "constants"
Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is the earliest sensitive probe of the values
of many fundamental particle physics parameters. We have found the leading
linear dependences of primordial abundances on all relevant parameters of the
standard BBN code, including binding energies and nuclear reaction rates. This
enables us to set limits on possible variations of fundamental parameters. We
find that 7Li is expected to be significantly more sensitive than other species
to many fundamental parameters, a result which also holds for variations of
coupling strengths in grand unified (GUT) models. Our work also indicates which
areas of nuclear theory need further development if the values of ``constants''
are to be more accurately probed.Comment: Refereed article to be published in Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics
III Proceedings, J. Phys. G. Special Issue. Based on work in collaboration
with C. Wetterich (Heidelberg). 6 page
A survey for redshifted molecular and atomic absorption lines - II. Associated HI, OH and millimetre lines in the z >~ 3 Parkes quarter-Jansky flat-spectrum sample
We present the results of a z>2.9 survey for HI 21-cm and molecular
absorption in the hosts of radio quasars using the GMRT and the Tidbinbilla
70-m telescope. Previously published searches, which are overwhelmingly at
redshifts of z<1, exhibit a 42% detection rate (31 out of 73 sources), and the
inclusion of our survey yields a 17% detection rate (2 out of 12 sources) at
z>2.5. We therefore believe that our high redshift selection is responsible for
our exclusive non-detections, and find that at ultra-violet luminosities of
>10e23 W/Hz, 21-cm absorption has never been detected. We also find this to not
only apply to our targets, but also those at low redshift exhibiting similar
luminosities, giving zero detections out of a total of 16 sources over z=0.24
to 3.8. This is in contrast to the < 10e23 W/Hz sources where there is a near
50% detection rate of 21-cm absorption.
The mix of 21-cm detections and non-detections is currently attributed to
orientation effects, where according to unified schemes of active galactic
nuclei, 21-cm absorption is more likely to occur in sources designated as radio
galaxies (type-2 objects, where the nucleus is viewed through dense obscuring
circumnuclear gas) than in quasars(type-1 objects, where we have a direct view
to the nucleus). However, due to the exclusively high ultra-violet luminosities
of our targets it is not clear whether orientation effects alone can wholly
account for the distribution, although there exists the possibility that the
large luminosities are indicative of a changing demographic of galaxy types. We
also find that below luminosities of ~10e23 W/Hz, both type-1 and type-2
objects have a 50% likelihood of exhibiting 21-cm absorption.Comment: 21 pages, accepted by MNRA
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