Hosts of Type II Quasars: an HST Study

Type II quasars are luminous Active Galactic Nuclei whose centers are obscured by large amounts of gas and dust. In this contribution we present 3-band HST images of nine type II quasars with redshifts 0.25<z<0.4 selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey based on their emission line properties. The intrinsic luminosities of these quasars are thought to be in the range -24>M_B>-26, but optical obscuration implies that host galaxies can be studied unencumbered by bright nuclei. Each object has been imaged in three filters (`red', `green' and `blue') placed between the strong emission lines. The spectacular, high quality images reveal a wealth of details about the structure of the host galaxies and their environments. Most galaxies in the sample are ellipticals, but strong deviations from de Vaucouleurs profiles are found, especially in the blue band. We argue that most of these deviations are due to the light from the nucleus scattered off interstellar material in the host galaxy. This scattered component can make a significant contribution to the broad-band flux and complicates the analysis of the colors of the stellar populations in the host galaxy. This extended component can be difficult to notice in unobscured luminous quasars and may bias the results of host galaxy studies.Comment: 6 pages including 2 color figures; proceedings of the 'QSO host galaxies: evolution and environment' conference, Leiden, August 200

Outskirts of Distant Galaxies In Absorption

QSO absorption spectroscopy provides a sensitive probe of both the neutral medium and diffuse ionized gas in the distant Universe. It extends 21cm maps of gaseous structures around low-redshift galaxies both to lower gas column densities and to higher redshifts. Combining galaxy surveys with absorption-line observations of gas around galaxies enables comprehensive studies of baryon cycles in galaxy outskirts over cosmic time. This Chapter presents a review of the empirical understanding of the cosmic neutral gas reservoir from studies of damped Lya absorbers (DLAs). It describes the constraints on the star formation relation and chemical enrichment history in the outskirts of distant galaxies from DLA studies. A brief discussion of available constraints on the ionized circumgalactic gas from studies of lower column density Lya absorbers and associated ionic absorption transitions is presented at the end.Comment: 45 pages, 7 figures, invited review, Book chapter in "Outskirts of Galaxies", Eds. J. H. Knapen, J. C. Lee and A. Gil de Paz, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springer, in pres

Microscopic model for the magnetization plateaus in NH4CuCl3

A simple model consisting of three distinct dimer sublattices is proposed to describe the magnetism of NH4CuCl3. It explains the occurrence of magnetization plateaus only at 1/4 and 3/4 of the saturation magnetization. The field dependence of the excitation modes observed by ESR measurements is also explained by the model. The model predicts that the magnetization plateaus should disappear under high pressure.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, REVTeX

Randomly generated polytopes for testing mathematical programming algorithms

Randomly generated polytopes are used frequently to test and compare algorithms for a variety of mathematical programming problems. These polytopes are constructed by generating linear inequality constraints with coefficients drawn independently from a distribution such as the uniform or the normal. It is noted that this class of 'random' polytopes has a special property: the angles between the hyperplanes, though dependent on the specific distribution used, tend to be equal when the dimension of the space increases. Obviously this structure of 'random' polytopes may bias test results

Correlating Threshold Power with Free-Space Bandwidth for Low-Directivity Antennas

This paper develops a threshold power rationale that can be used to demonstrate inherent compliance for portable wireless devices with specific absorption rate (SAR) limits over the 300-6000-MHz frequency range. This is achieved first by understanding the relationship between basic antenna parameters (bandwidth, operating frequency, and distance to the body) and SAR. From this, an upper limit is determined for the power transmitted by a portable wireless device such that the SAR will not exceed the compliance limit. Based on the presented computational and measured data, an empirical formula is developed for the threshold power as a function of the aforementioned parameters. It is demonstrated that the derived threshold power is conservative for all of the low-directivity antennas studied. Computed results are also compared against practical device data (mobile telephone data collected from the manufacturers) to show that the predicted threshold power data using the proposed formula are conservative. The limitations of the proposed formula are also discussed

High Magnetic Field ESR in the Haldane Spin Chains NENP and NINO

We present electron spin resonance experiments in the one-dimensional antiferromagnetic S=1 spin chains NENP and NINO in pulsed magnetic fields up to 50T. The measured field dependence of the quantum energy gap for B||b is analyzed using the exact diagonalization method and the density matrix renormalization group method (DMRG). A staggered anisotropy term (-1)^i d(S_i^x S_i^z + S_i^z S_i^x) was considered for the first time in addition to a staggered field term (-1)^i S_i^x B_st. We show that the spin dynamics in high magnetic fields strongly depends on the orthorhombic anisotropy E.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 4 figure

Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: a roadmap

The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics—dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem—all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'

Stone cladding techniques in Modern Architecture 1922-1942

Leggere il progetto del Moderno e le sue culture costruttive in relazione alla storia e allo sviluppo della tecnologia, consente di esplorare alcuni aspetti dell’Architettura Moderna in Europa. Oltre alla più famosa, e maggiormente studiata, triade dei materiali ‘moderni’ – l’acciaio, il calcestruzzo e il vetro – la pietra ha svolto un importante ruolo nella definizione sia dello stile che della costruzione moderna. La costruzione in pietra è stata sempre associata alla tradizione e quindi deliberatamente dimenticata dal Movimento Moderno, durante la fase cruciale della modernizzazione della società e quindi dell’architettura e della costruzione. La pietra tuttavia testimonia la delicata transizione dalla tradizionale arte del costruire alle nuove tecnologie. La ricerca ha studiato l’evoluzione delle tecniche costruttive in pietra in Francia ed in Italia, durante gli anni ’20 e ’30, in relazione alle nuove tecniche industrializzate e i linguaggi delle avanguardie. La ricerca è partita dallo studio dei manuali, delle riviste e dei progetti presentati sulle loro pagine. In Italia e in Francia il rivestimento in pietra si afferma come un sistema costruttivo ‘razionale’, dove la costruzione moderna converge lentamente verso nuove soluzioni; questo sistema ha avuto negli anni ’20 e ’30 un ruolo centrale, nel quale è stato possibile un dialogo, senza contraddizioni, tra i materiali ‘moderni’ e la pietra. L’evoluzione dalle tradizionali tecniche costruttive verso i nuovi sistemi tecnologici, ha determinato una nuova costruzione in pietra che è alla base di una modernità che non rifiuta questo materiale tradizionale, ma lo trasforma secondo i nuoci principi estetici.Reading the project of the Modern and its constructive cultures in relation to the historical conditions and the technology, allows exploring some aspects of Modern Architecture in Europe. Besides the traditional, more studied and known triad of "moderns" materials, steel, concrete and glass, the stone also played an important role, in the definition both of "modern construction and modern style". The construction in stone was always associated with the tradition and then forgotten by the Modern Movement, during the crucial phase of society’s "modernization" and therefore its architecture and construction. The stone however explains this delicate transition from the traditional art of building in stone to the new technologies. The research studies this evolution of construction techniques in stone in France and Italy during the '20s and '30s, related to the new industrialized construction and the avant-garde languages. It begins with the study of technical manuals, the reviews and the projects presented on its pages. The stone cladding, in Italy and France, grows as a model of constructive rationality, where "modern" building techniques slowly converge toward to new solutions. The modern cladding in stone during the '20s '30s has a central role, where the dialogue is possible, without contradiction, between the materials so-called "modern" and the stone. The evolution from traditional techniques to new technological systems determined a new construction in stone that is the basis of modernity and that doesn’t reject this traditional material, but transforms it according to the new aesthetic principles

Single-molecule microscopy reveals membrane microdomain organization of cells in a living vertebrate

Biological and Soft Matter PhysicsAnimal science