265 research outputs found
Monte Carlo simulations for the study of a moderated neutron detector
This work presents the Monte Carlo simulations performed with the MCNPX and GEANT4 codes for the design of a BEta deLayEd Neutron detector, BELEN-20. This detector will be used for the study of beta delayed neutron emission and consists of a block of polyethylene with dimensions 90x90x80 cm3 and 20 cylindrical 3He gas counters. The results of these simulations have been validated experimentally with a 252Cf source in the laboratory at UPC, Barcelona. Also the first experiment with this detector has been carried out in November 2009 in JYFL, Finland. In this experiment the neutron emission probability after beta decay of the fission products 88Br, 94;95Rb, and 138I has been measured; this data is still under analysis. Simulations with MCNPX and GEANT4 have been performed in order to obtain the efficiency of the BELEN-20 detector for each of the above nuclei using the neutron energy distribution corresponding to each nucleus.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
The evolution of Balmer jump selected galaxies in the ALHAMBRA survey
We present a new color-selection technique, based on the Bruzual & Charlot
models convolved with the bands of the ALHAMBRA survey, and the redshifted
position of the Balmer jump to select star-forming galaxies in the redshift
range 0.5 < z < 1.5. These galaxies are dubbed Balmer jump Galaxies BJGs. We
apply the iSEDfit Bayesian approach to fit each detailed SED and determine
star-formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, age and absolute magnitudes. The mass
of the haloes where these samples reside are found via a clustering analysis.
Five volume-limited BJG sub-samples with different mean redshifts are found to
reside in haloes of median masses slightly
increasing toward z=0.5. This increment is similar to numerical simulations
results which suggests that we are tracing the evolution of an evolving
population of haloes as they grow to reach a mass of at z=0.5. The likely progenitors of our samples at z3 are Lyman
Break Galaxies, which at z2 would evolve into star-forming BzK galaxies,
and their descendants in the local Universe are elliptical galaxies.Hence, this
allows us to follow the putative evolution of the SFR, stellar mass and age of
these galaxies. From z1.0 to z0.5, the stellar mass of the volume
limited BJG samples nearly does not change with redshift, suggesting that major
mergers play a minor role on the evolution of these galaxies. The SFR evolution
accounts for the small variations of stellar mass, suggesting that star
formation and possible minor mergers are the main channels of mass assembly.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to A&A. It includes first referee's
comments. Abstract abridged due to arXiv requirement
On the nature of the extragalactic number counts in the K-band
We investigate the causes of the different shape of the -band number
counts when compared to other bands, analyzing in detail the presence of a
change in the slope around . We present a near-infrared imaging
survey, conducted at the 3.5m telescope of the Calar Alto Spanish-German
Astronomical Center (CAHA), covering two separated fields centered on the HFDN
and the Groth field, with a total combined area of deg to a
depth of (,Vega). We derive luminosity functions from the
observed -band in the redshift range [0.25-1.25], that are combined with
data from the references in multiple bands and redshifts, to build up the
-band number count distribution. We find that the overall shape of the
number counts can be grouped into three regimes: the classic Euclidean slope
regime () at bright magnitudes; a transition regime at
intermediate magnitudes, dominated by galaxies at the redshift that
maximizes the product ; and an
dominated regime at faint magnitudes, where the slope asymptotically approaches
-0.4(+1) controlled by post- galaxies. The slope of the
-band number counts presents an averaged decrement of in the range
(). The rate of change in the slope is
highly sensitive to cosmic variance effects. The decreasing trend is the
consequence of a prominent decrease of the characteristic density
( from to ) and an almost flat
evolution of (1 compatible with
in the same redshift range).Comment: 18 pages, 22 figures, Accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
J-PLUS: Identification of low-metallicity stars with artificial neural networks using SPHINX
We present a new methodology for the estimation of stellar atmospheric
parameters from narrow- and intermediate-band photometry of the Javalambre
Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS), and propose a method for target
pre-selection of low-metallicity stars for follow-up spectroscopic studies.
Photometric metallicity estimates for stars in the globular cluster M15 are
determined using this method. By development of a neural-network-based
photometry pipeline, we aim to produce estimates of effective temperature,
, and metallicity, [Fe/H], for a large subset of stars in the
J-PLUS footprint. The Stellar Photometric Index Network Explorer, SPHINX, is
developed to produce estimates of and [Fe/H], after training on a
combination of J-PLUS photometric inputs and synthetic magnitudes computed for
medium-resolution (R ~ 2000) spectra of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This
methodology is applied to J-PLUS photometry of the globular cluster M15.
Effective temperature estimates made with J-PLUS Early Data Release photometry
exhibit low scatter, \sigma() = 91 K, over the temperature range
4500 < (K) < 8500. For stars from the J-PLUS First Data Release
with 4500 < (K) < 6200, 85 3% of stars known to have [Fe/H]
<-2.0 are recovered by SPHINX. A mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-2.32 0.01,
with a residual spread of 0.3 dex, is determined for M15 using J-PLUS
photometry of 664 likely cluster members. We confirm the performance of SPHINX
within the ranges specified, and verify its utility as a stand-alone tool for
photometric estimation of effective temperature and metallicity, and for
pre-selection of metal-poor spectroscopic targets.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure
J-PLUS: analysis of the intracluster light in the Coma cluster
The intracluster light (ICL) is a luminous component of galaxy clusters
composed of stars that are gravitationally bound to the cluster potential but
do not belong to the individual galaxies. Previous studies of the ICL have
shown that its formation and evolution are intimately linked to the
evolutionary stage of the cluster. Thus, the analysis of the ICL in the Coma
cluster will give insights into the main processes driving the dynamics in this
highly complex system. Using a recently developed technique, we measure the ICL
fraction in Coma at several wavelengths, using the J-PLUS unique filter system.
The combination of narrow- and broadband filters provides valuable information
on the dynamical state of the cluster, the ICL stellar types, and the
morphology of the diffuse light. We use the Chebyshev-Fourier Intracluster
Light Estimator (CICLE) to disentangle the ICL from the light of the galaxies,
and to robustly measure the ICL fraction in seven J-PLUS filters. We obtain the
ICL fraction distribution of the Coma cluster at different optical wavelengths,
which varies from , showing the highest values in the narrowband
filters J0395, J0410, and J0430. This ICL fraction excess is distinctive
pattern recently observed in dynamically active clusters (mergers), indicating
a higher amount of bluer stars in the ICL compared to the cluster galaxies.
Both the high ICL fractions and the excess in the bluer filters are indicative
of a merging state. The presence of younger/lower-metallicity stars the ICL
suggests that the main mechanism of ICL formation for the Coma cluster is the
stripping of the stars in the outskirts of infalling galaxies and, possibly,
the disruption of dwarf galaxies during past/ongoing mergers.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&
Total Absorption Spectroscopy Study of Rb Decay: A Major Contributor to Reactor Antineutrino Spectrum Shape
The antineutrino spectra measured in recent experiments at reactors are
inconsistent with calculations based on the conversion of integral beta spectra
recorded at the ILL reactor. Rb makes the dominant contribution to the
reactor spectrum in the 5-8 MeV range but its decay properties are in question.
We have studied Rb decay with total absorption spectroscopy. Previously
unobserved beta feeding was seen in the 4.5-5.5 region and the GS to GS feeding
was found to be 87.5(25)%. The impact on the reactor antineutrino spectra
calculated with the summation method is shown and discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
J-PLUS: A wide-field multi-band study of the M15 globular cluster. Evidence of multiple stellar populations in the RGB
The Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) provides wide
field-of-view images in 12 narrow, intermediate and broad-band filters
optimized for stellar photometry. Here we have applied J-PLUS data for the
first time for the study of Galactic GCs using science verification data
obtained for the very metal-poor GC M\,15. Our J-PLUS data provide
low-resolution spectral energy distributions covering the near-UV to the
near-IR, allowing us to search for MPs based on pseudo-spectral fitting
diagnostics. J-PLUS CMDs are found to be particularly useful to search for
splits in the sequences formed by the upper red giant branch (RGB) and
asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We interpret these split sequences as
evidence for the presence of MPs. This demonstrates that the J-PLUS survey will
have sufficient spatial coverage and spectral resolution to perform a large
statistical study of GCs through multi-band photometry in the coming years.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication @ A&
Uv-to-fir analysis of spitzer/irac sources in the extended groth strip i: Multi-wavelength photometry and spectral energy distributions
We present an IRAC 3.6+4.5 microns selected catalog in the Extended Groth
Strip (EGS) containing photometry from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared and
stellar parameters derived from the analysis of the multi-wavelength data. In
this paper, we describe the method used to build coherent spectral energy
distributions (SEDs) for all the sources. In a companion paper, we analyze
those SEDs to obtain robust estimations of stellar parameters such as
photometric redshifts, stellar masses, and star formation rates. The catalog
comprises 76,936 sources with [3.6]<23.75 mag (85% completeness level of the
IRAC survey in the EGS) over 0.48 square degrees. For approximately 16% of this
sample, we are able to deconvolve the IRAC data to obtain robust fluxes for the
multiple counterparts found in ground-based optical images. Typically, the SEDs
of the IRAC sources in our catalog count with more than 15 photometric data
points, spanning from the UV to the FIR. Approximately 95% and 90% of all IRAC
sources are detected in the deepest optical and near-infrared bands. Only 10%
of the sources have optical spectroscopy and redshift estimations. Almost 20%
and 2% of the sources are detected by MIPS at 24 and 70 microns, respectively.
We also cross-correlate our catalog with public X-ray and radio catalogs.
Finally, we present the Rainbow Navigator public web-interface utility designed
to browse all the data products resulting from this work, including images,
spectra, photometry, and stellar parameters.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ. Access the
Rainbow Database at: http://rainbowx.fis.ucm.e
The ALHAMBRA photometric system
This paper presents the characterization of the optical range of the ALHAMBRA
photometric system, a 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band CCD system with
wavelength coverage from 3500A to 9700A. The photometric description of the
system is done by presenting the full response curve as a product of the
filters, CCD and atmospheric transmission curves, and using some first and
second order moments of this response function. We also introduce the set of
standard stars that defines the system, formed by 31 classic spectrophotometric
standard stars which have been used in the calibration of other known
photometric systems, and 288 stars, flux calibrated homogeneously, from the
Next Generation Spectral Library (NGSL). Based on the NGSL, we determine the
transformation equations between Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) ugriz
photometry and the ALHAMBRA photometric system, in order to establish some
relations between both systems. Finally we develop and discuss a strategy to
calculate the photometric zero points of the different pointings in the
ALHAMBRA project.Comment: Astronomical Journal on the 14th of January 201
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