3,712 research outputs found
Imaging of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies in the Near-UV
We present the first ground-based U' (3410 angstroms) images of Ultraluminous
Infrared Galaxies (ULIGs). Strong U' emission (median total M_U' = -20.8) is
seen in all systems and in some cases the extended tidal features (both the
smooth stellar distribution and compact star-forming features) contribute up to
60-80% of the total flux. The star-forming regions in both samples are found to
have ages based on spectral synthesis models in the range 10-100 Myrs, and most
differences in color between them can be attributed to the effects of dust
reddening. Additionally, it is found that star-formation in compact knots in
the tidal tails is most prominent in those ULIGs which have double nuclei,
suggesting that the star-formation rate in the tails peaks prior to the actual
coalescence of the galaxy nuclei and diminishes quickly thereafter. Similar to
results at other wavelengths, the observed star formation at U' can only
account for a small fraction of the known bolometric luminosity of the ULIGs.
Azimuthally averaged radial light profiles at U' are characterized by a sersic
law with index n=2, which is intermediate between an exponential disk and an
r^(-1/4) law and closely resembles the latter at large radii. The implications
of this near-ultraviolet imaging for optical/near-infrared observations of high
redshift counterparts of ULIGs are discussed.Comment: 30 pages, 4 tables, and 9 figures, 2 of which are JPEGs. To appear in
the August, 2000 edition of the Astronomical Journa
Diffusion Monte Carlo study of two-dimensional liquid He
The ground-state properties of two-dimensional liquid He at zero
temperature are studied by means of a quadratic diffusion Monte Carlo method.
As interatomic potential we use a revised version of the HFDHE2 Aziz potential
which is expected to give a better description of the interaction between
helium atoms. The equation of state is determined with great accuracy over a
wide range of densities in the liquid phase from the spinodal point up to the
freezing density. The spinodal decomposition density is estimated and other
properties of the liquid, such as radial distribution function, static form
factor, momentum distribution and density dependence of the condensate fraction
are all presented.Comment: 19 pages, RevTex 3.0, 7 figures available upon reques
HST ultraviolet spectral energy distributions for three ultraluminous infrared galaxies
We present HST Faint Object Camera ultraviolet (230 nm and 140 nm) images of
three ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIG: L_ir > 10^12 L_sun) selected from
the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample. The purpose is to estimate spectral
energy distributions (SEDs) to facilitate the identification of similar objects
at high redshift in deep optical, infrared, and submm surveys.
All three galaxies (VII Zw031 = IRAS F12112+0305, and IRAS F22491-1808) were
well detected at 230 nm. Two of the three were marginally detected at 140 nm.
The fluxes, together with ground-based optical and infrared photometry, are
used to compute SEDs over a wide wavelength range. The measured SEDs drop from
the optical to the ultraviolet, but the magnitude of the drop ranges from a
factor of ~3 in IRAS F22491-1808 to a factor of ~100 in VIIZw031. This is most
likely due to different internal extinctions. Such an interpretation is also
suggested by extrapolating to ultraviolet wavelengths the optical internal
extinction measured in VIIZw031. K-corrections are calculated to determine the
colors of the sample galaxies as seen at high redshifts. Galaxies like VIIZw031
have very low observed rest-frame UV fluxes which means that such galaxies at
high redshift will be extremely red or even missing in optical surveys. On the
other hand, galaxies like IRAS F12112+0305 and IRAS F22491-1808, if seen at
high redshift, would be sufficiently blue that they would not easily be
distinguished from normal field galaxies, and therefore, identified as ULIGs.
The implication is then that submillimeter surveys may be the only means of
properly identifying the majority of ULIGs at high redshift.Comment: AJ in press, TeX, 23 pages, 7 tab, 17 figs available also (at higher
resolution) from http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk~trentham/ufigs.htm
K band Spectroscopy of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: The 2 Jy Sample
We present near-infrared spectroscopy for a complete sample of 33
ultraluminous infrared galaxies at a resolution of R\approx 1000. Most of the
wavelength range from 1.80-2.20 microns in the rest frame is covered, including
the Pa-alpha and Br-gamma hydrogen recombination lines, and the molecular
hydrogen vibration-rotation 1-0 S(1) and S(3) lines. Other species, such as He
I, [Fe II], and [Si VI] appear in the spectra as well, in addition to a number
of weaker molecular hydrogen lines. Nuclear extractions for each of the
individual galaxies are presented here, along with spectra of secondary nuclei,
where available. The Pa-alpha emission is seen to be highly concentrated on the
nuclei, typically with very little emision extending beyond a radius of 1 kpc.
Signatures of active nuclei are rare in the present sample, occurring in only
two of the 33 galaxies. It is found that visual extinctions to the nuclei via
the Pa-alpha/Br-gamma line ratio in excess of 10 magnitudes are relatively
common among ULIRGs, and that visual extinctions greater than 25 mag are
necessary to conceal a QSO emitting half the total bolometric luminosity. The
vibration-rotation lines of molecular hydrogen appear to be predominantly
thermal in origin, with effective temperatures generally around 2200 K. The
relative nuclear velocities between double nucleus ULIRGs are investigated,
through which it is inferred that the maximum deprojected velocity difference
is about 200 km/s. This figure is lower than the velocities predicted by
physical models of strong interactions/mergers of large, gas-rich galaxies.Comment: 52 pages (19 with just figures), 9 figures, accepted for publication
in the Astronomical Journal; Table 3 not formatted properly on astro-ph: get
source and print Murphy.tab3.p
Quantum sticking, scattering and transmission of 4He atoms from superfluid 4He surfaces
We develop a microscopic theory of the scattering, transmission, and sticking
of 4He atoms impinging on a superfluid 4He slab at near normal incidence, and
inelastic neutron scattering from the slab. The theory includes coupling
between different modes and allows for inelastic processes. We find a number of
essential aspects that must be observed in a physically meaningful and reliable
theory of atom transmission and scattering; all are connected with
multiparticle scattering, particularly the possibility of energy loss. These
processes are (a) the coupling to low-lying (surface) excitations
(ripplons/third sound) which is manifested in a finite imaginary part of the
self energy, and (b) the reduction of the strength of the excitation in the
maxon/roton region
Multifractality in Time Series
We apply the concepts of multifractal physics to financial time series in
order to characterize the onset of crash for the Standard & Poor's 500 stock
index x(t). It is found that within the framework of multifractality, the
"analogous" specific heat of the S&P500 discrete price index displays a
shoulder to the right of the main peak for low values of time lags. On
decreasing T, the presence of the shoulder is a consequence of the peaked,
temporal x(t+T)-x(t) fluctuations in this regime. For large time lags (T>80),
we have found that C_{q} displays typical features of a classical phase
transition at a critical point. An example of such dynamic phase transition in
a simple economic model system, based on a mapping with multifractality
phenomena in random multiplicative processes, is also presented by applying
former results obtained with a continuous probability theory for describing
scaling measures.Comment: 22 pages, Revtex, 4 ps figures - To appear J. Phys. A (2000
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