1,272 research outputs found
What are the key issues regarding the role of geothermal energy in meeting energy needs in the global south?
Deep, ultra-high-resolution radio imaging of submillimetre galaxies using Very Long Baseline Interferometry
We present continent-scale VLBI - obtained with the European VLBI Network
(EVN) at a wavelength of 18cm - of six distant, luminous submm-selected
galaxies (SMGs). Our images have a synthesized beam width of ~30 milliarcsec
FWHM - three orders of magnitude smaller in area than the highest resolution
VLA imaging at this wavelength - and are capable of separating radio emission
from ultra-compact radio cores (associated with active super-massive black
holes - SMBHs) from that due to starburst activity. Despite targeting compact
sources - as judged by earlier observations with the VLA and MERLIN - we
identify ultra-compact cores in only two of our targets. This suggests that the
radio emission from SMGs is produced primarily on larger scales than those
probed by the EVN, and therefore is generated by star formation rather than an
AGN - a result consistent with other methods used to identify the presence of
SMBHs in these systems.Comment: MNRAS, in pres
Mergers, Active Galactic Nuclei and Normal Galaxies: Contributions to the Distribution of Star Formation Rates and Infrared Luminosity Functions
We use a novel method to predict the contribution of normal star-forming galaxies, merger-induced bursts and obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN), to infrared luminosity functions (LFs) and global star formation rate (SFR) densities. We use empirical halo occupation constraints to populate haloes with galaxies and determine the distribution of normal and merging galaxies. Each system can then be associated with high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations. We predict the distribution of observed luminosities and SFRs, from different galaxy classes, as a function of redshift from z= 0 to 6. We provide fitting functions for the predicted LFs, quantify the uncertainties, and compare with observations. At all redshifts, ‘normal’ galaxies dominate the LF at moderate luminosities ∼L* (the ‘knee’). Merger-induced bursts increasingly dominate at L≫L*; at the most extreme luminosities, AGN are important. However, all populations increase in luminosity at higher redshifts, owing to increasing gas fractions. Thus, the ‘transition luminosity’ between normal and merger-dominated sources increases from the luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG)–ultraluminous infrared galaxy threshold at z∼ 0 to bright Hyper-LIRG thresholds at z∼ 2. The transition to dominance by obscured AGN evolves similarly, at factor of several higher LIR. At all redshifts, non-merging systems dominate the total luminosity/SFR density, with merger-induced bursts constituting ∼5–10 per cent and AGN ∼1–5 per cent. Bursts contribute little to scatter in the SFR–stellar mass relation. In fact, many systems identified as ‘ongoing’ mergers will be forming stars in their ‘normal’ (non-burst) mode. Counting this as ‘merger-induced’ star formation leads to a stronger apparent redshift evolution in the contribution of mergers to the SFR density. We quantify how the evolution in LFs depends on evolution in galaxy gas fractions, merger rates, and possible evolution in the Schmidt–Kennicutt relation. We discuss areas where more detailed study, with full radiative transfer treatment of complex three-dimensional clumpy geometries in mixed AGN–star-forming systems, is necessary
What are the key issues regarding the role of geothermal energy in meeting energy needs in the global south?
Globally, the potential of geothermal far exceeds that of all other renewable sources
together, although investment in the other sources to date has far exceeded investment in
geothermal. World Energy Assessment estimates in 2000 for the global potential of all
renewables (EJ/yr) were Geothermal 5000, Solar 1575, Wind 640, Biomass 276, Hydro 50,
giving a total of 7541 (UNDP, 2000). When installed, geothermal plants have a far higher
capacity factor than other sources (solar depends on the level of direct insolation, wind
power on wind, etc.); estimates (REN21, 2009) give wind-power 21%, solar PV 14% but
geothermal is at least as high as 75% and often more than 95%, given that once a plant is
established it operates continuously except for routine down-time for maintenance and rare
break-downs
The Formation of High Redshift Submillimeter Galaxies
We describe a model for the formation of \zsim 2 Submillimeter Galaxies
(SMGs) which simultaneously accounts for both average and bright SMGs while
providing a reasonable match to their mean observed spectral energy
distributions (SEDs). By coupling hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy mergers
with the high resolution 3D polychromatic radiative transfer code Sunrise, we
find that a mass sequence of merger models which use observational constraints
as physical input naturally yield objects which exhibit black hole, bulge, and
H2 gas masses similar to those observed in SMGs. The dominant drivers behind
the 850 micron flux are the masses of the merging galaxies and the stellar
birthcloud covering fraction. The most luminous (S850 ~ 15 mJy) sources are
recovered by ~10^13 Msun 1:1 major mergers with a birthcloud covering fraction
close to unity, whereas more average SMGs ~5-7 mJy) may be formed in lower mass
halos ~5x10^12 Msun. These models demonstrate the need for high spatial
resolution hydrodynamic and radiative transfer simulations in matching both the
most luminous sources as well as the full SEDs of SMGs. While these models
suggest a natural formation mechanism for SMGs, they do not attempt to match
cosmological statistics of galaxy populations; future efforts along this line
will help ascertain the robustness of these models.Comment: MNRAS Accepted; Revised version includes expanded discussion of
simulated radio properties of SMG
Sticky surface: sphere - sphere adhesion dynamics
Special Issue: Selected Papers from the The Fourth International Conference on Mathematical Modeling and Analysis of Populations in Biological Systems (ICMA IV), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA, 4-6 October 2013We present a multi-scale model to study the attachment of spherical particles with a rigid core, coated with binding ligands and suspended in the surrounding, quiescent fluid medium. This class of fluidimmersed adhesion is widespread in many natural and engineering settings, particularly in microbial surface adhesion. Our theory highlights how the micro-scale binding kinetics of these ligands, as well as the attractive/repulsive surface potential in an ionic medium affects the eventual macro-scale size distribution of the particle aggregates (flocs). The bridge between the micro-macro model is made via an aggregation kernel. Results suggest that the presence of elastic ligands on the particle surface lead to the formation of larger floc aggregates via efficient inter-floc collisions (i.e. non-zero sticking probability, g). Strong electrolytic composition of the surrounding fluid favours large floc formation as well. The kernel for the Brownian diffusion for hard spheres is recovered in the limit of perfect binding effectiveness (g -> 1) and in a neutral solution with no dissolved salts.Sarthok Sircara, John G.Younger and David M. Bort
Cosmological Simulations of the Preheating Scenario for Galaxy Cluster Formation: Comparison to Analytic Models and Observations
We perform a set of non--radiative cosmological simulations of a preheated
intracluster medium in which the entropy of the gas was uniformly boosted at
high redshift. The results of these simulations are used first to test the
current analytic techniques of preheating via entropy input in the smooth
accretion limit. When the unmodified profile is taken directly from
simulations, we find that this model is in excellent agreement with the results
of our simulations. This suggests that preheated efficiently smoothes the
accreted gas, and therefore a shift in the unmodified profile is a good
approximation even with a realistic accretion history. When we examine the
simulation results in detail, we do not find strong evidence for entropy
amplification, at least for the high-redshift preheating model adopted here. In
the second section of the paper, we compare the results of the preheating
simulations to recent observations. We show -- in agreement with previous work
-- that for a reasonable amount of preheating, a satisfactory match can be
found to the mass-temperature and luminosity-temperature relations. However --
as noted by previous authors -- we find that the entropy profiles of the
simulated groups are much too flat compared to observations. In particular,
while rich clusters converge on the adiabatic self--similar scaling at large
radius, no single value of the entropy input during preheating can
simultaneously reproduce both the core and outer entropy levels. As a result,
we confirm that the simple preheating scenario for galaxy cluster formation, in
which entropy is injected universally at high redshift, is inconsistent with
observations.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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