A Census of Object Types and Redshift Estimates in the SDSS Photometric Catalog from a Trained Decision-Tree Classifier

We have applied ClassX, an oblique decision tree classifier optimized for astronomical analysis, to the homogeneous multicolor imaging data base of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), training the software on subsets of SDSS objects whose nature is precisely known via spectroscopy. We find that the software, using photometric data only, correctly classifies a very large fraction of the objects with existing SDSS spectra, both stellar and extragalactic. ClassX also accurately predicts the redshifts of both normal and active galaxies in SDSS. To illustrate ClassX applications in SDSS research, we (a) derive the object content of the SDSS DR2 photometric catalog and (b) provide a sample catalog of resolved SDSS objects that contains a large number of candidate AGN galaxies, 27,000, along with 63,000 candidate normal galaxies at magnitudes substantially fainter than typical magnitudes of SDSS spectroscopic objects. The surface density of AGN selected by ClassX to i~19 is in agreement with that quoted by SDSS. When ClassX is applied to the photometric data fainter than the SDSS spectroscopic limit, the inferred surface density of AGN rises sharply, as expected. The ability of the classifier to accurately constrain the redshifts of huge numbers (ultimately ~ 10^7) of active galaxies in the photometric data base promises new insights into fundamental issues of AGN research, such as the evolution of the AGN luminosity function with cosmic time, the starburst--AGN connection, and AGN--galactic morphology relationships.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 130, 2005; 33 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, AASTeX v5.0. Table 5 will be electronic in the published journal, but available now at http://www-int.stsci.edu/~margon/table5.ascii and http://www-int.stsci.edu/~margon/table5.ascii.g

Evidence for Prolonged Main Sequence Stellar Evolution of F Stars in close binaries

Binary F stars exhibit large brightness anomaly, which is defined here as the difference between the absolute magnitude from the uvby photometry and the actual absolute magnitude of the star. We have found that the anomaly inversely correlates with the binary components separation. There is evidence that the correlation reflects actual population differences between close and wide binary pairs, in which case it indicates that the anomaly is somehow associated with the interaction of binary's components. The anomaly has also been found to correlate with both kinematics and metallicity. The sense of the correlations implies that the anomaly increases as the star evolves, suggesting a peculiar evolution of a primary F star in a tight binary pair. This conclusion has further been supported by the study of the age-velocity relation (AVR) of F stars that are cataloged in the HIPPARCOS as single. Among these stars, those with brightness anomaly were previously shown to be most likely unidentified close binaries. We have found that the AVR of these binary candidates is different from that of the ``truly single'' F stars. The discrepancy between the two AVRs indicates that the putative binaries are, on average, older than similar normal single F stars at the same effective temperature and luminosity, which is consistent with the inferred peculiar evolution in close binaries. It appears that this peculiarity is caused by the impact of the components interaction in a tight pair on stellar evolution, which results in the prolonged main sequence lifetime of the primary F star.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic

Whispering gallery modes in optical fibers based on reflectionless potentials

We consider an optical fiber with nanoscale variation of the effective fiber radius supporting whispering gallery modes slowly propagating along the fiber, and reveal that the radius variation can be designed to support reflectionless propagation of these modes. We show that reflectionless modulations can realize control of transmission amplitude and temporal delay, while enabling close packing due to the absence of cross-talk, in contrast to conventional potentials.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

The Case for a "Strategic Pause": Russia and the United States in a New Era

U.S.-Russia relations are no longer central to international relations, but they still occupy center stage when it comes to global security. While these relations are usually analyzed based on problem areas between the two countries, this article argues that the key issue between Russia and the United States at the moment is not the poor state of the relationship, but rather its changed nature, since the two pillars that used to shape the relationship - principles and agenda - have evolved. The essay also argues that Moscow and Washington need a "strategic pause" to critically assess the value of relations for each party and that it may take some time - and a few election cycles in the US and a change of power in the Kremlin - to produce a situation that is qualitatively different from what we are observing today

Wave scattering on a domain wall in a chain of PT-symmetric couplers

We study wave propagation in linear arrays composed of pairs of conjugate waveguides with balanced gain and loss, i.e. arrays of the PT-symmetric couplers, where the linear spectrum is known to feature high-frequency and low-frequency branches. We introduce a domain wall by switching the gain and loss in a half of the array, and analyze the scattering of linear waves on this defect. The analysis reveals two major effects: amplification of both reflected and transmitted waves, and excitation of the reflected and transmitted low-frequency and high-frequency waves by the incident high-frequency and low-frequency waves, respectively.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, Physical Review A, in pres

Solitons in a chain of PT-invariant dimers

Dynamics of a chain of interacting parity-time invariant nonlinear dimers is investigated. A dimer is built as a pair of coupled elements with equal gain and loss. A relation between stationary soliton solutions of the model and solitons of the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger (DNLS) equation is demonstrated. Approximate solutions for solitons whose width is large in comparison to the lattice spacing are derived, using a continuum counterpart of the discrete equations. These solitons are mobile, featuring nearly elastic collisions. Stationary solutions for narrow solitons, which are immobile due to the pinning by the effective Peierls-Nabarro potential, are constructed numerically, starting from the anti-continuum limit. The solitons with the amplitude exceeding a certain critical value suffer an instability leading to blowup, which is a specific feature of the nonlinear PT-symmetric chain, making it dynamically different from DNLS lattices. A qualitative explanation of this feature is proposed. The instability threshold drops with the increase of the gain-loss coefficient, but it does not depend on the lattice coupling constant, nor on the soliton's velocity.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

SDSS AGNs with X-ray Emission from ROSAT PSPC Pointed Observations

We present a sample of 1744 type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR4) spectroscopic catalog with X-ray counterparts in the White-Giommi-Angelini Catalog (WGACAT) of ROSAT PSPC pointed observations. Of 1744 X-ray sources, 1410 (80.9%) are new AGN identifications. Of 4574 SDSS DR4 AGNs for which we found radio matches in the catalog of radio sources from the FIRST catalog, 224 turned up in our sample of SDSS X-ray AGNs. The sample objects are given in a catalog that contains optical and X-ray parameters along with radio emission parameters where available. We illustrate the content of our catalog and its potential for AGN science by providing statistical relationships for the catalog data. The potential of the morphological information is emphasized by confronting the statistics of optically resolved and unresolved AGNs. The immediate properties of the catalog objects include significant correlation of X-ray and optical fluxes, which is consistent with expectations. Also expected is the decrease of X-ray flux toward higher redshifts. The X-ray to optical flux ratio for the unresolved AGNs exhibits a decline toward higher redshifts, in agreement with previous results. The resolved AGNs, however, display the opposite trend. At a given optical brightness, X-ray fluxes of radio-quiet AGNs by a factor of 2. We caution, however, that because of the variety of selection effects present in both the WGACAT and the SDSS, the interpretation of any relationships based on our sample of X-ray AGNs requires a careful analysis of these effects.Comment: 34 pages, 18 figure