Structures Produced by the Collision of Extragalactic Jets with Dense Clouds

We have investigated how several parameters can affect the results of a collision between an extragalactic jet and a dense, intergalactic cloud, through a series of hydrodynamic simulations. Such collisions are often suggested to explain the distorted structures of some radio jets. However, theoretical studies of this mechanism are in conflict over whether it can actually reproduce the observations. The parameters are the Mach number, and the relative densities of the jet and the cloud to the ambient medium. Using a simple prescription we have produced synthetic radio images for comparison with observations. These show that a variety of structures may be produced from simple jet-cloud collisions. We illustrate this with a few examples, and examine the details in one case. In most cases we do not see a clear, sustained deflection. Lighter jets are completely disrupted. The most powerful jets produce a hotspot at the impact which outshines any jet emission and erode the cloud too quickly to develop a deflected arm. It appears that moderate Mach numbers and density contrasts are needed to produce bends in the radio structure. This explains the apparent conflict between theoretical studies, as conclusions were based on different values of these parameters. Shocks are produced in the ambient medium that might plausibly reproduce the observed alignment of the extended emission line regions with the radio axis.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Also available in html version at http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/STAFF/S.Higgins/jcmnpaper/jc_mn.htm

A Combined EIS-NVSS Survey Of Radio Sources (CENSORS) III: Spectroscopic observations

The Combined EIS-NVSS Survey Of Radio Sources (CENSORS) is a 1.4GHz radio survey selected from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and complete to a flux-density of 7.2mJy. It targets the ESO Imaging Survey (EIS) Patch D, which is a 3 by 2 square degree field centred on 09 51 36.0, -21 00 00 (J2000). This paper presents the results of spectroscopic observations of 143 of the 150 CENSORS sources. The primary motivation for these observations is to achieve sufficient spectroscopic completeness so that the sample may be used to investigate the evolution of radio sources. The observations result in secure spectroscopic redshifts for 63% of the sample and likely redshifts (based on a single emission line, for example) for a further 8%. Following the identification of the quasars and star-forming galaxies in the CENSORS sample, estimated redshifts are calculated for the remainder of the sample via the K-z relation for radio galaxies. Comparison of the redshift distribution of the CENSORS radio sources to distributions predicted by the various radio luminosity function evolution models of Dunlop & Peacock 1990, results in no good match. This demonstrates that this sample can be used to expand upon previous work in that field.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. This version has some reduced resolution figures and 13 associated gif files. A version with all figures incorporated (at full resolution) is available at http://www.roe.ac.uk/~pnb/papers/censors_spectro.pd

Upper limits on K-band polarization in three high-redshift radio galaxies: LBDS 53W091, 3C 441 and MRC 0156-252

We present the results of K-band imaging polarimetry of three radio galaxies, including the very red and apparently old z=1.55 galaxy 53W091. We find weak evidence for polarization in components of 3C 441 and in the south-east companion of 53W091, but no evidence of significant polarization in 53W091 itself. We also find strong evidence that MRC 0156-252 is unpolarised. We present upper limits for the K-band polarization of all three sources. For 53W091, the lack of significant K-band polarization provides further confidence that its red R-K colour can be attributed to a mature stellar population, consistent with the detailed analyses of its ultraviolet spectral-energy distribution which indicate a minimum age of 2-3.5 Gyr.Comment: 7 pages, 3 postscript figures. In press at MNRA

Time and M-theory

We review our recent proposal for a background independent formulation of a holographic theory of quantum gravity. The present review incorporates the necessary background material on geometry of canonical quantum theory, holography and spacetime thermodynamics, Matrix theory, as well as our specific proposal for a dynamical theory of geometric quantum mechanics, as applied to Matrix theory. At the heart of this review is a new analysis of the conceptual problem of time and the closely related and phenomenologically relevant problem of vacuum energy in quantum gravity. We also present a discussion of some observational implications of this new viewpoint on the problem of vacuum energy.Comment: 86 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX, typos fixed, references added, and Sec. 6.2 revised; invited review for Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Gravitational Lensing by Dark Matter Halos with Non-universal Density Profiles

The statistics of gravitational lensing can provide us with a very powerful probe of the mass distribution of matter in the universe. By comparing predicted strong lensing probabilities with observations, we can test the mass distribution of dark matter halos, in particular, the inner density slope. In this letter, unlike previous work that directly models the density profiles of dark matter halos semi-analytically, we generalize the density profiles of dark matter halos from high-resolution N-body simulations by means of generalized Navarro-Frenk-White (GNFW) models of three populations with slopes, $\alpha$, of about -1.5, -1.3 and -1.1 for galaxies, groups and clusters, respectively. This approach is an alternative and independent way to examine the slopes of mass density profiles of halos. We present calculations of lensing probabilities using these GNFW profiles for three populations in various spatially flat cosmological models with a cosmological constant $\Lambda$. It is shown that the compound model of density profiles does not match well with the observed lensing probabilities derived from the Jodrell-Bank VLA Astrometric Survey data in combination with the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey data. Together with the previous work on lensing probability, our results suggest that a singular isothermal sphere mass model of less than about 10^{13}h^{-1}M_{\sun} can predict strong lensing probabilities that are consistent with observations of small splitting angles.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, Accepted by ApJL for publication (February 10 issue 2004

Damped Lyman alpha systems and disk galaxies: number density, column density distribution and gas density

We present a comparison between the observed properties of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) and the predictions of simple models for the evolution of present day disk galaxies, including both low and high surface brightness galaxies. We focus in particular on the number density, column density distribution and gas density of DLAs, which have now been measured in relatively large samples of absorbers. From the comparison we estimate the contribution of present day disk galaxies to the population of DLAs, and how it varies with redshift. Based on the differences between the models and the observations, we also speculate on the nature of the fraction of DLAs which apparently do not arise in disk galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted in MNRA