196 research outputs found
How Do Galaxies Get Their Gas?
We examine the temperature history of gas accreted by forming galaxies in SPH
simulations. About half the gas shock heats to roughly the virial temperature
of the galaxy potential well before cooling, condensing, and forming stars, but
the other half radiates its acquired gravitational energy at much lower
temperatures, typically T<10^5 K, and the histogram of maximum gas temperatures
is clearly bimodal. The "cold mode" of gas accretion dominates for low mass
galaxies (M_baryon < 10^{10.3}Msun or M_halo < 10^{11.4}Msun), while the
conventional "hot mode" dominates the growth of high mass systems. Cold
accretion is often directed along filaments, allowing galaxies to efficiently
draw gas from large distances, while hot accretion is quasi-spherical. The
galaxy and halo mass dependence leads to redshift and environment dependence of
cold and hot accretion rates, with cold mode dominating at high redshift and in
low density regions today, and hot mode dominating in group and cluster
environments at low redshift. Star formation rates closely track accretion
rates, and we discuss the physics behind the observed environment and redshift
dependence of galactic scale star formation. If we allowed hot accretion to be
suppressed by conduction or AGN feedback, then the simulation predictions would
change in interesting ways, perhaps resolving conflicts with the colors of
ellipticals and the cutoff of the galaxy luminosity function. The transition
between cold and hot accretion at M_h ~ 10^{11.4}Msun is similar to that found
by Birnboim & Dekel (2003) using 1-d simulations and analytic arguments. The
corresponding baryonic mass is tantalizingly close to the scale at which
Kauffmann et al. (2003) find a marked shift in galaxy properties. We speculate
on connections between these theoretical and observational transitions.Comment: 1 figure added, Appendix discussing SAMs added, some text changes.
Matches the version accepted by MNRAS. 31 pages (MNRAS style), 21 figures,For
high resolution version of the paper (highly recommended) follow
http://www.astro.umass.edu/~keres/paper/ms2.ps.g
The Galaxy Proximity Effect in the Lyman-alpha Forest
Hydrodynamic cosmological simulations predict that the average opacity of the
Ly-alpha forest should increase in the neighborhood of galaxies because
galaxies form in dense environments. Recent observations (Adelberger et al.
2002) confirm this expectation at large scales, but they show a decrease of
absorption at comoving separations Delta_r <~ 1 Mpc/h. We show that this
discrepancy is statistically significant, especially for the innermost data
point at Delta_r <= 0.5 Mpc/h, even though this data point rests on three
galaxy-quasar pairs. Galaxy redshift errors of the expected magnitude are
insufficient to resolve the conflict. Peculiar velocities allow gas at comoving
distances >~ 1 Mpc/h to produce saturated absorption at the galaxy redshift,
putting stringent requirements on any ``feedback'' solution. Local
photoionization is insufficient, even if we allow for recurrent AGN activity
that keeps the neutral hydrogen fraction below its equilibrium value. A simple
``wind'' model that eliminates all neutral hydrogen in spheres around the
observed galaxies can marginally explain the data, but only if the winds extend
to comoving radii ~1.5 Mpc/h.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; To appear in proceedings of the 13th Annual
Astrophysics Conference in College Park, Maryland, The Emergence of Cosmic
Structure, eds. S.Holt and C. Reynolds, (AIP
Theoretical Modeling of the High Redshift Galaxy Population
We review theoretical approaches to the study of galaxy formation, with
emphasis on the role of hydrodynamic simulations in modeling the high redshift
galaxy population. We present new predictions for the abundance of star-forming
galaxies in the Lambda + cold dark matter model (Omega_m=0.4, Omega_L=0.6),
combining results from several simulations to probe a wide range of redshift.
At a threshold density of one object per arcmin^2 per unit z, these simulations
predict galaxies with star formation rates of 2 msun/yr (z=10), 5 msun/yr
(z=8), 20 msun/yr (z=6), 70-100 msun/yr (z=4-2), and 30 msun/yr (z=0.5). For
galaxies selected at a fixed comoving space density n=0.003 h^3 Mpc^{-3], a (50
Mpc/h)^3 simulation predicts a galaxy correlation function (r/5 Mpc/h)^{-1.8}
in comoving coordinates, essentially independent of redshift from z=4 to z=0.5.
Different cosmological models predict global histories of star formation that
reflect their overall histories of mass clustering, but robust numerical
predictions of the comoving space density of star formation are difficult
because the simulations miss the contribution from galaxies below their
resolution limit. The LCDM model appears to predict a star formation history
with roughly the shape inferred from observations, but it produces too many
stars at low redshift, predicting Omega_* ~ 0.015 at z=0. We conclude with a
brief discussion of this discrepancy and three others that suggest gaps in our
current theory of galaxy formation: small disks, steep central halo profiles,
and an excess of low mass dark halos. While these problems could fade as the
simulations or observations improve, they could also guide us towards a new
understanding of galactic scale star formation, the spectrum of primordial
fluctuations, or the nature of dark matter.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figs. To be published in "Photometric Redshifts and High
Redshift Galaxies", eds. R. Weymann, L. Storrie-Lombardi, M. Sawicki & R.
Brunner, (San Francisco: ASP Conference Series
What is the effect of Iodine Contrast Agents on the Subharmonic Signal Generated from Ultrasound Contrast Agents?
Subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) is a technique utilizing subharmonic signals from microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents (UCA’s) to noninvasively record pressures. Cardiac applications of SHAPE have been demonstrated in canines where low errors (0.19-2.5mmHg) were observed in canine ventricle pressures between the SHAPE technique and pressure catheter measurements. Validation of SHAPE involves simultaneous measurements by a pressure catheter (iodine contrast is used to guide catheter placement) and by SHAPE using UCAs. The goal of this experiment is to determine if mixing Visipaque (iodine contrast, GE Healthcare, Oslo, Norway) and UCAs effects the subharmonic signal.
The study was performed in an in vitro closed-loop flow-phantom setup. Definity (Lantheus Medical Imaging, N Billerica, MA) and Sonazoid (GE Healthcare, Oslo, Norway) were the UCAs used. Experiments were conducted using Visipaque only, Visipaque followed by UCA, UCA followed by Visipaque, and UCA only. Subharmonic signals were abstracted from raw radiofrequency data and were compared to see if Visipaque administration had an effect on the subharmonic signal. Unfortunately, current results are inconclusive due to a few issues. During data collection, the ultrasound machine had technical errors and needed to be recalibrated, requiring data collection to be restarted. Additionally, after data collection was completed, the concentration of ultrasound contrast agent being used was not providing an expected enhancement to the subharmonic signal. Different concentrations are now being tested. Once the issues are resolved, linear regression analysis will be used to evaluate the matching of SHAPE and pressure catheter data and the effect of adding Visipaque and UCAs
Parametrising Star Formation Histories
We examine the star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies in smoothed
particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations, compare them to parametric models
that are commonly used in fitting observed galaxy spectral energy
distributions, and examine the efficacy of these parametric models as practical
tools for recovering the physical parameters of galaxies. The commonly used
tau-model, with SFR ~ exp(-t/tau), provides a poor match to the SFH of our SPH
galaxies, with a mismatch between early and late star formation that leads to
systematic errors in predicting colours and stellar mass-to-light ratios. A
one-parameter lin-exp model, with SFR ~ t*exp(-t/tau), is much more successful
on average, but it fails to match the late-time behavior of the bluest, most
actively star-forming galaxies and the passive, "red and dead" galaxies. We
introduce a 4-parameter model, which transitions from lin-exp to a linear ramp
after a transition time, which describes our simulated galaxies very well. We
test the ability of these parametrised models to recover (at z=0, 0.5, and 1)
the stellar mass-to-light ratios, specific star formation rates, and stellar
population ages from the galaxy colours, computed from the full SPH star
formation histories using the FSPS code of Conroy et al. (2009). Fits with
tau-models systematically overestimate M/L by ~ 0.2 dex, overestimate
population ages by ~ 1-2 Gyr, and underestimate sSFR by ~ 0.05 dex. Fits with
lin-exp are less biased on average, but the 4-parameter model yields the best
results for the full range of galaxies. Marginalizing over the free parameters
of the 4-parameter model leads to slightly larger statistical errors than
1-parameter fits but essentially removes all systematic biases, so this is our
recommended procedure for fitting real galaxies.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figure
Accretion, feedback and galaxy bimodality: a comparison of the GalICS semi-analytic model and cosmological SPH simulations
We compare the galaxy population of an SPH simulation to those predicted by
the GalICS semi-analytic model and a stripped down version without supernova
and AGN feedback. The SPH simulation and the no-feedback GalICS model make
similar predictions for the baryonic mass functions of galaxies and for the
dependence of these mass functions on environment and redshift. The two methods
also make similar predictions for the galaxy content of dark matter haloes as a
function of halo mass and for the gas accretion history of galaxies. Both the
SPH and no-feedback GalICS models predict a bimodal galaxy population at z=0.
The "red'' sequence of gas poor, old galaxies is populated mainly by satellite
systems while, contrary to observations, the central galaxies of massive haloes
lie on the "blue'' star-forming sequence as a result of continuing hot gas
accretion at late times. Furthermore, both models overpredict the observed
baryonic mass function, especially at the high mass end. In the full GalICS
model, supernova-driven outflows reduce the masses of low and intermediate mass
galaxies by about a factor of two. AGN feedback suppresses gas cooling in large
haloes, producing a sharp cut-off in the baryonic mass function and moving the
central galaxies of these massive haloes to the red sequence. Our results imply
that the observational failings of the SPH simulation and the no-feedback
GalICS model are a consequence of missing input physics rather than
computational inaccuracies, that truncating gas accretion by satellite galaxies
automatically produces a bimodal galaxy distribution with a red sequence, but
that explaining the red colours of the most massive galaxies requires a
mechanism like AGN feedback that suppresses the accretion onto central galaxies
in large haloes.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRA
X-ray Absorption by the Low-redshift Intergalactic Medium: A Numerical Study of the Lambda CDM model
Using a hydrodynamic simulation of a LCDM universe, we investigate the "X-ray
forest" absorption imprinted on the spectra of background quasars by the
intervening intergalactic medium (IGM). In agreement with previous studies, we
find that OVII and OVIII produce the strongest absorption features. The strong
oxygen absorbers that might be detectable with Chandra or XMM-Newton arise in
gas with T ~ 10^6 K and overdensities delta >~ 100 that are characteristic of
galaxy groups. Future X-ray missions could detect weaker oxygen absorption
produced by gas with a wider range of temperatures and the lower densities of
unvirialized structures; they could also detect X-ray forest absorption by C,
N, Ne, Fe, and possibly Si. If the IGM metallicity is 0.1 solar, then the
predicted number of systems strong enough for a ~5\sigma detection with Chandra
or XMM-Newton is extremely low, though scatter in metallicity would increase
the number of strong absorbers even if the mean metallicity remained the same.
Our simulation reproduces the high observed incidence of OVI absorbers (in the
UV), and the most promising strategy for finding the X-ray forest is to search
at the redshifts of known OVI systems, thus reducing the signal-to-noise
threshold required for a significant detection. However, while many OVI
absorbers have associated OVII or OVIII absorption, the OVI systems trace only
the low temperature phases of the X-ray forest, and a full accounting of the
strong OVII and OVIII systems will require a mission with the anticipated
capabilities of Constellation-X. The large effective area of the XEUS satellite
would make it an extremely powerful instrument for studying the IGM, measuring
X-ray forest absorption by a variety of elements and revealing the shock-heated
filaments that may be an important reservoir of cosmic baryons.Comment: 41 pages including 16 figures, replaced with version accepted by ApJ.
Includes clarification of several points and brief discussion of recent
observational result
Combining Functional and Structural Reasoning for Safety Analysis of Electrical Designs
Increasing complexity of design in automotive electrical systems has been paralleled by increased demands for analysis of the safety and reliability aspects of those designs. Such demands can place a great burden on the engineers charged with carrying out the analysis. This paper describes how the intended functions of a circuit design can be combined with a qualitative model of the electrical circuit that ful®ls the functions, and used to analyse the safety of the design. FLAME, an automated failure mode and e€ects analysis system based on these techniques, is described in detail. FLAME has been developed over several years, and is capable of composing an FMEA report for many di€erent electrical subsystems. The paper also addresses the issue of how the use of functional and structural reasoning can be extended to sneak circuit analysis and fault tree analysis.
Voigt-Profile Analysis of the Lyman-alpha Forest in a Cold Dark Matter Universe
We use an automated Voigt-profile fitting procedure to extract statistical
properties of the Ly forest in a numerical simulation of an ,
cold dark matter (CDM) universe. Our analysis method is similar to that used in
most observational studies of the forest, and we compare the simulations to
recently published results derived from Keck HIRES spectra. With the
Voigt-profile decomposition analysis, the simulation reproduces the large
number of weak lines (N_{\rm HI}\la 10^{13}\cdunits) found in the HIRES
spectra. The column density distribution evolves significantly between
and , with the number of lines at fixed column density dropping by a
factor in the range where line blending is not severe. At , the
-parameter distribution has a median of 35 \kms and a dispersion of 20
\kms, in reasonable agreement with the observed values. The comparison between
our new analysis and recent data strengthens earlier claims that the \lya
forest arises naturally in hierarchical structure formation as photoionized gas
falls into dark matter potential wells. However, there are two statistically
signficant discrepancies between the simulated forest and the HIRES results:
the model produces too many lines at by a factor , and it
produces more narrow lines (b<20 \kms) than are seen in the data. The first
result is sensitive to our adopted normalization of the mean \lya optical
depth, and the second is sensitive to our assumption that helium reionization
has not significantly raised gas temperatures at . It is therefore too
early to say whether these discrepancies indicate a fundamental problem with
the high-redshift structure of the CDM model or reflect errors of
detail in our modeling of the gas distribution or the observational procedure.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, AAS LaTex, accepted to Ap
The growth of galaxies in cosmological simulations of structure formation
We use hydrodynamic simulations to examine how the baryonic components of
galaxies are assembled, focusing on the relative importance of mergers and
smooth accretion in the formation of ~L_* systems. In our primary simulation,
which models a (50\hmpc)^3 comoving volume of a Lambda-dominated cold dark
matter universe, the space density of objects at our (64-particle) baryon mass
resolution threshold, M_c=5.4e10 M_sun, corresponds to that of observed
galaxies with L~L_*/4. Galaxies above this threshold gain most of their mass by
accretion rather than by mergers. At the redshift of peak mass growth, z~2,
accretion dominates over merging by about 4:1. The mean accretion rate per
galaxy declines from ~40 M_sun/yr at z=2 to ~10 M_sun/yr at z=0, while the
merging rate peaks later (z~1) and declines more slowly, so by z=0 the ratio is
about 2:1. We cannot distinguish truly smooth accretion from merging with
objects below our mass resolution threshold, but extrapolating our measured
mass spectrum of merging objects, dP/dM ~ M^a with a ~ -1, implies that
sub-resolution mergers would add relatively little mass. The global star
formation history in these simulations tracks the mass accretion rate rather
than the merger rate. At low redshift, destruction of galaxies by mergers is
approximately balanced by the growth of new systems, so the comoving space
density of resolved galaxies stays nearly constant despite significant mass
evolution at the galaxy-by-galaxy level. The predicted merger rate at z<~1
agrees with recent estimates from close pairs in the CFRS and CNOC2 redshift
surveys.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 35 pp including 15 fig
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