OAO/ISLE Near-IR Spectroscopy of IRAS Galaxies

We present the results of the near-infrared (IR) spectroscopy of nine IRAS galaxies (NGC 1266, NGC 1320, NGC 2633, NGC 2903, NGC 3034, Mrk 33, NGC 7331, NGC 7625, NGC 7714) with the ISLE imager and spectrograph mounted on the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory 1.88 m telescope. [Fe II] 1.257 um and Pa beta emission lines were observed for the whole sample while H2 2.121 um and Br gamma lines were additionally obtained for two sources, whose flux ratios are used as a diagnostic tool of dominant energy sources of the galaxies. We find that the nucleus of NGC 1266 is most likely a low ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER), while NGC 2633 and NGC 2903 possibly harbor active galactic nuclei (AGNs). No AGN or LINER signal is found for other objects. In addition, we find the spectral features which is indicative of some unusual phenomena occurring in the galaxies, such as the large [Fe II] line widths compared to the local escape velocity in NGC 1266. The present work shows the potential ability of the ISLE to shed new light on the nature of infrared galaxies, either through a statistical survey of galaxies or an exploration of spectral features found in individual objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS

Effects of Velocity and Load on Chattering Occurrence in Grease Lubricated Sliding Electrical Contacts

ArticleJOURNAL OF JAPANESE SOCIETY OF TRIBOLOGISTS. 53(9):605-611 (2008)journal articl

SuprimeCam Observation of Sporadic Meteors during Perseids 2004

We report the serendipitous findings of 13 faint meteors and 44 artificial space objects by Subaru SuprimeCam imaging observations during 11-16 August 2004. The meteors, at about 100km altitude, and artificial satellites/debris in orbit, at 500km altitude or higher, were clearly discriminated by their apparent defocused image sizes. CCD photometry of the 13 meteors, including 1 Perseid, 1 Aquarid, and 11 sporadic meteors, was performed. We defined a peak video-rate magnitude by comparing the integrated photon counts from the brightest portion of the track traversed within 33ms to those from a 0-mag star during the same time duration. This definition gives magnitudes in the range 4.0< V_{vr} <6.4 and 4.1< I_{vr}<5.9 for these 13 meteors. The corresponding magnitude for virtual naked-eye observers could be somewhat fainter especially for the V-band observation, in which the [OI] 5577 line lasting about 1 sec as an afterglow could contribute to the integrated flux of the present 5-10 min CCD exposures. Although the spatial resolution is insufficient to resolve the source size of anything smaller than about 1 m, we developed a new estimate of the collisionally excited column diameter of these meteors. A diameter as small as a few mm was derived from their collisionally excited photon rates, meteor speed, and the volume density of the oxygen atoms at the 100km altitude. The actual column diameter of the radiating zone, however, could be as large as few 100m because the excited atoms travel that distance before they emit forbidden lines in 0.7 sec of its average lifetime. Among the 44 artificial space objects, we confirmed that 17 were cataloged satellites/space debris.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables, submitted to PAS

Fermi arc in doped high-Tc cuprates

We propose a $d$-density wave induced by the spin-orbit coupling in the CuO plane. The spectral function of high-temperature superconductors in the under doped and lightly doped regions is calculated in order to explain the Fermi arc spectra observed recently by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We take into account the tilting of CuO octahedra as well as the on-site Coulombrepulsive interaction; the tilted octahedra induce the staggered transfer integral between $p_{x,y}$ orbitals and Cu $t_{2g}$ orbitals, and bring about nontrivial effects of spin-orbit coupling for the $d$ electrons in the CuO plane. The spectral weight shows a peak at around ($\pi/2$,$\pi/2$) for light doping and extends around this point forming an arc as the carrier density increases, where the spectra for light doping grow continuously to be the spectra in the optimally doped region. This behavior significantly agrees with that of the angle-resolved photoemissionspectroscopy spectra. Furthermore, the spin-orbit term and staggered transfer effectively induce a flux state, a pseudo-gap with time-reversal symmetry breaking. We have a nodal metallic state in the light-doping case since the pseudogap has a $d_{x^2-y^2}$ symmetry.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure