2,876 research outputs found
The AGN and Gas Disk in the Low Surface Brightness Galaxy PGC045080
We present radio observations and optical spectroscopy of the giant low
surface brightness (LSB) galaxy PGC 045080 (or 1300+0144). PGC 045080 is a
moderately distant galaxy having a highly inclined optical disk and massive HI
gas content. Radio continuum observations of the galaxy were carried out at 320
MHz, 610 MHz and 1.4 GHz. Continuum emission was detected and mapped in the
galaxy. The emission appears extended over the inner disk at all three
frequencies. At 1.4 GHz and 610 MHz it appears to have two distinct lobes. We
also did optical spectroscopy of the galaxy nucleus; the spectrum did not show
any strong emission lines associated with AGN activity but the presence of a
weak AGN cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, comparison of the H flux and
radio continuum at 1.4 GHz suggests that a significant fraction of the emission
is non-thermal in nature. Hence we conclude that a weak or hidden AGN may be
present in PGC 045080. The extended radio emission represents lobes/jets from
the AGN. These observations show that although LSB galaxies are metal poor and
have very little star formation, their centers can host significant AGN
activity. We also mapped the HI gas disk and velocity field in PGC 045080. The
HI disk extends well beyond the optical disk and appears warped. In the HI
intensity maps, the disk appears distinctly lopsided. The velocity field is
disturbed on the lopsided side of the disk but is fairly uniform in the other
half. We derived the HI rotation curve for the galaxy from the velocity field.
The rotation curve has a flat rotation speed of ~ 190 km/s.Comment: Paper contains 14 figures and 4 tables. Figures 8, 10 (color) and 13
supplied separately. Accepted for publication in MNRA
An instance of hermaphroditism in the Indian mackerel Rastrelliger canagurta 'Cuvier'
While instances of hermaphroditism are known
to occur in the European mackerel (Scomber
scombrus L. no such cases are on record
fcr the Indinn mackerel, Rastrelliger canagurta.
It is interesting to report, therefore, the occurrence
of a single hermaphrodite specimen of
R. canagurta in a sample taken from the fish
market at Karwar and reported to have been
caught at Majali, seven miles north of 'Karwar
on 25th March 1958
Optical Photometry of the GRB 010222 Afterglow
The optical afterglow of GRB 010222 was observed using the recently installed
2-m telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle, and the telescopes
at the Vainu Bappu Observatory, Kavalur, beginning ~ 0.6 day after the
detection of the event. The results based on these photometric observations
combined with others reported in the literature are presented in this paper.
The R band light curve shows an initial decline of intensities proportional to
t^{-0.542} which steepens, after 10.3 hours, to t^{-1.263}. Following the model
of collimated outflow, the early break in the light curve implies a very narrow
beam angle (~ 2-3 deg). The two decay rates are consistent with the standard
jet model in a uniform density ambient medium, but require a hard spectrum of
electron power density with p ~ 1.5. The R band light between 14 and 17 hours
since outburst departs from the power law fit by 0.1 mag and shows some
evidence for fluctuations over timescales of an hour in the observer's frame.
Such deviations are expected due to density inhomogeneities if the ambient
medium is similar to the local interstellar medium. GRB 010222 is thus an
example of a highly collimated outflow with a hard spectrum of electron energy
distribution in normal interstellar environment.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, including 2 postscript figures, to appear in the
Bull. astro. Soc. India, September 2001 issu
Night sky at the Indian Astronomical Observatory during 2000-2008
We present an analysis of the optical night sky brightness and extinction
coefficient measurements in UBVRI at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO),
Hanle, during the period 2003-2008. They are obtained from an analysis of CCD
images acquired at the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope at IAO. Night sky
brightness was estimated using 210 HFOSC images obtained on 47 nights and
covering the declining phase of solar activity cycle-23. The zenith corrected
values of the moonless night sky brightness in mag/square arcsecs are 22.14(U),
22.42(B), 21.28(V), 20.54(R) and 18.86(I) band. This shows that IAO is a dark
site for optical observations. No clear dependency of sky brightness with solar
activity is found. Extinction values at IAO are derived from an analysis of
1325 images over 58 nights. They are found to be 0.36 in U-band, 0.21 in
B-band, 0.12 in V-band, 0.09 in R-band and 0.05 in I-band. On average,
extinction during the summer months is slightly larger than that during the
winter months. No clear evidence for a correlation between extinction in all
bands and the average night time wind speed is found. Also presented here is
the low resolution moonless optical night sky spectrum for IAO covering the
wavelength range 3000-9300 \AA. Hanle region thus has the required
characteristics of a good astronomical site in terms of night sky brightness
and extinction, and could be a natural candidate site for any future large
aperture Indian optical-infrared telescope(s).Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, uses basi.cls, accepted for publication in
Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of Indi
Theory of Suspension Segregation in Partially Filled Horizontal Rotating Cylinders
It is shown that a suspension of particles in a partially-filled, horizontal,
rotating cylinder is linearly unstable towards axial segregation and an
undulation of the free surface at large enough particle concentrations. Relying
on the shear-induced diffusion of particles, concentration-dependent viscosity,
and the existence of a free surface, our theory provides an explanation of the
experiments of Tirumkudulu et al., Phys. Fluids 11, 507-509 (1999); ibid. 12,
1615 (2000).Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys Fluids (Lett) 10 pages, two eps
figure
Anti-Theft Protection of Vehicle by GSM GPS with Fingerprint Verification
This paper focuses on preventing car theft using microcontrollers and GSM modules. We are generating the results with better accuracy and proficiency. It can be helpful to those people who want better and more advanced security in their vehicle
The statistics of particle velocities in dense granular flows
We present measurements of the particle velocity distribution in the flow of
granular material through vertical channels. Our study is confined to dense,
slow flows where the material shears like a fluid only in thin layers adjacent
to the walls, while a large core moves without continuous deformation, like a
solid. We find the velocity distribution to be non-Gaussian, anisotropic, and
to follow a power law at large velocities. Remarkably, the distribution is
identical in the fluid-like and solid-like regions. The velocity variance is
maximum at the core, defying predictions of hydrodynamic theories. We show
evidence of spatially correlated motion, and propose a mechanism for the
generation of fluctuational motion in the absence of shear.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
- …