1,671 research outputs found
Sizes of Confirmed Globular Clusters in NGC 5128: A Wide-Field High-Resolution Study
Using Magellan/IMACS images covering a 1.2 x 1.2 sq. degree FOV with seeing
of 0.4"-0.6", we have applied convolution techniques to analyse the light
distribution of 364 confirmed globular cluster in the field of NGC 5128 and to
obtain their structural parameters. Combining these parameters with existing
Washington photometry from Harris et al. (2004), we are able to examine the
size difference between metal-poor (blue) and metal-rich (red) globular
clusters. For the first time, this can be addressed on a sample of confirmed
clusters that extends to galactocentric distances about 8 times the effective
radius, R, of the galaxy. Within 1 R, red clusters are about
30% smaller on average than blue clusters, in agreement with the vast majority
of extragalactic globular cluster systems studied. As the galactocentric
distance increases, however, this difference becomes negligible. Thus, our
results indicate that the difference in the clusters' effective radii, r,
could be explained purely by projection effects, with red clusters being more
centrally concentrated than blue ones and an intrinsic r--R
dependence, like the one observed for the Galaxy.Comment: 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
The Centaurus Group and the Outer Halo of NGC 5128: Are they Dynamically Connected?
NGC 5128, a giant elliptical galaxy only Mpc away, is the dominant
member of a galaxy group of over 80 probable members. The Centaurus group
provides an excellent sample for a kinematic comparison between the halo of NGC
5128 and its surrounding satellite galaxies. A new study, presented here, shows
no kinematic difference in rotation amplitude, rotation axis, and velocity
dispersion between the halo of NGC 5128, determined from over of its
globular clusters, and those of the Centaurus group as a whole. These results
suggest NGC 5128 could be behaving in part as the inner component to the galaxy
group, and could have begun as a large initial seed galaxy, gradually built up
by minor mergers and satellite accretions, consistent with simple cold dark
matter models. The mass and mass-to-light ratios in the B-band, corrected for
projection effects, are determined to be
M_{\sun} and M_{\sun}/L_{\sun} for NGC 5128 out to a
galactocentric radius of 45 kpc, and M_{\sun}
and M_{\sun}/L_{\sun} for the Centaurus group, consistent with
previous studies.Comment: 14 pages, 3 tables, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in A
Tuning Knobs for the NLC Final Focus
Compensation of optics errors at the Interaction Point (IP) is essential for
maintaining maximum luminosity at the NLC. Several correction systems (knobs)
using the Final Focus sextupoles have been designed to provide orthogonal
compensation of linear and the second order optics aberrations at IP. Tuning
effects of these knobs on the 250 GeV beam were verified using tracking
simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Double bubble secondary building units used as a structural motif for enhanced electron-hole separation in solids
A structural motif designed for enhancing electron–hole separation in semiconducting composite materials, the so-called double bubble, is introduced. The addition of silicon carbide in the construction of heterogeneous double bubble systems, along with zinc oxide and gallium nitride, yields electronic structures that are favourable for electron–hole separation. The standard formation enthalpies of such systems are comparable with those of fullerenes, suggesting that these systems would be achievable and of direct benefit to photovoltaic and electrochemical applications such as water splitting; with the (SiC)12@(ZnO)48 proving to be the most promising building block for future functional composite materials
Bulk and surface simulation studies of La1-xCax MnO3
The structural properties of La1-xCaxMnO3 are investigated by employing bulk and surface simulation\ud
techniques. The potential parameters reproduce the crystal structures of both end compositions, giving\ud
good agreement with experimental data. The calculated variation of the lattice parameters with Ca\ud
concentration also agrees with experimental values. Our calculations predict the formation of a solid\ud
solution and that, at very low temperatures and near x ) 1/2, the cations preferentially order on both A\ud
and B sites. The driving mechanism for cation ordering arises from both the coulomb and ion-size terms,\ud
with the relative proportions depending on composition. However, at temperatures where high-temperature\ud
synthesis normally occurs, the ordering of the cations is random. Surface energies are calculated for\ud
(010) and (110) surfaces for the end compositions: in LaMnO3, Mn-terminated layers are more stable,\ud
whereas Ca-terminated layers are found to be more stable for the CaMnO3 system. It is proposed that the\ud
surface structure of intermediate compositions is controlled by a subtle interplay between the different\ud
cation ionic strengths and their respective concentrations
The Globular Cluster Systems around NGC 3311 and NGC 3309
We present extensive new photometry in (g',i') of the large globular cluster
(GC) system around NGC 3311, the central cD galaxy in the Hydra cluster. Our
GMOS data cover a 5.5' field of view and reach a limiting magnitude i' = 26,
about 0.5 magnitude fainter than the turnover point of the GC luminosity
function. We find that NGC 3311 has a huge population of ~16, 000 GCs, closely
similar to the prototypical high specific frequency Virgo giant M87. The
color-magnitude distribution shows that the metal-poor blue GC sequence and the
metal-richer red sequence are both present, with nearly equal numbers of
clusters. Bimodal fits to the color distributions confirm that the blue
sequence shows the same trend of progressively increasing metallicity with GC
mass that has previously been found in many other large galaxies; the
correlation we find corresponds to a scaling of GC metallicity with mass of Z ~
M^0.6 . By contrast, the red sequence shows no change of mean metallicity with
mass, but it shows an upward extension to much higher than normal luminosity
into the UCD-like range, strengthening the potential connections between
massive GCs and UCDs. The GC luminosity function, which we measure down to the
turnover point at M_I = -8.4, also has a normal form like those in other giant
ellipticals. Within the Hydra field, another giant elliptical NGC 3309 is
sitting just 100" from the cD NGC 3311. We use our data to solve simultaneously
for the spatial structure and total GC populations of both galaxies at once.
Their specific frequencies are S_N (NGC 3311) = 12.5 +/- 1.5 and S_N (NGC 3309)
= 0.6 +/-0.4. NGC 3311 is completely dominant and entirely comparable with
other cD-type systems such as M87 in Virgo.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal. Version
with higher resolution figures is available at
http://www.thewehners.net/astro/papers/wehner_n3311_highres.pd
Deep HST Imaging in NGC 6397: Stellar Dynamics
Multi-epoch observations with ACS on HST provide a unique and comprehensive
probe of stellar dynamics within NGC 6397. We are able to confront analytic
models of the globular cluster with the observed stellar proper motions. The
measured proper motions probe well along the main sequence from 0.8 to below
0.1 M as well as white dwarfs younger than one gigayear. The observed
field lies just beyond the half-light radius where standard models of globular
cluster dynamics (e.g. based on a lowered Maxwellian phase-space distribution)
make very robust predictions for the stellar proper motions as a function of
mass. The observed proper motions show no evidence for anisotropy in the
velocity distribution; furthermore, the observations agree in detail with a
straightforward model of the stellar distribution function. We do not find any
evidence that the young white dwarfs have received a natal kick in
contradiction with earlier results. Using the observed proper motions of the
main-sequence stars, we obtain a kinematic estimate of the distance to NGC 6397
of kpc and a mass of the cluster of at the photometric distance of 2.53 kpc. One of the
main-sequence stars appears to travel on a trajectory that will escape the
cluster, yielding an estimate of the evaporation timescale, over which the
number of stars in the cluster decreases by a factor of e, of about 3 Gyr. The
proper motions of the youngest white dwarfs appear to resemble those of the
most massive main-sequence stars, providing the first direct constraint on the
relaxation time of the stars in a globular cluster of greater than or about 0.7
Gyr.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
Antiferromagnetism at T > 500 K in the Layered Hexagonal Ruthenate SrRu2O6
We report an experimental and computational study of magnetic and electronic
properties of the layered Ru(V) oxide SrRu2O6 (hexagonal, P-3 1m), which shows
antiferromagnetic order with a N\'eel temperature of 563(2) K, among the
highest for 4d oxides. Magnetic order occurs both within edge-shared octahedral
sheets and between layers and is accompanied by anisotropic thermal expansivity
that implies strong magnetoelastic coupling of Ru(V) centers. Electrical
transport measurements using focused ion beam induced deposited contacts on a
micron-scale crystallite as a function of temperature show p-type
semiconductivity. The calculated electronic structure using hybrid density
functional theory successfully accounts for the experimentally observed
magnetic and electronic structure and Monte Carlo simulations reveals how
strong intralayer as well as weaker interlayer interactions are a defining
feature of the high temperature magnetic order in the material.Comment: Physical Review B 2015 accepted for publicatio
How cognitive genetic factors influence fertility outcomes: A mediational SEM analysis
Utilizing a newly released cognitive Polygenic Score (PGS) from Wave IV of Add Health (n = 1,886), structural equation models (SEMs) examining the relationship between PGS and fertility (which is approximately 50% complete in the present sample), employing measures of verbal IQ and educational attainment as potential mediators, were estimated. The results of indirect pathway models revealed that verbal IQ mediates the positive relationship between PGS and educational attainment, and educational attainment in turn mediates the negative relationship between verbal IQ and a latent fertility measure. The direct path from PGS to fertility was non-significant. The model was robust to controlling for age, sex, and race; furthermore, the results of a multigroup SEM revealed no significant differences in the estimated path coeficients across sex. These results indicate that those predisposed towards higher verbal IQ by virtue of higher PGS values are also predisposed towards trading fertility against time spent in education, which contributes to those with higher PGS values producing fewer offspring at this stage in their life course
Threatened Corals Provide Underexplored Microbial Habitats
Contemporary in-depth sequencing of environmental samples has provided novel insights into microbial community structures, revealing that their diversity had been previously underestimated. Communities in marine environments are commonly composed of a few dominant taxa and a high number of taxonomically diverse, low-abundance organisms. However, studying the roles and genomic information of these “rare” organisms remains challenging, because little is known about their ecological niches and the environmental conditions to which they respond. Given the current threat to coral reef ecosystems, we investigated the potential of corals to provide highly specialized habitats for bacterial taxa including those that are rarely detected or absent in surrounding reef waters. The analysis of more than 350,000 small subunit ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) sequence tags and almost 2,000 nearly full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that rare seawater biosphere members are highly abundant or even dominant in diverse Caribbean corals. Closely related corals (in the same genus/family) harbored similar bacterial communities. At higher taxonomic levels, however, the similarities of these communities did not correlate with the phylogenetic relationships among corals, opening novel questions about the evolutionary stability of coral-microbial associations. Large proportions of OTUs (28.7–49.1%) were unique to the coral species of origin. Analysis of the most dominant ribotypes suggests that many uncovered bacterial taxa exist in coral habitats and await future exploration. Our results indicate that coral species, and by extension other animal hosts, act as specialized habitats of otherwise rare microbes in marine ecosystems. Here, deep sequencing provided insights into coral microbiota at an unparalleled resolution and revealed that corals harbor many bacterial taxa previously not known. Given that two of the coral species investigated are listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, our results add an important microbial diversity-based perspective to the significance of conserving coral reefs
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