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astro-ph new abstracts, Mon, 8 May 06 00:00:09 GMT
0605135 -- 0605169 received

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astro-ph/0605135 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Uncorrelated Universe: Statistical Anisotropy and the Vanishing Angular Correlation Function in WMAP Years 1-3
Authors: Craig Copi (CWRU), Dragan Huterer (KICP Chicago), Dominik Schwarz (Universitat Bielefeld), Glenn Starkman (CWRU and Oxford)
Comments: 18 pages, 7 figures. High resolution figures, multipole vector code and other information can be found at this http URL

The large-angle (low-ell) correlations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) as reported by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) after their first year of observations exhibited statistically significant anomalies compared to the predictions of the standard inflationary big-bang model. We suggested then that these implied the presence of a solar system foreground, a systematic correlated with solar system geometry, or both. We re-examine these anomalies for the data from the first three years of WMAP's operation. We show that, despite the identification by the WMAP team of a systematic correlated with the equinoxes and the ecliptic, the anomalies in the first-year Internal Linear Combination (ILC) map persist in the three-year ILC map, in all-but-one case at similar statistical significance. The three-year ILC quadrupole and octopole therefore remain inconsistent with statistical isotropy -- they are correlated with each other (99.6% C.L.), and there are statistically significant correlations with local geometry, especially that of the solar system. The angular two-point correlation function at scales >60 degrees in the regions outside the (kp0) galactic cut, where it is most reliably determined, is approximately zero in all wavebands and is even more discrepant with the best fit LambdaCDM inflationary model than in the first-year data - 99.97% C.L. for the new ILC map. The full-sky ILC map, on the other hand, has a non-vanishing angular two-point correlation function, apparently driven by the region inside the cut, but which does not agree better with LambdaCDM. The role of the newly identified low-ell systematics is more puzzling than reassuring.

 

astro-ph/0605136 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Search for other Earths: limits on the giant planet orbits that allow habitable terrestrial planets to form
Authors: Sean N. Raymond
Comments: Accepted by ApJ Letters

Gas giant planets are far easier than terrestrial planets to detect around other stars, and are thought to form much more quickly than terrestrial planets. Thus, in systems with giant planets, the late stages of terrestrial planet formation are strongly affected by the giant planets' dynamical presence. Observations of giant planet orbits may therefore constrain the systems that can harbor potentially habitable, Earth-like planets. We present results of 460 N-body simulations of terrestrial accretion from a disk of Moon- to Mars-sized planetary embryos. We systematically vary the orbital semimajor axis of a Jupiter-mass giant planet between 1.6 and 6 AU, and eccentricity between 0 and 0.4. We find that for Sun-like stars, giant planets inside roughly 2.5 AU inhibit the growth of 0.3 Earth-mass planets in the habitable zone. If planets accrete water from volatile-rich embryos past 2-2.5 AU, then water-rich habitable planets can only form in systems with giant planets beyond 3.5 AU. Giant planets with significant orbital eccentricities inhibit both accretion and water delivery. The majority of the current sample of extra-solar giant planets appears unlikely to form habitable planets.

 

astro-ph/0605137 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Nucleosynthesis: Stellar and Solar Abundances and Atomic Data
Authors: John J. Cowan, James E. Lawler, Christopher Sneden, E. A. Den Hartog, Jason Collier
Comments: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. To appear in the Proceedings of the NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop in Las Vegas, NV (February 2006)

Abundance observations indicate the presence of often surprisingly large amounts of neutron capture (i.e., s- and r-process) elements in old Galactic halo and globular cluster stars. These observations provide insight into the nature of the earliest generations of stars in the Galaxy -- the progenitors of the halo stars -- responsible for neutron-capture synthesis. Comparisons of abundance trends can be used to understand the chemical evolution of the Galaxy and the nature of heavy element nucleosynthesis. In addition age determinations, based upon long-lived radioactive nuclei abundances, can now be obtained. These stellar abundance determinations depend critically upon atomic data. Improved laboratory transition probabilities have been recently obtained for a number of elements. These new gf values have been used to greatly refine the abundances of neutron-capture elemental abundances in the solar photosphere and in very metal-poor Galactic halo stars. The newly determined stellar abundances are surprisingly consistent with a (relative) Solar System r-process pattern, and are also consistent with abundance predictions expected from such neutron-capture nucleosynthesis.

 

astro-ph/0605138 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The effect of planetary migration on the corotation resonance
Authors: G. I. Ogilvie, S. H. Lubow
Comments: 15 pages, 6 figures, to be published in MNRAS

The migration of a planet through a gaseous disc causes the locations of their resonant interactions to drift and can alter the torques exerted between the planet and the disc. We analyse the time-dependent dynamics of a non-coorbital corotation resonance under these circumstances. The ratio of the resonant torque in a steady state to the value given by Goldreich & Tremaine (1979) depends essentially on two dimensionless quantities: a dimensionless turbulent diffusion time-scale and a dimensionless radial drift speed. When the drift speed is comparable to the libration speed and the viscosity is small, the torque can become much larger than the unsaturated value in the absence of migration, but is still proportional to the large-scale vortensity gradient in the disc. Fluid that is trapped in the resonance and drifts with it acquires a vortensity anomaly relative to its surroundings. If the anomaly is limited by viscous diffusion in a steady state, the resulting torque is inversely proportional to the viscosity, although a long time may be required to achieve this state. A further, viscosity-independent, contribution to the torque comes from fluid that streams through the resonant region. In other cases, torque oscillations occur before the steady value is achieved. We discuss the significance of these results for the evolution of eccentricity in protoplanetary systems. We also describe the possible application of these findings to the coorbital region and the concept of runaway (or type III) migration. [Abridged]

 

astro-ph/0605139 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Evolution of Outflow-Envelope Interactions in Low-Mass Protostars
Authors: Hector G. Arce, Anneila I. Sargent
Comments: 36 pages of text and tables, 8 jpg figures

We present multi-line and continuum observations of the circumstellar environment within 10^4 AU of a sample of protostars to investigate how the effects of outflows on their immediate environment changes over time. 12CO(1-0) emission probes the high-velocity molecular outflows near the protostars and demonstrate that the outflow opening angle widens as the nascent star evolves. Maps of the 13CO(1-0) and HCO+(1-0) outflow emission show that protostellar winds erode the circumstellar envelope through the entrainment of the outer envelope gas. The spatial and velocity distribution of the dense circumstellar envelope, as well as its mass, is traced by the C18O(1-0) emission and also displays evolutionary changes. We show that outflows are largely responsible for these changes, and propose an empirical model for the evolution of outflow-envelope interactions. In addition, some of the outflows in our sample appear to affect the chemical composition of the surrounding environment, enhancing the HCO+ abundance. Overall, our results confirm that outflows play a major role in the star formation process through their strong physical and chemical impacts on the environments of the young protostars.

 

astro-ph/0605140 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Ultraluminous X-ray Sources, High Redshift QSOs and Active Galaxies
Authors: G. Burbidge, E.M. Burbidge, H.C. Arp, W.M. Napier
Comments: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

It is shown that all of the 32 point X-ray sources which lie within about 10' of the centre of nearby galaxies, and which have so far been optically identified are high redshift objects - AGN or QSOs. Thus the surface density of these QSOs p similar or equal to 0.1 per square arc minute. Some of them were originally discovered as X-ray sources and classified as ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), nearly all of which lie near the centers of active galaxies. We demonstrate that this concentration around galactic nuclei is of high statistical significance: the probabiliy that p that they are accidental lies in the range one in a thousand to one in ten thousand, and apparently this excess cannot be accounted for by microlensing.

 

astro-ph/0605141 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: On Iron Enrichment, Star Formation, and Type Ia Supernovae in Galaxy Clusters
Authors: Michael Loewenstein (NASA/GSFC and UMD)
Comments: 51 pages including 26 figures and 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ 5/4/06

The nature of star formation and Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) in galaxies in the field and in rich galaxy clusters are contrasted by juxtaposing the build-up of heavy metals in the universe inferred from observed star formation and supernovae rate histories with data on the evolution of Fe abundances in the intracluster medium (ICM). Models for the chemical evolution of Fe in these environments are constructed, subject to observational constraints, for this purpose. While models with a mean delay for SNIa of 3 Gyr and standard initial mass function (IMF) are consistent with observations in the field, cluster Fe enrichment immediately tracks a rapid, top-heavy phase of star formation -- although transport of Fe into the ICM may be more prolonged and star formation likely continues to redshifts <1. The source of this prompt enrichment is Type II supernovae (SNII) yielding at least 0.1 solar masses per explosion (if the SNIa rate normalization is scaled down from its value in the field according to the relative number of candidate progenitor stars in the 3-8 solar mass range) and/or SNIa explosions with short delay times associated with the rapid star formation mode. Star formation is >3 times more efficient in rich clusters than in the field, mitigating the overcooling problem in numerical cluster simulations. Both the fraction of baryons cycled through stars, and the fraction of the total present-day stellar mass in the form of stellar remnants, are substantially greater in clusters than in the field.

 

astro-ph/0605142 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Global Modeling of Spur Formation in Spiral Galaxies
Authors: Rahul Shetty, Eve C. Ostriker (Univ. of Maryland)
Comments: 36 pages, 17 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ. PDF version with high resolution figures available at this http URL

We investigate the formation of substructure in spiral galaxies using global MHD simulations, including gas self-gravity. Our models extend previous local models by Kim and Ostriker (2002) by including the full effects of curvilinear coordinates, a realistic log-spiral perturbation, self-gravitational contribution from 5 radial wavelengths of the spiral shock, and variation of density and epicyclic frequency with radius. We show that with realistic Toomre Q values, self-gravity and galactic differential rotation produce filamentary gaseous structures with kpc-scale separations, regardless of the strength -- or even presence -- of a stellar spiral potential. However, the growth of sheared features distinctly associated with the spiral arms, described as spurs or feathers in optical and IR observations of many spiral galaxies, requires a sufficiently strong spiral potential in self gravitating models. Unlike independently-growing ''background'' filaments, the orientation of arm spurs depends on galactic location. Inside corotation, spurs emanate outward, on the convex side of the arm; outside corotation, spurs grow inward, on the concave side of the arm. Based on spacing, orientation, and the relation to arm clumps, it is possible to distinguish ''true spurs'' that originate as instabilities in the spiral arms from independently growing ''background'' filaments. Our models also suggest that magnetic fields are important in preserving grand design spiral structure when gas in the arms fragments via self-gravity into GMCs.

 

astro-ph/0605143 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Multiwavelength Observations of EXO 0748-676 - I. Reprocessing of X-ray Bursts
Authors: R.I. Hynes (Louisiana State Univ.), K. Horne (Univ. St Andrews) K. O'Brien (ESO) C.A. Haswell (Open Univ.), E.L. Robinson (Univ. Texas Austin), A.R. King (Univ. Leicester), P.A. Charles (SAAO/Univ. Southampton), K.J. Pearson (Louisiana State Univ.)
Comments: 15 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We present the first high time-resolution simultaneous X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical observations of X-ray bursts in UY Vol, the optical counterpart of the low mass X-ray binary EXO 0748-676, obtained with RXTE, HST, and Gemini-S. Strong reprocessed signals are present in the ultraviolet (a factor of 4) and optical (a factor of 2.5). These signals are lagged with respect to the X-rays and appear significantly smeared as well. The addition of far-ultraviolet coverage for one burst, together with the high quality of the dataset, allow much tighter constraints upon the temperature and geometry of the reprocessing region than previously possible. A single-zone black body reprocessing model for this burst suggests a rise in temperatures during the burst from 18,000 to 35,000K and an emitting area comparable to that expected for the disk and/or irradiated companion star. The lags, a mean of 4.0s and range of 2.5s, are consistent with those expected within the binary. The single-zone black body model cannot reproduce the ratio of optical to ultraviolet flux during the burst, however. The discrepancy, corresponding to underpredicting the optical by more than a factor of two, seems too large to explain with deviations from a local black body spectrum and more likely indicates that a range of reprocessing temperatures are required, as would be expected, with cooler regions not contributing to the UV. Comparable results are derived from other bursts, and in particular the lag and smearing both appear shorter when the companion star is on the near side of the disk as predicted. The burst observed by HST also yielded a spectrum of the reprocessed light. [Abridged]

 

astro-ph/0605144 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Properties of Hickson Compact Groups and of the Loose Groups within which they are Embedded
Authors: H. Tovmassian, M. Plionis, J.P. Torres-Papaqui
Comments: accepted for publication in AA

We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) redshift catalogue to look for galaxies with accordant redshifts in the nearby environment (up to ~2 Mpc) of 15 Hickson Compact Groups (HCG) and 7 more HCG+environment from the literature. We find that: (a) HCG's tend to be aligned with the overall galaxy distribution in their ~1 Mpc environment, (b) the well-established orientation effect by which the group velocity dispersion correlates with group axial ratio, is present also in the HCG+environment systems, (c) the radial velocity dispersion of the HCG+environment systems and of ordinary poor groups only weakly depends on the group richness, (d) the mean absolute K-band magnitude of E/S0 galaxies in HCGs is similar to that in ordinary poor groups, and is brighter than that of isolated E/S0's, indicating that they were formed by the merging of two galaxies of similar luminosity, (e) the fraction of E/S0 galaxies in these HCGs depends only weakly on the group richness and velocity dispersion, (f) the fraction of AGNs is similar in the HCGs and their close environment, while that of starbursts is significantly higher in the HCGs, (g) the fraction of AGNs and starbursts is anti-correlated with the velocity dispersion of the HCG+environment systems. Furthermore, the observed fractions of early-type and active galaxies as well as their correlations with the group velocity dispersion suggests a picture by which nuclear activity and galaxy transformation by merging is instigated by effective gravitational interactions in the low-velocity dispersion groups, which then dynamically evolve via virialization processes to higher velocity dispersion groups, which thus have a higher fraction of early-type galaxies.

 

astro-ph/0605145 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Rocking the Lighthouse: Circumpulsar Asteroids and Radio Intermittency
Authors: J. M. Cordes, R. M. Shannon
Comments: 20 pages, 6 figures, submitted to ApJ

We propose that neutral, circumpulsar debris entering the light cylinder can account for many time-dependent pulsar phenomena that are otherwise difficult to explain. Neutral material avoids propeller ejection and injects sufficient charges -- after heating, evaporation, and ionization -- to alter current flows and pair-production and thus trigger, detune, or extinguish coherent emission. Relevant phenomena, with time scales from seconds to months, include nulls, rotating radio transients (RRATs), rapid changes in pulse profile (``mode changes''), variable subpulse drift rates, quasi-periodic bursts from B1931+24, and torque variations. Over the 10 Myr lifetime of a canonical pulsar with trillion-gauss surface magnetic field, less than a millionth of an Earth mass of material is needed to modulate the Goldreich-Julian current by 100%. Circumpulsar material originates from metal-rich, supernova fallback gas that aggregates into asteroids. Debris disks can inject sufficient material on time scales of interest, yet be too tenuous to form large planets detectable in pulse timing data. Asteroid migration results from collisions and the radiation-driven Yarkovsky and Poynting-Robertson effects. For B1931+24, an asteroid in a $\sim 40$~day elliptical orbit pollutes the magnetosphere stochastically through collisions with other debris. Injection is less likely for hot, young and highly magnetized pulsars or millisecond pulsars that pre-ionize any debris material well outside their small magnetospheres. Injection effects will therefore be most prominent in long-period, cooler pulsars, consistent with the distribution of relevant objects in perid and period derivative. A pulsar's spin history and its radiation-beam orientation may influence whether it displays nulling, RRATs and other effects.

 

astro-ph/0605146 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The First Jet in the Universe: Protostellar Jets from the First Stars
Authors: Masahiro N. Machida, Kazuyuki Omukai, Tomoaki Matsumoto, Shu-ichiro Inutsuka
Comments: 12 pages, 2 figures, Submitted to ApJL, For high resolution figures see this this http URL

The protostellar jets driven by the formation of the first stars are studied by using MHD nested grid simulations. Starting from a slowly rotating spherical cloud of 5.1 times 10^4 Msun permeated by a uniform magnetic field, we follow the evolution from the central number density n = 10^3 cm^-3 to n simeq 10^23 cm^-3. We calculate four models that differ in initial magnetic field strengths and angular velocities. In all models, protostars of simeq 10^-3 Msun are formed at n simeq 10^22 cm^-3 in accordance with one-dimensional calculations. By this epoch, the magnetic flux density is amplified by 10 orders of magnitude from the initial value. Consequently, the formed protostar possesses the magnetic field of \sim 10^6 G that is much larger than the flux density of the present counterparts, reflecting the fact that the dissipation of a magnetic field is ineffective in primordial gas clouds. If the initial magnetic field B > 10^-9 (n/10^3 cm^-3)^2/3 G, the protostellar jet is launched and its velocities reaches \sim 70 km s^-1 by the time the protostellar mass becomes (4-6) times 10^-3 Msun, and a fraction (3-10%) of the accreting matter is blown off from the central region. Owing to the interaction of these ejecta with surrounding matter, expanding bow shocks are created at both heads of the jet. If this jet continues to sweep out the surrounding gas that otherwise accretes onto the central star or circumstellar disk, the final mass of the first star can be substantially reduced. In addition, dense post-shock regions behind the bow shocks are expected to promote the chemical reactions (formation of H_2 and HD), and this provides possible environments for subsequent low-mass star formation in the early universe.

 

astro-ph/0605147 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Spectral diversity of Type Ia Supernovae
Authors: J. Berian James, Tamara M. Davis, Brian P. Schmidt, Alex G. Kim
Comments: 8 pages, 8 figures, uses mn2e.cls, accepted for publication by MNRAS

We use published spectroscopic and photometric data for 8 Type Ia supernovae to construct a dispersion spectrum for this class of object, showing their diversity over the wavelength range 3700A to 7100A. We find that the B and V bands are the spectral regions with the least dispersion, while the U band below 4100A is more diverse. Some spectral features such as the Si line at 6150A are also highly diverse. We then construct two objective measures of 'peculiarity' by (i) using the deviation of individual objects from the average SN Ia spectrum compared to the typical dispersion and (ii) applying principle component analysis. We demonstrate these methods on several SNe Ia that have previously been classified as peculiar.

 

astro-ph/0605148 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Type Ia Supernova Rate at z ~0.5 from the Supernova Legacy Survey
Authors: J. D. Neill, M. Sullivan, D. Balam, C. J. Pritchet, D. A. Howell, K. Perrett, P. Astier, E. Aubourg, S. Basa, R. G. Carlberg, A. Conley, S. Fabbro, D. Fouchez, J. Guy, I. Hook, R. Pain, N. Palanque-Delabrouille, N. Regnault, J. Rich, R. Taillet, S. Baumont, J. Bronder, R. S. Ellis, M. Filiol, V. Lusset, S. Perlmutter, P. Ripoche
Comments: 71 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in AJ

We present a measurement of the distant Type Ia supernova rate derived from the first two years of the Canada -- France -- Hawaii Telescope Supernova Legacy Survey. We observed four one-square degree fields with a typical temporal frequency of <Delta t> ~ 4 observer-frame days over time spans of from 158 to 211 days per season for each field, with breaks during full moon. We used 8-10 meter-class telescopes for spectroscopic followup to confirm our candidates and determine their redshifts. Our starting sample consists of 73 spectroscopically verified Type Ia supernovae in the redshift range 0.2 < z < 0.6. We derive a volumetric SN Ia rate of r_V(<z>=0.47) = 0.42^{+0.13}_{-0.09} (systematic) +- 0.06 (statistical) X 10^-4 yr^-1 Mpc^3, assuming h = 0.7, Omega_m = 0.3 and a flat cosmology. Using recently published galaxy luminosity functions derived in our redshift range, we derive a SN Ia rate per unit luminosity of r_L(<z>=0.47) = 0.154^{+0.048}_{-0.033} (systematic) ^{+0.039}_{-0.031} (statistical) SNu. Using our rate alone, we place an upper limit on the component of SN Ia production that tracks the cosmic star formation history of 1 SN Ia per 10^3 M_sun of stars formed. Our rate and other rates from surveys using spectroscopic sample confirmation display only a modest evolution out to z=0.55.

 

astro-ph/0605149 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The non-constant slope of the CIV Baldwin effect in NGC 4151
Authors: M.Z. Kong (NAOC), Xue-Bing Wu (PKU), R. Wang (PKU), F.K. Liu (PKU), J.L. Han (NAOC)
Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

The relationship between the emission line equivalent width and the continuum luminosity, so called the Baldwin effect, plays an important role in studying the broad line region physics of AGNs. Using the archived ultraviolet spectra obtained by IUE, HST and HUT in 1978-2002, we investigated the intrinsic CIV Baldwin effect of a best-studied Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Both its continuum flux and CIV emission line flux varied about two orders of magnitude in more than two decades, making it one of the best targets for studying the slope variation of the Baldwin effect. We fitted the CIV line profile of the 490 archived UV spectra of NGC 4151 with a same model consisting of a few Gaussian components, and derived the slope in the log-log plot for the total flux of CIV emission line against the UV continuum flux in different observation epochs.We found that the slope is not constant for NGC 4151, varying from 0.58 in the highest flux epoch to 0.83 in the lowest flux epoch. The slope evidently decreases as the continuum flux increases, which reinforces the previous findings of the non-constant slope in the H_beta Baldwin effect of NGC 5548 and the CIV Baldwin effect of Fairall 9. Our result suggests that such a non-constant slope may not be unusual for AGNs. Its physics origin is probably related to the different non-linear responses of the emission line to the variable ionizing continuum caused by the different accretion modes at different luminosity levels. We briefly discuss the effects of various absorption components in the CIV line profile of NGC 4151 and argue that the slope variation is not mainly driven by the absorption effect. Intensive, long-term and high resolution spectral observations of strongly variable AGNs in the future are needed to confirm our result.

 

astro-ph/0605150 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The UV spectrum of HS1700+6416 II. FUSE observations of the HeII Lyman alpha forest
Authors: C. Fechner, D. Reimers, G. A. Kriss, R. Baade, W. P. Blair, M. L. Giroux, R. F. Green, H. W. Moos, D. C. Morton, J. E. Scott, J. M. Shull, R. Simcoe, A. Songaila, W. Zheng
Comments: 18 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

We present the far-UV spectrum of the quasar HS1700+6416 taken with FUSE. This QSO provides the second line of sight with the HeII absorption resolved into a Ly alpha forest structure. Since HS1700+6416 is slightly less redshifted (z=2.72) than HE2347-4342, we only probe the post-reionization phase of HeII, seen in the evolution of the HeII opacity, which is consistent with a simple power law. The HeII/HI ratio eta is estimated using a line profile-fitting procedure and an apparent optical depth approach, respectively. The expected metal line absorption in the far-UV is taken into account as well as molecular absorption of galactic H_2. About 27% of the eta values are affected by metal line absorption. In order to investigate the applicability of the analysis methods, we create simple artificial spectra based on the statistical properties of the HI Ly alpha forest. The analysis of the artificial data demonstrates that the apparent optical depth method as well as the line profile-fitting procedure lead to confident results for restricted data samples only (12.0 < log N(HI) < 13.0). The reasons are saturation in the case of the apparent optical depth and thermal line widths in the case of the profile fits. Furthermore, applying the methods to the unrestricted data set may mimic a correlation between eta and the strength of the HI absorption. For the restricted data samples a scatter of 10 - 15% in eta would be expected even if the underlying value is constant. The observed scatter is significantly larger than expected, indicating that the intergalactic radiation background is indeed fluctuating. In the redshift range 2.58 < z < 2.72, where the data quality is best, we find eta ~ 100, suggesting a contribution of soft sources like galaxies to the UV background.

 

astro-ph/0605151 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: On the efficiency and reliability of cluster mass estimates based on member galaxies
Authors: A. Biviano, G. Murante, S. Borgani, A. Diaferio, K. Dolag, M. Girardi
Comments: To appear in A&A. 17 pages, 14 figures

We study the efficiency and reliability of cluster mass estimators that are based on the projected phase-space distribution of galaxies in a cluster region. To this aim, we analyse a data-set of 62 clusters extracted from a concordance LCDM cosmological hydrodynamical simulation. Galaxies (or Dark Matter particles) are first selected in cylinders of given radius (from 0.5 to 1.5 Mpc/h) and ~200 Mpc/h length. Cluster members are then identified by applying a suitable interloper removal algorithm.
Two cluster mass estimators are considered: the virial mass estimator (Mvir), and a mass estimator (Msigma) based entirely on the cluster velocity dispersion estimate. Mvir overestimates the true mass by ~10%, and Msigma underestimates the true mass by ~15%, on average, for sample sizes of > 60 cluster members. For smaller sample sizes, the bias of the virial mass estimator substantially increases, while the Msigma estimator becomes essentially unbiased. The dispersion of both mass estimates increases by a factor ~2 as the number of cluster members decreases from ~400 to ~20. The bias in the Mvir estimates is reduced in clusters without significant evidence for subclustering, and when only early-type galaxies are selected.
Radially-dependent incompleteness can drastically affect Mvir estimates, but leaves the Msigma estimates almost unaffected. Other observational effects, like centering and velocity errors, and different observational apertures, have little effect on the mass estimates. (Abridged)

 

astro-ph/0605152 [abs, pdf] :

Title: A new sample of bright galaxy pairs in UZC
Authors: P. Focardi (1), V. Zitelli (2), S. Marinoni (2), B. Kelm (1) ((1)Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universita' di Bologna, Italy, (2)INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Italy)
Comments: A & A accepted, 6 pages, 6 figures

We present a new sample of bright galaxy pairs extracted applying an objective selection code to UZC catalog.The sample is volume limited to M$_{zw}$ = -18.9 +5 log ${\it h}$ and contains 89 galaxy pairs.We analyze the kinematical, morphological and photometrical properties of galaxies belonging to this sample. We show that velocity separation, $| \Delta v_{r} |$, between pair members is significantly lower in spiral type (S+S) pairs than in early-type (E+E) and mixed (E+S) pairs.This indicates that truly isolated galaxy pairs are more likely to be found among S+S pairs. We show that ellipticals are rare and underluminous in B and that late spirals (T $\ge$ 4) are overluminous. We confirm that the formation of bright ellipticals is a phenomenon linked to group/cluster environment, while galaxy-galaxy interaction may enhance blue luminosity of disk galaxies through SF phenomena. This last statement is supported by the presence of strong FIR emission from early spirals in this sample and by the high frequency of AGN/SB phenomenon, revealed mainly in pairs of low relative radial velocity separation and showing signs of interaction.

 

astro-ph/0605153 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Ionization structure in the winds of B[e] supergiants II. Influence of rotation on the formation of equatorial Hydrogen neutral zones
Authors: Michaela Kraus
Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (03/05/2006)

Context: B[e] supergiants are known to possess non-spherical winds, and the existence of disks which are neutral in Hydrogen already close to their stellar surface has recently been postulated. A suitable mechanism to produce non-spherical winds seems to be rapid rotation, and at least for three B[e] supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds rotation velocities at a substantial fraction of their critical velocity have been found. Aims: The aim ouf our research is to find recombination distances in the equatorial plane of rapidly rotating stars that are suitable to explain the observed huge amounts of neutral material in the vicinity of especially B[e] supergiants. Methods: We perform ionization structure calculations in the equatorial plane around rapidly rotating luminous supergiants. The restriction to the equatorial plane allows us to treat the ionization balance equations 1-dimensionally, while the stellar radiation field is calculated 2-dimensionally, taking into account the latitudinal variation of the stellar surface parameters. The stellar parameters used correspond to those known for B[e] supergiants. The assumptions made throughout the computations have all in common that the total number of available ionizing photons at any location within the equatorial plane is overestimated, resulting in upper limits for the recombination distances. Results: We find that despite the drop in equatorial surface density of rapidly rotating stars (neglecting effects like bi-stability and/or wind compression), Hydrogen and Helium recombine at or close to the stellar surface, for mass loss rates Mdot > 5d-5 M_sun/yr and rotation speeds in excess of v(rot,eq)/v(crit)=0.8.

 

astro-ph/0605154 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Nature of giant pulses in radio pulsars
Authors: S. A. Petrova
Comments: 8 pages, 2 figures. Invited review for the 2005 Hanas Lake International Pulsar Symposium, to appear in ChJAA

Formation of giant radio pulses is attributed to propagation effects in the plasma of pulsar magnetosphere. Induced scattering of radio waves by the plasma particles is found to lead to an efficient redistribution of the radio emission in frequency. With the steep spectrum of pulsar radiation, intensity transfer between the widely spaced frequencies may imply significant narrow-band amplification of the radiation. This may give rise to giant pulses. It is demonstrated that the statistics of giant pulse intensities observed can be reproduced if one take into account pulse-to-pulse fluctuations of the plasma number density and the original intensity. Polarization properties of the strongly amplified pulses, their location in the average pulse window and the origin of the nanostructure of giant pulses are discussed as well.

 

astro-ph/0605155 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The influence of gas on the structure of disk merger remnants
Authors: Thorsten Naab, Roland Jesseit, Andreas Burkert
Comments: submitted

We present a large set of merger simulations of early-type disc galaxies with mass ratios of 1:1 and 3:1 and 10% of the total disc mass in gas. In contrast to the collisionless case equal-mass mergers with gas do not result in very boxy remnants which is caused by the suppression of box orbits and the change of the projected shape of minor-axis tube orbits in the more axisymmetric remnants. The isophotal shape of 3:1 remnants and the global kinematic properties of 1:1 and 3:1 remnants are only weakly affected by the presence of gas. 1:1 remnants are slowly rotating whereas 3:1 remnants are fast rotating and discy. The shape of the stellar LOSVD is strongly influenced by gas. The LOSVDs of collisionless remnants have broad leading wings while their gaseous counterparts show steep leading wings, more consistent with observations of elliptical galaxies. We show that this change is also caused by the suppressed populating of box orbits and it is amplified by the formation of extended gas discs in the merger remnants. If elliptical galaxies have formed from mergers our results indicate that massive, slowly rotating boxy elliptical galaxies can not have formed from dissipative mergers of discs. Pure stellar (dry) mergers are the more likely candidates. On the other hand lower mass, fast rotating and discy ellipticals can have formed from dissipative (wet) mergers of early-type discs. So far, only unequal-mass disc mergers with gas can successfully explain their observed substructure. This is consistent with the revised morphological classification scheme of increasing importance of gas dissipation when moving from boxy ellipticals to discy ellipticals and then to spiral galaxies, proposed by Kormendy & Bender (abbreviated).

 

astro-ph/0605156 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Real-Time Evolution of Sakurai's Star (V4334 Sgr) and other (V)LTP Objects
Authors: P. A. M. van Hoof, M. Bryce, A. Evans, S. P. S. Eyres, M. Hajduk, F. Herwig, F. Kerber, S. Kimeswenger, J. A. Lopez, M. Matsuura, D. L. Pollacco, G. C. Van de Steene, A. A. Zijlstra
Comments: 4 pages, 2 figures in eps format, IAU symp. 234: `Planetary Nebulae in our Galaxy and Beyond', eds. M. J. Barlow & R. H. Mendez

We report on the progress of our on-going campaign to monitor the evolution of the VLTP objects V4334 Sgr and V605 Aql, as well as the suspected (V)LTP object CK Vul. V4334 Sgr does not show signs of increased ionization compared to our previous observations in 2004. We obtained the first radio detection of V605 Aql, indicating a strong increase in radio flux since 1987. We also present the first radio detection of CK Vul and discuss the expansion of the material ejected during the 1670 event.

 

astro-ph/0605157 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Black hole mass and accretion rate of Active Galactic Nuclei
Authors: Xue-Bing Wu, F.K. Liu, R. Wang (PKU), M.Z. Kong, J.L. Han (NAOC)
Comments: 7 pages, 7 figures, to appear in J. Korean Physical Society; review talk presented at the 2006 Winter School on Black Hole Astrophysics, Pohang, Korea

The determination of the central black hole mass is crucial to the understanding of AGN physics. In this paper we briefly review some methods that are currently used to estimate the black hole mass of AGNs. Particularly we demonstrate the importance of two correlations: one between the black hole mass and the stellar velocity dispersion and another one between the broad line region (BLR) size and the optical continuum luminosity. Besides applying these relations in deriving black hole masses of various types of AGNs, we also employed the fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies to estimate the central velocity dispersions of AGN host galaxies, and then the black hole masses of AGNs including BL Lac objects. In addition, we derived another empirical relation between the BLR size and H_beta emission line luminosity from AGNs with the BLR size measured by reverberation mapping studies, and argued that more accurate black hole masses of extremely radio-loud AGNs could be obtained with it than using the usual R-L_{5100\AA} relation because of the jet contribution to the optical continuum. Finally we pointed out that black hole mass estimation is very much helpful to determine the accretion rate and understand the accretion process in AGNs.

 

astro-ph/0605158 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: First evidence for molecular interfaces between outflows and ambient cloud in high-mass star forming regions?
Authors: C. Codella, S. Viti, D.A. Williams, R. Bachiller
Comments: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journals Letters (8 pages, 3 figures)

We present new observations of the CepA-East region of massive star formation and describe an extended and dynamically distinct feature not previously recognised. This feature is present in emission from H2CS, OCS, CH3OH, and HDO at -5.5 km/s, but is not traced by conventional tracers of star forming regions H2S, SO2, SO, CS. The feature is extended up to at least 0.1 pc. We show that the feature is neither a hot core nor a shocked outflow. However, the chemistry of the feature is consistent with predictions of a model of an eroding interface between a fast wind and a dense core; mixing between the two media occurs in the interface on a timescale of 10-50 years. If these observations are confirmed by detailed maps and by detections in species also predicted to be abundant (e.g. HCO+, H2CO, and NH3) this feature would be the first detection of such an interface in regions of massive star formation. An important implication of the model is that a significant reservoir of sulfur in grain mantles is required to be in the form of OCS.

 

astro-ph/0605159 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: A rule of thumb for cosmological backreaction
Authors: M. Parry
Comments: 5 pages

In the context of second order perturbation theory, cosmological backreaction is seen to rescale both time and the scale factor. The issue of the homogeneous limit of long-wavelength perturbations is addressed and backreaction is quantified in terms of a gauge-invariant metric function that is the true physical degree of freedom in the homogeneous limit. The time integral of this metric function controls whether backreaction hastens or delays the expansion of the universe. As an example, late time acceleration of the universe is shown to be inconsistent with a perturbative approach. Any tendency to accelerate the expansion requires negative non-adiabatic pressure fluctuations.

 

astro-ph/0605160 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Infrared Imaging of Planetary Nebulae from the Ground Up
Authors: Joseph L. Hora
Comments: 8 pages, 3 figures, invited review given at IAU Symp. 234, to appear in "Planetary Nebulae in Our Galaxy and Beyond", eds. M. J. Barlow & R. H. Mendez

New ground-based telescopes and instruments, the return of the NICMOS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and the recent launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope have provided new tools that are being utilized in the study of planetary nebulae. Multiwavelength, high spatial resolution ground-based and HST imaging have been used to probe the inner regions of young PNe to determine their structure and evaluate formation mechanisms. Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS have been used to image more evolved PNe to determine the spatial distribution of molecular hydrogen, ionized gas, and dust in the nebulae and halos.

 

astro-ph/0605161 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: High spatial resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy of the starburst galaxies NGC 3256, IIZw40 and Henize 2-10
Authors: N.L. Martin-Hernandez, D. Schaerer, E. Peeters, A.G.G.M. Tielens, M. Sauvage
Comments: 22 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

In order to show the importance of high spatial resolution observations of extra-galactic sources when compared to observations obtained with larger apertures such as ISO, we present N-band spectra (8-13 um) of some locations in three starburst galaxies. In particular, the two galactic nuclei of the spiral galaxy NGC3256, the compact IR supernebula in the dwarf galaxy IIZw40 and the two brightest IR knots in the central starburst of the WR galaxy He2-10. The spectra have been obtained with TIMMI2 on the ESO 3.6m telescope. An inventory of the spectra in terms of atomic fine-structure lines and molecular bands is presented. We show the great value of these high spatial resolution data at constraining properties such as the extinction in the mid-IR, metallicity or stellar content (age, IMF, etc.). Regarding this, we have constrained the stellar content of the IR compact knot in IIZw40 by using the mid-IR fine-structure lines and setting restrictions on the nebular geometry. Considering the PAH bands, we have constructed a new mid-/far-IR diagnostic diagram based on the 11.2 um PAH and continuum, accessible to ground-based observations. Finally, we find a dependence between the presence or non-presence of PAHs and the hardness of the radiation field as measured by the [SIV]/[NeII] ratio. In particular, sources with PAH emission have in general a [SIV]/[NeII] ratio < 0.35. We investigate possible origins for this relation and conclude that it does not necessarily imply PAH destruction, but could also be explained by the PAH-dust competition for FUV photons.

 

astro-ph/0605162 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Globular Cluster System evolution in early type galaxies
Authors: R. Capuzzo-Dolcetta (1) ((1) Dep. of Physics, Univ. of Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy)
Comments: 4 pages, 1 figure, talk given at the Globular Clusters Guide to Galaxies conference held in Concepcion (Chile) march 6-10 2006

Globular clusters (GCs) constitute a system which is evolving because of various interactions with the galactic environment. Evolution may be the explanation of many observed features of Globular Cluster Systems (GCSs); the different radial distribution of the GCS and the stellar component of early type galaxies is explained by dynamical friction and tidal effects, this latter acting both on the large scale (that of the bulge-halo stars) and on the small scale (that of the nucleus, often containing a central massive black hole). Merging of quickly orbitally decayed massive GCs leads to formation of a Super Star Cluster (SSC) which enriches the galactic nucleus and is a reservoire of mass-energy for a centrally located black hole

 

astro-ph/0605163 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Kinematics of Protostellar Objects in the $\rho$ Ophiuchus A Region
Authors: Gopal Narayanan, Daniel W. Logan (Univ of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Comments: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We present the detection of infall, rotation and outflow kinematic signatures towards both a protostellar source, VLA 1623 and what was initially thought to be a pre-protostellar core, SM1N, in the rho-Ophiuchus A region. The kinematic signatures of early star formation were detected in the dense molecular gas surrounding the embedded sources using high signal-to-noise millimeter and submillimeter data. Centroid velocity maps made with HCO+ J=4->3 and J=1->0 line emission exhibit the blue bulge signature of infall, which is predicted to be seen when infall motion dominates over rotational motion. Further evidence for infalling gas is found in the HCO+ blue asymmetric line profiles and red asymmetric opacity profiles. We also performed CO J=3->2 and J=1->0 observations to determine the direction, orientation, and extent of molecular outflows, and report the discovery of a new bipolar outflow possibly driven by SM1N.

 

astro-ph/0605164 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Photometric study of selected cataclysmic variables
Authors: C. Papadaki, H.M.J. Boffin, C. Sterken, V. Stanishev, J. Cuypers, P. Boumis, S. Akras, J. Alikakos
Comments: 19 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for pubication by A&A

We present time-resolved photometry of five relatively poorly-studied cataclysmic variables: V1193 Ori, LQ Peg, LD 317, V795 Her, and MCT 2347-3144. The observations were made using four 1m-class telescopes for a total of more than 250 h of observation and almost 16,000 data points. For LQ Peg WHT spectroscopic data have been analysed as well.
The light curves show a wide range of variability on different time scales from minutes to months. We detect for the first time a brightness variation of 0.05 mag in amplitude in V1193 Ori on the same timescale as the orbital period, which we interpret as the result of the irradiation of the secondary. A 20-min quasi-periodic oscillation is also detected. The mean brightness of the system has changed by 0.5 mag on a three-month interval, while the flickering was halved. In LQ Peg a 0.05 mag modulation was revealed with a period of about 3 h. The flickering was much smaller, of the order of 0.025 mag. A possible quasi-periodic oscillation could exist near 30 min. For this object, the WHT spectra are single-peaked and do not show any radial-velocity variations. The data of LD 317 show a decrease in the mean magnitude of the system. No periodic signal was detected but this is certainly attributable to the very large flickering observed: between 0.07 and 0.1 mag. For V795 Her, the 2.8-hour modulation, thought to be a superhump arising from the precession of the disc, is present. We show that this modulation is not stable in terms of periodicity, amplitude, and phase. Finally, for MCT 2347-3144, a clear modulation is seen in a first dataset obtained in October 2002. This modulation is absent in August 2003, when the system was brighter and showed much more flickering.

 

astro-ph/0605165 [abs, pdf] :

Title: Bridging the Virtual Observatory and the GRID with the query element
Authors: G. Taffoni, E.Ambrodsi, C. Vuerli, A. Barisani, R. Smareglia, A. Volpato, S. Pastore, A. Baruffolo, A. Ghiselli, F. Pasian, L. Benacchio
Comments: 4 pages, 4 figure, Grid Workshop, 15 November 2005, Rome Italy

The current generation of Grid infrastructures designed for production activity is strongly computing oriented and tuned on the needs of applications that requires intensive computations. Problems arise when trying to use such Grids to satisfy the sharing of data-oriented and service-oriented resources as happens in the IVOA community. We have designed, developed and implemented a Grid query element to access data source from an existing production Grid environment. We also enhanced the Grid middleware model (collective resources and sites) to manage Data Sources extending the Grid semantic. The query element and the modified grid Information System are able to connect the Grid environment to Virtual Observatory resources. A specialized query element is designed to work as Virtual Observatory resource in the Grid so than an Astronomer can access Virtual Observatory data using the IVOA standards.

 

astro-ph/0605166 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Theoretical Aspects of High Energy Neutrinos and GRB
Authors: P. Meszaros, S. Razzaque
Comments: 10 pages, 2 figures, Based on the talk given by P.M. in the International Workshop on Energy Budget in the High Energy Universe, Kashiwa, Japan, February 2006. Uses ws-procs9x6.cls

Neutrinos at energies ranging from sub-TeV to EeV from astrophysical sources can yield interesting physical information about fundamental interactions, about cosmic rays and about the nature of the sources and their environment. Gamma-ray bursts are a leading candidate source, and their expected neutrino emission can address a number of current questions, which may be answered with forthcoming experiments such as IceCube, Auger, ANITA and KM3NeT.

 

astro-ph/0605167 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: Spitzer Observations of V838 Monocerotis: Detection of a Rare Infrared Light Echo
Authors: D.P.K. Banerjee, K.Y.L. Su, K.A. Misselt, N.M. Ashok
Comments: Accepted ApJL. 6 pages including two plates. Emulateapj style. Hi-Res figures available on request

We present Spitzer observations of the unusual variable V838 Monocerotis. Extended emission is detected around the object at 24, 70 and 160um. The extended infrared emission is strongly correlated spatially with the HST optical light echo images taken at a similar epoch. We attribute this diffuse nebulosity to be from an infrared light echo caused by reprocessed thermal emission from dust heated by the outward-propagating radiation from the 2002 eruption. The detection of an IR light echo provides an opportunity to estimate the mass in dust of the echo material and hence constrain its origin. We estimate the dust mass of the light echo to be on the order of a solar mass - thereby implying the total gas plus dust mass to be considerably more - too massive for the echo material to be the ejecta from previous outburst/mass-losing events. This is therefore suggestive that a significant fraction of the matter seen through the light echo is interstellar in origin. Unresolved emission at 24 and 70um is also seen at the position of the central star possibly indicating the presence of hot dust freshly condensed in the outburst ejecta.

 

astro-ph/0605168 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of OVI Emission in the Milky Way
Authors: Birgit Otte (1), W. Van Dyke Dixon (2) ((1) University of Michigan, (2) Johns Hopkins University)
Comments: 40 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present a survey of OVI 1032 emission in the Milky Way using data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. The observations span the period from launch in 1999 to July 2003. Our survey contains 112 sight lines, 23 of which show measurable OVI 1032 emission. The OVI 1032 emission feature was detected at all latitudes and exhibits intensities of 1900-8600 photons/s/cm^2/sr. Combined with values from the literature, these emission measurements are consistent with the picture derived from recent OVI absorption surveys: high-latitude sight lines probe OVI-emitting gas in a clumpy, thick disk or halo, while low-latitude sight lines sample mixing layers and interfaces in the thin disk of the Galaxy.

 

astro-ph/0605169 [abs, pdf] :

Title: Generalized Galilei-Invariant Classical Mechanics
Authors: Harry Woodcock (1 and 2), Peter Havas (2) ((1) Philadelphia University, (2) Temple University)
Comments: 23 pages
Journal-ref: International Journal of Modern Physics A, Volume 20, Issue 18, pp. 4259-4289 (2005)

To describe the ``slow'' motions of n interacting mass points, we give the most general 4-d non-instantaneous, non-particle symmetric Galilei-invariant variational principle. It involves two-body invariants constructed from particle 4-positions and 4-velocities of the proper orthochronous inhomogeneous Galilei group. The resulting 4-d equations of motion and multiple-time conserved quantities involve integrals over the world lines of the other n-1 interacting particles. For a particular time-asymmetric retarded (advanced) interaction, we show the vanishing of all integrals over world-lines in the ten standard 4-d multiple-time conserved quantities, thus yielding a Newtonian-like initial value problem. This interaction gives 3-d non-instantaneous, non-particle symmetric, coupled non-linear second-order delay-differential equations of motion that involve only algebraic combinations of non-simultaneous particle positions, velocities, and accelerations. The ten 3-d non-instantaneous, non-particle symmetric conserved quantities involve only algebraic combinations of non-simultaneous particle positions and velocities. A two-body example with a generalized Newtonian gravity is provided. We suggest that this formalism might be useful as an alternative slow-motion mechanics for astrophysical applications.

 

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