118584251
Very deep spectroscopy of the bright Saturn nebula NGC 7009 – II. Analysis of the rich optical recombination spectrum
[Abridged] We present a critical analysis of the rich optical recombination spectrum of NGC 7009, in the context of the bi-abundance nebular model proposed by Liu et al. (2000). The observed relative intensities are compared with the theoretical predictions based on high quality effective recombination coefficients, now available for the recombination line spectrum of a number of heavy element ions. The possibility of plasma diagnostics using the optical recombination lines (ORLs) of heavy element ions is discussed in detail. Plasma diagnostics based on the N II and O II recombination spectra both yield electron temperatures close to 1000 K, which is lower than those derived from the collisionally excited line (CEL) ratios by nearly one order of magnitude. The very low temperatures yielded by the O II and N II ORLs indicate that they originate from very cold regions. The C^{2+}/H^+, N^{2+}/H^+, O^{2+}/H^+ and Ne^{2+}/H^+ ionic abundance ratios derived from ORLs are consistently higher, by about a factor of 5, than the corresponding values derived from CELs. In calculating the ORL ionic abundance ratios, we have used the newly available high quality effective recombination coefficients, and adopted an electron temperature of 1000 K, as given by the ORL diagnostics and as a consequence presumably representing the physical conditions prevailing in the regions where the heavy element ORLs arise. A comparison of the results of plasma diagnostics and abundance determinations for NGC 7009 points to the existence of "cold", metal-rich (i.e. H-deficient) inclusions embedded in the hot, diffuse ionized gas, first postulated by Liu et al. (2000).
119302053
Empirical extinction coefficients for the GALEX, SDSS, 2MASS and WISE passbands
Using the "standard pair" technique of paring stars of almost nil and high extinction but otherwise of almost identical stellar parameters from the SDSS, and combing the SDSS, GALEX, 2MASS and WISE photometry ranging from the far UV to the mid-IR, we have measured dust reddening in the FUV-NUV, NUV-u, u-g, g-r, r-i, i-z, z-J, J-H, H-Ks, Ks-W1 and W1-W2 colors for thousands of Galactic stars. The measurements, together with the E(B-V) values given by Schlegel et al. (1998), allow us to derive the observed, model-free reddening coefficients for those colors. The results are compared with previous measurements and the predictions of a variety of Galactic reddening laws. We find that 1) The dust reddening map of Schlegel et al. (1998) over-estimates E(B-V) by about 14 per cent, consistent with the recent work of Schlafly et al. (2010) and Schlafly & Finkbeiner (2011); 2) All the new reddening coefficients, except those for NUV-u and u-g, prefer the R(V) = 3.1 Fitzpatrick reddening law rather than the R(V) = 3.1 CCM and O'Donnell (O'Donnell 1994) reddening laws. Using the Ks-band extinction coefficient predicted by the R(V) = 3.1 Fitzpatrick law and the observed reddening coefficients, we have deduced new extinction coefficients for the FUV, NUV, u, g, r, i, z, J, H, W1 and W2 passbands. We recommend that the new reddening and extinction coefficients should be used in the future and an update of the Fitzpatrick reddening law in the UV is probably necessary. We stress however that the FUV- and NUV-band coefficients should be used with caution given their relatively large measurement uncertainties. Finally, potential applications of the "standard pair" technique with the LAMOST Galactic surveys are discussed.
118492896
The dark secrets of gaseous nebulae -- highlights from deep spectroscopy
In this contribution, I will briefly review the development of the theory of photoionized gaseous nebulae, highlighting some of the key events. I will then present some recent developments of deep spectroscopy of planetary nebulae (PNe) and H II regions, concentrating on observations of faint heavy element optical recombination lines (ORLs). I will show that there is strong evidence that nebulae contain another previously unknown component of cold (about 1,000 K), high-metallicity plasma, probably in the form of H-deficient inclusions embedded in the warm (about 10,000 K) diffuse nebula of "normal (i.e. near solar) composition". This cold gas emits essentially all the observed fluxes of heavy element ORLs, but is too cool to excite any significant optical or ultraviolet collisionally excited lines (CELs) and thus invisible via the latter. The existence of H-deficient gas in PNe and probably also in H II regions, not predicted by the current stellar evolution theory, provides a natural solution to the long-standing dichotomy between nebular plasma diagnostics and abundance determinations using CELs on the one hand and ORLs on the other, a discrepancy that is ubiquitously observed in Galactic and extragalactic PNe as well as H II regions.
11727133
An algorithm for preferential selection of spectroscopic targets in LEGUE
We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly-varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select certain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate different possibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot survey, which began in October 2011.
118566497
The LEGUE input catalog for dark night observing in the LAMOST pilot survey
We outline the design of the dark nights portion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began observations in 2011 October. In particular, we focus on Milky Way stellar candidates that are targeted for the LEGUE (LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration) survey. We discuss the regions of sky in which spectroscopic candidates were selected, and the motivations for selecting each of these sky areas. Some limitations due to the unique design of the telescope are discussed, including the requirement that a bright (V < 8) star be placed at the center of each plate for wavefront sensing and active optics corrections. The target selection categories and scientific goals motivating them are briefly discussed, followed by a detailed overview of how these selection functions were implemented. We illustrate the difference between the overall input catalog - Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry and the final targets selected for LAMOST observations.
119225915
The LEGUE high latitude bright survey design for the LAMOST pilot survey
We describe the footprint and input catalog for bright nights in the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began in October 2011. Targets are selected from two stripes in the north and south Galactic Cap regions, centered at delta = 29 degrees, with 10 degrees width in declination, covering right ascensions of 135 degrees to 290 degrees and -30 degrees to 30 degrees respectively. We selected spectroscopic targets from a combination of the SDSS and 2MASS point source catalogs. The catalog of stars defining the field centers (as required by the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor at the center of the LAMOST field) consists of all V < 8(m) stars from the Hipparcos catalog. We employ a statistical selection algorithm that assigns priorities to targets based on their positions in multidimensional color/magnitude space. This scheme overemphasizes rare objects and de-emphasizes more populated regions of magnitude and color phase space, while ensuring a smooth, well-understood selection function. A demonstration of plate design is presented based on the Shack-Hartmann star catalog and an input catalog that was generated by our target selection routines.
118798867
A hunt for dual radio active galactic nuclei in the VLASS
This whitepaper describes how the VLASS could be designed in a manner to allow the identification of candidate dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) at separations <7 kpc. Dual AGN represent a clear marker of two supermassive black holes within an ongoing merger. A dual AGN survey will provide a wealth of studies in structure growth and gravitational-wave science. Radio wavelengths are ideal for identifying close pairs, as disturbed stellar and gaseous material can obscure their presence in optical and shorter wavelengths. With sufficiently high resolution and sensitivity, a large-scale radio imaging survey like the VLASS will uncover many of these systems and provide the means to broadly study the radio properties of candidate dual systems revealed at other wavelengths. We determine that the ideal survey for our purposes will be at as high a resolution as possible, with significantly more science return in A array at L-band or higher, or B array at C-band or higher. We describe a range of potential survey parameters within this document. Based on the analysis outlined in this whitepaper, our ideal survey would create a catalogue of $\gtrsim$100 dual AGN in either: 1) a medium-sensitivity (~1 mJy detection threshold), wide-field (few thousand square degree) survey, or 2) a high-sensitivity (~10 uJy threshold) survey of several hundred square degrees.
119278047
Charged charmoniumlike state $Z_c(3900)^±$ via meson photoproduction
In this work, we explore the production of the newly observed charged charmoniumlike state $Z_c(3900)^\pm$ by the photoproduction process $\gamma p\to Z_c(3900)^+n$. Our numerical result indicates that the maximum of the calculated total cross section of $\gamma p\to Z_c(3900)^+n$ can reach up to the order of $0.1 \mu b$. Furthermore, the Dalitz plot analysis is performed by considering the Pomeron exchange as the background contribution. This analysis shows that the $Z_c(3900)^+$ signal can be distinguished from the background easily and the best energy window of searching for $Z_c(3900)^+$ is $\sqrt{s}\simeq7$ GeV, which is important information for further experimental study of $Z_c(3900)^+$ by meson photoproduction.
119296933
Probing the XYZ states through radiative decays
In this work, we have adopted the spin rearrangement scheme in the heavy quark limit and extensively investigated three classes of the radiative decays: $\mathfrak{M}\to (b\bar{b})+\gamma$, $(b\bar{b})\to \mathfrak{M}+\gamma$, $ \mathfrak{M} \to \mathfrak{M}^\prime+\gamma$, corresponding to the electromagnetic transitions between one molecular state and bottomonium, one bottomonium and molecular state, and two molecular states respectively. We also extend the same formalism to study the radiative decays of the molecular states with hidden charm. We have derived some model independent ratios when the initial or final states belong to the same spin flavor multiplet. Future experimental measurement of these ratios will test the molecular picture and explore the underlying structures of the $XYZ$ states.
14339384
Heterotic moduli stabilization with fractional Chern-Simons invariants
We show that fractional flux from Wilson lines can stabilize the moduli of heterotic string compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds. We observe that the Wilson lines used in GUT symmetry breaking naturally induce a fractional flux. When combined with a hidden-sector gaugino condensate, this generates a potential for the complex structure moduli, Kahler moduli, and dilaton. This potential has a supersymmetric AdS minimum at moderately weak coupling and large volume. Notably, the necessary ingredients for this construction are often present in realistic models. We explore the type IIA dual phenomenon, which involves Wilson lines in D6-branes wrapping a three-cycle in a Calabi-Yau threefold, and comment on the nature of the fractional instantons that change the Chern-Simons invariant.
119208539
1-jettiness DIS event shape: NNLL+NLO results
We present results for the complete NNLL+NLO (~ \alpha_s) 1-jettiness (\tau_1) event shape distribution for single jet (J) production in electron-nucleus (N_A) collisions e^- + N_A \to e^- + J + X, in the deep inelastic scattering (DIS) region where the hard scale is set by the jet transverse momentum P_{J_T}. These results cover the entire \tau_1-spectrum including the resummation (\tau_1<<P_{J_T}) and fixed-order (\tau_1~ P_{J_T}) perturbative QCD regions. They incorporate non-perturbative soft radiation effects, the anti-k_T jet algorithm in the fixed-order calculation, and a smooth matching between the resummation and fixed-order perturbative QCD regions. The matching smoothly connects the spectrum in the resummation region, which can be computed without reference to an external jet algorithm, and the fixed-order region where an explicit jet algorithm must be specified. Our code, used for generating the numerical results, is flexible enough to incorporate different jet algorithms for the fixed-order calculation. We also perform a jet shape analysis, defined within the 1-jettiness framework, which allows one to control the amount of radiation included in the definition of the final state jet. This formalism can allow for detailed studies of jet energy-loss mechanisms and nuclear medium effects. The analysis presented here can be used for precision studies of QCD and as a probe of nuclear dynamics using data collected at HERA and in proposed future electron-ion colliders such as the EIC and the LHeC.