16762059
The IRAC Shallow Survey
The IRAC shallow survey covers 8.5 square degrees in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey in Bootes with 3 or more 30 second exposures per position. An overview of the survey design, reduction, calibration, star-galaxy separation, and initial results is provided. The survey includes approximately 370,000, 280,000, 38,000, and 34,000 sources brighter than the 5 sigma limits of 6.4, 8.8, 51, and 50 microJy at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 microns respectively, including some with unusual spectral energy distributions.
119922132
Transport beam line for ultraslow monoenergetic antiprotons
A beam line for the transportation of slow antiprotons from a multiring electrode trap to an experimental chamber is described. The beam line is equipped with a three-stage differential pumping system in order to maintain a pressure lower than 1×10−12 Torr in the trap region while simultaneously having a pressure of around 1×10−6 Torr in the chamber. Tests have shown that 105 positive ions per trapping cycle were successfully extracted at 250 eV from the trap positioned in a superconducting solenoid. The ions were then further transported through three small apertures to the target area located 3.5 m downstream of the trap. Results from the first delivery of a 250 eV antiproton beam are described.
119397253
Evidence for superdeformation in Dy-149,Dy-150: Onset of the collapse of the Z=66 deformed shell closure?
An experiment has been performed to search for superdeformed (SD) states in Dy-149,Dy-150. While no evidence for discrete superdeformed states has been observed, a superdeformed ridge with a separation of Delta E-gamma=52 keV with a total intensity of 1.8+/-0.5% that of Dy-150 has been observed. An upper limit of 0.8% (0.9%), of the intensity of Dy-150 (Dy-149), is placed for observation of the most intense discrete line states. The relative weakness in the SD population is suggested to be due to a rapid decrease in the depth of the superdeformed minimum, as one moves away from doubly magic Dy-152.
119266949
MULTIBAND STUDIES OF THE OPTICAL PERIODIC MODULATION IN THE X-RAY BINARY SAX J1808.4–3658 DURING ITS QUIESCENCE AND 2008 OUTBURST
We report on time-resolved optical imaging of the X-ray binary SAX J1808.4-3658 during its quiescent state and 2008 outburst. The binary, containing an accretion-powered millisecond pulsar, has a large sinusoidal-like modulation in its quiescent optical emission. We employ a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique to fit our multi-band light curve data in quiescence with an irradiated star model, and derive a tight constraint of 50(-5)(+6) deg on the inclination angle i of the binary system. The pulsar and its companion are constrained to have masses of 0.97(-0.22)(+0.31) M-circle dot and 0.04(-0.01)(+0.02) M-circle dot (both 1 sigma ranges), respectively. The dependence of these results on the measurements of the companion's projected radial velocity is discussed. We also find that the accretion disk had nearly constant optical fluxes over a similar to 500 day period in the quiescent state our data covered, but started brightening 1.5 months before the 2008 outburst. Variations in modulation during the outburst were detected in our four observations made 7-12 days after the start of the outburst, and a sinusoidal-like modulation with 0.2 mag amplitude changed to have a smaller amplitude of 0.1 mag. The modulation variations are discussed. We estimate the albedo of the companion during its quiescence and the outburst, which was approximately 0 and 0.8 (for isotropic emission), respectively. This large difference probably provides additional evidence that the neutron star in the binary turns on as a radio pulsar in quiescence.
119232297
Subaru Constraint on Circular Polarization in I-Band Emission from the Magnetar 4U 0142+61
We present the first imaging circular polarimetry of the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 4U 0142+61 at optical wavelengths. The AXP is the only magnetar that has been well studied at optical and infrared wavelengths, and is known to have a complicated broad-band spectrum over the wavelength range. The optical polarimetric observation was carried out with the 8.2-m Subaru telescope at the I-band. From the observation, the degree of circular polarization, V, was measured to be V = 1.1 +/- 2.0%, or vertical bar V vertical bar <= 4.3% (90% confidence). The relatively large uncertainty was due to the faintness of the source (I = 23.4-24.0). Considering the currently suggested models for optical emission from magnetars, our result is not sufficiently conclusive to discriminate the models. We suggest that because linear polarization is expected to be strong in the models, linear polarimetry of this magnetar should be conducted.
14918025
Water abundance in molecular cloud cores
We present Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) observations of the 110 → 101 transition of ortho-H2O at 557 GHz toward 12 molecular cloud cores. The water emission was detected in NGC 7538, ρ Oph A, NGC 2024, CRL 2591, W3, W3OH, Mon R2, and W33 and was not detected in TMC-1, L134N, and B335. We also present a small map of the H2O emission in S140. Observations of the H218O line were obtained toward S140 and NGC 7538, but no emission was detected. The abundance of ortho-H2O relative to H2 in the giant molecular cloud cores was found to vary between 6 × 10-10 and 1 × 10-8. Five of the cloud cores in our sample have previous H2O detections; however, in all cases the emission is thought to arise from hot cores with small angular extents. The H2O abundance estimated for the hot core gas is at least 100 times larger than in the gas probed by SWAS. The most stringent upper limit on the ortho-H2O abundance in dark clouds is provided in TMC-1, where the 3 σ upper limit on the ortho-H2O fractional abundance is 7 × 10-8.
119215939
Statistical dynamics of a non-Abelian anyonic quantum walk
We study the single particle dynamics of a mobile non-Abelian anyon hopping around many pinned anyons on a surface. The dynamics is modelled by a discrete time quantum walk and the spatial degree of freedom of the mobile anyon becomes entangled with the fusion degrees of freedom of the collective system. Each quantum trajectory makes a closed braid on the world lines of the particles establishing a direct connection between statistical dynamics and quantum link invariants. We find that asymptotically a mobile Ising anyon becomes so entangled with its environment that its statistical dynamics reduces to a classical random walk with linear dispersion in contrast to particles with Abelian statistics which have quadratic dispersion.
119180657
THE STRUCTURE OF ACTIVE MERGER REMNANT NGC 6240 FROM IRAC OBSERVATIONS
NGC 6240 is a rare object in the local universe: an active merger remnant viewed at the point of merging where two active galactic nuclei are visible. We present IRAC data of this object, providing high-sensitivity maps of the stellar and PAH distribution in this complicated system. We use photometry to analyze the variation in these distributions with radius and provide an SED in the four IRAC bands: 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 μm. We fit the radial profiles of the 3.6 μm band to r1/4 and exponential profiles to evaluate the structure of the remnant. Finally, we compare the IRAC images with multiwavelength data and examine how outflows in the X-ray, Hα, and CO correlate with 8 μm emission. The results support the general picture of NGC 6240 as a system experiencing a major merger and transitioning from a disk galaxy to a spheroid. The sensitivity of IRAC to low surface brightness mid-infrared features provides detailed information on the extended distributions of stars and dust in this rare system.
119229485
Classification study of WISE infrared sources: identification of candidate asymptotic giant branch stars
In the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) all-sky source catalog there are 76 million mid-infrared point sources that were detected in the first three WISE bands and have association with only one 2MASS near-IR source within 3′′. We search for their identifications in the SIMBAD database and find 3.2 million identified sources. Based on these known sources, we establish three criteria for selecting candidate asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Galaxy, which are three defined zones in a color-color diagram, Galactic latitude |b| ≤ 20°, and “corrected” WISE third-band W3 c ≤11. Applying these criteria to the WISE+2MASS sources, 1.37 million of them are selected. We analyze the WISE third-band W3 distribution of the selected sources, and further establish that W3≤8 is required in order to exclude a large fraction of normal stars from them. We therefore find 0.47 million candidate AGB stars in our Galaxy from the WISE source catalog. Using W3 c , we estimate their distances and derive their Galactic distributions. The candidates are generally distributed around the Galactic center uniformly, with 68% (1-σ) of them within approximately 8 kpc. We discuss the idea that optical spectroscopy can be used to verify the C-rich AGB stars in our candidates, and thus a fraction of them (~10%) will be good targets for the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) survey that is planned to start in fall of 2012.
120963755
Optical properties of wavelength shifting panels
This paper describes the determination of the optical properties of the Bicron wavelength shifting acrylic plastic (BC-480) that absorbs ultraviolet radiation and then reemit it in the visible part of the spectrum. The refractive index and the attenuation coefficient as a function of wavelength were determined from transmission and reflection data. The reemitted visible spectrum was accurately measured using an optical multichannel analyzer and the quantum efficiency of the photoluminescence (the ratio between the number of emitted photons to the absorbed photons) was determined at different wavelengths in the ultraviolet. Finally, these results are applied to determine the effectiveness of this wavelength shifting panel as a means of detecting the ultraviolet component of the Cherenkov spectrum produced by a relativistic particle in water.
119162570
Revealing Majorana fermion states in a superfluid of cold atoms subject to a harmonic potential
We here explore Majorana fermion states in an $s$-wave superfluid of cold atoms in the presence of spin-orbital coupling and an additional harmonic potential. The superfluid boundary is induced by a harmonic trap. Two locally separated Majorana fermion states are revealed numerically based on the self-consistent Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. The local density of states is calculated, through which the signatures of Majorana excitations may be indicated experimentally.