Engineering topics

Bird, Jonathan

Publications and source records attributed to Bird, Jonathan.

22 records · Page 2

DOE OSTI2012

THE LIFETIME AND POWERS OF FR IIs IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

We have identified and studied a sample of 151 FR IIs found in brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in the MaxBCG cluster catalog with data from FIRST and NVSS. We have compared the radio luminosities and projected lengths of these FR IIs to the projected length distribution of a range of mock catalogs generated by an FR II model and estimate the FR II lifetime to be 1.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8} yr. The uncertainty in the lifetime calculation is a factor of two, primarily due to uncertainties in the intracluster medium (ICM) density and the FR II axial ratio. We furthermore measure the jet power distribution of FR IIs in BCGs and find that it is well described by a log-normal distribution with a median power of 1.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 37} W and a coefficient of variation of 2.2. These jet powers are nearly linearly related to the observed luminosities, and this relation is steeper than many other estimates, although it is dependent on the jet model. We investigate correlations between FR II and cluster properties and find that galaxy luminosity is correlated with jet power. This implies that jet power is also correlated with black hole mass, as the stellar luminosity of a BCG should be a good proxy for its spheroid mass and therefore the black hole mass. Jet power, however, is not correlated with cluster richness, nor is FR II lifetime strongly correlated with any cluster properties. We calculate the enthalpy of the lobes to examine the impact of the FR IIs on the ICM and find that heating due to adiabatic expansion is too small to offset radiative cooling by a factor of at least six. In contrast, the jet power is approximately an order of magnitude larger than required to counteract cooling. We conclude that if feedback from FR IIs offsets cooling of the ICM, then heating must be primarily due to another mechanism associated with FR II expansion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

THE APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY GALACTIC EVOLUTION EXPERIMENT: FIRST DETECTION OF HIGH-VELOCITY MILKY WAY BAR STARS

Commissioning observations with the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, have produced radial velocities (RVs) for {approx}4700 K/M-giant stars in the Milky Way (MW) bulge. These high-resolution (R {approx} 22, 500), high-S/N (>100 per resolution element), near-infrared (NIR; 1.51-1.70 {mu}m) spectra provide accurate RVs ({epsilon}{sub V} {approx} 0.2 km s{sup -1}) for the sample of stars in 18 Galactic bulge fields spanning -1 Degree-Sign -32 Degree-Sign . This represents the largest NIR high-resolution spectroscopic sample of giant stars ever assembled in this region of the Galaxy. A cold ({sigma}{sub V} {approx} 30 km s{sup -1}), high-velocity peak (V{sub GSR} Almost-Equal-To +200 km s{sup -1}) is found to comprise a significant fraction ({approx}10%) of stars in many of these fields. These high RVs have not been detected in previous MW surveys and are not expected for a simple, circularly rotating disk. Preliminary distance estimates rule out an origin from the background Sagittarius tidal stream or a new stream in the MW disk. Comparison to various Galactic models suggests that these high RVs are best explained by stars in orbits of the Galactic bar potential, although some observational features remain unexplained.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE DISK SYSTEM OF THE MILKY WAY: [{alpha}/Fe] RATIOS AND KINEMATICS OF THE SEGUE G-DWARF SAMPLE

We employ measurements of the [{alpha}/Fe] ratio derived from low-resolution (R {approx} 2000) spectra of 17,277 G-type dwarfs from the SEGUE survey to separate them into likely thin- and thick-disk subsamples. Both subsamples exhibit strong gradients of orbital rotational velocity with metallicity, of opposite signs, -20 to -30 km s{sup -1} dex{sup -1} for the thin-disk and +40 to +50 km s{sup -1} dex{sup -1} for the thick-disk population. The rotational velocity is uncorrelated with Galactocentric distance for the thin-disk subsample and exhibits a small trend for the thick-disk subsample. The rotational velocity decreases with distance from the plane for both disk components, with similar slopes (-9.0 {+-} 1.0 km s{sup -1} kpc{sup -1}). Thick-disk stars exhibit a strong trend of orbital eccentricity with metallicity (about -0.2 dex{sup -1}), while the eccentricity does not change with metallicity for the thin-disk subsample. The eccentricity is almost independent of Galactocentric radius for the thin-disk population, while a marginal gradient of the eccentricity with radius exists for the thick-disk population. Both subsamples possess similar positive gradients of eccentricity with distance from the Galactic plane. The shapes of the eccentricity distributions for the thin- and thick-disk populations are independent of distance from the plane, and include no significant numbers of stars with eccentricity above 0.6. Among several contemporary models of disk evolution that we consider, radial migration appears to have played an important role in the evolution of the thin-disk population, but possibly less so for the thick disk, relative to the gas-rich merger or disk heating scenarios. We emphasize that more physically realistic models and simulations need to be constructed in order to carry out the detailed quantitative comparisons that our new data enable.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Formation and Evolution of the Disk System of the Milky Way: [alpha/Fe] Ratios and Kinematics of the SEGUE G-Dwarf Sample

We employ measurements of the [{alpha}/Fe] ratio fromlow-resolution (R {approx} 2000) spectra of 17,500 G-type dwarfs included in SDSS Data Release 8, selected using simple and well-understood selection criteria, to separate them into likely thin- and thick-disk subsamples. This classification, based on chemistry, is strongly motivated by the bi-modal distribution of stars in the [{alpha}/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] diagram. The resulting subsamples allow, for the first time, investigations of the kinematic behavior of thin- and thick-disk stars as a function of metallicity and position up to distances of 3 kpc from the Galactic plane. Both subsamples exhibit strong gradients of orbital rotational velocity with metallicity, but with opposite signs (-20 to -30 km s{sup -1} dex{sup -1} for the thin-disk population, and +40 to +50 km s{sup -1} dex{sup -1} for the thick-disk population). We find that the rotational velocity decreases with the distance from the plane for both disk components, with similar slopes (10 km s{sup -1} kpc{sup -1}), and a nearly constant difference in the mean rotational velocity of about 30 km s{sup -1}. The mean rotational velocity is uncorrelated with Galactocentric distance for the thin-disk subsample, and exhibits only a marginally significant correlation for the thick-disk subsample. Thick-disk stars exhibit a very strong trend of orbital eccentricity with metallicity (-0.2 dex{sup -1}), while the eccentricity does not change with metallicity for the thin-disk subsample. The eccentricity is almost independent of Galactocentric radius for the thin-disk stars, while a marginal gradient of the eccentricity with distance exists for the thick-disk population. Both subsamples possess similar trends of increasing eccentricity with distance from the Galactic plane, with a constant difference of about 0.1. The shapes of the overall distributions of orbital eccentricity for the thin- and thick-disk populations are quite different from one another, independent of distance from the plane; neither subsample has significant numbers of stars with eccentricity above 0.6. These observational results provide strong new constraints on models for the formation and evolution of the Milky Way's disk system. For example, the observed dependence of the mean rotational velocity on metallicity for thin-disk stars is inconsistent with predictions from classical local chemical evolution models. We also consider the predictions of several contemporary models of disk evolution, such as radial migration, gas-rich mergers, disk heating, and pure accretion models. We find that radial migration appears to have played an important role in the evolution of the thin-disk population, but possibly less so, relative to the gas-rich merger or disk heating scenarios, for the thick disk. Pure accretion models appear to be ruled out by the observed distribution of eccentricities for thick-disk stars. We emphasize that more physically realistic models, and simulations that probe a greater range of disk formation scenarios, need to be constructed in order to carry out the detailed quantitative comparisons that our new data enable.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗