Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Felten, J. E..
Observations of Nova Persei 1901, a light echo from SN 1987A, are reviewed. The large broken outer ring and bright inner ring of the nova are examined. The outer ring has been shown to increase its radius at a speed of about 11 arcmin/year. Since the distance to Nova Persei 1901 is about 400-600 pc, the apparent projected velocity of expansion is about 4-5 c, making the nova the first observed superluminal cosmic source.
Data on the luminosity function (LF) of galaxies are reviewed and compared, and the result of Kirshner et al. (1983) giving a 'standard LF' is chosen as a best guess. Departures from the 'standard LF' for specific galaxy types and environments (clusters, groups, field) are discussed briefly. A luminosity density of about 1.4 x 10 to the -2nd h 'galaxies' per cubic megaparsec is obtained. The mean M/L ratio needed to give critical cosmological density (Omega sub 0 = 1) is then 920 h in solar units on the face-on magnitude system. Comparison with measured M/L ratios for galaxies and clusters, and with constraints imposed by inflation and nucleosynthesis, poses two problems of 'invisible mass'.
Milgrom's (1983) recent revision of Newtonian dynamics was introduced to eliminate the inference that large quantities of invisible mass exist in galaxies. It is shown by simple examples that a Milgrom acceleration, in the form presented so far, implies other far-reaching changes in dynamics. The momentum of an isolated system is not conserved, and the usual theorem for center-of-mass motion of any system does not hold. Naive applications require extreme caution. The model fails to provide a complete description of particle dynamics and should be thought of as a revision of Kepler's laws rather than Newton's. The Milgrom acceleration also implies fundamental changes in cosmology. A quasi-Newtonian calculation adapted from Newtonian cosmology suggests that a 'Milgrom universe' will recollapse even if the classical closure parameter Omega is much less than unity. The solution, however, fails to satisfy the cosmological principle. Reasons for the breakdown of this calculation are examined. A new theory of gravitation will be needed before the behavior of a Milgrom universe can be predicted.
Milgrom's recent revision of Newtonian dynamics was introduced to eliminate the inference that large quantities of invisible mass exist in galaxies. Simple examples show that a Milgrom acceleration, in the form presented so far, imply other far-reaching changes in dynamics. The momentum of an isolated system is not conserved, and the usual theorem for center-of-mass motion of any system does not hold. Naive applications require extreme caution. The model fails to provide a complete description of particle dynamics and should be thought of as a revision of Kepler's laws rather than Newton's. The Milgrom acceleration also implies fundamental changes in cosmology. A quasi-Newtonian calculation adapted from Newtonian cosmology suggests that a Milgrom universe will recollapse even if the classical closure parameter theta is less than 1. The solution, however, fails to satisfy the cosmological principle. Reasons for the breakdown of this calculation are examined. A theory of gravitation needed before the behavior of a Milgrom universe can be predicted.
Statistical considerations support the positional identification of the giant March 5, 1979, gamma-ray burst ('M5') with the supernova remnant ('SNR') N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud ('LMC'). Several theoretical objections to the identification are examined and found to be invalid. Constraints on models are discussed briefly.
Nine determinations of the luminosity function (LF) for field galaxies are adjusted, analyzed, and compared. Adjustments are made for differences in definitions as well as in assumptions regarding magnitude systems, the Hubble constant, and galactic absorption. Eight of the nine adjusted determinations are found to be in fairly good agreement, and the discrepancy in the ninth is attributed to incompleteness effects. A large-scale normalization of the LF is performed using the method and some integral counts of Gott and Turner (1976); the large-scale mean LF of (mostly field) galaxies is found to be about 2.3 times less than a previously derived 'local' LF. The large-scale luminosity density in space arising from sources within the B(0) isophotes of galaxies is evaluated, and a value of 86 million (H/50) suns per cu Mpc is obtained for a galactic absorption coefficient of 0.25 magnitude. It is noted that the true large-scale luminosity density is probably within a factor of 1.6 of the reported value.
Nine determinations of the luminosity function (LF) for field galaxies are analyzed and compared. Corrections for differences in Hubble constants, magnitude systems, galactic absorption functions, and definitions of the LF are necessary prior to comparison. Errors in previous comparisons are pointed out. After these corrections, eight of the nine determinations are in fairly good agreement. The discrepancy in the ninth appears to be mainly an incompleteness effect. The LF data suggest that there is little if any distinction between field galaxies and those in small groups.
Schmidt's (1968) estimator, sometimes used to calculate the luminosity function from a complete sample of observed objects, can be generalized naively to the case in which the maximum distance for detection is a function of the direction. Though unbiased, this estimator then does not have minimum variance and, in some cases, is inferior to the classical estimator. The classical estimator, however, is biased when the magnitude boxes are not infinitesimal. A generalization of Schmidt's estimator is proposed which is unbiased and usually superior to both Schmidt's and the classical estimator. Variance formulas and numerical examples are given. The results can be used in combining several catalogs.
Recent Monte Carlo computations, based on a speculative extrapolation of the electron spectrum, suggested that repeated scatterings contribute most of the extragalactic X-ray background around 3 MeV in a Compton model. We have redone this calculation analytically with a similar electron spectrum, but with very different results. The double-scatter contribution near 3 MeV does not exceed 1 percent and cannot improve the fit to data. The effect is largest near 1 keV but will probably not be observable.
Cosmic rays and cosmic X rays, considering galactic and extragalactic sources, diffuse background, detection devices, etc
M87 jet, using theoretical model and observed emission lines for heating, cooling, ionization, cosmic ray proton regeneration of optical electrons, X radiation, etc
X ray source from Coma cluster of galaxies, interpreting observed flux on basis of missing mass suggested by Virial theorem
Electromagnetic spectrum and physical properties of radio galaxy M87 jet, discussing model with secondary electron production from proton flux, time scales, etc
Conflict between cosmic X ray and gamma ray background and black body interpretation of microwave background
Diffuse omnidirectional inverse Compton and synchrotron X and gamma radiation from cosmic distributions of fast electrons and thermal photons
X-rays from Coma cluster of galaxies, investigating origin by applying virial theorem
Interstellar X-ray absorption edges due to K- shell photoionization of oxygen and neon, using element abundances and atomic photoelectric cross section data
Radio electron density and magnetic field in galactic halo from primary cosmic ray and radio brightness measurements