Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Hayes, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Hayes, M..

Spatially resolved gas and stellar kinematics in compact starburst galaxies

The kinematics of galaxies provide valuable insights into their physics and assembly history. Kinematics are governed not only by the gravitational potential, but also by merger events and stellar feedback processes such as stellar winds and supernova explosions. We aim to identify what governs the kinematics in a sample of SDSS-selected nearby starburst galaxies, by obtaining spatially resolved measurements of the gas and stellar kinematics. We obtained near-infrared integral-field K-band spectroscopy with VLT/SINFONI for 15 compact starburst galaxies. We derived the integrated as well as spatially resolved stellar and gas kinematics. The stellar kinematics were derived from the CO absorption bands, and Paα and Brγ emission lines were used for the gas kinematics. Based on the integrated spectra, we find that the majority of galaxies have gas and stellar velocity dispersion that are comparable. A spatially resolved comparison shows that the six galaxies that deviate show evidence for a bulge or stellar feedback. Two galaxies are identified as mergers based on their double-peaked emission lines. In our sample, we find a negative correlation between the ratio of the rotational velocity over the velocity dispersion (v rot /σ) and the star formation rate surface density. We propose a scenario where the global kinematics of the galaxies are determined by gravitational instabilities that affect both the stars and gas. This process could be driven by mergers or accretion events. Effects of stellar feedback on the ionised gas are more localised and detected only in the spatially resolved analysis. The mass derived from the velocity dispersion provides a reliable mass even if the galaxy cannot be spatially resolved. The technique used in this paper is applicable to galaxies at low and high redshift with the next generation of infrared-focussed telescopes (JWST and ELT).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Surface Morphology of Undoped and Doped ZnSe Films

Rare-earth doped ions in polar II-VI semiconductors have recently played an important role in the optical properties of materials and devices. In this study, undoped ZnSe and erbium doped ZnSe films were grown by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used together with optical microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy to characterize the films. Doped samples were found to have higher surface roughness and quite different surface morphology compared to that of undoped samples. The grown films generally show a relatively smooth and uniform surface indicating that they are of overall good quality. The impact of plasma etching on ZnSe:Er film examined under AFM is also discussed.

George, T.↗

Surface Passivation of CdZnTe Detector by Hydrogen Peroxide Solution Etching

The spectral resolution of room temperature nuclear radiation detectors such as CdZnTe is usually limited by the presence of conducting surface species that increase the surface leakage current. Studies have shown that the leakage current can be reduced by proper surface preparation. In this study, we try to optimize the performance of CdZnTe detector by etching the detector with hydrogen peroxide solution as function of concentration and etching time. The passivation effect that hydrogen peroxide introduces have been investigated by current-voltage (I-V) measurement on both parallel strips and metal-semiconductor-metal configurations. The improvements on the spectral response of Fe-55 and 241Am due to hydrogen peroxide treatment are presented and discussed.

Hayes, M.↗

The measurement of atmospheric water vapor - Radiometer comparison and spatial variations

Two water vapor radiometer (WVR) experiments were conducted to evaluate whether such instruments are both suitable and necessary to correct for propagation effects that are induced by precipitable water vapor (PWV) on signals from GPS and VLBI. WVRs are suitable for these corrections if they provide wet path delays to better than 0.5 cm. They are needed if spatial variations of PWV result in complicated, direction-dependent propagation effects that are too complex to be parametrized in the GPS or VLBI geodetic solution. The suitability of radiometers was first addressed by comparing six airport WVRs for two weeks. While two WVRs showed an average wet path delay bias of only 0.1 cm, others were biased by 1-3 cm relative to each other and relative to radiosondes. The second experiment addressed the question whether radiometers are needed for the detection of inhomogeneities in the wet delay. Three JPL D-series radiometers were operated at three sites 50 km apart. The WVRs simultaneously sampled PWV at different azimuths and elevations in search of spatial variations of PWV. On one day of this second experiment evidence was found for spatial variations of the wet path delay as high as 20 percent of the total wet path delay.

Rocken, C.↗