Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “substructuring”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,243 records · Page 69
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

KINEMATICS OF THE STELLAR HALO AND THE MASS DISTRIBUTION OF THE MILKY WAY USING BLUE HORIZONTAL BRANCH STARS

Here, we present a kinematic study of the Galactic halo out to a radius of {approx}60 kpc, using 4664 blue horizontal branch stars selected from the SDSS/SEGUE survey to determine key dynamical properties. Using a maximum likelihood analysis, we determine the velocity dispersion profiles in spherical coordinates ({sigma}{sub r}, {sigma}{sub {theta}}, {sigma}{sub {phi}}) and the anisotropy profile ({beta}). The radial velocity dispersion profile ({sigma}{sub r}) is measured out to a galactocentric radius of r {approx} 60 kpc, but due to the lack of proper-motion information, {sigma}{sub {theta}}, {sigma}{sub {phi}}, and {beta} could only be derived directly out to r {approx} 25 kpc. From a starting value of {beta} Almost-Equal-To 0.5 in the inner parts (9 < r/kpc < 12), the profile falls sharply in the range r Almost-Equal-To 13-18 kpc, with a minimum value of {beta} = -1.2 at r = 17 kpc, rising sharply at larger radius. In the outer parts, in the range 25 < r/kpc < 56, we predict the profile to be roughly constant with a value of {beta} Almost-Equal-To 0.5. The newly discovered kinematic anomalies are shown not to arise from halo substructures. We also studied the anisotropy profile of simulated stellar halos formed purely by accretion and found that they cannot reproduce the sharp dip seen in the data. From the Jeans equation, we compute the stellar rotation curve (v{sub circ}) of the Galaxy out to r {approx} 25 kpc. The mass of the Galaxy within r {approx}< 25 kpc is determined to be 2.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} M{sub Sun }, and with a three-component fit to v{sub circ}(r), we determine the virial mass of the Milky Way dark matter halo to be M{sub vir} = 0.9{sup +0.4}{sub -0.3} Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} M{sub Sun} (R{sub vir} = 249{sup +34}{sub -31} kpc).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF A WEAK SHOCK IN THE GALAXY CLUSTER A2556

Based on a 21.5 ks Chandra observation of A2556, we identify an edge on the surface brightness profile at about 160 h {sup -1} {sub 71} kpc northeast of the cluster center, and it corresponds to a shock front whose Mach number M is calculated to be 1.25{sup +0.02} {sub -0.03}. No prominent substructure, such as sub-cluster, is found in either the optical or X-ray band that can be associated with the edge, suggesting that the conventional supersonic motion mechanism may not work in this case. As an alternative solution, we propose that the nonlinear steepening of an acoustic wave, which is induced by the turbulence of the intracluster medium at the core of the cluster, can be used to explain the origin of the shock front. Although nonlinear steepening weak shock is expected to occur frequently in clusters, why it is rarely observed still remains a question that requires further investigation, including both deeper X-ray observation and extensive theoretical studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE COSMIC HISTORY OF THE SPIN OF DARK MATTER HALOS WITHIN THE LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURE

We use N-body simulations to investigate the evolution of the orientation and magnitude of dark matter halo angular momentum within the large-scale structure since z = 3. We look at the evolution of the alignment of halo spins with filaments and with each other, as well as the spin parameter, which is a measure of the magnitude of angular momentum. It was found that the angular momentum vectors of dark matter halos at high redshift have a weak tendency to be orthogonal to filaments and high-mass halos have a stronger orthogonal alignment than low-mass halos. Since z = 1, the spins of low-mass halos have become weakly aligned parallel to filaments, whereas high-mass halos kept their orthogonal alignment. This recent parallel alignment of low-mass halos casts doubt on tidal torque theory as the sole mechanism for the buildup of angular momentum. We see evidence for bulk flows and the broadening of filaments over time in the alignments of halo spin and velocities. We find a significant alignment of the spin of neighboring dark matter halos only at very small separations, r < 0.3 Mpc h {sup -1}, which is driven by substructure. A correlation of the spin parameter with halo mass is confirmed at high redshift.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE X-RAY-OPTICAL RELATIONS FOR NINE CLUSTERS AT z = 0.7-1.1 FROM THE ORELSE SURVEY

We use Chandra observations of nine optically and X-ray-selected clusters in five different structures at z {approx} 0.7-1.1 from the Observations of Redshift Evolution in Large-Scale Environments survey to study diffuse X-ray emission from galaxy clusters. X-ray gas temperatures and bolometric rest-frame luminosities are measured for each cluster in the sample. We present new redshift measurements, derived from data obtained using the Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Keck 10 m telescope, for two clusters in the RX J0910 supercluster at z {approx} 1.1, from which velocity dispersions are measured. Dispersions for all clusters are combined with X-ray luminosities and gas temperatures to evaluate how the cluster properties compare to low-redshift scaling relations. We also measure the degree of substructure in each cluster by examining the velocity histograms, performing Dressler-Shectman tests, and computing the offsets between the X-ray emission center and optically derived centroids. We find that only two clusters show clear indications of being unrelaxed, based on their scaling relations and other dynamical state diagnostics. Using our sample, we evaluate the redshift evolution of the L{sub x} -T relation and investigate the implications of our results for precision cosmology surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

EXPLORING THE COSMIC REIONIZATION EPOCH IN FREQUENCY SPACE: AN IMPROVED APPROACH TO REMOVE THE FOREGROUND IN 21 cm TOMOGRAPHY

With the intent of correctly restoring the redshifted 21 cm signals emitted by neutral hydrogen during the cosmic reionization processes, we re-examine the separation approaches based on the quadratic polynomial fitting technique in frequency space in order to investigate whether they work satisfactorily with complex foreground by quantitatively evaluating the quality of restored 21 cm signals in terms of sample statistics. We construct the foreground model to characterize both spatial and spectral substructures of the real sky, and use it to simulate the observed radio spectra. By comparing between different separation approaches through statistical analysis of restored 21 cm spectra and corresponding power spectra, as well as their constraints on the mean halo bias b and average ionization fraction x{sub e} of the reionization processes, at z = 8 and the noise level of 60 mK we find that although the complex foreground can be well approximated with quadratic polynomial expansion, a significant part of the Mpc-scale components of the 21 cm signals (75% for {approx}> 6 h {sup -1} Mpc scales and 34% for {approx}> 1 h {sup -1} Mpc scales) is lost because it tends to be misidentified as part of the foreground when the single-narrow-segment separation approach is applied. The best restoration of the 21 cm signals and the tightest determination of b and x{sub e} can be obtained with the three-narrow-segment fitting technique as proposed in this paper. Similar results can be obtained at other redshifts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DEEPER BY THE DOZEN: UNDERSTANDING THE CROSS-FIELD TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTIONS OF CORONAL LOOPS

Spectroscopic analysis of coronal loops has revealed a variety of cross-field temperature distributions. Some loops appear to be isothermal while others require multithermal plasma. The EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode has the spatial resolution and temperature coverage required for differential emission measure (DEM) analysis of coronal loops. Our results also use data from the X-Ray Telescope on Hinode as a high-temperature constraint. Of our 12 loops, two were post-flare loops with broad temperature distributions, two were narrow but not quite isothermal, and the remaining eight were in the mid range. We consider our DEM methods to be a significant advance over previous work, and it is also reassuring to learn that our findings are consistent with results available in the literature. For the quiescent loops analyzed here, 10 MK plasma, a signature of nanoflares, appears to be absent at a level of approximately two orders of magnitude down from the DEM peak. We find some evidence that warmer loops require broader DEMs. The cross-field temperatures obtained here cannot be modeled as single flux tubes. Rather, the observed loop must be composed of several or many unresolved strands. The plasma contained in each of these strands could be cooling at different rates, contributing to the multithermal nature of the observed loop pixels. An important implication of our DEM results involves observations from future instruments. Once solar telescopes can truly resolve X-ray and EUV coronal structures, these images would have to reveal the loop substructure implied by our multithermal results.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

FAINT TIDAL FEATURES IN GALAXIES WITHIN THE CANADA-FRANCE-HAWAII TELESCOPE LEGACY SURVEY WIDE FIELDS

We present an analysis of the detectability of faint tidal features in galaxies from the wide-field component of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey. Our sample consists of 1781 luminous (M{sub r{sup '}}<-19.3 mag) galaxies in the magnitude range 15.5 mag < r' < 17 mag and in the redshift range 0.04 < z < 0.2. Although we have classified tidal features according to their morphology (e.g., streams, shells, and tails), we do not attempt to interpret them in terms of their physical origin (e.g., major versus minor merger debris). Instead, we provide a catalog that is intended to provide raw material for future investigations which will probe the nature of low surface brightness substructure around galaxies. We find that around 12% of the galaxies in our sample show clear tidal features at the highest confidence level. This fraction rises to about 18% if we include systems with convincing, albeit weaker tidal features, and to 26% if we include systems with more marginal features that may or may not be tidal in origin. These proportions are a strong function of rest-frame color and of stellar mass. Linear features, shells, and fans are much more likely to occur in massive galaxies with stellar masses >10{sup 10.5} M {sub Sun }, and red galaxies are twice as likely to show tidal features than are blue galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

X-RAY GROUPS OF GALAXIES IN THE AEGIS DEEP AND WIDE FIELDS

We present the results of a search for extended X-ray sources and their corresponding galaxy groups from 800 ks Chandra coverage of the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). This yields one of the largest X-ray-selected galaxy group catalogs from a blind survey to date. The red-sequence technique and spectroscopic redshifts allow us to identify 100% of reliable sources, leading to a catalog of 52 galaxy groups. These groups span the redshift range z {approx} 0.066-1.544 and virial mass range M{sub 200} {approx} 1.34 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 13}-1.33 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} M{sub Sun }. For the 49 extended sources that lie within DEEP2 and DEEP3 Galaxy Redshift Survey coverage, we identify spectroscopic counterparts and determine velocity dispersions. We select member galaxies by applying different cuts along the line of sight or in projected spatial coordinates. A constant cut along the line of sight can cause a large scatter in scaling relations in low-mass or high-mass systems depending on the size of the cut. A velocity-dispersion-based virial radius can cause a larger overestimation of velocity dispersion in comparison to an X-ray-based virial radius for low-mass systems. There is no significant difference between these two radial cuts for more massive systems. Independent of radial cut, an overestimation of velocity dispersion can be created in the case of the existence of significant substructure and compactness in X-ray emission, which mostly occur in low-mass systems. We also present a comparison between X-ray galaxy groups and optical galaxy groups detected using the Voronoi-Delaunay method for DEEP2 data in this field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A CLUSTER PAIR: A3532 AND A3530

We present a detailed study of a close pair of clusters of galaxies, A3532 and A3530, and their environments. The Chandra X-ray image of A3532 reveals the presence of substructures on scales of {approx}20'' in its core. XMM-Newton maps of the clusters show excess X-ray emission from an overlapping region between them. Spectrally determined projected temperature and entropy maps do not show any signs of cluster scale mergers either in the overlapping region or in any of the clusters. In A3532, however, some signs of the presence of galaxy scale mergers are visible, e.g., anisotropic temperature variations in the projected thermodynamic maps, a wide-angle-tailed (WAT) radio source in the brighter nucleus of its dumbbell brightest cluster galaxy, and a candidate X-ray cavity coincident with the northwestern extension of the WAT source in the low-frequency radio observations. The northwestern extension in A3532 seems either a part of the WAT or an unrelated diffuse source in A3532 or in the background. There is an indication that the cool core in A3532 has been disrupted by the central activity of the galactic nucleus. A reanalysis of the redshift data reinforces the close proximity of the clusters. The excess emission in the overlapping region appears to be a result of tidal interactions as the two clusters approach each other for the first time. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of the excess being due to the chance superposition of their X-ray halos.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

HALO ORBITS IN COSMOLOGICAL DISK GALAXIES: TRACERS OF FORMATION HISTORY

We analyze the orbits of stars and dark matter particles in the halo of a disk galaxy formed in a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation. The halo is oblate within the inner {approx}20 kpc and triaxial beyond this radius. About 43% of orbits are short axis tubes-the rest belong to orbit families that characterize triaxial potentials (boxes, long-axis tubes and chaotic orbits), but their shapes are close to axisymmetric. We find no evidence that the self-consistent distribution function of the nearly oblate inner halo is comprised primarily of axisymmetric short-axis tube orbits. Orbits of all families and both types of particles are highly eccentric, with mean eccentricity {approx}> 0.6. We find that randomly selected samples of halo stars show no substructure in 'integrals of motion' space. However, individual accretion events can clearly be identified in plots of metallicity versus formation time. Dynamically young tidal debris is found primarily on a single type of orbit. However, stars associated with older satellites become chaotically mixed during the formation process (possibly due to scattering by the central bulge and disk, and baryonic processes), and appear on all four types of orbits. We find that the tidal debris in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations experiences significantly more chaotic evolution than in collisionless simulations, making it much harder to identify individual progenitors using phase space coordinates alone. However, by combining information on stellar ages and chemical abundances with the orbital properties of halo stars in the underlying self-consistent potential, the identification of progenitors is likely to be possible.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

JOINT ANALYSIS OF CLUSTER OBSERVATIONS. II. CHANDRA/XMM-NEWTON X-RAY AND WEAK LENSING SCALING RELATIONS FOR A SAMPLE OF 50 RICH CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

We present a study of multiwavelength X-ray and weak lensing scaling relations for a sample of 50 clusters of galaxies. Our analysis combines Chandra and XMM-Newton data using an energy-dependent cross-calibration. After considering a number of scaling relations, we find that gas mass is the most robust estimator of weak lensing mass, yielding 15% {+-} 6% intrinsic scatter at r{sub 500}{sup WL} (the pseudo-pressure Y{sub X} yields a consistent scatter of 22% {+-} 5%). The scatter does not change when measured within a fixed physical radius of 1 Mpc. Clusters with small brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) to X-ray peak offsets constitute a very regular population whose members have the same gas mass fractions and whose even smaller (<10%) deviations from regularity can be ascribed to line of sight geometrical effects alone. Cool-core clusters, while a somewhat different population, also show the same (<10%) scatter in the gas mass-lensing mass relation. There is a good correlation and a hint of bimodality in the plane defined by BCG offset and central entropy (or central cooling time). The pseudo-pressure Y{sub X} does not discriminate between the more relaxed and less relaxed populations, making it perhaps the more even-handed mass proxy for surveys. Overall, hydrostatic masses underestimate weak lensing masses by 10% on the average at r{sub 500}{sup WL}; but cool-core clusters are consistent with no bias, while non-cool-core clusters have a large and constant 15%-20% bias between r{sub 2500}{sup WL} and r{sub 500}{sup WL}, in agreement with N-body simulations incorporating unthermalized gas. For non-cool-core clusters, the bias correlates well with BCG ellipticity. We also examine centroid shift variance and power ratios to quantify substructure; these quantities do not correlate with residuals in the scaling relations. Individual clusters have for the most part forgotten the source of their departures from self-similarity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE STRUCTURE OF THE MERGING RCS 231953+00 SUPERCLUSTER AT z {approx} 0.9

The RCS 2319+00 supercluster is a massive supercluster at z = 0.9 comprising three optically selected, spectroscopically confirmed clusters separated by <3 Mpc on the plane of the sky. This supercluster is one of a few known examples of the progenitors of present-day massive clusters (10{sup 15} M{sub Sun} by z {approx} 0.5). We present an extensive spectroscopic campaign carried out on the supercluster field resulting, in conjunction with previously published data, in 1961 high-confidence galaxy redshifts. We find 302 structure members spanning three distinct redshift walls separated from one another by {approx}65 Mpc ({Delta} z = 0.03). The component clusters have spectroscopic redshifts of 0.901, 0.905, and 0.905. The velocity dispersions are consistent with those predicted from X-ray data, giving estimated cluster masses of {approx}10{sup 14.5}-10{sup 14.9} M{sub Sun }. The Dressler-Shectman test finds evidence of substructure in the supercluster field and a friends-of-friends analysis identified five groups in the supercluster, including a filamentary structure stretching between two cluster cores previously identified in the infrared by Coppin et al. The galaxy colors further show this filamentary structure to be a unique region of activity within the supercluster, comprised mainly of blue galaxies compared to the {approx}43%-77% red-sequence galaxies present in the other groups and cluster cores. Richness estimates from stacked luminosity function fits result in average group mass estimates consistent with {approx}10{sup 13} M{sub Sun} halos. Currently, 22% of our confirmed members reside in {approx}> 10{sup 13} M{sub Sun} groups/clusters destined to merge onto the most massive cluster, in agreement with the massive halo galaxy fractions important in cluster galaxy pre-processing in N-body simulation merger tree studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE SPACE MOTION OF LEO I: THE MASS OF THE MILKY WAY'S DARK MATTER HALO

We combine our Hubble Space Telescope measurement of the proper motion of the Leo I dwarf spheroidal galaxy (presented in a companion paper) with the highest resolution numerical simulations of Galaxy-size dark matter halos in existence to constrain the mass of the Milky Way's dark matter halo (M{sub vir,MW}). Despite Leo I's large Galactocentric space velocity (200 km s{sup -1}) and distance (261 kpc), we show that it is extremely unlikely to be unbound if Galactic satellites are associated with dark matter substructure, as 99.9% of subhalos in the simulations are bound to their host. The observed position and velocity of Leo I strongly disfavor a low-mass Milky Way: if we assume that Leo I is the least bound of the Milky Way's classical satellites, then we find that M{sub vir,MW} > 10{sup 12} M{sub Sun} at 95% confidence for a variety of Bayesian priors on M{sub vir,MW}. In lower mass halos, it is vanishingly rare to find subhalos at 261 kpc moving as fast as Leo I. Should an additional classical satellite be found to be less bound than Leo I, this lower limit on M{sub vir,MW} would increase by 30%. Imposing a mass-weighted {Lambda}CDM prior, we find a median Milky Way virial mass of M{sub vir,MW} = 1.6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} M{sub Sun }, with a 90% confidence interval of [1.0-2.4] Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} M{sub Sun }. We also confirm a strong correlation between subhalo infall time and orbital energy in the simulations and show that proper motions can aid significantly in interpreting the infall times and orbital histories of satellites.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

COMPLEX DIFFUSE RADIO EMISSION IN THE MERGING PLANCK ESZ CLUSTER A3411

We present Very Large Array (VLA) radio and Chandra X-ray observations of the merging galaxy cluster A3411. For the cluster, we find an overall temperature of 6.4{sup +0.6}{sub -1.0} keV and an X-ray luminosity of 2.8 {+-} 0.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1} between 0.5 and 2.0 keV. The Chandra observation reveals the cluster to be undergoing a merger event. The VLA observations show the presence of large-scale diffuse emission in the central region of the cluster, which we classify as a 0.9 Mpc size radio halo. In addition, a complex region of diffuse, polarized emission is found in the southeastern outskirts of the cluster along the projected merger axis of the system. We classify this region of diffuse emission as a radio relic. The total extent of this radio relic is 1.9 Mpc. For the combined emission in the cluster region, we find a radio spectral index of -1.0 {+-} 0.1 between 74 MHz and 1.4 GHz. The morphology of the radio relic is peculiar, as the relic is broken up into five fragments. This suggests that the shock responsible for the relic has been broken up due to interaction with a large-scale galaxy filament connected to the cluster or other substructures in the intracluster medium. Alternatively, the complex morphology reflects the presence of electrons in fossil radio bubbles that are re-accelerated by a shock.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A NOVEL APPROACH TO CONSTRAIN THE MASS RATIO OF MINOR MERGERS IN ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES: APPLICATION TO NGC 4889, THE BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXY IN COMA

Minor mergers are thought to be important for the buildup and structural evolution of massive elliptical galaxies. In this work, we report the discovery of a system of four shell features in NGC 4889, one of the brightest members of the Coma cluster, using optical images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The shells are well aligned with the major axis of the host and are likely to have been formed by the accretion of a small satellite galaxy. We have performed a detailed two-dimensional photometric decomposition of NGC 4889 and of the many overlapping nearby galaxies in its vicinity. This comprehensive model allows us not only to firmly detect the low-surface brightness shells, but, crucially, also to accurately measure their luminosities and colors. The shells are bluer than the underlying stars at the same radius in the main galaxy. We make use of the colors of the shells and the color-magnitude relation of the Coma cluster to infer the luminosity (or mass) of the progenitor galaxy. The shells in NGC 4889 appear to have been produced by the minor merger of a moderate-luminosity (M{sub I} Almost-Equal-To -18.7 mag) disk (S0 or spiral) galaxy with a luminosity (mass) ratio of {approx}90:1 with respect to the primary galaxy. The novel methodology presented in this work can be exploited to decode the fossil record imprinted in the photometric substructure of other nearby early-type galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DISTINCT CHEMICAL REGIONS IN THE ''PRESTELLAR'' INFRARED DARK CLOUD G028.23-00.19

We have observed the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G028.23-00.19 at 3.3 mm using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy. In its center, the IRDC hosts one of the most massive ({approx}1520 M{sub Sun }) quiescent, cold (12 K) clumps known (MM1). The low temperature, high NH{sub 2}D abundance, narrow molecular line widths, and absence of embedded infrared sources (from 3.6 to 70 {mu}m) indicate that the clump is likely prestellar. Strong SiO emission with broad line widths (6-9 km s{sup -1}) and high abundances ((0.8-4) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -9}) is detected in the northern and southern regions of the IRDC, unassociated with MM1. We suggest that SiO is released to the gas phase from the dust grains through shocks produced by outflows from undetected intermediate-mass stars or clusters of low-mass stars deeply embedded in the IRDC. A weaker SiO component with narrow line widths ({approx}2 km s{sup -1}) and low abundances (4.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -11}) is detected in the center-west region, consistent with either a ''subcloud-subcloud'' collision or an unresolved population of a few low-mass stars. We report widespread CH{sub 3}OH emission throughout the whole IRDC and the first detection of extended narrow methanol emission ({approx}2 km s{sup -1}) in a cold, massive prestellar clump (MM1). We suggest that the most likely mechanism releasing methanol into the gas phase in such a cold region is the exothermicity of grain-surface reactions. HN{sup 13}C reveals that the IRDC is actually composed of two distinct substructures ({sup s}ubclouds{sup )} separated in velocity space by {approx}1.4 km s{sup -1}. The narrow SiO component arises where the subclouds overlap. The spatial distribution of C{sub 2}H resembles that of NH{sub 2}D, which suggests that C{sub 2}H also traces cold gas in this IRDC.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A FLUX ROPE NETWORK AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL RELATIVISTIC MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

We investigate magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in relativistic pair plasmas with three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of a kinetic-scale current sheet in a periodic geometry. We include a guide field that introduces an inclination between the reconnecting field lines and explore outside-of-the-current sheet magnetizations that are significantly below those considered by other authors carrying out similar calculations. Thus, our simulations probe the transitional regime in which the magnetic and plasma pressures are of the same order of magnitude. The tearing instability is the dominant mode in the current sheet for all guide field strengths, while the linear kink mode is less important even without the guide field, except in the lower magnetization case. Oblique modes seem to be suppressed entirely. In its nonlinear evolution, the reconnection layer develops a network of interconnected and interacting magnetic flux ropes. As smaller flux ropes merge into larger ones, the reconnection layer evolves toward a three-dimensional, disordered state in which the resulting flux rope segments contain magnetic substructure on plasma skin depth scales. Embedded in the flux ropes, we detect spatially and temporally intermittent sites of dissipation reflected in peaks in the parallel electric field. Magnetic dissipation and particle acceleration persist until the end of the simulations, with simulations with higher magnetization and lower guide field strength exhibiting greater and faster energy conversion and particle energization. At the end of our largest simulation, the particle energy spectrum attains a tail extending to high Lorentz factors that is best modeled with a combination of two additional thermal components. We confirm that the primary energization mechanism is acceleration by the electric field in the X-line region. The highest-energy positrons (electrons) are moderately beamed with median angles {approx}30 Degree-Sign -40 Degree-Sign relative to (the opposite of) the direction of the initial current density, but we speculate that reconnection in more highly magnetized plasmas would give rise to stronger beaming. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for macroscopic reconnection sites, and which of our results may be expected to hold in systems with higher magnetizations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

LoCuSS: THE STEADY DECLINE AND SLOW QUENCHING OF STAR FORMATION IN CLUSTER GALAXIES OVER THE LAST FOUR BILLION YEARS

We present an analysis of the levels and evolution of star formation activity in a representative sample of 30 massive galaxy clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.30 from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey, combining wide-field Spitzer/MIPS 24 μm data with extensive spectroscopy of cluster members. The specific SFRs of massive (M > or approx. 10{sup 10} M{sub ☉}) star-forming cluster galaxies within r{sub 200} are found to be systematically ∼28% lower than their counterparts in the field at fixed stellar mass and redshift, a difference significant at the 8.7σ level. This is the unambiguous signature of star formation in most (and possibly all) massive star-forming galaxies being slowly quenched upon accretion into massive clusters, their star formation rates (SFRs) declining exponentially on quenching timescales in the range 0.7-2.0 Gyr. We measure the mid-infrared Butcher-Oemler effect over the redshift range 0.0-0.4, finding rapid evolution in the fraction (f{sub SF}) of massive (M{sub K} < – 23.1) cluster galaxies within r{sub 200} with SFRs > 3 M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1}, of the form f{sub SF}∝(1 + z){sup 7.6±1.1}. We dissect the origins of the Butcher-Oemler effect, revealing it to be due to the combination of a ∼3 × decline in the mean specific SFRs of star-forming cluster galaxies since z ∼ 0.3 with a ∼1.5 × decrease in number density. Two-thirds of this reduction in the specific SFRs of star-forming cluster galaxies is due to the steady cosmic decline in the specific SFRs among those field galaxies accreted into the clusters. The remaining one-third reflects an accelerated decline in the star formation activity of galaxies within clusters. The slow quenching of star formation in cluster galaxies is consistent with a gradual shut down of star formation in infalling spiral galaxies as they interact with the intracluster medium via ram-pressure stripping or starvation mechanisms. The observed sharp decline in star formation activity among cluster galaxies since z ∼ 0.4 likely reflects the increased susceptibility of low-redshift spiral galaxies to gas removal mechanisms as their gas surface densities decrease with time. We find no evidence for the build-up of cluster S0 bulges via major nuclear starburst episodes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗