Luminosity profiles of advanced mergers of galaxies using 2MASS data

A sample of 27 disturbed galaxies that show signs of interaction but have a single nucleus were selected from the Arp and the Arp-Madore catalogues. For these, the Ks band images from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) are analysed to obtain their radial luminosity pro�les and other structural parameters. We �nd that in spite of their similar optical appearance, the sample galaxies vary in their dynamical properties, and fall into two distinct classes. The �rst class consists of galaxies which can be described by a single r1=4 law and the second class consists of galaxies that show an outer exponential disk. A few galaxies that have disturbed pro�les cannot be �t into either of the above classes. However, all the galaxies are similar in all other parameters such as the far-infrared colours, the molecular hydrogen content and the central velocity dispersion. Thus, the dynamical parameters of these sets seem to be determined by the ratio of the initial masses of the colliding galaxies. We propose that the galaxies in the �rst class result from a merger of spiral galaxies of equal masses whereas the second class of galaxies results from a merger of unequal mass galaxies. The few objects that do not fall into either category show a disturbed luminosity pro�le and a wandering centre, which is indicative of these being unrelaxed mergers. Of the 27 galaxies in our sample, 9 show elliptical-like pro�les and 13 show an outer exponential. Interestingly, Arp 224, the second oldest merger remnant of the Toomre sequence shows an exponential disk in the outer parts.

Dark Matter Halo Properties as Deduced from the Observed H I Scale Height Data, in The Low-Frequency Radio Universe

We use the HΙ scale height data along with the HΙ rotation curve as constraints to probe the shape and density profile of the dark matter halos of M31 (Andromeda) and the superthin, low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy UGC 07321. We model the galaxy as a two component system of gravitationally-coupled stars and gas subjected to the force field of a dark matter halo. For M31, we get a flattened halo which is required to match the outer galactic HΙ scale height data, with our best-fit axis ratio (0.4) lying at the most oblate end of the distributions obtained from cosmological simulations. For UGC 07321, our best-fit halo core radius is only slightly larger than the stellar disc scale length, indicating that the halo is important even at small radii in this LSB galaxy. The high value of the gas velocity dispersion required to match the scale height data can explain the low star-formation rate of this galaxy.

Dynamical localization in a chain of hard core bosons under periodic driving

We study the dynamics of a one-dimensional lattice model of hard core bosons which is initially in a superfluid phase with a current being induced by applying a twist at the boundary. Subsequently, the twist is removed, and the system is subjected to periodic delta-function kicks in the staggered on-site potential. We present analytical expressions for the current and work done in the limit of an infinite number of kicks. Using these, we show that the current (work done) exhibits a number of dips (peaks) as a function of the driving frequency and eventually saturates to zero (a finite value) in the limit of large frequency. The vanishing of the current (and the saturation of the work done) can be attributed to a dynamic localization of the hard core bosons occurring as a consequence of the periodic driving. Remarkably, we show that for some specific values of the driving amplitude, the localization occurs for any value of the driving frequency. Moreover, starting from a half-filled lattice of hard core bosons with the particles localized in the central region, we show that the spreading of the particles occurs in a light-cone-like region with a group velocity that vanishes when the system is dynamically localized.

High thermopower and ultra low thermal conductivity in Cd-based Zintl phase compounds

By combining first principles density functional theory and electronic as well as lattice Boltzmann transport calculations, we unravel the excellent thermoelectric properties of Zintl phase compounds ACd(2)Sb(2) (where, A = Ca, Ba, Sr). The calculated electronic structures of these compounds show charge carrier pockets and heavy light bands near the band edge, which lead to a large power factor. Furthermore, we report large Gruneisen parameters and low phonon group velocity indicating essential strong anharmonicity in these compounds, which resulted in low lattice thermal conductivity. The combination of low thermal conductivity and the excellent transport properties give a high ZT value of similar to 1.4-1.9 in CaCd2Sb2 and BaCd2Sb2 at moderate p and n-type doping. Our results indicate that well optimized Cd-based Zintl phase compounds have the potential to match the performance of conventional thermoelectric materials.

8阶群速度控制格式及其应用

构造了8阶精度的群速度控制型差分格式.根据激波捕捉能力及对小尺度分辨能力对格式系数进行了优化.采用该格式对可压缩均匀各向同性湍流进行了直接数值模拟,所计算的最大湍流马赫数达到0.95.相同计算条件下的结果与他人结果吻合较好,说明了格式在捕捉激波的同时对湍流小尺度有较好的分辨能力.

Direct Numerical Simulation of Passive Scalar in Decaying Compressible Turbulence

The passive scalars in the decaying compressible turbulence with the initial Reynolds number (defined by Taylor scale and RMS velocity) Re=72, the initial turbulent Mach numbers (defined by RMS velocity and mean sound speed) Mt=0.2-0.9, and the Schmidt numbers of passive scalar Sc=2-10 are numerically simulated by using a 7th order upwind difference scheme and 8th order group velocity control scheme. The computed results are validated with different numerical methods and different mesh sizes. The Batchelor scaling with k(-1) range is found in scalar spectra. The passive scalar spectra decay faster with the increasing turbulent Mach number. The extended self-similarity (ESS) is found in the passive scalar of compressible turbulence.

六阶精度的群速度直接控制紧致格式及其应用

差分数值解产生非特殊振荡的直接原因是在于非均一的波群的群速度，因此本文利用直接群速度控制的方法重新构造具有六阶精度的紧致型差分格式，以达到改善激波数值解的目的。对所构造的格式的精度及数值解随控制参数变化的行为进行了分析。最后文中给出了一些典型算例，证明了文中所构造的格式具有方法简便，物理含义清楚，精度高，网格基架点小，和捕捉激波能力较强的优点。

Behaviour analysis of numerical solutions and simulation of coherent structures in compressible mixing layers

For understanding the correctness of simulations the behaviour of numerical solutions is analysed, Tn order to improve the accuracy of solutions three methods are presented. The method with GVC (group velocity control) is used to simulate coherent structures in compressible mixing layers. The effect of initial conditions for the mixing layer with convective Mach number 0.8 on coherent structures is discussed. For the given initial conditions two types of coherent structures in the mixing layer are obtained.

Direct Numerical Simulation Of Three-Dimensional Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to study flow characteristics after interaction of a planar shock with a spherical media interface in each side of which the density is different. This interfacial instability is known as the Richtmyer-Meshkov (R-M) instability. The compressible Navier-Stoke equations are discretized with group velocity control (GVC) modified fourth order accurate compact difference scheme. Three-dimensional numerical simulations are performed for R-M instability installed passing a shock through a spherical interface. Based on numerical results the characteristics of 3D R-M instability are analysed. The evaluation for distortion of the interface, the deformation of the incident shock wave and effects of refraction, reflection and diffraction are presented. The effects of the interfacial instability on produced vorticity and mixing is discussed.

Numerical simulation of Richtmyer-Meshkov instability

The compressible Navier-Stokes equations discretized with a fourth order accurate compact finite difference scheme with group velocity control are used to simulate the Richtmyer-Meshkov (R-M) instability problem produced by cylindrical shock-cylindrical material interface with shock Mach number Ms = 1.2 and density ratio 1:20 (interior density/outer density). Effect of shock refraction, reflection, interaction of the reflected shock with the material interface, and effect of initial perturbation modes on R-M instability are investigated numerically. It is noted that the shock refraction is a main physical mechanism of the initial phase changing of the material surface. The multiple interactions of the reflected shock from the origin with the interface and the R-M instability near the material interface are the reason for formation of the spike-bubble structures. Different viscosities lead to different spike-bubble structure characteristics. The vortex pairing phenomenon is found in the initial double mode simulation. The mode interaction is the main factor of small structures production near the interface.

A high order accurate difference scheme for complex flow fields

A high order accurate finite difference method for direct numerical simulation of coherent structure in the mixing layers is presented. The reason for oscillation production in numerical solutions is analyzed, It is caused by a nonuniform group velocity of wavepackets. A method of group velocity control for the improvement of the shock resolution is presented. In numerical simulation the fifth-order accurate upwind compact difference relation is used to approximate the derivatives in the convection terms of the compressible N-S equations, a sixth-order accurate symmetric compact difference relation is used to approximate the viscous terms, and a three-stage R-K method is used to advance in time. In order to improve the shock resolution the scheme is reconstructed with the method of diffusion analogy which is used to control the group velocity of wavepackets. (C) 1997 Academic Press.

Numerical Simulation of R-M Instability

In order to capture shock waves and contact discontinuities in the field and easy to program with parallel computation a new algorithm is developed to solve the N-S equations for simulation of R-M instability problems. The method with group velocity control is used to suppress numerical oscillations, and an adaptive non-uniform mesh is used to get fine resolution. Numerical results for cylindrical shock-cylindrical interface interaction with a shock Mach number Ms=1.2 and Atwood number A=0.818, 0.961, 0.980 (the interior density of the interface/outer density p(1)/p(2) = 10, 50, 100, respectively), and for the planar shock-spherical interface interaction with Ms=1.2 and p(1)/p(2) = 14.28are presented. The effect of Atwood number and multi-mode initial perturbation on the R-M instability are studied. Multi-collisions of the reflected shock with the interface is a main reason of nonlinear development of the interface instability and formation of the spike-bubble structures In simulation with double mode perturbation vortex merging and second instability are found. After second instability the small vortex structures near the interface produced. It is important factor for turbulent mixing.

Determination of source finiteness and depth of large earthquakes

In this thesis, a method to retrieve the source finiteness, depth of faulting, and the mechanisms of large earthquakes from long-period surface waves is developed and applied to several recent large events.

In Chapter 1, source finiteness parameters of eleven large earthquakes were determined from long-period Rayleigh waves recorded at IDA and GDSN stations. The basic data set is the seismic spectra of periods from 150 to 300 sec. Two simple models of source finiteness are studied. The first model is a point source with finite duration. In the determination of the duration or source-process times, we used Furumoto's phase method and a linear inversion method, in which we simultaneously inverted the spectra and determined the source-process time that minimizes the error in the inversion. These two methods yielded consistent results. The second model is the finite fault model. Source finiteness of large shallow earthquakes with rupture on a fault plane with a large aspect ratio was modeled with the source-finiteness function introduced by Ben-Menahem. The spectra were inverted to find the extent and direction of the rupture of the earthquake that minimize the error in the inversion. This method is applied to the 1977 Sumbawa, Indonesia, 1979 Colombia-Ecuador, 1983 Akita-Oki, Japan, 1985 Valparaiso, Chile, and 1985 Michoacan, Mexico earthquakes. The method yielded results consistent with the rupture extent inferred from the aftershock area of these earthquakes.

In Chapter 2, the depths and source mechanisms of nine large shallow earthquakes were determined. We inverted the data set of complex source spectra for a moment tensor (linear) or a double couple (nonlinear). By solving a least-squares problem, we obtained the centroid depth or the extent of the distributed source for each earthquake. The depths and source mechanisms of large shallow earthquakes determined from long-period Rayleigh waves depend on the models of source finiteness, wave propagation, and the excitation. We tested various models of the source finiteness, Q, the group velocity, and the excitation in the determination of earthquake depths.

The depth estimates obtained using the Q model of Dziewonski and Steim (1982) and the excitation functions computed for the average ocean model of Regan and Anderson (1984) are considered most reasonable. Dziewonski and Steim's Q model represents a good global average of Q determined over a period range of the Rayleigh waves used in this study. Since most of the earthquakes studied here occurred in subduction zones Regan and Anderson's average ocean model is considered most appropriate.

Our depth estimates are in general consistent with the Harvard CMT solutions. The centroid depths and their 90 % confidence intervals (numbers in the parentheses) determined by the Student's t test are: Colombia-Ecuador earthquake (12 December 1979), d = 11 km, (9, 24) km; Santa Cruz Is. earthquake (17 July 1980), d = 36 km, (18, 46) km; Samoa earthquake (1 September 1981), d = 15 km, (9, 26) km; Playa Azul, Mexico earthquake (25 October 1981), d = 41 km, (28, 49) km; El Salvador earthquake (19 June 1982), d = 49 km, (41, 55) km; New Ireland earthquake (18 March 1983), d = 75 km, (72, 79) km; Chagos Bank earthquake (30 November 1983), d = 31 km, (16, 41) km; Valparaiso, Chile earthquake (3 March 1985), d = 44 km, (15, 54) km; Michoacan, Mexico earthquake (19 September 1985), d = 24 km, (12, 34) km.

In Chapter 3, the vertical extent of faulting of the 1983 Akita-Oki, and 1977 Sumbawa, Indonesia earthquakes are determined from fundamental and overtone Rayleigh waves. Using fundamental Rayleigh waves, the depths are determined from the moment tensor inversion and fault inversion. The observed overtone Rayleigh waves are compared to the synthetic overtone seismograms to estimate the depth of faulting of these earthquakes. The depths obtained from overtone Rayleigh waves are consistent with the depths determined from fundamental Rayleigh waves for the two earthquakes. Appendix B gives the observed seismograms of fundamental and overtone Rayleigh waves for eleven large earthquakes.

Detailed properties of high redshift galaxies

Galaxies evolve throughout the history of the universe from the first star-forming sources, through gas-rich asymmetric structures with rapid star formation rates, to the massive symmetrical stellar systems observed at the present day. Determining the physical processes which drive galaxy formation and evolution is one of the most important questions in observational astrophysics. This thesis presents four projects aimed at improving our understanding of galaxy evolution from detailed measurements of star forming galaxies at high redshift.

We use resolved spectroscopy of gravitationally lensed z ≃ 2 - 3 star forming galaxies to measure their kinematic and star formation properties. The combination of lensing with adaptive optics yields physical resolution of ≃ 100 pc, sufficient to resolve giant Hii regions. We find that ~ 70 % of galaxies in our sample display ordered rotation with high local velocity dispersion indicating turbulent thick disks. The rotating galaxies are gravitationally unstable and are expected to fragment into giant clumps. The size and dynamical mass of giant Hii regions are in agreement with predictions for such clumps indicating that gravitational instability drives the rapid star formation. The remainder of our sample is comprised of ongoing major mergers. Merging galaxies display similar star formation rate, morphology, and local velocity dispersion as isolated sources, but their velocity fields are more chaotic with no coherent rotation.

We measure resolved metallicity in four lensed galaxies at z = 2.0 − 2.4 from optical emission line diagnostics. Three rotating galaxies display radial gradients with higher metallicity at smaller radii, while the fourth is undergoing a merger and has an inverted gradient with lower metallicity at the center. Strong gradients in the rotating galaxies indicate that they are growing inside-out with star formation fueled by accretion of metal-poor gas at large radii. By comparing measured gradients with an appropriate comparison sample at z = 0, we demonstrate that metallicity gradients in isolated galaxies must flatten at later times. The amount of size growth inferred by the gradients is in rough agreement with direct measurements of massive galaxies. We develop a chemical evolution model to interpret these data and conclude that metallicity gradients are established by a gradient in the outflow mass loading factor, combined with radial inflow of metal-enriched gas.

We present the first rest-frame optical spectroscopic survey of a large sample of low-luminosity galaxies at high redshift (L < L*, 1.5 < z < 3.5). This population dominates the star formation density of the universe at high redshifts, yet such galaxies are normally too faint to be studied spectroscopically. We take advantage of strong gravitational lensing magnification to compile observations for a sample of 29 galaxies using modest integration times with the Keck and Palomar telescopes. Balmer emission lines confirm that the sample has a median SFR ∼ 10 M_sun yr^−1 and extends to lower SFR than has been probed by other surveys at similar redshift. We derive the metallicity, dust extinction, SFR, ionization parameter, and dynamical mass from the spectroscopic data, providing the first accurate characterization of the star-forming environment in low-luminosity galaxies at high redshift. For the first time, we directly test the proposal that the relation between galaxy stellar mass, star formation rate, and gas phase metallicity does not evolve. We find lower gas phase metallicity in the high redshift galaxies than in local sources with equivalent stellar mass and star formation rate, arguing against a time-invariant relation. While our result is preliminary and may be biased by measurement errors, this represents an important first measurement that will be further constrained by ongoing analysis of the full data set and by future observations.

We present a study of composite rest-frame ultraviolet spectra of Lyman break galaxies at z = 4 and discuss implications for the distribution of neutral outflowing gas in the circumgalactic medium. In general we find similar spectroscopic trends to those found at z = 3 by earlier surveys. In particular, absorption lines which trace neutral gas are weaker in less evolved galaxies with lower stellar masses, smaller radii, lower luminosity, less dust, and stronger Lyα emission. Typical galaxies are thus expected to have stronger Lyα emission and weaker low-ionization absorption at earlier times, and we indeed find somewhat weaker low-ionization absorption at higher redshifts. In conjunction with earlier results, we argue that the reduced low-ionization absorption is likely caused by lower covering fraction and/or velocity range of outflowing neutral gas at earlier epochs. This result has important implications for the hypothesis that early galaxies were responsible for cosmic reionization. We additionally show that fine structure emission lines are sensitive to the spatial extent of neutral gas, and demonstrate that neutral gas is concentrated at smaller galactocentric radii in higher redshift galaxies.

The results of this thesis present a coherent picture of galaxy evolution at high redshifts 2 ≲ z ≲ 4. Roughly 1/3 of massive star forming galaxies at this period are undergoing major mergers, while the rest are growing inside-out with star formation occurring in gravitationally unstable thick disks. Star formation, stellar mass, and metallicity are limited by outflows which create a circumgalactic medium of metal-enriched material. We conclude by describing some remaining open questions and prospects for improving our understanding of galaxy evolution with future observations of gravitationally lensed galaxies.

Conical emission by femtosecond pulses with different spectral bandwidths

Conical emission (CE) has been investigated experimentally by laser pulses with different pulse durations and spectral bandwidths. The results show that the overall CE curve will shift as the varying of spectral bandwidth of pump laser pulse. But for pump laser pulses which have same spectral bandwidth but different pulse duration, the CE angles will be same at the spectral region close to the pump wavelength while will be different at the spectral region far away from the pump wavelength. We have also fitted the measured CE angles with X-wave model. The calculated curves and the measured CE curves match reasonably well. The best fits indicate that the group velocity of the filament pulse may be greatly controlled by controlling the spectral bandwidth of pump laser pulse. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.