arXiv subjects

A. Cooper

Publications and source records attributed to A. Cooper.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Characterisation of ferroelectric domains in magnetite (Fe3O4)

Magnetite has long been investigated across many disciplines due to the interplay between its ferroic order parameters, namely its ferrimagnetism, ferroelasticity and ferroelectricty. Despite this, the experimental difficulty in measuring low temperature real space images of the ferroelectric domains has meant that the local behaviour of ferroelectric domains emergent below the 38 K phase transition have yet to be realised. This work presents real space images of the ferroelectric domains, and uses piezo force microscopy to, as a function of temperature, probe the onset of piezoelectricty and ferroelectricity across the 38 K transition

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

4MOST: Project overview and information for the First Call for Proposals

We introduce the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST), a new high-multiplex, wide-field spectroscopic survey facility under development for the four-metre-class Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at Paranal. Its key specifications are: a large field of view (FoV) of 4.2 square degrees and a high multiplex capability, with 1624 fibres feeding two low-resolution spectrographs ($R = \lambda/\Delta\lambda \sim 6500$), and 812 fibres transferring light to the high-resolution spectrograph ($R \sim 20\,000$). After a description of the instrument and its expected performance, a short overview is given of its operational scheme and planned 4MOST Consortium science; these aspects are covered in more detail in other articles in this edition of The Messenger. Finally, the processes, schedules, and policies concerning the selection of ESO Community Surveys are presented, commencing with a singular opportunity to submit Letters of Intent for Public Surveys during the first five years of 4MOST operations.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

VEGAS: A VST Early-type GAlaxy Survey. II. Photometric study of giant ellipticals and their stellar halos

Observations of diffuse starlight in the outskirts of galaxies are thought to be a fundamental source of constraints on the cosmological context of galaxy assembly in the $\Lambda$CDM model. Such observations are not trivial because of the extreme faintness of such regions. In this work, we investigate the photometric properties of six massive early type galaxies (ETGs) in the VEGAS sample (NGC 1399, NGC 3923, NGC 4365, NGC 4472, NGC 5044, and NGC 5846) out to extremely low surface brightness levels, with the goal of characterizing the global structure of their light profiles for comparison to state-of-the-art galaxy formation models. We carry out deep and detailed photometric mapping of our ETG sample taking advantage of deep imaging with VST/OmegaCAM in the g and i bands. By fitting the light profiles, and comparing the results to simulations of elliptical galaxy assembly, we identify signatures of a transition between "relaxed" and "unrelaxed" accreted components and can constrain the balance between in situ and accreted stars. The very good agreement of our results with predictions from theoretical simulations demonstrates that the full VEGAS sample of $\sim 100$ ETGs will allow us to use the distribution of diffuse light as a robust statistical probe of the hierarchical assembly of massive galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

ASTRA: ASTrometry and phase-Referencing Astronomy on the Keck interferometer

ASTRA (ASTrometric and phase-Referencing Astronomy) is an upgrade to the existing Keck Interferometer which aims at providing new self-phase referencing (high spectral resolution observation of YSOs), dual-field phase referencing (sensitive AGN observations), and astrometric (known exoplanetary systems characterization and galactic center general relativity in strong field regime) capabilities. With the first high spectral resolution mode now offered to the community, this contribution focuses on the progress of the dual field and astrometric modes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2010

Probing local density inhomogeneities in the circumstellar disk of a Be star using the new spectro-astrometry mode at the Keck interferometer

We report on the successful science verification phase of a new observing mode at the Keck interferometer, which provides a line-spread function width and sampling of 150km/s at K'-band, at a current limiting magnitude of K'~7mag with spatial resolution of lam/2B ~2.7mas and a measured differential phase stability of unprecedented precision (3mrad at K=5mag, which represents 3uas on sky or a centroiding precision of 10^-3). The scientific potential of this mode is demonstrated by the presented observations of the circumstellar disk of the evolved Be-star 48Lib. In addition to indirect methods such as multi-wavelength spectroscopy and polaritmetry, the here described spectro-interferometric astrometry provides a new tool to directly constrain the radial density structure in the disk. We resolve for the first time several Pfund emission lines, in addition to BrGam, in a single interferometric spectrum, and with adequate spatial and spectral resolution and precision to analyze the radial disk structure in 48Lib. The data suggest that the continuum and Pf-emission originates in significantly more compact regions, inside of the BrGam emission zone. Thus, spectro-interferometric astrometry opens the opportunity to directly connect the different observed line profiles of BrGam and Pfund in the total and correlated flux to different disk radii. The gravitational potential of a rotationally flattened Be star is expected to induce a one-armed density perturbation in the circumstellar disk. Such a slowly rotating disk oscillation has been used to explain the well known periodic V/R spectral profile variability in these stars, as well as the observed V/R cycle phase shifts between different disk emission lines. The differential line properties and linear constraints set by our data lend support to the existence of a radius-dependent disk density perturbation.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

The D0 Silicon Microstrip Tracker

This paper describes the mechanical design, the readout chain, the production, testing and the installation of the Silicon Microstrip Tracker of the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. In addition, description of the performance of the detector during the experiment data collection between 2001 and 2010 is provided.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2010

Substructure Lensing: Effects of Galaxies, Globular Clusters & Satellite Streams

Lensing flux-ratio anomalies have been frequently observed and taken as evidence for the presence of abundant dark matter substructures in lensing galaxies, as predicted by the cold dark matter (CDM) model of cosmogony. In previous work, we examined the cusp-caustic relations of the multiple images of background quasars lensed by galaxy-scale dark matter haloes, using a suite of high-resolution N-body simulations (the Aquarius simulations). In this work, we extend our previous calculations to incorporate both the baryonic and diffuse dark components in lensing haloes. We include in each lensing simulation: (1) a satellite galaxy population derived from a semi-analytic model applied to the Aquarius haloes, (2) an empirical Milky-Way globular cluster population and (3) satellite streams (diffuse dark component) identified in the simulations. Accounting for these extra components, we confirm our earlier conclusion that the abundance of intrinsic substructures (dark or bright, bound or diffuse) is not sufficient to explain the observed frequency of cusp-caustic violations in the CLASS survey. We conclude that the observed effect could be the result of the small number statistics of CLASS, or intergalactic haloes along the line of sight acting as additional sources of lensing flux anomalies. Another possibility is that this discrepancy signals a failure of the CDM model.

astro-ph.CO↗