Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

L. Yan

Publications and source records attributed to L. Yan.

116 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Extragalactic Source Counts at 24 Microns in the Spitzer First Look Survey

We present the Spitzer MIPS 24 micron source counts in the Extragalactic First Look Survey main, verification and ELAIS-N1 fields. Spitzer's increased sensitivity and efficiency in large areal coverage over previous infrared telescopes, coupled with the enhanced sensitivity of the 24 micron band to sources at intermediate redshift, dramatically improve the quality and statistics of number counts in the mid-infrared. The First Look Survey observations cover areas of, respectively, 4.4, 0.26 and 0.015 sq.deg. and reach 3-sigma depths of 0.11, 0.08 and 0.03 mJy. The extragalactic counts derived for each survey agree remarkably well. The counts can be fitted by a super-Euclidean power law of index alpha=-2.9 from 0.2 to 0.9 mJy, with a flattening of the counts at fluxes fainter than 0.2 mJy. Comparison with infrared galaxy evolution models reveals a peak's displacement in the 24 micron counts. This is probably due to the detection of a new population of galaxies with redshift between 1 and 2, previously unseen in the 15 micron deep counts.

astro-ph↗

Obscured and unobscured active galactic nuclei in the Spitzer Space Telescope First Look Survey

Selection of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the infrared allows the discovery of AGN whose optical emission is extinguished by dust. In this paper, we use the Spitzer Space Telescope First Look Survey (FLS) to assess what fraction of AGN with mid-infrared luminosities comparable to quasars are missed in optical quasar surveys due to dust obscuration. We begin by using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database to identify 54 quasars within the 4 deg^2 extragalactic FLS. These quasars occupy a distinct region in mid-infrared color space by virtue of their strong, red, continua. This has allowed us to define a mid-infrared color criterion for selecting AGN candidates. About 2000 FLS objects have colors consistent with them being AGN, but most are much fainter in the mid-infrared than the SDSS quasars, which typically have 8 micron flux densities, S(8.0), ~1 mJy. We have investigated the properties of the 43 objects with S(8.0) >= 1 mJy satisfying our AGN color selection. This sample should contain both unobscured quasars, and AGN which are absent from the SDSS survey due to extinction in the optical. After removing 16 known quasars, three probable normal quasars, and eight spurious or confused objects from the initial sample of 43, we are left with 16 objects which are likely to be obscured quasars or luminous Seyfert-2 galaxies. This suggests the numbers of obscured and unobscured AGN are similar in samples selected in the mid-infrared at S(8.0)~1 mJy.

astro-ph↗

Improvement of dielectric loss of doped Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films for tunable microwave devices

Al2O3-Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (Al2O3-BST) thin films, with different Al2O3 contents, were deposited on (100) LaAlO3 substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The Al2O3-BST films was demosnstrated to be a suitable systems to fabricate ferroelectric thin films with low dielectric loss and higher figure of merit for tunable microwave devices. Pure BST thin films were also fabricated for comparison purpose. The films' structure and morphology were analyzed by X-ray diffractiopn and scanning electron microscopy, respectively; nad showed that the surface roughness for the Al2O3-BST films increased with the Al2O3 content. Apart from that, the broadening in the intensity peak in XRD result indicating the grain size of the Al2O3-BST films reduced with the increasing of Al2O3 dopant. We measured the dielctric properties of Al2O3-BST films with a home-made non-destructive dual resonator method at frequency ~ 7.7 GHZ. The effect of doped Al2O3 into BST thin films significantly reduced the dielectric constant, dielectric loss and tunability compare to pure BST thin film. Our result shows the figure of merit (K), used to compare the films with varied dielectric properties, increased with the Al2O3 content. Therefore Al2O3-BST films show the potential to be exploited in tunable microwave devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Pulsed Laser Deposition of LaAlO3-Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 Thin Films for Tunable Device Applications

LaAlO3-Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (LAO-BST) thin films, with different LAO contents, were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and (100) LaAlO3 substrate, via a pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Phase composition and microstructure of the LAO-BST thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The LAO-BST thin films were solid solution of LAO nd BST, with lattice constant decreasing with increasing LAO content. The composition of (LAO)x(BST)1-x, estimated from the lattice constant of the thin films derived from the targets of 1/6, 2/6 and 3/6 LAO, was 0.143, 0.278, 0.476, respectively. The grain size of the thin films decreased as a result of the incorporation of LAO into BST. Dielectric properties of the LAO-BST thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si were measured at low frequency (100 kHz), while those on LaAlO3 substrate were characterized at high frequency (~7.9 GHz). The dielectric constants of the film derived from pure BST target and those from the targets with 1/6, 2/6 and 3/6 area ratio of LAO, on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate, were 772, 514, 395 and 282, with a dielectric loss of 0.096, 0.023, 0.024 and 0.025, and a dielectric tunability of 65%, 53%, 43% and 14%, respectively. The dielectric constant of the LAO-BST films on LaAlO3 substrate were 2436, 2148, 2018, 1805, with a maximum dielectric tunability of 11%, 13%, 10% and 8% at a maximum applied voltage of 2.4 kV (~9.2 kV/cm).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

HST/WFPC2 Morphologies of K-selected Extremely Red Galaxies

We selected 115 extremely red objects (EROs) from deep HST WFPC2 archive data combined with ground-based K-band images, with (F814W - Ks) >= 4mag, K-band SNR >= 5, and a median limiting Ks magnitude of 18.7mag, over a corresponding area of 228 sq. arcminutes, for a morphological study of the ERO galaxy population. The survey covered a total of 409 sq. arcminutes over 77 separate WFPC2 fields. This is the first complete sample of bright EROs with high resolution HST morphologies. From a visual morphological classification, we find that 30+/-5% of our EROs have morphologies consistent with a pure bulge or bulge-dominated galaxy (equivalent to E/S0), while disks comprise 64+/-$7% of the sample. Only 6% of the EROs remained unclassifiable. Mergers or strongly interacting systems, which includes sources from both classes, make up 17+/-4% of the full sample. The quantitative MDS profile fitting is consistent with these results. These results highlight the complex nature of optical/near-IR color selected EROs. The dominant component of our sample is comprised of disks, not spheroids or strongly interacting systems like HR10. Using Bruzual & Charlot SED models, we investigated population differences in EROs selected by their (I-K) vs. (R-K) colors and found that I-band based surveys preferentially select systems with prolonged star formation. Real differences in the surface densities of EROs in R-band and I-band based surveys may reflect this color selection effect, complicating the comparisons between and interpretations on the nature of the ERO population.

astro-ph↗

Optical observations of the black hole candidate XTE J1550-564 during the Sep/Oct 1998 outburst

We report here optical observations during the September/October 1998 outburst of the black hole candidate XTE J1550-564. CCD photometry was obtained for the optical counterpart with the 0.9m Dutch telescope at La Silla since the onset of this event. We analysed 211 U, V and i frames, from Sep 10 to Oct 23. Stochastic flaring activity was observed on Sep 11-16, but no evidence for a superhump period, as seen in other soft X-ray transients, was found. An optical flare nearly simultaneous to an X-ray flare that occurred on Sep 21 was observed in the V-band. A reddened optical spectrum showed the typical emission lines corresponding to X-ray transients in outburst. From the interstellar absorption lines, we derive E(B-V) = 0.70 +/- 0.10 and suggest a distance of about 2.5 kpc. In such case, M_{B} = +7 mag. for the progenitor, which is consistent with the spectral type of a low-mass K0-K5 main-sequence companion.

astro-ph↗

Emission-Line Galaxies from the NICMOS/HST GRISM Parallel Survey

We present the first results of a survey of random fields with the slitless G141 ($λ_c = 1.5μ, Δλ=0.8μ$) grism on NICMOS. Approximately 64 square arcminutes have been observed at intermediate and high galactic latitudes. The 3$σ$ limiting line and continuum fluxes in each field vary from $7.5 \times 10^{-17}$ to $1 \times 10^{-17} erg/cm^2/sec$ and from H = 20 to 22, respectively. Our median and area weighted $3σ$ limiting line fluxes within a 4 pixel aperture are nearly identical at $4.1 \times 10^{-17} erg/cm^2/sec$ and are 60% deeper than the deepest narrow-band imaging surveys from the ground. We have identified 33 emission-line objects and derive their observed wavelengths, fluxes and equivalent widths. We argue that the most likely line identification is H$α$ and that the redshift range probed is from 0.75 to 1.9. The 2$σ$ rest-frame equivalent width limits range from 9Åto 130Åwith an average of 40Å. The survey probes an effective co-moving volume of $10^5 h_{50}^{-3} Mpc^3$ for $q_0=0.5$. Our derived co-moving number density of emission line galaxies in the range $0.7 < z < 1.9$ is $3.3\times10^{-4} h_{50}^{3} Mpc^{-3}$, very similar to that of the bright Lyman break objects at $z \sim 3$. The objects with detected emission-lines have a median F160W magnitude of 20.4 (Vega scale) and a median H$α$ luminosity of $2.7 \times 10^{42} erg/sec$. The implied star formation rates range from 1 to 324 M_{\odot}/yr, with an average [NII]6583,6548 corrected rate of 21 M_{\odot}/yr for H_0=50 km/s/Mpc and $q_0=0.5$ (34 M_{\odot}/yr for $q_0=0.1$).

astro-ph↗

Real-Time Spectroscopy of Gravitational Microlensing Events - Probing the Evolution of the Galactic Bulge

We describe a real-time spectroscopic program to observe bright gravitational microlensing events toward the Galactic Bulge. The program is carried out using the NTT at ESO. We present the preliminary analysis of the microlensing events we have observed thus far. We demonstrate that these data provide detailed information on the intrinsic properties of the source stars; radial velocities, atmospheric parameters, distances and abundances. A high priority objective of this campaign is to obtain spectra of highly magnified cool dwarfs and subgiants in order to investigate their chemical composition and by implication, the formation and evolution of the bulge. The data will also allow us to investigate the nature of the sources (and the lenses) which in turn may aid the interpretation of the observed optical depth towards the Bulge.

astro-ph↗