arXiv subjects

W. D. Vacca

Publications and source records attributed to W. D. Vacca.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

The Mauna Kea Observatories Near-Infrared Filter Set. II. Specifications for a New JHKL'M' Filter Set for Infrared Astronomy

We present a description of a new 1--5 $μ$m filter set similar to the long-used JHKLM filter set derived from that of Johnson. The new Mauna Kea Observatories Near-Infrared (MKO-NIR) filter set is designed to reduce background noise, improve photometric transformations from observatory to observatory, provide greater accuracy in extrapolating to zero air mass, and reduce the color dependence in the extinction coefficient in photometric reductions. We have also taken into account the requirements of adaptive optics in setting the flatness specification of the filters. A complete technical description is presented to facilitate the production of similar filters in the future.

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arXiv2000

An Early-Time Infrared and Optical Study of the Type Ia Supernova 1998bu in M96

We present first-season infrared (IR) and optical photometry and spectroscopy of the Type Ia Supernova 1998bu in M96. We also report optical polarimetry of this event. SN1998bu is one of the closest type Ia Supernovae of modern times and the distance of its host galaxy is well-determined. We find that SN1998bu is both photometrically and spectroscopically normal. However, the extinction to this event is unusually high, with Av=1.0 +/-0.11. We find that SN1998bu peaked at an intrinsic Mv=-19.37 +/-0.23. Adopting a distance modulus of 30.25 (Tanvir et al. 1999) and using Phillips et al.'s (1999) relations for the Hubble constant we obtain Ho=70.4 +/-4.3 km/s/Mpc. Combination of our IR photometry with those of Jha et al. (1999) provides one of the most complete early-phase IR light curves for a SN Ia published so far. In particular, SN 1998bu is the first normal SN Ia for which good pre-maximum (in the B band) IR coverage has been obtained. It reveals that the J, H and K light curves peak about 5 days earlier than the flux in the B-band curve.

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arXiv2000

Optical and Infrared photometry of the type IIn SN 1998S:Days 11-146

We present contemporaneous optical and infrared photometric observations of the type IIn SN 1998S covering the period between 11 and 146 days after discovery. The infrared data constitute the first ever infrared light curves of a type IIn supernova. We use blackbody and spline fits to the photometry to examine the luminosity evolution. During the first 2--3 months, the luminosity is dominated by the release of shock-deposited energy in the ejecta. After $\sim$100 days the luminosity is powered mostly by the deposition of radioactive decay energy from 0.15$\pm$0.05 M$_{\odot}$ of $^{56}$Ni which was produced in the explosion. We also report the discovery of an astonishingly high infrared (IR) excess, $K-L'=2.5$, that was present at day 130. We interpret this as being due to thermal emission from dust grains in the vicinity of the supernova. We argue that to produce such a high IR luminosity so soon after the explosion, the dust must be {\it pre-existing} and so is located in the circumstellar medium of the progenitor. The dust could be heated either by the UV/optical flash (IR echo) or by the X-rays from the interaction of the ejecta with the circumstellar material

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arXiv2000

Epochs of Maximum Light and Bolometric Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae

We present empirical fits to the UBVRI light curves of type Ia supernovae. These fits are used to objectively evaluate light curve parameters. We find that the relative times of maximum light in the filter passbands are very similar for most objects. Surprisingly the maximum at longer wavelengths is reached earlier than in the B and V light curves. This clearly demonstrates the complicated nature of the supernova emission. Bolometric light curves for a small sample of well-observed SNe Ia are constructed by integration over the optical filters. In most objects a plateau or inflection is observed in the light curve about 20-40 days after bolometric maximum. The strength of this plateau varies considerably among the individual objects in the sample. Furthermore the rise times show a range of several days for the few objects which have observations early enough for such an analysis. On the other hand, the decline rate between 50 and 80 days past maximum is remarkably similar for all objects, with the notable exception of SN 1991bg. The similar late decline rates for the supernovae indicate that the energy release at late times is very uniform; the differences at early times is likely due to the radiation diffusing out of the ejecta. With the exception of SN 1991bg, the range of absolute bolometric luminosities of SNe Ia is found to be at least a factor of 2.5. The nickel masses derived from this estimate range from 0.4 to 1.1 Msun. It seems impossible to explain such a mass range by a single explosion mechanism, especially since the rate of gamma-ray escape at late phases seems to be very uniform.

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arXiv1999

The Neutral Hydrogen Distribution in Merging Galaxies: Differences between Stellar and Gaseous Tidal Morphologies

We have mapped the neutral atomic gas (HI) in the three disk-disk merger systems NGC 520, Arp 220, and Arp 299. These systems differ from the majority of the mergers mapped in HI, in that their stellar and gaseous tidal features do not coincide. In particular, they exhibit large stellar tidal features with little if any accompanying neutral gas and large gas-rich tidal features with little if any accompanying starlight. On smaller scales, there are striking anti-correlations where the gaseous and stellar tidal features appear to cross. We explore several possible causes for these differences, including dust obscuration, ram pressure stripping, and ionization effects. No single explanation can account for all of the observed differences. The fact that each of these systems shows evidence for a starburst driven superwind expanding in the direction of the most striking anti-correlations leads us to suggest that the superwind is primarily responsible for the observed differences, either by sweeping the features clear of gas via ram pressure, or by excavating a clear sightline towards the starburst and allowing UV photons to ionize regions of the tails.

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arXiv1999

Photometric Redshifts and Morphologies of Galaxies in the NICMOS Parallel Fields

We present positions, magnitudes, sizes and morphological classifications for 111 galaxies discovered in the Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS Camera 1 and Camera 2 parallel fields. We combine the magnitudes measured in the JHK-analog filters with those from deep ground-based images in V and/or R to measure photometric redshifts for 71 objects using Bruzual-Charlot population synthesis models. We find that these objects fall in the range z ~ 0.0 - 2.7, with a mean redshift of 0.8 and a mean luminosity of 1.6 L*. The NICMOS images reveal many of the objects to be ordered spirals and ellipticals similar to those in the local universe. However, we find a higher fraction (~ 14%) of morphologically peculiar and/or interacting galaxies than is observed among local galaxies (~ 3% - 4%). This is consistent with the results from other deep HST images including the Hubble Deep Field and Hubble Medium Deep Survey Field that the fraction of peculiar and interacting galaxies increases with redshift. As the NICMOS images of the sample galaxies cover their rest-frame near infrared and optical emission, this result increases confidence that such changes in morphology are genuine, as opposed to an effect produced by viewing galaxies in the rest-frame ultraviolet. We also find that at least 26 of the sample galaxies appear to be members of (non-interacting) pairs or groups, based on their proximity to one another and photometric redshifts. This is consistent with the results of recent ground-based optical surveys covering larger areas, and with the detection of galaxy groups and filaments at redshifts higher than those covered by our sample.

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arXiv1999

CO-bandhead spectroscopy of IC 342: mass and age of the nuclear star cluster

We have used the NASA Infra-Red Telescope Facility (IRTF) to observe the nuclear stellar cluster in the nearby, face-on, giant Scd spiral IC 342. From high resolution (R = 21500) spectra at the 12CO (2-0) bandhead at 2.3 micron we derive a line-of-sight stellar velocity dispersion sigma = (33 +- 3) km/s. To interpret this observation we construct dynamical models based on the Jeans equation for a spherical system. The light distribution of the cluster is modeled using an isophotal analysis of an HST V-band image from the HST Data Archive, combined with new ground-based K-band imaging. Under the assumption of an isotropic velocity distribution, the observed kinematics imply a K-band mass-to-light ratio M/L_K = 0.05, and a cluster mass M ~ 6 times 10^6 Msun. We model the mass-to-light ratio with the `starburst99' stellar population synthesis models of Leitherer and collaborators, and infer a best-fitting cluster age in the range 63-630 Myears. Although this result depends somewhat on a number of uncertainties in the modeling (e.g., the assumed extinction along the line-of-sight towards the nucleus, the IMF of the stellar population model, and the velocity dispersion anisotropy of the cluster), none of these can be plausibly modified to yield a significantly larger age. We discuss the implications of this result on possible scenarios for the frequency of nuclear starbursts and their impact on secular evolution of spiral galaxy nuclei. As a byproduct of our analysis, we infer that IC 342 cannot have any central black hole more massive than 0.5 million solar masses. This is ~ 6 times less massive than the black hole inferred to exist in our Galaxy, consistent with the accumulating evidence that galaxies with less massive bulges harbor less massive black holes.

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arXiv1997

The Apparent Morphology of Peculiar Galaxies at Intermediate to High Redshifts

We use rest frame ultraviolet (UV), B, and V band images of five nearby (z<0.02) interacting and/or starbursting galaxies to simulate deep HST observations of peculiar galaxies at medium to high redshifts. In particular, we simulate Hubble Deep Field (HDF) observations in the F606W and F814W filters of starburst galaxies in the redshift range z~0.5---2.5 by explicitly account for the combined effects of band-shifting and surface brightness dimming. We find that extended morphological features remain readily visible in the long exposures typical of the HDF out to redshifts of ~ 1. For systems above z~1.5, the simulated morphologies look remarkably similar to those of the faint objects found in the HDF and other deep HST fields. Peculiar starburst galaxies therefore appear to be the best local analogs to the highest redshift galaxies in terms of morphology, star formation rates, and spectral energy distributions. Nevertheless, photometric measurements of the z>1.5 images fail to recover the true global properties of the underlying systems. This is because the high-z observations are sensitive to the rest-frame UV emission, which is dominated by the most active star forming regions. The extended distribution of starlight from more evolved populations would not be detected. We conclude that imaging observations in the restframe UV alone cannot reveal whether high-z systems (z>1.5) are proto-galaxies, proto-bulges, or starbursts within a pre-existing population. Definitive statements regarding the global properties and dynamical states of these objects require deep imaging observations at longer wavelengths.

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arXiv1995

Modeling the Lightcurves of Type Ia Supernovae

In order to investigate non-uniformity in the luminosity evolution of Type Ia supernovae, we fit the lightcurves with a multi-parameter empirical model. The model provides a quantitative method of analyzing the lightcurves of Type I supernovae and a convenient and continuous representation of the photometric data. Using photometry of the well-observed event SN 1994D we demonstrate the application of the model and construct a bolometric lightcurve. The rise time of the bolometric light curve can be estimated and compared to current theoretical models. By applying this model to a large number of SN Ia lightcurves in various filters, we can explore the variations among individual events and derive systematic correlations. We find that the initial decline rate after maximum light correlates with the decline rate at late phases. Such correlations can be used to constrain theoretical models.

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