| 1. |
- Aghanim, N., et al.
(författare)
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Planck 2018 results XII. Galactic astrophysics using polarized dust emission
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 641
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observations of the submillimetre emission from Galactic dust, in both total intensity I and polarization, have received tremendous interest thanks to the Planck full-sky maps. In this paper we make use of such full-sky maps of dust polarized emission produced from the third public release of Planck data. As the basis for expanding on astrophysical studies of the polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust, we present full-sky maps of the dust polarization fraction p, polarization angle psi, and dispersion function of polarization angles ?. The joint distribution (one-point statistics) of p and N-H confirms that the mean and maximum polarization fractions decrease with increasing N-H. The uncertainty on the maximum observed polarization fraction, (max) = 22.0(-1.4)(+3.5) p max = 22 . 0 - 1.4 + 3.5 % at 353 GHz and 80 ' resolution, is dominated by the uncertainty on the Galactic emission zero level in total intensity, in particular towards diffuse lines of sight at high Galactic latitudes. Furthermore, the inverse behaviour between p and ? found earlier is seen to be present at high latitudes. This follows the ?proportional to p(-1) relationship expected from models of the polarized sky (including numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamical turbulence) that include effects from only the topology of the turbulent magnetic field, but otherwise have uniform alignment and dust properties. Thus, the statistical properties of p, psi, and ? for the most part reflect the structure of the Galactic magnetic field. Nevertheless, we search for potential signatures of varying grain alignment and dust properties. First, we analyse the product map ?xp, looking for residual trends. While the polarization fraction p decreases by a factor of 3-4 between N-H=10(20) cm(-2) and N-H=2x10(22) cm(-2), out of the Galactic plane, this product ?xp only decreases by about 25%. Because ? is independent of the grain alignment efficiency, this demonstrates that the systematic decrease in p with N-H is determined mostly by the magnetic-field structure and not by a drop in grain alignment. This systematic trend is observed both in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) and in molecular clouds of the Gould Belt. Second, we look for a dependence of polarization properties on the dust temperature, as we would expect from the radiative alignment torque (RAT) theory. We find no systematic trend of ?xp with the dust temperature T-d, whether in the diffuse ISM or in the molecular clouds of the Gould Belt. In the diffuse ISM, lines of sight with high polarization fraction p and low polarization angle dispersion ? tend, on the contrary, to have colder dust than lines of sight with low p and high ?. We also compare the Planck thermal dust polarization with starlight polarization data in the visible at high Galactic latitudes. The agreement in polarization angles is remarkable, and is consistent with what we expect from the noise and the observed dispersion of polarization angles in the visible on the scale of the Planck beam. The two polarization emission-to-extinction ratios, R-P/p and R-S/V, which primarily characterize dust optical properties, have only a weak dependence on the column density, and converge towards the values previously determined for translucent lines of sight. We also determine an upper limit for the polarization fraction in extinction, p(V)/E(B-V), of 13% at high Galactic latitude, compatible with the polarization fraction p approximate to 20% observed at 353 GHz. Taken together, these results provide strong constraints for models of Galactic dust in diffuse gas.
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| 2. |
- Schweinsberg, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Same data, different conclusions : Radical dispersion in empirical results when independent analysts operationalize and test the same hypothesis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. - : Elsevier BV. - 0749-5978 .- 1095-9920. ; 165, s. 228-249
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this crowdsourced initiative, independent analysts used the same dataset to test two hypotheses regarding the effects of scientists' gender and professional status on verbosity during group meetings. Not only the analytic approach but also the operationalizations of key variables were left unconstrained and up to individual analysts. For instance, analysts could choose to operationalize status as job title, institutional ranking, citation counts, or some combination. To maximize transparency regarding the process by which analytic choices are made, the analysts used a platform we developed called DataExplained to justify both preferred and rejected analytic paths in real time. Analyses lacking sufficient detail, reproducible code, or with statistical errors were excluded, resulting in 29 analyses in the final sample. Researchers reported radically different analyses and dispersed empirical outcomes, in a number of cases obtaining significant effects in opposite directions for the same research question. A Boba multiverse analysis demonstrates that decisions about how to operationalize variables explain variability in outcomes above and beyond statistical choices (e.g., covariates). Subjective researcher decisions play a critical role in driving the reported empirical results, underscoring the need for open data, systematic robustness checks, and transparency regarding both analytic paths taken and not taken. Implications for orga-nizations and leaders, whose decision making relies in part on scientific findings, consulting reports, and internal analyses by data scientists, are discussed.
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| 3. |
- Solomonidou, A., et al.
(författare)
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Spectral and emissivity analysis of the raised ramparts around Titan's northern lakes
- 2020
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Academic Press. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Some of Titan's small northern hemisphere lakes show raised rampart features (which are distinct from raised rims), and appear as SAR-bright mound-like annuli extending away from the lake for up to tens of kilometers from the shoreline. We investigate the infrared and microwave characteristics of these features using Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) and RADAR data. A spectral comparative analysis is performed among the lakes, their ramparts, and the surrounding regions. We overcome the profound difference in spatial resolution between VIMS and SAR data by using a method that provides overlays between the spectral images and SAR, thus enabling the correct selection of VIMS pixels. The surface properties of the selected areas are obtained using a radiative transfer analysis on the selected VIMS pixels, in addition to emissivity obtained from the RADAR in radiometry mode. Analysis of these combined and co-registered data provides constraints for the formation mechanism(s) of raised ramparts. The results show that the emissivity of the raised ramparts is close to that of Titan's labyrinthic terrains and to that of empty lake floors in the northern polar regions. This is confirmed by the VIMS analysis that also shows that the infrared spectral response of the raised ramparts is very similar to that of some empty lake floors. This suggests that both areas are made from or are covered by a similar material. In addition, two out of the eight lakes with raised ramparts show spectral differences at three specific wavelengths, 1.6, 2.0, and 5.0 mu m, between the ramparts and the surrounding terrain. We hypothesize that this could be due to some component, or mixture of components in the ramparts that is less absorbent at these specific wavelengths, or it could be an effect of different grain sizes. These observations provide first insights into the possible mechanisms leading to the formation of the raised ramparts that are discussed here.
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| 4. |
- Solomonidou, A., et al.
(författare)
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The Spectral Nature of Titan's Major Geomorphological Units : Constraints on Surface Composition
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 123:2, s. 489-507
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate Titan's low-latitude and midlatitude surface using spectro-imaging near-infrared data from Cassini/Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer. We use a radiative transfer code to first evaluate atmospheric contributions and then extract the haze and the surface albedo values of major geomorphological units identified in Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar data, which exhibit quite similar spectral response to the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer data. We have identified three main categories of albedo values and spectral shapes, indicating significant differences in the composition among the various areas. We compare with linear mixtures of three components (water ice, tholin-like, and a dark material) at different grain sizes. Due to the limited spectral information available, we use a simplified model, with which we find that each albedo category of regions of interest can be approximately fitted with simulations composed essentially by one of the three surface candidates. Our fits of the data are overall successful, except in some cases at 0.94, 2.03, and 2.79m, indicative of the limitations of our simplistic compositional model and the need for additional components to reproduce Titan's complex surface. Our results show a latitudinal dependence of Titan's surface composition, with water ice being the major constituent at latitudes beyond 30 degrees N and 30 degrees S, while Titan's equatorial region appears to be dominated partly by a tholin-like or by a very dark unknown material. The albedo differences and similarities among the various geomorphological units give insights on the geological processes affecting Titan's surface and, by implication, its interior. We discuss our results in terms of origin and evolution theories. Plain Language Summary Titan, Saturn's moon, has been investigated by the Cassini mission for almost 13 years, unveiling an exotic world with many features similar to Earth. One of the mysteries that still has not been resolved even after that many years of exploration is the nature of its surface composition. Titan is a very complex world with multivariable geology and a very thick and hazy atmosphere that shields the surface from remote sensing observations, prohibiting direct evaluation of its composition. In our study we analyze spectro-imaging data from the Cassini visual and infrared spectrometer. We first infer the atmospheric contribution and then extract true surface properties. We study major geomorphological regions on Titan, which include among other mountains, plains, craters, and dunes. We derive their surface albedo values and shapes that reveal the brightness of the surface and compare them with materials that we expect to find on Titan's surface, such as water ice, tholins (atmospheric products), and a very dark unknown component. The results from this analysis show that Titan presents a pattern in its surface composition distribution with its equator being dominated by organic materials from the atmosphere and a very dark unknown material, while higher latitudes contain more water ice.
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| 5. |
- Solomonidou, A., et al.
(författare)
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The chemical composition of impact craters on Titan : I. Implications for exogenic processing
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 641
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate the spectral behavior of nine Titan impact craters in order to constrain their composition. Past studies that have examined the chemical composition of impact craters on Titan have either used qualitative comparisons between craters or combined all craters into a single unit, rather than separating them by geographic location and/or degradation state. Here, we use Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) data and a radiative transfer code to estimate the atmospheric contribution to the data, extract the surface albedos of the impact craters, and constrain their composition by using a library of candidate Titan materials, including essentially water ice, tholin, a dark component, and other possible ices at different grain sizes. Following a general characterization of the impact craters, we study two impact crater subunits, the "crater floor" and the "ejecta blanket". The results show that the equatorial dune craters - Selk, Ksa, Guabonito, and the crater on Santorini Facula - appear to be purely composed of organic material (mainly an unknown dark component). Titan's midlatitude plain craters - Afekan, Soi, and Forseti - along with Menrva and Sinlap, are enriched in water ice within an organic-based mixture. This follows the geographic pattern observed in our previous work with VIMS data, where the uppermost layers of the midlatitude alluvial fans, undifferentiated plains, and labyrinth terrains were found to consist of a mixture of organics and water ice, while the equatorial plains, hummocky terrains, and dunes were found to consist of a mixture of dark material and tholins. Furthermore, we found that the addition of some form of ice improves the fit in the ejecta spectra of Afekan and Sinlap craters. We find no indication for the presence of either NH3 or CO2 ice. Our main results agree with an existing Titan surface evolution scenario, wherein the impact cratering process produces a mixture of organic material and water ice, which is later "cleaned" through fluvial erosion in the midlatitude plains. This cleaning process does not appear to operate in the equatorial regions, which are quickly covered by a thin layer of sand sediment (with the exception of the freshest crater on Titan, Sinlap). Thus, it appears that active processes are working to shape the surface of Titan, and it remains a dynamic world in the present day.
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| 6. |
- France, Kevin, et al.
(författare)
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MAPPING high-velocity Hα and Lyα emission from supernova 1987A
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 801:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present new Hubble Space Telescope images of high-velocity H alpha and Ly alpha emission in the outer debris of SN 1987 A. The Ha images are dominated by emission from hydrogen atoms crossing the reverse shock (RS). For the first time we observe emission from the RS surface well above and below the equatorial. ring (ER), suggesting a bipolar or conical structure perpendicular to the ring plane. Using the H alpha imaging, we measure the mass flux of hydrogen atoms crossing the RS front, in the velocity intervals (-7500 < V-obs < -2800 km s(-1)) and (1000 < V-obs < 7500 km s(-1)), (M)(H) over dot = 1.2 x 10(-3) M-circle dot yr(-1). We also present the first Ly alpha imaging of the whole remnant and new Chandra X-ray observations. Comparing the spatial distribution of the Ly alpha and X-ray emission, we observe that the majority of the high-velocity Ly alpha emission originates interior to the ER. The observed Ly alpha/H alpha photon ratio, < R(L alpha/H alpha)> approximate to 17, is significantly higher than the theoretically predicted ratio of approximate to 5 for neutral atoms crossing the RS front. We attribute this excess to Ly alpha emission produced by X-ray heating of the outer debris. The spatial orientation of the Ly alpha and X-ray emission suggests that X-ray heating of the outer debris is the dominant Ly alpha production mechanism in SN 1987 A at this phase in its evolution.
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| 7. |
- Jordanova, V. K., et al.
(författare)
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Specification of the near-Earth space environment with SHIELDS
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1364-6826 .- 1879-1824. ; 177, s. 148-159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predicting variations in the near-Earth space environment that can lead to spacecraft damage and failure is one example of "space weather" and a big space physics challenge. A project recently funded through the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program aims at developing a new capability to understand, model, and predict Space Hazards Induced near Earth by Large Dynamic Storms, the SHIELDS framework. The project goals are to understand the dynamics of the surface charging environment (SCE), the hot (keV) electrons representing the source and seed populations for the radiation belts, on both macro and micro-scale. Important physics questions related to particle injection and acceleration associated with magnetospheric storms and substorms, as well as plasma waves, are investigated. These challenging problems are addressed using a team of world-class experts in the fields of space science and computational plasma physics, and state-of-the-art models and computational facilities. A full two-way coupling of physics-based models across multiple scales, including a global MHD (BATS-R-US) embedding a particle-in-cell (iPIC3D) and an inner magnetosphere (RAM-SCB) codes, is achieved. New data assimilation techniques employing in situ satellite data are developed; these provide an order of magnitude improvement in the accuracy in the simulation of the SCE. SHIELDS also includes a post-processing tool designed to calculate the surface charging for specific spacecraft geometry using the Curvilinear Particle-In-Cell (CPIC) code that can be used for reanalysis of satellite failures or for satellite design.
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Josefin, et al.
(författare)
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THREE-DIMENSIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF EJECTA IN SUPERNOVA 1987A AT 10,000 DAYS
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 833:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to its proximity, SN. 1987A offers a unique opportunity to directly observe the geometry of a stellar explosion as it unfolds. Here we present spectral and imaging observations of SN. 1987A obtained similar to 10,000 days after the explosion with HST/STIS and VLT/SINFONI at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. These observations allow us to produce the most detailed 3D map of Ha to date, the first 3D maps for [Ca II] lambda lambda 7292, 7324, [O I] lambda lambda 6300, 6364, and Mg. II lambda lambda 9218, 9244, as well as new maps for [Si I]+[Fe II] 1.644 mu m and He I 2.058 mu m. A comparison with previous observations shows that the [Si I]+[Fe II] flux and morphology have not changed significantly during the past ten years, providing evidence that this line is powered by Ti-44. The time evolution of Ha shows that it is predominantly powered by X-rays from the ring, in agreement with previous findings. All lines that have sufficient signal show a similar large-scale 3D structure, with a north-south asymmetry that resembles a broken dipole. This structure correlates with early observations of asymmetries, showing that there is a global asymmetry that extends from the inner core to the outer envelope. On smaller scales, the two brightest lines, Ha and [Si I]+[Fe II] 1.644 mu m, show substructures at the level of similar to 200-1000 km s(-1) and clear differences in their 3D geometries. We discuss these results in the context of explosion models and the properties of dust in the ejecta.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Croker, D. M., et al.
(författare)
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Demonstrating the Influence of Solvent Choice and Crystallization Conditions on Phenacetin Crystal Habit and Particle Size Distribution
- 2015
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Ingår i: Organic Process Research & Development. - Washinhton, USA : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1083-6160 .- 1520-586X. ; 19:12, s. 1826-1836
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phenacetin was used as a model pharmaceutical compound to investigate the impact of solvent choice and crystallization conditions on the crystal habit and size distribution of the final crystallized product. The crystal habit of phenacetin was explored using crash-cooling crystallization (kinetically controlled) and slow evaporative crystallization (thermodynamically controlled) in a wide range of organic solvents. In general, a variety of needle-type shapes (needles, rods, or blades) were recovered from fast-cooling crystallizations, in contrast to hexagonal blocks obtained from slow evaporative crystallizations. The solubility of phenacetin was measured in five solvents from 10-70 degrees C to allow for the design of larger-scale crystallization experiments. Supersaturation and the nucleation temperature were independently controlled in isothermal desupersaturation experiments to investigate the impact of each on crystal habit and size. The crystal size (needle cross-sectional area) decreased with increasing supersaturation because of higher nucleation rates at higher supersaturation, and elongated needles were recovered: Increasing the nucleation temperature resulted in the production of larger crystals with decreased needle aspect ratios. Antisolvent phenacetin crystallizations were developed for three solvent/antisolvent systems using four different antisolvent addition rates to simultaneously probe the crystal habit and size of the final product. In general, increasing the antisolvent addition rate, associated with increased rate of generation of supersaturation, resulted in the production of shorter needle crystals.
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