Gravity lens critical test for gravity constants and dark sector

The recent study of the strong gravitational lens ESO 325-G004 [1] leads to a new possibility for testing General Relativity and its extensions. Such gravity lens observational studies can be instrumental for establishing a limitation on the precision of testing General Relativity in the weak-field regime and on the two gravity constants (the Newtonian and cosmological ones) as described in [2]. Namely, we predict a critical value for the involved weak-field parameter \gamma_{cr}=0.998 (for M= 1.5 10^{11} M_{\odot} lens mass and r=2 kpc light impact distance), which remarkably does not depend on any hypothetical variable but is determined only by well measured quantities. If the critical parameter \gamma_{cr} will be established at future observations, this will mark the first discrepancy with General Relativity of conventional weak-field Newtonian limit, directly linked to the nature of dark sector of the Universe.Comment: To appear in Eur Phys J C; 3 pages; minor revisio

Two fundamental constants of gravity unifying the dark matter and the dark energy

The common nature of the dark sector - dark energy and dark matter - as shown in [1] follows readily from the consideration of generalized Newtonian potential as a weak-field General Relativity. That generalized potential satisfying the Newton's theorem on the equivalence of sphere's gravity and that of a point-mass located in its center, contains an additional constant which along with the gravitational constant is able to explain quantitatively both the dark energy (cosmological constant) and dark matter. So, gravity is defined not by one but two fundamental constants. We show that, the second constant is dimensional-independent and matter-uncoupled and hence is even more universal than the gravitational constant, thus affecting the strategy of observational studies of dark energy and of the search of dark matter.Comment: To appear in Eur Phys J C; 5 page

The cosmological constant derived via galaxy groups and clusters

The common nature of dark matter and dark energy is argued in [1] based on the approach that the cosmological constant \Lambda enters the weak-field General Relativity following from Newton theorem on the "sphere-point mass" equivalency [2]. Here we probe the \Lambda-gravity description of dark matter in galaxy systems, from pairs up to galaxy clusters using the data of various sources, i.e. of Local Supercluster galaxy surveys, gravity lensing and Planck satellite. The prediction that the cosmological constant has to be the lower limit for the weak-field \Lambda obtained from galaxy systems of various degree of virialization is shown to be supported by those observations. The results therefore support the \Lambda-gravity nature of dark matter in the studied systems, implying that the positivity of the cosmological constant might be deduced decades ago from the dynamics of galaxies and galaxy clusters far before the cosmological SN surveys.Comment: To appear in Eur Phys J C, 7 page

Spectroscopy of Stellar-Like Objects Contained in the Second Byurakan Survey. I

The results of spectroscopic observations of 363 star-like objects from the Second Byurakan Survey (SBS) are reported. This SBS's subsample has proven to be a rich source of newly identified quasars, Seyfert type galaxies, degenerate stars and hot subdwarfs. In the subsample here studied, we identified 35 new QSOs, 142 White Dwarfs (WDs) the majority of which, 114 are of DA type, 55 subdwarfs (29 of which are sdB-type stars), 10 HBB, 16 NHB, 54 G-type and 25 F-type stars, two objects with composite spectra, four Cataclismic Variables (CV), two peculiar emission line stars, 17 objects with continuous spectra, as well as one planetary nebula. Among the 35 QSOs we have found two Broad Absorption Line (BAL) QSOs, namely SBS 1423+500 and SBS 1435+500A. Magnitudes, redshifts, and slit spectra for all QSOs, also some typical spectra of the peculiar stars are presented. We estimate the minimum surface density of bright QSOs in redshift range 0.3<z<2.2 to be 0.05 per sq. deg. for B<17.0 and 0.10 per sq. deg. for B<17.5.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables, 4 figures, PASP in pres

Spectroscopic Analysis of H I Absorption Line Systems in 40 HIRES Quasars

We list and analyze H I absorption lines at redshifts 2 < z < 4 with column density (12 < log(N_HI) < 19) in 40 high-resolutional (FWHM = 8.0 km/s) quasar spectra obtained with the Keck+HIRES. We de-blend and fit all H I lines within 1,000 km/s of 86 strong H I lines whose column densities are log(N_HI/[cm^-2]) > 15. Unlike most prior studies, we use not only Lya but also all visible higher Lyman series lines to improve the fitting accuracy. This reveals components near to higher column density systems that can not be seen in Lya. We list the Voigt profile fits to the 1339 H I components that we found. We examined physical properties of H I lines after separating them into several sub-samples according to their velocity separation from the quasars, their redshift, column density and the S/N ratio of the spectrum. We found two interesting trends for lines with 12 < log(N_HI) < 15 which are within 200-1000 km/s of systems with log(N_HI) > 15. First, their column density distribution becomes steeper, meaning relatively fewer high column density lines, at z < 2.9. Second, their column density distribution also becomes steeper and their line width becomes broader by about 2-3 km/s when they are within 5,000 km/s of their quasar.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. A complete version with all tables and figures is available at http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/misawa/pub/Paper/40hires.ps.g

Optical Microvariability in Quasars: Spectral Variability

We present a method that we developed to discern where the optical microvariability (OM) in quasars originates: in the accretion disk (related to thermal processes) or in the jet (related to non-thermal processes). Analyzing nearly simultaneous observations in three different optical bands of continuum emission, we are able to determine the origin of several isolated OM events. In particular, our method indicates that from nine events reported by Ramirez et al. (2009), three of them are consistent with a thermal origin, three to non-thermal, and three cannot be discerned. The implications for the emission models of OM are briefly discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa