Statistical Uncertainties in Temperature Diagnostics for Hot Coronal Plasma Using the ASCA SIS

Statistical uncertainties in determining the temperatures of hot (0.5 keV to 10 keV) coronal plasmas are investigated. The statistical precision of various spectral temperature diagnostics is established by analyzing synthetic ASCA Solid-state Imaging Spectrometer (SIS) CCD spectra. The diagnostics considered are the ratio of hydrogen-like to helium-like line complexes of $Z\ge14$ elements, line-free portions of the continuum, and the entire spectrum. While fits to the entire spectrum yield the highest statistical precision, it is argued that fits to the line-free continuum are less susceptible to atomic data uncertainties but lead to a modest increase in statistical uncertainty over full spectral fits. Temperatures deduced from line ratios can have similar accuracy but only over a narrow range of temperatures. Convenient estimates of statistical accuracies for the various temperature diagnostics are provided which may be used in planning ASCA SIS observations.Comment: postscript file of 8 pages+3 figures; 4 files tarred, compressed and uuencoded. To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters; contents copyright 1994 American Astronomical Societ

An artificially generated atmosphere near a lunar base

We discuss the formation of an artificial atmosphere generated by vigorous lunar base activity in this paper. We developed an analytical, steady-state model for a lunar atmosphere based upon previous investigations of the Moon's atmosphere from Apollo. Constant gas-injection rates, ballistic trajectories, and a Maxwellian particle distribution for an oxygen-like gas are assumed. Even for the extreme case of continuous He-3 mining of the lunar regolith, we find that the lunar atmosphere would not significantly degrade astronomical observations beyond about 10 km from the mining operation

Galaxy Cluster Shapes and Systematic Errors in H0 Measured by the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect

Imaging of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in galaxy clusters combined with cluster plasma x-ray diagnostics can measure the cosmic distance scale to high redshift. Projecting the inverse-Compton scattering and x-ray emission along the cluster line-of-sight introduces systematic errors in the Hubble constant, H0, because the true shape of the cluster is not known. I present a study of the systematic errors in the value of H0, as determined by the x-ray and SZ properties of theoretical samples of triaxial isothermal ``beta'' model clusters, caused by projection effects and observer orientation. I calculate estimates for H0 for each cluster based on their large and small apparent angular core radii and their arithmetic mean. I demonstrate that the estimates for H0 for a sample of 25 clusters have 99.7% confidence intervals for the mean estimated H0 analyzing the clusters using either their large or mean angular core radius are within 14% of the ``true'' (assumed) value of H0 (and enclose it), for a triaxial beta model cluster sample possessing a distribution of apparent x-ray cluster ellipticities consistent with that of observed x-ray clusters. This limit on the systematic error in H0 caused by cluster shape assumes that each sample beta model cluster has fixed shape; deviations from constant shape within the clusters may introduce additional uncertainty or bias into this result.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 24 March 1998; 4 pages, 2 figure

Galaxy Clusters: Oblate or Prolate?

It is now well known that a combined analysis of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect and the X-ray emission observations can be used to determine the angular diameter distance to galaxy clusters, from which the Hubble constant is derived. Given that the SZ/X-ray Hubble constant is determined through a geometrical description of clusters, the accuracy to which such distance measurements can be made depends on how well one can describe intrinsic cluster shapes. Using the observed X-ray isophotal axial ratio distribution for a sample of galaxy clusters, we discuss intrinsic cluster shapes and, in particular, if clusters can be described by axisymmetric models, such as oblate and prolate ellipsoids. These models are currently favored when determining the SZ/X-ray Hubble constant. We show that the current observational data on the asphericity of galaxy clusters suggest that clusters are more consistent with a prolate rather than an oblate distribution. We address the possibility that clusters are intrinsically triaxial by viewing triaxial ellipsoids at random angles with the intrinsic axial ratios following an isotropic Gaussian distribution. We discuss implications of our results on current attempts at measuring the Hubble constant using galaxy clusters and suggest that an unbiased estimate of the Hubble constant, not fundamentally limited by projection effects, would eventually be possible with the SZ/X-ray method.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. MNRAS (in press

Spatially Selective and Density-Controlled Activation of Interfacial Mechanophores

Mechanically sensitive molecules known as mechanophores have recently attracted much interest due to the need for mechanoresponsive materials. Maleimide–anthracene mechanophores located at the interface between poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) polymer brushes and Si wafer surfaces were activated locally using atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes to deliver mechanical stimulation. Each individual maleimide–anthracene mechanophore exhibits binary behavior: undergoing a retro-[4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction under high load to form a surface-bound anthracene moiety and free PGMA or remaining unchanged if the load falls below the activation threshold. In the context of nanolithography, this behavior allows the high spatial selectivity required for the design and production of complex and hierarchical patterns with nanometer precision. The high spatial precision and control reported in this work brings us closer to molecular level programming of surface chemistry, with promising applications such as 3D nanoprinting, production of coatings, and composite materials that require nanopatterning or texture control as well as nanodevices and sensors for measuring mechanical stress and damage in situ

Morphology of Galaxy Clusters: A Cosmological Model-Independent Test of the Cosmic Distance-Duality Relation

Aiming at comparing different morphological models of galaxy clusters, we use two new methods to make a cosmological model-independent test of the distance-duality (DD) relation. The luminosity distances come from Union2 compilation of Supernovae Type Ia. The angular diameter distances are given by two cluster models (De Filippis et al. and Bonamente et al.). The advantage of our methods is that it can reduce statistical errors. Concerning the morphological hypotheses for cluster models, it is mainly focused on the comparison between elliptical $\beta$-model and spherical $\beta$-model. The spherical $\beta$-model is divided into two groups in terms of different reduction methods of angular diameter distances, i.e. conservative spherical $\beta$-model and corrected spherical $\beta$-model. Our results show that the DD relation is consistent with the elliptical $\beta$-model at $1\sigma$ confidence level (CL) for both methods, whereas for almost all spherical $\beta$-model parameterizations, the DD relation can only be accommodated at $3\sigma$ CL, particularly for the conservative spherical $\beta$-model. In order to minimize systematic uncertainties, we also apply the test to the overlap sample, i.e. the same set of clusters modeled by both De Filippis et al. and Bonamente et al.. It is found that the DD relation is compatible with the elliptically modeled overlap sample at $1\sigma$ CL, however for most of the parameterizations, the DD relation can not be accommodated even at $3\sigma$ CL for any of the two spherical $\beta$-models. Therefore it is reasonable that the marked triaxial ellipsoidal model is a better geometrical hypothesis describing the structure of the galaxy cluster compared with the spherical $\beta$-model if the DD relation is valid in cosmological observations.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, significantly improved compared with 1st version, accepted for publication in the Ap

Using binary stars to bound the mass of the graviton

Interacting white dwarf binary star systems, including helium cataclysmic variable (HeCV) systems, are expected to be strong sources of gravitational radiation, and should be detectable by proposed space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories such as LISA. Several HeCV star systems are presently known and can be studied optically, which will allow electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations to be correlated. Comparisons of the phases of a gravitational wave signal and the orbital light curve from an interacting binary white dwarf star system can be used to bound the mass of the graviton. Observations of typical HeCV systems by LISA could potentially yield an upper bound on the inverse mass of the graviton as strong as $h/m_{g} = \lambda_{g} > 1 \times 10^{15}$ km ($m_{g} < 1 \times 10^{-24}$ eV), more than two orders of magnitude better than present solar system derived bounds.Comment: 21 pages plus 4 figures; ReVTe

A Multiphase Model for the Intracluster Medium

Constraints on the clustered mass density \Omega_m of the universe derived from the mean intracluster gas fraction of X-ray clusters may be biased by a single-phase assumption for the thermodynamic structure of the intracluster medium (ICM). We propose a descriptive model for multiphase structure in which a spherically symmetric ICM contains isobaric density perturbations with radially dependent variance \sigma^2(r)=\sigma_c^2 (1+r^2/r_c^2)^{-\eps}. The model extends the work of Gunn & Thomas (1996) which assumed radially independent density fluctuations thoughout the ICM. Fixing the X-ray emission profile and emission weighted temperature, we explore two independently observable signatures of the model in the {\sigma_c,\eps} space. For bremsstrahlung dominated emission, the central Sunyaev--Zeldovich (SZ) decrement in the multiphase case is increased over the single-phase case and multiphase X-ray spectra in the range 0.1-20 keV are flatter in the continuum and exhibit stronger low energy emission lines than their single-phase counterpart. We quantify these effects for a fiducial 10^8 K cluster and demonstrate how the combination of SZ and X-ray spectroscopy can be used to identify a preferred location in the {\sigma_c,\eps} plane. From these parameters, the correct value of mean ICM gas fraction in the multiphase model results, allowing an unbiased estimate of \Omega_m to be recovered. The consistency of recent determinations of the Hubble constant from SZ and X-ray observations with values determined by other methods suggests that biases in ICM gas fractions are small, \ltsim 20%.Comment: Nine pages, submitted to Monthly Notices of the RAS. Seven postscript figures incoporate

Joint analysis of X-ray and Sunyaev Zel'dovich observations of galaxy clusters using an analytic model of the intra-cluster medium

We perform a joint analysis of X-ray and Sunyaev Zel'dovich (SZ) effect data using an analytic model that describes the gas properties of galaxy clusters. The joint analysis allows the measurement of the cluster gas mass fraction profile and Hubble constant independent of cosmological parameters. Weak cosmological priors are used to calculate the overdensity radius within which the gas mass fractions are reported. Such an analysis can provide direct constraints on the evolution of the cluster gas mass fraction with redshift. We validate the model and the joint analysis on high signal-to-noise data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array for two clusters, Abell 2631 and Abell 2204.Comment: ApJ in pres