Toward a Unified Model for the “Diffuse Ionized Medium” in Normal and Starburst Galaxies
The "diffuse ionized medium" (DIM) makes up a significant fraction of the mass and ionization requirements of the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and is now known to be an energetically significant component in most normal star-forming galaxies. Observations of the ionized gas in starburst galaxies have revealed the presence of gas with striking similarities to the DIM in normal galaxies: relatively low surface brightness and strong emission from low-ionization forbidden lines like [S II] λλ6716, 6731. In this paper we analyze Hα images and long-slit spectra of samples of normal and starburst galaxies to better understand the nature of this diffuse, low surface brightness gas. We find that in both samples there is a strong inverse correlation between the Hα surface brightness (ΣHα) and the [S II]/Hα line ratio at a given location in the galaxy. However, the correlation for the starbursts is offset brightward by an order of magnitude in Hα surface brightness at a given line ratio. In contrast, we find that all the galaxies (starburst and normal alike) define a universal relation between line ratio and the relative Hα surface brightness (ΣHα/Σe, where Σe is the mean Hα surface brightness within the galaxy half-light radius). We show that such a universal correlation is a natural outcome of a model in which the DIM is photoionized gas that has a characteristic thermal pressure (P) that is proportional to the mean rate of star formation per unit area in the galaxy (ΣSFR). Good quantitative agreement with the data follows if we require the constant of proportionality to be consistent with the values of P and ΣSFR in the local disk of the Milky Way. Such a scaling between P and ΣSFR may arise either because feedback from massive stars heats the ISM or because ΣSFR is determined (or limited) by the mean gas pressure.

title: Proposal for direct measurement of a pure spin current by a polarized light beam.
abstract: The photon helicity may be mapped to a spin-1/2, whereby we put forward an intrinsic interaction between a polarized light beam as a "photon spin current" and a pure spin current in a semiconductor, which arises from the spin-orbit coupling in valence bands as a pure relativity effect without involving the Rashba or the Dresselhaus effect due to inversion asymmetries. The interaction leads to linear and circular optical birefringence, which are similar to the Voigt effect and the Faraday rotation in magneto-optics but nevertheless involve no net magnetization. The birefringence effects provide a direct, nondemolition measurement of pure spin currents.

title: Unconventional behavior of Dirac fermions in three-dimensional gauge theory
abstract: We study the unconventional behavior of massless Dirac fermions due to interaction with a U(1) gauge field in two spatial dimensions. At zero chemical potential, the longitudinal and transverse components of gauge interaction are both long-ranged. There is no fermion velocity renormalization since the system respects Lorentz invariance. At finite chemical potential, the Lorentz invariance is explicitly broken by the finite Fermi surface. The longitudinal gauge interaction is statically screened and becomes unimportant, whereas the transverse gauge interaction remains long-ranged and leads to singular renormalization of fermion velocity. The anomalous dimension of fermion velocity is calculated by means of the renormalization group method. We then examine the influence of singular velocity renormalization on several physical quantities, and show that they exhibit different behavior at zero and finite chemical potential.

title: Discrete Wilson Lines in N=1 D=4 Type IIB Orientifolds: A Systematic Exploration for Z6 Orientifold
abstract: We develop techniques to construct general discrete Wilson lines in four-dimensional N=1 type IIB orientifolds, their T-dual realization corresponds to branes positioned at the orbifold fixed points. The explicit order two and three Wilson lines along with their tadpole consistency conditions are given for D=4 N=1 Z6 type IIB orientifold. The systematic search for all models with general order three Wilson lines leads to a small class of inequivalent models. There are only two inequivalent classes of a potentially phenomenologically interesting model that has a possible SU(3)color×SU(2)L×SU(2)R×U(1)B–L gauge structure, arising from a set of branes located at the Z6 orbifold fixed point. We calculate the spectrum and Yukawa couplings for this model. On the other hand, introduction of anti-branes allows for models with three families and realistic gauge group assignment, arising from branes located at the Z3 orbifold fixed points.

title: Constraints on the star formation histories of galaxies from z∼ 1 to 0
abstract: We present a new method to estimate the average star formation rate per unit stellar mass (SSFR) of a stacked population of galaxies. We combine the spectra of 600-1000 galaxies with similar stellar masses and parametrize the star formation history of this stacked population using a set of exponentially declining functions. The strength of the hydrogen Balmer absorption-line series in the rest-frame wavelength range 3750-4150 A is used to constrain the SSFR by comparing with a library of models generated using the BC03 stellar population code. Our method, based on a principal component analysis, can be applied in a consistent way to spectra drawn from local galaxy surveys and from surveys at z ∼ 1, and is only weakly influenced by attenuation due to dust. We apply our method to galaxy samples drawn from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and DEEP2 to study the mass-dependent growth of galaxies from z ∼ 1 to 0. We find that (i) high-mass galaxies have lower SSFRs than low-mass galaxies and (ii) the average SSFR has decreased from z = 1 to 0 by a factor of ∼3-4, independent of galaxy mass. Additionally, at z ∼ 1, our average SSFRs are a factor of 2-2.5 lower than those derived from multiwavelength photometry using similar data sets. We then compute the average time [in units of the Hubble time, t H (z)] needed by galaxies of a given mass to form their stars at their current rate. At both z = 0 and 1, this time-scale decreases strongly with stellar mass from values close to unity for galaxies with masses ∼10 10 M ⊙ , to more than 10 for galaxies more massive than 10 11 M ⊙ . Our results are in good agreement with models in which active galactic nuclei feedback is more efficient at preventing gas from cooling and forming stars in high-mass galaxies.

title: A DEEP CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF NGC 4151. II. THE INNERMOST EMISSION LINE REGION AND STRONG EVIDENCE FOR RADIO JET–NLR CLOUD COLLISION
abstract: We have studied the X-ray emission within the inner {approx}150 pc radius of NGC 4151 by constructing high spatial resolution emission line images of blended O VII, O VIII, and Ne IX. These maps show extended structures that are spatially correlated with the radio outflow and optical [O III] emission. We find strong evidence for jet-gas cloud interaction, including morphological correspondences with regions of X-ray enhancement, peaks of near-infrared [Fe II] emission, and optical clouds. In these regions, moreover, we find evidence of elevated Ne IX/O VII ratios; the X-ray emission of these regions also exceeds that expected from nuclear photoionization. Spectral fitting reveals the presence of a collisionally ionized component. The thermal energy of the hot gas suggests that {approx}> 0.1% of the estimated jet power is deposited into the host interstellar medium through interaction between the radio jet and the dense medium of the circumnuclear region. We find possible pressure equilibrium between the collisionally ionized hot gas and the photoionized line-emitting cool clouds. We also obtain constraints on the extended iron and silicon fluorescent emission. Both lines are spatially unresolved. The upper limit on the contribution of an extended emission region to the Fe K{alpha} emission is {approx}<more » 5% of the total, in disagreement with a previous claim that 65% of the Fe K{alpha} emission originates in the extended narrow line region.« less

title: Measurement of branching fractions for B --> pipi, Kpi, and KK decays.
abstract: We report measurements of the branching fractions for B{sup 0}{yields}{pi}{sup +} , K{sup +} , K{sup +}K{sup -} , and K{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} and B{sup +}{yields}{pi}{sup +} , K{sup +} , K{sup 0}{pi}{sup +} , and K{sup +} , based on 10.4 fb{sup -1} of data collected on the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the Belle detector. We find B(B{sup 0}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})=(0.56{sup +0.23+0.04}{sub -0.20-0.0 5}) x 10{sup -5} , B(B{sup 0}{yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})=(1.93{sup +0.34 +0.15}{sub -0.32-0.06}) x 10{sup -5} , B(B{sup +}{yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup 0})=(1.63{sup +0.35+0.16}{sub -0.33-0.1 8}) x 10{sup -5} , B(B{sup +}{yields}K{sup 0}{pi}{sup +})=(1.37{sup +0.57+0.19}{sub -0.48-0.1 8}) x 10{sup -5} , and B(B{sup 0}{yields}K{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0})=(1.60{sup +0.72+0.25}{sub -0.59-0.2 7}) x 10{sup -5} . We also set upper limits on the branching fractions for B{sup +}{yields}{pi}{sup +} , B{sup 0}{yields}K{sup +}K{sup -} , and B{sup +}{yields}K{sup +}{bar K}{sup 0} .

title: Fabrication of DDS-3, an 11.4 GHz damped-detuned structure
abstract: A 1.8 m X-band damped-detuned structure (DDS-3) has been fabricated and characterized as part of the structure development program towards a TeV-scale e/sup +/e/sup -/ linear collider. In this joint venture, the Cu cells were precision-fabricated by LLNL, diffusion-bonded into a monolithic structure by KEK, and the structure completed and tested by SLAC. The overall process constitutes a baseline for future high-volume structure manufacture.

title: THE PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON BEAM-PHOTOELECTRON INTERACTIONS IN BEPC
abstract: A vertical collective effect suspected as photoelectron instability (PEI) has been observed at Photon Factory (PF) of KEK in recent years. This phenomena may impose a limitation on the performance of the proposed B-Factories or T-c Factories. An experiment has been planned to test it using positron beam at Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) in 1996 under the cooperation between IHEP and KEK. Preliminary simulation results have shown that the PEI may occur in BEPC on the total beam current level of 40 mA over more than 20 bunches. The instrumentation for observation of PEI is jointly prepared by both sides of IHEP and KEK. The machine study has been scheduled and the experiment will progress under the conditions of the best machine performance.