Astrophysics
MEDEA Program (Microlensing Experiment Data-Analysis Software for Event with Amplification) is here presented. It is developed to the pixel lensing analysis used by SLOTT-AGAPE (Systematic Lensing Observation at Toppo Telescope - Andromeda…
We present a new approach to measure the shapes of galaxies, a fundamental task in observational astronomy. This approach is based on the decomposition of a galaxy image into a series of orthogonal basis functions, or `shapelets'. Our…
Here we present results from a maximum likelihood analysis of galaxy-galaxy weak lensing effects as measured in a 12.5' x 12.5' field obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope, on La Palma, Spain. The analysis incorporates photometric…
Gravitational waves transport very detailed information on the structure and evolution of astrophysical sources. For instance a binary system in the early stages of its evolution emits a wavetrain at specific frequencies that depend on the…
Parity violating electron scattering can measure the neutron density of a heavy nucleus accurately and model independently. This is because the weak charge of the neutron is much larger then that of the proton. The Parity Radius Experiment…
This paper reviews the topic of sub-parsec - scale jets in quasars, and covers the the following issues: observations of parsec and sub-parsec scale jets; energy dissipation and particle acceleration; radiative processes; magnetic fields,…
Gravitational Lensing is a UNIQUE tool to constrain the mass distribution of collapsed structures, this is particularly true for galaxies, either on a case by case basis using multiple images of background sources (such as quasars), or…
Since the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in 1965, characterization of the CMB anisotropy angular power spectrum has become somewhat of a holy grail for experimental cosmology. Because CMB anisotropy measurements are…
Recent work on the modes of accretion onto black holes (BHs) in Soft X-Ray Transients (SXTs) is reviewed, with an emphasis on uncertainties affecting models of accretion during quiescence (inner hot flow, outer thin disk). Various…
Surface photometry of the M31 satellites M32 and NGC 205 is compared to numerical simulations of satellite destruction to constrain orbital parameters and the interaction history of the M31 subgroup. Our analysis reveals the following…
Spherical density profiles and specific angular momentum profiles of Dark Matter halos found in cosmological N-body simulations have been measured extensively. The distribution of the total angular momentum of dark matter halos is also used…
Numerical simulations have revealed the presence of long-lived substructure in Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos. These surviving cores of past merger and accretion events vastly outnumber the known satellites of the Milky Way. This finding has…
We are exploring the extended stellar distributions of Galactic satellite galaxies and globular clusters. For seven objects studied thus far, the observed profile departs from a King function at large r, revealing a ``break population'' of…
Cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are probably powered by systems harboring a rotating black hole. These may result from hypernovae or black hole-neutron star coalescence. We identify short/long bursts with hyper- and suspended-accretion…
This paper reviews some recent work on the properties of the outer halos of galaxies. I particularly focus on recent and upcoming advances made with the study of globular clusters. Globular clusters can be observed out to ~100 kpc from the…
Gravitational lensing causes background galaxy images to become aligned, and the statistical characteristics of the image alignments can then be used to constrain the power spectrum of mass fluctuations. Analyses of gravitational lensing…
It has recently been argued that the observed ellipticities of galaxies may be determined at least in part by the primordial tidal gravitational field in which the galaxy formed. Long-range correlations in the tidal field could thus lead to…
Stars have mass; halos lack cusps.
We discuss new observations of X-ray novae which provide strong evidence that black holes have event horizons. Optical observations of 13 X-ray novae indicate that these binary stars contain collapsed objects too heavy to be stable neutron…
I give a very brief review of aspects of internal dynamics that affect the global shape of a galaxy, focusing on triaxiality, bars and warps. There is general agreement that large central masses can destroy triaxial shapes, but recent…