A sample of 6C radio sources designed to find objects at redshift z>4– III. Imaging and the radio galaxy K–z relation

In this paper, the third and final of a series, we present complete K -band imaging and some complementary I -band imaging of the filtered 6C* sample. We find no systematic differences between the K – z relation of 6C* radio galaxies and those from complete samples, so the near-infrared properties of luminous radio galaxies are not obviously biased by the additional 6C* radio selection criteria (steep spectral index and small angular size). The 6C* K – z data significantly improve delineation of the K – z relation for radio galaxies at high redshift ( z >2) . Accounting for non-stellar contamination, and for correlations between radio luminosity and stellar mass, we find little support for previous claims that the underlying scatter in the stellar luminosity of radio galaxies increases significantly at z >2 . In a particular spatially flat universe with a cosmological constant (Ω_M=0.3 and Ω_Λ=0.7) , the most luminous radio sources appear to be associated with galaxies with a luminosity distribution with a high mean (≈5  L *), and a low dispersion ( σ ∼0.5 mag) which formed their stars at epochs corresponding to z ≳2.5 . This result is in line with recent submillimetre studies of high-redshift radio galaxies and the inferred ages of extremely red objects from faint radio samples.     

The effects of precipitation timing on sagebrush steppe vegetation

Changes in precipitation patterns and inputs have the potential to cause major changes in productivity, composition, and diversity of terrestrial plant communities. Vegetation response to altered timing of precipitation was assessed during a 7-year experiment in an Artemisia tridentata spp. wyomingensis community in the northern Great Basin, USA. Four permanent rainout shelters excluded natural rainfall, with seasonal distribution of precipitation controlled with the use of an overhead sprinkler system. Precipitation treatments under each shelter were WINTER, SPRING, and CURRENT. The WINTER treatment received 80% of its water between October and March; in the SPRING treatment 80% of total water was applied between April and July; and the CURRENT treatment received precipitation matching the site's long-term (50 years) distribution pattern. A CONTROL treatment, placed outside each shelter replicate, received natural precipitation inputs. CURRENT, WINTER, and CONTROL treatments had similar in soil water-content patterns and thus, there were few consistent differences in vegetation response. The SPRING treatment resulted in more bare-ground and lower plant productivity compared to other shelter treatments. This result contrasted with our initial hypothesis that shallower-rooted grasses would gain a competitive advantage over shrubs if precipitation was shifted from winter to spring. Our results also demonstrated the resilience of these communities to climate perturbation as many of the vegetation shifts did not begin until the fourth year after treatments were applied.     

An empirical model for the polarization of pulsar radio emission

We present an empirical model for single pulses of radio emission from pulsars based on Gaussian probability distributions for relevant variables. The radiation at a specific pulse phase is represented as the superposition of radiation in two (approximately) orthogonally polarized modes (OPMs) from one or more subsources in the emission region of the pulsar. For each subsource, the polarization states are drawn randomly from statistical distributions, with the mean and the variance on the Poincaré sphere as free parameters. The intensity of one OPM is chosen from a lognormal distribution, and the intensity of the other OPM is assumed to be partially correlated, with the degree of correlation also chosen from a Gaussian distribution. The model is used to construct simulated data described in the same format as real data: distributions of the polarization of pulses on the Poincaré sphere and histograms of the intensity and other parameters. We concentrate on the interpretation of data for specific phases of PSR B0329+54 for which the OPMs are not orthogonal, with one well defined and the other spread out around an annulus on the Poincaré sphere at some phases. The results support the assumption that the radiation emerges in two OPMs with closely correlated intensities, and that in a statistical fraction of pulses one OPM is invisible.     

XMM–Newton observations of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1650–500 in quiescence

We report the result of an XMM–Newton observation of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1650–500 in quiescence. The source was not detected, and we set upper limits on the 0.5–10 keV luminosity of  0.9–1.0 × 10³¹ erg s⁻¹  (for a newly derived distance of 2.6 kpc). These limits are in line with the quiescent luminosities of black hole X-ray binaries with similar orbital periods (∼7–8 h).     

Consideration of fine-scale coastal oceanography and 3-D acoustics effects for the ESME sound exposure model

Results and recommendations for evaluating the effects of fine-scale oceanographic scattering and three-dimensional (3-D) acoustic propagation variability on the Effects of Sound on the Marine Environment (ESME) acoustic exposure model are presented. Pertinent acoustic scattering theory is briefly reviewed and ocean sound-speed fluctuation models are discussed. Particular attention is given to the nonlinear and linear components of the ocean internal wave field as a source of sound-speed inhomogeneities. Sound scattering through the mainly isotropic linear internal wave field is presented and new results relating to acoustic scattering by the nonlinear internal wave field in both along and across internal wave wavefront orientations are examined. In many cases, there are noteworthy fine-scale induced intensity biases and fluctuations of order 5-20 dB.     

Bayesian photometric redshifts for weak-lensing applications

The next generation of weak gravitational lensing surveys are capable of generating good measurements of cosmological parameters, provided that, amongst other requirements, adequate redshift information is available for the background galaxies that are measured. It is frequently assumed that photometric redshift techniques provide the means to achieve this. Here, we compare Bayesian and frequentist approaches to photometric redshift estimation, particularly at faint magnitudes. We identify and discuss the biases that are inherent in the various methods, and describe an optimum Bayesian method for extracting redshift distributions from photometric data.     

Extended search for correlation between solar mean magnetic field Bison data and coronal mass ejections

The Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON) has acquired high-precision solar mean magnetic field (SMMF) data on a 40-s cadence for a decade. We present attempts to compare such data from recent years with the occurrence of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as recorded by LASCO, using correlation techniques applied to measurements from different BiSON instruments to maximise the sensitivity to CME-related SMMF responses. SMMF measurements were recorded at the time of occurrence of several hundred CMEs. No CME event shows a convincing response in our SMMF data at short periods setting a threshold amplitude of 12 mG. By averaging data sets we are able to set lower thresholds, which depend somewhat on the distribution of response strengths. A brief summary of the very first results of this study is also given in Chaplin et al.