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Astronomy – Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (13 of 35) Luminosity and Brightness (Luminosity Defined) – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (13 of 35) Luminosity and Brightness (Luminosity Defined)
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will define luminosity as all radiation emitted and brightness as % of en...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (13 of 35) Luminosity and Brightness (Luminosity Defined) - Video

CERN's Higgs Discovery As Portal To New 'Technicolor' Physics

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CERNs historic discovery of the elusive Higgs boson the subatomic particle thought to be at the root of what gives normal matter its mass may actually represent only a portion of a more complicated and heretofore unexplored particle physics paradigm, say researchers.

After new analysis of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)s Higgs observations, the authors of a paper recently published in the journal Physical Review D crack the door on the possibility that this actual particle detected by CERNs Large Hadron Collider (LHC) may not be fundamental (or point-like). Instead, they argue it could be a composite particle made up of two even smaller techni-quarks, bound by a theoretical Technicolor force. Even so, much of the particle physics community still needs convincing. The idea of such a new Technicolor force has been around for more than three decades and appears to have worn out its welcome among many theoretical physicists. Thats likely in part because it would require a new force of nature, which to many may seem ad hoc.

In contrast to protons and neutrons that are made up of quark particles, bound by natures fundamental strong nuclear force, particle physicists say that the force that would hold such techni-quarks together could not be one of the existing known forces of nature. Thats because neither gravity, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force nor the strong nuclear force are strong enough to do so.

[The paper] points out that the particle we discovered at CERN might not turn out to be the simple particle predicted in the Standard Model, but a similar particle predicted by a different theory called Technicolor, UCLA particle physicist Jay Hauser, now on assignment as a Geneva-based CERN project manager, told Forbes.

An example of simulated data modeled for the CMS particle detector on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Here, following a collision of two protons, a Higgs boson is produced which decays into two jets of hadrons and two electrons. The lines represent the possible paths of particles produced by the proton-proton collision in the detector while the energy these particles deposit is shown in blue. (Credit: Wikipedia)

The key to the Higgs particle is the Higgs field itself which has been compared to cosmic molasses. Particles which have mass interact with this unseen field of Higgs particles. And the more mass a given particle has, the more it interacts.

But the Higgs boson has only been measured to a certain precision at the energy levels CERN is currently using. Theorists are quick to point out that there may be more than one Higgs boson or even that the Higgs boson as CERN has currently probed it at energies of 125 Giga electron Volts (125 GeV), is not sufficiently high to definitively say whether this new particle is composite.

Even so, Mads Toudal Frandsen, one of the studys co-authors and a particle physicist at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, told Forbes it will come as a surprise to some how close the properties of a Techni-Higgs can be to those of CERNs Higgs particle. He notes that although Technicolor remains a time-honored idea for the origin of mass, it has been abandoned by most of the community.

The paper studies CERN findings in the light of a Technicolor Higgs, said Frandsen. This paper demonstrates that a Techni-Higgs can look very much like a Standard Model Higgs and thus potentially be what LHC has found.

Critics of this Physical Review D paper, however, point out that the authors techni-Higgs arguments are neither provable nor disprovable.

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CERN's Higgs Discovery As Portal To New 'Technicolor' Physics

Astronomy – Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (7 of 35) Using Angle of Parallax to Find Distances – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (7 of 35) Using Angle of Parallax to Find Distances
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain how the angle of parallax is used to find the distances of s...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (7 of 35) Using Angle of Parallax to Find Distances - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (9 of 35) Difference Between Luminosity and Power – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (9 of 35) Difference Between Luminosity and Power
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain the difference between luminosity and power. Hint: There is ...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (9 of 35) Difference Between Luminosity and Power - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (5 of 35) Distance=? given Absolute & Apparent Magnitude – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (5 of 35) Distance=? given Absolute Apparent Magnitude
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain how to find distances to stars given absolute and apparent m...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 17: The Nature of Stars (5 of 35) Distance=? given Absolute & Apparent Magnitude - Video

Primordial galaxy bursts with starry births

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B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Artist's impression of the protocluster observed by ALMA. It shows the central starburst galaxy AzTEC-3 along with its labeled cohorts of smaller, less active galaxies. New ALMA observations suggest that AzTEC-3 recently merged with another young galaxy and that the whole system represents the first steps toward forming a galaxy cluster.

Peering deep into time with one of the worlds newest, most sophisticated telescopes, astronomers have found a galaxy AzTEC-3 that gives birth annually to 500 times the number of suns as the Milky Way galaxy, according to a new Cornell-led study published Nov. 10 in the Astrophysical Journal.

Lead author Dominik Riechers, Cornell assistant professor of astronomy, and an international team of researchers gazed back with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile over 12.5 billion years to find bustling galaxies creating stars at a breakneck rate. Today, Earths Milky Way galaxy produces the equivalent of perhaps two to three new suns a year. The AzTEC-3 galaxy, observed to be emerging from the Big Bangs primordial soup, creates about 1,100 suns a year, corresponding to about three suns each day.

ALMAs remarkable sensitivity and spatial resolution was key to observe this galaxy and others with unprecedented detail in far-infrared/submillimeter wavelength light. It also found, for the first time, star-forming gas in three additional, extremely distant members of an emerging galactic protocluster, which is associated with AzTEC-3.

The ALMA data reveal that AzTEC-3 is a very compact, highly disturbed galaxy that is bursting with new stars at close to its theoretically predicted maximum limit and is surrounded by a population of more normal, but also actively star-forming galaxies, said Riechers. This particular grouping of galaxies represents an important milestone in the evolution of our universe the formation of a galaxy cluster and the early assemblage of large, mature galaxies.

Riechers says that galaxies with this quick rate of star production have been known to exist in the middle-aged universe, say 3 billion to 6 billion years old, but this production is surprising for galaxies in their cosmic infancy. We expect this out of later galaxies in a more mature universe, but not from one of the earliest, he said.

In the early universe, starburst galaxies like AzTEC-3 formed stars at a frenetic pace, fueled by the copious quantities of material they devoured and by merging with other adolescent galaxies. Over billions of years, according to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, these galactic mergers continued, eventually producing the large galaxies and clusters of galaxies seen in the cosmos today.

One of the primary science goals of ALMA is the detection and detailed study of galaxies throughout cosmic time, said Chris Carilli, an astronomer with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico. These new observations help us put the pieces together by showing the first steps of a galaxy merger in the early universe.

The astronomers believe that AzTEC-3 and the other nearby galaxies appear to be part of the same system, but are not yet gravitationally bound into a clearly defined cluster. This is why the astronomers refer to them collectively as a protocluster. AzTEC-3 is currently undergoing an extreme, but short-lived event, said Riechers. This is perhaps the most violent phase in its evolution, leading to a star formation activity level that is very rare at its cosmic epoch.

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Primordial galaxy bursts with starry births

CSUNs new celestial astronomy club

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Published on November 15, 2014 in Features By Lisette Rosales

Illustration by Kristine Delicana/Illustrations Editor

The members of the CSUN Astronomy Club share a passion for anything and everything celestial and host numerous activities that engage the whole CSUN community, from movie nights to discussions.

I noticed that we had no astronomy clubthere was no place for anyone thats into astronomy to get together, Michael Artinian, 24, senior astrophysics major and club president and founder said. I thought it was kind of a shame.

Although Artinian started the club just last semester it increased to 15 members who regularly attend the events.

Weve gotten together for two lunar eclipses, said Garrett Limon, 21, senior physics major and vice president of the astronomy club. We do movie nights and those are always fun, last time was The Fifth Elementand we use the planetarium for the movies.

For members, the club is a way to socialize, learn and discuss issues pertinent to the community.

Its great to get together with a group of people who are passionate about the same things I am, Wolgast said. Sometimes we have heated debates about which series is better: Star Wars or Star Trek. Sounds like a nerd clich, but its actually very fun.

Artinian is currently getting trained to work the campus observatory and would like to hold more events there as soon as he is allowed to operate it.

For the members, the Astronomy Club is more than just an occasional extra-curricular activity it also helps them develop life skills.

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CSUNs new celestial astronomy club

Type-defying Type II Supernova ASASSN-13co: Holoien et al. (2014c) OSU Astronomy Coffee Brief – Video

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Type-defying Type II Supernova ASASSN-13co: Holoien et al. (2014c) OSU Astronomy Coffee Brief
This is an OSU astronomy Coffee Brief video for the Holoien et al. (2014c) paper "Discovery and Observations of the Type-Defying II-P/II-L Supernovae ASASSN-13co" posted to astro-ph and MNRAS...

By: OSUAstronomy

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Type-defying Type II Supernova ASASSN-13co: Holoien et al. (2014c) OSU Astronomy Coffee Brief - Video


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