Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2006 Ohio Section of the APS Fall Meeting
Friday–Saturday, October 13–14, 2006; Orrville, Ohio
Session E2: Astronomy |
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Chair: Adil Wadia, The University of Akron Wayne College Room: Wayne College C109 |
Saturday, October 14, 2006 10:25AM - 10:37AM |
E2.00001: WMAP: An Alternative Explanation for the Dipole Pierre-Marie Robitaille With the measurement of a dipole signal by WMAP, many believe that the CMB must be of cosmological origin. However, since the dipole is being observed in a difference experiment, the possibility remains that the signal detected ($\sim $3.5 mK) is simply reflecting motion through a weak microwave field, without the presence of the strong monopole signal reported by COBE and others. A weak microwave field, much weaker than the monopole observed on Earth, would still give rise to a dipole inferred to be caused by the motion of the Local Group. Therefore, the possibility that the CMB monopole actually corresponds to an oceanic signal has not been eliminated since, in this case, a dipole signal would still be detected by COBE. As dictated by relativity, an observer such as COBE would be unable to distinguish between the situations where the universe is bathed in signal from that wherein the signal is actually being produced by the oceans. Should the monopole signal eventually be reassigned, it will be important to search for the oscillator responsible. It is advanced that the weak hydrogen bond between water molecules in the oceans may be a suitable candidate in generating the signal first detected by Penzias and Wilson. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 14, 2006 10:37AM - 10:49AM |
E2.00002: Shedding light on dark matter James Beichler Nearly three decades ago, a physical anomaly was discovered that should have shaken physics to its very foundations. That anomaly, called the galaxy rotation problem, resulted from the difference between the expected velocities of material objects in the disk portion of galaxies and their observed velocities. To explain this anomaly, the concept of Cold Dark Matter (CDM) was invoked. Alternative explanations such as MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) have been proposed, but altering the basis of Newtonian physics by adding a fudge factor to the laws of motion is aesthetically displeasing as well as completely unnecessary. The dark matter halo that surrounds spiral galaxies can be easily explained if scientists are willing to accept the physical reality of a fourth dimension of space, which amounts to a fifth dimension of space-time. This solution may seem radical, but there is ample evidence in other areas of physics to support the existence of a fourth spatial dimension. What is commonly called dark matter is no more nor less than space-time curvature that is not associated with local matter, but is due instead to the total or global curvature of the universe as a whole. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, October 14, 2006 10:49AM - 11:01AM |
E2.00003: Intensity calculations of HCN molecules Kausar Yasmin Accurate spectroscopic data of HCN are required for many astronomical calculations and modeling. HCN molecules are present in the atmosphere of carbon stars and in galactic centers. Ro-vibrational energy levels and intensity calculations were carried out using the full coupled cluster model and radau coordinates. Accurate ab initio calculated potential energy surface$^{1}$ and dipole moment surface$^{2}$ were used for computation. The computed values were compared with Hitran$^{99}$.$^{ }$ [Preview Abstract] |
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