In the seconds following their formation in core-collapse supernovae, "proto"-magnetars drive neutrino-heated magneto-centrifugal winds. Using a suite of two-dimensional axisymmetric MHD simulations, we show that relatively slowly rotating magnetars with initial spin periods of P-*0 = 50-500 ms spin down rapidly during the neutrino Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling epoch. These initial spin periods are representative of those inferred for normal Galactic pulsars, and much slower than those invoked for gamma-ray bursts and super-luminous supernovae. Since the flow is non-relativistic at early times, and because the Alfven radius is much larger than the proto-magnetar radius, spindown is millions of times more efficient than the typically-used dipole formula. Quasi-periodic plasmoid ejections from the closed zone enhance spindown. For polar magnetic field strengths B-0 greater than or similar to 5 x 10(14) G, the spindown timescale can be shorter than than the Kelvin-Helmholtz timescale. For B-0 greater than or similar to 10(15) G, it is of order seconds in early phases. We compute the spin evolution for cooling proto-magnetars as a function of B-0, P-*0, and mass (M). Proto-magnetars born with B-0 greater than similar or equal to 1.3 x 10(15)G(P-*0/400ms)(-1.4)(M/1.4M(circle dot))(2.2) spin down to periods >1 s in just the first few seconds of evolution, well before the end of the cooling epoch and the onset of classic dipole spindown. Spindown is more efficient for lower M and for larger P-*0. We discuss the implications for observed magnetars, including the discrepancy between their characteristic ages and supernova remnant ages. Finally, we speculate on the origin of 1E 161348-5055 in the remnant RCW 103, and the potential for other ultra-slowly rotating magnetars.

Several external hardware upgrades have been developed for the APOGEE Spectrographs as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-V (SDSS-V) to improve their radial velocity (RV) precision from a floor of 100-200 m/sec to approx. 30 m/sec. The upgrades include: (1) Back Pressure Regulator (BPR) systems to stabilize the internal instrument LN2 tank boil-off pressure, lessening induced movement of the APOGEE optical bench; (2) Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) calibration sources to improve wavelength calibration; and (3), the use of octagonal core fiber segments in the fiber train to improve radial scrambling. We discuss the fabrication, commissioning, and early performance of these upgrades.

The correlation between black hole masses and stellar velocity dispersions provides an efficient method to determine the masses of black holes in active galaxies. We obtained optical spectra of a Compact-Steep-Spectrum (CSS) galaxy 4C+29.70, using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) equipped with OSIS, in 2003 August 6. Several stellar absorption features, such as Mg I (5175 angstrom), Ca E band (5269 angstrom) and Na D (5890 angstrom), were detected in the spectra. The stellar velocity dispersion, sigma, of the host galaxy, measured from absorption features is approximate to 250 km s(-1). If 4C +29.70 follows the M-BH-sigma relation established for nearby galaxies, then its central black hole has a mass of approximate to 3.3 x 10(8) M-circle dot. In combination with the black hole masses of seven GPS galaxies in Snellen et al. (2003), we find that the average black hole mass of these eight young radio sources is smaller than that of the Bettoni et al. (2003) sample of extended radio galaxies. This may indicate that young radio sources are likely at the early evolutionary stage of radio galaxies, at which the central black holes may still undergo rapid growth. However, this needs further investigations. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co, KGaA, Weinheim

Minor mergers are thought to be important for the buildup and structural evolution of massive elliptical galaxies. In this work, we report the discovery of a system of four shell features in NGC 4889, one of the brightest members of the Coma cluster, using optical images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The shells are well aligned with the major axis of the host and are likely to have been formed by the accretion of a small satellite galaxy. We have performed a detailed two-dimensional photometric decomposition of NGC 4889 and of the many overlapping nearby galaxies in its vicinity. This comprehensive model allows us not only to firmly detect the low-surface brightness shells, but, crucially, also to accurately measure their luminosities and colors. The shells are bluer than the underlying stars at the same radius in the main galaxy. We make use of the colors of the shells and the color-magnitude relation of the Coma cluster to infer the luminosity (or mass) of the progenitor galaxy. The shells in NGC 4889 appear to have been produced by the minor merger of a moderate-luminosity (M-I approximate to -18.7 mag) disk (S0 or spiral) galaxy with a luminosity (mass) ratio of similar to 90:1 with respect to the primary galaxy. The novel methodology presented in this work can be exploited to decode the fossil record imprinted in the photometric substructure of other nearby early-type galaxies.

Materials discovery enables both realization and understanding of new, exotic, physical phenomena. An emerging approach to the discovery of novel phases is high-pressure synthesis within diamond anvil cells, thereby enabling insitu monitoring of phase formation. Now, the discovery via high-pressure synthesis of the first intermetallic compound in the Cu-Pb system, Cu3Pb is reported. Cu3Pb is notably the first structurally characterized mid- to late-first-row transition-metal plumbide. The structure of Cu3Pb can be envisioned as a direct mixture of the two elemental lattices. From this new framework, we gain insight into the structure as a function of pressure and hypothesize that the high-pressure polymorph of lead is a possible prerequisite for the formation of Cu3Pb. Crucially, electronic structure computations reveal band crossings near the Fermi level, suggesting that chemically doped Cu3Pb could be a topologically nontrivial material.

Twenty years have passed since first light for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Here, we release data taken by the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV) across its first three years of operation (2014 July-2017 July). This is the third data release for SDSS-IV, and the 15th from SDSS (Data Release Fifteen; DR15). New data come from MaNGA-we release 4824 data cubes, as well as the first stellar spectra in the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar), the first set of survey-supported analysis products (e.g., stellar and gas kinematics, emission-line and other maps) from the MaNGA Data Analysis Pipeline, and a new data visualization and access tool we call "Marvin." The next data release, DR16, will include new data from both APOGEE-2 and eBOSS; those surveys release no new data here, but we document updates and corrections to their data processing pipelines. The release is cumulative; it also includes the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since first light. In this paper, we describe the location and format of the data and tools and cite technical references describing how it was obtained and processed. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has also been updated, providing links to data downloads, tutorials, and examples of data use. Although SDSS-IV will continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V (2020-2025), we end this paper by describing plans to ensure the sustainability of the SDSS data archive for many years beyond the collection of data.

We present detailed observations of photoionization conditions and galaxy kinematics in 11 z = 1.39-2.59 radio-loud quasar host galaxies. Data were taken with the OSIRIS integral field spectrograph and the adaptive optics system at the W. M. Keck Observatory that targeted nebular emission lines (H beta, [O iii], H alpha, [N ii]) redshifted into the near-infrared (1-2.4 mu m). We detect extended ionized emission on scales ranging from 1 to 30 kpc photoionized by stars, shocks, and active galactic nuclei (AGN). Spatially resolved emission-line ratios indicate that our systems reside off the star formation and AGN-mixing sequence on the Baldwin, Phillips, & Terlevich diagram at low redshift. The dominant cause of the difference between line ratios of low-redshift galaxies and our sample is due to lower gas-phase metallicities, which are 2-5x less compared to galaxies with AGN in the nearby universe. Using gas velocity dispersion as a proxy to stellar velocity dispersion and dynamical mass measurement through inclined disk modeling, we find that the quasar host galaxies are undermassive relative to their central supermassive black hole mass, with all systems residing off the local scaling (M-sigma, M-M-*) relationship. These quasar host galaxies require substantial growth, up to an order of magnitude in stellar mass, to grow into present-day massive elliptical galaxies. Combining these results with part I of our sample paper, we find evidence for winds capable of causing feedback before the AGN host galaxies land on the local scaling relation between black hole and galaxy stellar mass, and before the enrichment of the interstellar medium to a level observed in local galaxies with AGN.

Quasar-driven outflows must have made their most significant impact on galaxy formation during the epoch when massive galaxies were forming most rapidly. To study the impact of quasar feedback, we conducted rest-frame optical integral field spectrograph (IFS) observations of three extremely red quasars (ERQs) and one type-2 quasar at z = 2-3, obtained with the NIFS and OSIRIS instruments at the Gemini North and W. M. Keck Observatory with the assistance of laser-guided adaptive optics. We use the kinematics and morphologies of the [OIII] 5007 angstrom and H alpha 6563 angstrom emission lines redshifted into the near-infrared to gauge the extents, kinetic energies and momentum fluxes of the ionized outflows in the quasars host galaxies. For the ERQs, the galactic-scale outflows are likely driven by radiation pressure in a high column density environment or due to an adiabatic shock. The outflows in the ERQs carry a significant amount of energy ranging from 0.05 to 5 per cent of the quasar's bolometric luminosity, powerful enough to have a significant impact on the quasar host galaxies. The outflows are resolved on kpc scales, the observed outflow sizes are generally smaller than other ionized outflows observed at high redshift. The high ratio between the momentum flux of the ionized outflow and the photon momentum flux from the quasar accretion disc and high nuclear obscuration makes these ERQs great candidates for transitional objects where the outflows are likely responsible for clearing material in the inner regions of each galaxy, unveiling the quasar accretion disc at optical wavelengths.

We present observations of ionized gas outflows in 11 z = 1.39-2.59 radio-loud quasar host galaxies. Data were taken with the integral field spectrograph OSIRIS and the adaptive optics system at the W.M. Keck Observatory targeting nebular emission lines (H beta, [O III], H alpha, [N II], and [S II]) redshifted into the near-infrared (1-2.4 mu m). Outflows with velocities of 500-1700 km s(-1) are detected in 10 systems on scales ranging from M (circle dot) yr(-1) . For five sources, the outflow momentum rates are 4-80 times L (AGN)/c, consistent with outflows being driven by an energy-conserving shock. The five other outflows are either driven by radiation pressure or an isothermal shock. The outflows are the dominant source of gas depletion, and we find no evidence for star formation along the outflow paths. For eight objects, the outflow paths are consistent with the orientation of the jets. Yet, given the calculated pressures, we find no evidence of the jets currently doing work on these galactic-scale ionized outflows. We find that galactic-scale feedback occurs well before galaxies establish a substantial fraction of their stellar mass, as expected from local scaling relationships.

We investigate the limitations of statistical absorption measurements with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical spectroscopic surveys. We show that changes in the data reduction strategy throughout different data releases have led to a better accuracy at long wavelengths, in particular for sky line subtraction, but a degradation at shortwavelengths with the emergence of systematic spectral features with an amplitude of about 1 per cent. We show that these features originate from inaccuracy in the fitting of modelled F-star spectra used for flux calibration. The best-fitting models for those stars are found to systematically overestimate the strength of metal lines and underestimate that of Lithium. We also identify the existence of artefacts due to masking and interpolation procedures at the wavelengths of the hydrogen Balmer series leading to the existence of artificial Balmer a absorption in all SDSS optical spectra. All these effects occur in the rest frame of the standard stars and therefore present Galactic longitude variations due to the rotation of the Galaxy. We demonstrate that the detection of certain weak absorption lines reported in the literature is solely due to calibration effects. Finally, we discuss new strategies to mitigate these issues.