Astrophysics & Space Physics Journal Club
GMU Department of Physics and Astronomy
Who We Are
The George Mason University Department of Physics and Astronomy Journal Club is an informal
group of Department faculty and students who meet to discuss current papers in astrophysics and space physics.
The papers we discuss are selected by the members of the group, and will be posted on this
website approximately a week before Journal Club meetings, so that Club members have time to
read them prior to our meeting. We meet every other week on Wednesday afternoons from 1:30 to
2:30 in Student Union Building II (SUB II) rooms 3,4,5 or 6. (Please see the schedule of meeting dates/rooms
below.) This Club is open to anyone interested in discussing or listening to
discussions of current astrophysics or space physics research and astronomical discoveries, including faculty members,
postdocs, and students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
If you have a suggestion for a paper or if you would like to present a paper or topic of your current
research, please send your suggestion to: mjordan4@gmu.edu . If you suggest a paper for discussion
you do not have to present it, so please feel free to send in your suggestions.
Light refreshments are provided (and edible contributions are welcomed!).
Fall 2007 Meeting Schedule and Discussion Papers
September 12 (Room: SUB II room 5)
- "The radius and mass or the subgiant star beta Hyi from interferometry and asteroseismology", J. R. North, et al, MNRAS 380, L80-L83 (2007)
September 26 (Room: SUB II room 5)
- "NGC 4254: An act of harrassment uncovered by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey", M.P. Haynes, et al, ApJ 665: L19-L22, 2007 August 10
- "Optically unseen H1 detections towards the Virgo Cluster detected in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey", B.R. Kent, et al, ApJ 665: L15-L18, 2007 August 10
- Check out the following Article for a related current event, and the Webpage for information about the Square Kilometer Array telescope.
October 10 (Room: SUB II room 4)
October 31 (Room: SUB II room 6)
- "NGC 3147: a 'true' Seyfert 2 without the broad-line region", S. Bianchi, et al, astro-ph arXiv:0710.4226v1
- "The Zero Age Main Sequence of WIMP burners", M. Fairbairn, P. Scott & J. Edsjo, astro-ph arXiv:0710.3396v1
- "Clump Detections and Limits on Moons in Jupiter's Ring System", M. Showalter, et al, Science Vol 318, 12 October 2007
- "Modified gravity and the origin of inertia", J. W. Moffat & V. T. Toth, astro-ph arXiv:0710.3415v1
November 14 (Room: SUB II room 4)
- "Universe's Highest-Energy Particles Traced Back to Other Galaxies", Science Vol 318, pg 896, 9 November 2007
- "Correlation of the Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays with Nearby Extragalactic Objects", Science Vol 318, pg 938, 9 November 2007
- "Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays as heavy nuclei from cluster accretion shocks", arXiv:0711.1027v1 [astro-ph] 7Nov 2007
- "A Bright Millisecond Radio Burst of Extragalactic Origin", Science Vol 318, pg 777, 2 November 2007
November 28 (Room: SUB II room 4)
- "Finding Planets Around White Dwarf Remnants of Massive Stars", arXiv:0711.2508v1 [astro-ph] 15 Nov 2007
- "Pulsational pair instability as an explanation for the most luminous supernovae", S.E. Woosley, et al, Nature Vol 450, pg 390, 15 November 2007
- "A runaway collision in a young star cluster as the origin of the brightest supernova", S.F. Portegies Zwart & E.P.J. van den Heuvel, Nature Vol 450, pg 388, 15 November 2007
- "A Test of the Copernican Principle",arXiv:0711.3459v1 [astro-ph] 22 Nov 2007
December 5 (Room: SUB II room 4)
- "Direct Measurement of Neutron Star Recoil in the Oxygen-Rich Supernova Remnant Puppis A", P. F. Winkler, ApJ 670: 635-642 2007 November 20 For a quick synopsis, check this press release
- "Venus as a more Earth-like planet", H. Svedhem, et al, Nature Vol 450, pg 629, 29 November 2007
- "Are Globular Clusters the Remnant Nuclei of Progenitor Disk Galaxies?", T. Boker, arXiv:0711.4542v1 [astro-ph] 28 Nov 2007
Journal Abbreviation Key
ApJ: Astrophysical Journal
MNRAS: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
A&A: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics Journal Resources
The following links are good sources for identifying candidate papers you may be interested in suggesting
for discussion.
astro-ph (a free source of pre-print
astrophysics papers)
The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System
(a free source of archived papers and links to other astronomy and astrophysics data archives)
For accessing online journals from off-campus locations, using your GMU ID:
GMU Library e-Journals