User:Tohline/DarkMatter/VeraRubin - Revision history

Tohline: /* Princeton IAS */

2021-07-02T21:13:21Z

Princeton IAS

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	===Princeton IAS===		===Princeton IAS===
	Also in ~~early June~~ of 1983, I received a ~~request for~~ reprints of my work from Dr. Herbert Rood (Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study). ~~I do not now have a copy of his request, but the~~ letter that I wrote to him in response (dated 3 June 1983) contains the following text:		[[File:Rood1983postcard combined.png\|right\|thumb\|150px\|Postcard from Herbert Rood (1983)]]Also, in late May of 1983, I received a postcard requesting reprints of my work from Dr. Herbert Rood (Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study). The letter that I wrote to him in response (dated 3 June 1983) contains the following text:
	<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">		<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">
	<font color="purple">"Dear Herbert:  Your recent request for reprints of my work on the non-Newtonian Force Law came as a bit of a shock. I was, until then, unaware that Vera had mentioned my work in her article — in fact, that issue of ''Scientific American'' only arrived to subscribers here at LSU the day that your request for reprints appeared in my mailbox."</font>		<font color="purple">"Dear Herbert:  Your recent request for reprints of my work on the non-Newtonian Force Law came as a bit of a shock. I was, until then, unaware that Vera had mentioned my work in her article — in fact, that issue of ''Scientific American'' only arrived to subscribers here at LSU the day that your request for reprints appeared in my mailbox."</font>

Tohline: /* Early Interactions with Vera Rubin */

2021-06-29T18:51:42Z

Early Interactions with Vera Rubin

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	=Early Interactions with Vera Rubin=		=Early Interactions with Vera Rubin=
	<font color="red">Note from Joel E. Tohline:</font>  ~~Whether~~ she knew it ~~or not~~, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Dr. Vera C. Rubin] was a significant influence on my astronomy career. What follows are some highlights of my early professional interactions with her.		<font color="red">Note from Joel E. Tohline:</font>  I doubt that she knew it, but [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Dr. Vera C. Rubin] was a significant influence on my astronomy career. What follows are some highlights of my early professional interactions with her.

Tohline: /* Early Interactions with Vera Rubin */

2021-06-29T18:49:58Z

Early Interactions with Vera Rubin

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:49, 29 June 2021
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	<!-- __NOTOC__ will force TOC off -->		<!-- __NOTOC__ will force TOC off -->
	=Early Interactions with Vera Rubin=		=Early Interactions with Vera Rubin=
	<font color="red">Note from Joel E. Tohline:</font>  Whether she knew it or not, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Dr. Vera C. Rubin] was a significant influence on my ~~early~~ astronomy career. What follows are some highlights of my early professional interactions with her.		<font color="red">Note from Joel E. Tohline:</font>  Whether she knew it or not, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Dr. Vera C. Rubin] was a significant influence on my astronomy career. What follows are some highlights of my early professional interactions with her.

Tohline: /* Exchange of Letters with Jim Felten (1984) … and Beyond */

2021-06-28T23:01:11Z

Exchange of Letters with Jim Felten (1984) … and Beyond

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	<ul>		<ul>
	<li>		<li>
	In the spring of 1985, I received a package of documents from Dr. Michael Disney (Cardiff, Wales). In addition to a wonderfully worded cover letter, the package contained a couple of thick draft articles in which he explored in a number of different directions what the implications would be of a modification to Newton's Law of the type I was proposing. He had not previously seen my work on this topic, but his thoughts were so in tune with my own that I was sure he had read my mind! It was wonderful to have heard from such a kindred spirit; his (draft) writings were like poetry, to me. Toward the end of the decade, at the invitation of Mike Disney and his astronomy colleagues at University College, Cardiff, I spent ten very enjoyable and intellectually stimulating days visiting Wales.		In the spring of 1985, I received a package of documents from Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Disney Michael Disney] (Cardiff, Wales). In addition to a wonderfully worded cover letter, the package contained a couple of thick draft articles in which he explored in a number of different directions what the implications would be of a modification to Newton's Law of the type I was proposing. He had not previously seen my work on this topic, but his thoughts were so in tune with my own that I was sure he had read my mind! It was wonderful to have heard from such a kindred spirit; his (draft) writings were like poetry, to me. Toward the end of the decade, at the invitation of Mike Disney and his astronomy colleagues at University College, Cardiff, I spent ten very enjoyable and intellectually stimulating days visiting Wales.
	</li>		</li>
	<li>		<li>
	In early 1986, Jeff Kuhn (Princeton, at the time) sent me a preprint of the paper he had written in collaboration with Kruglyak; he had heard of my work from Milgrom. A brief exchange of letters followed. An acknowledgement of my effort to examine the stability of cold stellar disks appears in their published paper [https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987ApJ...313....1K/abstract (ApJ, 313, 1)].		In early 1986, [https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/kuhn/kuhn2.html Jeff Kuhn] (Princeton, at the time) sent me a preprint of the paper he had written in collaboration with Kruglyak; he had heard of my work from Milgrom. A brief exchange of letters followed. An acknowledgement of my effort to examine the stability of cold stellar disks appears in their published paper [https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987ApJ...313....1K/abstract (ApJ, 313, 1)].
	</li>		</li>
	</ul>		</ul>

Tohline: /* Princeton IAS */

2021-06-28T22:54:34Z

Princeton IAS

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:54, 28 June 2021
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	<font color="purple">"Dear Herbert:  Your recent request for reprints of my work on the non-Newtonian Force Law came as a bit of a shock. I was, until then, unaware that Vera had mentioned my work in her article — in fact, that issue of ''Scientific American'' only arrived to subscribers here at LSU the day that your request for reprints appeared in my mailbox."</font>		<font color="purple">"Dear Herbert:  Your recent request for reprints of my work on the non-Newtonian Force Law came as a bit of a shock. I was, until then, unaware that Vera had mentioned my work in her article — in fact, that issue of ''Scientific American'' only arrived to subscribers here at LSU the day that your request for reprints appeared in my mailbox."</font>
	</td></tr></table>		</td></tr></table>
	Shortly thereafter I received a letter (dated 17 June 1983) from Dr. John N. Bahcall (also, Princeton's IAS) that began as follows …		Shortly thereafter I received a letter (dated 17 June 1983) from Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_N._Bahcall John N. Bahcall] (also, Princeton's IAS) that began as follows …
	<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">		<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">
	<font color="darkgreen">"Dear Joel:   Herb Rood showed me an abstract that you had written in which you consider some of the Solar system consequences of modifying the Newtonian force law."</font>		<font color="darkgreen">"Dear Joel:   Herb Rood showed me an abstract that you had written in which you consider some of the Solar system consequences of modifying the Newtonian force law."</font>
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	-- John N. Bahcall		-- John N. Bahcall
	</td></tr></table>		</td></tr></table>
	Bahcall then asked whether or not I had considered how the standard mathematical expression of the virial theorem would be generalized in the context of my proposed non-Newtonian gravitational attraction. He derived what he considered to be the appropriate additional term that would be required, then applied the result to the case of "rich clusters" of galaxies. HIs conclusion was that my proposed modification of Newton's Law <font color="darkgreen">"… would overestimate the missing mass [in rich clusters] by a factor of 30"</font> relative to what is observed. His reference regarding the relevant observational measurements was [https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.aa.15.090177.002445 ~~Neta Bahcall's article in~~ Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics (1977, Vol. 15, pp. 505 - 540)].		Bahcall then asked whether or not I had considered how the standard mathematical expression of the virial theorem would be generalized in the context of my proposed non-Newtonian gravitational attraction. He derived what he considered to be the appropriate additional term that would be required, then applied the result to the case of "rich clusters" of galaxies. HIs conclusion was that my proposed modification of Newton's Law <font color="darkgreen">"… would overestimate the missing mass [in rich clusters] by a factor of 30"</font> relative to what is observed. His reference regarding the relevant observational measurements was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neta_Bahcall Neta Bahcall's] article in [https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.aa.15.090177.002445 Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics (1977, Vol. 15, pp. 505 - 540)].

	I wrote back to John Bahcall, stating that I agreed with his derived correction to the virial theorem but that my interpretation of the published observational results — as found for example in Neta Bahcall's review article — was different from his. It looked to me as though the modified virial theorem expression nicely explains the mass-to-light ratio measurements in rich clusters. After studying my response, Dr. Bahcall wrote back:		I wrote back to John Bahcall, stating that I agreed with his derived correction to the virial theorem but that my interpretation of the published observational results — as found for example in Neta Bahcall's review article — was different from his. It looked to me as though the modified virial theorem expression nicely explains the mass-to-light ratio measurements in rich clusters. After studying my response, Dr. Bahcall wrote back:

Tohline: /* Primack at UC, Santa Cruz */

2021-06-28T22:45:28Z

Primack at UC, Santa Cruz

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:45, 28 June 2021
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	===Primack at UC, Santa Cruz===		===Primack at UC, Santa Cruz===
	That same month (June 1983) I received a (hand-written) letter from Dr. Joel Primack (a physicist at UC, Santa Cruz) containing the following text:		That same month (June 1983) I received a (hand-written) letter from Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Primack Joel Primack] (a physicist at UC, Santa Cruz) containing the following text:
	<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">		<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">
	<font color="darkgreen">"I'm working on a review of dark matter for Annual Reviews (with Sandy Faber, George Blumenthal and Doug Lin) and would very much appreciate it if you would send me a copy of your paper on gravity weakening with distance as an explanation of constant rotation curves, referred to in <b>Vera Rubin's recent ''Scientific American'' article</b>… Please also send a copy to George Blumenthal at UC Santa Cruz. Thanks very much!"</font>		<font color="darkgreen">"I'm working on a review of dark matter for Annual Reviews (with Sandy Faber, George Blumenthal and Doug Lin) and would very much appreciate it if you would send me a copy of your paper on gravity weakening with distance as an explanation of constant rotation curves, referred to in <b>Vera Rubin's recent ''Scientific American'' article</b>… Please also send a copy to George Blumenthal at UC Santa Cruz. Thanks very much!"</font>
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	-- Joel Primack		-- Joel Primack
	</td></tr></table>		</td></tr></table>
	Receiving this request from Joel Primack was exciting for me on two fronts: (1) Having my work cited in a high-quality review article would significantly enhance its visibility. (2) I had only recently (1978) earned my doctoral degree in astronomy from UC, Santa Cruz and had completed courses taught by both Sandy Faber and George Blumenthal, so I knew them well and was happy to hear that they had become aware of research endeavors that I was pursuing beyond the focus of my dissertation research.		Receiving this request from Joel Primack was exciting for me on two fronts: (1) Having my work cited in a high-quality review article would significantly enhance its visibility. (2) I had only recently (1978) earned my doctoral degree in astronomy from UC, Santa Cruz and had completed courses taught by both [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Faber Sandy Faber] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Blumenthal George Blumenthal], so I knew them well and was happy to hear that they had become aware of research endeavors that I was pursuing beyond the focus of my dissertation research.

	===Princeton IAS===		===Princeton IAS===

Tohline: /* Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University (1979) */

2021-06-28T22:39:41Z

Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University (1979)

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	<div align="center">'''Rotation:''' The Dynamical Structure of Galaxies<br />''(A Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University)''<br />Dates: 23 - 24 March 1979</div>		<div align="center">'''Rotation:''' The Dynamical Structure of Galaxies<br />''(A Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University)''<br />Dates: 23 - 24 March 1979</div>

	Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Vera Rubin] agreed to be our opening speaker. It was an opportunity for the (> 90) attendees to hear and see — first hand from the expert — how significant the evidence was for flat rotation curves. Five speakers followed: Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_P._Ostriker Jeremiah Ostriker] (Princeton), Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alar_Toomre Alar Toomre] (MIT), Dr. Kevin Prendergast (Columbia University), Dr. Paul Schechter (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and Dr. Richard Miller (Chicago).		Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Vera Rubin] agreed to be our opening speaker. It was an opportunity for the (> 90) attendees to hear and see — first hand from the expert — how significant the evidence was for flat rotation curves. Five speakers followed: Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_P._Ostriker Jeremiah Ostriker] (Princeton), Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alar_Toomre Alar Toomre] (MIT), Dr. [https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005BAAS...37.1555S/abstract Kevin Prendergast] (Columbia University), Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_L._Schechter Paul Schechter] (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and Dr. [https://physicalsciences.uchicago.edu/news/article/richard-miller-obituary/ Richard Miller] (Chicago).

	==Tohline Visits CIW:DTM (1980)==		==Tohline Visits CIW:DTM (1980)==

Tohline: /* Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University (1979) */

2021-06-28T22:31:26Z

Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University (1979)

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:31, 28 June 2021
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	<div align="center">'''Rotation:''' The Dynamical Structure of Galaxies<br />''(A Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University)''<br />Dates: 23 - 24 March 1979</div>		<div align="center">'''Rotation:''' The Dynamical Structure of Galaxies<br />''(A Neighborhood Meeting at Yale University)''<br />Dates: 23 - 24 March 1979</div>

	Dr. Vera Rubin agreed to be our opening speaker. It was an opportunity for the (> 90) attendees to hear and see — first hand from the expert — how significant the evidence was for flat rotation curves. Five speakers followed: Dr. Jeremiah Ostriker (Princeton), Dr. Alar Toomre (MIT), Dr. Kevin Prendergast (Columbia University), Dr. Paul Schechter (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and Dr. Richard Miller (Chicago).		Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Rubin Vera Rubin] agreed to be our opening speaker. It was an opportunity for the (> 90) attendees to hear and see — first hand from the expert — how significant the evidence was for flat rotation curves. Five speakers followed: Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_P._Ostriker Jeremiah Ostriker] (Princeton), Dr. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alar_Toomre Alar Toomre] (MIT), Dr. Kevin Prendergast (Columbia University), Dr. Paul Schechter (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and Dr. Richard Miller (Chicago).

	==Tohline Visits CIW:DTM (1980)==		==Tohline Visits CIW:DTM (1980)==

Tohline: /* Princeton IAS */

2021-06-28T22:25:41Z

Princeton IAS

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:25, 28 June 2021
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	-- John N. Bahcall		-- John N. Bahcall
	</td></tr></table>		</td></tr></table>

			Over the subsequent couple of decades, John and Neta Bahcall visited LSU several times. As it turns out, John had graduated from high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, and he had a brother who lived in Baton Rouge.

	==Exchange of Letters with Jim Felten (1984) … and Beyond==		==Exchange of Letters with Jim Felten (1984) … and Beyond==

Tohline: /* Princeton IAS */

2021-06-28T22:21:11Z

Princeton IAS

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:21, 28 June 2021
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	<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">		<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">
	<font color="darkgreen">"Dear Joel:   Herb Rood showed me an abstract that you had written in which you consider some of the Solar system consequences of modifying the Newtonian force law."</font>		<font color="darkgreen">"Dear Joel:   Herb Rood showed me an abstract that you had written in which you consider some of the Solar system consequences of modifying the Newtonian force law."</font>
			</td></tr>
			<tr><td align="right">
			-- John N. Bahcall
	</td></tr></table>		</td></tr></table>
	Bahcall then asked whether or not I had considered how the standard mathematical expression of the virial theorem would be generalized in the context of my proposed non-Newtonian gravitational attraction. He derived what he considered to be the appropriate additional term that would be required, then applied the result to the case of "rich clusters" of galaxies. HIs conclusion was that my proposed modification of Newton's Law <font color="darkgreen">"… would overestimate the missing mass [in rich clusters] by a factor of 30"</font> relative to what is observed. His reference regarding the relevant observational measurements was [https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.aa.15.090177.002445 Neta Bahcall's article in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics (1977, Vol. 15, pp. 505 - 540)].		Bahcall then asked whether or not I had considered how the standard mathematical expression of the virial theorem would be generalized in the context of my proposed non-Newtonian gravitational attraction. He derived what he considered to be the appropriate additional term that would be required, then applied the result to the case of "rich clusters" of galaxies. HIs conclusion was that my proposed modification of Newton's Law <font color="darkgreen">"… would overestimate the missing mass [in rich clusters] by a factor of 30"</font> relative to what is observed. His reference regarding the relevant observational measurements was [https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.aa.15.090177.002445 Neta Bahcall's article in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics (1977, Vol. 15, pp. 505 - 540)].
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	<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">		<table border="0" align="center" width="60%"><tr><td align="left">
	<font color="darkgreen">"… Thank you for your interesting letter on the r<sup>-1</sup> force. You are indeed right that the mass to light ratio is typically 300 for rich clusters (I misquoted Neta's article). Thus there is no inconsistency with the virial equation I derived, provided one takes [a scale length] a &sim; 10 kpc … Very intriguing."</font>		<font color="darkgreen">"… Thank you for your interesting letter on the r<sup>-1</sup> force. You are indeed right that the mass to light ratio is typically 300 for rich clusters (I misquoted Neta's article). Thus there is no inconsistency with the virial equation I derived, provided one takes [a scale length] a &sim; 10 kpc … Very intriguing."</font>
			</td></tr>
			<tr><td align="right">
			-- John N. Bahcall
	</td></tr></table>		</td></tr></table>