Synthesis of C-rich dust in CO nova ourbursts

Context. Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions that take place in the envelopes of accreting white dwarfs in stellar binary systems. The material transferred onto the white dwarf piles up under degenerate conditions, driving a thermonuclear runaway. In those outbursts, about 10-7 - 10-3 Msun, enriched in CNO and, sometimes, other intermediate-mass elements (e.g., Ne, Na, Mg, or Al, for ONe novae) are ejected into the interstellar medium. The large concentrations of metals spectroscopically inferred in the nova ejecta reveal that the (solar-like) material transferred from the secondary mixes with the outermost layers of the underlying white dwarf. Aims. Most theoretical models of nova outbursts reported to date yield, on average, outflows characterized by O > C, from which only oxidized condensates (e.g, O-rich grains) would be expected, in principle. Methods. To specifically address whether CO novae can actually produce C-rich dust, six different hydrodynamic nova models have been evolved, from accretion to the expansion and ejection stages, with different choices for the composition of the substrate with which the solar-like accreted material mixes. Updated chemical profiles inside the H-exhausted core have been used, based on stellar evolution calculations for a progenitor of 8 Msun through H and He-burning phases. Results. We show that these profiles lead to C-rich ejecta after the nova outburst. This extends the possible contribution of novae to the inventory of presolar grains identified in meteorites, particularly in a number of carbonaceous phases (i.e., nanodiamonds, silicon carbides and graphites).Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Statistical Geometry of Packing Defects of Lattice Chain Polymer from Enumeration and Sequential Monte Carlo Method

Voids exist in proteins as packing defects and are often associated with protein functions. We study the statistical geometry of voids in two-dimensional lattice chain polymers. We define voids as topological features and develop a simple algorithm for their detection. For short chains, void geometry is examined by enumerating all conformations. For long chains, the space of void geometry is explored using sequential Monte Carlo importance sampling and resampling techniques. We characterize the relationship of geometric properties of voids with chain length, including probability of void formation, expected number of voids, void size, and wall size of voids. We formalize the concept of packing density for lattice polymers, and further study the relationship between packing density and compactness, two parameters frequently used to describe protein packing. We find that both fully extended and maximally compact polymers have the highest packing density, but polymers with intermediate compactness have low packing density. To study the conformational entropic effects of void formation, we characterize the conformation reduction factor of void formation and found that there are strong end-effect. Voids are more likely to form at the chain end. The critical exponent of end-effect is twice as large as that of self-contacting loop formation when existence of voids is not required. We also briefly discuss the sequential Monte Carlo sampling and resampling techniques used in this study.Comment: 29 pages, including 12 figure

The Star Formation Region NGC 6530: distance, ages and Initial Mass Function

We present astrometry and $BVI$ photometry, down to $V\simeq22$, of the very young open cluster NGC6530, obtained from observations taken with the Wide Field Imager camera at the MPG/ESO 2.2 m Telescope. Both the $V$ vs. $B-V$ and the $V$ vs. $V-I$ color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) show the upper main sequence dominated by very bright cluster stars, while, due to the high obscuration of the giant molecular cloud surrounding the cluster, the blue envelopes of the diagrams at $V\gtrsim 14$ are limited to the main sequence stars at the distance of NGC6530. This particular structure of the NGC6530 CMD allows us to conclude that its distance is about $d \simeq 1250$ pc, significantly lower than the previous determination of d=1800 pc. We have positionally matched our optical catalog with the list of X-ray sources found in a Chandra-ACIS observation, finding a total of 828 common stars, 90% of which are pre-main sequence stars in NGC6530. Using evolutionary tracks of Siess et al. (2000)}, mass and age values are inferred for these stars. The median age of the cluster is about 2.3 Myr; in the mass range (0.6--4.0)$M_\odot$, the Initial Mass Function (IMF) shows a power law index $x=1.22\pm0.17$, consistent with both the Salpeter index (1.35), and with the index derived for other young clusters ; towards smaller masses the IMF shows a peak and then it starts to decrease.Comment: 32 pages, 13 ps figures, in press in Astronomy and Astrophysic

SAS-4 is recruited to a dynamic structure in newly forming centrioles that is stabilized by the gamma-tubulin-mediated addition of centriolar microtubules.

Centrioles are surrounded by pericentriolar material (PCM), which is proposed to promote new centriole assembly by concentrating gamma-tubulin. Here, we quantitatively monitor new centriole assembly in living Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, focusing on the conserved components SAS-4 and SAS-6. We show that SAS-4 and SAS-6 are coordinately recruited to the site of new centriole assembly and reach their maximum levels during S phase. Centriolar SAS-6 is subsequently reduced by a mechanism intrinsic to the early assembly pathway that does not require progression into mitosis. Centriolar SAS-4 remains in dynamic equilibrium with the cytoplasmic pool until late prophase, when it is stably incorporated in a step that requires gamma-tubulin and microtubule assembly. These results indicate that gamma-tubulin in the PCM stabilizes the nascent daughter centriole by promoting microtubule addition to its outer wall. Such a mechanism may help restrict new centriole assembly to the vicinity of preexisting parent centrioles that recruit PCM

Tidal Barrier and the Asymptotic Mass of Proto Gas-Giant Planets

Extrasolar planets found with radial velocity surveys have masses ranging from several Earth to several Jupiter masses. While mass accretion onto protoplanetary cores in weak-line T-Tauri disks may eventually be quenched by a global depletion of gas, such a mechanism is unlikely to have stalled the growth of some known planetary systems which contain relatively low-mass and close-in planets along with more massive and longer period companions. Here, we suggest a potential solution for this conundrum. In general, supersonic infall of surrounding gas onto a protoplanet is only possible interior to both of its Bondi and Roche radii. At a critical mass, a protoplanet's Bondi and Roche radii are equal to the disk thickness. Above this mass, the protoplanets' tidal perturbation induces the formation of a gap. Although the disk gas may continue to diffuse into the gap, the azimuthal flux across the protoplanets' Roche lobe is quenched. Using two different schemes, we present the results of numerical simulations and analysis to show that the accretion rate increases rapidly with the ratio of the protoplanet's Roche to Bondi radii or equivalently to the disk thickness. In regions with low geometric aspect ratios, gas accretion is quenched with relatively low protoplanetary masses. This effect is important for determining the gas-giant planets' mass function, the distribution of their masses within multiple planet systems around solar type stars, and for suppressing the emergence of gas-giants around low mass stars

Quantum Noise Correlation Experiments with Ultracold Atoms

Noise correlation analysis is a detection tool for spatial structures and spatial correlations in the in-trap density distribution of ultracold atoms. In this book chapter, we discuss the implementation, properties and limitations of the method applied to ensembles of ultracold atoms in optical lattices, and describe some instances where it has been applied.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures - To appear as Chapter 8 in "Quantum gas experiments - exploring many-body states," P. T\"orm\"a, K. Sengstock, eds. (Imperial College Press, to be published 2014