438 research outputs found
Automated online preconcentration system for the determination of trace amounts of lead using Pb-selective resin and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry
An automated sequential-injection online preconcentration system was developed for the determination of lead by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The preconcentration of lead was performed with a minicolumn containing a lead-selective resin, Analig Pb-01, which was installed between a selection and a switching valve. In an acidic condition ( pH 1), lead could be adsorbed on the resin. The concentrated lead was afterward eluted with 25 mu L of 0.06 M nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) solution ( pH 9) and was subsequently transported into the nebulizer of ICP-AES for quantification. The selectivity of the resin toward lead was examined using a solution containing a mixture of 61 elements. When a sample volume of 5 mL was used, the quantitative collection of lead ( >= 97%) was achieved, along with an enrichment factor of 19, a sampling frequency of 12 samples hr(-1), a detection limit of 70 pg mL(-1), and a lowest quantification limit of 100 pg mL(-1). The linear dynamic range was 0.1 to 5 ng mL(-1), and the relative standard deviation (n = 9) was 0.5% at a 5 ng mL(-1) Pb level. The detection limit of 30 pg mL(-1) and lowest quantification limit of 50 pg mL(-1) could be achieved when 10 mL of sample volume was used. The accuracy of the proposed method was validated by determining lead in the standard reference material of river water (SLRS-4), and its applicability to the determination of lead in environmental river water samples was demonstrated.</p
M. Kontsevich's graph complex and the Grothendieck-Teichmueller Lie algebra
We show that the zeroth cohomology of M. Kontsevich's graph complex is
isomorphic to the Grothendieck-Teichmueller Lie algebra grt_1. The map is
explicitly described. This result has applications to deformation quantization
and Duflo theory. We also compute the homotopy derivations of the Gerstenhaber
operad. They are parameterized by grt_1, up to one class (or two, depending on
the definitions). More generally, the homotopy derivations of the (non-unital)
E_n operads may be expressed through the cohomology of a suitable graph
complex. Our methods also give a second proof of a result of H. Furusho,
stating that the pentagon equation for grt_1-elements implies the hexagon
equation
Chandra observation of the central galaxies in A1060 cluster of galaxies
Chandra observation of the central region of the A1060 cluster of galaxies
resolved X-ray emission from two giant elliptical galaxies, NGC 3311 and NGC
3309. The emission from these galaxies consists of two components, namely the
hot interstellar medium (ISM) and the low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We found
the spatial extent of the ISM component was much smaller than that of stars for
both galaxies, while the ratios of X-ray to optical blue-band luminosities were
rather low but within the general scatter for elliptical galaxies. After
subtracting the LMXB component, the ISM is shown to be in pressure balance with
the intracluster medium of A1060 at the outer boundary of the ISM. These
results imply that the hot gas supplied from stellar mass loss is confined by
the external pressure of the intracluster medium, with the thermal conduction
likely to be suppressed. The cD galaxy NGC 3311 does not exhibit the extended
potential structure which is commonly seen in bright elliptical galaxies, and
we discuss the possible evolution history of the very isothermal cluster A1060.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, Latex2e(emulateapj5), accepted in Ap
Locating the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium in the Simulated Local Universe
We present an analysis of mock spectral observation of warm-hot intergalactic
medium (WHIM) using a constrained simulation of the local universe. The
simulated map of oxygen emission lines from local WHIM reproduces well the
observed structures traced by galaxies in the real local universe. We further
attempt to perform mock observations of outer parts of simulated Coma cluster
and A3627 adopting the expected performance of DIOS (Diffuse Intergalactic
Oxygen Surveyor), which is proposed as a dedicated soft X-ray mission to search
for cosmic missing baryons. We find that WHIMs surrounding nearby clusters are
detectable with a typical exposure time of a day, and thus constitute realistic
and promising targets for DIOS. We also find that an X-ray emitting clump in
front of Coma cluster, recently reported in the XMM-Newton observation, has a
counterpart in the simulated local universe, and its observed spectrum can be
well reproduced in the simulated local universe if the gas temperature is set
to the observationally estimated value.Comment: 25 pages, 3 tables, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ.
High resolution PS/PDF files are available at
http://www-utap.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kohji/research/x-ray/index.htm
Detection of Bulk Motions in the ICM of the Centaurus Cluster
Several recent numerical simulations of off-center cluster mergers predict
that significant angular momentum with associated velocities of a few x 10^{3}
km/s can be imparted to the resulting cluster. Such gas bulk velocities can be
detected by the Doppler shift of X-ray spectral lines with ASCA spectrometers.
Using two ASCA observations of the Centaurus cluster, we produced a velocity
map for the gas in the cluster's central regions. We also detected radial and
azimuthal gradients in temperature and metal abundance distributions, which
seem to be associated with the infalling sub-group centered at NGC 4709 (Cen
45). More importantly, we found a significant (>99.8% confidence level)
velocity gradient along a line near-perpendicular to the direction of the
incoming sub-group and with a maximum velocity difference of ~3.4+-1.1 x 10^{3}
km/s. It is unlikely (P < 0.002) that the observed velocity gradient is
generated by gain fluctuations across the detectors. While the observed
azimuthal temperature and abundance variations can be attributed to the
interaction with Cen 45, we argue that the intracluster gas velocity gradient
is more likely due to a previous off-center merging event in the main body of
the Centaurus cluster.Comment: 13 pages in emulateapj5 style, 8 postscript figures; Accepted by ApJ;
Revised version with minor change
How uncertain are precipitation and peak flow estimates for the July 2021 flooding event?
The disastrous July 2021 flooding event made us question the ability of current hydrometeorological tools in providing timely and reliable flood forecasts for unprecedented events. This is an urgent concern since extreme events are increasing due to global warming, and existing methods are usually limited to more frequently observed events with the usual flood generation processes. For the July 2021 event, we simulated the hourly
streamflows of seven catchments located in western Germany by combining
seven partly polarimetric, radar-based quantitative precipitation estimates
(QPEs) with two hydrological models: a conceptual lumped model (GR4H) and a
physically based, 3D distributed model (ParFlowCLM). GR4H parameters were
calibrated with an emphasis on high flows using historical discharge
observations, whereas ParFlowCLM parameters were estimated based on
landscape and soil properties. The key results are as follows. (1) With no
correction of the vertical profiles of radar variables, radar-based QPE
products underestimated the total precipitation depth relative to rain
gauges due to intense collision–coalescence processes near the surface, i.e., below the height levels monitored by the radars. (2) Correcting the vertical profiles of radar variables led to substantial improvements. (3) The probability of exceeding the highest measured peak flow before July 2021 was highly impacted by the QPE product, and this impact depended on the catchment for both models. (4) The estimation of model parameters had a
larger impact than the choice of QPE product, but simulated peak flows of
ParFlowCLM agreed with those of GR4H for five of the seven catchments. This
study highlights the need for the correction of vertical profiles of
reflectivity and other polarimetric variables near the surface to improve
radar-based QPEs for extreme flooding events. It also underlines the large
uncertainty in peak flow estimates due to model parameter estimation.</p
Detection of an X-Ray Hot Region in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies with ASCA
Based on mapping observations with ASCA, an unusual hot region with a spatial
extent of 1 square degree was discovered between M87 and M49 at a center
coordinate of R. A. = 12h 27m 36s and Dec. = (J2000). The X-ray
emission from the region has a 2-10 keV flux of ergs
s cm and a temperature of keV, which is
significantly higher than that in the surrounding medium of keV. The
internal thermal energy in the hot region is estimated to be ergs with a gas density of cm. A power-law
spectrum with a photon index is also allowed by the data. The hot
region suggests there is an energy input due to a shock which is probably
caused by the motion of the gas associated with M49, infalling toward the M87
cluster with a velocity km s.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ
Spatially-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of the core of the Centaurus cluster
We present Chandra data from a 31.7 ks observation of the Centaurus cluster,
using the ACIS-S detector. Images of the X-ray emission show a plume-like
feature at the centre of the cluster, of extent 60 arcsec (20 kpc in
projection). The feature has the same metallicity as gas at a similar radius,
but is cooler. Using adaptive binning, we generate temperature, abundance and
absorption maps of the cluster core. The radial abundance profile shows that
the previously known, steep abundance gradient peaks with a metallicity of
1.3-1.8 Zsolar at a radius of about 45 arcsec (15 kpc), before falling back to
0.4 Zsolar at the centre of the cluster. A radial temperature profile shows
that the temperature decreases inwards. We determine the spatial distributions
of each of two temperature components, where applicable. The radiative cooling
time of the cooler component within the inner 10 arcsec (3 kpc) is less than
2x10^7 yr. X-ray holes in the image coincident with the radio lobes are seen,
as well as two outer sharp temperature drops, or cold fronts. The origin of the
plume is unclear. The existence of the strong abundance gradient is a strong
constraint on extensive convection or gas motion driven by a central radio
source.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures (3 colour), accepted by MNRAS, high res. version
at http://www-xray.ast.cam.ac.uk/papers/cen1_accptd.pdf . Updated version
includes a section considering a non-thermal componen
Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations of AWM 7 - I: Investigating X-ray surface brightness fluctuations
We investigate the levels of small scale structure in surface brightness
images of the core of the X-ray bright cool-core galaxy cluster AWM 7. After
subtraction of a model of the smooth cluster emission, we find a number of
approximately radial surface brightness depressions which are not present in
simulated images and are seen in both the Chandra and XMM-Newton data. The
depressions are most strongly seen in the south of the cluster and have a
magnitude of around 4 per cent in surface brightness. We see these features in
both an energy band sensitive to the density (0.6 to 5 keV) and a band more
sensitive to the pressure (3.5 to 7.5 keV). Histograms of surface brightness in
the data, when compared to realisations of a smooth model, reveal stronger
surface brightness variations. We use the Delta-variance technique to
characterise the magnitude of the fluctuations as a function of length scale.
We find that the spectrum in the 0.6 to 5 keV band is flatter than expected for
Kolmogorov index fluctuations. If characterised by a power spectrum, on large
scales it would have an index around -1.7, rather than -3.7. The implied 3D
density fluctuations have a standard deviation of around 4 per cent. The
implied 3D pressure variations are at most 4 per cent. Most of the longer-scale
power in the density spectrum is contributed by the southern half of the
cluster, where the depressions are seen. The density variations implied by the
spectrum of the northern sector have a standard deviation of about 2 per cent.Comment: 17 pages, accepted by MNRAS, high resolution version available at
http://www-xray.ast.cam.ac.uk/papers/awm7.pd
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