6,786 research outputs found
Study of controlled diffusion stator blading. 1. Aerodynamic and mechanical design report
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft is conducting a test program for NASA in order to demonstrate that a controlled-diffusion stator provides low losses at high loadings and Mach numbers. The technology has shown great promise in wind tunnel tests. Details of the design of the controlled diffusion stator vanes and the multiple-circular-arc rotor blades are presented. The stage, including stator and rotor, was designed to be suitable for the first-stage of an advanced multistage, high-pressure compressor
A geometric basis for the standard-model gauge group
A geometric approach to the standard model in terms of the Clifford algebra
Cl_7 is advanced. A key feature of the model is its use of an algebraic spinor
for one generation of leptons and quarks. Spinor transformations separate into
left-sided ("exterior") and right-sided ("interior") types. By definition,
Poincare transformations are exterior ones. We consider all rotations in the
seven-dimensional space that (1) conserve the spacetime components of the
particle and antiparticle currents and (2) do not couple the right-chiral
neutrino. These rotations comprise additional exterior transformations that
commute with the Poincare group and form the group SU(2)_L, interior ones that
constitute SU(3)_C, and a unique group of coupled double-sided rotations with
U(1)_Y symmetry. The spinor mediates a physical coupling of Poincare and
isotopic symmetries within the restrictions of the Coleman--Mandula theorem.
The four extra spacelike dimensions in the model form a basis for the Higgs
isodoublet field, whose symmetry requires the chirality of SU(2). The charge
assignments of both the fundamental fermions and the Higgs boson are produced
exactly.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX requires iopart. Accepted for publication in J. Phys.
A: Math. Gen. 9 Mar 2001. Typos correcte
Constraining the metallicities, ages, star formation histories, and ionizing continua of extragalactic massive star populations
We infer the properties of massive star populations using the far-ultraviolet
stellar continua of 61 star-forming galaxies: 42 at low-z observed with HST and
19 at z~2 from the Megasaura sample. We fit each stellar continuum with a
linear combination of up to 50 single age and single metallicity Starburst99
models. From these fits, we derive light-weighted ages and metallicities, which
agree with stellar wind and photospheric spectral features, and infer the
spectral shapes and strengths of the ionizing continua. Inferred light-weighted
stellar metallicities span 0.05-1.5 Z and are similar to the measured
nebular metallicities. We quantify the ionizing continua using the ratio of the
ionizing flux at 900\AA\ to the non-ionizing flux at 1500\AA\ and demonstrate
the evolution of this ratio with stellar age and metallicity using theoretical
single burst models. These single burst models only match the inferred ionizing
continua of half of the sample, while the other half are described by a mixture
of stellar ages. Mixed age populations produce stronger and harder ionizing
spectra than continuous star formation histories, but, contrary to previous
studies that assume constant star formation, have similar stellar and nebular
metallicities. Stellar population age and metallicity affect the far-UV
continua in different and distinguishable ways; assuming a constant star
formation history diminishes the diagnostic power. Finally, we provide simple
prescriptions to determine the ionizing photon production efficiency
() from the stellar population properties. has a range
of log( Hz erg that depends on stellar age,
metallicity, star formation history, and contributions from binary star
evolution. These stellar population properties must be observationally
determined to determine the number of ionizing photons generated by massive
stars.Comment: 31 pages, 23 figures, resubmitted to ApJ after incorporating the
referee's comments. Comments encourage
Intense CIII] 1907,1909 emission from a strong Lyman continuum emitting galaxy
We have obtained the first complete ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of a strong
Lyman continuum(LyC) emitter at low redshift -- the compact, low-metallicity,
star-forming galaxy J1154+2443 -- with a Lyman continuum escape fraction of 46%
discovered recently. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectrum shows
strong Lya and CIII] 1909 emission, as well as OIII] 1666. Our observations
show that strong LyC emitters can have UV emission lines with a high equivalent
width (e.g. EW(CIII]) rest-frame), although their equivalent
widths should be reduced due to the loss of ionizing photons. The intrinsic
ionizing photon production efficiency of J1154+2443 is high, erg Hz, comparable to that of other recently discovered
LyC emitters. Combining our measurements and earlier
determinations from the literature, we find a trend of increasing with increasing CIII] 1909 equivalent width, which can be understood by
a combination of decreasing stellar population age and metallicity. Simple
ionization and density-bounded photoionization models can explain the main
observational features including the UV spectrum of J1154+2443.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Do galaxies that leak ionizing photons have extreme outflows?
To reionize the early universe, high-energy photons must escape the galaxies
that produce them. It has been suggested that stellar feedback drives galactic
outflows out of star-forming regions, creating low density channels through
which ionizing photons escape into the inter-galactic medium. We compare the
galactic outflow properties of confirmed Lyman continuum (LyC) leaking galaxies
to a control sample of nearby star-forming galaxies to explore whether the
outflows from leakers are extreme as compared to the control sample. We use
data from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope to
measure the equivalent widths and velocities of Si II and Si III absorption
lines, tracing neutral and ionized galactic outflows. We find that the Si II
and Si III equivalent widths of the LyC leakers reside on the low-end of the
trend established by the control sample. The leakers' velocities are not
statistically different than the control sample, but their absorption line
profiles have a different asymmetry: their central velocities are closer to
their maximum velocities. The outflow kinematics and equivalent widths are
consistent with the scaling relations between outflow properties and host
galaxy properties -- most notably metallicity -- defined by the control sample.
Additionally, we use the Ly\alpha\ profiles to show that the Si II equivalent
width scales with the Ly\alpha\ peak velocity separation. We determine that the
low equivalent widths of the leakers are likely driven by low metallicities and
low H I column densities, consistent with a density-bounded ionization region,
although we cannot rule out significant variations in covering fraction. While
we do not find that the LyC leakers have extreme outflow velocities, the low
maximum-to-central velocity ratios demonstrate the importance of the
acceleration and density profiles for LyC and Ly\alpha\ escape. [abridged]Comment: 17 pages, 8 Figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Accurately predicting the escape fraction of ionizing photons using restframe ultraviolet absorption lines
The fraction of ionizing photons that escape high-redshift galaxies
sensitively determines whether galaxies reionized the early universe. However,
this escape fraction cannot be measured from high-redshift galaxies because the
opacity of the intergalactic medium is large at high redshifts. Without methods
to indirectly measure the escape fraction of high-redshift galaxies, it is
unlikely that we will know what reionized the universe. Here, we analyze the
far-ultraviolet (UV) H I (Lyman series) and low-ionization metal absorption
lines of nine low-redshift, confirmed Lyman continuum emitting galaxies. We use
the H I covering fractions, column densities, and dust attenuations measured in
a companion paper to predict the escape fraction of ionizing photons. We find
good agreement between the predicted and observed Lyman continuum escape
fractions (within ) using both the H I and ISM absorption lines. The
ionizing photons escape through holes in the H I, but we show that dust
attenuation reduces the fraction of photons that escape galaxies. This means
that the average high-redshift galaxy likely emits more ionizing photons than
low-redshift galaxies. Two other indirect methods accurately predict the escape
fractions: the Ly escape fraction and the optical [O III]/[O II] flux
ratio. We use these indirect methods to predict the escape fraction of a sample
of 21 galaxies with rest-frame UV spectra but without Lyman continuum
observations. Many of these galaxies have low escape fractions (\%), but 11 have escape fractions \%. The methods presented here will
measure the escape fractions of high-redshift galaxies, enabling future
telescopes to determine whether star-forming galaxies reionized the early
universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 12 pages, 5 figure
Building a Morphogen Gradient without Diffusion in a Growing Tissue
In many developmental systems, spatial pattern arises from morphogen gradients, which provide positional information for cells to determine their fate. Typically, diffusion is thought to be the mechanism responsible for building a morphogen gradient. An alternative mechanism is investigated here. Using mathematical modeling, we demonstrate how a non-diffusive morphogen concentration gradient can develop in axially growing tissue systems, where growth is due to cell proliferation only. Two distinct cases are considered: in the first, all cell proliferation occurs in a localized zone where active transcription of a morphogen-producing gene occurs, and in the second, cell proliferation is uniformly distributed throughout the tissue, occurring in both the active transcription zone and beyond. A cell containing morphogen mRNA produces the morphogen protein, hence any gradient in mRNA transcripts translates into a corresponding morphogen protein gradient. Proliferation-driven growth gives rise to both advection (the transport term) and dilution (a reaction term). These two key mechanisms determine the resultant mRNA transcript distribution. Using the full range of uniform initial conditions, we show that advection and dilution due to cell proliferation are, in general, sufficient for morphogen gradient formation for both types of axially growing systems. In particular, mRNA transcript degradation is not necessary for gradient formation; it is only necessary with localized proliferation for one special value of the initial concentration. Furthermore, the morphogen concentration decreases with distance away from the transcription zone, except in the case of localized proliferation with the initial concentration sufficiently large, when the concentration can either increase with distance from the transcription zone or sustain a local minimum. In both localized and uniformly distributed proliferation, in order for a concentration gradient to form across the whole domain, transcription must occur in a zone equal to the initial domain size; otherwise, it will only form across part of the tissue
Counselling in primary care : a systematic review of the evidence
Primary objective: To undertake a systematic review which aimed to locate, appraise and synthesise evidence to obtain a reliable overview of the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and user perspectives regarding counselling in primary care.
Main results: Evidence from 26 studies was presented as a narrative synthesis and demonstrated that counselling is effective in the short term, is as effective as CBT with typical heterogeneous primary care populations and more effective than routine primary care for the treatment of non-specific generic psychological problems, anxiety and depression. Counselling may reduce levels of referrals to psychiatric services, but does not appear to reduce medication, the number of GP consultations or overall
costs. Patients are highly satisfied with the counselling they have received in primary care and prefer counselling to medication for depression.
Conclusions and implications for future research: This review demonstrates the value of counselling as a valid
choice for primary care patients and as a broadly effective therapeutic intervention for a wide range of generic psychological conditions presenting in the primary care setting. More rigorous clinical and cost-effectiveness trials are needed together with surveys of more typical users of primary care services
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