1,652 research outputs found
Discovery of very high energy gamma-ray emission in the W 28 (G6.4-0.1) region, and multiwavelength comparisons
H.E.S.S. observations of the old-age (>10^4yr; ~0.5deg diameter) composite
supernova remnant (SNR) W 28 reveal very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission
situated at its northeastern and southern boundaries. The northeastern VHE
source (HESS J1801-233) is in an area where W 28 is interacting with a dense
molecular cloud, containing OH masers, local radio and X-ray peaks. The
southern VHE sources (HESS J1800-240 with components labelled A, B and C) are
found in a region occupied by several HII regions, including the ultracompact
HII region W 28A2. Our analysis of NANTEN CO data reveals a dense molecular
cloud enveloping this southern region, and our reanalysis of EGRET data reveals
MeV/GeV emission centred on HESS J1801-233 and the northeastern interaction
region.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of the 30th ICRC, Merida, Mexico,
200
Chandra Observations of A Galactic Supernova Remnant Vela Jr.: A New Sample of Thin Filaments Emitting Synchrotron X-Rays
A galactic supernova remnant (SNR) Vela Jr. (RX J0852.04622, G266.61.2)
shows sharp filamentary structure on the north-western edge of the remnant in
the hard X-ray band. The filaments are so smooth and located on the most outer
side of the remnant. We measured the averaged scale width of the filaments
( and ) with excellent spatial resolution of {\it Chandra}, which are
in the order of the size of the point spread function of {\it Chandra} on the
upstream side and 49.5 (36.0--88.8) arcsec on the downstream side,
respectively. The spectra of the filaments are very hard and have no line-like
structure, and were well reproduced with an absorbed power-law model with
2.67 (2.55--2.77), or a {\tt SRCUT} model with = 4.3
(3.4--5.3) Hz under the assumption of . These results
imply that the hard X-rays are synchrotron radiation emitted by accelerated
electrons, as mentioned previously. Using a correlation between a function
and the SNR age, we estimated the
distance and the age of Vela Jr.: the estimated distance and age are 0.33
(0.26--0.50) kpc and 660 (420--1400) years, respectively. These results are
consistent with previous reports, implying that --age relation may be
a useful tool to estimate the distance and the age of synchrotron X-ray
emitting SNRs.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, ApJ, in pres
XMM-Newton observations of HESS J1813-178 reveal a composite Supernova remnant
We present X-ray and 12CO(J=1-0) observations of the very-high-energy (VHE)
gamma-ray source HESS J1813-178 with the aim of understanding the origin of the
gamma-ray emission. Using this dataset we are able to undertake spectral and
morphological studies of the X-ray emission from this object with greater
precision than previous studies. NANTEN 12CO(J=1-0) data are used to search for
correlations of the gamma-ray emission with molecular clouds which could act as
target material for gamma-ray production in a hadronic scenario. The NANTEN
12CO(J=1-0) observations show a giant molecular cloud of mass 2.5 10^5
M_{\sun} at a distance of 4 kpc in the vicinity of HESS J1813-178. Even
though there is no direct positional coincidence, this giant cloud might have
influenced the evolution of the gamma-ray source and its surroundings. The
X-ray data show a highly absorbed non-thermal X-ray emitting object coincident
with the previously known ASCA source AX J1813-178 showing a compact core and
an extended tail towards the north-east, located in the centre of the radio
shell-type Supernova remnant (SNR) G12.82-0.2. This central object shows
morphological and spectral resemblance to a Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) and we
therefore consider that the object is very likely to be a composite SNR. We
discuss the scenario in which the gamma-rays originate in the shell of the SNR
and the one in which they originate in the central object. We demonstrate, that
in order to connect the core X-ray emission to the VHE gamma-ray emission
electrons have to be accelerated to energies of at least 1 PeV.Comment: Submitted to A&
Nonthermal X-radiation of SNR RX J1713.7-3946: The Relations to a Nearby Molecular Cloud
The recent X-ray and CO observations of RX J1713.7-3946 show that a
significant fraction of the nonthermal X-ray emission of this unique supernova
remnant associates, in one way or another, with a molecular cloud interacting
with the west part of the shell. This adds a new puzzle in the origin of X-ray
emission which cannot be easily explained within the standard model in
accordance of which X-rays are result of synchrotron radiation of multi-TeV
electrons accelerated by supernova shock waves. We explore an alternative
origin of the X-ray emission assuming that it is produced by secondary
electrons resulting from high energy hadronic interactions in the molecular
gas. Such a scenario could explain in a quite natural way the apparent
correlation between the X-ray and CO morphologies. However, the TeV gamma-ray
emission recently reported by H.E.S.S. significantly constrains the parameter
space of this model. Namely, this mechanism cannot reproduce the bulk of the
observed X-ray flux unless one postulates existence of a PeV cosmic-ray
component penetrating with an unusually hard spectrum into the dense cloud.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Proc. of Int. Symp. on High Energy
Gamma-ray Astronomy, Heidelberg (July 2004
Decreasing survival benefit from cardiac transplantation for outpatients as the waiting list lengthens
AbstractMany patients are accepted for cardiac transplantation during a period of clinical instability associated with a high risk of death, even though most can be discharged home to await transplantation. As the waiting lists lengthen, priority is awarded solely on the basis of the waiting time of outpatients, who now usually undergo transplantation after they have already survived a major period of jeopardy. To determine the impact of the current waiting times and priority system on the previously expected benefit offered by transplantation, 1-year actuarial survival without transplantation was recalculated after each month without transplantation for 214 potential candidates with an ejection fraction of 0.17 ± 0.05 discharged on tailored medical therapy after evaluation. These data were compared with the 1-year survival data of 88 outpatients who underwent transplantation.Actuarial survival after 1 year was 67% on tailored therapy compared with 88% after transplantation (p = 0.009). Death without transplantation was sudden in 43 of 51 patients, resulting from hemodynamic decompensation in 8. For outpatients already surviving 6 months without transplantation, actuarial survival over the next 12 months was 83% without transplantation. Thus, the expected improvement in survival after transplantation would be only 5% over the subsequent year for patients waiting 6 months, which is the waiting time for many outpatients. Such patients should be reevaluated to determine whether transplantation remains indicated during the next year
GCA in 2d
We make a detailed study of the infinite dimensional Galilean Conformal
Algebra (GCA) in the case of two spacetime dimensions. Classically, this
algebra is precisely obtained from a contraction of the generators of the
relativistic conformal symmetry in 2d. Here we find quantum mechanical
realisations of the (centrally extended) GCA by considering scaling limits of
certain 2d CFTs. These parent CFTs are non-unitary and have their left and
right central charges become large in magnitude and opposite in sign. We
therefore develop, in parallel to the usual machinery for 2d CFT, many of the
tools for the analysis of the quantum mechanical GCA. These include the
representation theory based on GCA primaries, Ward identities for their
correlation functions and a nonrelativistic Kac table. In particular, the null
vectors of the GCA lead to differential equations for the four point function.
The solution to these equations in the simplest case is explicitly obtained and
checked to be consistent with various requirements.Comment: 45 pages; v2: 47 pages. Restructured introduction, minor corrections,
added references. Journal versio
Electronic structure of periodic curved surfaces -- topological band structure
Electronic band structure for electrons bound on periodic minimal surfaces is
differential-geometrically formulated and numerically calculated. We focus on
minimal surfaces because they are not only mathematically elegant (with the
surface characterized completely in terms of "navels") but represent the
topology of real systems such as zeolites and negative-curvature fullerene. The
band structure turns out to be primarily determined by the topology of the
surface, i.e., how the wavefunction interferes on a multiply-connected surface,
so that the bands are little affected by the way in which we confine the
electrons on the surface (thin-slab limit or zero thickness from the outset).
Another curiosity is that different minimal surfaces connected by the Bonnet
transformation (such as Schwarz's P- and D-surfaces) possess one-to-one
correspondence in their band energies at Brillouin zone boundaries.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, eps files will be sent on request to
[email protected]
981-46 Impact of a Comprehensive Management Program on the Hospitalization Rate for Patients with Advanced Heart Failure
Patients with advanced heart failure have a course that is often characterized by frequent hospitalizations and progressive deterioration. These patients are commonly referred to specialized centers for consideration of heart transplantation (Tx). To assess the impact of the changes in therapy made in conjunction with heart transplantation evaluation on patient outcomes, we assessed the hospitalization rate and patient's functional status in the 6 months prior to referral compared to the 6 months after referral. Since 1/91, 214 patients were evaluated, accepted for Tx, and discharged having undergone adjustments in medical therapy and a comprehensive patient education program. At time of referral patients had mean LVEF 0.21, NYHA class 3.3, VO2 max 11.0ml/kg, and had undergone a total of 429 hospitalizations in the previous 6 months. During evaluation patients had their ACE inhibitor dose increased by a mean 91.5mg/day of captopril or the equivalent, were diuresed a mean 4.2 liters, were placed on a flexible regimen of loop diuretics, and were counseled on dietary management and home based progressive aerobic exercise. After 6 months of follow-up there were only 63 hospitalizations required (mean hospitalization rate per patient over the 6 months pre-evaluation 2.00±1.45 vs post-evaluation 0.29±0.53 p<0.00001). Patient's NYHA class improved to 2.4 (p<0.0001) and VO2 max increased to 15.2 (p<0.001). Excluding the 12 elective status Tx, 14 urgent status Tx, and 9 deaths within 6 months yielded similar results (344 pre vs 34 post-evaluation hospitalizations). 64 patients (30%) improved their functional status to the point that transplantation was deferred in favor of sustained medical therapy.Referral to a heart failure specialty program is associated with a dramatic occurred between day 10±1 and 3 month. 4 patients died after hospital discharge (no death directly related to thromboembolic disease). Thus no higher risk of PE can be seen in patients with free floating prox-DVT and anticoagulant therapy should be efficient to prevent recurrent PE in such patient
Nuclear structure of 30S and its implications for nucleosynthesis in classical novae
The uncertainty in the 29P(p,gamma)30S reaction rate over the temperature
range of 0.1 - 1.3 GK was previously determined to span ~4 orders of magnitude
due to the uncertain location of two previously unobserved 3+ and 2+ resonances
in the 4.7 - 4.8 MeV excitation region in 30S. Therefore, the abundances of
silicon isotopes synthesized in novae, which are relevant for the
identification of presolar grains of putative nova origin, were uncertain by a
factor of 3. To investigate the level structure of 30S above the proton
threshold (4394.9(7) keV), a charged-particle spectroscopy and an in-beam
gamma-ray spectroscopy experiments were performed. Differential cross sections
of the 32S(p,t)30S reaction were measured at 34.5 MeV. Distorted wave Born
approximation calculations were performed to constrain the spin-parity
assignments of the observed levels. An energy level scheme was deduced from
gamma-gamma coincidence measurements using the 28Si(3He,n-gamma)30S reaction.
Spin-parity assignments based on measurements of gamma-ray angular
distributions and gamma-gamma directional correlation from oriented nuclei were
made for most of the observed levels of 30S. As a result, the resonance
energies corresponding to the excited states in 4.5 MeV - 6 MeV region,
including the two astrophysically important states predicted previously, are
measured with significantly better precision than before. The uncertainty in
the rate of the 29P(p,gamma)30S reaction is substantially reduced over the
temperature range of interest. Finally, the influence of this rate on the
abundance ratios of silicon isotopes synthesized in novae are obtained via 1D
hydrodynamic nova simulations.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure
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