12,269 research outputs found
A Study of Cool White Dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12
In this work we study white dwarfs where to compare the differences in the
cooling of DAs and non-DAs and their formation channels. Our final sample is
composed by nearly DAs and more than non-DAs that are
simultaneously in the SDSS DR12 spectroscopic database and in the \textit{Gaia}
survey DR2. We present the mass distribution for DAs, DBs and DCs, where it is
found that the DCs are more massive than DAs and
DBs on average. Also we present the photometric effective temperature
distribution for each spectral type and the distance distribution for DAs and
non-DAs. In addition, we study the ratio of non-DAs to DAs as a function of
effective temperature. We find that this ratio is around for
effective temperature above and increases by a factor
of five for effective temperature cooler than . If we assume
that the increase of non-DA stars between to
is due to convective dilution, per cent of
the DAs should turn into non-DAs to explain the observed ratio. Our
determination of the mass distribution of DCs also agrees with the theory that
convective dilution and mixing are more likely to occur in massive white
dwarfs, which supports evolutionary models and observations suggesting that
higher mass white dwarfs have thinner hydrogen layers.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, accepted by MNRA
Micro-bias and macro-performance
We use agent-based modeling to investigate the effect of conservatism and
partisanship on the efficiency with which large populations solve the density
classification task--a paradigmatic problem for information aggregation and
consensus building. We find that conservative agents enhance the populations'
ability to efficiently solve the density classification task despite large
levels of noise in the system. In contrast, we find that the presence of even a
small fraction of partisans holding the minority position will result in
deadlock or a consensus on an incorrect answer. Our results provide a possible
explanation for the emergence of conservatism and suggest that even low levels
of partisanship can lead to significant social costs.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
On Universality in Human Correspondence Activity
Identifying and modeling patterns of human activity has important
ramifications in applications ranging from predicting disease spread to
optimizing resource allocation. Because of its relevance and availability,
written correspondence provides a powerful proxy for studying human activity.
One school of thought is that human correspondence is driven by responses to
received correspondence, a view that requires distinct response mechanism to
explain e-mail and letter correspondence observations. Here, we demonstrate
that, like e-mail correspondence, the letter correspondence patterns of 16
writers, performers, politicians, and scientists are well-described by the
circadian cycle, task repetition and changing communication needs. We confirm
the universality of these mechanisms by properly rescaling letter and e-mail
correspondence statistics to reveal their underlying similarity.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Orbital Characteristics of the Subdwarf-B and F V Star Binary EC~20117-4014(=V4640 Sgr)
Among the competing evolution theories for subdwarf-B (sdB) stars is the
binary evolution scenario. EC~20117-4014 (=V4640~Sgr) is a spectroscopic binary
system consisting of a pulsating sdB star and a late F main-sequence companion
(O'Donoghue et al. 1997), however the period and the orbit semi-major axes have
not been precisely determined. This paper presents orbital characteristics of
the EC 20117-4014 binary system using 20 years of photometric data. Periodic
Observed minus Calculated (O-C) variations were detected in the two highest
amplitude pulsations identified in the EC 20117-4014 power spectrum, indicating
the binary system's precise orbital period (P = 792.3 days) and the
light-travel time amplitude (A = 468.9 s). This binary shows no significant
orbital eccentricity and the upper limit of the eccentricity is 0.025 (using 3
as an upper limit). This upper limit of the eccentricity is the lowest
among all wide sdB binaries with known orbital parameters. This analysis
indicated that the sdB is likely to have lost its hydrogen envelope through
stable Roche lobe overflow, thus supporting hypotheses for the origin of sdB
stars. In addition to those results, the underlying pulsation period change
obtained from the photometric data was = 5.4 (0.7)
d d, which shows that the sdB is just before the end of the
core helium-burning phase
Maternal antibodies from mothers of children with autism alter brain growth and social behavior development in the rhesus monkey.
Antibodies directed against fetal brain proteins of 37 and 73 kDa molecular weight are found in approximately 12% of mothers who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but not in mothers of typically developing children. This finding has raised the possibility that these immunoglobulin G (IgG) class antibodies cross the placenta during pregnancy and impact brain development, leading to one form of ASD. We evaluated the pathogenic potential of these antibodies by using a nonhuman primate model. IgG was isolated from mothers of children with ASD (IgG-ASD) and of typically developing children (IgG-CON). The purified IgG was administered to two groups of female rhesus monkeys (IgG-ASD; n=8 and IgG-CON; n=8) during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Another control group of pregnant monkeys (n=8) was untreated. Brain and behavioral development of the offspring were assessed for 2 years. Behavioral differences were first detected when the macaque mothers responded to their IgG-ASD offspring with heightened protectiveness during early development. As they matured, IgG-ASD offspring consistently deviated from species-typical social norms by more frequently approaching familiar peers. The increased approach was not reciprocated and did not lead to sustained social interactions. Even more striking, IgG-ASD offspring displayed inappropriate approach behavior to unfamiliar peers, clearly deviating from normal macaque social behavior. Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging analyses revealed that male IgG-ASD offspring had enlarged brain volume compared with controls. White matter volume increases appeared to be driving the brain differences in the IgG-ASD offspring and these differences were most pronounced in the frontal lobes
Stretched exponentials and power laws in granular avalanching
We introduce a model for granular avalanching which exhibits both stretched exponential and power law avalanching over its parameter range. Two modes of transport are incorporated, a rolling layer consisting of individual particles and the overdamped, sliding motion of particle clusters. The crossover in behaviour observed in experiments on piles of rice is attributed to a change in the dominant mode of transport. We predict that power law avalanching will be observed whenever surface flow is dominated by clustered motion.
Comment: 8 pages, more concise and some points clarified
Dynamics of Rumor Spreading in Complex Networks
We derive the mean-field equations characterizing the dynamics of a rumor
process that takes place on top of complex heterogeneous networks. These
equations are solved numerically by means of a stochastic approach. First, we
present analytical and Monte Carlo calculations for homogeneous networks and
compare the results with those obtained by the numerical method. Then, we study
the spreading process in detail for random scale-free networks. The time
profiles for several quantities are numerically computed, which allow us to
distinguish among different variants of rumor spreading algorithms. Our
conclusions are directed to possible applications in replicated database
maintenance, peer to peer communication networks and social spreading
phenomena.Comment: Final version to appear in PR
Ice Age Epochs and the Sun's Path Through the Galaxy
We present a calculation of the Sun's motion through the Milky Way Galaxy
over the last 500 million years. The integration is based upon estimates of the
Sun's current position and speed from measurements with Hipparcos and upon a
realistic model for the Galactic gravitational potential. We estimate the times
of the Sun's past spiral arm crossings for a range in assumed values of the
spiral pattern angular speed. We find that for a difference between the mean
solar and pattern speed of Omega_Sun - Omega_p = 11.9 +/- 0.7 km/s/kpc the Sun
has traversed four spiral arms at times that appear to correspond well with
long duration cold periods on Earth. This supports the idea that extended
exposure to the higher cosmic ray flux associated with spiral arms can lead to
increased cloud cover and long ice age epochs on Earth.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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