4,415 research outputs found
Luminous Infrared Galaxies With the Submillimeter Array. III. The Dense Kiloparsec Molecular Concentrations of Arp 299
We have used high resolution (~2.3") observations of the local (D = 46 Mpc)
luminous infrared galaxy Arp 299 to map out the physical properties of the
molecular gas which provides the fuel for its extreme star formation activity.
The 12CO J=3-2, 12CO J=2-1 and 13CO J=2-1 lines were observed with the
Submillimeter Array and the short spacings of the 12CO J=2-1 and J=3-2
observations have been recovered using James Clerk Maxwell Telescope single
dish observations. We use the radiative transfer code RADEX to estimate the
physical properties (density, column density and temperature) of the different
regions in this system. The RADEX solutions of the two galaxy nuclei, IC 694
and NGC 3690, are consistent with a wide range of gas components, from warm
moderately dense gas with T_{kin} > 30 K and n(H_{2}) ~ 0.3 - 3 x 10^{3}
cm^{-3} to cold dense gas with T_{kin} ~ 10-30 K and n(H_{2}) > 3 x 10^{3}
cm^{-3}. The overlap region is shown to have a better constrained solution with
T_{\rm{kin}}$ ~ 10-50 K and n(H_{2}) ~ 1-30 x 10^{3} cm^{-3}. We estimate the
gas masses and star formation rates of each region in order to derive molecular
gas depletion times. The depletion times of all regions (20-60 Myr) are found
to be about 2 orders of magnitude lower than those of normal spiral galaxies.
This rapid depletion time can probably be explained by a high fraction of dense
gas on kiloparsec scales in Arp 299. We estimate the CO-to-H_{2} factor,
\alpha_{co} to be 0.4 \pm 0.3 (3 x 10^{-4}/ x_{CO}) M_{sol} (K km s^{-1}
pc^{2})^{-1} for the overlap region. This value agrees well with values
determined previously for more advanced merger systems.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, ApJ accepte
Highly turbulent gas on GMC-scales in NGC 3256, the nearest luminous infrared galaxy
We present the highest resolution CO (2-1) observations obtained to date
(0.25") of NGC 3256 and use them to determine the detailed properties of the
molecular interstellar medium in the central 6 kpc of this merger.
Distributions of physical quantities are reported from pixel-by-pixel
measurements at 55 and 120 pc scales and compared to disc galaxies observed by
PHANGS-ALMA. Mass surface densities range from 8 to 5500 M pc
and velocity dispersions from 10 to 200 km s. Peak brightness
temperatures as large as 37 K are measured, indicating the gas in NGC 3256 may
be hotter than all regions in nearby disc galaxies measured by PHANGS-ALMA.
Brightness temperatures even surpass those in the overlap region of NGC 4038/9
at the same scales. The majority of the gas appears unbound with median virial
parameters of 7 to 19, although external pressure may bind some of the gas.
High internal turbulent pressures of 10 to 10 K cm are
found. Given the lack of significant trends in surface density, brightness
temperature, and velocity dispersion with physical scale we argue the molecular
gas is made up of a smooth medium down to 55 pc scales, unlike the more
structured medium found in the PHANGS-ALMA disc galaxies.Comment: accepted to MNRAS, 21 pages, 8 figure
GeneLink: a database to facilitate genetic studies of complex traits
BACKGROUND: In contrast to gene-mapping studies of simple Mendelian disorders, genetic analyses of complex traits are far more challenging, and high quality data management systems are often critical to the success of these projects. To minimize the difficulties inherent in complex trait studies, we have developed GeneLink, a Web-accessible, password-protected Sybase database. RESULTS: GeneLink is a powerful tool for complex trait mapping, enabling genotypic data to be easily merged with pedigree and extensive phenotypic data. Specifically designed to facilitate large-scale (multi-center) genetic linkage or association studies, GeneLink securely and efficiently handles large amounts of data and provides additional features to facilitate data analysis by existing software packages and quality control. These include the ability to download chromosome-specific data files containing marker data in map order in various formats appropriate for downstream analyses (e.g., GAS and LINKAGE). Furthermore, an unlimited number of phenotypes (either qualitative or quantitative) can be stored and analyzed. Finally, GeneLink generates several quality assurance reports, including genotyping success rates of specified DNA samples or success and heterozygosity rates for specified markers. CONCLUSIONS: GeneLink has already proven an invaluable tool for complex trait mapping studies and is discussed primarily in the context of our large, multi-center study of hereditary prostate cancer (HPC). GeneLink is freely available at
Luminous Infrared Galaxies with the Submillimeter Array: I. Survey Overview and the Central Gas to Dust Ratio
We present new data obtained with the Submillimeter Array for a sample of
fourteen nearby luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies. The galaxies were
selected to have luminosity distances D < 200 Mpc and far-infrared luminosities
log(L_FIR) > 11.4. The galaxies were observed with spatial resolutions of order
1 kpc in the CO J=3-2, CO J=2-1, 13CO J=2-1, and HCO+ J=4-3 lines as well as
the continuum at 880 microns and 1.3 mm. We have combined our CO and continuum
data to measure an average gas-to-dust mass ratio of 120 +/- 28 (rms deviation
109) in the central regions of these galaxies, very similar to the value of 150
determined for the Milky Way. This similarity is interesting given the more
intense heating from the starburst and possibly accretion activity in the
luminous infrared galaxies compared to the Milky Way. We find that the peak H_2
surface density correlates with the far-infrared luminosity, which suggests
that galaxies with higher gas surface densities inside the central kiloparsec
have a higher star formation rate. The lack of a significant correlation
between total H_2 mass and far-infrared luminosity in our sample suggests that
the increased star formation rate is due to the increased availability of
molecular gas as fuel for star formation in the central regions. In contrast to
previous analyses by other authors, we do not find a significant correlation
between central gas surface density and the star formation efficiency, as trace
by the ratio of far-infrared luminosity to nuclear gas mass. Our data show that
it is the star formation rate, not the star formation efficiency, that
increases with increasing central gas surface density in these galaxies.Comment: 66 pages, 39 figures, aastex preprint format; to be published in ApJ
Supplements. Version of paper with full resolution figures available at
http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/~wilson/www_xfer/ULIRGS_publi
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On Visible Homelessness and the Micro-Aesthetics of Public Space
In this article, we investigate the circumstances that have produced the current municipal regulatory approach to homelessness in the City of Melbourne, Victoria, and the ways in which visibly homeless people are policed through a micro-aesthetics of their presence in public space, which involves the monitoring of their bodily demeanour and their physical possessions. Our study contributes to and draws from a range of debates, including studies of the governmental conjunction of poverty and crime, analysis of the co-implication of law and spatiality, research on the criminalisation of homelessness and homeless people, and the burgeoning criminological interest in the significance of the visual field for our understandings of crime and criminality. This article recounts how homelessness, public space and questions of aesthetics have recently coalesced in debates about the regulation of homelessness in the public space of Melbourne’s city centre. It approaches the issues through comparative consideration of genres of municipal management frameworks in other jurisdictions, detailed textual consideration of the Protocol on Homelessness in the City of Melbourne and an empirical study of visible homelessness in the public places of central Melbourne
Quantification of Urinary Mevalonic Acid as a Biomarker of HMG-CoA Reductase Activity by a Novel Translational LC-MS/MS Method
Background: Mevalonic acid (MVA), as a product of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, represents a potential multipurpose biomarker in health and disease. A translational urinary MVA quantification method was developed, validated and used to demonstrate the diurnal variation of urinary MVA excretion in rats and healthy children. Methods: Urinary MVA was converted to mevalonolactone at pH 2, extracted with ethyl acetate and quantified by reversed-phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: The assay had a dynamic range of 0.0156-10 µg/ml with precision <15% CV, accuracy 85-115% and was transferred between laboratories. Urinary MVA excretion in rats and healthy children displayed a diurnal variation consistent with the known diurnal variation of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity. Conclusion: Urinary MVA can be quantified accurately over a wide dynamic range by a validated translational and transferable method with biomarker capability
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