8,766 research outputs found
On the semiclassical mass of -kinks
One-loop mass shifts to the classical masses of stable kinks arising in a
massive non-linear -sigma model are computed. Ultraviolet
divergences are controlled using the heat kernel/zeta function regularization
method. A comparison between the results achieved from exact and
high-temperature asymptotic heat traces is analyzed in depth.Comment: RevTex file, 15 pages, 2 figures. Version to appear in Journal of
Physics
The Multitude of Unresolved Continuum Sources at 1.6 microns in Hubble Space Telescope images of Seyfert Galaxies
We examine 112 Seyfert galaxies observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
at 1.6 microns. We find that ~50% of the Seyfert 2.0 galaxies which are part of
the Revised Shapeley-Ames (RSA) Catalog or the CfA redshift sample contain
unresolved continuum sources at 1.6 microns. All but a couple of the Seyfert
1.0-1.9 galaxies display unresolved continuum sources. The unresolved sources
have fluxes of order a mJy, near-infrared luminosities of order 10^41 erg/s and
absolute magnitudes M_H ~-16. Comparison non-Seyfert galaxies from the RSA
Catalog display significantly fewer (~20%), somewhat lower luminosity nuclear
sources, which could be due to compact star clusters. We find that the
luminosities of the unresolved Seyfert 1.0-1.9 sources at 1.6 microns are
correlated with [OIII] 5007A and hard X-ray luminosities, implying that these
sources are non-stellar. Assuming a spectral energy distribution similar to
that of a Seyfert 2 galaxy, we estimate that a few percent of local spiral
galaxies contain black holes emitting as Seyferts at a moderate fraction, 10^-1
to 10^-4, of their Eddington luminosities. With increasing Seyfert type the
fraction of unresolved sources detected at 1.6 microns and the ratio of 1.6
microns to [OIII] fluxes tend to decrease. These trends are consistent with the
unification model for Seyfert 1 and 2 galaxies.Comment: accepted by Ap
The Variability of Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 Galaxies at 1.6 microns
We present a study of Seyfert 1.5-2.0 galaxies observed at two epochs with
the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at 1.6 microns. We find that unresolved
nuclear emission from 9 of 14 nuclei varies at the level of 10-40% on
timescales of 0.7-14 months, depending upon the galaxy. A control sample of
Seyfert galaxies lacking unresolved sources and galaxies lacking Seyfert nuclei
show less than 3% instrumental variation in equivalent aperture measurements.
This proves that the unresolved sources are non-stellar and associated with the
central pc of active galactic nuclei. Unresolved sources in Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9
galaxies are not usually detected in HST optical surveys, however high angular
resolution infrared observations will provide a way to measure time delays in
these galaxies.Comment: accepted by ApJLetters (emulateapj latex
Hypoalbuminaemia predicts outcome in adult patients with congenital heart disease
Background In patients with acquired heart failure, hypoalbuminaemia is associated with increased risk of death. The prevalence of hypoproteinaemia and hypoalbuminaemia and their relation to outcome in adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD) remains, however, unknown. Methods Data on patients with ACHD who underwent blood testing in our centre within the last 14â
years were collected. The relation between laboratory, clinical or demographic parameters at baseline and mortality was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Results A total of 2886 patients with ACHD were included. Mean age was 33.3â
years (23.6â44.7) and 50.1% patients were men. Median plasma albumin concentration was 41.0â
g/L (38.0â44.0), whereas hypoalbuminaemia (<35â
g/L) was present in 13.9% of patients. The prevalence of hypoalbuminaemia was significantly higher in patients with great complexity ACHD (18.2%) compared with patients with moderate (11.3%) or simple ACHD lesions (12.1%, p<0.001). During a median follow-up of 5.7â
years (3.3â9.6), 327 (11.3%) patients died. On univariable Cox regression analysis, hypoalbuminaemia was a strong predictor of outcome (HR 3.37, 95% CI 2.67 to 4.25, p<0.0001). On multivariable Cox regression, after adjusting for age, sodium and creatinine concentration, liver dysfunction, functional class and disease complexity, hypoalbuminaemia remained a significant predictor of death. Conclusions Hypoalbuminaemia is common in patients with ACHD and is associated with a threefold increased risk of risk of death. Hypoalbuminaemia, therefore, should be included in risk-stratification algorithms as it may assist management decisions and timing of interventions in the growing ACHD population
Why Optically--Faint AGN Are Faint: The Spitzer Perspective
Optically--faint X-ray sources (those with f_X/f_R > 10) constitute about 20%
of X-ray sources in deep surveys, and are potentially highly obscured and/or at
high redshift. Their faint optical fluxes are generally beyond the reach of
spectroscopy. For a sample of 20 optically--faint sources in CDFS, we compile
0.4--24 um photometry, relying heavily on Spitzer. We estimate photometric
redshifts for 17 of these 20 sources. We find that these AGN are
optically--faint both because they lie at significantly higher redshifts
(median z ~ 1.6) than most X-ray--selected AGN, and because their spectra are
much redder than standard AGN. They have 2--8 keV X-ray luminosities in the
Seyfert range, unlike the QSO--luminosities of optically--faint AGN found in
shallow, wide--field surveys. Their contribution to the X-ray Seyfert
luminosity function is comparable to that of z>1 optically--bright AGN.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
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