666 research outputs found
On the stability of self-gravitating accreting flows
Analytic methods show stability of the stationary accretion of test fluids
but they are inconclusive in the case of self-gravitating stationary flows. We
investigate numerically stability of those stationary flows onto compact
objects that are transonic and rich in gas. In all studied examples solutions
appear stable. Numerical investigation suggests also that the analogy between
sonic and event horizons holds for small perturbations of compact support but
fails in the case of finite perturbations.Comment: 10 pages, accepted for publication in PR
Relativistic Radiative Transfer for Spherical Flows
We present a new complete set of Lagrangian relativistic hydrodynamical
equations describing the transfer of energy and momentum between a standard
fluid and a radiation fluid in a general non-stationary spherical flow. The new
set of equations has been derived for a particular application to the study of
the cosmological Quark--Hadron transition but can also be used in other
contexts.Comment: 28 pages, 9 postscript figs, Plain Te
SN 2015ba: A type IIP supernova with a long plateau
We present optical photometry and spectroscopy from about a week after
explosion to 272 d of an atypical Type IIP supernova, SN 2015ba, which
exploded in the edge-on galaxy IC 1029. SN 2015ba is a luminous event with an
absolute V-band magnitude of -17.10.2 mag at 50 d since explosion and has
a long plateau lasting for 123 d. The distance to the SN is estimated to
be 34.80.7 Mpc using the expanding photosphere and standard candle
methods. High-velocity H-Balmer components constant with time are observed in
the late-plateau phase spectra of SN 2015ba, which suggests a possible role of
circumstellar interaction at these phases. Both hydrodynamical and analytical
modelling suggest a massive progenitor of SN 2015ba with a pre-explosion mass
of 24-26 M. However, the nebular spectra of SN 2015ba exhibit
insignificant levels of oxygen, which is otherwise expected from a massive
progenitor. This might be suggestive of the non-monotonical link between O-core
masses and the zero-age main-sequence mass of pre-supernova stars and/or
uncertainties in the mixing scenario in the ejecta of supernovae.Comment: 42 pages, 7 pages Appendix, 20 figures, 10 tables, Accepted for
publication in MNRAS, 14-June-201
SN 2013ab : A normal type IIP supernova in NGC 5669
We present densely-sampled ultraviolet/optical photometric and low-resolution
optical spectroscopic observations of the type IIP supernova 2013ab in the
nearby (24 Mpc) galaxy NGC 5669, from 2 to 190d after explosion.
Continuous photometric observations, with the cadence of typically a day to one
week, were acquired with the 1-2m class telescopes in the LCOGT network, ARIES
telescopes in India and various other telescopes around the globe. The light
curve and spectra suggest that the SN is a normal type IIP event with a plateau
duration of days with mid plateau absolute visual magnitude of
-16.7, although with a steeper decline during the plateau (0.92 mag 100 d in band) relative to other archetypal SNe of similar brightness.
The velocity profile of SN 2013ab shows striking resemblance with those of SNe
1999em and 2012aw. Following the Rabinak & Waxman (2011) prescription, the
initial temperature evolution of the SN emission allows us to estimate the
progenitor radius to be 800 R, indicating that the SN
originated from a red supergiant star. The distance to the SN host galaxy is
estimated to be 24.3 Mpc from expanding photosphere method (EPM). From our
observations, we estimate that 0.064 M of Ni was synthesized
in the explosion. General relativistic, radiation hydrodynamical modeling of
the SN infers an explosion energy of erg, a progenitor
mass (at the time of explosion) of M and an initial radius
of R.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Band dispersion in the deep 1s core level of graphene
Chemical bonding in molecules and solids arises from the overlap of valence
electron wave functions, forming extended molecular orbitals and dispersing
Bloch states, respectively. Core electrons with high binding energies, on the
other hand, are localized to their respective atoms and their wave functions do
not overlap significantly. Here we report the observation of band formation and
considerable dispersion (up to 60 meV) in the core level of the carbon
atoms forming graphene, despite the high C binding energy of 284
eV. Due to a Young's double slit-like interference effect, a situation arises
in which only the bonding or only the anti-bonding states is observed for a
given photoemission geometry.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, including supplementary materia
Comprehensive Evaluation of Plasma 7-Ketocholesterol and Cholestan-3β,5α,6β-Triol in an Italian Cohort of Patients Affected by Niemann-Pick Disease due to NPC1 and SMPD1 Mutations
: Niemann-Pick C disease (NPCD) is a rare autosomal recessive neurovisceral disorder with a heterogeneous clinical presentation. Cholestan-3β,5α,6β-triol and 7-ketocholesterol have been proposed as biomarkers for the screening of NPCD. In this work, we assessed oxysterols levels in a cohort of Italian patients affected by NPCD and analyzed the obtained results in the context of the clinical, biochemical and molecular data. In addition, a group of patients affected by Niemann-Pick B disease (NPBD) were also analyzed. NPC patients presented levels of both oxysterols way above the cut off value, except for 5 siblings presenting the variant biochemical phenotype who displayed levels of 3β,5α,6β-triol below or just above the cut-off value; 2 of them presented also normal levels of 7-KC. Both oxysterols were extremely high in a patient presenting the neonatal systemic lethal phenotype. All NPB patients showed increased oxysterols levels. In conclusion, the reported LC-MS/MS assay provides a robust non-invasive screening tool for NPCD. However, false negative results can be obtained in patients expressing the variant biochemical phenotype. These data strengthen the concept that the results should always be interpreted in the context of the patients' clinical picture and filipin staining and/or genetic studies might still be undertaken in patients with normal levels of oxysterols if symptoms are highly suggestive of NPCD. Both oxysterols are significantly elevated in NPB patients; thus a differential diagnosis should always be performed in patients presenting isolated hepatosplenomegaly, a common clinical sign of both NPCD and NPBD
Preheated Advection Dominated Accretion Flow
All high temperature accretion solutions including ADAF are physically thick,
so outgoing radiation interacts with the incoming flow, sharing as much or more
resemblance with classical spherical accretion flows as with disk flows. We
examine this interaction for the popular ADAF case. We find that without
allowance for Compton preheating, a very restricted domain of ADAF solution is
permitted and with Compton preheating included a new high temperature PADAF
branch appears in the solution space. In the absence of preheating, high
temperature flows do not exist when the mass accretion rate mdot == Mdot c^2 /
L_E >~ 10^-1.5. Below this mass accretion rate, a roughly conical region around
the hole cannot sustain high temperature ions and electrons for all flows
having mdot >~ 10^-4, which may lead to a funnel possibly filled with a tenuous
hot outgoing wind. If the flow starts at large radii with the usual equilibrium
temperature ~10^4 K, the critical mass accretion rate is much lower, mdot
\~10^-3.7 above which level no self-consistent ADAF (without preheating) can
exist. However, above this critical mass accretion rate, the flow can be
self-consistently maintained at high temperature if Compton preheating is
considered. These solutions constitute a new branch of solutions as in
spherical accretion flows. High temperature PADAF flows can exist above the
critical mass accretion rate in addition to the usual cold thin disk solutions.
We also find solutions where the flow near the equatorial plane accretes
normally while the flow near the pole is overheated by Compton preheating,
possibly becoming, a polar wind, solutions which we designate WADAF.Comment: 41 pages with 10 postscript figures (aastex5). Submitted to Ap
Relativistic Radiation Magnetohydrodynamics in Dynamical Spacetimes: Numerical Methods and Tests
Many systems of current interest in relativistic astrophysics require a
knowledge of radiative transfer in a magnetized gas flowing in a
strongly-curved, dynamical spacetime. Such systems include coalescing compact
binaries containing neutron stars or white dwarfs, disks around merging black
holes, core collapse supernovae, collapsars, and gamma-ray burst sources. To
model these phenomena, all of which involve general relativity, radiation
(photon and/or neutrino), and magnetohydrodynamics, we have developed a general
relativistic code capable of evolving MHD fluids and radiation in dynamical
spacetimes. Our code solves the coupled Einstein-Maxwell-MHD-Radiation system
of equations both in axisymmetry and in full 3+1 dimensions. We evolve the
metric by integrating the BSSN equations, and use a conservative,
high-resolution shock-capturing scheme to evolve both the MHD and radiation
moment equations. In this paper, we implement our scheme for optically thick
gases and grey-body opacities. Our code gives accurate results in a suite of
tests involving radiating shocks and nonlinear waves propagating in Minkowski
spacetime. In addition, to test our code's ability to evolve the relativistic
radiation-MHD equations in strong-field dynamical spacetimes, we study "thermal
Oppenheimer-Snyder collapse" to a black hole, and find good agreement between
analytic and numerical solutions.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PR
Probing stellar winds and accretion physics in high-mass X-ray binaries and ultra-luminous X-ray sources with LOFT
This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large
Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We
discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of high-mass X-ray binaries and
ultra-luminous X-ray sources. For a summary, we refer to the paper.Comment: White Paper in Support of the Mission Concept of the Large
Observatory for X-ray Timing. (v2 few typos corrected
Cardiac magnetic resonance in patients with ARVC and family members: the potential role of native T1 mapping
Left ventricular (LV) involvement in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is not evaluated in the revised Task Force Criteria, possibly leading to underdiagnosis. This study explored the diagnostic role of myocardial native T1 mapping in patients with ARVC and their first-degree relatives. Thirty ARVC patients (47% males, mean age 45 ± 27 years) and 59 first-degree relatives not meeting diagnostic criteria underwent CMR with native T1 mapping. C MR was abnormal in 26 (87%) patients with ARVC. The right ventricle was affected in isolation in 13 (43%) patients. Prior to T1 mapping assessment, 2 (7%) patients exhibited isolated LV involvement and 11 (36%) patients showed features of biventricular disease. Left ventricular involvement was manifest as detectable LV late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in 12 out of 13 cases. According to pre-specified inter-ventricular septal (IVS) T1 mapping thresholds, 11 (37%) patients revealed raised native T1 values including 5 out of the 17 patients who would otherwise have been classified as exhibiting a normal LV by conventional imaging parameters. Native septal T1 values were elevated in 22 (37%) of the 59 first-degree relatives included. Biventricular involvement is commonly observed in ARVC; native myocardial T1 values are raised in more than one third of patients, including a significant proportion of cases that would have been otherwise classified as exhibiting a normal LV using conventional CMR techniques. The significance of abnormal T1 values in first-degree relatives at risk will need validation through longitudinal studies
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