203 research outputs found
On the Wilson-Bappu relationship in the Mg II k line
An investigation is carried out on the Wilson-Bappu effect in the Mg II k
line at 2796.34 A. The work is based on a selection of 230 stars observed by
both the IUE and HIPPARCOS satellites, covering a wide range of spectral type
and absolute visual magnitudes. The Wilson-Bappu relationship here provided is
considered to represent an improvement over previous recent results for the
considerably larger data sample used as well as for a proper consideration of
the measurement errors. No evidence has been found for a possible dependence of
the WB effect on stellar metallicity and effective temperature.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures Accepted for publication on A&
A study of the Mg II 2796.34 A emission line in late--type normal, and RS CVn stars
We carry out an analysis of the Mg II 2796.34 A emission line in RS CVn stars
and make a comparison with the normal stars studied in a previous paper (Paper
I). The sample of RS CVn stars consists of 34 objects with known HIPPARCOS
parallaxes and observed at high resolution with IUE. We confirm that RS CVn
stars tend to possess wider Mg II lines than normal stars having the same
absolute visual magnitude. However, we could not find any correlation between
the logarithmic line width log Wo and the absolute visual magnitude Mv (the
Wilson--Bappu relationship) for these active stars, contrary to the case of
normal stars addressed in Paper I. On the contrary, we find that a strong
correlation exists in the (Mv, log L) plane (L is the absolute flux in the
line). In this plane, normal and RS CVn stars are distributed along two nearly
parallel straight lines with RS CVn stars being systematically brighter by
about 1 dex. Such a diagram provides an interesting tool to discriminate active
from normal stars. We finally analyse the distribution of RS CVn and of normal
stars in the (log L, log Wo) plane, and find a strong linear correlation for
normal stars, which can be used for distance determinations.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, latex, to be published in A&
Entropy: From Black Holes to Ordinary Systems
Several results of black holes thermodynamics can be considered as firmly
founded and formulated in a very general manner. From this starting point we
analyse in which way these results may give us the opportunity to gain a better
understanding in the thermodynamics of ordinary systems for which a
pre-relativistic description is sufficient. First, we investigated the
possibility to introduce an alternative definition of the entropy basically
related to a local definition of the order in a spacetime model rather than a
counting of microstates. We show that such an alternative approach exists and
leads to the traditional results provided an equilibrium condition is assumed.
This condition introduces a relation between a time interval and the reverse of
the temperature. We show that such a relation extensively used in the black
hole theory, mainly as a mathematical trick, has a very general and physical
meaning here; in particular its derivation is not related to the existence of a
canonical density matrix. Our dynamical approach of thermodynamic equilibrium
allows us to establish a relation between action and entropy and we show that
an identical relation exists in the case of black holes. The derivation of such
a relation seems impossible in the Gibbs ensemble approach of statistical
thermodynamics. From these results we suggest that the definition of entropy in
terms of order in spacetime should be more general that the Boltzmann one based
on a counting of microstates. Finally we point out that these results are
obtained by reversing the traditional route going from the Schr\"{o}dinger
equation to statistical thermodynamics
Entropy, time irreversibility and Schroedinger equation in a primarily discrete space-time
In this paper we show that the existence of a primarily discrete space-time
may be a fruitful assumption from which we may develop a new approach of
statistical thermodynamics in pre-relativistic conditions. The discreetness of
space-time structure is determined by a condition that mimics the Heisenberg
uncertainty relations and the motion in this space-time model is chosen as
simple as possible. From these two assumptions we define a path-entropy that
measures the number of closed paths associated with a given energy of the
system preparation. This entropy has a dynamical character and depends on the
time interval on which we count the paths. We show that it exists an
like-equilibrium condition for which the path-entropy corresponds exactly to
the usual thermodynamic entropy and, more generally, the usual statistical
thermodynamics is reobtained. This result derived without using the Gibbs
ensemble method shows that the standard thermodynamics is consistent with a
motion that is time-irreversible at a microscopic level. From this change of
paradigm it becomes easy to derive a . A comparison with the
traditional Boltzmann approach is presented. We also show how our approach can
be implemented in order to describe reversible processes. By considering a
process defined simultaneously by initial and final conditions a well defined
stochastic process is introduced and we are able to derive a Schroedinger
equation, an example of time reversible equation.Comment: latex versio
A formally exact field theory for classical systems at equilibrium
We propose a formally exact statistical field theory for describing classical
fluids with ingredients similar to those introduced in quantum field theory. We
consider the following essential and related problems : i) how to find the
correct field functional (Hamiltonian) which determines the partition function,
ii) how to introduce in a field theory the equivalent of the indiscernibility
of particles, iii) how to test the validity of this approach. We can use a
simple Hamiltonian in which a local functional transposes, in terms of fields,
the equivalent of the indiscernibility of particles. The diagrammatic expansion
and the renormalization of this term is presented. This corresponds to a non
standard problem in Feynman expansion and requires a careful investigation.
Then a non-local term associated with an interaction pair potential is
introduced in the Hamiltonian. It has been shown that there exists a mapping
between this approach and the standard statistical mechanics given in terms of
Mayer function expansion. We show on three properties (the chemical potential,
the so-called contact theorem and the interfacial properties) that in the field
theory the correlations are shifted on non usual quantities. Some perspectives
of the theory are given.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
Clinical Management of Acinic Cell Carcinoma of the Lacrimal Gland
To report a case of acinic cell carcinoma occurred in the lacrimal gland. A 59-year-old man was admitted because of sudden blurring of vision, progressive proptosis of the left eye, and mild double vision in left and down directions of the gaze (Hess-Lancaster test). His medical history detailed controlled bilateral keratoconus and open angle glaucoma. On examination, the best corrected visual acuity decreased from 8/20 till 1/50 in one week. There was a swelling of the left upper eyelid. A hard and tender mass was palpated in the superior temporal left orbit. Ultrasound scan showed an extraconal solid mass, situated in the superior lateral corner of the orbit. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mass of two centimeters in diameter, with round well-defined outline, within the lacrimal gland. We per-formed an enucleoresection of the mass, via a coronal approach and a lateral orbitotomy by a piezosurgical device. The lesion appeared nodular, brownish, measuring about 2
7 1.5 cm. Histopathological findings were consistent with acinic cell carcinoma with a microcystic, focally papillary-cystic growth of pattern. Follow-up MRI outcomes led to removal of the residual lacrimal gland for suspicion of recurrence. No tumor recurrences where detected at 7-year follow-up
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