A simple model for quasar density evolution

It is widely agreed upon that AGN and Quasars are driven by gas accretion onto a supermassive black hole. The origin of the latter however still remains an open question. In this work we present the results of an extremely simple cosmological model combined with an evolutionary scenario in which both the formation of the black hole as well as the gas accretion onto it are triggered by major mergers of gas-rich galaxies. Despite its very generous approximations our model reproduces the quasar density evolution in remarkable agreement with observations.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology - Einstein's Legacy" (Eds.: B. Aschenbach, V. Burwitz, G. Hasinger, and B. Leibundgut), 7 - 11 November 2005, Munich, Bavaria, German

Algorithmic procedures for Bayesian MEG/EEG source reconstruction in SPM

AbstractThe MEG/EEG inverse problem is ill-posed, giving different source reconstructions depending on the initial assumption sets. Parametric Empirical Bayes allows one to implement most popular MEG/EEG inversion schemes (Minimum Norm, LORETA, etc.) within the same generic Bayesian framework. It also provides a cost-function in terms of the variational Free energy—an approximation to the marginal likelihood or evidence of the solution. In this manuscript, we revisit the algorithm for MEG/EEG source reconstruction with a view to providing a didactic and practical guide. The aim is to promote and help standardise the development and consolidation of other schemes within the same framework. We describe the implementation in the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) software package, carefully explaining each of its stages with the help of a simple simulated data example. We focus on the Multiple Sparse Priors (MSP) model, which we compare with the well-known Minimum Norm and LORETA models, using the negative variational Free energy for model comparison. The manuscript is accompanied by Matlab scripts to allow the reader to test and explore the underlying algorithm

Deuterium and tritium experiments on TFTR

Three initial campaigns to increase the fusion power in DT plasmas on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor [TFTR] prior to July 1994 are described. The first campaign was dedicated to obtaining >5 MW of fusion power while avoiding MHD events similar to the JET X-event. The second was aimed at producing maximum fusion power irrespective of proximity to MHD limits, and achieved 9 MW limited by a disruption. The third campaign increased the energy confinement time using lithium pellet conditioning with the hope of increasing the ratio of alpha heating to beam heating

Impact of fluid-rock interaction on water uptake of the Icelandic crust: Implications for the hydration of the oceanic crust and the subducted water flux

Pre-print (óritrýnt handrit)Oceanic crust is a major transport medium of water into the mantle wedge and the convecting mantle. Yet, the water content of the oceanic crust remains uncertain. Active geothermal systems situated at on-land spreading centers provide a unique opportunity to study the hydration of the oceanic crust, with well constrained systems and boreholes reaching depths of >4 km. Here, we present hydrogen isotope data of geothermal fluids and altered basalt for three Icelandic geothermal systems: the meteoric water fed system at Krafla and the seawater fed systems at Reykjanes and Surtsey. The bulk rock δD values of altered and hydrated basalts from these localities, which exhibit significantly higher water contents (up to 8.9 wt.%) than magmatic (non-hydrated) basalts, vary greatly from −125 to −96 at Krafla, from −80 to −46 at Reykjanes and from −78 to −46 at Surtsey. The corresponding fluids have δD values of −84.1 to −81.1 at Krafla, −23.1 to −14.9 at Reykjanes and +2.1 to +4.3 at Surtsey. Comparison of isotope modeling results to the natural data reveals that hydration of the Icelandic crust and corresponding hydrogen isotopic characteristics are controlled by (1) the isotope composition of the source fluid, (2) isotope fractionation between the aqueous geothermal fluids and the alteration minerals formed, and (3) the type and quantity of alteration minerals formed. These factors in turn depend on the extent of fluid-rock interaction and temperature. Using the same modeling approach and expanding it to datasets available for the oceanic crust, we assessed the hydration state and δD values of the oceanic crust as a function of depth. We show that 1400 to 1650 Tg H2O/yr is added to the igneous oceanic crust upon alteration by seawater and that the upper part (<2 km) of oceanic crust hosts almost 50% of the added water. The corresponding hydrogen isotope composition of the hydrated crust was calculated to an average of −55 ±6 . Upon subduction and subsequent dehydration, 80–90% of water with δD values of −35 to −10 will be released to the crustal forearc and mantle wedge. The remaining dehydrated slab with δD values of ∼−160 to −85 is expected to be transported to deeper levels modifying the mantle’s water budget and isotopic composition.This project was financially supported by NordVulk, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) through a grant to the SUSTAIN project, and the Icelandic Research Fund (project number: 163083-051). SAH acknowledges support from the Icelandic Research Fund (project number: 196139-051). HS Orka and Landsvirkjun kindly provided access to the drill cuttings. J. Cullen, T. Larson, R. Ólafsdóttir and Á.E. Sveinbjörnsdóttir are thanked for assistance during sample preparation and data acquisition. BIK is particularly grateful of being part of this project as without the project-related lab work she would have never met her future husband E.W. Marshall IV. We thank four anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript. Louis Derry is thanked for careful editorial handling of this study

Dissecting a wheat QTL for yield present in a range of environments: from the QTL to candidate genes

Previous studies with 95 bread wheat doubled haploid lines (DHLs) from the cross Chinese Spring (CS)xSQ1 trialled over 24 yearxtreatmentxlocations identified major yield quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in homoeologous locations on 7AL and 7BL, expressed mainly under stressed and non-stressed conditions, respectively. SQ1 and CS contributed alleles increasing yield on 7AL and 7BL, respectively. The yield component most strongly associated with these QTLs was grains per ear. Additional results which focus on the 7AL yield QTL are presented here. Trials monitoring agronomic, morphological, physiological, and anatomical traits revealed that the 7AL yield QTL was not associated with differences in flowering time or plant height, but with significant differences in biomass at maturity and anthesis, biomass per tiller, and biomass during tillering. In some trials, flag leaf chlorophyll content and leaf width at tillering were also associated with the QTL. Thus, it is likely that the yield gene(s) on 7AL affects plant productivity. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) for the 7AL yield QTL with CS or SQ1 alleles in an SQ1 BACKGROUND: showed the SQ1 allele to be associated with > 20% higher yield per ear, significantly higher flag leaf chlorophyll content, and wider flag leaves. Epidermal cell width and distance between leaf vascular bundles did not differ significantly between NILs, so the yield-associated gene may influence the number of cell files across the leaf through effects on cell division. Interestingly, comparative mapping with rice identified AINTEGUMENTA and G-protein subunit genes affecting lateral cell division at locations homologous to the wheat 7AL yield QTL

Discrimination of cortical laminae using MEG.

Typically MEG source reconstruction is used to estimate the distribution of current flow on a single anatomically derived cortical surface model. In this study we use two such models representing superficial and deep cortical laminae. We establish how well we can discriminate between these two different cortical layer models based on the same MEG data in the presence of different levels of co-registration noise, Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and cortical patch size. We demonstrate that it is possible to make a distinction between superficial and deep cortical laminae for levels of co-registration noise of less than 2mm translation and 2° rotation at SNR&gt;11dB. We also show that an incorrect estimate of cortical patch size will tend to bias layer estimates. We then use a 3D printed head-cast (Troebinger et al., 2014) to achieve comparable levels of co-registration noise, in an auditory evoked response paradigm, and show that it is possible to discriminate between these cortical layer models in real data

High precision anatomy for MEG.

Precise MEG estimates of neuronal current flow are undermined by uncertain knowledge of the head location with respect to the MEG sensors. This is either due to head movements within the scanning session or systematic errors in co-registration to anatomy. Here we show how such errors can be minimized using subject-specific head-casts produced using 3D printing technology. The casts fit the scalp of the subject internally and the inside of the MEG dewar externally, reducing within session and between session head movements. Systematic errors in matching to MRI coordinate system are also reduced through the use of MRI-visible fiducial markers placed on the same cast. Bootstrap estimates of absolute co-registration error were of the order of 1mm. Estimates of relative co-registration error were &lt;1.5mm between sessions. We corroborated these scalp based estimates by looking at the MEG data recorded over a 6month period. We found that the between session sensor variability of the subject's evoked response was of the order of the within session noise, showing no appreciable noise due to between-session movement. Simulations suggest that the between-session sensor level amplitude SNR improved by a factor of 5 over conventional strategies. We show that at this level of coregistration accuracy there is strong evidence for anatomical models based on the individual rather than canonical anatomy; but that this advantage disappears for errors of greater than 5mm. This work paves the way for source reconstruction methods which can exploit very high SNR signals and accurate anatomical models; and also significantly increases the sensitivity of longitudinal studies with MEG

Meson model for f_0(980) production in peripheral pion-nucleon reactions

The Juelich model for pion-pion-scattering, based on an effective meson-meson Lagrangian is applied to the analysis of the S-wave production amplitudes derived from the BNL E852 experiment pi^- p -> pi^0 pi^0 n for a pion momentum of 18.3 GeV. The unexpected strong dependence of the S-wave partial wave amplitude on the momentum transfer between the proton and neutron in the vicinity of the f_0(980) resonance is explained in our analysis as interference effect between the correlated and uncorrelated pi^0 pi^0 pairs.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, formulas added, typos removed, new figure