1,553 research outputs found
New findings on the prototypical Of?p stars
In recent years several in-depth investigations of the three Galactic Of?p
stars were undertaken. These multiwavelength studies revealed the peculiar
properties of these objects (in the X-rays as well as in the optical): magnetic
fields, periodic line profile variations, recurrent photometric changes.
However, many questions remain unsolved. To clarify some of the properties of
the Of?p stars, we have continued their monitoring. A new XMM observation and
two new optical datasets were obtained. Additional information for the
prototypical Of?p trio has been found. HD108 has now reached its quiescent,
minimum-emission state, for the first time in 50--60yrs. The echelle spectra of
HD148937 confirm the presence of the 7d variations in the Balmer lines and
reveal similar periodic variations (though of lower amplitudes) in the HeI5876
and HeII4686 lines, underlining its similarities with the other two
prototypical Of?p stars. The new XMM observation of HD191612 was taken at the
same phase in the line modulation cycle but at a different orbital phase as
previous data. It clearly shows that the X-ray emission of HD191612 is
modulated by the 538d period and not the orbital period of 1542d - it is thus
not of colliding-wind origin and the phenomenon responsible for the optical
changes appears also at work in the high-energy domain. There are however
problems: our MHD simulations of the wind magnetic confinement predict both a
harder X-ray flux of a much larger strength than what is observed (the modeled
DEM peaks at 30-40MK, whereas the observed one peaks at 2MK) and narrow lines
(hot gas moving with velocities of 100--200km/s, whereras the observed FWHM is
~2000km/s).Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures (2 in jpg), accepted for publication by A&
Early-type stars in the core of the young open cluster Westerlund2
Aims. The properties of the early-type stars in the core of the Westerlund2
cluster are examined in order to establish a link between the cluster and the
very massive Wolf-Rayet binary WR20a as well as the HII complex RCW49.
Methods. Photometric monitoring as well as spectroscopic observations of
Westerlund2 are used to search for light variability and to establish the
spectral types of the early-type stars in the cluster core.
Results. The first light curves of the eclipsing binary WR20a in B and V
filters are analysed and a distance of 8kpc is inferred. Three additional
eclipsing binaries, which are probable late O or early B-type cluster members,
are discovered, but none of the known early O-type stars in the cluster
displays significant photometric variability above 1% at the 1-sigma level. The
twelve brightest O-type stars are found to have spectral types between O3 and
O6.5, significantly earlier than previously thought.
Conclusions. The distance of the early-type stars in Westerlund2 is
established to be in excellent agreement with the distance of WR20a, indicating
that WR20a actually belongs to the cluster. Our best estimate of the cluster
distance thus amounts to 8.0pm1.4kpc. Despite the earlier spectral types, the
currently known population of early-type stars in Westerlund2 does not provide
enough ionizing photons to account for the radio emission of the RCW49 complex.
This suggests that there might still exist a number of embedded early O-stars
in RCW49.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures (figs 1, 3 and 5 in jpg), accepted for
publication by A&
Optical spectroscopy of X-Mega targets in the Carina nebula - VII On the multiplicity of Tr 16-112, HD 93343 and HD 93250
We present the results of a spectroscopic monitoring campaign devoted to
three O-type stars in the Carina nebula. We derive the full SB2 orbital
solution of the binary system Tr 16-112, an exceptional dissymmetrical system
consisting of an O5.5-6V((f?p)) primary and a B2V-III secondary. We also
report on low-amplitude brightness variations in Tr 16-112 that are likely due
to the ellipsoidal shape of the O5.5-6 primary revolving in an eccentric orbit
around the system's centre of mass. We detect for the first time a clear SB2
binary signature in the spectrum of HD 93343 (O8 + O8), although our data are
not sufficient to establish an orbital solution. This system also displays low
amplitude photometric modulations. On the other hand, no indication of
multiplicity is found in the optical spectra of HD 93250. Finally, we discuss
the general properties of multiple massive stars in the Carina OB1 association.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
WR20a: a massive cornerstone binary system comprising two extreme early-type stars
We analyse spectroscopic observations of WR20a revealing that this star is a
massive early-type binary system with a most probable orbital period of \sim
3.675 days. Our spectra indicate that both components are most likely of WN6ha
or O3If^*/WN6ha spectral type. The orbital solution for a period of 3.675 days
yields extremely large minimum masses of 70.7 \pm 4.0 and 68.8 \pm 3.8
M_{\odot} for the two stars. These properties make WR20a a cornerstone system
for the study of massive star evolution.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by A&A Letter
Simulation of Atmospheric Muon and Neutrino Fluxes with CORSIKA
The fluxes of atmospheric muons and neutrinos are calculated by a three
dimensional Monte Carlo simulation with the air shower code CORSIKA using the
hadronic interaction models DPMJET, VENUS, GHEISHA, and UrQMD. For the
simulation of low energy primary particles the original CORSIKA has been
extended by a parametrization of the solar modulation and a microscopic
calculation of the directional dependence of the geomagnetic cut-off functions.
An accurate description for the geography of the Earth has been included by a
digital elevation model, tables for the local magnetic field in the atmosphere,
and various atmospheric models for different geographic latitudes and annual
seasons. CORSIKA is used to calculate atmospheric muon fluxes for different
locations and the neutrino fluxes for Kamioka. The results of CORSIKA for the
muon fluxes are verified by an extensive comparison with recent measurements.
The obtained neutrino fluxes are compared with other calculations and the
influence of the hadronic interaction model, the geomagnetic cut-off and the
local magnetic field on the neutrino fluxes is investigated.Comment: revtex, 19 pages, 19 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
From least action in electrodynamics to magnetomechanical energy -- a review
The equations of motion for electromechanical systems are traced back to the
fundamental Lagrangian of particles and electromagnetic fields, via the Darwin
Lagrangian. When dissipative forces can be neglected the systems are
conservative and one can study them in a Hamiltonian formalism. The central
concepts of generalized capacitance and inductance coefficients are introduced
and explained. The problem of gauge independence of self-inductance is
considered. Our main interest is in magnetomechanics, i.e. the study of systems
where there is exchange between mechanical and magnetic energy. This throws
light on the concept of magnetic energy, which according to the literature has
confusing and peculiar properties. We apply the theory to a few simple
examples: the extension of a circular current loop, the force between parallel
wires, interacting circular current loops, and the rail gun. These show that
the Hamiltonian, phase space, form of magnetic energy has the usual property
that an equilibrium configuration corresponds to an energy minimum.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, 65 reference
Mutations in TRAF3IP1/IFT54 reveal a new role for IFT proteins in microtubule stabilization
Ciliopathies are a large group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders caused by defects in primary cilia. Here we identified mutations in TRAF3IP1 (TNF Receptor-Associated Factor Interacting Protein 1) in eight patients from five families with nephronophthisis (NPH) and retinal degeneration, two of the most common manifestations of ciliopathies. TRAF3IP1 encodes IFT54, a subunit of the IFT-B complex required for ciliogenesis. The identified mutations result in mild ciliary defects in patients but also reveal an unexpected role of IFT54 as a negative regulator of microtubule stability via MAP4 (microtubule-associated protein 4). Microtubule defects are associated with altered epithelialization/polarity in renal cells and with pronephric cysts and microphthalmia in zebrafish embryos. Our findings highlight the regulation of cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics as a role of the IFT54 protein beyond the cilium, contributing to the development of NPH-related ciliopathies
Current challenges in software solutions for mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics
This work was in part supported by the PRIME-XS project, grant agreement number 262067, funded by the European Union seventh Framework Programme; The Netherlands Proteomics Centre, embedded in The Netherlands Genomics Initiative; The Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre; and the Centre for Biomedical Genetics (to S.C., B.B. and A.J.R.H); by NIH grants NCRR RR001614 and RR019934 (to the UCSF Mass Spectrometry Facility, director: A.L. Burlingame, P.B.); and by grants from the MRC, CR-UK, BBSRC and Barts and the London Charity (to P.C.
Calibration of the Logarithmic-Periodic Dipole Antenna (LPDA) Radio Stations at the Pierre Auger Observatory using an Octocopter
An in-situ calibration of a logarithmic periodic dipole antenna with a
frequency coverage of 30 MHz to 80 MHz is performed. Such antennas are part of
a radio station system used for detection of cosmic ray induced air showers at
the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the so-called
Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA). The directional and frequency
characteristics of the broadband antenna are investigated using a remotely
piloted aircraft (RPA) carrying a small transmitting antenna. The antenna
sensitivity is described by the vector effective length relating the measured
voltage with the electric-field components perpendicular to the incoming signal
direction. The horizontal and meridional components are determined with an
overall uncertainty of 7.4^{+0.9}_{-0.3} % and 10.3^{+2.8}_{-1.7} %
respectively. The measurement is used to correct a simulated response of the
frequency and directional response of the antenna. In addition, the influence
of the ground conductivity and permittivity on the antenna response is
simulated. Both have a negligible influence given the ground conditions
measured at the detector site. The overall uncertainties of the vector
effective length components result in an uncertainty of 8.8^{+2.1}_{-1.3} % in
the square root of the energy fluence for incoming signal directions with
zenith angles smaller than 60{\deg}.Comment: Published version. Updated online abstract only. Manuscript is
unchanged with respect to v2. 39 pages, 15 figures, 2 table
Azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of the surface detector signals of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of signals in Auger surface detector
stations is a source of information on shower development. The azimuthal
asymmetry is due to a combination of the longitudinal evolution of the shower
and geometrical effects related to the angles of incidence of the particles
into the detectors. The magnitude of the effect depends upon the zenith angle
and state of development of the shower and thus provides a novel observable,
, sensitive to the mass composition of cosmic rays
above eV. By comparing measurements with predictions from
shower simulations, we find for both of our adopted models of hadronic physics
(QGSJETII-04 and EPOS-LHC) an indication that the mean cosmic-ray mass
increases slowly with energy, as has been inferred from other studies. However,
the mass estimates are dependent on the shower model and on the range of
distance from the shower core selected. Thus the method has uncovered further
deficiencies in our understanding of shower modelling that must be resolved
before the mass composition can be inferred from .Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
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