5,678 research outputs found
The Early Evolution of Primordial Pair-Instability Supernovae
The observational signatures of the first cosmic explosions and their
chemical imprint on second-generation stars both crucially depend on how heavy
elements mix within the star at the earliest stages of the blast. We present
numerical simulations of the early evolution of Population III pair-instability
supernovae with the new adaptive mesh refinement code CASTRO. In stark contrast
to 15 - 40 Msun core-collapse primordial supernovae, we find no mixing in most
150 - 250 Msun pair-instability supernovae out to times well after breakout
from the surface of the star. This may be the key to determining the mass of
the progenitor of a primeval supernova, because vigorous mixing will cause
emission lines from heavy metals such as Fe and Ni to appear much sooner in the
light curves of core-collapse supernovae than in those of pair-instability
explosions. Our results also imply that unlike low-mass Pop III supernovae,
whose collective metal yields can be directly compared to the chemical
abundances of extremely metal-poor stars, further detailed numerical
simulations will be required to determine the nucleosynthetic imprint of very
massive Pop III stars on their direct descendants.Comment: submitted to ApJ, comments welcom
Traumatic Brain Injury, Microglia, and Beta Amyloid
Recently, there has been growing interest in the association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). TBI and AD share many pathologic features including chronic inflammation and the accumulation of beta amyloid (Aβ). Data from both AD and TBI studies suggest that microglia play a central role in Aβ accumulation after TBI. This paper focuses on the current research on the role of microglia response to Aβ after TBI
How the First Stars Regulated Star Formation. II. Enrichment by Nearby Supernovae
Metals from Population III (Pop III) supernovae led to the formation of less
massive Pop II stars in the early universe, altering the course of evolution of
primeval galaxies and cosmological reionization. There are a variety of
scenarios in which heavy elements from the first supernovae were taken up into
second-generation stars, but cosmological simulations only model them on the
largest scales. We present small-scale, high-resolution simulations of the
chemical enrichment of a primordial halo by a nearby supernova after partial
evaporation by the progenitor star. We find that ejecta from the explosion
crash into and mix violently with ablative flows driven off the halo by the
star, creating dense, enriched clumps capable of collapsing into Pop II stars.
Metals may mix less efficiently with the partially exposed core of the halo, so
it might form either Pop III or Pop II stars. Both Pop II and III stars may
thus form after the collision if the ejecta do not strip all the gas from the
halo. The partial evaporation of the halo prior to the explosion is crucial to
its later enrichment by the supernova.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Toward the assessment of the susceptibility of a digital system to lightning upset
Accomplishments and directions for further research aimed at developing methods for assessing a candidate design of an avionic computer with respect to susceptability to lightning upset are reported. Emphasis is on fault tolerant computers. Both lightning stress and shielding are covered in a review of the electromagnetic environment. Stress characterization, system characterization, upset detection, and positive and negative design features are considered. A first cut theory of comparing candidate designs is presented including tests of comparative susceptability as well as its analysis and simulation. An approach to lightning induced transient fault effects is included
Lifetimes of ultralong-range strontium Rydberg molecules in a dense BEC
The lifetimes and decay channels of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules created
in a dense BEC are examined by monitoring the time evolution of the Rydberg
population using field ionization. Studies of molecules with values of
principal quantum number, , in the range to that contain tens
to hundreds of ground state atoms within the Rydberg electron orbit show that
their presence leads to marked changes in the field ionization characteristics.
The Rydberg molecules have lifetimes of s, their destruction
being attributed to two main processes: formation of Sr ions through
associative ionization, and dissociation induced through -changing
collisions. The observed loss rates are consistent with a reaction model that
emphasizes the interaction between the Rydberg core ion and its nearest
neighbor ground-state atom. The measured lifetimes place strict limits on the
time scales over which studies involving Rydberg species in cold, dense atomic
gases can be undertaken and limit the coherence times for such measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
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