7,261 research outputs found
Chaotic advection of reacting substances: Plankton dynamics on a meandering jet
We study the spatial patterns formed by interacting populations or reacting
chemicals under the influence of chaotic flows. In particular, we have
considered a three-component model of plankton dynamics advected by a
meandering jet. We report general results, stressing the existence of a
smooth-filamental transition in the concentration patterns depending on the
relative strength of the stirring by the chaotic flow and the relaxation
properties of planktonic dynamical system. Patterns obtained in open and closed
flows are compared.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figues, latex compiled with modegs.cl
Discovery of Water Vapor in the High-redshift Quasar APM 08279+5255 at z = 3.91
We report a detection of the excited 2_(20)-2_(11) rotational transition of para-H_2O in APM 08279+5255 using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. At z = 3.91, this is the highest-redshift detection of interstellar water to date. From large velocity gradient modeling, we conclude that this transition is predominantly radiatively pumped and on its own does not provide a good estimate of the water abundance. However, additional water transitions are predicted to be detectable in this source, which would lead to an improved excitation model. We also present a sensitive upper limit for the hydrogen fluoride (HF) J = 1-0 absorption toward APM 08279+5255. While the face-on geometry of this source is not favorable for absorption studies, the lack of HF absorption is still puzzling and may be indicative of a lower fluorine abundance at z = 3.91 compared with the Galactic interstellar medium
Substrate-specific clades of active marine methylotrophs associated with a phytoplankton bloom in a temperate coastal environment
Marine microorganisms that consume one-carbon (C1) compounds are poorly described, despite their impact on global climate via an influence on aquatic and atmospheric chemistry. This study investigated marine bacterial communities involved in the metabolism of C1 compounds. These communities were of relevance to surface seawater and atmospheric chemistry in the context of a bloom that was dominated by phytoplankton known to produce dimethylsulfoniopropionate. In addition to using 16S rRNA gene fingerprinting and clone libraries to characterize samples taken from a bloom transect in July 2006, seawater samples from the phytoplankton bloom were incubated with 13C-labeled methanol, monomethylamine, dimethylamine, methyl bromide, and dimethyl sulfide to identify microbial populations involved in the turnover of C1 compounds, using DNA stable isotope probing. The [13C]DNA samples from a single time point were characterized and compared using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), fingerprint cluster analysis, and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. Bacterial community DGGE fingerprints from 13C-labeled DNA were distinct from those obtained with the DNA of the nonlabeled community DNA and suggested some overlap in substrate utilization between active methylotroph populations growing on different C1 substrates. Active methylotrophs were affiliated with Methylophaga spp. and several clades of undescribed Gammaproteobacteria that utilized methanol, methylamines (both monomethylamine and dimethylamine), and dimethyl sulfide. rRNA gene sequences corresponding to populations assimilating 13C-labeled methyl bromide and other substrates were associated with members of the Alphaproteobacteria (e.g., the family Rhodobacteraceae), the Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group, and unknown taxa. This study expands the known diversity of marine methylotrophs in surface seawater and provides a comprehensive data set for focused cultivation and metagenomic analyses in the future
Jets associated with Z^0 boson production in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC
The heavy ion program at the LHC will present unprecedented opportunities to
probe hot QCD matter, that is, the quark gluon plasma (QGP). Among these
exciting new probes are high energy partons associated with the production of a
Z^0 boson, or Z^0 tagged jets. Once produced, Z^0 bosons are essentially
unaffected by the strongly interacting medium produced in heavy-ion collisions,
and therefore provide a powerful signal of the initial partonic energy and
subsequent medium induced partonic energy loss. When compared with theory,
experimental measurements of Z^0 tagged jets will help quantify the jet
quenching properties of the QGP and discriminate between different partonic
energy loss formalisms. In what follows, I discuss the advantages of tagged
jets over leading particles, and present preliminary results of the production
and suppression of Z^0 tagged jets in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at LHC
energies using the Guylassy-Levai-Vitev (GLV) partonic energy loss formalism.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 2010 Winter Workshop on Nuclear
Dynamics, which was held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, mon
Weak boson production measured in PbPb and pp collisions by CMS
The unprecedented center-of-mass energy available at the LHC offers unique
opportunities for studying the properties of the strongly-interacting QCD
matter created in PbPb collisions at extreme temperatures and very low parton
momentum fractions. Electroweak boson production is an important benchmark
process at hadron colliders. Precise measurements of Z production in heavy-ion
collisions can help to constrain nuclear PDFs as well as serve as a standard
candle of the initial state in PbPb collisions at the LHC energies. The
inclusive and differential measurements of the Z boson yield in the muon decay
channel will be presented, establishing that no modification is observed with
respect to next-to-leading order pQCD calculations, scaled by the number of
incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions. The status of the Z measurement in the
electron decay channel, as well as the first observation of W \rightarrow \mu
{\nu} in heavy ion collisions will be given. The heavy-ion results will be
presented in the context of those obtained in pp collisions with the CMS
detector.Comment: Quark Matter 2011 conference proceeding
Testing the Equivalent Photon Approximation of the Proton in the Process
The accuracy of the equivalent photon approximation (EPA) of the proton in
describing the inelastic process is investigated. In
particular, the scale dependence of the corresponding inelastic photon
distribution is discussed. Furthermore, an estimate of the total number of
events, including the ones coming from the elastic and quasi-elastic channels
of the reaction, is given for the HERA collider.Comment: Revised version, one reference added, to appear in EP
Comparing different freeze-out scenarios in azimuthal hadron correlations induced by fast partons
I review the linearized hydrodynamical treatment of a fast parton traversing
a perturbative quark-gluon plasma. Using numerical solutions for the medium's
response to the fast parton, I obtain the medium's distribution function which
is then used in a Cooper-Frye freeze-out prescription to obtain an azimuthal
particle spectrum. Two different freeze-out scenarios are considered which
yield significantly different results. I conclude that any meaningful
comparison of azimuthal hadron correlation functions to RHIC data requires
implementing a realistic freeze-out scenario in an expanding medium.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings for 2008 Hot Quarks in Estes Park,
CO, as accepted for publication in EPJ-
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