175 research outputs found
The SNR G106.3+2.7 and its Pulsar Wind Nebula: relics of triggered star formation in a complex environment
We propose that the pulsar nebula associated with the pulsar J2229+6114 and
the supernova remnant (SNR) G106.3+2.7 are the result of the same supernova
explosion. The whole structure is located at the edge of an HI bubble with
extended regions of molecular gas inside. The radial velocities of both the
atomic hydrogen and the molecular material suggest a distance of 800 pc. At
this distance the SNR is 14 pc long and 6 pc wide. Apparently the bubble was
created by the stellar wind and supernova explosions of a group of stars in its
center which also triggered the formation of the progenitor star of G106.3+2.7.
The progenitor star exploded at or close to the current position of the pulsar,
which is at one end of the SNR rather than at its center. The expanding shock
wave of the supernova explosion created a comet shaped supernova remnant by
running into dense material and then breaking out into the inner part of the HI
bubble. A synchrotron nebula with a shell-like structure (the ``Boomerang'') of
length 0.8 pc was created by the pulsar wind interacting with the dense ambient
medium. The expanding shock wave created an HI shell of mass 0.4 Msun around
this nebula by ionizing the atomic hydrogen in its vicinity.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, with aastex and emulateapj5, 5 figures. ApJ,
accepted, scheduled for the v560 n1 p1 Oct 10, 2001 issu
New 6cm and 11cm observations of the supernova remnant CTA 1
(Abridged) We conducted new 6cm and 11cm observations of CTA 1 using the
Urumqi 25-m and Effelsberg 100-m telescopes. Data at other wavelengths were
included to investigate the spectrum and polarisation properties. We obtained
new total intensity and polarisation maps at 6cm and 11cm with angular
resolutions of 9.5 arcmin and 4.4 arcmin, respectively. We derived a spectral
index of alpha=-0.63+/-0.05 based on the integrated flux densities at 408 MHz,
1420 MHz, 2639 MHz, and 4800 MHz. The spectral index map calculated from data
at the four frequencies shows a clear steepening of the spectrum from the
strong shell emission towards the north-western breakout region with weak
diffuse emission. The decrease of the spectral index is up to about 0.3. The RM
map derived from polarisation data at 6cm and 11cm shows a sharp transition
between positive RMs in the north-eastern and negative RMs in the south-western
part of the SNR. We note a corresponding RM pattern of extragalactic sources
and propose the existence of a large-diameter Faraday screen in front of CTA 1,
which covers the north-eastern part of the SNR. The RM of the Faraday screen is
estimated to be about +45 rad/m2. A RM structure function of CTA 1 indicates a
very regular magnetic field within the Faraday screen, which is larger than
about 2.7 microG in case of 500 pc distance.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, minor changes, accepted for publication in A&
Candidate Genes for Expansion and Transformation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells by NUP98-HOX Fusion Genes
BACKGROUND: Hox genes are implicated in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) regulation as well as in leukemia development through translocation with the nucleoporin gene NUP98. Interestingly, an engineered NUP98-HOXA10 (NA10) fusion can induce a several hundred-fold expansion of HSCs in vitro and NA10 and the AML-associated fusion gene NUP98-HOXD13 (ND13) have a virtually indistinguishable ability to transform myeloid progenitor cells in vitro and to induce leukemia in collaboration with MEIS1 in vivo. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: These findings provided a potentially powerful approach to identify key pathways mediating Hox-induced expansion and transformation of HSCs by identifying gene expression changes commonly induced by ND13 and NA10 but not by a NUP98-Hox fusion with a non-DNA binding homedomain mutation (N51S). The gene expression repertoire of purified murine bone marrow Sca-1+Lin- cells transduced with retroviral vectors encoding for these genes was established using the Affymetrix GeneChip MOE430A. Approximately seventy genes were differentially expressed in ND13 and NA10 cells that were significantly changed by both compared to the ND13(N51S) mutant. Intriguingly, several of these potential Hox target genes have been implicated in HSC expansion and self-renewal, including the tyrosine kinase receptor Flt3, the prion protein, Prnp, hepatic leukemia factor, Hlf and Jagged-2, Jag2. Consistent with these results, FLT3, HLF and JAG2 expression correlated with HOX A cluster gene expression in human leukemia samples. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion this study has identified several novel Hox downstream target genes and provides important new leads to key regulators of the expansion and transformation of hematopoietic stem cells by Hox
Polarization of Thermal X-rays from Isolated Neutron Stars
Since the opacity of a magnetized plasma depends on polarization of
radiation, the radiation emergent from atmospheres of neutron stars with strong
magnetic fields is expected to be strongly polarized. The degree of linear
polarization, typically ~10-30%, depends on photon energy, effective
temperature and magnetic field. The spectrum of polarization is more sensitive
to the magnetic field than the spectrum of intensity. Both the degree of
polarization and the position angle vary with the neutron star rotation period
so that the shape of polarization pulse profiles depends on the orientation of
the rotational and magnetic axes. Moreover, as the polarization is
substantially modified by the general relativistic effects, observations of
polarization of X-ray radiation from isolated neutron stars provide a new
method for evaluating the mass-to-radius ratio of these objects, which is
particularly important for elucidating the properties of the superdense matter
in the neutron star interiors.Comment: 7 figures, to be published in Ap
Multifrequency study of the ring nebula SG13
We investigate the morphology and kinematics of the interstellar medium in
the environs of the open cluster Mrk50, which includes the Wolf-Rayet star
WR157 and a number of early B-type stars. The analysis was performed using
radio continuum images at 408 and 1420 MHz, and HI 21cm line data taken from
the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, molecular observations of the 12CO (J=1-0)
line at 115 GHz from the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory and available
mid and far IR observations obtained with the MSX and IRAS satellites,
respectively. This study allowed identification of the radio continuum and
molecular counterpart of the ring nebula SG13, while no neutral atomic
structure was found to be associated. The nebula is also detected in images in
the mid and far infrared, showing the existence of dust well mixed with the
ionized gas. We estimate the main physical parameters of the material linked to
the nebula. The interstellar gas distribution in the environs of Mrk50 is
compatible with a stellar wind bubble created by the mass loss from WR157. The
distribution of young stellar object (YSO) candidates in the region shows that
stellar formation activity may be present in the molecular shell that encircles
the ring nebula.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 11 figure
Weak-Lensing by Large-Scale Structure and the Polarization Properties of Distant Radio-Sources
We estimate the effects of weak lensing by large-scale density
inhomogeneities and long-wavelength gravitational waves upon the polarization
properties of electromagnetic radiation as it propagates from cosmologically
distant sources. Scalar (density) fluctuations do not rotate neither the plane
of polarization of the electromagnetic radiation nor the source image. They
produce, however, an appreciable shear, which distorts the image shape, leading
to an apparent rotation of the image orientation relative to its plane of
polarization. In sources with large ellipticity the apparent rotation is rather
small, of the order (in radians) of the dimensionless shear. The effect is
larger at smaller source eccentricity. A shear of 1% can induce apparent
rotations of around 5 degrees in radio sources with the smallest eccentricity
among those with a significant degree of integrated linear polarization. We
discuss the possibility that weak lensing by shear with rms value around or
below 5% may be the cause for the dispersion in the direction of integrated
linear polarization of cosmologically distant radio sources away from the
perpendicular to their major axis, as expected from models for their magnetic
fields. A rms shear larger than 5% would be incompatible with the observed
correlation between polarization properties and source orientation in distant
radio galaxies and quasars. Gravity waves do rotate both the plane of
polarization as well as the source image. Their weak lensing effects, however,
are negligible.Comment: 23 pages, 2 eps figures, Aastex 4.0 macros. Final version, as
accepted by ApJ. Additional references and some changes in the introduction
and conclusion
The radio and IR counterparts of the ring nebula around HD211564
We report the detection of the radio and infrared counterparts of the ring
nebula around the WN3(h) star HD211564 (WR152), located to the southwest of the
HII region Sh2132. Using radio continuum data from the Canadian Galactic Plane
Survey, we identified the radio counterparts of the two concentric rings, of
about 9' and 16' in radius, related to the star. After applying a filling
factor f = 0.05-0.12, electron densities and ionized masses are in the range
10-16 cm^-3 and 450-700 Mo, respectively. The analysis of the HI gas emission
distribution allowed the identification of 5900 Mo of neutral atomic gas with
velocities between -52 and -43 km/s probably linked to the nebula. The region
of the nebula is almost free of molecular gas. Only four small clumps were
detected, with a total molecular mass of 790 Mo. About 310 Mo are related to a
small infrared shell-like source linked to the inner ring, which is also
detected in the MSX band A. An IRAS YSO candidate is detected in coincidence
with the shell-like IR source.
We suggest that the optical nebula and its neutral counterparts originated
from the stellar winds from the WR star and its massive progenitor, and are
evolving in the envelope of a slowly expanding shell centered at (l,b) = (102
30, -0 50), of about 31 pc in radius. The bubble's energy conversion efficiency
is in agreement with recent numerical analysis and with observational results.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted in MNRA
GS100-02-41: a new large HI shell in the outer part of the Galaxy
Massive stars have a profound effect on the surrounding interstellar medium.
They ionize and heat the neutral gas, and due to their strong winds, they swept
the gas up forming large HI shells. In this way, they generate a dense shell
where the physical conditions for the formation of new stars are given. The aim
of this study is to analyze the origin and evolution of the large HI shell
GS100-02-41 and its role in triggering star forming processes.To characterize
the shell and its environs, we carry out a multi-wavelength study. We analyze
he HI 21 cm line, the radio continuum, and infrared emission distributions. The
analysis of the HI data shows an expanding shell structure centred at (l, b) =
(100.6 deg, -2.04 deg) in the velocity range from -29 to -51.7 km/s.
We infer for GS100-02-41, a kinematical distance of 2.8 +/- 0.6 kpc. Several
massive stars belonging to Cep OB1 are located in projection within the large
HI, shell boundaries. The analysis of the radio continuum and infrared data
reveal that there is no continuum counterpart of the HI shell. On the other
hand, three slightly extended radio continuum sources are observed in
projection onto the dense HI shell. From their flux density determinations we
infer that they are thermal in nature. An analysis of the HI emission
distribution in the environs of these sources shows, for each of them, a region
of low emissivity having a good morphological correlation with the ionized gas
in a velocity range similar to the one where GS100-02-41 is detected. The
origin of GS100-02-41 could have been mainly due to the action of the Cep OB1
massive stars located inside the HI shell. The obtained age difference between
the HI shell and the HII regions, together with their relative location, led us
to conclude that the ionizing stars could have been created as a consequence of
the shell evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Ionized gas, molecules, and dust in Sh2-132
We analyze the various interstellar components of the HII region Sh2-132. The
main stellar source is the double binary system that includes the Wolf-Rayet
star WR153ab. We use radio continuum images at 408 and 1420 MHz, and HI 21cm
line data taken from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, molecular observations
of the 12CO(1-0) line at 115 GHz from the Five College Radio Astronomy
Observatory, and available mid and far IR observations obtained with the MSX
and IRAS satellites, respectively.
Sh2-132 is composed of two shells showing radio continuum counterparts at
both frequencies. The emission is thermal in nature. The estimated rms electron
density and ionized mass of the nebula are n_e = 20 cm^{-3} and M_HII = 1500
Mo. The distribution of the CO emission shows molecular gas bordering the
ionized nebula and interacting with it. The velocities of the molecular gas is
in the range --38 to --53 km/s, similar to the velocity of the ionized gas. The
emission at 8.3 mic. reveals a ring like feature of about 15' that encircles
the bright optical regions. This emission is due to the PAHs and marks the
location of photodissociation regions.
The gas distribution in the environs of Sh2-132 can be explained in a
scenario where the massive stars in the region photodissociated, ionized, and
swept-up the dense molecular material from the parental cloud through their
strong stellar winds and intense UV photon flux.Comment: 11 figures and 5 tables, accepted in MNRA
PSR B 1706-44 and the SNR G 343.1-2.3 as the remnants of a cavity supernova explosion
The possible association of the supernova remnant (SNR) G 343.1-2.3 with the
pulsar PSR B 1706-44 (superposed on the arclike "shell" of the SNR) has been
questioned by some authors on the basis of an inconsistency between the implied
and measured (scintillation) transverse velocities of the pulsar, the absence
of any apparent interaction between the pulsar and the SNR's "shell", and some
other indirect arguments. We suggest, however, that this association could be
real if both objects are the remnants of a supernova (SN) which exploded within
a mushroom-like cavity (created by the SN progenitor wind breaking out of the
parent molecular cloud). This suggestion implies that the actual shape of the
SNR's shell is similar to that of the well-known SNR VRO 42.05.01 and that the
observed bright arc corresponds to the "half" of the SNR located inside the
cloud. We report the discovery in archival radio data of an extended ragged
radio arc to the southeast of the bright arc which we interpret as the "half"
of the SN blast wave expanding in the intercloud medium.Comment: 7 pages, including 2 figures, uses aa.cls v5.1; A&A in pres
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