1,209 research outputs found
Star Clusters in M31: V. Internal Dynamical Trends: Some Troublesome, Some Reassuring
We present internal velocity dispersions and precise radial velocities for
200 globular clusters (GCs) in M31 that are derived using new high-resolution
spectra from MMT/Hectochelle. Of these, 163 also have King model structural
parameters that allow us to estimate their mass-to-light ratios. This is, by
far, the largest such dataset available for any galaxy, including the Milky
Way. These data strongly confirm earlier suggestions that the optical and
near-infrared mass-to-light ratios of M31 GCs decline with increasing
metallicity. This behavior is the opposite of that predicted by stellar
population models for a standard initial mass function. We show that this
phenomenon does not appear to be caused by standard dynamical evolution. A
shallower mass function for metal-rich GCs (with dN/dM ~ M^-0.8 to M^-1.3 below
one solar mass) can explain the bulk of extant observations. We also observe a
consistent, monotonic correlation between mass-to-light ratio and cluster mass.
This correlation, in contrast to the correlation with metallicity, is
well-explained by the accepted model of dynamical evolution of GCs through mass
segregation and the preferential loss of low-mass stars, and these data are
among the best available to constrain this process.Comment: AJ in press. 11 pages, 7 figures (not including tables) in emulate
forma
The Five Planets in the Kepler-296 Binary System All Orbit the Primary: A Statistical and Analytical Analysis
Kepler-296 is a binary star system with two M-dwarf components separated by
0.2 arcsec. Five transiting planets have been confirmed to be associated with
the Kepler-296 system; given the evidence to date, however, the planets could
in principle orbit either star. This ambiguity has made it difficult to
constrain both the orbital and physical properties of the planets. Using both
statistical and analytical arguments, this paper shows that all five planets
are highly likely to orbit the primary star in this system. We performed a
Markov-Chain Monte Carlo simulation using a five transiting planet model,
leaving the stellar density and dilution with uniform priors. Using importance
sampling, we compared the model probabilities under the priors of the planets
orbiting either the brighter or the fainter component of the binary. A model
where the planets orbit the brighter component, Kepler-296A, is strongly
preferred by the data. Combined with our assertion that all five planets orbit
the same star, the two outer planets in the system, Kepler-296 Ae and
Kepler-296 Af, have radii of 1.53 +/- 0.26 and 1.80 +/- 0.31 R_earth,
respectively, and receive incident stellar fluxes of 1.40 +/- 0.23 and 0.62 +/-
0.10 times the incident flux the Earth receives from the Sun. This level of
irradiation places both planets within or close to the circumstellar habitable
zone of their parent star.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
V(RI)sub(c) Photometry of Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds
We present V(RI)sub data for thirteen Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud
ans fifty-five in each wavelength band. The median uncertainty in the
photometry iy Moffett, Gieren & Barnes (1998) which contained 1000 measures
( mag) in each wavelength band on 22 variables with periods in the
range 8--133 days.Comment: LaTeX file (9 pages), LaTeX table (1 page), 2 figures of 3 panels
eacs PASP (July
Species of Cercospora associated with grey leaf spot of maize
Grey leaf spot is a serious yield-reducing disease of maize (Zea
mays) in many parts of the world where this crop is cultivated. The
causal organism associated with the disease is Cercospora
zeae-maydis. Two potential sibling species have been recognized as Groups
I and II. The DNA sequences for the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 &
ITS2), the 5.8S rRNA gene, elongation factor 1-α, histone H3, actin and
calmodulin gene regions suggest that Groups I and II are two distinct species.
Furthermore, Cercospora zeae-maydis (Group I) can be distinguished
from C. zeina sp. nov. (Group II) by its faster growth rate on
artificial media, the ability to produce cercosporin, longer conidiophores,
and broadly fusiform conidia. A PCR-based test that distinguishes the two
species was developed using species-specific primers designed from the histone
H3 gene
Cepheid variables in the LMC cluster NGC 1866. I. New BVRI CCD photometry
We report BV(RI)c CCD photometric data for a group of seven Cepheid variables
in the young, rich cluster NGC 1866 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The
photometry was obtained as part of a program to determine accurate distances to
these Cepheids by means of the infrared surface brightness technique, and to
improve the LMC Cepheid database for constructing Cepheid PL and PLC relations.
Using the new data together with data from the literature, we have determined
improved periods for all variables. For five fundamental mode pulsators, the
light curves are now of excellent quality and will lead to accurate distance
and radius determinations once complete infrared light curves and radial
velocity curves for these variables become available.Comment: To appear in ApJ Supp., AASTeX, 24 pages, 8 tables, 8 figure
Discovery of the Transiting Planet Kepler-5B
We present 44 days of high duty cycle, ultra precise photometry of the 13th magnitude star Kepler-5 (KIC 8191672, T(eff) = 6300 K, log g = 4.1), which exhibits periodic transits with a depth of 0.7%. Detailed modeling of the transit is consistent with a planetary companion with an orbital period of 3.548460 +/- 0.000032 days and a radius of 1.431(-0.052)(+0.041) R(J). Follow-up radial velocity measurements with the Keck HIRES spectrograph on nine separate nights demonstrate that the planet is more than twice as massive as Jupiter with a mass of 2.114(-0.059)(+0.056) M(J) and a mean density of 0.894 +/- 0.079 g cm(-3).NASA's Science Mission DirectorateAstronom
MitoNeoD:a mitochondria-targeted superoxide probe
Mitochondrial superoxide (O2⋅−) underlies much oxidative damage and redox signaling. Fluorescent probes can detect O2⋅−, but are of limited applicability in vivo, while in cells their usefulness is constrained by side reactions and DNA intercalation. To overcome these limitations, we developed a dual-purpose mitochondrial O2⋅− probe, MitoNeoD, which can assess O2⋅− changes in vivo by mass spectrometry and in vitro by fluorescence. MitoNeoD comprises a O2⋅−-sensitive reduced phenanthridinium moiety modified to prevent DNA intercalation, as well as a carbon-deuterium bond to enhance its selectivity for O2⋅− over non-specific oxidation, and a triphenylphosphonium lipophilic cation moiety leading to the rapid accumulation within mitochondria. We demonstrated that MitoNeoD was a versatile and robust probe to assess changes in mitochondrial O2⋅− from isolated mitochondria to animal models, thus offering a way to examine the many roles of mitochondrial O2⋅−production in health and disease
The Inner Halo of M87: A First Direct View of the Red-Giant Population
An unusually deep (V,I) imaging dataset for the Virgo supergiant M87 with the
Hubble Space Telescope ACS successfully resolves its brightest red-giant stars,
reaching M_I(lim) = -2.5. After assessing the photometric completeness and
biasses, we use this material to estimate the metallicity distribution for the
inner halo of M87, finding that the distribution is very broad and likely to
peak near [m/H] ~ -0.4 and perhaps higher. The shape of the MDF strongly
resembles that of the inner halo for the nearby giant E galaxy NGC 5128. As a
byproduct of our study, we also obtain a preliminary measurement of the
distance to M87 with the TRGB (red-giant branch tip) method; the result is
(m-M)_0 = 31.12 +- 0.14 (d = 16.7 +- 0.9 Mpc). Averaging this result with three
other recent techniques give a weighted mean d(M87) = (16.4 +- 0.5) Mpc.Comment: In press for Astronomy and Astrophysic
A sensitive mass spectrometric assay for mitochondrial CoQ pool redox state in vivo.
Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is an essential cofactor, primarily found in the mitochondrial inner membrane where it functions as an electron carrier in the respiratory chain, and as a lipophilic antioxidant. The redox state of the CoQ pool is the ratio of its oxidised (ubiquinone) and reduced (ubiquinol) forms, and is a key indicator of mitochondrial bioenergetic and antioxidant status. However, the role of CoQ redox state in vivo is poorly understood, because determining its value is technically challenging due to redox changes during isolation, extraction and analysis. To address these problems, we have developed a sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay that enables us to extract and analyse both the CoQ redox state and the magnitude of the CoQ pool with negligible changes to redox state from small amounts of tissue. This will enable the physiological and pathophysiological roles of the CoQ redox state to be investigated in vivo
A sensitive mass spectrometric assay for mitochondrial CoQ pool redox state in vivo
Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is an essential cofactor, primarily found in the mitochondrial inner membrane where it functions as an electron carrier in the respiratory chain, and a lipophilic antioxidant. The redox state of the CoQ pool is the ratio of its oxidised (ubiquinone) and reduced (ubiquinol) forms, and is a key indicator of mitochondrial bioenergetic and antioxidant status. However, the role of CoQ redox state in vivo is poorly understood, because determining its value is technically challenging due to redox changes during isolation, extraction and analysis. To address these problems, we have developed a sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay that enables us to extract and analyse both the CoQ redox state and the magnitude of the CoQ pool with negligible changes to redox state from small amounts of tissue. This will enable the physiological and pathophysiological roles of the CoQ redox state to be investigated in vivo
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