7,513 research outputs found
Determining the luminosity function of Swift long gamma-ray bursts with pseudo-redshifts
The determination of luminosity function (LF) of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is
of an important role for the cosmological applications of the GRBs, which is
however hindered seriously by some selection effects due to redshift
measurements. In order to avoid these selection effects, we suggest to
calculate pseudo-redshifts for Swift GRBs according to the empirical L-E_p
relationship. Here, such a relationship is determined by reconciling
the distributions of pseudo- and real redshifts of redshift-known GRBs. The
values of E_p taken from Butler's GRB catalog are estimated with Bayesian
statistics rather than observed. Using the GRB sample with pseudo-redshifts of
a relatively large number, we fit the redshift-resolved luminosity
distributions of the GRBs with a broken-power-law LF. The fitting results
suggest that the LF could evolve with redshift by a redshift-dependent break
luminosity, e.g., L_b=1.2\times10^{51}(1+z)^2\rm erg s^{-1}. The low- and
high-luminosity indices are constrained to 0.8 and 2.0, respectively. It is
found that the proportional coefficient between GRB event rate and star
formation rate should correspondingly decrease with increasing redshifts.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Coupling the valley degree of freedom to antiferromagnetic order
Conventional electronics are based invariably on the intrinsic degrees of
freedom of an electron, namely, its charge and spin. The exploration of novel
electronic degrees of freedom has important implications in both basic quantum
physics and advanced information technology. Valley as a new electronic degree
of freedom has received considerable attention in recent years. In this paper,
we develop the theory of spin and valley physics of an antiferromagnetic
honeycomb lattice. We show that by coupling the valley degree of freedom to
antiferromagnetic order, there is an emergent electronic degree of freedom
characterized by the product of spin and valley indices, which leads to
spin-valley dependent optical selection rule and Berry curvature-induced
topological quantum transport. These properties will enable optical
polarization in the spin-valley space, and electrical detection/manipulation
through the induced spin, valley and charge fluxes. The domain walls of an
antiferromagnetic honeycomb lattice harbors valley-protected edge states that
support spin-dependent transport. Finally, we employ first principles
calculations to show that the proposed optoelectronic properties can be
realized in antiferromagnetic manganese chalcogenophosphates (MnPX_3, X = S,
Se) in monolayer form.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Developmental patterns and characteristics of epicardial cell markers Tbx18 and Wt1 in murine embryonic heart
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although recent studies have highlighted the role of epicardial cells during cardiac development and regeneration, their cardiomyogenic potential is still controversial due to the question of lineage tracing of epicardial cells. The present study therefore aimed to examine the the expression of Tbx18 and Wt1 in embryonic heart and to identify whether Tbx18 and Wt1 themselves expressed in the cardiomyocyte.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mouse embryonic hearts were collected at different stages for immunofluorescence costaining with either Tbx18 and the cardiac transcription factor Nkx2.5 or Wilms tumor 1 (Wt1) and Nkx2.5.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Tbx18 and Wt1, but not Nkx2.5, were expressed in the proepicardium and epicardium. Tbx18 was expressed in cells within the heart from E10.5 to at least E14.5; these Tbx18-expressing cells were Nkx2.5 positive, except for a few cells that were Nkx2.5 negative at E14.5. Wt1 was expressed in cells within the heart from E12.5 to at least E14.5, but these Wt1-expressing cells were Nkx2.5 negative.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The data obtained in this study demonstrate that Tbx18 is expressed in the cardiomyocytes from E10.5 to at least E14.5, and Wt1 is expressed within the heart from E12.5 to at least E14.5, but not in the cardiomyocyte. These findings may provide new insights on the role of the epicardial cells in cardiac regeneration.</p
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