1,343 research outputs found
Discovery of Solar Rieger Periodicities in Another Star
The Rieger periods are solar cycles with a time scale of months, which are
present in both flaring activity and sunspot occurrence. These short-term
periodicities, tentatively explained by equatorially trapped Rossby-type waves
modulating the emergence of magnetic flux at the surface, are considered a
peculiar and not yet fully understood solar phenomenon. We chose a stellar
system with solar characteristics, UX Arietis, and performed a timing analysis
of two 9-year datasets of radio and optical observations. The analysis reveals
a 294-day cycle. When the two 9-year datasets are folded with this period, a
synchronization of the peak of the optical light curve (i.e., the minimum spot
coverage) with the minimum radio flaring activity is observed. This close
relationship between two completly independent curves makes it very likely that
the 294-day cycle is real. We conclude that the process invoked for the Sun of
a periodical emergence of magnetic flux may also be applied to UX Arietis and
can explain the cyclic flaring activity triggered by interactions between
successive cyclic emergences of magnetic flux.Comment: 4 Pages, 1 table, 3 figures (quality of Fig. 1 degraded to match the
requested size), needs aa.cls, accepted to be published as a letter in
Astronomy & Astrophysic
On the relevance of polyynyl-substituted PAHs to astrophysics
We report on the absorption spectra of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
(PAH) molecules anthracene, phenanthrene, and pyrene carrying either an ethynyl
(-C2H) or a butadiynyl (-C4H) group. Measurements were carried out in the mid
infrared at room temperature on grains embedded in CsI pellets and in the near
ultraviolet at cryogenic temperature on molecules isolated in Ne matrices. The
infrared measurements show that interstellar populations of
polyynyl-substituted PAHs would give rise to collective features in the same
way non-substituted PAHs give rise to the aromatic infrared bands. The main
features characteristic of the substituted molecules correspond to the
acetylenic CH stretching mode near 3.05 mum and to the almost isoenergetic
acetylenic CCH in- and out-of-plane bending modes near 15.9 mum.
Sub-populations defined by the length of the polyynyl side group cause
collective features which correspond to the various acetylenic CC stretching
modes. The ultraviolet spectra reveal that the addition of an ethynyl group to
a non-substituted PAH molecule results in all its electronic transitions being
redshifted. Due to fast internal energy conversion, the bands at shorter
wavelengths are significantly broadened. Those at longer wavelengths are only
barely affected in this respect. As a consequence, their relative peak
absorption increases. The substitution with the longer butadiynyl chain causes
the same effects with a larger magnitude, resulting in the spectra to show a
prominent if not dominating pi-pi* transition at long wavelength. After
discussing the relevance of polyynyl-substituted PAHs to astrophysics, we
conclude that this class of highly conjugated, unsaturated molecules are valid
candidates for the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ 2 April 201
XY models with disorder and symmetry-breaking fields in two dimensions
The combined effect of disorder and symmetry-breaking fields on the
two-dimensional XY model is examined. The study includes disorder in the
interaction among spins in the form of random phase shifts as well as disorder
in the local orientation of the field. The phase diagrams are determined and
the properties of the various phases and phase transitions are calculated. We
use a renormalization group approach in the Coulomb gas representation of the
model. Our results differ from those obtained for special cases in previous
works. In particular, we find a changed topology of the phase diagram that is
composed of phases with long-range order, quasi-long-range order, and
short-range order. The discrepancies can be ascribed to a breakdown of the
fugacity expansion in the Coulomb gas representation.
Implications for physical systems such as planar Josephson junctions and the
faceting of crystal surfaces are discussed.Comment: 17 pages Latex with 5 eps figures, change: acknowledgment extende
How do roots respond to osmotic stress? A transcriptomic approach to address this question in a non-model crop
Drought is a complex phenomenon that is relevant for many crops. Performing high-throughput transcriptomics in non-model crops is challenging. The non-model crop where our workflow has been tested on is banana (Musa spp.), which ranks among the top ten staple foods (total production over 145 million tons in 2013 (FAOstat)[1]). Bananas need vast amounts of water and even mild-drought conditions are responsible for considerable yield losses[2]. To characterize drought in the roots of different banana genotypes, we designed a lab model based on osmotic stress (5% PEG treatment for 3 days) and performed mRNA-seq analysis[3]. Using Illumina technology, 18 cDNA libraries were sequenced producing around 568 million high quality reads, of which 70-84% were mapped to the diploid reference genome[4]. We show that the applied stress leads to a drop in energy levels inducing a metabolic shift towards (i) higher oxidative respiration, (ii) alternative respiration and (iii) fermentation. We also analyzed the expression patterns of paralogous genes belonging to the same gene families and detected possible cases of sub-functionalization
Phase Diagram of the quadrumerized Shastry-Sutherland Model
We determine the phase diagram of a generalized Shastry-Sutherland model,
using a combination of dimer- and quadrumer-boson methods and numerical exact
diagonalization techniques. Along special lines in the parameter space the
model reduces to the standard Shastry-Sutherland model, the 1/5-th depleted
square lattice and the two-dimensional plaquette square lattice model. We study
the evolution of the ordered phases found in the latter two unfrustrated models
under the effect of frustration. Furthermore we present new exact
diagonalization results for the Shastry-Sutherland model on clusters with up to
32 sites, supporting the existence of an intermediate gapped valence bond
crystal phase with plaquette long-ranged order.Comment: Replaced with final version, added journal-re
Complex Pharmacology of Free Fatty Acid Receptors
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are historically the most successful family of drug targets. In recent times it has become clear that the pharmacology of these receptors is far more complex than previously imagined. Understanding of the pharmacological regulation of GPCRs now extends beyond simple competitive agonism or antagonism by ligands interacting with the orthosteric binding site of the receptor to incorporate concepts of allosteric agonism, allosteric modulation, signaling bias, constitutive activity, and inverse agonism. Herein, we consider how evolving concepts of GPCR pharmacology have shaped understanding of the complex pharmacology of receptors that recognize and are activated by nonesterified or “free” fatty acids (FFAs). The FFA family of receptors is a recently deorphanized set of GPCRs, the members of which are now receiving substantial interest as novel targets for the treatment of metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Further understanding of the complex pharmacology of these receptors will be critical to unlocking their ultimate therapeutic potential
Interacting Arrays of Steps and Lines in Random Media
The phase diagram of two interacting planar arrays of directed lines in
random media is obtained by a renormalization group analysis. The results are
discussed in the contexts of the roughening of reconstructed crystal surfaces,
and the pinning of flux line arrays in layered superconductors. Among the
findings are a glassy flat phase with disordered domain structures, a novel
second-order phase transition with continuously varying critical exponents, and
the generic disappearance of the glassy ``super-rough'' phases found previously
for a single array.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX 3.0, uses epsf,multicol, 3 .eps-figures, submitted to
PR
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