7,873 research outputs found
The Most Detailed Picture Yet of an Embedded High-mass YSO
High-mass star formation is not well understood chiefly because examples are
deeply embedded, relatively distant, and crowded with sources of emission.
Using VLA and VLBA observations of water and SiO maser emission, we have mapped
in detail the structure and proper motion of material 20-500 AU from the
closest high-mass YSO, radio source-I in the Orion KL region. We observe
streams of material driven in a rotating, wide angle, bipolar wind from the
surface of an edge-on accretion disk. The example of source-I provides strong
evidence that high-mass star formation proceeds via accretionComment: typo corrected and word added to abstract 6 pages including 4 B&W
figures. To appear in the Proceeding of IAU Symposium 221, Star Formation at
High Angular Resolution, Editors M. Burton, R. Jayawardhana & T. Bourke,
Astronomical Society of the Pacifi
Quantum trajectory phase transitions in the micromaser
We study the dynamics of the single atom maser, or micromaser, by means of
the recently introduced method of thermodynamics of quantum jump trajectories.
We find that the dynamics of the micromaser displays multiple space-time phase
transitions, i.e., phase transitions in ensembles of quantum jump trajectories.
This rich dynamical phase structure becomes apparent when trajectories are
classified by dynamical observables that quantify dynamical activity, such as
the number of atoms that have changed state while traversing the cavity. The
space-time transitions can be either first-order or continuous, and are
controlled not just by standard parameters of the micromaser but also by
non-equilibrium "counting" fields. We discuss how the dynamical phase behavior
relates to the better known stationary state properties of the micromaser.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Entropy and Temperature of a Static Granular Assembly
Granular matter is comprised of a large number of particles whose collective
behavior determines macroscopic properties such as flow and mechanical
strength. A comprehensive theory of the properties of granular matter,
therefore, requires a statistical framework. In molecular matter, equilibrium
statistical mechanics, which is founded on the principle of conservation of
energy, provides this framework. Grains, however, are small but macroscopic
objects whose interactions are dissipative since energy can be lost through
excitations of the internal degrees of freedom. In this work, we construct a
statistical framework for static, mechanically stable packings of grains, which
parallels that of equilibrium statistical mechanics but with conservation of
energy replaced by the conservation of a function related to the mechanical
stress tensor. Our analysis demonstrates the existence of a state function that
has all the attributes of entropy. In particular, maximizing this state
function leads to a well-defined granular temperature for these systems.
Predictions of the ensemble are verified against simulated packings of
frictionless, deformable disks. Our demonstration that a statistical ensemble
can be constructed through the identification of conserved quantities other
than energy is a new approach that is expected to open up avenues for
statistical descriptions of other non-equilibrium systems.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Isomorphic classical molecular dynamics model for an excess electron in a supercritical fluid
Ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) is used to directly simulate the
dynamics of an excess electron in a supercritical fluid over a broad range of
densities. The accuracy of the RPMD model is tested against numerically exact
path integral statistics through the use of analytical continuation techniques.
At low fluid densities, the RPMD model substantially underestimates the
contribution of delocalized states to the dynamics of the excess electron.
However, with increasing solvent density, the RPMD model improves, nearly
satisfying analytical continuation constraints at densities approaching those
of typical liquids. In the high density regime, quantum dispersion
substantially decreases the self-diffusion of the solvated electron.
In this regime where the dynamics of the electron is strongly coupled to the
dynamics of the atoms in the fluid, trajectories that can reveal diffusive
motion of the electron are long in comparison to .Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure
cr sn: the significance of macroconidiation for mutant hunts
cr sn: significance of macroconidiation for mutant hunt
Fragile X (CGG)(n )repeats induce a transcriptional repression in cis upon a linked promoter: Evidence for a chromatin mediated effect
BACKGROUND: Expansion of an unstable (CGG)(n )repeat to over 200 triplets within the promoter region of the human FMR1 gene leads to extensive local methylation and transcription silencing, resulting in the loss of FMRP protein and the development of the clinical features of fragile X syndrome. The causative link between (CGG)(n )expansion, methylation and gene silencing is unknown, although gene silencing is associated with extensive changes to local chromatin architecture. RESULTS: In order to determine the direct effects of increased repeat length on gene transcription in a chromatin context, we have examined the influence of FMR1 (CGG)(n )repeats upon transcription from the HSV thymidine kinase promoter in the Xenopus laevis oocyte. We observe a reduction in mRNA production directly associated with increasing repeat length, with a 90% reduction in mRNA production from arrays over 100 repeats in length. Using a kinetic approach, we show that this transcriptional repression is concomitant with chromatin maturation and, using in vitro transcription, we show that chromatin formation is a fundamental part of the repressive pathway mediated by (CGG)(n )repeats. Using Trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, we show reactivation of the silenced promoter. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, isolated fragile X associated (CGG)(n )repeat arrays can exert a modifying and transcriptionally repressive influence over adjacent promoters and this repressive phenomenon is, in part, mediated by histone deacetylation
A Search for Dense Molecular Gas in High Redshift Infrared-Luminous Galaxies
We present a search for HCN emission from four high redshift far infrared
(IR) luminous galaxies. Current data and models suggest that these high IR
luminous galaxies represent a major starburst phase in the formation of
spheroidal galaxies, although many of the sources also host luminous active
galactic nuclei (AGN), such that a contribution to the dust heating by the AGN
cannot be precluded. HCN emission is a star formation indicator, tracing dense
molecular hydrogen gas within star-forming molecular clouds (n(H) cm). HCN luminosity is linearly correlated with IR luminosity for
low redshift galaxies, unlike CO emission which can also trace gas at much
lower density. We report a marginal detection of HCN (1-0) emission from the
QSO J1409+5628, with a velocity integrated line luminosity of
K km s pc, while we obtain
3 upper limits to the HCN luminosity of the QSO J0751+2716 of
K km s pc, K km s pc for the starburst galaxy
J1401+0252, and K km s pc for the QSO J1148+5251. We compare the HCN data on these sources, plus three
other high- IR luminous galaxies, to observations of lower redshift
star-forming galaxies. The values of the HCN/far-IR luminosity ratios (or
limits) for all the high sources are within the scatter of the relationship
between HCN and far-IR emission for low star-forming galaxies (truncated).Comment: aastex format, 4 figures. to appear in the Astrophysical Journal;
Revised lens magnification estimate for 1401+025
Controls on the temporal and spatial variability of soil moisture in a mountainous landscape: the signature of snow and complex terrain
The controls on the spatial distribution of soil moisture include static and dynamic variables. The superposition of static and dynamic controls can lead to different soil moisture patterns for a given catchment during wetting, draining, and drying periods. These relationships can be further complicated in snow-dominated mountain regions where soil water input by precipitation is largely dictated by the spatial variability of snow accumulation and melt. In this study, we assess controls on spatial and temporal soil moisture variability in a small (0.02 km<sup>2</sup>), snow-dominated, semi-arid catchment by evaluating spatial correlations between soil moisture and site characteristics through different hydrologic seasons. We assess the relative importance of snow with respect to other catchment properties on the spatial variability of soil moisture and track the temporal persistence of those controls. Spatial distribution of snow, distance from divide, soil texture, and soil depth exerted significant control on the spatial variability of moisture content throughout most of the hydrologic year. These relationships were strongest during the wettest period and degraded during the dry period. As the catchment cycled through wet and dry periods, the relative spatial variability of soil moisture tended to remain unchanged. We suggest that the static properties in complex terrain (slope, aspect, soils) impose first order controls on the spatial variability of snow and resulting soil moisture patterns, and that the interaction of dynamic (timing of water input) and static influences propagate that relative constant spatial variability through most of the hydrologic year. The results demonstrate that snow exerts significant influence on how water is retained within mid-elevation semi-arid catchments and suggest that reductions in annual snowpacks associated with changing climate regimes may strongly influence spatial and temporal soil moisture patterns and catchment physical and biological processes
Quantum Electrodynamics at Large Distances II: Nature of the Dominant Singularities
Accurate calculations of macroscopic and mesoscopic properties in quantum
electrodynamics require careful treatment of infrared divergences: standard
treatments introduce spurious large-distances effects. A method for computing
these properties was developed in a companion paper. That method depends upon a
result obtained here about the nature of the singularities that produce the
dominant large-distance behaviour. If all particles in a quantum field theory
have non-zero mass then the Landau-Nakanishi diagrams give strong conditions on
the singularities of the scattering functions. These conditions are severely
weakened in quantum electrodynamics by effects of points where photon momenta
vanish. A new kind of Landau-Nakanishi diagram is developed here. It is geared
specifically to the pole-decomposition functions that dominate the macroscopic
behaviour in quantum electrodynamics, and leads to strong results for these
functions at points where photon momenta vanish.Comment: 40 pages, 11 encapsulated postscript figures, latexed,
math_macros.tex can be found on Archive. full postscript available from
http://theorl.lbl.gov/www/theorgroup/papers/35972.p
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