1,654 research outputs found
Quantum energy inequalities in two dimensions
Quantum energy inequalities (QEIs) were established by Flanagan for the
massless scalar field on two-dimensional Lorentzian spacetimes globally
conformal to Minkowski space. We extend his result to all two-dimensional
globally hyperbolic Lorentzian spacetimes and use it to show that flat
spacetime QEIs give a good approximation to the curved spacetime results on
sampling timescales short in comparison with natural geometric scales. This is
relevant to the application of QEIs to constrain exotic spacetime metrics.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX. This is an expanded version of a portion of
gr-qc/0409043. To appear in Phys Rev
What shapes the far-infrared spectral energy distributions of galaxies?
To explore the connection between the global physical properties of galaxies
and their far-infrared (FIR) spectral energy distributions (SEDs), we study the
variation in the FIR SEDs of a set of hydrodynamically simulated galaxies that
are generated by performing dust radiative transfer in post-processing. Our
sample includes both isolated and merging systems at various stages of the
merging process and covers infrared (IR) luminosities and dust masses that are
representative of both low- and high-redshift galaxies. We study the FIR SEDs
using principle component analysis (PCA) and find that 97\% of the variance in
the sample can be explained by two principle components (PCs). The first PC
characterizes the wavelength of the peak of the FIR SED, and the second encodes
the breadth of the SED. We find that the coefficients of both PCs can be
predicted well using a double power law in terms of the IR luminosity and dust
mass, which suggests that these two physical properties are the primary
determinants of galaxies' FIR SED shapes. Incorporating galaxy sizes does not
significantly improve our ability to predict the FIR SEDs. Our results suggest
that the observed redshift evolution in the effective dust temperature at fixed
IR luminosity is not driven by geometry: the SEDs of ultraluminous
IR galaxies (ULIRGs) are cooler than those of local ULIRGs not because the
high-redshift galaxies are more extended but rather because they have higher
dust masses at fixed IR luminosity. Finally, based on our simulations, we
introduce a two-parameter set of SED templates that depend on both IR
luminosity and dust mass.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, comments welcom
The bias of the submillimetre galaxy population: SMGs are poor tracers of the most massive structures in the z ~ 2 Universe
It is often claimed that overdensities of (or even individual bright)
submillimetre-selected galaxies (SMGs) trace the assembly of the most-massive
dark matter structures in the Universe. We test this claim by performing a
counts-in-cells analysis of mock SMG catalogues derived from the Bolshoi
cosmological simulation to investigate how well SMG associations trace the
underlying dark matter structure. We find that SMGs exhibit a relatively
complex bias: some regions of high SMG overdensity are underdense in terms of
dark matter mass, and some regions of high dark matter overdensity contain no
SMGs. Because of their rarity, Poisson noise causes scatter in the SMG
overdensity at fixed dark matter overdensity. Consequently, rich associations
of less-luminous, more-abundant galaxies (i.e. Lyman-break galaxy analogues)
trace the highest dark matter overdensities much better than SMGs. Even on
average, SMG associations are relatively poor tracers of the most significant
dark matter overdensities because of 'downsizing': at z < ~2.5, the
most-massive galaxies that reside in the highest dark matter overdensities have
already had their star formation quenched and are thus no longer SMGs. At a
given redshift, of the 10 per cent most-massive overdensities, only ~25 per
cent contain at least one SMG, and less than a few per cent contain more than
one SMG.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in MNRAS; minor
revisions from previous version, conclusions unchange
Determining the stellar masses of submillimetre galaxies: the critical importance of star formation histories
Submillimetre (submm) galaxies are among the most rapidly star-forming and
most massive high-redshift galaxies; thus, their properties provide important
constraints on galaxy evolution models. However, there is still a debate about
their stellar masses and their nature in the context of the general galaxy
population. To test the reliability of their stellar mass determinations, we
used a sample of simulated submm galaxies for which we derived stellar masses
via spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling (with Grasil, Magphys, Hyperz
and LePhare) adopting various star formation histories (SFHs). We found that
the assumption of SFHs with two independent components leads to the most
accurate stellar masses. Exponentially declining SFHs (tau) lead to lower
masses (albeit still consistent with the true values), while the assumption of
single-burst SFHs results in a significant mass underestimation. Thus, we
conclude that studies based on the higher masses inferred from fitting the SEDs
of real submm galaxies with double SFHs are most likely to be correct, implying
that submm galaxies lie on the high-mass end of the main sequence of
star-forming galaxies. This conclusion appears robust to assumptions of whether
or not submm galaxies are driven by major mergers, since the suite of simulated
galaxies modelled here contains examples of both merging and isolated galaxies.
We identified discrepancies between the true and inferred stellar ages (rather
than the dust attenuation) as the primary determinant of the success/failure of
the mass recovery. Regardless of the choice of SFH, the SED-derived stellar
masses exhibit a factor of ~2 scatter around the true value; this scatter is an
inherent limitation of the SED modelling due to simplified assumptions.
Finally, we found that the contribution of active galactic nuclei does not have
any significant impact on the derived stellar masses.Comment: Accepted to A&A. 11 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. V2 main changes: 1)
discussion of the stellar age as the main parameter influencing the success
of an SED model (Fig. 4, 5, 7); 2) discussion of the age-dust degeneracy (Fig
9); 3) the comparison of real and simulated submm galaxies (Fig 1
Clinical deterioration after sildenafil cessation in patients with pulmonary hypertension
Sildenafil is a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5). Its chronic administration has been shown to improve exercise capacity, World Health Organization functional class, and haemodynamics in patients with symptomatic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). There is however, no data describing the clinical consequences of sudden cessation of sildenafil treatment. In this series, 9 patients with NYHA Class IIāIV PAH who were stable on 2 months of sildenafil monotherapy, had their sildenafil ceased to accommodate a 2-week washout period, required for enrollment in research involving an endothelin receptor antagonist. Six minute walk distance (SMWD) and clinical assessments were performed before cessation of sildenafil, and again 2 weeks later. Over the course of this 2-week washout period, 6 of the 9 patients reported increased breathlessness and fatigue, 1 of these was hospitalized with worsening right heart failure. The SMWD fell in 6 patients, with falls of greater than 100 m recorded in 4 patients. This was accompanied by a worsening of NYHA Class from 2.5 Ā± 0.2 to 3.1 Ā± 0.1 (mean Ā± SEM, p = 0.01). These data indicate that sudden cessation of sildenafil monotherapy, in patients with PAH, carries with it a significant and unpredictable risk of rapid clinical deterioration. We recommend that if sildenafil needs to be ceased, it would be more prudent to consider concurrent vasodilator therapy before the gradual cessation of sildenafil
From Starburst to Quiescence: Testing AGN feedback in Rapidly Quenching Post-Starburst Galaxies
Post-starbursts are galaxies in transition from the blue cloud to the red
sequence. Although they are rare today, integrated over time they may be an
important pathway to the red sequence. This work uses SDSS, GALEX, and WISE
observations to identify the evolutionary sequence from starbursts to fully
quenched post-starbursts in the narrow mass range , and identifies "transiting" post-starbursts which are intermediate
between these two populations. In this mass range, of galaxies are
starbursts, are quenched post-starbursts, and are the
transiting types in between. The transiting post-starbursts have stellar
properties that are predicted for fast-quenching starbursts and morphological
characteristics that are already typical of early-type galaxies. The AGN
fraction, as estimated from optical line ratios, of these post-starbursts is
about 3 times higher () than that of normal star-forming
galaxies of the same mass, but there is a significant delay between the
starburst phase and the peak of nuclear optical AGN activity (median age
difference of Myr), in agreement with previous studies.
The time delay is inferred by comparing the broad-band near NUV-to-optical
photometry with stellar population synthesis models. We also find that
starbursts and post-starbursts are significantly more dust-obscured than normal
star-forming galaxies in the same mass range. About of the starbursts
and of the transiting post-starbursts can be classified as the
"Dust-Obscured Galaxies" (DOGs), while only of normal galaxies are
DOGs.The time delay between the starburst phase and AGN activity suggests that
AGN do not play a primary role in the original quenching of starbursts but may
be responsible for quenching later low-level star formation during the
post-starburst phase.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figures,accepted to Ap
Choosing Between Left Ventricular Assist Devices and Biventricular Assist Devices
Right ventricular failure following left ventricular assist devices implantation is a serious complication associated with high mortality. In patients with or at high risk of developing right ventricular failure, biventricular support is recommended. Because univentricular support is associated with high survival rates, biventricular support is often undertaken as a last resort. With the advent of newer right ventricular and biventricular systems under design and testing, better differentiation is required to ensure optimal patients care. Clear guidelines on patient selection, time of intervention and device selection are required to improve patient outcomes
The AGN Luminosity Fraction in Merging Galaxies
Galaxy mergers are key events in galaxy evolution, often causing massive
starbursts and fueling active galactic nuclei (AGN). In these highly dynamic
systems, it is not yet precisely known how much starbursts and AGN respectively
contribute to the total luminosity, at what interaction stages they occur, and
how long they persist. Here we estimate the fraction of the bolometric infrared
(IR) luminosity that can be attributed to AGN by measuring and modeling the
full ultraviolet to far-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in up to
33 broad bands for 24 merging galaxies with the Code for Investigating Galaxy
Emission. In addition to a sample of 12 confirmed AGN in late-stage mergers,
found in the Revised Bright Galaxy Sample or
Faint Source Catalog, our sample includes a comparison sample of 12 galaxy
mergers from the Interacting Galaxies Survey, mostly early-stage. We
perform identical SED modeling of simulated mergers to validate our methods,
and we supplement the SED data with mid-IR spectra of diagnostic lines obtained
with InfraRed Spectrograph. The estimated AGN contributions to the IR
luminosities vary from system to system from 0% up to 91% but are significantly
greater in the later-stage, more luminous mergers, consistent with what is
known about galaxy evolution and AGN triggering.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure
SIDM on FIRE: Hydrodynamical Self-Interacting Dark Matter simulations of low-mass dwarf galaxies
We compare a suite of four simulated dwarf galaxies formed in 10 haloes of collisionless Cold Dark Matter (CDM) with galaxies
simulated in the same haloes with an identical galaxy formation model but a
non-zero cross-section for dark matter self-interactions. These cosmological
zoom-in simulations are part of the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE)
project and utilize the FIRE-2 model for hydrodynamics and galaxy formation
physics. We find the stellar masses of the galaxies formed in Self-Interacting
Dark Matter (SIDM) with are very similar to those in CDM
(spanning ) and all runs lie on a
similar stellar mass -- size relation. The logarithmic dark matter density
slope () in the central pc remains
steeper than for the CDM-Hydro simulations with stellar mass
and core-like in the most massive galaxy.
In contrast, every SIDM hydrodynamic simulation yields a flatter profile, with
. Moreover, the central density profiles predicted in SIDM runs
without baryons are similar to the SIDM runs that include FIRE-2 baryonic
physics. Thus, SIDM appears to be much more robust to the inclusion of
(potentially uncertain) baryonic physics than CDM on this mass scale,
suggesting SIDM will be easier to falsify than CDM using low-mass galaxies. Our
FIRE simulations predict that galaxies less massive than provide potentially ideal targets for discriminating models,
with SIDM producing substantial cores in such tiny galaxies and CDM producing
cusps.Comment: 10 Pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRA
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