520 research outputs found
Absorption Line Studies in the Halo
Significant progress has been made over the last few years to explore the
gaseous halo of the Milky Way by way of absorption spectroscopy. I review
recent results on absorption line studies in the halo using various
instruments, such as the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and others. The new studies imply that the
infall of low-metallicity gas, the interaction with the Magellanic Clouds, and
the Galactic Fountain are responsible for the phenomenon of the intermediate-
and high-velocity clouds in the halo. New measurements of highly-ionized gas in
the vicinity of the Milky Way indicate that these clouds are embedded in a
corona of hot gas that extends deep into the intergalactic space.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure; Invited review at the conference "How does the
Galaxy work ?", Granada/Spain, June 200
Renormalization of composite operators
The blocked composite operators are defined in the one-component Euclidean
scalar field theory, and shown to generate a linear transformation of the
operators, the operator mixing. This transformation allows us to introduce the
parallel transport of the operators along the RG trajectory. The connection on
this one-dimensional manifold governs the scale evolution of the operator
mixing. It is shown that the solution of the eigenvalue problem of the
connection gives the various scaling regimes and the relevant operators there.
The relation to perturbative renormalization is also discussed in the framework
of the theory in dimension .Comment: 24 pages, revtex (accepted by Phys. Rev. D), changes in introduction
and summar
On the nature of the z=0 X-ray absorbers: I. Clues from an external group
Absorption lines of OVII at redshift zero are observed in high quality
Chandra spectra of extragalactic sightlines. The location of the absorber
producing these lines, whether from the corona of the Galaxy or from the Local
Group or even larger scale structure, has been a matter of debate. Here we
study another poor group like our Local Group to understand the distribution of
column density from galaxy to group scales. We show that we cannot yet rule out
the group origin of z=0 systems. We further argue that the debate over Galactic
vs. extragalactic origin of z=0 systems is premature as they likely contain
both components and predict that future higher resolution observations will
resolve the z=0 systems into multiple components.Comment: Submitted to ApJ
A deficit of high-redshift, high-luminosity X-ray clusters: Evidence for a high value of Ωm?
From the Press-Schechter mass function and the empirical X-ray cluster luminosity-temperature (L-T) relation, we construct an X-ray cluster luminosity function that can be applied to the growing number of high-redshift, X-ray cluster luminosity catalogs to constrain cosmological parameters. In this paper, we apply this luminosity function to the Einstein Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS) and the ROSAT Brightest Cluster Sample (BCS) luminosity function to constrain the value of Ωm. In the case of the EMSS, we find a factor of 4-5 fewer X-ray clusters at redshifts above z = 0.4 than below this redshift at luminosities above LX = 7 Ă 1044 ergs s-1 (0.3-3.5 keV), which suggests that the X-ray cluster luminosity function has evolved above L(Black star). At lower luminosities, this luminosity function evolves only minimally, if at all. Using Bayesian inference, we find that the degree of evolution at high luminosities suggests that Ωm = 0.96+0.36-0.32, given the best-fit L-T relation of Reichart, Castander, & Nichol. When we account for the uncertainty in how the empirical L-T relation evolves with redshift, we find that Ωm â 1.0 ± 0.4. However, it is unclear to what degree systematic effects may affect this and similarly obtained results
ALPGEN, a generator for hard multiparton processes in hadronic collisions
This paper presents a new event generator, ALPGEN, dedicated to the study of
multiparton hard processes in hadronic collisions. The code performs, at the
leading order in QCD and EW interactions, the calculation of the exact matrix
elements for a large set of parton-level processes of interest in the study of
the Tevatron and LHC data. The current version of the code describes the
following final states: (W -> ffbar') QQbar+ N jets (Q being a heavy quark, and
f=l,q), with N f fbar)+QQbar+Njets (f=l,nu), with N
ffbar') + charm + N jets (f=l,q), N f fbar') + N jets (f=l,q) and
(Z/gamma* -> f fbar)+ N jets (f=l,nu), with N<=6; nW+mZ+lH+N jets, with
n+m+l+N<=8 and N<=3 including all 2-fermion decay modes of W and Z bosons, with
spin correlations; Q Qbar+N jets (N b f fbar' decays and relative
spin correlations included if Q=t; Q Qbar Q' Qbar'+N jets, with Q and Q' heavy
quarks (possibly equal) and N b f fbar'
decays and relative spin correlations included if Q=t; N jets, with N<=6.
Parton-level events are generated, providing full information on their colour
and flavour structure, enabling the evolution of the partons into fully
hadronised final states.Comment: 1+38 pages, uses JHEP.cls. Documents code version 1.2: extended list
of processes, updated documentation and bibliograph
Generation of Bianchi type V cosmological models with varying -term
Bianchi type V perfect fluid cosmological models are investigated with
cosmological term varying with time. Using a generation technique
(Camci {\it et al.}, 2001), it is shown that the Einstein's field equations are
solvable for any arbitrary cosmic scale function. Solutions for particular
forms of cosmic scale functions are also obtained. The cosmological constant is
found to be decreasing function of time, which is supported by results from
recent type Ia supernovae observations. Some physical aspects of the models are
also discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, submitted to CJ
Plane-symmetric inhomogeneous magnetized viscous fluid universe with a variable
The behavior of magnetic field in plane symmetric inhomogeneous cosmological
models for bulk viscous distribution is investigated. The coefficient of bulk
viscosity is assumed to be a power function of mass density . The values of cosmological constant for these models are
found to be small and positive which are supported by the results from recent
supernovae Ia observations. Some physical and geometric aspects of the models
are also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, LaTex, no figur
Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale
Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in
astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because
of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of
methods, tracers, and techniques, an internally consistent astronomical
distance framework has not yet been established. We review current efforts to
homogenize the Local Group's distance framework, with particular emphasis on
the potential of RR Lyrae stars as distance indicators, and attempt to extend
this in an internally consistent manner to cosmological distances. Calibration
based on Type Ia supernovae and distance determinations based on gravitational
lensing represent particularly promising approaches. We provide a positive
outlook to improvements to the status quo expected from future surveys,
missions, and facilities. Astronomical distance determination has clearly
reached maturity and near-consistency.Comment: Review article, 59 pages (4 figures); Space Science Reviews, in press
(chapter 8 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ
workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age
SPACA3gene variants in a New Zealand cohort of infertile and fertile couples
SPRASA (also referred to as SLLP1) is a protein identified in the acrosome of human sperm and encoded by the gene SPACA3. SPRASA is associated with sperm-oocyte recognition and binding, and may play a role in fertility. In order to determine whether variants in the SPACA3 gene are associated with human infertility, we undertook a genetic analysis of 102 infertile and 104 fertile couples. Three gene variants were identified using PCR-based DNA sequencing; 1) an insertion of TGC within a quadruple tri-nucleotide (TGC) repeat region in the 5â untranslated region (UTR) (g.â22TGC(4_5), 2) a guanine to adenosine transition at position 239 (c.239G> A) resulting in a non-synonymous amino acid substitution from cysteine to tyrosine (p.C80Y) at position 80 in the putative transmembrane region, and 3) a novel nucleotide variant (c.691G> C) located in the 3âUTR. A functional effect of the g.â22TGC (4_5) was confirmed by a luciferase expression assay, while the effects of the variants c.239G> A and c.691G> C were predicted using in silico analysis. Although the frequencies of these variants were not significantly different between the infertile and fertile populations, we present evidence that the variants could affect the expression levels or function of SPRASA, thereby affecting a couple's fertility. Larger populations, especially individuals/couples with unexplained infertility, need to be screened for these variants to validate a relationship with fertility
- âŠ