1,352 research outputs found
A non-spherical core in the explosion of supernova SN 2004dj
An important and perhaps critical clue to the mechanism driving the explosion
of massive stars as supernovae is provided by the accumulating evidence for
asymmetry in the explosion. Indirect evidence comes from high pulsar
velocities, associations of supernovae with long-soft gamma-ray bursts, and
asymmetries in late-time emission-line profiles. Spectropolarimetry provides a
direct probe of young supernova geometry, with higher polarization generally
indicating a greater departure from spherical symmetry. Large polarizations
have been measured for 'stripped-envelope' (that is, type Ic) supernovae, which
confirms their non-spherical morphology; but the explosions of massive stars
with intact hydrogen envelopes (type II-P supernovae) have shown only weak
polarizations at the early times observed. Here we report multi-epoch
spectropolarimetry of a classic type II-P supernova that reveals the abrupt
appearance of significant polarization when the inner core is first exposed in
the thinning ejecta (~90 days after explosion). We infer a departure from
spherical symmetry of at least 30 per cent for the inner ejecta. Combined with
earlier results, this suggests that a strongly non-spherical explosion may be a
generic feature of core-collapse supernovae of all types, where the asphericity
in type II-P supernovae is cloaked at early times by the massive, opaque,
hydrogen envelope.Comment: Accepted for publication by Nature (results embargoed until 23 March
2006); 14 pages, 2 figure
Spectropolarimetry of Supernovae
Overwhelming evidence has accumulated in recent years that supernova
explosions are intrinsically 3-dimensional phenomena with significant
departures from spherical symmetry. We review the evidence derived from
spectropolarimetry that has established several key results: virtually all
supernovae are significantly aspherical near maximum light; core-collapse
supernovae behave differently than thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae; the
asphericity of core-collapse supernovae is stronger in the inner layers showing
that the explosion process itself is strongly aspherical; core-collapse
supernovae tend to establish a preferred direction of asymmetry; the
asphericity is stronger in the outer layers of thermonuclear supernovae
providing constraints on the burning process. We emphasize the utility of the
Q/U plane as a diagnostic tool and revisit SN 1987A and SN 1993J in a
contemporary context. An axially-symmetric geometry can explain many basic
features of core-collapse supernovae, but significant departures from axial
symmetry are needed to explain most events. We introduce a spectropolarimetry
type to classify the range of behavior observed in polarized supernovae.
Understanding asymmetries in supernovae is important for phenomena as diverse
as the origins of gamma-ray bursts and the cosmological applications of Type Ia
supernovae in studies of the dark energy content of the universe.Comment: Draft of Annual Review article prior to final copy editing; 85 pages,
13 figures, 1 tabl
Supplier-induced demand for psychiatric admissions in Northern New England
The development of hospital service areas (HSAs) using small area analysis has been useful in examining variation in medical and surgical care; however, the techniques of small area analysis are underdeveloped in understanding psychiatric admission rates. We sought to develop these techniques in order to understand the relationship between psychiatric bed supply and admission rates in Northern New England. Our primary hypotheses were that there would be substantial variation in psychiatric admission across geographic settings and that bed availability would be positively correlated with admission rates, reflecting a supplier-induced demand phenomenon. Our secondary hypothesis was that the construction of psychiatric HSAs (PHSAs) would yield more meaningful results than the use of existing general medical hospital service areas
The influence of 'significant others' on persistent back pain and work participation: a qualitative exploration of illness perceptions
Background
Individual illness perceptions have been highlighted as important influences on clinical outcomes for back pain. However, the illness perceptions of 'significant others' (spouse/partner/close family member) are rarely explored, particularly in relation to persistent back pain and work participation. The aim of this study was to initiate qualitative research in this area in order to further understand these wider influences on outcome.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews based on the chronic pain version of the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised were conducted with a convenience sample of UK disability benefit claimants, along with their significant others (n=5 dyads). Data were analysed using template analysis.
Results
Significant others shared, and perhaps further reinforced, claimants' unhelpful illness beliefs including fear of pain/re-injury associated with certain types of work and activity, and pessimism about the likelihood of return to work. In some cases, significant others appeared more resigned to the permanence and negative inevitable consequences of the claimant's back pain condition on work participation, and were more sceptical about the availability of suitable work and sympathy from employers. In their pursuit of authenticity, claimants were keen to stress their desire to work whilst emphasising how the severity and physical limitations of their condition prevented them from doing so. In this vein, and seemingly based on their perceptions of what makes a 'good' significant other, significant others acted as a 'witness to pain', supporting claimants' self-limiting behaviour and statements of incapacity, often responding with empathy and assistance. The beliefs and responses of significant others may also have been influenced by their own experience of chronic illness, thus participants lives were often intertwined and defined by illness.
Conclusions
The findings from this exploratory study reveal how others and wider social circumstances might contribute both to the propensity of persistent back pain and to its consequences. This is an area that has received little attention to date, and wider support of these findings may usefully inform the design of future intervention programmes aimed at restoring work participation
New Mechanics of Traumatic Brain Injury
The prediction and prevention of traumatic brain injury is a very important
aspect of preventive medical science. This paper proposes a new coupled
loading-rate hypothesis for the traumatic brain injury (TBI), which states that
the main cause of the TBI is an external Euclidean jolt, or SE(3)-jolt, an
impulsive loading that strikes the head in several coupled degrees-of-freedom
simultaneously. To show this, based on the previously defined covariant force
law, we formulate the coupled Newton-Euler dynamics of brain's micro-motions
within the cerebrospinal fluid and derive from it the coupled SE(3)-jolt
dynamics. The SE(3)-jolt is a cause of the TBI in two forms of brain's rapid
discontinuous deformations: translational dislocations and rotational
disclinations. Brain's dislocations and disclinations, caused by the
SE(3)-jolt, are described using the Cosserat multipolar viscoelastic continuum
brain model.
Keywords: Traumatic brain injuries, coupled loading-rate hypothesis,
Euclidean jolt, coupled Newton-Euler dynamics, brain's dislocations and
disclinationsComment: 18 pages, 1 figure, Late
Flavor conversion of cosmic neutrinos from hidden jets
High energy cosmic neutrino fluxes can be produced inside relativistic jets
under the envelopes of collapsing stars. In the energy range E ~ (0.3 - 1e5)
GeV, flavor conversion of these neutrinos is modified by various matter effects
inside the star and the Earth. We present a comprehensive (both analytic and
numerical) description of the flavor conversion of these neutrinos which
includes: (i) oscillations inside jets, (ii) flavor-to-mass state transitions
in an envelope, (iii) loss of coherence on the way to observer, and (iv)
oscillations of the mass states inside the Earth. We show that conversion has
several new features which are not realized in other objects, in particular
interference effects ("L- and H- wiggles") induced by the adiabaticity
violation. The neutrino-neutrino scattering inside jet and inelastic neutrino
interactions in the envelope may produce some additional features at E > 1e4
GeV. We study dependence of the probabilities and flavor ratios in the
matter-affected region on angles theta13 and theta23, on the CP-phase delta, as
well as on the initial flavor content and density profile of the star. We show
that measurements of the energy dependence of the flavor ratios will, in
principle, allow to determine independently the neutrino and astrophysical
parameters.Comment: 56 pages, 19 figures. Minor changes. Accepted by JHEP
Bone Mineral Density and Vascular Calcification in Children and Young Adults With CKD 4 to 5 or on Dialysis
Introduction: Older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) can have low bone mineral density (BMD) with concurrent vascular calcification. Mineral accrual by the growing skeleton may protect young people with CKD from extraosseous calcification. Our hypothesis was that children and young adults with increasing BMD do not develop vascular calcification. Methods: This was a multicenter longitudinal study in children and young people (5â30 years) with CKD stages 4 to 5 or on dialysis. BMD was assessed by tibial peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and lumbar spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The following cardiovascular imaging tests were undertaken: cardiac computed tomography for coronary artery calcification (CAC), ultrasound for carotid intima media thickness z-score (cIMTz), pulse wave velocity z-score (PWVz), and carotid distensibility for arterial stiffness. All measures are presented as age-adjusted and sex-adjusted z-scores. Results: One hundred participants (median age 13.82 years) were assessed at baseline and 57 followed up after a median of 1.45 years. Trabecular BMD z-score (TrabBMDz) decreased (P = 0.01), and there was a nonsignificant decrease in cortical BMD z-score (CortBMDz) (P = 0.09). Median cIMTz and PWVz showed nonsignificant increase (P = 0.23 and P = 0.19, respectively). The annualized increase in TrabBMDz (ÎTrabBMDz) was an independent predictor of cIMTz increase (R2 = 0.48, ÎČ = 0.40, P = 0.03). Young people who demonstrated statural growth (n = 33) had lower ÎTrabBMDz and also attenuated vascular changes compared with those with static growth (n = 24). Conclusion: This hypothesis-generating study suggests that children and young adults with CKD or on dialysis may develop vascular calcification even as their BMD increases. A presumed buffering capacity of the growing skeleton may offer some protection against extraosseous calcification
Type Ia Supernovae as Stellar Endpoints and Cosmological Tools
Empirically, Type Ia supernovae are the most useful, precise, and mature
tools for determining astronomical distances. Acting as calibrated candles they
revealed the presence of dark energy and are being used to measure its
properties. However, the nature of the SN Ia explosion, and the progenitors
involved, have remained elusive, even after seven decades of research. But now
new large surveys are bringing about a paradigm shift --- we can finally
compare samples of hundreds of supernovae to isolate critical variables. As a
result of this, and advances in modeling, breakthroughs in understanding all
aspects of SNe Ia are finally starting to happen.Comment: Invited review for Nature Communications. Final published version.
Shortened, update
Interacting Supernovae: Types IIn and Ibn
Supernovae (SNe) that show evidence of strong shock interaction between their
ejecta and pre-existing, slower circumstellar material (CSM) constitute an
interesting, diverse, and still poorly understood category of explosive
transients. The chief reason that they are extremely interesting is because
they tell us that in a subset of stellar deaths, the progenitor star may become
wildly unstable in the years, decades, or centuries before explosion. This is
something that has not been included in standard stellar evolution models, but
may significantly change the end product and yield of that evolution, and
complicates our attempts to map SNe to their progenitors. Another reason they
are interesting is because CSM interaction is an efficient engine for making
bright transients, allowing super-luminous transients to arise from normal SN
explosion energies, and allowing transients of normal SN luminosities to arise
from sub-energetic explosions or low radioactivity yield. CSM interaction
shrouds the fast ejecta in bright shock emission, obscuring our normal view of
the underlying explosion, and the radiation hydrodynamics of the interaction is
challenging to model. The CSM interaction may also be highly non-spherical,
perhaps linked to binary interaction in the progenitor system. In some cases,
these complications make it difficult to definitively tell the difference
between a core-collapse or thermonuclear explosion, or to discern between a
non-terminal eruption, failed SN, or weak SN. Efforts to uncover the physical
parameters of individual events and connections to possible progenitor stars
make this a rapidly evolving topic that continues to challenge paradigms of
stellar evolution.Comment: Final draft of a chapter in the "SN Handbook". Accepted. 25 pages, 3
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