4,276 research outputs found
AD Mensae: a dwarf nova in the period gap
AD Men was classified as a probable long-period dwarf nova based on its
long-term variability. Recent spectroscopic data instead suggested a
short-period system. With the here presented observations we aim at clarifying
its nature. Time--resolved photometry and spectroscopy has been used to get
information on the orbital period of this system. The light curve shows the
typical flickering and a clear hump--like periodic modulation with an average
amplitude of 0.3mag and a period of P=2.20(02)h. The radial velocity
measurements of the Halpha emission line confirm this value as the orbital
period. AD Men is thus located at the lower end of, but clearly inside, the gap
of the period distribution of cataclysmic variables, making it one of only 11
dwarf novae in this important period range.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted by A&
Single Cell Analysis of Human RAD18-Dependent DNA Post-Replication Repair by Alkaline Bromodeoxyuridine Comet Assay
Damage to DNA can block replication progression resulting in gaps in the newly synthesized DNA. Cells utilize a number of post-replication repair (PRR) mechanisms such as the RAD18 controlled translesion synthesis or template switching to overcome the discontinuities formed opposite the DNA lesions and to complete DNA replication. Gaining more insights into the role of PRR genes promotes better understanding of DNA damage tolerance and of how their malfunction can lead to increased genome instability and cancer. However, a simple and efficient method to characterise gene specific PRR deficiencies at a single cell level has not been developed. Here we describe the so named BrdU comet PRR assay to test the contribution of human RAD18 to PRR at a single cell level, by which we kinetically characterized the consequences of the deletion of human RAD18 on the replication of UV-damaged DNA. Moreover, we demonstrate the capability of our method to evaluate PRR at a single cell level in unsynchronized cell population. © 2013 Mórocz et al
Gas and Dust in the Cloverleaf Quasar at Redshift 2.5
We observed the upper fine structure line of neutral carbon, CI(2-1), the
CO(3-2) line and the 1.2mm continuum emission from H1413+117 (Cloverleaf
quasar, z=2.5) using the IRAM interferometer. Together with the detection of
the lower fine structure line (Barvainis etal. 1997), the Cloverleaf quasar is
now only the second extragalactic system, besides M82, where both carbon lines
have convincingly been detected. Our analysis shows that the carbon lines are
optically thin and have an excitation temperature of ~30 K. CO is subthermally
excited and the observed line luminosity ratios are consistent with
n(H2)=10^(3-4) cm^(-3) at Tkin=30-50 K. Using three independent methods (CI,
dust, CO) we derive a total molecular gas mass (corrected for magnification) of
M(H2)=1.2+/-0.3*10^(10) SM. Our observations suggest that the molecular disk
extends beyond the region seen in CO(7-6) to a zone of more moderately excited
molecular gas that dominates the global emission in CI and the low J CO lines.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; accepted by A&
The Scatter in the Relationship between Redshift and the Radio-to-Submm Spectral Index
We derive the scatter in the relationship between redshift and radio-to-submm
spectral index, alpha^{350}_{1.4}, using the observed spectral energy
distributions of 17 low redshift star forming galaxies. A mean galaxy model is
derived, along with the rms scatter in alpha^{350}_{1.4}. The scatter is
roughly constant with redshift. Constant rms scatter, combined with the
flattening of the mean alpha^{350}_{1.4} -- z relationship with increasing
redshift, leads to increasing uncertainty for redshift estimates at high
redshifts. Normalizing by the dust temperature in the manner proposed by Blain
decreases the scatter in alpha^{350}_{1.4} for most of the sample, but does not
remove outliers, and free-free absorption at rest frequencies above 1.4 GHz is
not likely to be a dominant cause for scatter in the alpha^{350}_{1.4} -- z
relationship. We re-derive the cumulative redshift distribution of the 14 field
galaxies in a recent submm and radio source sample of Smail et al.. The most
likely median redshift for the distribution is 2.7, with a conservative lower
limit of z = 2, as was also found by Smail et al. based on the original
alpha^{350}_{1.4} -- z models. The normalization and shape of the redshift
distribution for the faint submm sources are consistent with those expected for
forming elliptical galaxies.Comment: Added Erratum, standard AAS LATEX forma
Investing in Savings: Finance and cooperative approaches to electricity demand management - A scoping study for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Quantum Communication with an Accelerated Partner
An unsolved problem in relativistic quantum information research is how to
model efficient, directional quantum communication between localised parties in
a fully quantum field theoretical framework. We propose a tractable approach to
this problem based on solving the Heisenberg evolution of localized field
observables. We illustrate our approach by analysing, and obtaining approximate
analytical solutions to, the problem of communicating coherent states between
an inertial sender, Alice and an accelerated receiver, Rob. We use these
results to determine the efficiency with which continuous variable quantum key
distribution could be carried out over such a communication channel.Comment: Additional explanatory text and typo in Eq.17 correcte
The quasar Q0957+561: Lensed CO emission from a disk at z~1.4?
In recent years large efforts have been made to detect molecular gas towards
high redshifted objects. Up to now the literature reports on only two cases of
CO-detection in quasars at a redshift between 1 and 2 - Q0957+561, a
gravitationally lensed system at z=1.41 (Planesas et al. 1999), and HR10 at
z=1.44 (Andreani et al. 2000). According to Planesas et al. (1999), 12CO(2-1)
emission was detected towards both the lensed images of Q0957+561 with the IRAM
Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI). In contrast to the optical spectra of
the two images which support the idea that they are images of one and the same
object, the CO-spectra were surprisingly different: the southern image (named
CO-B) shows a single blueshifted line whereas a double-peaked line profile with
a blue- and a redshifted part appears towards the northern image (CO-A). Based
on the observations and on simulations with a gravitational lens program, we
are tempted to argue that the line profile traces the presence of molecular gas
of a disk in the host galaxy around the quasar. We have now new observations
with the PdBI providing the necessary sensitivity to corroborate our disk
model.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in "Proceedings of the 4th
Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium", ed. S. Pfalzner, C. Kramer, C. Straubmeier,
and A. Heithausen (Springer Verlag
The Stellar Populations and Evolution of Lyman Break Galaxies
Using deep near-IR and optical observations of the HDF-N from the HST NICMOS
and WFPC2 and from the ground, we examine the spectral energy distributions
(SEDs) of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at 2.0 < z < 3.5. The UV-to-optical
rest-frame SEDs of the galaxies are much bluer than those of present-day spiral
and elliptical galaxies, and are generally similar to those of local starburst
galaxies with modest amounts of reddening. We use stellar population synthesis
models to study the properties of the stars that dominate the light from LBGs.
Under the assumption that the star-formation rate is continuous or decreasing
with time, the best-fitting models provide a lower bound on the LBG mass
estimates. LBGs with ``L*'' UV luminosities are estimated to have minimum
stellar masses ~ 10^10 solar masses, or roughly 1/10th that of a present-day L*
galaxy. By considering the effects of a second component of maximally-old
stars, we set an upper bound on the stellar masses that is ~ 3-8 times the
minimum estimate. We find only loose constraints on the individual galaxy ages,
extinction, metallicities, initial mass functions, and prior star-formation
histories. We find no galaxies whose SEDs are consistent with young (< 10^8
yr), dust-free objects, which suggests that LBGs are not dominated by ``first
generation'' stars, and that such objects are rare at these redshifts. We also
find that the typical ages for the observed star-formation events are
significantly younger than the time interval covered by this redshift range (~
1.5 Gyr). From this, and from the relative absence of candidates for quiescent,
non-star-forming galaxies at these redshifts in the NICMOS data, we suggest
that star formation in LBGs may be recurrent, with short duty cycles and a
timescale between star-formation events of < 1 Gyr. [Abridged]Comment: LaTeX, 37 pages, 21 figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
A sensitive search for CO J=1-0 emission in 4C 41.17: high-excitation molecular gas at z=3.8
We report sensitive imaging observations of the CO J=1-0 line emission in the
powerful high-redshift radio galaxy 4C 41.17 (z=3.8) with the NRAO Very Large
Array (VLA), conducted in order to detect the large concomitant H_2 gas
reservoir recently unveiled in this system by De Breuck et al (2005) via the
emission of the high excitation J=4-3 line. Our observations fail to detect the
J=1-0 line but yield sensitive lower limits on the R_43=(4-3)/(1-0) brightness
temperature ratio of R_43 ~ 0.55 - >1.0 for the bulk of the H_2 gas mass. Such
high ratios are typical of the high-excitation molecular gas phase ``fueling''
the star formation in local starbursts, but quite unlike these objects, much of
the molecular gas in 4C 41.17 seems to be in such a state, and thus
participating in the observed starburst episode. The widely observed and unique
association of highly excited molecular gas with star forming sites allows CO
line emission with large (high-J)/(low-J) intensity ratios to serve as an
excellent ``marker'' of the spatial distribution of star formation in distant
dust-obscured starbursts, unaffected by extinction.Comment: 7 Pages including 8 PostScript figures. Accepted for publication in
Astronomy & Astrophysic
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Revealing ensemble state transition patterns in multi-electrode neuronal recordings using hidden Markov models
In order to harness the computational capacity of dissociated cultured neuronal networks, it is necessary to understand neuronal dynamics and connectivity on a mesoscopic scale. To this end, this paper uncovers dynamic spatiotemporal patterns emerging from electrically stimulated neuronal cultures using hidden Markov models (HMMs) to characterize multi-channel spike trains as a progression of patterns of underlying states of neuronal activity. However, experimentation aimed at optimal choice of parameters for such models is essential and results are reported in detail. Results derived from ensemble neuronal data revealed highly repeatable patterns of state transitions in the order of milliseconds in response to probing stimuli
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