4,694 research outputs found
A 180 Kpc Tidal Tail in the Luminous Infrared Merger Arp 299
We present VLA HI observations and UH88 deep optical B- and R-band
observations of the IR luminous merger Arp 299 (= NGC 3690 + IC 694). These
data reveal a gas-rich, optically faint tidal tail with a length of over 180
kpc. The size of this tidal feature necessitates an old interaction age for the
merger (~750 Myr since first periapse), which is currently experiencing a very
young star burst (~20 Myr). The observations reveal a most remarkable structure
within the tidal tail: it appears to be composed of two parallel filaments
separated by ~20 kpc. One of the filaments is gas rich with little if any
starlight, while the other is gas poor. We believe that this bifurcation
results from a warped disk in one of the progenitors. The quantities and
kinematics of the tidal HI suggest that Arp 299 results from the collision of a
retrograde Sab-Sb galaxy (IC 694) and a prograde Sbc-Sc galaxy (NGC 3690) that
occurred 750 Myr ago and which will merge into a single object in ~60 Myr. We
suggest that the present IR luminous phase in this system is due in part to the
retrograde spin of IC 694. Finally, we discuss the apparent lack of tidal dwarf
galaxies within the tail.Comment: LaTex, 14 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, uses emulateapj.sty. Accepted
to AJ for July 1999. For version with full-resolution images see
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~jhibbard/a299/HIpaper/a299HI.htm
Oxidation of graphene on metals
We use low-energy electron microscopy to investigate how graphene is removed
from Ru(0001) and Ir(111) by reaction with oxygen. We find two mechanisms on
Ru(0001). At short times, oxygen reacts with carbon monomers on the surrounding
Ru surface, decreasing their concentration below the equilibrium value. This
undersaturation causes a flux of carbon from graphene to the monomer gas. In
this initial mechanism, graphene is etched at a rate that is given precisely by
the same non-linear dependence on carbon monomer concentration that governs
growth. Thus, during both growth and etching, carbon attaches and detaches to
graphene as clusters of several carbon atoms. At later times, etching
accelerates. We present evidence that this process involves intercalated
oxygen, which destabilizes graphene. On Ir, this mechanism creates observable
holes. It also occurs mostly quickly near wrinkles in the graphene islands,
depends on the orientation of the graphene with respect to the Ir substrate,
and, in contrast to the first mechanism, can increase the density of carbon
monomers. We also observe that both layers of bilayer graphene islands on Ir
etch together, not sequentially.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Manuscript revised to improve discussion,
following referee comments. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physical
Chemistry C, Feb. 11, 201
A note on quasinormal modes: A tale of two treatments
There is an apparent discrepancy in the literature with regard to the
quasinormal mode frequencies of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes in the
degenerate-horizon limit. On the one hand, a Poschl-Teller-inspired method
predicts that the real part of the frequencies will depend strongly on the
orbital angular momentum of the perturbation field whereas, on the other hand,
the degenerate limit of a monodromy-based calculation suggests there should be
no such dependence (at least, for the highly damped modes). In the current
paper, we provide a possible resolution by critically re-assessing the limiting
procedure used in the monodromy analysis.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex format; (v2) new addendum in response to reader
comments, also references, footnote and acknowledgments adde
Treatment effect of oil-based contrast is related to experienced pain at HSG : a post-hoc analysis of the randomised H2Oil study
The H2Oil study was an investigator-initiated study that was funded by our own academic institutions (AMC and VUmc) of the Amsterdam UMC. The funders had no role in study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of the data.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Highly damped quasinormal modes of Kerr black holes
Motivated by recent suggestions that highly damped black hole quasinormal
modes (QNM's) may provide a link between classical general relativity and
quantum gravity, we present an extensive computation of highly damped QNM's of
Kerr black holes. We do not limit our attention to gravitational modes, thus
filling some gaps in the existing literature. The frequency of gravitational
modes with l=m=2 tends to \omega_R=2 \Omega, \Omega being the angular velocity
of the black hole horizon. If Hod's conjecture is valid, this asymptotic
behaviour is related to reversible black hole transformations. Other highly
damped modes with m>0 that we computed do not show a similar behaviour. The
real part of modes with l=2 and m<0 seems to asymptotically approach a constant
value \omega_R\simeq -m\varpi, \varpi\simeq 0.12 being (almost) independent of
a. For any perturbing field, trajectories in the complex plane of QNM's with
m=0 show a spiralling behaviour, similar to the one observed for
Reissner-Nordstrom (RN) black holes. Finally, for any perturbing field, the
asymptotic separation in the imaginary part of consecutive modes with m>0 is
given by 2\pi T_H (T_H being the black hole temperature). We conjecture that
for all values of l and m>0 there is an infinity of modes tending to the
critical frequency for superradiance (\omega_R=m) in the extremal limit.
Finally, we study in some detail modes branching off the so--called
``algebraically special frequency'' of Schwarzschild black holes. For the first
time we find numerically that QNM multiplets emerge from the algebraically
special Schwarzschild modes, confirming a recent speculation.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Minor typos corrected. Updated references to
take into account some recent development
Numerical analysis of quasinormal modes in nearly extremal Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetimes
We calculate high-order quasinormal modes with large imaginary frequencies
for electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations in nearly extremal
Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetimes. Our results show that for low-order
quasinormal modes, the analytical approximation formula in the extremal limit
derived by Cardoso and Lemos is a quite good approximation for the quasinormal
frequencies as long as the model parameter is small enough, where
and are the black hole horizon radius and the surface gravity,
respectively. For high-order quasinormal modes, to which corresponds
quasinormal frequencies with large imaginary parts, on the other hand, this
formula becomes inaccurate even for small values of . We also find
that the real parts of the quasinormal frequencies have oscillating behaviors
in the limit of highly damped modes, which are similar to those observed in the
case of a Reissner-Nordstr{\" o}m black hole. The amplitude of oscillating
as a function of approaches a non-zero
constant value for gravitational perturbations and zero for electromagnetic
perturbations in the limit of highly damped modes, where denotes the
quasinormal frequency. This means that for gravitational perturbations, the
real part of quasinormal modes of the nearly extremal Schwarzschild-de Sitter
spacetime appears not to approach any constant value in the limit of highly
damped modes. On the other hand, for electromagnetic perturbations, the real
part of frequency seems to go to zero in the limit.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Uterine bathing with sonography gel prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment in patients with endometriosis, a multicentre randomised controlled trial
STUDY QUESTION
What is the effect of uterine bathing with sonography gel prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment on live birth rates after fresh embryo transfer in patients with endometriosis?
SUMMARY ANSWER
After formal interim analysis and premature ending of the trial, no significant difference between uterine bathing using a pharmacologically neutral sonography gel compared to a sham procedure on live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer in endometriosis patients (26.7% vs. 15.4%, relative risk (RR) 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81â3.72; P-value 0.147) could be found, although the trial was underpowered to draw definite conclusions.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
Impaired implantation receptivity contributes to reduced clinical pregnancy rates after IVF/ICSI-treatment in endometriosis patients. Previous studies have suggested a favourable effect of tubal flushing with LipiodolÂź on natural conceptions. This benefit might also be explained by enhancing implantation through endometrial immunomodulation. Although recent studies showed no beneficial effect of endometrial scratching, the effect of mechanical stress by intrauterine infusion on the endometrium in endometriosis patients undergoing IVF/ICSI-treatment has not been investigated yet.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
We performed a multicentre, patient-blinded, randomised controlled trial in which women were randomly allocated to either a Gel Infusion Sonography (GIS, intervention group) or a sham procedure (control group) prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment. Since recruitment was slow and completion of the study was considered unfeasible, the study was halted after inclusion of 112 of the planned 184 women.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
We included infertile women with surgically confirmed endometriosis ASRM stage IâIV undergoing IVF/ICSI-treatment. After informed consent, women were randomised to GIS with intrauterine instillation of ExEm-gelÂź or sonography with gel into the vagina (sham). This was performed in the cycle preceding the embryo transfer, on the day GnRH analogue treatment was started. The primary endpoint was live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer. Analysis was performed by both intention-to-treat and per-protocol.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Between July 2014 to September 2018, we randomly allocated 112 women to GIS (nâ=â60) or sham procedure (nâ=â52). The live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer was 16/60 (26.7%) after GIS versus 8/52 (15.4%) after the sham (RR 1.73, 95% CI 0.81â3.72; P-value 0.147). Ongoing pregnancy rate was 16/60 (26.7%) after GIS versus 9/52 (17.3%) in the controls (RR 1.54, 95% CI 0.74â3.18). Miscarriage occurred in 1/60 (1.7%) after GIS versus 5/52 (9.6%) in the controls (RR 0.17, 95% CI 0.02â1.44) women. Uterine bathing resulted in a higher pain score compared with a sham procedure (visual analogue scale score 2.7 [1.3â3.5] vs. 1.0 [0.0â2.0], Pâ<â0.001). There were two adverse events after GIS compared with none after sham procedures.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
The study was terminated prematurely due to slow recruitment and trial fatigue. Therefore, the trial is underpowered to draw definite conclusions regarding the effect of uterine bathing with sonography gel on live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer in endometriosis patients undergoing IVF/ICSI-treatment.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
We could not demonstrate a favourable effect of uterine bathing procedures with sonography gel prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment in patients with endometriosis.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
Investigator initiated study. IQ Medical Ventures provided the ExEm FOAMÂź kits free of charge, they were not involved in the study design, data management, statistical analyses and/or manuscript preparation, etc. C.B.L. reports receiving grants from Ferring, Merck and Guerbet, outside the submitted work. C.B.L. is Editor-in-Chief of Human Reproduction. V.M. reports grants and other from Guerbet, outside the submitted work. B.W.M. reports grants from NHMRC (GNT1176437), personal fees from ObsEva, Merck and Merck KGaA, Guerbet and iGenomix, outside the submitted work. N.P.J. reports research funding from Abb-Vie and Myovant Sciences and consultancy for Vifor Pharma, Guerbet, Myovant Sciences and Roche Diagnostics, outside the submitted work. K.D. reports personal fees from Guerbet, outside the submitted work. The other authors do not report any conflicts of interest. No financial support was provided.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
NL4025 (NTR4198)
TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE
7 October 2013
DATE OF FIRST PATIENTâS ENROLMENT
22 July 201
The spectrum of quantum black holes and quasinormal modes
The spectrum of multiple level transitions of the quantum black hole is
considered, and the line widths calculated. Initial evidence is found for these
higher order transitions in the spectrum of quasinormal modes for Schwarzschild
and Kerr black holes, further bolstering the idea that there exists a
correspondence principle between quantum transitions and classical ``ringing
modes''. Several puzzles are noted, including a fine-tuning problem between the
line width and the level degeneracy. A more general explanation is provided for
why setting the Immirzi parameter of loop quantum gravity from the black hole
spectrum necessarily gives the correct value for the black hole entropy.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Suppression of Phase Separation in LiFePO4 Nanoparticles During Battery Discharge
Using a novel electrochemical phase-field model, we question the common
belief that LixFePO4 nanoparticles separate into Li-rich and Li-poor phases
during battery discharge. For small currents, spinodal decomposition or
nucleation leads to moving phase boundaries. Above a critical current density
(in the Tafel regime), the spinodal disappears, and particles fill
homogeneously, which may explain the superior rate capability and long cycle
life of nano-LiFePO4 cathodes.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figure
Background Independent Quantum Gravity: A Status Report
The goal of this article is to present an introduction to loop quantum
gravity -a background independent, non-perturbative approach to the problem of
unification of general relativity and quantum physics, based on a quantum
theory of geometry. Our presentation is pedagogical. Thus, in addition to
providing a bird's eye view of the present status of the subject, the article
should also serve as a vehicle to enter the field and explore it in detail. To
aid non-experts, very little is assumed beyond elements of general relativity,
gauge theories and quantum field theory. While the article is essentially
self-contained, the emphasis is on communicating the underlying ideas and the
significance of results rather than on presenting systematic derivations and
detailed proofs. (These can be found in the listed references.) The subject can
be approached in different ways. We have chosen one which is deeply rooted in
well established physics and also has sufficient mathematical precision to
ensure that there are no hidden infinities. In order to keep the article to a
reasonable size, and to avoid overwhelming non-experts, we have had to leave
out several interesting topics, results and viewpoints; this is meant to be an
introduction to the subject rather than an exhaustive review of it.Comment: 125 pages, 5 figures (eps format), the final version published in CQ
- âŠ