Supernova Remnants in the Magellanic Clouds. IV. X-Ray Emission from the Largest SNR in the LMC

We present the first X-ray detection of SNR 0450-70.9 the largest known supernova remnant (SNR) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. To study the physical conditions of this SNR, we have obtained XMM-Newton X-ray observations, optical images and high-dispersion spectra, and radio continuum maps. Optical images of SNR 0450-70.9 show a large, irregular elliptical shell with bright filaments along the eastern and western rims and within the shell interior. The interior filaments have higher [S II]/Halpha ratios and form an apparent inner shell morphology. The X-ray emission region is smaller than the full extent of the optical shell, with the brightest X-ray emission found within the small interior shell and on the western rim of the large shell. The expansion velocity of the small shell is ~220 km/s, while the large shell is ~120 km/s. The radio image shows central brightening and a fairly flat radio spectral index over the SNR. However, no point X-ray or radio source corresponding to a pulsar is detected and the X-ray emission is predominantly thermal. Therefore, these phenomena can be most reasonably explained in terms of the advanced age of the large SNR. Using hydrodynamic models combined with a nonequilibrium ionization model for thermal X-ray emission, we derived a lower limit on the SNR age of about 45,000 yr, well into the later stages of SNR evolution. Despite this, the temperature and density derived from spectral fits to the X-ray emission indicate that the remnant is still overpressured, and thus that the development is largely driven by hot gas in the SNR interior.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Cross-linking of rubber in the presence of multi-functional cross-linking aids via thermoreversible Diels-Alder chemistry

Furan-functionalized polyketone (PK-FU) was added to a furan-functionalized ethylene-propylene rubber (EPM-FU). The mixture was subsequently cross-linked with a bismaleimide through Diels-Alder chemistry in order to improve the mechanical properties of the rubber. Infrared spectroscopy showed the reversible interaction between both polymers and the bismaleimide cross-linker. Likewise, mechanical measurements indicated the re-workability of the mixtures with no evident differences in storage modulus and mechanical properties after several heating cycles. The cross-link density and mechanical properties, such as hardness, tensile properties and compression set, could be modulated by changing the degree of furan functionalization of PK-FU and the PK-FU loading in the blends. It is concluded that PK-FU has some characteristics of an inert filler, but mainly acts as a multi-functional cross-linking aid, enabling larger amounts of bismaleimide to cross-link EPM-FU

Interplay of superconductivity and magnetism in strong coupling

A model is introduced describing the interplay between superconductivity and spin-ordering. It is characterized by on-site repulsive electron-electron interactions, causing antiferromagnetism, and nearest-neighbor attractive interactions, giving rise to d-wave superconductivity. Due to a special choice for the lattice, this model has a strong-coupling limit where the superconductivity can be described by a bosonic theory, similar to the strongly coupled negative U Hubbard model. This limit is analyzed in the present paper. A rich mean-field phase diagram is found and the leading quantum corrections to the mean-field results are calculated. The first-order line between the antiferromagnetic- and the superconducting phase is found to terminate at a tricritical point, where two second-order lines originate. At these lines, the system undergoes a transition to- and from a phase exhibiting both antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity. At finite temperatures above the spin-disordering line, quantum-critical behavior is found. For specific values of the model parameters, it is possible to obtain SO(5) symmetry involving the spin- and the phase-sector at the tricritical point. Although this symmetry is explicitly broken by the projection to the lower Hubbard band, it survives on the mean-field level, and modes related to a spontaneously broken SO(5) symmetry are present on the level of the random phase approximation in the superconducting phase.Comment: 16 pages Revtex, 5 figure

Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization for the minimum labelling Steiner tree problem

Particle Swarm Optimization is an evolutionary method inspired by the social behaviour of individuals inside swarms in nature. Solutions of the problem are modelled as members of the swarm which fly in the solution space. The evolution is obtained from the continuous movement of the particles that constitute the swarm submitted to the effect of the inertia and the attraction of the members who lead the swarm. This work focuses on a recent Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization for combinatorial optimization, called Jumping Particle Swarm Optimization. Its effectiveness is illustrated on the minimum labelling Steiner tree problem: given an undirected labelled connected graph, the aim is to find a spanning tree covering a given subset of nodes, whose edges have the smallest number of distinct labels

Melting of Partially Fluorinated Graphene: From Detachment of Fluorine Atoms to Large Defects and Random Coils

The melting of fluorographene is very unusual and depends strongly on the degree of fluorination. For temperatures below 1000 K, fully fluorinated graphene (FFG) is thermo-mechanically more stable than graphene but at T$_m\approx$2800 K FFG transits to random coils which is almost twice lower than the melting temperature of graphene, i.e. 5300 K. For fluorinated graphene (PFG) up to 30 % ripples causes detachment of individual F-atoms around 2000 K while for 40-60 % fluorination, large defects are formed beyond 1500 K and beyond 60% of fluorination F-atoms remain bonded to graphene until melting. The results agree with recent experiments on the dependence of the reversibility of the fluorination process on the percentage of fluorination.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Levantamento preliminar de mortalidade de miniestacas e de mudas de Acacia mearnsii De Wild.

A acácia-negra (Acacia mearnsii) é uma leguminosa arbórea, originária da Austrália, cultivada em vários países. No Brasil, vem sendo plantada principalmente no estado do Rio Grande do Sul com a finalidade de produção de tanino e madeira para energia e celulose. As principais doenças em A. mearnsii ocorrem no campo, como é o caso da gomose e poucas tem sido relatadas em viveiros. Desse modo, este trabalho apresenta um levantamento inicial de doenças em um viveiro de acácia negra. O levantamento foi feito em maio/2015, em Triunfo/RS, onde coletou-se material doente: mudas com tombamento e canela-preta; miniestacas com podridão basal, podridão mediana e mortas. Para analisar estes problemas, foram utilizados os métodos de isolamento direto e isolamento indireto. Nas miniestacas mortas em gerbox e em BDA, isolou-se Cylindrocladium sp., Coniella sp. (1), Coniella sp. (2), Trichoderma sp. e Fusarium sp. Nas miniestacas com podridão mediana, em BDA, isolou-se Cylindrocladium sp., Coniella sp. (1) e Xylaria sp. Nas miniestacas com podridão basal, em BDA, isolou-se Cylindrocladium sp., Coniella sp. (1) e Trichoderma sp. Nas mudas com canela-preta, isolou-se Pestalotiopsis sp., Fusarium sp. e Coniella sp. (2). Nas mudas com tombamento, isolou-se Pestalotiopsis sp., Monila sp., Cylindrocladium sp., Fusarium sp. e Coniella sp. (2). Os principais fungos associados às doenças constatadas foram Cylindrocladium sp. e Fusarium sp

Predicting protein decomposition: the case of aspartic-acid racemization kinetics

The increase in proportion of the non-biological (D-) isomer of aspartic acid (Asp) relative to the L- isomer has been widely used in archaeology and geochemistry as a tool for dating. The method has proved controversial, particularly when used for bones. The non-linear kinetics of Asp racemization have prompted a number of suggestions as to the underlying mechanism(s) and have led to the use of mathe- matical transformations which linearize the increase in D-Asp with respect to time. Using one example, a suggestion that the initial rapid phase of Asp racemization is due to a contribution from asparagine (Asn), we demonstrate how a simple model of the degradation and racemization of Asn can be used to predict the observed kinetics. A more complex model of peptide bound Asx (Asn+Asp) racemization, which occurs via the formation of a cyclic succinimide (Asu), can be used to correctly predict Asx racemi- zation kinetics in proteins at high temperatures (95-140 °C). The model fails to predict racemization kinetics in dentine collagen at 37 °C. The reason for this is that Asu formation is highly conformation dependent and is predicted to occur extremely slowly in triple helical collagen. As conformation strongly in£uences the rate of Asu formation and hence Asx racemization, the use of extrapolation from high temperatures to estimate racemization kinetics of Asx in proteins below their denaturation temperature is called into question. In the case of archaeological bone, we argue that the D:L ratio of Asx re£ects the proportion of non- helical to helical collagen, overlain by the e¡ects of leaching of more soluble (and conformationally unconstrained) peptides. Thus, racemization kinetics in bone are potentially unpredictable, and the proposed use of Asx racemization to estimate the extent of DNA depurination in archaeological bones is challenged

Nonthermal Emission from a Supernova Remnant in a Molecular Cloud

In evolved supernova remnants (SNRs) interacting with molecular clouds, such as IC 443, W44, and 3C391, a highly inhomogeneous structure consisting of a forward shock of moderate Mach number, a cooling layer, a dense radiative shell and an interior region filled with hot tenuous plasma is expected. We present a kinetic model of nonthermal electron injection, acceleration and propagation in that environment and find that these SNRs are efficient electron accelerators and sources of hard X- and gamma-ray emission. The energy spectrum of the nonthermal electrons is shaped by the joint action of first and second order Fermi acceleration in a turbulent plasma with substantial Coulomb losses. Bremsstrahlung, synchrotron, and inverse Compton radiation of the nonthermal electrons produce multiwavelength photon spectra in quantitative agreement with the radio and the hard emission observed by ASCA and EGRET from IC 443. We distinguish interclump shock wave emission from molecular clump shock wave emission accounting for a complex structure of molecular cloud. Spatially resolved X- and gamma- ray spectra from the supernova remnants IC 443, W44, and 3C391 as might be observed with BeppoSAX, Chandra XRO, XMM, INTEGRAL and GLAST would distinguish the contribution of the energetic lepton component to the gamma-rays observed by EGRET.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure, Astrophysical Journal, v.538, 2000 (in press

63Cu NQR evidence of dimensional crossover to anisotropic 2d regime in S= 1/2 three-leg ladder Sr2Cu3O5

We probed spin-spin correlations up to 725 K with 63Cu NQR in the S= 1/2 three-leg ladder Sr2Cu3O5. We present experimental evidence that below 300 K, weak inter-ladder coupling causes dimensional crossover of the spin-spin correlation length \xi from quasi-1d (\xi ~ 1/T) to anisotropic 2d regime (\xi \~ exp[2\pi\rho_{s}/T], where 2\pi\rho_{s} = 290 +/- 30 K is the effective spin stiffness). This is the first experimental verification of the renormalized classical behavior of the anisotropic non-linear sigma model in 2d, which has been recently proposed for the striped phase in high T_{c} cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure