1,940 research outputs found
Role of Alpha Oscillations in Reweighting Multiple Attributes During Choice
In our everyday lives, we must often weigh the different attributes of items in order to select the item that best fits our current goals, allowing us to make optimal decisions. Construal Level Theory proposes a psychological mechanism for re-weighting attributes, utilizing selective attention as the process by which we implement self-control. It has been hypothesized that switching attention between attributes is facilitated by the suppression of cortical oscillations over posterior brain regions within the alpha (8-12 Hz) frequency range. To test this idea, we re-examined previously collected whole-brain electroencephalography (EEG) data from a dietary choice experiment in which participants made decisions naturally or with a weight loss incentive. Prior analysis found that although hungry subjects primarily relied on taste properties while responding naturally, they increased their behavioral and neural weighting of health when motivated to lose weight. Reanalyzing this data using time-frequency analyses, we compared alpha oscillations related to healthy versus unhealthy foods under natural and self-control conditions. We predicted that when participants exercised self-control we would see suppression of alpha oscillations over occipital sensors starting around 400 ms post-stimulus onset, for trials presenting healthy relative to unhealthy foods; no such suppression should appear during natural responding when ignoring health information. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found a significant decrease in alpha oscillations over occipital sensors between 440 and 800 ms post-stimulus onset for healthy compared to unhealthy items in the self-control condition. No such effect was seen for health information in natural choice, or for taste. Our findings extend previous research by linking alpha band suppression to the neural re-weighting of multiple attributes, suggesting a neuro-cognitive mechanism for self-control that uses selective attention to choose between multiple attributes
The nature of very low luminosity objects (VeLLOs)
The nature of very low luminosity objects with the internal luminosity L_obj
<= 0.1 Lsun is investigated by means of numerical modeling coupling the core
collapse simulations with the stellar evolution calculations. The gravitational
collapse of a large sample of model cores in the mass range 0.1-2.0 Msun is
investigated. Numerical simulations were started at the pre-stellar phase and
terminated at the end of the embedded phase when 90% of the initial core mass
had been accreted onto the forming protostar plus disk system. The disk
formation and evolution was studied using numerical hydrodynamics simulations,
while the formation and evolution of the central star was calculated using a
stellar evolution code. Three scenarios for mass accretion from the disk onto
the star were considered: hybrid accretion in which a fraction of accreted
energy absorbed by the protostar depends on the accretion rate, hot accretion
wherein a fraction of accreted energy is constant, and cold accretion wherein
all accretion energy is radiated away. Our conclusions on the nature of VeLLOs
depend crucially on the character of protostellar accretion. In the hybrid
accretion scenario, most VeLLOs (90.6%) are expected to be the first
hydrostatic cores (FHSCs) and only a small fraction (9.4%) are true protostars.
In the hot accretion scenario, all VeLLOs are FHSCs due to overly high
photospheric luminosity of protostars. In the cold accretion scenario, on the
contrary, the majority of VeLLOs belong to the Class I phase of stellar
evolution. The reason is that the stellar photospheric luminosity, which sets
the floor for the total internal luminosity of a young star, is lower in cold
accretion, thus enabling more VeLLOs in the protostellar stage. VeLLOs are
relatively rare objects occupying 7%-11% of the total duration of the embedded
phase and their masses do not exceed 0.3 Msun. (abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Cold electron beams from cryo-cooled, alkali antimonide photocathodes
In this letter we report on the generation of cold electron beams using a
Cs3Sb photocathode grown by co-deposition of Sb and Cs. By cooling the
photocathode to 90 K we demonstrate a significant reduction in the mean
transverse energy validating the long standing speculation that the lattice
temperature contribution limits the mean transverse energy or thermal emittance
near the photoemission threshold, opening new frontiers in generating
ultra-bright beams. At 90 K, we achieve a record low thermal emittance of 0.2
m (rms) per mm of laser spot diameter from an ultrafast (sub-picosecond)
photocathode with quantum efficiency greater than using a
visible laser wavelength of 690 nm
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Direct observation of the gene organization of the complement C4 and 21-hydroxylase loci by pulsed field gel electrophoresis.
Pulsed field gel electrophoresis and enzymes that cut genomic DNA infrequently have been used to define large RFLPs at the human C4 loci. With the enzymes BssH II or Sac II, and C4 or 21-hydroxylase DNA probes, it has been possible to observe directly the number of C4 genes present on a haplotype, and also whether the C4 genes are long (6-7-kb intron present) or short (6-7-kb intron absent). Haplotypes that have either two long C4 genes or one long and one short C4 gene generate BssH II fragments of approximately 115 or approximately 105 kb, respectively. Haplotypes that have either a single long or a single short C4 gene generate BssH II fragments of approximately 80 or approximately 70 kb, respectively. This technique has been used to analyze the DNA isolated from PBMC and allows the complete definition of the C4 gene organization of an individual without the need for family studies
Lifetime of the embedded phase of low-mass star formation and the envelope depletion rates
Motivated by a considerable scatter in the observationally inferred lifetimes
of the embedded phase of star formation, we study the duration of the Class 0
and Class I phases in upper-mass brown dwarfs and low-mass stars using
numerical hydrodynamics simulations of the gravitational collapse of a large
sample of cloud cores. We resolve the formation of a star/disk/envelope system
and extend our numerical simulations to the late accretion phase when the
envelope is nearly totally depleted of matter. We adopted a classification
scheme of Andre et al. and calculate the lifetimes of the Class 0 and Class I
phases (\tau_C0 and \tau_CI, respectively) based on the mass remaining in the
envelope. When cloud cores with various rotation rates, masses, and sizes (but
identical otherwise) are considered, our modeling reveals a sub-linear
correlation between the Class 0 lifetimes and stellar masses in the Class 0
phase with the least-squares fit exponent m=0.8 \pm 0.05. The corresponding
correlation between the Class I lifetimes and stellar masses in the Class I is
super-linear with m=1.2 \pm 0.05. If a wider sample of cloud cores is
considered, which includes possible variations in the initial gas temperature,
cloud core truncation radii, density enhancement amplitudes, initial gas
density and angular velocity profiles, and magnetic fields, then the
corresponding exponents may decrease by as much as 0.3. The duration of the
Class I phase is found to be longer than that of the Class~0 phase in most
models, with a mean ratio \tau_CI / \tau_C0 \approx 1.5--2. A notable exception
are YSOs that form from cloud cores with large initial density enhancements, in
which case \tau_C0 may be greater than \tau_CI. Moreover, the upper-mass (>=
1.0 Msun) cloud cores with frozen-in magnetic fields and high cloud core
rotation rates may have the \tau_CI / \tau_C0 ratios as large as 3.0--4.0.
(Abdridged).Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journa
Mass transport from the envelope to the disk of V346 Nor: a case study for the luminosity problem in an FUor-type young eruptive star
A long-standing open issue of the paradigm of low-mass star formation is the
luminosity problem: most protostars are less luminous than theoretically
predicted. One possible solution is that the accretion process is episodic. FU
Ori-type stars (FUors) are thought to be the visible examples for objects in
the high accretion state. FUors are often surrounded by massive envelopes,
which replenish the disk material and enable the disk to produce accretion
outbursts. However, we have insufficient information on the envelope dynamics
in FUors, about where and how mass transfer from the envelope to the disk
happens. Here we present ALMA observations of the FUor-type star V346 Nor at
1.3 mm continuum and in different CO rotational lines. We mapped the density
and velocity structure of its envelope and analyze the results using channel
maps, position-velocity diagrams, and spectro-astrometric methods. We found
that V346 Nor is surrounded by gaseous material on 10000 au scale in which a
prominent outflow cavity is carved. Within the central 700 au, the
circumstellar matter forms a flattened pseudo-disk where material is infalling
with conserved angular momentum. Within 350 au, the velocity profile is
more consistent with a disk in Keplerian rotation around a central star of 0.1
. We determined an infall rate from the envelope onto the disk of
610yr, a factor of few higher than the
quiescent accretion rate from the disk onto the star, hinting for a mismatch
between the infall and accretion rates as the cause of the eruption.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, published in Ap
1866-01-11 Lieutenant I.J. Dunham sends his photograph to the Adjutant General
https://digitalmaine.com/cw_me_1st_heavy_corr/1450/thumbnail.jp
Protostellar accretion traced with chemistry. High resolution C18O and continuum observations towards deeply embedded protostars in Perseus
Context: Understanding how accretion proceeds is a key question of star
formation, with important implications for both the physical and chemical
evolution of young stellar objects. In particular, very little is known about
the accretion variability in the earliest stages of star formation.
Aims: To characterise protostellar accretion histories towards individual
sources by utilising sublimation and freeze-out chemistry of CO.
Methods: A sample of 24 embedded protostars are observed with the
Submillimeter Array (SMA) in context of the large program "Mass Assembly of
Stellar Systems and their Evolution with the SMA" (MASSES). The size of the
CO emitting region, where CO has sublimated into the gas-phase, is
measured towards each source and compared to the expected size of the region
given the current luminosity. The SMA observations also include 1.3 mm
continuum data, which are used to investigate whether a link can be established
between accretion bursts and massive circumstellar disks.
Results: Depending on the adopted sublimation temperature of the CO ice,
between 20% and 50% of the sources in the sample show extended CO
emission indicating that the gas was warm enough in the past that CO sublimated
and is currently in the process of refreezing; something which we attribute to
a recent accretion burst. Given the fraction of sources with extended CO
emission, we estimate an average interval between bursts of 20000-50000 yr,
which is consistent with previous estimates. No clear link can be established
between the presence of circumstellar disks and accretion bursts, however the
three closest known binaries in the sample (projected separations <20 AU) all
show evidence of a past accretion burst, indicating that close binary
interactions may also play a role in inducing accretion variability.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 21 pages, 13 figure
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