136 research outputs found
Jet properties from - correlation in and +Au collisions at = 200 GeV
We review recent results on the charged pion - charged hadron correlation in
and + Au collisions as measured by the PHENIX Collaboration.
Properties of di-jet system, such as the jet shape, associated hadron yield per
trigger pion, and the underlying event are extracted statistically from the
correlation function in and . For
jet triggered with high pions ( GeV/c), no apparent differences in
the jet properties are seen between and + Au.Comment: Proceeding for Correlation and Fluctuation Workshop at MIT (April
2005), 11 pages, 17 figures, update a couple of formula
Winds from clu\sters with non-uniform stellar distributions
We present analytic and numerical models of the `cluster wind' resulting from
the multiple interactions of the winds ejected by the stars of a dense cluster
of massive stars. We consider the case in which the distribution of stars
(i.e., the number of stars per unit volume) within the cluster is spherically
symmetric, has a power-law radial dependence, and drops discontinuously to zero
at the outer radius of the cluster. We carry out comparisons between an
analytic model (in which the stars are considered in terms of a spatially
continuous injection of mass and energy) and 3D gasdynamic simulations (in
which we include 100 stars with identical winds, located in 3D space by
statistically sampling the stellar distribution function). From the analytic
model, we find that for stellar distributions with steep enough radial
dependencies the cluster wind flow develops a very high central density and a
non-zero central velocity, and for steeper dependencies it becomes fully
supersonic throughout the volume of the cluster (these properties are partially
reproduced by the 3D numerical simulations). Therefore, the wind solutions
obtained for stratified clusters can differ dramatically from the case of a
homogeneous stellar distribution (which produces a cluster wind with zero
central velocity, and a fully subsonic flow within the cluster radius).
Finally, from our numerical simulations we compute predictions of X-ray
emission maps and luminosities, which can be directly compared with
observations of cluster wind flows.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. MNRAS - Accepted 2007 June 29. Received 2007
June 28; in original form 2007 May 2
The dynamical mass of the young cluster W3 in NGC 7252: Heavy-Weight globular cluster or ultra compact dwarf galaxy ?
We have determined the dynamical mass of the most luminous stellar cluster
known to date, i.e. object W3 in the merger remnant galaxy NGC 7252. The
dynamical mass is estimated from the velocity dispersion measured with the
high-resolution spectrograph UVES on VLT. Our result is the astonishingly high
velocity dispersion of sigma=45 +- 5 km/s. Combined with the large cluster size
R_eff=17.5 +-1.8 pc, this translates into a dynamical virial mass for W3 of 8
+- 2 x 10^7 Msun. This mass is in excellent agreement with the value 7.2 x 10^7
Msun we previously estimated from the cluster luminosity M_V=-16.2 by means of
stellar M/L ratios predicted by Simple Stellar Population models (with a
Salpeter IMF) and confirms the heavy-weight nature of this object. This results
points out that the NGC 7252-type of mergers are able to form stellar systems
with masses up to ~ 10^8 Msun. We find that W3, when evolved to ~ 10 Gyr, lies
far from the typical Milky Way globular clusters, but appears to be also
separated from omegaCen in the Milky Way and G1 in M31, the most massive old
stellar clusters of the Local Group, because it is too extended for a given
mass, and from dwarf elliptical galaxies because it is much more compact for
its mass. Instead the aged W3 is amazingly close to the compact objects named
ultracompact dwarf galaxies (UCDGs) found in the Fornax cluster (Hilker et al.
1999; Drinkwater et al. 2000), and to a miniature version of the compact
elliptical M32. These objects start populating a previously deserted region of
the fundamental plane.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, A&A in pres
Exploring venlafaxine pharmacokinetic variability with a phenotyping approach, a multicentric french-swiss study (MARVEL study).
It is well known that the standard doses of a given drug may not have equivalent effects in all patients. To date, the management of depression remains mainly empirical and often poorly evaluated. The development of a personalized medicine in psychiatry may reduce treatment failure, intolerance or resistance, and hence the burden and costs of mood depressive disorders. The Geneva Cocktail Phenotypic approach presents several advantages including the "in vivo" measure of different cytochromes and transporter P-gp activities, their simultaneous determination in a single test, avoiding the influence of variability over time on phenotyping results, the administration of low dose substrates, a limited sampling strategy with an analytical method developed on DBS analysis. The goal of this project is to explore the relationship between the activity of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DME), assessed by a phenotypic approach, and the concentrations of Venlafaxine (VLX) + O-demethyl-venlafaxine (ODV), the efficacy and tolerance of VLX.
This study is a multicentre prospective non-randomized open trial. Eligible patients present a major depressive episode, MADRS over or equal to 20, treatment with VLX regardless of the dose during at least 4 weeks. The Phenotype Visit includes VLX and ODV concentration measurement. Following the oral absorption of low doses of omeprazole, midazolam, dextromethorphan, and fexofenadine, drug metabolizing enzymes activity is assessed by specific metabolite/probe concentration ratios from a sample taken 2 h after cocktail administration for CYP2C19, CYP3A4, CYP2D6; and by the determination of the limited area under the curve from the capillary blood samples taken 2-3 and 6 h after cocktail administration for CYP2C19 and P-gp. Two follow-up visits will take place between 25 and 40 days and 50-70 days after inclusion. They include assessment of efficacy, tolerance and observance. Eleven french centres are involved in recruitment, expected to be completed within approximately 2 years with 205 patients. Metabolic ratios are determined in Geneva, Switzerland.
By showing an association between drug metabolism and VLX concentrations, efficacy and tolerance, there is a hope that testing drug metabolism pathways with a phenotypical approach would help physicians in selecting and dosing antidepressants. The MARVEL study will provide an important contribution to increasing the knowledge of VLX variability and in optimizing the use of methods of personalized therapy in psychiatric settings.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02590185 (10/27/2015). This study is currently recruiting participants
Bose condensates in a harmonic trap near the critical temperature
The mean-field properties of finite-temperature Bose-Einstein gases confined
in spherically symmetric harmonic traps are surveyed numerically. The solutions
of the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) and Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) equations for
the condensate and low-lying quasiparticle excitations are calculated
self-consistently using the discrete variable representation, while the most
high-lying states are obtained with a local density approximation. Consistency
of the theory for temperatures through the Bose condensation point requires
that the thermodynamic chemical potential differ from the eigenvalue of the GP
equation; the appropriate modifications lead to results that are continuous as
a function of the particle interactions. The HFB equations are made gapless
either by invoking the Popov approximation or by renormalizing the particle
interactions. The latter approach effectively reduces the strength of the
effective scattering length, increases the number of condensate atoms at each
temperature, and raises the value of the transition temperature relative to the
Popov approximation. The renormalization effect increases approximately with
the log of the atom number, and is most pronounced at temperatures near the
transition. Comparisons with the results of quantum Monte Carlo calculations
and various local density approximations are presented, and experimental
consequences are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 11 embedded figures, revte
Broadband Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 000926: Observing the Effect of Inverse Compton Scattering and Evidence for a High-Density Environment
GRB 000926 has one of the best-studied afterglows to-date, with multiple
X-ray observations, as well as extensive multi-frequency optical and radio
coverage. Broadband afterglow observations, spanning from X-ray to radio
frequencies, provide a probe of the density structure of the circumburst
medium, as well as of the ejecta energetics, geometry, and the physical
parameters of the relativistic blastwave resulting from the explosion. We
present an analysis of {\em Chandra X-ray Observatory} observations of this
event, along with {\em Hubble Space Telescope} and radio monitoring. We combine
these data with ground-based optical and IR observations and fit the
synthesized afterglow lightcurve using models where collimated ejecta expand
into a surrounding medium. We find that we can explain the broadband lightcurve
with reasonable physical parameters only if the cooling is dominated by inverse
Compton scattering. Excess X-ray emission in the broadband spectrum indicates
that we are directly observing a contribution from inverse Compton scattering.
It is the first time this has been observed in a GRB afterglow, and it implies
that the GRB exploded in a reasonably dense (n~30 cm^{-3}) medium, consistent
with a diffuse interstellar cloud environment.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Stellar Subsystems of the Galaxy NGC 2366
Hubble Space Telescope archive data are used to perform photometry of stars
in seven fields at the center and periphery of the galaxy NGC2366. The
variation of the number density of stars of various ages with galactocentric
radius and along the minor axis of the galaxy are determined. The boundaries of
the thin and thick disks of the galaxy are found. The inferred sizes of the
subsystems of NGC2366 ( kpc and kpc for the thin
and thick disks, respectively) are more typical for spiral galaxies. Evidence
for a stellar halo is found at the periphery of NGC2366 beyond the thick disk
of the galaxy.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, Astronomy Reports, 2008,v. 52, n.1, p. 1
Stellar disks and halos of the edge-on spiral galaxies: NGC 891, NGC 4144 and NGC 4244
The results of the stellar photometry of the images ACS/WFC and WFPC2 of the
HST are used to study stellar population and spatial distribution of stars in
three edge-on galaxies: NGC 891, NGC 4144 and NGC 4244. The measuring of the
number density of the old stars revealed two stellar substructures in these
galaxies: thick disk and halo. The borders of these substructures consisting
mainly of red giants, are determined by the change of number density gradient
of the old stars. The revealed halos have flattened shapes and extend up to 25
kpc from the galaxy planes. The obtained results of number density
distributions of different type stars perpendicular to the galaxy planes allow
us to verify our stellar model of spiral galaxies. Using the determination of
the tip of red giant branch (TRGB method) we have derived the following
distances: D = 9.82 Mpc (NGC 891), D = 7.24 Mpc (NGC 4144), D = 4.29 Mpc (NGC
4244).Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures. accepted to Astrofizic
GRB 010921: Strong Limits on an Underlying Supernova from HST
GRB 010921 was the first HETE-2 GRB to be localized via its afterglow emission. The low-redshift of the host galaxy, z=0.451, prompted us to undertake intensive multi-color observations with the Hubble Space Telescope with the goal of searching for an underlying supernova component. We do not detect any coincident supernova to a limit 1.34 mag fainter than SN 1998bw at 99.7% confidence, making this one of the most sensitive searches for an underlying SN. Analysis of the afterglow data allow us to infer that the GRB was situated behind a net extinction (Milky Way and the host galaxy) of A_V ~ 1.8 mag in the observer frame. Thus, had it not been for such heavy extinction our data would have allowed us to probe for an underlying SN with brightness approaching those of more typical Type Ib/c supernovae
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