542 research outputs found
Astrophysical parameters and orbital solution of the peculiar X-ray transient IGR J00370+6122
BD+6073 is the optical counterpart of the X-ray source IGR J00370+6122, a
probable accretion-powered X-ray pulsar. The X-ray light curve of this binary
system shows clear periodicity at 15.7 d, which has been interpreted as
repeated outbursts around the periastron of an eccentric orbit. We obtained
high-resolution spectra of BD+6073 at different epochs. We used the FASTWind
code to generate a stellar atmosphere model to fit the observed spectrum and
obtain physical magnitudes. The synthetic spectrum was used as a template for
cross-correlation with the observed spectra to measure radial velocities. The
radial velocity curve provided an orbital solution for the system. We have also
analysed the RXTE/ASM and Swift/BAT light curves to confirm the stability of
the periodicity. BD +6073 is a BN0.7 Ib low-luminosity supergiant located at an
approximate distance of 3.1 kpc, in the CasOB4 association. We derive
Teff=24000 K and log gc=3.0, and chemical abundances consistent with a
moderately high level of evolution. The spectroscopic and evolutionary masses
are consistent at the 1 sigma level with a mass of 15 solar masses. The
recurrence time of the X-ray flares is the orbital period of the system. The NS
is in a high eccentricity (e=0.56) orbit, and the X-ray emission is strongly
peaked around orbital phase 0.2, though the observations are consistent with
some level of X-ray activity happening at all orbital phases. The X-ray
behaviour of IGR J00370+6122 is reminiscent of intermediate SFXTs, though its
peak luminosity is rather low. The orbit is somewhat wider than those of
classical persistent supergiant X-ray binaries, which, combined with the low
luminosity of the mass donor, explains the low X-ray luminosity. IGR
J00370+6122 will likely evolve towards a persistent supergiant system,
highlighting the evolutionary connection between different classes of
wind-accreting X-ray sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
The MobM relaxase domain of plasmid pMV158: thermal stability and activity upon Mn2+ and specific DNA binding
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License.Protein MobM, the relaxase involved in conjugative transfer of the streptococcal plasmid pMV158, is the prototype of the MOB(V) superfamily of relaxases. To characterize the DNA-binding and nicking domain of MobM, a truncated version of the protein (MobMN199) encompassing its N-terminal region was designed and the protein was purified. MobMN199 was monomeric in contrast to the dimeric form of the full-length protein, but it kept its nicking activity on pMV158 DNA. The optimal relaxase activity was dependent on Mn(2+) or Mg(2+) cations in a dosage-dependent manner. However, whereas Mn(2+) strongly stabilized MobMN199 against thermal denaturation, no protective effect was observed for Mg(2+). Furthermore, MobMN199 exhibited a high affinity binding for Mn(2+) but not for Mg(2+). We also examined the binding-specificity and affinity of MobMN199 for several substrates of single-stranded DNA encompassing the pMV158 origin of transfer (oriT). The minimal oriT was delimited to a stretch of 26nt which included an inverted repeat located eight bases upstream of the nick site. The structure of MobMN199 was strongly stabilized by binding to the defined target DNA, indicating the formation of a tight protein-DNA complex. We demonstrate that the oriT recognition by MobMN199 was highly specific and suggest that this protein most probably employs Mn(2+) during pMV158 transfer.Funding for open access charge: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [grants CSD2008-00013, INTERMODS to M.E.; BFU2008-02372/BMC, PRODNA to M.C.; BFU2009-10052 and CIBERES (an initiative of the Carlos III Spanish Health Institute) to M.M.]; European Union (grant EU-CP223111, CAREPNEUMO to M.E.); National Institutes of Health (grant GM61017 to J.F.S.); The Carlos III Spanish Health Institute, fellowship BF03/00529 (to F.L.-D.).Peer Reviewe
Invariants from classical field theory
We introduce a method that generates invariant functions from perturbative
classical field theories depending on external parameters. Applying our methods
to several field theories such as abelian BF, Chern-Simons and 2-dimensional
Yang-Mills theory, we obtain, respectively, the linking number for embedded
submanifolds in compact varieties, the Gauss' and the second Milnor's invariant
for links in S^3, and invariants under area-preserving diffeomorphisms for
configurations of immersed planar curves.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, to appear in J. Math. Phy
Detection of Neutral MSSM Higgs Bosons at LEP-II and NLC
We study the possibility of detecting the neutral Higgs bosons predicted in
the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (h0, H0, A0), with the reactions e+
e- --> b b h0 (H0, A0), using the helicity formalism. We analyze the region of
parameter space (m_A0-tan beta) where h0(H0, A0) could be detected in the limit
when tan beta is large. The numerical computation is done for the energy which
is expected to be available at LEP-II (sqrt{s} = 200 GeV) and for a possible
Next Linear e+ e- Collider (sqrt{s}=500 GeV).Comment: To be published in Phys.Rev.
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