691 research outputs found
A minimum hypothesis explanation for an IMF with a lognormal body and power law tail
We present a minimum hypothesis model for an IMF that resembles a lognormal
distribution at low masses but has a distinct power-law tail. Even if the
central limit theorem ensures a lognormal distribution of condensation masses
at birth, a power-law tail in the distribution arises due to accretion from the
ambient cloud, coupled with a non-uniform (exponential) distribution of
accretion times.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to appear in IMF@50, eds. E. Corbelli, F. Palla,
and H. Zinnecker, Kluwer, Astrophysics and Space Science Librar
Embedded Clusters and the IMF
Despite valiant efforts over nearly five decades, attempts to determine the
IMF over a complete mass range for galactic field stars and in open clusters
have proved difficult. Infrared imaging observations of extremely young
embedded clusters coupled with Monte Carlo modeling of their luminosity
functions are improving this situation and providing important new
contributions to our fundamental knowledge of the IMF and its universality in
both space and time.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures to appear in "The IMF@50", Kluwer Academic Press,
eds. C. Corbelli, F. Palla, & Hans Zinnecke
The Infrared Extinction Law at Extreme Depth in a Dark Cloud Core
We combined sensitive near-infrared data obtained with ground-based imagers
on the ESO NTT and VLT telescopes with space mid-infrared data acquired with
the IRAC imager on the Spitzer Space Telescope to calculate the extinction law
A_\lambda/A_K as a function of \lambda between 1.25 and 7.76 micron to an
unprecedented depth in Barnard 59, a star forming, dense core located in the
Pipe Nebula. The ratios A_\lambda/A_K were calculated from the slopes of the
distributions of sources in color-color diagrams \lambda-K vs. H-K. The
distributions in the color-color diagrams are fit well with single slopes to
extinction levels of A_K ~ 7 (A_V ~ 59 mag). Consequently, there appears to be
no significant variation of the extinction law with depth through the B59 line
of sight. However, when slopes are translated into the relative extinction
coefficients A_\lambda/A_K, we find an extinction law which departs from the
simple extrapolation of the near-infrared power law extinction curve, and
agrees more closely with a dust extinction model for a cloud with a total to
selective absorption R_V=5.5 and a grain size distribution favoring larger
grains than those in the diffuse ISM. Thus, the difference we observe could be
possibly due to the effect of grain growth in denser regions. Finally, the
slopes in our diagrams are somewhat less steep than those from the study of
Indebetouw et al. (2005) for clouds with lower column densities, and this
indicates that the extinction law between 3 and 8 micron might vary slightly as
a function of environment.Comment: 22 pages manuscript, 4 figures (2 multipart), 1 tabl
The Nature of the Dense Core Population in the Pipe Nebula: Thermal Cores Under Pressure
In this paper we present the results of a systematic investigation of an
entire population of starless dust cores within a single molecular cloud.
Analysis of extinction data shows the cores to be dense objects characterized
by a narrow range of density. Analysis of C18O and NH3 molecular-line
observations reveals very narrow lines. The non-thermal velocity dispersions
measured in both these tracers are found to be subsonic for the large majority
of the cores and show no correlation with core mass (or size). Thermal pressure
is thus the dominate source of internal gas pressure and support for most of
the core population. The total internal gas pressures of the cores are found to
be roughly independent of core mass over the entire range of the core mass
function (CMF) indicating that the cores are in pressure equilibrium with an
external source of pressure. This external pressure is most likely provided by
the weight of the surrounding Pipe cloud within which the cores are embedded.
Most of the cores appear to be pressure confined, gravitationally unbound
entities whose nature, structure and future evolution are determined by only a
few physical factors which include self-gravity, the fundamental processes of
thermal physics and the simple requirement of pressure equilibrium with the
surrounding environment. The observed core properties likely constitute the
initial conditions for star formation in dense gas. The entire core population
is found to be characterized by a single critical Bonnor-Ebert mass. This mass
coincides with the characteristic mass of the Pipe CMF indicating that most
cores formed in the cloud are near critical stability. This suggests that the
mass function of cores (and the IMF) has its origin in the physical process of
thermal fragmentation in a pressurized medium.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
Objective User Engagement With Mental Health Apps: Systematic Search and Panel-Based Usage Analysis.
BACKGROUND: Understanding patterns of real-world usage of mental health apps is key to maximizing their potential to increase public self-management of care. Although developer-led studies have published results on the use of mental health apps in real-world settings, no study yet has systematically examined usage patterns of a large sample of mental health apps relying on independently collected data.
OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to present real-world objective data on user engagement with popular mental health apps.
METHODS: A systematic engine search was conducted using Google Play to identify Android apps with 10,000 installs or more targeting anxiety, depression, or emotional well-being. Coding of apps included primary incorporated techniques and mental health focus. Behavioral data on real-world usage were obtained from a panel that provides aggregated nonpersonal information on user engagement with mobile apps.
RESULTS: In total, 93 apps met the inclusion criteria (installs: median 100,000, IQR 90,000). The median percentage of daily active users (open rate) was 4.0% (IQR 4.7%) with a difference between trackers (median 6.3%, IQR 10.2%) and peer-support apps (median 17.0%) versus breathing exercise apps (median 1.6%, IQR 1.6%; all zâ„3.42, all P
CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of app installs and daily active minutes of use may seem high, only a small portion of users actually used the apps for a long period of time. More studies using different datasets are needed to understand this phenomenon and the ways in which users self-manage their condition in real-world settings
The Star Formation Region NGC 6530: distance, ages and Initial Mass Function
We present astrometry and photometry, down to , of the very
young open cluster NGC6530, obtained from observations taken with the Wide
Field Imager camera at the MPG/ESO 2.2 m Telescope. Both the vs. and
the vs. color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) show the upper main sequence
dominated by very bright cluster stars, while, due to the high obscuration of
the giant molecular cloud surrounding the cluster, the blue envelopes of the
diagrams at are limited to the main sequence stars at the
distance of NGC6530. This particular structure of the NGC6530 CMD allows us to
conclude that its distance is about pc, significantly lower
than the previous determination of d=1800 pc. We have positionally matched our
optical catalog with the list of X-ray sources found in a Chandra-ACIS
observation, finding a total of 828 common stars, 90% of which are pre-main
sequence stars in NGC6530. Using evolutionary tracks of Siess et al. (2000)},
mass and age values are inferred for these stars. The median age of the cluster
is about 2.3 Myr; in the mass range (0.6--4.0), the Initial Mass
Function (IMF) shows a power law index , consistent with both
the Salpeter index (1.35), and with the index derived for other young clusters
; towards smaller masses the IMF shows a peak and then it starts to decrease.Comment: 32 pages, 13 ps figures, in press in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Gravity on a parallelizable manifold. Exact solutions
The wave type field equation \square \vt^a=\la \vt^a, where \vt^a is a
coframe field on a space-time, was recently proposed to describe the gravity
field. This equation has a unique static, spherical-symmetric,
asymptotically-flat solution, which leads to the viable Yilmaz-Rosen metric. We
show that the wave type field equation is satisfied by the pseudo-conformal
frame if the conformal factor is determined by a scalar 3D-harmonic function.
This function can be related to the Newtonian potential of classical gravity.
So we obtain a direct relation between the non-relativistic gravity and the
relativistic model: every classical exact solution leads to a solution of the
field equation. With this result we obtain a wide class of exact, static
metrics. We show that the theory of Yilmaz relates to the pseudo-conformal
sector of our construction. We derive also a unique cosmological (time
dependent) solution of the described type.Comment: Latex, 17 page
The nature of the dense core population in the pipe nebula: core and cloud kinematics from C18O observations
We present molecular-line observations of 94 dark cloud cores identified in
the Pipe nebula through near-IR extinction mapping. Using the Arizona Radio
Observatory 12m telescope, we obtained spectra of these cores in the J=1-0
transition of C18O. We use the measured core parameters, i.e., antenna
temperature, linewidth, radial velocity, radius and mass, to explore the
internal kinematics of these cores as well as their radial motions through the
larger molecular cloud. We find that the vast majority of the dark extinction
cores are true cloud cores rather than the superposition of unrelated
filaments. While we identify no significant correlations between the core's
internal gas motions and the cores' other physical parameters, we identify
spatially correlated radial velocity variations that outline two main kinematic
components of the cloud. The largest is a 15pc long filament that is
surprisingly narrow both in spatial dimensions and in radial velocity.
Beginning in the Stem of the Pipe, this filament displays uniformly small C18O
linewidths (dv~0.4kms-1) as well as core to core motions only slightly in
excess of the gas sound speed. The second component outlines what appears to be
part of a large (2pc; 1000 solar mass) ring-like structure. Cores associated
with this component display both larger linewidths and core to core motions
than in the main cloud. The Pipe Molecular Ring may represent a primordial
structure related to the formation of this cloud.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 14 pages, 11 figures. Complete table at end of
documen
A rotating molecular jet from a Perseus protostar
We present CO(2-1) line and 1.4 mm continuum archival observations,
made with the Submillimeter Array, of the outflow HH 797 located in the IC 348
cluster in Perseus. The continuum emission is associated with a circumstellar
disk surrounding the class 0 object IC 348-MMS/SMM2, a very young solar analog.
The line emission, on the other hand, delineates a collimated outflow, and
reveals velocity asymmetries about the flow axis over the entire length of the
flow. The amplitude of velocity differences is of order 2 km s over
distances of about 1000 AU, and we interpret them as evidence for jet rotation
--although we also discuss alternative possibilities. A comparison with
theoretical models suggests that the magnetic field lines threading the
protostellar jet might be anchored to the disk of a radius of about 20 AU.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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