145 research outputs found
Cool Ionized Gas in Galaxy Thick Disks
Wetensch. publicati
First Results from the Herschel and ALMA Spectroscopic Surveys of the SMC: The Relationship between [C ii ]-bright Gas and CO-bright Gas at Low Metallicity
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) provides the only laboratory to study the structure of molecular gas at high resolution and low metallicity. We present results from the Herschel Spectroscopic Survey of the SMC (HS3), which mapped the key far-IR cooling lines [C ii], [O i], [N ii], and [O iii] in five star-forming regions, and new ALMA 7 m array maps of and with coverage overlapping four of the five HS3 regions. We detect [C ii] and [O i] throughout all of the regions mapped. The data allow us to compare the structure of the molecular clouds and surrounding photodissociation regions using , , [C ii], and [O i] emission at ( pc) scales. We estimate using far-IR thermal continuum emission from dust and find that the CO/[C ii] ratios reach the Milky Way value at high in the centers of the clouds and fall to \sim 1/5\mbox{--}1/10\times the Milky Way value in the outskirts, indicating the presence of translucent molecular gas not traced by bright emission. We estimate the amount of molecular gas traced by bright [C ii] emission at low and bright emission at high . We find that most of the molecular gas is at low and traced by bright [C ii] emission, but that faint emission appears to extend to where we estimate that the -to-H i transition occurs. By converting our gas estimates to a CO-to- conversion factor (X CO), we show that X CO is primarily a function of , consistent with simulations and models of low-metallicity molecular clouds
The Interstellar Medium In Galaxies Seen A Billion Years After The Big Bang
Evolution in the measured rest frame ultraviolet spectral slope and
ultraviolet to optical flux ratios indicate a rapid evolution in the dust
obscuration of galaxies during the first 3 billion years of cosmic time (z>4).
This evolution implies a change in the average interstellar medium properties,
but the measurements are systematically uncertain due to untested assumptions,
and the inability to measure heavily obscured regions of the galaxies. Previous
attempts to directly measure the interstellar medium in normal galaxies at
these redshifts have failed for a number of reasons with one notable exception.
Here we report measurements of the [CII] gas and dust emission in 9 typical
(~1-4L*) star-forming galaxies ~1 billon years after the big bang (z~5-6). We
find these galaxies have >12x less thermal emission compared with similar
systems ~2 billion years later, and enhanced [CII] emission relative to the
far-infrared continuum, confirming a strong evolution in the interstellar
medium properties in the early universe. The gas is distributed over scales of
1-8 kpc, and shows diverse dynamics within the sample. These results are
consistent with early galaxies having significantly less dust than typical
galaxies seen at z<3 and being comparable to local low-metallicity systems.Comment: Submitted to Nature, under review after referee report. 22 pages, 4
figures, 4 Extended Data Figures, 5 Extended Data table
X-ray emission from isolated neutron stars
X-ray emission is a common feature of all varieties of isolated neutron stars
(INS) and, thanks to the advent of sensitive instruments with good
spectroscopic, timing, and imaging capabilities, X-ray observations have become
an essential tool in the study of these objects. Non-thermal X-rays from young,
energetic radio pulsars have been detected since the beginning of X-ray
astronomy, and the long-sought thermal emission from cooling neutron star's
surfaces can now be studied in detail in many pulsars spanning different ages,
magnetic fields, and, possibly, surface compositions. In addition, other
different manifestations of INS have been discovered with X-ray observations.
These new classes of high-energy sources, comprising the nearby X-ray Dim
Isolated Neutron Stars, the Central Compact Objects in supernova remnants, the
Anomalous X-ray Pulsars, and the Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters, now add up to
several tens of confirmed members, plus many candidates, and allow us to study
a variety of phenomena unobservable in "standard'' radio pulsars.Comment: Chapter to be published in the book of proceedings of the 1st Sant
Cugat Forum on Astrophysics, "ICREA Workshop on the high-energy emission from
pulsars and their systems", held in April, 201
The Physical Drivers and Observational Tracers of CO-to-H2 Conversion Factor Variations in Nearby Barred Galaxy Centers
The CO-to-H-2 conversion factor (alpha CO) is central to measuring the amount and properties of molecular gas. It is known to vary with environmental conditions, and previous studies have revealed lower alpha CO in the centers of some barred galaxies on kiloparsec scales. To unveil the physical drivers of such variations, we obtained Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array bands (3), (6), and (7) observations toward the inner similar to 2 kpc of NGC 3627 and NGC 4321 tracing (CO)-C-12, (CO)-C-13, and (CO)-O-18 lines on similar to 100 pc scales. Our multiline modeling and Bayesian likelihood analysis of these data sets reveal variations of molecular gas density, temperature, optical depth, and velocity dispersion, which are among the key drivers of aCO. The central 300 pc nuclei in both galaxies show strong enhancement of temperature Tk greater than or similar to 100 K and density n(H2) > 10(3) cm(-3). Assuming a CO-to-H-2 abundance of 3 x 10(-4), we derive 4-15 times lower alpha(CO) than the Galactic value across our maps, which agrees well with previous kiloparsec-scale measurements. Combining the results with our previous work on NGC 3351, we find a strong correlation of alpha(CO) with low-J (CO)-C-12 optical depths (tau(CO)), as well as an anticorrelation with Tk. The tCO correlation explains most of the aCO variation in the three galaxy centers, whereas changes in T-k influence alpha(CO) to second order. Overall, the observed line width and (CO)-C-12/(CO)-C-13 2-1 line ratio correlate with tCO variation in these centers, and thus they are useful observational indicators for alpha(CO) variation. We also test current simulation-based alpha(CO) prescriptions and find a systematic overprediction, which likely originates from the mismatch of gas conditions between our data and the simulations
The Imperfect Fluid behind Kinetic Gravity Braiding
We present a standard hydrodynamical description for non-canonical scalar
field theories with kinetic gravity braiding. In particular, this picture
applies to the simplest galileons and k-essence. The fluid variables not only
have a clear physical meaning but also drastically simplify the analysis of the
system. The fluid carries charges corresponding to shifts in field space. This
shift-charge current contains a spatial part responsible for diffusion of the
charges. Moreover, in the incompressible limit, the equation of motion becomes
the standard diffusion equation. The fluid is indeed imperfect because the
energy flows neither along the field gradient nor along the shift current. The
fluid has zero vorticity and is not dissipative: there is no entropy
production, the energy-momentum is exactly conserved, the temperature vanishes
and there is no shear viscosity. Still, in an expansion around a perfect fluid
one can identify terms which correct the pressure in the manner of bulk
viscosity. We close by formulating the non-trivial conditions for the
thermodynamic equilibrium of this imperfect fluid.Comment: 23 pages plus appendices. New version includes extended discussion on
diffusion and dynamics in alternative frames, as well as additional
references. v3 reflects version accepted for publication in JHEP: minor
comments added regarding suitability to numerical approache
The Distances of the Magellanic Clouds
The present status of our knowledge of the distances to the Magellanic Clouds
is evaluated from a post-Hipparcos perspective. After a brief summary of the
effects of structure, reddening, age and metallicity, the primary distance
indicators for the Large Magellanic Cloud are reviewed: The SN 1987A ring,
Cepheids, RR Lyraes, Mira variables, and Eclipsing Binaries. Distances derived
via these methods are weighted and combined to produce final "best" estimates
for the Magellanic Clouds distance moduli.Comment: Invited review article to appear in ``Post Hipparcos Cosmic
Candles'', F. Caputo & A. Heck (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in
pres
Postmenopausal hormones and sleep quality in the elderly: a population based study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sleep disturbance and insomnia are commonly reported by postmenopausal women. However, the relationship between hormone therapy (HT) and sleep disturbances in postmenopausal community-dwelling adults is understudied. Using data from the multicenter Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF), we tested the relationship between HT and sleep-wake estimated from actigraphy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sleep-wake was ascertained by wrist actigraphy in 3,123 women aged 84 ± 4 years (range 77-99) from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF). This sample represents 30% of the original SOF study and 64% of participants seen at this visit. Data were collected for a mean of 4 consecutive 24-hour periods. Sleep parameters measured objectively included total sleep time, sleep efficiency (SE), sleep latency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and nap time. All analyses were adjusted for potential confounders (age, clinic site, race, BMI, cognitive function, physical activity, depression, anxiety, education, marital status, age at menopause, alcohol use, prior hysterectomy, and medical conditions).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Actigraphy measurements were available for 424 current, 1,289 past, and 1,410 never users of HT. Women currently using HT had a shorter WASO time (76 vs. 82 minutes, P = 0.03) and fewer long-wake (≥ 5 minutes) episodes (6.5 vs. 7.1, P = 0.004) than never users. Past HT users had longer total sleep time than never users (413 vs. 403 minutes, P = 0.002). Women who never used HT had elevated odds of SE <70% (OR,1.37;95%CI,0.98-1.92) and significantly higher odds of WASO ≥ 90 minutes (OR,1.37;95%CI,1.02-1.83) and ≥ 8 long-wake episodes (OR,1.58;95%CI,1.18-2.12) when compared to current HT users.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Postmenopausal women currently using HT had improved sleep quality for two out of five objective measures: shorter WASO and fewer long-wake episodes. The mechanism behind these associations is not clear. For postmenopausal women, starting HT use should be considered carefully in balance with other risks since the vascular side-effects of hormone replacement may exceed its beneficial effects on sleep.</p
Strongly magnetized pulsars: explosive events and evolution
Well before the radio discovery of pulsars offered the first observational
confirmation for their existence (Hewish et al., 1968), it had been suggested
that neutron stars might be endowed with very strong magnetic fields of
-G (Hoyle et al., 1964; Pacini, 1967). It is because of their
magnetic fields that these otherwise small ed inert, cooling dead stars emit
radio pulses and shine in various part of the electromagnetic spectrum. But the
presence of a strong magnetic field has more subtle and sometimes dramatic
consequences: In the last decades of observations indeed, evidence mounted that
it is likely the magnetic field that makes of an isolated neutron star what it
is among the different observational manifestations in which they come. The
contribution of the magnetic field to the energy budget of the neutron star can
be comparable or even exceed the available kinetic energy. The most magnetised
neutron stars in particular, the magnetars, exhibit an amazing assortment of
explosive events, underlining the importance of their magnetic field in their
lives. In this chapter we review the recent observational and theoretical
achievements, which not only confirmed the importance of the magnetic field in
the evolution of neutron stars, but also provide a promising unification scheme
for the different observational manifestations in which they appear. We focus
on the role of their magnetic field as an energy source behind their persistent
emission, but also its critical role in explosive events.Comment: Review commissioned for publication in the White Book of
"NewCompStar" European COST Action MP1304, 43 pages, 8 figure
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