2,399 research outputs found
Mortality following a brain tumour diagnosis in patients with multiple sclerosis
Objectives: As brain tumours and their treatment may theoretically have a poorer prognosis in inflammatory central nervous system diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), all-cause mortality following a brain tumour diagnosis was compared between patients with and without MS. The potential role of age at tumour diagnosis was also examined. Setting: Hospital inpatients in Sweden with assessment of mortality in hospital or following discharge. Participants: Swedish national registers identified 20 543 patients with an MS diagnosis (1969-2005) and they were matched individually to produce a comparison cohort of 204 163 members of the general population without MS. Everyone with a primary brain tumour diagnosis was selected for this study: 111 with MS and 907 without MS. Primary and secondary outcome measures: 5-year mortality risk following brain tumour diagnosis and age at brain tumour diagnosis. Results: A non-statistically significant lower mortality risk among patients with MS (lower for those with tumours of high-grade and uncertain-grade malignancy and no notable difference for low-grade tumours) produced an unadjusted HR (and 95% CI) of 0.75 (0.56 to 1.02). After adjustment for age at diagnosis, grade of malignancy, sex, region of residence and socioeconomic index, the HR is 0.91 (0.67-1.24). The change in estimate was largely due to adjustment for age at brain tumour diagnosis, as patients with MS were on average 4.7 years younger at brain tumour diagnosis than those in the comparison cohort (p<0.001). Conclusions: Younger age at tumour diagnosis may contribute to mortality reduction in those with highgrade and uncertain-grade brain tumours. Survival following a brain tumour is not worse in patients with MS; even after age at brain tumour diagnosis and grade of malignancy are taken into account
Angular Momentum Profiles of Warm Dark Matter Halos
We compare the specific angular momentum profiles of virialized dark halos in
cold dark matter (CDM) and warm dark matter (WDM) models using high-resolution
dissipationless simulations. The simulations were initialized using the same
set of modes, except on small scales, where the power was suppressed in WDM
below the filtering length. Remarkably, WDM as well as CDM halos are
well-described by the two-parameter angular momentum profile of Bullock et al.
(2001), even though the halo masses are below the filtering scale of the WDM.
Although the best-fit shape parameters change quantitatively for individual
halos in the two simulations, we find no systematic variation in profile shapes
as a function of the dark matter type. The scatter in shape parameters is
significantly smaller for the WDM halos, suggesting that substructure and/or
merging history plays a role producing scatter about the mean angular momentum
distribution, but that the average angular momentum profiles of halos originate
from larger-scale phenomena or a mechanism associated with the virialization
process. The known mismatch between the angular momentum distributions of dark
halos and disk galaxies is therefore present in WDM as well as CDM models. Our
WDM halos tend to have a less coherent (more misaligned) angular momentum
structure and smaller spin parameters than do their CDM counterparts, although
we caution that this result is based on a small number of halos.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to ApJ
Structure Formation Inside Triaxial Dark Matter Halos: Galactic Disks, Bulges and Bars
We investigate the formation and evolution of galactic disks immersed in
assembling live DM halos. Disk/halo components have been evolved from the
cosmological initial conditions and represent the collapse of an isolated
density perturbation. The baryons include gas (which participates in star
formation [SF]) and stars. The feedback from the stellar energy release onto
the ISM has been implemented. We find that (1) The growing triaxial halo figure
tumbling is insignificant and the angular momentum (J) is channeled into the
internal circulation; (2) Density response of the disk is out of phase with the
DM, thus diluting the inner halo flatness and washing out its prolateness; (3)
The total J is neathly conserved, even in models accounting for feedback; (4)
The specific J for the DM is nearly constant, while that for baryons is
decreasing; (5) Early stage of disk formation resembles the cat's cradle -- a
small amorphous disk fueled via radial string patterns; (6) The initially
puffed up gas component in the disk thins when the SF rate drops below ~5
Mo/yr; (7) About 40%-60% of the baryons remain outside the SF region; (8)
Rotation curves appear to be flat and account for the observed disk/halo
contributions; (9) A range of bulge-dominated to bulgeless disks was obtained;
Lower density threshold for SF leads to a smaller, thicker disk; Gravitational
softening in the gas has a substantial effect on various aspects of galaxy
evolution and mimics a number of intrinsic processes within the ISM; (10) The
models are characterized by an extensive bar-forming activity; (11) Nuclear
bars, dynamically coupled and decoupled form in response to the gas inflow
along the primary bars.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. Minor
revisions. The high-resolution figures can be found at
http://www.pa.uky.edu/~shlosman/research/galdyn/figs07a
Group-cluster merging and the formation of starburst galaxies
A significant fraction of clusters of galaxies are observed to have
substructure, which implies that merging between clusters and subclusters is a
rather common physical process of cluster formation.
It still remains unclear how cluster merging affects the evolution of cluster
member galaxies.
We report the results of numerical simulations, which show the dynamical
evolution of a gas-rich late-type spiral in a merger between a small group of
galaxies and a cluster. The simulations demonstrate that time-dependent tidal
gravitational field of the merging excites non-axisymmetric structure of the
galaxy, subsequently drives efficient transfer of gas to the central region,
and finally triggers a secondary starburst.
This result provides not only a new mechanism of starbursts but also a close
physical relationship between the emergence of starburst galaxies and the
formation of substructure in clusters. We accordingly interpret post-starburst
galaxies located near substructure of the Coma cluster as one observational
example indicating the global tidal effects of group-cluster merging.
Our numerical results furthermore suggest a causal link between the observed
excess of blue galaxies in distant clusters and cluster virialization process
through hierarchical merging of subclusters.Comment: 5 pages 3 color figures, ApJL in pres
Star Clusters in Virgo and Fornax Dwarf Irregular Galaxies
We present the results of a search for clusters in dwarf irregular galaxies
in the Virgo and Fornax Cluster using HST WFPC2 snapshot data. The galaxy
sample includes 28 galaxies, 11 of which are confirmed members of the Virgo and
Fornax clusters. In the 11 confirmed members, we detect 237 cluster candidates
and determine their V magnitudes, V-I colors and core radii. After statistical
subtraction of background galaxies and foreground stars, most of the cluster
candidates have V-I colors of -0.2 and 1.4, V magnitudes lying between 20 and
25th magnitude and core radii between 0 and 6 pc. Using H-alpha observations,
we find that 26% of the blue cluster candidates are most likely HII regions.
The rest of the cluster candidates are most likely massive (>10^4 Msol) young
and old clusters. A comparison between the red cluster candidates in our sample
and the Milky Way globular clusters shows that they have similar luminosity
distributions, but that the red cluster candidates typically have larger core
radii. Assuming that the red cluster candidates are in fact globular clusters,
we derive specific frequencies (S_N) ranging from ~0-9 for the galaxies.
Although the values are uncertain, seven of the galaxies appear to have
specific frequencies greater than 2. These values are more typical of
ellipticals and nucleated dwarf ellipticals than they are of spirals or Local
Group dwarf irregulars.Comment: 46 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, accepted by AJ. Higher quality PS
version of entire paper available at
http://www.astro.washington.edu/seth/dirr_gcs.htm
Modeling Luminosity-Dependent Galaxy Clustering Through Cosmic Time
We employ high-resolution dissipationless simulations of the concordance LCDM
cosmology to model the observed luminosity dependence and evolution of galaxy
clustering through most of the age of the universe, from z~5 to z~0. We use a
simple, non-parametric model which monotonically relates galaxy luminosities to
the maximum circular velocity of dark matter halos (V_max) by preserving the
observed galaxy luminosity function in order to match the halos in simulations
with observed galaxies. The novel feature of the model is the use of the
maximum circular velocity at the time of accretion, V_max,acc, for subhalos,
the halos located within virial regions of larger halos. We argue that for
subhalos in dissipationless simulations, V_max,acc reflects the luminosity and
stellar mass of the associated galaxies better than the circular velocity at
the epoch of observation, V_max,now. The simulations and our model L-V_max
relation predict the shape, amplitude, and luminosity dependence of the
two-point correlation function in excellent agreement with the observed galaxy
clustering in the SDSS data at z~0 and in the DEEP2 samples at z~1 over the
entire probed range of projected separations, 0.1<r_p/(Mpc/h)<10.0. In
particular, the small-scale upturn of the correlation function from the
power-law form in the SDSS and DEEP2 luminosity-selected samples is reproduced
very well. At z~3-5, our predictions also match the observed shape and
amplitude of the angular two-point correlation function of Lyman-break galaxies
(LBGs) on both large and small scales, including the small-scale upturn.Comment: 16 pages 11 figures, ApJ in pres
A Simple Model for the Absorption of Starlight by Dust in Galaxies
We present a new model to compute the effects of dust on the integrated
spectral properties of galaxies, based on an idealized prescription of the main
features of the interstellar medium (ISM). The model includes the ionization of
HII regions in the interiors of the dense clouds in which stars form and the
influence of the finite lifetime of these clouds on the absorption of
radiation. We compute the production of emission lines and the absorption of
continuum radiation in the HII regions and the subsequent transfer of line and
continuum radiation in the surrounding HI regions and the ambient ISM. This
enables us to interpret simultaneously all the observations of a homogeneous
sample of nearby UV-selected starburst galaxies, including the ratio of far-IR
to UV luminosities, the ratio of Halpha to Hbeta luminosities, the Halpha
equivalent width, and the UV spectral slope. We show that the finite lifetime
of stellar birth clouds is a key ingredient to resolve an apparent discrepancy
between the attenuation of line and continuum photons in starburst galaxies. In
addition, we find that an effective absorption curve proportional to
lambda^-0.7 reproduces the observed relation between the ratio of far-IR to UV
luminosities and the UV spectral slope. We interpret this relation most simply
as a sequence in the overall dust content of the galaxies. The shallow
wavelength dependence of the effective absorption curve is compatible with the
steepness of known extinction curves if the dust has a patchy distribution. In
particular, we find that a random distribution of discrete clouds with optical
depths similar to those in the Milky Way provides a consistent interpretation
of all the observations. Our model for absorption can be incorporated easily
into any population synthesis model. (abridged)Comment: To appear in the 2000 July 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal; 19
pages with 13 embedded PS figures (emulateapj5.sty
Tidal Torques and the Orientation of Nearby Disk Galaxies
We use numerical simulations to investigate the orientation of the angular
momentum axis of disk galaxies relative to their surrounding large scale
structure. We find that this is closely related to the spatial configuration at
turnaround of the material destined to form the galaxy, which is often part of
a coherent two-dimensional slab criss-crossed by filaments. The rotation axis
is found to align very well with the intermediate principal axis of the inertia
momentum tensor at this time. This orientation is approximately preserved
during the ensuing collapse, so that the rotation axis of the resulting disk
ends up lying on the plane traced by the protogalactic material at turnaround.
This suggests a tendency for disks to align themselves so that their rotation
axis is perpendicular to the minor axis of the structure defined by surrounding
matter. One example of this trend is provided by our own Galaxy, where the
Galactic plane is almost at right angles with the supergalactic plane (SGP)
drawn by nearby galaxies; indeed, the SGP latitude of the North Galactic Pole
is just 6 degrees. We have searched for a similar signature in catalogs of
nearby disk galaxies, and find a significant excess of edge-on spirals (for
which the orientation of the disk rotation axis may be determined
unambiguously) highly inclined relative to the SGP. This result supports the
view that disk galaxies acquire their angular momentum as a consequence of
early tidal torques acting during the expansion phase of the protogalactic
material.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Formation and evolution of dusty starburst galaxies I. A new method for deriving spectral energy distribution
We present a new numerical code which is designed to derive a spectral energy
distribution (SED) for an arbitrary spatial distribution of stellar and gaseous
components in a dusty starburst galaxy. We apply a ray tracing method to
numerical simulations and thereby estimate extinction and reemission of stellar
light by dusty gas in an explicitly self-consistent manner. By using this code,
we can investigate simultaneously dynamical and photometric evolution of a
dusty galaxy based on stellar and gaseous dynamical simulations. As an example,
we demonstrate when and how a major galaxy merger with dusty starburst becomes
an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy owing to strong internal dust extinction. We
furthermore discuss advantages and disadvantages of the present new code in
clarifying the nature and the origin of low and high redshift dusty starburst
galaxies.Comment: 44 pages 19 figures (11 color), accepted by Ap
- …