245 research outputs found
Preheated Advection Dominated Accretion Flow
All high temperature accretion solutions including ADAF are physically thick,
so outgoing radiation interacts with the incoming flow, sharing as much or more
resemblance with classical spherical accretion flows as with disk flows. We
examine this interaction for the popular ADAF case. We find that without
allowance for Compton preheating, a very restricted domain of ADAF solution is
permitted and with Compton preheating included a new high temperature PADAF
branch appears in the solution space. In the absence of preheating, high
temperature flows do not exist when the mass accretion rate mdot == Mdot c^2 /
L_E >~ 10^-1.5. Below this mass accretion rate, a roughly conical region around
the hole cannot sustain high temperature ions and electrons for all flows
having mdot >~ 10^-4, which may lead to a funnel possibly filled with a tenuous
hot outgoing wind. If the flow starts at large radii with the usual equilibrium
temperature ~10^4 K, the critical mass accretion rate is much lower, mdot
\~10^-3.7 above which level no self-consistent ADAF (without preheating) can
exist. However, above this critical mass accretion rate, the flow can be
self-consistently maintained at high temperature if Compton preheating is
considered. These solutions constitute a new branch of solutions as in
spherical accretion flows. High temperature PADAF flows can exist above the
critical mass accretion rate in addition to the usual cold thin disk solutions.
We also find solutions where the flow near the equatorial plane accretes
normally while the flow near the pole is overheated by Compton preheating,
possibly becoming, a polar wind, solutions which we designate WADAF.Comment: 41 pages with 10 postscript figures (aastex5). Submitted to Ap
Does the Slim-Disk Model Correctly Consider Photon-Trapping Effects?
We investigate the photon-trapping effects in the super-critical black hole
accretion flows by solving radiation transfer as well as the energy equations
of radiation and gas. It is found that the slim-disk model generally
overestimates the luminosity of the disk at around the Eddington luminosity
(L_E) and is not accurate in describing the effective temperature profile,
since it neglects time delay between energy generation at deeper inside the
disk and energy release at the surface. Especially, the photon-trapping effects
are appreciable even below L ~ L_E, while they appear above ~ 3L_E according to
the slim disk. Through the photon-trapping effects, the luminosity is reduced
and the effective temperature profile becomes flatter than r^{-3/4} as in the
standard disk. In the case that the viscous heating is effective only around
the equatorial plane, the luminosity is kept around the Eddington luminosity
even at very large mass accretion rate, Mdot>>L_E/c^2. The effective
temperature profile is almost flat, and the maximum temperature decreases in
accordance with rise in the mass accretion rate. Thus, the most luminous radius
shifts to the outer region when Mdot/(L_E/c^2) >> 10^2. In the case that the
energy is dissipated equally at any heights, the resultant luminosity is
somewhat larger than in the former case, but the energy-conversion efficiency
still decreases with increase of the mass accretion rate, as well. The most
luminous radius stays around the inner edge of the disk in the latter case.
Hence, the effective temperature profile is sensitive to the vertical
distribution of energy production rates, so is the spectral shape. Future
observations of high L/L_E objects will be able to test our model.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Spin correlations in pion production near threshold
A first measurement of longitudinal as well as transverse spin correlation
coefficients for the reaction was made using a
polarized proton target and a polarized proton beam. We report kinematically
complete measurements for this reaction at 325, 350, 375 and 400 MeV beam
energy. The spin correlation coefficients and the analyzing power as well as angular
distributions for and the polarization observables
were extracted. Partial wave cross sections for dominant
transition channels were obtained from a partial wave analysis that included
the transitions with final state angular momenta of . The measurements
of the polarization observables are compared
with the predictions from the J\"ulich meson exchange model. The agreement is
very good at 325 MeV, but it deteriorates increasingly for the higher energies.
At all energies agreement with the model is better than for the reaction
.Comment: Preprint, 21 pp, submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Keywords: Mesons,
Polarization, Spin Correlations, Few body system
Identification and quantification of spinochromes in body compartments of <i>Echinometra mathaei</i>'s coloured types
Sea urchin pigmentation is mainly due to polyhydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones called spinochromes. If their molecular structures are well known in test and spines of many species, their abundance and distribution in other body compartments remain unstudied. The aim of this study is to analyse the pigment composition in four body compartments (test/spines, digestive system, gonads and coelomic fluid) of four coloured types of the sea urchin Echinometra mathaei. Qualitative and quantitative measurements by mass spectrometry highlight the existence of 13 different pigments; among which are five isomers of known spinochromes as well as three potentially new ones. The composition comparison shows the largest spinochrome diversity in âtest/spinesâ body compartments. The spinochrome concentrations vary from 48 to 1279 mg kgâ1 of dried body compartment. It is the highest in the digestive system, although it is also important in the organic fraction of the âtest/spinesâ body compartment. This observation may be explained by higher exposures of some body compartments to external environments and by the protective role fulfilled by spinochromes against microorganisms, ultraviolet radiation and reactive oxygen species. The âblackâ typeâthe most common coloured type in coral reefsâhas the highest concentration of spinochromes indicating their importance in Echinoids' fitness by acting as a protective agent
The structural and chemical basis of temporary adhesion in the sea star Asterina gibbosa
Background: Marine biological adhesives are a promising source of inspiration for biomedical and industrial applications. Nevertheless, natural adhesives and especially temporary adhesion systems are mostly unexplored. Sea stars are able to repeatedly attach and detach their hydraulic tube feet. This ability is based on a duo-gland system and, upon detachment, the adhesive material stays behind on the substrate as a 'footprint'. In recent years, characterization of sea star temporary adhesion has been focussed on the forcipulatid species Asterias rubens. Results: We investigated the temporary adhesion system in the distantly related valvatid species Asterina gibbosa. The morphology of tube feet was described using histological sections, transmission-, and scanning electron microscopy. Ultrastructural investigations revealed two adhesive gland cell types that both form electron-dense secretory granules with a more lucid outer rim and one de-adhesive gland cell type with homogenous granules. The footprints comprised a meshwork on top of a thin layer. This topography was consistently observed using various methods like scanning electron microscopy, 3D confocal interference microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and light microscopy with crystal violet staining. Additionally, we tested 24 commercially available lectins and two antibodies for their ability to label the adhesive epidermis and footprints. Out of 15 lectins labelling structures in the area of the duo-gland adhesive system, only one also labelled footprints indicating the presence of glycoconjugates with α-linked mannose in the secreted material. Conclusion: Despite the distant relationship between the two sea star species, the morphology of tube feet and topography of footprints in A. gibbosa shared many features with the previously described findings in A. rubens. These similarities might be due to the adaptation to a benthic life on rocky intertidal areas. Lectin- and immuno-labelling indicated similarities but also some differences in adhesive composition between the two species. Further research on the temporary adhesive of A. gibbosa will allow the identification of conserved motifs in sea star adhesion and might facilitate the development of biomimetic, reversible glues.</p
Dependence of pp->pp pi0 near Threshold on the Spin of the Colliding Nucleons
A polarized internal atomic hydrogen target and a stored, polarized beam are
used to measure the spin-dependent total cross section Delta_sigma_T/sigma_tot,
as well as the polar integrals of the spin correlation coefficient combination
A_xx-A_yy, and the analyzing power A_y for pp-> pp pi0 at four bombarding
energies between 325 and 400 MeV. This experiment is made possible by the use
of a cooled beam in a storage ring. The polarization observables are used to
study the contribution from individual partial waves.Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, 4 figures, corrected equations 2 and
Elastic modulus of tree frog adhesive toe pads
Previous work using an atomic force microscope in nanoindenter mode indicated that the outer, 10- to 15-ÎŒm thick, keratinised layer of tree frog toe pads has a modulus of elasticity equivalent to silicone rubber (5â15Â MPa) (Scholz et al. 2009), but gave no information on the physical properties of deeper structures. In this study, micro-indentation is used to measure the stiffness of whole toe pads of the tree frog, Litoria caerulea. We show here that tree frog toe pads are amongst the softest of biological structures (effective elastic modulus 4â25Â kPa), and that they exhibit a gradient of stiffness, being stiffest on the outside. This stiffness gradient results from the presence of a dense network of capillaries lying beneath the pad epidermis, which probably has a shock absorbing function. Additionally, we compare the physical properties (elastic modulus, work of adhesion, pull-off force) of the toe pads of immature and adult frogs
Dark Matter Accretion into Supermassive Black Holes
The relativistic accretion rate of dark matter by a black hole is revisited.
Under the assumption that the phase space density indicator,
, remains constant during the inflow, the
derived accretion rate can be higher up to five orders of magnitude than the
classical accretion formula, valid for non-relativistic and non-interacting
particles, when typical dark halo conditions are considered. For these typical
conditions, the critical point of the flow is located at distances of about
30-150 times the horizon radius. Application of our results to black hole seeds
hosted by halos issued from cosmological simulations indicate that dark matter
contributes to no more than ~10% of the total accreted mass, confirming that
the bolometric quasar luminosity is related to the baryonic accretion history
of the black hole.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.
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