3,943 research outputs found
Close-coupling calculations of rotational energy transfer in p-H2+HD
We report quantum-mechanical close-coupling calculations for rotational state
resolved cross sections for p-H2+HD collisions. The low temperature limit of
p-H2+HD is investigated, which is of significant astrophysical interest in
regard to the cooling of primordial gas and the interstellar media. Sharp
resonances have been reproduced in the cross sections of some transition states
at very low kinetic energies, E< 0.00001 eV.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security: Integrated Approaches to Addressing Multiple Challenges in the Coral Triangle
The Coral Triangle is the most biologically and economically valuable marine ecosystem on the planet. Covering just three percent of the globe, the region represents more than half of the world's reefs and boasts 76 percent of its known coral species. Sustaining more than 130 million people who rely directly on the marine ecosystems for their livelihoods and food, the marine habitats of the Coral Triangle contribute billions of dollars each year toward the economies of the region.Although the environmental imperative for preserving this area of incredible value and biodiversity is obvious, the growing pressures and threats from widespread poverty, rapid development, and global demands continue to place enormous strain on the natural marine resources of the Coral Triangle
On the hierarchical classification of G Protein-Coupled Receptors
Motivation: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play an important role in many physiological systems by transducing an extracellular signal into an intracellular response. Over 50% of all marketed drugs are targeted towards a GPCR. There is considerable interest in developing an algorithm that could effectively predict the function of a GPCR from its primary sequence. Such an algorithm is useful not only in identifying novel GPCR sequences but in characterizing the interrelationships between known GPCRs.
Results: An alignment-free approach to GPCR classification has been developed using techniques drawn from data mining and proteochemometrics. A dataset of over 8000 sequences was constructed to train the algorithm. This represents one of the largest GPCR datasets currently available. A predictive algorithm was developed based upon the simplest reasonable numerical representation of the protein's physicochemical properties. A selective top-down approach was developed, which used a hierarchical classifier to assign sequences to subdivisions within the GPCR hierarchy. The predictive performance of the algorithm was assessed against several standard data mining classifiers and further validated against Support Vector Machine-based GPCR prediction servers. The selective top-down approach achieves significantly higher accuracy than standard data mining methods in almost all cases
SiO line emission from C-type shock waves : interstellar jets and outflows
We study the production of SiO in the gas phase of molecular outflows,
through the sputtering of Si--bearing material in refractory grain cores, which
are taken to be olivine; we calculate also the rotational line spectrum of the
SiO. The sputtering is driven by neutral particle impact on charged grains, in
steady--state C-type shock waves, at the speed of ambipolar diffusion. The
emission of the SiO molecule is calculated by means of an LVG code. A grid of
models has been generated. We compare our results with those of an earlier
study (Schilke et al. 1997). Improvements in the treatment of the coupling
between the charged grains and the neutral fluid lead to narrower shock waves
and lower fractions of Si being released into the gas phase. More realistic
assumptions concerning the initial fractional abundance of O2 lead to SiO
formation being delayed, so that it occurs in the cool, dense postshock flow.
Good agreement is obtained with recent observations of SiO line intensities in
the L1157 and L1448 molecular outflows. The inferred temperature, opacity, and
SiO column density in the emission region differ significantly from those
estimated by means of LVG `slab' models. The fractional abundance of SiO is
deduced. Observed line profiles are wider than predicted and imply multiple,
unresolved shock regions within the beam.Comment: 1 tex doc, 19 figure
State resolved rotational excitation cross sections and rates in H2+H2 collisions
Rotational transitions in molecular hydrogen collisions are computed. The two
most recently developed potential energy surfaces for the H2-H2 system are used
from the following works: 1) A.I. Boothroyd, P.G. Martin, W.J. Keogh, M.J.
Peterson, J. Chem. Phys., 116 (2002) 666, and 2) P. Diep, J.K. Johnson, J.
Chem. Phys., 113 (2000) 3480; ibid. 112, 4465. Cross sections for rotational
transitions 00->20, 22, 40, 42, 44 and corresponding rate coefficients are
calculated using a quantum-mechanical approach. Results are compared for a wide
range of kinetic temperatures 300 K < T < 3000 K.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
HD line emission in Proto-Planetary Disks
%Context: {Previous studies have indicated that the 372.4 GHz ground
transition of ortho-HD might be a powerful probe of Proto-Planetary
Disks. The line could be especially suited for study of the disk mid-plane,
where the bulk of the mass resides and where planet formation takes place.}
%Aims: {Provide detailed theoretical predictions for the line intensity,
profile and maps expected for representative disk models.} %Methods: {We
determine the physical and chemical structure of the disks from the model
developed by Ceccarelli & Dominik (2005). The line emission is computed with
the new radiative transfer method developed recently by Elitzur & Asensio Ramos
(2006).} %Results: {We present intensity maps convolved with the expected ALMA
resolution, which delineate the origin of the HD 372.4 GHz line. In the
disk inner regions, the line probes the conditions in the mid-plane out to
radial distances of a few tens of AU, where Solar-like planetary systems might
form. In the disk outermost regions, the line originates from slightly above
the mid-plane. When the disk is spatially resolved, the variation of line
profile across the image provides important information about the velocity
field. Spectral profiles of the entire disk flux show a double peak shape at
most inclination angles.} %Conclusions: {Our study confirms that the 372.4 GHz
HD line provides powerful diagnostics of the mid-plane of
Proto-Planetary Disks. Current submillimeter telescopes are capable of
observing this line, though with some difficulties. The future ALMA
interferometer will have the sensitivity to observe and even spatially resolve
the HD line emission.}Comment: To appear in A&
The Ratio of Ortho- to Para-H2 in Photodissociation Regions
We discuss the ratio of ortho- to para-H2 in photodissociation regions
(PDRs). We draw attention to an apparent confusion in the literature between
the ortho-to-para ratio of molecules in FUV-pumped vibrationally excited
states, and the H2 ortho-to-para abundance ratio. These ratios are not the same
because the process of FUV-pumping of fluorescent H2 emission in PDRs occurs
via optically thick absorption lines. Thus, gas with an equilibrium ratio of
ortho- to para-H2 equal to 3 will yield FUV-pumped vibrationally excited
ortho-to-para ratios smaller than 3, because the ortho-H2 pumping rates are
preferentially reduced by optical depth effects. Indeed, if the ortho and para
pumping lines are on the ``square root'' part of the curve-of-growth, then the
expected ratio of ortho and para vibrational line strengths is the square root
of 3, ~ 1.7, close to the typically observed value. Thus, contrary to what has
sometimes been stated in the literature, most previous measurements of the
ratio of ortho- to para-H2 in vibrationally excited states are entirely
consistent with a total ortho-to-para ratio of 3, the equilibrium value for
temperatures greater than 200 K. We present an analysis and several detailed
models which illustrate the relationship between the total ratios of ortho- to
para-H2 and the vibrationally excited ortho-to-para ratios in PDRs. Recent
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) measurements of pure rotational and
vibrational H2 emissions from the PDR in the star-forming region S140 provide
strong observational support for our conclusions.Comment: 23 pages (including 5 figures), LaTeX, uses aaspp4.sty, accepted for
publication in Ap
On the evolution of the molecular line profiles induced by the propagation of C-shock waves
We present the first results of the expected variations of the molecular line
emission arising from material recently affected by C-shocks (shock
precursors). Our parametric model of the structure of C-shocks has been coupled
with a radiative transfer code to calculate the molecular excitation and line
profiles of shock tracers such as SiO, and of ion and neutral molecules such as
H13CO+ and HN13C, as the shock propagates through the unperturbed medium. Our
results show that the SiO emission arising from the early stage of the magnetic
precursor typically has very narrow line profiles slightly shifted in velocity
with respect to the ambient cloud. This narrow emission is generated in the
region where the bulk of the ion fluid has already slipped to larger velocities
in the precursor as observed toward the young L1448-mm outflow. This strongly
suggests that the detection of narrow SiO emission and of an ion enhancement in
young shocks, is produced by the magnetic precursor of C-shocks. In addition,
our model shows that the different velocity components observed toward this
outflow can be explained by the coexistence of different shocks at different
evolutionary stages, within the same beam of the single-dish observations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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