22,612 research outputs found
Signatures of rotating binaries in micro-lensing experiments
Gravitational microlensing offers a powerful method with which to probe a
variety of binary-lens systems, as the binarity of the lens introduces
deviations from the typical (single-lens) Paczy\'nski behaviour in the event
light curves. Generally, a static binary lens is considered to fit the observed
light curve and, when the orbital motion is taken into account, an
oversimplified model is usually employed. In this paper, we treat the
binary-lens motion in a realistic way and focus on simulated events that are
fitted well by a Paczy\'nski curve. We show that an accurate timing analysis of
the residuals (calculated with respect to the best-fitting Paczy\'nski model)
is usually sufficient to infer the orbital period of the binary lens. It goes
without saying that the independently estimated period may be used to further
constrain the orbital parameters obtained by the best-fitting procedure, which
often gives degenerate solutions. We also present a preliminary analysis of the
event OGLE-2011-BLG-1127 / MOA-2011-BLG-322, which has been recognized to be
the result of a binary lens. The period analysis results in a periodicity of
\simeq 12 days, which confirms the oscillation of the observed data around the
best-fitting model. The estimated periodicity is probably associated with an
intrinsic variability of the source star, and therefore there is an opportunity
to use this technique to investigate either the intrinsic variability of the
source or the effects induced by the binary-lens orbital motion.Comment: In press on MNRAS, 2014. 8 pages, 4 figures. On-line material
available on the Journal web-pag
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Cardiac Memory-induced T-wave Inversions
Introduction: Cardiac memory refers to T-wave inversions that result when normal ventricular activation resumes following a period of abnormal ventricular activation.Case Report: We present a case of a 29-year-old man with a pacemaker who presented with new, deep symmetric T-wave inversions caused by cardiac memory.Discussion: Abnormal ventricular activation is most commonly induced by ventricular pacing but can also occur in the setting of transient left bundle branch blocks, ventricular tachycardia, and intermittent ventricular pre-excitation.Conclusion: Recognition of this phenomenon may help to reduce unnecessary admissions, cardiac testing, and cardiac catheterizations
A catalogue sample of low mass galaxies observed in X-rays with central candidate black holes
We present a sample of -ray selected candidate black holes in 51 low mass
galaxies with {and mass up to M} obtained by
cross-correlating the NASA-SLOAN Atlas with the 3XMM catalogue. {We have also
searched in the available catalogues for radio counterparts of the black hole
candidates and find that 19 of the previously selected sources have also a
radio counterpart.} Our results show that about of the galaxies of our
sample host { an -ray source} (associated to a radio counterpart) spatially
coincident with the galaxy center, in agreement with { other recent works}. For
these {\it nuclear} sources, the -ray/radio fundamental plane relation
allows one to estimate the mass of the (central) candidate black holes which
results to be in the range M (with median
value of M and eight candidates having mass
below M). This result, while suggesting that -ray
emitting black holes in low-mass galaxies may have had a key role in the
evolution of such systems, makes even more urgent to explain how such massive
objects formed in galaxies. {Of course, dedicated follow-up observations both
in the -ray and radio bands, as well as in the optical, are necessary in
order to confirm our resultsComment: 15 Pages, 2 Figures, 3 Table
Astrometric microlensing
Astrometric microlensing will offer in the next future a new channel for
investigating the nature of both lenses and sources involved in a gravitational
microlensing event. The effect, corresponding to the shift of the position of
the multiple image centroid with respect to the source star location, is
expected to occurr on scales from micro-arcoseconds to milli-arcoseconds
depending on the characteristics of the lens-source system. Here, we consider
different classes of events (single/binary lens acting on a single/binary
source) also accounting for additional effects including the finite source
size, the blending and orbital motion. This is particularly important in the
era of Gaia observations which is making possible astrometric measurements with
unprecedent quality.Comment: On IJMP D, 15 pages, 6 Figure
Starspot induced effects in microlensing events with rotating source star
We consider the effects induced by the presence of hot and cold spots on the
source star in the light curves of simulated microlensing events due to either
single or binary lenses taking into account the rotation of the source star and
the orbital motion of the lens system. Our goal is to study the anomalies
induced by these effects on simulated microlensing light curves.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Unevolved Main Sequence of Nearby Field Stars and the Open Cluster Distance Scale
The slope and zero-point of the unevolved main sequence as a function of
metallicity are investigated using a homogeneous catalog of nearby field stars
with absolute magnitudes defined with revised Hipparcos parallaxes, Tycho-2
photometry, and precise metallicities from high-dispersion spectroscopy.
(B-V)-temperature relations are derived from 1746 stars between [Fe/H] = -0.5
and +0.6 and 372 stars within 0.05 dex of solar abundance; for T_e = 5770 K,
the solar color is B-V= 0.652 +/- 0.002 (s.e.m.). From over 500 cool dwarfs
between [Fe/H] = -0.5 and +0.5, Delta(B-V)/Delta[Fe/H] at fixed M_V = 0.213 +/-
0.005, with a very weak dependence upon the adopted main sequence slope with
B-V at a given [Fe/H]. At Hyades metallicity this translates into Delta
M_V/Delta[Fe/H] at fixed B-V = 0.98 +/- 0.02, midway between the range of
values empirically derived from smaller and/or less homogeneous samples and
model isochrones. From field stars of similar metallicity, the Hyades ([Fe/H] =
+0.13) with no reddening has (m-M)_0 = 3.33 +/- 0.02 and M67, with E(B-V) =
0.041, A_V = 3.1E(B-V), and [Fe/H] = 0.00, has (m-M)_0 = 9.71 +/- 0.02 (s.e.m),
where the errors quoted refer to internal errors alone. At the extreme end of
the age and metallicity scale, with E(B-V) = 0.125 +/- 0.025 and [Fe/H] = +0.39
+/- 0.06, comparison of the fiducial relation for NGC 6791 to 19 field stars
with (B-V) above 0.90 and [Fe/H] = +0.25 or higher, adjusted to the metallicity
of NGC 6791, leads to (m-M)_0 = 13.07 +/- 0.09, internal and systematic errors
included.Comment: 32 pages, 8 eps figures, latex; accepted for PAS
Temporal pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) on surface of an intensive care unit of a large hospital
Background: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae are an increasing cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide. Patients with infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to carbapenems (KPC) have significant increases in both allcause mortality and 30-day mortality. The aims of this study was to investigate the prevalence of KPC on environmental samples collected during and after an outbreak caused by KPC in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a teaching hospital. Methods: Between 2010 and 2014 we conducted a total of 132 environmental monitoring campaigns from different critical surface of ICU ward in a Teaching Hospital Policlinico Umberto I. Samples were collected on surfaces in patient rooms and health care area. All samples were cultured and K. pneumoniae isolates were identified by standard microbiological techniques. The presumptive colonies were confirmed and tested for antibiotic resistance by an automated system. K. pneumoniae resitant to carbapenems were tested for carbapenemase production by modified Hodge test. Results: A total of 2526 environmental samples were collected from November 2010 to July 2014. Of those, 111 resulted positive for K. pneumoniae while KPC were 95 (85.6% of all K. pneumoniae, 3.8% of total samples). KPC was recovered in all patient rooms with similar proportion (5.1-5.6%) with the exception of patient 6 bed room where it was lower (2.4%). The pathogen was not recovered in rooms dedicated to healthcare personnel and doctors. Among surfaces, the highest proportion of KPC resulted on bedrail (6.8%), more than double than other surfaces. Washbasins had nearly half of samples KPC positive (1.2%). Conclusions: Despite previous studies suggested that environment plays a minor role in the transmission of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, our data highlighted that surfaces represents a significant reservoir for KPC possibly supporting transiently contamination of hands of healthcare workers in our ICU. Our results confirm that KPC are more likely found on surfaces closer to the patient than on those situated further away
Phase structure of a generalized Nambu Jona-Lasinio model with Wilson fermions in the mean field or large -expansion
We analyze the vacuum structure of a generalized lattice Nambu--Jona-Lasinio
model with two flavors of Wilson fermions, such that its continuum action is
the most general four-fermion action with 'trivial' color interactions, and
having a symmetry in the chiral limit. The phase structure
of this model in the space of the two four-fermion couplings shows, in addition
to the standard Aoki phases, new phases with , in
close analogy to similar results recently suggested by some of us for lattice
QCD with two degenerate Wilson fermions. This result shows how the phase
structure of an effective model for low energy QCD cannot be entirely
understood from Wilson Chiral Perturbation Theory, based on the standard QCD
chiral effective Lagrangian approach.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, sent to Nuclear Physics
Thermodynamics of the classical spin-ice model with nearest neighbour interactions using the Wang-Landau algorithm
In this article we study the classical nearest-neighbour spin-ice model
(nnSI) by means of Monte Carlo simulations, using the Wang-Landau algorithm.
The nnSI describes several of the salient features of the spin-ice materials.
Despite its simplicity it exhibits a remarkably rich behaviour. The model has
been studied using a variety of techniques, thus it serves as an ideal
benchmark to test the capabilities of the Wang Landau algorithm in magnetically
frustrated systems. We study in detail the residual entropy of the nnSI and, by
introducing an applied magnetic field in two different crystallographic
directions ([111] and [100],) we explore the physics of the kagome-ice phase,
the transition to full polarisation, and the three dimensional Kasteleyn
transition. In the latter case, we discuss how additional constraints can be
added to the Hamiltonian, by taking into account a selective choice of states
in the partition function and, then, show how this choice leads to the
realization of the ideal Kasteleyn transition in the system.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
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