665 research outputs found
Physical Conditions in the Ionized Gas of 30 Doradus
We present a mid-infrared spectroscopic data cube of the central part of 30
Doradus, observed with Spitzer's IRS and MIPS/SED mode. Aromatic dust emission
features and emission lines from molecular and atomic hydrogen are detected but
not particularly strong. The dominant spectral features are emission lines from
moderately ionized species of argon, neon, and sulphur, which are used to
determine the physical conditions in the ionized gas. The ionized gas
excitation shows strong variations on parsec scales, some of which can
plausibly be associated with individual hot stars. We fit the ionic line
strengths with photoionization and shock models, and find that photoionization
dominates in the region. The ionization parameter U traces the rim of the
central bubble, as well as highlighting isolated sources of ionization, and at
least one quiescent clump. The hardness of the ionizing radiation field T_rad
reveals several "hot spots" that are either the result of individual very hot
stars or trace the propagation of the diffuse ionizing field through the
surrounding neutral cloud. Consistent with other measurements of giant
molecular hydrogen regions, log(U) ranges between -3 and -0.75, and T_rad
between 30000 and 85000K.Comment: 32 pages, 26 figures, ApJ accepted. A version with high-resolution
images can be found at
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~ged3j/indebetouw20090125.pd
Submillimeter and Far-InfraRed Experiment (SAFIRE): A PI class instrument for SOFIA
SAFIRE is a versatile imaging Fabry-Perot spectrograph covering 145 to 655
microns, with spectral resolving powers ranging over 5-10,000. Selected as a
"PI" instrument for the airborne Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA), SAFIRE will apply two-dimensional pop-up bolometer arrays to
provide background-limited imaging spectrometry. Superconducting transition
edge bolometers and SQUID multiplexers are being developed for these detectors.
SAFIRE is expected to be a "First Light" instrument, useable during the initial
SOFIA operations. Although a PI instrument rather than a "Facility Class"
science instrument, it will be highly integrated with the standard SOFIA
planning, observation, and data analysis tools.Comment: 11 page
A translucent interstellar cloud at z=2.69: CO, H2 and HD in the line-of-sight to SDSS J123714.60+064759.5
We present the analysis of a sub-DLA system (log N(H^0)=20.0+/-0.15,
z_abs=2.69) toward SDSS J123714+064759 (z_em=2.78). Using the VLT/UVES and
X-shooter spectrographs, we detect H2, HD and CO molecules in absorption with
log N(H2,HD,CO)=(19.21,14.48,14.17). The overall metallicity of the system is
super-solar ([Zn/H]=+0.34) and iron is highly depleted ([Fe/Zn]=-1.39),
revealing metal-rich and dusty gas. The strongest H2 component does not
coincide with the centre of the HI absorption. This implies that the molecular
fraction in this component, f=2N(H2)/(2N(H2)+N(H^0)), is larger than the mean
molecular fraction =1/4 in the system. This is supported by the detection of
Cl^0 associated with this H2-component having N(Cl^0)/N(Cl^+)>0.4. Since Cl^0
is tied up to H2 by charge exchange reactions, this means that the molecular
fraction in this component is not far from unity. The size of the molecular
cloud is probably smaller than 1pc. Both the CO/H2=10^-5 and CO/C^0~1 ratios
for f>0.24 indicate that the cloud classifies as translucent, i.e., a regime
where carbon is found both in atomic and molecular form. The corresponding
extinction, Av=0.14, albeit lower than the definition of a translucent
sightline (based on extinction properties), is high for the observed H^0 column
density. This means that intervening clouds with similar local properties but
with larger column densities could be missed by current magnitude-limited QSO
surveys. The excitation of CO is dominated by radiative interaction with the
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) and we derive Tex(CO)=10.5+0.8-0.6
K when TCMBR(z=2.69)=10.05 K is expected. The astration factor of deuterium
-with respect to the primordial D/H ratio- is only about 3. This can be the
consequence of accretion of unprocessed gas from the intergalactic medium onto
the associated galaxy. [abridged]Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in A&
Long-term viability and function of transplanted islets macroencapsulated at high density are achieved by enhanced oxygen supply
Transplantation of encapsulated islets can cure diabetes without immunosuppression, but oxygen supply limitations can cause failure. We investigated a retrievable macroencapsulation device wherein islets are encapsulated in a planar alginate slab and supplied with exogenous oxygen from a replenishable gas chamber. Translation to clinically-useful devices entails reduction of device size by increasing islet surface density, which requires increased gas chamber pO Here we show that islet surface density can be substantially increased safely by increasing gas chamber pO to a supraphysiological level that maintains all islets viable and functional. These levels were determined from measurements of pO profiles in islet-alginate slabs. Encapsulated islets implanted with surface density as high as 4,800 islet equivalents/cm in diabetic rats maintained normoglycemia for more than 7 months and provided near-normal intravenous glucose tolerance tests. Nearly 90% of the original viable tissue was recovered after device explantation. Damaged islets failed after progressively shorter times. The required values of gas chamber pO were predictable from a mathematical model of oxygen consumption and diffusion in the device. These results demonstrate feasibility of developing retrievable macroencapsulated devices small enough for clinical use and provide a firm basis for design of devices for testing in large animals and humans
Discovery of a compact gas-rich DLA galaxy at z = 2.2: evidences for a starburst-driven outflow
We present the detection of Ly-alpha, [OIII] and H-alpha emission associated
with an extremely strong DLA system (N(HI) = 10^22.10 cm^-2) at z=2.207 towards
the quasar SDSS J113520-001053. This is the largest HI column density ever
measured along a QSO line of sight, though typical of what is seen in GRB-DLAs.
This absorption system also classifies as ultrastrong MgII system with
W2796_r=3.6 A. The mean metallicity of the gas ([Zn/H]=-1.1) and dust depletion
factors ([Zn/Fe]=0.72, [Zn/Cr]=0.49) are consistent with (and only marginally
larger than) the mean values found in the general QSO-DLA population. The
[OIII]-Ha emitting region has a very small impact parameter with respect to the
QSO line of sight, b=0.1", and is unresolved. From the Ha line, we measure
SFR=25 Msun/yr. The Ly-a line is double-peaked and is spatially extended. More
strikingly, the blue and red Ly-a peaks arise from distinct regions extended
over a few kpc on either side of the star-forming region. We propose that this
is the consequence of Ly-a transfer in outflowing gas. The presence of
starburst-driven outflows is also in agreement with the large SFR together with
a small size and low mass of the galaxy (Mvir~10^10 Msun). From the stellar UV
continuum luminosity of the galaxy, we estimate an age of at most a few 10^7
yr, again consistent with a recent starburst scenario. We interpret the data as
the observation of a young, gas rich, compact starburst galaxy, from which
material is expelled through collimated winds powered by the vigorous star
formation activity. We substantiate this picture by modelling the radiative
transfer of Ly-a photons in the galactic counterpart. Though our model (a
spherical galaxy with bipolar outflowing jets) is a simplistic representation
of the true gas distribution and velocity field, the agreement between the
observed and simulated properties is particularly good. [abridged]Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment
The calibration and performance of the oppositeside
flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements
of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment
are described. The algorithms have been developed using
simulated events and optimized and calibrated with
B
+ →J/ψK
+, B0 →J/ψK
∗0 and B0 →D
∗−
μ
+
νμ decay
modes with 0.37 fb−1 of data collected in pp collisions
at
√
s = 7 TeV during the 2011 physics run. The oppositeside
tagging power is determined in the B
+ → J/ψK
+
channel to be (2.10 ± 0.08 ± 0.24) %, where the first uncertainty
is statistical and the second is systematic
Search for CP violation in decays
A model-independent search for direct CP violation in the Cabibbo suppressed
decay in a sample of approximately 370,000 decays is
carried out. The data were collected by the LHCb experiment in 2010 and
correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb. The normalized Dalitz
plot distributions for and are compared using four different
binning schemes that are sensitive to different manifestations of CP violation.
No evidence for CP asymmetry is found.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma)
The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma
and Bs0 -> phi gamma has been measured using 0.37 fb-1 of pp collisions at a
centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The
value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) = 1.12 +/- 0.08
^{+0.06}_{-0.04} ^{+0.09}_{-0.08}, where the first uncertainty is statistical,
the second systematic and the third is associated to the ratio of fragmentation
fractions fs/fd. Using the world average for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (4.33 +/-
0.15) x 10^{-5}, the branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be
(3.9 +/- 0.5) x 10^{-5}, which is the most precise measurement to date.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, 2 table
Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0→K∗0μ+μ−
The angular distribution and differential branching fraction of the decay B 0→ K ∗0 μ + μ − are studied using a data sample, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1. Several angular observables are measured in bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, q 2. A first measurement of the zero-crossing point of the forward-backward asymmetry of the dimuon system is also presented. The zero-crossing point is measured to be q20=4.9±0.9GeV2/c4 , where the uncertainty is the sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions
Measurement of charged particle multiplicities in collisions at TeV in the forward region
The charged particle production in proton-proton collisions is studied with
the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV in different
intervals of pseudorapidity . The charged particles are reconstructed
close to the interaction region in the vertex detector, which provides high
reconstruction efficiency in the ranges and
. The data were taken with a minimum bias trigger, only requiring
one or more reconstructed tracks in the vertex detector. By selecting an event
sample with at least one track with a transverse momentum greater than 1 GeV/c
a hard QCD subsample is investigated. Several event generators are compared
with the data; none are able to describe fully the multiplicity distributions
or the charged particle density distribution as a function of . In
general, the models underestimate the charged particle production
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