2,949 research outputs found
Evolution of low-mass metal-free stars including effects of diffusion and external pollution
We investigate the evolution of low-mass metal-free Population III stars.
Emphasis is laid upon the question of internal and external sources for
CNO-elements, which - if present in sufficient amounts in the hydrogen-burning
regions - lead to a strong modification of the stars' evolutionary behavior.
For the production of carbon due to nuclear processes inside the stars, we use
an extended nuclear network, demonstrating that hot pp-chains do not suffice to
produce enough carbon or are less effective than the triple3-alpha-process. As
an external source of CNO-elements we test the efficiency of pollution by a
nearby massive star combined with particle diffusion. For all cases
investigated, the additional metals fail to reach nuclear burning regions
before deep convection on the Red Giant Branch obliterates the previous
evolution. The surface abundance history of the polluted Pop III stars is
presented. The possibilities to discriminate between a Pop II and a polluted
Pop III field star are also discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Can a âstate of the artâ chemistry transport model simulate Amazonian tropospheric chemistry?
We present an evaluation of a nested high-resolution Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS)-Chem chemistry transport model simulation of tropospheric chemistry over tropical South America. The model has been constrained with two isoprene emission inventories: (1) the canopy-scale Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) and (2) a leaf-scale algorithm coupled to the Lund-Potsdam-Jena General Ecosystem Simulator (LPJ-GUESS) dynamic vegetation model, and the model has been run using two different chemical mechanisms that contain alternative treatments of isoprene photo-oxidation. Large differences of up to 100 Tg C yr^(â1) exist between the isoprene emissions predicted by each inventory, with MEGAN emissions generally higher. Based on our simulations we estimate that tropical South America (30â85°W, 14°Nâ25°S) contributes about 15â35% of total global isoprene emissions. We have quantified the model sensitivity to changes in isoprene emissions, chemistry, boundary layer mixing, and soil NO_x emissions using ground-based and airborne observations. We find GEOS-Chem has difficulty reproducing several observed chemical species; typically hydroxyl concentrations are underestimated, whilst mixing ratios of isoprene and its oxidation products are overestimated. The magnitude of model formaldehyde (HCHO) columns are most sensitive to the choice of chemical mechanism and isoprene emission inventory. We find GEOS-Chem exhibits a significant positive bias (10â100%) when compared with HCHO columns from the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) for the study year 2006. Simulations that use the more detailed chemical mechanism and/or lowest isoprene emissions provide the best agreement to the satellite data, since they result in lower-HCHO columns
Vacuum Polarization in an Anti-de Sitter Space as an Origin for a Cosmological Constant in a Brane World
In this Letter we show that the vacuum polarization of quantum fields in an
anti-de Sitter space naturally gives rise to a small but nonzero cosmological
constant in a brane world living in it. To explain the extremely small ratio of
mass density in the cosmological constant to the Planck mass density in our
universe (\approx 10^{-123}) as suggested by cosmological observations, all we
need is a four-dimensional brane world (our universe) living in a
five-dimensional anti-de Sitter space with a curvature radius r_0 \sim
10^{-3}cm and a fundamental Planck energy M_P \sim 10^9 GeV, and a scalar field
with a mass m \sim r_0^{-1}\sim 10^{-2}eV. Probing gravity down to a scale \sim
10^{-3}cm, which is attainable in the near future, will provide a test of the
model.Comment: 10 pages, including 1 figur
Investigating Off-shell Stability of Anti-de Sitter Space in String Theory
We propose an investigation of stability of vacua in string theory by
studying their stability with respect to a (suitable) world-sheet
renormalization group (RG) flow. We prove geometric stability of (Euclidean)
anti-de Sitter (AdS) space (i.e., ) with respect to the simplest
RG flow in closed string theory, the Ricci flow. AdS space is not a fixed point
of Ricci flow. We therefore choose an appropriate flow for which it is a fixed
point, prove a linear stability result for AdS space with respect to this flow,
and then show this implies its geometric stability with respect to Ricci flow.
The techniques used can be generalized to RG flows involving other fields. We
also discuss tools from the mathematics of geometric flows that can be used to
study stability of string vacua.Comment: 29 pages, references added in this version to appear in Classical and
Quantum Gravit
Systems biologists seek fuller integration of systems biology approaches in new cancer research programs
Systems biology takes an interdisciplinary approach to the systematic study of complex interactions in biological systems. This approach seeks to decipher the emergent behaviors of complex systems rather than focusing only on their constituent properties. As an increasing number of examples illustrate the value of systems biology approaches to understand the initiation, progression, and treatment of cancer, systems biologists from across Europe and the United States hope for changes in the way their field is currently perceived among cancer researchers. In a recent EU-US workshop, supported by the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, and the National Cancer Institute of the NIH, the participants discussed the strengths, weaknesses, hurdles, and opportunities in cancer systems biology
A Classic Type 2 QSO
In the Chandra Deep Field South 1Msec exposure we have found, at redshift
3.700 +- 0.005, the most distant Type 2 AGN ever detected. It is the source
with the hardest X-ray spectrum with redshift z>3. The optical spectrum has no
detected continuum emission to a 3sigma detection limit of ~3 10^{-19}
ergs/s/cm^2/AA and shows narrow lines of Ly_alpha, CIV, NV, HeII, OVI, [OIII],
and CIII]. Their FWHM line widths have a range of ~700-2300 km/s with an
average of approximately ~1500 km/s. The emitting gas is metal rich (Z ~2.5-3
Z_solar). In the X-ray spectrum of 130 counts in the 0.5-7 keV band there is
evidence for intrinsic absorption with N_H > 10^{24} cm^{-2}. An iron K_alpha
line with rest frame energy and equivalent width of ~6.4 keV and ~1 keV,
respectively, in agreement with the obscuration scenario, is detected at a
2sigma level. If confirmed by our forthcoming XMM observations this would be
the highest redshift detection of FeK_alpha. Depending on the assumed cosmology
and the X-ray transfer model, the 2-10 keV rest frame luminosity corrected for
absorption is ~10^{45 +- 0.5} ergs/s, which makes our source a classic example
of the long sought Type 2 QSOs. From standard population synthesis models,
these sources are expected to account for a relevant fraction of the
black-hole-powered QSO distribution at high redshift.Comment: 24 LaTeX pages including 6 postscript figures. Revised version,
accepted by Ap
Problems with Time-Varying Extra Dimensions or "Cardassian Expansion" as Alternatives to Dark Energy
It has recently been proposed that the Universe might be accelerating as a
consequence of extra dimensions with time varying size. We show that although
these scenarios can lead to acceleration, they run into serious difficulty when
taking into account limits on the time variation of the four dimensional
Newton's constant. On the other hand, models of ``Cardassian'' expansion based
on extra dimensions which have been constructed so far violate the weak energy
condition for the bulk stress energy, for parameters that give an accelerating
universe.Comment: 8 pages, minor changes. To appear in Physical Review
Properties of 42 Solar-type Kepler Targets from the Asteroseismic Modeling Portal
Recently the number of main-sequence and subgiant stars exhibiting solar-like
oscillations that are resolved into individual mode frequencies has increased
dramatically. While only a few such data sets were available for detailed
modeling just a decade ago, the Kepler mission has produced suitable
observations for hundreds of new targets. This rapid expansion in observational
capacity has been accompanied by a shift in analysis and modeling strategies to
yield uniform sets of derived stellar properties more quickly and easily. We
use previously published asteroseismic and spectroscopic data sets to provide a
uniform analysis of 42 solar-type Kepler targets from the Asteroseismic
Modeling Portal (AMP). We find that fitting the individual frequencies
typically doubles the precision of the asteroseismic radius, mass and age
compared to grid-based modeling of the global oscillation properties, and
improves the precision of the radius and mass by about a factor of three over
empirical scaling relations. We demonstrate the utility of the derived
properties with several applications.Comment: 12 emulateapj pages, 9 figures, 1 online-only extended figure, 1
table, ApJS accepted (typo corrected in Eq.8
MOST discovers a multimode delta Scuti star in a triple system: HD 61199
A field star, HD 61199 (V ~ 8), simultaneously observed with Procyon by the
MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) satellite in continuous runs of
34, 17, and 34 days in 2004, 2005, and 2007, was found to pulsate in 11
frequencies in the delta Scuti range with amplitudes from 1.7 down to 0.09
mmag. The photometry also showed variations with a period of about four days.
To investigate the nature of the longer period, 45 days of time-resolved
spectroscopy was obtained at the Thueringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg in
2004. The radial velocity measurements indicate that HD 61199 is a triple
system. A delta Scuti pulsator with a rich eigenspectrum in a multiple system
is promising for asteroseismology. Our objectives were to identify which of the
stars in the system is the delta Scuti variable and to obtain the orbital
elements of the system and the fundamental parameters of the individual
components, which are constrained by the pulsation frequencies of the delta
Scuti star. Classical Fourier techniques and least-squares multi-sinusoidal
fits were applied to the MOST photometry to identify the pulsation frequencies.
The groundbased spectroscopy was analysed with least-squares-deconvolution
(LSD) techniques, and the orbital elements derived with the KOREL and ORBITX
routines. Asteroseismic models were also generated. The photometric and
spectroscopic data are compatible with a triple system consisting of a close
binary with an orbital period of 3.57 days and a delta Scuti companion (HD
61199,A) as the most luminous component. The delta Scuti star is a rapid
rotator with about vsin i = 130 km/s and an upper mass limit of about 2.1 Msun.
For the close binary components, we find they are of nearly equal mass, with
lower mass limits of about 0.7 Msun.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted by A&
The Central Temperature of the Sun can be Measured via the Be Solar Neutrino Line
A precise test of the theory of stellar evolution can be performed by
measuring the difference in average energy between the neutrino line produced
by electron capture in the solar interior and the corresponding
neutrino line produced in a terrestrial laboratory. The high temperatures in
the center of the sun broaden the line asymmetrically, FWHM = 1.6~keV, and
cause an average energy shift of 1.3~keV. The width of the Be neutrino line
should be taken into account in calculations of vacuum neutrino oscillations.Comment: RevTeX file, 9 pages. For hardcopy with figure, send to
[email protected]. Institute for Advanced Study number AST 93/4
- âŠ