836 research outputs found
Can new generations explain neutrino masses?
In this talk we explore the possibility that the smallness of the observed
neutrino masses is naturally understood in a modified version of the standard
model with N extra generations of fermions and N right-handed neutrinos, in
which light neutrino masses are generated at two loops. We find that with N = 1
it is not possible to fit the observed spectrum of masses and mixings while
with N = 2 it is. Within this extension, we analyse the parameters which are
allowed and the possible phenomenological signals of the model in future
experiments. Contribution to the proceedings of Les Rencontres de Moriond EW
2011, Young Scientist Forum
The IACOB project. V. Spectroscopic parameters of the O-type stars in the modern grid of standards for spectral classification
The IACOB and OWN surveys are two ambitious complementary observational
projects which have made available a large multi-epoch spectroscopic database
of optical high resolution spectra of Galactic massive O-type stars. As a first
step in the study of the full sample of (more than 350) O stars surveyed by the
IACOB/OWN projects, we have performed the quantitative spectroscopic analysis
of a subsample of 128 stars included in the modern grid of O-type standards for
spectral classification. We use semi-automatized tools to determine the set of
spectroscopic parameters that can be obtained from the optical spectrum of
O-type stars. We also benefit from the multi-epoch character of the surveys to
perform a spectroscopic variability study of the sample, accounting for
spectroscopic binarity and variability of the main wind diagnostic lines. We
provide a general overview of the stellar and wind parameters of this reference
sample, and updated recipes for the SpT\,--\,Teff/log g calibrations for
Galactic O-type stars. We evaluate our semi-automatized analysis strategy with
40 stars from the literature, and find a good agreement. The agreement
between the synthetic spectra associated with fastwind best fitting models and
the observed spectra is good for most targets, but 46 stars present a
particular behavior of the wind diagnostic lines that cannot be reproduced by
our grid of spherically symmetric unclumped models. These are potential targets
of interest for more detailed investigations of clumpy winds and/or the
existence of additional circumstellar components. Last, our variability study
has led to the detection of signatures of spectroscopic binarity in 27\% of the
stars and small amplitude radial velocity variations in the photospheric lines
of another 30\%. Additionally, 31\% of the investigated stars show variability
in the wind diagnostic lines.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Spanish study of anticoagulation in haemodialysis
This study's objectives were to determine which anticoagulation
methods are commonly used in patients who are undergoing haemodialysis (HD) in
Spain, on what criteria do they depend, and the consequences arising from their
use. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Ours was a cross-sectional study based on two types of
surveys: a "HD Centre Survey" and a "Patient Survey". The first survey was
answered by 87 adult HD units serving a total of 6093 patients, as well as 2
paediatric units. Among these units, 48.3% were part of the public health system
and the remaining 51.7% units were part of the private health system. The patient
survey analysed 758 patients who were chosen at random from among the
aforementioned 78 HD units. RESULTs: A) HD Centre Survey: The majority of adult
HD units (n=61, 70.2%) used both kinds of heparin, 19 of them (21.8%) only used
LMWH and 7 of them (8%) only used UFH. The most frequently applied criteria for
the use of LMWH were medical indications (83.3% of HD units) and ease of
administration (29.5%). The most frequently used methods for adjusting the dosage
were clotting of the circuit (88.2% of units), bleeding of the vascular access
after disconnection (75.3%), and patient weight (57.6%). B) Patient Survey: The
distribution of the types of heparin used was: UFH: 44.1%, LMWH: 51.5%, and
dialysis without heparin in 4.4% of patients. LMWH was more frequently used in
public medical centres (64.2% of patients) than in private medical centres
(46.1%) (P<.001). LMWH was more frequently used in on-line haemodiafiltration
(HF) than in high-flux HD (P<.001). Antiplatelet agents were given to 45.5% of
patients, oral anticoagulants to 18.4% of patients, and both to 5% of patients.
Additionally, 4.4% of patients had suffered bleeding complications during the
previous week, and 1.9% of patients suffered thrombotic complications. Bleeding
complications were more frequent in patients with oral anticoagulants (P=.001),
although there was no association between the type of heparin and the occurrence
of bleeding or thrombotic complications. CONCLUSIONS: We are able to conclude
that there is a great amount of disparity in the criteria used for the medical
prescription of anticoagulation in HD. It is advisable that each HD unit revise
their own results as well as those from other centres, and possibly to create an
Anticoagulation Guide in Haemodialysis
The IACOB project: A grid-based automatic tool for the quantitative spectroscopic analysis of O-stars
We present the IACOB grid-based automatic tool for the quantitative
spectroscopic analysis of O-stars. The tool consists of an extensive grid of
FASTWIND models, and a variety of programs implemented in IDL to handle the
observations, perform the automatic analysis, and visualize the results. The
tool provides a fast and objective way to determine the stellar parameters and
the associated uncertainties of large samples of O-type stars within a
reasonable computational time.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Proceedings of the "GREAT-ESF Stellar
Atmospheres in the Gaia Era Workshop
Observation of a Griffiths-like phase in the paramagnetic regime of ErCo_2
A systematic x-ray magnetic circular dichroism study of the paramagnetic
phase of ErCo2 has recently allowed to identify the inversion of the net
magnetization of the Co net moment with respect to the applied field well above
the ferrimagnetic ordering temperature, Tc. The study of small angle neutron
scattering measurements has also shown the presence of short range order
correlations in the same temperature region. This phenomenon, which we have
denoted parimagnetism, may be related with the onset of a Griffiths-like phase
in paramagnetic ErCo2. We have measured ac susceptibility on ErCo2 as a
function of temperature, applied field, and excitation frequency. Several
characteristics shared by systems showing a Griffiths phase are present in
ErCo2, namely the formation of ferromagnetic clusters in the disordered phase,
the loss of analyticity of the magnetic susceptibility and its extreme
sensitivity to an applied magnetic field. The paramagnetic susceptibility
allows to establish that the magnetic clusters are only formed by Co moments as
well as the intrinsic nature of those Co moments
Testing the Unification Model for AGN in the Infrared: are the obscuring tori of Type 1 and 2 Seyferts different?
We present new mid-infrared (MIR) imaging data for three Type-1 Seyfert
galaxies obtained with T-ReCS on the Gemini-South Telescope at subarcsecond
resolution. Our aim is to enlarge the sample studied in a previous work to
compare the properties of Type-1 and Type-2 Seyfert tori using clumpy torus
models and a Bayesian approach to fit the infrared nuclear spectral energy
distributions (SEDs). Thus, the sample considered here comprises 7 Type-1, 11
Type-2, and 3 intermediate-type Seyferts. The unresolved IR emission of the
Seyfert 1 galaxies can be reproduced by a combination of dust heated by the
central engine and direct AGN emission, while for the Seyfert 2 nuclei only
dust emission is considered. These dusty tori have physical sizes smaller than
6 pc radius, as derived from our fits. Unification schemes of AGN account for a
variety of observational differences in terms of viewing geometry. However, we
find evidence that strong unification may not hold, and that the immediate
dusty surroundings of Type-1 and Type-2 Seyfert nuclei are intrinsically
different. The Type-2 tori studied here are broader, have more clumps, and
these clumps have lower optical depths than those of Type-1 tori. The larger
the covering factor of the torus, the smaller the probability of having direct
view of the AGN, and vice-versa. In our sample, Seyfert 2 tori have larger
covering factors and smaller escape probabilities than those of Seyfert 1. All
the previous differences are significant according to the Kullback-Leibler
divergence. Thus, on the basis of the results presented here, the
classification of a Seyfert galaxy as a Type-1 or Type-2 depends more on the
intrinsic properties of the torus rather than on its mere inclination towards
us, in contradiction with the simplest unification model.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, Appendix including supplementary figures.
Accepted by Ap
Survey for Emission-Line Galaxies: Universidad Complutense de Madrid List 3
A new low-dispersion objective-prism search for low-redshift (z<0.045)
emission-line galaxies (ELG) has been carried out by the Universidad
Complutense de Madrid with the Schmidt Telescope at the Calar-Alto Observatory.
This is a continuation of the UCM Survey, which was performed by visual
selection of candidates in photographic plates via the presence of the
Halpha+[NII]6584 blend in emission. In this new list we have applied an
automatic procedure, fully developed by us, for selecting and analyzing the ELG
candidates on the digitized images obtained with the MAMA machine. The analyzed
region of the sky covers 189 square degrees in nine fields near R.A.=14h & 17h,
Dec=25 deg. The final sample contains 113 candidates. Special effort has been
made to obtain a large amount of information directly from our uncalibrated
plates by using several external calibrations. The parameters obtained for the
ELG candidates allow for the study of the statistical properties for the
sample.Comment: 13 pages, 18 PostScript figures, 6 JPEG figures, Table 2 corrected.
Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplements, also available
at http://www.ucm.es/info/Astrof/opera/LIST3_ApJS99
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