163 research outputs found
Discovery of Extended Blue Horizontal Branches in Two Metal-Rich Globular Clusters
We have used WFPC2 to construct B, V color-magnitude diagrams of four
metal-rich globular clusters, NGC 104 (47 Tuc), NGC 5927, NGC 6388, and NGC
6441. All four clusters have well populated red horizontal branches (RHB), as
expected for their metallicity. However, NGC 6388 and 6441 also exhibit a
prominent blue HB (BHB) extension, including stars reaching as faint in V as
the turnoff luminosity. This discovery demonstrates directly for the first time
that a major population of hot HB stars can exist in old, metal-rich systems.
This may have important implications for the interpretation of the integrated
spectra of elliptical galaxies.
The cause of the phenomenon remains uncertain. We examine the possibility
that NGC 6388 and 6441 are older than the other clusters, but a simple
difference in age may not be sufficient to produce the observed distributions
along the HB. The high central densities in NGC 6388 and 6441 suggest that the
existence of the blue HB (BHB) tails might be caused by stellar interactions in
the dense cores of these clusters, which we calculate to have two of the
highest collision rates among globular clusters in the Galaxy. Tidal collisions
might act in various ways to enhance loss of envelope mass, and therefore
populate the blue side of the HB. However, the relative frequency of tidal
collisions does not seem large enough (compared to that of the clusters with
pure RHBs) to account for such a drastic difference in HB morphology. While a
combination of an age difference and dynamical interactions may help, prima
facie the lack of a radial gradient in the BHB/RHB star ratio seems to argue
against dynamical effects playing a role.Comment: LaTeX, includes one Postscript figure. To appear in ApJ
SIRT1 promotes the central adaptive response to diet restriction through activation of the dorsomedial and lateral nuclei of the hypothalamus
Diet restriction retards aging and extends life span by triggering adaptive mechanisms that alter behavioral, physiological, and biochemical responses in mammals. Little is known about the molecular pathways evoking the corresponding central response. One factor that mediates the effects of diet restriction is the mammalian nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent deacetylase SIRT1. Here we demonstrate that diet restriction significantly increases SIRT1 protein levels and induces neural activation in the dorsomedial and lateral hypothalamic nuclei. Increasing SIRT1 in the brain of transgenic (BRASTO) mice enhances neural activity specifically in these hypothalamic nuclei, maintains a higher range of body temperature, and promotes physical activity in response to different diet-restricting paradigms. These responses are all abrogated in Sirt1-deficient mice. SIRT1 up-regulates expression of the orexin type 2 receptor specifically in these hypothalamic nuclei in response to diet-restricting conditions, augmenting response to ghrelin, a gut hormone whose levels increase in these conditions. Our results suggest that in the hypothalamus, SIRT1 functions as a key mediator of the central response to low nutritional availability, providing insight into the role of the hypothalamus in the regulation of metabolism and aging in mammals
Constitutive activation of canonical Wnt signaling disrupts choroid plexus epithelial fate
The choroid plexus secretes cerebrospinal fluid and is critical for the development and function of the brain. In the telencephalon, the choroid plexus epithelium arises from the Wnt- expressing cortical hem. Canonical Wnt signaling pathway molecules such as nuclear β-CATENIN are expressed in the mouse and human embryonic choroid plexus epithelium indicating that this pathway is active. Point mutations in human β-CATENIN are known to result in the constitutive activation of canonical Wnt signaling. In a mouse model that recapitulates this perturbation, we report a loss of choroid plexus epithelial identity and an apparent transformation of this tissue to a neuronal identity. Aspects of this phenomenon are recapitulated in human embryonic stem cell derived organoids. The choroid plexus is also disrupted when β-Catenin is conditionally inactivated. Together, our results indicate that canonical Wnt signaling is required in a precise and regulated manner for normal choroid plexus development in the mammalian brain
The Peculiar SN 2005hk: Do Some Type Ia Supernovae Explode as Deflagrations?
We present extensive u'g'r'i'BVRIYJHKs photometry and optical spectroscopy of
SN 2005hk. These data reveal that SN 2005hk was nearly identical in its
observed properties to SN 2002cx, which has been called ``the most peculiar
known type Ia supernova.'' Both supernovae exhibited high ionization SN
1991T-like pre-maximum spectra, yet low peak luminosities like SN 1991bg. The
spectra reveal that SN 2005hk, like SN 2002cx, exhibited expansion velocities
that were roughly half those of typical type Ia supernovae. The R and I light
curves of both supernovae were also peculiar in not displaying the secondary
maximum observed for normal type Ia supernovae. Our YJH photometry of SN 2005hk
reveals the same peculiarity in the near-infrared. By combining our optical and
near-infrared photometry of SN 2005hk with published ultraviolet light curves
obtained with the Swift satellite, we are able to construct a bolometric light
curve from ~10 days before to ~60 days after B maximum. The shape and unusually
low peak luminosity of this light curve, plus the low expansion velocities and
absence of a secondary maximum at red and near-infrared wavelengths, are all in
reasonable agreement with model calculations of a 3D deflagration which
produces ~0.25 M_sun of 56Ni.Comment: Accepted by PASP, to appear in April 2007 issue, 63 pages, 16
figures, 11 table
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey: Search Algorithm and Follow-up Observations
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey has identified a large
number of new transient sources in a 300 sq. deg. region along the celestial
equator during its first two seasons of a three-season campaign. Multi-band
(ugriz) light curves were measured for most of the sources, which include solar
system objects, Galactic variable stars, active galactic nuclei, supernovae
(SNe), and other astronomical transients. The imaging survey is augmented by an
extensive spectroscopic follow-up program to identify SNe, measure their
redshifts, and study the physical conditions of the explosions and their
environment through spectroscopic diagnostics. During the survey, light curves
are rapidly evaluated to provide an initial photometric type of the SNe, and a
selected sample of sources are targeted for spectroscopic observations. In the
first two seasons, 476 sources were selected for spectroscopic observations, of
which 403 were identified as SNe. For the Type Ia SNe, the main driver for the
Survey, our photometric typing and targeting efficiency is 90%. Only 6% of the
photometric SN Ia candidates were spectroscopically classified as non-SN Ia
instead, and the remaining 4% resulted in low signal-to-noise, unclassified
spectra. This paper describes the search algorithm and the software, and the
real-time processing of the SDSS imaging data. We also present the details of
the supernova candidate selection procedures and strategies for follow-up
spectroscopic and imaging observations of the discovered sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (66 pages, 13
figures); typos correcte
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: the selection function and z=0.6 galaxy power spectrum
We report one of the most accurate measurements of the three-dimensional
large-scale galaxy power spectrum achieved to date, using 56,159 redshifts of
bright emission-line galaxies at effective redshift z=0.6 from the WiggleZ Dark
Energy Survey at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. We describe in detail how we
construct the survey selection function allowing for the varying target
completeness and redshift completeness. We measure the total power with an
accuracy of approximately 5% in wavenumber bands of dk=0.01 h/Mpc. A model
power spectrum including non-linear corrections, combined with a linear galaxy
bias factor and a simple model for redshift-space distortions, provides a good
fit to our data for scales k < 0.4 h/Mpc. The large-scale shape of the power
spectrum is consistent with the best-fitting matter and baryon densities
determined by observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. By
splitting the power spectrum measurement as a function of tangential and radial
wavenumbers we delineate the characteristic imprint of peculiar velocities. We
use these to determine the growth rate of structure as a function of redshift
in the range 0.4 < z < 0.8, including a data point at z=0.78 with an accuracy
of 20%. Our growth rate measurements are a close match to the self-consistent
prediction of the LCDM model. The WiggleZ Survey data will allow a wide range
of investigations into the cosmological model, cosmic expansion and growth
history, topology of cosmic structure, and Gaussianity of the initial
conditions. Our calculation of the survey selection function will be released
at a future date via our website wigglez.swin.edu.au.Comment: 21 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: measuring the cosmic expansion history using the Alcock-Paczynski test and distant supernovae
Astronomical observations suggest that today's Universe is dominated by a
dark energy of unknown physical origin. One of the most notable consequences in
many models is that dark energy should cause the expansion of the Universe to
accelerate: but the expansion rate as a function of time has proven very
difficult to measure directly. We present a new determination of the cosmic
expansion history by combining distant supernovae observations with a
geometrical analysis of large-scale galaxy clustering within the WiggleZ Dark
Energy Survey, using the Alcock-Paczynski test to measure the distortion of
standard spheres. Our result constitutes a robust and non-parametric
measurement of the Hubble expansion rate as a function of time, which we
measure with 10-15% precision in four bins within the redshift range 0.1 < z <
0.9. We demonstrate that the cosmic expansion is accelerating, in a manner
independent of the parameterization of the cosmological model (although
assuming cosmic homogeneity in our data analysis). Furthermore, we find that
this expansion history is consistent with a cosmological-constant dark energy.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA
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