Radial Distribution of Dust Grains Around HR 4796A

We present high-dynamic-range images of circumstellar dust around HR 4796A that were obtained with MIRLIN at the Keck II telescope at lambda = 7.9, 10.3, 12.5 and 24.5 um. We also present a new continuum measurement at 350 um obtained at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Emission is resolved in Keck images at 12.5 and 24.5 um with PSF FWHM's of 0.37" and 0.55", respectively, and confirms the presence of an outer ring centered at 70 AU. Unresolved excess infrared emission is also detected at the stellar position and must originate well within 13 AU of the star. A model of dust emission fit to flux densities at 12.5, 20.8, and 24.5 um indicates dust grains are located 4(+3/-2) AU from the star with effective size, 28+/-6 um, and an associated temperature of 260+/-40 K. We simulate all extant data with a simple model of exozodiacal dust and an outer exo-Kuiper ring. A two-component outer ring is necessary to fit both Keck thermal infrared and HST scattered-light images. Bayesian parameter estimates yield a total cross-sectional area of 0.055 AU^2 for grains roughly 4 AU from the star and an outer-dust disk composed of a narrow large-grain ring embedded within a wider ring of smaller grains. The narrow ring is 14+/-1 AU wide with inner radius 66+/-1 AU and total cross-sectional area 245 AU^2. The outer ring is 80+/-15 AU wide with inner radius 45+/-5 AU and total cross-sectional area 90 AU^2. Dust grains in the narrow ring are about 10 times larger and have lower albedos than those in the wider ring. These properties are consistent with a picture in which radiation pressure dominates the dispersal of an exo-Kuiper belt.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal (Part1) on September 9, 2004. 13 pages, 10 figures, 2 table

Neurology

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects.Office of Naval Research (Nonr-609(39))U. S. Air Force (AF33(616)-7282)Army Chemical Corps (DA-18-108-405-Cml-942)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3055)U. S. Air Force (AF49(638)-1130)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3090

Probing Stereoselectivity in Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization Mediated by Cyclometalated Ruthenium-Based Catalysts: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study

The microstructures of polymers produced by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with cyclometalated Ru-carbene metathesis catalysts were investigated. A strong bias for a cis,syndiotactic microstructure with minimal head-to-tail bias was observed. In instances where trans errors were introduced, it was determined that these regions were also syndiotactic. Furthermore, hypothetical reaction intermediates and transition structures were analyzed computationally. Combined experimental and computational data support a reaction mechanism in which cis,syndio-selectivity is a result of stereogenic metal control, while microstructural errors are predominantly due to alkylidene isomerization via rotation about the Ru═C double bond

Correlation Between the Deuteron Characteristics and the Low-energy Triplet np Scattering Parameters

The correlation relationship between the deuteron asymptotic normalization constant, $A_{S}$, and the triplet np scattering length, $a_{t}$, is investigated. It is found that 99.7% of the asymptotic constant $A_{S}$ is determined by the scattering length $a_{t}$. It is shown that the linear correlation relationship between the quantities $A_{S}^{-2}$ and $1/a_{t}$ provides a good test of correctness of various models of nucleon-nucleon interaction. It is revealed that, for the normalization constant $A_{S}$ and for the root-mean-square deuteron radius $r_{d}$, the results obtained with the experimental value recommended at present for the triplet scattering length $a_{t}$ are exaggerated with respect to their experimental counterparts. By using the latest experimental phase shifts of Arndt et al., we obtain, for the low-energy scattering parameters ($a_{t}$, $r_{t}$, $P_{t}$) and for the deuteron characteristics ($A_{S}$, $r_{d}$), results that comply well with experimental data.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure, To be published in Physics of Atomic Nucle

Kepler Cycle 1 Observations of Low Mass Stars: New Eclipsing Binaries, Single Star Rotation Rates, and the Nature and Frequency of Starspots

We have analyzed Kepler light curves for 849 stars with T_eff < 5200 K from our Cycle 1 Guest Observer program. We identify six new eclipsing binaries, one of which has an orbital period of 29.91 d, and two of which are probably W UMa variables. In addition, we identify a candidate "warm Jupiter" exoplanet. We further examine a subset of 670 sources for variability. Of these objects, 265 stars clearly show periodic variability that we assign to rotation of the low-mass star. At the photometric precision level provided by Kepler, 251 of our objects showed no evidence for variability. We were unable to determine periods for 154 variable objects. We find that 79% of stars with T_eff < 5200 K are variable. The rotation periods we derive for the periodic variables span the range 0.31 < P_rot < 126.5 d. A considerable number of stars with rotation periods similar to the solar value show activity levels that are 100 times higher than the Sun. This is consistent with results for solar-like field stars. As has been found in previous studies, stars with shorter rotation periods generally exhibit larger modulations. This trend flattens beyond P_rot = 25 d, demonstrating that even long period binaries may still have components with high levels of activity and investigating whether the masses and radii of the stellar components in these systems are consistent with stellar models could remain problematic. Surprisingly, our modeling of the light curves suggests that the active regions on these cool stars are either preferentially located near the rotational poles, or that there are two spot groups located at lower latitudes, but in opposing hemispheres.Comment: 48 pages, 11 figure

HD 101088, An Accreting 14 AU Binary in Lower Centaurus Crux With Very Little Circumstellar Dust

We present high resolution (R=55,000) optical spectra obtained with MIKE on the 6.5 m Magellan Clay Telescope as well as Spitzer MIPS photometry and IRS low resolution (R~60) spectroscopy of the close (14 AU separation) binary, HD 101088, a member of the ~12 Myr old southern region of the Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC) subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association. We find that the primary and/or secondary is accreting from a tenuous circumprimary and/or circumsecondary disk despite the apparent lack of a massive circumbinary disk. We estimate a lower limit to the accretion rate of > 1x10^-9 solar masses per year, which our multiple observation epochs show varies over a timescale of months. The upper limit on the 70 micron flux allows us to place an upper limit on the mass of dust grains smaller than several microns present in a circumbinary disk of 0.16 moon masses. We conclude that the classification of disks into either protoplanetary or debris disks based on fractional infrared luminosity alone may be misleading.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, ApJ accepte

Functional diversity of microbial ecologies estimated from ancient human coprolites and dental calculus

Human microbiome studies are increasingly incorporating macroecological approaches, such as community assembly, network analysis and functional redundancy to more fully characterize the microbiome. Such analyses have not been applied to ancient human microbiomes, preventing insights into human microbiome evolution. We address this issue by analysing published ancient microbiome datasets: coprolites from Rio Zape (n = 7; 700 CE Mexico) and historic dental calculus (n = 44; 1770-1855 CE, UK), as well as two novel dental calculus datasets: Maya (n = 7; 170 BCE-885 CE, Belize) and Nuragic Sardinians (n = 11; 1400-850 BCE, Italy). Periodontitis-associated bacteria (Treponema denticola, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Eubacterium saphenum) were identified as keystone taxa in the dental calculus datasets. Coprolite keystone taxa included known short-chain fatty acid producers (Eubacterium biforme, Phascolarctobacterium succinatutens) and potentially disease-associated bacteria (Escherichia, Brachyspira). Overlap in ecological profiles between ancient and modern microbiomes was indicated by similarity in functional response diversity profiles between contemporary hunter-gatherers and ancient coprolites, as well as parallels between ancient Maya, historic UK, and modern Spanish dental calculus; however, the ancient Nuragic dental calculus shows a distinct ecological structure. We detected key ecological signatures from ancient microbiome data, paving the way to expand understanding of human microbiome evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules'

Transits across a Cyclopentadienyl: Organic and Organometallic Haptotropic Shifts

references cited therein. (13) Electron acceptors which are also conjugated with the alkene r system will polarize the HOMO in the same directions as, but to a smaller extent than, Inductive acceptors.8 (14) There has been a suggestion that Me is an acceptor relative to H when attached to an sp3 carbon [C. A. Grob, Angew. Chem. lnt. Ed. Engl., 15, 569 (1976), and references cited therein]. The product ratio discussed here reflect this, but the IP changes do not. A subtle role of solvent may be involved. (15) J. Bastideand J. P. Maier, Chem. Phys., 12, 144 (1976 Li+, CUR+), the e component of which greatly stabilizes the most symmetrical q5 coordination. The lower the energy of the e acceptor set and the better the overlap with its Cp counterpart, the more are q2 and q5 stabilized relative to 7&apos;. In the case of XH3+ (X = C, Si, Ge, Sn) an e acceptor orbital moves to lower energy as one proceeds down the group, and this is responsible for the decreasing barrier for sigmatropic shifts in CpXH3. The XH2 case, which yields a number of interesting collapse structures, is analyzed in detail for X, a main group center. Contrast the interaction of a cyclopentadienide anion and a proton with the interaction of the same anion and a Mn(CO)3+ fragment. Both result in stable molecules: cyclopentadiene (1) and V~-C~M~( C O )~ (2). But what a difference in the equilibrium geometries of these end products of the interaction! If we focus our attention on the cyclopentadienide site where the interacting partner settles down, then the proton chooses a position near to one carbon of the ring, but the Mn(C0)3+ fragment sits directly over the center of the ring. The ramifications of this differential are the concern of this paper. We will examine the interaction of a cyclopentadienide (CsHs-, Cp) ion with an interacting group X, X = H+, CH3+, SiR3+, Mn(C0)3+, CH22f, CH2. The result will consist of some conclusions concerning the equilibrium geometry of CpX as well as the relative energetics of the various haptotropic reactions of this Consider the passage of the interacting group X across the face of a Cp molecule, moving as indicated in 3 in a plane parallel to the Cp ring. Let the distance d be a separation at which there is sizable interaction between the frontier orbitals of X and the Cp a system. For a surface so constrained the asymmetric unit that need be calculated consists of the shaded area in 4, and two of the three boundaries of that area are contained in a transit along a line shown in projection in 5. Mirror symmetry is maintained at all points. The numbers nq shown along that line are convenient labels invoking a connection to the inorganic 7&quot; notation* for denoting an approximate coordination geometry. In order to avoid confusion with structure numbers and ring carbon numbers, we have labeled the various sites along the transit line as 17, 217, . . . , 57. The site labeled 17, or some geometry near it, corresponds to or simple u interaction, such as we have in the collapse product cyclopentadiene. The 7IS site 57 is where one better come up with maximum stabilization for X = Mn(C0)3+. The site labeled 27 positions X over the center of a bond, and obviously will describe the important transition state region for a sigmatropic shift of a system like cyclopentadiene. 37 and 47 are not so easily defined. Experimentally, slippage of Cp rings from q5 coordination is often observed and q3 or q4 coordination may or may not be invoked. Somewhat arbitrarily we define 317 at the intersection of the transit line with the line joining C-2 and C-5 projected on the transit plane. The tetrahapto coordination site is most ambiguous (it could be near 37 or near 57), and SO we will not label any position as such. The analysis will consist of an inspection of interaction diagrams for the orbitals of Cp and X, as the ligand X and its position along the transit are varied. The qualitative arguments based on symmetry and overlap are supported by extended Huckel calculations whose details are given in the Appendix. The reader should be aware that this is an approximate metho