2,146 research outputs found
Complete spectral energy distribution of the hot, helium-rich white dwarf RX J0503.9-2854
In the line-of-sight toward the DO-type white dwarf RX J0503.9-2854, the
density of the interstellar medium (ISM) is very low, and thus the
contamination of the stellar spectrum almost negligible. This allows us to
identify many metal lines in a wide wavelength range from the extreme
ultraviolet to the near infrared. In previous spectral analyses, many metal
lines in the ultraviolet spectrum of RX J0503.9-2854 have been identified. A
complete line list of observed and identified lines is presented here. We
compared synthetic spectra that had been calculated from model atmospheres in
non-local thermodynamical equilibrium, with observations. In total, we
identified 1272 lines (279 of them were newly assigned) in the wavelength range
from the extreme ultraviolet to the near infrared. 287 lines remain
unidentified. A close inspection of the EUV shows that still no good fit to the
observed shape of the stellar continuum flux can be achieved although He, C, N,
O, Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Kr, Zr, Mo,
Sn, Xe, and Ba are included in the stellar atmosphere models. There are two
possible reasons for the deviation between observed and synthetic flux in the
EUV. Opacities from hitherto unconsidered elements in the model-atmosphere
calculation may be missing and/or the effective temperature is slightly lower
than previously determined.Comment: 92 pages, 45 figure
Stellar laboratories. IX. New Se V, Sr IV - VII, Te VI, and I VI oscillator strengths and the Se, Sr, Te, and I abundances in the hot white dwarfs G191-B2B and RE 0503-289
To analyze spectra of hot stars, advanced non-local thermodynamic equilibrium
(NLTE) model-atmosphere techniques are mandatory. Reliable atomic data is for
the calculation of such model atmospheres.
We aim to calculate new Sr IV - VII oscillator strengths to identify for the
first time Sr spectral lines in hot white dwarf (WD) stars and to determine the
photospheric Sr abundances. o measure the abundances of Se, Te, and I in hot
WDs, we aim to compute new Se V, Te VI, and I VI oscillator strengths.
To consider radiative and collisional bound-bound transitions of Se V, Sr IV
- VII, Te VI, and I VI in our NLTE atmosphere models, we calculated oscillator
strengths for these ions.
We newly identified four Se V, 23 Sr V, 1 Te VI, and three I VI lines in the
ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of RE0503-289. We measured a photospheric Sr
abundance of 6.5 +3.8/-2.4 x 10**-4 (mass fraction, 9500 - 23800 times solar).
We determined the abundances of Se (1.6 +0.9/-0.6 x 10**-3, 8000 - 20000), Te
(2.5 +1.5/-0.9 x 10**-4, 11000 - 28000), and I (1.4 +0.8/-0.5 x 10**-5, 2700 -
6700). No Se, Sr, Te, and I line was found in the UV spectra of G191-B2B and we
could determine only upper abundance limits of approximately 100 times solar.
All identified Se V, Sr V, Te VI, and I VI lines in the UV spectrum of
RE0503-289 were simultaneously well reproduced with our newly calculated
oscillator strengths.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure
Rapid self-assembly of α-synuclein observed by in situ atomic force microscopy
Self-assembly of α−synuclein resulting in protein aggregates of diverse morphology has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleinopathies. Apart from its biomedical relevance, this aggregation process is representative of the interconversion of an unfolded protein into nanostructures with typical amyloid features. We have used in situ tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) to continuously monitor the self-assembly of wild-type α-synuclein, its disease-related mutants A30P and A53T, and the C-terminally truncated variant α-synuclein(1-108). Different aggregation modes were observed depending on experimental conditions, i.e. pH, protein concentration, polyamine concentration, temperature and the supporting substrate. At pH 7.5, in the absence of the biogenic polyamines spermidine or spermine, elongated sheets 1.1(±0.2)nm in height and presumably representing individual β-sheet structures, were formed on mica substrates within a few minutes. Their orientation was directed by the crystalline substructure of the substrate. In contrast, sheet formation was not observed with hydrophobic highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrates, suggesting that negatively charged surfaces promote α-synuclein self-assembly. In the presence of spermidine or spermine 5.9(±1.0) nm high spheroidal structures were preferentially formed, sharing characteristics with similar structures previously reported for several amyloidogenic proteins and linked to neurotoxicity. Alpha-synuclein spheroid formation depended critically on polyamine binding to the Cterminus, revealing a promoting effect of the C-terminus on α-synuclein assembly in the bound state. In rare cases, fibril growth from spheroids or preformed aggregates was observed. At pH 5.0, fibrils were formed initially and incorporated into amorphous aggregates in the course of the aggregation process, providing evidence for the potential of amyloid fibril surfaces to act as nucleation sites in amorphous aggregation. This study provides a direct insight into different modes of α-synuclein self-assembly and identifies key factors modulating the aggregation process
Photoluminescence and Terahertz Emission from Femtosecond Laser-Induced Plasma Channels
Luminescence as a mechanism for terahertz emission from femtosecond
laser-induced plasmas is studied. By using a fully microscopic theory, Coulomb
scattering between electrons and ions is shown to lead to luminescence even for
a spatially homogeneous plasma. The spectral features introduced by the rod
geometry of laser-induced plasma channels in air are discussed on the basis of
a generalized mode-function analysis.Comment: 4 pages with 2 figures
Search for trans-iron elements in hot, helium-rich white dwarfs with the HST Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
The metal abundances in the atmospheres of hot white dwarfs (WDs) entering
the cooling sequence are determined by the preceding Asymptotic Giant Branch
(AGB) evolutionary phase and, subsequently, by the onset of gravitational
settling and radiative levitation. In this paper, we investigate three hot
He-rich WDs, which are believed to result from a late He-shell flash. During
such a flash, the He-rich intershell matter is dredged up and dominates the
surface chemistry. Hence, in contrast to the usual H-rich WDs, their spectra
allow direct access to s-process element abundances in the intershell that were
synthesized during the AGB stage. In order to look for trans-iron group
elements (atomic number Z>29), we performed a non-local thermodynamic
equilibrium model atmosphere analysis of new ultraviolet spectra taken with the
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. One of our
program stars is of PG1159 spectral type; this star, PG1707+427, has effective
temperature Teff=85,000 K, and surface gravity logg=7.5. The two other stars
are DO white dwarfs: WD0111+002 has Teff=58,000 K and logg=7.7, and PG0109+111
has Teff=70,000 K and logg=8.0. These stars trace the onset of element
diffusion during early WD evolution. While zinc is the only trans-iron element
we could detect in the PG1159 star, both DOs exhibit lines from Zn, Ga, Ge, Se;
one additionally exhibits lines from Sr, Sn, Te, and I and the other from As.
Generally, the trans-iron elements are very abundant in the DOs, meaning that
radiative levitation must be acting. Most extreme is the almost six orders of
magnitude oversolar abundance of tellurium in PG0109+111. In terms of mass
fraction, it is the most abundant metal in the atmosphere. The two DOs join the
hitherto unique hot DO RE0503-289, in which 14 trans-iron elements had even
been identified.Comment: A&A accepte
Dependence of α-synuclein aggregate morphology on solution conditions
α-Synuclein is the major component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, which are granular and filamentous protein inclusions that are the defining pathological features of several neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Fibrillar aggregates formed from α-synuclein in vitro resemble brain-derived material, but the role of such aggregates in the etiology of Parkinson's disease and their relation to the toxic molecular species remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of pH and salt concentration on the in vitro assembly of human wild-type α-synuclein, particularly with regard to aggregation rate and aggregate morphology. Aggregates formed at pH 7.0 and pH 6.0 in the absence of NaCl and MgCl, were fibrillar; the pH 6.0 fibrils displayed a helical twist, as clearly evident by scanning force and electron microscopy. Incubations at pH 7.0 remained transparent during the process of aggregation and exhibited strong thioflavin-T and weak 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonate (ANS) binding; furthermore, they were efficient in seeding fibrillization of fresh solutions. In contrast, incubating α-synuclein at low pH (pH 4.0 or pH 5.0) resulted in the rapid formation of turbid suspensions characterized by strong ANS binding, reduced thioflavin-T binding and reduced seeding efficiency. At pH 4.0, fibril formation was abrogated; instead, very large aggregates (dimensions similar to100 mum) of amorphous appearance were visible by light microscopy. As with acidic conditions, addition of 0.2 M NaCl or 10 mM MgCl, to pH 7.0 incubations led to a shorter aggregation lag time and formation of large, amorphous aggregates. These results demonstrate that the morphology of α-synuclein aggregates is highly sensitive to solution conditions, implying that the fibrillar state does not necessarily represent the predominant or most functionally significant aggregated state under physiological conditions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
The Precise Formula in a Sine Function Form of the norm of the Amplitude and the Necessary and Sufficient Phase Condition for Any Quantum Algorithm with Arbitrary Phase Rotations
In this paper we derived the precise formula in a sine function form of the
norm of the amplitude in the desired state, and by means of he precise formula
we presented the necessary and sufficient phase condition for any quantum
algorithm with arbitrary phase rotations. We also showed that the phase
condition: identical rotation angles, is a sufficient but not a necessary phase
condition.Comment: 16 pages. Modified some English sentences and some proofs. Removed a
table. Corrected the formula for kol on page 10. No figure
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