453 research outputs found
Gravitational torques in spiral galaxies: gas accretion as a driving mechanism of galactic evolution
The distribution of gravitational torques and bar strengths in the local
Universe is derived from a detailed study of 163 galaxies observed in the
near-infrared. The results are compared with numerical models for spiral galaxy
evolution. It is found that the observed distribution of torques can be
accounted for only with external accretion of gas onto spiral disks. Accretion
is responsible for bar renewal - after the dissolution of primordial bars - as
well as the maintenance of spiral structures. Models of isolated, non-accreting
galaxies are ruled out. Moderate accretion rates do not explain the
observational results: it is shown that galactic disks should double their mass
in less than the Hubble time. The best fit is obtained if spiral galaxies are
open systems, still forming today by continuous gas accretion, doubling their
mass every 10 billion years.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters (accepted
Discovery of interstellar mercapto radicals (SH) with the GREAT instrument on SOFIA
We report the first detection of interstellar mercapto radicals, obtained
along the sight-line to the submillimeter continuum source W49N. We have used
the GREAT instrument on SOFIA to observe the 1383 GHz Doublet Pi 3/2 J = 5/2 -
3/2 lambda doublet in the upper sideband of the L1 receiver. The resultant
spectrum reveals SH absorption in material local to W49N, as well as in
foreground gas, unassociated with W49N, that is located along the sight-line.
For the foreground material at velocities in the range 37 - 44 km/s with
respect to the local standard of rest, we infer a total SH column density ~ 2.6
E+12 cm-2, corresponding to an abundance of ~ 7 E-9 relative to H2, and
yielding an SH/H2S abundance ratio ~ 0.13. The observed SH/H2S abundance ratio
is much smaller than that predicted by standard models for the production of SH
and H2S in turbulent dissipation regions and shocks, and suggests that the
endothermic neutral-neutral reaction SH + H2 -> H2S + H must be enhanced along
with the ion-neutral reactions believed to produce CH+ and SH+ in diffuse
molecular clouds.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (SOFIA/GREAT
special issue
Detection of the Ammonium Ion in Space
We report on the detection of a narrow feature at 262816.73 MHz towards Orion
and the cold prestellar core B1-bS, that we attribute to the 1(0)-0(0) line of
the deuterated Ammonium ion, NH3D+. The observations were performed with the
IRAM 30m radio telescope. The carrier has to be a light molecular species as it
is the only feature detected over 3.6 GHz of bandwidth. The hyperfine structure
is not resolved indicating a very low value for the electric quadrupolar
coupling constant of Nitrogen which is expected for NH3D+ as the electric field
over the N nucleus is practically zero. Moreover, the feature is right at the
predicted frequency for the 1(0)-0(0) transition of the Ammonium ion, 262817(6)
MHz (3sigma), using rotational constants derived from new infrared data
obtained in our laboratory in Madrid. The estimated column density is
1.1(0.2)e12 cm-2. Assuming a deuterium enhancement similar to that of NH2D, we
derive N(NH4+) sim 2.6e13 cm-2, i.e., an abundance for Ammonium of a few
1e(-11).Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters 04 June
201
A systematic review of childhood maltreatment and resting state functional connectivity
Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) has the potential to shed light on how childhood abuse and neglect relates to negative psychiatric outcomes. However, a comprehensive review of the impact of childhood maltreatment on the brain's resting state functional organization has not yet been undertaken. We systematically searched rsFC studies in children and youth exposed to maltreatment. Nineteen studies (total n = 3079) met our inclusion criteria. Two consistent findings were observed. Childhood maltreatment was linked to reduced connectivity between the anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and with widespread heightened amygdala connectivity with key structures in the salience, default mode, and prefrontal regulatory networks. Other brain regions showing altered connectivity included the ventral anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. These patterns of altered functional connectivity associated with maltreatment exposure were independent of symptoms, yet comparable to those seen in individuals with overt clinical disorder. Summative findings indicate that rsFC alterations associated with maltreatment experience are related to poor cognitive and social functioning and are prognostic of future symptoms. In conclusion, maltreatment is associated with altered rsFC in emotional reactivity, regulation, learning, and salience detection brain circuits. This indicates patterns of recalibration of putative mechanisms implicated in maladaptive developmental outcomes
Autobiographical memory: A candidate latent vulnerability mechanism for psychiatric disorder following childhood maltreatment
BACKGROUND: Altered autobiographical memory (ABM) functioning has been
implicated in the pathogenesis of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and
may represent one mechanism by which childhood maltreatment elevates psychiatric
risk.
AIMS: To investigate the impact of childhood maltreatment on ABM functioning.
METHOD: Thirty-four children with documented maltreatment and 33 matched controls
recalled specific ABMs in response to emotionally-valenced cue words during
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
RESULTS: Children with maltreatment experience showed reduced hippocampal and
increased middle temporal and para-hippocampal activation during positive ABM
recall compared to peers. During negative ABM recall they exhibited increased
amygdala activation, and greater amygdala connectivity with the salience network.
CONCLUSIONS: Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered ABM functioning,
specifically reduced activation in areas encoding specification of positive memories,
and greater activation of the salience network for negative memories. This pattern
may confer latent vulnerability to future depression and post-traumatic stress
disorder
An ALMA Early Science survey of molecular absorption lines toward PKS1830-211 -- Analysis of the absorption profiles
We present the first results of an ALMA spectral survey of strong absorption
lines for common interstellar species in the z=0.89 molecular absorber toward
the lensed blazar PKS1830-211. The dataset brings essential information on the
structure and composition of the absorbing gas in the foreground galaxy. In
particular, we find absorption over large velocity intervals (gtrsim 100 km/s)
toward both lensed images of the blazar. This suggests either that the galaxy
inclination is intermediate and that we sample velocity gradients or streaming
motions in the disk plane, that the molecular gas has a large vertical
distribution or extraplanar components, or that the absorber is not a simple
spiral galaxy but might be a merger system. The number of detected species is
now reaching a total of 42 different species plus 14 different rare
isotopologues toward the SW image, and 14 species toward the NE line-of-sight.
The abundances of CH, H2O, HCO+, HCN, and NH3 relative to H2 are found to be
comparable to those in the Galactic diffuse medium. Of all the lines detected
so far toward PKS1830-211, the ground-state line of ortho-water has the deepest
absorption. We argue that ground-state lines of water have the best potential
for detecting diffuse molecular gas in absorption at high redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Cosmo-tomography toward PKS1830-211: Variability of the quasar and of its foreground molecular absorption monitored with ALMA
Time variability of astronomical sources provides crude information on their
typical size and on the implied physical mechanisms. PKS1830-211 is a
remarkable radio-bright lensed quasar with a foreground molecular absorber at
z=0.89. Small-scale morphological changes in the core-jet structure of the
quasar -- which is magnified by the lensing -- result in a varying illumination
of the absorber screen, which in turn causes variations in the absorption
profile. We aim to study the time variations of the system [...] in order to
obtain constraints on both the quasar activity and small-scale structures in
the ISM of the absorber. We used ALMA to monitor the submm continuum emission,
together with the absorption spectra of the H2O and CH molecules, with 17
visits spread over six months in 2016. [...] From the continuum data, we
followed the evolution of the flux density, flux-density ratio, spectral index,
and differential polarization between the two lensed images of the quasar; all
quantities show significant variations related to the intrinsic activity of the
quasar. We propose a simple parametric model of a core plus a ballistic plasmon
to account for the continuum evolution, from which we constrain a time delay of
25+/-3~days between lensed images. The spectral lines reveal significant
variations in the foreground absorption. A PCA highlights apparent wavy time
variations, possibly linked to the helical jet precession period of the quasar.
From the deep averaged spectra towards the SW image, we detect the absorption
of 13CH and estimate an abundance ratio of 12CH/13CH~150. We also measure the
oxygen isotopic ratios, 16O/18O=65.3+/-0.7 and 18O/17O=11.5+/-0.5. Finally, we
find a remarkable continuous shallow trough in the water absorption spanning a
velocity interval of nearly 500 km/s. This broad absorption could be the
signature of an extra-planar molecular component. [Abridged]Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
The regeneration of stellar bars by tidal interactions. Numerical simulations of fly-by encounters
We study the regeneration of stellar bars triggered by a tidal interaction,
using numerical simulations of either purely stellar or stellar+gas disc
galaxies. We find that interactions which are sufficiently strong to regenerate
the bar in the purely stellar models do not lead to a regeneration in the
dissipative models, owing to the induced gas inflow in those models. In models
in which the bar can be regenerated, we find a tight correlation between the
strength and the pattern speed of the induced bar. This relation can be
explained by a significant radial redistribution of angular momentum in the
disc due to the interaction, similar to the processes and correlations found
for isolated barred spirals. We furthermore show that the regenerated bars show
the same dynamical properties as their isolated counterparts.Comment: 18 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Magellanic Cloud Structure from Near-IR Surveys II: Star Count Maps and the Intrinsic Elongation of the LMC
I construct a near-IR star count map of the LMC and demonstrate, using the
viewing angles derived in Paper I, that the LMC is intrinsically elongated. I
argue that this is due to the tidal force from the Milky Way. The near-IR data
from the 2MASS and DENIS surveys are used to create a star count map of RGB and
AGB stars, which is interpreted through ellipse fitting. The radial number
density profile is approximately exponential with a scale-length 1.3-1.5 kpc.
However, there is an excess density at large radii that may be due to the tidal
effect of the Milky Way. The position angle and ellipticity profile converge to
PA_maj = 189.3 +/- 1.4 degrees and epsilon = 0.199 +/- 0.008 for r > 5 deg. At
large radii there is a drift of the center of the star count contours towards
the near side of the plane, which can be undrestood as due to viewing
perspective. The fact that PA_maj differes from the line of nodes position
angle Theta = 122.5 +/- 8.3 (cf. Paper I) indicates that the LMC disk is not
circular, but has an intrinsic ellipticity of 0.31. The LMC is elongated in the
general direction of the Galactic center, and is elongated perpendicular to the
Magellanic Stream and the velocity vector of the LMC center of mass. This
suggests that the elongation of the LMC has been induced by the tidal force of
the Milky Way. The position angle of the line of nodes differs from the
position angle Theta_max of the line of maximum line of sight velocity
gradient: Theta_max - Theta = 20-60 degrees. This could be due to: (a)
streaming along non-circular orbits in the elongated disk; (b) uncertainties in
the transverse motion of the LMC center of mass; (c) precession and nutation of
the LMC disk as it orbits the Milky Way (expected on theoretical grounds).
[Abridged]Comment: Astronomical Journal, in press. 34 pages, LaTeX, with 7 PostScript
figures. Contains minor revisions with respect to previously posted version.
Check out http://www.stsci.edu/~marel/lmc.html for a large scale (23x21
degree) stellar number-density image of the LMC constructed from RGB and AGB
stars in the 2MASS and DENIS surveys. The paper is available with higher
resolution color figures from
http://www.stsci.edu/~marel/abstracts/abs_R32.htm
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