14,068 research outputs found
The Birthplace of Low-Mass X-ray Binaries: Field Versus Globular Cluster Populations
Recent Chandra studies of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) within early-type
galaxies have found that LMXBs are commonly located within globular clusters of
the galaxies. However, whether all LMXBs are formed within globular clusters
has remained an open question. If all LMXBs formed within globular clusters,
the summed X-ray luminosity of the LMXBs in a galaxy should be directly
proportional to the number of globular clusters in the galaxy regardless of
where the LMXBs currently reside. We have compared these two quantities over
the same angular area for a sample of 12 elliptical and S0 galaxies observed
with Chandra and found that the correlation between the two quantities is
weaker than expected if all LMXBs formed within globular clusters. This
indicates that a significant number of the LMXBs were formed in the field, and
naturally accounts for the spread in field-to-cluster fractions of LMXBs from
galaxy to galaxy. We also find that the "pollution" of globular cluster LMXBs
into the field has been minimal within elliptical galaxies, but there is
evidence that roughly half of the LMXBs originally in the globular clusters of
S0 galaxies in our sample have escaped into the field. This is due to higher
globular cluster disruption rates in S0s resulting from stronger gravitational
shocks caused by the passage of globular clusters through the disks of S0
galaxies that are absent in elliptical galaxies.Comment: To appear in ApJ, 1 October 2005, v631 2 issue, 9 pages, 3 figures,
typos and a few minor issues correcte
The APM Survey for Cool Carbon Stars in the Galactic Halo - II The Search for Dwarf Carbon Stars
We present proper motion measurements for carbon stars found during the APM
Survey for Cool Carbon Stars in the Galactic Halo (Totten & Irwin, 1998).
Measurements are obtained using a combination of POSSI, POSSII and UKST survey
plates supplemented where necessary by CCD frames taken at the Isaac Newton
Telescope. We find no significant proper motion for any of the new APM
colour-selected carbon stars and so conclude that there are no dwarf carbon
stars present within this sample. We also present proper motion measurements
for three previously known dwarf carbon stars and demonstrate that these
measurements agree favourably with those previously quoted in the literature,
verifying our method of determining proper motions. Results from a
complimentary program of JHK photometry obtained at the South African
Astronomical Observatory are also presented. Dwarf carbon stars are believed to
have anomalous near-infrared colours, and this feature is used for further
investigation of the nature of the APM carbon stars. Our results support the
use of JHK photomtery as a dwarf/giant discriminator and also reinforce the
conclusion that none of the new APM-selected carbon stars are dwarfs. Finally,
proper motion measurements combined with extant JHK photometry are presented
for a sample of previously known Halo carbon stars, suggesting that one of
these stars, CLS29, is likely to be a previously unrecognised dwarf carbon
star.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, Also
available at http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~ejt/publications.htm
SCUBA Observations of NGC 1275
Deep SCUBA observations of NGC 1275 at 450 micron and 850 micron along with
the application of deconvolution algorithms have permitted us to separate the
strong core emission in this galaxy from the fainter extended emission around
it. The core has a steep spectral index and is likely due primarily to the AGN.
The faint emission has a positive spectral index and is clearly due to extended
dust in a patchy distribution out to a radius of 20 kpc from the
nucleus. These observations have now revealed that a large quantity of dust,
6 10 , 2 orders of magnitude larger than that
inferred from previous optical absorption measurements, exists in this galaxy.
We estimate the temperature of this dust to be 20 K (using an emissivity
index of = 1.3) and the gas/dust ratio to be 360. These values are
typical of spiral galaxies. The dust emission correlates spatially with the hot
X-ray emitting gas which may be due to collisional heating of broadly
distributed dust by electrons. Since the destruction timescale is short, the
dust cannot be replenished by stellar mass loss and must be externally
supplied, either via the infalling galaxy or the cooling flow itself.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Figure 4 is colou
Improving antibiotic prescribing for children in the resource-poor setting.
Antibiotics are a critically important part of paediatric medical care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where infectious diseases are the leading cause of child mortality. The World Health Organization estimates that >50% of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately and that half of all patients do not take their medicines correctly. Given the rising prevalence of antimicrobial resistance globally, inappropriate antibiotic use is of international concern, and countries struggle to implement basic policies promoting rational antibiotic use. Many barriers to rational paediatric prescribing in LMICs persist. The World Health Organization initiatives, such as 'Make medicines child size', the Model List of Essential Medicines for Children and the Model Formulary for Children, have been significant steps forward. Continued strategies to improve access to appropriate drugs and formulations, in conjunction with improved evidence-based clinical guidelines and dosing recommendations, are essential to the success of such initiatives on both a national and an international level. This paper provides an overview of these issues and considers future developments that may improve LMIC antibiotic prescribing
Uncovering CDM halo substructure with tidal streams
Models for the formation and growth of structure in a cold dark matter
dominated universe predict that galaxy halos should contain significant
substructure. Studies of the Milky Way, however, have yet to identify the
expected few hundred sub-halos with masses greater than about 10^6 Msun. Here
we propose a test for the presence of sub-halos in the halos of galaxies. We
show that the structure of the tidal tails of ancient globular clusters is very
sensitive to heating by repeated close encounters with the massive dark
sub-halos. We discuss the detection of such an effect in the context of the
next generation of astrometric missions, and conclude that it should be easily
detectable with the GAIA dataset. The finding of a single extended cold stellar
stream from a globular cluster would support alternative theories, such as
self-interacting dark matter, that give rise to smoother halos.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRA
Trade costs, 1870–2000
What has driven trade booms and trade busts in the past century and a half? Was it changes in global output or in the costs of international trade? To address this question, we derive a micro-founded measure of aggregate bilateral
trade costs based on a standard model of trade in differentiated goods. These trade costs gauge the difference between observed bilateral trade and frictionless trade in terms of an implied markup on retail prices of foreign goods. Thus, we are able to estimate the combined magnitude of tariffs, transportation costs, and all other macroeconomic frictions that impede international
trade but that are inherently difficult to observe. We use this measure to examine the growth of global trade between 1870 and 1913, its retreat from 1921 to 1939, and its subsequent rise from 1950 to 2000. We find that trade cost
declines explain roughly 55 percent of the pre–World War I trade boom and 33 percent of the post–World War II trade boom, while a precipitous rise in trade costs explains the entire interwar trade bust
High redshift AGNs from the 1Jy catalogue and the magnification bias
We have found a statistically significant (99.1 \%) excess of red ()
galaxies with photographic magnitudes , taken from the APM Sky
Catalogue around radiosources from the 1Jy catalogue. The amplitude,
scale and dependence on galaxy colours of the observed overdensity are
consistent with its being a result of the magnification bias caused by the weak
gravitational lensing of large scale structures at redshift
and are hardly explained by other causes, as obscuration by dust.Comment: uuencoded file containing 3 ps files: the main text, a table and a
figure. To appear in ApJ Letter
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