6,100 research outputs found
On C*-algebras generated by pairs of q-commuting isometries
We consider the C*-algebras O_2^q and A_2^q generated, respectively, by
isometries s_1, s_2 satisfying the relation s_1^* s_2 = q s_2 s_1^* with |q| <
1 (the deformed Cuntz relation), and by isometries s_1, s_2 satisfying the
relation s_2 s_1 = q s_1 s_2 with |q| = 1. We show that O_2^q is isomorphic to
the Cuntz-Toeplitz C*-algebra O_2^0 for any |q| < 1. We further prove that
A_2^{q_1} is isomorphic to A_2^{q_2} if and only if either q_1 = q_2 or q_1 =
complex conjugate of q_2. In the second part of our paper, we discuss the
complexity of the representation theory of A_2^q. We show that A_2^q is *-wild
for any q in the circle |q| = 1, and hence that A_2^q is not nuclear for any q
in the circle.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX2e "article" document class; submitted. V2 clarifies
the relationships between the various deformation systems treate
Screening of organically based fungicides for apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) control and a histopathological study of the mode of action of a resistance inducer.
A range of possible substitutes for copper-based fungicides for control of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) in organic growing were tested in laboratory and growth chamber experiments in the Danish project StopScab (2002-2004). Eighteen crude plant extracts, 19 commercial plant-based products and 6 miscellaneous compounds were tested for their ability to reduce scab symptoms on apple seedlings. Most of the compounds were also tested for their effect on conidium germination on glass slides. Fourteen of the crude plant extracts, 13 of the commercial plant products and 5 of the miscellaneous compounds showed promising control efficacies when used either preventively or curatively in the plant assay. A histopathological study was carried out on the mode of action of the resistance inducer, acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM), which reduced scab severity and sporulation on apple seedlings in several plant assays when applied as preventive treatment. The effect of the inducer on key pre- and post-penetration events of V. inaequalis was studied and compared to these events in water-treated control leaves. The histopathological study showed that the inducer had its strongest effect on post-penetration events indicated by delayed infection and reduced stroma development. In addition, a small but significant inhibition of conidial germination and a stimulation of germ tube length were observed. This investigation provides new histopathological evidence for the mode of action of ASM against V. inaequalis and serves as a model for evaluation of the mechanisms by which the organically based fungicides reduce infection of V. inaequalis
The deuterium fractionation of water on solar-system scales in deeply-embedded low-mass protostars
(Abridged) The water deuterium fractionation (HDO/HO abundance ratio) has
traditionally been used to infer the amount of water brought to Earth by
comets. Measuring this ratio in deeply-embedded low-mass protostars makes it
possible to probe the critical stage when water is transported from clouds to
disks in which icy bodies are formed. We present sub-arcsecond resolution
observations of HDO in combination with HO from the PdBI toward the
three low-mass protostars NGC 1333-IRAS 2A, IRAS 4A-NW, and IRAS 4B. The
resulting HDO/HO ratio is for IRAS 2A,
for IRAS 4A-NW, and for IRAS
4B. Derived ratios agree with radiative transfer models within a factor of 2-4
depending on the source. Our HDO/HO ratios for the inner regions (where
K) of four young protostars are only a factor of 2 higher than those
found for pristine, solar system comets. These small differences suggest that
little processing of water occurs between the deeply embedded stage and the
formation of planetesimals and comets.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Atomic jet from SMM1 (FIRS1) in Serpens uncovers non-coeval binary companion
We report on the detection of an atomic jet associated with the protostellar
source SMM1 (FIRS1) in Serpens. The jet is revealed in [FeII] and [NeII] line
maps observed with Spitzer/IRS, and further confirmed in HiRes IRAC and MIPS
images. It is traced very close to SMM1 and peaks at ~5 arcsec" from the source
at a position angle of $\sim 125 degrees. In contrast, molecular hydrogen
emission becomes prominent at distances > 5" from the protostar and extends at
a position angle of 160 degrees. The morphological differences suggest that the
atomic emission arises from a companion source, lying in the foreground of the
envelope surrounding the embedded protostar SMM1. In addition the molecular and
atomic Spitzer maps disentangle the large scale CO (3-2) emission observed in
the region into two distinct bipolar outflows, giving further support to a
proto-binary source setup. Analysis at the peaks of the [FeII] jet show that
emission arises from warm and dense gas (T ~1000 K, n(electron) 10^5 - 10^6
cm^-3). The mass flux of the jet derived independently for the [FeII] and
[NeII] lines is 10^7 M(sun)/yr, pointing to a more evolved Class~I/II protostar
as the driving source. All existing evidence converge to the conclusion that
SMM1 is a non-coeval proto-binary source.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
\& Astrophysic
The LOFT (Large Observatory for X-ray Timing) background simulations
The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT) is an innovative medium-class
mission selected for an assessment phase in the framework of the ESA M3 Cosmic
Vision call. LOFT is intended to answer fundamental questions about the
behaviour of matter in the very strong gravitational and magnetic fields around
compact objects. With an effective area of ~10 m^2 LOFT will be able to measure
very fast variability in the X-ray fluxes and spectra. A good knowledge of the
in-orbit background environment is essential to assess the scientific
performance of the mission and to optimize the instrument design. The two main
contributions to the background are cosmic diffuse X-rays and high energy
cosmic rays; also, albedo emission from the Earth is significant. These
contributions to the background for both the Large Area Detector and the Wide
Field Monitor are discussed, on the basis of extensive Geant-4 simulations of a
simplified instrumental mass model.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 8443, Paper No. 8443-209, 201
Subarcsecond resolution observations of warm water towards three deeply embedded low-mass protostars
Water is present during all stages of star formation: as ice in the cold
outer parts of protostellar envelopes and dense inner regions of circumstellar
disks, and as gas in the envelopes close to the protostars, in the upper layers
of circumstellar disks and in regions of powerful outflows and shocks. In this
paper we probe the mechanism regulating the warm gas-phase water abundance in
the innermost hundred AU of deeply embedded (Class~0) low-mass protostars, and
investigate its chemical relationship to other molecular species during these
stages. Millimeter wavelength thermal emission from the para-H2-18O
3(1,3)-2(2,0) (Eu=203.7 K) line is imaged at high angular resolution (0.75";
190 AU) with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer towards the deeply
embedded low-mass protostars NGC 1333-IRAS2A and NGC 1333-IRAS4A. Compact
H2-18O emission is detected towards IRAS2A and one of the components in the
IRAS4A binary; in addition CH3OCH3, C2H5CN, and SO2 are detected. Extended
water emission is seen towards IRAS2A, possibly associated with the outflow.
The detections in all systems suggests that the presence of water on <100 AU
scales is a common phenomenon in embedded protostars. We present a scenario in
which the origin of the emission from warm water is in a flattened disk-like
structure dominated by inward motions rather than rotation. The gas-phase water
abundance varies between the sources, but is generally much lower than a
canonical abundance of 10^-4, suggesting that most water (>96 %) is frozen out
on dust grains at these scales. The derived abundances of CH3OCH3 and SO2
relative to H2-18O are comparable for all sources pointing towards similar
chemical processes at work. In contrast, the C2H5CN abundance relative to
H2-18O is significantly lower in IRAS2A, which could be due to different
chemistry in the sources.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Methanol maps of low-mass protostellar systems: the Serpens Molecular Core
Observations of Serpens have been performed at the JCMT using Harp-B. Maps
over a 4.5'x5.4' region were made in a frequency window around 338 GHz,
covering the 7-6 transitions of methanol. Emission is extended over each
source, following the column density of H2 but showing up also particularly
strongly around outflows. The rotational temperature is low, 15-20 K, and does
not vary with position within each source. The abundance is typically 10^-9 -
10^-8 with respect to H2 in the outer envelope, whereas "jumps" by factors of
up to 10^2 -10^3 inside the region where the dust temperature exceeds 100 K are
not excluded. A factor of up to ~ 10^3 enhancement is seen in outflow gas. In
one object, SMM4, the ice abundance has been measured to be ~ 3x10^-5 with
respect to H2 in the outer envelope, i.e., a factor of 10^3 larger than the
gas-phase abundance. Comparison with C18O J=3-2 emission shows that strong CO
depletion leads to a high gas-phase abundance of CH3OH not just for the Serpens
sources, but for a larger sample of protostars. The observations illustrate the
large-scale, low-level desorption of CH3OH from dust grains, extending out to
and beyond 7500 AU from each source, a scenario which is consistent with
non-thermal (photo-)desorption from the ice. The observations also illustrate
the usefulness of CH3OH as a tracer of energetic input in the form of outflows,
where methanol is sputtered from the grain surfaces. Finally, the observations
provide further evidence of CH3OH formation through CO hydrogenation proceeding
on grain surfaces in low-mass envelopes.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A
Electron transport in single wall carbon nanotube weak links in the Fabry-Perot regime
We fabricated reproducible high transparency superconducting contacts
consisting of superconducting Ti/Al/Ti trilayers to gated single-walled carbon
nanotubes (SWCNTs). The reported semiconducting SWCNT have normal state
differential conductance up to and exhibit clear Fabry-Perot
interference patterns in the bias spectroscopy plot. We observed subharmonic
gap structure in the differential conductance and a distinct peak in the
conductance at zero bias which is interpreted as a manifestation of a
supercurrent. The gate dependence of this supercurrent as well as the excess
current are examined and compared to a coherent theory of superconducting point
contacts with good agreement.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Classifying the embedded young stellar population in Perseus and Taurus & the LOMASS database
Context. The classification of young stellar objects (YSOs) is typically done
using the infrared spectral slope or bolometric temperature, but either can
result in contamination of samples. More accurate methods to determine the
evolutionary stage of YSOs will improve the reliability of statistics for the
embedded YSO population and provide more robust stage lifetimes. Aims. We aim
to separate the truly embedded YSOs from more evolved sources. Methods. Maps of
HCO+ J=4-3 and C18O J=3-2 were observed with HARP on the James Clerk Maxwell
Telescope (JCMT) for a sample of 56 candidate YSOs in Perseus and Taurus in
order to characterize emission from high (column) density gas. These are
supplemented with archival dust continuum maps observed with SCUBA on the JCMT
and Herschel PACS to compare the morphology of the gas and dust in the
protostellar envelopes. The spatial concentration of HCO+ J=4-3 and 850 micron
dust emission are used to classify the embedded nature of YSOs. Results.
Approximately 30% of Class 0+I sources in Perseus and Taurus are not Stage I,
but are likely to be more evolved Stage II pre-main sequence (PMS) stars with
disks. An additional 16% are confused sources with an uncertain evolutionary
stage. Conclusions. Separating classifications by cloud reveals that a high
percentage of the Class 0+I sources in the Perseus star forming region are
truly embedded Stage I sources (71%), while the Taurus cloud hosts a majority
of evolved PMS stars with disks (68%). The concentration factor method is
useful to correct misidentified embedded YSOs, yielding higher accuracy for YSO
population statistics and Stage timescales. Current estimates (0.54 Myr) may
overpredict the Stage I lifetime on the order of 30%, resulting in timescales
of 0.38 Myr for the embedded phase.Comment: 33 pages, 21 figures, 6 tables, Accepted to be published in A&
Superconductivity-enhanced bias spectroscopy in carbon nanotube quantum dots
We study low-temperature transport through carbon nanotube quantum dots in
the Coulomb blockade regime coupled to niobium-based superconducting leads. We
observe pronounced conductance peaks at finite source-drain bias, which we
ascribe to elastic and inelastic cotunneling processes enhanced by the
coherence peaks in the density of states of the superconducting leads. The
inelastic cotunneling lines display a marked dependence on the applied gate
voltage which we relate to different tunneling-renormalizations of the two
subbands in the nanotube. Finally, we discuss the origin of an especially
pronounced sub-gap structure observed in every fourth Coulomb diamond
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