7,636 research outputs found
Thermophilic Sulfate Reduction in Hydrothermal Sediment of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa
In environments with temperatures above 60 degrees C, thermophilic prokaryotes are the only metabolically active life-forms. By using the (SO42-)-S-35 tracer technique, we studied the activity of sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRM) in hot sediment from a hydrothermal vent site in the northern part of freshwater Lake Tanganyika (East Africa). Incubation of slurry samples at 8 to 90 degrees C demonstrated meso- and thermophilic sulfate reduction with optimum temperatures of 34 to 45 degrees C and 56 to 65 degrees C, respectively, and with an upper temperature limit of 80 degrees C. Sulfate reduction was stimulated at all temperatures by the addition of short-chain fatty acids and benzoate or complex substrates (yeast extract and peptone). A time course experiment showed that linear thermophilic sulfate consumption occurred after a lag phase (12 h) and indicated the presence of a large population of SRM in the hydrothermal sediment. Thermophilic sulfate reduction had a pH optimum of about 7 and was completely inhibited at pH 8.8 to 9.2. SRM could be enriched from hydrothermal chimney and sediment samples at 60 and 75 degrees C. In lactate-grown enrichments, sulfide production occurred at up to 70 and 75 degrees C, with optima at 63 and 71 degrees C, respectively. Several sporulating thermophilic enrichments were morphologically similar to Desulfotomaculum spp. Dissimilatory sulfate reduction in the studied hydrothermal area of Lake Tanganyika apparently has an upper temperature limit of 80 degrees C
The effect of a strong external radiation field on protostellar envelopes in Orion
We discuss the effects of an enhanced interstellar radiation field (ISRF) on
the observables of protostellar cores in the Orion cloud region. Dust radiative
transfer is used to constrain the envelope physical structure by reproducing
SCUBA 850 micron emission. Previously reported 13CO, C17O and H2CO line
observations are reproduced through detailed Monte Carlo line radiative
transfer models. It is found that the 13CO line emission is marginally
optically thick and sensitive to the physical conditions in the outer envelope.
An increased temperature in this region is needed in order to reproduce the
13CO line strengths and it is suggested to be caused by a strong heating from
the exterior, corresponding to an ISRF in Orion 10^3 times stronger than the
"standard" ISRF. The typical temperatures in the outer envelope are higher than
the desorption temperature for CO. The C17O emission is less sensitive to this
increased temperature but rather traces the bulk envelope material. The data
are only fit by a model where CO is depleted, except in the inner and outermost
regions where the temperature increases above 30-40 K. The fact that the
temperatures do not drop below approximately 25 K in any of the envelopes
whereas a significant fraction of CO is frozen-out suggest that the
interstellar radiation field has changed through the evolution of the cores.
The H2CO lines are successfully reproduced in the model of an increased ISRF
with constant abundances of 3-5x10^{-10}.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
The scaling relations of early--type galaxies in clusters I. Surface photometry in seven nearby clusters
This is the first paper of a series investigating the scaling relations of
early-type galaxies in clusters. Here we illustrate the multi-band imagery and
the image reduction and calibration procedures relative to the whole sample of
22 clusters at 0.05 < z < 0.25. We also present the detailed surface photometry
of 312 early-type galaxies in 7 clusters in the first redshift bin,
z~0.025-0.075. We give for each galaxy the complete set of luminosity and
geometrical profiles, and and a number of global, photometric and morphological
parameters. They have been evaluated taking into account the effects of seeing.
Internal consistency checks and comparisons with data in the literature confirm
the quality of our analysis. These data, together with the spectroscopic ones
presented in the second paper of the series, will provide the local calibration
of the scaling relations.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in A&
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
MOND and the lensing Fundamental Plane: No need for dark matter on galaxy scales
Bolton et al. (2007) have derived a mass-based fundamental plane using
photometric and spectroscopic observations of 36 strong gravitational lenses.
The lensing allows a direct determination of the mass-surface density and so
avoids the usual dependence on mass-to-light ratio. We consider this same
sample in the context of modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) and demonstrate
that the observed mass-based fundamental plane coincides with the MOND
fundamental plane determined previously for a set of high-order polytropic
spheres chosen to match the observed range of effective radii and velocity
dispersions in elliptical galaxies. Moreover, the observed projected mass
within one-half an effective radius is consistent with the mass in visible
stars plus a small additional component of ``phantom dark matter'' resulting
from the MOND contribution to photon deflection.Comment: Minor revisions in response to referee. Revised title. Accepted in
MNRA
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
Spatially resolved spectroscopy of Coma cluster early-type galaxies - II:the minor axis dataset
We present minor axis, off set major axis and one diagonal long slit spectra for 10 E and S0 galaxies of the Coma cluster drawn from a magnitude-limited sample studied before. We derive rotation curves, velocity dispersion profiles and the H-3 and H-4 coefficients of the Hermite decomposition of the line of sight velocity distribution. Moreover, we derive the line index profiles of Mg, Fe and Hbeta line indices and assess their errors. The data will be used to construct dynamical models of the galaxies and study their stellar populations
Water destruction by X-rays in young stellar objects
We study the H2O chemistry in star-forming environments under the influence
of a central X-ray source and a central far ultraviolet (FUV) radiation field.
The gas-phase water chemistry is modeled as a function of time, hydrogen
density and X-ray flux. To cover a wide range of physical environments,
densities between n_H = 10^4-10^9 cm^-3 and temperatures between T = 10-1000 K
are studied. Three different regimes are found: For T < 100 K, the water
abundance is of order 10^-7-10^-6 and can be somewhat enhanced or reduced due
to X-rays, depending on time and density. For 100 K < T < 250 K, H2O is reduced
from initial x(H2O) ~ 10^-4 following ice evaporation to x(H2O) ~ 10^-6 for F_X
> 10^-3 ergs s-1 cm^-2 (t = 10^4 yrs) and for F_X > 10^-4 ergs s^-1 cm^-2 (t =
10^5 yrs). At higher temperatures (T > 250 K) and hydrogen densities, water can
persist with x(H2O) ~ 10^-4 even for high X-ray fluxes. The X-ray and FUV
models are applied to envelopes around low-mass Class 0 and I young stellar
objects (YSOs). Water is destroyed in both Class 0 and I envelopes on
relatively short timescales (t ~ 5000 yrs) for realistic X-ray fluxes, although
the effect is less prominent in Class 0 envelopes due to the higher X-ray
absorbing densities there. FUV photons from the central source are not
effective in destroying water. The average water abundance in Class I sources
for L_X > 10^27 ergs s^-1 is predicted to be x(H2O) < 10^-6.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
The Class 0 Protostar BHR71: Herschel Observations and Dust Continuum Models
We use Herschel spectrophotometry of BHR71, an embedded Class 0 protostar, to
provide new constraints on its physical properties. We detect 645 (non-unique)
spectral lines amongst all spatial pixels. At least 61 different spectral lines
originate from the central region. A CO rotational diagram analysis shows four
excitation temperature components, 43 K, 197 K, 397 K, and 1057 K. Low-J CO
lines trace the outflow while the high-J CO lines are centered on the infrared
source. The low-excitation emission lines of H2O trace the large-scale outflow,
while the high-excitation emission lines trace a small-scale distribution
around the equatorial plane. We model the envelope structure using the dust
radiative transfer code, Hyperion, incorporating rotational collapse, an outer
static envelope, outflow cavity, and disk. The evolution of a rotating
collapsing envelope can be constrained by the far-infrared/millimeter SED along
with the azimuthally-averaged radial intensity profile, and the structure of
the outflow cavity plays a critical role at shorter wavelengths. Emission at
20-40 um requires a cavity with a constant-density inner region and a power-law
density outer region. The best fit model has an envelope mass of 19 solar mass
inside a radius of 0.315 pc and a central luminosity of 18.8 solar luminosity.
The time since collapse began is 24630-44000 yr, most likely around 36000 yr.
The corresponding mass infall rate in the envelope (1.2x10 solar mass
per year) is comparable to the stellar mass accretion rate, while the mass loss
rate estimated from the CO outflow is 20% of the stellar mass accretion rate.
We find no evidence for episodic accretion.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 33 pages; 34 figures; 4 table
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