1,263 research outputs found
Kinematic fingerprint of core-collapsed globular clusters
Dynamical evolution drives globular clusters toward core collapse, which
strongly shapes their internal properties. Diagnostics of core collapse have so
far been based on photometry only, namely on the study of the concentration of
the density profiles. Here we present a new method to robustly identify
core-collapsed clusters based on the study of their stellar kinematics. We
introduce the \textit{kinematic concentration} parameter, , the ratio
between the global and local degree of energy equipartition reached by a
cluster, and show through extensive direct -body simulations that clusters
approaching core collapse and in the post-core collapse phase are strictly
characterized by . The kinematic concentration provides a suitable
diagnostic to identify core-collapsed clusters, independent from any other
previous methods based on photometry. We also explore the effects of incomplete
radial and stellar mass coverage on the calculation of and find that our
method can be applied to state-of-art kinematic datasets.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Lette
Models of Individual Blue Stragglers
This chapter describes the current state of models of individual blue
stragglers. Stellar collisions, binary mergers (or coalescence), and partial or
ongoing mass transfer have all been studied in some detail. The products of
stellar collisions retain memory of their parent stars and are not fully mixed.
Very high initial rotation rates must be reduced by an unknown process to allow
the stars to collapse to the main sequence. The more massive collision products
have shorter lifetimes than normal stars of the same mass, while products
between low mass stars are long-lived and look very much like normal stars of
their mass. Mass transfer can result in a merger, or can produce another binary
system with a blue straggler and the remnant of the original primary. The
products of binary mass transfer cover a larger portion of the colour-magnitude
diagram than collision products for two reasons: there are more possible
configurations which produce blue stragglers, and there are differing
contributions to the blended light of the system. The effects of rotation may
be substantial in both collision and merger products, and could result in
significant mixing unless angular momentum is lost shortly after the formation
event. Surface abundances may provide ways to distinguish between the formation
mechanisms, but care must be taking to model the various mixing mechanisms
properly before drawing strong conclusions. Avenues for future work are
outlined.Comment: Chapter 12, in Ecology of Blue Straggler Stars, H.M.J. Boffin, G.
Carraro & G. Beccari (Eds), Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springe
Globular Cluster Scale Sizes in Giant Galaxies: Orbital Anisotropy and Tidally Under-filling Clusters in M87, NGC 1399, and NGC 5128
We investigate the shallow increase in globular cluster half-light radii with
projected galactocentric distance observed in the giant galaxies M87,
NGC 1399, and NGC 5128. To model the trend in each galaxy, we explore the
effects of orbital anisotropy and tidally under-filling clusters. While a
strong degeneracy exists between the two parameters, we use kinematic studies
to help constrain the distance beyond which cluster orbits become
anisotropic, as well as the distance beyond which clusters are
tidally under-filling. For M87 we find kpc and kpc and kpc.
The connection of with each galaxy's mass profile indicates the
relationship between size and may be imposed at formation, with only
inner clusters being tidally affected. The best fitted models suggest the
dynamical histories of brightest cluster galaxies yield similar present-day
distributions of cluster properties. For NGC 5128, the central giant in a small
galaxy group, we find kpc and kpc. While we
cannot rule out a dependence on , NGC 5128 is well fitted by a tidally
filling cluster population with an isotropic distribution of orbits, suggesting
it may have formed via an initial fast accretion phase. Perturbations from the
surrounding environment may also affect a galaxy's orbital anisotropy profile,
as outer clusters in M87 and NGC 1399 have primarily radial orbits while outer
NGC 5128 clusters remain isotropic.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Modelling Collision Products of Triple-Star Mergers
In dense stellar clusters, binary-single and binary-binary encounters can
ultimately lead to collisions involving two or more stars. A comprehensive
survey of multi-star collisions would need to explore an enormous amount of
parameter space, but here we focus on a number of representative cases
involving low-mass main-sequence stars. Using both Smoothed Particle
Hydrodynamics (SPH) calculations and a much faster fluid sorting software
package (MMAS), we study scenarios in which a newly formed product from an
initial collision collides with a third parent star. By varying the order in
which the parent stars collide, as well as the orbital parameters of the
collision trajectories, we investigate how factors such as shock heating affect
the chemical composition and structure profiles of the collision product. Our
simulations and models indicate that the distribution of most chemical elements
within the final product is not significantly affected by the order in which
the stars collide, the direction of approach of the third parent star, or the
periastron separations of the collisions. We find that the sizes of the
products, and hence their collisional cross sections for subsequent encounters,
are sensitive to the order and geometry of the collisions. For the cases that
we consider, the radius of the product formed in the first (single-single star)
collision ranges anywhere from roughly 2 to 30 times the sum of the radii of
its parent stars. The final product formed in our triple-star collisions can
easily be as large or larger than a typical red giant. We therefore expect the
collisional cross section of a newly formed product to be greatly enhanced over
that of a thermally relaxed star of the same mass.Comment: 20 pages, submitted to MNRA
The Arab American experience with diabetes: Perceptions, myths and implications for culturally-specific interventions
Culturally-specific lifestyle diabetes prevention programs require an assessment of population disease perceptions and cultural influences on health beliefs and behaviors. The primary objectives were to assess Arab Americans’ knowledge and perceptions of diabetes and their preferences for a lifestyle intervention
The M-Integral for Computing Stress Intensity Factors in Generally Anisotropic Materials
The objective of this project is to develop and demonstrate a capability for computing stress intensity factors in generally anisotropic materials. These objectives have been met. The primary deliverable of this project is this report and the information it contains. In addition, we have delivered the source code for a subroutine that will compute stress intensity factors for anisotropic materials encoded in both the C and Python programming languages and made available a version of the FRANC3D program that incorporates this subroutine. Single crystal super alloys are commonly used for components in the hot sections of contemporary jet and rocket engines. Because these components have a uniform atomic lattice orientation throughout, they exhibit anisotropic material behavior. This means that stress intensity solutions developed for isotropic materials are not appropriate for the analysis of crack growth in these materials. Until now, a general numerical technique did not exist for computing stress intensity factors of cracks in anisotropic materials and cubic materials in particular. Such a capability was developed during the project and is described and demonstrated herein
Stellar Collisions and the Interior Structure of Blue Stragglers
Collisions of main sequence stars occur frequently in dense star clusters. In
open and globular clusters, these collisions produce merger remnants that may
be observed as blue stragglers. Detailed theoretical models of this process
require lengthy hydrodynamic computations in three dimensions. However, a less
computationally expensive approach, which we present here, is to approximate
the merger process (including shock heating, hydrodynamic mixing, mass
ejection, and angular momentum transfer) with simple algorithms based on
conservation laws and a basic qualitative understanding of the hydrodynamics.
These algorithms have been fine tuned through comparisons with the results of
our previous hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the thermodynamic and
chemical composition profiles of our simple models agree very well with those
from recent SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) calculations of stellar
collisions, and the subsequent stellar evolution of our simple models also
matches closely that of the more accurate hydrodynamic models. Our algorithms
have been implemented in an easy to use software package, which we are making
publicly available (see http://vassun.vassar.edu/~lombardi/mmas/). This
software could be used in combination with realistic dynamical simulations of
star clusters that must take into account stellar collisions.Comment: This revised version has 37 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables; submitted to
ApJ; for associated software package, see
http://vassun.vassar.edu/~lombardi/mmas/ This revised version presents
additional comparisons with SPH results and slightly improved merger recipe
A need for definition: a matter of life and death for human embryos
A recent IMJ commentaryon brain stem death criteria summarised ethical and technical issues concerning “end of life decisions”, and we concur that physicians should have competence in eliciting the proper sequence of brain stem signs in clinical practice. However, a truly comprehensive dialogue on the definition of death should address another question that confronts IVF clinics in Ireland each day—when does a human embryo die? Despite the enormous social and political energy focused on “right to life” issues over recent decades, the death of a human embryo remains a sadly forgotten topic. As Dr Murphy indicated1, the introduction of brain stem death criteria in 1967 recognised permanent loss of consciousness and spontaneous breathing after the inactivation of essential human neural elements. But our IVF clinics and allied research facilities are responsible for human life well before any discrete neurological system has developed. For practitioners and scientists engaged in the care of these tiniest of “patients”, a relevant definition of death should not be neglected
The Chemical Evolution of Helium in Globular Clusters: Implications for the Self-Pollution Scenario
We investigate the suggestion that there are stellar populations in some
globular clusters with enhanced helium (Y from 0.28 to 0.40) compared to the
primordial value. We assume that a previous generation of massive Asymptotic
Giant Branch (AGB) stars have polluted the cluster. Two independent sets of AGB
yields are used to follow the evolution of helium and CNO using a Salpeter
initial mass function (IMF) and two top-heavy IMFs. In no case are we able to
produce the postulated large Y ~ 0.35 without violating the observational
constraint that the CNO content is nearly constant.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
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