26,824 research outputs found
On the influence of environment on star forming galaxies
We use our state-of-the-art semi analytic model for GAlaxy Evolution and
Assembly (GAEA), and observational measurements of nearby galaxies to study the
influence of the environment on the gas content and gaseous/stellar disc sizes
of star-forming galaxies. We analyse the origin of differences between physical
properties of satellites and those of their central counterparts, identified by
matching the Vmax of their host haloes at the accretion time of the satellites.
Our model reproduces nicely the differences between centrals and satellites
measured for the HI mass, size of the star-forming region, and stellar radii.
In contrast, our model predicts larger differences with respect to data for the
molecular gas mass and star formation rate. By analysing the progenitors of
central and satellite model galaxies, we find that differences in the gas
content arise after accretion, and can be entirely ascribed to the
instantaneous stripping of the hot gas reservoir. The suppression of cold gas
replenishment via cooling and star formation leads to a reduction of the cold
gas and of its density. Therefore, more molecular gas is lost than lower
density HI gas, and model satellites have less molecular gas and lower star
formation rates than observed satellites. We argue that these disagreements
could be largely resolved with the inclusion of a proper treatment for
ram-pressure stripping of cold gas and a more gradual stripping of the hot gas
reservoir. A more sophisticated treatment of angular momentum exchanges,
accounting for the multi-phase nature of the gaseous disc is also required.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Stokes-Einstein Relation at Moderate Schmidt Number
The Stokes-Einstein relation for the self-diffusion coefficient of a
spherical particle suspended in an incompressible fluid is an asymptotic result
in the limit of large Schmidt number, that is, when momentum diffuses much
faster than the particle. When the Schmidt number is moderate, which happens in
most particle methods for hydrodynamics, deviations from the Stokes-Einstein
prediction are expected. We study these corrections computationally using a
recently-developed minimally-resolved method for coupling particles to an
incompressible fluctuating fluid in both two and three dimensions. We find that
for moderate Schmidt numbers the diffusion coefficient is reduced relative to
the Stokes-Einstein prediction by an amount inversely proportional to the
Schmidt number in both two and three dimensions. We find, however, that the
Einstein formula is obeyed at all Schmidt numbers, consistent with linear
response theory. The numerical data is in good agreement with an approximate
self-consistent theory, which can be used to estimate finite-Schmidt number
corrections in a variety of methods. Our results indicate that the corrections
to the Stokes-Einstein formula come primarily from the fact that the particle
itself diffuses together with the momentum. Our study separates effects coming
from corrections to no-slip hydrodynamics from those of finite separation of
time scales, allowing for a better understanding of widely observed deviations
from the Stokes-Einstein prediction in particle methods such as molecular
dynamics.Comment: Submitte
Temperature dependent surface relaxations of Ag(111)
The temperature dependent surface relaxation of Ag(111) is calculated by
density-functional theory. At a given temperature, the equilibrium geometry is
determined by minimizing the Helmholtz free energy within the quasiharmonic
approximation. To this end, phonon dispersions all over the Brillouin zone are
determined from density-functional perturbation theory. We find that the
top-layer relaxation of Ag(111) changes from an inward contraction (-0.8 %) to
an outward expansion (+6.3%) as the temperature increases from T=0 K to 1150 K,
in agreement with experimental findings. Also the calculated surface phonon
dispersion curves at room temperature are in good agreement with helium
scattering measurements. The mechanism driving this surface expansion is
analyzed.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B (May 1998). Other
related publications can be found at
http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
A Fast and Efficient Incremental Approach toward Dynamic Community Detection
Community detection is a discovery tool used by network scientists to analyze
the structure of real-world networks. It seeks to identify natural divisions
that may exist in the input networks that partition the vertices into coherent
modules (or communities). While this problem space is rich with efficient
algorithms and software, most of this literature caters to the static use-case
where the underlying network does not change. However, many emerging real-world
use-cases give rise to a need to incorporate dynamic graphs as inputs.
In this paper, we present a fast and efficient incremental approach toward
dynamic community detection. The key contribution is a generic technique called
, which examines the most recent batch of changes made to an
input graph and selects a subset of vertices to reevaluate for potential
community (re)assignment. This technique can be incorporated into any of the
community detection methods that use modularity as its objective function for
clustering. For demonstration purposes, we incorporated the technique into two
well-known community detection tools. Our experiments demonstrate that our new
incremental approach is able to generate performance speedups without
compromising on the output quality (despite its heuristic nature). For
instance, on a real-world network with 63M temporal edges (over 12 time steps),
our approach was able to complete in 1056 seconds, yielding a 3x speedup over a
baseline implementation. In addition to demonstrating the performance benefits,
we also show how to use our approach to delineate appropriate intervals of
temporal resolutions at which to analyze an input network
Centrality dependence of spectra for identified hadrons in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at GeV
The centrality dependence of transverse momentum spectra for identified
hadrons at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at GeV is
systematically studied in a quark combination model. The
spectra of , , and in
different centrality bins and the nuclear modification factors () for
these hadrons are calculated. The centrality dependence of the average
collective transverse velocity for the hot and dense quark matter
is obtained in Au+Au collisions, and it is applied to a relative smaller Cu+Cu
collision system. The centrality dependence of spectra and
the for , and in Cu+Cu collisions at
GeV are well described. The results show that is only a function of the number of participants and it is
independent of the collision system.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Optical Microvariability in Quasars: Spectral Variability
We present a method that we developed to discern where the optical
microvariability (OM) in quasars originates: in the accretion disk (related to
thermal processes) or in the jet (related to non-thermal processes). Analyzing
nearly simultaneous observations in three different optical bands of continuum
emission, we are able to determine the origin of several isolated OM events. In
particular, our method indicates that from nine events reported by Ramirez et
al. (2009), three of them are consistent with a thermal origin, three to
non-thermal, and three cannot be discerned. The implications for the emission
models of OM are briefly discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Multiband Comparative Study of Optical Microvariability in RL vs. RQ Quasars
We present the results of an optical multi-band (BVR) photometric monitoring
program of 22 core-dominated radio-loud quasars (CRLQs) and 22 radio-quiet
quasars (RQQs). The aim was to compare the properties of microvariability in
both types of quasars. We detected optical microvariability in 5 RQQs and 4
CRLQs. Our results confirm that microvariability in RQQs may be as frequent as
in CRLQs. In addition we compare microvariability duty cycles in different
bands. Finally, the implications for the origin of the microvariations are
briefly discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
Robust constrained model predictive control based on parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions
The problem of robust constrained model predictive control (MPC) of systems with polytopic uncertainties is considered in this paper. New sufficient conditions for the existence of parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions are proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which will reduce the conservativeness resulting from using a single Lyapunov function. At each sampling instant, the corresponding parameter-dependent Lyapunov function is an upper bound for a worst-case objective function, which can be minimized using the LMI convex optimization approach. Based on the solution of optimization at each sampling instant, the corresponding state feedback controller is designed, which can guarantee that the resulting closed-loop system is robustly asymptotically stable. In addition, the feedback controller will meet the specifications for systems with input or output constraints, for all admissible time-varying parameter uncertainties. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques
Dual Oxidase Maturation factor 1 (DUOXA1) overexpression increases reactive oxygen species production and inhibits murine muscle satellite cell differentiation
Background: Dual oxidase maturation factor 1 (DUOXA1) has been associated with the maturation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) producing enzyme, dual oxidase 1 (DUOX1) in the adult thyroid. However, ROS have also been implicated in the development of several tissues. We found that activated muscle satellite cells and primary myoblasts isolated from mice express robust levels of DUOXA1 and that its levels are altered as cells differentiate. Results: To determine whether DUOXA1 levels affect muscle differentiation, we used an adenoviral construct (pCMV5-DUOXA1-GFP) to drive constitutive overexpression of this protein in primary myoblasts. High levels of DUOXA1 throughout myogenesis resulted in enhanced H2O2 production, fusion defects, reduced expression of early (myogenin) and late (myosin heavy chain) markers of differentiation, and elevated levels of apoptosis compared to control cells infected with an empty adenoviral vector (pCMV5-GFP). DUOXA1 knockdown (using a DUOXA1 shRNA construct) resulted in enhanced differentiation compared to cells subjected to a control shRNA, and subjecting DUOXA1 overexpressing cells to siRNAs targeting DUOX1 or apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) rescued the phenotype. Conclusions: This study represents the first to demonstrate the importance of DUOXA1 in skeletal muscle myoblasts and that DUOXA1 overexpression in muscle stem cells induces apoptosis and inhibits differentiation through DUOX1 and ASK1. © 2014 Sandiford et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
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