2,839 research outputs found
A comparison of tree segmentation methods using very high density airborne laser scanner data
A tight-binding potential for atomistic simulations of carbon interacting with transition metals: Application to the Ni-C system
We present a tight-binding potential for transition metals, carbon, and
transition metal carbides, which has been optimized through a systematic
fitting procedure. A minimal basis, including the s, p electrons of carbon and
the d electrons of the transition metal, is used to obtain a transferable
tight-binding model of the carbon-carbon, metal-metal and metal-carbon
interactions applicable to binary systems. The Ni-C system is more specifically
discussed. The successful validation of the potential for different atomic
configurations indicates a good transferability of the model and makes it a
good choice for atomistic simulations sampling a large configuration space.
This approach appears to be very efficient to describe interactions in systems
containing carbon and transition metal elements
Application of the Frobenius method to the Schrodinger equation for a spherically symmetric potential: anharmonic oscillator
The power series method has been adapted to compute the spectrum of the
Schrodinger equation for central potential of the form . The bound-state energies
are given as zeros of a calculable function, if the potential is confined in a
spherical box. For an unconfined potential the interval bounding the energy
eigenvalues can be determined in a similar way with an arbitrarily chosen
precision. The very accurate results for various spherically symmetric
anharmonic potentials are presented.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, published in J. Phys
Extinction law variations and dust excitation in the spiral galaxy NGC 300
We investigate the origin of the strong radial gradient in the
ultraviolet-to-infrared ratio in the spiral galaxy NGC 300, and emphasize the
importance of local variations in the interstellar medium geometry, concluding
that they cannot be neglected with respect to metallicity effects. This
analysis is based upon a combination of maps from GALEX and Spitzer, and from
the ground (UBVRI, Halpha and Hbeta). We select ionizing stellar clusters
associated with HII regions of widely varying morphologies, and derive their
fundamental parameters from population synthesis fitting of their spectral
energy distributions, measured to eliminate local backgrounds accurately. From
these fits, we conclude that the stellar extinction law is highly variable in
the line of sight of young clusters of similar ages. In the particular model
geometry that we consider most appropriate to the sampled regions, we checked
that our findings are not significantly altered by the correct treatment of
radiative transfer effects. The variations are systematic in nature: extinction
laws of the Milky Way or LMC type are associated with compact HII regions (the
compacity being quantified in two different ways), while clusters surrounded by
diffuse HII regions follow extinction laws of the 30 Doradus or SMC type. The
Calzetti starburst attenuation law, although most often degenerate with the 30
Doradus extinction law, overpredicts ionizing photon fluxes by large amounts.
We also find that the extinction law variations are correlated with the column
density of dust species emitting in the near- and mid-infrared. Finally, we
briefly discuss the nebular to stellar extinction ratios, and the excitation of
aromatic band carriers, invalidating their claimed association with cold dust.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ -- figure 6 abridged her
The Mid-Infrared Spectrum of Star-Forming Galaxies: Global Properties of PAH Emission
We present a sample of low-resolution 5-38um Spitzer IRS spectra of the inner
few square kiloparsecs of 59 nearby galaxies spanning a large range of star
formation properties. A robust method for decomposing mid-infrared galaxy
spectra is described, and used to explore the behavior of PAH emission and the
prevalence of silicate dust extinction. Evidence for silicate extinction is
found in ~1/8 of the sample, at strengths which indicate most normal galaxies
undergo A_V < ~3 magnitudes averaged over their centers. The contribution of
PAH emission to the total infrared power is found to peak near 10% and extend
up to ~20%, and is suppressed at metallicities Z < ~Z_sun/4, as well as in
low-luminosity AGN environments. Strong inter-band PAH feature strength
variations (2-5x) are observed, with the presence of a weak AGN and, to a
lesser degree, increasing metallicity shifting power to the longer wavelength
bands. A peculiar PAH emission spectrum with markedly diminished 5-8um features
arises among the sample solely in systems with relatively hard radiation fields
harboring low-luminosity AGN. The AGN may modify the emitting grain
distribution and provide the direct excitation source of the unusual PAH
emission, which cautions against using absolute PAH strength to estimate star
formation rates in systems harboring active nuclei. Alternatively, the low star
formation intensity often associated with weak AGN may affect the spectrum. The
effect of variations in the mid-infrared spectrum on broadband infrared surveys
is modeled, and points to more than a factor of two uncertainty in results
which assume a fixed PAH emission spectrum, for redshifts z=0-2.5.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 24 pages (abstract typo fixed,
reference added
Excited states of 19N and 21O
(18O, 19N) and (18O, 21O) nuclear reactions on a 18O target provide measurements of excited state energies at 1.12 and 1.59 MeV for 19N and at 1.35 and 3.00 MeV for 21O. The 19N mass is remeasured as 15.856 ± 0.050 MeV
Overexpression of Mouse D-Type Cyclins Accelerates G(1) Phase in Rodent Fibroblasts
Mammalian D-type cyclins are growth factor-regulated, delayed early response genes that are presumed to control progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle by governing the activity of cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks). Overexpression of mouse cyclin D1 in serum-stimulated mouse NIH-3T3 and rat-2 fibroblasts increased their rates of G0 to S- and G1- to S-phase transit by several hours, leading to an equivalent contraction of their mean cell generation times. Although such cells remained contact inhibited and anchorage dependent, they manifested a reduced serum requirement for growth and were smaller in size than their normal counterparts. Ectopic expression of cyclin D2 in rodent fibroblasts, either alone or together with exogenous cdk4, shortened their G0- to S-phase interval and reduced their serum dependency, but cyclin D2 alone did not alter cell size significantly. When cells were microinjected during the G2 interval with a monoclonal antibody specifically reactive to cyclin D1, parental rodent fibroblasts and derivatives overexpressing this cyclin were inhibited from entering S phase, but cells injected near the G1/S phase transition were refractory to antibody-induced growth suppression. Thus, cyclin D1, and most likely D2, are rate limiting for G1progression
Thickness dependence of the resistivity of Platinum group metal thin films
We report on the thin film resistivity of several platinum-group metals (Ru,
Pd, Ir, Pt). Platinum-group thin films show comparable or lower resistivities
than Cu for film thicknesses below about 5\,nm due to a weaker thickness
dependence of the resistivity. Based on experimentally determined mean linear
distances between grain boundaries as well as ab initio calculations of the
electron mean free path, the data for Ru, Ir, and Cu were modeled within the
semiclassical Mayadas--Shatzkes model [Phys. Rev. B 1, 1382 (1970)] to assess
the combined contributions of surface and grain boundary scattering to the
resistivity. For Ru, the modeling results indicated that surface scattering was
strongly dependent on the surrounding material with nearly specular scattering
at interfaces with SiO2 or air but with diffuse scattering at interfaces with
TaN. The dependence of the thin film resistivity on the mean free path is also
discussed within the Mayadas--Shatzkes model in consideration of the
experimental findings.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
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