32 research outputs found
The detection of the imprint of filaments on cosmic microwave background lensing
Galaxy redshift surveys, such as 2dF, SDSS, 6df, GAMA and VIPERS, have shown
that the spatial distribution of matter forms a rich web, known as the cosmic
web. The majority of galaxy survey analyses measure the amplitude of galaxy
clustering as a function of scale, ignoring information beyond a small number
of summary statistics. Since the matter density field becomes highly
non-Gaussian as structure evolves under gravity, we expect other statistical
descriptions of the field to provide us with additional information. One way to
study the non-Gaussianity is to study filaments, which evolve non-linearly from
the initial density fluctuations produced in the primordial Universe. In our
study, we report the first detection of CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background)
lensing by filaments and we apply a null test to confirm our detection.
Furthermore, we propose a phenomenological model to interpret the detected
signal and we measure how filaments trace the matter distribution on large
scales through filament bias, which we measure to be around 1.5. Our study
provides a new scope to understand the environmental dependence of galaxy
formation. In the future, the joint analysis of lensing and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
observations might reveal the properties of `missing baryons', the vast
majority of the gas which resides in the intergalactic medium and has so far
evaded most observations
Resistance of Trichoplusia ni to Bacillus thuringiensis Toxin Cry1Ac Is Independent of Alteration of the Cadherin-Like Receptor for Cry Toxins
Alteration of binding sites for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins in insect midgut is the major mechanism of high-level resistance to Bt toxins in insects. The midgut cadherin is known to be a major binding protein for Bt Cry1A toxins and linkage of Bt-resistance to cadherin gene mutations has been identified in lepidopterans. The resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac evolved in greenhouse populations of Trichoplusia ni has been identified to be associated with the down-regulation of an aminopeptidase N (APN1) gene by a trans-regulatory mechanism and the resistance gene has been mapped to the locus of an ABC transporter (ABCC2) gene. However, whether cadherin is also involved with Cry1Ac-resistance in T. ni requires to be understood. Here we report that the Cry1Ac-resistance in T. ni is independent of alteration of the cadherin. The T. ni cadherin cDNA was cloned and the cadherin sequence showed characteristic features known to cadherins from Lepidoptera. Various T. ni cadherin gene alleles were identified and genetic linkage analysis of the cadherin alleles with Cry1Ac-resistance showed no association of the cadherin gene with the Cry1Ac-resistance in T. ni. Analysis of cadherin transcripts showed no quantitative difference between the susceptible and Cry1Ac-resistant T. ni larvae. Quantitative proteomic analysis of midgut BBMV proteins by iTRAQ-2D-LC-MS/MS determined that there was no quantitative difference in cadherin content between the susceptible and the resistant larvae and the cadherin only accounted for 0.0014% (mol%) of the midgut BBMV proteins, which is 1/300 of APN1 in molar ratio. The cadherin from both the susceptible and resistant larvae showed as a 200-kDa Cry1Ac-binding protein by toxin overlay binding analysis, and nano-LC-MS/MS analysis of the 200-kDa cadherin determined that there is no quantitative difference between the susceptible and resistant larvae. Results from this study indicate that the Cry1Ac-resistance in T. ni is independent of cadherin alteration
Modeling the accretion history of supermassive black holes
There is overwhelming evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes
(SMBHs) in the centers of most nearby galaxies. The mass estimates for these
remnant black holes from the stellar kinematics of local galaxies and the
quasar phenomenon at high redshifts point to the presence of assembled SMBHs.
The accretion history of SMBHs can be reconstructed using observations at high
and low redshifts as model constraints. Observations of galaxies and quasars in
the submillimeter, infrared, optical, and X-ray wavebands are used as
constraints, along with data from the demography of local black holes.
Theoretical modeling of the growth of black hole mass with cosmic time has been
pursued thus far in two distinct directions: a phenomenological approach that
utilizes observations in various wavebands, and a semi-analytic approach that
starts with a theoretical framework and a set of assumptions with a view to
matching observations. Both techniques have been pursued in the context of the
standard paradigm for structure formation in a Cold Dark Matter dominated
universe. Here, we examine the key issues and uncertainties in the theoretical
understanding of the growth of SMBHs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, to appear as Chapter 4 in "Supermassive Black
Holes in the Distant Universe" (2004), ed. A. J. Barger, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, in pres
Geometry and field theory in multi-fractional spacetime
We construct a theory of fields living on continuous geometries with
fractional Hausdorff and spectral dimensions, focussing on a flat background
analogous to Minkowski spacetime. After reviewing the properties of fractional
spaces with fixed dimension, presented in a companion paper, we generalize to a
multi-fractional scenario inspired by multi-fractal geometry, where the
dimension changes with the scale. This is related to the renormalization group
properties of fractional field theories, illustrated by the example of a scalar
field. Depending on the symmetries of the Lagrangian, one can define two
models. In one of them, the effective dimension flows from 2 in the ultraviolet
(UV) and geometry constrains the infrared limit to be four-dimensional. At the
UV critical value, the model is rendered power-counting renormalizable.
However, this is not the most fundamental regime. Compelling arguments of
fractal geometry require an extension of the fractional action measure to
complex order. In doing so, we obtain a hierarchy of scales characterizing
different geometric regimes. At very small scales, discrete symmetries emerge
and the notion of a continuous spacetime begins to blur, until one reaches a
fundamental scale and an ultra-microscopic fractal structure. This fine
hierarchy of geometries has implications for non-commutative theories and
discrete quantum gravity. In the latter case, the present model can be viewed
as a top-down realization of a quantum-discrete to classical-continuum
transition.Comment: 1+82 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables. v2-3: discussions clarified and
improved (especially section 4.5), typos corrected, references added; v4:
further typos correcte
New holographic reconstruction of scalar-field dark-energy models in the framework of chameleon Brans–Dicke cosmology
Recommended from our members
Prospects for detecting neutral hydrogen using 21-cm radiation from large scale structure at high redshifts
Recommended from our members