20,761 research outputs found
A Look At Three Different Scenarios for Bulge Formation
In this paper, we present three qualitatively different scenarios for bulge
formation: a secular evolution model in which bulges form after disks and
undergo several central starbursts, a primordial collapse model in which bulges
and disks form simultaneously, and an early bulge formation model in which
bulges form prior to disks. We normalize our models to the local z=0
observations of de Jong & van der Kruit (1994) and Peletier & Balcells (1996)
and make comparisons with high redshift observations. We consider model
predictions relating directly to bulge-to-disk properties. As expected, smaller
bulge-to-disk ratios and bluer bulge colors are predicted by the secular
evolution model at all redshifts, although uncertainties in the data are
currently too large to differentiate strongly between the models.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
The Potential Of High-Resolution BAC-FISH In Banana Breeding
Abstract The genetic complexity in the genus Musa has been subject of study in many breeding programs worldwide. Parthenocarpy, female sterility, polyploidy in different cultivars and limited amount of genetic and genomic information make the production of new banana cultivars difficult and time consuming. In addition, it is known that part of the cultivars and related wild species in the genus contain numerous chromosomal rearrangements. In order to produce new cultivars more effectively breeders must better understand the genetic differences of the potential crossing parents for introgression hybridization, but extensive genetic information is lacking. As an alternative to achieve information on genetic collinearity we make use of modern chromosome map technology known as high-resolution fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). This article presents the technical aspects and applications of such a technology in Musa species. The technique deals with BAC clone positioning on pachytene chromosomes of Calcutta 4 (Musa acuminata ssp. burmanicoides, A genome group, section Eumusa) and M. velutina (section Rodochlamys). Pollen mother cells digestion with pectolytic enzymes and maceration with acetic acid were optimized for making cell spread preparations appropriate for FISH. As an example of this approach we chose BAC clones that contain markers to known resistance genes and hybridize them for establishing their relative positions on the two species. Technical challenges for adapting existing protocols to the banana cells are presented. We also discuss how this technique can be instrumental for validating collinearity between potential crossing parents and how the method can be helpful in future mapping initiatives, and how this method allows identification of chromosomal rearrangements between related Musa species and cultivar
Transport properties of a molecule embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer
We theoretically investigate the transport properties of a molecule embedded
in one arm of a mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm interferometer. Due to the presence of
phonons the molecule level position () and the electron-electron
interaction () undergo a \emph{polaronic shift} which affects dramatically
the electronic transport through the molecular junction. When the
electron-phonon interaction is weak the linear conductance presents Fano-line
shapes as long as the direct channel between the electrodes is opened. The
observed Fano resonances in the linear conductance are originated from the
interference between the spin Kondo state and the direct path. For strong
enough electron-phonon interaction, the electron-electron interaction is
renormalized towards negative values, {\it i.e.} becomes effectively
attractive. This scenario favors fluctuations between the empty and doubly
occupied charge states and therefore promotes a charge Kondo effect. However,
the direct path between the contacts breaks the electron-hole symmetry which
can efficiently suppress this charge Kondo effect. Nevertheless, we show that a
proper tuning of the gate voltage is able to revive the Kondo resonance. Our
results are obtained by using the Numerical Renormalization approximation to
compute the electronic spectral function and the linear conductance.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure
Quantum partition noise of photo-created electron-hole pairs
We show experimentally that even when no bias voltage is applied to a quantum
conductor, the electronic quantum partition noise can be investigated using GHz
radiofrequency irradiation of a reservoir. Using a Quantum Point Contact
configuration as the ballistic conductor we are able to make an accurate
determination of the partition noise Fano factor resulting from the
photo-assisted shot noise. Applying both voltage bias and rf irradiation we are
able to make a definitive quantitative test of the scattering theory of
photo-assisted shot noise.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Varroa jacobsoni infestation of adult Africanized and Italian honey bees (Apis mellifera) in mixed colonies in Brazil
Structure of Disk Dominated Galaxies I. Bulge/Disk Parameters, Simulations, and Secular Evolution
(Abridged) A robust analysis of galaxy structural parameters, based on the
modeling of bulge and disk brightnesses in the BVRH bandpasses, is presented
for 121 face-on and moderately inclined late-type spirals. Each surface
brightness (SB) profile is decomposed into a sum of a generalized Sersic bulge
and an exponential disk. The reliability and limitations of our bulge-to-disk
(B/D) decompositions are tested with extensive simulations of galaxy brightness
profiles (1D) and images (2D). Galaxy types are divided into 3 classes
according to their SB profile shapes; Freeman Type-I and Type-II, and a third
``Transition'' class for galaxies whose profiles change from Type-II in the
optical to Type-I in the infrared. We discuss possible interpretations of
Freeman Type-II profiles. The Sersic bulge shape parameter for nearby Type-I
late-type spirals shows a range between n=0.1-2 but, on average, the underlying
surface density profile for the bulge and disk of these galaxies is adequately
described by a double-exponential distribution. We confirm a coupling between
the bulge and disk with a scale length ratio r_e/h=0.22+/-0.09, or
h_bulge/h_disk=0.13+/-0.06 for late-type spirals, in agreement with recent
N-body simulations of disk formation and models of secular evolution. This
ratio increases from ~0.20 for late-type spirals to ~0.24 for earlier types.
The similar scaling relations for early and late-type spirals suggest
comparable formation and/or evolution scenarios for disk galaxies of all Hubble
types.Comment: 78 pages with 23 embedded color figures + tables of galaxy structural
parameters. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. The
interested reader is strongly encouraged to ignore some of the low res
figures within; instead, download the high resolution version from
http://www.astro.ubc.ca/people/courteau/public/macarthur02_disks.ps.g
The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation
We explore the Tully-Fisher relation over five decades in stellar mass in
galaxies with circular velocities ranging over 30 < Vc < 300 km/s. We find a
clear break in the optical Tully-Fisher relation: field galaxies with Vc < 90
km/s fall below the relation defined by brighter galaxies. These faint galaxies
are however very gas rich; adding in the gas mass and plotting baryonic disk
mass Md = M* + Mg in place of luminosity restores a single linear relation. The
Tully-Fisher relation thus appears fundamentally to be a relation between
rotation velocity and total baryonic mass of the form Md = A Vc^4.Comment: 10 pages including 1 color figure. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Letter
The Effects of Starburst Activity on Low Surface Brightness Disk Galaxies
Although numerous simulations have been done to understand the effects of
intense bursts of star formation on high surface brightness galaxies, few
attempts have been made to understand how localized starbursts would affect
both the color and surface brightness of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies.
To remedy this, we have run 53 simulations involving bursts of star formation
activity on LSB galaxies, varying both the underlying galaxy properties and the
parameters describing the starbursts. We discovered that although changing the
total color of a galaxy was fairly straightforward, it was virtually impossible
to alter a galaxy's central surface brightness and thereby remove it from the
LSB galaxy classification without placing a high (and fairly artificial)
threshold for the underlying gas density. The primary effect of large amounts
of induced star formation was to produce a centralized core (bulge) component
which is generally not observed in LSB galaxies. The noisy morphological
appearance of LSB galaxies as well as their noisy surface brightness profiles
can be reproduced by considering small bursts of star formation that are
localized within the disk. The trigger mechanism for such bursts is likely
distant/weak tidal encounters. The stability of disk central surface brightness
to these periods of star formation argues that the large space density of LSB
galaxies at z = 0 should hold to substantially higher redshifts.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, tarred and compressed Also available
on http://guernsey.uoregon.edu/~kare
The Relationship Between Stellar Light Distributions of Galaxies and their Formation Histories
A major problem in extragalactic astronomy is the inability to distinguish in
a robust, physical, and model independent way how galaxy populations are
related to each other and to their formation histories. A similar, but
distinct, and also long standing question is whether the structural appearances
of galaxies, as seen through their stellar light distributions, contain enough
physical information to offer this classification. We argue through the use of
240 images of nearby galaxies that three model independent parameters measured
on a single galaxy image reveal its major ongoing and past formation modes, and
can be used as a robust classification system. These parameters quantitatively
measure: the concentration (C), asymmetry (A) and clumpiness (S) of a galaxy's
stellar light distribution. When combined into a three dimensional `CAS' volume
all major classes of galaxies in various phases of evolution are cleanly
distinguished. We argue that these three parameters correlate with important
modes of galaxy evolution: star formation and major merging activity. This is
argued through the strong correlation of Halpha equivalent width and broad band
colors with the clumpiness parameter, the uniquely large asymmetries of 66
galaxies undergoing mergers, and the correlation of bulge to total light
ratios, and stellar masses, with the concentration index. As an obvious goal is
to use this system at high redshifts to trace evolution, we demonstrate that
these parameters can be measured, within a reasonable and quantifiable
uncertainty, with available data out to z ~ 3 using the Hubble Space Telescope
GOODS ACS and Hubble Deep Field images.Comment: ApJS, in press, 30 pages, Figures 15 and 16 are in color. For a full
resolution version, please go to http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~cc/cas.p
Simulations of Dust in Interacting Galaxies I: Dust Attenuation
A new Monte-Carlo radiative-transfer code, Sunrise, is used in conjunction
with hydrodynamic simulations of major galaxy mergers to calculate the effects
of dust in such systems. The simulations are in good agreement with
observations of dust absorption in starburst galaxies, and the dust has a
profound effect on their appearance. The dust attenuation increases with
luminosity such that at peak luminosities ~90% of the bolometric luminosity is
absorbed by dust. In general, the detailed appearance of the merging event
depends on the stage of the merger and the geometry of the encounter. The
fraction of bolometric energy absorbed by the dust, however, is a robust
quantity that can be predicted from the intrinsic properties bolometric
luminosity, baryonic mass, star-formation rate, and metallicity of the system.
This paper presents fitting formulae, valid over a wide range of masses and
metallicities, from which the absorbed fraction of luminosity (and consequently
also the infrared dust luminosity) can be predicted. The attenuation of the
luminosity at specific wavelengths can also be predicted, albeit with a larger
scatter due to the variation with viewing angle. These formulae for dust
attenuation appear to be valid for both isolated and interacting galaxies, are
consistent with earlier studies, and would be suitable for inclusion in
theoretical models, e.g. semi-analytic models of galaxy formation.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Ap
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