464 research outputs found
Signatures of internal rotation discovered in the Kepler data of five slowly pulsating B stars
Context. Massive stars are important building blocks of the Universe, and their stellar structure and evolution models are fundamental cornerstones of various fields in modern astrophysics. The precision of these models is strongly limited by our lack of understanding of various internal mixing processes that significantly influence the lifetime of these objects, such as core overshoot, chemical mixing, or the internal differential rotation.
Aims. Our goal is to calibrate models by extending the sample of available seismic studies of slowly pulsating B (SPB) stars, providing input for theoretical modelling efforts that will deliver precise constraints on the parameters describing the internal mixing processes in these objects.
Methods. We used spectral synthesis and disentangling techniques to derive fundamental parameters and to determine precise orbital parameters from high-resolution spectra. We employed custom masks to construct light curves from the virtually uninterrupted four year long Kepler pixel data and used standard time-series analysis tools to construct a set of significant frequencies for each target. These sets were first filtered from combination frequencies, and then screened for period spacing patterns.
Results. We detect gravity mode period series of modes, of the same degree ℓ with consecutive radial order n, in four new and one revisited SPB star. These series (covering typically 10 to 40 radial orders) are clearly influenced by moderate to fast rotation and carry signatures of chemical mixing processes. Furthermore, they are predominantly prograde dipole series. Our spectroscopic analysis, in addition to placing each object inside the SPB instability strip and identifying KIC 4930889 as an SB2 binary, reveals that KIC 11971405 is a fast rotator that shows very weak Be signatures. Together with the observed photometric outbursts this illustrates that this Be star is a fast rotating SPB star. We hypothesise that the outbursts might be connected to its very densely compressed oscillation spectrum
Colour-Dielectric Gauge Theory on a Transverse Lattice
We investigate in some detail consequences of the effective colour-dielectric
formulation of lattice gauge theory using the light-cone Hamiltonian formalism
with a transverse lattice. As a quantitative test of this approach, we have
performed extensive analytic and numerical calculations for 2+1-dimensional
pure gauge theory in the large N limit. Because of Eguchi-Kawai reduction, one
effectively studies a 1+1-dimensional gauge theory coupled to matter in the
adjoint representation. We study the structure of coupling constant space for
our effective potential by comparing with the physical results available from
conventional Euclidean lattice Monte Carlo simulations of this system. In
particular, we calculate and measure the scaling behaviour of the entire
low-lying glueball spectrum, glueball wavefunctions, string tension, asymptotic
density of states, and deconfining temperature. We employ a new hybrid
DLCQ/wavefunction basis in our calculations of the light-cone Hamiltonian
matrix elements, along with extrapolation in Tamm-Dancoff truncation,
significantly reducing numerical errors. Finally we discuss, in light of our
results, what further measurements and calculations could be made in order to
systematically remove lattice spacing dependence from our effective potential a
priori.Comment: 48 pages, Latex, uses macro boxedeps.tex, minor errors corrected in
revised versio
Equity in human papilloma virus vaccination uptake?:sexual behaviour, knowledge and demographics in a cross-sectional study in (un)vaccinated girls in the Netherlands
BACKGROUND: In the Netherlands, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is part of a national program equally accessible for all girls invited for vaccination. To assess possible inequalities in vaccine uptake, we investigated differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated girls with regard to various characteristics, including education and ethnicity, (both associated with non-attendance to the national cervical screening program), sexual behaviour and knowledge of HPV. METHODS: In 2010, 19,939 nationwide randomly-selected 16–17 year-old girls (2009 vaccination campaign) were invited to fill out an online questionnaire. A knowledge scale score and multivariable analyses identified variables associated with vaccination status. RESULTS: 2989 (15%) of the selected girls participated (65% vaccinated, 35% unvaccinated). The participants were comparable with regard to education, ethnicity, most sexual risk behaviour and had similar knowledge scores on HPV transmission and vaccination. However, unvaccinated girls lived in more urbanised areas and were more likely to have a religious background. Irrespective of vaccination status, 81% of the girls were aware of the causal relationship between HPV and cervical cancer, but the awareness of the necessity of cervical screening despite being vaccinated was limited. CONCLUSIONS: HPV vaccine uptake was not associated with knowledge of HPV and with factors that are known to be associated with non-attendance to the cervical cancer screening program in the Netherlands. Furthermore, most sexual behaviour was not related to vaccination status meaning that teenage unvaccinated girls were not at a disproportionally higher risk of being exposed to HPV. Routine HPV vaccination may reduce the social inequity of prevention of cervical cancer
Variational Calculation of the Effective Action
An indication of spontaneous symmetry breaking is found in the
two-dimensional model, where attention is paid to the
functional form of an effective action. An effective energy, which is an
effective action for a static field, is obtained as a functional of the
classical field from the ground state of the hamiltonian interacting
with a constant external field. The energy and wavefunction of the ground state
are calculated in terms of DLCQ (Discretized Light-Cone Quantization) under
antiperiodic boundary conditions. A field configuration that is physically
meaningful is found as a solution of the quantum mechanical Euler-Lagrange
equation in the limit. It is shown that there exists a nonzero field
configuration in the broken phase of symmetry because of a boundary
effect.Comment: 26 pages, REVTeX, 7 postscript figures, typos corrected and two
references adde
THE VLT LEGA-C spectroscopic survey:the physics of galaxies at a lookback time of 7 Gyr
The Large Early Galaxy Census (LEGA-C) is a Public Spectroscopic Survey of ~3200 K-band selected galaxies at redshifts z = 0.6 − 1.0 with stellar masses , conducted with VIMOS on ESO's Very Large Telescope. The survey is embedded in the COSMOS field (R.A. = 10h00; ). The 20 hr long integrations produce high-signal-to-noise ratio continuum spectra that reveal ages, metallicities and velocity dispersions of the stellar populations. LEGA-C's unique combination of sample size and depth will enable us for the first time to map the stellar content at large lookback time, across galaxies of different types and star formation activity. Observations started in 2014 December and are planned to be completed by mid 2018, with early data releases of the spectra and value-added products. In this paper we present the science case, the observing strategy, an overview of the data reduction process and data products, and a first look at the relationship between galaxy structure and spectral properties, as it existed 7 Gyr ago
Variational Mass Perturbation Theory for Light-Front Bound-State Equations
We investigate the mesonic light-front bound-state equations of the 't Hooft
and Schwinger model in the two-particle, i.e. valence sector, for small fermion
mass. We perform a high precision determination of the mass and light-cone wave
function of the lowest lying meson by combining fermion mass perturbation
theory with a variational approach. All calculations are done entirely in the
fermionic representation without using any bosonization scheme. In a
step-by-step procedure we enlarge the space of variational parameters. For the
first two steps, the results are obtained analytically. Beyond that we use
computer algebraic and numerical methods. We achieve good convergence so that
the calculation of the meson mass squared can be extended to third order in the
fermion mass. Within the numerical treatment we include higher Fock states up
to six particles. Our results are consistent with all previous numerical
investigations, in particular lattice calculations. For the massive Schwinger
model, we find a small discrepancy (less than 2 percent) in comparison with
known bosonization results. Possible resolutions of this discrepancy are
discussed.Comment: some points clarified, representation straightened, to appear in
Phys. Rev. D, 31 pages, Latex, REVTeX, epsfig, 3 postscript figures include
Phylogenetic Analysis of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Madurella mycetomatis Confirms Its Taxonomic Position within the Order Sordariales
Background: Madurella mycetomatis is the most common cause of human eumycetoma. The genus Madurella has been characterized by overall sterility on mycological media. Due to this sterility and the absence of other reliable morphological and ultrastructural characters, the taxonomic classification of Madurella has long been a challenge. Mitochondria are of monophyletic origin and mitochondrial genomes have been proven to be useful in phylogenetic analyses. Results: The first complete mitochondrial DNA genome of a mycetoma-causative agent was sequenced using 454 sequencing. The mitochondrial genome of M. mycetomatis is a circular DNA molecule with a size of 45,590 bp, encoding for the small and the large subunit rRNAs, 27 tRNAs, 11 genes encoding subunits of respiratory chain complexes, 2 ATP synthase subunits, 5 hypothetical proteins, 6 intronic proteins including the ribosomal protein rps3. In phylogenetic analyses using amino acid sequences of the proteins involved in respiratory chain complexes and the 2 ATP synthases it appeared that M. mycetomatis clustered together with members of the order Sordariales and that it was most closely related to Chaetomium thermophilum. Analyses of the gene order showed that within the order Sordariales a similar gene order is found. Furthermore also the tRNA order seemed mostly conserved. Conclusion: Phylogenetic analyses of fungal mitochondrial genomes confirmed that M. mycetomatis belongs to the order of Sordariales and that it was most closely related to Chaetomium thermophilum, with which it also shared a comparable gene and tRNA order
(Sub)stellar companions shape the winds of evolved stars
Binary interactions dominate the evolution of massive stars, but their role is less clear for low- and intermediate-mass stars. The evolution of a spherical wind from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star into a nonspherical planetary nebula (PN) could be due to binary interactions. We observed a sample of AGB stars with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and found that their winds exhibit distinct nonspherical geometries with morphological similarities to planetary nebulae (PNe). We infer that the same physics shapes both AGB winds and PNe; additionally, the morphology and AGB mass-loss rate are correlated. These characteristics can be explained by binary interaction. We propose an evolutionary scenario for AGB morphologies that is consistent with observed phenomena in AGB stars and PNe
ATOMIUM: A high-resolution view on the highly asymmetric wind of the AGB star pi(1)Gruis: I. First detection of a new companion and its effect on the inner wind
The nebular circumstellar environments of cool evolved stars are known to harbour a rich morphological complexity of gaseous structures on different length scales. A large part of these density structures are thought to be brought about by the interaction of the stellar wind with a close companion. The S-type asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star π1Gruis, which has a known companion at ∼440 au and is thought to harbour a second, closer-by (< 10 au) companion, was observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array as part of the ATOMIUM Large programme. In this work, the brightest CO, SiO, and HCN molecular line transitions are analysed. The continuum map shows two maxima, separated by 0.04″ (6 au). The CO data unambiguously reveal that π1Gru’s circumstellar environment harbours an inclined, radially outflowing, equatorial density enhancement. It contains a spiral structure at an angle of ∼38 ± 3° with the line-of-sight. The HCN emission in the inner wind reveals a clockwise spiral, with a dynamical crossing time of the spiral arms consistent with a companion at a distance of 0.04″ from the AGB star, which is in agreement with the position of the secondary continuum peak. The inner wind dynamics imply a large acceleration region, consistent with a beta-law power of ∼6. The CO emission suggests that the spiral is approximately Archimedean within 5″, beyond which this trend breaks down as the succession of the spiral arms becomes less periodic. The SiO emission at scales smaller than 0.5″ exhibits signatures of gas in rotation, which is found to fit the expected behaviour of gas in the wind-companion interaction zone. An investigation of SiO maser emission reveals what could be a stream of gas accelerating from the surface of the AGB star to the companion. Using these dynamics, we have tentatively derived an upper limit on the companion mass to be ∼1.1 M⊙
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