1,439 research outputs found
A note on state-space representations of locally stationary wavelet time series
In this note we show that the locally stationary wavelet process can be decomposed into a sum of signals, each of which follows a moving average process with time-varying parameters. We then show that such moving average processes are equivalent to state space models with stochastic design components. Using a simple simulation step, we propose a heuristic method of estimating the above state space models and then we apply the methodology to foreign exchange rates data
RhoA function in lamellae formation and migration is regulated by the alpha6beta4 integrin and cAMP metabolism
Clone A colon carcinoma cells develop fan-shaped lamellae and exhibit random migration when plated on laminin, processes that depend on the ligation of the alpha6beta4 integrin. Here, we report that expression of a dominant negative RhoA (N19RhoA) in clone A cells inhibited alpha6beta4-dependent membrane ruffling, lamellae formation, and migration. In contrast, expression of a dominant negative Rac (N17Rac1) had no effect on these processes. Using the Rhotekin binding assay to assess RhoA activation, we observed that engagement of alpha6beta4 by either antibody-mediated clustering or laminin attachment resulted in a two- to threefold increase in RhoA activation, compared with cells maintained in suspension or plated on collagen. Antibody-mediated clustering of beta1 integrins, however, actually suppressed Rho A activation. The alpha6beta4-mediated interaction of clone A cells with laminin promoted the translocation of RhoA from the cytosol to membrane ruffles at the edges of lamellae and promoted its colocalization with beta1 integrins, as assessed by immunofluorescence microscopy. In addition, RhoA translocation was blocked by inhibiting phosphodiesterase activity and enhanced by inhibiting the activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Together, these results establish a specific integrin-mediated pathway of RhoA activation that is regulated by cAMP and that functions in lamellae formation and migration
Discovery of a faint, star-forming, multiply lensed, Lyman-alpha blob
We report the discovery of a multiply lensed Lyman- blob (LAB) behind
the galaxy cluster AS1063 using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on
the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The background source is at 3.117 and is
intrinsically faint compared to almost all previously reported LABs. We used
our highly precise strong lensing model to reconstruct the source properties,
and we find an intrinsic luminosity of =
erg s, extending to 33 kpc. We find that the LAB is associated with a
group of galaxies, and possibly a protocluster, in agreement with previous
studies that find LABs in overdensities. In addition to Lyman-
(Ly) emission, we find \ion{C}{IV}, \ion{He}{II}, and \ion{O}{III}]
ultraviolet (UV) emission lines arising from the centre of the nebula. We used
the compactness of these lines in combination with the line ratios to conclude
that the \Lya nebula is likely powered by embedded star formation. Resonant
scattering of the \Lya photons then produces the extended shape of the
emission. Thanks to the combined power of MUSE and strong gravitational
lensing, we are now able to probe the circumgalatic medium of sub-
galaxies at .Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures; moderate changes to match the accepted A&A
versoi
Quantification of finite-temperature effects on adsorption geometries of -conjugated molecules
The adsorption structure of the molecular switch azobenzene on Ag(111) is
investigated by a combination of normal incidence x-ray standing waves and
dispersion-corrected density functional theory. The inclusion of non-local
collective substrate response (screening) in the dispersion correction improves
the description of dense monolayers of azobenzene, which exhibit a substantial
torsion of the molecule. Nevertheless, for a quantitative agreement with
experiment explicit consideration of the effect of vibrational mode
anharmonicity on the adsorption geometry is crucial.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
A highly-ionized region surrounding SN Refsdal revealed by MUSE
Supernova (SN) Refsdal is the first multiply-imaged, highly-magnified, and
spatially-resolved SN ever observed. The SN exploded in a highly-magnified
spiral galaxy at z=1.49 behind the Frontier Fields Cluster MACS1149, and
provides a unique opportunity to study the environment of SNe at high z. We
exploit the time delay between multiple images to determine the properties of
the SN and its environment, before, during, and after the SN exploded. We use
the integral-field spectrograph MUSE on the VLT to simultaneously target all
observed and model-predicted positions of SN Refsdal. We find MgII emission at
all positions of SN Refsdal, accompanied by weak FeII* emission at two
positions. The measured ratios of [OII] to MgII emission of 10-20 indicate a
high degree of ionization with low metallicity. Because the same high degree of
ionization is found in all images, and our spatial resolution is too coarse to
resolve the region of influence of SN Refsdal, we conclude that this high
degree of ionization has been produced by previous SNe or a young and hot
stellar population. We find no variability of the [OII] line over a period of
57 days. This suggests that there is no variation in the [OII] luminosity of
the SN over this period, or that the SN has a small contribution to the
integrated [OII] emission over the scale resolved by our observations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The story of supernova 'Refsdal' told by MUSE
We present MUSE observations in the core of the HFF galaxy cluster MACS
J1149.5+2223, where the first magnified and spatially-resolved multiple images
of SN 'Refsdal' at redshift 1.489 were detected. Thanks to a DDT program with
the VLT and the extraordinary efficiency of MUSE, we measure 117 secure
redshifts with just 4.8 hours of total integration time on a single target
pointing. We spectroscopically confirm 68 galaxy cluster members, with redshift
values ranging from 0.5272 to 0.5660, and 18 multiple images belonging to 7
background, lensed sources distributed in redshifts between 1.240 and 3.703.
Starting from the combination of our catalog with those obtained from extensive
spectroscopic and photometric campaigns using the HST, we select a sample of
300 (164 spectroscopic and 136 photometric) cluster members, within
approximately 500 kpc from the BCG, and a set of 88 reliable multiple images
associated to 10 different background source galaxies and 18 distinct knots in
the spiral galaxy hosting SN 'Refsdal'. We exploit this valuable information to
build 6 detailed strong lensing models, the best of which reproduces the
observed positions of the multiple images with a rms offset of only 0.26". We
use these models to quantify the statistical and systematic errors on the
predicted values of magnification and time delay of the next emerging image of
SN 'Refsdal'. We find that its peak luminosity should should occur between
March and June 2016, and should be approximately 20% fainter than the dimmest
(S4) of the previously detected images but above the detection limit of the
planned HST/WFC3 follow-up. We present our two-dimensional reconstruction of
the cluster mass density distribution and of the SN 'Refsdal' host galaxy
surface brightness distribution. We outline the roadmap towards even better
strong lensing models with a synergetic MUSE and HST effort.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables; accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal - extra information on data analysis added, all model
predictions and results unchange
Shapley Supercluster Survey (ShaSS): Galaxy Evolution from Filaments to Cluster Cores
We present an overview of a multi-wavelength survey of the Shapley
supercluster (SSC; z~0.05) covering a contiguous area of 260 h^-2_70 Mpc^2
including the supercluster core. The project main aim is to quantify the
influence of cluster-scale mass assembly on galaxy evolution in one of the most
massive structures in the local Universe. The Shapley supercluster survey
(ShaSS) includes nine Abell clusters (A3552, A3554, A3556, A3558, A3559, A3560,
A3562, AS0724, AS0726) and two poor clusters (SC1327- 312, SC1329-313) showing
evidence of cluster-cluster interactions. Optical (ugri) and near-infrared (K)
imaging acquired with VST and VISTA allow us to study the galaxy population
down to m*+6 at the supercluster redshift. A dedicated spectroscopic survey
with AAOmega on the Anglo-Australian Telescope provides a magnitude-limited
sample of supercluster members with 80% completeness at ~m*+3.
We derive the galaxy density across the whole area, demonstrating that all
structures within this area are embedded in a single network of clusters,
groups and filaments. The stellar mass density in the core of the SSC is always
higher than 9E09 M_sun Mpc^-3, which is ~40x the cosmic stellar mass density
for galaxies in the local Universe. We find a new filamentary structure (~7 Mpc
long in projection) connecting the SSC core to the cluster A3559, as well as
previously unidentified density peaks. We perform a weak-lensing analysis of
the central 1 sqdeg field of the survey obtaining for the central cluster A3558
a mass of M_500=7.63E14 M_sun, in agreement with X-ray based estimates.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication on MNRA
CLASH-VLT: Testing the Nature of Gravity with Galaxy Cluster Mass Profiles
We use high-precision kinematic and lensing measurements of the total mass
profile of the dynamically relaxed galaxy cluster MACS J1206.2-0847 at
to estimate the value of the ratio between the two scalar
potentials in the linear perturbed Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker
metric.[...] Complementary kinematic and lensing mass profiles were derived
from exhaustive analyses using the data from the Cluster Lensing And Supernova
survey with Hubble (CLASH) and the spectroscopic follow-up with the Very Large
Telescope (CLASH-VLT). Whereas the kinematic mass profile tracks only the
time-time part of the perturbed metric (i.e. only ), the lensing mass
profile reflects the contribution of both time-time and space-space components
(i.e. the sum ). We thus express as a function of the mass
profiles and perform our analysis over the radial range . Using a spherical Navarro-Frenk-White mass profile, which
well fits the data, we obtain \eta(r_{200})=1.01\,_{-0.28}^{+0.31} at the
68\% C.L. We discuss the effect of assuming different functional forms for mass
profiles and of the orbit anisotropy in the kinematic reconstruction.
Interpreting this result within the well-studied modified gravity model,
the constraint on translates into an upper bound to the interaction
length (inverse of the scalaron mass) smaller than 2 Mpc. This tight constraint
on the interaction range is however substantially relaxed when
systematic uncertainties in the analysis are considered. Our analysis
highlights the potential of this method to detect deviations from general
relativity, while calling for the need of further high-quality data on the
total mass distribution of clusters and improved control on systematic effects.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, submitted to JCA
Three-body decay of Be
Three-body correlations for the ground-state decay of the lightest two-proton
emitter Be are studied both theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical
studies are performed in a three-body hyperspherical-harmonics cluster model.
In the experimental studies, the ground state of Be was formed following
the decay of a C beam inelastically excited through
interactions with Be and C targets. Excellent agreement between theory and
experiment is obtained demonstrating the existence of complicated correlation
patterns which can elucidate the structure of Be and, possibly, of the
A=6 isobar.Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, 5 table
Ionising the Intergalactic Medium by Star Clusters: The first empirical evidence
We present a VLT/X-Shooter spectroscopy of the Lyman continuum (LyC) emitting
galaxy 'Ion2' at z=3.2121 and compare it to that of the recently discovered
strongly lensed LyC-emitter at z=2.37, known as the 'Sunburst' arc. Three main
results emerge from the X-Shooter spectrum: (a) the Lya has three distinct
peaks with the central one at the systemic redshift, indicating a ionised
tunnel through which both Lya and LyC radiation escape; (b) the large O32
oxygen index ([OIII]4959-5007 / [OII]3727-3729) of 9.18(-1.32/+1.82) is
compatible to those measured in local (z~0.4) LyC leakers; (c) there are narrow
nebular high-ionisation metal lines with \sigma_v < 20 km/s, which confirms the
presence of young hot, massive stars. The HeII1640 appears broad, consistent
with a young stellar component including Wolf-Rayet stars. Similarly, the
Sunburst LyC-emitter shows a triple-peaked Lya profile and from VLT/MUSE
spectroscopy the presence of spectral features arising from young hot and
massive stars. The strong lensing magnification, (\mu > 20), suggests that this
exceptional object is a gravitationally-bound star cluster observed at a
cosmological distance, with a stellar mass M <~ 10^7 Msun and an effective
radius smaller than 20 pc. Intriguingly, sources like Sunburst but without
lensing magnification might appear as Ion2-like galaxies, in which unresolved
massive star clusters dominate the ultraviolet emission. This work supports the
idea that dense young star clusters can contribute to the ionisation of the IGM
through holes created by stellar feedback.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures and 1 table, MNRAS accepted. Some typos fixe
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