4,983 research outputs found
Single wall carbon nanotube double quantum dot
We report on two top-gate defined, coupled quantum dots in a semiconducting
single wall carbon nanotube, constituting a tunable double quantum dot system.
The single wall carbon nanotubes are contacted by titanium electrodes, and
gated by three narrow top-gate electrodes as well as a back-gate. We show that
a bias spectroscopy plot on just one of the two quantum dots can be used to
extract the addition energy of both quantum dots. Furthermore, honeycomb charge
stability diagrams are analyzed by an electrostatic capacitor model that
includes cross capacitances, and we extract the coupling energy of the double
quantum dot.Comment: Published in Applied Physics Letters 4 December 2006.
http://link.aip.org/link/?APL/89/23211
Does smoking, age or gender affect the protein phenotype of extracellular vesicles in plasma?
AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved in several diseases, which have formed the basis for the potential use of EV analyses in a clinical setting. The protein phenotype of EVs can provide information on the functionality of the vesicles and may be used for identification of disease-related biomarkers.With this extensive study of 161 healthy individuals it was elucidated that certain markers of plasma EVs are influenced by demographic variations such as gender, age and smoking status. When the purpose is to use EVs as a diagnostic tool, it should be emphasized how important it is to choose the correct demographic group when comparing marker levels of plasma EVs
A deeply embedded young protoplanetary disk around L1489 IRS observed by the submillimeter array
Circumstellar disks are expected to form early in the process that leads to
the formation of a young star, during the collapse of the dense molecular cloud
core. It is currently not well understood at what stage of the collapse the
disk is formed or how it subsequently evolves. We aim to identify whether an
embedded Keplerian protoplanetary disk resides in the L1489 IRS system. Given
the amount of envelope material still present, such a disk would respresent a
very young example of a protoplanetary disk. Using the Submillimeter Array
(SMA) we have observed the HCO 3--2 line with a resolution of about
1. At this resolution a protoplanetary disk with a radius of a few hundred
AUs should be detectable, if present. Radiative transfer tools are used to
model the emission from both continuum and line data. We find that these data
are consistent with theoretical models of a collapsing envelope and Keplerian
circumstellar disk. Models reproducing both the SED and the interferometric
continuum observations reveal that the disk is inclined by 40 which is
significantly different to the surrounding envelope (74). This
misalignment of the angular momentum axes may be caused by a gradient within
the angular momentum in the parental cloud or if L1489 IRS is a binary system
rather than just a single star. In the latter case, future observations looking
for variability at sub-arcsecond scales may be able to constrain these
dynamical variations directly. However, if stars form from turbulent cores, the
accreting material will not have a constant angular momentum axis (although the
average is well defined and conserved) in which case it is more likely to have
a misalignment of the angular momentum axes of the disk and the envelope.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, accepted by A&
Deep-diving by narwhals Monodon monoceros: differences in foraging behavior between wintering areas?
Absolute dimensions of solar-type eclipsing binaries. EF Aquarii: a G0 test for stellar evolution models
Recent studies have shown that stellar chromospheric activity, and its effect
on convective energy transport in the envelope, is most likely the cause of
significant radius and temperature discrepancies between theoretical evolution
models and observations. We aim to determine absolute dimensions and abundances
for the solar-type detached eclipsing binary EF Aqr, and to perform a detailed
comparison with results from recent stellar evolutionary models. uvby-beta
standard photometry was obtained with the Stromgren Automatic Telescope. The
broadening function formalism was applied on spectra observed with HERMES at
the Mercator telescope in La Palma, to obtain radial velocity curves. Masses
and radii with a precision of 0.6% and 1.0% respectively have been established
for both components of EF Aqr. The active 0.956 M_sol secondary shows star
spots and strong Ca II H and K emission lines. The 1.224 M_sol primary shows
signs of activity as well, but at a lower level. An [Fe/H] abundance of
0.00+-0.10 is derived with similar abundances for Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co,
and Ni. Solar calibrated evolutionary models such as Yonsei-Yale,
Victoria-Regina and BaSTI isochrones and evolutionary tracks are unable to
reproduce EF Aqr, especially for the secondary, which is 9% larger and 400 K
cooler than predicted. Models adopting significantly lower mixing length
parameters l/H_p remove these discrepancies, as seen in other solar type
binaries. For the observed metallicity, Granada models with a mixing length of
l/H_p=1.30 (primary) and 1.05 (secondary) reproduce both components at a common
age of 1.5+-0.6 Gyr. Observations of EF Aqr suggests that magnetic activity,
and its effect on envelope convection, is likely to be the cause of
discrepancies in both radius and temperature, which can be removed by adjusting
the mixing length parameter of the models downwards.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication by A&
Anvendelse af ufuldstændige blokforsøg
I forsøg med mange forsøgsled, forsøg på uensartede arealer og forsøg, som af praktiske grunde skal opdeles på mindre enheder, vil det ofte være fordelagtigt at anvende blokke, som ikke indeholder alle forsøgsled. Sådanne ufuldstændige blokke kan konstrueres efter flere forskellige principper. I enfaktorielle forsøg anvendes oftest metoder, som sikrer, at alle par af forsøgsled kan sammenlignes med den samme (og bedst mulige) sikkerhed, mens man i flerfaktorielle forsøg oftest anvender metoder, som sikrer, at de mest interessante effekter (hoved- og/eller vekselvirkninger) kan estimeres bedst muligt. Artiklen viser tre eksempler på anvendelse af ufuldstændige blokforsøg: 1) Sortsforsøg i ærter (enfaktoriel), 2) Frøavlsforsøg med strandsvingel (trefaktoriel) og 3) Forsøg med svampemidler i byg (tofaktorielt split-plot). For hver af disse vises den benyttede plan samt effekten af at benytte planen i stedet et randomiseret blokforsøg med fuldstændige blokke
Dynamical structure of the inner 100 AU of the deeply embedded protostar IRAS 16293-2422
A fundamental question about the early evolution of low-mass protostars is
when circumstellar disks may form. High angular resolution observations of
molecular transitions in the (sub)millimeter wavelength windows make it
possible to investigate the kinematics of the gas around newly-formed stars,
for example to identify the presence of rotation and infall. IRAS 16293-2422
was observed with the extended Submillimeter Array (eSMA) resulting in
subarcsecond resolution (0.46" x 0.29", i.e. 55 35~AU) images
of compact emission from the CO (3-2) and CS (7-6) transitions at
337~GHz (0.89~mm). To recover the more extended emission we have combined the
eSMA data with SMA observations of the same molecules. The emission of
CO (3-2) and CS (7-6) both show a velocity gradient oriented
along a northeast-southwest direction with respect to the continuum marking the
location of one of the components of the binary, IRAS16293A. Our combined eSMA
and SMA observations show that the velocity field on the 50--400~AU scales is
consistent with a rotating structure. It cannot be explained by simple
Keplerian rotation around a single point mass but rather needs to take into
account the enclosed envelope mass at the radii where the observed lines are
excited. We suggest that IRAS 16293-2422 could be among the best candidates to
observe a pseudo-disk with future high angular resolution observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 18 pages, 10 figure
Methanol maps of low-mass protostellar systems: the Serpens Molecular Core
Observations of Serpens have been performed at the JCMT using Harp-B. Maps
over a 4.5'x5.4' region were made in a frequency window around 338 GHz,
covering the 7-6 transitions of methanol. Emission is extended over each
source, following the column density of H2 but showing up also particularly
strongly around outflows. The rotational temperature is low, 15-20 K, and does
not vary with position within each source. The abundance is typically 10^-9 -
10^-8 with respect to H2 in the outer envelope, whereas "jumps" by factors of
up to 10^2 -10^3 inside the region where the dust temperature exceeds 100 K are
not excluded. A factor of up to ~ 10^3 enhancement is seen in outflow gas. In
one object, SMM4, the ice abundance has been measured to be ~ 3x10^-5 with
respect to H2 in the outer envelope, i.e., a factor of 10^3 larger than the
gas-phase abundance. Comparison with C18O J=3-2 emission shows that strong CO
depletion leads to a high gas-phase abundance of CH3OH not just for the Serpens
sources, but for a larger sample of protostars. The observations illustrate the
large-scale, low-level desorption of CH3OH from dust grains, extending out to
and beyond 7500 AU from each source, a scenario which is consistent with
non-thermal (photo-)desorption from the ice. The observations also illustrate
the usefulness of CH3OH as a tracer of energetic input in the form of outflows,
where methanol is sputtered from the grain surfaces. Finally, the observations
provide further evidence of CH3OH formation through CO hydrogenation proceeding
on grain surfaces in low-mass envelopes.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A
Modeling water emission from low-mass protostellar envelopes
Within low-mass star formation, water vapor plays a key role in the chemistry
and energy balance of the circumstellar material. The Herschel Space
Observatory will open up the possibility to observe water lines originating
from a wide range of excitation energies.Our aim is to simulate the emission of
rotational water lines from envelopes characteristic of embedded low-mass
protostars. A large number of parameters that influence the water line emission
are explored: luminosity, density,density slope and water abundances.Both dust
and water emission are modelled using full radiative transfer in spherical
symmetry. The temperature profile is calculated for a given density profile.
The H2O level populations and emission profiles are in turn computed with a
non-LTE line code. The results are analyzed to determine the diagnostic value
of different lines, and are compared with existing observations. Lines can be
categorized in: (i) optically thick lines, including ground-state lines, mostly
sensitive to the cold outer part; (ii) highly excited (E_u>200-250 K) optically
thin lines sensitive to the abundance in the hot inner part; and (iii) lines
which vary from optically thick to thin depending on the abundances. Dust
influences the emission of water significantly by becoming optically thick at
the higher frequencies, and by pumping optically thin lines. A good physical
model of a source, including a correct treatment of dust, is a prerequisite to
infer the water abundance structure and possible jumps at the evaporation
temperature from observations. The inner warm (T>100 K) envelope can be probed
byhighly-excited lines, while a combination of excited and spectrally resolved
ground state lines probes the outer envelope. Observations of H218O lines,
although weak, provide even stronger constraints on abundances.Comment: 17 pages with an online appendix of 6 pages. Accepted by A&A. Several
figures are too large for astro-ph. These can be downloaded from
http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~kempen/water.ph
Star and Planet Formation with ALMA: an Overview
Submillimeter observations with ALMA will be the essential next step in our
understanding of how stars and planets form. Key projects range from detailed
imaging of the collapse of pre-stellar cores and measuring the accretion rate
of matter onto deeply embedded protostars, to unravelling the chemistry and
dynamics of high-mass star-forming clusters and high-spatial resolution studies
of protoplanetary disks down to the 1 AU scale.Comment: Invited review, 8 pages, 5 figures; to appear in the proceedings of
"Science with ALMA: a New Era for Astrophysics". Astrophysics & Space
Science, in pres
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