Superdeformed rotational bands in the Mercury region; A Cranked Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov study

A study of rotational properties of the ground superdeformed bands in \Hg{0}, \Hg{2}, \Hg{4}, and \Pb{4} is presented. We use the cranked Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method with the {\skm} parametrization of the Skyrme force in the particle-hole channel and a seniority interaction in the pairing channel. An approximate particle number projection is performed by means of the Lipkin-Nogami prescription. We analyze the proton and neutron quasiparticle routhians in connection with the present information on about thirty presently observed superdeformed bands in nuclei close neighbours of \Hg{2}.Comment: 26 LaTeX pages, 14 uuencoded postscript figures included, Preprint IPN-TH 93-6

Solution of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov equations in the Cartesian deformed harmonic-oscillator basis. (VI) HFODD (v2.38j): a new version of the program

We describe the new version (v2.38j) of the code HFODD which solves the nuclear Skyrme-Hartree-Fock or Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov problem by using the Cartesian deformed harmonic-oscillator basis. In the new version, we have implemented: (i) projection on good angular momentum (for the Hartree-Fock states), (ii) calculation of the GCM kernels, (iii) calculation of matrix elements of the Yukawa interaction, (iv) the BCS solutions for state-dependent pairing gaps, (v) the HFB solutions for broken simplex symmetry, (vi) calculation of Bohr deformation parameters, (vii) constraints on the Schiff moments and scalar multipole moments, (viii) the D2h transformations and rotations of wave functions, (ix) quasiparticle blocking for the HFB solutions in odd and odd-odd nuclei, (x) the Broyden method to accelerate the convergence, (xi) the Lipkin-Nogami method to treat pairing correlations, (xii) the exact Coulomb exchange term, (xiii) several utility options, and we have corrected two insignificant errors.Comment: 45 LaTeX pages, 4 figures, submitted to Computer Physics Communication

The nuclear energy density functional formalism

The present document focuses on the theoretical foundations of the nuclear energy density functional (EDF) method. As such, it does not aim at reviewing the status of the field, at covering all possible ramifications of the approach or at presenting recent achievements and applications. The objective is to provide a modern account of the nuclear EDF formalism that is at variance with traditional presentations that rely, at one point or another, on a {\it Hamiltonian-based} picture. The latter is not general enough to encompass what the nuclear EDF method represents as of today. Specifically, the traditional Hamiltonian-based picture does not allow one to grasp the difficulties associated with the fact that currently available parametrizations of the energy kernel $E[g',g]$ at play in the method do not derive from a genuine Hamilton operator, would the latter be effective. The method is formulated from the outset through the most general multi-reference, i.e. beyond mean-field, implementation such that the single-reference, i.e. "mean-field", derives as a particular case. As such, a key point of the presentation provided here is to demonstrate that the multi-reference EDF method can indeed be formulated in a {\it mathematically} meaningful fashion even if $E[g',g]$ does {\it not} derive from a genuine Hamilton operator. In particular, the restoration of symmetries can be entirely formulated without making {\it any} reference to a projected state, i.e. within a genuine EDF framework. However, and as is illustrated in the present document, a mathematically meaningful formulation does not guarantee that the formalism is sound from a {\it physical} standpoint. The price at which the latter can be enforced as well in the future is eventually alluded to.Comment: 64 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Euroschool Lecture Notes in Physics Vol.IV, Christoph Scheidenberger and Marek Pfutzner editor

PHANGS-JWST First Results: A combined HST and JWST analysis of the nuclear star cluster in NGC 628

We combine archival HST and new JWST imaging data, covering the ultraviolet to mid-infrared regime, to morphologically analyze the nuclear star cluster (NSC) of NGC 628, a grand-design spiral galaxy. The cluster is located in a 200 pc x 400 pc cavity, lacking both dust and gas. We find roughly constant values for the effective radius (r_eff ~ 5 pc) and ellipticity ({\epsilon} ~ 0.05), while the S\'ersic index (n) and position angle (PA) drop from n ~ 3 to ~ 2 and PA ~ 130{\deg} to 90{\deg}, respectively. In the mid-infrared, r_eff ~ 12pc, {\epsilon} ~ 0.4, and n ~ 1-1.5, with the same PA ~ 90{\deg}. The NSC has a stellar mass of log10 (M_nsc / M_Sun) = 7.06 +- 0.31, as derived through B-V, confirmed when using multi-wavelength data, and in agreement with the literature value. Fitting the spectral energy distribution, excluding the mid-infrared data, yields a main stellar population's age of (8 +- 3) Gyr with a metallicity of Z = 0.012 +- 0.006. There is no indication of any significant star formation over the last few Gyr. Whether gas and dust were dynamically kept out or evacuated from the central cavity remains unclear. The best-fit suggests an excess of flux in the mid-infrared bands, with further indications that the center of the mid-infrared structure is displaced with respect to the optical center of the NSC. We discuss five potential scenarios, none of them fully explaining both the observed photometry and structure.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication by ApJ

The European Solar Telescope

The European Solar Telescope (EST) is a project aimed at studying the magnetic connectivity of the solar atmosphere, from the deep photosphere to the upper chromosphere. Its design combines the knowledge and expertise gathered by the European solar physics community during the construction and operation of state-of-the-art solar telescopes operating in visible and near-infrared wavelengths: the Swedish 1m Solar Telescope, the German Vacuum Tower Telescope and GREGOR, the French Télescope Héliographique pour l'Étude du Magnétisme et des Instabilités Solaires, and the Dutch Open Telescope. With its 4.2 m primary mirror and an open configuration, EST will become the most powerful European ground-based facility to study the Sun in the coming decades in the visible and near-infrared bands. EST uses the most innovative technological advances: the first adaptive secondary mirror ever used in a solar telescope, a complex multi-conjugate adaptive optics with deformable mirrors that form part of the optical design in a natural way, a polarimetrically compensated telescope design that eliminates the complex temporal variation and wavelength dependence of the telescope Mueller matrix, and an instrument suite containing several (etalon-based) tunable imaging spectropolarimeters and several integral field unit spectropolarimeters. This publication summarises some fundamental science questions that can be addressed with the telescope, together with a complete description of its major subsystems

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer: Underlying Pathophysiology and New Therapeutic Modalities

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are major lung diseases affecting millions worldwide. Both diseases have links to cigarette smoking and exert a considerable societal burden. People suffering from COPD are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those without, and are more susceptible to poor outcomes after diagnosis and treatment. Lung cancer and COPD are closely associated, possibly sharing common traits such as an underlying genetic predisposition, epithelial and endothelial cell plasticity, dysfunctional inflammatory mechanisms including the deposition of excessive extracellular matrix, angiogenesis, susceptibility to DNA damage and cellular mutagenesis. In fact, COPD could be the driving factor for lung cancer, providing a conducive environment that propagates its evolution. In the early stages of smoking, body defences provide a combative immune/oxidative response and DNA repair mechanisms are likely to subdue these changes to a certain extent; however, in patients with COPD with lung cancer the consequences could be devastating, potentially contributing to slower postoperative recovery after lung resection and increased resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Vital to the development of new-targeted therapies is an in-depth understanding of various molecular mechanisms that are associated with both pathologies. In this comprehensive review, we provide a detailed overview of possible underlying factors that link COPD and lung cancer, and current therapeutic advances from both human and preclinical animal models that can effectively mitigate this unholy relationship

The European Solar Telescope

The European Solar Telescope (EST) is a project aimed at studying the magnetic connectivity of the solar atmosphere, from the deep photosphere to the upper chromosphere. Its design combines the knowledge and expertise gathered by the European solar physics community during the construction and operation of state-of-the-art solar telescopes operating in visible and near-infrared wavelengths: the Swedish 1m Solar Telescope, the German Vacuum Tower Telescope and GREGOR, the French Télescope Héliographique pour l’Étude du Magnétisme et des Instabilités Solaires, and the Dutch Open Telescope. With its 4.2 m primary mirror and an open configuration, EST will become the most powerful European ground-based facility to study the Sun in the coming decades in the visible and near-infrared bands. EST uses the most innovative technological advances: the first adaptive secondary mirror ever used in a solar telescope, a complex multi-conjugate adaptive optics with deformable mirrors that form part of the optical design in a natural way, a polarimetrically compensated telescope design that eliminates the complex temporal variation and wavelength dependence of the telescope Mueller matrix, and an instrument suite containing several (etalon-based) tunable imaging spectropolarimeters and several integral field unit spectropolarimeters. This publication summarises some fundamental science questions that can be addressed with the telescope, together with a complete description of its major subsystems