1,211 research outputs found
Upper limits on the mass of supermassive black holes from HST/STIS archival data
The growth of supermassive black holes (SBHs) appears to be closely linked
with the formation of spheroids. There is a pressing need to acquire better
statistics on SBH masses, since the existing samples are preferentially
weighted toward early-type galaxies with very massive SBHs. With this
motivation we started a project aimed at measuring upper limits on the mass of
the SBHs in the center of all the nearby galaxies (D<100 Mpc) for which
STIS/G750M spectra are available in the HST archive. These upper limits will be
derived by modeling the central emission-line widths observed in the Halpha
region over an aperture of ~0.1''. Here we present our results for a subsample
of 20 S0-Sb galaxies within 20 Mpc.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings of "Black Holes: from
Stars to Galaxies", IAU Symp. No. 238, V. Karas & G. Matt (eds.), Cambridge
University Pres
Experimental Indicators of Accretion Processes in Active Galactic Nuclei
Bright Active Galactic Nuclei are powered by accretion of mass onto the super
massive black holes at the centers of the host galaxies. For fainter objects
star formation may significantly contribute to the luminosity. We summarize
experimental indicators of the accretion processes in Active Galactic Nuclei
(AGN), i.e., observable activity indicators that allow us to conclude on the
nature of accretion. The Galactic Center is the closest galactic nucleus that
can be studied with unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity.
Therefore, here we also include the presentation of recent observational
results on Sagittarius A* and the conditions for star formation in the central
stellar cluster. We cover results across the electromagnetic spectrum and find
that the Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) system is well ordered with respect to its
geometrical orientation and its emission processes of which we assume to
reflect the accretion process onto the super massive black hole.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, conference proceeding: Accretion Processes in
Cosmic Sources - APCS2016 - 5-10 September 2016, Saint Petersburg, Russi
21cm Absorption by Compact Hydrogen Disks Around Black Holes in Radio-Loud Nuclei of Galaxies
The clumpy maser disks observed in some galactic nuclei mark the outskirts of
the accretion disk that fuels the central black hole and provide a potential
site of nuclear star formation. Unfortunately, most of the gas in maser disks
is currently not being probed; large maser gains favor paths that are
characterized by a small velocity gradient and require rare edge-on
orientations of the disk. Here we propose a method for mapping the atomic
hydrogen distribution in nuclear disks through its 21cm absorption against the
radio continuum glow around the central black hole. In NGC 4258, the 21cm
optical depth may approach unity for high angular-resolution (VLBI) imaging of
coherent clumps which are dominated by thermal broadening and have the column
density inferred from X-ray absorption data, ~10^{23}/cm^2. Spreading the 21cm
absorption over the full rotation velocity width of the material in front of
the narrow radio jets gives a mean optical depth of ~0.1. Spectroscopic
searches for the 21cm absorption feature in other galaxies can be used to
identify the large population of inclined gaseous disks which are not masing in
our direction. Follow-up imaging of 21cm silhouettes of accelerating clumps
within these disks can in turn be used to measure cosmological distances.Comment: 4 page
Cardiovascular roles of estrogen receptors: insights gained from knockout models
The effects of estrogen are mediated through two functionally distinct receptors, estrogen receptor α (ER- α ), and estrogen receptor β (ER- β ), both of which are expressed in the cardiovascular system. The etiology of cardiovascular disease is believed to result in part from the loss of endogenous estrogen, indicating that estrogen and its receptors may play important roles in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in women
Numerical simulation of small perturbation on an accretion disk due to the collision of a star with the disk near the black hole
In this paper, perturbations of an accretion disk by a star orbiting around a
black hole are studied. We report on a numerical experiment, which has been
carried out by using a parallel-machine code originally developed by D\"{o}nmez
(2004). An initially steady state accretion disk near a non-rotating
(Schwarzschild) black hole interacts with a "star", modeled as an initially
circular region of increased density. Part of the disk is affected by the
interaction. In some cases, a gap develops and shock wave propagates through
the disk. We follow the evolution for order of one dynamical period and we show
how the non-axisymetric density perturbation further evolves and moves
downwards where the material of the disk and the star become eventually
accreted onto the central body.
When the star perturbs the steady state accretion disk, the disk around the
black hole is destroyed by the effect of perturbation. The perturbed accretion
disk creates a shock wave during the evolution and it loses angular momentum
when the gas hits on the shock waves. Colliding gas with the shock wave is the
one of the basic mechanism of emitting the rays in the accretion disk. The
series of supernovae occurring in the inner disk could entirely destroy the
disk in that region which leaves a more massive black hole behind, at the
center of galaxies.Comment: 20pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Gravitational Waves from Chaotic Dynamical System
To investigate how chaos affects gravitational waves, we study the
gravitational waves from a spinning test particle moving around a Kerr black
hole, which is a typical chaotic system. To compare the result with those in
non-chaotic dynamical system, we also analyze a spinless test particle, which
orbit can be complicated in the Kerr back ground although the system is
integrable. We estimate the emitted gravitational waves by the multipole
expansion of a gravitational field. We find a striking difference in the energy
spectra of the gravitational waves. The spectrum for a chaotic orbit of a
spinning particle, contains various frequencies, while some characteristic
frequencies appear in the case of a spinless particle.Comment: 8 pages, 13 figures. submitted to PR
Designer diatom episomes delivered by bacterial conjugation.
Eukaryotic microalgae hold great promise for the bioproduction of fuels and higher value chemicals. However, compared with model genetic organisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, characterization of the complex biology and biochemistry of algae and strain improvement has been hampered by the inefficient genetic tools. To date, many algal species are transformable only via particle bombardment, and the introduced DNA is integrated randomly into the nuclear genome. Here we describe the first nuclear episomal vector for diatoms and a plasmid delivery method via conjugation from Escherichia coli to the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana. We identify a yeast-derived sequence that enables stable episome replication in these diatoms even in the absence of antibiotic selection and show that episomes are maintained as closed circles at copy number equivalent to native chromosomes. This highly efficient genetic system facilitates high-throughput functional characterization of algal genes and accelerates molecular phytoplankton research
Extreme Warm Absorber variability in the Seyfert Galaxy Mrk 704
In about half of Seyfert galaxies, the X-ray emission is absorbed by an
optically thin, ionized medium, the so-called "Warm Absorber", whose origin and
location is still a matter of debate. The aims of this paper is to put more
constraints on the warm absorber by studying its variability. We analyzed the
X-ray spectra of a Seyfert 1 galaxy, Mrk 704, which was observed twice, three
years apart, by XMM-Newton. The spectra were well fitted with a two zones
absorber, possibly covering only partially the source. The parameters of the
absorbing matter - column density, ionization state, covering factor - changed
significantly between the two observations. Possible explanations for the more
ionized absorber are a torus wind (the source is a polar scattering one) or, in
the partial covering scenario, an accretion disk wind. The less ionized
absorber may be composed of orbiting clouds in the surroundings of the nucleus,
similarly to what already found in other sources, most notably NGC 1365.Comment: 10 pages. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The role of SRC-3 in estrogen-dependent vasoprotection during vascular wall remodeling postinjury
Estrogen receptors are hormone-inducible transcription factors requiring coactivators such as members of the SRC/p160 family to modulate the transcription of their target genes. This perspective will examine the interplay between estrogen receptors and their coactivators in vasoprotection during vascular wall remodeling
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