Non-Gaussian bubbles in the sky

We point out a possible generation mechanism of non-Gaussian bubbles in the sky due to bubble nucleation in the early universe. We consider a curvaton scenario for inflation and assume that the curvaton field phi, whose energy density is subdominant during inflation but which is responsible for the curvature perturbation of the universe, is coupled to another field sigma which undergoes false vacuum decay through quantum tunneling. For this model, we compute the skewness of the curvaton fluctuations due to its interaction with sigma during tunneling, that is, on the background of an instanton solution that describes false vacuum decay. We find that the resulting skewness of the curvaton can become large in the spacetime region inside the bubble. We then compute the corresponding skewness in the statistical distribution of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature fluctuations. We find a non-vanishing skewness in a bubble-shaped region in the sky. It can be large enough to be detected in the near future, and if detected it will bring us invaluable information about the physics in the early universe.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Impact of Cluster Physics on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Power Spectrum

We use an analytic model to investigate the theoretical uncertainty on the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) power spectrum due to astrophysical uncertainties in the thermal structure of the intracluster medium. Our model accounts for star formation and energy feedback (from supernovae and active galactic nuclei) as well as radially dependent non-thermal pressure support due to random gas motions, the latter calibrated by recent hydrodynamical simulations. We compare the model against X-ray observations of low redshift clusters, finding excellent agreement with observed pressure profiles. Varying the levels of feedback and non-thermal pressure support can significantly change both the amplitude and shape of the thermal SZ power spectrum. Increasing the feedback suppresses power at small angular scales, shifting the peak of the power spectrum to lower ell. On the other hand, increasing the non-thermal pressure support has the opposite effect, significantly reducing power at large angular scales. In general, including non-thermal pressure at the level measured in simulations has a large effect on the power spectrum, reducing the amplitude by 50% at angular scales of a few arcminutes compared to a model without a non-thermal component. Our results demonstrate that measurements of the shape of the power spectrum can reveal useful information on important physical processes in groups and clusters, especially at high-redshift where there exists little observational data. Comparing with the recent South Pole Telescope measurements of the small-scale cosmic microwave background power spectrum, we find our model reduces the tension between the values of sigma_8 measured from the SZ power spectrum and from cluster abundances.Comment: 15 Pages, 9 Figures, updated to match version accepted by Ap

The physical scale of the far-infrared emission in the most luminous submillimetre galaxies II: evidence for merger-driven star formation

We present high-resolution 345 GHz interferometric observations of two extreme luminous (L_{IR}>10^{13} L_sun), submillimetre-selected galaxies (SMGs) in the COSMOS field with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). Both targets were previously detected as unresolved point-sources by the SMA in its compact configuration, also at 345 GHz. These new data, which provide a factor of ~3 improvement in resolution, allow us to measure the physical scale of the far-infrared in the submillimetre directly. The visibility functions of both targets show significant evidence for structure on 0.5-1 arcsec scales, which at z=1.5 translates into a physical scale of 5-8 kpc. Our results are consistent with the angular and physical scales of two comparably luminous objects with high-resolution SMA followup, as well as radio continuum and CO sizes. These relatively compact sizes (<5-10 kpc) argue strongly for merger-driven starbursts, rather than extended gas-rich disks, as the preferred channel for forming SMGs. For the most luminous objects, the derived sizes may also have important physical consequences; under a series of simplifying assumptions, we find that these two objects in particular are forming stars close to or at the Eddington limit for a starburst.Comment: 9 pages, 3 Figures, submitted to MNRA

Insights into Land Plant Evolution Garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha Genome.

The evolution of land flora transformed the terrestrial environment. Land plants evolved from an ancestral charophycean alga from which they inherited developmental, biochemical, and cell biological attributes. Additional biochemical and physiological adaptations to land, and a life cycle with an alternation between multicellular haploid and diploid generations that facilitated efficient dispersal of desiccation tolerant spores, evolved in the ancestral land plant. We analyzed the genome of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a member of a basal land plant lineage. Relative to charophycean algae, land plant genomes are characterized by genes encoding novel biochemical pathways, new phytohormone signaling pathways (notably auxin), expanded repertoires of signaling pathways, and increased diversity in some transcription factor families. Compared with other sequenced land plants, M. polymorpha exhibits low genetic redundancy in most regulatory pathways, with this portion of its genome resembling that predicted for the ancestral land plant. PAPERCLIP

Tracing Material Cycle Using Stable Isotopes : Carbon Monoxide from Automobile

We estimate up-to-date values of the average isotopic compositions of CO emitted from automobiles. In the estimation, we determined the isotopic compositions of CO in tail pipe exhaust for four gasoline automobiles and two diesel automobiles under varying conditions of both idling and running. While the dependence on the automobile manufacturer is little, each automobile equipped with functional catalytic converter exhibits a large temporal δ13C and δ18O variation. They tend to show 13C- and 18O-enrichment in accordance with the reduction of CO in exhaust, suggesting that the functional catalytic converter in engines enhances the δ13C and δ18O values of CO from tail pipes through a kinetic isotope effect during CO destruction. Assuming that automobiles run a modeled driving cycle, we estimated the average δ13C and δ18O of CO to be -23.8±0.8‰PDB and +25.3±1.0‰SMOW, respectively, for recent gasoline automobiles, and -19.5±0.7‰PDB and +15.1±1.0‰SMOW, respectively, for recent diesel automobiles. While the δ13C and δ18O values of recent gasoline automobiles coincide well with the isotopic compositions of source CO in present trunk road atmosphere estimated in this study, those are +4 to +6‰(δ13C) and +1 to +3‰(δ18O) higher than those reported previously and also those emitted from old, non-catalyst automobiles determined in this study. Recent improvements in functional catalytic converters have enhanced and will enhance the δ13C and δ18O values of CO from automobiles.International Symposium on "Dawn of a New Natural History - Integration of Geoscience and Biodiversity Studies". 5-6 March 2004. Sapporo, Japan

Hydrogen isotopes in volcanic plumes: Tracers for remote temperature sensing of fumaroles

In high-temperature volcanic fumaroles (>400℃), the isotopic composition of molecular hydrogen (H2) reaches equilibrium with that of the fumarolic H2O. In this study, we used this hydrogen isotope exchange equilibrium of fumarolic H2 as a tracer for the remote temperature at volcanic fumaroles. In this remote sensing, we deduced the hydrogen isotopic composition (δD value) of fumarolic H2 from those in the volcanic plume. To ascertain that we can estimate the δD value of fumarolic H2 from those in a volcanic plume, we estimated the values in three fumaroles with outlet temperatures of 630℃ (Tarumae), 203℃ (Kuju), and 107℃ (E-san). For this we measured the concentration and δD value of H2 in each volcanic plume, along with those determined directly at each fumarole. The average and maximum mixing ratios of fumarolic H2 within a plume's total H2 were 97% and 99% (at Tarumae), 89% and 96% (at Kuju), and 97% and 99% (at E-san). We found a linear relationship between the depletion in the δD values of H2, with the reciprocal of H2 concentration. Furthermore, the estimated end-member δD value for each H2-enriched component (-260±3‰ vs. VSMOW in Tarumae, -509±23‰ in Kuju, and -437±14‰ in E-san) coincided well with those observed at each fumarole (-247.0±0.6‰ in Tarumae, -527.7±10.1‰ in Kuju, and -432.1±2.5‰ in E-san). Moreover, the calculated isotopic temperatures at the fumaroles agreed to within 20℃ with the observed outlet temperature at Tarumae and Kuju. We deduced that the δD value of the fumarolic H2 was quenched within the volcanic plume. This enabled us to remotely estimate these in the fumarole, and thus the outlet temperature of fumaroles, at least for those having the outlet temperatures more than 400℃. By applying this methodology to the volcanic plume emitted from the Crater 1 of Mt. Naka-dake (the volcano Aso) where direct measurement on fumaroles was impractical, we estimated that the δD value of the fumarolic H2 to be -172±16‰ and the outlet temperature to be 868±97℃. The remote temperature sensing using hydrogen isotopes developed in this study is widely applicable to many volcanic systems

Application of PTR-MS to an incubation experiment of the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

Emission of trace gases from the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana (CCMP 1335) was continuously monitored with a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) in an axenic batch culture system under a 13:11-h light:dark cycle. Substantial increases in the signals at m/z 49, 63, and 69, attributable to methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and isoprene, respectively, were observed in response to increases in cell density. Signals at m/z 69 showed diurnal variations throughout the experiment whereas those at m/z 49 were more pronounced at the beginning of the incubation. Interestingly, the signals at m/z 49 and 69 changed immediately following the light-dark and dark-light transitions, suggesting that light plays a crucial role in the production of methanethiol and isoprene. However, in the latter half of the experiment, methanethiol showed negligible diurnal variations regardless of light conditions, suggesting the production of methanethiol from enzymatic cleavage of DMS. The trend ill signals at m/z 63 was similar to that of the abundance of senescent cells plus cell debris rather than vegetative cells. The results suggest that aging or death of phytoplankton cells could also substantially control DMS production in natural waters along with the other microbial processes related to bacteria and zooplankton