150 research outputs found
A stochastic movement simulator improves estimates of landscape connectivity
Acknowledgments This publication issued from the project TenLamas funded by the French Ministère de l'Energie, de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de la Mer through the EU FP6 BiodivERsA Eranet; by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) through the open call INDHET and 6th extinction MOBIGEN to V. M. Stevens, M. Baguette, and A. Coulon, and young researcher GEMS (ANR-13-JSV7-0010-01) to V. M. Stevens and M. Baguette; and by a VLIR-VLADOC scholarship awarded to J. Aben. L. Lens, J. Aben, D. Strubbe, and E. Matthysen are grateful to the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for financial support of fieldwork and genetic analysis (grant G.0308.13). V. M. Stevens and M. Baguette are members of the “Laboratoire d'Excellence” (LABEX) entitled TULIP (ANR-10-LABX-41). J. M. J. Travis and S. C. F. Palmer also acknowledge the support of NERC. A. Coulon and J. Aben contributed equally to the work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Characterizing generated charged inverse micelles with transient current measurements
We investigate the generation of charged inverse micelles in nonpolar surfactant solutions relevant for applications such as electronic ink displays and liquid toners. When a voltage is applied across a thin layer of a nonpolar surfactant solution between planar electrodes, the generation of charged inverse micelles leads to a generation current. From current measurements it appears that such charged inverse micelles generated in the presence of an electric field behave differently compared to those present in equilibrium in the absence of a field. To examine the origin of this difference, transient current measurements in which the applied voltage is suddenly increased are used to measure the mobility and the amount of generated charged inverse micelles. The mobility and the corresponding hydrodynamic size are found to be similar to those of charged inverse micelles present in equilibrium, which indicates that other properties determine their different behavior. The amplitude and shape of the transient currents measured as a function of the surfactant concentration confirm that the charged inverse micelles are generated by bulk disproportionation. A theoretical model based on bulk disproportionation with simulations and analytical approximations is developed to analyze the experimental transient currents
An ultraviolet-optical flare from the tidal disruption of a helium-rich stellar core
The flare of radiation from the tidal disruption and accretion of a star can
be used as a marker for supermassive black holes that otherwise lie dormant and
undetected in the centres of distant galaxies. Previous candidate flares have
had declining light curves in good agreement with expectations, but with poor
constraints on the time of disruption and the type of star disrupted, because
the rising emission was not observed. Recently, two `relativistic' candidate
tidal disruption events were discovered, each of whose extreme X-ray luminosity
and synchrotron radio emission were interpreted as the onset of emission from a
relativistic jet. Here we report the discovery of a luminous
ultraviolet-optical flare from the nuclear region of an inactive galaxy at a
redshift of 0.1696. The observed continuum is cooler than expected for a simple
accreting debris disk, but the well-sampled rise and decline of its light curve
follows the predicted mass accretion rate, and can be modelled to determine the
time of disruption to an accuracy of two days. The black hole has a mass of
about 2 million solar masses, modulo a factor dependent on the mass and radius
of the star disrupted. On the basis of the spectroscopic signature of ionized
helium from the unbound debris, we determine that the disrupted star was a
helium-rich stellar core.Comment: To appear in Nature on May 10, 201
Discovery of the Onset of Rapid Accretion by a Dormant Massive Black Hole
Massive black holes are believed to reside at the centres of most galaxies.
They can be- come detectable by accretion of matter, either continuously from a
large gas reservoir or impulsively from the tidal disruption of a passing star,
and conversion of the gravitational energy of the infalling matter to light.
Continuous accretion drives Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), which are known to be
variable but have never been observed to turn on or off. Tidal disruption of
stars by dormant massive black holes has been inferred indirectly but the on-
set of a tidal disruption event has never been observed. Here we report the
first discovery of the onset of a relativistic accretion-powered jet in the new
extragalactic transient, Swift J164449.3+573451. The behaviour of this new
source differs from both theoretical models of tidal disruption events and
observations of the jet-dominated AGN known as blazars. These differences may
stem from transient effects associated with the onset of a powerful jet. Such
an event in the massive black hole at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy could
strongly ionize the upper atmosphere of the Earth, if beamed towards us.Comment: Submitted to Nature. 4 pages, 3 figures (main paper). 26 pages, 13
figures (supplementary information
The Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (congenital absence of uterus and vagina) – phenotypic manifestations and genetic approaches
The Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome affects at least 1 out of 4500 women and has for a long time been considered as a sporadic anomaly. Congenital absence of upper vagina and uterus is the prime feature of the disease which, in addition, is often found associated with unilateral renal agenesis or adysplasia as well as skeletal malformations (MURCS association). The phenotypic manifestations of MRKH overlap various other syndromes or associations and thus require accurate delineation. Since MRKH manifests itself in males, the term GRES syndrome (Genital, Renal, Ear, Skeletal) might be more appropriate when applied to both sexes. The MRKH syndrome, when described in familial aggregates, seems to be transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait with an incomplete degree of penetrance and variable expressivity. This suggests the involvement of either mutations in a major developmental gene or a limited chromosomal deletion. Until recently progress in understanding the genetics of MRKH syndrome has been slow, however, now HOX genes have been shown to play key roles in body patterning and organogenesis, and in particular during genital tract development. Expression and/or function defects of one or several HOX genes may account for this syndrome
Debris Disks: Probing Planet Formation
Debris disks are the dust disks found around ~20% of nearby main sequence
stars in far-IR surveys. They can be considered as descendants of
protoplanetary disks or components of planetary systems, providing valuable
information on circumstellar disk evolution and the outcome of planet
formation. The debris disk population can be explained by the steady
collisional erosion of planetesimal belts; population models constrain where
(10-100au) and in what quantity (>1Mearth) planetesimals (>10km in size)
typically form in protoplanetary disks. Gas is now seen long into the debris
disk phase. Some of this is secondary implying planetesimals have a Solar
System comet-like composition, but some systems may retain primordial gas.
Ongoing planet formation processes are invoked for some debris disks, such as
the continued growth of dwarf planets in an unstirred disk, or the growth of
terrestrial planets through giant impacts. Planets imprint structure on debris
disks in many ways; images of gaps, clumps, warps, eccentricities and other
disk asymmetries, are readily explained by planets at >>5au. Hot dust in the
region planets are commonly found (<5au) is seen for a growing number of stars.
This dust usually originates in an outer belt (e.g., from exocomets), although
an asteroid belt or recent collision is sometimes inferred.Comment: Invited review, accepted for publication in the 'Handbook of
Exoplanets', eds. H.J. Deeg and J.A. Belmonte, Springer (2018
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