6,832 research outputs found
Incorporation of Nitrogen into Organics Produced by Fischer-Tropsch Type Chemistry
Laboratory simulations have demonstrated that hydrothermal systems have the potential to produce a range of organic compounds through Fischer-Tropsch type (FTT) chemistry. The distribution of products depends on several factors, including the abundance and composition of feed-stock molecules, reaction temperature, and the physical and chemical characteristics of catalytic materials included in the reactions. The majority of studies per-formed to date have focused solely on inclusion of CO2 or CO and H2 as the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen sources, which limits the possible products to hydro-carbons, alcohols and carboxylic acids. A few studies have included nitrogen in the form of ammonia, which led to the production of amino acids and nitrogenous bases; and a separate suite of studies included sulfur as sulfide minerals or H2S, which yielded products such as thiols and amino acids. Although these demonstrations provide compelling evidence that FTT reactions can produce compounds of interest for the origins of life, such reactions have been conducted under a very limited range of conditions and the synthetic reaction mechanisms have generally not been well-characterized. As a consequence, it is difficult to extrapolate these results to geologic systems or to evaluate how variations in reactant compositions would affect the distribution of products over time. We have begun a series of laboratory experiments that will incorporate a range of precursor molecules in varying compositions to determine how these variables affect the relative amounts and speciation of life-essential elements in organic molecules produced under FTT conditions. In the present work, we focus on systems containing C, H, O and N
The Bell Laboratories (13)CO Survey: Longitude-Velocity Maps
A survey is presented of the Galactic plane in the J=1-0 transition of
(13)CO. About 73,000 spectra were obtained with the 7 m telescope at Bell
Laboratories over a ten-year period. The coverage of survey is (l, b) = (-5 to
117, -1 to +1), or 244 square degrees, with a grid spacing of 3' for |b| < 0.5,
and a grid spacing of 6' for |b| > 0.5. The data presented here have been
resampled onto a 3' grid. For 0.68 km/s channels, the rms noise level of the
survey is 0.1 K on the scale. The raw data have been transformed into
FITS format, and all the reduction processes, such as correcting for emission
in the reference positions, baseline removal and interpolation were conducted
within IRAF using the FCRAO task package and additional programs. The reduced
data are presented here in the form of longitude-velocity color maps at each
latitude. These data allow identification and classification of molecular
clouds with masses in excess of ~ 1,000 solar masses throughout the first
quadrant of the Galaxy. Spiral structure is manifested by the locations of the
largest and brightest molecular clouds.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, ApJS submitted (out of 41 frames of Figure4,
only one is included becaue of size limit
An ASCA Study of the W51 Complex
We present the analysis of ASCA archival data from the Galactic source W51.
The ASCA spectra show that the soft (kT<= 2.5 keV) X-rays are of thermal origin
and are compatible with W51C being a single, isothermal (kT~0.3 keV) supernova
remnant at the far-side of the Sagittarius arm. The ASCA images reveal hard
(kT>=2.5 keV) X-ray sources which were not seen in previous X-ray observations.
Some of these sources are coincident with massive star-forming regions and the
spectra are used to derive X-ray parameters. By comparing the X-ray absorbing
column density with atomic hydrogen column density, we infer the location of
star-forming regions relative to molecular clouds. There are unidentified hard
X-ray sources superposed on the supernova remnant and we discuss the
possibility of their association.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, to be published in Astronomical Journa
Giant Molecular Clouds are More Concentrated to Spiral Arms than Smaller Clouds
From our catalog of Milky Way molecular clouds, created using a temperature
thresholding algorithm on the Bell Laboratories 13CO Survey, we have extracted
two subsets:(1) Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), clouds that are definitely
larger than 10^5 solar masses, even if they are at their `near distance', and
(2) clouds that are definitely smaller than 10^5 solar masses, even if they are
at their `far distance'. The positions and velocities of these clouds are
compared to the loci of spiral arms in (l, v) space. The velocity separation of
each cloud from the nearest spiral arm is introduced as a `concentration
statistic'. Almost all of the GMCs are found near spiral arms. The density of
smaller clouds is enhanced near spiral arms, but some clouds (~10%) are
unassociated with any spiral arm. The median velocity separation between a GMC
and the nearest spiral arm is 3.4+-0.6 km/s, whereas the median separation
between smaller clouds and the nearest spiral arm is 5.5+-0.2 km/s.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
[Fe II] and H2 filaments in the Supernova Remnant G11.2-0.3: Supernova Ejecta and Presupernova Circumstellar Wind
We present the results of near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic
observations of the young, core-collapse supernova remnant (SNR) G11.2-0.3. In
the [Fe II] 1.644 um image, we first discover long, clumpy [Fe II] filaments
within the radio shell of the SNR, together with some faint, knotty features in
the interior of the remnant. We have detected several [Fe II] lines and HI Br-G
line toward the peak position of the bright southeastern [Fe II] filament. The
derived extinction is large (Av=13 mag) and it is the brightest [Fe II]
filament detected toward SNRs to date. By analyzing two [Fe II] 1.644 um images
obtained in 2.2 yrs apart, we detect a proper motion corresponding to an
expansion rate of 0.''035 (0.''013) /yr [or 830 (310) km/s]. We also discover
two small H2 filaments. One is bright and along the SE boundary of the radio
shell, while the other is faint and just outside of its NE boundary. We have
detected H2 (2-1) S(3) line toward the former filament and derive an excitation
temperature of 2,100 K. We suggest that the H2 filaments are dense clumps in a
presupernova circumstellar wind swept up by the SNR shock while the [Fe II]
filaments are probably composed of both shocked wind material and shocked
supernova (SN) ejecta. The distribution of [Fe II] filaments may indicate that
the SN explosion in G11.2-0.3 was asymmetric as in Cassiopeia A. Our results
support the suggestion that G11.2-0.3 is a remnant of a SN IIL/b interacting
with a dense red supergiant wind.Comment: 30 pages with 10 figures, To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
Uranium (VI) Adsorbate Structures on Portlandite [Ca(OH)2] Type Surfaces Determined by Computational Modelling and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Portlandite [Ca(OH)2] is a potentially dominant solid phase in the high pH fluids expected within the cementitious engineered barriers of Geological Disposal Facilities (GDF). This study combined X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy with computational modelling in order to provide atomic-scale data which improves our understanding of how a critically important radionuclide (U) will be adsorbed onto this phase under conditions relevant to a GDF environment. Such data are fundamental for predicting radionuclide mass transfer. Surface coordination chemistry and speciation of uranium with portlandite [Ca(OH)2] under alkaline groundwater conditions (ca. pH 12) were determined by both in situ and ex situ grazing incidence extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis (EXAFS) and by computational modelling at the atomic level. Free energies of sorption of aqueous uranyl hydroxides, [UO2(OH)n]2ân (n = 0â5) with the (001), (100) and (203) or (101) surfaces of portlandite are predicted from the potential of mean force using classical molecular umbrella sampling simulation methods and the structural interactions are further explored using fully periodic density functional theory computations. Although uranyl is predicted to only weakly adsorb to the (001) and (100) clean surfaces, there should be significantly stronger interactions with the (203/101) surface or at hydroxyl vacancies, both prevalent under groundwater conditions. The uranyl surface complex is typically found to include four equatorially coordinated hydroxyl ligands, forming an inner-sphere sorbate by direct interaction of a uranyl oxygen with surface calcium ions in both the (001) and (203/101) cases. In contrast, on the (100) surface, uranyl is sorbed with its axis more parallel to the surface plane. The EXAFS data are largely consistent with a surface structural layer or film similar to calcium uranate, but also show distinct uranyl characteristics, with the uranyl ion exhibiting the classic dioxygenyl oxygens at 1.8 Ă
and between four and five equatorial oxygen atoms at distances between 2.28 and 2.35 Ă
from the central U absorber. These experimental data are wholly consistent with the adsorbate configuration predicted by the computational models. These findings suggest that, under the strongly alkaline conditions of a cementitious backfill engineered barrier, there would be significant uptake of uranyl by portlandite to inhibit the mobility of U(VI) from the near field of a geological disposal facility
Statistical Communication Theory
Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects
The chemistry of vibrationally excited H2 in the interstellar medium
The internal energy available in vibrationally excited H2 molecules can be
used to overcome or diminish the activation barrier of various chemical
reactions of interest for molecular astrophysics. In this article we
investigate in detail the impact on the chemical composition of interstellar
clouds of the reactions of vibrationally excited H2 with C+, He+, O, OH, and
CN, based on the available chemical kinetics data. It is found that the
reaction of H2 (v>0) and C+ has a profound impact on the abundances of some
molecules, especially CH+, which is a direct product and is readily formed in
astronomical regions with fractional abundances of vibrationally excited H2,
relative to ground state H2, in excess of 10^(-6), independently of whether the
gas is hot or not. The effects of these reactions on the chemical composition
of the diffuse clouds zeta Oph and HD 34078, the dense PDR Orion Bar, the
planetary nebula NGC 7027, and the circumstellar disk around the B9 star HD
176386 are investigated through PDR models. We find that formation of CH+ is
especially favored in dense and highly FUV illuminated regions such as the
Orion Bar and the planetary nebula NGC 7027, where column densities in excess
of 10^(13) cm^(-2) are predicted. In diffuse clouds, however, this mechanism is
found to be not efficient enough to form CH+ with a column density close to the
values derived from astronomical observations.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal; 9 pages, 7
figure
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