444 research outputs found
Deprojection of luminosity functions of galaxies in the Coma cluster
We use a simple analytic model to deproject 2-d luminosity functions (LF) of
galaxies in the Coma cluster measured by Beijersbergen et al. 2002. We
demonstrate that the shapes of the LFs change after deprojection. It is
therefore essential to correct LFs for projection effects. The deprojected LFs
of the central area have best-fitting Schechter parameters of
M^{*}_U=-18.31^{+0.08}_{-0.08} and \alpha_U=-1.27^{+0.018}_{-0.018},
M^{*}_B=-19.79^{+0.14}_{-0.15} and \alpha_B=-1.44^{+0.016}_{-0.016} and
M^{*}_r=-21.77^{+0.20}_{-0.28} and \alpha_r=-1.27^{+0.012}_{-0.012}. The
corrections are not significant enough to change the previously observed trend
of increasing faint end slopes with increasing distance to the cluster center.
The weighted U, B, and r band slopes of the deprojected LFs show a slightly
weaker steepening with increasing projected cluster radius.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A as a Research Not
Orbital angular momentum exchange in an optical parametric oscillator
We present a study of orbital angular momentum transfer from pump to
down-converted beams in a type-II Optical Parametric Oscillator. Cavity and
anisotropy effects are investigated and demostrated to play a central role in
the transverse mode dynamics. While the idler beam can oscillate in a
Laguerre-Gauss mode, the crystal birefringence induces an astigmatic effect in
the signal beam that prevents the resonance of such mode.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, regular articl
A Normal Stellar Disk in the Galaxy Malin 1
Since its discovery, Malin 1 has been considered the prototype and most
extreme example of the class of giant low surface brightness disk galaxies.
Examination of an archival Hubble Space Telescope I-band image reveals that
Malin 1 contains a normal stellar disk that was not previously recognized,
having a central I-band surface brightness of mu_0 = 20.1 mag arcsec^-2 and a
scale length of 4.8 kpc. Out to a radius of ~10 kpc, the structure of Malin 1
is that of a typical SB0/a galaxy. The remarkably extended, faint outer
structure detected out to r~100 kpc appears to be a photometrically distinct
component and not a simple extension of the inner disk. In terms of its disk
scale length and central surface brightness, Malin 1 was originally found to be
a very remote outlier relative to all other known disk galaxies. The presence
of a disk of normal size and surface brightness in Malin 1 suggests that such
extreme outliers in disk properties probably do not exist, but underscores the
importance of the extended outer disk regions for a full understanding of the
structure and formation of spiral galaxies.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. To appear in AJ. Typographical error correcte
The rotation curves of dwarf galaxies: a problem for Cold Dark Matter?
We address the issue of accuracy in recovering density profiles from
observations of rotation curves of galaxies. We ``observe'' and analyze our
models in much the same way as observers do the real galaxies. We find that the
tilted ring model analysis produces an underestimate of the central rotational
velocity. In some cases the galaxy halo density profile seems to have a flat
core, while in reality it does not. We identify three effects, which explain
the systematic biases: (1) inclination (2), small bulge, and (3) bar. The
presence of even a small non-rotating bulge component reduces the rotation
velocity. In the case of a disk with a bar, the underestimate of the circular
velocity is larger due to a combination of non-circular motions and random
velocities. Signatures of bars can be difficult to detect in the surface
brightness profiles of the model galaxies. The variation of inclination angle
and isophote position angle with radius are more reliable indicators of bar
presence than the surface brightness profiles. The systematic biases in the
central ~ 1 kpc of galaxies are not large. Each effect separately gives
typically a few kms error, but the effects add up. In some cases the error in
circular velocity was a factor of two, but typically we get about 20 percent.
The result is the false inference that the density profile of the halo flattens
in the central parts. Our observations of real galaxies show that for a large
fraction of galaxies the velocity of gas rotation (as measured by emission
lines) is very close to the rotation of stellar component (as measured by
absorption lines). This implies that the systematic effects discussed in this
paper are also applicable both for the stars and emission-line gas.Comment: ApJ, in press, 30 pages, Latex, 21 .eps figure
On the relation between circular velocity and central velocity dispersion in high and low surface brightness galaxies
In order to investigate the correlation between the circular velocity Vc and
the central velocity dispersion of the spheroidal component sigma_c, we
analyzed these quantities for a sample of 40 high surface brightness disc
galaxies (hereafter HSB), 8 giant low surface brightness spiral galaxies
(hereafter LSB), and 24 elliptical galaxies characterized by flat rotation
curves. We find that the Vc-sigma_c relation is descri ed by a linear law out
to velocity dispersions as low as sigma_c~50km/s, while in previous works a
power law was adopted for galaxies with sigma_c>80k/ms.
Elliptical galaxies with Vc based on dynamical models or directly derived
from the HI rotation curves follow the same relation as the HSB galaxies in the
Vc-sigma_c plane. On the contrary, the LSB galaxies follow a different
relation, since most of them show either higher Vc (or lower sigma_c) with
respect to the HSB galaxies. This argues against the relevance of baryon
collapse in the radial density profile of the dark matter haloes of LSB
galaxies. (abridged)Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, ApJ in pres
Copers and Noncopers Use Different Landing Techniques to Limit Anterior Tibial Translation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Background: At 1 year after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), two-thirds of patients manage to return to sports (copers), whereas one-third of patients do not return to sports (noncopers). Copers and noncopers have different muscle activation patterns, and noncopers may not be able to control dynamic anterior tibial translation (ATTd) as well as copers. Purpose/Hypothesis: To investigate whether (1) there is a positive correlation between passive ATT (ATTp; ie, general joint laxity) and ATTd during jump landing, (2) whether ATTd is moderated by muscle activating patterns, and (3) whether there is a difference in moderating ATTd between copers and noncopers. We hypothesized that patients who have undergone ACLR compensate for ATTd by developing muscle strategies that are more effective in copers compared with noncopers. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A total of 40 patients who underwent unilateral ACLR performed 10 single-leg hops for distance with both legs. Lower body kinematic and kinetic data were measured using a motion-capture system, and ATTd was determined with an embedded method. Muscle activity was measured using electromyographic signals. Bilateral ATTp was measured using a KT-1000 arthrometer. In addition, the Beighton score was obtained. Results: There was no significant correlation between ATTp and ATTd in copers; however, there was a positive correlation between ATTp and ATTd in the operated knee of noncopers. There was a positive correlation between the Beighton score and ATTp as well as between the Beighton score and ATTd in both copers and noncopers in the operated knee. Copers showed a negative correlation between ATTd and gastrocnemius activity in their operated leg during landing. Noncopers showed a positive correlation between ATTd and knee flexion moment in their operated knee during landing. Conclusion: Copers used increased gastrocnemius activity to reduce ATTd, whereas noncopers moderated ATTd by generating a smaller knee flexion moment
The stellar disk thickness of LSB galaxies
We present surface photometry results for a sample of eleven edge-on galaxies
observed with the 6m telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory
(Russia). The photometric scale length, scale height, and central surface
brightness of the stellar disks of our sample galaxies are estimated. We show
that four galaxies in our sample, which are visually referred as objects of the
lowest surface brightness class in the Revised Flat Galaxies Catalog, have bona
fide low surface brightness (LSB) disks. We find from the comparison of
photometric scales that the stellar disks of LSB galaxies are thinner than
those of high surface brightness (HSB) ones. There is a clear correlation
between the central surface brightness of the stellar disk and its vertical to
radial scale ratio. The masses of spherical subsystems (dark halo + bulge) and
the dark halo masses are obtained for the sample galaxies based on the
thickness of their stellar disks. The LSB galaxies tend to harbor more massive
spherical subsystems than the HSB objects, whereas no systematic difference in
the dark halo masses between LSB and HSB galaxies is found. At the same time,
the inferred mass-to-luminosity ratio for the LSB disks appears to be
systematically higher than for HSB disks.Comment: 33 pages with 17 Postscript figures, uses aastex.cls, accepted by Ap
Evidence for an outer disk in the Prototype `Compact Elliptical' Galaxy M32
M32 is the prototype for the relatively rare class of galaxies referred to as
`compact ellipticals'. It has been suggested that M32 may be a tidally
disturbed r^(1/4) elliptical galaxy, or the remnant bulge of a disk-stripped
early-type spiral galaxy. This paper reveals that the surface brightness
profile, the velocity dispersion measurements, and the estimated supermassive
black hole mass in M32 are inconsistent with the galaxy having, and probably
ever having had, an r^(1/4) light profile. Instead, the radial surface
brightness distribution of M32 resembles an almost perfect (bulge + exponential
disk) profile, which is accompanied by a marked increase in the ellipticity
profile and an associated change in the position angle profile where the `disk'
starts to dominate. Compelling evidence that this bulge/disk interpretation is
accurate comes from the best-fitting r^(1/n) bulge model which has a Sersic
index n=1.5, in agreement with the recently discovered relation between a
bulge's Sersic index and the mass of its supermassive black hole. An index n>4
would also be inconsistent with the stellar velocity dispersion of M32. The
bulge-to-disk size ratio r_e /h equals 0.20, and the logarithm of the
bulge-to-disk luminosity ratio log(B/D) equals 0.22, typical of lenticular
galaxies. The effective radius of the bulge is 27" (~100 pc), while the
scale-length of the disk is less well determined: due to possible tidal-
stripping of the outer profile beyond 220-250", the scale-length may be as
large as 1.3 kpc. M32 is a relatively face-on, nucleated, dwarf galaxy with a
low surface brightness disk and a high surface brightness bulge. This finding
brings into question the existence of the compact elliptical class of galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
A Morphological-type dependence in the mu_0-log(h) plane of Spiral galaxy disks
We present observational evidence for a galaxy `Type' dependence to the
location of a spiral galaxy's disk parameters in the mu_0-log(h) (central disk
surface-brightness - disk scale-length) plane. With a sample of ~40 Low Surface
Brightness galaxies (both bulge- and disk-dominated) and ~80 High Surface
Brightness galaxies, the early-type disk galaxies (<=Sc) tend to define a
bright envelope in the mu_0-log(h) plane, while the late-type (>=Scd) spiral
galaxies have, in general, smaller and fainter disks. Below the defining
surface brightness threshold for a Low Surface Brightness galaxy (i.e. more
than 1 mag fainter than the 21.65 B-mag arcsec^(-2) Freeman value), the
early-type spiral galaxies have scale-lengths greater than 8-9 kpc, while the
late-type spiral galaxies have smaller scale-lengths. All galaxies have been
modelled with a seeing-convolved Sersic r^(1/n) bulge and exponential disk
model. We show that the trend of decreasing bulge shape parameter (n) with
increasing Hubble type and decreasing bulge-to-disk luminosity ratio, which has
been observed amongst the High Surface Brightness galaxies, extends to the Low
Surface Brightness galaxies, revealing a continuous range of structural
parameters.Comment: To be published in ApJ. Inc. three two-part figure
Identification of F-box only protein 7 as a negative regulator of NF-kappaB signalling.
The nuclear factor ÎșB (NF-ÎșB) signalling pathway controls important cellular events such as cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and immune responses. Pathway activation occurs rapidly upon TNFα stimulation and is highly dependent on ubiquitination events. Using cytoplasmic to nuclear translocation of the NF-ÎșB transcription factor family member p65 as a read-out, we screened a synthetic siRNA library targeting enzymes involved in ubiquitin conjugation and de-conjugation for modifiers of regulatory ubiquitination events in NF-ÎșB signalling. We identified F-box protein only 7 (FBXO7), a component of Skp, Cullin, F-box (SCF)-ubiquitin ligase complexes, as a negative regulator of NF-ÎșB signalling. F-box protein only 7 binds to, and mediates ubiquitin conjugation to cIAP1 and TRAF2, resulting in decreased RIP1 ubiquitination and lowered NF-ÎșB signalling activity
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