6,772 research outputs found
A deep and wide-field view at the IC 2944 / 2948 complex in Centaurus
We employed the ESO MPI wide-field camera and obtained deep images in the VIc
pass-bands in the region of the IC 2944/2948 complex (l ~ 294; b ~ -1), and
complemented them with literature and archival data. We used this material to
derive the photometric, spectroscopic and kinematic properties of the brightest
(V < 16) stars in the region. The VI deep photometry on the other end, helped
us to unravel the lower main sequence of a few, possibly physical, star groups
in the area.
Our analysis confirmed previous suggestions that the extinction toward this
line of sight follows the normal law (Rv = 3.1). We could recognize B-type
stars spread in distance from a few hundred pc to at least 2 kpc. We found two
young groups (age ~ 3 Myr) located respectively at about 2.3 and 3.2 kpc from
the Sun. They are characterized by a significant variable extinction (E(B-V)
ranging from 0.28 to 0.45 mag), and host a significant pre-main sequence
population. We computed the initial mass functions for these groups and
obtained slopes Gamma from -0.94 to -1.02 (e_Gamma = 0.3), in a scale where the
classical Salpeter law is -1.35. We estimated the total mass of both main
stellar groups in ~ 1100 Mo, respectively. Our kinematic analysis
indicated that both groups of stars deviate from the standard rotation curve of
the Milky Way, in line with literature results for this specific Galactic
direction.
Finally, along the same line of sight we identified a third group of
early-type stars located at ~ 8 kpc from the Sun. This group might be located
in the far side of the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Anelastic relaxation and La NQR in LaSrCuO around the critical Sr content x=0.02
Anelastic relaxation and La NQR relaxation measurements in
LaSrCuO for Sr content x around 2 and 3 percent, are presented
and discussed in terms of spin and lattice excitations and ordering processes.
It is discussed how the phase diagram of LaSrCuO at the
boundary between the antiferromagnetic (AF) and the spin-glass phase (x = 0.02)
could be more complicate than previous thought, with a transition to a
quasi-long range ordered state at T = 150 K, as indicated by recent neutron
scattering data. On the other hand, the La NQR spectra are compatible
with a transition to a conventional AF phase around T = 50 K, in agreement with
the phase diagram commonly accepted in the literature. In this case the
relaxation data, with a peak of magnetic origin in the relaxation rate around
150 K at 12 MHz and the anelastic counterparts around 80 K in the kHz range,
yield the first evidence in LaSrCuO of freezing involving
simultaneously lattice and spin excitations. This excitation could correspond
to the motion of charged stripes.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Experimental determination of the frequency and field dependence of Specific Loss Power in Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia
Magnetic nanoparticles are promising systems for biomedical applications and
in particular for Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia, a promising therapy that
utilizes the heat released by such systems to damage tumor cells. We present an
experimental study of the physical properties that influences the capability of
heat release, i.e. the Specific Loss Power, SLP, of three biocompatible
ferrofluid samples having a magnetic core of maghemite with different core
diameter d= 10.2, 14.6 and 19.7 nm. The SLP was measured as a function of
frequency f and intensity of the applied alternating magnetic field H, and it
turned out to depend on the core diameter, as expected. The results allowed us
to highlight experimentally that the physical mechanism responsible for the
heating is size-dependent and to establish, at applied constant frequency, the
phenomenological functional relationship SLP=cH^x, with 2<x<3 for all samples.
The x-value depends on sample size and field frequency/ intensity, here chosen
in the typical range of operating magnetic hyperthermia devices. For the
smallest sample, the effective relaxation time Teff=19.5 ns obtained from SLP
data is in agreement with the value estimated from magnetization data, thus
confirming the validity of the Linear Response Theory model for this system at
properly chosen field intensity and frequency
Singular del Pezzo fibrations and birational rigidity
A known conjecture of Grinenko in birational geometry asserts that a Mori
fibre space with the structure of del Pezzo fibration of low degree is
birationally rigid if and only if its anticanonical class is an interior point
in the cone of mobile divisors. The conjecture is proved to be true for smooth
models (with a generality assumption for degree 3). It is speculated that the
conjecture holds for, at least, Gorenstein models in degree 1 and 2. In this
article, I present a (Gorenstein) counterexample in degree 2 to this
conjecture.Comment: This is essentially a more detailed version of the second section of
arXiv:1310.5548. To appear in the proceedings of the conference 'Groups of
Automorphisms in Birational and Affine Geometry', held in Trento, Italy, 201
Near-infrared spectroscopy study of tourniquet-induced forearm ischaemia in patients with coronary artery disease
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) can be employed to monitor local changes in haemodynamics and oxygenation of human tissues. A preliminary study has been performed in order to evaluate the NIRS transmittance response to induced forearm ischaemia in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The population consists in 40 patients with cardiovascular risk factors and angiographically documented CAD, compared to a group of 13 normal subjects. By inflating and subsequently deflating a cuff placed around the patient arm, an ischaemia has been induced and released, and the patients have been observed until recovery of the basal conditions. A custom LAIRS spectrometer (IRIS) has been used to collect the backscattered light intensities from the patient forearm throughout the ischaemic and the recovery phase. The time dependence of the near-infrared transmittance on the control group is consistent with the available literature. On the contrary, the magnitude and dynamics of the NIRS signal on the CAD patients show deviations from the documented normal behavior, which can be tentatively attributed to abnormal vessel stiffness. These preliminary results, while validating the performance of the IRIS spectrometer, are strongly conducive towards the applicability of the NIRS technique to ischaemia analysis and to endothelial dysfunction characterization in CAD patients with cardiovascular risk factors.Publisher PD
Life cycle assessment (LCA) of an integrated biomass gasification combined cycle IBGCC with CO2 removal
Based on the results of previous studies, the efficiency of a Brayton/Hirn combined cycle fuelled with a clean syngas produced by means of biomass gasification and equipped with CO2 removal by chemical absorption reached 33.94%, considering also the separate CO2 compression process. The specific CO2 emission of the power plant was 178 kg/MW h. In comparison with values previously found for an integrated coal gasification combined cycle (ICGCC) with upstream CO2 chemical absorption (38–39% efficiency, 130 kg/MW h specific CO2 emissions), this configuration seems to be attractive because of the possibility of operating with a simplified scheme and because of the possibility of using biomass in a more efficient way with respect to conventional systems. In this paper, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted with presenting the results on the basis of the Eco-Indicator 95 impact assessment methodology. Further, a comparison with the results previously obtained for the LCA of the ICGCC was performed in order to highlight the environmental impact of biomass production with fossil fuels utilisation. The LCA shows the important environmental advantages of biomass utilisation in terms of reduction of both greenhouse gas emissions and natural resource depletion, although an improved impact assessment methodology may better highlight the advantages due to the biomass utilisation
Photometric and spectroscopic variations of the Be star HD 112999
Be objects are stars of B spectral type showing lines of the Balmer series in
emission. The presence of these lines is attributed to the existence of an
extended envelope, disk type, around them. Some stars are observed in both the
Be and normal B-type spectroscopic states and they are known as transient Be
stars. In this paper we show the analysis carried out on a new possible
transient Be star, labelled HD 112999, using spectroscopic optical observations
and photometric data.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in IBV
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