2,995 research outputs found
Herschel Observations and Updated Spectral Energy Distributions of Five Sunlike Stars with Debris Disks
Observations from the Herschel Space Observatory have more than doubled the
number of wide debris disks orbiting Sunlike stars to include over 30 systems
with R > 100 AU. Here we present new Herschel PACS and re-analyzed Spitzer MIPS
photometry of five Sunlike stars with wide debris disks, from Kuiper belt size
to R > 150 AU. The disk surrounding HD 105211 is well resolved, with an angular
extent of >14" along the major axis, and the disks of HD 33636, HD 50554, and
HD 52265 are extended beyond the PACS PSF size (50% of energy enclosed within
radius 4.23"). HD 105211 also has a 24-micron infrared excess that was
previously overlooked because of a poorly constrained photospheric model.
Archival Spitzer IRS observations indicate that the disks have small grains of
minimum radius ~3 microns, though the minimum grain gradius is larger than the
radiation pressure blowout size in all systems. If modeled as
single-temperature blackbodies, the disk temperatures would all be <60 K. Our
radiative transfer models predict actual disk radii approximately twice the
radius of model blackbody disks. We find that the Herschel photometry traces
dust near the source population of planetesimals. The disk luminosities are in
the range 0.00002 <= L/L* <= 0.0002, consistent with collisions in icy
planetesimal belts stirred by Pluto-size dwarf planets.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 18 pages, including 10 figures and 3
table
Carbinolamine Formation and Dehydration in a DNA Repair Enzyme Active Site
In order to suggest detailed mechanistic hypotheses for the formation and dehydration of a key carbinolamine intermediate in the T4 pyrimidine dimer glycosylase (T4PDG) reaction, we have investigated these reactions using steered molecular dynamics with a coupled quantum mechanics–molecular mechanics potential (QM/MM). We carried out simulations of DNA abasic site carbinolamine formation with and without a water molecule restrained to remain within the active site quantum region. We recovered potentials of mean force (PMF) from thirty replicate reaction trajectories using Jarzynski averaging. We demonstrated feasible pathways involving water, as well as those independent of water participation. The water–independent enzyme–catalyzed reaction had a bias–corrected Jarzynski–average barrier height of approximately for the carbinolamine formation reaction and ) for the reverse reaction at this level of representation. When the proton transfer was facilitated with an intrinsic quantum water, the barrier height was approximately in the forward (formation) reaction and for the reverse. In addition, two modes of unsteered (free dynamics) carbinolamine dehydration were observed: in one, the quantum water participated as an intermediate proton transfer species, and in the other, the active site protonated glutamate hydrogen was directly transferred to the carbinolamine oxygen. Water–independent unforced proton transfer from the protonated active site glutamate carboxyl to the unprotonated N–terminal amine was also observed. In summary, complex proton transfer events, some involving water intermediates, were studied in QM/MM simulations of T4PDG bound to a DNA abasic site. Imine carbinolamine formation was characterized using steered QM/MM molecular dynamics. Dehydration of the carbinolamine intermediate to form the final imine product was observed in free, unsteered, QM/MM dynamics simulations, as was unforced acid-base transfer between the active site carboxylate and the N–terminal amine
Multi-transition study and new detections of class II methanol masers
We have used the ATNF Mopra antenna and the SEST antenna to search in the
directions of several class II methanol maser sources for emission from six
methanol transitions in the frequency range 85-115 GHz. The transitions were
selected from excitation studies as potential maser candidates. Methanol
emission at one or more frequencies was detected from five of the maser
sources, as well as from Orion KL. Although the lines are weak, we find
evidence of maser origin for three new lines in G345.01+1.79, and possibly one
new line in G9.62+0.20.
The observations, together with published maser observations at other
frequencies, are compared with methanol maser modelling for G345.01+1.79 and
NGC6334F. We find that the majority of observations in both sources are
consistent with a warm dust (175 K) pumping model at hydrogen density ~10^6
cm^-3 and methanol column density ~5 x 10^17 cm^-2. The substantial differences
between the maser spectra in the two sources can be attributed to the geometry
of the maser region.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
A new small glitch in Vela discovered with a hidden Markov model
A striking feature of the Vela pulsar (PSR J08354510) is that it undergoes
sudden increases in its spin frequency, known as glitches, with a fractional
amplitude on the order of approximately every 900 days. Glitches of
smaller magnitudes are also known to occur in Vela. Their distribution in both
time and amplitude is less well constrained but equally important for
understanding the physical process underpinning these events. In order to
better understand these small glitches in Vela, an analysis of high-cadence
observations from the Mount Pleasant Observatory is presented. A hidden Markov
model (HMM) is used to search for small, previously undetected glitches across
24 years of observations covering MJD 44929 to MJD 53647. One previously
unknown glitch is detected around MJD 48636 (Jan 15 1992), with fractional
frequency jump and frequency
derivative jump . Two
previously reported small glitches are also confidently re-detected, and
independent estimates of their parameters are reported. Excluding these events,
90% confidence frequentist upper limits on the sizes of missed glitches are
also set, with a median upper limit of . Upper limits of this kind are enabled by the semi-automated and
computationally efficient nature of the HMM, and are crucial to informing
studies which are sensitive to the lower end of the glitch size distribution.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Societ
A Markov Chain based method for generating long-range dependence
This paper describes a model for generating time series which exhibit the
statistical phenomenon known as long-range dependence (LRD). A Markov Modulated
Process based upon an infinite Markov chain is described. The work described is
motivated by applications in telecommunications where LRD is a known property
of time-series measured on the internet. The process can generate a time series
exhibiting LRD with known parameters and is particularly suitable for modelling
internet traffic since the time series is in terms of ones and zeros which can
be interpreted as data packets and inter-packet gaps. The method is extremely
simple computationally and analytically and could prove more tractable than
other methods described in the literatureComment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Particle separation by phase modulated surface acoustic waves
High efficiency isolation of cells or particles from a heterogeneous mixture is a critical processing step in lab-on-a-chip devices. Acoustic techniques offer contactless and label-free manipulation, preserve viability of biological cells, and provide versatility as the applied electrical signal can be adapted to various scenarios. Conventional acoustic separation methods use time-of-flight and achieve separation up to distances of quarter wavelength with limited separation power due to slow gradients in the force. The method proposed here allows separation by half of the wavelength and can be extended by repeating the modulation pattern and can ensure maximum force acting on the particles. In this work, we propose an optimised phase modulation scheme for particle separation in a surface acoustic wave microfluidic device. An expression for the acoustic radiation force arising from the interaction between acoustic waves in the fluid was derived. We demonstrated, for the first time, that the expression of the acoustic radiation force differs in surface acoustic wave and bulk devices, due to the presence of a geometric scaling factor. Two phase modulation schemes are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical findings were experimentally validated for different mixtures of polystyrene particles confirming that the method offers high selectivity. A Monte-Carlo simulation enabled us to assess performance in real situations, including the effects of particle size variation and non-uniform acoustic field on sorting efficiency and purity, validating the ability to separate particles with high purity and high resolution
The Complex Wind Torus and Jets of PSR B1706-44
We report on Chandra ACIS imaging of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of the
young Vela-like PSR B1706-44, which shows the now common pattern of an
equatorial wind and polar jets. The structure is particularly rich, showing a
relativistically boosted termination shock, jets with strong confinement, a
surrounding radio/X-ray PWN and evidence for a quasi-static `bubble nebula'.
The structures trace the pulsar spin geometry and illuminate its possible
relation to SNR G343.1-2.3. We also obtain improved estimates of the pulsar
flux and nebular spectrum, constraining the system age and energetics.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. 15pp, 4 figures in 7 file
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