31,810 research outputs found
Neutron Star Kicks from Asymmetric Collapse
Many neutron stars are observed to be moving with spatial velocities, in
excess of 500km/s. A number of mechanisms have been proposed to give neutron
stars these high velocities. One of the leading classes of models proposed
invokes asymmetries in the core of a massive star just prior to collapse. These
asymmetries grow during the collapse, causing the resultant supernova to also
be asymmetric. As the ejecta is launched, it pushes off (or ``kicks'') the
newly formed neutron star. This paper presents the first 3-dimensional
supernova simulations of this process. The ejecta is not the only matter that
kicks the newly-formed neutron star. Neutrinos also carry away momentum and the
asymmetric collapse leads also to asymmetries in the neutrinos. However, the
neutrino asymmetries tend to damp out the neutron star motions and even the
most extreme asymmetric collapses presented here do not produce final neutron
star velocities above 200km/s.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, see http://qso.lanl.gov/~clf/papers/kick.ps.gz
for full figure
A Mathematical Model for Estimating Biological Damage Caused by Radiation
We propose a mathematical model for estimating biological damage caused by
low-dose irradiation. We understand that the Linear Non Threshold (LNT)
hypothesis is realized only in the case of no recovery effects. In order to
treat the realistic living objects, our model takes into account various types
of recovery as well as proliferation mechanism, which may change the resultant
damage, especially for the case of lower dose rate irradiation. It turns out
that the lower the radiation dose rate, the safer the irradiated system of
living object (which is called symbolically "tissue" hereafter) can have
chances to survive, which can reproduce the so-called dose and dose-rate
effectiveness factor (DDREF).Comment: 22 pages, 6 Figs, accepted in Journal of the Physical Society of
Japa
Negative Differential Resistance Induced by Mn Substitution at SrRuO3/Nb:SrTiO3 Schottky Interfaces
We observed a strong modulation in the current-voltage characteristics of
SrRuO/Nb:SrTiO Schottky junctions by Mn substitution in SrRuO,
which induces a metal-insulator transition in bulk. The temperature dependence
of the junction ideality factor indicates an increased spatial inhomogeneity of
the interface potential with substitution. Furthermore, negative differential
resistance was observed at low temperatures, indicating the formation of a
resonant state by Mn substitution. By spatially varying the position of the Mn
dopants across the interface with single unit cell control, we can isolate the
origin of this resonant state to the interface SrRuO layer. These results
demonstrate a conceptually different approach to controlling interface states
by utilizing the highly sensitive response of conducting perovskites to
impurities
Higher Fock State Contributions to the Generalized Parton Distribution of Pion
We discuss the higher Fock state (q \bar q g) contributions to the nonzero
value of the pion GPD at the crossover point x = zeta between the DGLAP and
ERBL regions. Using the phenomenological light-front constituent quark model,
we confirm that the higher Fock state contributions indeed give a nonzero value
of the GPD at the crossover point. Iterating the light-front quark model wave
function of the lowest q \bar q Fock state with the Bethe-Salpeter kernel
corresponding to the one-gluon-exchange, we include all possible time-ordered q
\bar q g Fock state contributions and obtain the pion GPD satisfying necessary
sum rules and continuity conditions.Comment: References adde
Probing Quark Distribution Amplitudes Through Generalized Parton Distributions at Large Momentum Transfer
In the large momentum transfer limit, generalized parton distributions can be
calculated through a QCD factorization theorem which involves
perturbatively-calculable hard kernels and light-cone parton distribution
amplitudes of hadrons. We illustrate this through the
distribution for the pion and proton, presenting the hard kernels at leading
order. As a result, experimental data on the generalized parton distributions
in this regime can be used to determine the functional form of the parton
distribution amplitudes which has thus far been quite challenging to obtain.
Our result can also be used as a constraint in phenomenological GPD
parametrizations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; new references and figure added, errors correcte
Ancestral genome estimation reveals the history of ecological diversification in Agrobacterium
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is considered as a major source of innovation in bacteria, and as such is expected to drive adaptation to new ecological niches. However, among the many genes acquired through HGT along the diversification history of genomes, only a fraction may have actively contributed to sustained ecological adaptation. We used a phylogenetic approach accounting for the transfer of genes (or groups of genes) to estimate the history of genomes in Agrobacterium biovar 1, a diverse group of soil and plant-dwelling bacterial species. We identified clade-specific blocks of cotransferred genes encoding coherent biochemical pathways that may have contributed to the evolutionary success of key Agrobacterium clades. This pattern of gene coevolution rejects a neutral model of transfer, in which neighboring genes would be transferred independently of their function and rather suggests purifying selection on collectively coded acquired pathways. The acquisition of these synapomorphic blocks of cofunctioning genes probably drove the ecological diversification of Agrobacterium and defined features of ancestral ecological niches, which consistently hint at a strong selective role of host plant rhizospheres
Gravitational Waves from Axisymmetric, Rotational Stellar Core Collapse
We have carried out an extensive set of two-dimensional, axisymmetric,
purely-hydrodynamic calculations of rotational stellar core collapse with a
realistic, finite-temperature nuclear equation of state and realistic massive
star progenitor models. For each of the total number of 72 different
simulations we performed, the gravitational wave signature was extracted via
the quadrupole formula in the slow-motion, weak-field approximation. We
investigate the consequences of variation in the initial ratio of rotational
kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy and in the initial degree of
differential rotation. Furthermore, we include in our model suite progenitors
from recent evolutionary calculations that take into account the effects of
rotation and magnetic torques. For each model, we calculate gravitational
radiation wave forms, characteristic wave strain spectra, energy spectra, final
rotational profiles, and total radiated energy. In addition, we compare our
model signals with the anticipated sensitivities of the 1st- and 2nd-generation
LIGO detectors coming on line. We find that most of our models are detectable
by LIGO from anywhere in the Milky Way.Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (v600, Jan.
2004). Revised version: Corrected typos and minor mistakes in text and
references. Minor additions to the text according to the referee's
suggestions, conclusions unchange
Fluorescent analysis of photosynthetic microbes and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons linked to optical remote sensing
Fluorescence analysis, being a non-invasive technique, has become one of the most powerful and widely used techniques for microbiologists and chemists to study various types of sample from photosynthetic microbes to hydrocarbons. The work reported here focuses on experimental results of fluorescent features of photosynthetic microbial species (cyanobacteria) and also five different crude oil samples. The cyanobacteria samples were collected from the Baltic Sea at the end of July 2011 and were associated with cyanobacterial bloom events, and the crude oil samples were from various oil spill events. The aim of the study was to find fluorescent biosignatures of cyanobacteria (initially a species specific to the Baltic Sea) and the fingerprints of crude oil; oil spills can be difficult to differentiate from biogenic films when using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) or sunglint contaminated optical imagery. All samples were measured using a Perkin Elmer LS55 Luminescence spectrometer over a broad range of excitation and emission wavelength from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR). The results are presented in Excitation Emission Matrices (EEMs) that exhibit the fluorescent features of each sample. In the EEM of the seawater sample containing cyanobacteria, there is an intense emission peak from tryptophan with fluorescent excitation and emission peaks at 285 and 345 nm respectively. In addition, fluorescent signatures of phycocyanin and chlorophyll-a are present with excitation and emission centre wavelengths at 555 nm, 645 nm and 390 nm, 685 nm, respectively. Additionally, the fluorescence signatures of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are present in the EEMs of crude oil samples with excitation and emission peaks at 285 nm and 425 nm. This study underpins further research on how to distinguish cyanobacteria species by their fluorescence signatures and the potential role that PAHs play in detection of cyanobacteria fluorescence features
3-D Tracking and Visualization of Hundreds of Pt-Co Fuel Cell Nanocatalysts During Electrochemical Aging
We present an electron tomography method that allows for the identification
of hundreds of electrocatalyst nanoparticles with one-to-one correspondence
before and after electrochemical aging. This method allows us to track, in
three-dimensions (3-D), the trajectories and morphologies of each Pt-Co
nanocatalyst on a fuel cell carbon support. The use of atomic-scale electron
energy loss spectroscopic imaging enables the correlation of performance
degradation of the catalyst with changes in particle/inter-particle
morphologies, particle-support interactions and the near-surface chemical
composition. We found that, aging of the catalysts under normal fuel cell
operating conditions (potential scans from +0.6 V to +1.0 V for 30,000 cycles)
gives rise to coarsening of the nanoparticles, mainly through coalescence,
which in turn leads to the loss of performance. The observed coalescence events
were found to be the result of nanoparticle migration on the carbon support
during potential cycling. This method provides detailed insights into how
nanocatalyst degradation occurs in proton exchange membrane fuel cells
(PEMFCs), and suggests that minimization of particle movement can potentially
slow down the coarsening of the particles, and the corresponding performance
degradation.Comment: Nano Letters, accepte
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