2,886 research outputs found
Complete homochirality induced by the nonlinear autocatalysis and recycling
A nonlinear autocatalysis of a chiral substance is shown to achieve
homochirality in a closed system, if the back-reaction is included. Asymmetry
in the concentration of two enantiomers or the enantiometric excess increases
due to the nonlinear autocatalysis. Furthermore, when the back-reaction is
taken into account, the reactant supplied by the decomposition of the
enantiomers is recycled to produce more and more the dominant one, and
eventually the homochirality is established.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Measuring and Correcting Wind-Induced Pointing Errors of the Green Bank Telescope Using an Optical Quadrant Detector
Wind-induced pointing errors are a serious concern for large-aperture
high-frequency radio telescopes. In this paper, we describe the implementation
of an optical quadrant detector instrument that can detect and provide a
correction signal for wind-induced pointing errors on the 100m diameter Green
Bank Telescope (GBT). The instrument was calibrated using a combination of
astronomical measurements and metrology. We find that the main wind-induced
pointing errors on time scales of minutes are caused by the feedarm being blown
along the direction of the wind vector. We also find that wind-induced
structural excitation is virtually non-existent. We have implemented offline
software to apply pointing corrections to the data from imaging instruments
such as the MUSTANG 3.3 mm bolometer array, which can recover ~70% of
sensitivity lost due to wind-induced pointing errors. We have also performed
preliminary tests that show great promise for correcting these pointing errors
in real-time using the telescope's subreflector servo system in combination
with the quadrant detector signal.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures; accepted for publication in PAS
Transients Among Binaries with Evolved Low-Mass Companions
We show that stable disk accretion should be very rare among low-mass X-ray
binaries and cataclysmic variables whose evolution is driven by the nuclear
expansion of the secondary star on the first giant branch. Stable accretion is
confined to neutron-star systems where the secondary is still relatively
massive, and some supersoft white dwarf accretors. All other systems, including
all black-hole systems, appear as soft X-ray transients or dwarf novae. All
long-period neutron-star systems become transient well before most of the
envelope mass is transferred, and remain transient until envelope exhaustion.
This complicates attempts to compare the numbers of millisecond pulsars in the
Galactic disk with their LMXB progenitors, and also means that the pulsar spin
rates are fixed in systems which are transient rather than steady, contrary to
common assumption. The long-period persistent sources Sco X-2, LMC X-2, Cyg X-2
and V395 Car must have minimum companion masses > 0.75 Msun if they contain
neutron stars, and still larger masses if they contain black holes. The
companion in the neutron-star transient GRO J1744-2844 must have a mass <0.87
Msun. The existence of any steady sources at all at long periods supports the
ideas that (a) the accretion disks in many, if not all, LMXBs are strongly
irradiated by the central source, and (b) mass transfer is thermally unstable
in long-period supersoft X-ray sources.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 1 ps figure, Ap.J., accepted Feb. 15, 199
Enhanced X-ray variability from V1647 Ori, the young star in outburst illuminating McNeil's Nebula
We report a ~38 ks X-ray observation of McNeil's Nebula obtained with XMM on
2004 April 4. V1647 Ori, the young star in outburst illuminating McNeil's
Nebula, is detected with XMM and appears variable in X-rays. We investigate the
hardness ratio variability and time variations of the event energy distribution
with quantile analysis, and show that the large increase of the count rate from
V1647 Ori observed during the second half of the observation is not associated
with any large plasma temperature variations as for typical X-ray flares from
young low-mass stars. X-ray spectral fitting shows that the bulk (~75%) of the
intrinsic X-ray emission in the 0.5-8 keV energy band comes from a soft plasma
component (0.9 keV) reminiscent of the X-ray spectrum of the classical T Tauri
star TW Hya, for which X-ray emission is believed to be generated by an
accretion shock onto the photosphere of a low-mass star. The hard plasma
component (4.2 keV) contributes ~25% of the total X-ray emission, and can be
understood only in the framework of plasma heating sustained by magnetic
reconnection events. We find a hydrogen column density of NH=4.1E22 cm-2, which
points out a significant excess of hydrogen column density compared to the
value derived from optical/IR observations, consistent with the picture of the
rise of a wind/jet unveiled from ground optical spectroscopy. The X-ray flux
observed with XMM ranges from roughly the flux observed by Chandra on 2004
March 22 (~10 times greater than the pre-outburst X-ray flux) to a value two
times greater than that caught by Chandra on 2004 March 7 (~200 times greater
than the pre-outburst X-ray flux). We have investigated the possibility that
V1647 Ori displays a periodic variation in X-ray brightness as suggested by the
combined Chandra+XMM data set (abridged).Comment: 11 pages and 8 Figures. Accepted for publication by Astronomy &
Astrophysic
X-ray Spectroscopy of the IP PQ Gem
Using RXTE and ASCA data, we investigate the roles played by occultation and
absorption in the X-ray spin pulse profile of the Intermediate Polar PQ Gem.
From the X-ray light curves and phase-resolved spectroscopy, we find that the
intensity variations are due to a combination of varying degrees of absorption
and the accretion regions rotating behind the visible face of the white dwarf.
These occultation and absorption effects are consistent with those expected
from the accretion structures calculated from optical polarisation data. We can
reproduce the changes in absorber covering fraction either from geometrical
effects, or by considering that the material in the leading edge of the
accretion curtain is more finely fragmented than in other parts of the curtain.
We determine a white dwarf mass of ~1.2 using the RXTE data.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Sprouty2 mediated tuning of signalling is essential for somite myogenesis
Background: Negative regulators of signal transduction cascades play critical roles in controlling different aspects of normal embryonic development. Sprouty2 (Spry2) negatively regulates receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) and FGF signalling and is important in differentiation, cell migration and proliferation. In vertebrate embryos, Spry2 is expressed in paraxial mesoderm and in forming somites. Expression is maintained in the myotome until late stages of somite differentiation. However, its role and mode of action during somite myogenesis is still unclear. Results: Here, we analysed chick Spry2 expression and showed that it overlaps with that of myogenic regulatory factors MyoD and Mgn. Targeted mis-expression of Spry2 led to inhibition of myogenesis, whilst its C-terminal domain led to an increased number of myogenic cells by stimulating cell proliferation. Conclusions: Spry2 is expressed in somite myotomes and its expression overlaps with myogenic regulatory factors. Overexpression and dominant-negative interference showed that Spry2 plays a crucial role in regulating chick myogenesis by fine tuning of FGF signaling through a negative feedback loop. We also propose that mir-23, mir-27 and mir-128 could be part of the negative feedback loop mechanism. Our analysis is the first to shed some light on in vivo Spry2 function during chick somite myogenesis
Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 10
Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs
Entropic, electrostatic, and interfacial regimes in concentrated disordered ionic emulsions
Angular Momentum and the Formation of Stars and Black Holes
The formation of compact objects like stars and black holes is strongly
constrained by the requirement that nearly all of the initial angular momentum
of the diffuse material from which they form must be removed or redistributed
during the formation process. The mechanisms that may be involved and their
implications are discussed for (1) low-mass stars, most of which probably form
in binary or multiple systems; (2) massive stars, which typically form in
clusters; and (3) supermassive black holes that form in galactic nuclei. It is
suggested that in all cases, gravitational interactions with other stars or
mass concentrations in a forming system play an important role in
redistributing angular momentum and thereby enabling the formation of a compact
object. If this is true, the formation of stars and black holes must be a more
complex, dynamic, and chaotic process than in standard models. The
gravitational interactions that redistribute angular momentum tend to couple
the mass of a forming object to the mass of the system, and this may have
important implications for mass ratios in binaries, the upper stellar IMF in
clusters, and the masses of supermassive black holes in galaxies.Comment: Accepted by Reports on Progress in Physic
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