1,439 research outputs found
The orbital motion of the Arches cluster — clues on cluster formation near the galactic center
The Arches cluster is one of the most massive, young clusters in the Milky Way. Located inside the central molecular zone in the inner 200 pc of the Galactic center, it formed in one of the most extreme star-forming environments in the present-day Galaxy. Its young age of only 2.5 Myr allows us to observe the cluster despite the strong tidal shear forces in the inner Galaxy. The orbit of the cluster determines its dynamical evolution, tidal stripping, and hence its fate. We have measured the proper motion of the Arches cluster relative to the ambient field from Keck/NIRC2 LGS-AO and VLT/NAOS-CONICA NGS-AO observations taken 4.3 years earlier. When combined with the radial velocity, we derive a 3D space motion of 232 ± 30 km/s for the Arches. This motion is exceptionally large when compared to molecular cloud orbits in the GC, and places stringent constraints on the formation scenarios for starburst clusters in dense, nuclear environments
Properties of the Remnant Clockwise Disk of Young Stars in the Galactic Center
We present new kinematic measurements and modeling of a sample of 116 young
stars in the central parsec of the Galaxy in order to investigate the
properties of the young stellar disk. The measurements were derived from a
combination of speckle and laser guide star adaptive optics imaging and
integral field spectroscopy from the Keck telescopes. Compared to earlier disk
studies, the most important kinematic measurement improvement is in the
precision of the accelerations in the plane of the sky, which have a factor of
six smaller uncertainties (~10 uas/yr/yr). We have also added the first radial
velocity measurements for 8 young stars, increasing the sample at the largest
radii (6"-12") by 25%. We derive the ensemble properties of the observed stars
using Monte-Carlo simulations of mock data. There is one highly significant
kinematic feature (~20 sigma), corresponding to the well-known clockwise disk,
and no significant feature is detected at the location of the previously
claimed counterclockwise disk. The true disk fraction is estimated to be ~20%,
a factor of ~2.5 lower than previous claims, suggesting that we may be
observing the remnant of what used to be a more densely populated stellar disk.
The similarity in the kinematic properties of the B stars and the O/WR stars
suggests a common star formation event. The intrinsic eccentricity distribution
of the disk stars is unimodal, with an average value of = 0.27 +/- 0.07,
which we show can be achieved through dynamical relaxation in an initially
circular disk with a moderately top-heavy mass function.Comment: 65 pages, 22 figures, 8 tables, submitted to Ap
The orbital motion of the Quintuplet cluster - a common origin for the Arches and Quintuplet clusters?
We investigate the orbital motion of the Quintuplet cluster near the Galactic
center with the aim of constraining formation scenarios of young, massive star
clusters in nuclear environments. Three epochs of adaptive optics high-angular
resolution imaging with Keck/NIRC2 and VLT/NACO were obtained over a time
baseline of 5.8 years, delivering an astrometric accuracy of 0.5-1 mas/yr.
Proper motions were derived in the cluster reference frame and were used to
distinguish cluster members from the majority of field stars. Fitting the
cluster and field proper motion distributions with 2D gaussian models, we
derive the orbital motion of the cluster for the first time. The Quintuplet is
moving with a 2D velocity of 132 +/- 15 km/s with respect to the field along
the Galactic plane, which yields a 3D orbital velocity of 167 +/- 15 km/s when
combined with the previously known radial velocity. From a sample of 119 stars
measured in three epochs, we derive an upper limit to the velocity dispersion
in the core of the Quintuplet cluster of sigma_1D < 10 km/s. Knowledge of the
three velocity components of the Quintuplet allows us to model the cluster
orbit in the potential of the inner Galaxy. Comparing the Quintuplet's orbit
with the Arches orbit, we discuss the possibility that both clusters originated
in the same area of the central molecular zone. [abridged]Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Early Influences and Entrepreneurial Intent: Examining the Roles of Education, Experience, and Advice Networks
The independent effects of education, personal experience, and advice networks in the development of new venture creation intent is of considerable interest to educators, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. Little research, however, has systematically considered the possibility that the relative importance of these factors varies in the early stages of entrepreneurial intent formation. Using a unique dataset (n=963), this study investigates these key relationships at two different points in time. Our results suggest that personal start-up experience and advice networks are particularly influential on the formation of intent to start a new venture, and that a marked shift in significance occurs from the former to the latter
An Adaptive Optics Survey of Stellar Variability at the Galactic Center
We present a year adaptive optics (AO) study of stellar
variability and search for eclipsing binaries in the central pc
() of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster. We measure the photometry
of 563 stars using the Keck II NIRC2 imager (-band, ). We achieve a photometric uncertainty floor of (), comparable to the highest precision achieved
in other AO studies. Approximately half of our sample () shows
variability. of known early-type young stars and of
known late-type giants are variable. These variability fractions are higher
than those of other young, massive star populations or late-type giants in
globular clusters, and can be largely explained by two factors. First, our
experiment time baseline is sensitive to long-term intrinsic stellar
variability. Second, the proper motion of stars behind spatial inhomogeneities
in the foreground extinction screen can lead to variability. We recover the two
known Galactic center eclipsing binary systems: IRS 16SW and S4-258 (E60). We
constrain the Galactic center eclipsing binary fraction of known early-type
stars to be at least . We find no evidence of an eclipsing
binary among the young S-stars nor among the young stellar disk members. These
results are consistent with the local OB eclipsing binary fraction. We identify
a new periodic variable, S2-36, with a 39.43 day period. Further observations
are necessary to determine the nature of this source.Comment: 69 pages, 28 figures, 12 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
The silicon trypanosome
African trypanosomes have emerged as promising unicellular model organisms for the next generation of systems biology. They offer unique advantages, due to their relative simplicity, the availability of all standard genomics techniques and a long history of quantitative research. Reproducible cultivation methods exist for morphologically and physiologically distinct life-cycle stages. The genome has been sequenced, and microarrays, RNA-interference and high-accuracy metabolomics are available. Furthermore, the availability of extensive kinetic data on all glycolytic enzymes has led to the early development of a complete, experiment-based dynamic model of an important biochemical pathway. Here we describe the achievements of trypanosome systems biology so far and outline the necessary steps towards the ambitious aim of creating a , a comprehensive, experiment-based, multi-scale mathematical model of trypanosome physiology. We expect that, in the long run, the quantitative modelling enabled by the Silicon Trypanosome will play a key role in selecting the most suitable targets for developing new anti-parasite drugs
Saturation of intersubband transitions in p-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells
Optical saturation experiments have been performed on hh1-hh2 intersubband transitions in two samples of p-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. The transitions had energies of 183 and 160 meV and the measured population relaxation times were 2±1.5 and 0.3±0.1 ps, respectively. Modeling of the quantum wells with a 6×6 k·p method shows that intersubband scattering by LO phonons can account for these relaxation times. The valence bandstructure is typically more complicated than the conduction bandstructure in a quantum well but these measurements show that LO phonons are the dominant intersubband scattering mechanism in both cases
Anomaly Detection Techniques with Real Test Data from a Spinning Turbine Engine-Like Rotor
Online detection techniques to monitor the health of rotating engine components are becoming increasingly attractive to aircraft engine manufacturers in order to increase safety of operation and lower maintenance costs. Health monitoring remains a challenge to easily implement, especially in the presence of scattered loading conditions, crack size, component geometry, and materials properties. The current trend, however, is to utilize noninvasive types of health monitoring or nondestructive techniques to detect hidden flaws and mini-cracks before any catastrophic event occurs. These techniques go further to evaluate material discontinuities and other anomalies that have grown to the level of critical defects that can lead to failure. Generally, health monitoring is highly dependent on sensor systems capable of performing in various engine environmental conditions and able to transmit a signal upon a predetermined crack length, while acting in a neutral form upon the overall performance of the engine system
Giant flagellins form thick flagellar filaments in two species of marine γ-proteobacteria
Flagella, the primary means of motility in bacteria, are helical filaments that function as microscopic propellers composed of thousands of copies of the protein flagellin. Here, we show that many bacteria encode “giant” flagellins, greater than a thousand amino acids in length, and that two species that encode giant flagellins, the marine γ-proteobacteria Bermanella marisrubri and Oleibacter marinus, produce monopolar flagellar filaments considerably thicker than filaments composed of shorter flagellin monomers. We confirm that the flagellum from B. marisrubri is built from its giant flagellin. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the mechanism of evolution of giant flagellins has followed a stepwise process involving an internal domain duplication followed by insertion of an additional novel insert. This work illustrates how “the” bacterial flagellum should not be seen as a single, idealised structure, but as a continuum of evolved machines adapted to a range of niches
Driver behaviour with adaptive cruise control
This paper reports on the evaluation of adaptive cruise control (ACC) from a psychological perspective. It was anticipated that ACC would have an effect upon the psychology of driving, i.e. make the driver feel like they have less control, reduce the level of trust in the vehicle, make drivers less situationally aware, but workload might be reduced and driving might be less stressful. Drivers were asked to drive in a driving simulator under manual and ACC conditions. Analysis of variance techniques were used to determine the effects of workload (i.e. amount of traffic) and feedback (i.e. degree of information from the ACC system) on the psychological variables measured (i.e. locus of control, trust, workload, stress, mental models and situation awareness). The results showed that: locus of control and trust were unaffected by ACC, whereas situation awareness, workload and stress were reduced by ACC. Ways of improving situation awareness could include cues to help the driver predict vehicle trajectory and identify conflicts
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