4,760 research outputs found
Study of Heart Rate Variability in Bipolar Disorder: Linear and Non-Linear Parameters during Sleep.
The aim of the study is to define physiological parameters and vital signs that may be related to the mood and mental status in patients affected by bipolar disorder. In particular we explored the autonomic nervous system through the analysis of the heart rate variability. Many different parameters, in the time and in the frequency domain, linear and non-linear were evaluated during the sleep in a group of normal subject and in one patient in four different conditions. The recording of the signals was performed through a wearable sensorized T-shirt. Heart rate variability (HRV) signal and movement analysis allowed also obtaining sleep staging and the estimation of REM sleep percentage over the total sleep time. A group of eight normal females constituted the control group, on which normality ranges were estimated. The pathologic subject was recorded during four different nights, at time intervals of at least 1âweek, and during different phases of the disturbance. Some of the examined parameters (MEANNN, SDNN, RMSSD) confirmed reduced HRV in depression and bipolar disorder. REM sleep percentage was found to be increased. LempelâZiv complexity and sample entropy, on the other hand, seem to correlate with the depression level. Even if the number of examined subjects is still small, and the results need further validation, the proposed methodology and the calculated parameters seem promising tools for the monitoring of mood changes in psychiatric disorders
Detection, photometry and slitless radial velocities of 535 planetary nebulae in the flattened elliptical galaxy NGC 4697
We have detected 535 planetary nebulae (PNs) in NGC 4697, using the classic
on-band, off-band filter technique with the Focal Reducer and Spectrograph
(FORS) at the Cassegrain focus of the first 8-meter telescope unit of the ESO
Very Large Telescope. From our photometry we have built the [O III] 5007
planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) of NGC 4697. It indicates a
distance of 10.5 Mpc, substantially smaller than a previous estimate of 24 Mpc
used in earlier dynamical studies. The PNLF also provides an estimate of the
specific PN formation rate. Combining the information from on-band images with
PN positions on dispersed, slitless grism images, we have obtained radial
velocities for 531 of the 535 PNs. They provide kinematic information up to a
distance of almost three effective radii from the nucleus. Some rotation is
detected in the outer regions, but the rotation curve of this galaxy appears to
drop beyond one effective radius. Assuming an isotropic velocity distribution,
the velocity dispersion profile is consistent with no dark matter within three
effective radii of the nucleus (however, some dark matter can be present if the
velocity distribution is anisotropic). We obtain a blue mass-to-light ratio of
11. Earlier M/L ratios for NGC 4697 were too small, because of the too large
distance used for their derivation.Comment: 52 pages, 24 Postscript figures, ApJ 2001, in pres
Planetary nebulae and stellar kinematics in the flattened elliptical galaxy NGC 1344
We present photometric and kinematic information obtained by measuring 197
planetary nebulae (PNs) discovered in the flattened Fornax elliptical galaxy
NGC 1344 (also known as NGC 1340) with an on-band, off-band, grism + on-band
filter technique. We build the PN luminosity function (PNLF) and use it to
derive a distance modulus m-M=31.4, slightly smaller than, but in good
agreement with, the surface brightness fluctuation distance. The PNLF also
provides an estimate of the specific PN formation rate: 6x10^-12 PNs per year
per solar luminosity. Combining the positional information from the on-band
image with PN positions measured on the grism + on-band image, we can measure
the radial velocities of 195 PNs, some of them distant more than 3 effective
radii from the center of NGC 1344. We complement this data set with stellar
kinematics derived from integrated spectra along the major and minor axes, and
parallel to the major axis of NGC 1344. The line-of-sight velocity dispersion
profile indicates the presence of a dark matter halo around this galaxy.Comment: 45 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The stellar dynamics and mass of NGC 1316 using the radial velocities of planetary nebulae
We present a study of the kinematics of the outer regions of the early-type
galaxy NGC 1316, based on radial velocity measurements of 43 planetary nebulae
as well as deep integrated-light absorption line spectra. The smoothed velocity
field of NGC 1316 indicates fast rotation at a distance of 16 kpc, possibly
associated with an elongated feature orthogonal to the inner dust lanes. The
mean square stellar velocity is approximately independent of radius, and the
estimated total mass of the system is 2.6 x 10^11 M_sun within a radius of 16
kpc, implying an integrated mass-to-light ratio of M/L_B = 8.Comment: 39 pages, 14 figures, in press on The Astrophysical Journal n. 50
Intracluster stars in the Virgo cluster core
We have investigated the properties of the diffuse light in the Virgo cluster
core region, based on the detection of intracluster planetary nebulae (PNe) in
four fields. We eliminate the bias from misclassified faint continuum objects,
using improved Monte Carlo simulations, and the contaminations by high redshift
Ly galaxies, using the Ly luminosity function in blank fields.
Recent spectroscopic observations confirm that our photometric PN samples are
well-understood. We find that the diffuse stellar population in the Virgo core
region is inhomogeneous on scales of 30'-90': there exist significant
field-to-field variations in the number density of PNe and the inferred amount
of intracluster light, with some empty fields, some fields dominated by
extended Virgo galaxy halos, and some fields dominated by the true intracluster
component. There is no clear trend with distance from M87. The mean surface
luminosity density, its rms variation, and the mean surface brightness of
diffuse light in our 4 fields are L
arcmin, L arcmin, and
mag arcsec respectively. Our results indicate that
the Virgo cluster is a dynamically young environment, and that the intracluster
component is associated at least partially with local physical processes like
galaxy interactions or harassment. We also argue, based on kinematic evidence,
that the so-called 'over-luminous' PNe in the halo of M84 are dynamically
associated with this galaxy, and must thus be brighter than and part of a
different stellar population from the normal PN population in elliptical
galaxies.Comment: 31 pages, 6 figure. In press on the Astronomical Journa
Monte Carlo simulation method for Laughlin-like states in a disk geometry
We discuss an alternative accurate Monte Carlo method to calculate the
ground-state energy and related quantities for Laughlin states of the
fractional quantum Hall effect in a disk geometry. This alternative approach
allows us to obtain accurate bulk regime (thermodynamic limit) values for
various quantities from Monte Carlo simulations with a small number of
particles (much smaller than that needed with standard Monte Carlo approaches).Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Shot noise of large charge quanta in superconductor/semiconductor/superconductor junctions
We have found experimentally that the noise of ballistic electron transport
in a superconductor/semiconductor/superconductor junction is enhanced relative
to the value given by the general relation, S_V=2eIR^2coth(eV/2kT), for two
voltage regions in which this expression reduces to its thermal and shot noise
limits. The noise enhancement is explained by the presence of large charge
quanta, with effective charge q*=(1+2Delta/eV)e, that generate a noise spectrum
S_V=2q*IR^2, as predicted in Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 3814 (1996). These charge
quanta result from multiple Andreev reflections at each junction interface,
which are also responsible for the subharmonic gap structure observed in the
voltage dependence of the junction's conductance.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review B as a Rapid
Communication. v2 author name in reference corrected. v3 added references. v4
clarifications in the text and reference added thanks to C. Urbin
Discovery of 9 Ly alpha emitters at redshift z~3.1 using narrow-band imaging and VLT spectroscopy
Narrow-band imaging surveys aimed at detecting the faint emission from the
5007 [O III] line of intracluster planetary nebulae in Virgo also probe high
redshift z=3.1 Ly alpha emitters. Here we report on the spectroscopic
identification of 9 Ly alpha emitters at z=3.13, obtained with the FORS
spectrograph at Unit 1 of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT UT1). The spectra
of these high redshift objects show a narrow, isolated Ly alpha emission with
very faint (frequently undetected) continuum, indicating a large equivalent
width. No other features are visible in our spectra. Our Ly alpha emitters are
quite similar to those found by Hu (1998), Cowie & Hu (1998) and Hu et al.
(1998). Using simple population synthesis models, on the assumption that these
sources are regions of star formation, we conclude that the nebulae are nearly
optically thick and must have a very low dust content, in order to explain the
high observed Ly alpha equivalent widths. For the cosmological and star
formation parameters we adopted, the total stellar mass produced would seem to
correspond to the formation of rather small galaxies, some of which are perhaps
destined to merge. The implied star formation density in our sampled comoving
volume is probably somewhat smaller than, but of the same order of magnitude as
the star formation density at z=3 derived by other authors from Lyman-break
galaxy surveys. This result agrees with the expectation that the Ly alpha
emitters are a low-metallicity (or low-dust) tail in a distribution of star
forming regions at high redshifts. Finally, the Ly alpha emitters may
contribute as many H-ionizing photons as QSOs at z=3.Comment: 26 pages, 17 Postscript figures, ApJ in pres
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