381 research outputs found
The star-formation history of the universe - an infrared perspective
A simple and versatile parameterized approach to the star formation history
allows a quantitative investigation of the constraints from far infrared and
submillimetre counts and background intensity measurements.
The models include four spectral components: infrared cirrus (emission from
interstellar dust), an M82-like starburst, an Arp220-like starburst and an AGN
dust torus. The 60 m luminosity function is determined for each chosen
rate of evolution using the PSCz redshift data for 15000 galaxies. The
proportions of each spectral type as a function of 60 m luminosity are
chosen for consistency with IRAS and SCUBA colour-luminosity relations, and
with the fraction of AGN as a function of luminosity found in 12 m
samples. The luminosity function for each component at any wavelength can then
be calculated from the assumed spectral energy distributions. With assumptions
about the optical seds corresponding to each component and, for the AGN
component, the optical and near infrared counts can be accurately modelled.
A good fit to the observed counts at 0.44, 2.2, 15, 60, 90, 175 and 850
m can be found with pure luminosity evolution in all 3 cosmological models
investigated: = 1, = 0.3 ( = 0), and
= 0.3, = 0.7.
All 3 models also give an acceptable fit to the integrated background
spectrum. Selected predictions of the models, for example redshift
distributions for each component at selected wavelengths and fluxes, are shown.
The total mass-density of stars generated is consistent with that observed,
in all 3 cosmological models.Comment: 20 pages, 25 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Full details
of models can be found at http://astro.ic.ac.uk/~mrr/countmodel
The trypanocidal benzoxaborole AN7973 inhibits trypanosome mRNA processing
Kinetoplastid parasites—trypanosomes and leishmanias—infect millions of humans and cause economically devastating diseases of livestock, and the few existing drugs have serious deficiencies. Benzoxaborole-based compounds are very promising potential novel anti-trypanosomal therapies, with candidates already in human and animal clinical trials. We investigated the mechanism of action of several benzoxaboroles, including AN7973, an early candidate for veterinary trypanosomosis. In all kinetoplastids, transcription is polycistronic. Individual mRNA 5'-ends are created by trans splicing of a short leader sequence, with coupled polyadenylation of the preceding mRNA. Treatment of Trypanosoma brucei with AN7973 inhibited trans splicing within 1h, as judged by loss of the Y-structure splicing intermediate, reduced levels of mRNA, and accumulation of peri-nuclear granules. Methylation of the spliced leader precursor RNA was not affected, but more prolonged AN7973 treatment caused an increase in S-adenosyl methionine and methylated lysine. Together, the results indicate that mRNA processing is a primary target of AN7973. Polyadenylation is required for kinetoplastid trans splicing, and the EC50 for AN7973 in T. brucei was increased three-fold by over-expression of the T. brucei cleavage and polyadenylation factor CPSF3, identifying CPSF3 as a potential molecular target. Molecular modeling results suggested that inhibition of CPSF3 by AN7973 is feasible. Our results thus chemically validate mRNA processing as a viable drug target in trypanosomes. Several other benzoxaboroles showed metabolomic and splicing effects that were similar to those of AN7973, identifying splicing inhibition as a common mode of action and suggesting that it might be linked to subsequent changes in methylated metabolites. Granule formation, splicing inhibition and resistance after CPSF3 expression did not, however, always correlate and prolonged selection of trypanosomes in AN7973 resulted in only 1.5-fold resistance. It is therefore possible that the modes of action of oxaboroles that target trypanosome mRNA processing might extend beyond CPSF3 inhibition
Collective excitation spectrum of a disordered Hubbard model
We study the collective excitation spectrum of a d=3 site-disordered
Anderson-Hubbard model at half-filling, via a random-phase approximation (RPA)
about broken-symmetry, inhomogeneous unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) ground
states. We focus in particular on the density and character of low-frequency
collective excitations in the transverse spin channel. In the absence of
disorder, these are found to be spin-wave-like for all but very weak
interaction strengths, extending down to zero frequency and separated from a
Stoner-like band, to which there is a gap. With disorder present, a prominent
spin-wave-like band is found to persist over a wide region of the
disorder-interaction phase plane in which the mean-field ground state is a
disordered antiferromagnet, despite the closure of the UHF single-particle gap.
Site resolution of the RPA excitations leads to a microscopic rationalization
of the evolution of the spectrum with disorder and interaction strength, and
enables the observed localization properties to be interpreted in terms of the
fraction of strong local moments and their site-differential distribution.Comment: 25 pages (revtex), 9 postscript figure
HST Imaging Polarimetry of the Gravitational Lens FSC10214+4724
We present imaging polarimetry of the extremely luminous, redshift 2.3 IRAS
source FSC10214+4724. The observations were obtained with HST's Faint Object
Camera in the F437M filter, which is free of strong emission lines. The 0.7
arcsec long arc is unresolved to 0.04 arcsec FWHM in the transverse direction,
and has an integrated polarization of 28 +/- 3 percent, in good agreement with
ground-based observations. The polarization position angle varies along the arc
by up to 35 deg. The overall position angle is 62 +/- 3 deg east of north. No
counterimage is detected to B = 27.5 mag (), giving an observed arc to
counterimage flux ratio greater than 250, considerably greater than the flux
ratio of 100 measured previously in the I-band. This implies that the
configuration of the object in the source plane at the B-band is different from
that at I-band, and/or that the lensing galaxy is dusty.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomical
Journal, February 199
A spectroscopic study of IRAS F10214+4724
The z=2.286 IRAS galaxy F10214+4724 remains one of the most luminous galaxies
in the Universe, despite its gravitational lens magnification. We present
optical and near-infrared spectra of F10214+4724, with clear evidence for three
distinct components: lines of width ~1000 km/s from a Seyfert-II nucleus; <~200
km/s lines which are likely to be associated with star formation; and a broad
~4000 km/s CIII] 1909ang emission line which is blue-shifted by ~1000 km/s with
respect to the Seyfert-II lines. Our study of the Seyfert-II component leads to
several new results, including: (i) From the double-peaked structure in the Ly
alpha line, and the lack of Ly beta, we argue that the Ly alpha photons have
emerged through a neutral column of N_H ~ 2.5 x 10^{25}/m^2, possibly located
within the AGN narrow-line region as argued in several high redshift
radiogalaxies. (ii) The resonant O VI 1032,1036ang doublet (previously
identified as Ly beta) is in an optically thick (1:1) ratio. At face value this
implies an an extreme density (n_e ~ 10^{17}/m^3) more typical of broad line
region clouds. However, we attribute this instead to the damping wings of Ly
beta from the resonant absorption. (iii) A tentative detection of HeII 1086
suggests little extinction in the rest-frame ultraviolet.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Uses BoxedEPS (included
Unveiling Dust-enshrouded Star Formation in the Early Universe: a Sub-mm Survey of the Hubble Deep Field
The advent of sensitive sub-mm array cameras now allows a proper census of
dust-enshrouded massive star-formation in very distant galaxies, previously
hidden activity to which even the faintest optical images are insensitive. We
present the deepest sub-mm survey of the sky to date, taken with the SCUBA
camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and centred on the Hubble Deep
Field. The high source density found in this image implies that the survey is
confusion-limited below a flux density of 2 mJy. However, within the central 80
arcsec radius independent analyses yield 5 reproducible sources with S(850um) >
2 mJy which simulations indicate can be ascribed to individual galaxies. We
give positions and flux densities for these, and furthermore show using
multi-frequency photometric data that the brightest sources in our map lie at
redshifts z~3. These results lead to integral source counts which are
completely inconsistent with a no-evolution model, and imply that massive
star-formation activity continues at redshifts > 2. The combined brightness of
the 5 most secure sources in our map is sufficient to account for 30 - 50% of
the previously unresolved sub-mm background, and we estimate statistically that
the entire background is resolved at about the 0.3 mJy level. Finally we
discuss possible optical identifications and redshift estimates for the
brightest sources. One source appears to be associated with an extreme
starburst galaxy at z~1, whilst the remaining four appear to lie in the
redshift range 2 < z < 4. This implies a star-formation density over this
redshift range that is at least five times higher than that inferred from the
ultraviolet output of HDF galaxies.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures (to appear as a Nature Article
A Submillimetre Survey of the Hubble Deep Field: Unveiling Dust-Enshrouded Star Formation in the Early Universe
The advent of sensitive sub-mm array cameras now allows a proper census of
dust-enshrouded massive star-formation in very distant galaxies, previously
hidden activity to which even the deepest optical images are insensitive. We
present the deepest sub-mm survey, taken with the SCUBA camera on the James
Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and centred on the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). The
high source density on this image implies that the survey is confusion-limited
below a flux density of 2 mJy. However within the central 80 arcsec radius
independent analyses yield 5 reproducible sources with S(850um) > 2 mJy which
simulations indicate can be ascribed to individual galaxies. These data lead to
integral source counts which are completely inconsistent with a no evolution
model, whilst the combined brightness of the 5 most secure sources in our map
is sufficient to account for 30-50% of the previously unresolved sub-mm
background, and statistically the entire background is resolved at about the
0.3 mJy level. Four of the five brightest sources appear to be associated with
galaxies which lie in the redshift range 2 < z < 4. With the caveat that this
is a small sample of sources detected in a small survey area, these submm data
imply a star-formation density over this redshift range that is at least five
times higher than that inferred from the rest-frame ultraviolet output of HDF
galaxies.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of `The Birth of Galaxies', Xth
Rencontres de Blois, 4 pages, 1 postscript figure, uses blois.sty (included
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: The Cosmic Spectrum and Star-Formation History
We present a determination of the `Cosmic Optical Spectrum' of the Universe,
i.e. the ensemble emission from galaxies, as determined from the red-selected
Sloan Digital Sky Survey main galaxy sample and compare with previous results
of the blue-selected 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. Broadly we find good agreement
in both the spectrum and the derived star-formation histories. If we use a
power-law star-formation history model where star-formation rate out to z=1, then we find that of 2 to 3 is still the most
likely model and there is no evidence for current surveys missing large amounts
of star formation at high redshift. In particular `Fossil Cosmology' of the
local universe gives measures of star-formation history which are consistent
with direct observations at high redshift. Using the photometry of SDSS we are
able to derive the cosmic spectrum in absolute units (i.e.^{-1}^{-3}\Msun/\Lsun\omstars h = 0.0025\alpha\Msun^{-1}^{-3}$ today.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, ApJ in press (April 10th 2003
Timeline analysis and wavelet multiscale analysis of the AKARI All-Sky Survey at 90 micron
We present a careful analysis of the point source detection limit of the
AKARI All-Sky Survey in the WIDE-S 90 m band near the North Ecliptic Pole
(NEP). Timeline Analysis is used to detect IRAS sources and then a conversion
factor is derived to transform the peak timeline signal to the interpolated 90
m flux of a source. Combined with a robust noise measurement, the point
source flux detection limit at S/N for a single detector row is
Jy which corresponds to a point source detection limit of the
survey of 0.4 Jy.
Wavelet transform offers a multiscale representation of the Time Series Data
(TSD). We calculate the continuous wavelet transform of the TSD and then search
for significant wavelet coefficients considered as potential source detections.
To discriminate real sources from spurious or moving objects, only sources with
confirmation are selected. In our multiscale analysis, IRAS sources selected
above can be identified as the only real sources at the Point Source
Scales. We also investigate the correlation between the non-IRAS sources
detected in Timeline Analysis and cirrus emission using wavelet transform and
contour plots of wavelet power spectrum. It is shown that the non-IRAS sources
are most likely to be caused by excessive noise over a large range of spatial
scales rather than real extended structures such as cirrus clouds.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
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