671 research outputs found
CH^+(1â0) and ^(13)CH^+(1â0) absorption lines in the direction of massive star-forming regions
We report the detection of the ground-state rotational transition of the methylidyne cation CH^+ and its isotopologue ^(13)CH^+ toward the remote
massive star-forming regions W33A, W49N, and W51 with the HIFI instrument onboard the Herschel satellite. Both lines are seen only in
absorption against the dust continuum emission of the star-forming regions. The CH^+ absorption is saturated over almost the entire velocity
ranges sampled by the lines-of-sight that include gas associated with the star-forming regions (SFR) and Galactic foreground material. The CH^+
column densities are inferred from the optically thin components. A lower limit of the isotopic ratio [^(12)CH^+]/[^(13)CH^+] > 35.5 is derived from
the absorptions of foreground material toward W49N. The column density ratio, N(CH^+)/N(HCO^+), is found to vary by at least a factor 10,
between 4 and >40, in the Galactic foreground material. Line-of-sight ^(12)CH^+ average abundances relative to total hydrogen are estimated. Their
average value, N(CH^+)/N_H > 2.6 Ă 10^(â8), is higher than that observed in the solar neighborhood and confirms the high abundances of CH^+ in
the Galactic interstellar medium. We compare this result to the predictions of turbulent dissipation regions (TDR) models and find that these high
abundances can be reproduced for the inner Galaxy conditions. It is remarkable that the range of predicted N(CH^+)/N(HCO^+) ratios, from 1 to
~50, is comparable to that observed
Interstellar CH absorption in the diffuse interstellar medium along the sight-lines to G10.6â0.4 (W31C), W49N, and W51
We report the detection of the ground state N, J = 1, 3/2 â 1, 1/2 doublet of the methylidyne radical CH at ~532 GHz and ~536 GHz with
the Herschel/HIFI instrument along the sight-line to the massive star-forming regions G10.6â0.4 (W31C), W49N, and W51. While the molecular
cores associated with these massive star-forming regions show emission lines, clouds in the diffuse interstellar medium are detected in absorption
against the strong submillimeter background. The combination of hyperfine structure with emission and absorption results in complex profiles,
with overlap of the different hyperfine components. The opacities of most of the CH absorption features are linearly correlated with those of CCH,
CN, and HCO^+ in the same velocity intervals. In specific narrow velocity intervals, the opacities of CN and HCO^+ deviate from the mean trends,
giving rise to more opaque absorption features. We propose that CCH can be used as another tracer of the molecular gas in the absence of better
tracers, with [CCH]/[H_2] ~3.2 ± 1.1 Ă 10^(â8). The observed [CN]/[CH], [CCH]/[CH] abundance ratios suggest that the bulk of the diffuse matter
along the lines of sight has gas densities n_H = n(H) + 2n(H_2) ranging between 100 and 1000 cm^(â3)
Excitation and abundance of C_3 in star forming cores: Herschel/HIFI observations of the sight-lines to W31C and W49N
We present spectrally resolved observations of triatomic carbon (C_3) in several ro-vibrational transitions between the vibrational ground state and
the low-energy Îœ_2 bending mode at frequencies between 1654â1897 GHz along the sight-lines to the submillimeter continuum sources W31C
and W49N, using Herschelâs HIFI instrument. We detect C_3 in absorption arising from the warm envelope surrounding the hot core, as indicated
by the velocity peak position and shape of the line profile. The sensitivity does not allow to detect C_3 absorption due to diffuse foreground clouds.
From the column densities of the rotational levels in the vibrational ground state probed by the absorption we derive a rotation temperature (T_(rot))
of ~50â70 K, which is a good measure of the kinetic temperature of the absorbing gas, as radiative transitions within the vibrational ground state
are forbidden. It is also in good agreement with the dust temperatures for W31C and W49N. Applying the partition function correction based on
the derived T_(rot), we get column densities N(C_3) ~ 7â9 Ă 10^(14) cm^(â2) and abundance x(C_3) ~ 10^(â8) with respect to H_2. For W31C, using a radiative
transfer model including far-infrared pumping by the dust continuum and a temperature gradient within the source along the line of sight we find
that a model with x(C_3) = 10^(â8), T_(kin) = 30â50 K, N(C_3) = 1.5 Ă 10^(15) cm^(â2) fits the observations reasonably well and provides parameters in very
good agreement with the simple excitation analysis
Herschel observations of interstellar chloronium. II - Detections toward G29.96-0.02, W49N, W51, and W3(OH), and determinations of the ortho-to-para and Cl/Cl isotopic ratios
We report additional detections of the chloronium molecular ion, HCl,
toward four bright submillimeter continuum sources: G29.96, W49N, W51, and
W3(OH). With the use of the HIFI instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory,
we observed the transition of ortho-HCl at 781.627
GHz in absorption toward all four sources. Much of the detected absorption
arises in diffuse foreground clouds that are unassociated with the background
continuum sources and in which our best estimates of the ratio lie in the range .
These chloronium abundances relative to atomic hydrogen can exceed the
predictions of current astrochemical models by up to a factor of 5. Toward
W49N, we have also detected the transition of
ortho-HCl at 780.053 GHz and the transition of
para-HCl at 485.418 GHz. These observations imply column density ratios that are consistent with the
solar system Cl/Cl isotopic ratio of 3.1, and chloronium
ortho-to-para ratios consistent with 3, the ratio of spin statistical weights.Comment: 31 pages, including 7 figures. Accepted for publication in the Ap
Nitrogen Doped Graphene Generated by Microwave Plasma and Reduction Expansion Synthesis
The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/nnl.2016.2055This work aimed to produce nitrogen doped graphene from Graphite Oxide (GO) by combining the
Expansion Reduction Synthesis (RES) approach, which utilizes urea as doping/reducing agent, with
the use of an Atmospheric Plasma torch (Plasma), which provides the high temperature reactor
environment known to thermally exfoliate it. The use of this combined strategy (Plasma-RES) was
tried in an attempt to increase the surface area of the products. The amount of nitrogen doping
was controlled by varying the urea/GO mass ratios in the precursor powders. X-ray diffraction
analysis, SEM, TEM, BET surface areas and conductivity measurements of the diverse products
are presented. Nitrogen inclusion in the graphene samples was corroborated by the mass spectral
signal of the evolved gases generated during thermal programmed oxidation experiments of the
products and by EDX analysis. We found that the Plasma-RES method can successfully generate
doped graphene in situ as the urea and GO precursors simultaneously decompose and reduce
in the discharge zone. When using the same amount of urea in the precursor mixture, samples obtained by Plasma-RES have higher surface area than those generated by RES, however, they contain a smaller nitrogen content
Effect of periodontal dressing on nonĂą surgical periodontal treatment outcomes: a systematic review
BackgroundPeriodontal dressing has been advocated and showed some positive outcomes for placing over the surgical site after periodontal surgery. However, little is known about its effect on nonĂą surgical therapy.PurposeThe aim of this review was to assess the clinical effect of periodontal dressing when used after nonĂą surgical therapy.Material and methodsTwo examiners performed an electronic search in several databases for relevant articles published in English up to November 2013. Selected studies were randomized human clinical trials (prospective or retrospective trials) with the clear aim of investigating the effect of periodontal dressing placement upon periodontal nonĂą surgical mechanical therapy. Data were extracted from the included articles for analysis.ResultsThree randomized clinical trials fulfilled the inclusion criteria and thus were included in the data analysis. Statistical analysis could not be carried out due to the lack of clear data of the included studies. However, descriptive analysis showed its effectiveness in improving clinical parameters such as gain of clinical attachment level and reduction of probing pocket depth.ConclusionPlacement of periodontal dressing right after nonĂą surgical mechanical therapy can be beneficial in improving overall shortĂą term clinical outcomes, although more controlled studies are still needed to validate this finding.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/122435/1/idh12130.pd
Strong absorption by interstellar hydrogen fluoride: Herschel/HIFI observations of the sight-line to G10.6-0.4 (W31C)
We report the detection of strong absorption by interstellar hydrogen
fluoride along the sight-line to the submillimeter continuum source G10.6-0.4
(W31C). We have used Herschel's HIFI instrument, in dual beam switch mode, to
observe the 1232.4763 GHz J=1-0 HF transition in the upper sideband of the Band
5a receiver. The resultant spectrum shows weak HF emission from G10.6-0.4 at
LSR velocities in the range -10 to -3 km/s, accompanied by strong absorption by
foreground material at LSR velocities in the range 15 to 50 km/s. The spectrum
is similar to that of the 1113.3430 GHz 1(11)-0(00) transition of para-water,
although at some frequencies the HF (hydrogen fluoride) optical depth clearly
exceeds that of para-H2O. The optically-thick HF absorption that we have
observed places a conservative lower limit of 1.6E+14 cm-2 on the HF column
density along the sight-line to G10.6-0.4. Our lower limit on the HF abundance,
6E-9 relative to hydrogen nuclei, implies that hydrogen fluoride accounts for
between ~ 30 and 100% of the fluorine nuclei in the gas phase along this
sight-line. This observation corroborates theoretical predictions that -
because the unique thermochemistry of fluorine permits the exothermic reaction
of F atoms with molecular hydrogen - HF will be the dominant reservoir of
interstellar fluorine under a wide range of conditions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Herschel
special issue). This revised version corrects a typographic error in the HTML
abstract, in which the lower limit on the HF abundance (should be 6E-9) was
previously misstated. The abstract in the PDF version is correct and the
latter has not been modifie
Water Absorption in Galactic Translucent Clouds: Conditions and History of the Gas Derived from Herschel/HIFI PRISMAS Observations
We present Herschel/HIFI observations of the three ground state transitions of H_2O (556, 1669, and 1113 GHz) and H_2^(18)O (547, 1655, and 1101 GHz)âas well as the first few excited transitions of H_2O (987, 752, and 1661 GHz)âtoward six high-mass star-forming regions, obtained as part of the PRISMAS (PRobing InterStellar Molecules with Absorption line Studies) Guaranteed Time Key Program. Water vapor associated with the translucent clouds in Galactic arms is detected in absorption along every line of sight in all the ground state transitions. The continuum sources all exhibit broad water features in emission in the excited and ground state transitions. Strong absorption features associated with the source are also observed at all frequencies except 752 GHz. We model the background continuum and line emission to infer the optical depth of each translucent cloud along the lines of sight. We derive the column density of H_2O or H_2^(18)O for the lower energy level of each transition observed. The total column density of water in translucent clouds is usually about a few 10^(13) cm^(â2). We find that the abundance of water relative to hydrogen nuclei is 1 Ă 10^(â8) in agreement with models for oxygen chemistry in which high cosmic ray ionization rates are assumed. Relative to molecular hydrogen, the abundance of water is remarkably constant through the Galactic plane with X(H_2O) =5 Ă 10^(â8), which makes water a good traced of H_2 in translucent clouds. Observations of the excited transitions of H_2O enable us to constrain the abundance of water in excited levels to be at most 15%, implying that the excitation temperature, T_(ex), in the ground state transitions is below 10 K. Further analysis of the column densities derived from the two ortho ground state transitions indicates that T_(ex) â 5 K and that the density n(H_2) in the translucent clouds is below 10^4 cm^(â3). We derive the water ortho-to-para ratio for each absorption feature along the line of sight and find that most of the clouds show ratios consistent with the value of 3 expected in thermodynamic equilibrium in the high-temperature limit. However, two clouds with large column densities exhibit a ratio that is significantly below 3. This may argue that the history of water molecules includes a cold phase, either when the molecules were formed on cold grains in the well-shielded, low-temperature regions of the clouds, or when they later become at least partially thermalized with the cold gas (~25 K) in those regions; evidently, they have not yet fully thermalized with the warmer (~50 K) translucent portions of the clouds
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