1,159 research outputs found
On the robustness of the H Lick index as a cosmic clock in passive early-type galaxies
We examine the H Lick index in a sample of massive () and passive early-type galaxies extracted from SDSS at
z<0.3, in order to assess the reliability of this index to constrain the epoch
of formation and age evolution of these systems. We further investigate the
possibility of exploiting this index as "cosmic chronometer", i.e. to derive
the Hubble parameter from its differential evolution with redshift, hence
constraining cosmological models independently of other probes. We find that
the H strength increases with redshift as expected in passive evolution
models, and shows at each redshift weaker values in more massive galaxies.
However, a detailed comparison of the observed index with the predictions of
stellar population synthesis models highlights a significant tension, with the
observed index being systematically lower than expected. By analyzing the
stacked spectra, we find a weak [NII] emission line (not
detectable in the single spectra) which anti-correlates with the mass, that can
be interpreted as a hint of the presence of ionized gas. We estimated the
correction of the H index by the residual emission component exploiting
different approaches, but find it very uncertain and model-dependent. We
conclude that, while the qualitative trends of the observed H-z
relations are consistent with the expected passive and downsizing scenario, the
possible presence of ionized gas even in the most massive and passive galaxies
prevents to use this index for a quantitative estimate of the age evolution and
for cosmological applications.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Main
Journa
An improved measurement of baryon acoustic oscillations from the correlation function of galaxy clusters at
We detect the peak of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the two-point
correlation function of a spectroscopic sample of clusters selected
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Galaxy clusters, as tracers of massive dark
matter haloes, are highly biased structures. The linear bias of the sample
considered in this work, that we estimate from the projected correlation
function, is . Thanks to the high signal in the
cluster correlation function and to the accurate spectroscopic redshift
measurements, we can clearly detect the BAO peak and determine its position,
, with high accuracy, despite the relative paucity of the sample. Our
measurement, , is in good agreement
with previous estimates from large galaxy surveys, and has a similar
uncertainty. The BAO measurement presented in this work thus provides a new
strong confirmation of the concordance cosmological model and demonstrates the
power and promise of galaxy clusters as key probes for cosmological
applications based on large scale structures.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure, accepted for publication in MNRA
The effective Lagrangian of dark energy from observations
Using observational data on the expansion rate of the universe (H(z)) we
constrain the effective Lagrangian of the current accelerated expansion. Our
results show that the effective potential is consistent with being flat i.e., a
cosmological constant; it is also consistent with the field moving along an
almost flat potential like a pseudo-Goldstone boson. We show that the potential
of dark energy does not deviate from a constant at more than 6% over the
redshift range 0 < z < 1. The data can be described by just a constant term in
the Lagrangian and do not require any extra parameters; therefore there is no
evidence for augmenting the number of parameters of the LCDM paradigm. We also
find that the data justify the effective theory approach to describe
accelerated expansion and that the allowed parameters range satisfy the
expected hierarchy. Future data, both from cosmic chronometers and baryonic
acoustic oscillations, that can measure H(z) at the % level, could greatly
improve constraints on the flatness of the potential or shed some light on
possible mechanisms driving the accelerated expansion. Besides the above
result, it is shown that the effective Lagrangian of accelerated expansion can
be constrained from cosmological observations in a model-independent way and
that direct measurements of the expansion rate H(z) are most useful to do so.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, JCAP submitted. This paper presents a
reconstruction of the dark energy potential. It is a companion to Moresco et
al. 2012a, which presents new H(z) results and Moresco et al. 2012b, which
provides cosmological parameter constraint
Role of metformin and AKT axis modulation in the reversion of hypoxia induced TMZ-resistance in glioma cells
Hypoxia is a key driver of tumor adaptation promoting tumor progression and resistance to therapy. Hypoxia related pathways might represent attractive targets for the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), that up to date is characterized by a poor prognosis. Primary aim of this study was to investigate the role of hypoxia and hypoxia-related modifications in the effect of temozolomide (TMZ) given alone or in association with the antidiabetic agent Metformin (MET) or the PI3K/mTOR blocker, BEZ235. The study was conducted in the TMZ responsive U251 and resistant T98 GBM cells. Our results showed that during hypoxia, TMZ plus MET reduced viability of U251 cells affecting also CD133 and CD90 expressing cells. This effect was associated with a reduction of HIF-1\u3b1 activity, VEGF release and AKT activation. In T98 TMZ-resistant cells, TMZ plus MET exerted similar effects on HIF-1\u3b1. However, in this cell line, TMZ plus MET failed to reduce CD133 positive cells and AKT phosphorylation. Nevertheless, the administration of the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor BEZ235 potentiated the effect of TMZ plus MET on cell viability, inducing a pro-apoptotic phenotype during hypoxic condition also in T98 cells, suggesting the block of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway as a complementary target to further overcome GBM resistance during hypoxia. In conclusion, we proposed TMZ plus MET as suitable treatment to revert TMZ-resistance also during hypoxia, an effect potentiated by the inhibition of PI3K/mTOR axis
A methodology to select galaxies just after the quenching of star formation
We propose a new methodology aimed at finding star-forming galaxies in the phase which immediately follows the star-formation (SF) quenching, based on the use of high- to lowionization emission line ratios. These ratios rapidly disappear after the SF halt, due to the softening of the UV ionizing radiation. We focus on [O III] λ5007/Hα and [Ne III] λ3869/[O II] λ3727, studying them with simulations obtained with the CLOUDY photoionization code. If a sharp quenching is assumed, we find that the two ratios are very sensitive tracers as they drop by a factor of ~ 10 within ~10 Myr from the interruption of the SF; instead, if a smoother and slower SF decline is assumed (i.e. an exponentially declining SF history with e-folding time τ = 200 Myr), they decrease by a factor of ~2 within ~80 Myr. We mitigate the ionization- metallicity degeneracy affecting our methodology using pairs of emission line ratios separately related to metallicity and ionization, adopting the [N II] λ6584/[O II] λ3727 ratio as metallicity diagnostic. Using a Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy sample, we identify 10 examples among the most extreme quenching candidates within the [O III] λ5007/Hα versus [N II] λ6584/[O II] λ3727 plane, characterized by low [O III] λ5007/Hα, faint [Ne III] λ3869, and by blue dust-corrected spectra and (u - r) colours, as expected if the SF quenching has occurred in the very recent past. Our results also suggest that the observed fractions of quenching candidates can be used to constrain the quenching mechanism at work and its time-scales
An effective theory of accelerated expansion
We work out an effective theory of accelerated expansion to describe general
phenomena of inflation and acceleration (dark energy) in the Universe. Our aim
is to determine from theoretical grounds, in a physically-motivated and model
independent way, which and how many (free) parameters are needed to broadly
capture the physics of a theory describing cosmic acceleration. Our goal is to
make as much as possible transparent the physical interpretation of the
parameters describing the expansion. We show that, at leading order, there are
five independent parameters, of which one can be constrained via general
relativity tests. The other four parameters need to be determined by observing
and measuring the cosmic expansion rate only, H(z). Therefore we suggest that
future cosmology surveys focus on obtaining an accurate as possible measurement
of to constrain the nature of accelerated expansion (dark energy and/or
inflation).Comment: In press; minor changes, results unchange
CONVERGENT AND DIVERGENT ANGLES OF A SOLID-FUEL ROCKET NOZZLE AND ITS INFLUENCES ON THE MOTOR’S THRUST CURVE
The main goal of this work is to investigate how the angles of a convergent-divergent rocket nozzle influence the thrust curve of a solid-propulsion rocket. The work has been conducted within an academic rocketry team. As there is not clear reasoning on how to define these angles, the present research provides insights on how these geometrical parameters influence the performance of a rocket motor. A 2D-axisymmetric CFD domain is considered, comprising the fluid domain inside and outside the nozzle, to give room for the shock waves to happen and also accommodate the flow. The study comprises a baseline geometry and twelve modified designs, varying the convergent and the divergent angles of the nozzle. Since the convergent diameter must match the chamber diameter, it is fixed. For the divergent diameter, there is no such restriction; therefore, there are two possibilities: a divergent section with the same divergent diameter or with the same length as the baseline. The benchmark thrust curve is generated with a MATLAB code based on solid-fuel modeling and the De Laval theory. The curve is divided into six steady-state simulations, using boundary conditions of mass flow, pressure and temperature at the inlet and pressure and temperature at the outlet. The baseline geometry is simulated in Ansys Fluent and normalized by the MATLAB benchmark. A mesh study selects which mesh and turbulence model to use based on this normalization. The modified geometries are then compared to the baseline. The main quantity of interest is the thrust but quantities such as static pressure and average velocity at the nozzle exit aid the understanding of the changes in thrust
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