3D simulations of RS Oph: from accretion to nova blast

RS Ophiuchi is a recurrent nova with a period of about 22 years, consisting of a wind accreting binary system with a white dwarf (WD) very close to the Chandrasekhar limit and a red giant star (RG). The system is considered a prime candidate to evolve into an SNIa. We present a 3D hydrodynamic simulation of the quiescent accretion and the subsequent explosive phase. The computed circumstellar mass distribution in the quiescent phase is highly structured with a mass enhancement in the orbital plane of about a factor of 2 as compared to the poleward directions. The simulated nova remnant evolves aspherically, propagating faster toward the poles. The shock velocities derived from the simulations are in agreement with those derived from observations. For v_RG = 20 km/s and for nearly isothermal flows, we derive a mass transfer rate to the WD of 10% of the mass loss of the RG. For an RG mass loss of 10^{-7} solar masses per year, we found the orbit of the system to decay by 3% per million years. With the derived mass transfer rate, multi-cycle nova models provide a qualitatively correct recurrence time, amplitude, and fastness of the nova. Our simulations provide, along with the observations and nova models, the third ingredient for a deeper understanding of the recurrent novae of the RS Oph type. In combination with recent multi-cycle nova models, our results suggests that the WD in RS Oph will increase in mass. Several speculative outcomes then seem plausible. The WD may reach the Chandrasekhar limit and explode as an SN Ia. Alternatively, the mass loss of the RG could result in a smaller Roche volume, a common envelope phase, and a narrow WD+WD system. Angular momentum loss due to graviational wave emission could trigger the merger of the two WDs and - perhaps - an SN Ia via the double degenerate scenario.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters, 4 pages, 5 figures; Version with high resolution figures and movie can be found at http://www.astro.phys.ethz.ch/staff/folini/private/research/rsoph/rsoph.htm

Kondo Effect in an Electron System with Dynamical Jahn-Teller Impurity

We investigate how Kondo phenomenon occurs in the Anderson model dynamically coupled with local Jahn-Teller phonons. It is found that the total angular moment composed of electron pseudo-spin and phonon angular moments is screened by conduction electrons. Namely, phonon degrees of freedom essentially contribute to the formation of singlet ground state. A characteristic temperature of the Kondo effect due to dynamical Jahn-Teller phonons is explained by an effective $s$-$d$ Hamiltonian with anisotropic exchange interaction obtained from the Jahn-Teller-Anderson model in a non-adiabatic region.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The hydrogen and helium lines of the symbiotic binary Z And during its brightening at the end of 2002

High resolution observations in the region of the lines Halpha, He II 4686 and Hgamma of the spectrum of the symbiotic binary Z And were performed during its small-amplitude brightening at the end of 2002. The profiles of the hydrogen lines were double-peaked. These profiles give a reason to suppose that the lines can be emitted mainly by an optically thin accretion disc. The Halpha line is strongly contaminated by the emission of the envelope, therefore for consideration of accretion disc properties we use the Hgamma line. The Halpha line had broad wings which are supposed to be determined mostly from radiation damping but high velocity stellar wind from the compact object in the system can also contribute to their appearance. The Hgamma line had a broad emission component which is assumed to be emitted mainly from the inner part of the accretion disc. The line He II 4686 had a broad emission component too, but it is supposed to appear in a region of a high velocity stellar wind. The outer radius of the accretion disc can be calculated from the shift between the peaks. Assuming, that the orbit inclination can ranges from 47$^\circ$ to 76$^\circ$, we estimate the outer radius as 20 - 50 R_sun. The behaviour of the observed lines can be considered in the framework of the model proposed for interpretation of the line spectrum during the major 2000 - 2002 brightening of this binary.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy Report

Kondo Effect of a Magnetic Ion Vibrating in a Harmonic Potential

To discuss Kondo effects of a magnetic ion vibrating in the sea of conduction electrons, a generalized Anderson model is derived. The model includes a new channel of hybridization associated with phonon emission or absorption. In the simplest case of the localized electron orbital with the s-wave symmetry, hybridization with p-waves becomes possible. Interesting interplay among the conventional s-wave Kondo effect and the p-wave one and the Yu-Anderson type Kondo effect is found and the ground state phase diagram is determined by using the numerical renormalization group method. Two different types of stable fixed points are identified and the two-channel Kondo fixed points are generically realized on the boundary.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 80 (2011) No.6 to be publishe

Symptoms and quality of life in late stage Parkinson syndromes: a longitudinal community study of predictive factors

BACKGROUND Palliative care is increasingly offered earlier in the cancer trajectory but rarely in Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease(IPD), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy(PSP) or Multiple System Atrophy(MSA). There is little longitudinal data of people with late stage disease to understand levels of need. We aimed to determine how symptoms and quality of life of these patients change over time; and what demographic and clinical factors predicted changes. METHODS We recruited 82 patients into a longitudinal study, consenting patients with a diagnosis of IPD, MSA or PSP, stages 3-5 Hoehn and Yahr(H&Y). At baseline and then on up to 3 occasions over one year, we collected self-reported demographic, clinical, symptom, palliative and quality of life data, using Parkinson's specific and generic validated scales, including the Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS). We tested for predictors using multivariable analysis, adjusting for confounders. FINDINGS Over two thirds of patients had severe disability, over one third being wheelchair-bound/bedridden. Symptoms were highly prevalent in all conditions - mean (SD) of 10.6(4.0) symptoms. More than 50% of the MSA and PSP patients died over the year. Over the year, half of the patients showed either an upward (worsening, 24/60) or fluctuant (8/60) trajectory for POS and symptoms. The strongest predictors of higher levels of symptoms at the end of follow-up were initial scores on POS (AOR 1.30; 95%CI:1.05-1.60) and being male (AOR 5.18; 95% CI 1.17 to 22.92), both were more predictive than initial H&Y scores. INTERPRETATION The findings point to profound and complex mix of non-motor and motor symptoms in patients with late stage IPD, MSA and PSP. Symptoms are not resolved and half of the patients deteriorate. Palliative problems are predictive of future symptoms, suggesting that an early palliative assessment might help screen for those in need of earlier intervention

Step-Wise Computational Synthesis of Fullerene C60 derivatives. 1.Fluorinated Fullerenes C60F2k

The reactions of fullerene C60 with atomic fluorine have been studied by unrestricted broken spin-symmetry Hartree-Fock (UBS HF) approach implemented in semiempirical codes based on AM1 technique. The calculations were focused on a sequential addition of fluorine atom to the fullerene cage following indication of the cage atom highest chemical susceptibility that is calculated at each step. The effectively-non-paired-electron concept of the fullerene atoms chemical susceptibility lays the foundation of the suggested computational synthesis. The obtained results are analyzed from energetic, symmetry, and the composition abundance viewpoints. A good fitting of the data to experimental findings proves a creative role of the suggested synthesis methodology.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, 2 chart

Enhanced insulin sensitivity associated with provision of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids in skeletal muscle cells involves counter modulation of PP2A

International audienceAims/Hypothesis: Reduced skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity is a feature associated with sustained exposure to excess saturated fatty acids (SFA), whereas mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA and PUFA) not only improve insulin sensitivity but blunt SFA-induced insulin resistance. The mechanisms by which MUFAs and PUFAs institute these favourable changes remain unclear, but may involve stimulating insulin signalling by counter-modulation/repression of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). This study investigated the effects of oleic acid (OA; a MUFA), linoleic acid (LOA; a PUFA) and palmitate (PA; a SFA) in cultured myotubes and determined whether changes in insulin signalling can be attributed to PP2A regulation. Principal Findings: We treated cultured skeletal myotubes with unsaturated and saturated fatty acids and evaluated insulin signalling, phosphorylation and methylation status of the catalytic subunit of PP2A. Unlike PA, sustained incubation of rat or human myotubes with OA or LOA significantly enhanced Akt-and ERK1/2-directed insulin signalling. This was not due to heightened upstream IRS1 or PI3K signalling nor to changes in expression of proteins involved in proximal insulin signalling, but was associated with reduced dephosphorylation/inactivation of Akt and ERK1/2. Consistent with this, PA reduced PP2Ac demethylation and tyrosine 307 phosphorylation-events associated with PP2A activation. In contrast, OA and LOA strongly opposed these PA-induced changes in PP2Ac thus exerting a repressive effect on PP2A.Conclusions/Interpretation: Beneficial gains in insulin sensitivity and the ability of unsaturated fatty acids to oppose palmitate-induced insulin resistance in muscle cells may partly be accounted for by counter-modulation of PP2A

Solvent-induced on/off switching of intramolecular electron transfer in a cyanide-bridged trigonal bipyramidal complex

A cyanide-bridged [Co3Fe2] cluster with trigonal bipyramidal geometry shows solvent-driven reversible on/off switching of its thermally induced electron-transfer-coupled spin transition (ETCST) behaviour

Inverse Isotope Effect on Kondo Temperature in Electron-Rattling System

In an electron system coupled with anharmonic phonons, i.e., {\it rattling}, inverse isotope effect on the Kondo temperature $T_{\rm K}$ is found to occur by the numerical evaluation of the Sommerfeld constant $\gamma$ of the Anderson-Holstein model. For the anharmonic potential of an oscillator with mass $M$ in which large $\gamma$ has been found to be almost independent of an applied magnetic field, $\gamma$ is significantly suppressed when $M$ is increased, i.e., $T_{\rm K}$ is enhanced due to the relation of $\gamma$$\sim$$T_{\rm K}^{-1}$ in the Kondo problem, leading to the inverse isotope effect on $T_{\rm K}$. Since this phenomenon does not occur for harmonic phonons, it can be a key experiment to prove the relevance of rattling to magnetically robust heavy electron state.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Beta-band intermuscular coherence:A novel biomarker of upper motor neuron dysfunction in motor neuron disease

In motor neuron disease, the focus of therapy is to prevent or slow neuronal degeneration with neuroprotective pharmacological agents; early diagnosis and treatment are thus essential. Incorporation of needle electromyographic evidence of lower motor neuron degeneration into diagnostic criteria has undoubtedly advanced diagnosis, but even earlier diagnosis might be possible by including tests of subclinical upper motor neuron disease. We hypothesized that beta-band (15-30Hz) intermuscular coherence could be used as an electrophysiological marker of upper motor neuron integrity in such patients. We measured intermuscular coherence in eight patients who conformed to established diagnostic criteria for primary lateral sclerosis and six patients with progressive muscular atrophy, together with 16 age-matched controls. In the primary lateral sclerosis variant of motor neuron disease, there is selective destruction of motor cortical layer V pyramidal neurons and degeneration of the corticospinal tract, without involvement of anterior horn cells. In progressive muscular atrophy, there is selective degeneration of anterior horn cells but a normal corticospinal tract. All patients with primary lateral sclerosis had abnormal motor-evoked potentials as assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation, whereas these were similar to controls in progressive muscular atrophy. Upper and lower limb intermuscular coherence was measured during a precision grip and an ankle dorsiflexion task, respectively. Significant beta-band coherence was observed in all control subjects and all patients with progressive muscular atrophy tested, but not in the patients with primary lateral sclerosis. We conclude that intermuscular coherence in the 15-30Hz range is dependent on an intact corticospinal tract but persists in the face of selective anterior horn cell destruction. Based on the distributions of coherence values measured from patients with primary lateral sclerosis and control subjects, we estimated the likelihood that a given measurement reflects corticospinal tract degeneration. Therefore, intermuscular coherence has potential as a quantitative test of subclinical upper motor neuron involvement in motor neuron disease