9,616 research outputs found
An upper limit for the water outgassing rate of the main-belt comet 176P/LINEAR observed with Herschel/HIFI
176P/LINEAR is a member of the new cometary class known as main-belt comets
(MBCs). It displayed cometary activity shortly during its 2005 perihelion
passage that may be driven by the sublimation of sub-surface ices. We have
therefore searched for emission of the H2O 110-101 ground state rotational line
at 557 GHz toward 176P/LINEAR with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far
Infrared (HIFI) on board the Herschel Space Observatory on UT 8.78 August 2011,
about 40 days after its most recent perihelion passage, when the object was at
a heliocentric distance of 2.58 AU. No H2O line emission was detected in our
observations, from which we derive sensitive 3-sigma upper limits for the water
production rate and column density of < 4e25 molec/s and of < 3e10 cm^{-2},
respectively. From the peak brightness measured during the object's active
period in 2005, this upper limit is lower than predicted by the relation
between production rates and visual magnitudes observed for a sample of comets
by Jorda et al. (2008) at this heliocentric distance. Thus, 176P/LINEAR was
likely less active at the time of our observation than during its previous
perihelion passage. The retrieved upper limit is lower than most values derived
for the H2O production rate from the spectroscopic search for CN emission in
MBCs.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Minor changes to match published versio
Local electronic structure of Fe impurities in MgO thin films: Temperature-dependent soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy study
We report on the local electronic structure of Fe impurities in MgO thin
films. Using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) we verified that the Fe
impurities are all in the 2+ valence state. The fine details in the line shape
of the Fe edges provide direct evidence for the presence of a
dynamical Jahn-Teller distortion. We are able to determine the magnitude of the
effective crystal field energies. We also observed a strong
temperature dependence in the spectra which we can attribute to the thermal
population of low-lying excited states that are present due to the spin-orbit
coupling in the Fe 3d. Using this Fe impurity system as an example, we
show that an accurate measurement of the orbital moment in FeO will
provide a direct estimate for the effective local low-symmetry crystal fields
on the Fe sites, important for the theoretical modeling of the formation
of orbital ordering
Bisphosphonate's and Intermittent Parathyroid Hormone's Effect on Human Spinal Fusion: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
There has been a conscious effort to address osteoporosis in the aging population. As bisphosphonate and intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH) therapy become more widely prescribed to treat osteoporosis, it is important to understand their effects on other physiologic processes, particularly the impact on spinal fusion. Despite early animal model studies and more recent clinical studies, the impact of these medications on spinal fusion is not fully understood. Previous animal studies suggest that bisphosphonate therapy resulted in inhibition of fusion mass with impeded maturity and an unknown effect on biomechanical strength. Prior animal studies demonstrate an improved fusion rate and fusion mass microstructure with the use of intermittent PTH. The purpose of this study was to determine if bisphosphonates and intermittent PTH treatment have impact on human spinal fusion. A systematic review of the literature published between 1980 and 2015 was conducted using major electronic databases. Studies reporting outcomes of human subjects undergoing 1, 2, or 3-level spinal fusion while receiving bisphosphonates and/or intermittent PTH treatment were included. The results of relevant human studies were analyzed for consensus on the effects of these medications in regards to spinal fusion. There were nine human studies evaluating the impact of these medications on spinal fusion. Improved fusion rates were noted in patients receiving bisphosphonates compared to control groups, and greater fusion rates in patients receiving PTH compared to control groups. Prior studies involving animal models found an improved fusion rate and fusion mass microstructure with the use of intermittent PTH. No significant complications were demonstrated in any study included in the analysis. Bisphosphonate use in humans may not be a deterrent to spinal fusion. Intermittent parathyroid use has shown early promise to increase fusion mass in both animal and human studies but further studies are needed to support routine use
Electronic and magnetic properties of the kagome systems YBaCo4O7 and YBaCo3MO7 (M=Al, Fe)
We present a combined experimental and theoretical x-ray absorption
spectroscopy (XAS) study of the new class of cobaltates YBaCo4O7 and YBaCo3MO7
(M= Al, Fe). The focus is on the local electronic and magnetic properties of
the transition metal ions in these geometrically frustrated kagome compounds.
For the mixed valence cobaltate YBaCo4O7, both the Co2+ and Co3+ are found to
be in the high spin state. The stability of these high spin states in
tetrahedral coordination is compared with those in the more studied case of
octahedral coordination. For the new compound YBaCo3FeO7, we find exclusively
Co2+ and Fe3+ as charge states
Collective Excitations, Nambu-Goldstone Modes and Instability of Inhomogeneous Polariton Condensates
We study non-equilibrium microcavity-polariton condensates (MPCs) in a
harmonic potential trap theoretically. We calculate and analyze the steady
state, collective-excitation modes and instability of MPCs. Within excitation
modes, there exist Nambu-Goldstone modes that can reveal the pattern of the
spontaneous symmetry breaking of MPCs. Bifurcation of the stable and unstable
modes is identified in terms of the pumping power and spot size. The unstable
mechanism associated with the inward supercurrent flow is characterized by the
existence of a supersonic region within the condensate.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure
Observational and Dynamical Characterization of Main-Belt Comet P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)
We present observations of comet-like main-belt object P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)
obtained by Pan-STARRS 1 and the Faulkes Telescope-North on Haleakala in
Hawaii, the University of Hawaii 2.2 m, Gemini-North, and Keck I telescopes on
Mauna Kea, the Danish 1.54 m telescope at La Silla, and the Isaac Newton
Telescope on La Palma. An antisolar dust tail is observed from August 2010
through February 2011, while a dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane
is also observed from December 2010 through August 2011. Assuming typical phase
darkening behavior, P/La Sagra is seen to increase in brightness by >1 mag
between August 2010 and December 2010, suggesting that dust production is
ongoing over this period. These results strongly suggest that the observed
activity is cometary in nature (i.e., driven by the sublimation of volatile
material), and that P/La Sagra is therefore the most recent main-belt comet to
be discovered. We find an approximate absolute magnitude for the nucleus of
H_R=17.9+/-0.2 mag, corresponding to a nucleus radius of ~0.7 km, assuming an
albedo of p=0.05. Using optical spectroscopy, we find no evidence of
sublimation products (i.e., gas emission), finding an upper limit CN production
rate of Q_CN<6x10^23 mol/s, from which we infer an H2O production rate of
Q_H2O<10^26 mol/s. Numerical simulations indicate that P/La Sagra is
dynamically stable for >100 Myr, suggesting that it is likely native to its
current location and that its composition is likely representative of other
objects in the same region of the main belt, though the relatively close
proximity of the 13:6 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and the (3,-2,-1)
three-body mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and Saturn mean that dynamical
instability on larger timescales cannot be ruled out.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A
Complete classification of steerability under local filters and its relation with measurement incompatibility
Quantum steering is a central resource for one-sided device-independent quantum information. It is manipulated via one-way local operations and classical communication, such as local filtering on the trusted party. Here, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for a steering assemblage to be transformable into another via local filtering. We characterize the equivalence classes with respect to filters in terms of the steering equivalent observables (SEO), first proposed to connect the problem of steerability and measurement incompatibility. We provide an efficient method to compute the extractable steerability that is maximal via local filters and show that it coincides with the incompatibility of the SEO. Moreover, we show that there always exists a bipartite state that provides an assemblage with steerability equal to the incompatibility of the measurements on the untrusted party. Finally, we investigate the optimal success probability and rates for transformation protocols (distillation and dilution) in the single-shot scenario together with examples
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