573 research outputs found
The Effect of Projection on Derived Mass-Size and Linewidth-Size Relationships
Power law mass-size and linewidth-size correlations, two of "Larson's laws,"
are often studied to assess the dynamical state of clumps within molecular
clouds. Using the result of a hydrodynamic simulation of a molecular cloud, we
investigate how geometric projection may affect the derived Larson
relationships. We find that large scale structures in the column density map
have similar masses and sizes to those in the 3D simulation (PPP). Smaller
scale clumps in the column density map are measured to be more massive than the
PPP clumps, due to the projection of all emitting gas along lines of sight.
Further, due to projection effects, structures in a synthetic spectral
observation (PPV) may not necessarily correlate with physical structures in the
simulation. In considering the turbulent velocities only, the linewidth-size
relationship in the PPV cube is appreciably different from that measured from
the simulation. Including thermal pressure in the simulated linewidths imposes
a minimum linewidth, which results in a better agreement in the slopes of the
linewidth-size relationships, though there are still discrepancies in the
offsets, as well as considerable scatter. Employing commonly used assumptions
in a virial analysis, we find similarities in the computed virial parameters of
the structures in the PPV and PPP cubes. However, due to the discrepancies in
the linewidth- and mass- size relationships in the PPP and PPV cubes, we
caution that applying a virial analysis to observed clouds may be misleading
due to geometric projection effects. We speculate that consideration of
physical processes beyond kinetic and gravitational pressure would be required
for accurately assessing whether complex clouds, such as those with highly
filamentary structure, are bound.Comment: 25 pages, including 7 Figures; Accepted for publication in Ap
Self-Consistent Gravitational Chaos
The motion of stars in the gravitational potential of a triaxial galaxy is
generically chaotic. However, the timescale over which the chaos manifests
itself in the orbital motion is a strong function of the degree of central
concentration of the galaxy. Here, chaotic diffusion rates are presented for
orbits in triaxial models with a range of central density slopes and nuclear
black-hole masses. Typical diffusion times are found to be less than a galaxy
lifetime in triaxial models where the density increases more rapidly than 1/r
at the center, or which contain black holes with masses that exceed roughly
0.1% of the galaxy mass. When the mass of a central black hole exceeds roughly
0.02 times the mass of the galaxy, there is a transition to global
stochasticity and the galaxy evolves to an axisymmetric shape in little more
than a crossing time. This rapid evolution may provide a negative feedback
mechanism that limits the mass of nuclear black holes to a few percent of the
stellar mass of a galaxy.Comment: 15 Tex pages, 7 Postscript figures. To appear in the Twelfth Annual
Florida Workshop in Nonlinear Astronomy and Physics: Long Range Correlations
in Astrophysical and Other Systems, eds. J. R. Buchler, J. Dufty and H.
Kandru
BMQ
BMQ: Boston Medical Quarterly was published from 1950-1966 by the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Memorial Hospitals
Observational Implications of Precessing Protostellar Discs and Jets
We consider the dynamics of a protostellar disc in a binary system where the
disc is misaligned with the orbital plane of the binary, with the aim of
determining the observational consequences for such systems. The disc wobbles
with a period approximately equal to half the binary's orbital period and
precesses on a longer timescale. We determine the characteristic timescale for
realignment of the disc with the orbital plane due to dissipation. If the
dissipation is determined by a simple isotropic viscosity then we find, in line
with previous studies, that the alignment timescale is of order the viscous
evolution timescale. However, for typical protostellar disc parameters, if the
disc tilt exceeds the opening angle of the disc, then tidally induced shearing
within the disc is transonic. In general, hydrodynamic instabilities associated
with the internally driven shear result in extra dissipation which is expected
to drastically reduce the alignment timescale. For large disc tilts the
alignment timescale is then comparable to the precession timescale, while for
smaller tilt angles , the alignment timescale varies as . We discuss the consequences of the wobbling, precession and
rapid realignment for observations of protostellar jets and the implications
for binary star formation mechanisms.Comment: MNRAS, in press. 10 pages. Also available at
http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~mbat
Paramedic clinical decision making during high acuity emergency calls: design and methodology of a Delphi study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The scope of practice of paramedics in Canada has steadily evolved to include increasingly complex interventions in the prehospital setting, which likely have repercussions on clinical outcome and patient safety. Clinical decision making has been evaluated in several health professions, but there is a paucity of work in this area on paramedics. This study will utilize the Delphi technique to establish consensus on the most important instances of paramedic clinical decision making during high acuity emergency calls, as they relate to clinical outcome and patient safety.</p> <p>Methods and design</p> <p>Participants in this multi-round survey study will be paramedic leaders and emergency medical services medical directors/physicians from across Canada. In the first round, participants will identify instances of clinical decision making they feel are important for patient outcome and safety. On the second round, the panel will rank each instance of clinical decision making in terms of its importance. On the third and potentially fourth round, participants will have the opportunity to revise the ranking they assigned to each instance of clinical decision making. Consensus will be considered achieved for the most important instances if 80% of the panel ranks it as important or extremely important. The most important instances of clinical decision making will be plotted on a process analysis map.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The process analysis map that results from this Delphi study will enable the gaps in research, knowledge and practice to be identified.</p
Modeling CO Emission: I. CO as a Column Density Tracer and the X-Factor in Molecular Clouds
Theoretical and observational investigations have indicated that the
abundance of carbon monoxide (CO) is very sensitive to intrinsic properties of
the gaseous medium, such as density, metallicity, and the background UV field.
In order to accurately interpret CO observations, it is thus important to
understand how well CO traces the gas, which in molecular clouds (MCs) is
predominantly molecular hydrogen (H2). Recent hydrodynamic simulations by
Glover & Mac Low have explicitly followed the formation and destruction of
molecules in model MCs under varying conditions, confirming that CO formation
strongly depends on the cloud properties. Conversely, the H2 formation is
primarily determined by the age of the MC. We apply radiative transfer
calculations to these MC models in order to investigate the properties of CO
line emission. We focus on integrated CO (J=1-0) intensities emerging from
individual clouds, including its relationship to the total, H2, and CO column
densities, as well as the "X factor," the ratio of H2 column density to CO
intensity. Models with high CO abundances have a threshold CO intensity ~65 K
km/s at sufficiently large extinctions. Clouds with low CO abundances show no
such intensity thresholds. The distribution of H2 column densities are well
described as log-normal functions, though the distributions of CO intensities
and column densities are usually not log-normal. In general, the PDFs of the
integrated intensity do not follow the distribution functions of CO column
densities. In the model with Milky Way-like conditions, the X factor is in
agreement with the near constant value determined from observations. In clouds
with lower CO abundances the X factor can vary appreciably - sometimes by > 4
orders of magnitude. In models with high densities, the CO line is fully
saturated, so that the X factor is directly proportional to the molecular
column density.Comment: 17 pages, including 7 figures, Updated with proof correction
Impact of socioeconomic status on cancer incidence and stage at diagnosis: selected findings from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results: National Longitudinal Mortality Study
BACKGROUND: Population-based cancer registry data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are mainly based on medical records and administrative information. Individual-level socioeconomic data are not routinely reported by cancer registries in the United States because they are not available in patient hospital records. The U.S. representative National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS) data provide self-reported, detailed demographic and socioeconomic data from the Social and Economic Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS). In 1999, the NCI initiated the SEER-NLMS study, linking the population-based SEER cancer registry data to NLMS data. The SEER-NLMS data provide a new unique research resource that is valuable for health disparity research on cancer burden. We describe the design, methods, and limitations of this data set. We also present findings on cancer-related health disparities according to individual-level socioeconomic status (SES) and demographic characteristics for all cancers combined and for cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, cervix, and melanoma. METHODS: Records of cancer patients diagnosed in 1973–2001 when residing 1 of 11 SEER registries were linked with 26 NLMS cohorts. The total number of SEER matched cancer patients that were also members of an NLMS cohort was 26,844. Of these 26,844 matched patients, 11,464 were included in the incidence analyses and 15,357 in the late-stage diagnosis analyses. Matched patients (used in the incidence analyses) and unmatched patients were compared by age group, sex, race, ethnicity, residence area, year of diagnosis, and cancer anatomic site. Cohort-based age-adjusted cancer incidence rates were computed. The impact of socioeconomic status on cancer incidence and stage of diagnosis was evaluated. RESULTS: Men and women with less than a high school education had elevated lung cancer rate ratios of 3.01 and 2.02, respectively, relative to their college educated counterparts. Those with family annual incomes less than 50,000 or higher. Lower income was also associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of distant-stage breast cancer among women and distant-stage prostate cancer among men. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic patterns in incidence varied for specific cancers, while such patterns for stage were generally consistent across cancers, with late-stage diagnoses being associated with lower SES. These findings illustrate the potential for analyzing disparities in cancer outcomes according to a variety of individual-level socioeconomic, demographic, and health care characteristics, as well as by area measures available in the linked database
Episodic molecular outflow in the very young protostellar cluster Serpens South
The loss of mass from protostars, in the form of a jet or outflow, is a necessary counterpart to protostellar mass accretion. Outflow ejection events probably vary in their velocity and/or in the rate of mass loss. Such `episodic´ ejection events have been observed during the Class 0 protostellar phase (the early accretion stage), and continue during the subsequent class I phase that marks the first one million years of star formation. Previously observed episodic-ejection sources were relatively isolated; however, the most common sites of star formation are clusters. Outflows link protostars with their environment and provide a viable source of turbulence that is necessary for regulating star formation in clusters, but it is not known how an accretion-driven jet or outflow in a clustered environment manifests itself in its earliest stage. This early stage is important in establishing the initial conditions for momentum and energy transfer to the environment as the protostar and cluster evolve. Here we report that an outflow from a very young class 0 protostar, at the hub of the very active and filamentary Serpens South protostellar cluster, shows unambiguous episodic events. The 12CO (J=2-1) emission from the protostar reveals 22 distinct features of outflow ejecta, the most recent having the highest velocity. The outflow forms bipolar lobes --- one of the first detectable signs of star formation --- which originate from the peak of 1-mm continuum emission. Emission from the surrounding C18O envelope shows kinematics consistent with rotation and an infall of material onto the protostar. The data suggest that episodic accretion-driven outflow begins in the earliest phase of protostellar evolution, and that the outflow remains intact in a very clustered environment, probably providing efficient momentum transfer for driving turbulence. Fil: Plunkett, Adele L. . Yale University. Astronomy Department.; Estados UnidosFil: Arce, Héctor G.. Yale University. Astronomy Department.; Estados UnidosFil: Mardones, Diego . Universidad de Chile. Departamento de Astronomía; ChileFil: van Dokkum, Pieter . Yale University. Astronomy Department.; Estados UnidosFil: Dunham, Michael M. . Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Estados UnidosFil: Fernandez Lopez, Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (i); ArgentinaFil: Gallardo, José. Joint ALMA Observatory; ChileFil: Cordero, Stuartt A. . Joint ALMA Observatory; Chil
Control of star formation by supersonic turbulence
Understanding the formation of stars in galaxies is central to much of modern
astrophysics. For several decades it has been thought that stellar birth is
primarily controlled by the interplay between gravity and magnetostatic
support, modulated by ambipolar diffusion. Recently, however, both
observational and numerical work has begun to suggest that support by
supersonic turbulence rather than magnetic fields controls star formation. In
this review we outline a new theory of star formation relying on the control by
turbulence. We demonstrate that although supersonic turbulence can provide
global support, it nevertheless produces density enhancements that allow local
collapse. Inefficient, isolated star formation is a hallmark of turbulent
support, while efficient, clustered star formation occurs in its absence. The
consequences of this theory are then explored for both local star formation and
galactic scale star formation. (ABSTRACT ABBREVIATED)Comment: Invited review for "Reviews of Modern Physics", 87 pages including 28
figures, in pres
Inhomogeneous Superconductivity in Condensed Matter and QCD
Inhomogeneous superconductivity arises when the species participating in the
pairing phenomenon have different Fermi surfaces with a large enough
separation. In these conditions it could be more favorable for each of the
pairing fermions to stay close to its Fermi surface and, differently from the
usual BCS state, for the Cooper pair to have a non zero total momentum. For
this reason in this state the gap varies in space, the ground state is
inhomogeneous and a crystalline structure might be formed. This situation was
considered for the first time by Fulde, Ferrell, Larkin and Ovchinnikov, and
the corresponding state is called LOFF. The spontaneous breaking of the space
symmetries in the vacuum state is a characteristic feature of this phase and is
associated to the presence of long wave-length excitations of zero mass. The
situation described here is of interest both in solid state and in elementary
particle physics, in particular in Quantum Chromo-Dynamics at high density and
small temperature. In this review we present the theoretical approach to the
LOFF state and its phenomenological applications using the language of the
effective field theories.Comment: RevTex, 83 pages, 26 figures. Submitted to Review of Modern Physic
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