953 research outputs found
Magnetic fields in molecular clouds: Limitations of the analysis of Zeeman observations
Context. Observations of Zeeman split spectral lines represent an important
approach to derive the structure and strength of magnetic fields in molecular
clouds. In contrast to the uncertainty of the spectral line observation itself,
the uncertainty of the analysis method to derive the magnetic field strength
from these observations is not been well characterized so far.
Aims. We investigate the impact of several physical quantities on the
uncertainty of the analysis method, which is used to derive the line-of-sight
(LOS) magnetic field strength from Zeeman split spectral lines.
Methods. We simulate the Zeeman splitting of the 1665 MHz OH line with the 3D
radiative transfer (RT) extension ZRAD. This extension is based on the line RT
code Mol3D (Ober et al. 2015) and has been developed for the POLArized
RadIation Simulator POLARIS (Reissl et al. 2016).
Results. Observations of the OH Zeeman effect in typical molecular clouds are
not significantly affected by the uncertainty of the analysis method. We
derived an approximation to quantify the range of parameters in which the
analysis method works sufficiently accurate and provide factors to convert our
results to other spectral lines and species as well. We applied these
conversion factors to CN and found that observations of the CN Zeeman effect in
typical molecular clouds are neither significantly affected by the uncertainty
of the analysis method. In addition, we found that the density has almost no
impact on the uncertainty of the analysis method, unless it reaches values
higher than those typically found in molecular clouds. Furthermore, the
uncertainty of the analysis method increases, if both the gas velocity and the
magnetic field show significant variations along the line-of-sight. However,
this increase should be small in Zeeman observations of most molecular clouds
considering typical velocities of ~1 km/s.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
The effect of a nucleating agent on lamellar growth in melt-crystallizing polyethylene oxide
The effects of a (non co-crystallizing) nucleating agent on secondary
nucleation rate and final lamellar thickness in isothermally melt-crystallizing
polyethylene oxide are considered. SAXS reveals that lamellae formed in
nucleated samples are thinner than in the pure samples crystallized at the same
undercoolings. These results are in quantitative agreement with growth rate
data obtained by calorimetry, and are interpreted as the effect of a local
decrease of the basal surface tension, determined mainly by the nucleant
molecules diffused out of the regions being about to crystallize. Quantitative
agreement with a simple lattice model allows for some interpretation of the
mechanism.Comment: submitted to Journal of Applied Physics (first version on 22 Apr
2002
The Detectability of Pair-Production Supernovae at z < 6
Nonrotating, zero metallicity stars with initial masses 140 < M < 260 solar
masses are expected to end their lives as pair-production supernovae (PPSNe),
in which an electron-positron pair-production instability triggers explosive
nuclear burning. Interest in such stars has been rekindled by recent
theoretical studies that suggest primordial molecular clouds preferentially
form stars with these masses. Since metal enrichment is a local process, the
resulting PPSNe could occur over a broad range of redshifts, in pockets of
metal-free gas. Using the implicit hydrodynamics code KEPLER, we have
calculated a set of PPSN light curves that addresses the theoretical
uncertainties and allows us to assess observational strategies for finding
these objects at intermediate redshifts. The peak luminosities of typical PPSNe
are only slightly greater than those of Type Ia, but they remain bright much
longer (~ 1 year) and have hydrogen lines. Ongoing supernova searches may soon
be able to limit the contribution of these very massive stars to < 1% of the
total star formation rate density out to z=2 which already provides useful
constraints for theoretical models. The planned Joint Dark Energy Mission
satellite will be able to extend these limits out to z=6.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, ApJ in press; slightly revised version, a few
typos correcte
The First Stars
We review recent theoretical results on the formation of the first stars in
the universe, and emphasize related open questions. In particular, we discuss
the initial conditions for Population III star formation, as given by variants
of the cold dark matter cosmology. Numerical simulations have investigated the
collapse and the fragmentation of metal-free gas, showing that the first stars
were predominantly very massive. The exact determination of the stellar masses,
and the precise form of the primordial initial mass function, is still hampered
by our limited understanding of the accretion physics and the protostellar
feedback effects. We address the importance of heavy elements in bringing about
the transition from an early star formation mode dominated by massive stars, to
the familiar mode dominated by low mass stars, at later times. We show how
complementary observations, both at high redshifts and in our local cosmic
neighborhood, can be utilized to probe the first epoch of star formation.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures, draft version for 2004 Annual Reviews of
Astronomy and Astrophysics, high-resolution version available at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~vbromm
Correlation length of hydrophobic polyelectrolyte solutions
The combination of two techniques (Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Atomic
Force Microscopy) has allowed us to measure in reciprocal and real space the
correlation length of salt-free aqueous solutions of highly charged
hydrophobic polyelectrolyte as a function of the polymer concentration ,
charge fraction and chain length . Contrary to the classical behaviour
of hydrophilic polyelectrolytes in the strong coupling limit, is strongly
dependent on . In particular a continuous transition has been observed from
to when decreased from 100% to
35%. We interpret this unusual behaviour as the consequence of the two features
characterising the hydrophobic polyelectrolytes: the pearl necklace
conformation of the chains and the anomalously strong reduction of the
effective charge fraction.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Europhysics Letter
Mechanism of Vanadium Leaching during Surface Weathering of Basic Oxygen Furnace Steel Slag Blocks: A Microfocus X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy Study
© 2017 American Chemical Society. Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking slag is enriched in potentially toxic V which may become mobilized in high pH leachate during weathering. BOF slag was weathered under aerated and air-excluded conditions for 6 months prior to SEM/EDS and ΌXANES analysis to determine V host phases and speciation in both primary and secondary phases. Leached blocks show development of an altered region in which free lime and dicalcium silicate phases were absent and Ca-Si-H was precipitated (CaCO 3 was also present under aerated conditions). ΌXANES analyses show that V was released to solution as V(V) during dicalcium silicate dissolution and some V was incorporated into neo-formed Ca-Si-H. Higher V concentrations were observed in leachate under aerated conditions than in the air-excluded leaching experiment. Aqueous V concentrations were controlled by Ca 3 (VO 4 ) 2 solubility, which demonstrate an inverse relationship between Ca and V concentrations. Under air-excluded conditions Ca concentrations were controlled by dicalcium silicate dissolution and Ca-Si-H precipitation, leading to relatively high Ca and correspondingly low V concentrations. Formation of CaCO 3 under aerated conditions provided a sink for aqueous Ca, allowing higher V concentrations limited by kinetic dissolution rates of dicalcium silicate. Thus, V release may be slowed by the precipitation of secondary phases in the altered region, improving the prospects for slag reuse
Binary separation in very thin nematic films: thickness and phase coexistence
The behavior as a function of temperature of very thin films (10 to 200 nm)
of pentylcyanobiphenyl (5CB) on silicon substrates is reported. In the vicinity
of the nematic/isotropic transition we observe a coexistence of two regions of
different thicknesses: thick regions are in the nematic state while thin ones
are in the isotropic state. Moreover, the transition temperature is shifted
downward following a 1/h^2 law (h is the film thickness). Microscope
observations and small angle X-ray scattering allowed us to draw a phase
diagram which is explained in terms of a binary first order phase transition
where thickness plays the role of an order parameter.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRL on the 26th of Apri
Discrete Variational Optimal Control
This paper develops numerical methods for optimal control of mechanical
systems in the Lagrangian setting. It extends the theory of discrete mechanics
to enable the solutions of optimal control problems through the discretization
of variational principles. The key point is to solve the optimal control
problem as a variational integrator of a specially constructed
higher-dimensional system. The developed framework applies to systems on
tangent bundles, Lie groups, underactuated and nonholonomic systems with
symmetries, and can approximate either smooth or discontinuous control inputs.
The resulting methods inherit the preservation properties of variational
integrators and result in numerically robust and easily implementable
algorithms. Several theoretical and a practical examples, e.g. the control of
an underwater vehicle, will illustrate the application of the proposed
approach.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure
How Massive Single Stars End their Life
How massive stars die -- what sort of explosion and remnant each produces --
depends chiefly on the masses of their helium cores and hydrogen envelopes at
death. For single stars, stellar winds are the only means of mass loss, and
these are chiefly a function of the metallicity of the star. We discuss how
metallicity, and a simplified prescription for its effect on mass loss, affects
the evolution and final fate of massive stars. We map, as a function of mass
and metallicity, where black holes and neutron stars are likely to form and
where different types of supernovae are produced. Integrating over an initial
mass function, we derive the relative populations as a function of metallicity.
Provided single stars rotate rapidly enough at death, we speculate upon stellar
populations that might produce gamma-ray bursts and jet-driven supernovae.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figues, submitted to Ap
Using Whole-Genome Sequence Data to Predict Quantitative Trait Phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster
Predicting organismal phenotypes from genotype data is important for plant and animal breeding, medicine, and evolutionary biology. Genomic-based phenotype prediction has been applied for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping platforms, but not using complete genome sequences. Here, we report genomic prediction for starvation stress resistance and startle response in Drosophila melanogaster, using âŒ2.5 million SNPs determined by sequencing the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel population of inbred lines. We constructed a genomic relationship matrix from the SNP data and used it in a genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) model. We assessed predictive ability as the correlation between predicted genetic values and observed phenotypes by cross-validation, and found a predictive ability of 0.239±0.008 (0.230±0.012) for starvation resistance (startle response). The predictive ability of BayesB, a Bayesian method with internal SNP selection, was not greater than GBLUP. Selection of the 5% SNPs with either the highest absolute effect or variance explained did not improve predictive ability. Predictive ability decreased only when fewer than 150,000 SNPs were used to construct the genomic relationship matrix. We hypothesize that predictive power in this population stems from the SNPâbased modeling of the subtle relationship structure caused by long-range linkage disequilibrium and not from population structure or SNPs in linkage disequilibrium with causal variants. We discuss the implications of these results for genomic prediction in other organisms
- âŠ