Spectroscopy of Candidate Members of the Eta Cha and MBM12 Young Associations

We present an analysis of candidate members of the Eta Cha and MBM 12A young associations. For an area of 0.7 deg^2 toward Eta Cha, we have performed a search for members of the association by combining JHK_s photometry from 2MASS and i photometry from DENIS with followup optical spectroscopy at Magellan Observatory. We report the discovery of three new members with spectral types of M5.25-M5.75, corresponding to masses of 0.13-0.08 M_sun by theoretical evolutionary models. Two and three of these members were found independently by Lyo and coworkers and Song and coworkers, respectively. Meanwhile, no brown dwarfs were detected in Eta Cha down to the completeness limit of 0.015 M_sun. For MBM 12A, we have obtained spectra of three of the remaining candidate members that lacked spectroscopy at the end of the survey by Luhman, all of which are found to be field M dwarfs. Ogura and coworkers have recently presented four "probable" members of MBM 12A. However, two of these objects were previously classified as field dwarfs by the spectroscopy of Luhman. In this work, we find that the other two objects are field dwarfs as well.Comment: to be published in The Astrophysical Journal, 19 pages, 7 figure

Toroidal Compactification in String Theory from Chern-Simons Theory

A detailed study of the charge spectrum of three dimensional Abelian Topological Massive Gauge Theory (TMGT) is given. When this theory is defined on a manifold with two disconnected boundaries there are induced chiral Conformal Field Theories (CFT's) on the boundaries which can be interpreted as the left and right sectors of closed strings. We show that Narain constraints on toroidal compactification (integer, even, self-dual momentum lattice) have a natural interpretation in purely three dimensional terms. This is an important result which is necessary to construct toroidal compactification and heterotic string from Topological Membrane (TM) approach to string theory. We also derive the block structure of $c=1$ Rational Conformal Field Theory (RCFT) from the three dimensional gauge theory.Comment: 32+2 pages, 9 figures. Comments added and minor changes in section 3. Content not altere

Geysers in the Lagoon: new Herbig-Haro objects in M8

Aims: We search for direct evidence of ongoing star formation by accretion in the Lagoon Nebula (M8), using optical wide-field narrow-band imaging obtained at La Silla Observatory. Methods: We examine [SII] and Halpha images for line-emission features that could be interpreted as signatures of outflow activity of the exciting sources. Results: We discover five new Herbig-Haro objects, study in detail their morphology and attempt to identify their potential driving sources among the population of T Tauri stars and embedded sources in the surroundings. Conclusions: The results reported here conclusively demonstrate the existence of very young stars going through the accreting phase in the M8 region.Comment: 9 pages, 6 postscript figures (one in color). Accepted, Astronomy and Astrophysic

Test of the Conserved Vector Current Hypothesis by beta-ray Angular Distribution Measurement in the Mass-8 System

The beta-ray angular correlations for the spin alignments of 8Li and 8B have been observed in order to test the conserved vector current (CVC) hypothesis. The alignment correlation terms were combined with the known beta-alpha-angular correlation terms to determine all the matrix elements contributing to the correlation terms. The weak magnetism term, 7.5\pm0.2, deduced from the beta-ray correlation terms was consistent with the CVC prediction 7.3\pm0.2, deduced from the analog-gamma-decay measurement based on the CVC hypothesis. However, there was no consistent CVC prediction for the second-forbidden term associated with the weak vector current. The experimental value for the second-forbidden term was 1.0 \pm 0.3, while the CVC prediction was 0.1 \pm 0.4 or 2.1 \pm 0.5.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Finite size corrections in massive Thirring model

We calculate for the first time the finite size corrections in the massive Thirring model. This is done by numerically solving the equations of periodic boundary conditions of the Bethe ansatz solution. It is found that the corresponding central charge extracted from the $1/L$ term is around 0.4 for the coupling constant of ${g_0}=-{\pi\over 4}$ and decreases down to zero when ${g_0}=-{\pi\over{3}}$. This is quite different from the predicted central charge of the sine-Gordon model.Comment: 8 pages, Latex, 2 figure

Exactly solvable toy models of unconventional magnetic alloys: Bethe Ansatz versus Renormalization Group method

We propose toy models of unconventional magnetic alloys, in which the density of band states, $\rho(\epsilon)$, and hybridization, $t(\epsilon)$, are energy dependent; it is assumed, however, that $t^2(\epsilon)\propto\rho^{-1}(\epsilon)$, and hence an effective electron-impurity coupling $\Gamma(\epsilon)=\rho(\epsilon)t^2(\epsilon)$ is energy independent. In the renormalization group approach, the physics of the system is assumed to be governed by $\Gamma(\epsilon)$ only rather than by separate forms of $\rho(\epsilon)$ and $t(\epsilon)$. However, an exact Bethe Ansatz solution of the toy Anderson model demonstrates a crucial role of a form of inverse band dispersion $k(\epsilon)$.Comment: A final version. A previous one has been sent to Archive because of my technical mistake. Sorr

Anisotropy sensitivity of an acoustic lens with slit aperture

A conventional spherical acoustic lens is modified by restricting its aperture in the form of a slit to provide directional sensitivity. The spacing between the two parallel absorbing sheets forming the slit is adjustable to obtain varying slit widths. The resulting lens can be used in conjunction with V(Z) method to obtain leaky wave velocities of the sample under investigation as a function of direction. The theoretical V(Z) analysis of the lens involves a two-dimensional integral rather than one-dimensional integral of the conventional lens. Single crystal anisotropic materials are chosen as test samples. Reflection coefficients for anisotropic single crystals of given surface cut and orientation are calculated. Numerically evaluated V(Z) curves are used to deduce the surface wave velocity of the object for the given orientation. This is compared with the surface wave velocity directly calculated from the elastic parameters of the object. Results show the compromise between signal-to-noise ratio and angular resolution as the slit width is varied. V(Z) measurement results of a slitted lens are presented to be compared with calculated curves. The new lens is used to measure the acoustic velocity on the (001) surface of GaAs along varying directions with differing slit widths

New Herbig-Haro Objects and Giant Outflows in Orion

We present the results of a photographic and CCD imaging survey for Herbig-Haro (HH) objects in the L1630 and L1641 giant molecular clouds in Orion. The new HH flows were initially identified from a deep H-alpha film from the recently commissioned AAO/UKST H-alpha Survey of the southern sky. Our scanned H-alpha and broad band R images highlight both the improved resolution of the H-alpha survey and the excellent contrast of the H-alpha flux with respect to the broad band R. Comparative IVN survey images allow us to distinguish between emission and reflection nebulosity. Our CCD H-alpha, [SII], continuum and I band images confirm the presence of a parsec-scale HH flow associated with the Ori I-2 cometary globule and several parsec-scale strings of HH emission centred on the L1641-N infrared cluster. Several smaller outflows display one-sided jets. Our results indicate that for declinations south of -6 degrees in L1641, parsec-scale flows appear to be the major force in the large-scale movement of optical dust and molecular gas.Comment: 14 pages, Latex using MN style, 21 figures in JPEG format. Higher resolution figures available from S.L. Mader. Accepted by MNRAS. Email contact for higher resolution images: [email protected]

Immune recognition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated by the IPAF/NLRC4 inflammasome

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals. P. aeruginosa employs a type III secretion system to inject effector molecules into the cytoplasm of the host cell. This interaction with the host cell leads to inflammatory responses that eventually result in cell death. We show that infection of macrophages with P. aeruginosa results in activation of caspase-1 in an IPAF-dependent, but flagellin-independent, manner. Macrophages deficient in IPAF or caspase-1 were markedly resistant to P. aeruginosa–induced cell death and release of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β. A subset of P. aeruginosa isolates express the effector molecule exoenzyme U (ExoU), which we demonstrate is capable of inhibiting caspase-1–driven proinflammatory cytokine production. This study shows a key role for IPAF and capase-1 in innate immune responses to the pathogen P. aeruginosa, and also demonstrates that virulent ExoU-expressing strains of P. aeruginosa can circumvent this innate immune response