2,483 research outputs found
Electron Energy Distributions at Relativistic Shock Sites: Observational Constraints from the Cygnus A Hotspots
We report new detections of the hotspots in Cygnus A at 4.5 and 8.0 microns
with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Together with detailed published radio
observations and synchrotron self-Compton modeling of previous X-ray
detections, we reconstruct the underlying electron energy spectra of the two
brightest hotspots (A and D). The low-energy portion of the electron
distributions have flat power-law slopes (s~1.5) up to the break energy which
corresponds almost exactly to the mass ratio between protons and electrons; we
argue that these features are most likely intrinsic rather than due to
absorption effects. Beyond the break, the electron spectra continue to higher
energies with very steep slopes s>3. Thus, there is no evidence for the
`canonical' s=2 slope expected in 1st order Fermi-type shocks within the whole
observable electron energy range. We discuss the significance of these
observations and the insight offered into high-energy particle acceleration
processes in mildly relativistic shocks.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, in Extragalactic Jets: Theory and Observation
from Radio to Gamma Ray, Eds. T. A. Rector and D. S. De Youn
A cosmic ray cocoon along the X-ray jet of M87?
Relativistic jets propagating through an ambient medium must produce some
observational effects along their side boundaries because of interactions
across the large velocity gradient. One possible effect of such an interaction
would be a sheared magnetic field structure at the jet boundaries, leading to a
characteristic radio polarization pattern. As proposed by Ostrowski, another
effect can come from the generation of a high energy cosmic ray component at
the boundary, producing dynamic effects on the medium surrounding the jet and
forming a cocoon dominated by cosmic rays with a decreased thermal gas
emissivity. We selected this process for our first attempt to look for the
effects of this type of interaction. We analyzed the Chandra X-ray data for the
radio galaxy M87 in order to verify if the expected regions of diminished
emissivity may be present near the spectacular X-ray jet in this source. The
detailed analysis of the data, merged from 42 separate observations, shows
signatures of lower emissivity surrounding the jet. In particular we detect an
intensity dip along the part of the jet, which would be approximately 150 pc x
2 kpc in size, if situated along the jet which is inclined toward us. Due to a
highly non-uniform X-ray background in the central region we are not able to
claim the discovery of a cosmic ray cocoon around the M87 jet: we only have
demonstrated that the data show morphological structures which could be
accounted for if a cosmic ray cocoon exists.Comment: 8 pages, 8 pictures accepted for publication in MNRA
ets-2 is a target for an akt (Protein kinase B)/jun N-terminal kinase signaling pathway in macrophages of motheaten-viable mutant mice
A Novel Approach in Constraining Electron Spectra in Blazar Jets: The Case of Markarian 421
We report results from the observations of the well studied TeV blazar Mrk
421 with the Swift and the Suzaku satellites in December 2008. During the
observation, Mrk 421 was found in a relatively low activity state, with the
corresponding 2-10 keV flux of erg/s/cm^2. For the purpose
of robust constraining the UV-to-X-ray emission continuum we selected only the
data corresponding to truly simultaneous time intervals between Swift and
Suzaku, allowing us to obtain a good-quality, broad-band spectrum despite a
modest length (0.6 ksec) exposure. We analyzed the spectrum with the parametric
forward-fitting SYNCHROTRON model implemented in XSPEC assuming two different
representations of the underlying electron energy distribution, both well
motivated by the current particle acceleration models: a power-law distribution
above the minimum energy with an exponential cutoff at the
maximum energy , and a modified ultra-relativistic Maxwellian
with an equilibrium energy . We found that the latter implies
unlikely physical conditions within the blazar zone of Mrk 421. On the other
hand, the exponentially moderated power-law electron distribution gives two
possible sets of the model parameters: (i) flat spectrum with low minimum electron energy , and
(ii) steep spectrum with high minimum electron energy
. We discuss different interpretations of
both possibilities in the context of a diffusive acceleration of electrons at
relativistic, sub- or superluminal shocks. We also comment on how exactly the
gamma-ray data can be used to discriminate between the proposed different
scenarios.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Differentiation of the mononuclear phagocyte system during mouse embryogenesis:the role of transcription factor PU.1
The mechanics of undulatory locomotion: the mixed kinematic and dynamic case
This paper studies the mechanics of undulatory locomotion. This type of locomotion is generated by a coupling of internal shape changes to external non-holonomic constraints. Employing methods from geometric mechanics, the authors use the dynamic symmetries and kinematic constraints to develop a specialized form of the dynamic equations which govern undulatory systems. These equations are written in terms of physically meaningful and intuitively appealing variables that show the role of internal shape changes in driving locomotion
On the Interaction of the PKS B1358-113 Radio Galaxy with the Abell 1836 Cluster
[abridged] Here we present the analysis of multifrequency data gathered for
the FRII radio galaxy PKS B1358-113, hosted in the brightest cluster galaxy of
Abell 1836. The galaxy harbors one of the most massive black holes known to
date and our analysis of the optical data reveals that this black hole is only
weakly active. Based on new Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations and
archival radio data we derive the preferred range for the jet kinetic
luminosity erg s. This is above the values
implied by various scaling relations proposed for radio sources in galaxy
clusters, being instead very close to the maximum jet power allowed for the
given accretion rate. We constrain the radio source lifetime as
Myrs, and the total amount of deposited jet energy \,ergs. The detailed analysis of the X-ray data provides indication for
the presence of a bow-shock driven by the expanding radio lobes into the Abell
1836 cluster environment, with the corresponding Mach number . This,
together with the recently growing evidence that powerful FRII radio galaxies
may not be uncommon in the centers of clusters at higher redshifts, supports
the idea that jet-induced shock heating may indeed play an important role in
shaping the properties of clusters, galaxy groups, and galaxies in formation.
We speculate on a possible bias against detecting jet-driven shocks in poorer
environments, resulting from an inefficient electron heating at the shock
front, combined with a relatively long electron-ion equilibration timescale.Comment: Version accepted to Ap
Ras-mediated phosphorylation of a conserved threonine residue enhances the transactivation activities of c-Ets1 and c-Ets2
The Ras oncogene products regulate the expression of genes in transformed cells, and members of the Ets family of transcription factors have been implicated in this process. To determine which Ets factors are the targets of Ras signaling pathways, the abilities of several Ets factors to activate Ras-responsive enhancer (RRE) reporters in the presence of oncogenic Ras were examined. In transient transfection assay, reporters containing RREs composed of Ets-AP-1 binding sites could be activated 30-fold in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and 80-fold in the macrophage-like line RAW264 by the combination of Ets1 or Ets2 and Ras but not by several other Ets factors that were tested in the assay. Ets2 and Ras also superactivated an RRE composed of Ets-Ets binding sites, but the Ets-responsive promoter of the c-fms gene was not superactivated. Mutation of a threonine residue to alanine in the conserved amino-terminal regions of Ets1 and Ets2 (threonine 38 and threonine 72, respectively) abrogated the ability of each of these proteins to superactivate reporter gene expression. Phosphoamino acid analysis of radiolabeled Ets2 revealed that Ras induced normally absent threonine-specific phosphorylation of the protein. The Ras-dependent increase in threonine phosphorylation was not observed in Ets2 proteins that had the conserved threonine 72 residue mutated to alanine or serine. These data indicate that Ets1 and Ets2 are specific nuclear targets of Ras signaling events and that phosphorylation of a conserved threonine residue is a necessary molecular component of Ras-mediated activation of these transcription factors
Cosmic ray diffusive acceleration at shock waves with finite upstream and downstream escape boundaries
In the present paper we discuss the modifications introduced into the
first-order Fermi shock acceleration process due to a finite extent of
diffusive regions near the shock or due to boundary conditions leading to an
increased particle escape upstream and/or downstream the shock. In the
considered simple example of the planar shock wave we idealize the escape
phenomenon by imposing a particle escape boundary at some distance from the
shock. Presence of such a boundary (or boundaries) leads to coupled steepening
of the accelerated particle spectrum and decreasing of the acceleration time
scale. It allows for a semi-quantitative evaluation and, in some specific
cases, also for modelling of the observed steep particle spectra as a result of
the first-order Fermi shock acceleration. We also note that the particles close
to the upper energy cut-off are younger than the estimate based on the
respective acceleration time scale. In Appendix A we present a new
time-dependent solution for infinite diffusive regions near the shock allowing
for different constant diffusion coefficients upstream and downstream the
shock.Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 4 postscript figures; Solar Physics (accepted
Maximum Likelihood Estimation in Gaussian Chain Graph Models under the Alternative Markov Property
The AMP Markov property is a recently proposed alternative Markov property
for chain graphs. In the case of continuous variables with a joint multivariate
Gaussian distribution, it is the AMP rather than the earlier introduced LWF
Markov property that is coherent with data-generation by natural
block-recursive regressions. In this paper, we show that maximum likelihood
estimates in Gaussian AMP chain graph models can be obtained by combining
generalized least squares and iterative proportional fitting to an iterative
algorithm. In an appendix, we give useful convergence results for iterative
partial maximization algorithms that apply in particular to the described
algorithm.Comment: 15 pages, article will appear in Scandinavian Journal of Statistic
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