Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small inner disc and asymmetry near the gap

A region of roughly half of the solar system scale around the star HD 100546 is largely cleared of gas and dust, in contrast to the bright outer disc. However, some material is observed in the immediate vicinity of the star. We investigate how the dust is distributed within and outside the gap, and constrain the disc geometry with mid-infrared interferometric observations using VLTI/MIDI. With baseline lengths of 40m, our long baseline observations are sensitive to the inner few AU from the star, and we combined them with observations at shorter, 15m baselines, to probe emission beyond the gap at up to 20AU from the star. We modelled the mid-infrared emission using radial temperature profiles. Our model is composed of infinitesimal concentric annuli emitting as black bodies, and it has distinct inner and outer disc components. We derived an upper limit of 0.7AU for the radial size of the inner disc, from our longest baseline data. This small dusty disc is separated from the edge of the outer disc by a large, roughly 10AU wide gap. Our short baseline data place a bright ring of emission at 11+-1AU, consistent with prior observations of the transition region between the gap and the outer disc, known as the disc wall. The inclination and position angle are constrained by our data to i=53+-8deg and PA=145+-5deg. Compared to the rim and outer disc geometry this suggests co-planarity. Brightness asymmetry is evident in both short and long baseline data, and it is unequivocally discernible from any atmospheric or instrumental effects. The origin of the asymmetry is consistent with the bright disc wall, which we find to be 1-2AU wide. The gap is cleared of micron-sized dust, but we cannot rule out the presence of larger particles and/or perturbing bodies.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Performance analysis of wireless communication system in general fading environment subjected to shadowing and interference

In this paper, performance analysis of wireless communication over α−η−μ fading channels has been investigated. First, analysis has been carried out for the case when communication is subjected to the influence of co-channel interference. Closed-form expressions have been derived for the probability density function and cumulative distribution function of the received signal-to-interference ratio. Outage probability has been obtained for this case, in the function of various values of system parameters, and also for the case when selection diversity has been presented at the reception. Further, simultaneous multipath fading and shadowing occurrence has been analyzed, through deriving novel composite Gamma long-time faded α−η−μ fading distribution. First-order statistical parameters have been obtained in closed form, for this novel composite distribution, and capitalizing on them, standard performance measures have been efficiently evaluated, graphically presented and discussed in the function of system parameters

On Higher-Order Statistics of the Channel Model for UAV-to-Ground Communications

Proceedings of: 2021 IEEE 93rd Vehicular Technology (VTC2021-Spring), 25-28 april, 2021, Helsinki, Finland.Unmanned-aerial-vehicles (UAVs) based communications are envisioned to play an important role in 5G and beyond 5G (B5G) systems. UAV-to-ground communications in urban cities are often characterized by highly dynamic propagation environments that can be described by composite fading channels. Most of the UAV-to-ground systems are based on first order (FO) performance evaluation, however the models based on FO statistics are insufficient for characterization of time variant fading channels. We provide comprehensive mathematical framework for the second order (SO) statistics over double-scattered, double-shadowed (DS-DS) fading channels, modeled as the product of double Nakagami-m (DN) and double inverse Gamma (DIG) random processes (RPs). In particular, we obtained exact mathematical expressions for average fade duration (AFD) and level crossing rate (LCR) of the proposed UAV-to-ground channel model. Moreover, the exact, integral form SO statistical expressions are approximated by Laplace Integration (LI) and exponential LI in order to provide closed form, easily computing mathematical expressions. Numerical results show that approximate and exact results are fitting well, especially for higher output threshold values. The impact of DS-DS fading severities on the SO statistics are well investigated. Furthermore, the proposed method is extended to analyze SO performances for the selection scenario of UAV with the highest signal level from among N-UAVs links.C. Stefanovic would like to acknowledge CONEX-Plus. The CONEX-Plus is funded by UC3M, the European Commission through the Marie Sklodowska Curie COFUND Action (H2020-MSCA-COFUND-2017- GA 801538)

Recent Advances in RF Propagation Modeling for 5G Systems

Stefanovic, M.; Panic, SR.; De Souza, RAA.; Reig, J. (2017). Recent Advances in RF Propagation Modeling for 5G Systems. International Journal of Antennas and Propagation (Online). 2017(4701208):1-5. doi:10.1155/2017/4701208S152017470120

Warm molecular gas and kinematics in the disc around HD 100546

The disc around the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 100546 is one of the most extensively studied discs in the southern sky. Although there is a wealth of information about its dust content and composition, not much is known about its gas and large scale kinematics. We detect and study the molecular gas in the disc at spatial resolution from 7.7" to 18.9" using the APEX telescope. The lines 12CO J=7-6, J=6-5, J=3-2, 13CO J=3-2 and [C I] 3P2-3P1 are observed, diagnostic of disc temperature, size, chemistry, and kinematics. We use parametric disc models that reproduce the low-J 12CO emission from Herbig~Ae stars and vary the basic disc parameters - temperature, mass and size. Using the molecular excitation and radiative transfer code RATRAN we fit the observed spectral line profiles. Our observations are consistent with more than 0.001 Msun of molecular gas in a disc of approximately 400 AU radius in Keplerian rotation around a 2.5 Msun star, seen at an inclination of 50 degrees. The detected 12CO lines are dominated by gas at 30-70~K. The non-detection of the [C I] line indicates excess ultraviolet emission above that of a B9 type model stellar atmosphere. Asymmetry in the 12CO line emission suggests that one side of the outer disc is colder by 10-20~K than the other, possibly due to a shadow by a warped geometry of the inner disc. Pointing offsets, foreground cloud absorption and asymmetry in the disc extent are excluded scenarios. Efficient heating of the outer disc ensures that low- and high-J 12CO lines are dominated by the outermost disc regions, indicating a 400 AU radius. The 12CO J=6--5 line arises from a disc layer higher above disc midplane, and warmer by 15-20~K than the layer emitting the J=3--2 line. The existing models of discs around Herbig Ae stars, assuming a B9.5 type model stellar atmosphere overproduce the [CI] 3P2--3P1 line intensity from HD 100546 by an order of magnitude.Comment: 9pages, 3figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

On the Transmission of Colour Image Over Double Generalized Gamma FSO Channel

In this paper performance analysis of colour image Free Space Optics (FSO) transmission over Double Generalized Gamma (DGG) turbulence communication channel is carried out. At the reception side, we have used an average bit error rate (ABER) for reconstructed image performance measure, as the function of FSO link transmission parameters, such as propagation distance, Rytov variance and turbulence shaping and severity parameters (γ1, γ2, m1, m2). Obtained results cover a large number of colour image FSO transmission scenarios, for Gamma-Gamma, Double-Weibull and K turbulence models channels considered as special cases

TW Hya: an old protoplanetary disc revived by its planet

Dark rings with bright rims are the indirect signposts of planets embedded in protoplanetary discs. In a recent first, an azimuthally elongated AU-scale blob, possibly a planet, was resolved with ALMA in TW Hya. The blob is at the edge of a cliff-like rollover in the dust disc rather than inside a dark ring. Here we build time-dependent models of TW Hya disc. We find that the classical paradigm cannot account for the morphology of the disc and the blob. We propose that ALMA-discovered blob hides a Neptune mass planet losing gas and dust. We show that radial drift of mm-sized dust particles naturally explains why the blob is located on the edge of the dust disc. Dust particles leaving the planet perform a characteristic U-turn relative to it, producing an azimuthally elongated blob-like emission feature. This scenario also explains why a 10 Myr old disc is so bright in dust continuum. Two scenarios for the dust-losing planet are presented. In the first, a dusty pre-runaway gas envelope of a ∼40M⊕ Core Accretion planet is disrupted, e.g. as a result of a catastrophic encounter. In the second, a massive dusty pre-collapse gas giant planet formed by Gravitational Instability is disrupted by the energy released in its massive core. Future modelling may discriminate between these scenarios and allow us to study planet formation in an entirely new way – by analysing the flows of dust and gas recently belonging to planets, informing us about the structure of pre-disruption planetary envelopes

Deep learning model for automatic prostate segmentation on bicentric T2w images with and without endorectal coil

Automatic segmentation of the prostate on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the topics on which research has focused in recent years as it is a fundamental first step in the building process of a Computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system for cancer detection. Unfortunately, MRI acquired in different centers with different scanners leads to images with different characteristics. In this work, we propose an automatic algorithm for prostate segmentation, based on a U-Net applying transfer learning method in a bi-center setting. First, T2w images with and without endorectal coil from 80 patients acquired at Center A were used as training set and internal validation set. Then, T2w images without endorectal coil from 20 patients acquired at Center B were used as external validation. The reference standard for this study was manual segmentation of the prostate gland performed by an expert operator. The results showed a Dice similarity coefficient >85% in both internal and external validation datasets.Clinical Relevance- This segmentation algorithm could be integrated into a CAD system to optimize computational effort in prostate cancer detection

Amino acid availability acts as a metabolic rheostat to determine the magnitude of ILC2 responses

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) are functionally poised, tissue-resident lymphocytes that respond rapidly to damage and infection at mucosal barrier sites. ILC2 reside within complex microenvironments where they are subject to cues from both the diet and invading pathogens—including helminths. Emerging evidence suggests ILC2 are acutely sensitive not only to canonical activating signals but also perturbations in nutrient availability. In the context of helminth infection, we identify amino acid availability as a nutritional cue in regulating ILC2 responses. ILC2 are found to be uniquely preprimed to import amino acids via the large neutral amino acid transporters Slc7a5 and Slc7a8. Cell-intrinsic deletion of these transporters individually impaired ILC2 expansion, while concurrent loss of both transporters markedly impaired the proliferative and cytokine-producing capacity of ILC2. Mechanistically, amino acid uptake determined the magnitude of ILC2 responses in part via tuning of mTOR. These findings implicate essential amino acids as a metabolic requisite for optimal ILC2 responses within mucosal barrier tissues