11,494 research outputs found
Mid-infrared sources in the ELAIS Deep X-ray Survey
We present a crossâcorrelation of the European Large Area Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) survey (ELAIS) with the ELAIS Deep Xâray Survey of the N1 and N2 fields. There are seven Chandra point sources with matches in the ELAIS Final Analysis 15âÎŒm catalogue, out of a total of 28 extragalactic ISO sources present in the Chandra fields. Five of these are consistent with active galactic nuclei (AGN) giving an AGN fraction of âŒ19 per cent in the 15âÎŒm flux range 0.8â6âmJy. We have coâadded the hard Xâray fluxes of the individually undetected ISO sources and find a low significance detection consistent with star formation in the remaining population. We combine our point source crossâcorrelation fraction with the XMMâNewton observations of the Lockman Hole and Chandra observations of the Hubble Deep Field North to constrain source count models of the midâinfrared galaxy population. The low dustâenshrouded AGN fraction in ELAIS implied by the number of crossâidentifications between the ELAIS midâinfrared sample and the Chandra point sources is encouraging for the use of midâinfrared surveys to constrain the cosmic star formation history, provided there are not further large undetected populations of Comptonâthick AGN
The ELAIS Deep X-ray Survey
We present initial follow-up results of the ELAIS Deep X-ray Survey which is
being undertaken with the Chandra and XMM-Newton Observatories. 235 X-ray
sources are detected in our two 75 ks ACIS-I observations in the well-studied
ELAIS N1 and N2 areas. 90% of the X-ray sources are identified optically to
R=26 with a median magnitude of R=24. We show that objects which are unresolved
optically (i.e. quasars) follow a correlation between their optical and X-ray
fluxes, whereas galaxies do not. We also find that the quasars with fainter
optical counterparts have harder X-ray spectra, consistent with absorption at
both wavebands. Initial spectroscopic follow-up has revealed a large fraction
of high-luminosity Type 2 quasars. The prospects for studying the evolution of
the host galaxies of X-ray selected Type 2 AGN are considered.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, To appear in Proceedings of XXI Moriond
Conference: "Galaxy Clusters and the High Redshift Universe Observed in
X-rays", edited by D. Neumann, F.Durret, & J. Tran Thanh Va
The ELAIS deep X-ray survey - I. Chandra source catalogue and first results
We present an analysis of two deep (75 ks) Chandra observations of the European Large Area Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) Survey (ELAIS) fields N1 and N2 as the first results from the ELAIS deep X-ray survey. This survey is being conducted in well-studied regions with extensive multiwavelength coverage. Here we present the Chandra source catalogues along with an analysis of source counts, hardness ratios and optical classifications. A total of 233 X-ray point sources are detected in addition to two soft extended sources, which are found to be associated with galaxy clusters. An overdensity of sources is found in N1 with 30 per cent more sources than N2, which we attribute to large-scale structure. A similar variance is seen between other deep Chandra surveys. The source count statistics reveal an increasing fraction of hard sources at fainter fluxes. The number of galaxy-like counterparts also increases dramatically towards fainter fluxes, consistent with the emergence of a large population of obscured sources
Coupled Maps on Trees
We study coupled maps on a Cayley tree, with local (nearest-neighbor)
interactions, and with a variety of boundary conditions. The homogeneous state
(where every lattice site has the same value) and the node-synchronized state
(where sites of a given generation have the same value) are both shown to occur
for particular values of the parameters and coupling constants. We study the
stability of these states and their domains of attraction. As the number of
sites that become synchronized is much higher compared to that on a regular
lattice, control is easier to effect. A general procedure is given to deduce
the eigenvalue spectrum for these states. Perturbations of the synchronized
state lead to different spatio-temporal structures. We find that a mean-field
like treatment is valid on this (effectively infinite dimensional) lattice.Comment: latex file (25 pages), 4 figures included. To be published in Phys.
Rev.
Phase transitions in biological membranes
Native membranes of biological cells display melting transitions of their
lipids at a temperature of 10-20 degrees below body temperature. Such
transitions can be observed in various bacterial cells, in nerves, in cancer
cells, but also in lung surfactant. It seems as if the presence of transitions
slightly below physiological temperature is a generic property of most cells.
They are important because they influence many physical properties of the
membranes. At the transition temperature, membranes display a larger
permeability that is accompanied by ion-channel-like phenomena even in the
complete absence of proteins. Membranes are softer, which implies that
phenomena such as endocytosis and exocytosis are facilitated. Mechanical signal
propagation phenomena related to nerve pulses are strongly enhanced. The
position of transitions can be affected by changes in temperature, pressure, pH
and salt concentration or by the presence of anesthetics. Thus, even at
physiological temperature, these transitions are of relevance. There position
and thereby the physical properties of the membrane can be controlled by
changes in the intensive thermodynamic variables. Here, we review some of the
experimental findings and the thermodynamics that describes the control of the
membrane function.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure
HIV vaccine: it may take two to tango, but no party time yet
A press conference on Thursday September 24 in Bangkok, Thailand, released data that an experimental vaccine provided mild protection against HIV-1 infection. This is the first positive signal of any degree of vaccine efficacy in humans, more than a quarter-century after scientists discovered the virus that causes AIDS. The research was conducted by a team including Thai researchers, the U.S. Army and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The RV144 Phase III clinical trial, which began in 2003, had been disparaged by many critics as a waste of time and money because each of the two components had been shown to produce no benefit as individual vaccines and because the scientific rationales behind the immunogens were just wrong. It was nevertheless speculated that using them together in the prime-boost scenario could be more effective, with the aim to induce heightened CD4+ cellular immune responses against the viral Envelope protein. This optimism seems to have been validated. In fact, this would not be the first time that the discovery of an effective vaccine relied as much on serendipity as opposed to scientific rationale. On the other hand, many questions remain about the RV144 trial, and these issues will be addressed in this editorial
Shoulder pain due to cervical radiculopathy: an underestimated long-term complication of herpes zoster virus reactivation?
Purpose
To evaluate if herpes zoster virus (HZV) reactivation may be considered in the aetiology of cervical radiculopathy.
Methods
The study group was composed of 110 patients (52 M-58F;mean age ± SD:46.5 ± 6.12; range:40-73) with a clinical diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy. Patients with signs of chronic damage on neurophysiological studies were submitted to an X-ray and to an MRI of the cervical spine in order to clarify the cause of the cervical radiculopathy and were investigated for a possible reactivation of HZV; HZV reactivation was considered as ârecentâ or âantiqueâ if it occurs within or after 24 months from the onset of symptoms, respectively. Data were submitted to statistics.
Results
Thirty-eight patients (34,5%,16 M-22F) had a history of HZV reactivation: four (2 M-2F) were ârecentâ and 34 (14 M-20F) were âantiqueâ. In 68 of 110 participants (61,8%,30 M-38F), pathological signs on X-ray and/or MRI of the cervical spine appeared; in the remaining 42 (38,2%,22 M-20F) X-ray and MRI resulted as negative. Among patients with HZV reactivation, seven (18,4%) had a âpositiveâ X-ray-MRI while in 31 (81,6%) the instrumental exams were considered as negative. The prevalence of âantiqueâ HZV reactivations was statistically greater in the group of patients with no pathological signs on X-ray/MRI of the cervical spine with respect to the group with a pathological instrumental exam (p < 0.01).
Conclusions
It may be useful to investigate the presence of a positive history of HZV reactivation and to consider it as a long-term complication of a cervical root inflammation especially in patients in which X-ray and MRI of the cervical spine did not show pathological findings
The Bulge Radial Velocity Assay for RR Lyrae stars (BRAVA-RR) DR2: a Bimodal Bulge?
Radial velocities of 2768 fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) toward the
Southern Galactic bulge are presented, spanning the southern bulge from -8 < l
< +8 and -3 < b <-6. Distances derived from the pulsation properties of the
RRLs are combined with Gaia proper motions to give constraints on the orbital
motions of 1389 RRLs. The majority (~75%) of the bulge RRLs have orbits
consistent with these stars being permanently bound to <3.5 kpc from the
Galactic Center, similar to the bar. However, unlike the bulge giants, the RRLs
exhibit slower rotation and a higher velocity dispersion. The higher velocity
dispersion arises almost exclusively from halo interlopers passing through the
inner Galaxy. We present 82 stars with space velocities > 500 km/s and find
that the majority of these high-velocity stars are halo interlopers; it is
unclear if a sub-sample of these stars with similar space velocities have a
common origin. Once the 25% of the sample represented by halo interlopers is
cleaned, we can clearly discern two populations of bulge RRLs in the inner
Galaxy. One population of RRLs is not as tightly bound to the Galaxy (but is
still confined to the inner ~3.5 kpc), and is both spatially and kinematically
consistent with the barred bulge. The second population is more centrally
concentrated and does not trace the bar. One possible interpretation is that
this population was born prior to bar formation, as its spatial location,
kinematics and pulsation properties suggest, possibly from an accretion event
at high redshift.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey: I. Survey presentation
We present here the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey,
which has been designed to provide a first step in this direction.We summarize
the survey goals and design, including sample selection and observational
strategy.We also showcase the data taken during the first observing runs
(June/July 2010) and outline the reduction pipeline, quality control schemes
and general characteristics of the reduced data. This survey is obtaining
spatially resolved spectroscopic information of a diameter selected sample of
galaxies in the Local Universe (0.005< z <0.03). CALIFA has been
designed to allow the building of two-dimensional maps of the following
quantities: (a) stellar populations: ages and metallicities; (b) ionized gas:
distribution, excitation mechanism and chemical abundances; and (c) kinematic
properties: both from stellar and ionized gas components. CALIFA uses the PPAK
Integral Field Unit (IFU), with a hexagonal field-of-view of
\sim1.3\sq\arcmin', with a 100% covering factor by adopting a three-pointing
dithering scheme. The optical wavelength range is covered from 3700 to 7000
{\AA}, using two overlapping setups (V500 and V1200), with different
resolutions: R\sim850 and R\sim1650, respectively. CALIFA is a legacy survey,
intended for the community. The reduced data will be released, once the quality
has been guaranteed. The analyzed data fulfill the expectations of the original
observing proposal, on the basis of a set of quality checks and exploratory
analysis.
We conclude from this first look at the data that CALIFA will be an important
resource for archaeological studies of galaxies in the Local Universe.Comment: 32 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publishing in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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