3,463 research outputs found
Improving Predictions for Helium Emission Lines
We have combined the detailed He I recombination model of Smits with the
collisional transitions of Sawey & Berrington in order to produce new accurate
helium emissivities that include the effects of collisional excitation from
both the 2 (3)S and 2 (1) S levels. We present a grid of emissivities for a
range of temperature and densities along with analytical fits and error
estimates.
Fits accurate to within 1% are given for the emissivities of the brightest
lines over a restricted range for estimates of primordial helium abundance. We
characterize the analysis uncertainties associated with uncertainties in
temperature, density, fitting functions, and input atomic data. We estimate
that atomic data uncertainties alone may limit abundance estimates to an
accuracy of 1.5%; systematic errors may be greater than this. This analysis
uncertainty must be incorporated when attempting to make high accuracy
estimates of the helium abundance. For example, in recent determinations of the
primordial helium abundance, uncertainties in the input atomic data have been
neglected.Comment: ApJ, accepte
Rock-eating mycorrhizas: their role in plant nutrition and biogeochemical cycles
A decade ago, tunnels inside mineral grains were found that were likely formed by hyphae of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi. This observation implied that EcM fungi can dissolve mineral grains. The observation raised several questions on the ecology of these Âżrock-eatingÂż fungi. This review addresses the roles of these rock-eating EcM associations in plant nutrition, biogeochemical cycles and pedogenesis. Research approaches ranged from molecular to ecosystem level scales. Nutrient deficiencies change EcM seedling exudation patterns of organic anions and thus their potential to mobilise base cations from minerals. This response was fungal species-specific. Some EcM fungi accelerated mineral weathering. While mineral weathering could also increase the concentrations of phytotoxic aluminium in the soil solution, some EcM fungi increase Al tolerance through an enhanced exudation of oxalate. Through their contribution to Al transport, EcM hyphae could be agents in pedogenesis, especially podzolisation. A modelling study indicated that mineral tunnelling is less important than surface weathering by EcM fungi. With both processes taken together, the contribution of EcM fungi to weathering may be significant. In the field vertical niche differentiation of EcM fungi was shown for EcM root tips and extraradical mycelium. In the field EcM fungi and tunnel densities were correlated. Our results support a role of rock-eating EcM fungi in plant nutrition and biogeochemical cycles. EcM fungal species-specific differences indicate the need for further research with regard to this variation in functional traits
The Primordial Abundance of He4: An Update
We include new data in an updated analysis of helium in low metallicity
extragalactic HII regions with the goal of deriving the primordial abundance of
He4 (Y_P). We show that the new observations of Izotov et al (ITL) are
consistent with previous data. However they should not be taken in isolation to
determine (Y_P) due to the lack of sufficiently low metallicity points. We use
the extant data in a semi-empirical approach to bounding the size of possible
systematic uncertainties in the determination of (Y_P). Our best estimate for
the primordial abundance of He4 assuming a linear relation between He4 and O/H
is Y_P = 0.230 \pm 0.003 (stat) based on the subset of HII regions with the
lowest metallicity; for our full data set we find Y_P = 0.234 \pm 0.002 (stat).
Both values are entirely consistent with our previous results. We discuss the
implications of these values for standard big bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN),
particularly in the context of recent measurements of deuterium in high
redshift, low metallicity QSO absorption-line systems.Comment: 26 pages, latex, 6 ps figure
Gas Component Transport Across the Soil-Atmosphere Interface for Gases of Different Density: Experiments and Modeling
We investigate the influence of near-surface wind conditions on subsurface gas transport and on soil-atmosphere gas exchange for gases of different density. Results of a sand tank experiment are supported by a numerical investigation with a fully coupled porous medium-free flow model, which accounts for wind turbulence. The experiment consists of a two-dimensional bench-scale soil tank containing homogeneous sand and an overlying wind tunnel. A point source was installed at the bottom of the tank. Gas concentrations were measured at multiple horizontal and vertical locations. Tested conditions include four wind velocities (0.2/1.0/2.0/2.7 m/s), three different gases (helium: light, nitrogen: neutral, and carbon dioxide: heavy), and two transport cases (1: steady-state gas supply from the point source; 2: transport under decreasing concentration gradient, subsequent to termination of gas supply). The model was used to assess flow patterns and gas fluxes across the soil surface. Results demonstrate that flow and transport in the vicinity of the surface are strongly coupled to the overlying wind field. An increase in wind velocity accelerates soil-atmosphere gas exchange. This is due to the effect of the wind profile on soil surface concentrations and due to wind-induced advection, which causes subsurface horizontal transport. The presence of gases with pronounced density difference to air adds additional complexity to the transport through the wind-affected soil layers. Wind impact differs between tested gases. Observed transport is multidimensional and shows that heavy as well as light gases cannot be treated as inert tracers, which applies to many gases in environmental studies. © 2020. The Authors
The Dutch Symptom Checklist-90-Revised:Is the Use of the Subscales Justified?
The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1977, 1994) was constructed to measure both general psychological distress and specific primary symptoms of distress. In this study, we evaluated to what extent the scale scores of the Dutch SCL-90-R reflect general and/or specific aspects of psychological distress in a psychiatric outpatients sample (N = 1,842), using a hierarchical factor model. The results revealed that the total scale score measures general psychological distress, with high reliability. The subscale scores Sleep Difficulties, Agoraphobia, Hostility, and Somatization reflect the specific primary symptoms reasonably well, with high reliability. The subscale score Depression hardly measures specific symptoms of distress, but instead a very common construct as is measured with the total scale of the SCL-90-R. The use of the Depression subscale score beyond the total scale score of the SCL-90-R appears therefore of limited value in clinical practice
Systematic effects and a new determination of the primordial abundance of 4He and dY/dZ from observations of blue compact galaxies
We use spectroscopic observations of a sample of 82 HII regions in 76 blue
compact galaxies to determine the primordial helium abundance Yp and the slope
dY/dZ from the Y-O/H linear regression. To improve the accuracy of the dY/dZ
measurement, we have included new spectrophotometric observations of 33 HII
regions which span a large metallicity range, with oxygen abundance 12+log(O/H)
varying between 7.43 and 8.30 (Zsun/30<Z<Zsun/4). For a subsample of 7 HII
regions, we derive the He mass fraction taking into account known systematic
effects, including collisional and fluorescent enhancements of HeI emission
lines, collisional excitation of hydrogen emission, underlying stellar HeI
absorption and the difference between the temperatures Te(HeII) in the He^+
zone and Te(OIII) derived from the collisionally excited [OIII] lines. We find
that the net result of all the systematic effects combined is small, changing
the He mass fraction by less than 0.6%. By extrapolating the Y vs. O/H linear
regression to O/H=0 for 7 HII regions of this subsample, we obtain
Yp=0.2421+/-0.0021 and dY/dO=5.7+/-1.8, which corresponds to dY/dZ=3.7+/-1.2,
assuming the oxygen mass fraction to be O=0.66Z. In the framework of the
standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis theory, this Yp corresponds to Omega_b h^2 =
0.012^+0.003_-0.002, where h is the Hubble constant in units of 100 km/s/Mpc.
This is smaller at the 2sigma level than the value obtained from recent
deuterium abundance and microwave background radiation measurements. The linear
regression slope dY/dO=4.3+/-0.7 (corresponding to dY/dZ=2.8+/-0.5) for the
whole sample of 82 HII regions is similar to that derived for the subsample of
7 HII regions, although it has a considerably smaller uncertainty.Comment: 53 pages, 3 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Size of the Vela Pulsar's Radio Emission Region: 500 km
We use interstellar scattering of the Vela pulsar to determine the size of
its emission region. From interferometric phase variations on short baselines,
we find that radio-wave scattering broadens the source by 3.4+/-0.3
milliarcseconds along the major axis at position angle 81+/-3 degrees. The
ratio of minor axis to major axis is 0.51+/-0.03. Comparison of angular and
temporal broadening indicates that the scattering material lies in the Vela-X
supernova remnant surrounding the pulsar. From the modulation of the pulsar's
scintillation on very short baselines, we infer a size of 500 km for the
pulsar's emission region. We suggest that radio-wave refraction within the
pulsar's magnetosphere may plausibly explain this size.Comment: 14 pages, includes 2 figures. Also available at:
http://charm.physics.ucsb.edu:80/people/cgwinn/cgwinn_group/cgwinn_group.htm
Chemical Abundances of Planetary Nebulae in the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy
Spectrophotometry and imaging of the two planetary nebulae He2-436 and
Wray16-423, recently discovered to be in the Sagittarius dwarf elliptical
galaxy, are presented. Wray16-423 is a high excitation planetary nebula (PN)
with a hot central star. In contrast He2-436 is a high density PN with a cooler
central star and evidence of local dust, the extinction exceeding that for
Wray16-423 by E(B-V)=0.28. The extinction to Wray16-423, (E(B-V)=0.14), is
consistent with the extinction to the Sagittarius (Sgr) Dwarf. Both PN show
Wolf-Rayet features in their spectra, although the lines are weak in
Wray16-423. Images in [O III] and H-alpha+[N II], although affected by poor
seeing, yield a diameter of 1.2'' for Wray16-423 after deconvolution; He~2-436
was unresolved. He2-436 has a luminosity about twice that of Wray16-423 and its
size and high density suggest a younger PN. In order to reconcile the differing
luminosity and nebular properties of the two PN with similar age progenitor
stars, it is suggested that they are on He burning tracks
The abundance pattern is very similar in both nebulae and shows an oxygen
depletion of -0.4 dex with respect to the mean O abundance of Galactic PN and
[O/H] = -0.6. The Sgr PN progenitor stars are representative of the higher
metallicity tail of the Sgr population. The pattern of abundance depletion is
similar to that in the only other PN in a dwarf galaxy companion of the Milky
Way, that in Fornax, for which new spectra are presented. However the
abundances are larger than for Galactic halo PN suggesting a later formation
age. The O abundance of the Sgr galaxy deduced from its PN, shows similarities
with that of dwarf ellipticals around M31, suggesting that this galaxy was a
dwarf elliptical before its interaction with the Milky Way.Comment: 24 pages, Latex (aas2pp4.sty) including 5 postscript figures. To
appear in Ap
The Chemical Composition of the Small Magellanic Cloud H II Region NGC 346 and the Primordial Helium Abundance
Spectrophotometry in the 3400-7400 range is presented for 13 areas of the
brightest H II region in the SMC: NGC 346. The observations were obtained at
CTIO with the 4-m telescope. Based on these observations its chemical
composition is derived. The helium and oxygen abundances by mass are given by:
Y(SMC)=0.2405+-0.0018 and O(SMC)=0.00171+-0.00025. From models and observations
of irregular and blue compact galaxies it is found that dY/dO=3.5+-0.9 and
consequently that the primordial helium abundance by mass is given by:
Yp=0.2345+-0.0026 (1-sigma). This result is compared with values derived from
Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and with other determinations of Yp.Comment: 32 pages + 5 figures Referee Revised Versio
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