Gender nonconformity of identical twins with discordant sexual orientations: Evidence from childhood photographs

Childhood gender nonconformity (femininity in males, masculinity in females) predicts a non-straight (gay, lesbian, or bisexual) sexual orientation in adulthood. In previous work, non-straight twins reported more childhood gender nonconformity than their genetically identical, but straight, co-twins. However, self-reports could be biased. We therefore assessed gender nonconformity via ratings of photographs from childhood and adulthood. These ratings came from independent observers naïve to study hypotheses. Identical twins with discordant sexual orientations (24 male pairs, 32 female pairs) visibly differed in their gender nonconformity from mid childhood, with higher levels of gender nonconformity for the non-straight twins. This difference was smaller than the analogous difference between identical twins who were concordant straight (4 male pairs, 11 female pairs) and identical twins unrelated to them who were concordant non-straight (19 male pairs, 8 female pairs). Further, twins in discordant pairs correlated in their observer-rated gender nonconformity. Non-genetic factors likely differentiated the discordant twins’ gender-related characteristics in childhood, but shared influences made them similar in some respects. We further tested how recall of past rejection from others related to gender nonconformity. Rejection generally increased with gender nonconformity, but this effect varied by the twins’ sexual orientation

Finger Length Ratios of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations

A proposed marker of prenatal androgen exposure is the ratio of the index finger to ring finger (2D:4D). Within each sex, this ratio may be lower for those who were exposed to higher levels of androgens and become attracted to women, as compared to those who were exposed to lower levels of androgens and become attracted to men. We examined these patterns in identical twins with discordant sexual orientations. Because these twins are enetically identical, differences in prenatal androgen exposure, as reflected in their different finger length ratios, might contribute to their discordance. For 18 female twin pairs, nonstraight (bisexual or lesbian) twins had significantly lower, or more masculinized, 2D:4D ratios than their straight co-twins, but only in the left hand. For 14 male pairs, non-straight twins had, contrary to our prediction, more masculinized finger length ratios than straight cotwins, but this difference was not significant. A reanalysis of present and previous data (Hall & Love, 2003; Hiraishi, Sasaki, Shikishima, & Ando, 2012) suggested that these patterns were robust. Furthermore, males had more masculinized 2D:4D ratios than females. This sex difference did not vary by sexual orientation

Active current sheets and hot flow anomalies in Mercury's bow shock

Hot flow anomalies (HFAs) represent a subset of solar wind discontinuities interacting with collisionless bow shocks. They are typically formed when the normal component of motional (convective) electric field points toward the embedded current sheet on at least one of its sides. The core region of an HFA contains hot and highly deflected ion flows and rather low and turbulent magnetic field. In this paper, we report first observations of HFA-like events at Mercury identified over a course of two planetary years. Using data from the orbital phase of the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission, we identify a representative ensemble of active current sheets magnetically connected to Mercury's bow shock. We show that some of these events exhibit unambiguous magnetic and particle signatures of HFAs similar to those observed earlier at other planets, and present their key physical characteristics. Our analysis suggests that Mercury's bow shock does not only mediate the flow of supersonic solar wind plasma but also provides conditions for local particle acceleration and heating as predicted by previous numerical simulations. Together with earlier observations of HFA activity at Earth, Venus and Saturn, our results confirm that hot flow anomalies are a common property of planetary bow shocks, and show that the characteristic size of these events is of the order of one planetary radius.Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures, 2 table

Gemini-South + FLAMINGOS Demonstration Science: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the z=5.77 Quasar SDSS J083643.85+005453.3

We report an infrared 1-1.8 micron (J+H-bands), low-resolution (R=450) spectrogram of the highest-redshift radio-loud quasar currently known, SDSS J083643.85+005453.3, obtained during the spectroscopic commissioning run of the FLAMINGOS multi-object, near-infrared spectrograph at the 8m Gemini-South Observatory. These data show broad emission from both CIV 1549 and CIII] 1909, with strengths comparable to lower-redshift quasar composite spectra. The implication is that there is substantial enrichment of the quasar environment, even at times less than a billion years after the Big Bang. The redshift derived from these features is z = 5.774 +/- 0.003, more accurate and slightly lower than the z = 5.82 reported in the discovery paper based on the partially-absorbed Lyman-alpha emission line. The infrared continuum is significantly redder than lower-redshift quasar composites. Fitting the spectrum from 1.0 to 1.7 microns with a power law f(nu) ~ nu^(-alpha), the derived power law index is alpha = 1.55 compared to the average continuum spectral index = 0.44 derived from the first SDSS composite quasar. Assuming an SMC-like extinction curve, we infer a color excess of E(B-V) = 0.09 +/- 0.01 at the quasar redshift. Only approximately 6% of quasars in the optically-selected Sloan Digital Sky Survey show comparable levels of dust reddening.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Detecting negative ions on board small satellites

Recent measurements near comets, planets, and their satellites have shown that heavy ions, energetic neutral atoms, molecular ions, and charged dust contain a wealth of information about the origin, evolution, and interaction of celestial bodies with their space environment. Using highly sensitive plasma instruments, positively charged heavy ions have been used to trace exospheric and surface composition of comets, planets, and satellites as well as the composition of interplanetary and interstellar dust. While positive ions dominate throughout the heliosphere, negative ions are also produced from surface interactions. In fact, laboratory experiments have shown that oxygen released from rocky surfaces is mostly negatively charged. Negative ions and negatively charged nanograins have been detected with plasma electron analyzers in several different environments (e.g., by Cassini and Rosetta), though more extensive studies have been challenging without instrumentation dedicated to negative ions. We discuss an adaptation of the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) flown on MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) for the measurement of negatively charged particles. MESSENGER/FIPS successfully measured the plasma environment of Mercury from 2011 until 2015, when the mission ended, and has been used to map multiple ion species (H+ through Na+ and beyond) throughout Mercury’s space environment. Modifications to the existing instrument design fits within a 3U CubeSat volume and would provide a low mass, low power instrument, ideal for future CubeSat or distributed sensor missions seeking, for the first time, to characterize the contribution of negative particles in the heliospheric plasmas near the planets, moons, comets, and other sources.Key PointsSurface interactions with dust grains in the heliosphere and near the moon can produce anionsThe contribution of anions to the heliosphere and lunar environment is largely unknownAIPS is a small compact, yet capable anion sensor for use on small satellitesPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137433/1/jgra53416_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137433/2/jgra53416.pd

GGD 37: An Extreme Protostellar Outflow

We present the first Spitzer-IRS spectral maps of the Herbig-Haro flow GGD 37 detected in lines of [Ne III], [O IV], [Ar III], and [Ne v]. The detection of extended [O IV] (55 eV) and some extended emission in [Ne v] (97 eV) indicates a shock temperature in excess of 100,000 K, in agreement with X-ray observations, and a shock speed in excess of 200 km s(-1). The presence of an extended photoionization or collisional ionization region indicates that GGD 37 is a highly unusual protostellar outflow.Jet Propulsion Laboratory, under NASA 1407NASA 1257184Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 960803University of Rochester 31419-5714Astronom

The Initial Configuration of Young Stellar Clusters: A K-band Number Counts Analysis of the Surface Density of Stars

We present an analysis of K-band stellar distributions for the young stellar clusters GGD 12-15, IRAS 20050+2720, and NGC 7129. We find that the two deeply embedded clusters, GGD 12-15 and IRAS 20050+2720, are not azimuthally symmetric and show a high degree of structure which traces filamentary structure observed in 850 micron emission maps. In contrast, the NGC 7129 cluster is circularly symmetric, less dense, and anti-correlated to 850 micron emission, suggesting recent gas expulsion and dynamical expansion have occured. We estimate stellar volume densities from nearest neighbor distances, and discuss the impact of these densities on the evolution of circumstellar disks and protostellar envelopes in these regions.Comment: 44 pages, 26 figures, Accepted to ApJ. Changes include extinction mapping, Monte Carlo field star modeling, and Nyquist sampled azimuthal stellar distributions. A version with full resolution figures is available at http://astro.pas.rochester.edu/~rguter/preprints/gutermuth_sd.tar.g

MESSENGER Observations of Mercury’s Nightside Magnetosphere Under Extreme Solar Wind Conditions: Reconnectionâ Generated Structures and Steady Convection

Mercury’s nightside magnetosphere is investigated under the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) and a highâ speed stream (HSS) with MErcury Surface, Space ENviroment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) observations. The CME was shown to produce a low plasma β (ratio of thermal pressure to magnetic pressure) magnetosheath, while the HSS creates a higher β magnetosheath. Reconnection at the dayside magnetopause was found to be stronger during the CME than the HSS, but both were stronger than the average condition (Slavin et al., 2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JA020319). Here we show that the CME and HSS events produced large numbers of flux ropes and dipolarization fronts in the plasma sheet. The occurrence rates for the structures were approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher than under average conditions with the rates during CME’s being twice that of HSS’s. The flux ropes appeared as quasiperiodic flux rope groups. Each group lasted approximately 1 min and had a few large flux ropes followed by several smaller flux ropes. The lobe magnetic flux accounted for around half of the Mercury’s available magnetic flux with the flux during CME’s being larger than that of HSS’s. The CME produced a more dynamic nightside magnetosphere than the HSS. Further, for the CME event, the tail magnetic reconnection produced a distorted Hall magnetic field pattern and the Xâ line had a dawnâ dusk extent of 20% of the tail width. No magnetic flux loading and unloading events were observed suggesting that, during these intense driving conditions, Mercury’s magnetosphere responded with a type of quasiâ steady convection as opposed to the tail flux loadingâ unloading events seen at Earth.Key PointsCoronal mass ejections drive more intense nightside reconnection than high speed streamsUnder extreme conditions, magnetic reconnection produces a distorted Hall magnetic field pattern in the plasma sheetContinued intense solar wind forcing does not produce substorm magnetic flux loading and unloading of tail lobe instead steady convectionPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154381/1/jgra55534_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154381/2/jgra55534.pd

Mercury's Surface Magnetic Field Determined from Proton-Reflection Magnetometry

Solar wind protons observed by the MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit about Mercury exhibit signatures of precipitation loss to Mercury's surface. We apply proton-reflection magnetometry to sense Mercury's surface magnetic field intensity in the planet's northern and southern hemispheres. The results are consistent with a dipole field offset to the north and show that the technique may be used to resolve regional-scale fields at the surface. The proton loss cones indicate persistent ion precipitation to the surface in the northern magnetospheric cusp region and in the southern hemisphere at low nightside latitudes. The latter observation implies that most of the surface in Mercury's southern hemisphere is continuously bombarded by plasma, in contrast with the premise that the global magnetic field largely protects the planetary surface from the solar wind

A Statistical Study of the Force Balance and Structure in the Flux Ropes in Mercury’s Magnetotail

This study presents a statistical investigation of the force balance and structures in the flux ropes in Mercury’s magnetotail plasma sheet by using the measurements of MErcury Surface, Space ENviroment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER). One hundred sixty-eight flux ropes were identified from the 14 hot seasons of MESSENGER from 11 March 2011 to 30 April 2015, and 143 of them show clear magnetic field enhancements with the core field being -20% higher than the background magnetic field. The investigation on the force balance of these 143 flux ropes shows that magnetic pressure gradient force cannot be solely balanced by magnetic tension force, implying that thermal plasma pressure gradient force cannot be neglected in the flux ropes. We employ a non-force-free model considering the contribution of thermal pressure to resolve the physical properties of flux ropes in Mercury’s magnetotail. Twenty-eight flux ropes are obtained through the fitting to the non-force-free model. The flux ropes are found to be consistent with the flattened structures, in which the mean semimajor is -851 km and semiminor is -333 km, both are several times the local proton inertial length. The average core field is estimated to be -57.5 nT, and flux content is -0.019 MWb, much larger than the previous results obtained from force-free flux rope model. The importance of thermal pressure gradient in the force balance of the flux ropes and the flattened structure indicates that the flux ropes in Mercury’s magnetotail plasma sheet are mostly in early stage of the evolution, and still contain enough plasma to affect their magnetic structures.Key PointsThermal pressure gradient is significant for the flux ropes in Mercury’s magnetotailNon-force-free modeling reveals the flatten structure and much higher magnetic flux of the flux ropes different from the previous studiesFlux ropes in this study should be in their early stage of evolution and could be strongly affected by thermal pressurePeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151305/1/jgra55044_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151305/2/jgra55044.pd