VLA H92 Alpha and H53 Alpha Radio Recombination Line Observations of M82

We present high angular resolution (0.6'') observations made with the VLA of the radio continuum at 8.3 and 43 GHz as well as H92 Alpha and H53 Alpha radio recombination lines from the nearby (3 Mpc) starburst galaxy M82. In the continuum we report 19 newly identified sources at 8.3 GHz and 5 at 43 GHz that were unknown previously. The spatial distribution of the H92 Alpha line is inhomogeneous; we identify 27 features. The line and continuum emission are modeled using a collection of HII regions at different distances from the nucleus assuming a single-density component and two-density components. The high-density component has a density of 4 X 10^{4} cm^{-3}. However, the bulk of the ionization is in regions with densities which are typically a factor 10 lower. The gas kinematics, using the H92 Alpha line, confirms the presence of steep velocity gradient (26 km s^{-1} arcsec^{-1}) in the nuclear region. As this steep gradient is observed not only on the major axis but also at large distances along a band of PA of 150 degrees, the interpretation in terms of x2 orbits elongated along the minor axis of the bar, which would be observed at an angle close to the inclination of the main disk, seems inadequate. Ad-hoc radial motions must be introduced to reproduce the pattern of the velocity field. Different families of orbits are indicated as we detect a signature in the kinematics at the transition between the two plateaus observed in the NIR light distribution. The H92 Alpha line also reveals the base of the outflow where the injection towards the halo on the Northern side occurs. The kinematical pattern suggests a connection between the gas flowing in the plane of M82 towards the center; this behavior most likely originates due to the presence of a bar and the outflow out of the plane.Comment: 45 pages, 11 figures and 6 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap

Mechanical characterisation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic acrylates used in intraocular lenses through depth sensing indentation

In this work, the mechanical behaviour of hydrophilic and hydrophobic acrylates has been characterised by depth sensing indentation. Time-dependent behaviour has been studied using load-relaxation tests. Experiments have been simulated with a finite element software using a visco-hyperelastic material model. The parameters of this model have been determined using deep learning techniques. The developed material models have been used to mechanically simulate a standard compression test of a prototype intraocular lens

TaskGenX: A Hardware-Software Proposal for Accelerating Task Parallelism

As chip multi-processors (CMPs) are becoming more and more complex, software solutions such as parallel programming models are attracting a lot of attention. Task-based parallel programming models offer an appealing approach to utilize complex CMPs. However, the increasing number of cores on modern CMPs is pushing research towards the use of fine grained parallelism. Task-based programming models need to be able to handle such workloads and offer performance and scalability. Using specialized hardware for boosting performance of task-based programming models is a common practice in the research community. Our paper makes the observation that task creation becomes a bottleneck when we execute fine grained parallel applications with many task-based programming models. As the number of cores increases the time spent generating the tasks of the application is becoming more critical to the entire execution. To overcome this issue, we propose TaskGenX. TaskGenX offers a solution for minimizing task creation overheads and relies both on the runtime system and a dedicated hardware. On the runtime system side, TaskGenX decouples the task creation from the other runtime activities. It then transfers this part of the runtime to a specialized hardware. We draw the requirements for this hardware in order to boost execution of highly parallel applications. From our evaluation using 11 parallel workloads on both symmetric and asymmetric multicore systems, we obtain performance improvements up to 15×, averaging to 3.1× over the baseline.This work has been supported by the RoMoL ERC Advanced Grant (GA 321253), by the European HiPEAC Network of Excellence, by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (contracts TIN2015-65316-P), by the Generalitat de Catalunya (contracts 2014-SGR-1051 and 2014-SGR-1272), and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 671697 and No. 779877. M. Moretó has been partially supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Ramon y Cajal fellowship number RYC-2016-21104. Finally, the authors would like to thank Thomas Grass for his valuable help with the simulator.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Validation of age determination using otoliths of the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) in the Bay of Biscay

Validation of the age determination procedure using otoliths of European anchovy in the Bay of Biscay was achieved by monitoring very strong year-classes in successive spring catches and surveys, as well as the seasonal occurrence of edge types. Historical corroboration of the ageing method was obtained by cross-correlation between successive age groups by year-classes in catches and surveys (1987–2013). Summary annual growth in length is also presented. Yearly annuli consist of a hyaline zone (either single or composite) and a wide opaque zone, disrupted occasionally by some typical checks (mainly at age-0 and age-1 at peak spawning time). Age determination, given a date of capture, requires knowledge of the typical annual growth pattern of otoliths, their seasonal edge formation by ages and the most typical checks. Most opaque growth occurs in summer and is minimal (translucent) in winter. Opaque zone formation begins earlier in younger fish (in spring), and this helps distinguish age-1 from age-2þ.Versión del edito

Entanglement and alpha entropies for a massive Dirac field in two dimensions

We present some exact results about universal quantities derived from the local density matrix, for a free massive Dirac field in two dimensions. We first find the trace of powers of the density matrix in a novel fashion, which involves the correlators of suitable operators in the sine-Gordon model. These, in turn, can be written exactly in terms of the solutions of non-linear differential equations of the Painlev\'e V type. Equipped with the previous results, we find the leading terms for the entanglement entropy, both for short and long distances, and showing that in the intermediate regime it can be expanded in a series of multiple integrals. The previous results have been checked by direct numerical calculations on the lattice, finding perfect agreement. Finally, we comment on a possible generalization of the entanglement entropy c-theorem to the alpha-entropies.Comment: Clarification in section 2, one reference added. 15 pages, 3 figure

From 10 Kelvin to 10 TeraKelvin: Insights on the Interaction Between Cosmic Rays and Gas in Starbursts

Recent work has both illuminated and mystified our attempts to understand cosmic rays (CRs) in starburst galaxies. I discuss my new research exploring how CRs interact with the ISM in starbursts. Molecular clouds provide targets for CR protons to produce pionic gamma rays and ionization, but those same losses may shield the cloud interiors. In the densest molecular clouds, gamma rays and Al-26 decay can provide ionization, at rates up to those in Milky Way molecular clouds. I then consider the free-free absorption of low frequency radio emission from starbursts, which I argue arises from many small, discrete H II regions rather than from a "uniform slab" of ionized gas, whereas synchrotron emission arises outside them. Finally, noting that the hot superwind gas phase fills most of the volume of starbursts, I suggest that it has turbulent-driven magnetic fields powered by supernovae, and that this phase is where most synchrotron emission arises. I show how such a scenario could explain the far-infrared radio correlation, in context of my previous work. A big issue is that radio and gamma-ray observations imply CRs also must interact with dense gas. Understanding how this happens requires a more advanced understanding of turbulence and CR propagation.Comment: Conference proceedings for "Cosmic-ray induced phenomenology in star-forming environments: Proceedings of the 2nd Session of the Sant Cugat Forum of Astrophysics" (April 16-19, 2012). 16 pages, 5 figure

Validation of age determination from Otoliths for Bay of Biscay anchovy

Comprehension of the annual pattern of annulus formation throughout the anchovy life span was first achieved from the observations of the strong 1982 year class which showed a neat annual progression of modal lengths passing through the fishery until the exceptional age of 5. Validation of the proposed method was subsequently obtained through monitoring of the progression of the strong 1987, 1989 and 1991 year-classes, both by spring annual surveys and by continuous sampling of the commercial catches, coupled to the monitoring of the seasonal marginal edge formation of the otoliths. Since then Age validation has been confirmed by the correlation between the pulses of recruitments (at age 1), as reflected in their relative occurrence in the population in Spring, and the abundance of those recruitments according to surveys. Typically, annual growth of anchovy otoliths of the one and two years old diminish to about 2/3-1/2 and 1/3 of that occurring in their previous ages respectively. Growth of older ages (three and four) are rather similar as, or slightly lesser than, at age 2. Maximum growth (white band formation) occurs in summer and growth detentions (with translucent annulus formation) in winter time. However the opaque edge formation begins sooner at the age of 1 (around February-March) than at older ages (May or June). During the first winter several translucent rings are occasionally formed resulting in a composite annulus formation. In addition during June/July, at peak spawning, a check is formed in many of the one year old anchovies. However, not all year classes, neither all anchovies lay down the same amount of checks and many of them may not show any. As such age determination requires the knowledge of the typical annual growth pattern of otoliths, of their seasonal edge formation by ages and of the most typical checks

A Multi-APD readout for EL detectors

Detectors with an electroluminesence readout show an excellence performance in respect of energy resolution making them interesting for various applications as X-ray detection, double beta and dark matter experiments, Compton and gamma cameras, etc. In the following the study of a readout based on avalanche photo diodes to detect directly the VUV photons is presented. Results of measurements with 5 APDs in xenon at pressures between 1 and 1.65 bar are shown indicating that such a readout can provide excellent energy and a moderate position resolution.Comment: Talk given at the 5th Symposium on Large TPCs for Low Energy Rare Events. Submitted to JPCS (Journal of Physics: Conference Series) for publication. 8 pages, 17 figure

The Vaccinia Virus (VACV) B1 and Cellular VRK2 Kinases Promote VACV Replication Factory Formation through Phosphorylation-Dependent Inhibition of VACV B12

Comparative examination of viral and host protein homologs reveals novel mechanisms governing downstream signaling effectors of both cellular and viral origin. The vaccinia virus B1 protein kinase is involved in promoting multiple facets of the virus life cycle and is a homolog of three conserved cellular enzymes called vaccinia virus-related kinases (VRKs). Recent evidence indicates that B1 and VRK2 mediate a common pathway that is largely uncharacterized but appears independent of previous VRK substrates. Interestingly, separate studies described a novel role for B1 in inhibiting vaccinia virus protein B12, which otherwise impedes an early event in the viral lifecycle. Herein, we characterize the B1/VRK2 signaling axis to better understand their shared functions. First, we demonstrate that vaccinia virus uniquely requires VRK2 for viral replication in the absence of B1, unlike other DNA viruses. Employing loss-of-function analysis, we demonstrate that vaccinia virus’s dependence on VRK2 is only observed in the presence of B12, suggesting that B1 and VRK2 share a pathway controlling B12. Moreover, we substantiate a B1/VRK2/B12 signaling axis by examining coprecipitation of B12 by B1 and VRK2. Employing execution point analysis, we reveal that virus replication proceeds normally through early protein translation and uncoating but stalls at replication factory formation in the presence of B12 activity. Finally, structure/function analyses of B1 and VRK2 demonstrate that enzymatic activity is essential for B1 or VRK2 to inhibit B12. Together, these data provide novel insights into B1/VRK signaling coregulation and support a model in which these enzymes modulate B12 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner