Exploring cloudy gas accretion as a source of interstellar turbulence in the outskirts of disks

High--resolution 2D--MHD numerical simulations have been carried out to investigate the effects of continuing infall of clumpy gas in extended HI galactic disks. Given a certain accretion rate, the response of the disk depends on its surface gas density and temperature. For Galactic conditions at a galactocentric distance of ~20 kpc, and for mass accretion rates consistent with current empirical and theoretical determinations in the Milky Way, the rain of compact high velocity clouds onto the disk can maintain transonic turbulent motions in the warm phase (~2500 K) of HI. Hence, the HI line width is expected to be ~6.5 km/s for a gas layer at 2500 K, if infall were the only mechanism of driving turbulence. Some statistical properties of the resulting forcing flow are shown in this Letter. The radial dependence of the gas velocity dispersion is also discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Bounds on the mass and abundance of dark compact objects and black holes in dwarf spheroidal galaxy halos

We establish new dynamical constraints on the mass and abundance of compact objects in the halo of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. In order to preserve kinematically cold the second peak of the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal (UMi dSph) against gravitational scattering, we place upper limits on the density of compact objects as a function of their assumed mass. The mass of the dark matter constituents cannot be larger than 1000 solar masses at a halo density in UMi's core of 0.35 solar masses/pc^3. This constraint rules out a scenario in which dark halo cores are formed by two-body relaxation processes. Our bounds on the fraction of dark matter in compact objects with masses >3000 solar masses improve those based on dynamical arguments in the Galactic halo. In particular, objects with masses $\sim 10^{5}$ solar masses can comprise no more than a halo mass fraction $\sim 0.01$. Better determinations of the velocity dispersion of old overdense regions in dSphs may result in more stringent constraints on the mass of halo objects. For illustration, if the preliminary value of 0.5 km/s for the secondary peak of UMi is confirmed, compact objects with masses above $\sim 100$ solar masses could be excluded from comprising all its dark matter halo.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

On the fraction of dark matter in charged massive particles (CHAMPs)

From various cosmological, astrophysical and terrestrial requirements, we derive conservative upper bounds on the present-day fraction of the mass of the Galactic dark matter (DM) halo in charged massive particles (CHAMPs). If dark matter particles are neutral but decay lately into CHAMPs, the lack of detection of heavy hydrogen in sea water and the vertical pressure equilibrium in the Galactic disc turn out to put the most stringent bounds. Adopting very conservative assumptions about the recoiling velocity of CHAMPs in the decay and on the decay energy deposited in baryonic gas, we find that the lifetime for decaying neutral DM must be > (0.9-3.4)x 10^3 Gyr. Even assuming the gyroradii of CHAMPs in the Galactic magnetic field are too small for halo CHAMPs to reach Earth, the present-day fraction of the mass of the Galactic halo in CHAMPs should be < (0.4-1.4)x 10^{-2}. We show that redistributing the DM through the coupling between CHAMPs and the ubiquitous magnetic fields cannot be a solution to the cuspy halo problem in dwarf galaxies.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures. To appear in JCA

Ordinal and nominal classication of wind speed from synoptic pressure patterns

Wind speed reconstruction is a challenging problem in areas (mainly wind farms) where there are not direct wind measures available. Di erent approaches have been applied to this reconstruction, such as measure-correlatepredict algorithms, approaches based on physical models such as reanalysis methods, or more recently, indirect measures such as pressure, and its relation to wind speed. This paper adopts the latter method, and deals with wind speed estimation in wind farms from pressure measures, but including different novelties in the problem treatment. Existing synoptic pressure-based indirect approaches for wind speed estimation are based on considering the wind speed as a continuous target variable, estimating then the corresponding wind series of continuous values. However, the exact wind speed is not always needed by wind farms managers, and a general idea of the level of speed is, in the majority of cases, enough to set functional operations for the farm (such as wind turbines stop, for example). Moreover, the accuracy of the models obtained is usually improved for the classi cation task, given that the problem is simpli ed. Thus, this paper tackles the problem of wind speed prediction from synoptic pressure patterns by considering wind speed as a discrete variable and, consequently, wind speed prediction as a classi cation problem, with four wind level categories: low, moderate, high or very high. Moreover, taking into account that these four di erent classes are associated to four values in an ordinal scale, the problem can be considered as an ordinal regression problem. The performance of several ordinal and nominal classi- ers and the improvement achieved by considering the ordering information are evaluated. The results obtained in this paper present the Support Vector Machine as the best tested classi er for this task. In addition, the use of the intrinsic ordering information of the problem is shown to signi cantly improve ranks with respect to nominal classi cation, although di erences in accuracy are smal

ZnO-mesoporous glass scaffolds loaded with osteostatin and mesenchymal cells improve bone healing in a rabbit bone defect

The use of 3D scaffolds based on mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBG) enhanced with therapeutic ions, biomolecules and cells is emerging as a strategy to improve bone healing. In this paper, the osteogenic capability of ZnO-enriched MBG scaffolds loaded or not with osteostatin (OST) and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was evaluated after implantation in New Zealand rabbits. Cylindrical meso-macroporous scaffolds with composition (mol %) 82.2SiO2–10.3CaO–3.3P2O5–4.2ZnO (4ZN) were obtained by rapid prototyping and then, coated with gelatin for easy handling and potentiating the release of inorganic ions and OST. Bone defects (7.5 mm diameter, 12 mm depth) were drilled in the distal femoral epiphysis and filled with 4ZN, 4ZN + MSC, 4ZN + OST or 4ZN + MSC + OST materials to evaluate and compare their osteogenic features. Rabbits were sacrificed at 3 months extracting the distal third of bone specimens for necropsy, histological, and microtomography (µCT) evaluations. Systems investigated exhibited bone regeneration capability. Thus, trabecular bone volume density (BV/TV) values obtained from µCT showed that the good bone healing capability of 4ZN was significantly improved by the scaffolds coated with OST and MSC. Our findings in vivo suggest the interest of these MBG complete systems to improve bone repair in the clinical practice

Formulation and constraints on decaying dark matter with finite mass daughter particles

Decaying dark matter cosmological models have been proposed to remedy the overproduction problem at small scales in the standard cold dark matter paradigm. We consider a decaying dark matter model in which one CDM mother particle decays into two daughter particles, with arbitrary masses. A complete set of Boltzmann equations of dark matter particles is derived which is necessary to calculate the evolutions of their energy densities and their density perturbations. By comparing the expansion history of the universe in this model and the free-streaming scale of daughter particles with astronomical observational data, we give constraints on the lifetime of the mother particle, $\Gamma^{-1}$, and the mass ratio between the daughter and the mother particles $m_{\rm D}/m_{\rm M}$. From the distance to the last scattering surface of the cosmic microwave background, we obtain $\Gamma^{-1}>$ 30 Gyr in the massless limit of daughter particles and, on the other hand, we obtain $m_{\rm D} >$ 0.97$m_{\rm M}$ in the limit $\Gamma^{-1}\to 0$. The free-streaming constraint tightens the bound on the mass ratio as $(\Gamma^{-1}/10^{-2}{\rm Gyr}) \lesssim ((1-m_{\rm D1}/m_{\rm M})/10^{-2})^{-3/2}$ for $\Gamma^{-1} < H^{-1}(z=3)$.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Efecto del estrés osmótico sobre el desarrollo in vitro de plántulas de albahaca Ocimum basilicum L.

Se prepararon medios de cultivo adicionados con Polietilenglicol (PEG) y solución salina (NaCl) correspondientes a los tratamientos de sequia (2%, 4% y 6% PEG 3350) y salinidad (25mM, 50mM y 75mM NaCl), en los cuales se colocaron semillas de albahaca previamente desinfectadas. Se colocaron en una Cámara Bioclimática (Lab-Line) bajo condiciones de 12 h luz y 27oC. A los 30 días de su siembra se evaluó el porcentaje de germinación, altura de plántula, longitud de raíz, número de hojas, tamaño de la hoja, peso fresco, peso seco y contenido de prolina libre como indicador de estrés. El porcentaje de germinación y el número de hojas no presentan diferencia significativa entre los tratamientos de sequía y salinidad. Mientras que en el resto de los parámetros, se presentó diferencia significativa entre los tratamientos. Evidenciando que las plántulas expuestas a deficiencias hídricas responden positivamente en su desarrollo a estas condiciones de estrés

Local Group Dwarf Spheroidals: Correlated Deviations from the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation

Local Group dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies are the faintest extragalactic stellar systems known. We examine recent data for these objects in the plane of the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation (BTFR). While some dwarf spheroidals adhere to the BTFR, others deviate substantially. We examine the residuals from the BTFR and find that they are not random. The residuals correlate with luminosity, size, metallicity, ellipticity, and susceptibility of the dwarfs to tidal disruption in the sense that fainter, more elliptical, and tidally more susceptible dwarfs deviate farther from the BTFR. These correlations disfavor stochastic processes and suggest a role for tidal effects. We identify a test to distinguish between the {\Lambda}CDM and MOND based on the orbits of the dwarf satellites of the Milky Way and how stars are lost from them.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to ApJ. Revised in response to referee repor

Understanding local Dwarf Spheroidals and their scaling relations under MOdified Newtonian Dynamics

We use a specific form of the interpolation function in the MOND formalism, which optimally accounts for the internal structure of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies, to explore the consequences it has on the scaling relations seen in these systems.}} {{The particular form of the interpolation function we used leads to a law of gravity that does not degrade the good fit of the MOND proposal on galactic scales, and in fact, slightly improves the accordance with observations at dSph scales. This formalism yields a good description of gravitational phenomena without the need of invoking any still undetected and hypothetically dominant dark matter, in the weak field regime probed by local dSph galaxies.}} {{Isothermal equilibrium density profiles then yield projected surface density profiles for the local dSph galaxies in very good agreement with observational determinations, for values of the relevant parameters as inferred from recent observations of these Galactic satellites. The observed scaling relations for these systems are also naturally accounted for within the proposed scheme, including a previously unrecognised correlation of the inferred mass-to-light ratios of local dSph's with the ages of their stellar populations, which is natural in modified gravity schemes in the absence of dark matter.}} {The results shed some light on the form that the MOND interpolating function may have in the most challenging regime, which occurs at moderate accelerations and intermediate mass--weighted lengths.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Copy matches published versio