2,789 research outputs found
Mapping the interstellar medium in galaxies with Herschel/SPIRE
The standard method of mapping the interstellar medium in a galaxy, by observing the molecular gas in the CO 1-0 line and the atomic gas in the 21-cm line, is largely limited with current telescopes to galaxies in the nearby universe. In this letter, we use SPIRE observations of the galaxies
M99 and M100 to explore the alternative approach of mapping the interstellar medium using the continuum emission from the dust. We have compared the methods by measuring the relationship between the star-formation rate and the surface density of gas in the galaxies using both
methods. We find the two methods give relationships with a similar dispersion, confirming that observing the continuum emission from the dust is a promising method of mapping the interstellar medium in galaxies
1/f noise of Josephson-junction-embedded microwave resonators at single photon energies and millikelvin temperatures
We present measurements of 1/f frequency noise in both linear and
Josephson-junction-embedded superconducting aluminum resonators in the low
power, low temperature regime - typical operating conditions for
superconducting qubits. The addition of the Josephson junction does not result
in additional frequency noise, thereby placing an upper limit for fractional
critical current fluctuations of (Hz) at 1 Hz for
sub-micron, shadow evaporated junctions. These values imply a minimum dephasing
time for a superconducting qubit due to critical current noise of 40 -- 1400
s depending on qubit architecture. Occasionally, at temperatures above 50
mK, we observe the activation of individual fluctuators which increase the
level of noise significantly and exhibit Lorentzian spectra
What is the contribution of physician associates in hospital care in England? A mixed methods, multiple case study.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the deployment of physician associates (PAs); the factors supporting and inhibiting their employment and their contribution and impact on patients' experience and outcomes and the organisation of services. DESIGN: Mixed methods within a case study design, using interviews, observations, work diaries and documentary analysis. SETTING: Six acute care hospitals in three regions of England in 2016-2017. PARTICIPANTS: 43 PAs, 77 other health professionals, 28 managers, 28 patients and relatives. RESULTS: A key influencing factor supporting the employment of PAs in all settings was a shortage of doctors. PAs were found to be acceptable, appropriate and safe members of the medical/surgical teams by the majority of doctors, managers and nurses. They were mainly deployed to undertake inpatient ward work in the medical/surgical team during core weekday hours. They were reported to positively contribute to: continuity within their medical/surgical team, patient experience and flow, inducting new junior doctors, supporting the medical/surgical teams' workload, which released doctors for more complex patients and their training. The lack of regulation and attendant lack of authority to prescribe was seen as a problem in many but not all specialties. The contribution of PAs to productivity and patient outcomes was not quantifiable separately from other members of the team and wider service organisation. Patients and relatives described PAs positively but most did not understand who and what a PA was, often mistaking them for doctors. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers new insights concerning the deployment and contribution of PAs in medical and surgical specialties in English hospitals. PAs provided a flexible addition to the secondary care workforce without drawing from existing professions. Their utility in the hospital setting is unlikely to be completely realised without the appropriate level of regulation and authority to prescribe medicines and order ionising radiation within their scope of practice
K-Band Spectroscopy of an Obscured Massive Stellar Cluster in the Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/4039) with NIRSPEC
We present infrared spectroscopy of the Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/4039)
with NIRSPEC at the W. M. Keck Observatory. We imaged the star clusters in the
vicinity of the southern nucleus (NGC 4039) in 0.39" seeing in K-band using
NIRSPEC's slit-viewing camera. The brightest star cluster revealed in the
near-IR (M_K(0) = -17.9) is insignificant optically, but coincident with the
highest surface brightness peak in the mid-IR (12-18 um) ISO image presented by
Mirabel et al (1998). We obtained high signal-to-noise 2.03-2.45 um spectra of
the nucleus and the obscured star cluster at R = 1900.
The cluster is very young (age ~ 4 Myr), massive (M ~ 16E6 M_sun), and
compact (density ~ 115 M_sun pc^(-3) within a 32 pc half-light radius),
assuming a Salpeter IMF (0.1-100 M_sun). Its hot stars have a radiation field
characterized by T_eff ~ 39,000 K, and they ionize a compact HII region with
n_e ~ 10^4 cm^(-3). The stars are deeply embedded in gas and dust (A_V = 9-10
mag), and their strong FUV field powers a clumpy photodissociation region with
densities n_H > 10^5 cm^(-3) on scales of ~ 200 pc, radiating L{H_2 1-0 S(1)}=
9600 L_sun.Comment: 4 pages, 4 embedded figures, uses emulateapj.sty. To appear in ApJL.
Also available at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~agilber
The complexity of parsec-scaled dusty tori in AGN
Warm gas and dust surround the innermost regions of active galactic nuclei
(AGN). They provide the material for accretion onto the super-massive black
hole and they are held responsible for the orientation-dependent obscuration of
the central engine. The AGN-heated dust distributions turn out to be very
compact with sizes on scales of about a parsec in the mid-infrared. Only
infrared interferometry currently provides the necessary angular resolution to
directly study the physical properties of this dust. Size estimates for the
dust distributions derived from interferometric observations can be used to
construct a size--luminosity relation for the dust distributions. The large
scatter about this relation suggests significant differences between the dust
tori in the individual galaxies, even for nuclei of the same class of objects
and with similar luminosities. This questions the simple picture of the same
dusty doughnut in all AGN. The Circinus galaxy is the closest Seyfert 2 galaxy.
Because its mid-infrared emission is well resolved interferometrically, it is a
prime target for detailed studies of its nuclear dust distribution. An
extensive new interferometric data set was obtained for this galaxy. It shows
that the dust emission comes from a very dense, disk-like structure which is
surrounded by a geometrically thick, similarly warm dust distribution as well
as significant amounts of warm dust within the ionisation cone.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
"The central kiloparsec in Galactic Nuclei: Astronomy at High Angular
Resolution 2011", open access Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS),
published by IOP Publishin
- …