3,666 research outputs found
Nucleosynthesis in Outflows from the Inner Regions of Collapsars
We consider nucleosynthesis in outflows originating from the inner regions of
viscous accretion disks formed after the collapse of a rotating massive star.
We show that wind-like outflows driven by viscous and neutrino heating can
efficiently synthesize Fe-group elements moving at near-relativistic
velocities. The mass of 56Ni synthesized and the asymptotic velocities attained
in our calculations are in accord with those inferred from observations of
SN1998bw and SN2003dh. These steady wind-like outflows are generally proton
rich, characterized by only modest entropies, and consequently synthesize
essentially nothing heavier than the Fe-group elements. We also discuss
bubble-like outflows resulting from rapid energy deposition in localized
regions near or in the accretion disk. These intermittent ejecta emerge with
low electron fraction and are a promising site for the synthesis of the A=130
r-process peak elements.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures, added discussion of the influence of nuclear
recombination on wind dynamics, to appear in Ap
Inspecting Visual Mental Images: Can People "See" Implicit Properties as Easily in Imagery and Perception?
Can people "see" previously unnoticed properties in objects that they visualize, or are they locked into the organization of the pattern that was encoded during perception? To answer this question, we first asked a group to describe letters of the alphabet and found that some properties (such as the presence of a diagonal line) are often mentioned, whereas others (such as symmetry) are rarely if ever mentioned. Then we showed not only that other participants could correctly detect both kinds of properties in visualized letters, but also that the relative differences in the ease of detecting these two types of properties are highly similar in perception (when the letters are actually visible) and imagery (when the letters are merely visualized). These findings provide support for the view that images can be reinterpreted in ways much like what occurs during perception and speak to the wider issue of the long-standing debate about the format of mental images.Psycholog
Integrated Nucleosynthesis in Neutrino Driven Winds
Although they are but a small fraction of the mass ejected in core-collapse
supernovae, neutrino-driven winds (NDWs) from nascent proto-neutron stars
(PNSs) have the potential to contribute significantly to supernova
nucleosynthesis. In previous works, the NDW has been implicated as a possible
source of r-process and light p-process isotopes. In this paper we present
time-dependent hydrodynamic calculations of nucleosynthesis in the NDW which
include accurate weak interaction physics coupled to a full nuclear reaction
network. Using two published models of PNS neutrino luminosities, we predict
the contribution of the NDW to the integrated nucleosynthetic yield of the
entire supernova. For the neutrino luminosity histories considered, no true
r-process occurs in the most basic scenario. The wind driven from an older model for a PNS is moderately neutron-rich at late times however, and
produces Rb, Sr, Y, and Zr in near solar
proportions relative to oxygen. The wind from a more recently studied PNS is proton-rich throughout its entire evolution and does not
contribute significantly to the abundance of any element. It thus seems very
unlikely that the simplest model of the NDW can produce the r-process. At most,
it contributes to the production of the N = 50 closed shell elements and some
light p-nuclei. In doing so, it may have left a distinctive signature on the
abundances in metal poor stars, but the results are sensitive to both uncertain
models for the explosion and the masses of the neutron stars involved.Comment: 18 Pages, 14 Figures, Astrophysical Journal (Submitted 4/16/10
Explosive nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernovae
The specific mechanism and astrophysical site for the production of half of
the elements heavier than iron via rapid neutron capture (r-process) remains to
be found. In order to reproduce the abundances of the solar system and of the
old halo stars, at least two components are required: the heavy r-process
nuclei (A>130) and the weak r-process which correspond to the lighter heavy
nuclei (A<130). In this work, we present nucleosynthesis studies based on
trajectories of hydrodynamical simulations for core-collapse supernovae and
their subsequent neutrino-driven winds. We show that the weak r-process
elements can be produced in neutrino-driven winds and we relate their
abundances to the neutrino emission from the nascent neutron star. Based on the
latest hydrodynamical simulations, heavy r-process elements cannot be
synthesized in the neutrino-driven winds. However, by artificially increasing
the wind entropy, elements up to A=195 can be made. In this way one can mimic
the general behavior of an ejecta where the r-process occurs. We use this to
study the impact of the nuclear physics input (nuclear masses, neutron capture
cross sections, and beta-delayed neutron emission) and of the long-time
dynamical evolution on the final abundances.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, invited talk, INPC 2010 Vancouver, Journal of
Physics: Conference Serie
Nucleosynthesis in Early Neutrino Driven Winds
Nucleosynthesis in early neutrino winds is investigated. Presented is a brief
overview of two recent problems of supernova nucleosynthesis. In the first part
we investigate the effect of nuclear parameters on the synthesis of Mo92 and
Mo94. Based on recent experimental results, we find that the proton rich winds
of the model investigated here can not be the source of solar Mo92 and Mo94. In
the second part we investigate the nucleosynthesis from neutron rich bubbles
and show that they do not contribute to the overall nucleosynthesis.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, proceedings for CNR 2007 Compound-Nuclear
Reactions and Related Topics Worksho
The influence of collective neutrino oscillations on a supernova r-process
Recently, it has been demonstrated that neutrinos in a supernova oscillate
collectively. This process occurs much deeper than the conventional
matter-induced MSW effect and hence may have an impact on nucleosynthesis. In
this paper we explore the effects of collective neutrino oscillations on the
r-process, using representative late-time neutrino spectra and outflow models.
We find that accurate modeling of the collective oscillations is essential for
this analysis. As an illustration, the often-used "single-angle" approximation
makes grossly inaccurate predictions for the yields in our setup. With the
proper multiangle treatment, the effect of the oscillations is found to be less
dramatic, but still significant. Since the oscillation patterns are sensitive
to the details of the emitted fluxes and the sign of the neutrino mass
hierarchy, so are the r-process yields. The magnitude of the effect also
depends sensitively on the astrophysical conditions - in particular on the
interplay between the time when nuclei begin to exist in significant numbers
and the time when the collective oscillation begins. A more definitive
understanding of the astrophysical conditions, and accurate modeling of the
collective oscillations for those conditions, is necessary.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure
Milagrito: a TeV air-shower array
Milagrito, a large, covered water-Cherenkov detector, was the world's first
air-shower-particle detector sensitive to cosmic gamma rays below 1 TeV. It
served as a prototype for the Milagro detector and operated from February 1997
to May 1998. This paper gives a description of Milagrito, a summary of the
operating experience, and early results that demonstrate the capabilities of
this technique.Comment: 38 pages including 24 figure
MagA expression attenuates iron export activity in undifferentiated multipotent P19 cells
© 2019 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging modality used in longitudinal cell tracking. Previous studies suggest that MagA, a putative iron transport protein from magnetotactic bacteria, is a useful gene-based magnetic resonance contrast agent. Hem-agglutinin-tagged MagA was stably expressed in undifferentiated embryonic mouse teratocarcinoma, multipotent P19 cells to provide a suitable model for tracking these cells during differentiation. Western blot and immunocytochemistry confirmed the expression and membrane localization of MagA in P19 cells. Surprisingly, elemental iron analysis using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry revealed significant iron uptake in both parental and MagA-expressing P19 cells, cultured in the presence of iron-supplemented medium. Withdrawal of this extracellular iron supplement revealed unexpected iron export activity in P19 cells, which MagA expression attenuated. The influence of iron supplementation on parental and MagA-expressing cells was not reflected by longitudinal relaxation rates. Measurement of transverse relaxation rates (R2* and R2) reflected changes in total cellular iron content but did not clearly distinguish MagA-expressing cells from the parental cell type, despite significant differences in the uptake and retention of total cellular iron. Unlike other cell types, the reversible component R20 (R2* – R2) provided only a moderately strong correlation to amount of cellular iron, normalized to amount of protein. This is the first report to characterize MagA expression in a previously unrecognized iron exporting cell type. The interplay between contrast gene expression and systemic iron metabolism substantiates the potential for diverting cellular iron toward the formation of a novel iron compartment, however rudimentary when using a single magnetotactic bacterial gene expression system like magA. Since relatively few mammalian cells export iron, the P19 cell line provides a tractable model of ferroportin activity, suitable for magnetic resonance analysis of key iron-handling activities and their influence on gene-based MRI contrast
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