An ellipsometric study of protein adsorption at the saliva-air interface

At the liquid-air interface of human saliva a protein layer is adsorbed. From ellipsometric measurements it was found that the thickness of the surface layer ranged from 400 to 3600 Å and the amount of protein material adsorbed was 9–340 mg/m2. Based on the concentration of protein in the layer the samples could be classified into two groups: a low concentration (ca. 0.15 g/ml) and a high concentration (0.7–1.1 g/ml). In the low concentration group the surface layers appeared to be thin (500–600 Å) while those in the high concentration group appeared to be much thicker (1000–3500 Å). A correlation between the bulk pH and the thickness of the surface layer could be established

Rheological properties of human saliva

From measurements with a Couette-type viscometer provided with a guard ring it was shown that at the saliva-air interface a protein layer is adsorbed. Measurements of the surface shear modulus of this layer on saliva of 7 healthy subjects were performed at a frequency of about 70 Hz and a temperature of 25 °C. For a surface age of about 1.5 h the surface shear modulus and the surface viscosity were in the order of 1 Nm−1 and 10−3 Nm−1 s, respectively. From ellipsometric measurements it was found that the thickness of the protein layer was approx. 100nm and, using this value, it could be concluded that the shear modulus and the dynamic viscosity were in the order of 107 Pa and 104 Pa s, respectively. The layer appeared to be fragile. Even shear deformation amplitudes of 4 × 10−5 are too high to assure linearity. The complex viscosity (η = η′ − iη′′) of the bulk liquid of human submandibular saliva below the absorbed layer was measured in the frequency range 70 Hz–200 kHz with 3 torsional resonators, each for a different frequency, and a Ni-tube resonator. It was concluded, that the real part of the complex viscosity (η′) decreases from 1.1 mPa s at 70 Hz to a value of 0.95 mPa s at high frequencies. Except at the lowest frequency (70 Hz), the value of η′′ was too small to be detected

Growing and moving low-mass planets in non-isothermal disks

We study the interaction of a low-mass planet with a protoplanetary disk with a realistic treatment of the energy balance by doing radiation-hydrodynamical simulations. We look at accretion and migration rates and compare them to isothermal studies. We used a three-dimensional version of the hydrodynamical method RODEO, together with radiative transport in the flux-limited diffusion approach. The accretion rate, as well as the torque on the planet, depend critically on the ability of the disk to cool efficiently. For densities appropriate to 5 AU in the solar nebula, the accretion rate drops by more than an order of magnitude compared to isothermal models, while at the same time the torque on the planet is positive, indicating outward migration. It is necessary to lower the density by a factor of 2 to recover inward migration and more than 2 orders of magnitude to recover the usual Type I migration. The torque appears to be proportional to the radial entropy gradient in the unperturbed disk. These findings are critical for the survival of protoplanets, and they should ultimately find their way into population synthesis models.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Hydrodynamical Models of Outflow Collimation in YSOs

We explore the physics of time-dependent hydrodynamic collimation of jets from Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). Using parameters appropriate to YSOs we have carried out high resolution hydrodynamic simulations modeling the interaction of a central wind with an environment characterized by a moderate opening angle toroidal density distribution. The results show that the the wind/environment interaction produces strongly collimated supersonic jets. The jet is composed of shocked wind gas. Using analytical models of wind blown bubble evolution we show that the scenario studied here should be applicable to YSOs and can, in principle, initiate collimation on the correct scales (R ~ 100 AU). The simulations reveal a number of time-dependent non-linear features not anticipated in previous analytical studies including: a prolate wind shock; a chimney of cold swept-up ambient material dragged into the bubble cavity; a plug of dense material between the jet and bow shocks. We find that the collimation of the jet occurs through both de Laval nozzles and focusing of the wind via the prolate wind shock. Using an analytical model for shock focusing we demonstrate that a prolate wind shock can, by itself, produce highly collimated supersonic jets.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 31 pages with 12 figures (3 JPEG's) now included, using aasms.sty, Also available in postscript via a gzipped tar file at ftp://s1.msi.umn.edu/pub/afrank/SFIC1/SFIC.tar.g

Planets opening dust gaps in gas disks

We investigate the interaction of gas and dust in a protoplanetary disk in the presence of a massive planet using a new two-fluid hydrodynamics code. In view of future observations of planet-forming disks we focus on the condition for gap formation in the dust fluid. While only planets more massive than 1 Jupiter mass (MJ) open up a gap in the gas disk, we find that a planet of 0.1 MJ already creates a gap in the dust disk. This makes it easier to find lower-mass planets orbiting in their protoplanetary disk if there is a significant population of mm-sized particles.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter

Observational Study of the Multistructured Planetary Nebula NGC 7354

We present an observational study of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7354 consisting of narrowband Halpha and [NII]6584 imaging as well as low- and high-dispersion long-slit spectroscopy and VLA-D radio continuum. According to our imaging and spectroscopic data, NGC 7354 has four main structures: a quite round outer shell and an elliptical inner shell, a collection of low-excitation bright knots roughly concentrated on the equatorial region of the nebula, and two symmetrical jet-like features, not aligned either with the shells' axes, or with each other. We have obtained physical parameters like electron temperature and electron density as well as ionic and elemental abundances for these different structures. Electron temperature and electron density slightly vary throughout the nebula. The local extinction coefficient c_Hbeta shows an increasing gradient from south to north and a decreasing gradient from east to west consistent with the number of equatorial bright knots present in each direction. Abundance values show slight internal variations but most of them are within the estimated uncertainties. In general, abundance values are in good agreement with the ones expected for PNe. Radio continuum data are consistent with optically thin thermal emission. We have used the interactive three-dimensional modeling tool SHAPE to reproduce the observed morphokinematic structures in NGC 7354 with different geometrical components. Our SHAPE model is in very good agreement with our imaging and spectroscopic observations. Finally, after modeling NGC 7354 with SHAPE, we suggest a possible scenario for the formation of the nebula.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ, 12 pages, 8 figure

RODEO: a new method for planet-disk interaction

In this paper we describe a new method for studying the hydrodynamical problem of a planet embedded in a gaseous disk. We use a finite volume method with an approximate Riemann solver (the Roe solver), together with a special way to integrate the source terms. This new source term integration scheme sheds new light on the Coriolis instability, and we show that our method does not suffer from this instability. The first results on flow structure and gap formation are presented, as well as accretion and migration rates. For Mpl < 0.1 M_J and Mpl > 1.0 M_J (M_J = Jupiter's mass) the accretion rates do not depend sensitively on numerical parameters, and we find that within the disk's lifetime a planet can grow to 3-4 M_J. In between these two limits numerics play a major role, leading to differences of more than 50 % for different numerical parameters. Migration rates are not affected by numerics at all as long as the mass inside the Roche lobe is not considered. We can reproduce the Type I and Type II migration for low-mass and high-mass planets, respectively, and the fastest moving planet of 0.1 M_J has a migration time of only 2.0 10^4 yr.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Stellar Outflows Driven by Magnetized Wide-Angle Winds

We present two-dimensional, cylindrically symmetric simulations of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wide-angle winds interacting with a collapsing environment. These simulations have direct relevance to young stellar objects (YSOs). The results may also be of use in the study of collimated outflows from proto-planetary and planetary nebulae. We study a range of wind configurations consistent with asymptotic MHD wind collimation. The degree of collimation is parameterized by the ratio of the wind density at the pole to that of the equator. We find that a toroidal magnetic field can have a significant influence on the resulting outflow, giving rise to a very dense, jet-like flow in the post-shock region. The properties of the flow in this region are similar to the asymptotic state of a collimated MHD wind. We conclude that wide-angle MHD winds are quite likely capable of driving molecular outflows. Due to difficulty in treating MHD winds ab-initio in simulations we choose magnetic field strengths in the wind consistent slow magnetic rotators. While MHD launched winds will be in the fast rotator regime we discuss how our results, which rely on toroidal pinch effects, will hold for stronger field strengths

Knots in the outer shells of the planetary nebulae IC 2553 and NGC 5882

We present images and high-resolution spectra of the planetary nebulae IC 2553 and NGC 5882. Spatio-kinematic modeling of the nebulae shows that they are composed of a markedly elongated inner shell, and of a less aspherical outer shell expanding at a considerably higher velocity than the inner one. Embedded in the outer shells of both nebulae are found several low-ionization knots. In IC 2553, the knots show a point-symmetric distribution with respect to the central star: one possible explanation for their formation is that they are the survivors of pre-existing point-symmetric condensations in the AGB wind, a fact which would imply a quite peculiar mass-loss geometry from the giant progenitor. In the case of NGC 5882, the lack of symmetry in the distribution of the observed low-ionization structures makes it possible that they are the result of in situ instabilities.Comment: 20 pages including 1 table and 6 figures. ApJ accepted. Also available at http://andromeda.roque.ing.iac.es/~sanchez/ingpub/index2000.htm