800 research outputs found
More Evidence for an Oscillation Superimposed on the Hubble Flow
In a recent investigation evidence was presented for a low-level sinusoidal
oscillation superimposed on top of the Hubble flow. This oscillation was in
V, in a sample of type Ia Supernovae sources with accurate distances,
and it was found to have a wavelength close to 40 Mpc. It became easily visible
after the removal of several previously identified discrete velocity
components. Its amplitude like that of the Hubble velocity showed an increase
with distance, as would be expected for a constant-amplitude space oscillation.
Here we report that this oscillation is also present in distance clumping in
these sources, with the same wavelength, but in phase quadrature. The discrete
velocity components do not play a role in detecting the distance clumping
wavelength. Assuming that time proceeds from high cosmological redshift to low,
the blue-shifted velocity peaks, which represent the contraction stage of the
velocity oscillation, then lead the density peaks. With the discrete velocity
components removed we also find evidence for at least one other, weaker
velocity oscillation. It is found to have a wavelength similar to one reported
in density clumping by previous investigators. In those cases the source
samples were much larger.Comment: 7 pages, with 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
On The Depolarization Asymmetry Seen in Giant Radio Lobes
The depolarization asymmetry seen in double-lobed radio sources, referred to
as the Laing-Garrington (L-G) effect where more rapid depolarization is seen in
the lobe with no visible jet as the wavelength increases, can be explained
either by internal differences between the two lobes, or by an external Faraday
screen that lies in front of only the depolarized lobe. If the jet
one-sidedness is due to relativistic beaming the depolarization asymmetry must
be due to an intervening Faraday screen. If it is intrinsic the depolarization
asymmetry must be related to internal differences in the lobes. We assume in
this paper that the speed in the outer jet of several Fanaroff-Riley Class 1
(FRI) sources exhibiting the L-G effect is close to the 0.1c reported by
several other investigators. For these sources we find that the jet
one-sidedness cannot be explained by beaming and therefore must be intrinsic.
In these FRI sources the L-G effect must be due to differences that originate
inside the lobes themselves. Although it is not known if the flow in the outer
jets of FRII sources also slows to this speed it is suggested that the
explanation of the L-G effect is likely to be the same in both types. This
argument is strengthened by the recent evidence that FRII galaxies have very
large viewing angles, which in turn implies that the L-G model cannot work
regardless of the jet velocity. It may therefore be too soon to completely rule
out internal depolarization in the lobes as the true explanation for the L-G
effect.Comment: 8 pages with 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap&S
Impact of ocean acidification on a key Arctic pelagic mollusc (Limacina helicina)
Thecosome pteropods (shelled pelagic molluscs) can play an important role in the food web of various ecosystems and play a key role in the cycling of carbon and carbonate. Since they harbor an aragonitic shell, they could be very sensitive to ocean acidification driven by the increase of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The impact of changes in the carbonate chemistry was investigated on Limacina helicina, a key species of Arctic ecosystems. Pteropods were kept in culture under controlled pH conditions corresponding to pCO2 levels of 350 and 760 Ī¼atm. Calcification was estimated using a fluorochrome and the radioisotope 45Ca. It exhibits a 28% decrease at the pH value expected for 2100 compared to the present pH value. This result supports the concern for the future of pteropods in a high-CO2 world, as well as of those species dependent upon them as a food resource. A decline of their populations would likely cause dramatic changes to the structure, function and services of polar ecosystems
Perfluorodecalin and bone regeneration
Perfluorodecalin (PFD) is a chemically and biologically inert biomaterial and, as many perfluorocarbons, is also hydrophobic, radiopaque and has a high solute capacity for gases such as oxygen. In this article we have demonstrated, both in vitro and in vivo, that PFD may significantly enhance bone regeneration. Firstly, the potential benefit of PFD was demonstrated by prolonging the survival of bone marrow cells cultured in anaerobic conditions. These findings translated in vivo, where PFD incorporated into bone-marrow-loaded 3D-printed scaffolds substantially improved their capacity to regenerate bone. Secondly, in addition to biological applications, we have also shown that PFD improves the radiopacity of bone regeneration biomaterials, a key feature required for the visualisation of biomaterials during and after surgical implantation. Finally, we have shown how the extreme hydrophobicity of PFD enables the fabrication of highly cohesive self-setting injectable biomaterials for bone regeneration. In conclusion, perfluorocarbons would appear to be highly beneficial additives to a number of regenerative biomaterials, especially those for bone regeneration
Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in the Southern Ocean
The carbonate chemistry of the surface ocean is rapidly
changing with ocean acidification, a result of human activities. In the upper layers of the Southern Ocean, aragoniteāa metastable form of calcium carbonate with rapid dissolution kineticsāmay become undersaturated by 2050 (ref. 2). Aragonite undersaturation is likely to affect aragonite-shelled organisms, which can dominate surface water communities in polar regions. Here we present analyses of specimens of the pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica that were extracted live from the Southern Ocean early in 2008. We sampled from the top 200m of the water column, where aragonite saturation levels were around 1, as upwelled deep water is mixed with surface water containing anthropogenic CO2. Comparing the shell structure with samples from aragonite-supersaturated regions elsewhere under a scanning electron microscope, we found severe levels of shell dissolution in the undersaturated region alone. According to laboratory incubations of intact samples with a range of aragonite saturation levels, eight days of incubation in aragonite saturation levels of 0.94ā
1.12 produces equivalent levels of dissolution. As deep-water upwelling and CO2 absorption by surface waters is likely to increase as a result of human activities2,4, we conclude that upper ocean regions where aragonite-shelled organisms are affected by dissolution are likely to expand
The Point of Origin of the Radio Radiation from the Unresolved Cores of Radio-Loud Quasars
Locating the exact point of origin of the core radiation in active galactic
nuclei (AGN) would represent important progress in our understanding of
physical processes in the central engine of these objects. However, due to our
inability to resolve the region containing both the central compact object and
the jet base, this has so far been difficult. Here, using an analysis in which
the lack of resolution does not play a significant role, we demonstrate that it
may be impossible even in most radio loud sources for more than a small
percentage of the core radiation at radio wavelengths to come from the jet
base. We find for 3C279 that percent of the core flux at 15 GHz must
come from a separate, reasonably stable, region that is not part of the jet
base, and that then likely radiates at least quasi-isotropically and is
centered on the black hole. The long-term stability of this component also
suggests that it may originate in a region that extends over many Schwarzschild
radii.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
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