OP data on CD for mean opacities and radiative accelerations

All monochromatic opacity data from the Opacity Project (OP), together with all codes required for the calculation of mean opacities and radiative accelerations for any required chemical mixture, temperature and mass-density, are being put on a 700 Mb CD which will be made generally available. The present paper gives a concise summary of the contents of the CD. More complete documentation will be provided on the CD itself.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to MNRA

Photometric redshift of the GRB 981226 host galaxy

No optical afterglow was found for the dark burst GRB 981226 and hence no absorption redshift has been obtained. We here use ground-based and space imaging observations to analyse the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the host galaxy. By comparison with synthetic template spectra we determine the photometric redshift of the GRB 981226 host to be z_phot = 1.11+/-0.06 (68% confidence level). While the age-metallicity degeneracy for the host SED complicates the determination of accurate ages, metallicity, and extinction, the photometric redshift is robust. The inferred z_phot value is also robust compared to a Bayesian redshift estimator which gives z_phot=0.94+/-0.13. The characteristics for this host are similar to other GRB hosts previously examined. Available low resolution spectra show no emission lines at the expected wavelengths. The photometric redshift estimate indicates an isotropic energy release consistent with the Amati relation for this GRB which had a spectrum characteristic of an X-ray flash.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Multiwavelength Monitoring of the Dwarf Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 4395. IV. The Variable UV Absorption Lines

We report the detection of variable UV absorption lines in NGC 4395, based on UV observations with the HST STIS carried out in April and July, 2004, as part of a reverberation-mapping campaign. Low-ionization lines of O I, N I, Si II, C II, and Fe II, are present in the low-state spectra (April 2004) at a velocity v_shift=-250 km/s (system A_l), and additional high-ionization lines of C IV and N V appear in the high-state spectra (July 2004) at v_shift=-250 km/s (system A_h) and at v_shift=-840 km/s (system B). The absence of absorption from the low metastable levels of Si II implies a density <~10^3 cm^(-3) for system A_l, indicating a location outside the narrow line region (NLR). System A_h is peculiar as only N V absorption is clearly detected. A high N V/C IV absorption ratio is expected for a high metallicity absorber, but this is excluded here as the metallicity of the host galaxy and of the nuclear gas is significantly subsolar. A simple acceptable model for systems A_h and B is an absorber located between the broad line region (BLR) and the NLR, which absorbs only the continuum and the BLR. At the low-state the strong narrow emission lines of C IV and N V dominate the spectrum, making the absorption invisible. At the high-state the absorbed continuum and BLR emission dominate the spectrum. Thus, the change in the observed absorption does not reflect a change in the absorber, but rather a change in the continuum and BLR emission from behind the absorber, relative to the emission from the NLR in front of the absorber. Studies of the absorption line variability in highly variable objects can thus break the degeneracy in the absorber distance determination inherent to single epoch studies.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

OPserver: interactive online-computations of opacities and radiative accelerations

Codes to compute mean opacities and radiative accelerations for arbitrary chemical mixtures using the Opacity Project recently revised data have been restructured in a client--server architecture and transcribed as a subroutine library. This implementation increases efficiency in stellar modelling where element stratification due to diffusion processes is depth dependent, and thus requires repeated fast opacity reestimates. Three user modes are provided to fit different computing environments, namely a web browser, a local workstation and a distributed grid.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Driving and damping mechanisms in hybrid pressure-gravity modes pulsators

We study the energetic aspects of hybrid pressure-gravity modes pulsations. The case of hybrid beta Cephei-SPB pulsators is considered with special attention. In addition to the already known sensitivity of the driving mechanism to the heavy elements mixture (mainly the iron abundance), we show that the characteristics of the propagation and evanescent regions play also a major role, determining the extension of the stable gap in the frequency domain between the unstable low order pressure and high order gravity modes. Finally, we consider the case of hybrid delta Sct-gamma Dor pulsators.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, in the proceedings of the Helas II Conference: "Helioseismology, Asteroseismology and MHD Connections", Goettingen, August 200

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of 0.4<z<1.0 CFRS Galaxies: Oxygen Abundances, SFRs and Dust

Using new J-band VLT-ISAAC and Keck-NIRSPEC spectroscopy, we have measured Halpha and [NII] line fluxes for 0.47<z<0.92 CFRS galaxies which have [OII], Hbeta and [OIII]a line fluxes available from optical spectroscopy, to investigate how the properties of the star forming gas in galaxies evolve with redshift. We derive the extinction and oxygen abundances for the sample using a method based on a set of ionisation parameter and oxygen abundance diagnostics, simultaneously fitting the [OII], Hbeta,[OIII], Halpha, and [NII] line fluxes. The individual reddening measurements allow us to accurately correct the Halpha-based star formation rate (SFR) estimates for extinction. Our most salient conclusions are: a) in all 30 CFRS galaxies the source of gas ionisation is not due to AGN activity; b) we find a range of 0<AV<3, suggesting that it is important to determine the extinction for every single galaxy in order to reliably measure SFRs and oxygen abundances in high redshift galaxies; c) high values of [NII]/Halpha >0.1 for most (but not all) of the CFRS galaxies indicate that they lie on the high-metallicity branch of the R23 calibration; d) about one third of the 0.47<z<0.92 CFRS galaxies in our sample have lower metallicities than local galaxies with similar luminosities and star formation rates; e) comparison with a chemical evolution model indicates that these low metallicity galaxies are unlikely to be the progenitors of metal-poor dwarf galaxies at z~0.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Line emission from gamma-ray burst environments

The time and angle dependent line and continuum emission from a dense torus around a cosmological gamma-ray burst source is simulated, taking into account photoionization, collisional ionization, recombination, and electron heating and cooling due to various processes. The importance of the hydrodynamical interaction between the torus and the expanding blast wave is stressed. Due to the rapid deceleration of the blast wave as it interacts with the dense torus, the material in the torus will be illuminated by a drastically different photon spectrum than observable through a low-column-density line of sight, and will be heated by the hydrodynamical interaction between the blast wave and the torus. A model calculation to reproduce the Fe K-alpha line emission observed in the X-ray afterglow of GRB 970508 is presented. The results indicate that ~ 10^{-4} solar masses of iron must be concentrated in a region of less than 10^{-3} pc. The illumination of the torus material due to the hydrodynamic interaction of the blast wave with the torus is the dominant heating and ionization mechanism leading to the formation of the iron line. These results suggest that misaligned GRBs may be detectable as X-ray flashes with pronounced iron emission line features.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Updated recombination rate data; discussion on element abundances added; references update

HeII Recombination Lines From the First Luminous Objects

The hardness of the ionizing continuum from the first sources of UV radiation plays a crucial role in the reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM). While usual stellar populations have soft spectra, mini-quasars or metal-free stars with high effective temperatures may emit hard photons, capable of doubly ionizing helium and increasing the IGM temperature. Absorption within the source and in the intervening IGM will render the ionizing continuum of high-redshift sources inaccessible to direct observation. Here we show that HeII recombination lines from the first luminous objects are potentially detectable by the Next Generation Space Telescope. Together with measurements of the hydrogen Balmer alpha emission line, this detection can be used to infer the ratio of HeII to HI ionizing photons. A measurement of this ratio would shed light on the nature and emission mechanism of the first luminous sources, with important astrophysical consequences for the reheating and reionization of the IGM.Comment: ApJ published version. Due to an error in one of the references, the strength of the 1640 A line was underestimated in a previous version; this line is now brighter by a factor of 1

Validation and clinical application of molecular methods for the identification of molds in tissue

Background. Invasive fungal infections due to less-common molds are an increasing problem, and accurate diagnosis is difficult.Methods. We used our previously established molecular method, which allows species identification of molds in histological tissue sections, to test sequential specimens from 56 patients with invasive fungal infections who were treated at our institution from 1982 to 2000.Results. The validity of the method was demonstrated with the establishment of a molecular diagnosis in 52 cases (93%). Confirmation of the causative organism was made in all cases in which a mold had been cultured from the tissue specimen. Less-common molds were identified in 7% of cases and appear to be an increasing problem.Conclusions. Our previously established method has proven to be of value in determining the incidence of invasive infection caused by less-common molds. Institutions should continue to pursue diagnosis of invasive fungal infections by means of tissue culture and microbiologic analysis

Large-scale Breit-Pauli R-matrix calculations for transition probabilities of Fe V

Ab initio theoretical calculations are reported for the electric (E1) dipole allowed and intercombination fine structure transitions in Fe V using the Breit-Pauli R-matrix (BPRM) method. We obtain 3865 bound fine structure levels of Fe V and $1.46 x 10^6$ oscillator strengths, Einstein A-coefficients and line strengths. In addition to the relativistic effects, the intermediate coupling calculations include extensive electron correlation effects that represent the complex configuration interaction (CI). Fe V bound levels are obtained with angular and spin symmetries $SL\pi$ and $J\pi$ of the (e + Fe VI) system such that $2S+1$ = 5,3,1, $L \leq$ 10, $J \leq 8$. The bound levels are obtained as solutions of the Breit-Pauli (e + ion) Hamiltonian for each $J\pi$, and are designated according to the `collision' channel quantum numbers. A major task has been the identification of these large number of bound fine structure levels in terms of standard spectroscopic designations. A new scheme, based on the analysis of quantum defects and channel wavefunctions, has been developed. The identification scheme aims particularly to determine the completeness of the results in terms of all possible bound levels for applications to analysis of experimental measurements and plasma modeling. An uncertainty of 10-20% for most transitions is estimated.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure, Physica Scripta (in press