8,008 research outputs found
Effect of UV Radiation on the Spectral Fingerprints of Earth-like Planets Orbiting M dwarfs
We model the atmospheres and spectra of Earth-like planets orbiting the
entire grid of M dwarfs for active and inactive stellar models with =
2300K to = 3800K and for six observed MUSCLES M dwarfs with UV
radiation data. We set the Earth-like planets at the 1AU equivalent distance
and show spectra from the VIS to IR (0.4m - 20m) to compare
detectability of features in different wavelength ranges with JWST and other
future ground- and spaced-based missions to characterize exo-Earths. We focus
on the effect of UV activity levels on detectable atmospheric features that
indicate habitability on Earth, namely: HO, O, CH, NO and
CHCl.
To observe signatures of life - O/O in combination with reducing
species like CH, we find that early and active M dwarfs are the best
targets of the M star grid for future telescopes. The O spectral feature at
0.76m is increasingly difficult to detect in reflected light of later M
dwarfs due to low stellar flux in that wavelength region. NO, another
biosignature detectable in the IR, builds up to observable concentrations in
our planetary models around M dwarfs with low UV flux. CHCl could become
detectable, depending on the depth of the overlapping NO feature.
We present a spectral database of Earth-like planets around cool stars for
directly imaged planets as a framework for interpreting future lightcurves,
direct imaging, and secondary eclipse measurements of the atmospheres of
terrestrial planets in the HZ to design and assess future telescope
capabilities.Comment: in press, ApJ (submitted August 18, 2014), 16 pages, 12 figure
UV Surface Environment of Earth-like Planets Orbiting FGKM Stars Through Geological Evolution
The UV environment of a host star affects the photochemistry in the
atmosphere, and ultimately the surface UV environment for terrestrial planets
and therefore the conditions for the origin and evolution of life. We model the
surface UV radiation environment for Earth-sized planets orbiting FGKM stars at
the 1AU equivalent distance for Earth through its geological evolution. We
explore four different types of atmospheres corresponding to an early Earth
atmosphere at 3.9 Gyr ago and three atmospheres covering the rise of oxygen to
present day levels at 2.0 Gyr ago, 0.8 Gyr ago and modern Earth (Following
Kaltenegger et al. 2007). In addition to calculating the UV flux on the surface
of the planet, we model the biologically effective irradiance, using DNA damage
as a proxy for biological damage. We find that a pre-biotic Earth (3.9 Gyr ago)
orbiting an F0V star receives 6 times the biologically effective radiation as
around the early Sun and 3520 times the modern Earth-Sun levels. A pre-biotic
Earth orbiting GJ 581 (M3.5V) receives 300 times less biologically effective
radiation, about 2 times modern Earth-Sun levels. The UV fluxes calculated here
provide a grid of model UV environments during the evolution of an Earth-like
planet orbiting a range of stars. These models can be used as inputs into
photo-biological experiments and for pre-biotic chemistry and early life
evolution experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
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Dual-function injectable angiogenic biomaterial for the repair of brain tissue following stroke.
Stroke is the primary cause of disability due to the brain's limited ability to regenerate damaged tissue. After stroke, an increased inflammatory and immune response coupled with severely limited angiogenesis and neuronal growth results in a stroke cavity devoid of normal brain tissue. In the adult, therapeutic angiogenic materials have been used to repair ischaemic tissues through the formation of vascular networks. However, whether a therapeutic angiogenic material can regenerate brain tissue and promote neural repair is poorly understood. Here we show that the delivery of an engineered immune-modulating angiogenic biomaterial directly to the stroke cavity promotes tissue formation de novo, and results in axonal networks along thee generated blood vessels. This regenerated tissue produces functional recovery through the established axonal networks. Thus, this biomaterials approach generates a vascularized network of regenerated functional neuronal connections within previously dead tissue and lays the groundwork for the use of angiogenic materials to repair other neurologically diseased tissues
The connection between entropy and the absorption spectra of Schwarzschild black holes for light and massless scalar fields
We present heuristic arguments suggesting that if EM waves with wavelengths
somewhat larger than the Schwarzschild radius of a black hole were fully
absorbed by it, the second law of thermodynamics would be violated, under the
Bekenstein interpretation of the area of a black hole as a measure of its
entropy. Thus, entropy considerations make the well known fact that large
wavelengths are only marginally absorbed by black holes, a natural consequence
of thermodynamics. We also study numerically the ingoing radial propagation of
a scalar field wave in a Schwarzschild metric, relaxing the standard assumption
which leads to the eikonal equation, that the wave has zero spatial extent. We
find that if these waves have wavelengths larger that the Schwarzschild radius,
they are very substantially reflected, fully to numerical accuracy.
Interestingly, this critical wavelength approximately coincides with the one
derived from entropy considerations of the EM field, and is consistent with
well known limit results of scattering in the Schwarzschild metric. The
propagation speed is also calculated and seen to differ from the value , for
wavelengths larger than , in the vicinity of . As in all
classical wave phenomena, whenever the wavelength is larger or comparable to
the physical size of elements in the system, in this case changes in the
metric, the zero extent 'particle' description fails, and the wave nature
becomes apparent.Comment: 14 Pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in the Journal Entrop
Model d'inundacions en ventalls al.luvials: el cas de les planes costaneres valencianes
Els ventalls al.luvials que conformen les planes costaneres valencianes estan sotmesos a inundacions periòdiques, produïdes per les revingudes sobtades dels rius i barrancs que les recorren. Els diferents episodis analitzats en la darrera dècada han servit de base per a dissenyar un model d'inundacions, que intenta caracteritzar tant els processos com les formes inundables. Els ventalls són formes convexes, on hi ha una divergència dels fluxos desbordats a les corbes i als punts d'intersecció. Els paleocaixers, normalment desconnectats dels rius actuals, drenen la superfÃcie del ventall, mentre que els espais intercons i les marjals són zones còncaves que arrepleguen les aigües desbordades dels cons i les dels caixers que hi desemboquen. Aquest funcionament natural es complica enormement degut a l'acció antròpica que modifica les condicions naturals d'aquest espais. AixÃ, el ponts, les carreteres, els desviaments, els cobriments i les ocupacions de caixers són obres que poden interferir en els fluxos canalizats i en els desbordaments, modificant contÃnuament les zones inundables. Paraules clau : ventall al.luvial, risc d'inundació, processos d'inundació, concavitats, convexitats, acció antròpica
Counterfactual thinking in everyday life situations: Temporal order effects and social norms.
Razonamiento contrafáctico en situaciones de la vida diaria: Efectos de
 orden temporales y normas sociales. El razonamiento contrafáctico es la
 comparación de una situación fáctica con una alternativa simulada. Cuando
 las personas imaginan cómo las cosas podrÃan haber sido diferentes, tienden
 a deshacer mentalmente el último suceso de una secuencia de
 acontecimientos independientes previos a un resultado. Se presentan dos
 experimentos que examinan este fenómeno que ha sido denominado el
 efecto de orden temporal. El primer experimento, con 132 participantes,
 examinó el efecto de variar el número de eventos de la vida diaria en el
 efecto de orden temporal. Los resultados muestran que en situaciones
 cotidianas, es necesario un número suficiente de sucesos para que efecto se
 produzca. El segundo experimento, con 177 participantes, examinó una
 posible relación entre el efecto de orden temporal con un efecto diferente: la
 tendencia a cambiar eventos controlables que son excepcionales respecto a
 las normas interpersonales de conducta. Los resultados muestran que la
 posición en una secuencia temporal de sucesos independientes afecta a la
 facilidad para cambiar esos eventos excepcionales. Los resultados se
 discuten en términos de normas sociales
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