497 research outputs found
The Discovery of Vibrationally-Excited H_2 in the Molecular Cloud near GRB 080607
GRB 080607 has provided the first strong observational signatures of
molecular absorption bands toward any galaxy hosting a gamma-ray burst. Despite
the identification of dozens of features as belonging to various atomic and
molecular (H_2 and CO) carriers, many more absorption features remained
unidentified. Here we report on a search among these features for absorption
from vibrationally-excited H_2, a species that was predicted to be produced by
the UV flash of a GRB impinging on a molecular cloud. Following a detailed
comparison between our spectroscopy and static, as well as dynamic, models of
H_2* absorption, we conclude that a column density of 10^{17.5+-0.2} cm^{-2} of
H_2* was produced along the line of sight toward GRB 080607. Depending on the
assumed amount of dust extinction between the molecular cloud and the GRB, the
model distance between the two is found to be in the range 230--940 pc. Such a
range is consistent with a conservative lower limit of 100 pc estimated from
the presence of Mg I in the same data. These distances show that substantial
molecular material is found within hundreds of pc from GRB 080607, part of the
distribution of clouds within the GRB host galaxy.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, 6 pages emulate
Measurement of Total (p,Pi) Cross Sections Through Residual Activity
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 81-14339 and by Indiana Universit
Are you what you eat? A highly transient and prey‐influenced gut microbiome in the grey house spider Badumna longinqua
Stable core microbial communities have been described in numerous animal species and are commonly associated with fitness benefits for their hosts. Recent research, however, highlights examples of species whose microbiota are transient and environmentally derived. Here, we test the effect of diet on gut microbial community assembly in the spider Badumna longinqua. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing combined with quantitative PCR, we analyzed diversity and abundance of the spider's gut microbes, and simultaneously characterized its prey communities using nuclear rRNA markers. We found a clear correlation between community similarity of the spider's insect prey and gut microbial DNA, suggesting that microbiome assembly is primarily diet-driven. This assumption is supported by a feeding experiment, in which two types of prey-crickets and fruit flies-both substantially altered microbial diversity and community similarity between spiders, but did so in different ways. After cricket consumption, numerous cricket-derived microbes appeared in the spider's gut, resulting in a rapid homogenization of microbial communities among spiders. In contrast, few prey-associated bacteria were detected after consumption of fruit flies; instead, the microbial community was remodelled by environmentally sourced microbes, or abundance shifts of rare taxa in the spider's gut. The reshaping of the microbiota by both prey taxa mimicked a stable core microbiome in the spiders for several weeks post feeding. Our results suggest that the spider's gut microbiome undergoes pronounced temporal fluctuations, that its assembly is dictated by the consumed prey, and that different prey taxa may remodel the microbiota in drastically different ways.journal articl
Hubble Space Telescope Survey of Interstellar ^12CO/^13CO in the Solar Neighborhood
We examine 20 diffuse and translucent Galactic sight lines and extract the
column densities of the ^12CO and ^13CO isotopologues from their ultraviolet
A--X absorption bands detected in archival Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
data with lambda/Deltalambda geq 46,000. Five more targets with Goddard
High-Resolution Spectrograph data are added to the sample that more than
doubles the number of sight lines with published Hubble Space Telescope
observations of ^13CO. Most sight lines have 12-to-13 isotopic ratios that are
not significantly different from the local value of 70 for ^12C/^13C, which is
based on mm-wave observations of rotational lines in emission from CO and H_2CO
inside dense molecular clouds, as well as on results from optical measurements
of CH^+. Five of the 25 sight lines are found to be fractionated toward lower
12-to-13 values, while three sight lines in the sample are fractionated toward
higher ratios, signaling the predominance of either isotopic charge exchange or
selective photodissociation, respectively. There are no obvious trends of the
^12CO-to-^13CO ratio with physical conditions such as gas temperature or
density, yet ^12CO/^13CO does vary in a complicated manner with the column
density of either CO isotopologue, owing to varying levels of competition
between isotopic charge exchange and selective photodissociation in the
fractionation of CO. Finally, rotational temperatures of H_2 show that all
sight lines with detected amounts of ^13CO pass through gas that is on average
colder by 20 K than the gas without ^13CO. This colder gas is also sampled by
CN and C_2 molecules, the latter indicating gas kinetic temperatures of only 28
K, enough to facilitate an efficient charge exchange reaction that lowers the
value of ^12CO/^13CO.Comment: 1-column emulateapj, 23 pages, 9 figure
A search for two body muon decay signals
Lepton family number violation is tested by searching for
decays among the 5.8 positive muon decay events analyzed by the
TWIST collaboration. Limits are set on the production of both massless and
massive bosons. The large angular acceptance of this experiment allows
limits to be placed on anisotropic decays, which can arise
from interactions violating both lepton flavor and parity conservation.
Branching ratio limits of order are obtained for bosons with masses
of 13 - 80 MeV/c and with different decay asymmetries. For bosons with
masses less than 13 MeV/c the asymmetry dependence is much stronger and
the 90% limit on the branching ratio varies up to . This is
the first study that explicitly evaluates the limits for anisotropic two body
muon decays.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by PR
Measurement of two-halo neutron transfer reaction p(Li,Li)t at 3 MeV
The p(\nuc{11}{Li},\nuc{9}{Li})t reaction has been studied for the first time
at an incident energy of 3 MeV delivered by the new ISAC-2 facility at
TRIUMF. An active target detector MAYA, build at GANIL, was used for the
measurement. The differential cross sectionshave been determined for
transitions to the \nuc{9}{Li} ground andthe first excited states in a wide
range of scattering angles. Multistep transfer calculations using different
\nuc{11}{Li} model wave functions, shows that wave functions with strong
correlations between the halo neutrons are the most successful in reproducing
the observation.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Chemical Analysis of a Diffuse Cloud along a Line of Sight Toward W51: Molecular Fraction and Cosmic-Ray Ionization Rate
Absorption lines from the molecules OH+, H2O+, and H3+ have been observed in
a diffuse molecular cloud along a line of sight near W51 IRS2. We present the
first chemical analysis that combines the information provided by all three of
these species. Together, OH+ and H2O+ are used to determine the molecular
hydrogen fraction in the outskirts of the observed cloud, as well as the
cosmic-ray ionization rate of atomic hydrogen. H3+ is used to infer the
cosmic-ray ionization rate of H2 in the molecular interior of the cloud, which
we find to be zeta_2=(4.8+-3.4)x10^-16 per second. Combining the results from
all three species we find an efficiency factor---defined as the ratio of the
formation rate of OH+ to the cosmic-ray ionization rate of H---of
epsilon=0.07+-0.04, much lower than predicted by chemical models. This is an
important step in the future use of OH+ and H2O+ on their own as tracers of the
cosmic-ray ionization rate.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, 4 table
Continuous monitoring of pulse period variations in Her X-1 using Swift/BAT
Context: Monitoring of pulse period variations in accreting binary pulsars is
an important tool to study the interaction between the magnetosphere of the
neutron star and the accretion disk. While the X-ray flux of the brightest
X-ray pulsars have been successfully monitored over many years (e.g. with
RXTE/ASM, CGRO/BATSE, Swift/BAT), the possibility to monitor their pulse timing
properties continuously has so far been very limited. Aims: In our work we show
that the Swift/BAT observations can be used to monitor coherent pulsations of
bright X-ray sources and use the Swift archival data to study one of the most
enigmatic X-ray pulsars, Hercules X-1. A quasi-continuous monitoring of the
pulse period and the pulse period derivative of an X-ray pulsar, here Her X-1,
is achieved over a long time (<~ 4 yrs). We compare our observational results
with predictions of accretion theory and use them to test different aspects of
the physical model of the system. Methods: In our analysis we use the data
accumulated with Swift/BAT starting from the beginning of 2005 (shortly after
launch) until the present time. To search for pulsations and for their
subsequent analysis we used the count rate measured by the BAT detector in the
entire field of view. Results: The slope of the correlation between the locally
determined spin-up rate and the X-ray luminosity is measured for Her X-1 and
found to be in agreement with predictions of basic accretion torque theory. The
observed behaviour of the pulse period together with the previously measured
secular decrease of the system's orbital period is discussed in the frame of a
model assuming ejection of matter close to the inner boundary of the accretion
disk.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
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