2,074 research outputs found
A FUSE Survey of Interstellar Molecular Hydrogen in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds
We describe a moderate-resolution FUSE survey of H2 along 70 sight lines to
the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, using hot stars as background sources.
FUSE spectra of 67% of observed Magellanic Cloud sources (52% of LMC and 92% of
SMC) exhibit absorption lines from the H2 Lyman and Werner bands between 912
and 1120 A. Our survey is sensitive to N(H2) >= 10^14 cm^-2; the highest column
densities are log N(H2) = 19.9 in the LMC and 20.6 in the SMC. We find reduced
H2 abundances in the Magellanic Clouds relative to the Milky Way, with average
molecular fractions = 0.010 (+0.005, -0.002) for the SMC and =
0.012 (+0.006, -0.003) for the LMC, compared with = 0.095 for the
Galactic disk over a similar range of reddening. The dominant uncertainty in
this measurement results from the systematic differences between 21 cm radio
emission and Lya in pencil-beam sight lines as measures of N(HI). These results
imply that the diffuse H2 masses of the LMC and SMC are 8 x 10^6 Msun and 2 x
10^6 Msun, respectively, 2% and 0.5% of the H I masses derived from 21 cm
emission measurements. The LMC and SMC abundance patterns can be reproduced in
ensembles of model clouds with a reduced H2 formation rate coefficient, R ~ 3 x
10^-18 cm^3 s^-1, and incident radiation fields ranging from 10 - 100 times the
Galactic mean value. We find that these high-radiation, low-formation-rate
models can also explain the enhanced N(4)/N(2) and N(5)/N(3) rotational
excitation ratios in the Clouds. We use H2 column densities in low rotational
states (J = 0 and 1) to derive a mean kinetic and/or rotational temperature
= 82 +/- 21 K for clouds with N(H2) >= 10^16 cm^-2, similar to Galactic
gas. We discuss the implications of this work for theories of star formation in
low-metallicity environments. [Abstract abridged]Comment: 30 pages emulateapj, 14 figures (7 color), 7 tables, accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journal, figures 11 and 12 compressed at
slight loss of quality, see http://casa.colorado.edu/~tumlinso/h2/ for full
version
Measurement of the differential cross section and charge asymmetry for inclusive pp → W\u3csup\u3e±\u3c/sup\u3e + \u3ci\u3eX\u3c/i\u3e production at √\u3ci\u3es\u3c/i\u3e = 8 TeV
The differential cross section and charge asymmetry for inclusive pp → W± + X → μ±ν + X production at √s = 8 TeV are measured as a function of muon pseudorapidity. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 18.8 fb−1 recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. These results provide important constraints on the parton distribution functions of the proton in the range of the Bjorken scaling variable x from 10−3 to 10−1
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) is a moderate-resolution spectrograph with unprecedented sensitivity that was installed into the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in May 2009, during HST Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125). We present the design philosophy and summarize the key characteristics of the instrument that will be of interest to potential observers. For faint targets, with flux F(sub lambda) approximates 1.0 X 10(exp -14) ergs/s/cm2/Angstrom, COS can achieve comparable signal to noise (when compared to STIS echelle modes) in 1-2% of the observing time. This has led to a significant increase in the total data volume and data quality available to the community. For example, in the first 20 months of science operation (September 2009 - June 2011) the cumulative redshift pathlength of extragalactic sight lines sampled by COS is 9 times that sampled at moderate resolution in 19 previous years of Hubble observations. COS programs have observed 214 distinct lines of sight suitable for study of the intergalactic medium as of June 2011. COS has measured, for the first time with high reliability, broad Lya absorbers and Ne VIII in the intergalactic medium, and observed the HeII reionization epoch along multiple sightlines. COS has detected the first CO emission and absorption in the UV spectra of low-mass circumstellar disks at the epoch of giant planet formation, and detected multiple ionization states of metals in extra-solar planetary atmospheres. In the coming years, COS will continue its census of intergalactic gas, probe galactic and cosmic structure, and explore physics in our solar system and Galaxy
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) is a moderate-resolution spectrograph
with unprecedented sensitivity that was installed into the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) in May 2009, during HST Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125). We
present the design philosophy and summarize the key characteristics of the
instrument that will be of interest to potential observers. For faint targets,
with flux F_lambda ~ 1.0E10-14 ergs/s/cm2/Angstrom, COS can achieve comparable
signal to noise (when compared to STIS echelle modes) in 1-2% of the observing
time. This has led to a significant increase in the total data volume and data
quality available to the community. For example, in the first 20 months of
science operation (September 2009 - June 2011) the cumulative redshift
pathlength of extragalactic sight lines sampled by COS is 9 times that sampled
at moderate resolution in 19 previous years of Hubble observations. COS
programs have observed 214 distinct lines of sight suitable for study of the
intergalactic medium as of June 2011. COS has measured, for the first time with
high reliability, broad Lya absorbers and Ne VIII in the intergalactic medium,
and observed the HeII reionization epoch along multiple sightlines. COS has
detected the first CO emission and absorption in the UV spectra of low-mass
circumstellar disks at the epoch of giant planet formation, and detected
multiple ionization states of metals in extra-solar planetary atmospheres. In
the coming years, COS will continue its census of intergalactic gas, probe
galactic and cosmic structure, and explore physics in our solar system and
Galaxy.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figure
Phagocytosis of Cholesteryl Ester Is Amplified in Diabetic Mouse Macrophages and Is Largely Mediated by CD36 and SR-A
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis, which accounts for approximately 75% of all diabetes-related deaths. Here we investigate the link between diabetes and macrophage cholesteryl ester accumulation. When diabetic (db/db) mice are given cholesteryl ester intraperitoneally (IP), peritoneal macrophages (PerMΦs) recovered from these animals showed a 58% increase in intracellular cholesteryl ester accumulation over PerMΦs from heterozygote control (db/+) mice. Notably, PerMΦ fluid-phase endocytosis and large particle phagocytosis was equivalent in db/+and db/db mice. However, IP administration of CD36 and SR-A blocking antibodies led to 37% and 25% reductions in cholesteryl ester accumulation in PerMΦ. Finally, in order to determine if these scavenger receptors (SRs) were part of the mechanism responsible for the increased accumulation of cholesteryl esters observed in the diabetic mouse macrophages, receptor expression was quantified by flow cytometry. Importantly, db/db PerMΦs showed a 43% increase in CD36 expression and an 80% increase in SR-A expression. Taken together, these data indicate that direct cholesteryl ester accumulation in mouse macrophages is mediated by CD36 and SR-A, and the magnitude of accumulation is increased in db/db macrophages due to increased scavenger receptor expression
Search for Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at 183 GeV
The data collected by the OPAL experiment at sqrts=183 GeV were used to
search for Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Standard Model and various
extensions, such as general models with two Higgs field doublets and the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The data correspond to an
integrated luminosity of approximately 54pb-1. None of the searches for neutral
and charged Higgs bosons have revealed an excess of events beyond the expected
background. This negative outcome, in combination with similar results from
searches at lower energies, leads to new limits for the Higgs boson masses and
other model parameters. In particular, the 95% confidence level lower limit for
the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson is 88.3 GeV. Charged Higgs bosons
can be excluded for masses up to 59.5 GeV. In the MSSM, mh > 70.5 GeV and mA >
72.0 GeV are obtained for tan{beta}>1, no and maximal scalar top mixing and
soft SUSY-breaking masses of 1 TeV. The range 0.8 < tanb < 1.9 is excluded for
minimal scalar top mixing and m{top} < 175 GeV. More general scans of the MSSM
parameter space are also considered.Comment: 49 pages. LaTeX, including 33 eps figures, submitted to European
Physical Journal
A Measurement of the Product Branching Ratio f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) in Z0 Decays
The product branching ratio, f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X), where
Lambda_b denotes any weakly-decaying b-baryon, has been measured using the OPAL
detector at LEP. Lambda_b are selected by the presence of energetic Lambda
particles in bottom events tagged by the presence of displaced secondary
vertices. A fit to the momenta of the Lambda particles separates signal from B
meson and fragmentation backgrounds. The measured product branching ratio is
f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (2.67+-0.38(stat)+0.67-0.60(sys))%
Combined with a previous OPAL measurement, one obtains
f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (3.50+-0.32(stat)+-0.35(sys))%.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figs included, submitted to the European
Physical Journal
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