Constraining the Age and Distance of the Galactic Supernova Remnant G156.2+5.7 by H-alpha Expansion Measurements

We present deep H-alpha images of portions of the X-ray bright but optically faint Galactic supernova remnant G156.2+5.7, revealing numerous and delicately thin nonradiative filaments which mark the location of the remnant's forward shock. These new images show that these filaments have a complex structure not visible on previous lower resolution optical images. By comparing H-alpha images taken in 2004 at the McDonald Observatory and in 2015-2016 at the Kiso Observatory, we set a stringent 1-sigma upper limit of expansion to be 0.06 arcsec/yr. This proper motion, combined with a shock speed of 500 km/s inferred from X-ray spectral analyses, gives a distance of > 1.7 kpc. In addition, a simple comparison of expansion indices of several SNRs allows us to infer the age of the remnant to be a few 10,000 yr old. These estimates are more straightforward and reliable than any other previous studies, and clearly rule out a possibility that G156.2+5.7 is physically associated with part of the Taurus-Auriga cloud and dust complex at a distance of 200-300 pc.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

A New Insight into Electron Acceleration Properties from Theoretical Modeling of Double-Peaked Radio Light Curves in Core-Collapse Supernovae

It is recognized that some core-collapse supernovae (SNe) show a double-peaked radio light curve within a few years since the explosion. A shell of circumstellar medium (CSM) detached from the SN progenitor has been considered to play a viable role in characterizing such a re-brightening of radio emission. Here, we propose another mechanism that can give rise to the double-peaked radio light curve in core-collapse SNe. The key ingredient in the present work is to expand the model for the evolution of the synchrotron spectral energy distribution (SED) to a generic form, including fast and slow cooling regimes, as guided by the widely-accepted modeling scheme of gamma-ray burst afterglows. We show that even without introducing an additional CSM shell, the radio light curve would show a double-peaked morphology when the system becomes optically thin to synchrotron self-absorption at the observational frequency during the fast cooling regime. We can observe this double-peaked feature if the transition from fast cooling to slow cooling regime occurs during the typical observational timescale of SNe. This situation is realized when the minimum Lorentz factor of injected electrons is initially large enough for the non-thermal electrons' SED to be discrete from the thermal distribution. We propose SN 2007bg as a special case of double-peaked radio SNe that can be explained by the presented scenario. Our model can serve as a potential diagnostic for electron acceleration properties in SNe.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap

The NEDD8 system is essential for cell cycle progression and morphogenetic pathway in mice

NEDD8/Rub1 is a ubiquitin (Ub)-like molecule that covalently ligates to target proteins through an enzymatic cascade analogous to ubiquitylation. This modifier is known to target all cullin (Cul) family proteins. The latter are essential components of Skp1/Cul-1/F-box protein (SCF)–like Ub ligase complexes, which play critical roles in Ub-mediated proteolysis. To determine the role of the NEDD8 system in mammals, we generated mice deficient in Uba3 gene that encodes a catalytic subunit of NEDD8-activating enzyme. Uba3−/− mice died in utero at the periimplantation stage. Mutant embryos showed selective apoptosis of the inner cell mass but not of trophoblastic cells. However, the mutant trophoblastic cells could not enter the S phase of the endoreduplication cycle. This cell cycle arrest was accompanied with aberrant expression of cyclin E and p57Kip2. These results suggested that the NEDD8 system is essential for both mitotic and the endoreduplicative cell cycle progression. β-Catenin, a mediator of the Wnt/wingless signaling pathway, which degrades continuously in the cytoplasm through SCF Ub ligase, was also accumulated in the Uba3−/− cytoplasm and nucleus. Thus, the NEDD8 system is essential for the regulation of protein degradation pathways involved in cell cycle progression and morphogenesis, possibly through the function of the Cul family proteins

Passive mode-locking and terahertz frequency comb generation in resonant-tunneling-diode oscillator

Optical frequency combs in the terahertz frequency range are long-awaited frequency standards for spectroscopy of molecules and high-speed wireless communications. However, a terahertz frequency comb based on a low-cost, energy-efficient, and room-temperature-operating device remains unavailable especially in the frequency range of 0.1 to 3 THz. In this paper, we show that the resonant-tunneling-diode (RTD) oscillator can be passively mode-locked by optical feedback and generate a terahertz frequency comb. The standard deviation of the spacing between the comb lines, i.e., the repetition frequency, is reduced to less than 420 mHz by applying external bias modulation. A simulation model successfully reproduces the mode-locking behavior by including the nonlinear capacitance of RTD and multiple optical feedback. Since the mode-locked RTD oscillator is a simple semiconductor device that operates at room temperature and covers the frequency range of 0.1 to 2 THz (potentially up to 3 THz), it can be used as a frequency standard for future terahertz sensing and wireless communications

Cyclic arrays of five pyrenes on one rim of a planar chiral pillar[5]arene

Spatial arrangement of multiple planar chromophores is an emerging strategy for molecule-based chiroptical materials via easy and systematic synthesis. We attached five pyrene planes to a chiral macrocycle, pillar[5]arene, producing a set of chiroptical molecules in which pyrene-derived absorption and emission were endowed with dissymmetry by effective transfer of chiral information. The chiroptical response was dependent on linker structures and substituted patterns because of variable interactions between pyrene units. One of these hybrids showed larger dissymmetry factor and response wavelength (g[lum] = 7.0 × 10⁻³ at ca. 547 nm) than reported pillar[5]arene-based molecules using the pillar[5]arene cores as parts of photo-responsive π-conjugated units

Constraining the Age and Distance of the Galactic Supernova Remnant G156.2+5.7 by H A Expansion Measurements

We present deep Hα images of portions of the X-ray bright, but optically faint, Galactic supernova remnant G156.2+5.7, revealing numerous and delicately thin non-radiative filaments, which mark the location of the remnant\u27s forward shock. These new images show that these filaments have a complex structure not visible on previous lower resolution optical images. By comparing Hα images taken in 2004 at the McDonald Observatory and in 2015–2016 at the Kiso Observatory, we set a stringent 1σ upper limit of expansion to be 0.06 arcsec/yr. This proper motion, combined with a shock speed of 500 km s−1, inferred from X-ray spectral analyses, gives a distance of \u3e 1.7 kpc. In addition, a simple comparison of expansion indices of several supernova remnants allows us to infer the age of the remnant to be a few tens of thousands years old. These estimates are more straightforward and reliable than any other previous studies, and clearly rule out the possibility that G156.2+5.7 is physically associated with part of the Taurus–Auriga cloud and dust complex at a distance of 200–300 pc