A Spatial and Spectral Study of Nonthermal Filaments in Historical Supernova Remnants: Observational Results with Chandra

The outer shells of young supernova remnants (SNRs) are the most plausible acceleration sites of high-energy electrons with the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) mechanism. We studied spatial and spectral properties close to the shock fronts in four historical SNRs (Cas A, Kepler's remnant, Tycho's remnant, and RCW 86) with excellent spatial resolution of {\it Chandra}. In all of the SNRs, hard X-ray emissions were found on the rims of the SNRs, which concentrate in very narrow regions (so-called "filaments"); apparent scale widths on the upstream side are below or in the order of the point spread function of {\it Chandra}, while 0.5--40 arcsec (0.01--0.4 pc) on the downstream side with most reliable distances. The spectra of these filaments can be fitted with both thermal and nonthermal (power-law and {\tt SRCUT}) models. The former requires unrealistic high temperature (\ga2 keV) and low abundances (\la1 solar) for emission from young SNRs and may be thus unlikely. The latter reproduces the spectra with best-fit photon indices of 2.1--3.8, or roll-off frequencies of (0.1--28)$\times 10^{17}$ Hz, which reminds us of the synchrotron emission from electrons accelerated via DSA. We consider various physical parameters as functions of the SNR age, including the previous results on SN 1006 \citep{bamba2003b}; the filament width on the downstream side increases with the SNR age, and the spectrum becomes softer keeping a nonthermal feature. It was also found that a function, that is the roll-off frequency divided by the square of the scale width on the downstream side, shows negative correlation with the age, which might provide us some information on the DSA theory.Comment: 23 pages, 23 figures, accepted by Ap

DOCK8 is a Cdc42 activator critical for interstitial dendritic cell migration during immune responses

To migrate efficiently through the interstitium, dendritic cells (DCs) constantly adapt their shape to the given structure of the extracellular matrix and follow the path of least resistance. It is known that this amoeboid migration of DCs requires Cdc42, yet the upstream regulators critical for localization and activation of Cdc42 remain to be determined. Mutations of DOCK8, a member of the atypical guanine nucleotide exchange factor family, causes combined immunodeficiency in humans. In the present study, we show that DOCK8 is a Cdc42-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor that is critical for interstitial DC migration. By generating the knockout mice, we found that in the absence of DOCK8, DCs failed to accumulate in the lymph node parenchyma for T-cell priming. Although DOCK8-deficient DCs migrated normally on 2-dimensional surfaces, DOCK8 was required for DCs to crawl within 3-dimensional fibrillar networks and to transmigrate through the subcapsular sinus floor. This function of DOCK8 depended on the DHR-2 domain mediating Cdc42 activation. DOCK8 deficiency did not affect global Cdc42 activity. However, Cdc42 activation at the leading edge membrane was impaired in DOCK8-deficient DCs, resulting in a severe defect in amoeboid polarization and migration. Therefore, DOCK8 regulates interstitial DC migration by controlling Cdc42 activity spatially

Photoproduction of η-mesons off C and Cu Nuclei for Photon Energies below 1.1 GeV(I. Nuclear Physics)

The η-meson photoproduction cross sections have been measured on C and Cu targets for photon energies between 600 and 1100MeV to investigate the behavior of the S_11 (1535) resonance in a nucleus. The excitation functions of the cross section as well as angular and momentum distributions of η-mesons are in quantitative agreement with Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD) model calculations, in which the η-meson emission processes other than the S_11 (1535) resonance are also incorporated as proposed in the η-MAID model. It is shown that the excitation of the D_15 (1675) resonance might play an important role for E_γ>900MeV

Double Pion Photoproduction on Deuteron(I. Nuclear Physics)

Exclusive cross sections for double-pion photoproductions on proton and deuteron were measured in an energy range from 0.8 to 1.1GeV using tagged photons at Laboratory of Nuclear Science, Tohoku University. We employed the Neutral Kaon Spectrometer (NKS) to detect two pions in the final state, and deduced the cross section for the π^+π^- photoproduction on the "free" and "bound" proton. We have discriminated between the quasi-free and non-quasi-free process applying the kinematical cut on the missing momentum. We found that the total cross section for the γ"p"→pπ^+π^- reaction was about 60% of that for the "free" proton, and this is consistent with the previously obtained data. The one of the dominant part of the non-quasi-free process was found to be the double Δ production. Its cross section is smaller than the previous investigations

Photoproduction of Neutral Kaons on Liquid Deuterium Target(I. Nuclear Physics)

We have performed the experiment of K^0 photoproduction on the liquid deuterium target with Neutral Kaon Spectrometer (NKS) at LNS-Tohoku. The K^0s were measured via K^0_S→π^+π^- decay channel in the threshold region. The momentum spectra of K^0 photoproduction cross sections were derived and compared with the calculations using representative models