Unraveling the high-energy emission components of gamma-ray binaries

The high and very-high energy spectrum of gamma-ray binaries has become a challenge for all theoretical explanations since the detection of powerful, persistent GeV emission from LS 5039 and LS I +61 303 by Fermi/LAT. The spectral cutoff at a few GeV indicates that the GeV component and the fainter, hard TeV emission above 100 GeV are not directly related. We explore the possible origins of these two emission components in the framework of a young, non-accreting pulsar orbiting the massive star, and initiating the non-thermal emission through the interaction of the stellar and pulsar winds. The pulsar/stellar wind interaction in a compact orbit binary gives rise to two potential locations for particle acceleration: the shocks at the head-on collision of the winds and the termination shock caused by Coriolis forces on scales larger than the binary separation. We explore the suitability of these two locations to host the GeV and TeV emitters, respectively, through the study of their non-thermal emission along the orbit. We focus on the application of this model to LS 5039 given its well determined stellar wind with respect to other gamma-ray binaries. The application of the proposed model to LS 5039 indicates that these two potential emitter locations provide the necessary conditions for reproduction of the two-component high-energy gamma-ray spectrum of LS 5039. In addition, the ambient postshock conditions required at each of the locations are consistent with recent hydrodynamical simulations. The scenario based on the interaction of the stellar and pulsar winds is compatible with the GeV and TeV emission observed from gamma-ray binaries with unknown compact objects, such as LS 5039 and LS I +61 303.Comment: Version as published in A&

Non-thermal radiation from a pulsar wind interacting with an inhomogeneous stellar wind

Binaries hosting a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar are powerful non-thermal emitters due to the interaction of the pulsar and the stellar wind. The winds of massive stars are thought to be inhomogeneous, which could have an impact on the non-thermal emission. We study numerically the impact of the presence of inhomogeneities or clumps in the stellar wind on the high-energy non-thermal radiation of high-mass binaries hosting a non-accreting pulsar. We compute the trajectories and physical properties of the streamlines in the shocked pulsar wind without clumps, with a small clump, and with a large one. This information is used to compute the synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from the non-thermal populations, accounting also for the effect of gamma-ray absorption through pair creation. A specific study is done for PSR B1259-63/LS2883. When stellar wind clumps perturb the two-wind interaction region, the associated non-thermal radiation in the X-ray band,of synchrotron origin, and in the GeV-TeV band, of inverse Compton origin, is affected by several effects: (i) strong changes in the the plasma velocity direction that result in Doppler boosting factor variations, (ii) strengthening of the magnetic field that mainly enhances the synchrotron radiation, (iii) strengthening of the pulsar wind kinetic energy dissipation at the shock, potentially available for particle acceleration, and (iv) changes in the rate of adiabatic losses that affect the lower energy part of the non-thermal particle population. The radiation above 100 GeV detected, presumably, during the post-periastron crossing of the Be star disc in PSR B1259-63/LS2883, can be roughly reproduced assuming that the crossing of the disc is modeled as the encounter with a large inhomogeneity.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, submitted to A&

Tratamiento quirúrgico de la obesidad: pros y contras

Obesity is a first magnitude public health problem. Because of its multifactorial pathogenesis, treatment of obesity is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach. The first step is an adjustment and re-education of eating habits and healthy lifestyle. Diet and physical activity are pillars so that, once achieved weight loss, it remains within the normal range. As alternatives for severe cases there are pharmacological, endoscopic and surgical treatments that can achieve significant weight reductions and maintained over time. In this sense, the surgery has proven, in combination with changes in lifestyle and dietary adjustments, the best available treatment for morbid obesity, achieving significant improvement in health status and quality of life of these patients for their great general health benefits. However, it should be borne in mind the possibility of negative effects arising such as global nutritional deficiencies, as well as specific vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and even an increased risk of alterations in bone mineral density and alcoholism. Both a weight re-gain as an increased risk of suicide after some time of surgery have been described and should be considered. In women of childbearing age necessary to add the possible problems arising from an increased prevalence of preterm birth and low birth weight.La obesidad representa un problema de salud pública de primera magnitud. Debido a su patogenia multifactorial, el tratamiento de la obesidad es complejo y requiere un abordaje multidisciplinar. El primer paso consiste en un ajuste y re-educación de los hábitos dietéticos y estilo de vida saludable. La dieta y la actividad física son pilares para que, una vez conseguida la pérdida de peso, ésta se mantenga dentro de la normalidad. Como alternativas para los casos graves existen tratamientos farmacológicos, endoscópicos y quirúrgicos que permiten conseguir reducciones de peso más importantes y mantenidas en el tiempo. En este sentido, la cirugía ha demostrado ser, en combinación con los cambios de estilo de vida y ajustes dietéticos, el mejor tratamiento disponible para la obesidad mórbida, logrando alcanzar mejoría importante en el estado de salud y en la calidad de vida de estos pacientes por sus grandes beneficios en todo el organismo. Sin embargo, debe tenerse presente la posibilidad de que surjan efectos negativos tales como carencias nutricionales globales, así como déficits minerales y vitamínicos específicos e, inclusive un mayor riesgo de alteraciones en la densidad mineral ósea y de alcoholismo. Tanto una reganancia ponderal como un aumento del riesgo de suicidio transcurrido algún tiempo de la cirugía han sido descritos y deben ser tenidos en cuenta. En mujeres en edad fértil resulta necesario añadir los posibles problemas derivados de una mayor prevalencia de parto prematuro y bajo peso al nacer

Non-thermal radiation from a pulsar wind interacting with an inhomogeneous stellar wind

Context. Binaries hosting a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar are powerful non-thermal emitters owing to the interaction of the pulsar and the stellar wind. The winds of massive stars are thought to be inhomogeneous, which could have an impact on the non-thermal emission. Aims. We study numerically the impact of the presence of inhomogeneities or clumps in the stellar wind on the high-energy non-thermal radiation of high-mass binaries hosting a non-accreting pulsar. Methods. We compute the trajectories and physical properties of the streamlines in the shocked pulsar wind without clumps, with a small clump, and with a large clump. This information is used to characterize the injection and the steady state distribution of non-thermal particles accelerated at shocks formed in the pulsar wind. The synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from these non-thermal particles is calculated, accounting also for the effect of gamma-ray absorption through pair creation. A specific study is done for PSR B1259-63/LS2883. Results. When stellar wind clumps perturb the two-wind interaction region, the associated non-thermal radiation in the X-ray band, of synchrotron origin, and in the GeV-TeV band, of inverse Compton origin, is affected by several equally important effects: (i) strong changes in the plasma velocity direction that result in Doppler boosting factor variations; (ii) strengthening of the magnetic field that mainly enhances the synchrotron radiation; (iii) strengthening of the pulsar wind kinetic energy dissipation at the shock, potentially available for particle acceleration; and (iv) changes in the rate of adiabatic losses that affect the lower energy part of the non-thermal particle population. The radiation above 100 GeV detected, presumably, during the post-periastron crossing of the Be star disc in PSR B1259-63/LS2883, can be roughly reproduced assuming that the crossing of the disc is modelled as the encounter with a large inhomogeneity. Conclusions. Because of the likely diverse nature of clumps in the stellar wind, and hydrodynamical instabilities, the non-thermal radiation of high-mass binaries with a non-accreting pulsar is expected to be boosted somewhat chaotically, and to present different superimposed variability patterns. Some of the observed variability in gamma rays from PSR B1259-63/LS2883 is qualitatively reproduced by our calculation

Gamma rays from clumpy wind-jet interactions in high-mass microquasars

Context. The stellar winds of the massive stars in high-mass microquasars are thought to be inhomogeneous. The interaction of these inhomogeneities, or clumps, with the jets of these objects may be a major factor in gamma-ray production. Aims. Our goal is to characterize a typical scenario of clump-jet interaction, and calculate the contribution of these interactions to the gamma-ray emission from these systems. Methods. We use axisymmetric, relativistic hydrodynamical simulations to model the emitting flow in a typical clump-jet interaction. Using the simulation results we perform a numerical calculation of the high-energy emission from one of these interactions. The radiative calculations are performed for relativistic electrons locally accelerated at the jet shock, and the synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation spectra are computed for different stages of the shocked clump evolution. We also explore different parameter values, such as viewing angle and magnetic field strength. The results derived from one clump-jet interaction are generalized phenomenologically to multiple interactions under different wind models, estimating the clump-jet interaction rates, and the resulting luminosities in the GeV range. Results. If particles are efficiently accelerated in clump-jet interactions, the apparent gamma-ray luminosity through inverse Compton scattering with the stellar photons can be significant even for rather strong magnetic fields and thus efficient synchrotron cooling. Moreover, despite the standing nature or slow motion of the jet shocks for most of the interaction stage, Doppler boosting in the postshock flow is relevant even for mildly relativistic jets. Conclusions. For clump-to-average wind density contrasts greater than or equal to ten, clump-jet interactions could be bright enough to match the observed GeV luminosity in Cyg X-1 and Cyg X-3 when a jet is present in these sources, with required non-thermal-to-total available power fractions greater than 0.01 and 0.1, respectively

On the origin of correlated X-ray/VHE emission from LS I +61 303

The MAGIC collaboration has recently reported correlated X-ray and very high-energy gamma-ray emission from the gamma-ray binary LS I +61 303 during ~60% of one orbit. These observations suggest that the emission in these two bands has its origin in a single particle population. We aim at improving our understanding of the source behaviour by explaining the simultaneous X-ray and VHE data through a radiation model. We use a model based on a one zone population of relativistic leptonic particles assuming dominant adiabatic losses located at the position of the compact object. The adiabatic cooling timescale is inferred from the X-ray fluxes. The model can reproduce the spectra and lightcurves in the X-ray and VHE bands. Adiabatic losses could be the key ingredient to explain the X-ray and partially the VHE lightcurves. From the best fit result, we obtain a magnetic field of B=0.2 G, a minimum luminosity budget of ~2x10^35 erg/s and a relatively high acceleration efficiency. In addition, our results seem to confirm that the GeV emission detected by Fermi does not come from the same parent particle population as the X-ray and VHE emission and the Fermi spectrum poses a constraint on the hardness of the particle spectrum at lower energies. In the context of our scenario, more sensitive observations would allow to constrain the inclination angle, which could determine the nature of the compact object

Aquaporin-11 Contributes to TGF-β1-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Human Visceral Adipocytes: Role in Obesity-Associated Inflammation

Aquaporin-11 (AQP11) is expressed in human adipocytes, but its functional role remains unknown. Since AQP11 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein that transports water, glycerol, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), we hypothesized that this superaquaporin is involved in ER stress induced by lipotoxicity and inflammation in human obesity. AQP11 expression was assessed in 67 paired visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples obtained from patients with morbid obesity and normal-weight individuals. We found that obesity and obesity-associated type 2 diabetes increased (p < 0.05) AQP11 mRNA and protein in visceral adipose tissue, but not subcutaneous fat. Accordingly, AQP11 mRNA was upregulated (p < 0.05) during adipocyte differentiation and lipolysis, two biological processes altered in the obese state. Subcellular fractionation and confocal microscopy studies confirmed its presence in the ER plasma membrane of visceral adipocytes. Proinflammatory factors TNF-α, and particularly TGF-β1, downregulated (p < 0.05) AQP11 mRNA and protein expression and reinforced its subcellular distribution surrounding lipid droplets. Importantly, the AQP11 gene knockdown increased (p < 0.05) basal and TGF-β1-induced expression of the ER markers ATF4 and CHOP. Together, the downregulation of AQP11 aggravates TGF-β1-induced ER stress in visceral adipocytes. Owing to its “peroxiporin” properties, AQP11 overexpression in visceral fat might constitute a compensatory mechanism to alleviate ER stress in obesity

Coupling hydrodynamics and radiation calculations for star-jet interactions in active galactic nuclei

Context. Stars and their winds can contribute to the non-thermal emission in extragalactic jets. Because of the complexity of jet-star interactions, the properties of the resulting emission are closely linked to those of the emitting flows. Aims. We simulate the interaction between a stellar wind and a relativistic extragalactic jet and use the hydrodynamic results to compute the non-thermal emission under different conditions. Methods. We performed relativistic axisymmetric hydrodynamical simulations of a relativistic jet interacting with a supersonic, non-relativistic stellar wind. We computed the corresponding streamlines out of the simulation results and calculated the injection, evolution, and emission of non-thermal particles accelerated in the jet shock, focusing on electrons or e±-pairs. Several cases were explored, considering different jet-star interaction locations, magnetic fields, and observer lines of sight. The jet luminosity and star properties were fixed, but the results are easily scalable when these parameters are changed. Results. Individual jet-star interactions produce synchrotron and inverse Compton emission that peaks from X-rays to MeV energies (depending on the magnetic field), and at ~100-1000 GeV (depending on the stellar type), respectively. The radiation spectrum is hard in the scenarios explored here as a result of non-radiative cooling dominance, as low-energy electrons are efficiently advected even under relatively high magnetic fields. Interactions of jets with cold stars lead to an even harder inverse Compton spectrum because of the Klein-Nishina effect in the cross section. Doppler boosting has a strong effect on the observer luminosity. Conclusions. The emission levels for individual interactions found here are in the line of previous, more approximate, estimates, strengthening the hypothesis that collective jet-star interactions could significantly contribute at high energies under efficient particle acceleration

Diatom-inferred ecological responses of an oceanic lake system to volcanism and anthropogenic perturbations since 1290 CE

The impacts of natural- and human-induced processes on lake ecosystems in remote oceanic islands remain to be fully elucidated. These lakes are excellent candidates to analyze the importance of anthropogenic vs. natural forces driving lacustrine long-term ecological evolution from previous pristine pre-colonized conditions. Disentangling the effects of both is particularly relevant in highly active volcanic areas, where catastrophic eruptions can act as an atypical natural driver altering the lake's long-term ecological trajectories. In this paper we study past ecological changes occurring in Lake Azul (São Miguel island), a crater lake from the remote Azorean archipelago, to address which were the main causes of its long-term trophic history. We analyzed diatom assemblages, sedimentology, and bulk organic matter of sediments deposited since ca. 1290 CE, when a huge local eruption occurred. This episode drove the evolution of Lake Azul through six distinct phases, commencing with a restart of ecological succession after tephra deposition disrupted biogeochemical cycling. The alteration was so profound that the lake underwent a state of oligotrophic conditions for approx. 650 yr. Nutrients were sourced by fish-induced internal recycling and the overflow of the near Lake Verde during this period, rather than by allochthonous nutrient inputs modulated by climate variability and/or vegetation cover changes in the watershed after the official Portuguese colonization. It was only after recent artificial fertilization when the system overcame the volcanic-induced long-term resilience. This over-fertilization and a reduction in water turnover exacerbated the recent symptoms of eutrophication after 1990 CE. Contrary to other studies, Lake Azul constitutes an uncommon case of long-term resilience to trophic change induced by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. It brings new insights into the fate of lake ecosystems which might be affected by similar events in the future