1,475 research outputs found
Sobemovirus genome appears to encode a serine protease related to cysteine proteases of picornaviruses
AbstractA putative serine protease was identified among non-structural proteins of southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV) by sequence comparison with cellular and viral proteases. The predicted SBMV proteased is played a significant similarity to cysteine proteases of picornaviruses, providing a possible evolutionary link between the two enzyme classes. It is suggested that SBMV follows the general expression strategy characteristic of other positive-strand RNA viruses containing 5′-terminal covalently linked proteins (VPg), i.e. generation of functional proteins by polyprotein processing
Liquid crystal as laser medium with tunable gain spectra.
Amplified spontaneous emission intensity and gain spectra in polarized light have been measured in a dye doped nematic liquid crystal for different orientation of its optical axis and pump intensity. A possibility for switching the gain of the liquid crystal by an external electric field is shown experimentally. The liquid crystal materials with field controlled gain can be used in microlasers and light micro-amplifiers in both planar and waveguiding geometry. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America
Preoperative evaluation of the venous system during the surgery of parasagittal meningioma
Clinical observation of the patient with parasagittal meningioma at the level of the middle third of the superior sagittal sinus and falx is presented. When such tumors are removed, the main task is to prevent damage to the parasagittal veins, the injury of which can cause a persistent neurological defi cit in the postoperative period. A feature of this case is the complex use of advanced minimally invasive methods of angiographic diagnosis when planning surgical treatment, which signifi cantly increases the chances of a successful outcome of the operation
Probing the Inner Jet of the Quasar PKS 1510-089 with Multi-waveband Monitoring during Strong Gamma-ray Activity
We present results from monitoring the multi-waveband flux, linear
polarization, and parsec-scale structure of the quasar PKS 1510-089,
concentrating on eight major gamma-ray flares that occurred during the interval
2009.0-2009.5. The gamma-ray peaks were essentially simultaneous with maxima at
optical wavelengths, although the flux ratio of the two wavebands varied by an
order of magnitude. The optical polarization vector rotated by 720 degrees
during a 5-day period encompassing six of these flares. This culminated in a
very bright, roughly 1 day, optical and gamma-ray flare as a bright knot of
emission passed through the highest-intensity, stationary feature (the "core")
seen in 43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array images. The knot continued to propagate
down the jet at an apparent speed of 22c and emit strongly at gamma-ray
energies as a months-long X-ray/radio outburst intensified. We interpret these
events as the result of the knot following a spiral path through a mainly
toroidal magnetic field pattern in the acceleration and collimation zone of the
jet, after which it passes through a standing shock in the 43 GHz core and then
continues downstream. In this picture, the rapid gamma-ray flares result from
scattering of infrared seed photons from a relatively slow sheath of the jet as
well as from optical synchrotron radiation in the faster spine. The 2006-2009.7
radio and X-ray flux variations are correlated at very high significance; we
conclude that the X-rays are mainly from inverse Compton scattering of infrared
seed photons by 20-40 MeV electrons.Comment: 10 pages of text + 5 figures, to be published in Astrophysical
Journal Letters in 201
A multi-wavelength polarimetric study of the blazar CTA 102 during a Gamma-ray flare in 2012
We perform a multi-wavelength polarimetric study of the quasar CTA 102 during
an extraordinarily bright -ray outburst detected by the {\it Fermi}
Large Area Telescope in September-October 2012 when the source reached a flux
of F photons cm s.
At the same time the source displayed an unprecedented optical and NIR
outburst. We study the evolution of the parsec scale jet with ultra-high
angular resolution through a sequence of 80 total and polarized intensity Very
Long Baseline Array images at 43 GHz, covering the observing period from June
2007 to June 2014. We find that the -ray outburst is coincident with
flares at all the other frequencies and is related to the passage of a new
superluminal knot through the radio core. The powerful -ray emission is
associated with a change in direction of the jet, which became oriented more
closely to our line of sight (1.2) during the ejection of
the knot and the -ray outburst. During the flare, the optical polarized
emission displays intra-day variability and a clear clockwise rotation of
EVPAs, which we associate with the path followed by the knot as it moves along
helical magnetic field lines, although a random walk of the EVPA caused by a
turbulent magnetic field cannot be ruled out. We locate the -ray
outburst a short distance downstream of the radio core, parsecs from the black
hole. This suggests that synchrotron self-Compton scattering of near-infrared
to ultraviolet photons is the probable mechanism for the -ray
production.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
On the Location of the Gamma-ray Emission in the 2008 Outburst in the BL Lacertae Object AO 0235+164 through Observations across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
We present observations of a major outburst at centimeter, millimeter,
optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths of the BL Lacertae object AO
0235+164. We analyze the timing of multi-waveband variations in the flux and
linear polarization, as well as changes in Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
images at 7mm with 0.15 milliarcsecond resolution. The association of the
events at different wavebands is confirmed at high statistical significance by
probability arguments and Monte-Carlo simulations. A series of sharp peaks in
optical linear polarization, as well as a pronounced maximum in the 7 mm
polarization of a superluminal jet knot, indicate rapid fluctuations in the
degree of ordering of the magnetic field. These results lead us to conclude
that the outburst occurred in the jet both in the quasi-stationary "core" and
in the superluminal knot, both parsecs downstream of the supermassive black
hole. We interpret the outburst as a consequence of the propagation of a
disturbance, elongated along the line of sight by light-travel time delays,
that passes through a standing recollimation shock in the core and propagates
down the jet to create the superluminal knot. The multi-wavelength light curves
vary together on long time-scales (months/years), but the correspondence is
poorer on shorter time-scales. This, as well as the variability of the
polarization and the dual location of the outburst, agrees with the
expectations of a multi-zone emission model in which turbulence plays a major
role in modulating the synchrotron and inverse Compton fluxes.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. 7
pages (including 5 figures). Minor corrections with regard to previous
version, as proposed by the refere
Flaring Behavior of the Quasar 3C~454.3 across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
We analyze the behavior of the parsec-scale jet of the quasar 3C~454.3 during
pronounced flaring activity in 2005-2008. Three major disturbances propagated
down the jet along different trajectories with Lorentz factors 10. The
disturbances show a clear connection with millimeter-wave outbursts, in 2005
May/June, 2007 July, and 2007 December. High-amplitude optical events in the
-band light curve precede peaks of the millimeter-wave outbursts by 15-50
days. Each optical outburst is accompanied by an increase in X-ray activity. We
associate the optical outbursts with propagation of the superluminal knots and
derive the location of sites of energy dissipation in the form of radiation.
The most prominent and long-lasting of these, in 2005 May, occurred closer to
the black hole, while the outbursts with a shorter duration in 2005 Autumn and
in 2007 might be connected with the passage of a disturbance through the
millimeter-wave core of the jet. The optical outbursts, which coincide with the
passage of superluminal radio knots through the core, are accompanied by
systematic rotation of the position angle of optical linear polarization. Such
rotation appears to be a common feature during the early stages of flares in
blazars. We find correlations between optical variations and those at X-ray and
-ray energies. We conclude that the emergence of a superluminal knot
from the core yields a series of optical and high-energy outbursts, and that
the mm-wave core lies at the end of the jet's acceleration and collimation
zone.Comment: 57 pages, 23 figures, 8 tables (submitted to ApJ
Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR
Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to
explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC
energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing
net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was
created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the
hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities
and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a
rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and
partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like
quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in
our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of
various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter
(CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD
phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is
designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the
key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential
observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense
phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100
(sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD
matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500
MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as
it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we
review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including
activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the
worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal
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