Stellar Velocity Dispersion and Black Hole Mass in the Blazar Markarian 501

The recently discovered correlation between black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion provides a new method to determine the masses of black holes in active galaxies. We have obtained optical spectra of Markarian 501, a nearby gamma-ray blazar with emission extending to TeV energies. The stellar velocity dispersion of the host galaxy, measured from the calcium triplet lines in a 2"x3.7" aperture, is 372 +/- 18 km/s. If Mrk 501 follows the M-sigma correlation defined for local galaxies, then its central black hole has a mass of (0.9-3.4)x10^9 solar masses. This is significantly larger than some previous estimates for the central mass in Mrk 501 that have been based on models for its nonthermal emission. The host galaxy luminosity implies a black hole of 6x10^8 solar masses, but this is not in severe conflict with the mass derived from the M-sigma relation because the M_BH-L_bulge correlation has a large intrinsic scatter. Using the emission-line luminosity to estimate the bolometric luminosity of the central engine, we find that Mrk 501 radiates at an extremely sub-Eddington level of L/L_Edd ~ 10^-4. Further applications of the M-sigma relation to radio-loud active galactic nuclei may be useful for interpreting unified models and understanding the relationship between radio galaxies and BL Lac objects.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letters. 5 pages, 2 figure

Chemisorption on a model bcc metal

The system considered here is that of a single atom with one energy level chemisorbed on the (001) surface of a model bcc metal. We present the change in the density of electronic states Δn (E) due to chemisorption for two cases: one when the adatom is bound to a single substrate atom in the "on‐site" configuration and the other when it is bound to four substrate atoms in the "centered fourfold site." In principle, this change in the density of states Δn can be related to the results of photoemission measurements

The Human Right to Science and Foundational Technologies

Feeney et al. (2018) make a valid argument for restrictions on the exclusivity of foundational technologies such as CRISPR. The issue of balancing intellectual property right with access to scientific and technological advancements is certainly not new. In our commentary, we argue that the human right to science offers a more concrete basis for governments to balance their competing commitments in promoting scientific development on the one hand, and ensuring benefit-sharing on the other, in ways that advance social justice under non-ideal conditions

Spinor Bose Condensates in Optical Traps

In an optical trap, the ground state of spin-1 Bosons such as $^{23}$Na, $^{39}$K, and $^{87}$Rb can be either a ferromagnetic or a "polar" state, depending on the scattering lengths in different angular momentum channel. The collective modes of these states have very different spin character and spatial distributions. While ordinary vortices are stable in the polar state, only those with unit circulation are stable in the ferromagnetic state. The ferromagnetic state also has coreless (or Skyrmion) vortices like those of superfluid $^{3}$He-A. Current estimates of scattering lengths suggest that the ground states of $^{23}$Na and $^{87}$Rb condensate are a polar state and a ferromagnetic state respectively.Comment: 11 pages, no figures. email : [email protected]

Generation of long-living entanglement between two separate atoms

A scheme for non-conditional generation of long-living maximally entangled states between two spatially well separated atoms is proposed. In the scheme, $\Lambda$-type atoms pass a resonator-like equipment of dispersing and absorbing macroscopic bodies giving rise to body-assisted electromagnetic field resonances of well-defined heights and widths. Strong atom-field coupling is combined with weak atom-field coupling to realize entanglement transfer from the dipole-allowed transitions to the dipole-forbidden transitions, thereby the entanglement being preserved when the atoms depart from the bodies and from each other. The theory is applied to the case of the atoms passing by a microsphere.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Faddeev-type equations for three-body symmetry violating scattering amplitudes

The equations which relate three-body and two-body symmetry violating scattering amplitudes are derived in the first order of symmetry violating interactions. They can be used to obtain three-body symmetry violating scattering amplitudes from two-body symmetry violating scattering amplitudes calculated in low energy effective field theory

Protein transduction: A novel tool for tissue regeneration

Tissue regeneration in humans is limited and excludes vitals organs like heart and brain. Transformation experiments with oncogenes like T antigen have shown that retrodifferentiation of the respective cells is possible but hard to control. To bypass the risk of cancer formation a protein therapy approach has been developed. The transient delivery of proteins rather than genes could still induce terminallydifferentiated cells to reenter the cell cycle. This approach takes advantage of proteintransducing domains that mediate the transfer of cargo proteins into cells. The goal of this brief review is to outline the basics of protein transduction and to discuss potential applications for tissue regeneration

A Tidal Flare Candidate in Abell 1795

As part of our ongoing archival X-ray survey of galaxy clusters for tidal flares, we present evidence of an X-ray transient source within 1 arcmin of the core of Abell 1795. The extreme variability (a factor of nearly 50), luminosity (> 2 x 10^42 erg s^{-1}), long duration (> 5 years) and supersoft X-ray spectrum (< 0.1 keV) are characteristic signatures of a stellar tidal disruption event according to theoretical predictions and to existing X-ray observations, implying a massive >~10^5 M_sun black hole at the centre of that galaxy. The large number of X-ray source counts (~700) and long temporal baseline (~12 years with Chandra and XMM-Newton) make this one of the best-sampled examples of any tidal flare candidate to date. The transient may be the same EUV source originally found contaminating the diffuse ICM observations of Bowyer et al. (1999), which would make it the only tidal flare candidate with reported EUV observations and implies an early source luminosity 1-2 orders of magnitude greater. If the host galaxy is a cluster member then it must be a dwarf galaxy, an order of magnitude less massive than the quiescent galaxy Henize 2-10 which hosts a massive black hole that is difficult to reconcile with its low mass. The unusual faintness of the host galaxy may be explained by tidal stripping in the cluster core.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS 2013 July 23. 27 pages, 10 figure

Kinematics of Circumgalactic Gas: Feeding Galaxies and Feedback

We present observations of 50 pairs of redshift z ~ 0.2 star-forming galaxies and background quasars. These sightlines probe the circumgalactic medium (CGM) out to half the virial radius, and we describe the circumgalactic gas kinematics relative to the reference frame defined by the galactic disks. We detect halo gas in MgII absorption, measure the equivalent-width-weighted Doppler shifts relative to each galaxy, and find that the CGM has a component of angular momentum that is aligned with the galactic disk. No net counter-rotation of the CGM is detected within 45 degrees of the major axis at any impact parameter. The velocity offset of the circumgalactic gas correlates with the projected rotation speed in the disk plane out to disk radii of roughly 70 kpc. We confirm previous claims that the MgII absorption becomes stronger near the galactic minor axis and show that the equivalent width correlates with the velocity range of the absorption. We cannot directly measure the location of any absorber along the sightline, but we explore the hypothesis that individual velocity components can be associated with gas orbiting in the disk plane or flowing radially outward in a conical outflow. We conclude that centrifugal forces partially support the low-ionization gas and galactic outflows kinematically disturb the CGM producing excess absorption. Our results firmly rule out schema for the inner CGM that lack rotation and suggest that angular momentum as well as galactic winds should be included in any viable model for the low-redshift CGM.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa