78 research outputs found
Thermodynamic properties and structural stability of thorium dioxide
Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have systematically
investigated the thermodynamic properties and structural stabilities of thorium
dioxide (ThO). Based on the calculated phonon dispersion curves, we
calculate the thermal expansion coefficient, bulk modulus, and heat capacities
at different temperatures for ThO under the quasi-harmonic approximation.
All the results are in good agreement with corresponding experiments proving
the validity of our methods. Our theoretical studies can help people more
clearly understand the thermodynamic behaviors of ThO at different
temperatures. In addition, we have also studied possible defect formations and
diffusion behaviors of helium in ThO, to discuss its structural stability.
It is found that in intrinsic ThO without any Fermi energy shifts, the
interstitial Th defect other than oxygen or thorium vacancies,
interstitial oxygen, and any kinds of Frenkel pairs, is most probable to form
with an energy release of 1.74 eV. However, after upshifting the Fermi energy,
the formation of the other defects also becomes possible. For helium diffusion,
we find that only through the thorium vacancy can it happen with the small
energy barrier of 0.52 eV. Otherwise, helium atoms can hardly incorporate or
diffuse in ThO. Our results indicate that people should prevent upshifts of
the Fermi energy of ThO to avoid the formation of thorium vacancies and so
as to prevent helium caused damages.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Spatial modulation of water ordering in lecithin bilayers. Evidence for a ripple-ripple phase transition
Intense motional averaging effects on the 2H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of 2H2O that occur in aqueous dispersions of dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (Myr2-PtdCho) are explained by a spatial modulation in the orientational order of the water induced by ripplelike structures. The ratio of the amplitude to the periodic length of the ripples, A/lambda, at a molar ratio of water/Myr2-PtdCho of 9.5:1, is measured by 2H NMR and found to be consistent with x-ray measurements of this ratio in the P beta phase of dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (Pam2-PtdCho) bilayers. The sensitivity of 2H NMR allows us to report the presence of two distinct ripple phases mediated with a discontinuous change in the value of A/lambda. This result suggests that the two ripple structures observed for several phospholipid systems in excess water by freeze-fracture electron microscopy may be associated with two different phases instead of the same phase as previously assumed
Cats and Dogs, Hair and A Hero: A Quintet of New Milky Way Companions
We present five new satellites of the Milky Way discovered in Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data, four of which were followed-up with either the
Subaru or the Isaac Newton Telescopes. They include four probable new dwarf
galaxies -- one each in the constellations of Coma Berenices, Canes Venatici,
Leo and Hercules -- together with one unusually extended globular cluster,
Segue 1. We provide distances, absolute magnitudes, half-light radii and
color-magnitude diagrams for all five satellites. The morphological features of
the color-magnitude diagrams are generally well described by the ridge line of
the old, metal-poor globular cluster M92. In the last two years, a total of ten
new Milky Way satellites with effective surface brightness mu_v >~ 28 mag/sq.
arcsec have been discovered in SDSS data. They are less luminous, more
irregular and appear to be more metal-poor than the previously-known nine Milky
Way dwarf spheroidals. The relationship between these objects and other
populations is discussed. We note that there is a paucity of objects with
half-light radii between ~40 pc and ~ 100 pc. We conjecture that this may
represent the division between star clusters and dwarf galaxies.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
Tidal Dwarf Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts
We present the first attempt at measuring the production rate of tidal dwarf
galaxies (TDGs) and estimating their contribution to the overall dwarf
population. Using HST/ACS deep imaging data from GOODS and GEMS surveys in
conjunction with photometric redshifts from COMBO-17 survey, we performed a
morphological analysis for a sample of merging/interacting galaxies in the
Extended Chandra Deep Field South and identified tidal dwarf candidates in the
rest-frame optical bands. We estimated a production rate about 1.4 {\times}
10^{-5} per Gyr per comoving volume for long-lived TDGs with stellar mass 3
{\times} 10^{8-9} solar mass at 0.5<z<1.1. Together with galaxy merger rates
and TDG survival rate from the literature, our results suggest that only a
marginal fraction (less than 10%) of dwarf galaxies in the local universe could
be tidally-originated. TDGs in our sample are on average bluer than their host
galaxies in the optical. Stellar population modelling of optical to
near-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for two TDGs favors a burst
component with age 400/200 Myr and stellar mass 40%/26% of the total,
indicating that a young stellar population newly formed in TDGs. This is
consistent with the episodic star formation histories found for nearby TDGs.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
Star-formation in the HI bridge between M81 and M82
We present multi-wavelength observations of stellar features in the HI tidal
bridge connecting M81 and M82 in the region called Arp's Loop. We identify
eight young star-forming regions from Galaxy Evolution Explorer ultraviolet
observations. Four of these objects are also detected at H\alpha. We determine
the basic star formation history of Arp's Loop using F475W and F814W images
obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space
Telescope. We find both a young (1 Gyr) stellar
population with a similar spatial distribution and a metallicity Z~0.004. We
suggest that the old stellar population was formed in the stellar disk of M82
and/or M81 and ejected into the intergalactic medium during a tidal passage (~
200-300 Myr ago), whereas the young UV-bright stars have formed in the tidal
debris. The UV luminosities of the eight objects are modest and typical of
small clusters or OB associations. The tidal bridge between M81-M82 therefore
appears to be intermediate between the very low levels of star formation seen
in the Magellanic bridge and actively star-forming tidal tails associated with
major galaxy mergers.Comment: Astronomical Journal accepte
UV Morphology and Star Formation in the Tidal Tails of NGC 4038/39
We present GALEX FUV (1530 A) and NUV (2310 A) observations of the archetypal
merging system NGC 4038/39, ``The Antennae". Both tails are relatively bright
in the UV, especially in the vicinity of the Tidal Dwarf Galaxy candidates at
the end of the southern tail. The UV light generally falls within the optically
delineated tails, although the UV light is considerably more structured, with a
remarkably similar morphology to the tidal HI. The UV colors suggest that there
has been continuing star formation within the tidal tails, even outside the
previously studied Tidal Dwarf regions. Within the inner disk regions, there
are interesting UV features which appear to be related to the extended soft
X-ray loops and halo recently discovered by CHANDRA.Comment: Uses apjl.cls, emulateapj.sty. 4pgs, 2 figures, 1 table. This paper
will be published as part of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
Astrophysical Journal Letters Special Issue. Links to the full set of papers
will be available at http:/www.galex.caltech.edu/PUBLICATIONS/ after November
22, 2004. Version with full resolution figures available at
http://www.nrao.edu/~jhibbard/n4038/GALEX
Complete Structural Model of Escherichia coli RNA Polymerase from a Hybrid Approach
A combination of structural approaches yields a complete atomic model of the highly biochemically characterized Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, enabling fuller exploitation of E. coli as a model for understanding transcription
Tides in colliding galaxies
Long tails and streams of stars are the most noticeable upshots of galaxy
collisions. Their origin as gravitational, tidal, disturbances has however been
recognized only less than fifty years ago and more than ten years after their
first observations. This Review describes how the idea of galactic tides
emerged, in particular thanks to the advances in numerical simulations, from
the first ones that included tens of particles to the most sophisticated ones
with tens of millions of them and state-of-the-art hydrodynamical
prescriptions. Theoretical aspects pertaining to the formation of tidal tails
are then presented. The third part of the review turns to observations and
underlines the need for collecting deep multi-wavelength data to tackle the
variety of physical processes exhibited by collisional debris. Tidal tails are
not just stellar structures, but turn out to contain all the components usually
found in galactic disks, in particular atomic / molecular gas and dust. They
host star-forming complexes and are able to form star-clusters or even
second-generation dwarf galaxies. The final part of the review discusses what
tidal tails can tell us (or not) about the structure and content of present-day
galaxies, including their dark components, and explains how tidal tails may be
used to probe the past evolution of galaxies and their mass assembly history.
On-going deep wide-field surveys disclose many new low-surface brightness
structures in the nearby Universe, offering great opportunities for attempting
galactic archeology with tidal tails.Comment: 46 pages, 13 figures, Review to be published in "Tidal effects in
Astronomy and Astrophysics", Lecture Notes in Physics. Comments are most
welcom
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