89,373 research outputs found
Ammonia in the hot core W51-IRS2: 12 new maser lines and a maser component with a velocity drift
With the 100-m telescope at Effelsberg, 19 ammonia (NH3) maser lines have
been detected toward the prominent massive star forming region W51-IRS2. Eleven
of these inversion lines, the (J,K) = (6,2), (5,3), (7,4), (8,5), (7,6), (7,7),
(9,7), (10,7), (9,9), (10,9), and (12,12) transitions, are classified as masers
for the first time in outer space. All detected masers are related to highly
excited inversion doublets. The (5,4) maser originates from an inversion
doublet 340 K above the ground state, while the (12,12) transition, at 1450 K,
is the most highly excited NH3 maser line so far known. Strong variability is
seen not only in ortho- but also in para-NH3 transitions. Bright narrow
emission features are observed, for the first time, in (mostly) ortho-ammonia
transitions, at V ~ 45 km/s, well separated from the quasi-thermal emission
near 60 km/s. These features were absent 25 years ago and show a velocity drift
of about +0.2 km/s/yr. The component is likely related to the SiO maser source
in W51-IRS2 and a possible scenario explaining the velocity drift is outlined.
The 57 km/s component of the (9,6) maser line is found to be strongly linearly
polarized. Maser emission in the (J,K) to (J+1,K) inversion doublets is
strictly forbidden by selection rules for electric dipole transitions in the
ground vibrational state. However, such pairs (and even triplets with (J+2,K))
are common toward W51-IRS2. Similarities in line widths and velocities indicate
that such groups of maser lines arise from the same regions, which can be
explained by pumping through vibrational excitation. The large number of NH3
maser lines in W51-IRS2 is most likely related to the exceptionally high
kinetic temperature and NH3 column density of this young massive star forming
region.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 11 pages, 12
postscript figures, 1 tabl
Studies of the nucler equation of state using numerical calculations of nuclear drop collisions
A numerical calculation for the full thermal dynamics of colliding nuclei was developed. Preliminary results are reported for the thermal fluid dynamics in such processes as Coulomb scattering, fusion, fusion-fission, bulk oscillations, compression with heating, and collisions of heated nuclei
Schelling segregation in an open city: a kinetically constrained Blume-Emery-Griffiths spin-1 system
In the 70's Schelling introduced a multi-agent model to describe the
segregation dynamics that may occur with individuals having only weak
preferences for 'similar' neighbors. Recently variants of this model have been
discussed, in particular, with emphasis on the links with statistical physics
models. Whereas these models consider a fixed number of agents moving on a
lattice, here we present a version allowing for exchanges with an external
reservoir of agents. The density of agents is controlled by a parameter which
can be viewed as measuring the attractiveness of the city-lattice. This model
is directly related to the zero-temperature dynamics of the
Blume-Emery-Griffiths (BEG) spin-1 model, with kinetic constraints. With a
varying vacancy density, the dynamics with agents making deterministic
decisions leads to a new variety of "phases" whose main features are the
characteristics of the interfaces between clusters of agents of different
types. The domains of existence of each type of interface are obtained
analytically as well as numerically. These interfaces may completely isolate
the agents leading to another type of segregation as compared to what is
observed in the original Schelling model, and we discuss its possible
socio-economic correlates.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, final version accepted for publication in PR
Experimental and analytical study of nitric oxide formation during combustion of propane in a jet-stirred combustor
A jet-stirred combustor, constructed of castable zirconia and with an Inconel injector, was used to study nitric oxide formation in propane-air combustion with residence times in the range from 3.2 to 3.3 msec and equivalence ratios varying from 0.7 to 1.4. Measurements were made of combustor operating temperature and of nitric oxide concentration. Maximum nitric oxide concentrations of the order of 55 ppm were found in the range of equivalence ratio from 1.0 to 1.1. A finite-rate chemical kinetic mechanism for propane combustion and nitric oxide formation was assembled by coupling an existing propane oxidation mechanism with the Zeldovich reactions and reactions of molecular nitrogen with hydrocarbon fragments. Analytical studies using this mechanism in a computer simulation of the experimental conditions revealed that the hydrocarbon-fragment-nitrogen reactions play a significant role in nitric oxide formation during fuel-rich combustion
ClassTR: Classifying Within-Host Heterogeneity Based on Tandem Repeats with Application to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections.
Genomic tools have revealed genetically diverse pathogens within some hosts. Within-host pathogen diversity, which we refer to as "complex infection", is increasingly recognized as a determinant of treatment outcome for infections like tuberculosis. Complex infection arises through two mechanisms: within-host mutation (which results in clonal heterogeneity) and reinfection (which results in mixed infections). Estimates of the frequency of within-host mutation and reinfection in populations are critical for understanding the natural history of disease. These estimates influence projections of disease trends and effects of interventions. The genotyping technique MLVA (multiple loci variable-number tandem repeats analysis) can identify complex infections, but the current method to distinguish clonal heterogeneity from mixed infections is based on a rather simple rule. Here we describe ClassTR, a method which leverages MLVA information from isolates collected in a population to distinguish mixed infections from clonal heterogeneity. We formulate the resolution of complex infections into their constituent strains as an optimization problem, and show its NP-completeness. We solve it efficiently by using mixed integer linear programming and graph decomposition. Once the complex infections are resolved into their constituent strains, ClassTR probabilistically classifies isolates as clonally heterogeneous or mixed by using a model of tandem repeat evolution. We first compare ClassTR with the standard rule-based classification on 100 simulated datasets. ClassTR outperforms the standard method, improving classification accuracy from 48% to 80%. We then apply ClassTR to a sample of 436 strains collected from tuberculosis patients in a South African community, of which 92 had complex infections. We find that ClassTR assigns an alternate classification to 18 of the 92 complex infections, suggesting important differences in practice. By explicitly modeling tandem repeat evolution, ClassTR helps to improve our understanding of the mechanisms driving within-host diversity of pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis
ATD-2 Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) System Specification - Phase 2
The purpose of this document is to capture the core capabilities developed in ATD-2 Phase 2
Extended Gas in Seyfert Galaxies: Near Infrared Observations of NGC 2110 and Circinus
We present results of near--IR long-slit spectroscopy in the J and K bands of
the Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 2110 and Circinus, investigating the gaseous
distribution, excitation, reddening and kinematics. In NGC 2110, the emission
line ratio [FeII]/Pa beta increases towards the nucleus (to ~ 7). The nuclear
[Fe II]1.257 (microns) and Pa beta lines are broader (FWHM ~ 500 km/s) than the
H2 (2.121) line (FWHM ~ 300 km/s). Both these results suggest that shocks,
driven by the radio jet, are an important source of excitation of [Fe II]. The
H2 excitation appears to be dominated by X-rays from the nucleus. In Circinus,
both [FeII]/Pa beta and H2/Br gamma decrease from ~ 2 at 4 arcsec from the
nucleus to nuclear values of ~ 0.6 and ~ 1, respectively, suggesting that the
starburst dominates the nuclear excitation, while the AGN dominates the
excitation further out (r > 2 arcsec). For both galaxies, the gaseous
kinematics are consistent with circular rotation in the plane of the disk. Our
rotation curves suggest that the nucleus (identified with the peak of the IR
continuum) is displaced from the kinematic centre of the galaxies. This effect
has been observed previously in NGC 2110 based on the kinematics of optical
emission lines, but the displacement is smaller in the infrared, suggesting the
effect is related to obscuration. The continuum J-K colours of the nuclear
region indicate a red stellar population in NGC 2110 and a reddened young
stellar population in Circinus. Right at the nucleus of both galaxies, the
colours are redder, apparently a result of hot dust emission from the inner
edge of a circumnuclear torus.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Granular discharge rate for submerged hoppers
The discharge of spherical grains from a hole in the bottom of a right
circular cylinder is measured with the entire system underwater. We find that
the discharge rate depends on filling height, in contrast to the well-known
case of dry non-cohesive grains. It is further surprising that the rate
increases up to about twenty five percent, as the hopper empties and the
granular pressure head decreases. For deep filling, where the discharge rate is
constant, we measure the behavior as a function of both grain and hole
diameters. The discharge rate scale is set by the product of hole area and the
terminal falling speed of isolated grains. But there is a small-hole cutoff of
about two and half grain diameters, which is larger than the analogous cutoff
in the Beverloo equation for dry grains
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