An imaging and spectroscopic study of the planetary nebulae in NGC 5128 (Centaurus A): Planetary nebulae catalogues

Imaging and spectroscopic observations of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the nearest large elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A), were obtained to find more PNe and measure their radial velocities. NTT imaging was obtained in 15 fields in NGC 5128 over an area of about 1 square degree with EMMI using [O III] and off-band filters. Newly detected sources, combined with literature PNe, were used as input for VLT FLAMES multi-fibre spectroscopy in MEDUSA mode. Spectra of the 4600-5100A region were analysed and velocities measured based on emission lines of [O III]4959,5007A and often H-beta. The chief results are catalogues of 1118 PN candidates and 1267 spectroscopically confirmed PNe in NGC 5128. The catalogue of PN candidates contains 1060 PNe discovered with EMMI imaging and 58 from literature surveys. The spectroscopic PN catalogue has FLAMES radial velocity and emission line measurements for 1135 PNe, of which 486 are new. Another 132 PN radial velocities are available from the literature. For 629 PNe observed with FLAMES, H-beta was measured in addition to [O III]. Nine targets show double-lined or more complex profiles, and their possible origin is discussed. FLAMES spectra of 48 globular clusters were also targetted: 11 had emission lines detected (two with multiple components), but only 3 are PNe likely to belong to the host globular. The total of 1267 confirmed PNe in NGC 5128 with radial velocity measurements (1135 with small velocity errors) is the largest collection of individual kinematic probes in an early-type galaxy. This PN dataset, as well as the catalogue of PN candidates, are valuable resources for detailed investigation of the stellar population of NGC 5128. [Abridged]Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Tables 7 - 11 available in electronic form at CDS. Replaced with a few typos fixe

Long and short range multi-locus QTL interactions in a complex trait of yeast

We analyse interactions of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) in heat selected yeast by comparing them to an unselected pool of random individuals. Here we re-examine data on individual F12 progeny selected for heat tolerance, which have been genotyped at 25 locations identified by sequencing a selected pool [Parts, L., Cubillos, F. A., Warringer, J., Jain, K., Salinas, F., Bumpstead, S. J., Molin, M., Zia, A., Simpson, J. T., Quail, M. A., Moses, A., Louis, E. J., Durbin, R., and Liti, G. (2011). Genome research, 21(7), 1131-1138]. 960 individuals were genotyped at these locations and multi-locus genotype frequencies were compared to 172 sequenced individuals from the original unselected pool (a control group). Various non-random associations were found across the genome, both within chromosomes and between chromosomes. Some of the non-random associations are likely due to retention of linkage disequilibrium in the F12 population, however many, including the inter-chromosomal interactions, must be due to genetic interactions in heat tolerance. One region of particular interest involves 3 linked loci on chromosome IV where the central variant responsible for heat tolerance is antagonistic, coming from the heat sensitive parent and the flanking ones are from the more heat tolerant parent. The 3-locus haplotypes in the selected individuals represent a highly biased sample of the population haplotypes with rare double recombinants in high frequency. These were missed in the original analysis and would never be seen without the multigenerational approach. We show that a statistical analysis of entropy and information gain in genotypes of a selected population can reveal further interactions than previously seen. Importantly this must be done in comparison to the unselected population's genotypes to account for inherent biases in the original population

Collision of High Frequency Plane Gravitational and Electromagnetic Waves

We study the head-on collision of linearly polarized, high frequency plane gravitational waves and their electromagnetic counterparts in the Einstein-Maxwell theory. The post-collision space-times are obtained by solving the vacuum Einstein-Maxwell field equations in the geometrical optics approximation. The head-on collisions of all possible pairs of these systems of waves is described and the results are then generalised to non-linearly polarized waves which exhibit the maximum two degrees of freedom of polarization.Comment: Latex file, 17 pages, accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics

Water Delivery and Giant Impacts in the 'Grand Tack' Scenario

A new model for terrestrial planet formation (Hansen 2009, Walsh et al. 2011) has explored accretion in a truncated protoplanetary disk, and found that such a configuration is able to reproduce the distribution of mass among the planets in the Solar System, especially the Earth/Mars mass ratio, which earlier simulations have generally not been able to match. Walsh et al. tested a possible mechanism to truncate the disk--a two-stage, inward-then-outward migration of Jupiter and Saturn, as found in numerous hydrodynamical simulations of giant planet formation. In addition to truncating the disk and producing a more realistic Earth/Mars mass ratio, the migration of the giant planets also populates the asteroid belt with two distinct populations of bodies--the inner belt is filled by bodies originating inside of 3 AU, and the outer belt is filled with bodies originating from between and beyond the giant planets (which are hereafter referred to as `primitive' bodies). We find here that the planets will accrete on order 1-2% of their total mass from primitive planetesimals scattered onto planet-crossing orbits during the formation of the planets. For an assumed value of 10% for the water mass fraction of the primitive planetesimals, this model delivers a total amount of water comparable to that estimated to be on the Earth today. While the radial distribution of the planetary masses and the dynamical excitation of their orbits are a good match to the observed system, we find that the last giant impact is typically earlier than 20 Myr, and a substantial amount of mass is accreted after that event. However, 5 of the 27 planets larger than half an Earth mass formed in all simulations do experience large late impacts and subsequent accretion consistent with the dating of the Moon-forming impact and the estimated amount of mass accreted by Earth following that event

A Theoretical Analysis of Two-Stage Recommendation for Cold-Start Collaborative Filtering

In this paper, we present a theoretical framework for tackling the cold-start collaborative filtering problem, where unknown targets (items or users) keep coming to the system, and there is a limited number of resources (users or items) that can be allocated and related to them. The solution requires a trade-off between exploitation and exploration as with the limited recommendation opportunities, we need to, on one hand, allocate the most relevant resources right away, but, on the other hand, it is also necessary to allocate resources that are useful for learning the target's properties in order to recommend more relevant ones in the future. In this paper, we study a simple two-stage recommendation combining a sequential and a batch solution together. We first model the problem with the partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) and provide an exact solution. Then, through an in-depth analysis over the POMDP value iteration solution, we identify that an exact solution can be abstracted as selecting resources that are not only highly relevant to the target according to the initial-stage information, but also highly correlated, either positively or negatively, with other potential resources for the next stage. With this finding, we propose an approximate solution to ease the intractability of the exact solution. Our initial results on synthetic data and the Movie Lens 100K dataset confirm the performance gains of our theoretical development and analysis

Exciton mediated one phonon resonant Raman scattering from one-dimensional systems

We use the Kramers-Heisenberg approach to derive a general expression for the resonant Raman scattering cross section from a one-dimensional (1D) system explicitly accounting for excitonic effects. The result should prove useful for analyzing the Raman resonance excitation profile lineshapes for a variety of 1D systems including carbon nanotubes and semiconductor quantum wires. We apply this formalism to a simple 1D model system to illustrate the similarities and differences between the free electron and correlated electron-hole theories.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Intra-tester and inter-tester reliability of the MicroFET 3 hand-held dynamometer.

Background: The reliability of the MicroFET 3 has not previously been reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate intra-tester and inter-tester reliability of the MicroFET3 hand-held dynamometer (HHD) in three lower limb muscle groups. Methods: Maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of hip extension, knee extension and ankle plantar-flexion were measured in 38 healthy participants (males=18, females= 20) by two testers on separate days using the MicroFET3 HHD. The reliability analysis was carried out using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) to measure association and Band and Altman plots to demonstrate agreement. Results: The results showed that intra-tester reliability was moderate to excellent; with associations ranging from ICC 0.56 - 0.92 and higher agreement for knee and ankle than hip measurements was shown. Inter-tester reliability was lower, with hip and knee associations ranging from ICC 0.60 - 0.66. Ankle measurements intertester associations were particularly low (ICC 0.23 and 0.15). These values would not be considered acceptable for clinical use. Bland and Altman plots used to demonstrate agreement between testers displayed a considerable lack of agreement with discrepancies of up to 150N noted in measurements. Conclusion: The results suggest that the MicroFET3 HHD displayed moderate to excellent intra-tester reliability and poor to moderate inter-tester reliability and agreement with discrepancies noted between muscle groups. While use of this instrument can be recommended when consistently used by a single tester, further reliability analysis should be carried out before this instrument could be recommended for use by different testers in the clinical setting

Chirality dependence of the radial breathing phonon mode density in single wall carbon nanotubes

A mass and spring model is used to calculate the phonon mode dispersion for single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) of arbitrary chirality. The calculated dispersions are used to determine the chirality dependence of the radial breathing phonon mode (RBM) density. Van Hove singularities, usually discussed in the context of the single particle electronic excitation spectrum, are found in the RBM density of states with distinct qualitative differences for zig zag, armchair and chiral SWNTs. The influence the phonon mode density has on the two phonon resonant Raman scattering cross-section is discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.