Revealing A Head-on Major Merger in the Nearby NGC 6338 Group with Chandra and VLA observations

By analyzing the Chandra archival data of the nearby NGC 6338 galaxy group, we identify two X-ray bright clumps (N-clump and S-clump) within the central 100 kpc, and detect an arc-like X-ray brightness discontinuity at the south boundary of the N-clump, which is defined as a cold front with a gas flow Mach number of M<0.8. Furthermore, at the north-east boundary of the S-clump (dominated by galaxy NGC 6338) another X-ray edge is detected that corresponds to a weaker cold front. Therefore, the two clumps are approaching each other approximately from opposite directions, and the group is undergoing a head-on collision that is in a stage of pre-core passage. This merger scenario is also supported by the study of the line-of-sight velocity distribution of the group member galaxies. The merger mass ratio is about 1:1.8 as estimated from the central gas temperature of the two clumps, which suggests the merger is most likely to be a major merger. We also analyze the VLA 1.4 and 4.9 GHz radio data, but we do not detect any extended radio emission that is associated with the merger.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Electrochemical Sensing of Nitric Oxide on Electrochemically Reduced Graphene-Modified Electrode

Graphene-modified electrode was prepared through electrochemically reducing graphene oxide on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode in PBS solution. The as-prepared electrode owns higher stability and stronger catalytic activity towards the oxidation of nitric oxide (NO). At the electrode, an oxidation peak of NO can be observed at about 1.05 V (versus Ag/AgCl), and the electrode reaction of NO is controlled by diffusion process. Under the optimum conditions, the peak currents are dependent linearly on NO concentrations in the range from 7.2×10−7 to 7.84×10−5 M with a limit of detection of 2.0×10−7 M. The response time of the as-prepared electrode to NO is less than 3 s, and the sensitivity is about 299.1 μA/mM, revealing that the electrode can be used as an excellent sensor for the determination of NO. With further modification of Nafion, the determination is free from the interference of nitrite and some other biological substances. This investigation provides an alternate way for the determination of NO