414 research outputs found
A latitude-dependent wind model for Mira's cometary head
We present a 3D numerical simulation of the recently discovered cometary
structure produced as Mira travels through the galactic ISM. In our simulation,
we consider that Mira ejects a steady, latitude-dependent wind, which interacts
with a homogeneous, streaming environment. The axisymmetry of the problem is
broken by the lack of alignment between the direction of the relative motion of
the environment and the polar axis of the latitude-dependent wind. With this
model, we are able to produce a cometary head with a ``double bow shock'' which
agrees well with the structure of the head of Mira's comet. We therefore
conclude that a time-dependence in the ejected wind is not required for
reproducing the observed double bow shock.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
An HI shell-like structure associated with nova V458 Vulpeculae?
We report the radio detection of a shell-like HI structure in proximity to,
and probably associated with, the nova V458 Vul. High spectral resolution
observation with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope has made it possible to
study the detailed kinematics of this broken and expanding shell. Unlike the
diffuse Galactic HI emission, this is a single velocity component emission with
significant clumping at ~ 0.5' scales. The observed narrow line width of ~ 5
km/s suggests that the shell consists of mostly cold gas. Assuming a distance
of 13 kpc to the system, as quoted in the literature, the estimated HI mass of
the nebula is about 25 M_sun. However, there are some indications that the
system is closer than 13 kpc. If there is a physical association of the HI
structure and the nova system, the asymmetric morphology and the off-centred
stellar system indicates past strong interaction of the mass loss in the
asymptotic giant branch phase with the surrounding interstellar medium. So far,
this is the second example, after GK Per, of a large HI structure associated
with a classical nova.Comment: 6 pages, 2 table, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letters. The definitive version will be available at
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com
A model of Mira's cometary head/tail entering the Local Bubble
We model the cometary structure around Mira as the interaction of an AGB wind
from Mira A, and a streaming environment. Our simulations introduce the
following new element: we assume that after 200 kyr of evolution in a dense
environment Mira entered the Local Bubble (low density coronal gas). As Mira
enters the bubble, the head of the comet expands quite rapidly, while the tail
remains well collimated for a 100 kyr timescale. The result is a
broad-head/narrow-tail structure that resembles the observed morphology of
Mira's comet. The simulations were carried out with our new adaptive grid code
WALICXE, which is described in detail.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures (4 in color). Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Cognitive performance in light current users and ex-users of ecstasy (MDMA) and controls
Previous research has shown that heavy users of ecstasy may suffer impaired cognitive functioning, and the present study set out to investigate whether such impairment might also be found in light users or ex-users of ecstasy. Sixty subjects, comprising 20 current light users, 20 ex-users, and 20 non-users of ecstasy, were tested on an extensive battery of cognitive tests. Current light users of ecstasy achieved significantly lower scores on the overall cognitive test battery than did the non-users (p=0.011), though there were no significant differences on any individual subtests. However, the scores obtained by the ex-users of ecstasy did not differ significantly from those of the non-users. It was concluded that current light users of ecstasy show a small but significant cognitive impairment, but that no such impairment is detectable in ex-users who had abstained from the drug for at least 6 months
Olive phenology as a sensitive indicator of future climatic warming in the Mediterranean
Experimental and modelling work suggests a strong dependence of olive flowering date on spring temperatures. Since airborne pollen concentrations reflect the flowering phenology of olive populations within a radius of 50 km, they may be a sensitive regional indicator of climatic warming. We assessed this potential sensitivity with phenology models fitted to flowering dates inferred from maximum airborne pollen data. Of four models tested, a thermal time model gave the best fit for Montpellier, France, and was the most effective at the regional scale, providing reasonable predictions for 10 sites in the western Mediterranean. This model was forced with replicated future temperature simulations for the western Mediterranean from a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (GCM). The GCM temperatures rose by 4·5 °C between 1990 and 2099 with a 1% per year increase in greenhouse gases, and modelled flowering date advanced at a rate of 6·2 d per °C. The results indicated that this long-term regional trend in phenology might be statistically significant as early as 2030, but with marked spatial variation in magnitude, with the calculated flowering date between the 1990s and 2030s advancing by 3–23 d. Future monitoring of airborne olive pollen may therefore provide an early biological indicator of climatic warming in the Mediterranean
The detached dust shells of AQ And, U Ant, and TT Cyg
Detached circumstellar dust shells are detected around three carbon variables
using Herschel-PACS. Two of them are already known on the basis of their
thermal CO emission and two are visible as extensions in IRAS imaging data. By
model fits to the new data sets, physical sizes, expansion timescales, dust
temperatures, and more are deduced. A comparison with existing molecular CO
material shows a high degree of correlation for TT Cyg and U Ant but a few
distinct differences with other observables are also found.Comment: Letter accepted for publication on the A&A Herschel Special Issu
X Her and TX Psc: Two cases of ISM interaction with stellar winds observed by Herschel
The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars X Her and TX Psc have been imaged at
70 and 160 microns with the PACS instrument onboard the Herschel satellite, as
part of the large MESS (Mass loss of Evolved StarS) Guaranteed Time Key
Program. The images reveal an axisymmetric extended structure with its axis
oriented along the space motion of the stars. This extended structure is very
likely to be shaped by the interaction of the wind ejected by the AGB star with
the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). As predicted by numerical
simulations, the detailed structure of the wind-ISM interface depends upon the
relative velocity between star+wind and the ISM, which is large for these two
stars (108 and 55 km/s for X Her and TX Psc, respectively). In both cases,
there is a compact blob upstream whose origin is not fully elucidated, but that
could be the signature of some instability in the wind-ISM shock. Deconvolved
images of X Her and TX Psc reveal several discrete structures along the
outermost filaments, which could be Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices. Finally, TX Psc
is surrounded by an almost circular ring (the signature of the termination
shock?) that contrasts with the outer, more structured filaments. A similar
inner circular structure seems to be present in X Her as well, albeit less
clearly.Comment: 11 pages, Astronomy & Astrophysics, in pres
Strongly magnetized pulsars: explosive events and evolution
Well before the radio discovery of pulsars offered the first observational
confirmation for their existence (Hewish et al., 1968), it had been suggested
that neutron stars might be endowed with very strong magnetic fields of
-G (Hoyle et al., 1964; Pacini, 1967). It is because of their
magnetic fields that these otherwise small ed inert, cooling dead stars emit
radio pulses and shine in various part of the electromagnetic spectrum. But the
presence of a strong magnetic field has more subtle and sometimes dramatic
consequences: In the last decades of observations indeed, evidence mounted that
it is likely the magnetic field that makes of an isolated neutron star what it
is among the different observational manifestations in which they come. The
contribution of the magnetic field to the energy budget of the neutron star can
be comparable or even exceed the available kinetic energy. The most magnetised
neutron stars in particular, the magnetars, exhibit an amazing assortment of
explosive events, underlining the importance of their magnetic field in their
lives. In this chapter we review the recent observational and theoretical
achievements, which not only confirmed the importance of the magnetic field in
the evolution of neutron stars, but also provide a promising unification scheme
for the different observational manifestations in which they appear. We focus
on the role of their magnetic field as an energy source behind their persistent
emission, but also its critical role in explosive events.Comment: Review commissioned for publication in the White Book of
"NewCompStar" European COST Action MP1304, 43 pages, 8 figure
PAD4-Mediated Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation Is Not Required for Immunity against Influenza Infection
During an inflammatory response, neutrophils migrate to the site of infection where they can kill invading pathogens by phagocytosis, secretion of anti-microbicidal mediators or the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs are specialized anti-microbial structures comprised of decondensed chromatin decorated with microbicidal agents. Increased amount of NETs have been found in patients suffering from the chronic lung inflammatory disease cystic fibrosis, correlating with increased severity of pulmonary obstruction. Furthermore, acute lung inflammation during influenza A infection is characterized by a massive influx of neutrophils into the lung. The role of NETs during virus-mediated lung inflammation is unknown. Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4)-mediated deimination of histone H3 and H4 is required for NET formation. Therefore, we generated a PAD4-deficient mouse strain that has a striking inability to form NETs. These mice were infected with influenza A/WSN, and the disease was monitored at the level of leukocytic lung infiltration, lung pathology, viral replication, weight loss and mortality. PAD4 KO fared comparable to WT mice in all the parameters tested, but they displayed slight but statistically different weight loss kinetics during infection that was not reflected in enhanced survival. Overall, we conclude that PAD4-mediated NET formation is dispensable in a mouse model of influenza A infection
- …