2,029 research outputs found
Effective constructions in plethysms and Weintraub's conjecture
We give a short proof of Weintraub's conjecture by constructing explicit
highest weight vectors in the symmetric power of an even exterior power
Orbital motion of the young brown dwarf companion TWA 5 B
With more adaptive optics images available, we aim at detecting orbital
motion for the first time in the system TWA 5 A+B. We measured separation and
position angle between TWA 5 A and B in each high-resolution image available
and followed their change in time, because B should orbit around A. The
astrometric measurement precision is about one milli arc sec. With ten year
difference in epoch, we can clearly detect orbital motion of B around A, a
decrease in separation by ~ 0.0054 arc sec per year and a decrease in position
angle by ~ 0.26 degrees per year. TWA 5 B is a brown dwarf with ~ 25 Jupiter
masses (Neuh\"auser et al. 2000), but having large error bars (4 to 145 Jupiter
masses, Neuh\"auser et al. 2009). Given its large projected separation from the
primary star, ~ 86 AU, and its young age ~ 10 Myrs), it has probably formed
star-like, and would then be a brown dwarf companion. Given the relatively
large changes in separation and position angle between TWA 5 A and B, we can
conclude that they orbit around each other on an eccentric orbit. Some evidence
is found for a curvature in the orbital motion of B around A - most consistent
with an elliptic (e=0.45) orbit. Residuals around the best-fit ellipse are
detected and show a small-amplitude (~ 18 mas) periodic sinusoid with ~ 5.7 yr
period, i.e., fully consistent with the orbit of the inner close pair TWA 5
Aa+b. Measuring these residuals caused by the photocenter wobble - even in
unresolved images - can yield the total mass of the inner pair, so can test
theoretical pre-main sequence models.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A; corrected typo
in amplitude below Fig.
Characteristics of EGRET Blazars in the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS)
We examine the radio properties of EGRET-detected blazars observed as part of
the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS). VIPS has a flux limit roughly
an order of magnitude below the MOJAVE survey and most other samples that have
been used to study the properties of EGRET blazars. At lower flux levels, radio
flux density does not directly correlate with gamma-ray flux density. We do
find that the EGRET-detected blazars tend to have higher brightness
temperatures, greater core fractions, and possibly larger than average jet
opening angles. A weak correlation is also found with jet length and with
polarization. All of the well-established trends can be explained by
systematically larger Doppler factors in the gamma-ray loud blazars, consistent
with the measurements of higher apparent velocities found in monitoring
programs carried out at radio frequencies above 10 GHz.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted to Ap
The Robinson Gravitational Wave Background Telescope (BICEP): a bolometric large angular scale CMB polarimeter
The Robinson Telescope (BICEP) is a ground-based millimeter-wave bolometric
array designed to study the polarization of the cosmic microwave background
radiation (CMB) and galactic foreground emission. Such measurements probe the
energy scale of the inflationary epoch, tighten constraints on cosmological
parameters, and verify our current understanding of CMB physics. Robinson
consists of a 250-mm aperture refractive telescope that provides an
instantaneous field-of-view of 17 degrees with angular resolution of 55 and 37
arcminutes at 100 GHz and 150 GHz, respectively. Forty-nine pair of
polarization-sensitive bolometers are cooled to 250 mK using a 4He/3He/3He
sorption fridge system, and coupled to incoming radiation via corrugated feed
horns. The all-refractive optics is cooled to 4 K to minimize polarization
systematics and instrument loading. The fully steerable 3-axis mount is capable
of continuous boresight rotation or azimuth scanning at speeds up to 5 deg/s.
Robinson has begun its first season of observation at the South Pole. Given the
measured performance of the instrument along with the excellent observing
environment, Robinson will measure the E-mode polarization with high
sensitivity, and probe for the B-modes to unprecedented depths. In this paper
we discuss aspects of the instrument design and their scientific motivations,
scanning and operational strategies, and the results of initial testing and
observations.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures. To appear in Millimeter and Submillimeter
Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy III, Proceedings of SPIE, 6275,
200
Enhanced X-ray variability from V1647 Ori, the young star in outburst illuminating McNeil's Nebula
We report a ~38 ks X-ray observation of McNeil's Nebula obtained with XMM on
2004 April 4. V1647 Ori, the young star in outburst illuminating McNeil's
Nebula, is detected with XMM and appears variable in X-rays. We investigate the
hardness ratio variability and time variations of the event energy distribution
with quantile analysis, and show that the large increase of the count rate from
V1647 Ori observed during the second half of the observation is not associated
with any large plasma temperature variations as for typical X-ray flares from
young low-mass stars. X-ray spectral fitting shows that the bulk (~75%) of the
intrinsic X-ray emission in the 0.5-8 keV energy band comes from a soft plasma
component (0.9 keV) reminiscent of the X-ray spectrum of the classical T Tauri
star TW Hya, for which X-ray emission is believed to be generated by an
accretion shock onto the photosphere of a low-mass star. The hard plasma
component (4.2 keV) contributes ~25% of the total X-ray emission, and can be
understood only in the framework of plasma heating sustained by magnetic
reconnection events. We find a hydrogen column density of NH=4.1E22 cm-2, which
points out a significant excess of hydrogen column density compared to the
value derived from optical/IR observations, consistent with the picture of the
rise of a wind/jet unveiled from ground optical spectroscopy. The X-ray flux
observed with XMM ranges from roughly the flux observed by Chandra on 2004
March 22 (~10 times greater than the pre-outburst X-ray flux) to a value two
times greater than that caught by Chandra on 2004 March 7 (~200 times greater
than the pre-outburst X-ray flux). We have investigated the possibility that
V1647 Ori displays a periodic variation in X-ray brightness as suggested by the
combined Chandra+XMM data set (abridged).Comment: 11 pages and 8 Figures. Accepted for publication by Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Guiding phosphorus stewardship for multiple ecosystem services
The essential role of phosphorus (P) for agriculture and its impact on water quality has received decades of research attention. However, the benefits of sustainable P use and management for society due to its downstream impacts on multiple ecosystem services are rarely acknowledged. We propose a conceptual frameworkâthe âphosphorus-ecosystem services cascadeâ (PESC)âto integrate the key ecosystem processes and functions that moderate the relationship between P released to the environment from human actions and ecosystem services at distinct spatial and temporal scales. Indirect pathways in the cascade via soil and aquatic processes link anthropogenic P to biodiversity and multiple services, including recreation, drinking water provision, and fisheries. As anthropogenic P cascades through catchments, it often shifts from a subsidy to a stressor of ecosystem services. Phosphorus stewardship can have emergent ecosystem service co-benefits due to synergies with other societal or management goals (e.g., recycling of livestock manures and organic wastes could impact soil carbon storage). Applying the PESC framework, we identify key research priorities to align P stewardship with the management of multiple ecosystem services, such as incorporating additional services into agri-environmental P indices, assessing how widespread recycling of organic P sources could differentially impact agricultural yields and water quality, and accounting for shifting baselines in P stewardship due to climate change. Ultimately, P impacts depend on site-specific agricultural and biogeophysical contexts, so greater precision in targeting stewardship strategies to specific locations would help to optimize for ecosystem services and to more effectively internalize the downstream costs of farm nutrient management
Evaluation of biases present in the cohort multiple randomised controlled trial design: a simulation study
Background
The cohort multiple randomised controlled trial (cmRCT) design provides an opportunity to incorporate the benefits of randomisation within clinical practice; thus reducing costs, integrating electronic healthcare records, and improving external validity. This study aims to address a key concern of the cmRCT design: refusal to treatment is only present in the intervention arm, and this may lead to bias and reduce statistical power.
Methods
We used simulation studies to assess the effect of this refusal, both random and related to event risk, on bias of the effect estimator and statistical power. A series of simulations were undertaken that represent a cmRCT trial with time-to-event endpoint. Intention-to-treat (ITT), per protocol (PP), and instrumental variable (IV) analysis methods, two stage predictor substitution and two stage residual inclusion, were compared for various refusal scenarios.
Results
We found the IV methods provide a less biased estimator for the causal effect when refusal is present in the intervention arm, with the two stage residual inclusion method performing best with regards to minimum bias and sufficient power. We demonstrate that sample sizes should be adapted based on expected and actual refusal rates in order to be sufficiently powered for IV analysis.
Conclusion
We recommend running both an IV and ITT analyses in an individually randomised cmRCT as it is expected that the effect size of interest, or the effect we would observe in clinical practice, would lie somewhere between that estimated with ITT and IV analyses. The optimum (in terms of bias and power) instrumental variable method was the two stage residual inclusion method. We recommend using adaptive power calculations, updating them as refusal rates are collected in the trial recruitment phase in order to be sufficiently powered for IV analysis
Direct evidence of a sub-stellar companion around CT Cha
In our ongoing search for close and faint companions around T Tauri stars, we
found a very faint (Ks=14.9mag, Ks_0=14.4mag) object, just ~2.67" northwest of
the Chamaeleon star-forming region member CT Cha corresponding to a projected
separation of ~440AU at 165+/-30 pc. We show that CT Cha A and this faint
object form a common proper motion pair from data of the VLT Adaptive Optics
(AO) instrument NACO taken in February 2006 and March 2007 and that the
companion is by >=4 sigma significance not a stationary background object. Our
AO integral field spectroscopy with SINFONI in J, and H+K bands yields a
temperature of 2600+/-250K for the companion and an optical extinction of
A_V=5.2+/-0.8mag, when compared to spectra calculated from Drift-Phoenix model
atmospheres. We demonstrate the validity of the model fits by comparison to
several other well-known young sub-stellar objects. Relative flux calibration
of the bands was achieved using photometry from the NACO imaging data. We
conclude that the CT Cha companion is a very low-mass member of Chamaeleon and
very likely a physical companion to CT Cha, as the probability for a by chance
alignment is <=0.01. Due to a prominent Pa-Beta emission in the J-band,
accretion is probably still ongoing onto the CT Cha companion. From temperature
and luminosity (log(Lbol/Lsun)= -2.68+/-0.21), we derive a radius of
R=2.20+0.81-0.60 R_Jup. We find a consistent mass of M=17+/-6 MJup for the CT
Cha companion from both its luminosity and temperature when placed on
evolutionary tracks. Hence, the CT Cha companion is most likely a wide brown
dwarf companion or possibly even a planetary mass object.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Calcium Homeostasis in Myogenic Differentiation Factor 1 (MyoD)-Transformed, Virally-Transduced, Skin-Derived Equine Myotubes
Dysfunctional skeletal muscle calcium homeostasis plays a central role in the pathophysiology of several human and animal skeletal muscle disorders, in particular, genetic disorders associated with ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1) mutations, such as malignant hyperthermia, central core disease, multiminicore disease and certain centronuclear myopathies. In addition, aberrant skeletal muscle calcium handling is believed to play a pivotal role in the highly prevalent disorder of Thoroughbred racehorses, known as Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis. Traditionally, such defects were studied in human and equine subjects by examining the contractile responses of biopsied muscle strips exposed to caffeine, a potent RYR1 agonist. However, this test is not widely available and, due to its invasive nature, is potentially less suitable for valuable animals in training or in the human paediatric setting. Furthermore, increasingly, RYR1 gene polymorphisms (of unknown pathogenicity and significance) are being identified through next generation sequencing projects. Consequently, we have investigated a less invasive test that can be used to study calcium homeostasis in cultured, skin-derived fibroblasts that are converted to the muscle lineage by viral transduction with a MyoD (myogenic differentiation 1) transgene. Similar models have been utilised to examine calcium homeostasis in human patient cells, however, to date, there has been no detailed assessment of the cellsâ calcium homeostasis, and in particular, the responses to agonists and antagonists of RYR1. Here we describe experiments conducted to assess calcium handling of the cells and examine responses to treatment with dantrolene, a drug commonly used for prophylaxis of recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis in horses and malignant hyperthermia in humans
- âŠ