812 research outputs found
Know the Star, Know the Planet. III. Discovery of Late-Type Companions to Two Exoplanet Host Stars
We discuss two multiple star systems that host known exoplanets: HD 2638 and
30 Ari B. Adaptive optics imagery revealed an additional stellar companion to
both stars. We collected multi-epoch images of the systems with Robo-AO and the
PALM-3000 adaptive optics systems at Palomar Observatory and provide relative
photometry and astrometry. The astrometry indicates that the companions share
common proper motion with their respective primaries. Both of the new
companions have projected separations less than 30 AU from the exoplanet host
star. Using the projected separations to compute orbital periods of the new
stellar companions, HD 2638 has a period of 130 yrs and 30 Ari B has a period
of 80 years. Previous studies have shown that the true period is most likely
within a factor of three of these estimated values. The additional component to
the 30 Ari makes it the second confirmed quadruple system known to host an
exoplanet. HD 2638 hosts a hot Jupiter and the discovery of a new companion
strengthens the connection between hot Jupiters and binary stars. We place the
systems on a color-magnitude diagram and derive masses for the companions which
turn out to be roughly 0.5 solar mass stars.Comment: Accepted to Astronomical Journal, 16 pages, 5 Figure
High speed quantum gates with cavity quantum electrodynamics
Cavity quantum electrodynamic schemes for quantum gates are amongst the
earliest quantum computing proposals. Despite continued progress, and the
dramatic recent demonstration of photon blockade, there are still issues with
optimal coupling and gate operation involving high-quality cavities. Here we
show dynamic control techniques that allow scalable cavity-QED based quantum
gates, that use the full bandwidth of the cavities. When applied to quantum
gates, these techniques allow an order of magnitude increase in operating
speed, and two orders of magnitude reduction in cavity Q, over passive
cavity-QED architectures. Our methods exploit Stark shift based Q-switching,
and are ideally suited to solid-state integrated optical approaches to quantum
computing.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, minor revision
Wide-band-gap InAlAs solar cell for an alternative multijunction approach
We have fabricated an In_(0.52)Al_(0.48)As solar cell lattice-matched to InP with efficiency higher than 14% and maximum external quantum efficiency equal to 81%. High quality, dislocation-free In_xAl_(1−x)As alloyed layers were used to fabricate the single junction solar cell. Photoluminescence of In_xAl_(1−x)As showed good material quality and lifetime of over 200 ps. A high band gap In_(0.35)Al_(0.65)As window was used to increase light absorption within the p-n absorber layer and improve cell efficiency, despite strain. The InAlAs top cell reported here is a key building block for an InP-based three junction high efficiency solar cell consisting of InAlAs/InGaAsP/InGaAs lattice-matched to the substrate
Towards an optimized all lattice-matched InAlAs/InGaAsP/InGaAs multijunction solar cell with efficiency >50%
An approach for an all lattice-matched multijunction solar cell optimized design is presented with 5.807 Å lattice constant, together with a detailed analysis of its performance by means of full device modeling. The simulations show that a (1.93 eV)In_(0.37)Al_(0.63)As/(1.39 eV)In_(0.38)Ga_(0.62)As_(0.57)P_(0.43)/(0.94 eV)In_(0.38)Ga_(0.62)As 3-junction solar cell can achieve efficiencies >51% under 100-suns illumination (with V_(oc) = 3.34 V). As a key proof of concept, an equivalent 3-junction solar cell lattice-matched to InP was fabricated and tested. The independently connected single junction solar cells were also tested in a spectrum splitting configuration, showing similar performance to a monolithic tandem device, with V_(oc) = 1.8 V
A Two Micron All-Sky Survey View of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy: II. Swope Telescope Spectroscopy of M Giant Stars in the Dynamically Cold Sagittarius Tidal Stream
We present moderate resolution (~6 km/s) spectroscopy of 284 M giant
candidates selected from the Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry. Radial
velocities (RVs) are presented for stars mainly in the south, with a number
having positions consistent with association to the trailing tidal tail of the
Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy. The latter show a clear RV trend with orbital
longitude, as expected from models of the orbit and destruction of Sgr. A
minimum 8 kpc width of the trailing stream about the Sgr orbital midplane is
implied by verified RV members. The coldness of this stream (dispersion ~10
km/s) provides upper limits on the combined contributions of stream heating by
a lumpy Galactic halo and the intrinsic dispersion of released stars, which is
a function of the Sgr core mass. The Sgr trailing arm is consistent with a
Galactic halo containing one dominant, LMC-like lump, however some lumpier
halos are not ruled out. An upper limit to the total M/L of the Sgr core is 21
in solar units. A second structure that roughly mimics expectations for
wrapped, leading Sgr arm debris crosses the trailing arm in the Southern
Hemisphere; however, this may also be an unrelated tidal feature. Among the <13
kpc M giants toward the South Galactic Pole are some with large RVs that
identify them as halo stars, perhaps part of the Sgr leading arm near the Sun.
The positions and RVs of Southern Hemisphere M giants are compared with those
of southern globular clusters potentially stripped from the Sgr system and
support for association of Pal 2 and Pal 12 with Sgr debris is found. Our
discussion includes description of a masked-filtered cross-correlation
methodology that achieves better than 1/20 of a resolution element RVs in
moderate resolution spectra.Comment: 41 pages, 6 figures, Astronomical Journal, in press (submitted Nov.
24, 2003; tentatively scheduled for July 2004 issue
A genome-wide assessment of conserved SNP alleles reveals a panel of regulatory SNPs relevant to the peripheral nerve
Abstract
Background
Identifying functional non-coding variation is critical for defining the genetic contributions to human disease. While single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within cis-acting transcriptional regulatory elements have been implicated in disease pathogenesis, not all cell types have been assessed and functional validations have been limited. In particular, the cells of the peripheral nervous system have been excluded from genome-wide efforts to link non-coding SNPs to altered gene function. Addressing this gap is essential for defining the genetic architecture of diseases that affect the peripheral nerve. We developed a computational pipeline to identify SNPs that affect regulatory function (rSNPs) and evaluated our predictions on a set of 144 regions in Schwann cells, motor neurons, and muscle cells.
Results
We identified 28 regions that display regulatory activity in at least one cell type and 13 SNPs that affect regulatory function. We then tailored our pipeline to one peripheral nerve cell type by incorporating SOX10 ChIP-Seq data; SOX10 is essential for Schwann cells. We prioritized 22 putative SOX10 response elements harboring a SNP and rapidly validated two rSNPs. We then selected one of these elements for further characterization to assess the biological relevance of our approach. Deletion of the element from the genome of cultured Schwann cells—followed by differential gene expression studies—revealed Tubb2b as a candidate target gene. Studying the enhancer in developing mouse embryos revealed activity in SOX10-positive cells including the dorsal root ganglia and melanoblasts.
Conclusions
Our efforts provide insight into the utility of employing strict conservation for rSNP discovery. This strategy, combined with functional analyses, can yield candidate target genes. In support of this, our efforts suggest that investigating the role of Tubb2b in SOX10-positive cells may reveal novel biology within these cell populations.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143511/1/12864_2018_Article_4692.pd
Flow pumping system for physiological waveforms
A pulsatile flow pumping system is developed to replicate flow waveforms with reasonable accuracy for experiments simulating physiological blood flows at numerous points in the body. The system divides the task of flow waveform generation between two pumps: a gear pump generates the mean component and a piston pump generates the oscillatory component. The system is driven by two programmable servo controllers. The frequency response of the system is used to characterize its operation. The system has been successfully tested in vascular flow experiments where sinusoidal, carotid, and coronary flow waveforms are replicated
Values of the Federal Public Lands
v, 158 p. ; 28 cmhttps://scholar.law.colorado.edu/books_reports_studies/1038/thumbnail.jp
Plutonium Migration during the Leaching of Cemented Radioactive Waste Sludges
One of the most challenging components of the UK nuclear legacy is Magnox sludge, arising from the corrosion of Mg alloy-clad irradiated metallic U fuel that has been stored in high pH ponds. The sludges mainly comprise Mg hydroxide and carbonate phases, contaminated with fission products and actinides, including Pu. Cementation and deep geological disposal is one option for the long-term management of this material, but there is a need to understand how Pu may be leached from the waste, if it is exposed to groundwater. Here, we show that cemented Mg(OH)2 powder prepared with Pu(IV)aq is altered on contact with water to produce a visibly altered ‘leached zone’, which penetrates several hundred microns into the sample. In turn, this zone shows slow leaching of Pu, with long-term leaching rates between 1.8–4.4 × 10−5% of total Pu per day. Synchrotron micro-focus X-ray fluorescence mapping identified decreased Pu concentration within the ‘leached zone’. A comparison of micro-focus X-ray absorption spectroscopy (µ-XAS) spectra collected across both leached and unleached samples showed little variation, and indicated that Pu was present in a similar oxidation state and coordination environment. Fitting of the XANES spectra between single oxidation state standards and EXAFS modeling showed that Pu was present as a mixture of Pu(IV) and Pu(V). The change in Pu oxidation from the stock solution suggests that partial Pu oxidation occurred during sample ageing. Similarity in the XAS spectra from all samples, with different local chemistries, indicated that the Pu oxidation state was not perturbed by macro-scale variations in cement chemistry, surface oxidation, sample aging, or the leaching treatment. These experiments have demonstrated the potential for leaching of Pu from cementitious waste forms, and its underlying significance requires further investigation
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