7,391 research outputs found
A quasi-time-dependent radiative transfer model of OH104.9+2.4
We investigate the pulsation-phase dependent properties of the circumstellar
dust shell (CDS) of the OH/IR star OH104.9+2.4 based on radiative transfer
modeling (RTM) using the code DUSTY. Our previous study concerning simultaneous
modeling of the spectral energy distribution (SED) and near-infrared (NIR)
visibilities (Riechers et al. 2004) has now been extended by means of a more
detailed analysis of the pulsation-phase dependence of the model parameters of
OH104.9+2.4. In order to investigate the temporal variation in the spatial
structure of the CDS, additional NIR speckle interferometric observations in
the K' band were carried out with the 6 m telescope of the Special
Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). At a wavelength of 2.12 micron the
diffraction-limited resolution of 74 mas was attained. Several key parameters
of our previous best-fitting model had to be adjusted in order to be consistent
with the newly extended amount of observational data. It was found that a
simple rescaling of the bolometric flux F_bol is not sufficient to take the
variability of the source into account, as the change in optical depth over a
full pulsation cycle is rather high. On the other hand, the impact of a change
in effective temperature T_eff on SED and visibility is rather small. However,
observations, as well as models for other AGB stars, show the necessity of
including a variation of T_eff with pulsation phase in the radiative transfer
models. Therefore, our new best-fitting model accounts for these changes.Comment: 7 pages, including 5 postscript figures and 3 tables. Published in
Astronomy and Astrophysics. (v1: accepted version; v2: published version,
minor grammatical changes
Postural Changes in Blood Pressure Associated with Interactions between Candidate Genes for Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Exposure to Particulate Matter
BACKGROUND. Fine particulate matter [aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5)] has been associated with autonomic dysregulation. OBJECTIVE. We hypothesized that PM2.5 influences postural changes in systolic blood pressure (ΔSBP) and in diastolic blood pressure (ΔDBP) and that this effect is modified by genes thought to be related to chronic lung disease. METHODS. We measured blood pressure in participants every 3-5 years. ΔSBP and ΔDBP were calculated as sitting minus standing SBP and DBP. We averaged PM2.5 over 48 hr before study visits and analyzed 202 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 25 genes. To address multiple comparisons, data were stratified into a split sample. In the discovery cohort, the effects of SNP x PM2.5 interactions on ΔSBP and ΔDBP were analyzed using mixed models with subject-specific random intercepts. We defined positive outcomes as p < 0.1 for the interaction; we analyzed only these SNPs in the replicate cohort and confirmed them if p < 0.025 with the same sign. Confirmed associations were analyzed within the full cohort in models adjusted for anthropometric and lifestyle factors. RESULTS. Nine hundred forty-five participants were included in our analysis. One interaction with rs9568232 in PHD finger protein 11 (PHF11) was associated with greater ΔDBP. Interactions with rs1144393 in matrix metalloprotease 1 (MMP1) and rs16930692, rs7955200, and rs10771283 in inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor, type 2 (ITPR2) were associated with significantly greater ΔSBP. Because SNPs associated with ΔSBP in our analysis are in genes along the renin-angiotensin pathway, we then examined medications affecting that pathway and observed significant interactions for angiotensin receptor blockers but not angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors with PM2.5. CONCLUSIONS. PM2.5 influences blood pressure and autonomic function. This effect is modified by genes and drugs that also act along this pathway.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (T32 ES07069, ES0002, ES015172-01, ES014663, P01 ES09825); United States Environmental Protection Agency (R827353, R832416); National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Aging (AG027014); United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Cente
Inhomogeneous Low Frequency Spin Dynamics in La_{1.65}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.15}CuO_4
We report Cu and La nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements in the
title compound that reveal an inhomogeneous glassy behavior of the spin
dynamics. A low temperature peak in the La spin lattice relaxation rate and the
``wipeout'' of Cu intensity both arise from these slow electronic spin
fluctuations that reveal a distribution of activation energies. Inhomogeneous
slowing of spin fluctuations appears to be a general feature of doped lanthanum
cuprate.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Very slight modifications to figure
Spin Dynamics in the LTT Phase of ~1/8 Doped Single Crystal La_{1.67}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.13}CuO_4
We present La and Cu NMR relaxation measurements in single crystal
La_{1.67}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.13}CuO_4. A strong peak in the La spin-lattice
relaxation rate observed in the spin ordered state is well-described by the BPP
mechanism[1] and arises from continuous slowing of electronic spin fluctuations
with decreasing temperature; these spin fluctuations exhibit XY-like anisotropy
in the ordered state. The spin pseudogap is enhanced by the static
charge-stripe order in the LTT phase.Comment: Four pages, three figure
Study of the neutron star structure in strong magnetic fields including the anomalous magnetic moments
We study the effects of strong magnetic fields on the neutron star structure.
If the interior field of a star is on the same order of the surface field
currently observed, the influences of the magnetic field on the star mass and
radius are negligible. If one assumes that the internal magnetic field can be
as large as that estimated from the scalar virial theorem, considerable effects
can be induced. The maximum mass of stars is arisen substantially while the
central density is largely suppressed. For two equal-mass stars the radius of
the magnetic star can be larger by about 10% 20% than the nonmagnetic
star.Comment: 26 pages, 5 postscript figures; replaced by the revised version,
Chin. J. Astron. Astrophys., accepte
The DEIMOS 10k spectroscopic survey catalog of the COSMOS field
We present a catalog of 10718 objects in the COSMOS field observed through
multi-slit spectroscopy with the Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph
(DEIMOS) on the Keck II telescope in the wavelength range ~5500-9800A. The
catalog contains 6617 objects with high-quality spectra (two or more spectral
features), and 1798 objects with a single spectroscopic feature confirmed by
the photometric redshift. For 2024 typically faint objects we could not obtain
reliable redshifts. The objects have been selected from a variety of input
catalogs based on multi-wavelength observations in the field, and thus have a
diverse selection function, which enables the study of the diversity in the
galaxy population. The magnitude distribution of our objects is peaked at
I_AB~23 and K_AB~21, with a secondary peak at K_AB~24. We sample a broad
redshift distribution in the range 0<z<6, with one peak at z~1, and another one
around z~4. We have identified 13 redshift spikes at z>0.65 with chance
probabilities <4xE-4$, some of which are clearly related to protocluster
structures of sizes >10 Mpc. An object-to-object comparison with a multitude of
other spectroscopic samples in the same field shows that our DEIMOS sample is
among the best in terms of fraction of spectroscopic failures and relative
redshift accuracy. We have determined the fraction of spectroscopic blends to
about 0.8% in our sample. This is likely a lower limit and at any rate well
below the most pessimistic expectations. Interestingly, we find evidence for
strong lensing of Ly-alpha background emitters within the slits of 12 of our
target galaxies, increasing their apparent density by about a factor of 4.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures and 5 tables. The full catalogue table is
available on http://cosmos.astro.caltech.edu. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Nonbonding oxygen holes and spinless scenario of magnetic response in doped cuprates
Both theoretical considerations and experimental data point to a more
complicated nature of the valence hole states in doped cuprates than it is
predicted by Zhang-Rice model. Actually, we deal with a competition of
conventional hybrid Cu 3d-O 2p state and purely
oxygen nonbonding state with symmetry. The latter
reveals a non-quenched Ising-like orbital moment that gives rise to a novel
spinless purely oxygen scenario of the magnetic response in doped cuprates with
the oxygen localized orbital magnetic moments of the order of tenths of Bohr
magneton. We consider the mechanism of Cu-O 2p transferred orbital
hyperfine interactions due to the mixing of the oxygen O 2p orbitals with Cu 3p
semicore orbitals. Quantitative estimates point to a large magnitude of the
respective contributions both to local field and electric field gradient, and
their correlated character.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
On the thickness uniformity of micropatterns of hyaluronic acid in a soft lithographic molding method
A soft lithographic molding is a simple and yet robust method for fabricating well-defined microstructures of a hydrophilic biopolymer such as polyethylene glycol and polysaccharide over a large area. The method consists of three steps: placing a polydimethylsiloxane mold with a bas-relief pattern onto a drop-dispensed polymer solution typically dissolved in water, letting the mold and the solution undisturbed in contact until solvent evaporates completely, and leaving behind a polymer replica after mold removal. In such a molding process, water can only evaporate from the edges of the mold due to impermeable nature of polydimethylsiloxane to water, resulting in a nonuniform distribution of film thickness or pattern height. Here we examine systematically how the evaporation rate affects the thickness distribution of the resulting microstructures by evaporating the solution of hyaluronic acid in various conditions. To compare with a theory, we also present a simple theoretical model based on one-dimensional conservation equation for a liquid film, which is in good agreement with the experimental data. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physicsclose4
Electrical Switching Dynamics in Circular and Rectangular Ge2Sb2Te5 Nanopillar Phase Change Memory Devices
We have measured the critical phase change conditions induced by electrical
pulses in Ge2Sb2Te5 nanopillar phase change memory devices by constructing a
comprehensive resistance map as a function of pulse parameters (width,
amplitude and trailing edge). Our measurements reveal that the heating scheme
and the details of the contact geometry play the dominant role in determining
the final phase composition of the device such that a non-uniform heating
scheme promotes partial amorphization/crystallization for a wide range of pulse
parameters enabling multiple resistance levels for data storage applications.
Furthermore we find that fluctuations in the snap-back voltage and set/reset
resistances in repeated switching experiments are related to the details of the
current distribution such that a uniform current injection geometry (i.e.
circular contact) favors more reproducible switching parameters. This shows
that possible geometrical defects in nanoscale phase change memory devices may
play an essential role in the performance of the smallest possible devices
through modification of the exact current distribution in the active
chalcogenide layer. We present a three-dimensional finite element model of the
electro-thermal physics to provide insights into the underlying physical
mechanisms of the switching dynamics as well as to quantitatively account for
the scaling behaviour of the switching currents in both circular and
rectangular contact geometries. The calculated temporal evolution of the heat
distribution within the pulse duration shows distinct features in rectangular
contacts providing evidence for locally hot spots at the sharp corners of the
current injection site due to current crowding effects leading to the observed
behaviour
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