343 research outputs found
Removing the Microlensing Blending-Parallax Degeneracy Using Source Variability
Microlensing event MACHO 97-SMC-1 is one of the rare microlensing events for
which the source is a variable star, simply because most variable stars are
systematically eliminated from microlensing studies. Using observational data
for this event, we show that the intrinsic variability of a microlensed star is
a powerful tool to constrain the nature of the lens by breaking the degeneracy
between the microlens parallax and the blended light. We also present a
statistical test for discriminating the location of the lens based on the
\chi^2 contours of the vector \Lambda, the inverse of the projected velocity.
We find that while SMC self lensing is somewhat favored over halo lensing,
neither location can be ruled out with good confidence.Comment: 15 text pages + 2 tables + 7 figures. Published in the Astrophysical
Journa
Microlensing as a probe of the Galactic structure; 20 years of microlensing optical depth studies
Microlensing is now a very popular observational astronomical technique. The
investigations accessible through this effect range from the dark matter
problem to the search for extra-solar planets. In this review, the techniques
to search for microlensing effects and to determine optical depths through the
monitoring of large samples of stars will be described. The consequences of the
published results on the knowledge of the Milky-Way structure and its dark
matter component will be discussed. The difficulties and limitations of the
ongoing programs and the perspectives of the microlensing optical depth
technique as a probe of the Galaxy structure will also be detailed.Comment: Accepted for publication in General Relativity and Gravitation.
General Relativity and Gravitation in press (2010) 0
ISOGAL: A deep survey of the obscured inner Milky Way with ISO at 7 and 15 micron and with DENIS in the near-infrared
The ISOGAL project is an infrared survey of specific regions sampling the
Galactic Plane selected to provide information on Galactic structure,stellar
populations,stellar mass-loss and the recent star formation history of the
inner disk and Bulge of the Galaxy. ISOGAL combines 7 and 15 micron ISOCAM
observations - with a resolution of 6'' at worst - with DENIS IJKs data to
determine the nature of the sources and theinterstellar extinction. We have
observed about 16 square degrees with a sensitivity approaching 10-20mJy,
detecting ~10^5 sources,mostly AGB stars,red giants and young stars. The main
features of the ISOGAL survey and the observations are summarized in this
paper,together with a brief discussion of data processing and quality. The
primary ISOGAL products are described briefly (a full description is given in
Schuller et al. 2003, astro-ph/0304309): viz. the images and theISOGAL-DENIS
five-wavelength point source catalogue. The main scientific results already
derived or in progress are summarized. These include astrometrically calibrated
7 and 15um images,determining structures of resolved sources; identification
and properties of interstellar dark clouds; quantification of the infrared
extinction law and source dereddening; analysis of red giant and (especially)
AGB stellar populations in the central Bulge,determining luminosity,presence of
circumstellar dust and mass--loss rate,and source classification,supplemented
in some cases by ISO/CVF spectroscopy; detection of young stellar objects of
diverse types,especially in the inner Bulge with information about the present
and recent star formation rate; identification of foreground sources with
mid-IR excess. These results are the subject of about 25 refereed papers
published or in preparation.Comment: A&A in press. 19 pages,10 Ps figures; problems with figures fixe
Measurement of ISR-FSR interference in the processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma
Charge asymmetry in processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi-
gamma is measured using 232 fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector at
center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV. An observable is introduced and shown
to be very robust against detector asymmetries while keeping a large
sensitivity to the physical charge asymmetry that results from the interference
between initial and final state radiation. The asymmetry is determined as
afunction of the invariant mass of the final-state tracks from production
threshold to a few GeV/c2. It is compared to the expectation from QED for e+ e-
--> mu+ mu- gamma and from theoretical models for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma. A
clear interference pattern is observed in e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma, particularly
in the vicinity of the f_2(1270) resonance. The inferred rate of lowest order
FSR production is consistent with the QED expectation for e+ e- --> mu+ mu-
gamma, and is negligibly small for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma.Comment: 32 pages,29 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.
First Observation of CP Violation in B0->D(*)CP h0 Decays by a Combined Time-Dependent Analysis of BaBar and Belle Data
We report a measurement of the time-dependent CP asymmetry of B0->D(*)CP h0
decays, where the light neutral hadron h0 is a pi0, eta or omega meson, and the
neutral D meson is reconstructed in the CP eigenstates K+ K-, K0S pi0 or K0S
omega. The measurement is performed combining the final data samples collected
at the Y(4S) resonance by the BaBar and Belle experiments at the
asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. The
data samples contain ( 471 +/- 3 ) x 10^6 BB pairs recorded by the BaBar
detector and ( 772 +/- 11 ) x 10^6, BB pairs recorded by the Belle detector. We
measure the CP asymmetry parameters -eta_f S = +0.66 +/- 0.10 (stat.) +/- 0.06
(syst.) and C = -0.02 +/- 0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.03 (syst.). These results
correspond to the first observation of CP violation in B0->D(*)CP h0 decays.
The hypothesis of no mixing-induced CP violation is excluded in these decays at
the level of 5.4 standard deviations.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Observation of Microlensing towards the Galactic Spiral Arms: EROS II 3 year survey
We present an analysis of the light curves of 9.1 million stars observed during three seasons by EROS (Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres), in the Galactic plane away from the bulge. Seven stars exhibit luminosity variations compatible with gravitational microlensing effects due to unseen objects. The corresponding optical depth, averaged over four directions, is tau = 0.45 +0.24 -0.11 x 10^-6. While this value is compatible with expectations from simple galactic models under reasonable assumptions on the target distances, we find an excess of events with short timescale towards the direction closest to the Galactic Centre
Correlations between Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H MRS) in schizophrenic patients and normal controls
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence suggests that white matter integrity may play an underlying pathophysiological role in schizophrenia. N-acetylaspartate (NAA), as measured by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), is a neuronal marker and is decreased in white matter lesions and regions of axonal loss. It has also been found to be reduced in the prefrontal and temporal regions in patients with schizophrenia. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) allows one to measure the orientations of axonal tracts as well as the coherence of axonal bundles. DTI is thus sensitive to demyelination and other structural abnormalities. DTI has also shown abnormalities in these regions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MRS and DTI were obtained on 42 healthy subjects and 40 subjects with schizophrenia. The data was analyzed using regions of interests in the Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal white matter, Medial Temporal white matter and Occipital white matter using both imaging modalities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>NAA was significantly reduced in the patient population in the Medial Temporal regions. DTI anisotropy indices were also reduced in the same Medial Temporal regions. NAA and DTI-anisotropy indices were also correlated in the left medial temporal region.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results implicate defects in the medial temporal white matter in patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, MRS and DTI are complementary modalities for the study of white matter disruptions in patients with schizophrenia.</p
Type Ia supernova rate at a redshift of ~ 0.1
We present the type Ia rate measurement based on two EROS supernova search
campaigns (in 1999 and 2000). Sixteen supernovae identified as type Ia were
discovered. The measurement of the detection efficiency, using a Monte Carlo
simulation, provides the type Ia supernova explosion rate at a redshift ~ 0.13.
The result is SNu where 1 SNu =
1 SN / / century. This value is compatible with the
previous EROS measurement (Hardin et al. 2000), done with a much smaller
sample, at a similar redshift. Comparison with other values at different
redshifts suggests an evolution of the type Ia supernova rate.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (15 pages, 16
figures
Lithium and GSK3-ÎČ promoter gene variants influence white matter microstructure in bipolar disorder
Lithium is the mainstay for the treatment of bipolar disorder (BD) and inhibits glycogen synthase kinase 3-ÎČ (GSK3-ÎČ). The less active GSK3-ÎČ promoter gene variants have been associated with less detrimental clinical features of BD. GSK3-ÎČ gene variants and lithium can influence brain gray matter structure in psychiatric conditions. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures of white matter (WM) integrity showed widespred disruption of WM structure in BD. In a sample of 70 patients affected by a major depressive episode in course of BD, we investigated the effect of ongoing long-term lithium treatment and GSK3-ÎČ promoter rs334558 polymorphism on WM microstructure, using DTI and tract-based spatial statistics with threshold-free cluster enhancement. We report that the less active GSK3-ÎČ rs334558*C gene-promoter variants, and the long-term administration of the GSK3-ÎČ inhibitor lithium, were associated with increases of DTI measures of axial diffusivity (AD) in several WM fiber tracts, including corpus callosum, forceps major, anterior and posterior cingulum bundle (bilaterally including its hippocampal part), left superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus, left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, left posterior thalamic radiation, bilateral superior and posterior corona radiata, and bilateral corticospinal tract. AD reflects the integrity of axons and myelin sheaths. We suggest that GSK3-ÎČ inhibition and lithium could counteract the detrimental influences of BD on WM structure, with specific benefits resulting from effects on specific WM tracts contributing to the functional integrity of the brain and involving interhemispheric, limbic, and large frontal, parietal, and fronto-occipital connections
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