3,302 research outputs found
2dF-AAOmega spectroscopy of massive stars in the Magellanic Clouds: The north-eastern region of the Large Magellanic Cloud
We present spectral classifications from optical spectroscopy of 263 massive
stars in the north-eastern region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The observed
two-degree field includes the massive 30 Doradus star-forming region, the
environs of SN1987A, and a number of star-forming complexes to the south of 30
Dor. These are the first classifications for the majority (203) of the stars
and include eleven double-lined spectroscopic binaries. The sample also
includes the first examples of early OC-type spectra (AAOmega 30 Dor 248 and
280), distinguished by the weakness of their nitrogen spectra and by C IV 4658
emission. We propose that these stars have relatively unprocessed CNO
abundances compared to morphologically normal O-type stars, indicative of an
earlier evolutionary phase. From analysis of observations obtained on two
consecutive nights, we present radial-velocity estimates for 233 stars, finding
one apparent single-lined binary and nine (>3sigma) outliers compared to the
systemic velocity; the latter objects could be runaway stars or large-amplitude
binary systems and further spectroscopy is required to investigate their
nature.Comment: Accepted by A&
A Spitzer IRAC Census of the Asymptotic Giant Branch Populations in Local Group Dwarfs. II. IC 1613
We present Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC photometry of the Local Group dwarf
irregular galaxy IC 1613. We compare our 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 micron
photometry with broadband optical photometry and find that the optical data do
not detect 43% and misidentify an additional 11% of the total AGB population,
likely because of extinction caused by circumstellar material. Further, we find
that a narrowband optical carbon star study of IC 1613 detects 50% of the total
AGB population and only considers 18% of this population in calculating the
carbon to M-type AGB ratio. We derive an integrated mass-loss rate from the AGB
stars of 0.2-1.0 x 10^(-3) solar masses per year and find that the distribution
of bolometric luminosities and mass-loss rates are consistent with those for
other nearby metal-poor galaxies. Both the optical completeness fractions and
mass-loss rates in IC 1613 are very similar to those in the Local Group dwarf
irregular, WLM, which is expected given their similar characteristics and
evolutionary histories.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 26 pages, 10 figures, version with high-resolution
figures available at: http://webusers.astro.umn.edu/~djackson
Ice chemistry in massive Young Stellar Objects: the role of metallicity
We present the comparison of the three most important ice constituents
(water, CO and CO2) in the envelopes of massive Young Stellar Objects (YSOs),
in environments of different metallicities: the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic
Cloud (LMC) and, for the first time, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We
present observations of water, CO and CO2 ice in 4 SMC and 3 LMC YSOs (obtained
with Spitzer-IRS and VLT/ISAAC). While water and CO2 ice are detected in all
Magellanic YSOs, CO ice is not detected in the SMC objects. Both CO and CO2 ice
abundances are enhanced in the LMC when compared to high-luminosity Galactic
YSOs. Based on the fact that both species appear to be enhanced in a consistent
way, this effect is unlikely to be the result of enhanced CO2 production in
hotter YSO envelopes as previously thought. Instead we propose that this
results from a reduced water column density in the envelopes of LMC YSOs, a
direct consequence of both the stronger UV radiation field and the reduced
dust-to-gas ratio at lower metallicity. In the SMC the environmental conditions
are harsher, and we observe a reduction in CO2 column density. Furthermore, the
low gas-phase CO density and higher dust temperature in YSO envelopes in the
SMC seem to inhibit CO freeze-out. The scenario we propose can be tested with
further observations.Comment: accepted by MNRAS Letters; 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Chemical evolution of star clusters
I discuss the chemical evolution of star clusters, with emphasis on old
globular clusters, in relation to their formation histories. Globular clusters
clearly formed in a complex fashion, under markedly different conditions from
any younger clusters presently known. Those special conditions must be linked
to the early formation epoch of the Galaxy and must not have occurred since.
While a link to the formation of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies has been
suggested, present-day dwarf galaxies are not representative of the
gravitational potential wells within which the globular clusters formed.
Instead, a formation deep within the proto-Galaxy or within dark-matter
minihaloes might be favoured. Not all globular clusters may have formed and
evolved similarly. In particular, we may need to distinguish Galactic halo from
Galactic bulge clusters.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figures. To appear as invited review article in a special
issue of the Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A: Ch. 6 "Star clusters as tracers of
galactic star-formation histories" (ed. R. de Grijs). Fully peer reviewed.
LaTeX, requires rspublic.cls style fil
Potato breeding in the Netherlands: successful collaboration between farmers and commercial breeders.
Access and benefit sharing of plant genetic resources is a crucial but very complex, political and legalistic matter. Does the formal system work for family farmers? As we see in this special issue of Farming Matters, co-produced with Bioversity International, it poses many challenges and Farmers' Rights are rarely implemented in national law. At the same time, farmers around the world are leading successful initiatives for access and benefit sharing. In this special issue of Farming Matters also an article of the Bioimpuls potato breeding project was included: In the Netherlands a new PPB initiative called BioImpuls emerged in 2010, which engages organic potato farmers in a search to develop late blight-resistant vari-eties for the organic sector.
Spitzer SAGE-SMC Infrared Photometry of Massive Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud
We present a catalog of 5324 massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud
(SMC), with accurate spectral types compiled from the literature, and a
photometric catalog for a subset of 3654 of these stars, with the goal of
exploring their infrared properties. The photometric catalog consists of stars
with infrared counterparts in the Spitzer, SAGE-SMC survey database, for which
we present uniform photometry from 0.3-24 um in the UBVIJHKs+IRAC+MIPS24 bands.
We compare the color magnitude diagrams and color-color diagrams to those of
the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), finding that the brightest infrared sources
in the SMC are also the red supergiants, supergiant B[e] (sgB[e]) stars,
luminous blue variables, and Wolf-Rayet stars, with the latter exhibiting less
infrared excess, the red supergiants being less dusty and the sgB[e] stars
being on average less luminous. Among the objects detected at 24 um are a few
very luminous hypergiants, 4 B-type stars with peculiar, flat spectral energy
distributions, and all 3 known luminous blue variables. We detect a distinct Be
star sequence, displaced to the red, and suggest a novel method of confirming
Be star candidates photometrically. We find a higher fraction of Oe and Be
stars among O and early-B stars in the SMC, respectively, when compared to the
LMC, and that the SMC Be stars occur at higher luminosities. We estimate
mass-loss rates for the red supergiants, confirming the correlation with
luminosity even at the metallicity of the SMC. Finally, we confirm the new
class of stars displaying composite A & F type spectra, the sgB[e] nature of
2dFS1804 and find the F0 supergiant 2dFS3528 to be a candidate luminous blue
variable with cold dust.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journa
Conservation in two-particle self-consistent extensions of dynamical-mean-field-theory
Extensions of dynamical-mean-field-theory (DMFT) make use of quantum impurity
models as non-perturbative and exactly solvable reference systems which are
essential to treat the strong electronic correlations. Through the introduction
of retarded interactions on the impurity, these approximations can be made
two-particle self-consistent. This is of interest for the Hubbard model,
because it allows to suppress the antiferromagnetic phase transition in
two-dimensions in accordance with the Mermin-Wagner theorem, and to include the
effects of bosonic fluctuations. For a physically sound description of the
latter, the approximation should be conserving. In this paper we show that the
mutual requirements of two-particle self-consistency and conservation lead to
fundamental problems. For an approximation that is two-particle self-consistent
in the charge- and longitudinal spin channel, the double occupancy of the
lattice and the impurity are no longer consistent when computed from
single-particle properties. For the case of self-consistency in the charge- and
longitudinal as well as transversal spin channels, these requirements are even
mutually exclusive so that no conserving approximation can exist. We illustrate
these findings for a two-particle self-consistent and conserving DMFT
approximation.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
Post-exercise muscle glycogen resynthesis in humans
Since the pioneering studies conducted in the 1960s in which glycogen status was investigated using the muscle biopsy technique, sports scientists have developed a sophisticated appreciation of the role of glycogen in cellular adaptation and exercise performance, as well as sites of storage of this important metabolic fuel. While sports nutrition guidelines have evolved during the past decade to incorporate sport-specific and periodized manipulation of carbohydrate (CHO) availability, athletes attempt to maximize muscle glycogen synthesis between important workouts or competitive events so that fuel stores closely match the demands of the prescribed exercise. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that enhance or impair this biphasic process. In the early postexercise period (0-4 h), glycogen depletion provides a strong drive for its own resynthesis, with the provision of CHO (~1 g/kg body mass) optimizing this process. During the later phase of recovery (4-24 h), CHO intake should meet the anticipated fuel needs of the training/competition, with the type, form, and pattern of intake being less important than total intake. Dietary strategies that can enhance glycogen synthesis from suboptimal amounts of CHO or energy intake are of practical interest to many athletes; in this scenario, the coingestion of protein with CHO can assist glycogen storage. Future research should identify other factors that enhance the rate of synthesis of glycogen storage in a limited time frame, improve glycogen storage from a limited CHO intake, or increase muscle glycogen supercompensation
Re-evaluating safety risks of multifunctional dikes with a probabilistic risk framework
It is not uncommon for a flood defence to be combined
with other societal uses as a multifunctional flood defence, from housing in
urban areas to nature conservation in rural areas. The assessment of the
safety of multifunctional flood defences is often done using conservative
estimates. This study synthesizes new probabilistic approaches to evaluate
the safety of multifunctional flood defences employed in the Netherlands and
explores the results of these approaches. In this paper a case representing
a typical Dutch river dike combining a flood safety function with a nature
and housing function is assessed by its probability of failure for multiple
reinforcement strategies considering multiple relevant failure mechanisms.
Results show how the conservative estimates of multifunctional flood
defences lead to a systematic underestimation of the reliability of these
dikes. Furthermore, in a probabilistic assessment uncertainties introduced
by multifunctional elements affect the level of safety of the dike
proportional to the reliability of the dike itself. Hence, dikes with higher
protection levels are more suitable to be combined with potentially harmful
uses for safety, whereas dikes with low protection levels can benefit most
from uses that contribute to safety.</p
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