5,430 research outputs found
The Halo Beaming Model for Gamma-Ray Bursts
We consider a model for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) from high-velocity neutron
stars in the galactic halo. In this model, bursters are born in the galactic
disk with large recoil velocities V_r, and GRBs are beamed to within emission
cones of half-angle \phi centered on V_r. We describe scenarios for
magnetically -channeled GRBs that have such beaming characteristics. We then
make detailed comparisons of this halo beaming model (HBM) to BATSE and PVO
data for GRB intensity & angular position distributions. Acceptable fits to
observations of over 1000 bursts are obtained for \phi = 15 - 30 degrees and
for a BATSE sampling depth ~ 180 kpc. Present data favor a truly isotropic
(cosmological) model over the HBM, but not by a statistically compelling
margin. Bursters born in nearby external galaxies, such as M31, are almost
entirely undetectable in the HBM because of misdirected beaming. We analyze
several refinements of the basic HBM: gamma-ray intensities that vary with
angle from the beam axis; non-standard-candle GRB luminosity functions; and
models including a subset of bursters that do not escape from the galaxy. We
also discuss the energy budgets for the bursters, the origins of their recoils,
and the physics of burst beaming and alignment. One possible physical model is
based on the magnetar model of soft gamma repeaters (SGRs). Empirical bounds on
the rate of formation and peculiar velocities of SGRs imply that there exist ~
10^4 to ~ 10^7 aged SGRs in the galactic halo within a distance of 100 kpc. The
HBM gives an acceptable fit to observations only if it satisfies certain
conditions (e.g. \phi ~ 20 deg) which are possible, but for which there exist
no clear & compelling theoretical justifications. The cosmological burster
hypothesis is more generic and thus more attractive in this sense. (Abbreviated
Abstract).Comment: ApJ accepted, 9 figures, AASTE
Infall models of Class 0 protostars
We have carried out radiative transfer calculations of infalling, dusty
envelopes surrounding embedded protostars to understand the observed properties
of the recently identified ``Class 0'' sources. To match the far-infrared peaks
in the spectral energy distributions of objects such as the prototype Class 0
source VLA 1623, pure collapse models require mass infall rates
\sim10^{-4}\msunyr. The radial intensity distributions predicted by
such infall models are inconsistent with observations of VLA 1623 at sub-mm
wavelengths, in agreement with the results of Andre et al. (1993) who found a
density profile of rather than the expected gradient. To resolve this conflict, while still invoking
infall to produce the outflow source at the center of VLA 1623, we suggest that
the observed sub-mm intensity distribution is the sum of two components: an
inner infall zone, plus an outer, more nearly constant-density region. This
explanation of the observations requires that roughly half the total mass
observed within 2000 AU radius of the source lies in a region external to the
infall zone. The column densities for this external region are comparable to
those found in the larger Oph A cloud within which VLA 1623 is embedded. The
extreme environments of Class 0 sources lead us to suggest an alternative or
additional interpretation of these objects: rather than simply concluding with
Andre et al. that Class 0 objects only represent the earliest phases of
protostellar collapse, and ultimately evolve into older ``Class I'' protostars,
we suggest that many Class 0 sources could be the protostars of very dense
regions. (Shortened)Comment: 22 pages, including 3 PostScript figures, accepted for publication in
The Astrophysical Journa
Magnetotransport in the doped Mott insulator
We investigate the Hall effect and the magnetoresistance of strongly
correlated electron systems using the dynamical mean-field theory. We treat the
low- and high-temperature limits analytically and explore some aspects of the
intermediate-temperature regime numerically. We observe that a
bipartite-lattice condition is responsible for the high-temperature result
obtained by various authors, whereas the general
behavior is , as for the longitudinal conductivity. We
find that Kohler's rule is neither obeyed at high nor at intermediate
temperatures.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
On the tropospheric response to anomalous stratospheric wave drag and radiative heating
Observational and numerical evidence suggest that variability in the extratropical stratospheric circulation has a demonstrable impact on tropospheric variability on intraseasonal time scales. In this study, it is demonstrated that the amplitude of the observed tropospheric response to vacillations in the stratospheric flow is quantitatively similar to the zonal-mean balanced response to the anomalous wave forcing at stratospheric levels. It is further demonstrated that the persistence of the tropospheric response is consistent with the impact of anomalous diabatic heating in the polar stratosphere as stratospheric temperatures relax to climatology. The results contradict previous studies that suggest that variations in stratospheric wave drag are too weak to account for the attendant changes in the tropospheric flow. However, the results also reveal that stratospheric processes alone cannot account for the observed meridional redistribution of momentum within the troposphere
A near-infrared survey of the N49 region around the Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater 0526-66
We report the results of a deep near-infrared survey with VLT/ISAAC of the
environment of the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which
contains the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 0526-66. Two of the four confirmed
SGRs are potentially associated with compact stellar clusters. We thus searched
for a similar association of SGR 0526-66, and imaged a young stellar cluster at
a projected distance of ~30 pc from the SGR. This constitutes the third
cluster-SGR link, and lends support to scenarios in which SGR progenitors
originate in young, dusty clusters. If confirmed, the cluster-SGR association
constrains the age and thus the initial mass of SGR progenitors.Comment: submitted to ApJ Letter
The near-infrared size-luminosity relations for Herbig Ae/Be disks
We report the results of a sensitive K-band survey of Herbig Ae/Be disk sizes
using the 85-m baseline Keck Interferometer. Targets were chosen to span the
maximum range of stellar properties to probe the disk size dependence on
luminosity and effective temperature. For most targets, the measured
near-infrared sizes (ranging from 0.2 to 4 AU) support a simple disk model
possessing a central optically-thin (dust-free) cavity, ringed by hot dust
emitting at the expected sublimation temperatures (T_sub~1000-1500K).
Furthermore, we find a tight correlation of disk size with source luminosity R
propto L^(1/2) for Ae and late Be systems (valid over more than 2 decades in
luminosity), confirming earlier suggestions based on lower-quality data.
Interestingly, the inferred dust-free inner cavities of the highest luminosity
sources (Herbig B0-B3 stars) are under-sized compared to predictions of the
optically-thin cavity model, likely due to optically-thick gas within the inner
AU.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal; 24 pages, 4 figures, 4 table
Probing the close environment of young stellar objects with interferometry
The study of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) is one of the most exciting topics
that can be undertaken by long baseline optical interferometry. The magnitudes
of these objects are at the edge of capabilities of current optical
interferometers, limiting the studies to a few dozen, but are well within the
capability of coming large aperture interferometers like the VLT
Interferometer, the Keck Interferometer, the Large Binocular Telescope or
'OHANA. The milli-arcsecond spatial resolution reached by interferometry probes
the very close environment of young stars, down to a tenth of an astronomical
unit. In this paper, I review the different aspects of star formation that can
be tackled by interferometry: circumstellar disks, multiplicity, jets. I
present recent observations performed with operational infrared
interferometers, IOTA, PTI and ISI, and I show why in the next future one will
extend these studies with large aperture interferometers.Comment: Review to be published in JENAM'2002 proceedings "The Very Large
Telescope Interferometer Challenges for the future
Independent Recruitment of a Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase for Safe Accumulation of Sequestered Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Grasshoppers and Moths
Several insect lineages have developed diverse strategies to sequester toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from food-plants for their own defense. Here, we show that in two highly divergent insect taxa, the hemimetabolous grasshoppers and the holometabolous butterflies, an almost identical strategy evolved independently for safe accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This strategy involves a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase that transfers the pyrrolizidine alkaloids to their respective N-oxide, enabling the insects to avoid high concentrations of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the hemolymph. We have identified a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase, which is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase, of the grasshopper Zonocerus variegatus. After heterologous expression in E. coli, this enzyme shows high specificity for pyrrolizidine alkaloids of various structural types and for the tropane alkaloid atropine as substrates, a property that has been described previously for a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase of the arctiid moth Grammia geneura. Phylogenetic analyses of insect flavin-dependent monooxygenase sequences suggest that independent gene duplication events preceded the establishment of this specific enzyme in the lineages of the grasshoppers and of arctiid moths. Two further flavin-dependent monooxygenase sequences have been identified from Z. variegatus sharing amino acid identities of approximately 78% to the pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase. After heterologous expression, both enzymes are also able to catalyze the N-oxygenation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, albeit with a 400-fold lower specific activity. With respect to the high sequence identity between the three Z. variegatus sequences this ability to N-oxygenize pyrrolizidine alkaloids is interpreted as a relict of a former bifunctional ancestor gene of which one of the gene copies optimized this activity for the specific adaptation to pyrrolizidine alkaloid containing food plants
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