22,208 research outputs found
Fusion energy from the Moon for the twenty-first century
It is shown in this paper that the D-He-3 fusion fuel cycle is not only credible from a physics standpoint, but that its breakeven and ignition characteristics could be developed on roughly the same time schedule as the DT cycle. It was also shown that the extremely low fraction of power in neutrons, the lack of significant radioactivity in the reactants, and the potential for very high conversion efficiencies, can result in definite advantages for the D-He-3 cycle with respect to DT fusion and fission reactors in the twenty-first century. More specifically, the D-He-3 cycle can accomplish the following: (1) eliminate the need for deep geologic waste burial facilities and the wastes can qualify for Class A, near-surface land burial; (2) allow 'inherently safe' reactors to be built that, under the worst conceivable accident, cannot cause a civilian fatality or result in a significant (greater than 100 mrem) exposure to a member of the public; (3) reduce the radiation damage levels to a point where no scheduled replacement of reactor structural components is required, i.e., full reactor lifetimes (approximately 30 FPY) can be credibly claimed; (4) increase the reliability and availability of fusion reactors compared to DT systems because of the greatly reduced radioactivity, the low neutron damage, and the elimination of T breeding; and (5) greatly reduce the capital costs of fusion power plants (compared to DT systems) by as much as 50 percent and present the potential for a significant reduction on the COE. The concepts presented in this paper tie together two of the most ambitious high-technology endeavors of the twentieth century: the development of controlled thermonuclear fusion for civilian power applications and the utilization of outer space for the benefit of mankind on Earth
Doping Evolution of Magnetic Order and Magnetic Excitations in (SrLa)IrO
We use resonant elastic and inelastic X-ray scattering at the Ir- edge
to study the doping-dependent magnetic order, magnetic excitations and
spin-orbit excitons in the electron-doped bilayer iridate
(SrLa)IrO (). With increasing
doping , the three-dimensional long range antiferromagnetic order is
gradually suppressed and evolves into a three-dimensional short range order
from to , followed by a transition to two-dimensional short range
order between and . Following the evolution of the
antiferromagnetic order, the magnetic excitations undergo damping, anisotropic
softening and gap collapse, accompanied by weakly doping-dependent spin-orbit
excitons. Therefore, we conclude that electron doping suppresses the magnetic
anisotropy and interlayer couplings and drives
(SrLa)IrO into a correlated metallic state hosting
two-dimensional short range antiferromagnetic order and strong
antiferromagnetic fluctuations of moments, with
the magnon gap strongly suppressed.Comment: 6 Pages, 3 Figures, with supplementary in Sourc
Striatal dopamine D2 receptor binding of risperidone in schizophrenic patients as assessed by 123I-iodobenzamide SPECT: a comparative study with olanzapine
The aim of this investigation was to compare the degree of striatal dopamine-(D2) receptor blockade by two atypical antipsychotic drugs, risperidone and olanzapine. The percentage of D2 receptor occupancy during treatment was calculated by comparing the results of 123I-iodobenzamide SPECT with those from healthy control subjects. Twenty inpatients suffering from schizophrenia or schizoaffective psychosis according to DSM IV/ICD-10 criteria were treated with clinically recommended doses of risperidone and compared with 13 inpatients treated with up to 20 mg olanzapine. Neuroleptic dose and D2 receptor blockade correlated strongly for both risperidone (Pearson r = â0.86, p = 0.0001) and olanzapine (Pearson r = â0.77, p = 0.002). There was no significant difference between the D2 receptor occupancy of the two substances when given in the clinically recommended dose range (unpaired t-test, t= â0.112, p=0.911)
Apsidal motion in the massive binary HD152218
Massive binary systems are important laboratories in which to probe the
properties of massive stars and stellar physics in general. In this context, we
analysed optical spectroscopy and photometry of the eccentric short-period
early-type binary HD 152218 in the young open cluster NGC 6231. We
reconstructed the spectra of the individual stars using a separating code. The
individual spectra were then compared with synthetic spectra obtained with the
CMFGEN model atmosphere code. We furthermore analysed the light curve of the
binary and used it to constrain the orbital inclination and to derive absolute
masses of 19.8 +/- 1.5 and 15.0 +/- 1.1 solar masses. Combining radial velocity
measurements from over 60 years, we show that the system displays apsidal
motion at a rate of (2.04^{+.23}_{-.24}) degree/year. Solving the
Clairaut-Radau equation, we used stellar evolution models, obtained with the
CLES code, to compute the internal structure constants and to evaluate the
theoretically predicted rate of apsidal motion as a function of stellar age and
primary mass. In this way, we determine an age of 5.8 +/- 0.6 Myr for HD
152218, which is towards the higher end of, but compatible with, the range of
ages of the massive star population of NGC 6231 as determined from isochrone
fitting.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Direct measurement of the jet geometry in Seyfert galaxies
We demonstrate that, by combining optical, radio and X-ray observations of a
Seyfert, it is possible to provide a direct measurement of the angle
between the direction of the radio jet and the normal to the plane of the
spiral host galaxy. To do so, we make the assumptions that the inner radio jet
is perpendicular to the X-ray observed inner accretion disk, and that the
observed jet (or the stronger component, if the jet is two-sided) is physically
closer to Earth than the plane of the galaxy. We draw attention to the
possibility of measurement producing a result which is not self-consistent, in
which case for that galaxy, one of the assumptions must fail.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal Letter
The Nature of the Optical Light in Seyfert 2 Galaxies with Polarized Continuum
We investigate the nature of the optical continuum and stellar population in
the central kpc of the Seyfert 2s Mrk 348, Mrk 573, NGC 1358 and Mrk 1210 using
long-slit spectra obtained along the radio or extended emission axis. These
galaxies are known to have polarized continuum-including polarized broad lines
in Mrk 348 and Mrk 1210--and previous studies indicate featureless continuum
(FC) contributions in the 20-50% range at 5500 A. Nevertheless, our
measurements of the equivalent widths of absorption lines and continuum ratios
as a function of distance from the nuclei show no dilution of the lines nor
bluening of the spectrum, as expected if a blue FC was present at the nucleus
in the above proportions. We investigate one possibility to account for this
effect: that the stellar population at the nucleus is the same as that from the
surrounding bulge and dominates the nuclear light. A spectral analysis confirms
that this hypothesis works for Mrk 348, NGC 1358 and Mrk 1210, for which we
find stellar contributions at the nucleus larger than 90% at all wavelengths.
We find that a larger stellar population contribution to the nuclear spectra
can play the role of the ``second FC'' source inferred from previous studies.
Stellar population synthesis shows that the nuclear regions of Mrk 348 and Mrk
1210 have important contributions of young to intermediate age stars (0--100
Myr), not present in templates of elliptical galaxies. In the case of Mrk 1210,
this is further confirmed by the detection of a ``Wolf-Rayet feature'' in the
nuclear emission-line spectrum.Comment: ApJ, accepted. Uses aaspp4.sty. [22 pages
The ultracool dwarf DENIS-P J104814.7-395606. Chromospheres and coronae at the low-mass end of the main-sequence
We have obtained an XMM-Newton observation and a broad-band spectrum from the
ultraviolet to the near infrared with X-Shooter for one of the nearest M9
dwarfs, DENIS-P J1048-3956 (4pc). We integrate these data by a compilation of
activity parameters for ultracool dwarfs from the literature with the aim to
advance our understanding of these objects by comparing them to early-M type
dwarf stars and the Sun.
Our deep XMM-Newton observation has led to the first X-ray detection of
DENIS-P J1048-3956 (log Lx = 25.1) as well as the first measurement of its V
band brightness (V = 17.35mag). Flux-flux relations between X-ray and
chromospheric activity indicators are here for the first time extended into the
regime of the ultracool dwarfs. The approximate agreement of DENIS-P J1048-3956
and other ultracool dwarfs with flux-flux relations for early-M dwarfs suggests
that the same heating mechanisms work in the atmospheres of ultracool dwarfs,
albeit weaker as judged from their lower fluxes. The observed Balmer decrements
of DENIS-P J1048-3956 are compatible with optically thick plasma in LTE at low,
nearly photospheric temperature or optically thin LTE plasma at 20000K.
Describing the decrements with CaseB recombination requires different emitting
regions for Halpha and the higher Balmer lines. The high observed Halpha/Hbeta
flux ratio is also poorly fitted by the optically thin models. We derive a
similarly high value for the Halpha/Hbeta ratio of vB10 and LHS2065 and
conclude that this may be a characteristic of ultracool dwarfs. We add DENIS-P
J1048-3956 to the list of ultracool dwarfs detected in both the radio and the
X-ray band. The Benz-Guedel relation between radio and X-ray luminosity of
late-type stars is well-known to be violated by ultracool dwarfs. We speculate
on the presence of two types of ultracool dwarfs with distinct radio and X-ray
behavior.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Circumnuclear stellar population, morphology and environment of Seyfert 2 galaxies: an evolutionary scenario
We investigate the relation between the characteristics of the circumnuclear
stellar population and both the galaxy morphology and the presence of close
companions for a sample of 35 Seyfert 2 nuclei. Fifteen galaxies present
unambiguous signatures of recent episodes of star formation within 300
pc from the nucleus. When we relate this property with the Hubble type of the
host galaxy, we find that the incidence of recent circumnuclear star formation
increases along the Hubble sequence, and seems to be larger than in non-Seyfert
galaxies for the early Hubble types S0 and Sa, but similar to that in
non-Seyfert galaxies for later Hubble types. Both in early-type and late-type
Seyferts, the presence of recent star-formation is related to the galaxy
morphology in the inner few kiloparsecs, as observed in HST images through the
filter F606W by Malkan et al., who has assigned a late ``inner Hubble type'' to
most Seyfert 2s with recent nuclear star-formation. This new classification is
due to the presence of dust lanes and spiral structures in the inner region.
The presence of recent star formation in Seyfert 2 nuclei is also related to
interactions: among the 13 galaxies of the sample with close companions or in
mergers, 9 have recent star formation in the nucleus. These correlations
between the presence of companions, inner morphology and the incidence of
recent star formation suggest an evolutionary scenario in which the interaction
is responsible for sending gas inwards which both feeds the AGN and triggers
star-formation. The starburst then fades with time and the composite Seyfert 2
+ Starburst nucleus evolves to a ``pure'' Seyfert 2 nucleus with an old stellar
population.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
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