9,352 research outputs found
Non-thermal X-ray and Gamma-ray Emission from the Colliding Wind Binary WR140
WR140 is the archetype long-period colliding wind binary (CWB) system, and is
well known for dramatic variations in its synchrotron emission during its
7.9-yr, highly eccentric orbit. This emission is thought to arise from
relativistic electrons accelerated at the global shocks bounding the
wind-collision region (WCR). The presence of non-thermal electrons and ions
should also give rise to X-ray and gamma-ray emission from several separate
mechanisms, including inverse-Compton cooling, relativistic bremsstrahlung, and
pion decay. We describe new calculations of this emission and make some
preliminary predictions for the new generation of gamma-ray observatories. We
determine that WR140 will likely require several Megaseconds of observation
before detection with INTEGRAL, but should be a reasonably strong source for
GLAST.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, contribution to "Massive Stars and High-Energy
Emission in OB Associations"; JENAM 2005, held in Liege (Belgium
Winds in Collision: high-energy particles in massive binary systems
High-resolution radio observations have revealed that non-thermal radio
emission in WR stars arises where the stellar wind of the WR star collides with
that of a binary companion. These colliding-wind binary (CWB) systems offer an
important laboratory for investigating the underlying physics of particle
acceleration. Hydrodynamic models of the binary stellar winds and the
wind-collision region (WCR) that account for the evolution of the electron
energy spectrum, largely due to inverse Compton cooling, are now available.
Radiometry and imaging obtained with the VLA, MERLIN, EVN and VLBA provide
essential constraints to these models. Models of the radio emission from WR146
and WR147 are shown, though these very wide systems do not have defined orbits
and hence lack a number of important model parameters. Multi-epoch VLBI imaging
of the archetype WR+O star binary WR140 through a part of its 7.9-year orbit
has been used to define the orbit inclination, distance and the luminosity of
the companion star to enable the best constraints for any radio emitting CWB
system. Models of the spatial distribution of relativistic electrons and ions,
and the magnetic energy density are used to model the radio emission, and also
to predict the high energy emission at X-ray and gamma-ray energies. It is
clear that high-energy facilities e.g. GLAST and VERITAS, will be important for
constraining particle acceleration parameters such as the spectral index of the
energy spectrum and the acceleration efficiency of both ions and electrons, and
in turn, identify unique models for the radio spectra. This will be especially
important in future attempts to model the spectra of WR140 throughout its
complete orbit. A WCR origin for the synchrotron emission in O-stars, the
progenitors of WR stars, is illustrated by observations of Cyg OB2 No. 9.Comment: Invited review at the 8th EVN Symposium, Torun September 26-29, 2006.
11 pages, 12 figure
Radio observations of the massive stellar cluster Westerlund 1
High-dynamic range radio observations of Westerlund 1 are presented that
detect a total of 21 stars in the young massive stellar cluster, the richest
population of radio emitting stars known for any young massive galactic cluster
in the Galaxy. We will discuss some of the more remarkable objects, including
the highly radio luminous supergiant B[e] star W9, with an estimated mass-loss
rate ~10^{-3} solarmass/yr, comparable to that of eta Carina, along with the
somewhat unusual detection of thermal emission from almost all the cool red
supergiants and yellow hypergiants. There is strong supporting evidence from
X-ray observations that each of the WR stars with radio emission are likely to
be colliding-wind binariesComment: To appear in the proceedings of "Massive Stars: Fundamental
Parameters and Circumstellar Interactions". 2 pages, 1 figur
Room-Temperature Alternative to the Arbuzov Reaction: The Reductive Deoxygenation of Acyl Phosphonates
The reductive deoxygenation of acyl phosphonates using a Wolff−Kishner-like sequence is described. This transformation allows direct access to alkyl phosphonates from acyl phosphonates at room temperature. The method can be combined with acyl phosphonate synthesis into a one pot, four-step procedure for the conversion of carboxylic acids into alkyl phosphonates. The methodology works well for a variety of aliphatic acids and shows a functional group tolerance similar to that of other hydrazone-forming reactions
Inhibition of Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by Aminoimidazole Carboxamide Ribotide Prevents Growth of Salmonella enterica purH Mutants on Glycerol
The enzyme fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBP) is key regulatory point in gluconeogenesis. Mutants of Salmonella enterica lacking purH accumulate 5-amino-4-imidazole carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) and are unable to utilize glycerol as sole carbon and energy sources. The work described here demonstrates this lack of growth is due to inhibition of FBP by AICAR. Mutant alleles of fbp that restore growth on glycerol encode proteins resistant to inhibition by AICAR and the allosteric regulator AMP. This is the first report of biochemical characterization of substitutions causing AMP resistance in a bacterial FBP. Inhibition of FBP activity by AICAR occurs at physiologically relevant concentrations and may represent a form of regulation of gluconeogenic flux in Salmonella enterica
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