1,247 research outputs found
Are nuclear star clusters the precursors of massive black holes?
We present new upper limits for black hole masses in extremely late type
spiral galaxies. We confirm that this class of galaxies has black holes with
masses less than 10^6 Msolar, if any. We also derive new upper limits for
nuclear star cluster (NC) masses in massive galaxies with previously determined
black hole masses. We use the newly derived upper limits and a literature
compilation to study the low mass end of the global-to-nucleus relations. We
find the following (1) The M_BH-sigma relation cannot flatten at low masses,
but may steepen. (2) The M_BH-M_bulge relation may well flatten in contrast.
(3) The M_BH-Sersic n relation is able to account for the large scatter in
black hole masses in low-mass disk galaxies. Outliers in the M_BH-Sersic n
relation seem to be dwarf elliptical galaxies. When plotting M_BH versus M_NC
we find three different regimes: (a) nuclear cluster dominated nuclei, (b) a
transition region, and (c) black hole-dominated nuclei. This is consistent with
the picture, in which black holes form inside nuclear clusters with a very
low-mass fraction. They subsequently grow much faster than the nuclear cluster,
destroying it when the ratio M_BH/M_NC grows above 100. Nuclear star clusters
may thus be the precursors of massive black holes in galaxy nuclei.Comment: This version has a corrected value for Sersic n for NGC205, which got
mixed up in the original version. None of the conclusions chang
Bubbling with -almost constant mean curvature and an Alexandrov-type theorem for crystals
A compactness theorem for volume-constrained almost-critical points of
elliptic integrands is proven. The result is new even for the area functional,
as almost-criticality is measured in an integral rather than in a uniform
sense. Two main applications of the compactness theorem are discussed. First,
we obtain a description of critical points/local minimizers of elliptic
energies interacting with a confinement potential. Second, we prove an
Alexandrov-type theorem for crystalline isoperimetric problems
Incidence and management of pulmonary embolism following spinal surgery occurring while under chemical thromboprophylaxis
Patients undergoing spinal surgery are at risk of developing thromboembolic complications even though lower incidences have been reported as compared to joint arthroplasty surgery. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been studied extensively in the context of spinal surgery but symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE) has engaged less attention. We prospectively followed a consecutive cohort of 270 patients undergoing spinal surgery at a single institution. From these patients, only 26 were simple discectomies, while the largest proportion (226) was fusions. All patients received both low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) initiated after surgery and compressive stockings. PE was diagnosed with spiral chest CT. Six patients developed symptomatic PE, five during their hospital stay. In three of the six patients the embolic event occurred during the first 3 postoperative days. They were managed by the temporary insertion of an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter thus allowing for a delay in full-dose anticoagulation until removal of the filter. None of the PE patients suffered any bleeding complication as a result of the introduction of full anticoagulation. Two patients suffered postoperative haematomas, without development of neurological symptoms or signs, requiring emergency evacuation. The overall incidence of PE was 2.2% rising to 2.5% after exclusion of microdiscectomy cases. The incidence of PE was highest in anterior or combined thoracolumbar/lumbar procedures (4.2%). There is a large variation in the reported incidence of PE in the spinal literature. Results from the only study found in the literature specifically monitoring PE suggest an incidence of PE as high as 2.5%. Our study shows a similar incidence despite the use of LMWH. In the absence of randomized controlled trials (RCT) it is uncertain if this type of prophylaxis lowers the incidence of PE. However, other studies show that the morbidity of LMWH is very low. Since PE can be a life-threatening complication, LMWH may be a worthwhile option to consider for prophylaxis. RCTs are necessary in assessing the efficacy of DVT and PE prophylaxis in spinal patient
The Structure of Nuclear Star Clusters in Nearby Late-type Spiral Galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Imaging
We obtained Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 imaging of a sample of
ten of the nearest and brightest nuclear clusters residing in late-type spiral
galaxies, in seven bands that span the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared.
Structural properties of the clusters were measured by fitting two-dimensional
surface brightness profiles to the images using GALFIT. The clusters exhibit a
wide range of structural properties. For six of the ten clusters in our sample,
we find changes in the effective radius with wavelength, suggesting radially
varying stellar populations. In four of the objects, the effective radius
increases with wavelength, indicating the presence of a younger population
which is more concentrated than the bulk of the stars in the cluster. However,
we find a general decrease in effective radius with wavelength in two of the
objects in our sample, which may indicate extended, circumnuclear star
formation. We also find a general trend of increasing roundness of the clusters
at longer wavelengths, as well as a correlation between the axis ratios of the
NCs and their host galaxies. These observations indicate that blue disks
aligned with the host galaxy plane are a common feature of nuclear clusters in
late-type galaxies, but are difficult to detect in galaxies that are close to
face-on. In color-color diagrams spanning the near-UV through the near-IR, most
of the clusters lie far from single-burst evolutionary tracks, showing evidence
for multi-age populations. Most of the clusters have integrated colors
consistent with a mix of an old population (> 1 Gyr) and a young population
(~100-300 Myr). The wide wavelength coverage of our data provides a sensitivity
to populations with a mix of ages that would not be possible to achieve with
imaging in optical bands only.Comment: Corrected a typo in author name and affiliation for MC and corrected
a typo in the conclusio
Large scale kinematics and dynamical modelling of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster
Within the central 10pc of our Galaxy lies a dense nuclear star cluster
(NSC), and similar NSCs are found in most nearby galaxies. Studying the
structure and kinematics of NSCs reveals the history of mass accretion of
galaxy nuclei. Because the Milky Way (MW) NSC is at a distance of only 8kpc, we
can spatially resolve the MWNSC on sub-pc scales. This makes the MWNSC a
reference object for understanding the formation of all NSCs. We have used the
NIR long-slit spectrograph ISAAC (VLT) in a drift-scan to construct an
integral-field spectroscopic map of the central 9.5 x 8pc of our Galaxy. We use
this data set to extract stellar kinematics both of individual stars and from
the unresolved integrated light spectrum. We present a velocity and dispersion
map from the integrated light and model these kinematics using kinemetry and
axisymmetric Jeans models. We also measure CO bandhead strengths of 1,375
spectra from individual stars. We find kinematic complexity in the NSCs radial
velocity map including a misalignment of the kinematic position angle by 9
degree counterclockwise relative to the Galactic plane, and indications for a
rotating substructure perpendicular to the Galactic plane at a radius of 20" or
0.8pc. We determine the mass of the NSC within r = 4.2pc to 1.4 x 10^7 Msun. We
also show that our kinematic data results in a significant underestimation of
the supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass. The kinematic substructure and
position angle misalignment may hint at distinct accretion events. This
indicates that the MWNSC grew at least partly by the mergers of massive star
clusters. Compared to other NSCs, the MWNSC is on the compact side of the r_eff
- M_NSC relation. The underestimation of the SMBH mass might be caused by the
kinematic misalignment and a stellar population gradient. But it is also
possible that there is a bias in SMBH mass measurements obtained with
integrated light.Comment: 20 pages, 19 Figures, Accepted for publication in A&
KMOS view of the Galactic Centre I. Young stars are centrally concentrated
The Galactic centre hosts a crowded, dense nuclear star cluster with a
half-light radius of 4 pc. Most of the stars in the Galactic centre are cool
late-type stars, but there are also >100 hot early-type stars in the central
parsec of the Milky Way. These stars are only 3-8 Myr old. Our knowledge of the
number and distribution of early-type stars in the Galactic centre is
incomplete. Only a few spectroscopic observations have been made beyond a
projected distance of 0.5 pc of the Galactic centre. The distribution and
kinematics of early-type stars are essential to understand the formation and
growth of the nuclear star cluster. We cover the central >4pc^2 of the Galactic
centre using the integral-field spectrograph KMOS. We extracted more than 1,000
spectra from individual stars and identified early-type stars based on their
spectra. Our data set contains 114 bright early-type stars: 6 have narrow
emission lines, 23 are Wolf-Rayet stars, 9 stars have featureless spectra, and
76 are O/B type stars. Our wide-field spectroscopic data confirm that the
distribution of young stars is compact, with 90% of the young stars identified
within 0.5 pc of the nucleus. We identify 24 new O/B stars primarily at large
radii. We estimate photometric masses of the O/B stars and show that the total
mass in the young population is >12,000M_sun. The O/B stars all appear to be
bound to the Milky Way nuclear star cluster, while less than 30% belong to the
clockwise rotating disk. The central concentration of the early-type stars is a
strong argument that they have formed in situ. A large part of the young O/B
stars is not on the disk, which either means that the early-type stars did not
all form on the same disk or that the disk is dissolving rapidly. [abridged]Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, matches journal version: Corrected typos,
corrected Notes in Table B.
Disentangling the Circumnuclear Environs of Centaurus A: III. An Inner Molecular Ring, Nuclear Shocks and the CO to warm H2 interface
We present the distribution and kinematics of the molecular gas in the
circumnuclear disk (CND, 400 pc x 200 pc) of Centaurus A with resolutions of ~5
pc (0.3 arcsec) and shed light onto the mechanism feeding the Active Galactic
Nucleus (AGN) using CO(3-2), HCO+(4-3), HCN(4-3), and CO(6-5) observations
obtained with ALMA. Multiple filaments or streamers of tens to a hundred parsec
scale exist within the CND, which form a ring-like structure with an
unprojected diameter of 9 x 6 arcsec (162pc x 108pc) and a position angle PA =
155deg. Inside the nuclear ring, there are two leading and straight filamentary
structures with lengths of about 30-60pc at PA = 120deg on opposite sides of
the AGN, with a rotational symmetry of 180deg and steeper position-velocity
diagrams, which are interpreted as nuclear shocks due to non-circular motions.
Along the filaments, and unlike other nearby AGNs, several dense molecular
clumps present low HCN/HCO+(4-3) ratios (~0.5). The filaments abruptly end in
the probed transitions at r = 20pc from the AGN, but previous near-IR H2
(J=1-0) S(1) maps show that they continue in an even ~1000 K), winding up in
the form of nuclear spirals, and forming an inner ring structure with another
set of symmetric filaments along the N-S direction and within r = 10pc. The
molecular gas is governed primarily by non-circular motions, being the
successive shock fronts at different scales where loss of angular momentum
occurs, a mechanism which may feed efficiently powerful radio galaxies down to
parsec scales.Comment: 46 pages. Accepted for publication in Ap
Cloaked Facebook pages: Exploring fake Islamist propaganda in social media
This research analyses cloaked Facebook pages that are created to spread political propaganda by cloaking a user profile and imitating the identity of a political opponent in order to spark hateful and aggressive reactions. This inquiry is pursued through a multi-sited online ethnographic case study of Danish Facebook pages disguised as radical Islamist pages, which provoked racist and anti-Muslim reactions as well as negative sentiments towards refugees and immigrants in Denmark in general. Drawing on Jessie Daniels’ critical insights into cloaked websites, this research furthermore analyses the epistemological, methodological and conceptual challenges of online propaganda. It enhances our understanding of disinformation and propaganda in an increasingly interactive social media environment and contributes to a critical inquiry into social media and subversive politics
- …