Gravitational Wave Background from Population III Stars

We estimate the gravitational wave (GW) background from Population III (Pop III) stars using the results from our hydrodynamic simulations (Suwa et al. 2007). We calculate gravitational waveforms from matter motions and anisotropic neutrino emissions for single Pop III stars. We find that the GW amplitudes from matter motions are dominant until just after bounce, but those from neutrinos dominate later on at frequencies below $\sim 10$ Hz in the GW spectrum. Computing the overall signal produced by the ensemble of such Pop III stars, we find that the resultant density parameter of the GW background peaks at the amplitude of $\Omega_\mathrm{GW}\sim 10^{-10}$ in the frequency interval $\sim 1-10$ Hz. We show that such signals, depending on the formation rate of Pop III stars, can be within the detection limits of future planned interferometers such as DECIGO and BBO in the frequency interval of $\sim 0.1-1$ Hz. Our results suggest that the detection of the GW background from Pop III stars can be an important tool to supply the information about the star formation history in the early universe.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Explosion geometry of a rotating 13 M⊙M_{\odot} star driven by the SASI-aided neutrino-heating supernova mechanism

By performing axisymmetric hydrodynamic simulations of core-collapse supernovae with spectral neutrino transport based on the isotropic diffusion source approximation scheme, we support the assumption that the neutrino-heating mechanism aided by the standing accretion shock instability and convection can initiate an explosion of a 13 $M_{\odot}$ star. Our results show that bipolar explosions are more likely to be associated with models which include rotation. We point out that models, which form a north-south symmetric bipolar explosion, can lead to larger explosion energies than for the corresponding unipolar explosions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in PASJ Letter

Magneto-driven Shock Waves in Core-Collapse Supernova

We perform a series of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the rotational core-collapse of a magnetized massive star. We employ a realistic equation of state and take into account the neutrino cooling by the so-called leakage scheme. In this study we systematically investigate how the strong magnetic field and the rapid rotation affect the propagation of the shock waves. Our results show that in the case of the strong initial poloidal magnetic field, the toroidal magnetic field amplified by the differential rotation, becomes strong enough to generate a tightly collimated shock wave along the rotational axis. On the other hand, in the case of the weak initial magnetic field, although the differential rotation amplifies toroidal magnetic field over the long rotational period, the launched shock wave is weak and the shape of it becomes wider. The former case is expected to be accompanied by the formation of the so-called magnetar. Our models with rapid rotation and strong magnetic field can create a nozzle formed by the collimated shock wave. This might be the analogous situation of the collapsar that is plausible for the central engine of the Gamma-Ray Bursts.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, Accepted to ApJ. A paper with high-resolution figures available at "http://www-utap.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takiwaki/res/index-j.html

Molecular characterization of O-methyltransferases involved in isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in Coptis japonica

O-Methyltransferases, which catalyze the production of small molecules in plants, play a crucial role in determining biosynthetic pathways in secondary metabolism because of their strict substrate specificity. Using three O-methyltransferase (OMT) cDNAs that are involved in berberine biosynthesis, we investigated the structure that was essential for this substrate specificity and the possibility of creating a chimeric enzyme with novel substrate specificity. Since each OMT has a relatively well-conserved C-terminal putative S-adenosyl-L-methionine-binding domain, we first exchanged the N-terminal halves of different OMTs. Among the 6 combinations that we tested for creating chimeric OMTs, 5 constructs produced detectable amounts of recombinant proteins, and only one of these with an N-terminal half of 6-OMT and a C-terminal half of 4′-OMT (64′-OMT) showed methylation activity with isoquinoline alkaloids as a substrate. Further enzymological analysis of 64′-OMT reaction product indicated that 64′-OMT retained the regio-specificity of 6-OMT. Further examination of the N-terminal region of 64′-OMT showed that about 90 amino acid residues in the N-terminal half were critical for reaction specificity. The creation of OMTs with novel reactivity is discussed

Post-event Processing Predicts Cortisol Recovery

There is growing evidence that individuals with social anxiety show impaired cortisol recovery after experiencing social evaluative stressors. Yet, little is known regarding the cognitive processes underlying such impaired cortisol recovery. The present study examined the effect of post-event processing (PEP), referred to as repetitive thinking about social situations, on cortisol recovery following a social stressor. Forty-two non-clinical university students (23 women, 19 men, mean age = 22.0 ± 2.0 years) completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), followed by a thought sampling procedure which assessed the frequency of PEP reflecting the TSST. A growth curve model showed PEP and social anxiety interactively predicted cortisol recovery. In particular, PEP predicted impaired cortisol recovery in those with low levels of social anxiety but not in those with high levels of social anxiety, which contradicted the initial hypothesis. These findings suggest that PEP is differentially associated with cortisol recovery depending on levels of social anxiety. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings were discussed in terms of protective inhibition framework

Distance to G14.33-0.64 in the Sagittarius Spiral Arm: H2O Maser Trigonometric Parallax with VERA

We report on trigonometric parallax measurements for the Galactic star forming region G14.33-0.64 toward the Sagittarius spiral arm. We conducted multi-epoch phase-referencing observations of an H2O maser source in G14.33-0.64 with the Japanese VLBI array VERA. We successfully detected a parallax of 0.893+/-0.101 mas, corresponding to a source distance of 1.12+/-0.13 kpc, which is less than half of the kinematic distance for G14.33-0.64. Our new distance measurement demonstrates that the Sagittarius arm lies at a closer distance of ~1 kpc, instead of previously assumed ~2-3 kpc from kinematic distances. The previously suggested deviation of the Sagittarius arm toward the Galactic center from the symmetrically fitted model (Taylor & Cordes 1993) is likely due to large errors of kinematic distances at low galactic longitudes. G14.33-0.64 most likely traces the near side of the Sagittarius arm. We attempted fitting the pitch angle of the arm with other parallax measurements along the arm, which yielded two possible pitch angles of i=34.7+/-2.7 degrees and i=11.2+/-10.5 degrees. Our proper motion measurements suggest G14.33-0.64 has no significant peculiar motion relative to the differential rotation of the Galaxy (assumed to be in a circular orbit), indicating that the source motion is in good agreement with the Galactic rotation.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, to appear in PASJ Vol. 62, No.

Contribution of Majoron to Hubble tension in gauged U(1)Lμ−Lτ_{L_\mu-L_\tau} Model

In this paper, we analyze parameter regions that can alleviate the Hubble tension in the U(1)$_{L_\mu - L_\tau}$ model with the broken lepton number U(1)$_L$ symmetry. As new particles, this model has a U(1)$_{L_\mu - L_\tau}$ gauge boson $Z'$ and a Majoron $\phi$, which can affect the early universe and the effective number of neutrino species $N_{\rm eff}$. If $Z'$ and $\phi$ simultaneously exist in the early universe, $Z'\,$-$\,\phi$ interaction processes such as $Z'\nu_\alpha \leftrightarrow \phi\bar{\nu}_\beta$ occur. The comparison of $N_{\rm eff}$ between the cases with and without the $Z'\,$-$\,\phi$ interaction processes shows that these processes make a small contribution of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ to $N_{\rm eff}$, and it does not need to be considered for the alleviation of the Hubble tension. Based on these facts, we calculated $N_{\rm eff}$ for various Majoron parameters without the $Z'\,$-$\,\phi$ interaction processes to search parameters that could alleviate the Hubble tension. As a result, we found that the U(1)$_{L_\mu - L_\tau}$ gauge boson and Majoron can alleviate the Hubble tension in some parameter regions, and there is a non-trivial synergy contribution between $Z'$ and $\phi$. Moreover, the parameter region with a lighter mass $m_\phi \lesssim 2$ MeV and a larger coupling $\lambda \gtrsim 10^{-8}$ is excluded because it predicts too large $N_{\rm eff}$, i.e. $N_{\rm eff} \gtrsim 3.5$. The favored and restricted regions of the Majoron parameters depend on the $Z'$ parameters because of the presence of the $Z'$ contribution and synergy one.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure