9,421 research outputs found
First-order layering and critical wetting transitions in non-additive hard sphere mixtures
Using fundamental-measure density functional theory we investigate entropic
wetting in an asymmetric binary mixture of hard spheres with positive
non-additivity. We consider a general planar hard wall, where preferential
adsorption is induced by a difference in closest approach of the different
species and the wall. Close to bulk fluid-fluid coexistence the phase rich in
the minority component adsorbs either through a series of first-order layering
transitions, where an increasing number of liquid layers adsorbs sequentially,
or via a critical wetting transition, where a thick film grows continuously.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
A model for orientation effects in electronâtransfer reactions
A method for solving the singleâparticle Schrödinger equation with an oblate spheroidal potential of finite depth is presented. The wave functions are then used to calculate the matrix element T_BA which appears in theories of nonadiabatic electron transfer. The results illustrate the effects of mutual orientation and separation of the two centers on TBA. Trends in these results are discussed in terms of geometrical and nodal structure effects. Analytical expressions related to T_BA for states of spherical wells are presented and used to analyze the nodal structure effects for T_BA for the spheroidal wells
The Hidden Nuclear Spectrum of the Luminous IRAS Source FSC102144724
Optical spectropolarimetry of the luminous IRAS source FSC102144724
(z) reveals that the strong (\twid17\%) linear polarization detected by
Lawrence \etal\/ is shared by both the narrow UV emission lines and the
underlying continuum. This observation and the brightness of the source rule
out synchrotron emission and dichroic extinction by dust as the polarizing
mechanism, leaving scattering as the only plausible cause of the polarized
emission. The narrowness of the lines requires that the scatterers be dust
grains or cool (10~K) electrons. We can recover the spectrum
that is incident on the scattering medium provided we make some reasonable
assumptions regarding the source geometry. The scattered UV spectrum has a
power law index ~ of (), steeper
than what would be expected from a young burst of star formation, but similar
to many AGN.Comment: 10 pages, with figure, uuencoded postscript Institute for Advanced
Study number AST 94/1
An Extraordinary Scattered Broad Emission Line in a Type 2 QSO
An infrared-selected, narrow-line QSO has been found to exhibit an
extraordinarily broad Halpha emission line in polarized light. Both the extreme
width (35,000 km/sec full-width at zero intensity) and 3,000 km/sec redshift of
the line centroid with respect to the systemic velocity suggest emission in a
deep gravitational potential. An extremely red polarized continuum and partial
scattering of the narrow lines at a position angle common to the broad-line
emission imply extensive obscuration, with few unimpeded lines of sight to the
nucleus.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
The Polarized Spectrum of Apm 08279+5255
We report the discovery of significant linear polarization (p > 1%) in the
hyperluminous z=3.87 BALQSO APM~08279+5255. The polarization spectrum is
complex, with properties similar to those of other, lower redshift but more
highly polarized BALQSOs. The resonance emission lines are unpolarized while
the absorption troughs show polarization similar to or higher than the
continuum. In particular, an apparent increase of polarization in the trough
covering 1000-1030 angstroms (rest) supports the interpretation of this feature
as a broad absorption component associated with OVI/Ly_beta local to the QSO,
as opposed to an intervening damped Ly_alpha absorption system.
The elevated polarization in some of the absorption features implies that we
view the scattered (polarized) spectrum through a sightline with less absorbing
material than the direct spectrum. Therefore, the complex structure of the
polarization spectrum in this brilliant lensed BALQSO suggests that it will be
an important laboratory for studying the structure of QSOs at high redshift.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Brain oscillations differentially encode noxious stimulus intensity and pain intensity
Noxious stimuli induce physiological processes which commonly translate into pain. However, under certain conditions, pain intensity can substantially dissociate from stimulus intensity, e.g. during longer-lasting pain in chronic pain syndromes. How stimulus intensity and pain intensity are differentially represented in the human brain is, however, not yet fully understood. We therefore used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the cerebral representation of noxious stimulus intensity and pain intensity during 10 min of painful heat stimulation in 39 healthy human participants. Time courses of objective stimulus intensity and subjective pain ratings indicated a dissociation of both measures. EEG data showed that stimulus intensity was encoded by decreases of neuronal oscillations at alpha and beta frequencies in sensorimotor areas. In contrast, pain intensity was encoded by gamma oscillations in the medial prefrontal cortex. Contrasting right versus left hand stimulation revealed that the encoding of stimulus intensity in contralateral sensorimotor areas depended on the stimulation side. In contrast, a conjunction analysis of right and left hand stimulation revealed that the encoding of pain in the medial prefrontal cortex was independent of the side of stimulation. Thus, the translation of noxious stimulus intensity into pain is associated with a change from a spatially specific representation of stimulus intensity by alpha and beta oscillations in sensorimotor areas to a spatially independent representation of pain by gamma oscillations in brain areas related to cognitive and affective-motivational processes. These findings extend the understanding of the brain mechanisms of nociception and pain and their dissociations during longer-lasting pain as a key symptom of chronic pain syndromes
Prefrontal gamma oscillations encode tonic pain in humans
Under physiological conditions, momentary pain serves vital protective functions. Ongoing pain in chronic pain states, on the other hand, is a pathological condition that causes widespread suffering and whose treatment remains unsatisfactory. The brain mechanisms of ongoing pain are largely unknown. In this study, we applied tonic painful heat stimuli of varying degree to healthy human subjects, obtained continuous pain ratings, and recorded electroencephalograms to relate ongoing pain to brain activity. Our results reveal that the subjective perception of tonic pain is selectively encoded by gamma oscillations in the medial prefrontal cortex. We further observed that the encoding of subjective pain intensity experienced by the participants differs fundamentally from that of objective stimulus intensity and from that of brief pain stimuli. These observations point to a role for gamma oscillations in the medial prefrontal cortex in ongoing, tonic pain and thereby extend current concepts of the brain mechanisms of pain to the clinically relevant state of ongoing pain. Furthermore, our approach might help to identify a brain marker of ongoing pain, which may prove useful for the diagnosis and therapy of chronic pain
Detection of Extended Polarized Ultraviolet Radiation from the z = 1.82 Radio Galaxy 3C 256
We have detected spatially extended linear polarized UV emission from the
high-redshift radio galaxy 3C~256 (). A spatially integrated (
diameter aperture) measurement of the degree of polarization of the band
(rest frame 0.19 m) emission yields a value of 16.4\% (\%) with a
position angle of (),
orthogonal to the position angle on the sky of the major axis of the extended
emission. The peak emission measured with a diameter circular aperture
is 11.7\% (\%) polarized with a position angle of (). An image of the polarized flux is
presented, clearly displaying that the polarized flux is extended and present
over the entire extent of the object. While it has been suggested that the UV
continuum of 3C~256 might be due to star formation (Elston 1988) or a
protogalaxy (Eisenhardt \& Dickinson 1993) based on its extremely blue spectral
energy distribution and similar morphology at UV and visible wavelengths, we
are unable to reconcile the observed high degree of polarization with such a
model. While the detection of polarized emission from HZRGs has been shown to
be a common phenomena, 3C~256 is only the third object for which a measurement
of the extended polarized UV emission has been presented. These data lend
additional support to the suggestion first made by di Serego Alighieri and
collaborators that the ``alignment effect'', the tendency for the extended UV
continuum radiation and line emission from HZRGs to be aligned with the major
axis of the extended radio emission, is in large part due to scattering of
anisotropic nuclear emission.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX (aaspp style) file. Figure available by request to
[email protected]
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