6,863 research outputs found
Radio emission at the centre of the galaxy cluster Abell 3560: evidence for core sloshing?
Previous radio observations of the galaxy cluster A3560 in the Shapley
Concentration showed complex radio emission associated with the brightest
cluster member.To understand its origin we observed it with the GMRT, the VLA
and ATCA at 240 and 610 MHz, 1.28,1.4, 2.3,4.8 and 8.4 GHz, and performed a
detailed morphological and spectral study of the radio emission associated with
the BCG. We also observed the cluster with XMM-Newton and Chandra to derive the
properties of the ICM. The radio emission of the N-E nucleus of the dumb-bell
BCG shows an active radio galaxy, plus aged diffuse emission, which is not
refurbished at present. Our Chandra data show that the radio active nucleus of
the BCG has extended X-ray emission, which we classify as a low-luminosity
corona. A residual image of the XMM-Newton brightness shows the presence of a
spiral-like feature, which we interpret as the signature of gas sloshing. The
presence of a subgroup is clear in the surface brightness residual map, and in
the XMM-Newton temperature analysis. The optical 2D analysis shows substructure
in A3560. A galaxy clump was found at the location of the X-ray subgroup, and
another group is present south of the cluster core, close to the spiral-like
feature. The aged part of the radio emission closely follows the spiral pattern
of the X-ray residual brightness distribution, while the two active radio lobes
are bent in a completely different direction. We conclude that the complex
radio emission associated with the cluster BCG is the result of a minor merger
event in A3560. The aged diffuse emission is strongly affected by the sloshing
motion in the ICM. On the other hand, the bent jets and lobes of the current
radio AGN activity may reflect a complex gas velocity field in the innermost
cluster regions and/or sloshing-induced oscillations in the motion of the cD
galaxy.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables, A&A in pres
Spatial variability of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) yield as related to soil parameters in a small field
The harvested biomass of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is generally much lower than its potential; this may be due to several factors including not recovering all the biomass at harvest, weed competition, pests, disease and spatial variation of soil features. The objective of this research was to quantify the yield spatial variation of switchgrass and relate it to soil parameters, in a field of about 5 ha, in 2004 and 2005. Several thematic maps of soil parameters and biomass yield were produced using GIS and geostatistical methods. Soil parameters changed consistently within very short distances and biomass yield varied from 3 to more than 20 Mg ha(-1). This remarkable variation indicates that the potential for increasing switchgrass productivity is a real prospect. Furthermore, spatial variation of yield showed similar patterns in the 2 years (r = 0.38**), and therefore a major influence of site characteristics on switchgrass yield can be assumed to occur. Significant correlations were found between biomass yield and soil N, P, moisture and pH as well as between soil parameters. Some soil parameters such as sand content showed patchy spatial distribution. Conversely, a reliable spatial dependence could not be identified for other parameters such as P. Further research is needed
Quantum Fields in an Expanding Universe
We extend our analysis for scalar fields in a Robertson-Walker metric to the
electromagnetic field and Dirac fields by the method of invariants. The issue
of the relation between conformal properties and particle production is
re-examined and it is verified that the electromagnetic and massless spinor
actions are conformal invariant, while the massless conformally coupled scalar
field is not. For the scalar field case it is pointed out that the violation of
conformal simmetry due to surface terms, although ininfluential for the
equation of motion, does lead to effects in the quantized theory.Comment: 15 pp, no figures, accepted for publication in Class. Quantum Gra
Nystagmus and optical coherence tomography findings in CNGB3-associated achromatopsia
PURPOSE: To describe the nystagmus characteristics of subjects with molecularly confirmed CNGB3-associated achromatopsia and report the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings in these individuals. METHODS: Adults and children with CNGB3-achromatopsia underwent visual acuity testing, ocular motility assessments, video nystagmography, and SD-OCT imaging. Qualitative assessment of foveal structure was performed by grading SD-OCT images into one of five categories. RESULTS: A total of 18 subjects (11 adults) were included. The majority demonstrated a phoria, with manifest strabismus present in only 3 subjects. The predominant nystagmus waveform within the cohort was pure pendular. Nine individuals demonstrated a mixture of waveforms. Nystagmus frequencies were 4-8 cycles/second, with no notable differences in eye movements between adults and children. SD-OCT imaging revealed a continuous ellipsoid zone (EZ) at the fovea in 2 subjects (grade 1) and EZ disruption (grade 2) in the remaining 16. Retinal structure characteristics were symmetrical in both eyes in each subject. CONCLUSIONS: In our study cohort, nystagmus in CNGB3-associated achromatopsia had distinctive features, and the majority of subjects had retinal abnormalities at the fovea on SD-OCT. Early use of SD-OCT in the clinical work-up may eliminate the need for more invasive investigations, such as neuro-imaging
A KAT-7 view of a low-mass sample of galaxy clusters
Radio observations over the last two decades have provided evidence that
diffuse synchrotron emission in the form of megaparsec-scale radio halos in
galaxy clusters is likely tracing regions of the intracluster medium where
relativistic particles are accelerated during cluster mergers. In this paper we
present results of a survey of 14 galaxy clusters carried out with the
7-element Karoo Array Telescope at 1.86 GHz, aimed to extend the current
studies of radio halo occurrence to systems with lower masses (M M). We found upper limits at the Watt Hz level for of the sample, confirming that
bright radio halos in less massive galaxy clusters are statistically rare.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Conference proceeding of "The many facets of
extragalactic radio surveys: towards new scientific challenges", 20-23
October 2105, Bologna, Ital
The historic timber roof of "Giordano's warehouse" in Vallombrosa: design, story and collapse
Vacuum energy and spectral function sum rules
We reformulate the problem of the cancellation of the ultraviolet
divergencies of the vacuum energy, particularly important at the cosmological
level, in terms of a saturation of spectral function sum rules which leads to a
set of conditions on the spectrum of the fundamental theory. We specialize the
approach to both Minkowski and de Sitter space-times and investigate some
examples.Comment: 11 pages, revtex4, no figures, version to be published on PR
Generation of fluctuations during inflation: comparison of stochastic and field-theoretic approaches
We prove that the stochastic and standard field-theoretical approaches
produce exactly the same results for the amount of light massive scalar field
fluctuations generated during inflation in the leading order of the slow-roll
approximation. This is true both in the case for which this field is a test one
and inflation is driven by another field, and the case for which the field
plays the role of inflaton itself. In the latter case, in order to calculate
the average of the mean square of the gauge-invariant inflaton fluctuation, the
logarithm of the scale factor has to be used as the time variable in the
Fokker-Planck equation in the stochastic approach. The implications of particle
production during inflation for the second stage of inflation and for the
moduli problem are also discussed. The case of a massless self-interacting test
scalar field in a de Sitter background with a zero initial renormalized mean
square is also considered in order to show how the stochastic approach can
easily produce results corresponding to diagrams with an arbitrary number of
scalar field loops in the field-theoretical approach (explicit results up to 4
loops inclusive are presented).Comment: Discussion expanded, references added, conclusions unchanged, matches
the version to be published in Phys. Rev.
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