Abstract
We derive 2D dust attenuation maps at ∼1 kpc resolution from the UV continuum for 10 galaxies on the
z
∼ 2 star-forming main sequence (SFMS). Comparison with IR data shows that 9 out of 10 ...galaxies do not require further obscuration in addition to the UV-based correction, though our sample does not include the most heavily obscured, massive galaxies. The individual rest-frame
V
-band dust attenuation (
A
V
) radial profiles scatter around an average profile that gently decreases from ∼1.8 mag in the center down to ∼0.6 mag at ∼3–4 half-mass radii. We use these maps to correct UV- and H
α
-based star formation rates (SFRs), which agree with each other. At masses
, the dust-corrected specific SFR (sSFR) profiles are on average radially constant at a mass-doubling timescale of ∼300 Myr, pointing at a synchronous growth of bulge and disk components. At masses
, the sSFR profiles are typically centrally suppressed by a factor of ∼10 relative to the galaxy outskirts. With total central obscuration disfavored, this indicates that at least a fraction of massive
z
∼ 2 SFMS galaxies have started their inside-out star formation quenching that will move them to the quenched sequence. In combination with other observations, galaxies above and below the ridge of the SFMS relation have, respectively, centrally enhanced and centrally suppressed sSFRs relative to their outskirts, supporting a picture where bulges are built owing to gas “compaction” that leads to a high central SFR as galaxies move toward the upper envelope of the SFMS.
By using a set of different star formation rate (SFR) indicators, including Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mid-infrared and H α emission, we study the slope of the main sequence (MS) of ...local star-forming galaxies at stellar masses larger than 10^{10} M_{⊙ }. The slope of the relation strongly depends on the SFR indicator used. In all cases, the local MS shows a bending at high stellar masses with respect to the slope obtained in the low-mass regime. While the distribution of galaxies in the upper envelope of the MS is consistent with a lognormal distribution, the lower envelope shows an excess of galaxies, which increases as a function of the stellar mass but varies as a function of the SFR indicator used. The scatter of the best lognormal distribution increases with stellar mass from ∼0.3 dex at 10^{10} M_{⊙ } to ∼0.45 at 10^{11} M_{⊙ }. The MS high-mass end is dominated by central galaxies of group-sized haloes with a red bulge and a disc redder than the lower mass counterparts. We argue that the MS bending in this region is due to two processes: (i) the formation of a bulge component as a consequence of the increased merger activity in groups, and (ii) the cold gas starvation induced by the hot halo environment, which cuts off the gas inflow on to the disc. Similarly, the increase of the MS scatter at high stellar masses would be explained by the larger spread of star formation histories of central group and cluster galaxies with respect to lower mass systems.
Nearly a century ago it was recognized that radiation absorption by stellar matter controls the internal temperature profiles within stars. Laboratory opacity measurements, however, have never been ...performed at stellar interior conditions, introducing uncertainties in stellar models. A particular problem arose when refined photosphere spectral analysis led to reductions of 30-50 per cent in the inferred amounts of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in the Sun. Standard solar models using the revised element abundances disagree with helioseismic observations that determine the internal solar structure using acoustic oscillations. This could be resolved if the true mean opacity for the solar interior matter were roughly 15 per cent higher than predicted, because increased opacity compensates for the decreased element abundances. Iron accounts for a quarter of the total opacity at the solar radiation/convection zone boundary. Here we report measurements of wavelength-resolved iron opacity at electron temperatures of 1.9-2.3 million kelvin and electron densities of (0.7-4.0) × 10(22) per cubic centimetre, conditions very similar to those in the solar region that affects the discrepancy the most: the radiation/convection zone boundary. The measured wavelength-dependent opacity is 30-400 per cent higher than predicted. This represents roughly half the change in the mean opacity needed to resolve the solar discrepancy, even though iron is only one of many elements that contribute to opacity.
After birth, the development of hematopoietic cells occurs in the bone marrow. Hematopoietic differentiation is finely tuned by cell-intrinsic mechanisms and lineage-specific transcription factors. ...However, it is now clear that the bone marrow microenvironment plays an essential role in the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their differentiation into more mature lineages. Mesenchymal and endothelial cells contribute to a protective microenvironment called hematopoietic niches that secrete specific factors and establish a direct contact with developing hematopoietic cells. A number of recent studies have addressed in mouse models the specific molecular events that are involved in the cellular crosstalk between hematopoietic subsets and their niches. This has led to the concept that hematopoietic differentiation and commitment towards a given hematopoietic pathway is a dynamic process controlled at least partially by the bone marrow microenvironment. In this review, we discuss the evolving view of murine hematopoietic⁻stromal cell crosstalk that is involved in HSC maintenance and commitment towards B cell differentiation.
Most present-day galaxies with stellar masses ≥1011 solar masses show no ongoing star formation and are dense spheroids. Ten billion years ago, similarly massive galaxies were typically forming stars ...at rates of hundreds solar masses per year. It is debated how star formation ceased, on which time scales, and how this "quenching" relates to the emergence of dense spheroids. We measured stellar mass and star-formation rate surface density distributions in star-forming galaxies at redshift 2.2 with ∼1-kiloparsec resolution. We find that, in the most massive galaxies, star formation is quenched from the inside out, on time scales less than 1 billion years in the inner regions, up to a few billion years in the outer disks. These galaxies sustain high star-formation activity at large radii, while hosting fully grown and already quenched bulges in their cores.
Abstract
We investigate the relationship between star formation activity and outflow properties on kiloparsec scales in a sample of 28 star-forming galaxies at
z
∼ 2–2.6, using adaptive optics ...assisted integral field observations from SINFONI on the Very Large Telescope. The narrow and broad components of the H
α
emission are used to simultaneously determine the local star formation rate surface density (
), and the outflow velocity
and mass outflow rate
, respectively. We find clear evidence for faster outflows with larger mass loading factors at higher
. The outflow velocities scale as
∝
0.34±0.10
, which suggests that the outflows may be driven by a combination of mechanical energy released by supernova explosions and stellar winds, as well as radiation pressure acting on dust grains. The majority of the outflowing material does not have sufficient velocity to escape from the galaxy halos, but will likely be re-accreted and contribute to the chemical enrichment of the galaxies. In the highest
regions the outflow component contains an average of ∼45% of the H
α
flux, while in the lower
regions only ∼10% of the H
α
flux is associated with outflows. The mass loading factor,
η
=
/SFR, is positively correlated with
but is relatively low even at the highest
:
η
≲ 0.5 × (380 cm
−3
/
n
e
). This may be in tension with the
η
≳ 1 required by cosmological simulations, unless a significant fraction of the outflowing mass is in other gas phases and has sufficient velocity to escape the galaxy halos.
Conformational transitions in thermo-sensitive polymers are critical in determining their functional properties. The atomistic origin of polymer collapse at the lower critical solution temperature ...(LCST) remains a fundamental and challenging problem in polymer science. Here, molecular dynamics simulations are used to establish the role of solvation dynamics and local ordering of water in inducing conformational transitions in isotactic-rich poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) oligomers when the temperature is changed through the LCST. Simulated atomic trajectories are used to identify stable conformations of the water-molecule network in the vicinity of polymer segments, as a function of the polymer chain length. The dynamics of the conformational evolution of the polymer chain within its surrounding water molecules is evaluated using various structural and dynamical correlation functions. Around the polymer, water forms cage-like structures with hydrogen bonds. Such structures form at temperatures both below and above the LCST. The structures formed at temperatures above LCST, however, are significantly different from those formed below LCST. Short oligomers consisting of 3, 5, and 10 monomer units (3-, 5-, and 10-mer), are characterized by significantly higher hydration level (water per monomer ∼ 16). Increasing the temperature from 278 to 310 K does not perturb the structure of water around the short oligomers. In the case of 3-, 5-, and 10-mer, a distinct coil-to-globule transition was not observed when the temperature was raised from 278 to 310 K. For a PNIPAM polymer chain consisting of 30 monomeric units (30-mer), however, there exist significantly different conformations corresponding to two distinct temperature regimes. Below LCST, the water molecules in the first hydration layer (∼12) around hydrophilic groups arrange themselves in a specific ordered manner by forming a hydrogen-bonded network with the polymer, resulting in a solvated polymer acting as hydrophilic. Above LCST, this arrangement of water is no longer stable, and the hydrophobic interactions become dominant, which contributes to the collapse of the polymer. Thus, this study provides atomic-scale insights into the role of solvation dynamics in inducing coil-to-globule phase transitions through the LCST for thermo-sensitive polymers like PNIPAM.
We have obtained spectroscopic confirmation with Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/G141 of a first sizeable sample of nine quiescent galaxies at 2.4 < z < 3.3. Their average near-UV/optical rest-frame ...spectrum is characterized by low attenuation (AV ∼ 0.6 mag) and a strong Balmer break, larger than the 4000 break, corresponding to a fairly young age of ∼300 Myr. This formally classifies a substantial fraction of classically selected quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 3 as post-starbursts, marking their convergence to the quenching epoch. The rapid spectral evolution with respect to z ∼ 1.5 quiescent galaxies is not matched by an increase of residual star formation, as judged from the weak detection of O iiλ3727 emission, pointing to a flattening of the steep increase in gas fractions previously seen from z ∼ 0 to 1.8. However, radio 3 GHz stacked emission implies either much stronger dust-obscured star formation or substantial further evolution in radio-mode AGN activity with respect to z ∼ 1.5.
ABSTRACT
In this work, we analyse the connection between gas availability and the position of a region with respect to the spatially resolved main-sequence (MS) relation. Following the procedure ...presented in Enia et al. (2020), for a sample of five face-on, grand design spiral galaxies located on the MS we obtain estimates of stellar mass and star formation rate surface densities (Σ⋆ and ΣSFR) within cells of 500 pc size. Thanks to H i 21cm and 12CO(2–1) maps of comparable resolution, within the same cells we estimate the surface densities of the atomic (ΣH i) and molecular ($\Sigma _{\rm {H_2}}$) gas and explore the correlations among all these quantities. Σ⋆, ΣSFR, and $\Sigma _{\rm {H_2}}$ define a 3D relation whose projections are the spatially resolved MS, the Kennicutt–Schmidt law and the molecular gas MS. We find that $\Sigma _{\rm {H_2}}$ steadily increases along the MS relation and is almost constant perpendicular to it. ΣH i is nearly constant along the MS and increases in its upper envelope. As a result, ΣSFR can be expressed as a function of Σ⋆ and ΣH i, following the relation log ΣSFR = 0.97log Σ⋆ + 1.99log ΣH i − 11.11. We show that the total gas fraction significantly increases towards the starburst regions, accompanied by a weak increase in star formation efficiency. Finally, we find that H2/H i varies strongly with the distance from the MS, dropping dramatically in regions of intense star formation, where the UV radiation from newly formed stars dissociates the H2 molecule, illustrating the self-regulating nature of the star formation process.
Background
Geant4 is a Monte Carlo code extensively used in medical physics for a wide range of applications, such as dosimetry, micro‐ and nanodosimetry, imaging, radiation protection, and nuclear ...medicine. Geant4 is continuously evolving, so it is crucial to have a system that benchmarks this Monte Carlo code for medical physics against reference data and to perform regression testing.
Aims
To respond to these needs, we developed G4‐Med, a benchmarking and regression testing system of Geant4 for medical physics.
Materials and Methods
G4‐Med currently includes 18 tests. They range from the benchmarking of fundamental physics quantities to the testing of Monte Carlo simulation setups typical of medical physics applications. Both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes and models within the prebuilt Geant4 physics lists are tested. The tests included in G4‐Med are executed on the CERN computing infrastructure via the use of the geant‐val web application, developed at CERN for Geant4 testing. The physical observables can be compared to reference data for benchmarking and to results of previous Geant4 versions for regression testing purposes.
Results
This paper describes the tests included in G4‐Med and shows the results derived from the benchmarking of Geant4 10.5 against reference data.
Discussion
Our results indicate that the Geant4 electromagnetic physics constructor G4EmStandardPhysics_option4 gives a good agreement with the reference data for all the tests. The QGSP_BIC_HP physics list provided an overall adequate description of the physics involved in hadron therapy, including proton and carbon ion therapy. New tests should be included in the next stage of the project to extend the benchmarking to other physical quantities and application scenarios of interest for medical physics.
Conclusion
The results presented and discussed in this paper will aid users in tailoring physics lists to their particular application.