We compile spectroscopic abundance data from 84 literature sources for 50 elements across 3058 stars in the solar neighborhood, within 150 pc of the Sun, to produce the Hypatia Catalog. We evaluate ...the variability of the spread in abundance measurements reported for the same star by different surveys. We also explore the likely association of the star within the Galactic disk, the corresponding observation and abundance determination methods for all catalogs in Hypatia, the influence of specific catalogs on the overall abundance trends, and the effect of normalizing all abundances to the same solar scale. The resulting stellar abundance determinations in the Hypatia Catalog are analyzed only for thin-disk stars with observations that are consistent between literature sources. As a result of our large data set, we find that the stars in the solar neighborhood may reveal an asymmetric abundance distribution, such that a Fe/H-rich group near the midplane is deficient in Mg, Si, S, Ca, Sc II, Cr II, and Ni as compared to stars farther from the plane. The Hypatia Catalog has a wide number of applications, including exoplanet hosts, thick- and thin-disk stars, and stars with different kinematic properties.
The AB Dor Moving Group consists of a "nucleus" of ~10 stars at d Asymptotically = to 20 pc, along with dozens of purported "stream" members distributed across the sky. We perform a chemical and ...kinematic analysis of a subsample of AB Dor stream stars to test whether they constitute a physical stellar group. We use the NEMO Galactic kinematic code to investigate the orbits of the stream members, and perform a chemical abundance analysis using high resolution spectra taken with the Magellan Clay 6.5 m telescope. Using chi super(3) test with the measured abundances for 10 different elements, we find that only half of the purported AB Dor stream members could possibly constitute a statistically chemically homogeneous sample. Some stream members with three-dimensional velocities were hundreds of parsecs from the AB Dor nucleus ~10 super(8) yr ago, and hence were unlikely to share a common origin. We conclude that the published lists of AB Dor moving group stream members are unlikely to represent the dispersed remnant of a single star formation episode. A subsample of the stream stars appears to be both statistically chemically homogeneous and in the vicinity of the AB Dor nucleus at birth. Their mean metallicity is Fe/H = 0.02 + or -0.02 dex, which we consider representative for the AB Dor group. Finally, we report a strong lower limit on the age of the AB Dor nucleus of > 110 Myr based on the pre-main sequence contraction times for K-type members which have reached the main sequence.
Memory disruption in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is poorly understood, particularly at early stages preceding neurodegeneration. In mouse models of AD, there are ...disruptions to sharp wave ripples (SWRs), hippocampal population events with a critical role in memory consolidation. However, the microcircuitry underlying these disruptions is under-explored. We tested whether a selective reduction in parvalbumin-expressing (PV) inhibitory interneuron activity underlies hyperactivity and SWR disruption. We employed the 5xFAD model of familial AD crossed with mouse lines labeling excitatory pyramidal cells (PCs) and inhibitory PV cells. We observed a 33% increase in frequency, 58% increase in amplitude, and 8% decrease in duration of SWRs in
slices from male and female three-month 5xFAD mice versus littermate controls. 5xFAD mice of the same age were impaired in a hippocampal-dependent memory task. Concurrent with SWR recordings, we performed calcium imaging, cell-attached, and whole-cell recordings of PC and PV cells within the CA1 region. PCs in 5xFAD mice participated in enlarged ensembles, with superficial PCs (sPCs) having a higher probability of spiking during SWRs. Both deep PCs (dPCs) and sPCs displayed an increased synaptic E/I ratio, suggesting a disinhibitory mechanism. In contrast, we observed a 46% spike rate reduction during SWRs in PV basket cells (PVBCs), while PV bistratified and axo-axonic cells were unimpaired. Excitatory synaptic drive to PVBCs was selectively reduced by 50%, resulting in decreased E/I ratio. Considering prior studies of intrinsic PV cell dysfunction in AD, these findings suggest alterations to the PC-PVBC microcircuit also contribute to impairment.
We demonstrate that a specific subtype of inhibitory neuron, parvalbumin-expressing (PV) basket cells, have selectively reduced activity in a model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) during activity critical for the consolidation of memory. These results identify a potential cellular target for therapeutic intervention to restore aberrant network activity in early amyloid pathology. While PV cells have previously been identified as a potential therapeutic target, this study for the first time recognizes that other PV neuronal subtypes, including bistratified and axo-axonic cells, are spared. These experiments are the first to record synaptic and spiking activity during sharp wave ripple (SWR) events in early amyloid pathology and reveal that a selective decrease in excitatory synaptic drive to PV basket cells (PVBCs) likely underlies reduced function.
Titanium and Iron in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant Vance, Gregory S.; Young, Patrick A.; Fryer, Christopher L. ...
Astrophysical journal/The Astrophysical journal,
06/2020, Letnik:
895, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Mixing above the proto-neutron star is believed to play an important role in the supernova engine, and this mixing results in a supernova explosion with asymmetries. Elements produced in the ...innermost ejecta, e.g., 56Ni and 44Ti, provide a clean probe of this engine. The production of 44Ti is particularly sensitive to the exact production pathway and, by understanding the available pathways, we can use 44Ti to probe the supernova engine. Using thermodynamic trajectories from a three-dimensional supernova explosion model, we review the production of these elements and the structures expected to form under the "convective-engine" paradigm behind supernovae. We compare our results to recent X-ray and γ-ray observations of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant.
Abstract
Understanding stellar composition is fundamental not only to our comprehension of the Galaxy, especially chemical evolution, but it can also shed light on the interior structure and ...mineralogy of exoplanets, which are formed from the same material as their host stars. Unfortunately, the underlying mathematics describing stellar mass fractions and stellar elemental abundances is difficult to parse, is fragmented across the literature, and contains vexing omissions that makes any calculation far from trivial, especially for nonexperts. In this treatise, we present a clear mathematical formalism and clarification of inherent assumptions and normalizations within stellar composition measurements, which facilitates the conversion from stellar mass fractions to elemental abundances to molar ratios, including error propagation. We also provide an example case study of HIP 544 to further illustrate the provided equations. Given the important chemical association between stars, as well as the interdisciplinary relationship between stars and their planets, it is vital that stellar mass fractions and abundance data be more transparent and accessible to people within different subfields and scientific disciplines.
We analyze stellar convection with the aid of three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic simulations, introducing the turbulent cascade into our theoretical analysis. We devise closures of the ...Reynolds-decomposed mean field equations by simple physical modeling of the simulations (we relate temperature and density fluctuations via coefficients); the procedure (Convection Algorithm Based on Simulations) is terrestrially testable and is amenable to systematic improvement. We develop a turbulent kinetic energy equation which contains both nonlocal and time-dependent terms, and is appropriate if the convective transit time is shorter than the evolutionary timescale. The interpretation of mixing-length theory (MLT) as generally used in astrophysics is incorrect; MLT forces the mixing length to be an imposed constant. Direct tests show that the damping associated with the flow is that suggested by Kolmogorov ( epsilon K rho (u')3 rms/ D , where D is the size of the largest eddy and (u')rms is the local rms turbulent velocity). This eddy size is approximately the depth of the convection zone CZ in our simulations, and corresponds in some respects to the mixing length of MLT. New terms involving the local heating due to turbulent dissipation should appear in the stellar evolutionary equations, and are not guaranteed to be negligible. The enthalpy flux (stellar 'convective luminosity') is directly connected to the buoyant acceleration, and hence to the scale of convective velocity. MLT tends to systematically underestimate the velocity scale, which affects estimates of chromospheric and coronal heating, mass loss, and wave generation. Quantitative comparison with a variety of 3D simulations reveals a previously unrecognized consistency. Extension of this approach to deal with rotational shear and MHD is indicated. Examples of application to stellar evolution will be presented in subsequent papers in this series.
Protein kinase-like domains that lack conserved residues known to catalyse phosphoryl transfer, termed pseudokinases, have emerged as important signalling domains across all kingdoms of life. ...Although predicted to function principally as catalysis-independent protein-interaction modules, several pseudokinase domains have been attributed unexpected catalytic functions, often amid controversy. We established a thermal-shift assay as a benchmark technique to define the nucleotide-binding properties of kinase-like domains. Unlike in vitro kinase assays, this assay is insensitive to the presence of minor quantities of contaminating kinases that may otherwise lead to incorrect attribution of catalytic functions to pseudokinases. We demonstrated the utility of this method by classifying 31 diverse pseudokinase domains into four groups: devoid of detectable nucleotide or cation binding; cation-independent nucleotide binding; cation binding; and nucleotide binding enhanced by cations. Whereas nine pseudokinases bound ATP in a divalent cation-dependent manner, over half of those examined did not detectably bind nucleotides, illustrating that pseudokinase domains predominantly function as non-catalytic protein-interaction modules within signalling networks and that only a small subset is potentially catalytically active. We propose that henceforth the thermal-shift assay be adopted as the standard technique for establishing the nucleotide-binding and catalytic potential of kinase-like domains.
We present the isotope yields of two post-explosion, three-dimensional 15 core-collapse supernova models, 15S and 15A, and compare them to the carbon, nitrogen, silicon, aluminum, sulfur, calcium, ...titanium, iron, and nickel isotopic compositions of SiC stardust. We find that these core-collapse supernova models predict similar carbon and nitrogen compositions to SiC X grains and grains with 12C/13C < 20 and 14N/15N < 60, which we will hereafter refer to as SiC 'D' grains. Material from the interior of a 15 explosion reaches high enough temperatures shortly after core collapse to produce the large enrichments of 13C and 15N necessary to replicate the compositions of SiC D grains. The innermost ejecta in a core-collapse supernova is operating in the neutrino-driven regime and undergoes fast proton capture after being heated by the supernova shockwave. Both 3D models predict 0.3 Al/27Al < 1.5, comparable to the ratios seen in SiC X, C, and D grains. Models 15S and 15A, in general, predict very large anomalies in calcium isotopes but do compare qualitatively with the SiC X grain measurements that show 44Ca and 43Ca excesses. The titanium isotopic compositions of SiC X grains are well reproduced. The models predict 57Fe excesses and depletions that are observed in SiC X grains, and in addition predict accurately the 60Ni/58Ni, 61Ni/58Ni, and 62Ni/58Ni ratios in SiC X grains, as a result of fast neutron captures initiated by the propagation of the supernova shockwave. Finally, symmetry has a noticeable effect on the production of silicon, sulfur, and iron isotopes in the SN ejecta.
ABSTRACT Stellar elemental abundances are important for understanding the fundamental properties of a star or stellar group, such as age and evolutionary history, as well as the composition of an ...orbiting planet. However, as abundance measurement techniques have progressed, there has been little standardization between individual methods and their comparisons. As a result, different stellar abundance procedures determine measurements that vary beyond the quoted error for the same elements within the same stars. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the systematic variations between methods and offer recommendations for producing more accurate results in the future. We invited a number of participants from around the world (Australia, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States) to calculate 10 element abundances (C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Fe, Ni, Ba, and Eu) using the same stellar spectra for four stars (HD 361, HD 10700, HD 121504, and HD 202206). Each group produced measurements for each star using (1) their own autonomous techniques, (2) standardized stellar parameters, (3) a standardized line list, and (4) both standardized parameters and a line list. We present the resulting stellar parameters, absolute abundances, and a metric of data similarity that quantifies the homogeneity of the data. We conclude that standardization of some kind, particularly stellar parameters, improves the consistency between methods. However, because results did not converge as more free parameters were standardized, it is clear there are inherent issues within the techniques that need to be reconciled. Therefore, we encourage more conversation and transparency within the community such that stellar abundance determinations can be reproducible as well as accurate and precise.
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