Quiescent Regions Research Articles

CO2FORMATION IN QUIESCENT CLOUDS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE CO + OH PATHWAY

The formation of CO2 in quiescent regions of molecular clouds is not yet fully understood, despite CO2 having an abundance of around 10-34 % H2O. We present a study of the formation of CO2 via the non-energetic route CO + OH on non-porous H2O and amorphous silicate surfaces. Our results are in the form of temperature-programmed desorption spectra of CO2 produced via two experimental routes: O2 + CO + H and O3 + CO + H. The maximum yield of CO2 is around 8 % with respect to the starting quantity of CO, suggesting a barrier to CO + OH. The rate of reaction, based on modelling results, is 24 times slower than O2 + H. Our model suggests that competition between CO2 formation via CO + OH and other surface reactions of OH is a key factor in the low yields of CO2 obtained experimentally, with relative reaction rates k(CO+H) \ll k(CO+OH) < k(H2O2+H) < k(OH+H), k(O2+H). Astrophysically, the presence of CO2 in low AV regions of molecular clouds could be explained by the reaction CO + OH occurring concurrently with the formation of H2O via the route OH + H.

The Pennsylvanian–Permian transition in the low-latitude carbonate record and the onset of major Gondwanan glaciation

Recent studies suggest a marked expansion of glacial ice across much of Gondwana beginning in the earliest Permian. Because expansion of glacial ice results in a lowering of sea level, the imprint of ice expansion should be evident worldwide as significant exposure event, hiatuses, or other evidence for sea level drop at or near the Pennsylvanian–Permian boundary. This literature review investigates the signature of an Early Permian expansion of Gondwanan ice through examination of stratigraphic records from eight carbonate-dominated, palaeotropical regions across Pangaea. Tropical carbonate environments are used because most form in tectonically quiescent regions and are sensitive indicators of eustatic change. Correlation between stratigraphic sections is achieved using the most current biostratigraphic and absolute time constraints available. All studied sections show a sequence boundary or basinward shift in facies at or near the Pennsylvanian–Permian boundary, supporting the hypothesis of a significant expansion of glacial ice and global eustatic lowstand beginning in the Early Permian. By contrast, a series of mid-Sakmarian–Kungurian transgression events in the palaeotropics are interpreted to reflect the asynchronous deglaciation of Gondwana. The stratigraphic framework developed herein will allow for better correlations among stratigraphic records from Gondwana and northern Pangaea, which will ultimately improve the understanding of how carbonate systems respond to global icehouse conditions, such as during the late Palaeozoic.

The Arabidopsis aminopeptidase LAP2 regulates plant growth, leaf longevity and stress response

Peptidases are known to play key roles in multiple biological processes in all living organisms. In higher plants, the vast majority of putative aminopeptidases remain uncharacterized. In this study, we performed functional and expression analyses of the Arabidopsis LAP2 through cDNA cloning, isolation of T-DNA insertional mutants, characterization of the enzymatic activity, characterization of gene expression and transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses of the mutants. Loss of function of LAP2, one of the 28 aminopeptidases in Arabidopsis, reduced vegetative growth, accelerated leaf senescence and rendered plants more sensitive to various stresses. LAP2 is highly expressed in the leaf vascular tissue and the quiescent center region. Integration of global gene expression and metabolite analyses suggest that LAP2 controlled intracellular amino acid turnover. The mutant maintained free leucine by up-regulating key genes for leucine biosynthesis. However, this influenced the flux of glutamate strikingly. As a result, γ-aminobutyric acid, a metabolite that is derived from glutamate, was diminished in the mutant. Decrements in these nitrogen-rich compounds are associated with morphological alterations and stress sensitivity of the mutant. The results indicate that LAP2 is indeed an enzymatically active aminopeptidase and plays key roles in senescence, stress response and amino acid turnover.

Deep wide-field near-infrared survey of the Carina Nebula

(abbreviated) We used HAWK-I at the ESO VLT to produce a near-infrared survey of the Carina Nebula that is deep enough to detect the full low-mass stellar population. The results of a recent deep X-ray survey are used to distinguish between young stars in Carina and background contaminants. We find that the ages of the low-mass stars (derived from color-magnitude diagrams of the invidual cluster in the Carina Nebula) agree with previous age estimates for the massive stars. About 3200 of the X-ray selected stars have masses >= 1 Msun; this number is in good agreement with extrapolations of the field IMF based on the number of high-mass stars and shows that there is no deficit of low-mass stars. The near-infrared excess fractions for the stellar populations in Carina are lower than typical for other, less massive clusters of similar age, suggesting a faster timescale of circumstellar disk dispersal than in the more quiescent regions, most likely due to the very high level of massive star feedback. Narrow-band images reveal six molecular hydrogen jets. However, none of the optical HH objects shows molecular hydrogen emission, suggesting that the jet-driving protostars are located very close to the edges of the globules in which they are embedded. This adds strong support to the scenario that their formation was triggered by the advancing ionization fronts.

THE THERMAL EVOLUTION OF ICES IN THE ENVIRONMENTS OF NEWLY FORMED STARS: THE CO2DIAGNOSTIC

Archival data from the Infrared Spectrometer of the Spitzer Space Telescope are used to study the 15 μm absorption feature of solid CO2 toward 28 young stellar objects (YSOs) of approximately solar mass. Fits to the absorption profile using laboratory spectra enable categorization according to the degree of thermal processing of the ice matrix that contains the CO2. The majority of YSOs in our sample (20 out of 28) are found to be consistent with a combination of polar (H2O-rich) and nonpolar (CO-rich) ices at low temperature; the remainder exhibit profile structure consistent with partial crystallization as the result of significant heating. Ice-phase column densities of CO2 are determined and compared with those of other species. Lines of sight with crystallization signatures in their spectra are found to be systematically deficient in solid-phase CO, as expected if CO is being sublimated in regions where the ices are heated to crystallization temperatures. Significant variation is found in the CO2 abundance with respect to both H2O (the dominant ice constituent) and total dust column (quantified by the extinction, AV). YSOs in our sample display typically higher CO2 concentrations (independent of evidence for thermal processing) in comparison to quiescent regions of the prototypical cold molecular cloud. This suggests that enhanced CO2 production is driven by photochemical reactions in proximity to some YSOs, and that photoprocessing and thermal processing may occur independently.

Modification of Jupiter’s stratosphere three weeks after the 2009 impact

Infrared spectroscopy sensitive to thermal emission from Jupiter’s stratosphere reveals effects persisting 23 days after the impact of a body in late July 2009. Measurements obtained on 2009 August 11 UT at the impact latitude of 56°S (planetocentric), using the Goddard Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind and Composition mounted on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, reveal increased ethane abundance and the effects of aerosol opacity. An interval of reduced thermal continuum emission at 11.744 μm is measured ∼60–80° towards planetary east of the impact site, estimated to be at 305° longitude (System III). Retrieved stratospheric ethane mole fraction in the near vicinity of the impact site is enhanced by up to ∼60% relative to quiescent regions at this latitude. Thermal continuum emission at the impact site, and somewhat west of it, is significantly enhanced in the same spectra that retrieve enhanced ethane mole fraction. Assuming that the enhanced continuum brightness near the impact site results from thermalized aerosol debris blocking contribution from the continuum formed in the upper troposphere and indicating the local temperature, then continuum emission by a haze layer can be approximated by an opaque surface inserted at the 45–60 mbar pressure level in the stratosphere in an unperturbed thermal profile, setting an upper limit on the pressure and therefore a lower limit on the altitude of the top of the impact debris at this time. The reduced continuum brightness east of the impact site can be modeled by an opaque surface near the cold tropopause, which is consistent with a lower altitude of ejecta/impactor-formed opacity. The physical extent of the observed region of reduced continuum implies a minimum average velocity of 21 m/s transporting material prograde (planetary east) from the impact.

A single picture for solar coronal outflows and radio noise storms

[NASA ADS]

A 4D-variational approach applied to an eddy-permitting North Atlantic configuration: Synthetic and real data assimilation of altimeter observations

The increasing number of oceanic observations calls for the use of synthetic methods to provide consistent analyses of the oceanic variability that will support a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. In this study, a 1/3° eddy-permitting model of the North Atlantic (from 20°S to 70°N) is combined with a 4D-variational method to estimate the oceanic state from altimeter observations. This resolution allows a better extraction of the physical content of altimeter data since the model spatial scales are more consistent with the data than coarser assimilation exercises because of a lower error in model representativity. Several strategies for the assimilation window are tested through twin experiments carried out under the following conditions: different window lengths and either a quasi-static (also known as progressive) variational assimilation with progressive extension of the window, or a simpler direct method without prior assimilation. From our set of experiments, the most efficient strategy is the use of both a simple direct assimilation method and a 90-day window. The assimilation of synthetic altimeter data constrains the model-temperature, -salinity and -velocity fields mainly over the first 1300 m where the error is the largest. Improvements occur not only in quiescent regions, but also in more energetic meso-scale regimes. Despite the existence of model- and surface forcing-errors as well as large errors in the first guess, the assimilation of real altimeter data proves to be consistent with our twin experiments. Indeed, the analyses show a better detachment of the Gulf Stream, weaker regional biases and more accurate positions for meso-scale structures. Independent hydrographic data (Argo floats and CTD cruises) and transports estimates along the OVIDE 2002 cruise show an improvement of the analysed oceanic state with respect to the assimilation-free case though water mass properties are still incorrectly represented. After assimilation, the North Atlantic heat transport in the model is in good agreement with independent estimates based on hydrographic data.

Efficient regeneration by activation of neurogenesis in homeostatically quiescent regions of the adult vertebrate brain

Efficient regeneration by activation of neurogenesis in homeostatically quiescent regions of the adult vertebrate brain

Efficient regeneration by activation of neurogenesis in homeostatically quiescent regions of the adult vertebrate brain

In contrast to mammals, salamanders and teleost fishes can efficiently repair the adult brain. It has been hypothesised that constitutively active neurogenic niches are a prerequisite for extensive neuronal regeneration capacity. Here, we show that the highly regenerative salamander, the red spotted newt, displays an unexpectedly similar distribution of active germinal niches with mammals under normal physiological conditions. Proliferation zones in the adult newt brain are restricted to the forebrain, whereas all other regions are essentially quiescent. However, ablation of midbrain dopamine neurons in newts induced ependymoglia cells in the normally quiescent midbrain to proliferate and to undertake full dopamine neuron regeneration. Using oligonucleotide microarrays, we have catalogued a set of differentially expressed genes in these activated ependymoglia cells. This strategy identified hedgehog signalling as a key component of adult dopamine neuron regeneration. These data show that brain regeneration can occur by activation of neurogenesis in quiescent brain regions.

Spatial characterization of vortical structures and internal waves in a stratified turbulent wake using proper orthogonal decomposition

Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) has been applied to two-dimensional transects of vorticity obtained from numerical simulations of the stratified turbulent wake of a towed sphere at a Reynolds number Re=(UD)/ν=5×103 and Froude number Fr=2U/(ND)=4 (U and D are characteristic velocity and length scales and N is the stratification frequency). At 231 times during the interval 12&amp;lt;Nt&amp;lt;35, the streamwise and spanwise vorticity components are sampled on span-depth (yz) and stream-depth (xz) planes, respectively, at select streamwise and spanwise locations. POD appears to provide a natural decomposition of the vorticity field inside the wake core in terms of the relative influence of buoyancy on flow dynamics. The geometry of the individual eigenmodes shows a vorticity structure that is buoyancy-controlled at the lowest modes and is increasingly more actively turbulent as modal index is increased. In the wake ambient, i.e., the initially quiescent region outside the turbulent wake, the geometry of the POD modes consists of distinct internal wave rays whose angle to the horizontal is strongly dependent on modal index. Reconstruction of vorticity fields from subranges of POD modes indicates that, both inside the wake core but also in the wave-dominated ambient, each modal subrange is not only associated with a particular flow structure but also a characteristic timescale of motion. These preliminary findings suggest that POD may be a highly suitable alternative to globally defined basis functions in analyzing spatially localized internal wave fields emitted from a turbulent source that are also localized in space. In particular, it may serve as a platform toward an improved understanding of two fundamental questions associated with the nonequilibrium regime of stratified wake evolution: the structural transitions of the vorticity field within the wake core and the radiation of internal waves by the wake.

MAGNETIC FIELD TOPOLOGY AND THE THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE CORONA OVER SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS

Solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images of quiescent active-region coronae are characterized by ensembles of bright 1-2 MK loops that fan out from select locations. We investigate the conditions associated with the formation of these persistent, relatively cool, loop fans within and surrounding the otherwise 3-5 MK coronal environment by combining EUV observations of active regions made with TRACE with global source-surface potential-field models based on the full-sphere photospheric field from the assimilation of magnetograms that are obtained by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on SOHO. We find that in the selected active regions with largely potential-field configurations these fans are associated with (quasi-)separatrix layers (QSLs) within the strong-field regions of magnetic plage. Based on the empirical evidence, we argue that persistent active-region cool-loop fans are primarily related to the pronounced change in connectivity across a QSL to widely separated clusters of magnetic flux, and confirm earlier work that suggested that neither a change in loop length nor in base field strengths across such topological features are of prime importance to the formation of the cool-loop fans. We discuss the hypothesis that a change in the distribution of coronal heating with height may be involved in the phenomenon of relatively cool coronal loop fans in quiescent active regions.

On the Approximation of Local and Linear Radiative Damping in the Middle Atmosphere

Abstract The validity of approximating radiative heating rates in the middle atmosphere by a local linear relaxation to a reference temperature state (i.e., “Newtonian cooling”) is investigated. Using radiative heating rate and temperature output from a chemistry–climate model with realistic spatiotemporal variability and realistic chemical and radiative parameterizations, it is found that a linear regression model can capture more than 80% of the variance in longwave heating rates throughout most of the stratosphere and mesosphere, provided that the damping rate is allowed to vary with height, latitude, and season. The linear model describes departures from the climatological mean, not from radiative equilibrium. Photochemical damping rates in the upper stratosphere are similarly diagnosed. Three important exceptions, however, are found. The approximation of linearity breaks down near the edges of the polar vortices in both hemispheres. This nonlinearity can be well captured by including a quadratic term. The use of a scale-independent damping rate is not well justified in the lower tropical stratosphere because of the presence of a broad spectrum of vertical scales. The local assumption fails entirely during the breakup of the Antarctic vortex, where large fluctuations in temperature near the top of the vortex influence longwave heating rates within the quiescent region below. These results are relevant for mechanistic modeling studies of the middle atmosphere, particularly those investigating the final Antarctic warming.

A COLD COMPLEX CHEMISTRY TOWARD THE LOW-MASS PROTOSTAR B1-b: EVIDENCE FOR COMPLEX MOLECULE PRODUCTION IN ICES

Gas-phase complex organic molecules have been detected toward a range of high- and low-mass star-forming regions at abundances which cannot be explained by any known gas-phase chemistry. Recent laboratory experiments show that UV irradiation of CH3OH-rich ices may be an important mechanism for producing complex molecules and releasing them into the gas phase. To test this ice formation scenario, we mapped the B1-b dust core and nearby protostar in CH3OH gas using the IRAM 30 m telescope to identify locations of efficient non-thermal ice desorption. We find three CH3OH abundance peaks tracing two outflows and a quiescent region on the side of the core facing the protostar. The CH3OH gas has a rotational temperature of ∼10 K at all locations. The quiescent CH3OH abundance peak and one outflow position were searched for complex molecules. Narrow, 0.6–0.8 km s−1 wide, HCOOCH3 and CH3CHO lines originating in cold gas are clearly detected, CH3OCH3 is tentatively detected, and C2H5OH and HOCH2CHO are undetected toward the quiescent core, while no complex molecular lines were found toward the outflow. The core abundances with respect to CH3OH are ∼2.3% and 1.1% for HCOOCH3 and CH3CHO, respectively, and the upper limits are 0.7%–1.1%, which is similar to most other low-mass sources. The observed complex molecule characteristics toward B1-b and the pre-dominance of HCO-bearing species suggests a cold ice (below 25 K, the sublimation temperature of CO) formation pathway followed by non-thermal desorption through, e.g., UV photons traveling through outflow cavities. The observed complex gas composition together with the lack of any evidence of warm gas-phase chemistry provides clear evidence of efficient complex molecule formation in cold interstellar ices.

Diversity dynamics of Miocene mammals in relation to the history of tectonism and climate

Continental biodiversity gradients result not only from ecological processes, but also from evolutionary and geohistorical processes involving biotic turnover in landscape and climatic history over millions of years. Here, we investigate the evolutionary and historical contributions to the gradient of increasing species richness with topographic complexity. We analysed a dataset of 418 fossil rodent species from western North America spanning 25 to 5 Ma. We compared diversification histories between tectonically active (Intermontane West) and quiescent (Great Plains) regions. Although diversification histories differed between the two regions, species richness, origination rate and extinction rate per million years were not systematically different over the 20 Myr interval. In the tectonically active region, the greatest increase in originations coincided with a Middle Miocene episode of intensified tectonic activity and global warming. During subsequent global cooling, species richness declined in the montane region and increased on the Great Plains. These results suggest that interactions between tectonic activity and climate change stimulate diversification in mammals. The elevational diversity gradient characteristic of modern mammalian faunas was not a persistent feature over geologic time. Rather, the Miocene rodent record suggests that the elevational diversity gradient is a transient feature arising during particular episodes of Earth's history.

Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - X. Radiative budgets on Gl 867A and AU Mic (dM1e), and a two-component model chromosphere for Gl 205 (dM1)

We report on high-resolution observations of two dM1 stars: Gl 867A, an active dM1e star, and Gl 205, a less active dM1 star. The wavelength coverage is from 3890 to 6820 Å with a resolving power of about 45 000. The difference spectrum of these two stars allows us to make a survey of spectral lines sensitive to magnetic activity. We chose these two stars because, to within measurement errors, they have very close properties: Gl 867A has R= 0.726 R⊙, [M/H]= 0.080 dex and Teff= 3416 K, and Gl 205 has R= 0.758 R⊙, [M/H]= 0.101 dex and Teff= 3493 K. We find that besides traditional chromospheric lines, many photospheric lines are ‘filled-in’ in the active star spectrum. These differences are, most of the time, weak in absolute fluxes but can be large in terms of differences in the spectral-line equivalent widths. We calculate the differences in surface fluxes between these two stars for many spectral lines. We derive the radiative budgets for two dM1e stars: Gl 867A and AU Mic. We show that the sum of the numerous spectral lines represents a significant fraction of the radiative cooling of the outer atmosphere. We also re-investigate the cooling from the continuum from the visible to the extreme ultraviolet; we find that earlier predictions of the calculations of Houdebine et al. (Paper V) are in good agreement with observations. We emphasize that if this radiative cooling is chromospheric in character, then in chromospheric model calculations, we should include the radiative losses in Ca i, Cr i, V i, Ti i and Fe i. From simple constraints, we derive model chromospheres for quiescent and active regions on Gl 205. We show that the quiescent regions have a strong absorption Hα profile. The plage regions show a filled-in intermediate activity Hα profile. We also present possible spectral line profiles of quiescent and active regions on Gl 867A.

Flow-Induced Agitations Create a Granular Fluid

We fluidize a granular medium through localized stirring and probe the mechanical response of quiescent regions far away from the main flow. In these regions the material behaves like a liquid: high-density probes sink, low-density probes float at the depth given by Archimedes' law, and drag forces on moving probes scale linearly with the velocity. The fluidlike character of the material is set by agitations generated in the stirred region, suggesting a nonlocal rheology: the relation between applied stress and observed strain rate in one location depends on the strain rate in another location.

Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres

<i>Aims. <i/> We aim to constrain the H, CaII H and CaII K line profiles of quiescent and active regions of nine dM1 stars of near solar metallicity: Gl 2, GJ 1010A, Gl 49, Gl 150.1B, Gl 205, Gl 229, Gl 526, G192-11A, and Gl 880.<i>Methods. <i/>We propose a new method for building two-component model chromospheres for dM1 stars-based on simple constraints and a grid of model atmospheres developed by Houdebine & Stempels. This method is based on the measurements of the equivalent width of H and CaII H & K. Based on the peculiar relationship between these two equivalent widths in the model atmospheres, our solutions provide an exact match of these equivalent widths.<i>Results. <i/>We obtain two component (quiescent and active region) model chromospheres for our nine target stars. We fit the H, CaII H, and CaII K profiles for these stars. These models show that seven of these stars lie in the intermediate activity range between H maximum absorption and emission. Two stars (Gl 49 and G192-11A) are quite active with H emission profiles in plages. As far as the CaII emission is concerned, these two stars are almost as active as dM1e stars. Two stars (GJ 1010A and Gl 526) have lower activity levels with narrower and weaker H profiles. The range of activity covered by these stars is a factor of 13 in the CaII lines, from low activity to activity levels almost as high as those of dM1e stars. Our method sometimes provides two solutions of the observed H equivalent width as a function of the quiescent region H equivalent width. For Gl 205, one of the solutions is shown to be impossible for the assumptions that we use. For Gl 49 and G192-11A, two solutions are possible; a low solution (low CaII <i>EW<i/>) and a high solution (high CaII <i>EW<i/>). The difference between these two solutions is mainly in the plage-filling factor. The two solutions give almost identical H and CaII profiles. We prefer the low solutions because the filling factors are in closer agreement with those of other stars. We find plage-filling factors typically in the range 20%-40%. We also find that it is the chromospheric pressure rather than the filling factor that increases with increasing activity. We define a minimum theoretical H equivalent width as a function of the mean CaII H & K equivalent width. We show that our observations agree well with this lower limit. We also show that the properties of the chromosphere in quiescent and active regions correlate with the mean CaII H & K equivalent width. This could be useful in future studies to derive an estimate of the chromospheric properties from the observed mean CaII H & K equivalent width.

Benchmarking atomic data for astrophysics: Fe XVII EUV lines

Recent R-matrix scattering calculations for electron impact excitation of Fexvii are benchmarked against various X-ray solar observations. Quiescent active region observations are considered, together with a few SMM/FCS observations of active regions and flares analysed here. Extremely good agreement (within 10%) between expected and measured line intensities is found, with the exception of a few weaker lines that appear to be blended, and without the need to invoke opacity effects in the stronger line. The long-standing discrepancies that have been present when distorted wave (DW) calculations are adopted are now finally resolved. As was s hown in the Fexviii case, the differences with the DW calculations are caused by resonances that significantly increase the collision strengths of the 2p‐3s transitions. The strong Fexvii lines can now be reliably used to measure electron temperatures in the solar corona and other astrophysical sources. Emission measure modeling with the most recent atomic data of quiescent active region cores indicates O/Fe and Ne/Fe abundances reduced by factors of two to four compared to the latest compilation of ‘photospheric’ abundances.

Face-Related Ictal Hallucinations and Illusions and Reflex-Type Phenomena

Face-Related Ictal Hallucinations and Illusions and Reflex-Type Phenomena