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- Villforth, C., et al.
(författare)
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Variability and stability in blazar jets on time-scales of years : optical polarization monitoring of OJ 287 in 2005-2009
- 2010
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 402:3, s. 2087-2111
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OJ 287 is a BL Lac object at redshift z = 0.306 that has shown double-peaked bursts at regular intervals of similar to 12 yr during the last similar to 40 yr. We analyse optical photopolarimetric monitoring data from 2005 to 2009, during which the latest double-peaked outburst occurred. The aim of this study is twofold: firstly, we aim to analyse variability patterns and statistical properties of the optical polarization light curve. We find a strong preferred position angle in optical polarization. The preferred position angle can be explained by separating the jet emission into two components: an optical polarization core and chaotic jet emission. The optical polarization core is stable on time-scales of years and can be explained as emission from an underlying quiescent jet component. The chaotic jet emission sometimes exhibits a circular movement in the Stokes plane. We find six such events, all on the time-scales of 10-20 d. We interpret these events as a shock front moving forwards and backwards in the jet, swiping through a helical magnetic field. Secondly, we use our data to assess different binary black hole models proposed to explain the regularly appearing double-peaked bursts in OJ 287. We compose a list of requirements a model has to fulfil to explain the mysterious behaviour observed in OJ 287. The list includes not only characteristics of the light curve but also other properties of OJ 287, such as the black hole mass and restrictions on accretion flow properties. We rate all existing models using this list and conclude that none of the models is able to explain all observations. We discuss possible new explanations and propose a new approach to understanding OJ 287. We suggest that both the double-peaked bursts and the evolution of the optical polarization position angle could be explained as a sign of resonant accretion of magnetic field lines, a 'magnetic breathing' of the disc.
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| 2. |
- Hallak, L K, et al.
(författare)
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Glycosaminoglycan sulfation requirements for respiratory syncytial virus infection
- 2000
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Ingår i: Journal of Virology. - 0022-538X .- 1098-5514. ; 74:22, s. 10508-10513
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on the surface of cultured cells are important in the first step of efficient respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. We evaluated the importance of sulfation, the major biosynthetic modification of GAGs, using an improved recombinant green fluorescent protein-expressing RSV (rgRSV) to assay infection. Pretreatment of HEp-2 cells with 50 mM sodium chlorate, a selective inhibitor of sulfation, for 48 h prior to inoculation reduced the efficiency of rgRSV infection to 40%. Infection of a CHO mutant cell line deficient in N-sulfation was three times less efficient than infection of the parental CHO cell line, indicating that N-sulfation is important. In contrast, infection of a cell line deficient in 2-O-sulfation was as efficient as infection of the parental cell line, indicating that 2-O-sulfation is not required for RSV infection. Incubating RSV with the purified soluble heparin, the prototype GAG, before inoculation had previously been shown to neutralize its infectivity. Here we tested chemically modified heparin chains that lack their N-, C6-O-, or C2-O-sulfate groups. Only heparin chains lacking the N-sulfate group lost the ability to neutralize infection, confirming that N-sulfation, but not C6-O- or C2-O-sulfation, is important for RSV infection. Analysis of heparin fragments identified the 10-saccharide chain as the minimum size that can neutralize RSV infectivity. Taken together, these results show that, while sulfate modification is important for the ability of GAGs to mediate RSV infection, only certain sulfate groups are required. This specificity indicates that the role of cell surface GAGs in RSV infection is not based on a simple charge interaction between the virus and sulfate groups but instead involves a specific GAG structural configuration that includes N-sulfate and a minimum of 10 saccharide subunits. These elements, in addition to iduronic acid demonstrated previously (L. K. Hallak, P. L. Collins, W. Knudson, and M. E. Peeples, Virology 271:264-275, 2000), partially define cell surface molecules important for RSV infection of cultured cells.
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