1. |
- Aharonian, Felix, et al.
(författare)
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Search for thermal X-ray features from the Crab nebula with the Hitomi soft X-ray spectrometer
- 2018
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Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0004-6264 .- 2053-051X. ; 70:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Crab nebula originated from a core-collapse supernova (SN) explosion observed in 1054 AD. When viewed as a supernova remnant (SNR), it has an anomalously low observed ejecta mass and kinetic energy for an Fe-core-collapse SN. Intensive searches have been made for a massive shell that solves this discrepancy, but none has been detected. An alternative idea is that SN 1054 is an electron-capture (EC) explosion with a lower explosion energy by an order of magnitude than Fe-core-collapse SNe. X-ray imaging searches were performed for the plasma emission from the shell in the Crab outskirts to set a stringent upper limit on the X-ray emitting mass. However, the extreme brightness of the source hampers access to its vicinity. We thus employed spectroscopic technique using the X-ray micro-calorimeter on board the Hitomi satellite. By exploiting its superb energy resolution, we set an upper limit for emission or absorption features from as yet undetected thermal plasma in the 2-12 keV range. We also re-evaluated the existing Chandra and XMM-Newton data. By assembling these results, a new upper limit was obtained for the X-ray plasma mass of less than or similar to 1 M-circle dot for a wide range of assumed shell radius, size, and plasma temperature values both in and out of collisional equilibrium. To compare with the observation, we further performed hydrodynamic simulations of the Crab SNR for two SN models (Fe-core versus EC) under two SN environments (uniform interstellar medium versus progenitor wind). We found that the observed mass limit can be compatible with both SN models if the SN environment has a low density of less than or similar to 0.03 cm(-3) (Fe core) or less than or similar to 0.1 cm(-3) (EC) for the uniform density, or a progenitor wind density somewhat less than that provided by amass loss rate of 10(-5) M-circle dot yr(-1) at 20 km s(-1) for the wind environment.
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2. |
- Morokuma, Tomoki, et al.
(författare)
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OISTER optical and near-infrared monitoring observations of peculiar radio-loud active galactic nucleus SDSSJ110006.07+442144.3
- 2017
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Ingår i: Nippon Tenmon Gakkai obun kenkyu hokoku. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0004-6264. ; 69:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present monitoring campaign observations at optical and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths for a radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) at z = 0.840, SDSSJ110006.07+442144.3 (hereafter, J1100+4421), which was identified during a flare phase in late 2014 February. The campaigns consist of three intensive observing runs from the discovery to 2015 March, mostly within the scheme of the OISTER collaboration. Optical-NIR light curves and simultaneous spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are obtained. Our measurements show the strongest brightening in 2015 March. We found that the optical-NIR SEDs of J1100+4421 show an almost steady shape despite the large and rapid intranight variability. This constant SED shape is confirmed to extend to similar to 5 mu m in the observed frame using the archival WISE data. Given the lack of absorption lines and the steep power-law spectrum of alpha(upsilon) similar to -1.4, where f(v) proportional to v(alpha upsilon), synchrotron radiation by a relativistic jet with no or small contributions from the host galaxy and the accretion disk seemsmost plausible as an optical-NIR emission mechanism. The steep optical-NIR spectral shape and the large amplitude of variability are consistent with this object being a low.peak jet-dominated AGN. In addition, sub-arcsecond resolution optical imaging data taken with Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam does not show a clear extended component and the spatial scales are significantly smaller than the large extensions detected at radio wavelengths. The optical spectrum of a possible faint companion galaxy does not show any emission lines at the same redshift, and hence a merging hypothesis for this AGN-related activity is not supported by our observations.
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3. |
- Fricke, Tabea C., et al.
(författare)
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Oxidation of methionine residues activates the high-threshold heat-sensitive ion channel TRPV2
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424. ; 116:48, s. 24359-24365
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thermosensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels detect changes in ambient temperature to regulate body temperature and temperature-dependent cellular activity. Rodent orthologs of TRP vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) are activated by nonphysiological heat exceeding 50 °C, and human TRPV2 is heat-insensitive. TRPV2 is required for phagocytic activity of macrophages which are rarely exposed to excessive heat, but what activates TRPV2 in vivo remains elusive. Here we describe the molecular mechanism of an oxidation-induced temperature-dependent gating of TRPV2. While high concentrations of H2O2 induce a modest sensitization of heat-induced inward currents, the oxidant chloramine-T (ChT), ultraviolet A light, and photosensitizing agents producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) activate and sensitize TRPV2. This oxidation-induced activation also occurs in excised inside-out membrane patches, indicating a direct effect on TRPV2. The reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT) in combination with methionine sulfoxide reductase partially reverses ChT-induced sensitization, and the substitution of the methionine (M) residues M528 and M607 to isoleucine almost abolishes oxidation-induced gating of rat TRPV2. Mass spectrometry on purified rat TRPV2 protein confirms oxidation of these residues. Finally, macrophages generate TRPV2-like heat-induced inward currents upon oxidation and exhibit reduced phagocytosis when exposed to the TRP channel inhibitor ruthenium red (RR) or to DTT. In summary, our data reveal a methionine-dependent redox sensitivity of TRPV2 which may be an important endogenous mechanism for regulation of TRPV2 activity and account for its pivotal role for phagocytosis in macrophages.
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