bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Science and Religion in Medieval China: Some Comments on Recently Published Work by Nathan Sivin
Authors: Barrett T. H.
Published: December 2011

The publication of two volumes of collected papers by Nathan Sivin is an event that should be welcomed by every centre where Chinese studies are taken seriously. For all his considerable reputation in a difficult area of specialized research namely the history of Chinese science, he has never sought to capitalize on his status as a specialist to “blind us with science”, but rather has written with an eye to broader problems, problems of concern at least to anyone professionally interested in the Chinese element in human experience, and (one would hope) many more besides. The spread of his concerns has meant in the past that many smaller college libraries have not possessed the periodicals and conference volumes in which his work has appeared, so this set of republished papers serves a useful function in itself. But in the second of these volumes in particular we find a number of previously unpublished works, including one of over seventy pages on a topic of considerable importance. Rather than leave this unexpected bounty simply for college librarians to acquire in order to make good existing gaps (and to have on the record the full Sivin bibliography to 1995 which may be found in the second volume), there would seem to be every reason to draw the attention of a broader number of readers to the appearance of important work which has existed for a while in draft form, but which has not been made generally available until now.
The Career of Colonel Polier and Late Eighteenth-Century Orientalism
Authors: Subrahmanyam Sanjay
Published: December 2011

This essay is concerned with the career of a somewhat obscure figure in the early history of Orientalism, Colonel Antoine-Louis-Henri Polier, who is however known both toaficionadosof the early European manuscript collections in the West, as well as to historians of the more obscure aspects of the Enlightenment on the Continent. The occasion for the research on which this essay is based is, in large measure, a project intended to translate the extensive Persian letter-book that Polier (together with his amanuensis, ormunshī, Kishan Sahay) produced during his long stay in India; this translation, of a text entitled I jāz-i-Arsalānī (which is preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris), has recently been brought to partial fruition by Muzaffar Alam and Seema Alavi, through the auspices of Oxford University Press (Delhi). In this context, it may be useful to reflect somewhat on the rather extraordinary career, andfascinating milieu, of Colonel Polier.
Problems of Name and lineage: relationships between South Indian authors of the Śaiva Siddhānta
Authors: Goodall Dominic
Published: December 2011

With this fourth volume Mme. Brunner-Lachaux completes her richly annotated translation of the influential eleventh-century book of rituals of the old pan-Indian Śaiva Siddhanta by Somaśambhu. The first of these volumes appeared in 1963, among the first fruits of the study of the Sanskrit texts of the Śaiva Siddhānta pursued by the French Institute of Pondicherry (hereafter IFP). Since then much has been discovered about the history of the development of the Śaiva Siddhānta (a great deal through the efforts of Brunner-Lachaux herself) and a number of its texts have seen publication, so that it is only to be expected that there should be a gulf between the first and fourth volumes (hereafter SP1, SP4, etc.). It is therefore excellent news that Brunner-Lachaux intends to produce an entirely revised SP1 (announced on p. lxv).
The Dorothy and Horace Quaritch Wales Bequest — A Note
Authors: Guy John
Published: December 2011

The Royal Asiatic Society has recently been a beneficiary from the estate of Mrs Dorothy Wales, widow of H. G. Quaritch Wales, the erudite scholar of early Southeast Asian history who died in 1981. The occasion of this bequest, the contents of which are discussed in the Librarian's report herein (pp. 169–70), prompts this note on the contribution of Quaritch Wales to Southeast Asian studies.

Quaritch Wales was born in 1900 and educated at Charterhouse and Queens' College, Cambridge. He immediately embarked on a career in Southeast Asia, from which he was never to be deflected. At the age of 23 he entered the service of the Siamese Government where he served from 1924 to 1928 as an adviser to the courts of King Rama VI and King Rama VII. The first-hand knowledge gained from this experience formed the basis of his pioneering study Siamese State Ceremonies (1931), which remains a work of unrivalled insight into the Brahmanical rituals and Buddhist accretions of Thai kingship. He followed this with another work based on his experiences of Thai court and state functions, Ancient Siamese Government and Administration (1934).
Chinese, Tartars and “Thea” or a Tale of Two Companies: The English East India Company and Taiwan in the Late Seventeenth Century
Authors: Massarella Derek
Published: December 2011

A number of years ago, Dr D. K. Bassett pointed out that the English East India Company's objective in re-entering East Asian waters during the second half of the seventeenth century was the re-establishment of a direct trade with Japan from which the company had withdrawn in 1623. It was a futile pursuit. But, far from being an inconsequential historical footnote, the unintended consequence of this policy was the beginning of a direct trade with China, first mooted in the 1610s and which was to prove of greater consequence to the company's fortunes than the chimera of trade with Tokugawa Japan. It is within this context and that of the changing fortunes of the English company and its Dutch rival as well as the broader East Asian situation that the brief, and largely ignored, history of the company's factory on Taiwan is worth examining.
The Kāmaḍ of Rajasthan — Priests of a Forgotten Tradition
Authors: Khan Dominique-Sila
Published: December 2011

In Rajasthan, one of the north-western states of India, whoever has heard of the Kāmaḍ (or Kāmaḍiyā) would define them as wandering minstrels or jugglers, singing hymns in praise of Bābā Rāmdeo, a famous saint from Mārwāṛ, whose footprints they worship. Most people could not say much more about this community of religious singers who, since Independence, have been listed among the “scheduled castes”. In any case, everybody seems to be aware of their connection with Rāmdeo, a famous folk deity, also popular in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, now venerated by devotees of all castes and creeds, but mostly by Hindus, as an avatār of Vishnu-Krishna.
The Ardhakathanaka by Banarasi Das: a Socio-cultural Study
Authors: Vanina Eugenia
Published: December 2011

Any researcher into the pre-modern history of India inevitably faces the problem of source material, and the creative genius of medieval Indians furnishes us with a wide range of sources; innumerable files of original documents, multi-volumed chronicles, bulky treatises, etc. A great number of travelogues enables us to view medieval India through the eyes of visitors from all parts of the globe. The source to be analysed in this article will hardly stand comparison with the above-mentioned materials. It is a biography of an insignificant man, a family history of modest middle-class people unconnected with court intrigues and political battles. And the title of the book is anything but serious. Ardhakathanaka means “Half a Tale”. The author, a Jain merchant named Banarasi Das, completed it in 1641, being fifty-five at that time; the ideal life span of the great Jain sages was believed to be one hundred and ten years. Thus Banarasi, who harboured no ambitions to equal the great sages, titled his autobiography “Haifa Tale”, displaying a somewhat bitter humour (he died shortly after completing the book).
Nature of Gunpowder Artillery in India during the Sixteenth Century – a Reappraisal of the Impact of European Gunnery
Authors: Khan Iqtidar Alam
Published: December 2011

The opening line of Abu'l Faẓl's notice in Ā'īn-i Akbarī on “top” (gunpowder artillery) describes it as “a wonderful lock (qufl-i shiqarf) for securing the august edifice of royalty (iqbāl sarā-i jahānbānī) and a key (kulīd-i dilkushā) to the door of conquest (darwāza-i kishwarsitānī)” He then proceeds to claim that except for the Mediterranean/Ottoman territories (Rūmistān), in no other place was gunpowder artillery available in such abundance as in the Mughal Empire. These statements cannot be brushed aside as simple rhetoric. On the contrary, they may well be perceived as reflecting the significance gunpowder artillery had come to acquire with regard to two important matters, namely, (a) strengthening of central authority and (b) rapid military conquests leading to the annexation of vast territories.
Chin Peng and the Struggle for Malaya
Authors: Stockwell A. J.
Published: December 2011

“Fifty years ago, the name of Chin Peng was feared almost as much as Osama bin Laden is today”. So wrote the Hong Kong-based journalist, Philip Bowring, in 2003. Fifty years ago the British empire, in the view of Field Marshal Montgomery, was locked in a struggle “between the East and West, between Communism and Democracy, between evil and Christianity”. It was a time when Chin Peng was Britain's enemy number one in Southeast Asia. A measure of his importance is the size of the reward offered in May 1952 for his capture: M$250,000 was equivalent to first prize in the Social Welfare Lottery and a huge sum compared with the wage rates of Malayan workers. Chin Peng is Malaya's Ho Chi Minh, but a Ho Chih Minh manqué. Like Ho Chi Minh, Chin Peng was a communist who, having played a key part in local resistance to the Japanese occupation, led the struggle against the post-war restoration of European colonialism. Yet, whereas Ho Chi Minh established the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Chin Peng was thwarted in his attempt to create a socialist state in Malaya. Consequently, while the one became a national hero, the other has been cast out from the land of his birth and until recently has been without a voice in its history. The publication of his memoirs in 2003, however, enables us to reappraise Chin Peng's part in the achievement of Malayan independence.
They First Saw a Mirror: A Korean Folktale as a Form of Social Criticism
Authors: Grayson James Huntley
Published: December 2011

One of the most popular modern Korean folktales is Choi Tale Type 500, ‘The People Who Saw a Mirror for the First Time’. This tale however is neither a uniquely Korean nor East Asian tale, but an example of a general class of folktales found throughout the world. In the Aarne-Thompson Index it is classified as tale type 1336A, ‘Man does not Recognize his own Reflection in the Water (Mirror)’. The origins of the modern Korean tale may be traced back to the early years of the transmission and establishment of Buddhism in East Asia. The initial use of this tale in a Buddhist context, as a means to illustrate the illusionary nature of all things, had by the beginning of the twentieth century in Korea changed into providing a strong critique of certain features of contemporary society.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, EDUCATION AND GROWTH: A REAPPRAISAL WHEN LIFETIME IS FINITE
Authors: Pautrel Xavier
Published: December 2011

When finite lifetime is introduced in a Lucas [Journal of Monetary Economics 22 (1988), 3–42] growth model where the source of pollution is physical capital, the environmental policy may enhance the growth rate of a market economy, whereas pollution does not influence educational activities, labor supply is not elastic, and human capital does not enter the utility function. The result arises from the generational turnover effect due to finite lifetime and it remains valid under conditions when the education sector uses final output as well as time to accumulate human capital. This article also demonstrates that ageing reduces the positive influence of environmental policy when growth is driven by human capital accumulation à la Lucas in the overlapping-generations model of Yaari [Review of Economic Studies 32 (1965), 137–150] and Blanchard [Journal of Political Economy 93 (1985), 223–247].
The AKARI Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS): all–sky Diffuse Map
Authors: Komugi Shinya , Doi Yasuo , Hattori Makoto , Kitamura Yoshimi , Otsubo Takafumi , Tanaka Masahiro , Ikeda Norio , Kato Daisuke , Nakagawa Takao
Published: December 2011

The infrared astronomical satellite AKARI performed an all sky survey at six infrared bands. We report here on the calibration of the all-sky image data, observed in the four long wavelength bands with the FIS instrument (AKARI Far-infrared All Sky Survey : AFASS). The preliminary image attains a calibration uncertainty and sensitivity of better than ~ 30% and ~ 10 MJy str−1, respectively, for all four bands. The point spread function (PSF) is obtained via a stacking technique. The data are shown to be useful for exploring the internal structure and dust spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of nearby galaxies.
Mid-Infrared Spectral Assessment of Early-type Galaxies with Star Formation
Authors: Leeuw Lerothodi L. , Bregman Jesse D. , Davidson Jacqueline , Temi Pasquale , Im Stephen S.
Published: December 2011

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra from ~5 to 14 μm of five, nearby (< 70 Mpc) elliptical galaxies are presented that were observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The sample galaxies have a main stellar component that is typical for normal, passively evolving ellipticals; however, they are rich in cold gas and dust and have morphological-merger signatures from which a time order of the galaxies since the merger or accretion events can be estimated. The presented results are significant because (1) emission due to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and associated species is detected for the first time in these galaxies and (2) the detected mid-IR spectra are independently exploited as a probe of current or recent star-formation that, in this case, is assumed to be triggered by the merger. As shown in exemplary spectra of the early-age merger NGC 3656, the strength of the PAH emission is more centrally peaked in the earlier-age mergers, suggesting that the PAH data are indeed probing star-formation that is correlated with the time since the mergers and systematically depletes the centrally located gas, becoming weaker and more flatly distributed as the merger evolves.
Local Group Galaxies in the Infrared
Authors: Menzies John
Published: December 2011

A survey has been conducted of Local Group galaxies with the Japanese/South African Infrared Survey Facility at SAAO, Sutherland. A number of Mira variables have been discovered in four dwarf spheroidals, which provides an opportunity to test the usefulness of these stars as distance indicators in galaxies beyond the Magellanic Clouds. These Miras are found to follow the same period-luminosity relation as in the LMC, provided bolometric magnitudes are used.
Molecular Gas and Star Formation in Local Early–type Galaxies
Authors: Bureau M. , Davis T. A. , Alatalo K. , Crocker A. F. , Blitz L. , Young L. M. , Combes F. , Bois M. , Bournaud F. , Cappellari M. , Davies R. L. , de Zeeuw P. T. , Duc P.-A. , Emsellem E. , Khochfar S. , Krajnović D. , Kuntschner H. , Lablanche P.-Y. , McDermid R. M. , Morganti R. , Naab T. , Oosterloo T. , Sarzi M. , Scott N. , Serra P. , Weijmans A.
Published: December 2011

The molecular gas content of local early-type galaxies is constrained and discussed in relation to their evolution. First, as part of the ATLAS3D survey, we present the first complete, large (260 objects), volume-limited single-dish survey of CO in normal local early-type galaxies. We find a surprisingly high detection rate of 22%, independent of luminosity and at best weakly dependent on environment. Second, the extent of the molecular gas is constrained with CO synthesis imaging, and a variety of morphologies is revealed. The kinematics of the molecular gas and stars are often misaligned, implying an external gas origin in over a third of the systems, although this behaviour is drastically diffferent between field and cluster environments. Third, many objects appear to be in the process of forming regular kpc-size decoupled disks, and a star formation sequence can be sketched by piecing together multi-wavelength information on the molecular gas, current star formation, and young stars. Last, early-type galaxies do not seem to systematically obey all our usual prejudices regarding star formation, following the standard Schmidt-Kennicutt law but not the far infrared-radio correlation. This may suggest a greater diversity in star formation processes than observed in disk galaxies. Using multiple molecular tracers, we are thus starting to probe the physical conditions of the cold gas in early-types.
Warps and Accretion
Authors: Józsa Gyula I. G.
Published: December 2011

Warps are a basic feature of disk galaxies. Usually they occur at radii where the optical disk fades and become most pronounced in the outermost gaseous disks.

As such, warps present a massive reservoir to replenish star forming material in the inner, star forming disks. Furthermore, some possible excitation mechanisms for warps connect their formation to the accretion of extragalctic material. Interactions or mergers with gas-rich companions or the direct accretion of the ambient intergalactic medium might lead to the formation of warps, at the same time supplementing fuel to maintain star formation in galactic disks.

Employing a number of H i studies of warped galaxies, including ultra-deep observations of the prototype warped galaxies NGC 5907 and NGC 4013, I discuss whether the observed kinematics may show evidence for a connection of warps and accretion from the ambient medium.
African Eyes on the Sky: The Southern African Large Telescope
Authors: Väisänen Petri , Buckley David A. H.
Published: December 2011

A 10-metre class telescope project on African soil is ending its commissioning period and is transitioning to science mode. We present the current status of the Southern African Large Telescope and its instruments. We will also briefly discuss the SALT capabilities for extragalactic astronomy in particular.
Interactive Visualization of 3D Redshift Surveys with SDvision
Authors: Pomarède Daniel , Pierre Marguerite
Published: December 2011

The three-dimensional visualization of redshift surveys is a key player in the comprehension of the structuration of the cosmic web. The SDvision software package, intended primarily for the visualization of massive cosmological simulations, has been extended to provide an interactive visual representation of different classes of redshift surveys, with the objective to enable direct comparisons between the rare highest-density peaks traced by the clusters of galaxies found in the XMM-LSS Survey and the densely populated catalogues of galaxy photometric redshifts. We present the various possibilities offered by this tool in terms of filtering of the data, reconstruction of density fields, interactivity and visual rendering, including various techniques such as ray-casting, isosurfaces, slicing and texturing. This is illustrated using the C1 and C2 samples of the XMM-LSS Survey, and the publicly released COSMOS and CFHTLS photometric redshift Catalogs. Comparisons with published results are presented and discussed.
Tracing the Origin of Bars and Bulges through the Study of their Stellar and Ionised Gas Properties
Authors: Pérez Isabel , Sánchez-Blázquez Patricia , Zurita Almudena , Florido Estrella
Published: December 2011

We have carried out a detailed analysis of stellar properties of bars and bulges of a sample of early-type galaxies. We have also compared the results of the bulge properties with the bulges of a similar sample of unbarred galaxies, deriving the SSP equivalent stellar parameters in the same way as for our sample. We are currently characterising the nebular gas in the bulges of the sample galaxies. We have found differences in the bulge stellar population properties between barred and unbarred galaxies. The bulges of barred galaxies seem to be more metal rich, at a given velocity dispersion (σ), than the bulges of unbarred galaxies, as measured by some metallicity sensitive indices. There are indications that the ratio of relative abundance of alpha-elements with respect to iron, [E/Fe], derived for the bulges of barred galaxies tend to lie above the values of the unbarred galaxies at a given σ. We also find three different types of bars according to their metallicity and age distribution along the radius: 1) Bars with negative metallicity gradients. They show mean young/intermediate population (<2 Gyr), and have amongst the lowest stellar maximum central velocity dispersion of the sample. 2) Bars with null metallicity gradients. These galaxies that do not show any gradient in their metallicity distribution along the bar and have negative age gradients (i.e younger populations at the bar end). 3) Bars with positive metallicity gradients, i.e. more metal rich at the bar ends. These galaxies are predominantly those with higher velocity dispersion and older mean population. We find no significant correlation between the age and metallicity distribution, and bar/galaxy parameters such as the AGN presence, size or the bar strength. From the kinematics, we find that all the galaxies show a disk–like central component. Regarding the ionised gas properties, we find that the nebular metallicity gradients are shallower than the stellar ones, indicating an efficient mixing of the material currently forming. The nebular central metallicities do not show a correlation with the central σ, and, furthermore, in some cases the nebular metallicities are clearly lower than the stellar ones, indicating an external origin for the gas fueling the current star formation. All these results point to a scenario, at least for early-type galaxies, where bars are long-lived and where the formation of the bulge and the bar are closely linked. Later accretion of gas can then be funneled towards the center forming nuclear discs and rings, producing substructures with low level of star formation, but that would not contain enough stars to produce a change in the SSP-equivalent metallicities and [E/Fe].
Gas Flows in Galaxies: the Relative Importance of Mergers and Bars.
Authors: Ellison Sara L. , Patton David R. , Nair Preethi , Simard Luc , Mendel J. Trevor , McConnachie Alan W. , Scudder Jillian M.
Published: December 2011

Galaxy-galaxy interactions and large scale galaxy bars are usually considered as the two main mechanisms for driving gas to the centres of galaxies. By using large samples of galaxy pairs and visually classified bars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we compare the relative efficiency of gas inflows from these two processes. We use two indicators of gas inflow: star formation rate (SFR) and gas phase metallicity, which are both measured relative to control samples. Whereas the metallicity of galaxy pairs is suppressed relative to its control sample of isolated galaxies, galaxies with bars are metal-rich for their stellar mass by 0.06 dex over all stellar masses. The SFRs of both the close galaxy pairs and the barred galaxies are enhanced by ~60%, but in the bars the enhancement is only seen at stellar masses M∗ > 1010 M⊙. Taking into account the relative frequency of bars and pairs, we estimate that at least three times more central star formation is triggered by bars than by interactions.
Building on IYA2009: IAU Strategic Plan “Astronomy for the Developing World”
Authors: Miley George , Carignan Claude , Govender Kevin
Published: December 2011

During the next decade the IAU intends to mobilize talented astronomers, engineers and teachers around the world, in the service of developing countries. I shall review the content of the IAU Strategic Plan 2010 - 2020 “Astronomy for the Developing World” and give you an update on its implementation. Astronomy is a unique tool for stimulating capacity building because it combines cutting-edge technology with fundamental science and has deep cultural roots. The plan envisages a substantial increase in IAU education and development activities during the next decade. These activities will be bottom-up, with a strong regional influence. An integrated approach tailored to the conditions and needs of each country will involve a mix of education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and public outreach. As a crucial component of the strategy, the IAU together with the South African National Research Foundation will set up a small office to coordinate and plan the various global activities at the SAAO in Cape Town.
The Impact of ISM Turbulence, Clustered Star Formation and Feedback on Galaxy Mass Assembly through Cold Flows and Mergers
Authors: Powell Leila C. , Bournaud Frederic , Chapon Damien , Devriendt Julien , Slyz Adrianne , Teyssier Romain
Published: December 2011

Two of the dominant channels for galaxy mass assembly are cold flows (cold gas supplied via the filaments of the cosmic web) and mergers. How these processes combine in a cosmological setting, at both low and high redshift, to produce the whole zoo of galaxies we observe is largely unknown. Indeed there is still much to understand about the detailed physics of each process in isolation. While these formation channels have been studied using hydrodynamical simulations, here we study their impact on gas properties and star formation (SF) with some of the first from simulations that capture the multiphase, cloudy nature of the interstellar medium (ISM), by virtue of their high spatial resolution (and corresponding low temperature threshold). In this regime, we examine the competition between cold flows and a supernovae(SNe)-driven outflow in a very high-redshift galaxy (z ≈ 9) and study the evolution of equal-mass galaxy mergers at low and high redshift, focusing on the induced SF. We find that SNe-driven outflows cannot reduce the cold accretion at z ≈ 9 and that SF is actually enhanced due to the ensuing metal enrichment. We demonstrate how several recent observational results on galaxy populations (e.g. enhanced HCN/CO ratios in ULIRGs, a separate Kennicutt Schmidt (KS) sequence for starbursts and the population of compact early type galaxies (ETGs) at high redshift) can be explained with mechanisms captured in galaxy merger simulations, provided that the multiphase nature of the ISM is resolved.
Gas Inflows, Star Formation and Metallicity Evolution in Galaxy Pairs
Authors: Di Matteo Paola , Montuori Marco , Lehnert Matthew D. , Combes Françcoise , Semelin Benoit
Published: December 2011

It has been known since many decades that galaxy interactions can induce star formation (hereafter SF) enhancements and that one of the driving mechanisms of this enhancement is related to gas inflows into the central galaxy regions, induced by asymmetries in the stellar component, like bars. In the last years many evidences have been accumulating, showing that interacting pairs have central gas-phase metallicities lower than those of field galaxies, by ~0.2–0.3 dex on average. These diluted ISM metallicities have been explained as the result of inflows of metal-poor gas from the outer disk to the galaxy central regions. A number of questions arises: What's the timing and the duration of this dilution? How and when does the SF induced by the gas inflow enrich the circum-nuclear gas with re-processed material? Is there any correlation between the timing and strength of the dilution and the timing and intensity of the SF? By means of Tree-SPH simulations of galaxy major interactions, we have studied the effect that gas inflows have on the ISM dilution, and the effect that the induced SF has, subsequently, in re-enriching the nuclear gas. In this contribution, we present the main results of this study.
Could M31 Come from a Major Merger and Eject the LMC away?
Authors: Fouquet S. , Hammer F. , Yang Y. B. , Wang J. L. , Puech M. , Flores H.
Published: December 2011

We investigated a scenario in which M31 could be the remnant of a major merger and at the origin of the LMC. Galaxy merger simulations were run in order to reproduce some M31 properties. We succeeded in reproducing some of the most important M31 large-scale features like the thick disk or the polar ring, and gave a possible explanation for the formation of the Giant Stream. We also found that the LMC could be expelled by this high energetic phenomenon.
Three-dimensional Visualization of Cosmological and Galaxy Formation Simulations
Authors: Thooris Bruno , Pomarède Daniel
Published: December 2011

Our understanding of the structuring of the Universe from large-scale cosmological structures down to the formation of galaxies now largely benefits from numerical simulations. The RAMSES code, relying on the Adaptive Mesh Refinement technique, is used to perform massively parallel simulations at multiple scales. The interactive, immersive, three-dimensional visualization of such complex simulations is a challenge that is addressed using the SDvision software package. Several rendering techniques are available, including ray-casting and isosurface reconstruction, to explore the simulated volumes at various resolution levels and construct temporal sequences. These techniques are illustrated in the context of different classes of simulations. We first report on the visualization of the HORIZON Galaxy Formation Simulation at MareNostrum, a cosmological simulation with detailed physics at work in the galaxy formation process. We then carry on in the context of an intermediate zoom simulation leading to the formation of a Milky-Way like galaxy. Finally, we present a variety of simulations of interacting galaxies, including a case-study of the Antennae Galaxies interaction.
Feedback in Galaxy Formation
Authors: Silk Joseph
Published: December 2011

I review the outstanding problems in galaxy formation theory, and the role of feedback in resolving them. I address the efficiency of star formation, the galactic star formation rate, and the roles of supernovae and supermassive black holes.
The build-up of mass in UV-selected sub-L* Galaxies at z~2
Authors: Sawicki Marcin
Published: December 2011

Broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting is used to study a deep sample of UV-selected sub-L* galaxies at z~2. They are found to be less dusty than L* galaxies, and to contribute more mass to the cosmic mass budget at this epoch than is inferred from shallower high-z surveys. Additionally, SFRs are found to be proportional to stellar masses over three orders of magnitude in mass; this phenomenon can be explained by assuming that new stars form out of gas that co-accretes along with dark matter onto the galaxies' dark matter halos, a scenario that naturally leads to SFRs that gradually increase with time.
Abell 1763 and its Cluster Feeding Filament: Constraints on the Intra-filament Medium
Authors: Edwards Louise O. V. , Fadda Dario
Published: December 2011

Galaxies are found to inhabit a variety of environments. They are often found in pairs, groups, or clusters. Cosmological simulations predict that these clusters are connected on a larger scale by filaments, but because these large scale structures are so vast, and because they are of intermediate density, observational constraints on their properties are difficult to achieve. We find a large-scale filament in the Abell 1763-Abell 1770 superstructure, determine that the star-formation therein is enhanced, and uncover a bent double lobe radio source midway across the filament. From the bend of this AGN'a jets, we probe the density of the surrounding intra-filament medium (IFM), constrained to be between 1-20x10−29 gm/cm3. This density is consistent with direct probes of the IFM as well as theoretical models.
Coastal landfast sea ice decay and breakup in northern Alaska: Key processes and seasonal prediction
Authors: Petrich Chris , Eicken Hajo , Zhang Jing , Krieger Jeremy , Fukamachi Yasushi , Ohshima Kay I.
Published: December 2011

Seasonal breakup of landfast sea ice consists of movement and irreversible ice detachment in response to winds or oceanic forces in the late stages of ice decay. The breakup process of landfast sea ice in the Chukchi Sea at Barrow, Alaska, was analyzed for the years 2000 through 2010 on the basis of local observations of snow and ice conditions, weather records, image sequences obtained from cameras, coastal X band marine radar, and satellite imagery. We investigated the relation of breakup to winds, tides, and nearshore current measurements from a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler. Two breakup modes are distinguished at Barrow on the basis of the degree of ice decay. Mechanical breakup due to wind and oceanic forces follows ablation and weakening of the ice. Thermal breakup is the result of ice disintegration under melt ponds, requiring little force to induce dispersion. Grounded pressure ridges are pivotal in determining the breakup mode. The timing of thermal breakup of the nearshore ice cover was found to correlate with the measured downwelling solar radiation in June and July. This linkage allows for the development of an operational forecast of landfast ice breakup. Results from forecasts during 2 years demonstrate that thermal breakup can be predicted to within a couple of days 2 weeks in advance. The cumulative shortwave energy absorbed by the ice cover provides for a measure of the state of ice decay and potential for disintegration. Discriminating between the two modes of breakup bears the potential to greatly increase forecasting skill.
Future changes in the influence of the quasi‐biennial oscillation on the northern polar vortex simulated with an MRI chemistry climate model
Authors: Naoe Hiroaki , Shibata Kiyotaka
Published: December 2011

The effect of climate change on the dynamics of the Holton‐Tan (HT) relationship (i.e., the influence of the quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO) on extratropical circulation) is examined for a set of three‐member simulations and a sensitivity simulation with constant greenhouse gases (GHGs) at 1960 levels, focusing on the Northern Hemisphere extended winter. The simulations are conducted by the MRI chemistry climate model (MRI‐CCM), which internally generates the QBO; the set is driven by the REF‐B2 scenario from 1960 through 2100, and constant GHG simulation by the same halogen scenario and fixed greenhouse gases. Future climate change results in a colder stratosphere with a temperature decrease of 6 K and with a westerly increase of ∼4 m s−1. Although the HT relationship is present in early winter in the recent climate interval from 1960 through 1999 in the ERA‐40 reanalysis data and the simulation, the HT relationship in the future climate interval from 2060 through 2099 is predicted to be stronger in late winter. The analysis of the constant GHG simulation indicates that the HT relationship holds for the future in which forcings are almost constants and possible contributions to the HT effect are due to long‐term natural variability. Further, we suggest that the climate change, or the increase in the atmospheric CO2, is responsible for the regime shift between the current climate interval and the future climate interval in the REF‐B2 scenario. Further research is required to determine how a multidecadal oscillation could modulate the HT effect.
A Proposal of Genomic Analytical Workflow in a Bacterial Pathogen Outbreak Investigation
Authors: Nong Wenyan , Wong Man Chun , Kwan Hoi Shan , Au Chun Hang , Cheng Chi Keung , Cheung Man Kit , Huang Qianli , Li Lei
Published: December 2011

The German Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak causing Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) started in early May 2011. Conventional typing methods including serotyping, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) seemed to yield only limited information about the causative agent. The advantages of the Genome sequencing approach are apparent compared to conventional methods. Genome sequencing and analyses with an appropriate workflow would be the new paradigm in bacterial outbreak investigation.
Retracted Article: Organocatalytic stereoselective synthesis of passifloricin A
Authors: Kumar Pradeep , Pandey Menaka , Gupta Priti , Dhavale Dilip D.
Published: December 2011

An efficient enantioselective synthesis of passifloricin A has been achieved in high diastereomeric excess by a combination of iterative proline-catalyzed sequential α-aminoxylation, Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons olefination and ring-closing metathesis.
Oligoamine analogues in combination with 2-difluoromethylornithine synergistically induce re-expression of aberrantly silenced tumour-suppressor genes
Authors: Wu Yu , Steinbergs Nora , Murray-Stewart Tracy , Marton Laurence J. , Casero Robert A.
Published: December 2011

Epigenetic gene silencing is an important mechanism in the initiation and progression of cancer. Abnormal DNA CpG island hypermethylation and histone modifications are involved in aberrant silencing of tumour-suppressor genes. LSD1 (lysine-specific demethylase 1) was the first enzyme identified to specifically demethylate H3K4 (Lys4 of histone H3). Methylated H3K4 is an important mark associated with transcriptional activation. The flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding amine oxidase domain of LSD1 is homologous with two polyamine oxidases, SMO (spermine oxidase) and APAO (N1-acetylpolyamine oxidase). We have demonstrated previously that long-chain polyamine analogues, the oligoamines, are inhibitors of LSD1. In the present paper we report the synergistic effects of specific oligoamines in combination with DFMO (2-difluoromethylornithine), an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, in human colorectal cancer cells. DFMO treatment depletes natural polyamines and increases the uptake of exogenous polyamines. The combination of oligoamines and DFMO results in a synergistic re-expression of aberrantly silenced tumour-suppressor genes, including SFRP2 (secreted frizzled-related protein 2), which encodes a Wnt signalling pathway antagonist and plays an anti-tumorigenic role in colorectal cancer. The treatment-induced re-expression of SFRP2 is associated with increased H3K4me2 (di-methyl H3K4) in the gene promoter. The combination of LSD1-inhibiting oligoamines and DFMO represents a novel approach to epigenetic therapy of cancer.
2-Carboxy-D-arabinitol 1-phosphate (CA1P) phosphatase: evidence for a wider role in plant Rubisco regulation
Authors: Andralojc Paul John , Madgwick Pippa J. , Tao Yong , Keys Alfred , Ward Jane L. , Beale Michael H. , Loveland Jane E. , Jackson Phil J. , Willis Antony C. , Gutteridge Steven , Parry Martin A.J.
Published: December 2011

The genes for CA1Pase (2-carboxy-D-arabinitol-1-bisphosphate phosphatase) from French bean, wheat, Arabidopsis and tobacco were identified and cloned. The deduced protein sequence included an N-terminal motif identical with the PGM (phosphoglycerate mutase) active site sequence [LIVM]-x-R-H-G-[EQ]-x-x-[WN]. The corresponding gene from wheat coded for an enzyme with the properties published for CA1Pase. The expressed protein lacked PGM activity but rapidly dephosphorylated 2,3-DPG (2,3-diphosphoglycerate) to 2-phosphoglycerate. DTT (dithiothreitol) activation and GSSG inactivation of this enzyme was pH-sensitive, the greatest difference being apparent at pH 8. The presence of the expressed protein during in vitro measurement of Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) activity prevented a progressive decline in Rubisco turnover. This was due to the removal of an inhibitory bisphosphate that was present in the RuBP (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate) preparation, and was found to be PDBP (D-glycero-2,3-pentodiulose-1,5-bisphosphate). The substrate specificity of the expressed protein indicates a role for CA1Pase in the removal of ‘misfire’ products of Rubisco.
Novel x-ray spectroscopy probes complex molecules
Authors: Lubkin Gloria B.
Published: December 2011

When the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Project began operating in May experimenters soon were able to demonstrate the great potential that such sources have for studying local atomic arrangements in complex molecules. The technique used goes by the forbidding name of “extended x-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy” or EXAFS. At the Fourth International Conference on Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation Physics held in Hamburg, Germany, late in July, Peter Eisenberger (Bell Labs) discussed the EXAFS experiments done by a group that included himself, Brian Kincaid and Sally Hunter (Stanford), Dale Sayers and Edward A. Stern (University of Washington) and Farrel Lytle (Boeing Co.). Eisenberger told the meeting that the unique element-specific nature of EXAFS shows promise of monitoring changes of environment in complex solids and in systems of interest to chemists and biologists.
Vortex-line photographs confirm helium-II prediction
Authors: Levi Barbara G.
Published: December 2011

According to the work of Lars Onsager and Richard Feynman, when a container of He−- II is rotated, discrete, quantized vortex lines appear. Many experiments have subsequently lent strong support to this prediction. However, if seeing is believing, then Gary A. Williams and Richard E. Packard of the University of California at Berkeley have produced irrefutable evidence; they have directly photographed these vortices using a technique suggested by Michael Sanders (University of Michigan) that is conceptually simple but technologically difficult.
AEC plans computer center for fusion
Authors: Lubkin Gloria B.
Published: December 2011

The Atomic Energy Commission has established the National CTR Computer Center at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory for the purpose of providing a significant increase in computing power and services to controlled-thermonuclear research contractors. The center will be managed by the AEC Division of Controlled Thermonuclear Research, which is directed by Robert L. Hirsch. Present plans call for the installation at Livermore next spring of a dedicated class-IV computer that will be the hub of a nationwide network connecting the four major CTR laboratories to the central site by wide-band leased lines.
Acoustical holography
Authors: Greguss Pal
Published: December 2011

A frequent first reaction to the suggestion that sound can be used to form images is one of surprise, for the sensing of sonic images is outside the realm of our normal experience. Since the wavepropagation characteristics of sound are similar to those of light, however, such a possibility exists, providing that a sonic image can somehow be converted into a visual experience. A number of means of doing that have been developed; their advantages and disadvantages are discussed below. The ability to “see” with sound would allow us to “look” into opaque objects or “see” through murky water.
Resonances
Authors: Newton Calvin , Salter Fassit
Published: December 2011

Flectotachometry, it appears, is here to stay. A few months ago, to help launch “Information Exchange” (PHYSICS TODAY's expanded classified-advertising department), we prepared a few ads such as the following:
Construction of n-Lie algebras and n-ary Hom-Nambu-Lie algebras
Authors: Arnlind Joakim , Makhlouf Abdenacer , Silvestrov Sergei
Published: December 2011

As n-ary operations, generalizing Lie and Poisson algebras, arise in many different physical contexts, it is interesting to study general ways of constructing explicit realizations of such multilinear structures. Generically, they describe the dynamics of a physical system, and there is a need of understanding their quantization. Hom-Nambu-Lie algebras provide a framework that might be an appropriate setting in which n-Lie algebras (n-ary Nambu-Lie algebras) can be deformed, and their quantization studied. We present a procedure to construct (n + 1)-ary Hom-Nambu-Lie algebras from n-ary Hom-Nambu-Lie algebras equipped with a generalized trace function. It turns out that the implications of the compatibility conditions, that are necessary for this construction, can be understood in terms of the kernel of the trace function and the range of the twisting maps. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of defining (n + k)-Lie algebras from n-Lie algebras and a k-form satisfying certain conditions.
Measurements and calculations of transport AC loss in second generation high temperature superconducting pancake coils
Authors: Yuan Weijia , Coombs T. A. , Kim Jae-Ho , Han Kim Chul , Kvitkovic Jozef , Pamidi Sastry
Published: December 2011

Theoretical and experimental AC loss data on a superconducting pancake coil wound using second generation (2 G) conductors are presented. An anisotropic critical state model is used to calculate critical current and the AC losses of a superconducting pancake coil. In the coil there are two regions, the critical state region and the subcritical region. The model assumes that in the subcritical region the flux lines are parallel to the tape wide face. AC losses of the superconducting pancake coil are calculated using this model. Both calorimetric and electrical techniques were used to measure AC losses in the coil. The calorimetric method is based on measuring the boil-off rate of liquid nitrogen. The electric method used a compensation circuit to eliminate the inductive component to measure the loss voltage of the coil. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical calculations thus validating the anisotropic critical state model for loss estimations in the superconducting pancake coil.
A transmission line model for the optical simulation of multilayer structures and its application for oblique illumination of an organic solar cell with anisotropic extinction coefficient
Authors: Stathopoulos N. A. , Palilis L. C. , Yesayan S. R. , Savaidis S. P. , Vasilopoulou M. , Argitis P.
Published: December 2011

A transmission line model for the calculation of optical interference phenomena in dielectric multilayered structures is adopted as an alternative option to the transfer matrix model (TMM). The method is based on the transmission line theory and is exact, easy to implement and uses closed iterative forms instead of the TMMs matrix formalism. The proposed model has been appropriately modified and then applied for performance evaluation of a typical organic photovoltaic device under inclined illumination. Optical field distribution, short-circuit photocurrent and reflectivity have been calculated under different angles of light incidence. The theoretical simulations have been discussed and compared with experimental photocurrent measurements, while the influence of the photoactive layer thickness on the device efficiency has been evaluated for different angles of light incidence, taking into account its extinction coefficient anisotropy.
Titania/alumina bilayer gate insulators for InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor devices
Authors: Ahn Jaesoo , Geppert Irina , Gunji Marika , Holland Martin , Thayne Iain , Eizenberg Moshe , McIntyre Paul C.
Published: December 2011

We describe the electrical properties of atomic layer deposited TiO2/Al2O3 bilayer gate oxides which simultaneously achieve high gate capacitance density and low gate leakage current density. Crystallization of the initially amorphous TiO2 film contributes to a significant accumulation capacitance increase (∼33%) observed after a forming gas anneal at 400 °C. The bilayer dielectrics reduce gate leakage current density by approximately one order of magnitude at flatband compared to Al2O3 single layer of comparable capacitance equivalent thickness. The conduction band offset of TiO2 relative to InGaAs is 0.6 eV, contributing to the ability of the stacked dielectric to suppress gate leakage conduction.