Magnetic fields appear to be ubiquitous in the astrophysical environments of our Universe,but are still poorly understood despite playing an important role in understanding different-scale celestial objects(e.g.,Earth...Magnetic fields appear to be ubiquitous in the astrophysical environments of our Universe,but are still poorly understood despite playing an important role in understanding different-scale celestial objects(e.g.,Earth,planets,stars,normal galaxies,active galactic nuclei,clusters etc.).We briefly review the results and progress in magnetic field estimation based on rotation measures from the large-scale interstellar medium,megaparsec-scale radio jets to the plasma near the black-hole horizon.We find that there is no evident correlation between electron density and magnetic field in warm ionized plasma,which suggests that the estimation of the magnetic field from the ratio of the rotation measure and dispersion measure correctly reflects the intrinsic field.The estimation of the magnetic field from the rotation measure is also discussed near the black hole horizon in M 87.The Square Kilometre Array will greatly improve the understanding of the magnetic field in our Universe,which will provide high-quality polarization imaging and extragalactic rotation measures in the near future.展开更多
The tautomerization of H2NCH2C(OH)NH to H2NCH2CONH2 is an important step by way of Strecker synthesis for the production of glycine in the interstellar medium (ISM) with respect to the origin of amino acids on the ear...The tautomerization of H2NCH2C(OH)NH to H2NCH2CONH2 is an important step by way of Strecker synthesis for the production of glycine in the interstellar medium (ISM) with respect to the origin of amino acids on the early Earth.Our work indicates two mechanisms for the tautomerization to occur.k CVT/SCT (rate constant) is 45.6s-1 at 50 K,obtained with the small curvature tunneling (SCT) approximation and canonical variational transition state theory (CVT),to support one mechanism assisted by quantum tunneling in the ISM.Another mechanism is through the (H2O) 2-coupled proton transfer.In the (H2O)2 coupled reaction,two H2O molecules act as a catalyst to reduce the barrier energy by 23.7 kcal mol 1,and cooperatively let a proton pass a hydrogen-bonded bridge composed of H2NCH2C(OH)NH with (H2O)2.kTST is 8.08×10-4 s-1 at 100 K,calculated with TST kinetics,to demonstrate the mechanism.Therefore,the tautomerization is feasible in the ISM.H2NCH2C(OH)NH and H2NCH2CONH2 will be detected in the ISM and found in carbonaceous chondrites.The results present new evidence for the third theory on the origin of amino acids on the early Earth.展开更多
According to models such as panspermia or the Nebula-Relay hypothesis,the ancestors of life on Earth once lived in molecular clouds.Then what are the energy source and bioenergetics for such lifeforms?A new bioenerget...According to models such as panspermia or the Nebula-Relay hypothesis,the ancestors of life on Earth once lived in molecular clouds.Then what are the energy source and bioenergetics for such lifeforms?A new bioenergetic mechanism powered by cosmic ray ionization of hydrogen molecules is proposed and its relation with the origin of chemiosmosis is also discussed in this paper.Based on this mechanism,the Last Universal Common Ancestor may be a type of lifeform that utilizes hydrogen molecules as donors of electron transport chains.展开更多
I reminisce on my early life in Section 1;on my education in Sections 2 and 3;on the years at Princeton as a research astronomer in Section 4;on the years on the faculty at Chicago in Section 5;on research on Diffuse ...I reminisce on my early life in Section 1;on my education in Sections 2 and 3;on the years at Princeton as a research astronomer in Section 4;on the years on the faculty at Chicago in Section 5;on research on Diffuse Interstellar Bands(DIBs) in Section 6;on construction of the 3.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory(APO)in Section 7;on work on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey(SDSS) in Section 8;on work in public education in Chicago in Section 9;and on my travels in Section 10. My main science research is of an observational nature,concerning Galactic and intergalactic interstellar gas. Highlights for me included my work on the orbiting telescope Copernicus, including the discovery of interstellar deuterium;early observations of absorption associated with fivetimes ionized oxygen;and discoveries concerning the phases of gas in the local interstellar medium, based on previously unobservable interstellar UV spectral lines. With other instruments and collaborations, I extended interstellar UV studies to the intergalactic cool gas using quasi-stellar object QSO absorption lines redshifted to the optical part of the spectrum;provided a better definition of the emission and morphological character of the source of absorption lines in QSO spectra;and pursued the identification of the unidentified DIBs. For several of these topics, extensive collaborations with many scientists were essential over many years. The conclusions developed slowly, as I moved from being a graduate student at Chicago, to a research scientist position at Princeton and then to a faculty position at Chicago. At each stage of life, I was exposed to new technologies adaptable to my science and to subsequent projects. From high school days, I encountered several management opportunities which were formative. I have been extremely fortunate both in scientific mentors I had and in experimental opportunities I encountered.展开更多
大质量恒星强烈的反馈深刻影响其周围的星际介质,并可能触发下一代恒星形成.S187是位于银河系第2象限的大质量恒星形成区,呈现出“扫集-坍缩”的触发式恒星形成模式.基于“银河画卷”巡天^(12)CO/^(13)CO/C^(18)O(J=1-0,下文J=1-0为简...大质量恒星强烈的反馈深刻影响其周围的星际介质,并可能触发下一代恒星形成.S187是位于银河系第2象限的大质量恒星形成区,呈现出“扫集-坍缩”的触发式恒星形成模式.基于“银河画卷”巡天^(12)CO/^(13)CO/C^(18)O(J=1-0,下文J=1-0为简便起见省略)谱线数据,对S187区域分子云的基本性质开展了研究,探索了该区域大质量恒星对分子云的反馈.利用GaussPy+和聚类算法,在该区域证认了32个分子云,并结合Gaia(Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics)卫星恒星消光数据测量得到其中8个分子云的距离.S187区域由^(13)CO和C^(18)O示踪的相对致密的气体含量相比于银道面第2象限大部分区域的分子云高出1–2个量级.S187区域分子云中证认了243个^(13)CO团块和98个C^(18)O团块,其中有7个^(13)CO团块和5个C^(18)O团块有形成大质量恒星的潜力.研究结果显示,大质量恒星的反馈对其周围分子云的聚集作用明显,为下一代大质量恒星的形成提供了条件.展开更多
Molecular oxygen(O2)is essential to human beings on the earth.Although elemental oxygen is rather abundant,O2 is rare in the interstellar medium.It was only detected in two galactic and one extra-galactic region.The i...Molecular oxygen(O2)is essential to human beings on the earth.Although elemental oxygen is rather abundant,O2 is rare in the interstellar medium.It was only detected in two galactic and one extra-galactic region.The inconsistency between observations and theoretical studies is a big challenge for astrochemical models.Here we report a two-phase modeling research of molecular oxygen,using the Nautilus gas-grain code.We apply the isothermal cold dense models in the interstellar medium with two typical sets of initial elemental abundances,as well as the warm-up models with various physical conditions.Under cold dense conditions,we nd that the timescales for gas-phase CO,O2 and H2O to reach peak values are dependent on the hydrogen density and are shortened when hydrogen density increases.In warm-up models,O2 abundances are in good agreement with observations at temperatures rising after 10^5 yr.In both isothermal and warm-up models,the steady-state O2 fractional abundance is independent of the hydrogen density,as long as the temperature is high enough(>30 K),at which O2 is prevented from signi cant depleting onto grain surface.In addition,low density is preferable for the formation of O2,whether molecular oxygen is under cold conditions or in warm regions.展开更多
自触发射电阵列的设计是宇宙线大气簇射的射电探测所面临的机遇和难题之一,例如由背景源产生高振幅的瞬时噪声会导致射电阵列的误触发,而阵列设计需要避免由噪声导致的误触发.大气簇射射电信号独有的偏振特征为解决阵列的误触发问题提...自触发射电阵列的设计是宇宙线大气簇射的射电探测所面临的机遇和难题之一,例如由背景源产生高振幅的瞬时噪声会导致射电阵列的误触发,而阵列设计需要避免由噪声导致的误触发.大气簇射射电信号独有的偏振特征为解决阵列的误触发问题提供了解决方案,而利用信号偏振特征解决阵列误触发的方法的前提是射电信号的电场重建.由于背景噪声也会通过天线响应耦合到最终的观测数据中,这对正确重建射电信号的电场构成不可忽视的挑战.基于GRAND(Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection)验证阵列GP300(GRAND-Proto 300)的样机,结合模拟软件ZHAireS(ZHS AIR-shower Extended Simulations)模拟大气簇射产生的射电信号,耦合三极化天线的真实响应并使用最小二乘法重建电场,研究了射电信号的偏振特性,最终统计了以偏振为基础的天线的触发效率.展开更多
Interstellar scattering causes broadening and distortion in the mean pulse profiles and polarization position angle （PPA） curves of pulsars, especially pulse profiles observed at lower frequencies. This paper implem...Interstellar scattering causes broadening and distortion in the mean pulse profiles and polarization position angle （PPA） curves of pulsars, especially pulse profiles observed at lower frequencies. This paper implements a method to recover the pulse profiles and PPA curves of five pulsars which have obvious scattered pulse pro- files at lower frequency. It reports a simulation to show the scattering and descatter- ing of pulse profiles and PPA curves, and as a practical application the lower frequency profiles and PPA curves of PSR 1356-60, PSR 1831-03, PSR 1838＋04, PSR 1859＋03 and PSR 1946＋35 are obtained. It is found that the original pulse profiles and PPA curves can be recovered.展开更多
The reaction mechanism of amadori rearrangement in the initial stage of Maillard reaction has been investigated by means of density functional theory calculations in the gaseous phase and aqueous solution.Cyclic ribos...The reaction mechanism of amadori rearrangement in the initial stage of Maillard reaction has been investigated by means of density functional theory calculations in the gaseous phase and aqueous solution.Cyclic ribose and glycine were taken as the model in the amadori rearrangement.Reaction mechanisms have been proposed,and possibility for the formation of different compounds has been evaluated through calculating the relative energy changes for different steps of the reaction by following the total mass balance.The calculations reveal that the amadori rearrangement initialized via the intramolecular rearrangement,transferring one proton from N（3） to O（4） atom.In the next step,the second proton is also transferred from N（3） to O（4） atom,corresponding to the cleavage of C（4）-O（4） bond and the release of one water molecule.Then another proton is transferred from N（3） to C（5） atom via TS3 with the reaction barrier of 58.3 kcal·mol-1 after tunneling the effect correction calculated at the B3LYP/6-31＋G（d） level of theory,and this step is rate limiting for the whole catalytic cycle.Ultimately,the product is generated via keto-enolic tautomerization.Present calculation could provide insights into the reaction mechanism of Maillard reaction since experimental evaluation of the role of intermediates in the Maillard reaction is quite complicated.展开更多
Voyager 1 occasionally detected sudden jumps of the local interstellar magnetic field strength since its heliopause crossing in August 2012.These events were believed to be associated with outward propagating solar wi...Voyager 1 occasionally detected sudden jumps of the local interstellar magnetic field strength since its heliopause crossing in August 2012.These events were believed to be associated with outward propagating solar wind shocks originating in the inner heliosphere.Here we investigate the correlation between interstellar shocks and large-scale solar wind events by means of numerical MHD simulation.The solar wind is simplified as a symmetric flow near the equatorial plane,and the interstellar neutrals are treated as a constant flow with a fixed density distribution along the upwind direction of the local interstellar medium.The charge exchanges between the solar wind plasma and the interstellar neutrals are taken into account.At a heliocentric distance of 1 AU,the solar wind data from OMNI,STEREO A and B during the period between 2010 and 2017 are used as the inner boundary conditions to drive the simulation.The simulation results showed that the solar wind gradually merges into large-scale structures as the radial distance increases,consistent with observations by New Horizons.After propagating into the inner heliosheath,the shocks are fully developed and the corresponding pressure pulses roughly agree with the observations by Voyager 2 in the inner heliosheath.The arrival of the shocks beyond the heliopause is estimated and found to be consistent with the observed signatures of interstellar shocks by Voyager 1.The possible origins of interstellar shocks in the inner heliosheath are discussed based on the simulation.展开更多
基金the support of the National SKA Program of China(No.2022SKA0120101)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U1931203 and 12233007)
文摘Magnetic fields appear to be ubiquitous in the astrophysical environments of our Universe,but are still poorly understood despite playing an important role in understanding different-scale celestial objects(e.g.,Earth,planets,stars,normal galaxies,active galactic nuclei,clusters etc.).We briefly review the results and progress in magnetic field estimation based on rotation measures from the large-scale interstellar medium,megaparsec-scale radio jets to the plasma near the black-hole horizon.We find that there is no evident correlation between electron density and magnetic field in warm ionized plasma,which suggests that the estimation of the magnetic field from the ratio of the rotation measure and dispersion measure correctly reflects the intrinsic field.The estimation of the magnetic field from the rotation measure is also discussed near the black hole horizon in M 87.The Square Kilometre Array will greatly improve the understanding of the magnetic field in our Universe,which will provide high-quality polarization imaging and extragalactic rotation measures in the near future.
基金supported by the One-Hundred-Talents Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences,and the Academic Talent Foundation of Yunnan Province,China (Grant No.2006PY01-29)
文摘The tautomerization of H2NCH2C(OH)NH to H2NCH2CONH2 is an important step by way of Strecker synthesis for the production of glycine in the interstellar medium (ISM) with respect to the origin of amino acids on the early Earth.Our work indicates two mechanisms for the tautomerization to occur.k CVT/SCT (rate constant) is 45.6s-1 at 50 K,obtained with the small curvature tunneling (SCT) approximation and canonical variational transition state theory (CVT),to support one mechanism assisted by quantum tunneling in the ISM.Another mechanism is through the (H2O) 2-coupled proton transfer.In the (H2O)2 coupled reaction,two H2O molecules act as a catalyst to reduce the barrier energy by 23.7 kcal mol 1,and cooperatively let a proton pass a hydrogen-bonded bridge composed of H2NCH2C(OH)NH with (H2O)2.kTST is 8.08×10-4 s-1 at 100 K,calculated with TST kinetics,to demonstrate the mechanism.Therefore,the tautomerization is feasible in the ISM.H2NCH2C(OH)NH and H2NCH2CONH2 will be detected in the ISM and found in carbonaceous chondrites.The results present new evidence for the third theory on the origin of amino acids on the early Earth.
基金Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2016YFA0400200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grants No.11773075)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.2016288).
文摘According to models such as panspermia or the Nebula-Relay hypothesis,the ancestors of life on Earth once lived in molecular clouds.Then what are the energy source and bioenergetics for such lifeforms?A new bioenergetic mechanism powered by cosmic ray ionization of hydrogen molecules is proposed and its relation with the origin of chemiosmosis is also discussed in this paper.Based on this mechanism,the Last Universal Common Ancestor may be a type of lifeform that utilizes hydrogen molecules as donors of electron transport chains.
文摘I reminisce on my early life in Section 1;on my education in Sections 2 and 3;on the years at Princeton as a research astronomer in Section 4;on the years on the faculty at Chicago in Section 5;on research on Diffuse Interstellar Bands(DIBs) in Section 6;on construction of the 3.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory(APO)in Section 7;on work on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey(SDSS) in Section 8;on work in public education in Chicago in Section 9;and on my travels in Section 10. My main science research is of an observational nature,concerning Galactic and intergalactic interstellar gas. Highlights for me included my work on the orbiting telescope Copernicus, including the discovery of interstellar deuterium;early observations of absorption associated with fivetimes ionized oxygen;and discoveries concerning the phases of gas in the local interstellar medium, based on previously unobservable interstellar UV spectral lines. With other instruments and collaborations, I extended interstellar UV studies to the intergalactic cool gas using quasi-stellar object QSO absorption lines redshifted to the optical part of the spectrum;provided a better definition of the emission and morphological character of the source of absorption lines in QSO spectra;and pursued the identification of the unidentified DIBs. For several of these topics, extensive collaborations with many scientists were essential over many years. The conclusions developed slowly, as I moved from being a graduate student at Chicago, to a research scientist position at Princeton and then to a faculty position at Chicago. At each stage of life, I was exposed to new technologies adaptable to my science and to subsequent projects. From high school days, I encountered several management opportunities which were formative. I have been extremely fortunate both in scientific mentors I had and in experimental opportunities I encountered.
文摘大质量恒星强烈的反馈深刻影响其周围的星际介质,并可能触发下一代恒星形成.S187是位于银河系第2象限的大质量恒星形成区,呈现出“扫集-坍缩”的触发式恒星形成模式.基于“银河画卷”巡天^(12)CO/^(13)CO/C^(18)O(J=1-0,下文J=1-0为简便起见省略)谱线数据,对S187区域分子云的基本性质开展了研究,探索了该区域大质量恒星对分子云的反馈.利用GaussPy+和聚类算法,在该区域证认了32个分子云,并结合Gaia(Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics)卫星恒星消光数据测量得到其中8个分子云的距离.S187区域由^(13)CO和C^(18)O示踪的相对致密的气体含量相比于银道面第2象限大部分区域的分子云高出1–2个量级.S187区域分子云中证认了243个^(13)CO团块和98个C^(18)O团块,其中有7个^(13)CO团块和5个C^(18)O团块有形成大质量恒星的潜力.研究结果显示,大质量恒星的反馈对其周围分子云的聚集作用明显,为下一代大质量恒星的形成提供了条件.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11973075 and No.11433008).
文摘Molecular oxygen(O2)is essential to human beings on the earth.Although elemental oxygen is rather abundant,O2 is rare in the interstellar medium.It was only detected in two galactic and one extra-galactic region.The inconsistency between observations and theoretical studies is a big challenge for astrochemical models.Here we report a two-phase modeling research of molecular oxygen,using the Nautilus gas-grain code.We apply the isothermal cold dense models in the interstellar medium with two typical sets of initial elemental abundances,as well as the warm-up models with various physical conditions.Under cold dense conditions,we nd that the timescales for gas-phase CO,O2 and H2O to reach peak values are dependent on the hydrogen density and are shortened when hydrogen density increases.In warm-up models,O2 abundances are in good agreement with observations at temperatures rising after 10^5 yr.In both isothermal and warm-up models,the steady-state O2 fractional abundance is independent of the hydrogen density,as long as the temperature is high enough(>30 K),at which O2 is prevented from signi cant depleting onto grain surface.In addition,low density is preferable for the formation of O2,whether molecular oxygen is under cold conditions or in warm regions.
文摘自触发射电阵列的设计是宇宙线大气簇射的射电探测所面临的机遇和难题之一,例如由背景源产生高振幅的瞬时噪声会导致射电阵列的误触发,而阵列设计需要避免由噪声导致的误触发.大气簇射射电信号独有的偏振特征为解决阵列的误触发问题提供了解决方案,而利用信号偏振特征解决阵列误触发的方法的前提是射电信号的电场重建.由于背景噪声也会通过天线响应耦合到最终的观测数据中,这对正确重建射电信号的电场构成不可忽视的挑战.基于GRAND(Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection)验证阵列GP300(GRAND-Proto 300)的样机,结合模拟软件ZHAireS(ZHS AIR-shower Extended Simulations)模拟大气簇射产生的射电信号,耦合三极化天线的真实响应并使用最小二乘法重建电场,研究了射电信号的偏振特性,最终统计了以偏振为基础的天线的触发效率.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.10973026)the key program project of the Joint Fund of Astronomy by NSFC and CAS(No.11178001)
文摘Interstellar scattering causes broadening and distortion in the mean pulse profiles and polarization position angle （PPA） curves of pulsars, especially pulse profiles observed at lower frequencies. This paper implements a method to recover the pulse profiles and PPA curves of five pulsars which have obvious scattered pulse pro- files at lower frequency. It reports a simulation to show the scattering and descatter- ing of pulse profiles and PPA curves, and as a practical application the lower frequency profiles and PPA curves of PSR 1356-60, PSR 1831-03, PSR 1838＋04, PSR 1859＋03 and PSR 1946＋35 are obtained. It is found that the original pulse profiles and PPA curves can be recovered.
基金Sponsored by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. Y4100620)the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Zhejiang Province (No. Y200906517)
文摘The reaction mechanism of amadori rearrangement in the initial stage of Maillard reaction has been investigated by means of density functional theory calculations in the gaseous phase and aqueous solution.Cyclic ribose and glycine were taken as the model in the amadori rearrangement.Reaction mechanisms have been proposed,and possibility for the formation of different compounds has been evaluated through calculating the relative energy changes for different steps of the reaction by following the total mass balance.The calculations reveal that the amadori rearrangement initialized via the intramolecular rearrangement,transferring one proton from N（3） to O（4） atom.In the next step,the second proton is also transferred from N（3） to O（4） atom,corresponding to the cleavage of C（4）-O（4） bond and the release of one water molecule.Then another proton is transferred from N（3） to C（5） atom via TS3 with the reaction barrier of 58.3 kcal·mol-1 after tunneling the effect correction calculated at the B3LYP/6-31＋G（d） level of theory,and this step is rate limiting for the whole catalytic cycle.Ultimately,the product is generated via keto-enolic tautomerization.Present calculation could provide insights into the reaction mechanism of Maillard reaction since experimental evaluation of the role of intermediates in the Maillard reaction is quite complicated.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences Grant No.XDB41000000,XDA15052500,XDA17010301,QYZDJ-SSW-JSC028,NNSFC grants 41874171,41674146,41731070,and 41774179the Specialized Research Fund for State Key Laboratories of China and NSSC research fund for key development directions,and the Civil Aerospace"13th Five-Year Plan"PreliminaryResearch in space science(project No:D020301,D030202)。
文摘Voyager 1 occasionally detected sudden jumps of the local interstellar magnetic field strength since its heliopause crossing in August 2012.These events were believed to be associated with outward propagating solar wind shocks originating in the inner heliosphere.Here we investigate the correlation between interstellar shocks and large-scale solar wind events by means of numerical MHD simulation.The solar wind is simplified as a symmetric flow near the equatorial plane,and the interstellar neutrals are treated as a constant flow with a fixed density distribution along the upwind direction of the local interstellar medium.The charge exchanges between the solar wind plasma and the interstellar neutrals are taken into account.At a heliocentric distance of 1 AU,the solar wind data from OMNI,STEREO A and B during the period between 2010 and 2017 are used as the inner boundary conditions to drive the simulation.The simulation results showed that the solar wind gradually merges into large-scale structures as the radial distance increases,consistent with observations by New Horizons.After propagating into the inner heliosheath,the shocks are fully developed and the corresponding pressure pulses roughly agree with the observations by Voyager 2 in the inner heliosheath.The arrival of the shocks beyond the heliopause is estimated and found to be consistent with the observed signatures of interstellar shocks by Voyager 1.The possible origins of interstellar shocks in the inner heliosheath are discussed based on the simulation.
