Low-Mach-number turbulence in interstellar gas revealed by radio polarization gradients

The interstellar medium of the Milky Way is multiphase, magnetized and turbulent. Turbulence in the interstellar medium produces a global cascade of random gas motions, spanning scales ranging from 100 parsecs to 1,000 kilometres (ref. 4). Fundamental parameters of interstellar turbulence such as the sonic Mach number (the speed of sound) have been difficult to determine, because observations have lacked the sensitivity and resolution to image the small-scale structure associated with turbulent motion. Observations of linear polarization and Faraday rotation in radio emission from the Milky Way have identified unusual polarized structures that often have no counterparts in the total radiation intensity or at other wavelengths, and whose physical significance has been unclear. Here we report that the gradient of the Stokes vector (Q, U), where Q and U are parameters describing the polarization state of radiation, provides an image of magnetized turbulence in diffuse, ionized gas, manifested as a complex filamentary web of discontinuities in gas density and magnetic field. Through comparison with simulations, we demonstrate that turbulence in the warm, ionized medium has a relatively low sonic Mach number, M(s)???2. The development of statistical tools for the analysis of polarization gradients will allow accurate determinations of the Mach number, Reynolds number and magnetic field strength in interstellar turbulence over a wide range of conditions.     

A large age for the pulsar B1757-24 from an upper limit on its proper motion

The 'characteristic age' of a pulsar is usually considered to approximate its true age, but this assumption has led to some puzzling results, including the fact that many pulsars with small characteristic ages have no associated supernova remnants. The pulsar B1757-24 is located just outside the edge of a supernova remnant; the properties of the system indicate that the pulsar was born at the centre of the remnant with a substantial velocity, and that it has subsequently overtaken the expanding blast wave. With a characteristic age of 16,000 yr, the pulsar is expected to have a proper motion of 63-80 milliarcseconds (mas) per year. Here we report observations of the nebula surrounding the pulsar, which limit its proper motion to less than 25 mas yr(-1), implying a minimum age of 39,000 yr. A more detailed analysis argues that the true age may be as great as 170,000 yr, which is significantly larger than the characteristic age. We conclude from this result and other discrepancies associated with pulsars that characteristic ages greatly underestimate the true ages of pulsars.     

雷公藤红素缓解刀豆蛋白A诱导的小鼠急性肝损伤作用及其机制

将36只同一批次体重无明显差异的7周龄C57雄鼠随机分为6组,每组6只,即对照组,模型组,地塞米松(dexamethasone, DXM)组及雷公藤红素(celastrol, Cel)低、中、高剂量组(1.5、3、6 mg/kg),连续灌胃7 d后尾静脉注射20 mg/kg刀豆蛋白A(concanavalin A, ConA),地塞米松(0.5 mg/kg)于刀豆蛋白给药前1 h腹腔注射.注射8 h后处死小鼠,取其血清分别检测白介素-6(IL-6)、白介素-10(IL-10)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α)和丙氨酸氨基转移酶(ALT)及天冬氨酸转移酶(AST)的含量.取小鼠肝脾称重计算脏器系数,苏木精-伊红(HE)染色观察肝组织病理改变,用实时定量PCR法(RT-qPCR法)检测肝组织中相关基因mRNA的表达水平,流式细胞术检测脾脏中巨噬细胞的极化方向,从而研究雷公藤红素对刀豆蛋白A诱导的小鼠急性肝损伤的保护作用及其机制.结果显示:相较于正常组,模型组小鼠的肝组织明显发生急性肝炎,其小叶结构紊乱,肝细胞结构破坏,汇管区炎症细胞浸润,雷公藤...     

A giant gamma-ray flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20

Two classes of rotating neutron stars-soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars-are magnetars, whose X-ray emission is powered by a very strong magnetic field (B approximately 10(15) G). SGRs occasionally become 'active', producing many short X-ray bursts. Extremely rarely, an SGR emits a giant flare with a total energy about a thousand times higher than in a typical burst. Here we report that SGR 1806-20 emitted a giant flare on 27 December 2004. The total (isotropic) flare energy is 2 x 10(46) erg, which is about a hundred times higher than the other two previously observed giant flares. The energy release probably occurred during a catastrophic reconfiguration of the neutron star's magnetic field. If the event had occurred at a larger distance, but within 40 megaparsecs, it would have resembled a short, hard gamma-ray burst, suggesting that flares from extragalactic SGRs may form a subclass of such bursts.     

An expanding radio nebula produced by a giant flare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20

Soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) are 'magnetars', a small class of slowly spinning neutron stars with extreme surface magnetic fields, B approximately 10(15) gauss (refs 1 , 2 -3). On 27 December 2004, a giant flare was detected from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 (ref. 2), only the third such event recorded. This burst of energy was detected by a variety of instruments and even caused an ionospheric disturbance in the Earth's upper atmosphere that was recorded around the globe. Here we report the detection of a fading radio afterglow produced by this outburst, with a luminosity 500 times larger than the only other detection of a similar source. From day 6 to day 19 after the flare from SGR 1806-20, a resolved, linearly polarized, radio nebula was seen, expanding at approximately a quarter of the speed of light. To create this nebula, at least 4 x 10(43) ergs of energy must have been emitted by the giant flare in the form of magnetic fields and relativistic particles.