Polytechnic University of Catalonia

About: Polytechnic University of Catalonia is a education organization based out in Barcelona, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Finite element method & Population. The organization has 16006 authors who have published 45325 publications receiving 949306 citations. The organization is also known as: UPC - BarcelonaTECH & Technical University of Catalonia.

High-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of the merger of binary white dwarfs

Abstract: Context. The coalescence of two white dwarfs is the final outcome of a sizeable fraction of binary stellar systems. Moreover, this process has been proposed to explain several interesting astrophysical phenomena. Aims. We present the results of a set of high-resolution simulations of the merging process of two white dwarfs. Methods. We use an up-to-date smoothed particle hydrodynamics code that incorporates very detailed input physics and an improved treatment of the artificial viscosity. Our simulations have been done using a large number of particles (∼4 × 10 5 ) and covering the full range of masses and chemical compositions of the coalescing white dwarfs. We also compare the time evolution of the system during the first phases of the coalescence with what is obtained using a simplified treatment of mass transfer; we discuss in detail the characteristics of the final configuration; we assess the possible observational signatures of the merger, such as the associated gravitational waveforms and the fallback X-ray flares; and we study the long-term evolution of the coalescence. Results. The mass transfer rates obtained during the first phases of the merger episode agree with the theoretical expectations. In all the cases studied, the merged configuration is a central compact object surrounded by a self-gravitating Keplerian disk, except in the case where two equal-mass white dwarfs coalesce. Conclusions. We find that the overall evolution the system and the main characteristics of the of the final object agree with other previous studies in which lower resolutions were used. We also find that the fallback X-ray luminosities are close to 10 47 erg/s. The gravitational waveforms are characterized by the sudden disappearance of the signal in a few orbital periods.

The histone variant macroH2A is an epigenetic regulator of key developmental genes

Abstract: The histone variants macroH2A1 and macroH2A2 are associated with X chromosome inactivation in female mammals. However, the physiological function of macroH2A proteins on autosomes is poorly understood. Microarray-based analysis in human male pluripotent cells uncovered occupancy of both macroH2A variants at many genes encoding key regulators of development and cell fate decisions. On these genes, the presence of macroH2A1+2 is a repressive mark that overlaps locally and functionally with Polycomb repressive complex 2. We demonstrate that macroH2A1+2 contribute to the fine-tuning of temporal activation of HOXA cluster genes during neuronal differentiation. Furthermore, elimination of macroH2A2 function in zebrafish embryos produced severe but specific phenotypes. Taken together, our data demonstrate that macroH2A variants constitute an important epigenetic mark involved in the concerted regulation of gene expression programs during cellular differentiation and vertebrate development.

Lagrangian Statistical Model for Transport in Highly Heterogeneous Velocity Fields

Abstract: We define an effective Lagrangian statistical model in phase space (x, t, v) for describing transport in highly heterogeneous velocity fields with complex spatial organizations. The spatial Markovian nature (and temporal non-Markovian nature) of Lagrangian velocities leads to an effective transport description that turns out to be a correlated continuous time random walk. This model correctly captures the Lagrangian velocity correlation properties and is demonstrated to represent a forward model for predicting transport in highly heterogeneous porous media for different types of velocity organizations.