We perform a systematic X-ray spectroscopic analysis of 57 local luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxy systems (containing 84 individual galaxies) observed with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array and/or Swift/BAT. Combining soft X-ray data obtained with Chandra, XMM-Newton, Suzaku, and/or Swift/XRT, we identify 40 hard (>10 keV) X-ray–detected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and constrain their torus parameters with the X-ray clumpy torus model XCLUMPY. Among the AGNs at z < 0.03, for which sample biases are minimized, the fraction of Compton-thick (N H ≥ 1024 cm−2) AGNs reaches 64 − 15 + 14 % (6/9 sources) in late mergers, while it is 24 − 10 + 12 % (3/14 sources) in early mergers, consistent with the tendency reported by Ricci et al. We find that the bolometric AGN luminosities derived from the infrared data increase but the X-ray to bolometric luminosity ratios decrease with merger stage. The X-ray-weak AGNs in late mergers ubiquitously show massive outflows at subparsec to kiloparsec scales. Among them, the most luminous AGNs (L bol,AGN ∼ 1046 erg s−1) have relatively small column densities of ≲1023 cm−2 and almost super-Eddington ratios (λ Edd ∼ 1.0). Their torus covering factors (C T (22) ∼ 0.6) are larger than those of Swift/BAT-selected AGNs with similarly high Eddington ratios. These results suggest a scenario where, in the final stage of mergers, multiphase strong outflows are produced due to chaotic quasi-spherical inflows, and the AGN becomes extremely X-ray weak and deeply buried due to obscuration by inflowing and/or outflowing material.

Laz-zSrxFel-~CoyO~ series oxides with perovskite-type structure were synthesized and were examined as the electrode for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline solution. The oxides except for SrCoO2.5, LaFeQ, and their neighbors were suitable for the electrode with respect to high conductivity. The catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction increases along the direction from LaFeO3 to SrCoQ in composition. It is concluded that the following two conditions are desirable for the perovskite-type oxide with high catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction: (i) the oxide has a broad r band and (ii) the transition metal cation in the oxide exists as the higher oxidation state. In addition, it was found that the catalytic activity of La0.~Sz%.sFeo.2Coo.sO~ is the highest in the oxides prepared in this study.Some of the perovskite-type oxides with high electronic conductivity show good catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (1-3) and the oxygen reduction (4-7). In particular, the perovskite-type oxides containing Co, Fe, and Ni ions in the lattice * Electrochemical Society Active Member.) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 128.255.6.125 Downloaded on 2015-03-16 to IP

We present the results of a systematic, broadband X-ray spectral analysis of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with the X-ray clumpy torus model (XCLUMPY). By adding 16 AGNs newly analyzed in this paper, we study a total of 28 AGNs, including unabsorbed and absorbed AGNs taken from Ichikawa et al. and García-Bernete et al. This is the largest sample whose X-ray and infrared spectra are analyzed by the clumpy torus models XCLUMPY and CLUMPY, respectively. The relation between the Eddington ratio and the torus covering factor determined from the X-ray torus parameters of each object follows the trend found by Ricci et al. based on a statistical analysis. We confirm the results by Tanimoto et al. that (1) the torus angular widths determined by the infrared data are larger than those by the X-ray data and (2) the ratios of hydrogen column density to V-band extinction (N H/A V ) along the line of sight in obscured AGNs are similar to the Galactic value, on average. Unobscured AGNs show apparently smaller line-of-sight N H/A V ratios than the Galactic one. Our findings can be well explained by an updated unified picture of AGN structure including a dusty torus, dusty polar outflows, and dust-free gas, where the inclination determines the X-ray and optical classifications and observed torus properties in the X-ray and infrared bands.

On a solid surface with a surface tension gradient, a liquid drop is driven toward the more wettable end. To investigate the mechanism for the movement of the drop, we first measured directly the driving force of the drop, using a flexible glass microneedle. We determined that the driving force results from an imbalance of surface tension acting on the liquid-solid contact line on the two opposite sides of the drop. The hydrodynamic force, which is conventionally used as a balance force against the driving force, was not compatible with our results. Here, we show that a balanced drag force with the driving force has to be reconstructed, using a new concept of solidlike friction.

No abstract

The merger of two or more galaxies can enhance the inflow of material from galactic scales into the close environments of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), obscuring and feeding the supermassive black hole (SMBH). Both recent simulations and observations of AGN in mergers have confirmed that mergers are related to strong nuclear obscuration. However, it is still unclear how AGN obscuration evolves in the last phases of the merger process. We study a sample of 60 Luminous and Ultra-luminous IR galaxies (U/LIRGs) from the GOALS sample observed by NuSTAR. We find that the fraction of AGN that are Compton-thick (CT; $N_{\rm H}\ge 10^{24}\rm \, cm^{-2}$) peaks at $74_{-19}^{+14}\%$ at a late merger stage, prior to coalescence, when the nuclei have projected separations of dsep ∼ 0.4 − 6 kpc. A similar peak is also observed in the median NH [$(1.6\pm 0.5)\times 10^{24}\rm \, cm^{-2}$]. The vast majority ($85^{+7}_{-9}\%$) of the AGN in the final merger stages (dsep ≲ 10 kpc) are heavily obscured ($N_{\rm H}\ge 10^{23}\rm \, cm^{-2}$), and the median NH of the accreting SMBHs in our sample is systematically higher than that of local hard X-ray selected AGN, regardless of the merger stage. This implies that these objects have very obscured nuclear environments, with the $N_{\rm H}\ge 10^{23}\rm \, cm^{-2}$ gas almost completely covering the AGN in late mergers. CT AGN tend to have systematically higher absorption-corrected X-ray luminosities than less obscured sources. This could either be due to an evolutionary effect, with more obscured sources accreting more rapidly because they have more gas available in their surroundings, or to a selection bias. The latter scenario would imply that we are still missing a large fraction of heavily obscured, lower luminosity ($L_{2-10}\lesssim 10^{43}\rm \, erg\, s^{-1}$) AGN in U/LIRGs.

Fusion of vesicular stomatitis virus with some cells (HELR 66, KB, and human erythrocytes, both intact and trypsinized) and liposomes made of various natural and synthetic lipids was studied with spin-labeled phospholipid. Binding of virus was assayed separately with radiolabeled and spin-labeled virus. Binding to cells and liposomes was small at neutral pH but enhanced at acidic pHs. Fusion with cells and liposomes was negligibly small at neutral pH but greatly activated at acidic pHs lower than 6.5. Activation of fusion occurred at lower pH values than enhancement of binding. Fusion occurred rapidly and efficiently, reaching a plateau at 50-80% after 3 min at 37 degrees C. Binding and fusion with cells were enhanced by pretreatment of cells with trypsin. Binding to liposomes was dependent on the head group of the phospholipid, stronger to phosphatidylserine than to phosphatidylcholine, but not much dependent on the acyl chain composition. On the other hand, cis-unsaturated acyl chains were required for the efficient fusion, but there was only a small, if any, requirement for the head group. Cholesterol enhanced the fusion further. High fusion efficiency with cis-unsaturated phospholipids cannot be ascribed to the membrane fluidity but may be related to higher tail-to-head volume ratios. Possible mode of interaction of viral G glycoprotein with phospholipid is discussed. The virus cell entry mechanism is suggested as binding to the phospholipid domain in the cell surface membranes, endocytosis, and followed by fusion with the phospholipid domain in endosomes upon acidification.

We apply XCLUMPY, an X-ray spectral model from a clumpy torus in an active galactic nucleus (AGN), to the broadband X-ray spectra of 10 obscured AGNs observed with both Suzaku and NuSTAR. The infrared spectra of these AGNs were analyzed by Ichikawa et al. with the CLUMPY code. Because XCLUMPY adopts the same clump distribution as that in the CLUMPY, we can directly compare the torus parameters obtained from the X-ray spectra and those from the infrared spectra. The torus angular widths determined from the infrared spectra (σ IR) are systematically larger than those from the X-ray data (σ X); the difference ( ) correlates with the inclination angle determined from the X-ray spectrum. These results can be explained by the contribution from dusty polar outflows to the observed infrared flux, which becomes more significant at higher inclinations (more edge-on views). The ratio of the hydrogen column density to the V-band extinction in the line-of-sight absorber shows a large scatter (≃1 dex) around the Galactic value, suggesting that a significant fraction of AGNs have dust-rich circumnuclear environments.