Neutron star interiors provide the opportunity to probe properties of cold dense matter in the QCD phase diagram. Utilizing models of dense matter in accord with nuclear systematics at nuclear densities, we investigate the compatibility of deconfined quark cores with current observational constraints on the maximum mass and tidal deformability of neutron stars. We explore various methods of implementing the hadron-to-quark phase transition, specifically, first-order transitions with sharp (Maxwell construction) and soft (Gibbs construction) interfaces, and smooth crossover transitions. We find that within the models we apply, hadronic matter has to be stiff for a first-order phase transition and soft for a crossover transition. In both scenarios and for the equations of state we employed, quarks appear at the center of pre-merger neutron stars in the mass range ≈ 1.0 − 1.6 M , with a squared speed of sound c 2 QM 0.4 characteristic of strong repulsive interactions required to support the recently discovered neutron star masses ≥ 2 M . We also identify equations of state and phase transition scenarios that are consistent with the bounds placed on tidal deformations of neutron stars in the recent binary merger event GW170817. We emphasize that distinguishing hybrid stars with quark cores from normal hadronic stars is very difficult from the knowledge of masses and radii alone, unless drastic sharp transitions induce distinctive disconnected hybrid branches in the mass-radius relation.

In simulations of binary neutron star mergers, the dense matter equation of state (EOS) is required over wide ranges of density and temperature as well as under conditions in which neutrinos are trapped, and the effects of magnetic fields and rotation prevail. Here we assess the status of dense matter theory and point out the successes and limitations of approaches currently in use. A comparative study of the excluded volume (EV) and virial approaches for the npα system using the equation of state of Akmal, Pandharipande and Ravenhall for interacting nucleons is presented in the sub-nuclear density regime. Owing to the excluded volume of the α-particles, their mass fraction vanishes in the EV approach below the baryon density 0.1 fm −3 , whereas it continues to rise due to the predominantly attractive interactions in the virial approach. The EV approach of Lattimer et al. is extended here to include clusters of light nuclei such as d, 3 H and 3 He in addition to α-particles. Results of the relevant state variables from this development are presented and enable comparisons with related but slightly different approaches in the literature. We also comment on some of the sweet and sour aspects of the supra-nuclear EOS. The extent to which the neutron star gravitational and baryon masses vary due to thermal effects, neutrino trapping, magnetic fields and rotation are summarized from earlier studies in which the effects from each of these sources were considered separately. Increases of about 20%( 50%) occur for rigid (differential) rotation with comparable increases occurring in the presence of magnetic fields only for fields in excess of 10 18 Gauss. Comparatively smaller changes occur due to thermal effects and neutrino trapping. Some future studies to gain further insight into the outcome of dynamical simulations are suggested. PACS. 26.60.-c Nuclear matter aspects of neutron stars -26.60.Kp Equations of state of neutron-star matter -97.60.-s Late stages of stellar evolution (including black holes) -97.80.-d Binary and multiple stars arXiv:1809.08126v2 [astro-ph.HE]

Autophagy-related 8 (ATG8) protein has been reported to be involved in plant’s innate immune response, but it is not clear whether such genes play a similar role in cereal crops against obligate biotrophic fungal pathogens. Here, we reported an ATG8 gene from wheat (Triticum aestivum), designated TaATG8j. This gene has three copies located in chromosomes 2AS, 2BS, and 2DS. The transcriptions of all three copies were upregulated in plants of the wheat cultivar Suwon 11, inoculated with an avirulent race (CYR23) of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the causal fungal pathogen of stripe rust. The transient expression of TaATG8j in Nicotiana benthamiana showed that TaATG8j proteins were distributed throughout the cytoplasm, but mainly in the nucleus and plasma membrane. The overexpression of TaATG8j in N. benthamiana slightly delayed the cell death caused by the mouse apoptotic protein BAX (BCL2-associated X protein). However, the expression of TaATG8j in yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) induced cell death. The virus-induced gene silencing of all TaATG8j copies rendered Suwon 11 susceptible to the avirulent Pst race CYR23, accompanied by an increased fungal biomass and a decreased necrotic area per infection site. These results indicate that TaATG8j contributes to wheat resistance against stripe rust fungus by regulating cell death, providing information for the understanding of the mechanisms of wheat resistance to the stripe rust pathogen.

Exploiting the similarity between the bunched single-particle energy levels of nuclei and of random distributions around the Fermi surface, pairing properties of the latter are calculated to establish statistically-based bounds on the basic characteristics of the pairing phenomenon. When the most probable values for the pairing gaps germane to the BCS formalism are used to calculate thermodynamic quantities, we find that while the ratio of the critical temperature Tc to the zero-temperature pairing gap is close to its BCS Fermi gas value, the ratio of the superfluid to the normal phase specific heats at Tc differs significantly from its Fermi gas counterpart. The largest deviations occur when a few levels lie closely on either side of the Fermi energy but other levels are far away from it. The influence of thermal fluctuations, expected to be large for systems of finite number of particles, were also investigated using a semiclassical treatment of fluctuations. When the average pairing gaps along with those differing by one standard deviations are used, the characteristic discontinuity of the specific heat at Tc in the BCS formalism was transformed to a shoulder-like structure indicating the suppression of a second order phase transition as experimentally observed in nano-particles and several nuclei. Contrasting semiclassical and quantum treatments of fluctuations for the random spacing model is currently underway. I.arXiv:1705.09351v2 [nucl-th]