Acceleration and transport of relativistic electrons in the jets of the microquasar SS 433

SS 433 is a microquasar, a stellar binary system that launches collimated relativistic jets. We observed SS 433 in gamma rays using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) and found an energy-dependent shift in the apparent position of the gamma-ray emission from the parsec-scale jets. These observations trace the energetic electron population and indicate that inverse Compton scattering is the emission mechanism of the gamma rays. Our modeling of the energy-dependent gamma-ray morphology constrains the location of particle acceleration and requires an abrupt deceleration of the jet flow. We infer the presence of shocks on either side of the binary system, at distances of 25 to 30 parsecs, and that self-collimation of the precessing jets forms the shocks, which then efficiently accelerate electrons.

Search for Dark Matter Annihilation Signals in the H.E.S.S. Inner Galaxy Survey

The central region of the Milky Way is one of the foremost locations to look for dark matter (DM) signatures. We report the first results on a search for DM particle annihilation signals using new observations from an unprecedented γ-ray survey of the Galactic Center (GC) region, i.e., the Inner Galaxy Survey, at very high energies (≳100  GeV) performed with the H.E.S.S. array of five ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. No significant γ-ray excess is found in the search region of the 2014-2020 dataset and a profile likelihood ratio analysis is carried out to set exclusion limits on the annihilation cross section ⟨σv⟩. Assuming Einasto and Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) DM density profiles at the GC, these constraints are the strongest obtained so far in the TeV DM mass range. For the Einasto profile, the constraints reach ⟨σv⟩ values of 3.7×10^{-26}  cm^{3} s^{-1} for 1.5 TeV DM mass in the W^{+}W^{-} annihilation channel, and 1.2×10^{-26}  cm^{3} s^{-1} for 0.7 TeV DM mass in the τ^{+}τ^{-} annihilation channel. With the H.E.S.S. Inner Galaxy Survey, ground-based γ-ray observations thus probe ⟨σv⟩ values expected from thermal-relic annihilating TeV DM particles.

Time-resolved hadronic particle acceleration in the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi

Recurrent novae are repeating thermonuclear explosions in the outer layers of white dwarfs, due to the accretion of fresh material from a binary companion. The shock generated when ejected material slams into the companion star's wind can accelerate particles. We report very-high-energy (VHE, [Formula: see text]) gamma rays from the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi, up to a month after its 2021 outburst, observed using the High Energy Stereoscopic System. The VHE emission has a similar temporal profile to lower-energy GeV emission, indicating a common origin, with a two-day delay in peak flux. These observations constrain models of time-dependent particle energization, favoring a hadronic emission scenario over the leptonic alternative. Shocks in dense winds provide favorable environments for efficient acceleration of cosmic-rays to very high energies.

Alterations in the visual cortex receptor pattern by operant conditioning in a reward paradigm

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of operant conditioning on the receptor pattern in the visual cortex of calves. A reward paradigm was used to induce conditioned preference for colours. Binding sites in visual cortex specimens from conditioned and naive animals were assayed in vitro on cellular basis after dissociation of the tissue by collagenase, incubation with fluorescent ligands and flow-cytometry for fluorescence analysis. The cellular counts were subdivided according to sedimentation at 200 g as well as via the flow-cytometrical histogram by size and granularity. Binding sites of dopamine D1 and D2 receptor subtypes, glucocorticoids, opioids, casein as well as glycine and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) were detected by fluorescent molecular probes. In displacing naloxone fluorescein from NMDA- and mu-opioid receptors NMDA and meth-enkephalin were used. Comparisons between portions of fluorescent cellular counts from visual cortex tissue of conditioned and naive animals revealed a small increase (1.2-fold, P < 0.05) in opioid receptors of large and high granulated counts, bearing > 80% D1 receptors, and a decrease (0.70-fold, P < 0.05) in less granulated counts with variable portion of D1 receptors. Conditioning resulted in higher and lower displacing rates by meth-enkephalin and NMDA, resp., and in a reduce in counts with dopamine D1 (0.8-fold, P < 0.05), glycine and glucocorticoid binding sites (0.6-fold in both cases, P < 0.01). A tendency of elevated phagocyte marker expression occurred in high granulated counts. The data suggest that conditioning is accompanied with significant and in part marked change in binding sites studied. Induction of scavenger activity may parallel this process. As cellular portion with glycine and glucocorticoid receptors were most markedly altered by conditioning, the neurochemical needs of the used paradigm seem to focus to motility-related functions.