The dark halo technique in the oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and other Flemish and Dutch baroque painters. A 17th c. empirical solution to mitigate the optical ‘simultaneous contrast’ effect?

Although the topic is rarely addressed in literature, a significant number of baroque paintings exhibit dark, halo-like shapes around the contours of the dramatis personae. Close examination of both finished and unfinished works suggests that this intriguing feature was a practical tool that helped the artist in the early painting stages. When applying the final brushwork, the halo lost its function, with some artists undertaking efforts to hide it. Although their visibility might not have been intended by the artists, today this dark paint beneath the surface is partially visible through the upper paint layers. Moreover, the disclosure of many halos using infrared photography (IRP), infrared reflectography (IRR) and macro X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA-XRF), additional to those that can be observed visually, suggests that this was a common and established element of 17th-century painting practice in Western Europe. Building on an existing hypothesis, we argue that halos can be considered as a solution to an optical problem that arose when baroque painters reversed the traditional, 15th- and 16th-century painting sequence of working from background to foreground. Instead, they started with the dominant parts of a composition, such as the face of a sitter. In that case, a temporary halo can provide the essential tonal reference to anticipate the chromatic impact of the final dark colored background on the adjacent delicate carnations. In particular, we attempt to clarify the prevalence of dark halos as a response to optical effects such as ‘simultaneous contrast’ and ‘the crispening effect’, described in literature only centuries later. As such, the recently termed ‘ring condition’ can be seen as the present-day equivalent of the ‘halo solution’ that was seemingly empirically or intuitively developed by 17th-century artists. Modern studies in visual perception proves that by laying a black ring around a target color, the optical impact of a surrounding color can be efficiently neutralized. Finally, by delving into works by Michael Sweerts, it becomes clear that resourceful artists might have adapted the halo technique and the underlying principles to their individual challenges, such as dealing with differently colored grounds.

Halo-independent analysis of direct dark matter detection through electron scattering

Sub-GeV mass dark matter particles whose collisions with nuclei would not deposit sufficient energy to be detected, could instead be revealed through their interaction with electrons. Analyses of data from direct detection experiments usually require assuming a local dark matter halo velocity distribution. In the halo-independent analysis method, properties of this distribution are instead inferred from direct dark matter detection data, which allows then to compare different data without making any assumption on the uncertain local dark halo characteristics. This method has so far been developed for and applied to dark matter scattering off nuclei. Here we demonstrate how this analysis can be applied to scattering off electrons.

Influence of the Nonaxisymmetric Dark Halo Shape on Galaxies Outer Spiral Pattern Morphology

The results of numerical simulations of a gaseous galactic disk rotating in an external nonaxisymmetric potential of a dark halo are presented in the article. Analysis of two models of a nonaxisymmetric dark halo, in which a gaseous galactic disk rotates, has been carried out. In the first case, the halo is nonaxisymmetric within the optical radius of the disk, where the bulk of the visible matter of the galaxy is located, including the stellar disk. The model is ineffective for the external long-lived spiral structure formation in the disk periphery due to the nonaxisymmetry of dark halo. In the second series of calculations, we have employed the model with a symmetric halo inside the optical radius and a non-axisymmetric one outside of it. The results of the simulations confirm that nonaxisymmetry in the halo matter distribution is effectively generating the global spiral pattern at the periphery of the galaxy. One may observe such spiral structures in some galaxies, mainly in the ultraviolet range. Analysis of various model parameters has showed that the value of parameter " is the primary characteristic affecting the morphology of the forming spiral pattern. This value determines the degree of nonaxisymmetry of the halo. The Le parameter introduced in this work and responsible for the formation of small-scale structures in the transition region does not significantly affect the disk periphery. Moreover, the larger the value of Le, the smoother spirals are formed. As it has shown in this work the size of the computational grid does not significantly influence on the simulation results, revealing only small-scale structures which are not the subject of current work.

Comparison of Modeling SPARC spiral galaxies’ rotation curves: halo models vs. MOND

The tension between luminous matter and dynamical matter has long been an interesting and controversial topic in the investigation of galaxies. This is particularly true when we study spiral galaxies for which we have high quality observations of rotation curves. The solutions to the tension are proposed in two different approaches, one is the dark matter hypothesis and the other is MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) theory. When we test the solutions by using observational data of rotation curves, the controversy arises when we apply them to both low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies and high surface brightness (HSB) galaxies. Usually one likes to use the rotation curves of LSB galaxies, since dark matter is needed or the Newtonian acceleration falls below the characteristic acceleration a 0 in most regions of such galaxies, even near their centers. But for HSB galaxies, dark matter is needed or Newtonian acceleration falls below the characteristic acceleration a 0 only in their outer regions so it is helpful to single out HSB galaxies from some large sample to test the solutions. To this end, we employ a sub-sample of the rotation curves consisting of 45 non-bulgy HSB galaxies selected from the Spitzer Photometry and Accurate Rotation Curves (SPARC) database to test two dark halo models (NFW and Burkert) and MOND. We find that, among the three models, the core-dominated Burkert halo model ( χ ν 2 = 1.00 ) provides a better description of the observed data than the NFW model ( χ ν 2 = 1.44 ) or MOND model ( χ ν 2 = 1.87 ). This is not consistent with the most recent numerical simulations, which tend to favor some cuspy density profiles for HSB galaxies. For MOND, when we take a 0 as a free parameter, there is no obvious correlation between a 0 and disk central surface brightness at 3.6 μm of these HSB spiral galaxies, which is in line with the basic assumption of MOND that a 0 should be a universal constant, but is surprisingly not consistent with the results when LSB galaxies are included. Furthermore, our fittings give a 0 an average value of (0.74 ±0.45) ×10−8 cm s−2, which only marginally supports the standard value of a 0 (1.21 ×10−8 cm s−2). Since the standard value of a 0 is strongly supported when both HSB and LSB galaxies are included in the large SPARC sample, we conclude that our slightly smaller value of a 0 cannot be explained by the so called external field effect in MOND theory.

Ultrasound Technologies and the Diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a primary autoimmune vasculitis that specifically affects medium-sized extracranial arteries, like superficial temporal arteries (TAs). The most important data to be considered for the ultrasound (US) diagnosis of temporal arteritis are stenosis, acute occlusions and “dark halo” sign, which represent the edema of the vascular wall. The vessel wall thickening of large vessels in GCA can be recognized by the US, which has high sensitivity and is facile to use. Ocular complications of GCA are common and consist especially of anterior arterial ischemic optic neuropathies or central retinal artery occlusion with sudden, painless, and sharp loss of vision in the affected eye. Color Doppler imaging of the orbital vessels (showing low-end diastolic velocities and a high resistance index) is essential to quickly differentiate the mechanism of ocular involvement (arteritic versus non-arteritic), since the characteristics of TAs on US do not correspond with ocular involvement on GCA. GCA should be cured immediately with systemic corticosteroids to avoid further visual loss of the eyes.

Halo-model Analysis of the Clustering of Photometric Luminous Red Galaxies at 0.10 ≤ z ≤1.05 from the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey

We present the clustering analysis of photometric luminous red galaxies (LRGs) at a redshift range of 0.1 ≤ z ≤ 1.05 using 615,317 photometric LRGs selected from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program, covering ∼124 deg2. Our sample covers a broad range of stellar masses and photometric redshifts and enables a halo occupation distribution analysis to study the redshift and stellar-mass dependence of dark halo properties of LRGs. We find a tight correlation between the characteristic dark halo mass to host central LRGs, M min , and the number density of LRGs, independently of redshifts, indicating that the formation of LRGs is associated with the global environment. The M min of LRGs depends only weakly on the stellar mass M ⋆ at M ⋆ ≲ 1010.75 h −2 M ⊙ at 0.3 < z < 1.05, in contrast to the case for all photometrically selected galaxies, for which M min shows significant dependence on M ⋆ even at low M ⋆. The weak stellar-mass dependence is indicative of the dark halo mass being the key parameter for the formation of LRGs, rather than the stellar mass. Our result suggests that the halo mass of ∼1012.5±0.2 h −1 M ⊙ is the critical mass for an efficient halo quenching due to the halo environment. We compare our result with the result of the hydrodynamical simulation to find that low-mass LRGs at z ∼ 1 will increase their stellar masses by an order of magnitude from z = 1 to 0 through mergers and satellite accretions, and that a large fraction of massive LRGs at z < 0.9 consist of LRGs that recently migrated from massive green valley galaxies or those that evolved from less massive LRGs through mergers and satellite accretions.

The Dark Halo Technique in the Oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and Other Flemish and Dutch Baroque Painters. A 17th C. Empirical Solution to Mitigate the Optical ‘Simultaneous Contrast’ Effect?

Although the topic is rarely addressed in literature, a significant number of baroque paintings exhibit dark, halo-like shapes around the contours of the dramatis personae. Close examination of both finished and unfinished works suggests that this intriguing feature was a practical tool that helped the artist in the early painting stages. When applying the final brushwork, the halo lost its function, with some artists undertaking efforts to hide it. Although their visibility might not have been intended by the artists, today this dark paint beneath the surface is partially visible through the upper paint layers. Moreover, the disclosure of many halos using infrared photography (IRP), infrared reflectography (IRR) and macro X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA- XRF), additional to those that can be observed visually, suggests that this was a common and established element of 17th -century painting practice in Western Europe. Building on an existing hypothesis, we argue that halos can be considered as a solution to an optical problem that arose when baroque painters reversed the traditional, 15th - and 16th -century painting sequence of working from background to foreground. Instead, they started with the dominant parts of a composition, such as the face of a sitter. In that case, a temporary halo can provide the essential tonal reference to anticipate the chromatic impact of the final dark colored background on the adjacent delicate carnations. In particular, we attempt to clarify the prevalence of dark halos as a response to optical effects such as ‘simultaneous contrast’ and ‘the crispening effect’, described in literature only centuries later. As such, the recently termed ‘ring condition’ can be seen as the present-day equivalent of the ‘halo solution’ that was seemingly empirically or intuitively developed by 17th -century artists. Modern optics proves that by laying a black ring around a target color, the optical impact of a surrounding color can be efficiently neutralized. Finally, by delving into works by Michael Sweerts, it becomes clear that resourceful artists might have adapted the halo technique and the underlying principles to their individual challenges, such as dealing with differently colored grounds.

First Report of Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum tabaci on green pepper (Capsicum annuum) in China

Vitamins, capsaicin and capsochrome are abundant in pepper (Capsicum annuum), a fruit that is also used as a spice. During hot and rainy seasons, anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum spp. affects pepper crops and causes significant yield losses in the pre- and post-harvest stages(Liu et al. 2016). Unidentified disease spots were discovered on peppers leaves in a field in Wei yuan (35°8'10" N, 104°12'54" E), Gansu Province, China, in September 2019. The diseases was found to have a 100% incidence in a 0.07-ha area, which drew our attention. The lesions were mostly found in the middle and upper parts of the leaves, and the symptoms mostly showed up as roughly circular patches on the leaves with dark brown, and yellowish center. 18 tissues with a diameter of 1 cm were obtained from the line between healthy and diseased portions. They were sterilized for 45 s in 1% mercuric chloride, then rinsed 5 times in sterile distilled water and dried with sterile filter paper. After 4 days of culture on a plate with a PDA media 5 strains were recovered from the treated tissue. Healthy pepper plants grown in the lab were inoculated with conidia suspension (50 mL, 107 conidia/mL) for pathogenicity while sterile distilled water was used as control. Each treatment had three duplicates. Leaves infected with the BYL strain 16 days later showed obvious symptoms, which were comparable to those found in the field. The control leaves showed no sign of disease. The pathogen was re-isolated from the infected pepper leaves and it had the same features as strain BYL. Koch's postulate was proven correct. The BYL colony started out white, then turned gray-brown with black sclerotia in the center. Conidia were hyaline, smooth, cylindrical, typically straight, with rounded ends, and ranged in size from11.754-16.477(14.587±0.139×2.833-4.220(3.348±0.037) μm. Appressoria solitary or in loose clusters, 6.910-9.078×5.386-7.119 μm in size, medium brown, smooth-walled, ellipsoidal or irregular in form, with noticeable piercing pore with dark halo. The isolate was identified as Colletotrichum species based on the morphological characteristics (Damm et al. 2014).It was then re-identified using multi-molecular analysis. To amplify and sequence of the isolates, the genes ITS, TUB2, CHS1, ACT, GAPDH and HIS3 were employed (Weir et al. 2012, Crous et al. 2004). They were deposited in GenBank (MW581857 for ITS, MW595706 for ACT, MW595707 for CHS1, MW595708 for GAPDH, MW595709 for HIS3, and MW595710 for TUB2). The sequence of ITS, ACT, CHS1, and HIS3 in GenBank were found to be 100% identical to those of Colletotrichum tabaci (JQ005763 for ITS, KM105414 for ACT, JQ005784 for CHS1 and KM105346 for HIS3). The primers GAPDH and TUB2 amplified a gene sequence that was 99% identical to Colletotrichum tabaci in GenBank (KM105559 for GAPDH and JQ005847 for TUB2). Based on appearance and sequencing analysis, the isolate was identified as Colletotrichum tabaci. The optimal light condition for BYL growth was 12 h light/12 h dark cycle, temperature 30 o C, pH 8, sucrose as carbon source, and yeast extract as nitrogen source according to the biological features. Colletotrichum tabaci caused anthracnose in peppers in the field. This is the first report of Colletotrichum tabaci causing anthracnose in peppers in China that we are aware of.

Supermassive Black Holes from Bose-Einstein Condensed Dark Matter—Or Black and Dark Separation by Angular Momentum

Many supermassive black holes (SMBH) of mass 106∼9M⊙ are observed at the center of each galaxy even in the high redshift (z≈7) Universe. To explain the early formation and the common existence of SMBH, we previously proposed the SMBH formation scenario by the gravitational collapse of the coherent dark matter (DM) composed from the Bose-Einstein Condensed (BEC) objects. A difficult problem in this scenario is the inevitable angular momentum which prevents the collapse of BEC. To overcome this difficulty, in this paper, we consider the very early Universe when the BEC-DM acquires its proper angular momentum by the tidal torque mechanism. The balance of the density evolution and the acquisition of the angular momentum determines the mass of the SMBH as well as the mass ratio of BH and the surrounding dark halo (DH). This ratio is calculated as MBH/MDH≈10−3∼−5(Mtot/1012M⊙)−1/2 assuming simple density profiles of the initial DM cloud. This result turns out to be consistent with the observations at z≈0 and z≈6, although the data scatter is large. Thus, the angular momentum determines the separation of black and dark, i.e., SMBH and DH, in the original DM cloud.