Conservative and disruptive modes of adolescent change in human brain functional connectivity

Adolescent changes in human brain function are not entirely understood. Here, we used multiecho functional MRI (fMRI) to measure developmental change in functional connectivity (FC) of resting-state oscillations between pairs of 330 cortical regions and 16 subcortical regions in 298 healthy adolescents scanned 520 times. Participants were aged 14 to 26 y and were scanned on 1 to 3 occasions at least 6 mo apart. We found 2 distinct modes of age-related change in FC: “conservative” and “disruptive.” Conservative development was characteristic of primary cortex, which was strongly connected at 14 y and became even more connected in the period from 14 to 26 y. Disruptive development was characteristic of association cortex and subcortical regions, where connectivity was remodeled: connections that were weak at 14 y became stronger during adolescence, and connections that were strong at 14 y became weaker. These modes of development were quantified using the maturational index (MI), estimated as Spearman’s correlation between edgewise baseline FC (at 14 y, FC14) and adolescent change in FC (ΔFC14−26), at each region. Disruptive systems (with negative MI) were activated by social cognition and autobiographical memory tasks in prior fMRI data and significantly colocated with prior maps of aerobic glycolysis (AG), AG-related gene expression, postnatal cortical surface expansion, and adolescent shrinkage of cortical thickness. The presence of these 2 modes of development was robust to numerous sensitivity analyses. We conclude that human brain organization is disrupted during adolescence by remodeling of FC between association cortical and subcortical areas

UNCOVER: The Growth of the First Massive Black Holes from JWST/NIRSpec—Spectroscopic Redshift Confirmation of an X-Ray Luminous AGN at z = 10.1

The James Webb Space Telescope is now detecting early black holes (BHs) as they transition from seeds to supermassive BHs. Recently, Bogdan et al. reported the detection of an X-ray luminous supermassive BH, UHZ-1, with a photometric redshift at z \u3e 10. Such an extreme source at this very high redshift provides new insights on seeding and growth models for BHs given the short time available for formation and growth. Harnessing the exquisite sensitivity of JWST/NIRSpec, here we report the spectroscopic confirmation of UHZ-1 at z = 10.073 ± 0.002. We find that the NIRSpec/Prism spectrum is typical of recently discovered z ≈ 10 galaxies, characterized primarily by star formation features. We see no clear evidence of the powerful X-ray source in the rest-frame UV/optical spectrum, which may suggest heavy obscuration of the central BH, in line with the Compton-thick column density measured in the X-rays. We perform a stellar population fit simultaneously to the new NIRSpec spectroscopy and previously available photometry. The fit yields a stellar-mass estimate for the host galaxy that is significantly better constrained than prior photometric estimates (�⋆∼1.4−0.4+0.3×108M⊙). Given the predicted BH mass (MBH ∼ 107–108M⊙), the resulting ratio of MBH/M⋆ remains 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than local values, thus lending support to the heavy seeding channel for the formation of supermassive BHs within the first billion years of cosmic evolution

UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z \u3e 12 Galaxies

Observations of high-redshift galaxies provide a critical direct test to the theories of early galaxy formation, yet to date, only three have been spectroscopically confirmed at z \u3e 12. Due to strong gravitational lensing over a wide area, the galaxy cluster field A2744 is ideal for searching for the earliest galaxies. Here we present JWST/NIRSpec observations of two galaxies: a robust detection at zspec 12.393 0.001 0.004 = - + , and a plausible candidate at zspec 13.079 0.001 0.013 = - + . The galaxies are discovered in JWST/NIRCam imaging and their distances are inferred with JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy, all from the JWST Cycle 1 UNCOVER Treasury survey. Detailed stellar population modeling using JWST NIRCam and NIRSpec data corroborates the primeval characteristics of these galaxies: low mass (∼108 Me), young, rapidly assembling, metal-poor, and star-forming. Interestingly, both galaxies are spatially resolved, having lensing-corrected rest-UV effective radii on the order of 300–400 pc, which are notably larger than other spectroscopically confirmed systems at similar redshifts. The observed dynamic range of z 10 sizes spans over 1 order of magnitude, implying a significant scatter in the size–mass relation at early times. Deep into the epoch of reionization, these discoveries elucidate the emergence of the first galaxies

UNCOVER Spectroscopy Confirms the Surprising Ubiquity of Active Galactic Nuclei in Red Sources at z \u3e 5

The James Webb Space Telescope is revealing a new population of dust-reddened broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGN) at redshifts z ≳ 5. Here we present deep NIRSpec/Prism spectroscopy from the Cycle 1 Treasury program Ultradeep NIRSpec and NIRCam ObserVations before the Epoch of Reionization (UNCOVER) of 15 AGN candidates selected to be compact, with red continua in the rest-frame optical but with blue slopes in the UV. From NIRCam photometry alone, they could have been dominated by dusty star formation or an AGN. Here we show that the majority of the compact red sources in UNCOVER are dust-reddened AGN: 60% show definitive evidence for broad-line Hα with a FWHM \u3e 2000 km s −1, 20% of the current data are inconclusive, and 20% are brown dwarf stars. We propose an updated photometric criterion to select red z \u3e 5 AGN that excludes brown dwarfs and is expected to yield \u3e80% AGN. Remarkably, among all zphot \u3e 5 galaxies with F277W – F444W \u3e 1 in UNCOVER at least 33% are AGN regardless of compactness, climbing to at least 80% AGN for sources with F277W – F444W \u3e 1.6. The confirmed AGN have black hole masses of 107–109M⊙. While their UV luminosities (−16 \u3e MUV \u3e −20 AB mag) are low compared to UV-selected AGN at these epochs, consistent with percent-level scattered AGN light or low levels of unobscured star formation, the inferred bolometric luminosities are typical of 107–109M⊙ black holes radiating at ∼10%–40% the Eddington limit. The number densities are surprisingly high at ∼10−5 Mpc−3 mag−1, 100 times more common than the faintest UV-selected quasars, while accounting for ∼1% of the UV-selected galaxies. While their UV faintness suggests they may not contribute strongly to reionization, their ubiquity poses challenges to models of black hole growth

Heavy-quark production and elliptic flow in Au plus Au collisions at root(NN)-N-S=62.4 GeV

We present measurements of electrons and positrons from the semileptonic decays of heavy-flavor hadrons at midrapidity (vertical bar gamma vertical bar \u3c 0.35) in Au + Au collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 62.4 GeV. The data were collected in 2010 by the PHENIX experiment that included the new hadron-blind detector. The invariant yield of electrons from heavy-flavor decays is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 1 \u3c p(T)(e) \u3c 5 GeV/c. The invariant yield per binary collision is slightly enhanced above the p + p reference in Au + Au 0%-20%, 20%-40%, and 40%-60% centralities at a comparable level. At this low beam energy this may be a result of the interplay between initial-state Cronin effects, final-state flow, and energy loss in medium. The v(2) of electrons from heavy-flavor decays is nonzero when averaged between 1.3 \u3c p(T)(e) \u3c 2.5 GeV/c for 0%-40% centrality collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 62.4 GeV. For 20%-40% centrality collisions, the v(2) at root(NN)-N-S = 62.4 GeV is smaller than that for heavy-flavor decays at root(NN)-N-S = 200 GeV. The v2 of the electrons from heavy-flavor decay at the lower beam energy is also smaller than v(2) for pions. Both results indicate that the heavy quarks interact with the medium formed in these collisions, but they may not be at the same level of thermalization with the medium as observed at root(NN)-N-S = 200 GeV

Centrality dependence of low-momentum direct-photon production in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured the centrality dependence of the direct photon yield from Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV down to pT = 0.4 GeV/c. Photons are detected via photon conversions to e(+)e(-) pairs and an improved technique is applied that minimizes the systematic uncertainties that usually limit direct photon measurements, in particular at low pT. We find an excess of direct photons above the N-coll-scaled yield measured in p + p collisions. This excess yield is well described by an exponential distribution with an inverse slope of about 240 MeV/c in the pT range 0.6-2.0 GeV/c. While the shape of the pT distribution is independent of centrality within the experimental uncertainties, the yield increases rapidly with increasing centrality, scaling approximately with N-part(alpha), where alpha = 1.38 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.07(syst)

Measurement of gamma(1S+2S+3S) production in p plus p and Au plus Au collisions at root sNN=200 GeV

Measurements of bottomonium production in heavy-ion and p + p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are presented. The inclusive yield of the three states, (1S + 2S + 3S), was measured in the PHENIX experiment via electron-positron decay pairs at midrapidity for Au + Au and p + p collisions at root sNN = 200 GeV. The (1S + 2S + 3S) -\u3e e(+)e(-) differential cross section at midrapidity was found to be B(ee)d sigma/dy = 108 +/- 38 (stat) +/- 15 (syst) +/- 11 (luminosity) pb in p + p collisions. The nuclear modification factor in the 30% most central Au + Au collisions indicates a suppression of the total. state yield relative to the extrapolation from p + p collision data. The suppression is consistent with measurements made by STAR at RHIC and at higher energies by the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider

Measurements of double-helicity asymmetries in inclusive J/Psi production in longitudinally polarized p plus p collisions at root s=510 GeV

We report the double-helicity asymmetry, A(LL)(J/Psi), in inclusive J/Psi production at forward rapidity as a function of transverse momentum p(T) and rapidity |y|. The data analyzed were taken during root s = 510 GeV longitudinally polarized p + p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in the 2013 run using the PHENIX detector. At this collision energy, J/Psi particles are predominantly produced through gluon-gluon scatterings, thus A(LL)(J/Psi) is sensitive to the gluon polarization inside the proton. We measured A(LL)(J/Psi) by detecting the decay daughter muon pairs mu(+)mu(-) within the PHENIX muon spectrometers in the rapidity range 1.2 \u3c |y| \u3c 2.2. In this kinematic range, we measured the A(LL)(J/Psi) to be 0.012 +/- 0.010 (stat) +/- 0.003 (syst). The A(LL)(J.Psi) can be expressed to be proportional to the product of the gluon polarization distributions at two distinct ranges of Bjorken x: one at moderate range x approximate to 5 x 10(-2) where recent data of jet and pi(0) double helicity spin asymmetries have shown evidence for significant gluon polarization, and the other one covering the poorly known small-x region x approximate to 2 x 10(-3). Thus our new results could be used to further constrain the gluon polarization for x \u3c 5 x 10(-2)

Forward J/psi production in U plus U collisions at root S-NN=193 GeV

The invariant yields, dN/dy, for J/psi production at forward rapidity (1.2 \u3c vertical bar y vertical bar \u3c 2.2) in U + U collisions at root S-NN = 193 GeV have been measured as a function of collision centrality. The invariant yields and nuclear-modification factor R-AA are presented and compared with those from Au + Au collisions in the same rapidity range. Additionally, the direct ratio of the invariant yields from U + U and Au + Au collisions within the same centrality class is presented, and used to investigate the role of c (c) over bar coalescence. Two different parametrizations of the deformed Woods-Saxon distribution were used in Glauber calculations to determine the values of the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions in each centrality class, N-coll, and these were found to give significantly different Ncoll values. Results using N-coll values from both deformed Woods-Saxon distributions are presented. The measured ratios show that the J/psi suppression, relative to binary collision scaling, is similar in U + U and Au + Au for peripheral and midcentral collisions, but that J/psi show less suppression for the most central U + U collisions. The results are consistent with a picture in which, for central collisions, increase in the J/psi yield due to c (c) over bar coalescence becomes more important than the decrease in yield due to increased energy density. For midcentral collisions, the conclusions about the balance between c (c) over bar coalescence and suppression depend on which deformed Woods-Saxon distribution is used to determine N-coll

Inclusive cross section and double-helicity asymmetry for pi(0) production at midrapidity in p plus p collisions at root s=510 GeV

PHENIX measurements are presented for the cross section and double-helicity asymmetry (A(LL)) in inclusive pi(0) production at midrapidity from p + p collisions at root s = 510 GeV from data taken in 2012 and 2013 at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The next-to-leading-order perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics theory calculation is in excellent agreement with the presented cross section results. The calculation utilized parton-to-pion fragmentation functions from the recent DSS14 global analysis, which prefer a smaller gluon-to-pion fragmentation function. The pi(0)A(LL) results follow an increasingly positive asymmetry trend with p(T) and root s with respect to the predictions and are in excellent agreement with the latest global analysis results. This analysis incorporated earlier results on pi(0) and jet A(LL) and suggested a positive contribution of gluon polarization to the spin of the proton Delta G for the gluon momentum fraction range x \u3e 0.05. The data presented here extend to a currently unexplored region, down to x similar to 0.01, and thus provide additional constraints on the value of Delta G