Is Silence Really Golden - Assumption and Assignment of Intellectual Property Licenses in Bankruptcy

A debtor-licensee often desires to assume or assume and assign intellectual property licenses to which it is a party-an action to which the non-debtor licensor may object. This article examines a debtor-licensee\u27s ability to assume and assign such licenses in the context of bankruptcy. Courts that have considered the issue have held that, notwithstanding the general authority granted under 11 U.S.C. § 365, consent is likely required before a debtor-licensee can assume and assign a non-exclusive patent license, copyright license, or a trademark license if any such license contains an express restriction on assignment or is silent on the issue. But it remains unsettled whether consent is needed to assume and assign an exclusive patent license, copyright license, or trademark license that either restricts assignment or is silent on the issue. This Article provides a review and analysis of the current state of the relevant case law and further attempts to predict how courts might decide the unsettled issues in a matter consistent with intellectual property law principles

Correction: AGAPE (Automated Genome Analysis PipelinE) for Pan-Genome Analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The characterization and public release of genome sequences from thousands of organisms is expanding the scope for genetic variation studies. However, understanding the phenotypic consequences of genetic variation remains a challenge in eukaryotes due to the complexity of the genotype-phenotype map. One approach to this is the intensive study of model systems for which diverse sources of information can be accumulated and integrated. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an extensively studied model organism, with well-known protein functions and thoroughly curated phenotype data. To develop and expand the available resources linking genomic variation with function in yeast, we aim to model the pan-genome of S. cerevisiae. To initiate the yeast pan-genome, we newly sequenced or re-sequenced the genomes of 25 strains that are commonly used in the yeast research community using advanced sequencing technology at high quality. We also developed a pipeline for automated pan-genome analysis, which integrates the steps of assembly, annotation, and variation calling. To assign strain-specific functional annotations, we identified genes that were not present in the reference genome. We classified these according to their presence or absence across strains and characterized each group of genes with known functional and phenotypic features. The functional roles of novel genes not found in the reference genome and associated with strains or groups of strains appear to be consistent with anticipated adaptations in specific lineages. As more S. cerevisiae strain genomes are released, our analysis can be used to collate genome data and relate it to lineage-specific patterns of genome evolution. Our new tool set will enhance our understanding of genomic and functional evolution in S. cerevisiae, and will be available to the yeast genetics and molecular biology community

Parsec-scale properties of the radio brightest jetted AGN at z > 6

We present Director's Discretionary Time multi-frequency observations obtained with the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) of the blazar PSO J030947.49+271757.31 (hereafter PSO J0309+27) at $z = 6.10\pm0.03$. The milliarcsecond angular resolution of our VLBA observations at 1.5, 5 and 8.4 GHz unveils a bright one-sided jet extended for $\sim500$ parsecs in projection. This high-z radio-loud AGN is resolved into multiple compact sub-components, embedded in a more diffuse and faint radio emission, which enshrouds them in a continuous jet structure. We derive limits on some physical parameters directly from the observable quantities, such as viewing angle, Lorentz and Doppler factors. If PSO J0309+27 is a genuine blazar, as suggested by its X-ray properties, then we find that its bulk Lorentz factor must be relatively low (less than 5). Such value would be in favour of a scenario currently proposed to reconcile the paucity of high-z blazars with respect to current predictions. Nevertheless, we cannot exclude that PSO J0309+27 is seen under a larger viewing angle, which would imply that the X-ray emission must be enhanced, for example, by inverse Compton with the Cosmic Microwave Background. More stringent constraints on the bulk Lorentz factor in PSO J0309+27 and the other high-z blazars are necessary to test whether their properties are intrinsically different with respect to the low-z blazar population.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter

A powerful (and likely young) radio-loud quasar at z=5.3

We present the discovery of PSO J191.05696$+$86.43172 (hereafter PSO J191$+$86), a new powerful radio-loud quasar (QSO) in the early Universe (z = 5.32). We discovered it by cross-matching the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) radio catalog at 1.4 GHz with the first data release of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS PS1) in the optical. With a NVSS flux density of 74.2 mJy, PSO J191$+$86 is one of the brightest radio QSO discovered at z$\sim$5. The intensity of its radio emission is also confirmed by the very high value of radio loudness (R>300). The observed radio spectrum of PSO J191$+$86 shows a possible turnover around $\sim$1 GHz (i.e., $\sim$6 GHz in the rest frame), making it a Gigahertz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) source. However, variability could affect the real shape of the radio spectrum, since the data in hand have been taken $\sim$25 years apart. By assuming a peak of the observed radio spectrum between 1 and 2 GHz (i.e. $\sim$ 6 and 13 GHz in the rest-frame) we found a linear size of the source of $\sim$10-30 pc and a corresponding kinetic age of 150-460 yr. This would make PSO J191$+$86 a newly born radio source. However, the large X-ray luminosity (5.3$\times$10$^{45}$ erg s$^{-1}$), the flat X-ray photon index ($\Gamma_X$=1.32) and the optical-X-ray spectral index ($\tilde{\alpha_{ox}}$=1.329) are typical of blazars. This could indicate that the non-thermal emission of PSO J191$+$86 is Doppler boosted. Further radio observations (both on arcsec and parsec scales) are necessary to better investigate the nature of this powerful radio QSO.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, Accepted for publication in A&

Obscuration in high redshift jetted QSO

Obscuration in high-redshift quasi-stellar objects (QSO) has a profound impact on our understanding of the evolution of supermassive black holes across the cosmic time. An accurate quantification of its relevance is therefore mandatory. We present a study aimed at evaluating the importance of obscuration in high redshift jetted QSO, i.e. those active nuclei characterized by the presence of powerful relativistic jets. We compare the observed number of radio detected QSO at different radio flux density limits with the value predicted by the beaming model on the basis of the number of oriented sources (blazars). Any significant deficit of radio-detected QSO compared to the predictions can be caused by the presence of obscuration along large angles from the jet direction. We apply this method to two sizable samples characterized by the same optical limit (mag=21) but significantly different radio density limits (30 mJy and 1 mJy respectively) and containing a total of 87 independent radio-loud 4<z<6.8 QSO, 31 of which classified as blazars. We find a general good agreement between the numbers predicted by the model and those actually observed, with only a marginal discrepancy at 0.5 mJy that could be caused by the lack of completeness of the sample. We conclude that we have no evidence of obscuration within angles 10-20deg from the relativistic jet direction. We also show how the ongoing deep wide-angle radio surveys will be instrumental to test the presence of obscuration at much larger angles, up to 30-35deg. We finally suggest that, depending on the actual fraction of obscured QSO, relativistic jets could be much more common at high redshifts compared to what is usually observed in the local UniverseComment: 14 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication on A&

Jetted Subgalactic-Size Radio Sources in Merging Galaxies -- A Jet Redirection Scenario

The long-standing question concerning Jetted Sub-Galactic Size (JSS) radio sources is whether they will evolve into large radio galaxies, die before escaping the host galaxy, or remain indefinitely confined to their compact size. Our main goal is to propose a scenario that explains the relative number of JSS radio sources and their general properties. We studied the parsec-scale radio morphology of a complete sample of 21 objects using Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at various frequencies and analyzed the morphological characteristics of their optical hosts. Many of these radio sources exhibit radio morphologies consistent with transverse motions of their bright edges and are located in dynamically disturbed galaxies. VLBI images provide evidence for large-angle, short-period precessing jets, and the orbital motion of the radio-loud AGN in a dual or binary system. The majority of JSS radio sources are in systems in different stages of their merging evolution. We propose a scenario where the rapid jet redirection, through precession or orbital motion, prevents the jet from penetrating the interstellar medium (ISM) sufficiently to escape the host galaxy. Most JSS radio sources remain compact due to their occurrence in merging galaxiesComment: 34 pages, 24 figures, 3 tables, submitted to A&

The first blazar observed at z>6

We present the discovery of PSO J030947.49+271757.31, the radio brightest (23.7 mJy at 1.4 GHz) active galactic nucleus (AGN) at z&gt;6.0. It was selected by cross-matching the NRAO VLA Sky Survey and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System PS1 databases and its high-z nature was confirmed by a dedicated spectroscopic observation at the Large Binocular Telescope. A pointed Neil Gehrels S wi f t Observatory XRT observation allowed us to measure a flux of 3c3.4 710 1214 erg s 121 cm 122 in the [0.5-10] keV energy band, which also makes this object the X-ray brightest AGN ever observed at z&gt;6.0. Its flat radio spectrum (\u3b1\u3bdr&lt;0.5), very high radio loudness (R&gt;103), and strong X-ray emission, compared to the optical, support the hypothesis of the blazar nature of this source. Assuming that this is the only blazar at this redshift in the surveyed area of sky, we derive a space density of blazars at z 3c6 and with M1450\uc5 &lt; -21.5 of 5.5+11.2 124.6 710 123 Gpc 123. From this number, and assuming a reasonable value of the bulk velocity of the jet (\u393=10), we can also infer a space density of the entire radio-loud AGN population at z 3c6 with the same optical/UV absolute magnitude of 1.10+2.53 120.91 Gpc 123. Larger samples of blazars will be necessary to better constrain these estimates

No strong radio absorption detected in the low-frequency spectra of radio-loud quasars at z > 5.6

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/We present the low-frequency radio spectra of 9 high-redshift quasars at $5.6 \leq z \leq 6.6$ using the Giant Metre Radio Telescope band-3, -4, and -5 observations ($\sim$300-1200 MHz), archival Low Frequency Array (LOFAR; 144 MHz), and Very Large Array (VLA; 1.4 and 3 GHz) data. Five of the quasars in our sample have been discovered recently, representing some of the highest redshift radio bright quasars known at low-frequencies. We model their radio spectra to study their radio emission mechanism and age of the radio jets by constraining the spectral turnover caused by synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) or free-free absorption (FFA). Besides J0309+2717, a blazar at $z=6.1$, our quasars show no sign of a spectral flattening between 144 MHz and a few GHz, indicating there is no strong SSA or FFA absorption in the observed frequency range. However, we find a wide range of spectral indices between $-1.6$ and $0.05$, including the discovery of 3 potential ultra-steep spectrum quasars. Using further archival VLBA data, we confirm that the radio SED of the blazar J0309+2717 likely turns over at a rest-frame frequency of 0.6-2.3 GHz (90-330 MHz observed frame), with a high-frequency break indicative of radiative ageing of the electron population in the radio lobes. Ultra-low frequency data below 50 MHz are necessary to constrain the absorption mechanism for J0309+2717 and the turnover frequencies for the other high-$z$ quasars in our sample. A relation between linear radio jet size and turnover frequency has been established at low redshifts. If this relation were to hold at high redshifts, the limits on the turnover frequency of our sample suggest the radio jet sizes must be more extended than the typical sizes observed in other radio-bright quasars at similar redshift. To confirm this deep radio follow-up observations with high spatial resolution are required.Peer reviewe

The rocky road to quiescence: compaction and quenching of quasar host galaxies at z ∼ 2

We resolve the host galaxies of seven gravitationally lensed quasars at redshift 1.5 to 2.8 using observations with the Atacama Large (sub-)Millimetre Array. Using a visibility-plane lens modelling technique, we create pixellated reconstructions of the dust morphology, and CO line morphology and kinematics. We find that the quasar hosts in our sample can be distinguished into two types: 1) galaxies characterised by clumpy, extended dust distributions ($R_{\rm eff}\sim2$ kpc) and mean star formation rate surface densities comparable to sub-mm-selected dusty star-forming galaxies ($\Sigma_{\rm SFR}\sim3$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$); 2) galaxies that have sizes in dust emission similar to coeval passive galaxies and compact starbursts ($R_{\rm eff}\sim0.5$ kpc), with high mean star formation rate surface densities ($\Sigma_{\rm SFR}=$ 400$-$4500 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$) that may be Eddington-limited or super-Eddington. The small size of some quasar hosts suggests that we observe them at a stage in their transformation into compact spheroids, where a high density of dynamically unstable gas leads to efficient star formation and black hole accretion. For the one system where we probe the mass of the gas reservoir, we find a gas fraction of just $0.06 \pm 0.04$ and a depletion timescale of $50 \pm 40$ Myr, suggesting it is transitioning into quiescence. In general, we expect that the extreme level of star formation in the compact quasar host galaxies will rapidly exhaust their gas reservoirs and could quench with or without help from active galactic nuclei feedback.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS; 22 page