2,697 research outputs found
Spirals in protoplanetary disks from photon travel time
Spiral structures are a common feature in scattered-light images of
protoplanetary disks, and of great interest as possible tracers of the presence
of planets. However, other mechanisms have been put foward to explain them,
including self-gravity, disk-envelope interactions, and dead zone boundaries.
These mechanisms explain many spirals very well, but are unable to easily
account for very loosely wound spirals and single spiral arms. We study the
effect of light travel time on the shape of a shadow cast by a clump orbiting
close (within au) of the central star, where there can be
significant orbital motion during the light travel time from the clump to the
outer disk and then to the sky plane. This delay in light rays reaching the sky
plane gives rise to a variety of spiral- and arc-shaped shadows, which we
describe with a general fitting formula for a flared, inclined disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters. Videos available at
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3526708/spiralmovies.zi
Cosmic Rays Induced Background Radiation on Board of Commercial Flights
The aim of this work is to determine the total integrated flux of cosmic
radiation which a commercial aircraft is exposed to along specific flight
trajectories. To study the radiation background during a flight and its
modulation by effects such as altitude, latitude, exposure time and transient
magnetospheric events, we perform simulations based on Magnetocosmics and
CORSIKA codes, the former designed to calculate the geomagnetic effects on
cosmic rays propagation and the latter allows us to simulate the development of
extended air showers in the atmosphere. In this first work, by considering the
total flux of cosmic rays from 5 GeV to 1 PeV, we obtained the expected
integrated flux of secondary particles on board of a commercial airplane during
the Bogot\'a-Buenos Aires trip by point-to-point numerical integration.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings X SILAFAE Medellin-2014. To appear in
Nuclear Physics B - Proceedings Supplement
How Argentina became a super-exporter of agricultural and food products during the First Globalisation (1880–1929)
The objective of this paper is to explain, from a cliometric perspective, the determinants of the growth of Argentina’s exports between 1880 and 1929. To do this, we have constructed a gravity model with the principal products exported each year by Argentina to its most important trading partners. In this way, we believe that this study constitutes a relevant and original contribution to the analysis of economic growth from a historical perspective and specifically in explaining the factors determining the export success of the settler countries during the first wave of globalisation. Our results show that Argentina’s export-led growth must be explained from both the supply and demand sides. We also find that the reduction in trade costs and trade liberalisation, especially the latter, boosted exports. We also support the idea that Argentina had a successful agro-export sector because it offered a diverse basket of products to the different European and American countries that consumed them. To sum up, we can conclude that Argentina took advantage of a multilateral and open economic system. Within this context, the country generally found a demand for its supply, which constitutes the key to explaining the magnitude and speed of Argentina’s export growth
Trapping dust particles in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks
Aims. We attempt to explain grain growth to mm sized particles and their retention in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks, as observed at sub-mm and mm wavelengths, by investigating whether strong inhomogeneities in the gas density profiles can decelerate excessive radial drift and help the dust particles to grow.
Methods. We use coagulation/fragmentation and disk-structure models, to simulate the evolution of dust in a bumpy surface density profile, which we mimic with a sinusoidal disturbance. For different values of the amplitude and length scale of the bumps, we investigate the ability of this model to produce and retain large particles on million-year timescales. In addition, we compare the pressure inhomogeneities considered in this work with the pressure profiles that come from magnetorotational instability. Using the Common Astronomy Software Applications ALMA simulator, we study whether there are observational signatures of these pressure inhomogeneities that can be seen with ALMA.
Results. We present the conditions required to trap dust particles and the corresponding calculations predicting the spectral slope in the mm-wavelength range, to compare with current observations. Finally, we present simulated images using different antenna configurations of ALMA at different frequencies, to show that the ring structures will be detectable at the distances of either the Taurus Auriga or Ophiucus star-forming regions
Scattered light images of spiral arms in marginally gravitationally unstable discs with an embedded planet
Scattered light images of transition discs in the near-infrared often show
non-axisymmetric structures in the form of wide-open spiral arms in addition to
their characteristic low-opacity inner gap region. We study self-gravitating
discs and investigate the influence of gravitational instability on the shape
and contrast of spiral arms induced by planet-disc interactions.
Two-dimensional non-isothermal hydrodynamical simulations including viscous
heating and a cooling prescription are combined with three-dimensional dust
continuum radiative transfer models for direct comparison to observations. We
find that the resulting contrast between the spirals and the surrounding disc
in scattered light is by far higher for pressure scale height variations, i.e.
thermal perturbations, than for pure surface density variations. Self-gravity
effects suppress any vortex modes and tend to reduce the opening angle of
planet-induced spirals, making them more tightly wound. If the disc is only
marginally gravitationally stable with a Toomre parameter around unity, an
embedded massive planet (planet-to-star mass ratio of ) can trigger
gravitational instability in the outer disc. The spirals created by this
instability and the density waves launched by the planet can overlap resulting
in large-scale, more open spiral arms in the outer disc. The contrast of these
spirals is well above the detection limit of current telescopes.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 13 pages, 8 figure
Disrupted asteroid P/2016 G1. II. Follow-up observations from the Hubble Space Telescope
After the early observations of the disrupted asteroid P/2016 G1 with the
10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), and the modeling of the dust ejecta, we
have performed a follow-up observational campaign of this object using the
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during two epochs (June 28 and July 11, 2016). The
analysis of these HST images with the same model inputs obtained from the GTC
images revealed a good consistency with the predicted evolution from the GTC
images, so that the model is applicable to the whole observational period from
late April to early July 2016. This result confirms that the resulting dust
ejecta was caused by a relatively short-duration event with onset about 350
days before perihelion, and spanning about 30 days (HWHM). For a size
distribution of particles with a geometric albedo of 0.15, having radii limits
of 1 m and 1 cm, and following a power-law with index --3.0, the total
dust mass ejected is 210 kg. As was the case with the GTC
observations, no condensations in the images that could be attributed to a
nucleus or fragments released after the disruption event were found. However,
the higher limiting magnitude reachable with the HST images in comparison with
those from GTC allowed us to impose a more stringent upper limit to the
observed fragments of 30 m.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures Accepted by Astronomical Journal, Nov. 2, 201
Time-resolved photometry of the young dipper RX~J1604.3-2130A:Unveiling the structure and mass transport through the innermost disk
Context. RX J1604.3-2130A is a young, dipper-type, variable star in the Upper Scorpius association, suspected to have an inclined inner disk, with respect to its face-on outer disk. Aims. We aim to study the eclipses to constrain the inner disk properties. Methods. We used time-resolved photometry from the Rapid Eye Mount telescope and Kepler 2 data to study the multi-wavelength variability, and archival optical and infrared data to track accretion, rotation, and changes in disk structure. Results. The observations reveal details of the structure and matter transport through the inner disk. The eclipses show 5 d quasi-periodicity, with the phase drifting in time and some periods showing increased/decreased eclipse depth and frequency. Dips are consistent with extinction by slightly processed dust grains in an inclined, irregularly-shaped inner disk locked to the star through two relatively stable accretion structures. The grains are located near the dust sublimation radius (similar to 0.06 au) at the corotation radius, and can explain the shadows observed in the outer disk. The total mass (gas and dust) required to produce the eclipses and shadows is a few % of a Ceres mass. Such an amount of mass is accreted/replenished by accretion in days to weeks, which explains the variability from period to period. Spitzer and WISE infrared variability reveal variations in the dust content in the innermost disk on a timescale of a few years, which is consistent with small imbalances (compared to the stellar accretion rate) in the matter transport from the outer to the inner disk. A decrease in the accretion rate is observed at the times of less eclipsing variability and low mid-IR fluxes, confirming this picture. The v sin i = 16 km s(-1) confirms that the star cannot be aligned with the outer disk, but is likely close to equator-on and to be aligned with the inner disk. This anomalous orientation is a challenge for standard theories of protoplanetary disk formation.Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC): ST/S000399/1.
ESO fellowship.
European Union (EU): 823 823.
German Research Foundation (DFG): FOR 2634/1 TE 1024/1-1.
French National Research Agency (ANR): ANR-16-CE31-0013.
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
European Research Council (ERC): 678 194.
European Research Council (ERC): 742 095.
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA).
National Science Foundation (NSF).
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA): NNG05GF22G.
National Science Foundation (NSF): AST-0909182, AST-1 313 422
Investigación mineralógica de arenas de aluvión en la provincia de Cáceres (RÃos Búrdalo y Burdalillo)
Se han estudiado aluviones recogidos en los rÃos Búrdalo y Burdalillo, afluentes del Guadiana, provincia de Cáceres, iniciándose con este trabajo una serie de investigación mineralógica de arenas de aluvión en la PenÃnsula Ibérica. Por los resultados obtenidos del análisis mineralógico podemos definir estos aluviones como ilmenÃticos
The Spanish food industry on global supply chains and its impact on water resources
The study of the impact of economic activities on natural resources through global supply chains is increasingly demanded in the context of the growing globalization of economies and product fragmentation. Taking Spain as a case study and a sector with significant economic and environmental impacts, the agri-food industry, the objective of this work is two-fold. First, we estimate the associated water impact, both from the production and consumption perspectives, paying special attention to the water embodied in production exchanges among countries and sectors. To that aim, we use an environmentally-extended multiregional input-output model (MRIO). Second, we assess the main driving factors behind changes in direct and embodied water consumption between the years 1995 and 2009 by means of a structural decomposition analysis. The MRIO model provides a comprehensive estimate of the economic linkages among regions and economic sectors and, therefore, allows calculating the environmental impacts over international value chains. The results indicate that the food industry exerts large impacts on global water resources, particularly given the remarkable interactions with the domestic and foreign agricultural sectors, These growing linkages show how consumption patterns, and, therefore, lifestyles, involve large environmental impacts through the whole and global supply chains
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