3,441 research outputs found
Atmospheric Analysis of the M/L- and M/T-Dwarf Binary Systems LHS 102 and Gliese 229
We present 0.9-2.5um spectroscopy with R~800 and 1.12-1.22um spectroscopy
with R~5800 for the M dwarfs Gl 229A and LHS 102A, and for the L dwarf LHS
102B. We also report IZJHKL' photometry for both components of the LHS 102
system, and L' photometry for Gl 229A. The data are combined with previously
published spectroscopy and photometry to produce flux distributions for each
component of the kinematically old disk M/L-dwarf binary system LHS 102 and the
kinematically young disk M/T-dwarf binary system Gliese 229. The data are
analyzed using synthetic spectra generated by the latest "AMES-dusty" and
"AMES-cond" models by Allard & Hauschildt. Although the models are not able to
reproduce the overall slope of the infrared flux distribution of the L dwarf,
most likely due to the treatment of dust in the photosphere, the data for the M
dwarfs and the T dwarf are well matched. We find that the Gl 229 system is
metal-poor despite having kinematics of the young disk, and that the LHS 102
system has solar metallicity. The observed luminosities and derived
temperatures and gravities are consistent with evolutionary model predictions
if the Gl 229 system is very young (age ~30 Myr) with masses (A,B) of
(0.38,>0.007)M(sun), and the LHS 102 system is older, aged 1-10 Gyr with masses
(A,B) of (0.19,0.07)M(sun).Comment: 29 pages incl. 13 figures and 5 tables;; accepted for publication in
MNRA
UHE nuclei propagation and the interpretation of the ankle in the cosmic-ray spectrum
We consider the stochastic propagation of high-energy protons and nuclei in
the cosmological microwave and infrared backgrounds, using revised photonuclear
cross-sections and following primary and secondary nuclei in the full 2D
nuclear chart. We confirm earlier results showing that the high-energy data can
be fit with a pure proton extragalactic cosmic ray (EGCR) component if the
source spectrum is \propto E^{-2.6}. In this case the ankle in the CR spectrum
may be interpreted as a pair-production dip associated with the propagation. We
show that when heavier nuclei are included in the source with a composition
similar to that of Galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs), the pair-production dip is not
present unless the proton fraction is higher than 85%. In the mixed composition
case, the ankle recovers the past interpretation as the transition from GCRs to
EGCRs and the highest energy data can be explained by a harder source spectrum
\propto E^{-2.2} - E^{-2.3}, reminiscent of relativistic shock acceleration
predictions, and in good agreement with the GCR data at low-energy and holistic
scenarios.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to A&A Letters (minor changes, two
figures replaced, two references added
Regularity of higher codimension area minimizing integral currents
This lecture notes are an expanded version of the course given at the
ERC-School on Geometric Measure Theory and Real Analysis, held in Pisa,
September 30th - October 30th 2013. The lectures aim to explain the main steps
of a new proof of the partial regularity of area minimizing integer rectifiable
currents in higher codimension, due originally to F. Almgren, which is
contained in a series of papers in collaboration with C. De Lellis (University
of Zurich).Comment: This text will appear in "Geometric Measure Theory and Real
Analysis", pp. 131--192, Proceedings of the ERC school in Pisa (2013), L.
Ambrosio Ed., Edizioni SNS (CRM Series
Extragalactic cosmic-ray source composition and the interpretation of the ankle
We consider the stochastic propagation of high-energy protons and nuclei in
the cosmological microwave and infrared backgrounds, using revised photonuclear
cross-sections and following primary and secondary nuclei in the full 2D
nuclear chart. We confirm earlier results showing that the high-energy data can
be fit with a pure proton extragalactic cosmic ray (EGCR) component if the
source spectrum is . In this case the ankle in the cosmic ray
(CR) spectrum may be interpreted as a pair-production dip associated with the
propagation. We show that when heavier nuclei are included in the source with a
composition similar to that of Galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs), the pair-production
dip is not present unless the proton fraction is higher than 85%. In the mixed
composition case, the ankle recovers the past interpretation as the transition
from GCRs to EGCRs and the highest energy data can be explained by a harder
source spectrum -- , reminiscent of relativistic
shock acceleration predictions, and in good agreement with the GCR data at
low-energy and holistic scenarios. While the expected cosmogenic neutrino
fluxes at high energy are very similar for pure proton and mixed composition
hypothesis, the two scenarii predict very different elongation rates from
to eV.Comment: 4 Pages, 4 Figures, to appear in the 29th ICRC (Pune, India)
proceeding
Mode identification of Pulsating White Dwarfs using the HST
We have obtained time-resolved ultraviolet spectroscopy for the pulsating DAV
stars G226-29 and G185-32, and for the pulsating DBV star PG1351+489 with the
Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Spectrograph, to compare the ultraviolet to
the optical pulsation amplitude and determine the pulsation indices. We find
that for essentially all observed pulsation modes, the amplitude rises to the
ultraviolet as the theoretical models predict for l=1 non-radial g-modes. We do
not find any pulsation mode visible only in the ultraviolet, nor any modes
whose phase flips by 180 degrees; in the ultraviolet, as would be expected if
high l pulsations were excited. We find one periodicity in the light curve of
G185-32, at 141 s, which does not fit theoretical models for the change of
amplitude with wavelength of g-mode pulsations.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, Aug 200
Hunting for brown dwarf binaries and testing atmospheric models with X-Shooter
The determination of the brown dwarf binary fraction may contribute to the
understanding of the substellar formation mechanisms. Unresolved brown dwarf
binaries may be revealed through their peculiar spectra or the discrepancy
between optical and near-infrared spectral type classification.
We obtained medium-resolution spectra of 22 brown dwarfs with these
characteristics using the X-Shooter spectrograph at the VLT.
We aimed to identify brown dwarf binary candidates, and to test if the
BT-Settl 2014 atmospheric models reproduce their observed spectra.
To find binaries spanning the L-T boundary, we used spectral indices and
compared the spectra of the selected candidates to single spectra and synthetic
binary spectra. We used synthetic binary spectra with components of same
spectral type to determine as well the sensitivity of the method to this class
of binaries.
We identified three candidates to be combination of L plus T brown dwarfs. We
are not able to identify binaries with components of similar spectral type. In
our sample, we measured minimum binary fraction of .
From the best fit of the BT-Settl models 2014 to the observed spectra, we
derived the atmospheric parameters for the single objects. The BT-Settl models
were able to reproduce the majority of the SEDs from our objects, and the
variation of the equivalent width of the RbI (794.8 nm) and CsI (852.0 nm)
lines with the spectral type. Nonetheless, these models did not reproduce the
evolution of the equivalent widths of the NaI (818.3 nm and 819.5 nm) and KI
(1253 nm) lines with the spectral type.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Contingent categorization in speech perception
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Language Cognition and Neuroscience in 2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01690965.2013.824995.The speech signal is notoriously variable, with the same phoneme realized differently depending on factors like talker and phonetic context. Variance in the speech signal has led to a proliferation of theories of how listeners recognize speech. A promising approach, supported by computational modeling studies, is contingent categorization, wherein incoming acoustic cues are computed relative to expectations. We tested contingent encoding empirically. Listeners were asked to categorize fricatives in CV syllables constructed by splicing the fricative from one CV syllable with the vowel from another CV syllable. The two spliced syllables always contained the same fricative, providing consistent bottom-up cues; however on some trials, the vowel and/or talker mismatched between these syllables, giving conflicting contextual information. Listeners were less accurate and slower at identifying the fricatives in mismatching splices. This suggests that listeners rely on context information beyond bottom-up acoustic cues during speech perception, providing support for contingent categorization
Mercury concentration, speciation and budget in volcanic aquifers: Italy and Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles)
Quantifying the contribution of volcanism to global mercury (Hg) emissions is important to understand the
pathways and the mechanisms of Hg cycling through the Earth's geochemical reservoirs and to assess its
environmental impacts. While previous studies have suggested that degassing volcanoes might contribute
importantly to the atmospheric budget of mercury, little is known about the amount and behaviour of Hg in
volcanic aquifers. Here we report on detailed investigations of both the content and the speciation of
mercury in aquifers of active volcanoes in Italy and Guadeloupe Island (Lesser Antilles). In the studied
groundwaters, total Hg (THg) concentrations range from 10 to 500 ng/l and are lower than the 1000 ng/l
threshold value for human health protection fixed by the World Health Organization [WHO (1993): WHO
Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality- http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/GDWQ/index.htlm].
Positive co-variations of (THg) with sulphate indicate that Hg-SO4-rich acid groundwaters receive a direct
input of magmatic/hydrothermal gases carrying mercury as Hg0
(gas). Increasing THg in a volcanic aquifer could
thus be a sensitive tracer of magmatic gas input prior to an eruption. Since the complex behaviour and
toxicity of mercury in waters depend on its chemical speciation, we carefully determined the different
aqueous forms of this element in our samples.We find that dissolved elemental Hg0
(aq) and particulate-bound
Hg (HgP) widely prevail in volcanic aquifers, in proportions that highlight the efficiency of Hg adsorption onto
colloidal particles. Moreover, we observe that dissolved Hg0
aq and Hg(II) forms coexist in comparable amount
in most of the waters, in stark contrast to the results of thermodynamic equilibrium modelling. Therefore,
chemical equilibrium between dissolved mercury species in volcanic waters is either prevented by natural
kinetic effects or not preserved in collected waters due to sampling/storage artefacts. Finally, we provide a
first quantitative comparison of the relative intensity of aqueous transport and atmospheric emissions of
mercury at Mount Etna, a very active basaltic volcano
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