78 research outputs found
Quorum-sensing activity and related virulence factor expression in clinically pathogenic isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
AbstractRespiratory isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from 58 critically-ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia. Expression of elastase and pyocyanin was assessed semi-quantitatively, while quorum-sensing activity was assessed by quantifying the levels of the autoinducers N-3-oxododecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) and N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL). Correlations were sought between quorum-sensing activity and the expression of these two virulence factors, and all results were compared to those obtained with the laboratory reference strains PA103, a strain defective in quorum-sensing, and PAO1, a functional quorum-sensing strain. More than two-thirds of clinically pathogenic isolates had increased levels of elastase and/or pyocyanin, and high quorum-sensing activity, as assessed by autoinducer levels. However, a strong correlation between quorum-sensing activity and virulence factor production was revealed only for elastase and not for pyocyanin (C12-HSL/elastase, r = 0.7, p 2 Ă 10â9; C4-HSL/elastase, r = 0.7, p 2 Ă 10â9). These data suggest that the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa isolates from critically-ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia is caused, at least in part, by an increase in elastase production regulated by quorum-sensing, while increased pyocyanin production in these isolates may be regulated predominantly by mechanisms other than quorum-sensing
SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates XVII. The physical properties of giant exoplanets within 400 days of period
While giant extrasolar planets have been studied for more than two decades
now, there are still some open questions such as their dominant formation and
migration process, as well as their atmospheric evolution in different stellar
environments. In this paper, we study a sample of giant transiting exoplanets
detected by the Kepler telescope with orbital periods up to 400 days. We first
defined a sample of 129 giant-planet candidates that we followed up with the
SOPHIE spectrograph (OHP, France) in a 6-year radial velocity campaign. This
allow us to unveil the nature of these candidates and to measure a
false-positive rate of 54.6 +/- 6.5 % for giant-planet candidates orbiting
within 400 days of period. Based on a sample of confirmed or likely planets, we
then derive the occurrence rates of giant planets in different ranges of
orbital periods. The overall occurrence rate of giant planets within 400 days
is 4.6 +/- 0.6 %. We recover, for the first time in the Kepler data, the
different populations of giant planets reported by radial velocity surveys.
Comparing these rates with other yields, we find that the occurrence rate of
giant planets is lower only for hot jupiters but not for the longer period
planets. We also derive a first measurement on the occurrence rate of brown
dwarfs in the brown-dwarf desert with a value of 0.29 +/- 0.17 %. Finally, we
discuss the physical properties of the giant planets in our sample. We confirm
that giant planets receiving a moderate irradiation are not inflated but we
find that they are in average smaller than predicted by formation and evolution
models. In this regime of low-irradiated giant planets, we find a possible
correlation between their bulk density and the Iron abundance of the host star,
which needs more detections to be confirmed.Comment: To appear in Astronomy and Astrophysic
The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets. XI. Three new companions and an orbit update: Giant planets in the habitable zone
We report the discovery of three new substellar companions to solar-type
stars, HD191806, HD214823, and HD221585, based on radial velocity measurements
obtained at the Haute-Provence Observatory. Data from the SOPHIE spectrograph
are combined with observations acquired with its predecessor, ELODIE, to detect
and characterise the orbital parameters of three new gaseous giant and brown
dwarf candidates. Additionally, we combine SOPHIE data with velocities obtained
at the Lick Observatory to improve the parameters of an already known giant
planet companion, HD16175 b. Thanks to the use of different instruments, the
data sets of all four targets span more than ten years. Zero-point offsets
between instruments are dealt with using Bayesian priors to incorporate the
information we possess on the SOPHIE/ELODIE offset based on previous studies.
The reported companions have orbital periods between three and five years and
minimum masses between 1.6 Mjup and 19 Mjup. Additionally, we find that the
star HD191806 is experiencing a secular acceleration of over 11 \ms\ per year,
potentially due to an additional stellar or substellar companion. A search for
the astrometric signature of these companions was carried out using Hipparcos
data. No orbit was detected, but a significant upper limit to the companion
mass can be set for HD221585, whose companion must be substellar.
With the exception of HD191806 b, the companions are located within the
habitable zone of their host star. Therefore, satellites orbiting these objects
could be a propitious place for life to develop.Comment: 12 pages + tables, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets VIII. A warm Neptune orbiting HD164595
High-precision radial velocity surveys explore the population of low-mass
exoplanets orbiting bright stars. This allows accurately deriving their orbital
parameters such as their occurrence rate and the statistical distribution of
their properties. Based on this, models of planetary formation and evolution
can be constrained. The SOPHIE spectrograph has been continuously improved in
past years, and thanks to an appropriate correction of systematic instrumental
drift, it is now reaching 2 m/s precision in radial velocity measurements on
all timescales. As part of a dedicated radial velocity survey devoted to search
for low-mass planets around a sample of 190 bright solar-type stars in the
northern hemisphere, we report the detection of a warm Neptune with a minimum
mass of 16.1 +- 2.7 Mearth orbiting the solar analog HD164595 in 40 +- 0.24
days . We also revised the parameters of the multiplanetary system around
HD190360. We discuss this new detection in the context of the upcoming space
mission CHEOPS, which is devoted to a transit search of bright stars harboring
known exoplanets.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets VIII. Follow-up of ELODIE candidates: long-period brown-dwarf companions
Long-period brown dwarf companions detected in radial velocity surveys are
important targets for direct imaging and astrometry to calibrate the
mass-luminosity relation of substellar objects. Through a 20-year radial
velocity monitoring of solar-type stars that began with ELODIE and was extended
with SOPHIE spectrographs, giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs with orbital
periods longer than ten years are discovered. We report the detection of five
new potential brown dwarfs with minimum masses between 32 and 83 Jupiter mass
orbiting solar-type stars with periods longer than ten years. An upper mass
limit of these companions is provided using astrometric Hipparcos data,
high-angular resolution imaging made with PUEO, and a deep analysis of the
cross-correlation function of the main stellar spectra to search for blend
effects or faint secondary components. These objects double the number of known
brown dwarf companions with orbital periods longer than ten years and reinforce
the conclusion that the occurrence of such objects increases with orbital
separation. With a projected separation larger than 100 mas, all these brown
dwarf candidates are appropriate targets for high-contrast and high angular
resolution imaging.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted in A&
Planet Populations as a Function of Stellar Properties
Exoplanets around different types of stars provide a window into the diverse
environments in which planets form. This chapter describes the observed
relations between exoplanet populations and stellar properties and how they
connect to planet formation in protoplanetary disks. Giant planets occur more
frequently around more metal-rich and more massive stars. These findings
support the core accretion theory of planet formation, in which the cores of
giant planets form more rapidly in more metal-rich and more massive
protoplanetary disks. Smaller planets, those with sizes roughly between Earth
and Neptune, exhibit different scaling relations with stellar properties. These
planets are found around stars with a wide range of metallicities and occur
more frequently around lower mass stars. This indicates that planet formation
takes place in a wide range of environments, yet it is not clear why planets
form more efficiently around low mass stars. Going forward, exoplanet surveys
targeting M dwarfs will characterize the exoplanet population around the lowest
mass stars. In combination with ongoing stellar characterization, this will
help us understand the formation of planets in a large range of environments.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Handbook of Exoplanet
Photodynamical mass determination of the multiplanetary system K2-19
K2-19 is the second multiplanetary system discovered with K2 observations. The system is composed of two Neptune size planets close to the 3:2 mean-motion resonance. To better characterize the system we obtained two additional transit observations of K2-19b and five additional radial velocity observations. These were combined with K2 data and fitted simultaneously with the system dynamics (photodynamical model) which increases the precision of the transit time measurements. The higher transit time precision allows us to detect the chopping signal of the dynamic interaction of the planets that in turn permits to uniquely characterize the system. Although the reflex motion of the star was not detected, dynamic modelling of the system allowed us to derive planetary masses of Mb = 44 ± 12â Mâ and Mc = 15.9 ± 7.0â Mâ for the inner and the outer planets, respectively, leading to densities close to Uranus. We also show that our method allows the derivation of mass ratios using only the 80 d of observations during the first campaign of K2
K2-19, The first K2 muti-planetary system showing TTVs
In traditional transit timing variations (TTVs) analysis of multi-planetary systems, the individual TTVs are first derived from transit fitting and later modelled using n-body dynamic simulations to constrain planetary masses. We show that fitting simultaneously the transit light curves with the system dynamics (photo-dynamical model) increases the precision of the TTV measurements and helps constrain the system architecture. We exemplify the advantages of applying this photo-dynamical model to a multi-planetary system found in K2 data very close to 3:2 mean motion resonance, K2-19. In this case the period of the larger TTV variations (libration period) is much longer (>1.5 years) than the duration of the K2 observations (80 days). However, our method allows to detect the short period TTVs produced by the orbital conjunctions between the planets that in turn permits to uniquely characterise the system. Therefore, our method can be used to constrain the masses of near-resonant systems even when the full libration curve is not observed
HD 207897 b : a dense sub-Neptune transiting a nearby and bright K-type star
We present the discovery and characterization of a transiting sub-Neptune that orbits the nearby (28 pc) and bright (V = 8.37) K0V star HD 207897 (TOI-1611) with a 16.20-day period. This discovery is based on photometric measurements from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission and radial velocity (RV) observations from the SOPHIE, Automated Planet Finder, and HIRES high-precision spectrographs. We used EXOFASTv2 to model the parameters of the planet and its host star simultaneously, combining photometric and RV data to determine the planetary system parameters. We show that the planet has a radius of 2.50 ± 0.08 RE and a mass of either 14.4 ± 1.6 ME or 15.9 ± 1.6 ME with nearly equal probability. The two solutions correspond to two possibilities for the stellar activity period. The density accordingly is either 5.1 ± 0.7 g cmâ3 or 5.5â0.7+0.8 g cmâ3, making it one of the relatively rare dense sub-Neptunes. The existence of this dense planet at only 0.12 AU from its host star is unusual in the currently observed sub-Neptune (2 < RE < 4) population. The most likely scenario is that this planet has migrated to its current position
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