2,515 research outputs found
SuperLupus: A Deep, Long Duration Transit Survey
SuperLupus is a deep transit survey monitoring a Galactic Plane field in the
Southern hemisphere. The project is building on the successful Lupus Survey,
and will double the number of images of the field from 1700 to 3400, making it
one of the longest duration deep transit surveys. The immediate motivation for
this expansion is to search for longer period transiting planets (5-8 days) and
smaller radii planets. It will also provide near complete recovery for the
shorter period planets (1-3 days). In March, April, and May 2008 we obtained
the new images and work is currently in progress reducing these new data.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of IAU Symposium
253, 2008: Transiting Planet
Examining the broadband emission spectrum of WASP-19b: A new z band eclipse detection
WASP-19b is one of the most irradiated hot-Jupiters known. Its secondary
eclipse is the deepest of all transiting planets, and has been measured in
multiple optical and infrared bands. We obtained a z band eclipse observation,
with measured depth of 0.080 +/- 0.029 %, using the 2m Faulkes Telescope South,
that is consistent with the results of previous observations. We combine our
measurement of the z band eclipse with previous observations to explore
atmosphere models of WASP-19b that are consistent with the its broadband
spectrum. We use the VSTAR radiative transfer code to examine the effect of
varying pressure-temperature profiles and C/O abundance ratios on the emission
spectrum of the planet. We find models with super-solar carbon enrichment best
match the observations, consistent with previous model retrieval studies. We
also include upper atmosphere haze as another dimension in the interpretation
of exoplanet emission spectra, and find that particles <0.5 micron in size are
unlikely to be present in WASP-19b.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
Episodic disk accretion in the halo of the 'old' Pre-Main Sequence cluster Eta Chamaeleontis
We present multi-epoch medium-resolution observations of two M4.5 candidate
members in the halo of the ~8 Myr Eta Chamaeleontis open cluster. Over six
months of observations both stars exhibited variations in their H-alpha line
profiles on timescales of days to months, with at least one episode of
substantial activity attributable to accretion from a circumstellar disk. We
derive an accretion rate ~10^-8.7 Msun/yr for this event, with a rate of
~10^-10.6 Msun/yr in quiescence. Episodic accretion like that observed here
means existing surveys of accreting Weak-lined T-Tauri Stars in young clusters
are likely incomplete and that gas dissipation timescales calculated from the
fraction of accreting objects are underestimates.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letter
Probing Individual Star Forming Regions Within Strongly Lensed Galaxies at z > 1
Star formation occurs on physical scales corresponding to individual star
forming regions, typically of order ~100 parsecs in size, but current
observational facilities cannot resolve these scales within field galaxies
beyond the local universe. However, the magnification from strong gravitational
lensing allows us to measure the properties of these discrete star forming
regions within galaxies in the distant universe. New results from
multi-wavelength spectroscopic studies of a sample of extremely bright, highly
magnified lensed galaxies are revealing the complexity of star formation on
sub-galaxy scales during the era of peak star formation in the universe. We
find a wide range of properties in the rest-frame UV spectra of individual
galaxies, as well as in spectra that originate from different star forming
regions within the same galaxy. Large variations in the strengths and velocity
structure of Lyman-alpha and strong P Cygni lines such as C IV, and MgII
provide new insights into the astrophysical relationships between extremely
massive stars, the elemental abundances and physical properties of the nebular
gas those stars ionize, and the galactic-scale outflows they power.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To be published in the Proceedings of IAU
Symposium 309. For more details and closely related work see also
arXiv:1310.6695 and arXiv:1406.335
Ks band secondary eclipses of WASP-19b and WASP-43b with the Anglo-Australian Telescope
We report new Ks band secondary eclipse observations for the hot-Jupiters
WASP-19b and WASP-43b. Using the IRIS2 infrared camera on the Anglo-Australian
Telescope (AAT), we measured significant secondary eclipses for both planets,
with depths of 0.287 -0.020/+0.020% and 0.181 -0.027/+0.027% for WASP-19b and
WASP-43b respectively. We compare the observations to atmosphere models from
the VSTAR line-by-line radiative transfer code, and examine the effect of C/O
abundance, top layer haze, and metallicities on the observed spectra. We
performed a series of signal injection and recovery exercises on the observed
light curves to explore the detection thresholds of the AAT+IRIS2 facility. We
find that the optimal photometric precision is achieved for targets brighter
than Kmag = 9, for which eclipses as shallow as 0.05% are detectable at >5
sigma significance.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 10 figure
Time Delay Measurements for the Cluster-lensed Sextuple Quasar SDSS J2222+2745
We report first results from an ongoing monitoring campaign to measure time
delays between the six images of the quasar SDSS\,J22222745, gravitationally
lensed by a galaxy cluster. The time delay between A and B, the two most highly
magnified images, is measured to be days (95\%
confidence interval), consistent with previous model predictions for this lens
system. The strong intrinsic variability of the quasar also allows us to derive
a time delay value of days between image C and A,
in spite of modest overlap between their light curves in the current data set.
Image C, which is predicted to lead all the other lensed quasar images, has
undergone a sharp, monotonic flux increase of 60-75\% during 2014. A
corresponding brightening is firmly predicted to occur in images A and B during
2016. The amplitude of this rise indicates that time delays involving all six
known images in this system, including those of the demagnified central images
D-F, will be obtainable from further ground-based monitoring of this system
during the next few years.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, Version accepted for publication in Ap
[OII] emitters in the GOODS field at z~1.85: a homogeneous measure of evolving star formation
We present the results of a deep, near-infrared, narrow band imaging survey
at a central wavelength of 1.062 microns (FWHM=0.01 microns) in the GOODS-South
field using the ESO VLT instrument, HAWK-I. The data are used to carry out the
highest redshift search for [OII]3727 emission line galaxies to date. The
images reach an emission line flux limit (5 sigma) of 1.5 x 10^-17 erg cm^-2
s^-1, additionally making the survey the deepest of its kind at high redshift.
In this paper we identify a sample of [OII]3727 emission line objects at
redshift z~1.85 in a co-moving volume of ~4100 Mpc^3. Objects are selected
using an observed equivalent width (EW_obs) threshold of EW_obs = 50 angstroms.
The sample is used to derive the space density and constrain the luminosity
function of [OII] emitters at z=1.85. We find that the space density of objects
with observed [OII] luminosities in the range log(L_[OII]) > 41.74 erg s^-1 is
log(rho)=-2.45+/-0.14 Mpc^-3, a factor of 2 greater than the observed space
density of [OII] emitters reported at z~1.4. After accounting for completeness
and assuming an internal extinction correction of A_Halpha=1 mag (equivalent to
A_[OII]=1.87), we report a star formation rate density of rho* ~0.38+/-0.06
Msun yr^-1 Mpc^-3. We independently derive the dust extinction of the sample
using 24 micron fluxes and find a mean extinction of A_[OII]=0.98+/-0.11
magnitudes (A_Halpha=0.52). This is significantly lower than the A_Halpha=1
(A[OII]=1.86) mag value widely used in the literature. Finally we incorporate
this improved extinction correction into the star formation rate density
measurement and report rho*~0.24+/-0.06 Msun yr^-1 Mpc^-3.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Room temperature magneto-optic effect in silicon light-emitting diodes
In weakly spin-orbit coupled materials, the spin-selective nature of
recombination can give rise to large magnetic-field effects, for example on
electro-luminescence from molecular semiconductors. While silicon has weak
spin-orbit coupling, observing spin-dependent recombination through
magneto-electroluminescence is challenging due to the inefficiency of emission
due to silicon's indirect band-gap, and to the difficulty in separating
spin-dependent phenomena from classical magneto-resistance effects. Here we
overcome these challenges to measure magneto-electroluminescence in silicon
light-emitting diodes fabricated via gas immersion laser doping. These devices
allow us to achieve efficient emission while retaining a well-defined geometry
thus suppressing classical magnetoresistance effects to a few percent. We find
that electroluminescence can be enhanced by up to 300\% near room temperature
in a seven Tesla magnetic field showing that the control of the spin degree of
freedom can have a strong impact on the efficiency of silicon LEDs
On the lack of correlation between Mg II 2796, 2803 Angstrom and Lyman alpha emission in lensed star-forming galaxies
We examine the Mg II 2796, 2803 Angstrom, Lyman alpha, and nebular line
emission in five bright star-forming galaxies at 1.66<z<1.91 that have been
gravitationally lensed by foreground galaxy clusters. All five galaxies show
prominent Mg II emission and absorption in a P Cygni profile. We find no
correlation between the equivalent widths of Mg II and Lyman alpha emission.
The Mg II emission has a broader range of velocities than do the nebular
emission line profiles; the Mg II emission is redshifted with respect to
systemic by 100 to 200 km/s. When present, Lyman alpha is even more redshifted.
The reddest components of Mg II and Lyman alpha emission have tails to 500-600
km/s, implying a strong outflow. The lack of correlation in the Mg II and Lyman
alpha equivalent widths, the differing velocity profiles, and the high ratios
of Mg II to nebular line fluxes together suggest that the bulk of Mg II
emission does not ultimately arise as nebular line emission, but may instead be
reprocessed stellar continuum emission.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in press. 6 pages, 2 figure
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