2,254 research outputs found
Spectroscopic binaries in the Solar Twin Planet Search program: from substellar-mass to M dwarf companions
Previous studies on the rotation of Sun-like stars revealed that the
rotational rates of young stars converge towards a well-defined evolution that
follows a power-law decay. It seems, however, that some binary stars do not
obey this relation, often by displaying enhanced rotational rates and activity.
In the Solar Twin Planet Search program we observed several solar twin
binaries, and found a multiplicity fraction of in the whole
sample; moreover, at least three of these binaries (HIP 19911, HIP 67620 and
HIP 103983) clearly exhibit the aforementioned anomalies. We investigated the
configuration of the binaries in the program, and discovered new companions for
HIP 6407, HIP 54582, HIP 62039 and HIP 30037, of which the latter is orbited by
a M brown dwarf in a 1-month long orbit. We report the orbital
parameters of the systems with well-sampled orbits and, in addition, the lower
limits of parameters for the companions that only display a curvature in their
radial velocities. For the linear trend binaries, we report an estimate of the
masses of their companions when their observed separation is available, and a
minimum mass otherwise. We conclude that solar twin binaries with low-mass
stellar companions at moderate orbital periods do not display signs of a
distinct rotational evolution when compared to single stars. We confirm that
the three peculiar stars are double-lined binaries, and that their companions
are polluting their spectra, which explains the observed anomalies.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The temporal evolution of neutron-capture elements in the Galactic discs
Important insights into the formation and evolution of the Galactic disc(s)
are contained in the chemical compositions of stars. We analysed
high-resolution and high signal to noise HARPS spectra of 79 solar twin stars
in order to obtain precise determinations of their atmospheric parameters, ages
(0.4 Gyr) and chemical abundances (0.01~dex) of 12
neutron-capture elements (Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, and Dy).
This valuable dataset allows us to study the [X/Fe]-age relations over a time
interval of 10 Gyr and among stars belonging to the thin and thick discs.
These relations show that i) the -process has been the main channel of
nucleosynthesis of -capture elements during the evolution of the thin disc;
ii) the thick disc is rich in -process elements which suggests that its
formation has been rapid and intensive. %; iii) a chemical continuity between
the thin and thick discs is evident in the abundances of Ba. In addition, the
heavy (Ba, La, Ce) and light (Sr, Y, Zr) -process elements revealed details
on the dependence between the yields of AGB stars and the stellar mass or
metallicity. Finally, we confirmed that both [Y/Mg] and [Y/Al] ratios can be
employed as stellar clocks, allowing ages of solar twin stars to be estimated
with an average precision of 0.5~Gyr
Carbon, isotopic ratio 12C/13C, and nitrogen in solar twins : constraints for the chemical evolution of the local disc
Abundances of light elements in dwarf stars of different ages are important constraints for stellar yields, Galactic chemical evolution and exoplanet chemical composition studies. We have measured C and N abundances and 12C/13C ratios for a sample of 63 solar twins spanning a wide range in age, based on spectral synthesis of a comprehensive list of CH A-X and CN B-X features using HARPS spectra. The analysis of 55 thin disc solar twins confirms the dependences of [C/Fe] and [N/Fe] on [Fe/H]. [N/Fe] is investigated as a function of [Fe/H] and age for the first time for these stars. Our derived correlation [C/Fe]–age agrees with works for solar-type stars and solar twins, but the [N/Fe]–age correlation does not. The relations [C,N/Fe]–[Fe/H] and [C,N/Fe]–age for the solar twins lay under solar. 12C/13C is found correlated with [Fe/H] and seems to have decreased along the evolution of the local thin disc. Predictions from chemical evolution models for the solar vicinity corroborate the relations [C,N/Fe]–[Fe/H], 12C/13C–age, and [N/O]–[O/H], but do not for the 12C/13C–[Fe/H] and [C/O]–[O/H] relations. The N/O ratio in the Sun is placed at the high end of the homogeneous distribution of solar twins, which suggests uniformity in the N–O budget for the formation of icy planetesimals, watery superearths, and giant planets. C and N had different nucleosynthetic origins along the thin disc evolution, as shown by the relations of [C/N], [C/O], and [N/O] against [O/H] and age. [C/N] and [C/O] are particularly observed increasing in time for solar twins younger than the Sun
Collective Transport in Arrays of Quantum Dots
(WORDS: QUANTUM DOTS, COLLECTIVE TRANSPORT, PHYSICAL EXAMPLE OF KPZ)
Collective charge transport is studied in one- and two-dimensional arrays of
small normal-metal dots separated by tunnel barriers. At temperatures well
below the charging energy of a dot, disorder leads to a threshold for
conduction which grows linearly with the size of the array. For short-ranged
interactions, one of the correlation length exponents near threshold is found
from a novel argument based on interface growth. The dynamical exponent for the
current above threshold is also predicted analytically, and the requirements
for its experimental observation are described.Comment: 12 pages, 3 postscript files included, REVTEX v2, (also available by
anonymous FTP from external.nj.nec.com, in directory /pub/alan/dotarrays [as
separate files]) [replacement: FIX OF WRONG VERSION, BAD SHAR] March 17,
1993, NEC
The Chemical Homogeneity of Sun-like Stars in the Solar Neighborhood
The compositions of stars are a critical diagnostic tool for many topics in
astronomy such as the evolution of our Galaxy, the formation of planets, and
the uniqueness of the Sun. Previous spectroscopic measurements indicate a large
intrinsic variation in the elemental abundance patterns of stars with similar
overall metal content. However, systematic errors arising from inaccuracies in
stellar models are known to be a limiting factor in such studies, and thus it
is uncertain to what extent the observed diversity of stellar abundance
patterns is real. Here we report the abundances of 30 elements with precisions
of 2% for 79 Sun-like stars within 100 parsecs. Systematic errors are minimized
in this study by focusing on solar twin stars and performing a line-by-line
differential analysis using high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise spectra. We
resolve [X/Fe] abundance trends in galactic chemical evolution at precisions of
dex Gyr and reveal that stars with similar ages and
metallicities have nearly identical abundance patterns. Contrary to previous
results, we find that the ratios of carbon-to-oxygen and magnesium-to-silicon
in solar metallicity stars are homogeneous to within 10% throughout the solar
neighborhood, implying that exoplanets may exhibit much less compositional
diversity than previously thought. Finally, we demonstrate that the Sun has a
subtle deficiency in refractory material relative to >80% of solar twins (at
2 confidence), suggesting a possible signpost for planetary systems
like our own.Comment: ApJ accepted versio
The chemical homogeneity of sun-like stars in the solar neighborhood
The compositions of stars are a critical diagnostic tool for many topics in astronomy such as the evolution of our Galaxy, the formation of planets, and the uniqueness of the Sun. Previous spectroscopic measurements indicate a large intrinsic variation in the elemental abundance patterns of stars with similar overall metal content. However, systematic errors arising from inaccuracies in stellar models are known to be a limiting factor in such studies, and thus it is uncertain to what extent the observed diversity of stellar abundance patterns is real. Here we report the abundances of 30 elements with precisions of 2% for 79 Sun-like stars within 100 pc. Systematic errors are minimized in this study by focusing on solar twin stars and performing a line-by-line differential analysis using high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise spectra. We resolve [X/Fe] abundance trends in galactic chemical evolution at precisions of 10−3 dex Gyr−1 and reveal that stars with similar ages and metallicities have nearly identical abundance patterns. Contrary to previous results, we find that the ratios of carbon-to-oxygen and magnesium-tosilicon in solar-metallicity stars are homogeneous to within 10% throughout the solar neighborhood, implying that exoplanets may exhibit much less compositional diversity than previously thought. Finally, we demonstrate that the Sun has a subtle deficiency in refractory material relative to >80% of solar twins (at 2σ confidence), suggesting a possible signpost for planetary systems like our own
The Science Case for an Extended Spitzer Mission
Although the final observations of the Spitzer Warm Mission are currently
scheduled for March 2019, it can continue operations through the end of the
decade with no loss of photometric precision. As we will show, there is a
strong science case for extending the current Warm Mission to December 2020.
Spitzer has already made major impacts in the fields of exoplanets (including
microlensing events), characterizing near Earth objects, enhancing our
knowledge of nearby stars and brown dwarfs, understanding the properties and
structure of our Milky Way galaxy, and deep wide-field extragalactic surveys to
study galaxy birth and evolution. By extending Spitzer through 2020, it can
continue to make ground-breaking discoveries in those fields, and provide
crucial support to the NASA flagship missions JWST and WFIRST, as well as the
upcoming TESS mission, and it will complement ground-based observations by LSST
and the new large telescopes of the next decade. This scientific program
addresses NASA's Science Mission Directive's objectives in astrophysics, which
include discovering how the universe works, exploring how it began and evolved,
and searching for life on planets around other stars.Comment: 75 pages. See page 3 for Table of Contents and page 4 for Executive
Summar
The Solar Twin Planet Search. V. Close-in, low-mass planet candidates and evidence of planet accretion in the solar twin HIP 68468
[Methods]. We obtained high-precision radial velocities with HARPS on the ESO
3.6 m telescope and determined precise stellar elemental abundances (~0.01 dex)
using MIKE spectra on the Magellan 6.5m telescope. [Results]. Our data indicate
the presence of a planet with a minimum mass of 26 Earth masses around the
solar twin HIP 68468. The planet is a super-Neptune, but unlike the distant
Neptune in our solar system (30 AU), HIP 68468c is close-in, with a semi-major
axis of 0.66 AU, similar to that of Venus. The data also suggest the presence
of a super-Earth with a minimum mass of 2.9 Earth masses at 0.03 AU; if the
planet is confirmed, it will be the fifth least massive radial velocity planet
discovery to date and the first super-Earth around a solar twin. Both
isochrones (5.9 Gyr) and the abundance ratio [Y/Mg] (6.4 Gyr) indicate an age
of about 6 billion years. The star is enhanced in refractory elements when
compared to the Sun, and the refractory enrichment is even stronger after
corrections for Galactic chemical evolution. We determined a NLTE Li abundance
of 1.52 dex, which is four times higher than what would be expected for the age
of HIP 68468. The older age is also supported by the low log(R'HK) (-5.05) and
low jitter. Engulfment of a rocky planet of 6 Earth masses can explain the
enhancement in both lithium and the refractory elements. [Conclusions]. The
super-Neptune planet candidate is too massive for in situ formation, and
therefore its current location is most likely the result of planet migration
that could also have driven other planets towards its host star, enhancing thus
the abundance of lithium and refractory elements in HIP 68468. The intriguing
evidence of planet accretion warrants further observations to verify the
existence of the planets that are indicated by our data and to better constrain
the nature of the planetary system around this unique star.Comment: A&A, in pres
Water Supply, Demand, and Quality Indicators for Assessing the Spatial Distribution of Water Resource Vulnerability in the Columbia River Basin
We investigated water resource vulnerability in the US portion of the Columbia River basin (CRB) using multiple indicators representing water supply, water demand, and water quality. Based on the US county scale, spatial analysis was conducted using various biophysical and socio-economic indicators that control water vulnerability. Water supply vulnerability and water demand vulnerability exhibited a similar spatial clustering of hotspots in areas where agricultural lands and variability of precipitation were high but dam storage capacity was low. The hotspots of water quality vulnerability were clustered around the main stem of the Columbia River where major population and agricultural centres are located. This multiple equal weight indicator approach confirmed that different drivers were associated with different vulnerability maps in the sub-basins of the CRB. Water quality variables are more important than water supply and water demand variables in the Willamette River basin, whereas water supply and demand variables are more important than water quality variables in the Upper Snake and Upper Columbia River basins. This result suggests that current water resources management and practices drive much of the vulnerability within the study area. The analysis suggests the need for increased coordination of water management across multiple levels of water governance to reduce water resource vulnerability in the CRB and a potentially different weighting scheme that explicitly takes into account the input of various water stakeholders
Different paths to the modern state in Europe: the interaction between domestic political economy and interstate competition
Theoretical work on state formation and capacity has focused mostly on early modern Europe and on the experience of western European states during this period. While a number of European states monopolized domestic tax collection and achieved gains in state capacity during the early modern era, for others revenues stagnated or even declined, and these variations motivated alternative hypotheses for determinants of fiscal and state capacity. In this study we test the basic hypotheses in the existing literature making use of the large date set we have compiled for all of the leading states across the continent. We find strong empirical support for two prevailing threads in the literature, arguing respectively that interstate wars and changes in economic structure towards an urbanized economy had positive fiscal impact. Regarding the main point of contention in the theoretical literature, whether it was representative or authoritarian political regimes that facilitated the gains in fiscal capacity, we do not find conclusive evidence that one performed better than the other. Instead, the empirical evidence we have gathered lends supports to the hypothesis that when under pressure of war, the fiscal performance of representative regimes was better in the more urbanized-commercial economies and the fiscal performance of authoritarian regimes was better in rural-agrarian economie
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