11,722 research outputs found
The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey. VII. An optical transmission spectrum of WASP-48b
We obtained long-slit optical spectroscopy of one transit of WASP-48b with
the Optical System for Imaging and low-Intermediate-Resolution Integrated
Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) spectrograph at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias
(GTC). We integrated the spectrum of WASP-48 and one reference star in several
channels with different wavelength ranges, creating numerous color light curves
of the transit. We fit analytic transit curves to the data taking into account
the systematic effects present in the time series in an effort to measure the
change of the planet-to-star radius ratio () across wavelength. After
removing the transit model and systematic trends to the curves we reached
precisions between 261 ppm and 455-755 ppm for the white and spectroscopic
light curves, respectively. We obtained uncertainty values between
and for all the curves analyzed in
this work. The measured transit depth for the curves made by integrating the
wavelength range between 530 nm and 905 nm is in agreement with previous
studies. We report a relatively flat transmission spectrum for WASP-48b with no
statistical significant detection of atmospheric species, although the
theoretical models that fit the data more closely include of TiO and VO.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
OB Stars in the Solar Neighborhood I: Analysis of their Spatial Distribution
We present a newly-developed, three-dimensional spatial classification
method, designed to analyze the spatial distribution of early type stars within
the 1 kpc sphere around the Sun. We propose a distribution model formed by two
intersecting disks -the Gould Belt (GB) and the Local Galactic Disk (LGD)-
defined by their fundamental geometric parameters. Then, using a sample of
about 550 stars of spectral types earlier than B6 and luminosity classes
between III and V, with precise photometric distances of less than 1 kpc, we
estimate for some spectral groups the parameters of our model, as well as
single membership probabilities of GB and LGD stars, thus drawing a picture of
the spatial distribution of young stars in the vicinity of the Sun.Comment: 28 pages including 9 Postscript figures, one of them in color.
Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, 30 January 200
Magnetic Moment Softening and Domain Wall Resistance in Ni Nanowires
Magnetic moments in atomic scale domain walls formed in nanoconstrictions and
nanowires are softened which affects dramatically the domain wall resistance.
We perform ab initio calculations of the electronic structure and conductance
of atomic-size Ni nanowires with domain walls only a few atomic lattice
constants wide. We show that the hybridization between noncollinear spin states
leads to a reduction of the magnetic moments in the domain wall. This magnetic
moment softening strongly enhances the domain wall resistance due to scattering
produced by the local perturbation of the electronic potential.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Ballistic versus diffusive magnetoresistance of a magnetic point contact
The quasiclassical theory of a nanosize point contacts (PC) between two
ferromagnets is developed. The maximum available magnetoresistance values in PC
are calculated for ballistic versus diffusive transport through the area of a
contact. In the ballistic regime the magnetoresistance in excess of few
hundreds percents is obtained for the iron-group ferromagnets. The necessary
conditions for realization of so large magnetoresistance in PC, and the
experimental results by Garcia et al are discussedComment: 4 pages, TEX, 1 Figur
The 2011 October Draconids Outburst. II. Meteoroid Chemical Abundances from Fireball Spectroscopy
On October 8, 2011 the Earth crossed dust trails ejected from comet
21P/Giacobini-Zinner in the late 19th and early 20th Century. This gave rise to
an outburst in the activity of the October Draconid meteor shower, and an
international team was organized to analyze this event. The SPanish Meteor
Network (SPMN) joined this initiative and recorded the October Draconids by
means of low light level CCD cameras. In addition, spectroscopic observations
were carried out. Tens of multi-station meteor trails were recorded, including
an extraordinarily bright October Draconid fireball (absolute mag. -10.5) that
was simultaneously imaged from three SPMN meteor ob-serving stations located in
Andalusia. Its spectrum was obtained, showing a clear evolution in the relative
intensity of emission lines as the fireball penetrated deeper into the
atmosphere. Here we focus on the analysis of this remarkable spectrum, but also
discuss the atmospheric trajectory, atmospheric penetration, and orbital data
computed for this bolide which was probably released during
21P/Giacobini-Zinner return to perihelion in 1907. The spectrum is discussed
together with the tensile strength for the October Draconid meteoroids. The
chemical profile evolution of the main rocky elements for this extremely bright
bolide is compared with the elemental abundances obtained for 5 October
Draconid fireballs also recorded during our spectroscopic campaign but observed
only at a single station. Significant chemical heterogeneity between the small
meteoroids is found as we should expect for cometary aggregates being formed by
diverse dust components.Comment: Manuscript in press in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on April 28th, 2013 Manuscript
Pages: 28 Tables: 5 Figures: 12. Manuscript associated: "The 2011 October
Draconids outburst. I. Orbital elements, meteoroid fluxes and
21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered mass to Earth" by Trigo-Rodriguez et al. is
also in press in the same journa
Crossover of interface growth dynamics during corrosion and passivation
We study a model of corrosion and passivation of a metalic surface in contact
with a solution using scaling arguments and simulation. The passive layer is
porous so that the metal surface is in contact with the solution. The volume
excess of the products may suppress the access of the solution to the metal
surface, but it is then restored by a diffusion mechanism. A metalic site in
contact with the solution or with the porous layer can be passivated with rate
p and volume excess diffuses with rate D. At small times, the corrosion front
linearly grows in time, but the growth velocity shows a t^{-1/2} decrease after
a crossover time of order t_c ~ D/p^2, where the average front height is of
order h_c ~ D/p. A universal scaling relation between h/h_c and t/t_c is
proposed and confirmed by simulation for 0.00005 <= p <= 0.5 in square
lattices. The roughness of the corrosion front shows a crossover from
Kardar-Parisi-Zhang scaling to Laplacian growth (diffusion-limited erosion -
DLE) at t_c. The amplitudes of roughness scaling are obtained by the same kind
of arguments as previously applied to other competitive growth models. The
simulation results confirm their validity. Since the proposed model captures
the essential ingredients of different corrosion processes, we also expect
these universal features to appear in real systems.Comment: 17 pages, including 7 figures; submitted articl
Visible and near-infrared observations of asteroid 2012 DA14 during its closest approach of February 15, 2013
Near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 made its closest approach on February 15, 2013,
when it passed at a distance of 27,700 km from the Earth's surface. It was the
first time an asteroid of moderate size was predicted to approach that close to
the Earth, becoming bright enough to permit a detailed study from ground-based
telescopes. Asteroid 2012 DA14 was poorly characterized before its closest
approach. We acquired data using several telescopes on four Spanish
observatories: the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the 3.6m Telescopio
Nazionale Galileo (TNG), both in the El Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
(ORM, La Palma); the 2.2m CAHA telescope, in the Calar Alto Observatory
(Almeria); the f/3 0.77m telescope in the La Hita Observatory (Toledo); and the
f/8 1.5m telescope in the Sierra Nevada Observatory (OSN, Granada). We obtained
visible and near-infrared color photometry, visible spectra and time-series
photometry. Visible spectra together with color photometry of 2012 DA14 show
that it can be classified as an L-type asteroid, a rare spectral type with a
composition similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites. The time-series
photometry provides a rotational period of 8.95 +- 0.08 hours after the closest
approach, and there are indications that the object suffered a spin-up during
this event. The large amplitude of the light curve suggests that the object is
very elongated and irregular, with an equivalent diameter of around 18m. We
obtain an absolute magnitude of H_R = 24.5 +- 0.2, corresponding to H_V = 25.0
+- 0.2. The GTC photometry also gives H_V = 25.29 +- 0.14. Both values agree
with the value listed at the Minor Planet Center shortly after discovery. From
the absolute photometry, together with some constraints on size and shape, we
compute a geometric albedo of p_V = 0.44 +- 0.20, which is slightly above the
range of albedos known for L-type asteroids (0.082 - 0.405).Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted in A&A (June 17 2013
Spiral surface growth without desorption
Spiral surface growth is well understood in the limit where the step motion
is controlled by the local supersaturation of adatoms near the spiral ridge. In
epitaxial thin-film growth, however, spirals can form in a step-flow regime
where desorption of adatoms is negligible and the ridge dynamics is governed by
the non-local diffusion field of adatoms on the whole surface. We investigate
this limit numerically using a phase-field formulation of the
Burton-Cabrera-Frank model, as well as analytically. Quantitative predictions,
which differ strikingly from those of the local limit, are made for the
selected step spacing as a function of the deposition flux, as well as for the
dependence of the relaxation time to steady-state growth on the screw
dislocation density.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, RevTe
Beyond conventional factorization: Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with radial oscillator spectrum
The eigenvalue problem of the spherically symmetric oscillator Hamiltonian is
revisited in the context of canonical raising and lowering operators. The
Hamiltonian is then factorized in terms of two not mutually adjoint factorizing
operators which, in turn, give rise to a non-Hermitian radial Hamiltonian. The
set of eigenvalues of this new Hamiltonian is exactly the same as the energy
spectrum of the radial oscillator and the new square-integrable eigenfunctions
are complex Darboux-deformations of the associated Laguerre polynomials.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
- …