2,681 research outputs found
A new magnetic white dwarf : PG2329+267
We have discovered that the white dwarf PG 2329+267 is magnetic, and assuming
a centered dipole structure, has a dipole magnetic field strength of
approximately 2.3MG. This makes it one of only approximately 4% of isolated
white dwarfs with a detectable magnetic field. Linear Zeeman splitting as well
as quadratic Zeeman shifts are evident in the hydrogen Balmer sequence and
circular spectropolarimetry reveals 10% circular polarisation in the two
displaced sigma components of Halpha. We suggest from comparison with spectra
of white dwarfs of known mass that PG 2329+267 is more massive than typical
isolated white dwarfs, in agreement with the hypothesis that magnetic white
dwarfs evolve from magnetic chemically peculiar Ap and Bp type main sequence
stars.Comment: 5 pages, with 2 encapsulated postscipts figures include
A Self-Occulting Accretion Disk in the SW Sex Star DW UMa
We present the ultraviolet spectrum of the SW Sex star and nova-like variable
DW UMa in an optical low state, as observed with the Space Telescope Imaging
Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The data are well
described by a synthetic white dwarf (WD) spectrum with T_eff = 46,000 +/- 1000
K, log g = 7.60 +/- 0.15, v*sin(i) = 370 +/- 100 km/s and Z/Z_solar = 0.47 +/-
0.15. For this combination of T_eff and log g, WD models predict M_WD = 0.48
+/- 0.06 M_solar and R_WD = (1.27 +/- 0.18) * 10^9 cm. Combining the radius
estimate with the normalization of the spectral fit, we obtain a distance
estimate of d = 830 +/-150 pc.
During our observations, DW UMa was approximately 3 magnitudes fainter in V
than in the high state. A comparison of our low-state HST spectrum to a
high-state spectrum obtained with the International Ultraviolet Explorer shows
that the former is much bluer and has a higher continuum level shortward of
1450 A. Since DW UMa is an eclipsing system, this suggests that an optically
thick accretion disk rim blocks our view of the WD primary in the high state.
If self-occulting accretion disks are common among the SW Sex stars, we can
account for (i) the preference for high-inclination systems within the class
and (ii) their V-shaped continuum eclipses. Moreover, even though the emission
lines produced by a self-obscured disk are generally still double-peaked, they
are weaker and narrower than those produced by an unobscured disk. This may
allow a secondary line emission mechanism to dominate and produce the
single-peaked, optical lines that are a distinguishing characteristic of the SW
Sex stars.Comment: 9 pages, including 2 figures; accepted for publication in
Astrophysical Journal Letters; New version matches version in press (footnote
added to discussion section; figures now use color
Pharmacogenomics in early-phase clinical development.
Pharmacogenomics (PGx) offers the promise of utilizing genetic fingerprints to predict individual responses to drugs in terms of safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Early-phase clinical trial PGx applications can identify human genome variations that are meaningful to study design, selection of participants, allocation of resources and clinical research ethics. Results can inform later-phase study design and pipeline developmental decisions. Nevertheless, our review of the clinicaltrials.gov database demonstrates that PGx is rarely used by drug developers. Of the total 323 trials that included PGx as an outcome, 80% have been conducted by academic institutions after initial regulatory approval. Barriers for the application of PGx are discussed. We propose a framework for the role of PGx in early-phase drug development and recommend PGx be universally considered in study design, result interpretation and hypothesis generation for later-phase studies, but PGx results from underpowered studies should not be used by themselves to terminate drug-development programs
Random Projections For Large-Scale Regression
Fitting linear regression models can be computationally very expensive in
large-scale data analysis tasks if the sample size and the number of variables
are very large. Random projections are extensively used as a dimension
reduction tool in machine learning and statistics. We discuss the applications
of random projections in linear regression problems, developed to decrease
computational costs, and give an overview of the theoretical guarantees of the
generalization error. It can be shown that the combination of random
projections with least squares regression leads to similar recovery as ridge
regression and principal component regression. We also discuss possible
improvements when averaging over multiple random projections, an approach that
lends itself easily to parallel implementation.Comment: 13 pages, 3 Figure
Searching for nova shells around cataclysmic variables
We present the results of a search for nova shells around 101 cataclysmic
variables (CVs), using Halpha images taken with the 4.2-m William Herschel
Telescope (WHT) and the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric Halpha Survey
of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS). Both telescopes are located on La
Palma. We concentrated our WHT search on nova-like variables, whilst our IPHAS
search covered all CVs in the IPHAS footprint. We found one shell out of the 24
nova-like variables we examined. The newly discovered shell is around V1315 Aql
and has a radius of approx.2.5 arcmin, indicative of a nova eruption
approximately 120 years ago. This result is consistent with the idea that the
high mass-transfer rate exhibited by nova-like variables is due to enhanced
irradiation of the secondary by the hot white dwarf following a recent nova
eruption. The implications of our observations for the lifetime of the
nova-like variable phase are discussed. We also examined 4 asynchronous polars,
but found no new shells around any of them, so we are unable to confirm that a
recent nova eruption is the cause of the asynchronicity in the white dwarf
spin. We find tentative evidence of a faint shell around the dwarf nova V1363
Cyg. In addition, we find evidence for a light echo around the nova V2275 Cyg,
which erupted in 2001, indicative of an earlier nova eruption approx.300 years
ago, making V2275 Cyg a possible recurrent nova.Comment: 14 pages, 50 figures, 3 Table
First Lunar Occultation Results from the 2.4 m Thai National Telescope equipped with ULTRASPEC
The recently inaugurated 2.4\,m Thai National Telescope (TNT) is equipped,
among other instruments, with the ULTRASPEC low-noise, frame-transfer EMCCD
camera. At the end of its first official observing season, we report on the use
of this facility to record high time resolution imaging using small detector
subarrays with sampling as fast as several \,Hz. In particular, we have
recorded lunar occultations of several stars which represent the first
contribution to this area of research made from South-East Asia with a
telescope of this class. Among the results, we discuss an accurate measurement
of ~Cnc, which has been reported previously as a suspected close
binary. Attempts to resolve this star by several authors have so far met with a
lack of unambiguous confirmation. With our observation we are able to place
stringent limits on the projected angular separation (<0\farcs003) and
brightness () of a putative companion. We also present a
measurement of the binary {HR~7072}, which extends considerably the time
coverage available for its yet undetermined orbit. We discuss our precise
determination of the flux ratio and projected separation in the context of
other available data. We conclude by providing an estimate of the performance
of ULTRASPEC at TNT for lunar occultation work. This facility can help to
extend the lunar occultation technique in a geographical area where no
comparable resources were available until now.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomical Journa
An observational test of common-envelope evolution
By analysing and modelling the change in the abundance ratio of
C/C and O/O on the surface of the lower mass star
of a binary during the common-envelope (CE) phase of evolution, we propose a
simple observational test of the CE scenario. The test is based on the infrared
measurement of either the C/C or O/O ratio of red
dwarfs in post-common envelope binaries (PCEB's). In certain cases
(main-sequence red dwarf secondaries in PCEB's without planetary nebulae), as
well as determining whether or not accretion has occurred during the CE phase,
we can determine the amount of mass accreted during the CE phase and hence the
initial mass of the red dwarf component prior to the CE phase. In the other
cases considered (low-mass red dwarfs in PCEB's and red dwarf's in PCEB's with
planetary nebulae) we can only say whether or not accretion has occurred during
the CE phase.Comment: uuencoded compressed postscript. The preprint are also available at
URL http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/preprint/PrePrint.htm
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