42,629 research outputs found
A photometric and spectroscopic survey of solar twin stars within 50 parsecs of the Sun: I. Atmospheric parameters and color similarity to the Sun
Solar twins and analogs are fundamental in the characterization of the Sun's
place in the context of stellar measurements, as they are in understanding how
typical the solar properties are in its neighborhood. They are also important
for representing sunlight observable in the night sky for diverse photometric
and spectroscopic tasks, besides being natural candidates for harboring
planetary systems similar to ours and possibly even life-bearing environments.
We report a photometric and spectroscopic survey of solar twin stars within 50
pc of the Sun. Hipparcos absolute magnitudes and (B-V)_Tycho colors were used
to define a 2 sigma box around the solar values, where 133 stars were
considered. Additional stars resembling the solar UBV colors in a broad sense,
plus stars present in the lists of Hardorp, were also selected. All objects
were ranked by a color-similarity index with respect to the Sun, defined by
uvby and BV photometry. Moderately high-resolution, high-S/N spectra were used
for a subsample of equatorial-southern stars to derive Teff, log g, and [Fe/H]
with average internal errors better than 50 K, 0.20 dex, and 0.08 dex,
respectively. Ages and masses were estimated from theoretical HR diagrams. The
color-similarity index proved very successful. We identify and rank new
excellent solar analogs, which are fit to represent the Sun in the night sky.
Some of them are faint enough to be of interest for moderately large
telescopes. We also identify two stars with near-UV spectra indistinguishable
from the Sun's. We present five new "probable" solar twin stars, besides five
new "possible" twins. Masses and ages for the best solar twin candidates lie
very close to the solar values, but chromospheric activity levels range
somewhat. We propose that the solar twins be emphasized in the ongoing searches
for extra-solar planets and SETI searches.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, 14 table
Dynamical Evolution of an Unstable Gravastar with Zero Mass
Using the conventional gravastar model, that is, an object constituted by two
components where one of them is a massive infinitely thin shell and the other
one is a de Sitter interior spacetime, we physically interpret a solution
characterized by a zero Schwarzschild mass. No stable gravastar is formed and
it collapses without forming an event horizon, originating what we call a
massive non-gravitational object. The most surprise here is that the collapse
occurs with an exterior de Sitter vacuum spacetime. This creates an object
which does not interact gravitationally with an outside test particle and it
may evolve to a point-like topological defect.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc
Dressing a Naked Singularity: an Example
Considering the evolution of a perfect fluid with self-similarity of the
second kind, we have found that an initial naked singularity can be trapped by
an event horizon due to collapsing matter. The fluid moves along time-like
geodesics with a self-similar parameter . Since the metric
obtained is not asymptotically flat, we match the spacetime of the fluid with a
Schwarzschild spacetime. All the energy conditions are fulfilled until the
naked singularity.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. This version corrects an error in the calculus of
the pressure and in the conclusion
Influence of Refractory Periods in the Hopfield model
We study both analytically and numerically the effects of including
refractory periods in the Hopfield model for associative memory. These periods
are introduced in the dynamics of the network as thresholds that depend on the
state of the neuron at the previous time. Both the retrieval properties and the
dynamical behaviour are analyzed.Comment: Revtex, 7 pages, 7 figure
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