A Non-isothermal Theory for Interpreting Sodium Lines in Transmission Spectra of Exoplanets

We present a theory for interpreting the sodium lines detected in transmission spectra of exoplanetary atmospheres. Previous analyses employed the isothermal approximation and dealt only with the transit radius. By recognising the absorption depth and the transit radius as being independent observables, we develop a theory for jointly interpreting both quantities, which allows us to infer the temperatures and number densities associated with the sodium lines. We are able to treat a non-isothermal situation with a constant temperature gradient. Our novel diagnostics take the form of simple-to-use algebraic formulae and require measurements of the transit radii (and their corresponding absorption depths) at line center and in the line wing for both sodium lines. We apply our diagnostics to the HARPS data of HD 189733b, confirm the upper atmospheric heating reported by Huitson et al. (2012), derive a temperature gradient of $0.4376 \pm 0.0154$ K km$^{-1}$ and find densities $\sim 1$ to $10^4$ cm$^{-3}$.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters. 6 pages, 3 figure

Extroversion and introversion as factors affecting adult English-as-a-second-language learners

The purpose of this research is to investigate if there is a significant difference in literacy skills between Level-Two extroverts and introverts after three years of English instruction at the community-college level

Real-Time Distributed Aircraft Simulation through HLA

This paper presents some ongoing researches carried out in the context of the PRISE (Research Platform for Embedded Systems Engineering) Project. This platform has been designed to evaluate and validate new embedded system concepts and techniques through a special hardware and software environment. Since many actual embedded equipments are not available, their corresponding behavior is simulated using the HLA architecture, an IEEE standard for distributed simulation, and a Run-time infrastructure called CERTI and developed at ONERA. HLA is currently largely used in many simulation applications, but the limited performances of the RTIs raises doubts over the feasibility of HLA federations with real-time requirements. This paper addresses the problem of achieving real-time performances with HLA. Several experiments are discussed using well-known aircraft simulators such as the Microsoft Flight Simulator, FlightGear, and X-plane connected with the CERTI Run-time Infrastructure. The added value of these activities is to demonstrate that according to a set of innovative solutions, HLA is well suited to achieve hard real time constraints

The delta envelope: A technique for dose distribution comparison

International audienceThe gamma index is a tool that compares a dose distribution with a reference distribution by combining dose-difference and distance-to-agreement criteria. It has been widely used for ten years despite its high computational cost. This cost is due to both a search process for each reference point and the necessity to remove overestimations caused by the discrete nature of dose grids. The method proposed in this paper is much faster since it avoids both these problems. It consists in computing the delta envelope formed by the gamma ellipsoids around the points of the reference distribution. This delta envelope provides dose-difference tolerances that are then used to create new indices, called the delta indices, that provide useful information to interpret the deviations. Applied to both 1D and 2D test cases and compared to the gamma index, the delta indices proved to be very accurate and intuitive. Their computational efficiency was evaluated on a 3D case: the delta envelope can be computed in 8 s on a 250×250×50 grid. Moreover it can be precomputed if the reference dose is known in advance. Then the delta indices are obtained in less than 2 s

Variability of Child Rib Bone Hounsfield Units using in vivo Computed Tomography

The variability assessment of the rib bone mechanical properties during the growth process is still missing. These properties could not be obtained in vivo on children. Relationships have been obtained between Hounsfield Units from computed tomography (CT) and mechanical properties (e.g. for the cortical bone on adults). As a first step for investigation of the mechanical properties of child ribs, the aim of this study was to determine the Hounsfield Units variation of child ribs from CT‐scan data, by rib level, along the rib and within the rib sections. Twenty‐seven right ribs of levels 4, 6 and 9 were processed from 11 thoracic CT scans of children without bone lesions aged between 1 and 10 years. A first set of 10 equidistributed cross‐sections normal to the rib midline were extracted. Sixteen equally distributed elements defined 4 areas into the cortical band: internal, external, caudal and cranial. Within the rib sections, Hounsfield Units were found significantly higher in internal and external areas than in caudal and cranial. In a further step using calibrated CT scans, it would be possible to derive the mechanical properties of in vivo child ribs using bone density correlation with Hounsfield Units