19,008 research outputs found
They are Small Worlds After All: Revised Properties of Kepler M Dwarf Stars and their Planets
We classified the reddest () stars observed by the NASA
mission into main sequence dwarf or evolved giant stars and determined the
properties of 4216 M dwarfs based on a comparison of available photometry with
that of nearby calibrator stars, as well as available proper motions and
spectra. We revised the properties of candidate transiting planets using the
stellar parameters, high-resolution imaging to identify companion stars, and,
in the case of binaries, fitting light curves to identify the likely planet
host. In 49 of 54 systems we validated the primary as the host star. We
inferred the intrinsic distribution of M dwarf planets using the method of
iterative Monte Carlo simulation. We compared several models of planet orbital
geometry and clustering and found that one where planets are exponentially
distributed and almost precisely coplanar best describes the distribution of
multi-planet systems. We determined that M dwarfs host an average of
planets with radii of 1-4 and orbital periods of
1.5-180 d. The radius distribution peaks at and is
essentially zero at , although we identify three giant planet
candidates other than the previously confirmed Kepler-45b. There is suggestive
but not significant evidence that the radius distribution varies with orbital
period. The distribution with logarithmic orbital period is flat except for a
decline for orbits less than a few days. Twelve candidate planets, including
two Jupiter-size objects, experience an irradiance below the threshold level
for a runaway greenhouse on an Earth-like planet and are thus in a "habitable
zone".Comment: MNRAS, in press. Tables 1, 3, and 4 are available in electronic form
in the "anc" director
Resonant Leptogenesis and Verifiable Seesaw from Large Extra Dimensions
In the presence of large extra dimensions, the fundamental scale could be as
low as a few TeV. This yields leptogenesis and seesaw at a TeV scale.
Phenomenologically two TeV-scale Majorana fermions with a small mass split can
realize a resonant leptogenesis whereas a TeV-scale Higgs triplet with a small
trilinear coupling to the standard model Higgs doublet can give a verifiable
seesaw. We propose an interesting scenario where the small parameters for the
resonant leptogenesis and the type-II seesaw can be simultaneously generated by
the propagation of lepton number violation from distant branes to our world.Comment: 5 pages. More discussions and references. Published in PR
Space science/space station attached payload pointing accommodation study: Technology assessment white paper
Technology assessment is performed for pointing systems that accommodate payloads of large mass and large dimensions. Related technology areas are also examined. These related areas include active thermal lines or power cables across gimbals, new materials for increased passive damping, tethered pointing, and inertially reacting pointing systems. Conclusions, issues and concerns, and recommendations regarding the status and development of large pointing systems for space applications are made based on the performed assessments
Thermodynamics of Rotating Charged Black Branes in Third Order Lovelock Gravity and the Counterterm Method
We generalize the quasilocal definition of the stress energy tensor of
Einstein gravity to the case of third order Lovelock gravity, by introducing
the surface terms that make the action well-defined. We also introduce the
boundary counterterm that removes the divergences of the action and the
conserved quantities of the solutions of third order Lovelock gravity with zero
curvature boundary at constant and . Then, we compute the charged
rotating solutions of this theory in dimensions with a complete set of
allowed rotation parameters. These charged rotating solutions present black
hole solutions with two inner and outer event horizons, extreme black holes or
naked singularities provided the parameters of the solutions are chosen
suitable. We compute temperature, entropy, charge, electric potential, mass and
angular momenta of the black hole solutions, and find that these quantities
satisfy the first law of thermodynamics. We find a Smarr-type formula and
perform a stability analysis by computing the heat capacity and the determinant
of Hessian matrix of mass with respect to its thermodynamic variables in both
the canonical and the grand-canonical ensembles, and show that the system is
thermally stable. This is commensurate with the fact that there is no
Hawking-Page phase transition for black objects with zero curvature horizon.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure, a few references added, typos correcte
Escape path complexity and its context dependency in Pacific blue-eyes (Pseudomugil signifer)
The escape trajectories animals take following a predatory attack appear to
show high degrees of apparent 'randomness' - a property that has been described
as 'protean behaviour'. Here we present a method of quantifying the escape
trajectories of individual animals using a path complexity approach. When fish
(Pseudomugil signifer) were attacked either on their own or in groups, we find
that an individual's path rapidly increases in entropy (our measure of
complexity) following the attack. For individuals on their own, this entropy
remains elevated (indicating a more random path) for a sustained period (10
seconds) after the attack, whilst it falls more quickly for individuals in
groups. The entropy of the path is context dependent. When attacks towards
single fish come from greater distances, a fish's path shows less complexity
compared to attacks that come from short range. This context dependency effect
did not exist, however, when individuals were in groups. Nor did the path
complexity of individuals in groups depend on a fish's local density of
neighbours. We separate out the components of speed and direction changes to
determine which of these components contributes to the overall increase in path
complexity following an attack. We found that both speed and direction measures
contribute similarly to an individual's path's complexity in absolute terms.
Our work highlights the adaptive behavioural tactics that animals use to avoid
predators and also provides a novel method for quantifying the escape
trajectories of animals.Comment: 9 page
Exploring the use of dynamic language assessment with deaf children, who use American Sign Language: Two case studies
We describe a model for assessment of lexical-semantic organization skills in American Sign Language (ASL) within the framework of dynamic vocabulary assessment and discuss the applicability and validity of the use of mediated learning experiences (MLE) with deaf signing children. Two elementary students (ages 7;6 and 8;4) completed a set of four vocabulary tasks and received two 30-minute mediations in ASL. Each session consisted of several scripted activities focusing on the use of categorization. Both had experienced difficulties in providing categorically related responses in one of the vocabulary tasks used previously. Results showed that the two students exhibited notable differences with regards to their learning pace, information uptake, and effort required by the mediator. Furthermore, we observed signs of a shift in strategic behavior by the lower performing student during the second mediation. Results suggest that the use of dynamic assessment procedures in a vocabulary context was helpful in understanding children's strategies as related to learning potential. These results are discussed in terms of deaf children's cognitive modifiability with implications for planning instruction and how MLE can be used with a population that uses ASL
Numerical modeling of dynamic powder compaction using the Kawakita equation of state
Dynamic powder compaction is analyzed using the assumption that the powder behaves, while it is being compacted, like a hydrodynamic fluid in which deviatoric stress and heat conduction effects can be ignored throughout the process. This enables techniques of computational fluid dynamics such the equilibrium flux method to be used as a modeling tool. The equation of state of the powder under compression is assumed to be a modified version of the Kawakita loading curve. Computer simulations using this model are performed for conditions matching as closely as possible with those from experiments by Page and Killen [Powder Metall. 30, 233 (1987)]. The numerical and experimental results are compared and a surprising degree of qualitative agreement is observed
Dirac neutrino mass from the beta decay end-point modified by the dynamics of a Lorentz-violating equation of motion
Using a generalized procedure for obtaining the equation of motion of a
propagating fermionic particle, we examine previous claims for a lightlike
preferred axis embedded in the framework of Lorentz-invariance violation with
preserved algebra. In a high energy scale, the corresponding equation of motion
is reduced to a conserving lepton number chiral (VSR) equation, and in a low
energy scale, the Dirac equation for a free is recovered. The new dynamics
introduces some novel ingredients (modified cross section) to the phenomenology
of the tritium beta decay end-point.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Leptogenesis implications in models with Abelian family symmetry and one extra real Higgs singlet
We show that the neutrino models, as suggested by Low, which have an
additional Abelian family symmetry and a real Higgs singlet to the default
see-saw do not hinder the possibility of successful thermal leptogenesis. For
these models (neglecting radiative effects), we have investigated the situation
of strong washout in both the one-flavor approximation and when flavor effects
are included. The result is that while such models predict that theta_{13}=0
and that one light neutrino to be massless, they do not modify or provide
significant constraints on the typical leptogenesis scenario where the final
asymmetry is dominated by the decays of the lightest right-handed neutrinos.Comment: 18 pages, RevTeX4, accepted by Phys. Rev. D. v2: minor corrections,
note and 1 ref. added, same content as published versio
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