93 research outputs found

    They might be giants: Luminosity class, planet occurrence, and planetmetallicity relation of the coolest kepler target stars

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    We estimate the stellar parameters of late K- and early M-type Kepler target stars. We obtain medium-resolution visible spectra of 382 stars with KP - J > 2 (≃K5 and later spectral type). We determine luminosity class by comparing the strength of gravity-sensitive indices (CaH, K I, Ca II, and Na I) to their strength in a sample of stars of known luminosity class. We find that giants constitute 96% ± 1% of the bright (K P < 14) Kepler target stars, and 7% ± 3% of dim (K P > 14) stars, significantly higher than fractions based on the stellar parameters quoted in the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC). The KIC effective temperatures are systematically (110+15 - 35K) higher than temperatures we determine from fitting our spectra to PHOENIX stellar models. Through Monte Carlo simulations of the Kepler exoplanet candidate population, we find a planet occurrence of 0.36 ± 0.08 when giant stars are properly removed, somewhat higher than when a KIC log g > 4 criterion is used (0.27 ± 0.05). Last, we show that there is no significant difference in g - r color (a probe of metallicity) between late-type Kepler stars with transiting Earth-to-Neptune-size exoplanet candidates and dwarf stars with no detected transits. We show that a previous claimed offset between these two populations is most likely an artifact of including a large number of misidentified giants

    Prospecting in late-type dwarfs: A calibration of infrared and visible spectroscopic metallicities of late K and M dwarfs spanning 1.5 dex

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    Knowledge of late K and M dwarf metallicities can be used to guide planet searches and constrain planet formation models. However, the determination of metallicities of late-type stars is difficult because visible wavelength spectra of their cool atmospheres contain many overlapping absorption lines, preventing the measurement of equivalent widths. We present new methods, and improved calibrations of existing methods, to determine metallicities of late K and M dwarfs from moderate resolution (1300 -0.5, but are less useful for more metal-poor stars

    Using multiple natural tags provides evidence for extensive larval dispersal across space and through time in summer flounder

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    Dispersal sets the fundamental scales of ecological and evolutionary dynamics and has important implications for population persistence. Patterns of marine dispersal remain poorly understood, partly because dispersal may vary through time and often homogenizes allele frequencies. However, combining multiple types of natural tags can provide more precise dispersal estimates, and biological collections can help to reconstruct dispersal patterns through time. We used single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes and otolith core microchemistry from archived collections of larval summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus, n = 411) captured between 1989 and 2012 at five locations along the US East coast to reconstruct dispersal patterns through time. Neither genotypes nor otolith microchemistry alone were sufficient to identify the source of larval fish. However, microchemistry identified clusters of larvae (n = 3–33 larvae per cluster) that originated in the same location, and genetic assignment of clusters could be made with substantially more confidence. We found that most larvae probably originated near a biogeographical break (Cape Hatteras) and that larvae were transported in both directions across this break. Larval sources did not shift north through time, despite the northward shift of adult populations in recent decades. Our novel approach demonstrates that summer flounder dispersal is widespread throughout their range, on both intra- and intergenerational timescales, and may be a particularly important process for synchronizing population dynamics and maintaining genetic diversity during an era of rapid environmental change. Broadly, our results reveal the value of archived collections and of combining multiple natural tags to understand the magnitude and directionality of dispersal in species with extensive gene flow

    Measurement of the splashback feature around SZ-selected Galaxy clusters with DES, SPT, and ACT

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    We present a detection of the splashback feature around galaxy clusters selected using the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) signal. Recent measurements of the splashback feature around optically selected galaxy clusters have found that the splashback radius, rsp, is smaller than predicted by N-body simulations. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that rsp inferred from the observed radial distribution of galaxies is affected by selection effects related to the optical cluster-finding algorithms. We test this possibility by measuring the splashback feature in clusters selected via the SZ effect in data from the South Pole Telescope SZ survey and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter survey. The measurement is accomplished by correlating these cluster samples with galaxies detected in the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data. The SZ observable used to select clusters in this analysis is expected to have a tighter correlation with halo mass and to be more immune to projection effects and aperture-induced biases, potentially ameliorating causes of systematic error for optically selected clusters. We find that the measured rsp for SZ-selected clusters is consistent with the expectations from simulations, although the small number of SZ-selected clusters makes a precise comparison difficult. In agreement with previous work, when using optically selected redMaPPer clusters with similar mass and redshift distributions, rsp is ∌2σ smaller than in the simulations. These results motivate detailed investigations of selection biases in optically selected cluster catalogues and exploration of the splashback feature around larger samples of SZ-selected clusters. Additionally, we investigate trends in the galaxy profile and splashback feature as a function of galaxy colour, finding that blue galaxies have profiles close to a power law with no discernible splashback feature, which is consistent with them being on their first infall into the cluster

    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Catalog of >4000 Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Galaxy Clusters

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    We present a catalog of 4195 optically confirmed Sunyaev–Zel'dovich (SZ) selected galaxy clusters detected with signal-to-noise ratio >4 in 13,211 deg2 of sky surveyed by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). Cluster candidates were selected by applying a multifrequency matched filter to 98 and 150 GHz maps constructed from ACT observations obtained from 2008 to 2018 and confirmed using deep, wide-area optical surveys. The clusters span the redshift range 0.04 1 clusters, and a total of 868 systems are new discoveries. Assuming an SZ signal versus mass-scaling relation calibrated from X-ray observations, the sample has a 90% completeness mass limit of M500c > 3.8 × 1014 M⊙, evaluated at z = 0.5, for clusters detected at signal-to-noise ratio >5 in maps filtered at an angular scale of 2farcm4. The survey has a large overlap with deep optical weak-lensing surveys that are being used to calibrate the SZ signal mass-scaling relation, such as the Dark Energy Survey (4566 deg2), the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (469 deg2), and the Kilo Degree Survey (825 deg2). We highlight some noteworthy objects in the sample, including potentially projected systems, clusters with strong lensing features, clusters with active central galaxies or star formation, and systems of multiple clusters that may be physically associated. The cluster catalog will be a useful resource for future cosmological analyses and studying the evolution of the intracluster medium and galaxies in massive clusters over the past 10 Gyr

    A resonant-term-based model including a nascent disk, precession, and oblateness: application to GJ 876

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    Investigations of two resonant planets orbiting a star or two resonant satellites orbiting a planet often rely on a few resonant and secular terms in order to obtain a representative quantitative description of the system's dynamical evolution. We present a semianalytic model which traces the orbital evolution of any two resonant bodies in a first- through fourth-order eccentricity or inclination-based resonance dominated by the resonant and secular arguments of the user's choosing. By considering the variation of libration width with different orbital parameters, we identify regions of phase space which give rise to different resonant ''depths,'' and propose methods to model libration profiles. We apply the model to the GJ 876 extrasolar planetary system, quantify the relative importance of the relevant resonant and secular contributions, and thereby assess the goodness of the common approximation of representing the system by just the presumably dominant terms. We highlight the danger in using ''order'' as the metric for accuracy in the orbital solution by revealing the unnatural libration centers produced by the second-order, but not first-order, solution, and by demonstrating that the true orbital solution lies somewhere ''in-between'' the third- and fourth-order solutions. We also present formulas used to incorporate perturbations from central-body oblateness and precession, and a protoplanetary or protosatellite thin disk with gaps, into a resonant system. We quantify these contributions to the GJ 876 system, and thereby highlight the conditions which must exist for multi-planet exosystems to be significantly influenced by such factors. We find that massive enough disks may convert resonant libration into circulation; such disk-induced signatures may provide constraints for future studies of exoplanet systems.Comment: 39 pages of body text, 21 figures, 5 tables, 1 appendix, accepted for publication in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronom

    Measurement of CP asymmetries and branching fraction ratios of B− decays to two charm mesons

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    The CPCP asymmetries of seven B−B^- decays to two charm mesons are measured using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9fb−19\text{fb}^{-1} of proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment. Decays involving a D∗0D^{*0} or Ds∗−D^{*-}_s meson are analysed by reconstructing only the D0D^0 or Ds−D^-_s decay products. This paper presents the first measurement of ACP(B−→Ds∗−D0)\mathcal{A}^{CP}(B^- \rightarrow D^{*-}_s D^0) and ACP(B−→Ds−D∗0)\mathcal{A}^{CP}(B^- \rightarrow D^{-}_s D^{*0}), and the most precise measurement of the other five CPCP asymmetries. There is no evidence of CPCP violation in any of the analysed decays. Additionally, two ratios between branching fractions of selected decays are measured.The CP asymmetries of seven B−^{−} decays to two charm mesons are measured using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1^{−1} of proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment. Decays involving a D∗0^{*0} or Ds∗− {D}_s^{\ast -} meson are analysed by reconstructing only the D0^{0} or Ds− {D}_s^{-} decay products. This paper presents the first measurement of ACP \mathcal{A} ^{CP}(B−^{−}→Ds∗− {D}_s^{\ast -} D0^{0}) and ACP \mathcal{A} ^{CP}(B−^{−}→Ds− {D}_s^{-} D∗0^{∗0}), and the most precise measurement of the other five CP asymmetries. There is no evidence of CP violation in any of the analysed decays. Additionally, two ratios between branching fractions of selected decays are measured.[graphic not available: see fulltext]The CPCP asymmetries of seven B−B^- decays to two charm mesons are measured using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−19\text{ fb}^{-1} of proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment. Decays involving a D∗0D^{*0} or Ds∗−D^{*-}_s meson are analysed by reconstructing only the D0D^0 or Ds−D^-_s decay products. This paper presents the first measurement of ACP(B−→Ds∗−D0)\mathcal{A}^{CP}(B^- \rightarrow D^{*-}_s D^0) and ACP(B−→Ds−D∗0)\mathcal{A}^{CP}(B^- \rightarrow D^{-}_s D^{*0}), and the most precise measurement of the other five CPCP asymmetries. There is no evidence of CPCP violation in any of the analysed decays. Additionally, two ratios between branching fractions of selected decays are measured
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