2,233 research outputs found
Distinguishing an ejected blob from alternative flare models at the Galactic centre with GRAVITY
The black hole at the Galactic centre exhibits regularly flares of radiation,
the origin of which is still not understood. In this article, we study the
ability of the near-future GRAVITY infrared instrument to constrain the nature
of these events. We develop realistic simulations of GRAVITY astrometric data
sets for various flare models. We show that the instrument will be able to
distinguish an ejected blob from alternative flare models, provided the blob
inclination is >= 45deg, the flare brightest magnitude is 14 <= mK <= 15 and
the flare duration is >= 1h30.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted by MNRA
A spike of CO2 in the atmosphere at glacial-interglacial boundaries induced by rapid deposition of manganese in the oceans
The model presented here provides an explanation of the rapid response of atmospheric CO2 to increasing solar insolation. In the glacial ocean, during periods of slow, deep water renewal, when less oxygen is supplied to the deep ocean and into sediments, manganese oxide in the sediments is reduced and forms soluble MnCO3 and stays in the water column. The dissolved Mn-carbonate should then reach a concentration of ≥ 10µMol/liter, approximately 5,000 to 104 times larger than it is at present. This is the mode prevailing until deep water formation at high latitudes starts again. As soon as the balance between oxygen and organic matter becomes oxidizing once more, the deposition of MnO2 recommences. Oxidation of dissolved Mn2+CO3 to Mn4+O2 which is a spike of acidity to the ocean, rapidly lowers the CO3−− concentration in the water column and enhances release of CO2 to the atmosphere, producing the observed events of CO2 increase at the transitions from glacials to interglacials. The surprising conclusion is that the oceanic (redox-) cycle of a minor element may have had a major impact on Earth's climate
Improving Monolithic Perovskite Silicon Tandem Solar Cells From an Optical Viewpoint
Perovskite silicon tandem solar cells are the most promising concept for a future photovoltaic technology. We report on recent progress from an optical viewpoint and disucss how we achieved more than 25 device efficienc
Antireflective nanotextures for monolithic perovskite silicon tandem solar cells
Recently, we studied the effect of hexagonal sinusoidal textures on the reflective properties of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells using the finite element method FEM . We saw that such nanotextures, applied to the perovskite top cell, can strongly increase the current density utilization from 91 for the optimized planar reference to 98 for the best nanotextured device period 500 nm and peak to valley height 500 nm , where 100 refers to the Tiedje Yablonovitch limit. [D. Chen et al., J. Photonics Energy 8, 022601, 2018 , doi 10.1117 1.JPE.8.022601] In this manuscript we elaborate on some numerical details of that work we validate an assumption based on the Tiedje Yablonovitch limit, we present a convergence study for simulations with the finite element method, and we compare different configurations for sinusoidal nanotexture
GCIRS16SW: a massive eclipsing binary in the Galactic Center
We report on the spectroscopic monitoring of GCIRS16SW, an Ofpe/WN9 star and
LBV candidate in the central parsec of the Galaxy. SINFONI observations show
strong daily spectroscopic changes in the K band. Radial velocities are derived
from the HeI 2.112 um line complex and vary regularly with a period of 19.45
days, indicating that the star is most likely an eclipsing binary. Under
various assumptions, we are able to derive a mass of ~ 50 Msun for each
component.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, ApJ Letters accepte
GRAVITY: The AO-Assisted, Two-Object Beam-Combiner Instrument
We present the proposal for the infrared adaptive optics (AO) assisted,
two-object, high-throughput, multiple-beam-combiner GRAVITY for the VLTI. This
instrument will be optimized for phase-referenced interferometric imaging and
narrow-angle astrometry of faint, red objects. Following the scientific
drivers, we analyze the VLTI infrastructure, and subsequently derive the
requirements and concept for the optimum instrument. The analysis can be
summarized with the need for highest sensitivity, phase referenced imaging and
astrometry of two objects in the VLTI beam, and infrared wavefront-sensing.
Consequently our proposed instrument allows the observations of faint, red
objects with its internal infrared wavefront sensor, pushes the optical
throughput by restricting observations to K-band at low and medium spectral
resolution, and is fully enclosed in a cryostat for optimum background
suppression and stability. Our instrument will thus increase the sensitivity of
the VLTI significantly beyond the present capabilities. With its two fibers per
telescope beam, GRAVITY will not only allow the simultaneous observations of
two objects, but will also push the astrometric accuracy for UTs to 10
micro-arcsec, and provide simultaneous astrometry for up to six baselines.Comment: 12 pages, to be published in the Proceedings of the ESO Workshop on
"The Power of Optical/IR Interferometry: Recent Scientific Results and 2nd
Generation VLTI Instrumentation", eds. F. Paresce, A. Richichi, A. Chelli and
F. Delplancke, held in Garching, Germany, 4-8 April 200
Nematode communities, plant nutrient economy and life-cycle characteristics jointly determine plant monoculture performance over 12 years
Apoastron Shift Constraints on Dark Matter Distribution at the Galactic Center
The existence of dark matter (DM) at scales of few pc down to pc around the centers of galaxies and in particular in the Galactic
Center region has been considered in the literature. Under the assumption that
such a DM clump, principally constituted by non-baryonic matter (like WIMPs)
does exist at the center of our galaxy, the study of the -ray emission
from the Galactic Center region allows us to constrain both the mass and the
size of this DM sphere. Further constraints on the DM distribution parameters
may be derived by observations of bright infrared stars around the Galactic
Center. Hall and Gondolo \cite{hallgondolo} used estimates of the enclosed mass
obtained in various ways and tabulated by Ghez et al.
\cite{Ghez_2003,Ghez_2005}. Moreover, if a DM cusp does exist around the
Galactic Center it could modify the trajectories of stars moving around it in a
sensible way depending on the DM mass distribution. Here, we discuss the
constraints that can be obtained with the orbit analysis of stars (as S2 and
S16) moving inside the DM concentration with present and next generations of
large telescopes. In particular, consideration of the S2 star apoastron shift
may allow improving limits on the DM mass and size.Comment: in press on Phys. Rev.
Flares and variability from Sagittarius A*: five nights of simultaneous multi-wavelength observations
Aims. We report on simultaneous observations and modeling of mid-infrared
(MIR), near-infrared (NIR), and submillimeter (submm) emission of the source
Sgr A* associated with the supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy.
Our goal was to monitor the activity of Sgr A* at different wavelengths in
order to constrain the emitting processes and gain insight into the nature of
the close environment of Sgr A*. Methods. We used the MIR instrument VISIR in
the BURST imaging mode, the adaptive optics assisted NIR camera NACO, and the
sub-mm antenna APEX to monitor Sgr A* over several nights in July 2007.
Results. The observations reveal remarkable variability in the NIR and sub-mm
during the five nights of observation. No source was detected in the MIR, but
we derived the lowest upper limit for a flare at 8.59 microns (22.4 mJy with
A_8.59mu = 1.6+/- 0.5). This observational constraint makes us discard the
observed NIR emission as coming from a thermal component emitting at sub-mm
frequencies. Moreover, comparison of the sub-mm and NIR variability shows that
the highest NIR fluxes (flares) are coincident with the lowest sub-mm levels of
our five-night campaign involving three flares. We explain this behavior by a
loss of electrons to the system and/or by a decrease in the magnetic field, as
might conceivably occur in scenarios involving fast outflows and/or magnetic
reconnection.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, published in A&
3D AMR hydrosimulations of a compact source scenario for the Galactic Centre cloud G2
The nature of the gaseous and dusty cloud G2 in the Galactic Centre is still
under debate. We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical adaptive mesh
refinement (AMR) simulations of G2, modeled as an outflow from a "compact
source" moving on the observed orbit. The construction of mock
position-velocity (PV) diagrams enables a direct comparison with observations
and allow us to conclude that the observational properties of the gaseous
component of G2 could be matched by a massive () and slow ()
outflow, as observed for T Tauri stars. In order for this to be true, only the
material at larger () distances from the source must be
actually emitting, otherwise G2 would appear too compact compared to the
observed PV diagrams. On the other hand, the presence of a central dusty source
might be able to explain the compactness of G2's dust component. In the present
scenario, 5-10 years after pericentre the compact source should decouple from
the previously ejected material, due to the hydrodynamic interaction of the
latter with the surrounding hot and dense atmosphere. In this case, a new
outflow should form, ahead of the previous one, which would be the smoking gun
evidence for an outflow scenario.Comment: resubmitted to MNRAS after referee report, 16 pages, 11 figure
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