4,153 research outputs found
Structure and dynamics of a model glass: influence of long-range forces
We vary the amplitude of the long-range Coulomb forces within a classical
potential describing a model silica glass and study the consequences on the
structure and dynamics of the glass, via molecular dynamics simulations. This
model allows us to follow the variation of specific features such as the First
Sharp Diffraction Peak and the Boson Peak in a system going continuously from a
fragile (no Coulomb forces) to a strong (with Coulomb forces) glass. In
particular we show that the characteristic features of a strong glass
(existence of medium range order, bell-shaped ring size distribution, sharp
Boson peak) appear as soon as tetrahedral units are formed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To be published in J.Phys.: C
Cumulative and Differential Effects of Early Child Care and Middle Childhood Out-of-School Time on Adolescent Functioning.
Effects associated with early child care and out-of-school time (OST) during middle childhood were examined in a large sample of U.S. adolescents (N = 958). Both higher quality early child care AND more epochs of organized activities (afterschool programs and extracurricular activities) during middle childhood were linked to higher academic achievement at age 15. Differential associations were found in the behavioral domain. Higher quality early child care was associated with fewer externalizing problems, whereas more hours of early child care was linked to greater impulsivity. More epochs of organized activities was associated with greater social confidence. Relations between early child care and adolescent outcomes were not mediated or moderated by OST arrangements in middle childhood, consistent with independent, additive relations of these nonfamilial settings
Revisiting the transits of CoRoT-7b at a lower activity level
CoRoT-7b, the first super-Earth with measured radius discovered, has opened
the new field of rocky exoplanets characterisation. To better understand this
interesting system, new observations were taken with the CoRoT satellite.
During this run 90 new transits were obtained in the imagette mode. These were
analysed together with the previous 151 transits obtained in the discovery run
and HARPS radial velocity observations to derive accurate system parameters. A
difference is found in the posterior probability distribution of the transit
parameters between the previous CoRoT run (LRa01) and the new run (LRa06). We
propose this is due to an extra noise component in the previous CoRoT run
suspected to be transit spot occultation events. These lead to the mean transit
shape becoming V-shaped. We show that the extra noise component is dominant at
low stellar flux levels and reject these transits in the final analysis. We
obtained a planetary radius, , in agreement
with previous estimates. Combining the planetary radius with the new mass
estimates results in a planetary density of
which is consistent with a rocky composition. The CoRoT-7 system remains an
excellent test bed for the effects of activity in the derivation of planetary
parameters in the shallow transit regime.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted to A&
Noise properties of the CoRoT data: a planet-finding perspective
In this short paper, we study the photometric precision of stellar light
curves obtained by the CoRoT satellite in its planet finding channel, with a
particular emphasis on the timescales characteristic of planetary transits.
Together with other articles in the same issue of this journal, it forms an
attempt to provide the building blocks for a statistical interpretation of the
CoRoT planet and eclipsing binary catch to date.
After pre-processing the light curves so as to minimise long-term variations
and outliers, we measure the scatter of the light curves in the first three
CoRoT runs lasting more than 1 month, using an iterative non-linear filter to
isolate signal on the timescales of interest. The bevhaiour of the noise on 2h
timescales is well-described a power-law with index 0.25 in R-magnitude,
ranging from 0.1mmag at R=11.5 to 1mmag at R=16, which is close to the
pre-launch specification, though still a factor 2-3 above the photon noise due
to residual jitter noise and hot pixel events. There is evidence for a slight
degradation of the performance over time. We find clear evidence for enhanced
variability on hours timescales (at the level of 0.5 mmag) in stars identified
as likely giants from their R-magnitude and B-V colour, which represent
approximately 60 and 20% of the observed population in the direction of Aquila
and Monoceros respectively. On the other hand, median correlated noise levels
over 2h for dwarf stars are extremely low, reaching 0.05mmag at the bright end.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Reconciling social norms with personal interests: indigenous styles of identity formation among Pakistani youth
Research on identity formation has been conducted mostly in Western contexts. We extend and complement such research by exploring qualitatively the strategies and styles of identity formation employed by emerging adults in Pakistan. Whereas Western theories of identity formation often provide a negative view of normative orientation as “blind obedience” without exploring alternatives, our thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 12 Pakistani emerging adults suggests a much more complex interplay between personal interests and normative influences on identity formation. Participants described various ways of reconciling normative expectations (parental, religious, and cultural) with their personal interests, preferences, and explorations, when deciding about their careers, relationships, and values. In Pakistani culture, normative influences seem to play a more positive and flexible role in identity formation than is suggested by previous Western research
Cooperativity in sandpiles: statistics of bridge geometries
Bridges form dynamically in granular media as a result of spatiotemporal
inhomogeneities. We classify bridges as linear and complex, and analyse their
geometrical characteristics. In particular, we find that the length
distribution of linear bridges is exponential. We then turn to the analysis of
the orientational distribution of linear bridges and find that, in three
dimensions, they are {\it vertically diffusive but horizontally
superdiffusive}; thus, when they exist, long linear bridges form `domes'. Our
results are in good accord with Monte Carlo simulations of bridge structure; we
make predictions for quantities that are experimentally accessible, and suggest
that bridges are very closely related to force chains.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Minor changes and update
The secondary eclipses of WASP-19b as seen by the ASTEP 400 telescope from Antarctica
The ASTEP (Antarctica Search for Transiting ExoPlanets) program was
originally aimed at probing the quality of the Dome C, Antarctica for the
discovery and characterization of exoplanets by photometry. In the first year
of operation of the 40 cm ASTEP 400 telescope (austral winter 2010), we
targeted the known transiting planet WASP-19b in order to try to detect its
secondary transits in the visible. This is made possible by the excellent
sub-millimagnitude precision of the binned data. The WASP-19 system was
observed during 24 nights in May 2010. The photometric variability level due to
starspots is about 1.8% (peak-to-peak), in line with the SuperWASP data from
2007 (1.4%) and larger than in 2008 (0.07%). We find a rotation period of
WASP-19 of 10.7 +/- 0.5 days, in agreement with the SuperWASP determination of
10.5 +/- 0.2 days. Theoretical models show that this can only be explained if
tidal dissipation in the star is weak, i.e. the tidal dissipation factor Q'star
> 3.10^7. Separately, we find evidence for a secondary eclipse of depth 390 +/-
190 ppm with a 2.0 sigma significance, a phase consistent with a circular orbit
and a 3% false positive probability. Given the wavelength range of the
observations (420 to 950 nm), the secondary transit depth translates into a day
side brightness temperature of 2690(-220/+150) K, in line with measurements in
the z' and K bands. The day side emission observed in the visible could be due
either to thermal emission of an extremely hot day side with very little
redistribution of heat to the night side, or to direct reflection of stellar
light with a maximum geometrical albedo Ag=0.27 +/- 0.13. We also report a
low-frequency oscillation well in phase at the planet orbital period, but with
a lower-limit amplitude that could not be attributed to the planet phase alone,
and possibly contaminated with residual lightcurve trends.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 13 pages, 13
figure
Removing systematics from the CoRoT light curves: I. Magnitude-Dependent Zero Point
This paper presents an analysis that searched for systematic effects within
the CoRoT exoplanet field light curves. The analysis identified a systematic
effect that modified the zero point of most CoRoT exposures as a function of
stellar magnitude. We could find this effect only after preparing a set of
learning light curves that were relatively free of stellar and instrumental
noise. Correcting for this effect, rejecting outliers that appear in almost
every exposure, and applying SysRem, reduced the stellar RMS by about 20 %,
without attenuating transit signals.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Direct reaction measurements with a 132Sn radioactive ion beam
The (d,p) neutron transfer and (d,d) elastic scattering reactions were
measured in inverse kinematics using a radioactive ion beam of 132Sn at 630
MeV. The elastic scattering data were taken in a region where Rutherford
scattering dominated the reaction, and nuclear effects account for less than 8%
of the cross section. The magnitude of the nuclear effects was found to be
independent of the optical potential used, allowing the transfer data to be
normalized in a reliable manner. The neutron-transfer reaction populated a
previously unmeasured state at 1363 keV, which is most likely the
single-particle 3p1/2 state expected above the N=82 shell closure. The data
were analyzed using finite range adiabatic wave calculations and the results
compared with the previous analysis using the distorted wave Born
approximation. Angular distributions for the ground and first excited states
are consistent with the previous tentative spin and parity assignments.
Spectroscopic factors extracted from the differential cross sections are
similar to those found for the one neutron states beyond the benchmark
doubly-magic nucleus 208Pb.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
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