A new list of thorium and argon spectral lines in the visible

Aims. We present a new list of thorium and argon emission lines in the visible obtained by analyzing high-resolution (R=110,000) spectra of a ThAr hollow cathode lamp. The aim of this new line list is to allow significant improvements in the quality of wavelength calibration for medium- to high-resolution astronomical spectrographs. Methods. We use a series of ThAr lamp exposures obtained with the HARPS instrument (High Accuracy Radial-velocity Planet Searcher) to detect previously unknown lines, perform a systematic search for blended lines and correct individual wavelengths by determining the systematic offset of each line relative to the average wavelength solution. Results. We give updated wavelengths for more than 8400 lines over the spectral range 3785-6915 A. The typical internal uncertainty on the line positions is estimated to be ~10 m/s (3.3 parts in 10^8 or 0.18 mA), which is a factor of 2-10 better than the widely used Los Alamos Atlas of the Thorium Spectrum (Palmer & Engleman 1983). The absolute accuracy of the global wavelength scale is the same as in the Los Alamos Atlas. Using this new line list on HARPS ThAr spectra, we are able to obtain a global wavelength calibration which is precise at the 20 cm/s level (6.7 parts in 10^10 or 0.0037 mA). Conclusions. Several research fields in astronomy requiring high-precision wavelength calibration in the visible (e.g. radial velocity planet searches, variability of fundamental constants) should benefit from using the new line list.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The stopping cross section of gases for protons, 30-600 kev

The stopping cross section of H2, He, O2, air, N2, Ne, A, Kr, Xe, H2O, NH3, NO, N2O, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, and C6H6 for protons has been measured over the energy range Ep=30-600 kev. An electrostatic analyzer measures the energy of protons incident on a gas cell, and the transmitted beam energy is measured with a magnetic spectrometer. The gas cell is closed off with thin aluminum windows. Comparison of the molecular stopping cross section of the compounds with the values obtained by summing the constituent atomic cross sections shows that Bragg's rule does not hold for any of these compounds below Ep=150 kev; for NO the additive rule does not hold at any energy studied. Above 150 kev the stopping cross section of carbon is obtained by subtracting the hydrogen contribution from the values measured for the hydrocarbons. Average ionization potentials are calculated from these measurements. A range energy relation for protons in air is included. Sources of error are discussed; the probable error of the stopping cross section measurements varies between 2-4 percent

Physiological effects of environmental acidification in the deep-sea urchin <i>Strongylocentrotus fragilis</i>

Anthropogenic CO₂ is now reaching depths over 1000 m in the Eastern Pacific, overlapping the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). Deep-sea animals are suspected to be especially sensitive to environmental acidification associated with global climate change. We have investigated the effects of elevated <i>p</i>CO₂ and variable O₂ on the deep-sea urchin <i>Strongylocentrotus fragilis</i>, a species whose range of 200–1200 m depth includes the OMZ and spans a <i>p</i>CO₂ range of approx. 600–1200 μatm (approx. pH 7.6 to 7.8). Individuals were evaluated during two exposure experiments (1-month and 4 month) at control and three levels of elevated <i>p</i>CO₂ at in situ O₂ levels of approx. 10% air saturation. A treatment of control <i>p</i>CO₂ at 100% air saturation was also included in experiment two. During the first experiment, perivisceral coelomic fluid (PCF) acid-base balance was investigated during a one-month exposure; results show <i>S. fragilis</i> has limited ability to compensate for the respiratory acidosis brought on by elevated <i>p</i>CO₂, due in part to low non-bicarbonate PCF buffering capacity. During the second experiment, individuals were separated into fed and fasted experimental groups, and longer-term effects of elevated <i>p</i>CO₂ and variable O₂ on righting time, feeding, growth, and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were investigated for both groups. Results suggest that the acidosis found during experiment one does not directly correlate with adverse effects during exposure to realistic future <i>p</i>CO₂ levels

A High-Resolution Atlas of Uranium-Neon in the H Band

We present a high-resolution (R ~ 50 000) atlas of a uranium-neon (U/Ne) hollow-cathode spectrum in the H-band (1454 nm to 1638 nm) for the calibration of near-infrared spectrographs. We obtained this U/Ne spectrum simultaneously with a laser-frequency comb spectrum, which we used to provide a first-order calibration to the U/Ne spectrum. We then calibrated the U/Ne spectrum using the recently-published uranium line list of Redman et al. (2011), which is derived from high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer measurements. These two independent calibrations allowed us to easily identify emission lines in the hollow cathode lamp that do not correspond to known (classified) lines of either uranium or neon, and to compare the achievable precision of each source. Our frequency comb precision was limited by modal noise and detector effects, while the U/Ne precision was limited primarily by the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the observed emission lines and our ability to model blended lines. The standard deviation in the dispersion solution residuals from the S/N-limited U/Ne hollow cathode lamp were 50% larger than the standard deviation of the dispersion solution residuals from the modal-noise-limited laser frequency comb. We advocate the use of U/Ne lamps for precision calibration of near-infrared spectrographs, and this H-band atlas makes these lamps significantly easier to use for wavelength calibration.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, submitted and accepted in ApJSS. Online-only material to be published online by ApJS

Stopping Cross Section of Solids for Protons, 50-600 kev

The stopping cross sections of Li, Cu, LiF, CaF2, Pb, and Au for protons have been measured over the energy range Ep=50-600 kev; the stopping cross section of Be for protons has been measured for Ep=50-2600 kev. An electrostatic analyzer and magnetic spectrometer were used to measure the energy loss of protons in a thin film of the stopping material. The density of the stopping film was determined by weighing, or by quantitative chemical analysis of, a known area. The ratio of the stopping cross section of Al, Cu, Mn, Ta, and Pb to that of Au was measured by observing the yield of elastically scattered protons from these targets for Ep=200-600 kev. The ratio of stopping cross section of Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn, to that of Mn was measured for Ep=200-600 kev by the same method. In the region Z=23-29, the stopping cross section decreases as the atomic number of the stopping material increases. The probable error of absolute stopping cross section measurements in this experiment is 3%

The 7.68-Mev state in C12

Magnetic analysis of the alpha-particle spectrum from N14(d, α)C12 covering the excitation energy range from 4.4 to 9.2 Mev in C12 shows a level at 7.68±0.03 Mev. At Ed=620 kev, θlab=90°, transitions to this state are only 6 percent of those to the level at 4.43 Mev

Spatial variation in the fine-structure constant -- new results from VLT/UVES

(abridged) We present a new analysis of a large sample of quasar absorption-line spectra obtained using UVES (the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph) on the VLT (Very Large Telescope) in Chile. In the VLT sample (154 absorbers), we find evidence that alpha increases with increasing cosmological distance from Earth. However, as previously shown, the Keck sample (141 absorbers) provided evidence for a smaller alpha in the distant absorption clouds. Upon combining the samples an apparent variation of alpha across the sky emerges which is well represented by an angular dipole model pointing in the direction RA=(17.3 +/- 1.0) hr, dec. = (-61 +/- 10) deg, with amplitude (0.97 +0.22/-0.20) x 10^(-5). The dipole model is required at the 4.1 sigma statistical significance level over a simple monopole model where alpha is the same across the sky (but possibly different to the current laboratory value). The data sets reveal a number of remarkable consistencies: various data cuts are consistent and there is consistency in the overlap region of the Keck and VLT samples. Assuming a dipole-only (i.e. no-monopole) model whose amplitude grows proportionally with `lookback-time distance' (r=ct, where t is the lookback time), the amplitude is (1.1 +/- 0.2) x 10^(-6) GLyr^(-1) and the model is significant at the 4.2 sigma confidence level over the null model [Delta alpha]/alpha = 0). We apply robustness checks and demonstrate that the dipole effect does not originate from a small subset of the absorbers or spectra. We present an analysis of systematic effects, and are unable to identify any single systematic effect which can emulate the observed variation in alpha.Comment: 47 pages, 35 figures. Accepted for publication by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Please see http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~mmurphy/pub.html for an ASCII version of table A1 and the full set of Voigt profile fits for appendix

Chemical Abundances Of Three Metal-Poor Globular Clusters (NGC 6287, NGC 6293, And NGC 6541) In The Inner Halo

We present a chemical abundance study of three inner old halo clusters NGC 6287, NGC 6293, and NGC 6541, finding [Fe/H] = -2.01 +/- 0.05, -1.99 +/- 0.02, and -1.76 +/- 0.02, respectively, and our metallicity measurements are in good agreement with previous estimates. The mean alpha-element abundances of our program clusters are in good agreement with other globular clusters, confirming previous results. However, the individual alpha-elements appear to follow different trends. The silicon abundances of the inner halo clusters appear to be enhanced and the titanium abundances appear to be depleted compared to the intermediate halo clusters. Our results also appear to oppose to those of metal-rich bulge giants studied by McWilliam and Rich, who found that bulge giants are titanium enhanced and silicon deficient. In particular, [Si/Ti] ratios appear to be related to Galactocentric distances,in the sense that [Si/Ti] ratios decrease with Galactocentric distance. We propose that contributions from different masses of the SNe II progenitors that enriched proto-globular cluster clouds' elemental abundances and the different initial physical environments surrounding the proto-globular clusters clouds are responsible for this gradient in [Si/Ti] ratios versus Galactocentric distances of the "old halo" globular clusters. On the other hand, our program clusters' enhanced s-process elemental abundances suggest that the formation timescale of our program clusters might be as short as a few times 10^8 yr after the star formation is initiated in the Galaxy's central regions, if the s-process site is intermediate mass AGB stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ (Sept. 2002

Spectroscopic Analysis of Two Carbon Rich Post-AGB Stars

The chemical compositions of the C-rich pAGB stars IRAS 05113+1347 and IRAS 22272+5424 are determined from high-resolution optical spectra using standard LTE model atmosphere-based techniques. The stars are C, N, and $s$-process enriched suggesting efficient operation of the third-dredge up in the AGB star following a first dredge-up that increased the N abundance. Lithium is present with an abundance requiring Li manufacture. With this pair, abundance analyses are now available for 11 C-rich pAGBs. A common history is indicated and, in particular, the $s$-abundances, especially the relative abundances of light to heavy $s$-process elements, follow recent predictions for the third dredge-up in AGB stars.Comment: 41 pages (including 10 figs). 2001, ApJ, Accepte