A Third Planet Orbiting HIP 14810

We present new precision radial velocities and a three-planet Keplerian orbit fit for the V = 8.5, G5 V star HIP 14810. We began observing this star at Keck Observatory as part of the N2K Planet Search Project. Wright et al. (2007) announced the inner two planets to this system, and subsequent observations have revealed the outer planet planet and the proper orbital solution for the middle planet. The planets have minimum masses of 3.9, 1.3, and 0.6 M_Jup and orbital periods of 6.67, 147.7, and 952 d, respectively. We have numerically integrated the family of orbital solutions consistent with the data and find that they are stable for at least 10^6 yr. Our photometric search shows that the inner planet does not transit.Comment: ApJL, accepte

The numerical solution of forward–backward differential equations: Decomposition and related issues

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of computational and applied mathematics. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of computational and applied mathematics, 234,(2010), doi: 10.1016/j.cam.2010.01.039This journal article discusses the decomposition, by numerical methods, of solutions to mixed-type functional differential equations (MFDEs) into sums of “forward” solutions and “backward” solutions

Error estimates of a high order numerical method for solving linear fractional differential equations

In this paper, we first introduce an alternative proof of the error estimates of the numerical methods for solving linear fractional differential equations proposed in Diethelm [6] where a first-degree compound quadrature formula was used to approximate the Hadamard finite-part integral and the convergence order of the proposed numerical method is O(∆t 2−α ), 0 < α < 1, where α is the order of the fractional derivative and ∆t is the step size. We then use the similar idea to prove the error estimates of a high order numerical method for solving linear fractional differential equations proposed in Yan et al. [37], where a second-degree compound quadrature formula was used to approximate the Hadamard finite-part integral and we show that the convergence order of the numerical method is O(∆t 3−α ), 0 < α < 1. The numerical examples are given to show that the numerical results are consistent with the theoretical results

Prognostic implications of left ventricular global longitudinal strain in heart failure patients with narrow QRS complex treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy: a subanalysis of the randomized EchoCRT trial

Aim: Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) reflects LV systolic function and correlates inversely with the extent of LV myocardial scar and fibrosis. The present subanalysis of the Echocardiography Guided CRT trial investigated the prognostic value of LV GLS in patients with narrow QRS complex. Methods and results: Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) was measured on the apical 2-, 4- and 3-chamber views using speckle tracking analysis. Measurement of baseline LV GLS was feasible in 755 patients (374 with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT)-ON and 381 with CRT-OFF). The median value of LV GLS in the overall population was 7.9%, interquartile range 6.2–10.1%. After a mean follow-up period of 19.4 months, 95 patients in the CRT-OFF group and 111 in the CRT-ON group reached the combined primary endpoint of all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalization. Each 1% absolute unit decrease in LV GLS was independently associated with 11% increase in the risk to reach the primary endpoint (Hazard ratio 1.11; 95% confidence interval 95% 1.04–1.17, P &lt; 0.001), after adjusting for ischaemic cardiomyopathy and randomization treatment among other clinically relevant variables. When categorizing patients according to quartiles of LV GLS, the primary endpoint occurred more frequently in patients in the lowest quartile (&lt;6.2%) treated with CRT-ON vs. CRT-OFF (45.6% vs. 28.7%, P = 0.009) whereas, no differences were observed in patients with LV GLS ≥6.2% treated with CRT-OFF vs. CRT-ON (23.7% vs. 24.5%, respectively; P  = 0.62). Conclusion: Low LV GLS is associated with poor outcome in heart failure patients with QRS width &lt;130 ms, independent of randomization to CRT or not. Importantly, in the group of patients with the lowest LV GLS quartile, CRT may have a detrimental effect on clinical outcomes

Near-Infrared Thermal Emission from the Hot Jupiter TrES-2b: Ground-Based Detection of the Secondary Eclipse

We present near-infrared Ks-band photometry bracketing the secondary eclipse of the hot Jupiter TrES-2b using the Wide-field Infrared Camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. We detect its thermal emission with an eclipse depth of 0.062 +/- 0.012% (5-sigma). Our best-fit secondary eclipse is consistent with a circular orbit (a 3-sigma upper limit on the eccentricity, e, and argument or periastron, omega, of |ecos(omega)| < 0.0090), in agreement with mid-infrared detections of the secondary eclipse of this planet. A secondary eclipse of this depth corresponds to a day-side Ks-band brightness temperature of TB = 1636 +/- 88 K. Our thermal emission measurement when combined with the thermal emission measurements using Spitzer/IRAC from O'Donovan and collaborators suggest that this planet exhibits relatively efficient day to night-side redistribution of heat and a near isothermal dayside atmospheric temperature structure, with a spectrum that is well approximated by a blackbody. It is unclear if the atmosphere of TrES-2b requires a temperature inversion; if it does it is likely due to chemical species other than TiO/VO as the atmosphere of TrES-2b is too cool to allow TiO/VO to remain in gaseous form. Our secondary eclipse has the smallest depth of any detected from the ground at around 2 micron to date.Comment: ApJ accepted, 8 pages, 9 figures, in emulateapj format

Authenticated private information retrieval

This paper introduces protocols for authenticated private information retrieval. These schemes enable a client to fetch a record from a remote database server such that (a) the server does not learn which record the client reads, and (b) the client either obtains the authentic record or detects server misbehavior and safely aborts. Both properties are crucial for many applications. Standard private-information-retrieval schemes either do not ensure this form of output authenticity, or they require multiple database replicas with an honest majority. In contrast, we offer multi-server schemes that protect security as long as at least one server is honest. Moreover, if the client can obtain a short digest of the database out of band, then our schemes require only a single server. Performing an authenticated private PGP-public-key lookup on an OpenPGP key server\u27s database of 3.5 million keys (3 GiB), using two non-colluding servers, takes under 1.2 core-seconds of computation, essentially matching the time taken by unauthenticated private information retrieval. Our authenticated single-server schemes are 30-100$\times$ more costly than state-of-the-art unauthenticated single-server schemes, though they achieve incomparably stronger integrity properties

New observations of the extended hydrogen exosphere of the extrasolar planet HD209458b

Atomic hydrogen escaping from the planet HD209458b provides the largest observational signature ever detected for an extrasolar planet atmosphere. However, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) used in previous observational studies is no longer available, whereas additional observations are still needed to better constrain the mechanisms subtending the evaporation process, and determine the evaporation state of other `hot Jupiters'. Here, we aim to detect the extended hydrogen exosphere of HD209458b with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and to find evidence for a hydrogen comet-like tail trailing the planet, which size would depend on the escape rate and the amount of ionizing radiation emitted by the star. These observations also provide a benchmark for other transiting planets, in the frame of a comparative study of the evaporation state of close-in giant planets. Eight HST orbits are used to observe two transits of HD209458b. Transit light curves are obtained by performing photometry of the unresolved stellar Lyman-alpha emission line during both transits. Absorption signatures of exospheric hydrogen during the transit are compared to light curve models predicting a hydrogen tail. Transit depths of (9.6 +/- 7.0)% and (5.3 +/- 10.0)% are measured on the whole Lyman-alpha line in visits 1 and 2, respectively. Averaging data from both visits, we find an absorption depth of (8.0 +/- 5.7)%, in good agreement with previous studies. The extended size of the exosphere confirms that the planet is likely loosing hydrogen to space. Yet, the photometric precision achieved does not allow us to better constrain the hydrogen mass loss rate.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 5 pages, 3 figure