242 research outputs found
A hot Jupiter transiting a mid-K dwarf found in the pre-OmegaCam Transit Survey
We describe the pre-OmegaTranS project, a deep survey for transiting
extra-solar planets in the Carina region of the Galactic Disk. In 2006-2008 we
observed a single dense stellar field with a very high cadence of ~2min using
the ESO Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory. Using the Astronomical
Wide-field System for Europe and the Munich Difference Imaging Analysis
pipeline, a module that has been developed for this project, we created the
light curves of 16000 stars with more than 4000 data points which we searched
for periodic transit signals using a box-fitting least-squares detection
algorithm. All light curves are publicly available. In the course of the
pre-OmegaTranS project we identified two planet candidates - POTS-1b and
POTS-C2b - which we present in this work. With extensive follow-up observations
we were able to confirm one of them, POTS-1b, a hot Jupiter transiting a mid-K
dwarf. The planet has a mass of 2.31+-0.77M_Jup and a radius of 0.94+-0.04R_Jup
and a period of P=3.16d. The host star POTS-1 has a radius of 0.59+-0.02R_Sun
and a mass of 0.70+-0.05M_Sun. Due to its low apparent brightness of I=16.1mag
the follow-up and confirmation of POTS-1b was particularly challenging and
costly.Comment: 18 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Kinetic Equation for Gluons in the Background Gauge of QCD
We derive the quantum kinetic equation for a pure gluon plasma, applying the
background field and closed-time-path method. The derivation is more general
and transparent than earlier works. A term in the equation is found which, as
in the classical case, corresponds to the color charge precession for partons
moving in the gauge field.Comment: RevTex 4, 4 pages, no figure, PRL accepted versio
Relativistic calculations of the K-K charge transfer and K-vacancy production probabilities in low-energy ion-atom collisions
The previously developed technique for evaluation of charge-transfer and
electron-excitation processes in low-energy heavy-ion collisions [I.I. Tupitsyn
et al., Phys. Rev. A 82, 042701(2010)] is extended to collisions of ions with
neutral atoms. The method employs the active electron approximation, in which
only the active electron participates in the charge transfer and excitation
processes while the passive electrons provide the screening DFT potential. The
time-dependent Dirac wave function of the active electron is represented as a
linear combination of atomic-like Dirac-Fock-Sturm orbitals, localized at the
ions (atoms). The screening DFT potential is calculated using the overlapping
densities of each ions (atoms), derived from the atomic orbitals of the passive
electrons. The atomic orbitals are generated by solving numerically the
one-center Dirac-Fock and Dirac-Fock-Sturm equations by means of a
finite-difference approach with the potential taken as the sum of the exact
reference ion (atom) Dirac-Fock potential and of the Coulomb potential from the
other ion within the monopole approximation. The method developed is used to
calculate the K-K charge transfer and K-vacancy production probabilties for the
Ne -- F collisions at the F projectile
energies 130 keV/u and 230 keV/u. The obtained results are compared with
experimental data and other theoretical calculations. The K-K charge transfer
and K-vacancy production probabilities are also calculated for the Xe --
Xe collision.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Stability of dark solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an optical lattice
We investigate the stability of dark solitons (DSs) in an effectively
one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of the magnetic
parabolic trap and an optical lattice (OL). The analysis is based on both the
full Gross-Pitaevskii equation and its tight-binding approximation counterpart
(discrete nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation). We find that DSs are subject to
weak instabilities with an onset of instability mainly governed by the period
and amplitude of the OL. The instability, if present, sets in at large times
and it is characterized by quasi-periodic oscillations of the DS about the
minimum of the parabolic trap.Comment: Typo fixed in Eq. (1): cos^2 -> sin^
Detectability of Strange Matter in Heavy Ion Experiments
We discuss the properties of two distinct forms of hypothetical strange
matter, small lumps of strange quark matter (strangelets) and of hyperon matter
(metastable exotic multihypernuclear objects: MEMOs), with special emphasis on
their relevance for present and future heavy ion experiments. The masses of
small strangelets up to A = 40 are calculated using the MIT bag model with
shell mode filling for various bag parameters. The strangelets are checked for
possible strong and weak hadronic decays, also taking into account multiple
hadron decays. It is found that strangelets which are stable against strong
decay are most likely highly negative charged, contrary to previous findings.
Strangelets can be stable against weak hadronic decay but their masses and
charges are still rather high. This has serious impact on the present high
sensitivity searches in heavy ion experiments at the AGS and CERN facilities.
On the other hand, highly charged MEMOs are predicted on the basis of an
extended relativistic mean-field model. Those objects could be detected in
future experiments searching for short-lived, rare composites. It is
demonstrated that future experiments can be sensitive to a much wider variety
of strangelets.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, uses RevTeX and epsf.st
Dilepton production by bremsstrahlung of meson fields in nuclear collisions
We study the bremsstrahlung of virtual omega mesons due to the collective
deceleration of nuclei at the initial stage of an ultrarelativistic heavy-ion
collision. It is shown that electromagnetic decays of these mesons may give an
important contribution to the observed yields of dileptons. Mass spectra of
positron-electron and muon pairs produced in central Au+Au collisions are
calculated under some simplifying assumptions on the space-time variation of
the baryonic current in a nuclear collision process. Comparison with the CERES
data for 160 AGev Pb+Au collisions shows that the proposed mechanism gives a
noticeable fraction of the observed lepton pairs in the intermediate region of
invariant masses. Sensitivity of the dilepton yield to the in-medium
modification of masses and widths of vector mesons is demonstrated.Comment: 14 page
Spin dynamics of wave packets evolving with the Dirac Hamiltonian in atoms with high Z
The motion of circular WP for one electron in central Coulomb field with high
Z is calculated. The WP is defined in terms of solutions of the Dirac equation
in order to take into account all possible relevant effects in particular the
spin-orbit potential. A time scale is defined within which spin dynamics must
be taken into account mainly in the atoms with high Z. Within this time scale
there exists a mechanism of collapses and revivals of the spin already shown by
the authors for harmonic oscillator potential and called the 'spin-orbit
pendulum'. However this effect has not the exact periodicity of the simpler
model, but the WP's spatial motion is nevertheless quite similar.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, LaTeX2e, uses IOP style files (included). Title
changed, one reference adde
Use of Site-Specifically Tethered Chemical Nucleases to Study Macromolecular Reactions
During a complex macromolecular reaction multiple changes in molecular conformation and interactions with ligands may occur. X-ray crystallography may provide only a limited set of snapshots of these changes. Solution methods can augment such structural information to provide a more complete picture of a macromolecular reaction. We analyzed the changes in protein conformation and protein:nucleic acid interactions which occur during transcription initiation by using a chemical nuclease tethered to cysteines introduced site-specifically into the RNA polymerase of bacteriophage T7 (T7 RNAP). Changes in cleavage patterns as the polymerase steps through transcription reveal a series of structural transitions which mediate transcription initiation. Cleavage by tethered chemical nucleases is seen to be a powerful method for revealing the conformational dynamics of macromolecular reactions, and has certain advantages over cross-linking or energy transfer approaches
A stopped Delta-Matter Source in Heavy Ion Collisions at 10 GeV/n
We predict the formation of highly dense baryon-rich resonance matter in
Au+Au collisions at AGS energies. The final pion yields show observable signs
for resonance matter. The Delta(1232) resonance is predicted to be the dominant
source for pions of small transverse momenta. Rescattering effects --
consecutive excitation and deexcitation of Deltas -- lead to a long apparent
lifetime (> 10 fm/c) and rather large volumina (several 100 fm^3) of the
Delta-matter state. Heavier baryon resonances prove to be crucial for reaction
dynamics and particle production at AGS.Comment: 17 pages, 5 postscript figures, uses psfig.sty and revtex.st
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