363 research outputs found
The TRENDS High-Contrast Imaging Survey. VI. Discovery of a Mass, Age, and Metallicity Benchmark Brown Dwarf
The mass and age of substellar objects are degenerate parameters leaving the
evolutionary state of brown dwarfs ambiguous without additional information.
Theoretical models are normally used to help distinguish between old, massive
brown dwarfs and young, low mass brown dwarfs but these models have yet to be
properly calibrated. We have carried out an infrared high-contrast imaging
program with the goal of detecting substellar objects as companions to nearby
stars to help break degeneracies in inferred physical properties such as mass,
age, and composition. Rather than using imaging observations alone, our targets
are pre-selected based on the existence of dynamical accelerations informed
from years of stellar radial velocity (RV) measurements. In this paper, we
present the discovery of a rare benchmark brown dwarf orbiting the nearby
( pc), solar-type (G9V) star HD 4747 ([Fe/H]=)
with a projected separation of only AU (
0.6"). Precise Doppler measurements taken over 18 years reveal the companion's
orbit and allow us to place strong constraints on its mass using dynamics (). Relative photometry (,
, ) indicates that HD 4747 B is
most-likely a late-type L-dwarf and, if near the L/T transition, an intriguing
source for studying cloud physics, variability, and polarization. We estimate a
model-dependent mass of for an age of
Gyr based on gyrochronology. Combining astrometric measurements with RV data,
we calculate the companion dynamical mass () and orbit
() directly. As a new mass, age, and metallicity benchmark, HD
4747 B will serve as a laboratory for precision astrophysics to test
theoretical models that describe the emergent radiation of brown dwarfs.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Do Hospitalists or Physicians with Greater Inpatient HIV Experience Improve HIV Care in the Era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy? Results from a Multicenter Trial of Academic Hospitalists
Background. Little is known about the effect of provider type and experience on outcomes, resource use, and processes of care of hospitalized patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Hospitalists are caring for this population with increasing frequency.
Methods. Data from a natural experiment in which patients were assigned to physicians on the basis of call cycle was used to study the effects of provider type—that is, hospitalist versus non hospitalist—and HIV-specific inpatient experience on resource use, outcomes, and selected measures of processes of care at 6 academic institutions. Administrative data, inpatient interviews, 30-day follow-up interviews, and the National Death Index were used to measure outcomes.
Results. A total of 1207 patients were included in the analysis. There were few differences in resource use, outcomes, and processes of care by provider type and experience with HIV-infected inpatients. Patients who received hospitalist care demonstrated a trend toward increased length of hospital stay compared with patients who did not receive hospitalist care (6.0 days vs. 5.2 days; Pp .13). Inpatient providers with moderate experience with HIV-infected patients were more likely to coordinate care with outpatient providers (odds ratio, 2.40; Pp .05) than were those with the least experience with HIV-infected patients, but this pattern did not extend to providers with the highest level of experience.
Conclusion. Provider type and attending physician experience with HIV-infected inpatients had minimal effect on the quality of care of HIV-infected inpatients. Approaches other than provider experience, such as the use of multidisciplinary inpatient teams, may be better targets for future studies of the outcomes, processes of care, and resource use of HIV-infected inpatients
The TRENDS High-contrast Imaging Survey. VIII. Compendium of Benchmark Objects
The physical properties of faint stellar and substellar objects often rely on indirect, model-dependent estimates. For example, the masses of brown dwarfs are usually inferred using evolutionary models, which are age dependent and have yet to be properly calibrated. With the goal of identifying new benchmark objects to test low-mass stellar and substellar models, we have carried out a comprehensive adaptive optics survey as part of the TaRgetting bENchmark-objects with the Doppler Spectroscopy high-contrast imaging program. Using legacy radial velocity measurements from the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer at Keck, we have identified several dozen stars that show long-term Doppler accelerations. We present follow-up high-contrast observations from the campaign and report the discovery of 31 comoving companions, as well as 11 strong candidate companions, to solar-type stars with well-determined parallax and metallicity values. Benchmark objects of this nature lend themselves to orbit determinations, dynamical mass estimates, and independent compositional assessment. This compendium of benchmark objects will serve as a convenient test group to substantiate theoretical evolutionary and atmospheric models near the hydrogen fusing limit
The TRENDS High-contrast Imaging Survey. VIII. Compendium of Benchmark Objects
The physical properties of faint stellar and substellar objects often rely on indirect, model-dependent estimates. For example, the masses of brown dwarfs are usually inferred using evolutionary models, which are age dependent and have yet to be properly calibrated. With the goal of identifying new benchmark objects to test low-mass stellar and substellar models, we have carried out a comprehensive adaptive optics survey as part of the TaRgetting bENchmark-objects with the Doppler Spectroscopy high-contrast imaging program. Using legacy radial velocity measurements from the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer at Keck, we have identified several dozen stars that show long-term Doppler accelerations. We present follow-up high-contrast observations from the campaign and report the discovery of 31 comoving companions, as well as 11 strong candidate companions, to solar-type stars with well-determined parallax and metallicity values. Benchmark objects of this nature lend themselves to orbit determinations, dynamical mass estimates, and independent compositional assessment. This compendium of benchmark objects will serve as a convenient test group to substantiate theoretical evolutionary and atmospheric models near the hydrogen fusing limit
High extraction efficiency source of photon pairs based on a quantum dot embedded in a broadband micropillar cavity
The generation of photon pairs in single quantum dots is based on a process
that is, in its nature, deterministic. However, an efficient extraction of
these photon pairs from a high-index semiconductor host material requires
engineering of the photonic environment. We report on a micropillar-based
device featuring an extraction efficiency of 69.4(10) that is achieved by
harnessing a broadband operation suitable for extraction of photon pairs
emitted from a single quantum dot. Opposing the approaches that rely solely on
Purcell enhancement to realize the enhancement of the extraction efficiency,
our solution exploits a suppression of the emission into the modes other than
the cavity mode. Our technological implementation requires modest fabrication
effort enabling higher device yields that can be scaled up to meet the growing
needs of quantum technologies. Furthermore, the design of the device can be
further optimized to allow for an extraction efficiency of 85
Characterizing K2 Candidate Planetary Systems Orbiting Low-Mass Stars II: Planetary Systems Observed During Campaigns 1-7
We recently used near-infrared spectroscopy to improve the characterization of 76 low-mass stars around which K2 had detected 79 candidate transiting planets. 29 of these worlds were new discoveries that had not previously been published. We calculate the false positive probabilities that the transit-like signals are actually caused by non-planetary astrophysical phenomena and reject five new transit-like events and three previously reported events as false positives. We also statistically validate 17 planets (7 of which were previously unpublished), confirm the earlier validation of 22 planets, and announce 17 newly discovered planet candidates. Revising the properties of the associated planet candidates based on the updated host star characteristics and refitting the transit photometry, we find that our sample contains 21 planets or planet candidates with radii smaller than 1.25 R⊕, 18 super-Earths (1.25–2 R⊕), 21 small Neptunes (2–4 R⊕), three large Neptunes (4–6 R⊕), and eight giant planets (>6 R⊕). Most of these planets are highly irradiated, but EPIC 206209135.04 (K2-72e, 1.29^(+0.14)_(-0.13) R⊕), EPIC 211988320.01 (R_p = 2.86^(+0.16)_(-0.15) R⊕), and EPIC 212690867.01 (2.20^(+0.19)_(-0.18) R⊕) orbit within optimistic habitable zone boundaries set by the "recent Venus" inner limit and the "early Mars" outer limit. In total, our planet sample includes eight moderately irradiated 1.5–3 R⊕ planet candidates (F_p ≾ 20 F⊕) orbiting brighter stars (Ks < 11) that are well-suited for atmospheric investigations with the Hubble, Spitzer, and/or James Webb Space Telescopes. Five validated planets orbit relatively bright stars (Kp < 12.5) and are expected to yield radial velocity semi-amplitudes of at least 2 m s^(−1). Accordingly, they are possible targets for radial velocity mass measurement with current facilities or the upcoming generation of red optical and near-infrared high-precision RV spectrographs
275 Candidates and 149 Validated Planets Orbiting Bright Stars in K2 Campaigns 0-10
Since 2014, NASA's K2 mission has observed large portions of the ecliptic
plane in search of transiting planets and has detected hundreds of planet
candidates. With observations planned until at least early 2018, K2 will
continue to identify more planet candidates. We present here 275 planet
candidates observed during Campaigns 0-10 of the K2 mission that are orbiting
stars brighter than 13 mag (in Kepler band) and for which we have obtained
high-resolution spectra (R = 44,000). These candidates are analyzed using the
VESPA package (Morton 2012, 2015b) in order to calculate their false-positive
probabilities (FPP). We find that 149 candidates are validated with an FPP
lower than 0.1%, 39 of which were previously only candidates and 56 of which
were previously undetected. The processes of data reduction, candidate
identification, and statistical validation are described, and the demographics
of the candidates and newly validated planets are explored. We show tentative
evidence of a gap in the planet radius distribution of our candidate sample.
Comparing our sample to the Kepler candidate sample investigated by Fulton et
al. (2017), we conclude that more planets are required to quantitatively
confirm the gap with K2 candidates or validated planets. This work, in addition
to increasing the population of validated K2 planets by nearly 50% and
providing new targets for follow-up observations, will also serve as a
framework for validating candidates from upcoming K2 campaigns and the
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, expected to launch in 2018.Comment: Published in AJ, 47 pages, 18 figures, 7 tables, associated
supplementary dataset available at https://zenodo.org/record/116479
Effects of Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Poultry Litter Associated Contaminates on the Sexual Development of Xenopus laevis
Poultry litter contains high levels of natural sex hormones, nitrogen, phosphorous,
and trace amounts of heavy metals. Poultry litter runoff from poultry and farming
operations in the Delmarva region can have serious impacts on frog development in
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. In this study, we investigated potential effects of
litter compounds on Xenopus laevis development when exposed to environmental
levels (0.35 and 0.70 g/L) of litter solution. We found that despite rapid hormone
degradation, poultry litter solution still affected X. laevis development. Hormones
were also more persistent in the lower poultry litter concentration, leading to even
greater effects. Slowed growth and increased female gonadal abnormalities were
observed after exposure to 0.35 g/L but not to 0.70 g/L of litter solution, and
increased male gonadal abnormalities were observed after treatment to both litter
concentrations. The developmental impacts examined in this study may have greater
environmental impacts on frog reproduction and survival
- …