166 research outputs found
Planet formation in Binaries
Spurred by the discovery of numerous exoplanets in multiple systems, binaries
have become in recent years one of the main topics in planet formation
research. Numerous studies have investigated to what extent the presence of a
stellar companion can affect the planet formation process. Such studies have
implications that can reach beyond the sole context of binaries, as they allow
to test certain aspects of the planet formation scenario by submitting them to
extreme environments. We review here the current understanding on this complex
problem. We show in particular how each of the different stages of the
planet-formation process is affected differently by binary perturbations. We
focus especially on the intermediate stage of kilometre-sized planetesimal
accretion, which has proven to be the most sensitive to binarity and for which
the presence of some exoplanets observed in tight binaries is difficult to
explain by in-situ formation following the "standard" planet-formation
scenario. Some tentative solutions to this apparent paradox are presented. The
last part of our review presents a thorough description of the problem of
planet habitability, for which the binary environment creates a complex
situation because of the presence of two irradation sources of varying
distance.Comment: Review chapter to appear in "Planetary Exploration and Science:
Recent Advances and Applications", eds. S. Jin, N. Haghighipour, W.-H. Ip,
Springer (v2, numerous typos corrected
The Formation of the First Massive Black Holes
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are common in local galactic nuclei, and
SMBHs as massive as several billion solar masses already exist at redshift z=6.
These earliest SMBHs may grow by the combination of radiation-pressure-limited
accretion and mergers of stellar-mass seed BHs, left behind by the first
generation of metal-free stars, or may be formed by more rapid direct collapse
of gas in rare special environments where dense gas can accumulate without
first fragmenting into stars. This chapter offers a review of these two
competing scenarios, as well as some more exotic alternative ideas. It also
briefly discusses how the different models may be distinguished in the future
by observations with JWST, (e)LISA and other instruments.Comment: 47 pages with 306 references; this review is a chapter in "The First
Galaxies - Theoretical Predictions and Observational Clues", Springer
Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Eds. T. Wiklind, V. Bromm & B.
Mobasher, in pres
Communication for Peaceful Social Change and Global Citizenry
The adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN) in 2015
represents a universal call to action involving multiple international actors for the purpose of eradicating
poverty, improving living conditions and promoting peace. This entry provides a theoretical overview of
the contributions of scholars and practitioners who highlight the importance of a transformative,
educational and emancipatory communication by different social actors to establish the main lines of
action for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This communicative model involves the
coordination of actors and strategies, both short- and long-term, cross-cutting actions and discourses to
build social, cultural and political settings based on the criteria of peace, equality, social justice and
human rights. Specifically, this entails a contribution to the objectives set out in SDG 16, “Peace, Justice
and Strong Institutions”, given that the proposed theoretical framework is grounded in Communication for
Peace and Communication for Social Change, and includes a systematization of different strategies and
experiences from a variety of social issuers, mainly institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
or social movements, aimed at promoting peaceful and inclusive societies. Specifically, communication
for peaceful social change and global citizenry contributes to the achievement of specific SDG 16
objectives, particularly 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence... [...
Ultrastructural study of morphological changes in Schistosoma mansoni after in vitro exposure to the monoterpene rotundifolone
- …