2,637 research outputs found
A Spitzer/IRAC Search for Substellar Companions of the Debris Disk Star epsilon Eridani
We have used the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) onboard the Spitzer Space
telescope to search for low mass companions of the nearby debris disk star
epsilon Eridani. The star was observed in two epochs 39 days apart, with
different focal plane rotation to allow the subtraction of the instrumental
Point Spread Function, achieving a maximum sensitivity of 0.01 MJy/sr at 3.6
and 4.5 um, and 0.05 MJy/sr at 5.8 and 8.0 um. This sensitivity is not
sufficient to directly detect scattered or thermal radiation from the epsilon
Eridani debris disk. It is however sufficient to allow the detection of Jovian
planets with mass as low as 1 MJ in the IRAC 4.5 um band. In this band, we
detected over 460 sources within the 5.70 arcmin field of view of our images.
To test if any of these sources could be a low mass companion to epsilon
Eridani, we have compared their colors and magnitudes with models and
photometry of low mass objects. Of the sources detected in at least two IRAC
bands, none fall into the range of mid-IR color and luminosity expected for
cool, 1 Gyr substellar and planetary mass companions of epsilon Eridani, as
determined by both models and observations of field M, L and T dwarf. We
identify three new sources which have detections at 4.5 um only, the lower
limit placed on their [3.6]-[4.5] color consistent with models of planetary
mass objects. Their nature cannot be established with the currently available
data and a new observation at a later epoch will be needed to measure their
proper motion, in order to determine if they are physically associated to
epsilon Eridani.Comment: 36 pages, to be published on The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 647,
August 200
Penetration depth of low-coherence enhanced backscattered light in sub-diffusion regime
The mechanisms of photon propagation in random media in the diffusive
multiple scattering regime have been previously studied using diffusion
approximation. However, similar understanding in the low-order (sub-diffusion)
scattering regime is not complete due to difficulties in tracking photons that
undergo very few scatterings events. Recent developments in low-coherence
enhanced backscattering (LEBS) overcome these difficulties and enable probing
photons that travel very short distances and undergo only a few scattering
events. In LEBS, enhanced backscattering is observed under illumination with
spatial coherence length L_sc less than the scattering mean free path l_s. In
order to understand the mechanisms of photon propagation in LEBS in the
subdiffusion regime, it is imperative to develop analytical and numerical
models that describe the statistical properties of photon trajectories. Here we
derive the probability distribution of penetration depth of LEBS photons and
report Monte Carlo numerical simulations to support our analytical results. Our
results demonstrate that, surprisingly, the transport of photons that undergo
low-order scattering events has only weak dependence on the optical properties
of the medium (l_s and anisotropy factor g) and strong dependence on the
spatial coherence length of illumination, L_sc, relative to those in the
diffusion regime. More importantly, these low order scattering photons
typically penetrate less than l_s into the medium due to low spatial coherence
length of illumination and their penetration depth is proportional to the
one-third power of the coherence volume (i.e. [l_s \pi L_sc^2 ]^1/3).Comment: 32 pages(including 7 figures), modified version to appear in Phys.
Rev.
Force balance and membrane shedding at the Red Blood Cell surface
During the aging of the red-blood cell, or under conditions of extreme
echinocytosis, membrane is shed from the cell plasma membrane in the form of
nano-vesicles. We propose that this process is the result of the
self-adaptation of the membrane surface area to the elastic stress imposed by
the spectrin cytoskeleton, via the local buckling of membrane under increasing
cytoskeleton stiffness. This model introduces the concept of force balance as a
regulatory process at the cell membrane, and quantitatively reproduces the rate
of area loss in aging red-blood cells.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
History of Plio-Pleistocene Climate in the Northeastern Atlantic, Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole 552A
DSDP Hole 552A, cored with the HPC on Hatton Drift, represents an almost complete and undisturbed sediment section spanning the late Neogene and Quaternary. Lithologic, faunal, isotopic, and paleomagnetic analyses indicate that the section represents the most complete deep sea record of climatic evolution hitherto recovered at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. A glacial record of remarkable resolution for the late Pliocene and Pleistocene is provided by oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in benthic foraminifers. In the upper part of the section, the whole of the standard oxygen isotope record of the past million years is well preserved. The onset of ice-rafting and glacial-interglacial alternations occurs at about 2.4 m.y. ago
The Debris Disk Around HR 8799
We have obtained a full suite of Spitzer observations to characterize the
debris disk around HR 8799 and to explore how its properties are related to the
recently discovered set of three massive planets orbiting the star. We
distinguish three components to the debris system: (1) warm dust (T ~150 K)
orbiting within the innermost planet; (2) a broad zone of cold dust (T ~45 K)
with a sharp inner edge, orbiting just outside the outermost planet and
presumably sculpted by it; and (3) a dramatic halo of small grains originating
in the cold dust component. The high level of dynamical activity implied by
this halo may arise due to enhanced gravitational stirring by the massive
planets. The relatively young age of HR 8799 places it in an important early
stage of development and may provide some help in understanding the interaction
of planets and planetary debris, an important process in the evolution of our
own solar system.Comment: emulateapj format, 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted to Ap
Investigation of Zero-Sound Dispersion Equation in the Complex Plane of Frequency
The known solutions to the zero-sound dispersion equation are considered as
placed on the physical and unphysical sheets in the complex plane of frequency.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Ten-Micron Observations of Nearby Young Stars
(abridged) We present new 10-micron photometry of 21 nearby young stars
obtained at the Palomar 5-meter and at the Keck I 10-meter telescopes as part
of a program to search for dust in the habitable zone of young stars. Thirteen
of the stars are in the F-K spectral type range ("solar analogs"), 4 have B or
A spectral types, and 4 have spectral type M. We confirm existing IRAS
12-micron and ground-based 10-micron photometry for 10 of the stars, and
present new insight into this spectral regime for the rest. Excess emission at
10 micron is not found in any of the young solar analogs, except for a possible
2.4-sigma detection in the G5V star HD 88638. The G2V star HD 107146, which
does not display a 10-micron excess, is identified as a new Vega-like
candidate, based on our 10-micron photospheric detection, combined with
previously unidentified 60-micron and 100-micron IRAS excesses. Among the
early-type stars, a 10-micron excess is detected only in HD 109573A (HR 4796A),
confirming prior observations; among the M dwarfs, excesses are confirmed in AA
Tau, CD -40 8434, and Hen 3-600A. A previously suggested N band excess in the
M3 dwarf CD -33 7795 is shown to be consistent with photospheric emission.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figures, 5 tables. To appear in the January 1, 2004 issue
of Ap
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