274 research outputs found
Consequences of spectrograph illumination for the accuracy of radial-velocimetry
For fiber-fed spectrographs with a stable external wavelength source,
scrambling properties of optical fibers and, homogeneity and stability of the
instrument illumination are important for the accuracy of radial-velocimetry.
Optical cylindric fibers are known to have good azimuthal scrambling. In
contrast, the radial one is not perfect. In order to improve the scrambling
ability of the fiber and to stabilize the illumination, optical double
scrambler are usually coupled to the fibers. Despite that, our experience on
SOPHIE and HARPS has lead to identified remaining radial-velocity limitations
due to the non-uniform illumination of the spectrograph. We conducted tests on
SOPHIE with telescope vignetting, seeing variation and centering errors on the
fiber entrance. We simulated the light path through the instrument in order to
explain the radial velocity variation obtained with our tests. We then
identified the illumination stability and uniformity has a critical point for
the extremely high-precision radial velocity instruments (ESPRESSO@VLT,
CODEX@E-ELT). Tests on square and octagonal section fibers are now under
development and SOPHIE will be used as a bench test to validate these new feed
optics.Comment: to appear in the Proceedings conference "New Technologies for Probing
the Diversity of Brown Dwarfs and Exoplanets", Shanghai, 200
Prédiction de l'évolution granulométrique et morphologique d'une poudre dans un four tournant
National audienceThe dry conversion process for making UO2 nuclear fuel pellets consists of two steps: hydrolysis of UF6 to UO2F2, followed by reducing pyrohydrolysis to UO2 in a rotary kiln. The physical characteristics (morphology, particle size distribution) of the powder obtained at the kiln end determine the final properties (sinterability, flow-ability, green strength). We developed a mathematical model describing the morphological evolution of the powder in the rotary kiln, which enables us to predict morphological characteristics of UO2 powder as functions of the processing conditions. Firstly, the powder flow in the kiln was modelled, including the exchanges between a dense phase (powder bed) and an airborne phase (particles showering down). An original feature of this model is to consider the effect of lifters for calculating the dynamic variables. Secondly, the phenomena responsible for the changes in morphology and grain size were identified and modelled. A population of fractal agglomerates was considered, whose number and size change due to Brownian and sedimentation agglomeration, sintering, breaking up, and chemical reactions. The model is based on population balances and the particle size distribution is divided into sections. Results of both dynamic and morphological calculations are compared to available measurements. Lastly, the influence of the different mechanisms of morphological evolution on the final size distribution is analysed
Osteochondral transfer using a transmalleolar approach for arthroscopic management of talus posteromedial lesions
SummaryCharacterizing osteochondral lesions of the talus has enabled the strategies of surgical management to be better specified. The main technical problem is one of access for arthroscopy instruments to posteromedial lesions. A range of techniques and approaches has been described in ankle arthroscopy in general, and a transmalleolar approach provides reliable and efficient access in these cases. It is frequently used for transchondral drilling, but also enables satisfactory implant positioning in autologous osteochondral mosaicplasty procedures. We report our technique and results on five cases with a minimum 1.2 years’ follow-up
The impact of atmospheric circulation on the chemistry of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from EDP Sciences via the DOI in this record.We investigate the effects of atmospheric circulation on the chemistry of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b. We use a simplified dynamical model and a robust chemical network, as opposed to previous studies which have used a three dimensional circulation model coupled to a simple chemical kinetics scheme. The temperature structure and distribution of the main atmospheric constituents are calculated in the limit of an atmosphere that rotates as a solid body with an equatorial rotation rate of 1 km/s. Such motion mimics a uniform zonal wind which resembles the equatorial superrotation structure found by three dimensional circulation models. The uneven heating of this tidally locked planet causes, even in the presence of such a strong zonal wind, large temperature contrasts between the dayside and nightside, of up to 800 K. This would result in important longitudinal variations of some molecular abundances if the atmosphere were at chemical equilibrium. The zonal wind, however, acts as a powerful disequilibrium process. We identify the existence of a pressure level of transition between two regimes, which may be located between 100 and 0.1 mbar depending on the molecule. Below this transition layer, chemical equilibrium holds, while above it, the zonal wind tends to homogenize the chemical composition of the atmosphere, bringing molecular abundances in the limb and nightside regions close to chemical equilibrium values characteristic of the dayside, i.e. producing an horizontal quenching effect in the abundances. Reasoning based on timescales arguments indicates that horizontal and vertical mixing are likely to compete in HD 209458b's atmosphere, producing a complex distribution where molecular abundances are quenched horizontally to dayside values and vertically to chemical equilibrium values characteristic of deep layers.M.A., O.V., F.S., and E.H. acknowledge support from the European Research Council (ERC Grant 209622: E3ARTHs). Computer time for this study was provided by the computing facilities MCIA (Mésocentre de Calcul Intensif Aquitain) of the Université de Bordeaux and of the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour. We thank the anonymous referee for a constructive report that helped to improve this manuscript
The HARPS search for southern extrasolar planets: XXXIII. New multi-planet systems in the HARPS volume limited sample: a super-Earth and a Neptune in the habitable zone
The vast diversity of planetary systems detected to date is defying our
capability of understanding their formation and evolution. Well-defined
volume-limited surveys are the best tool at our disposal to tackle the problem,
via the acquisition of robust statistics of the orbital elements. We are using
the HARPS spectrograph to conduct our survey of ~850 nearby solar-type stars,
and in the course of the past nine years we have monitored the radial velocity
of HD103774, HD109271, and BD-061339. In this work we present the detection of
five planets orbiting these stars, with m*sin(i) between 0.6 and 7 Neptune
masses, four of which are in two multiple systems, comprising one super-Earth
and one planet within the habitable zone of a late-type dwarf. Although for
strategic reasons we chose efficiency over precision in this survey, we have
the capability to detect planets down to the Neptune and super-Earth mass
range, as well as multiple systems, provided that enough data points are made
available.Comment: 7 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication by A&A, 04-01-201
SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates IX. KOI-415 b: a long-period, eccentric transiting brown dwarf to an evolved Sun
We report the discovery of a long-period brown-dwarf transiting companion of
the solar-type star KOI-415. The transits were detected by the Kepler space
telescope. We conducted Doppler measurements using the SOPHIE spectrograph at
the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. The photometric and spectroscopic signals
allow us to characterize a 62.14+-2.69 Mjup, brown-dwarf companion of an
evolved 0.94+-0.06 Msun star in a highly eccentric orbit of P =
166.78805+-0.00022 days and e = 0.698+-0.002. The radius of KOI-415 b is 0.79
(-0.07,+0.12) Rjup, a value that is compatible with theoretical predictions for
a 10 Gyr, low-metallicity and non-irradiated object.Comment: accepted in A&A Letter
Proteus: A Hierarchical Portfolio of Solvers and Transformations
In recent years, portfolio approaches to solving SAT problems and CSPs have
become increasingly common. There are also a number of different encodings for
representing CSPs as SAT instances. In this paper, we leverage advances in both
SAT and CSP solving to present a novel hierarchical portfolio-based approach to
CSP solving, which we call Proteus, that does not rely purely on CSP solvers.
Instead, it may decide that it is best to encode a CSP problem instance into
SAT, selecting an appropriate encoding and a corresponding SAT solver. Our
experimental evaluation used an instance of Proteus that involved four CSP
solvers, three SAT encodings, and six SAT solvers, evaluated on the most
challenging problem instances from the CSP solver competitions, involving
global and intensional constraints. We show that significant performance
improvements can be achieved by Proteus obtained by exploiting alternative
view-points and solvers for combinatorial problem-solving.Comment: 11th International Conference on Integration of AI and OR Techniques
in Constraint Programming for Combinatorial Optimization Problems. The final
publication is available at link.springer.co
SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates XIV. A joint photometric, spectroscopic, and dynamical analysis of the Kepler-117 system
As part of our follow-up campaign of Kepler planets, we observed Kepler-117
with the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. This
F8-type star hosts two transiting planets in non-resonant orbits. The planets,
Kepler-117 b and c, have orbital periods and days,
and show transit-timing variations (TTVs) of several minutes. We performed a
combined Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) fit on transits, radial velocities,
and stellar parameters to constrain the characteristics of the system. We
included the fit of the TTVs in the MCMC by modeling them with dynamical
simulations. In this way, consistent posterior distributions were drawn for the
system parameters. According to our analysis, planets b and c have notably
different masses ( and M) and low
orbital eccentricities ( and ). The
uncertainties on the derived parameters are strongly reduced if the fit of the
TTVs is included in the combined MCMC. The TTVs allow measuring the mass of
planet b, although its radial velocity amplitude is poorly constrained.
Finally, we checked that the best solution is dynamically stable.Comment: 16 pages, of whom 5 of online material.12 figures, of whom 2 in the
online material. 7 tables, of whom 4 in the online material. Published in A&
Characterization of the four new transiting planets KOI-188b, KOI-195b, KOI-192b, and KOI-830b
The characterization of four new transiting extrasolar planets is presented
here. KOI-188b and KOI-195b are bloated hot Saturns, with orbital periods of
3.8 and 3.2 days, and masses of 0.25 and 0.34 M_Jup. They are located in the
low-mass range of known transiting, giant planets. KOI-192b has a similar mass
(0.29 M_Jup) but a longer orbital period of 10.3 days. This places it in a
domain where only a few planets are known. KOI-830b, finally, with a mass of
1.27 M_Jup and a period of 3.5 days, is a typical hot Jupiter. The four planets
have radii of 0.98, 1.09, 1.2, and 1.08 R_Jup, respectively. We detected no
significant eccentricity in any of the systems, while the accuracy of our data
does not rule out possible moderate eccentricities. The four objects were first
identified by the Kepler Team as promising candidates from the photometry of
the Kepler satellite. We establish here their planetary nature thanks to the
radial velocity follow-up we secured with the HARPS-N spectrograph at the
Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. The combined analyses of the datasets allow us to
fully characterize the four planetary systems. These new objects increase the
number of well-characterized exoplanets for statistics, and provide new targets
for individual follow-up studies. The pre-screening we performed with the
SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence as part of that study
also allowed us to conclude that a fifth candidate, KOI-219.01, is not a planet
but is instead a false positive.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables, final version accepted for publication
in A&
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