Twenty-One New Light Curves of OGLE-TR-56b: New System Parameters and Limits on Timing Variations

Although OGLE-TR-56b was the second transiting exoplanet discovered, only one light curve, observed in 2006, has been published besides the discovery data. We present twenty-one light curves of nineteen different transits observed between July 2003 and July 2009 with the Magellan Telescopes and Gemini South. The combined analysis of the new light curves confirms a slightly inflated planetary radius relative to model predictions, with R_p = 1.378 +/- 0.090 R_J. However, the values found for the transit duration, semimajor axis, and inclination values differ significantly from the previous result, likely due to systematic errors. The new semimajor axis and inclination, a = 0.01942 +/- 0.00015 AU and i = 73.72 +/- 0.18 degrees, are smaller than previously reported, while the total duration, T_14 = 7931 +/- 38 s, is 18 minutes longer. The transit midtimes have errors from 23 s to several minutes, and no evidence is seen for transit midtime or duration variations. Similarly, no change is seen in the orbital period, implying a nominal stellar tidal decay factor of Q_* = 10^7, with a three-sigma lower limit of 10^5.7.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Ap

“We Never Get Stuck:” A Collaborative Analysis of Change and Coastal Community Subsistence Practices in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, Alaska

The Indigenous communities of the northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea are experiencing extensive social, economic, and technological change. The region’s marine ecosystem is also characterized by a high degree of variability and by rapid change. Residents of eight coastal communities from Savoonga to Utqiaġvik were involved in the Chukchi Coastal Communities Project, which used the results of a literature review together with the experiences of the community participants to co-analyze what is known about societal and environmental change in the region and what the communities’ experiences have been in responding to those changes. Some of the observed changes are transient in duration and effect, such as the passage of an individual ship, whereas others, such as the creation of the Red Dog Mine Port Site, persist and may force coastal residents to make lasting changes in their activities. Some responses can use existing knowledge (e.g., hunting bowhead whales in fall as well as spring), whereas others may require learning and experimentation (e.g., harvesting new species such as the Hanasaki crab). Our findings show that the results of a change are more important than the source of the change. They also emphasize the continuing importance of traditional values and practices as well as attitudes conducive to persistence and innovation. Indigenous leadership is an essential component of continued resilience as the ecosystem continues to change. The resilient characteristics of coastal communities and their ability to determine their own responses to change need greater attention to match the research effort directed at understanding the ecosystem. Les collectivités autochtones du nord de la mer de Béring et de la mer des Tchouktches font face à d’importants changements sur les plans social, économique et technologique. L’écosystème marin de la région est également caractérisé par un grand degré de variabilité et de changement rapide. Les habitants de huit collectivités côtières, de Savoonga à Utqiaġvik, ont participé au projet des collectivités côtières des Tchouktches. S’appuyant sur l’examen de documentation et sur l’expérience des participants des collectivités, les responsables de ce projet ont co-analysé les faits connus au sujet du changement social et environnemental dans la région de même que l’expérience des collectivités en matière de réponse à ces changements. La durée et l’effet des changements observés sont parfois transitoires, comme le passage d’un navire, tandis que d’autres, comme l’aménagement du site portuaire de la mine de Red Dog, perdurent et risquent de forcer les habitants de la côte à modifier leurs activités en permanence. Certaines des réponses peuvent s’appuyer sur des connaissances déjà acquises (comme le fait de chasser la baleine boréale à l’automne ainsi qu’au printemps), tandis que d’autres pourraient nécessiter de l’apprentissage et de l’expérimentation (comme la récolte d’une nouvelle espèce comme le crabe Hanasaki). Nos constatations démontrent que les résultats d’un changement sont plus importants que la source du changement. Elles mettent également l’accent sur l’importance continuelle des valeurs et des pratiques traditionnelles ainsi que sur les attitudes propices à la persistance et à l’innovation. Le leadership autochtone est une composante essentielle de la résilience continue alors que l’écosystème évolue sans cesse. Les caractéristiques de résilience des collectivités côtières et leur capacité à déterminer leurs propres réponses au changement doivent faire l’objet d’une plus grande attention afin d’être à la hauteur de l’effort de recherche visant à comprendre l’écosystème.&nbsp

Superconducting properties of (formula presented)

We present the low-temperature electronic transport properties of the intermetallic commonly known as (formula presented) In contrast to the much simpler (formula presented)-type structure of the 39-K superconductor (formula presented) (formula presented) forms a complex structure-type that is nearly unique in nature. The structure has 110.5 atoms per unit cell and a stoichiometry (formula presented) Polycrystalline (formula presented) is superconducting below (formula presented) with a critical magnetic field (formula presented) Isotopically pure (formula presented) samples have an enhanced (formula presented) Hall-effect measurements suggest that the material is intrinsically compensated. © 2002 The American Physical Society

Low Mass Companions for Five Solar-Type Stars from the Magellan Planet Search Program

We report low mass companions orbiting five Solar-type stars that have emerged from the Magellan precision Doppler velocity survey, with minimum (Msini) masses ranging from 1.2 to 25 Mjup. These nearby target stars range from mildly metal-poor to metal-rich, and appear to have low chromospheric activity. The companions to the brightest two of these stars have previously been reported from the CORALIE survey. Four of these companions (HD 48265-b, HD 143361-b, HD 28185-b, HD 111232-b) are low-mass Jupiter-like planets in eccentric intermediate and long-period orbits. On the other hand, the companion to HD 43848 appears to be a long period brown dwarf in a very eccentric orbit.Comment: Accepted for publication on ApJ, 26 pages, 10 figures, 7 table

Quantitative Chemically-Specific Coherent Diffractive Imaging of Buried Interfaces using a Tabletop EUV Nanoscope

Characterizing buried layers and interfaces is critical for a host of applications in nanoscience and nano-manufacturing. Here we demonstrate non-invasive, non-destructive imaging of buried interfaces using a tabletop, extreme ultraviolet (EUV), coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) nanoscope. Copper nanostructures inlaid in SiO2 are coated with 100 nm of aluminum, which is opaque to visible light and thick enough that neither optical microscopy nor atomic force microscopy can image the buried interfaces. Short wavelength (29 nm) high harmonic light can penetrate the aluminum layer, yielding high-contrast images of the buried structures. Moreover, differences in the absolute reflectivity of the interfaces before and after coating reveal the formation of interstitial diffusion and oxidation layers at the Al-Cu and Al-SiO2 boundaries. Finally, we show that EUV CDI provides a unique capability for quantitative, chemically-specific imaging of buried structures, and the material evolution that occurs at these buried interfaces, compared with all other approaches.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

A New Look At Carbon Abundances In Planetary Nebulae. IV. Implications For Stellar Nucleosynthesis

This paper is the fourth and final report on a project designed to study carbon abundances in a sample of planetary nebulae representing a broad range in progenitor mass and metallicity. We present newly acquired optical spectrophotometric data for three Galactic planetary nebulae IC 418, NGC 2392, and NGC 3242 and combine them with UV data from the IUE Final Archive for identical positions in each nebula to determine accurate abundances of He, C, N, O, and Ne at one or more locations in each object. We then collect abundances of these elements for the entire sample and compare them with theoretical predictions of planetary nebula abundances from a grid of intermediate mass star models. We find some consistency between observations and theory, lending modest support to our current understanding of nucleosynthesis in stars below 8 M_o in birth mass. Overall, we believe that observed abundances agree with theoretical predictions to well within an order of magnitude but probably not better than within a factor of 2 or 3. But even this level of consistency between observation and theory enhances the validity of published intermediate-mass stellar yields of carbon and nitrogen in the study of the abundance evolution of these elements.Comment: 41 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Century of Cosmology

In the century since Einstein's anno mirabilis of 1905, our concept of the Universe has expanded from Kapteyn's flattened disk of stars only 10 kpc across to an observed horizon about 30 Gpc across that is only a tiny fraction of an immensely large inflated bubble. The expansion of our knowledge about the Universe, both in the types of data and the sheer quantity of data, has been just as dramatic. This talk will summarize this century of progress and our current understanding of the cosmos.Comment: Talk presented at the "Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology - Einstein's Legacy" meeting in Munich, Nov 2005. Proceedings will be published in the Springer-Verlag "ESO Astrophysics Symposia" series. 10 pages Latex with 2 figure

Transmission Spectra of Transiting Planet Atmospheres: Model Validation and Simulations of the Hot Neptune GJ 436b for JWST

We explore the transmission spectrum of the Neptune-class exoplanet GJ 436b, including the possibility that its atmospheric opacity is dominated by a variety of non- equilibrium chemical products. We also validate our transmission code by demonstrating close agreement with analytic models that use only Rayleigh scattering or water vapor opacity. We find broad disagreement with radius variations predicted by another published model. For GJ 436b, the relative coolness of the planet's atmosphere, along with its implied high metallicity, may make it dissimilar in character compared to "hot Jupiters." Some recent observational and modeling efforts suggest low relative abundances of H2O and CH4 present in GJ 436b's atmosphere, compared to calculations from equilibrium chemistry. We include these characteristics in our models and examine the effects of absorption from methane-derived higher order hydrocarbons. Significant absorption from HCN and C2H2 are found throughout the infrared, while C2H4 and C2H6 are less easily seen. We perform detailed simulations of JWST observations, including all likely noise sources, and find that we will be able to constrain chemical abundance regimes from this planet's transmission spectrum. For instance, the width of the features at 1.5, 3.3, and 7 microns indicates the amount of HCN versus C2H2 present. The NIRSpec prism mode will be useful due to its large spectral range and the relatively large number of photo-electrons recorded per spectral resolution element. However, extremely bright host stars like GJ 436 may be better observed with a higher spectroscopic resolution mode in order to avoid detector saturation. We find that observations with the MIRI low resolution spectrograph should also have high signal-to-noise in the 5 - 10 micron range due to the brightness of the star and the relatively low spectral resolution (R ~ 100) of this mode.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, Accepted to Ap

Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law

Gindis, David, Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law (October 27, 2017). Journal of Institutional Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2905547, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2905547The rise of large business corporations in the late 19th century compelled many American observers to admit that the nature of the corporation had yet to be understood. Published in this context, Ernst Freund's little-known The Legal Nature of Corporations (1897) was an original attempt to come to terms with a new legal and economic reality. But it can also be described, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, as the earliest example of the rational study of corporate law. The paper shows that Freund had the intuitions of an institutional economist, and engaged in what today would be called comparative institutional analysis. Remarkably, his argument that the corporate form secures property against insider defection and against outsiders anticipated recent work on entity shielding and capital lock-in, and can be read as an early contribution to what today would be called the theory of the firm.Peer reviewe