Numerical models for the circumstellar medium around Betelgeuse

The nearby red supergiant (RSG) Betelgeuse has a complex circumstellar medium out to at least 0.5 parsecs from its surface, shaped by its mass-loss history within the past 0.1 Myr, its environment, and its motion through the interstellar medium (ISM). In principle its mass-loss history can be constrained by comparing hydrodynamic models with observations. Observations and numerical simulations indicate that Betelgeuse has a very young bow shock, hence the star may have only recently become a RSG. To test this possibility we calculated a stellar evolution model for a single star with properties consistent with Betelgeuse. We incorporated the resulting evolving stellar wind into 2D hydrodynamic simulations to model a runaway blue supergiant (BSG) undergoing the transition to a RSG near the end of its life. The collapsing BSG wind bubble induces a bow shock-shaped inner shell which at least superficially resembles Betelgeuse's bow shock, and has a similar mass. Surrounding this is the larger-scale retreating bow shock generated by the now defunct BSG wind's interaction with the ISM. We investigate whether this outer shell could explain the bar feature located (at least in projection) just in front of Betelgeuse's bow shock.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; to appear in proceedings of the Betelgeuse 2012 Workshop, Paris, Nov. 201

Evidence of a Mira-like tail and bow shock about the semi-regular variable V CVn from four decades of polarization measurements

Polarization is a powerful tool for understanding stellar atmospheres and circumstellar environments. Mira and semi-regular variable stars have been observed for decades and some are known to be polarimetrically variable, however, the semi-regular variable V Canes Venatici displays an unusually large, unexplained amount of polarization. We present ten years of optical polarization observations obtained with the HPOL instrument, supplemented by published observations spanning a total interval of about forty years for V CVn. We find that V CVn shows large polarization variations ranging from 1 - 6%. We also find that for the past forty years the position angle measured for V CVn has been virtually constant suggesting a long-term, stable, asymmetric structure about the star. We suggest that this asymmetry is caused by the presence of a stellar wind bow shock and tail, consistent with the star's large space velocity.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&

Testing Mass Loss in Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheids using Infrared and Optical Observations II. Predictions and Tests of the OGLE-III Fundamental-Mode Cepheids

In this article, we test the hypothesis that Cepheids have infrared excesses due to mass loss. We fit a model using the mass-loss rate and the stellar radius as free parameters to optical observations from the OGLE-III survey and infrared observations from the 2MASS and SAGE data sets. The sample of Cepheids have predicted minimum mass-loss rates ranging from zero to $10^{-8}M_\odot$ $yr^{-1}$, where the rates depend on the chosen dust properties. We use the predicted radii to compute the Period-Radius relation for LMC Cepheids, and to estimate the uncertainty caused by the presence of infrared excess for determining angular diameters with the infrared surface brightness technique. Finally, we calculate the linear and non-linear Period-Luminosity (P-L) relations for the LMC Cepheids at VIJHK + IRAC wavelengths and we find that the P-L relations are consistent with being non-linear at infrared wavelengths, contrary to previous results.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables, ApJ Accepte

Research on the sonic boom problem. Part 2: Flow field measurement in wind tunnel and calculation of second order F-function

An experimental investigation has been carried out in a wind tunnel to test some of the results of Landahl's second order theory. The slender models consisted of a parabolic spindle, tested at M = 3, and a wing body configuration, suggested by Ferri, and tested at M = 2.7. The theory indicates that shock position and strength at an arbitrary distance can be calculated by means of near field measurements. The results show that this method is an appropriate one for simple bodies and for bodies with complicated geometries as well

Stellar Astrophysics and Exoplanet Science with the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE)

The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) is a planned 11.25-m aperture facility with a 1.5 square degree field of view that will be fully dedicated to multi-object spectroscopy. A rebirth of the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Maunakea, MSE will use 4332 fibers operating at three different resolving powers (R ~ 2500, 6000, 40000) across a wavelength range of 0.36-1.8mum, with dynamical fiber positioning that allows fibers to match the exposure times of individual objects. MSE will enable spectroscopic surveys with unprecedented scale and sensitivity by collecting millions of spectra per year down to limiting magnitudes of g ~ 20-24 mag, with a nominal velocity precision of ~100 m/s in high-resolution mode. This white paper describes science cases for stellar astrophysics and exoplanet science using MSE, including the discovery and atmospheric characterization of exoplanets and substellar objects, stellar physics with star clusters, asteroseismology of solar-like oscillators and opacity-driven pulsators, studies of stellar rotation, activity, and multiplicity, as well as the chemical characterization of AGB and extremely metal-poor stars.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures; To appear as a chapter for the Detailed Science Case of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explore

Detecting foraminiferal photosymbionts in the fossil record: a combined micropalaeontological and geochemical approach

Poster from International Conference on Paleoceanography 12 (ICP 12). See the above link for more information on the conference

Celecoxib does not appear to affect prosthesis fixation in total knee replacement: A randomized study using radiostereometry in 50 patients

Background and purpose After joint replacement, a repair process starts at the interface between bone and cement. If this process is disturbed, the prosthesis may never become rigidly fixed to the bone, leading to migration—and with time, loosening. Cox-2 inhibitors are widely used as postoperative analgesics, and have adverse effects on bone healing. This could tamper prosthesis fixation. We investigated whether celecoxib, a selective Cox-2 inhibitor, increases prosthesis migration in total knee replacement (TKR)