4,401 research outputs found
The Keck Aperture Masking Experiment: spectro-interferometry of 3 Mira Variables from 1.1 to 3.8 microns
We present results from a spectro-interferometric study of the Miras o Cet, R
Leo and W Hya obtained with the Keck Aperture Masking Experiment from 1998 Sep
to 2002 Jul. The spectrally dispersed visibility data permit fitting with
circularly symmetric brightness profiles such as a simple uniform disk. The
stellar angular diameter obtained over up to ~ 450 spectral channels spaning
the region 1.1-3.8 microns is presented. Use of a simple uniform disk
brightness model facilitates comparison between epochs and with existing data
and theoretical models. Strong size variations with wavelength were recorded
for all stars, probing zones of H2O, CO, OH, and dust formation. Comparison
with contemporaneous spectra extracted from our data show a strong
anti-correlation between the observed angular diameter and flux. These
variations consolidate the notion of a complex stellar atmosphere consisting of
molecular shells with time-dependent densities and temperatures. Our findings
are compared with existing data and pulsation models. The models were found to
reproduce the functional form of the wavelength vs. angular diameter curve
well, although some departures are noted in the 2.8-3.5 micron range.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures Accepted to Ap
The Mass-Radius Relation Of Young Stars. I. Usco 5, An M4.5 Eclipsing Binary In Upper Scorpius Observed By K2
We present the discovery that UScoCTIO 5, a known spectroscopic binary in the Upper Scorpius star-forming region (P = 34 days, M-tot sin(i) = 0.64M(circle dot)), is an eclipsing system with both primary and secondary eclipses apparent in K2 light curves obtained during Campaign 2. We have simultaneously fit the eclipse profiles from the K2 light curves and the existing RV data to demonstrate that UScoCTIO 5 consists of a pair of nearly identical M4.5 stars with M-A = 0.329 +/- 0.002 M-circle dot, R-A = 0.834 +/- 0.006 R-circle dot, M-B = 0.317 +/- 0.002 M-circle dot, and R-B = 0.810 +/- 0.006 R-circle dot. The radii are broadly consistent with pre-main-sequence ages predicted by stellar evolutionary models, but none agree to within the uncertainties. All models predict systematically incorrect masses at the 25%-50% level for the HR diagram position of these mid-M dwarfs, suggesting significant modifications to mass-dependent outcomes of star and planet formation. The form of the discrepancy for most model sets is not that they predict luminosities that are too low, but rather that they predict temperatures that are too high, suggesting that the models do not fully encompass the physics of energy transport (via convection and/or missing opacities) and/or a miscalibration of the SpT-T-eff scale. The simplest modification to the models (changing T-eff to match observations) would yield an older age for this system, in line with the recently proposed older age of Upper Scorpius (tau similar to 11 Myr).NASA Science Mission directorateW. M. Keck FoundationAstronom
Differential cross section analysis in kaon photoproduction using associated legendre polynomials
Angular distributions of differential cross sections from the latest CLAS
data sets \cite{bradford}, for the reaction have been analyzed using associated Legendre polynomials. This
analysis is based upon theoretical calculations in Ref. \cite{fasano} where all
sixteen observables in kaon photoproduction can be classified into four
Legendre classes. Each observable can be described by an expansion of
associated Legendre polynomial functions. One of the questions to be addressed
is how many associated Legendre polynomials are required to describe the data.
In this preliminary analysis, we used data models with different numbers of
associated Legendre polynomials. We then compared these models by calculating
posterior probabilities of the models. We found that the CLAS data set needs no
more than four associated Legendre polynomials to describe the differential
cross section data. In addition, we also show the extracted coefficients of the
best model.Comment: Talk given at APFB08, Depok, Indonesia, August, 19-23, 200
A close halo of large transparent grains around extreme red giant stars
Intermediate-mass stars end their lives by ejecting the bulk of their
envelope via a slow dense wind back into the interstellar medium, to form the
next generation of stars and planets. Stellar pulsations are thought to elevate
gas to an altitude cool enough for the condensation of dust, which is then
accelerated by radiation pressure from starlight, entraining the gas and
driving the wind. However accounting for the mass loss has been a problem due
to the difficulty in observing tenuous gas and dust tens of milliarcseconds
from the star, and there is accordingly no consensus on the way sufficient
momentum is transferred from the starlight to the outflow. Here, we present
spatially-resolved, multi-wavelength observations of circumstellar dust shells
of three stars on the asymptotic giant branch of the HR diagram. When imaged in
scattered light, dust shells were found at remarkably small radii (<~ 2 stellar
radii) and with unexpectedly large grains (~300 nm radius). This proximity to
the photosphere argues for dust species that are transparent to starlight and
therefore resistant to sublimation by the intense radiation field. While
transparency usually implies insufficient radiative pressure to drive a wind,
the radiation field can accelerate these large grains via photon scattering
rather than absorption - a plausible mass-loss mechanism for lower-amplitude
pulsating stars.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 6 figure
The mid-infrared diameter of W Hydrae
Mid-infrared (8-13 microns) interferometric data of W Hya were obtained with
MIDI/VLTI between April 2007 and September 2009, covering nearly three
pulsation cycles. The spectrally dispersed visibility data of all 75
observations were analyzed by fitting a circular fully limb-darkened disk (FDD)
model to all data and individual pulsation phases. Asymmetries were studied
with an elliptical FDD. Modeling results in an apparent angular FDD diameter of
W Hya of about (80 +/- 1.2) mas (7.8 AU) between 8 and 10 microns, which
corresponds to an about 1.9 times larger diameter than the photospheric one.
The diameter gradually increases up to (105 +/- 1.2) mas (10.3 AU) at 12
microns. In contrast, the FDD relative flux fraction decreases from (0.85 +/-
0.02) to (0.77 +/- 0.02), reflecting the increased flux contribution from a
fully resolved surrounding silicate dust shell. The asymmetric character of the
extended structure could be confirmed. An elliptical FDD yields a position
angle of (11 +/- 20) deg and an axis ratio of (0.87 +/- 0.07). A weak pulsation
dependency is revealed with a diameter increase of (5.4 +/- 1.8) mas between
visual minimum and maximum, while detected cycle-to-cycle variations are
smaller. W Hya's diameter shows a behavior that is very similar to the Mira
stars RR Sco and S Ori and can be described by an analogous model. The constant
diameter part results from a partially resolved stellar disk, including a close
molecular layer of H2O, while the increase beyond 10 microns can most likely be
attributed to the contribution of a spatially resolved nearby Al2O3 dust shell.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figure
Calcium-Dependent But Action Potential-Independent BCM-Like Metaplasticity in the Hippocampus
The Bienenstock, Cooper and Munro (BCM) computational model, which incorporates a metaplastic sliding threshold for LTP induction, accounts well for experience-dependent changes in synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex. BCM-like metaplasticity over a shorter timescale has also been observed in the hippocampus, thus providing a tractable experimental preparation for testing specific predictions of the model. Here, using extracellular and intracellular electrophysiological recordings from acute rat hippocampal slices, we tested the critical BCM predictions (1) that high levels of synaptic activation will induce a metaplastic state that spreads across dendritic compartments, and (2) that postsynaptic cell-firing is the critical trigger for inducing that state. In support of the first premise, high-frequency priming stimulation inhibited subsequent long-term potentiation and facilitated subsequent long-term depression at synapses quiescent during priming, including those located in a dendritic compartment different to that of the primed pathway. These effects were not dependent on changes in synaptic inhibition or NMDA/ metabotropic glutamate receptor function. However, in contrast to the BCM prediction, somatic action potentials during priming were neither necessary nor sufficient to induce the metaplasticity effect. Instead, in broad agreement with derivatives of the BCM model, calcium as released from intracellular stores and triggered byM1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor activation was critical for altering subsequent synapticplasticity. These results indicate that synaptic plasticity in stratum radiatum of CA1 can be homeostatically regulated by the cell-wide history of synaptic activity through a calcium-dependent but action potential-independent mechanis
The Radiated Energy Budget of Chromospheric Plasma in a Major Solar Flare Deduced From Multi-Wavelength Observations
This paper presents measurements of the energy radiated by the lower solar
atmosphere, at optical, UV, and EUV wavelengths, during an X-class solar flare
(SOL2011-02-15T01:56) in response to an injection of energy assumed to be in
the form of nonthermal electrons. Hard X-ray observations from RHESSI were used
to track the evolution of the parameters of the nonthermal electron
distribution to reveal the total power contained in flare accelerated
electrons. By integrating over the duration of the impulsive phase, the total
energy contained in the nonthermal electrons was found to be
erg. The response of the lower solar atmosphere was measured in the free-bound
EUV continua of H I (Lyman), He I, and He II, plus the emission lines of He II
at 304\AA\ and H I (Ly) at 1216\AA\ by SDO/EVE, the UV continua at
1600\AA\ and 1700\AA\ by SDO/AIA, and the WL continuum at 4504\AA, 5550\AA, and
6684\AA, along with the Ca II H line at 3968\AA\ using Hinode/SOT. The summed
energy detected by these instruments amounted to erg;
about 15% of the total nonthermal energy. The Ly line was found to
dominate the measured radiative losses. Parameters of both the driving electron
distribution and the resulting chromospheric response are presented in detail
to encourage the numerical modelling of flare heating for this event, to
determine the depth of the solar atmosphere at which these line and continuum
processes originate, and the mechanism(s) responsible for their generation.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics
Journa
A note on the sign (unit root) ambiguities of Gauss sums in index 2 and 4 cases
Recently, the explicit evaluation of Gauss sums in the index 2 and 4 cases
have been given in several papers (see [2,3,7,8]). In the course of evaluation,
the sigh (or unit root) ambiguities are unavoidably occurred. This paper
presents another method, different from [7] and [8], to determine the sigh
(unit root) ambiguities of Gauss sums in the index 2 case, as well as the ones
with odd order in the non-cyclic index 4 case. And we note that the method in
this paper are more succinct and effective than [8] and [7]
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