9,484 research outputs found
Temporal changes of the flare activity of Proxima Cen
We study temporal variations of the emission lines of Halpha, Hepsilon, H and
K Ca II, D1 and D2 Na I, 4026 and 5876 A He I in the HARPS spectra of Proxima
Centauri across an extended time of 13.2 years, from May 27, 2004, to September
30, 2017.
Aims. We analyse the common behaviour and differences in the intensities and
profiles of different emission lines in flare and quiet modes of Proxima
activity.
Methods. We compare the pseudo-equivalent widths (pEW) and profiles of the
emission lines in the HARPS high-resolution (R ~ 115,000) spectra observed at
the same epochs.
Results. All emission lines show variability with a timescale of at least 10
min. The strength of all lines except He I 4026 A correlate with \Halpha.
During strong flares the `red asymmetry' appears in the Halpha emission line
indicating the infall of hot condensed matter into the chromosphere with
velocities greater than 100 km/s disturbing chromospheric layers. As a result,
the strength of the Ca II lines anti-correlates with Halpha during strong
flares. The He I lines at 4026 and 5876 A appear in the strong flares. The
cores of D1 and D2 Na I lines are also seen in emission. During the minimum
activity of Proxima Centauri, Ca II lines and Hepsilon almost disappear while
the blue part of the Na I emission lines is affected by the absorption in the
extending and condensing flows.
Conclusions. We see different behaviour of emission lines formed in the flare
regions and chromosphere. Chromosphere layers of Proxima Cen are likely heated
by the flare events; these layers are cooled in the `non-flare' mode. The
self-absorption structures in cores of our emission lines vary with time due to
the presence of a complicated system of inward and outward matter flows in the
absorbing layers.Comment: 22 pages, 12 Figures, accepted by A
Dynamic analysis using finite elements to calculate the critical wear section of the contact wire in suburban railway overhead conductor rails
The purpose of this study is to determine the critical wear levels of the contact wire of the catenary on metropolitan lines. The study has focussed on the zones of contact wire where localised wear is produced, normally associated with the appearance of electric arcs. To this end, a finite element model has been developed to study the dynamics of pantograph-catenary interaction. The model includes a zone of localised wear and a singularity in the contact wire in order to simulate the worst case scenario from the point of view of stresses. In order to consider the different stages in the wire wear process, different depths and widths of the localised wear zone were defined. The results of the dynamic simulations performed for each stage of wear let the area of the minimum resistant section of the contact wire be determined for which stresses are greater than the allowable stress. The maximum tensile stress reached in the contact wire shows a clear sensitivity to the size of the local wear zone, defined by its width and depth. In this way, if the wear measurements taken with an overhead line recording vehicle are analysed, it will be possible to calculate the potential breakage risk of the wire. A strong dependence of the tensile forces of the contact wire has also been observed. These results will allow priorities to be set for replacing the most critical sections of wire, thereby making maintenance much more efficient. The results obtained show that the wire replacement criteria currently borne in mind have turned out to be appropriate, although in some wear scenarios these criteria could be adjusted even more, and so prolong the life cycle of the contact wire
A system of three transiting super-Earths in a cool dwarf star
We present the detection of three super-Earths transiting the cool star
LP415-17, monitored by K2 mission in its 13th campaign. High resolution spectra
obtained with HARPS-N/TNG showed that the star is a mid-late K dwarf. Using
spectral synthesis models we infer its effective temperature, surface gravity
and metallicity and subse- quently determined from evolutionary models a
stellar radius of 0.58 R Sun. The planets have radii of 1.8, 2.6 and 1.9 R
Earth and orbital periods of 6.34, 13.85 and 40.72 days. High resolution images
discard any significant contamination by an intervening star in the line of
sight. The orbit of the furthest planet has radius of 0.18 AU, close to the
inner edge of the habitable zone. The system is suitable to improve our
understanding of formation and dynamical evolution of super-Earth systems in
the rocky - gaseous threshold, their atmospheres, internal structure,
composition and interactions with host stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
Fluctuations in a coupled-oscillator model of the cardiovascular system
We present a model of the cardiovascular system (CVS) based on a system of coupled oscillators. Using this approach we can describe several complex physiological phenomena that can have a range of applications. For instance, heart rate variability (HRV), can have a new deterministic explanation. The intrinsic dynamics of the HRV is controlled by deterministic couplings between the physiological oscillators in our model and without the need to introduce external noise as is commonly done. This new result provides potential applications not only for physiological systems but also for the design of very precise electronic generators where the frequency stability is crucial. Another important phenomenon is that of oscillation death. We show that in our CVS model the mechanism leading to the quenching of the oscillations can be controlled, not only by the coupling parameter, but by a more general scheme. In fact, we propose that a change in the relative current state of the cardiovascular oscillators can lead to a cease of the oscillations without actually changing the strength of the coupling among them. We performed real experiments using electronic oscillators and show them to match the theoretical and numerical predictions. We discuss the relevance of the studied phenomena to real cardiovascular systems regimes, including the explanation of certain pathologies, and the possible applications in medical practice
Lack of replication of genetic predictors for the rheumatoid arthritis response to anti-TNF treatments: a prospective case-only study
P-Type Silicon Strip Sensors for the new CMS Tracker at HL-LHC
The upgrade of the LHC to the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) is expected to increase the LHC design luminosity by an order of magnitude. This will require silicon tracking detectors with a significantly higher radiation hardness. The CMS Tracker Collaboration has conducted an irradiation and measurement campaign to identify suitable silicon sensor materials and strip designs for the future outer tracker at the CMS experiment. Based on these results, the collaboration has chosen to use n-in-p type silicon sensors and focus further investigations on the optimization of that sensor type. This paper describes the main measurement results and conclusions that motivated this decision
Lack of association of a variable number of aspartic acid residues in the asporin gene with osteoarthritis susceptibility: case-control studies in Spanish Caucasians
A recent genetic association study has identified a microsatellite in the coding sequence of the asporin gene as a susceptibility factor for osteoarthritis (OA). Alleles of this microsatellite determine the variable number of aspartic acid residues in the amino-terminal end of the asporin protein. Asporin binds directly to the growth factor transforming growth factor beta and inhibits its anabolic effects in cartilage, which include stimulation of collagen and aggrecan synthesis. The OA-associated allele, with 14 aspartic acid residues, inhibits the anabolic effects of transforming growth factor beta more strongly than other asporin alleles, leading to increased OA liability. We have explored whether the association found in several cohorts of Japanese hip OA and knee OA patients was also present in Spanish Caucasians. We studied patients that had undergone total joint replacement for primary OA in the hip (n = 303) or the knee (n = 188) and patients with hand OA (n = 233), and we compared their results with controls (n = 294) lacking overt OA clinical symptoms. No significant differences were observed in any of the multiple comparisons performed, which included global tests of allele frequency distributions and specific comparisons as well as stratification by affected joint and by sex. Our results, together with reports from the United Kingdom and Greece, indicate that the stretch of aspartic acid residues in asporin is not an important factor in OA susceptibility among European Caucasians. It remains possible that lifestyle, environmental or genetic differences allow for an important effect of asporin variants in other ethnic groups as has been reported in the Japanese, but this should be supported by additional studies
Abundance trend with condensation temperature for stars with different Galactic birth places
During the past decade, several studies reported a correlation between
chemical abundances of stars and condensation temperature (also known as Tc
trend). However, the real astrophysical nature of this correlation is still
debated. The main goal of this work is to explore the possible dependence of
the Tc trend on stellar Galactocentric distances, Rmean. We used high-quality
spectra of about 40 stars observed with the HARPS and UVES spectrographs to
derive precise stellar parameters, chemical abundances, and stellar ages. A
differential line-by-line analysis was applied to achieve the highest possible
precision in the chemical abundances. We confirm previous results that [X/Fe]
abundance ratios depend on stellar age and that for a given age, some elements
also show a dependence on Rmean. When using the whole sample of stars, we
observe a weak hint that the Tc trend depends on Rmean. The observed dependence
is very complex and disappears when only stars with similar ages are
considered. To conclude on the possible dependence of the Tc trend on the
formation place of stars, a larger sample of stars with very similar
atmospheric parameters and stellar ages observed at different Galactocentric
distances is neededComment: Accepted by A&
Effectiveness of resilient wheels in reducing noise and vibrations
This study focuses on the effectiveness of resilient wheels in reducing railway noise and vibrations, and compares the effectiveness of three types of wheels. The finite elements method has been used to characterise the vibratory behaviour of these wheels. The model has been excited with a realistic spectrum of vertical track irregularities, and a spectral analysis has been carried out. Results have been post-processed in order to estimate the sound power emitted. These calculations have been used to assess the effectiveness of the resilient wheel designs in reducing noise emitted to the environment and in propagating structural vibrations
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