2,302 research outputs found
Theoretical insights into the RR Lyrae K-band Period-Luminosity relation
Based on updated nonlinear, convective pulsation models computed for several
values of stellar mass, luminosity and metallicity, theoretical constraints on
the K-band Period-Luminosity (PLK) relation of RR Lyrae stars are presented. We
show that for each given metal content the predicted PLK is marginally
dependent on uncertainties of the stellar mass and/or luminosity. Then, by
considering the RR Lyrae masses suggested by evolutionary computations for the
various metallicities, we obtain that the predicted infrared magnitude M_K over
the range 0.0001< Z <0.02 is given by the relation
MK=0.568-2.071logP+0.087logZ-0.778logL/Lo, with a rms scatter of 0.032 mag.
Therefore, by allowing the luminosities of RR Lyrae stars to vary within the
range covered by current evolutionary predictions for metal-deficient (0.0001<
Z <0.006) horizontal branch models, we eventually find that the infrared
Period-Luminosity- Metallicity (PLZK) relation is
MK=0.139-2.071(logP+0.30)+0.167logZ, with a total intrinsic dispersion of 0.037
mag. As a consequence, the use of such a PLZK relation should constrain within
+-0.04 mag the infrared distance modulus of field and cluster RR Lyrae
variables, provided that accurate observations and reliable estimates of the
metal content are available. Moreover, we show that the combination of K and V
measurements can supply independent information on the average luminosity of RR
Lyrae stars, thus yielding tight constraints on the input physics of stellar
evolution computations. Finally, for globular clusters with a sizable sample of
first overtone variables, the reddening can be estimated by using the PLZK
relation together with the predicted MV-logP relation at the blue edge of the
instability strip (Caputo et al. 2000).Comment: 8 pages, including 5 postscript figures, accepted for publication on
MNRA
The bend stiffness of S-DNA
We formulate and solve a two-state model for the elasticity of nicked,
double-stranded DNA that borrows features from both the Worm Like Chain and the
Bragg--Zimm model. Our model is computationally simple, and gives an excellent
fit to recent experimental data through the entire overstretching transition.
The fit gives the first value for the bending stiffness of the overstretched
state as about 10 nm*kbt, a value quite different from either B-form or
single-stranded DNA.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
Geometry and the onset of rigidity in a disordered network
Disordered spring networks that are undercoordinated may abruptly rigidify
when sufficient strain is applied. Since the deformation in response to applied
strain does not change the generic quantifiers of network architecture - the
number of nodes and the number of bonds between them - this rigidity transition
must have a geometric origin. Naive, degree-of-freedom based mechanical
analyses such as the Maxwell-Calladine count or the pebble game algorithm
overlook such geometric rigidity transitions and offer no means of predicting
or characterizing them. We apply tools that were developed for the topological
analysis of zero modes and states of self-stress on regular lattices to
two-dimensional random spring networks, and demonstrate that the onset of
rigidity, at a finite simple shear strain , coincides with the
appearance of a single state of self stress, accompanied by a single floppy
mode. The process conserves the topologically invariant difference between the
number of zero modes and the number of states of self stress, but imparts a
finite shear modulus to the spring network. Beyond the critical shear, we
confirm previously reported critical scaling of the modulus. In the
sub-critical regime, a singular value decomposition of the network's
compatibility matrix foreshadows the onset of rigidity by way of a continuously
vanishing singular value corresponding to nascent state of self stress.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figue
Direct Distances to Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud: Evidence for a Universal Slope of the Period-Luminosity Relation up to Solar Abundance
We have applied the infrared surface brightness (ISB) technique to derive
distances to 13 Cepheids in the LMC which span a period range from 3 to 42
days. From the absolute magnitudes of the variables calculated from these
distances, we find that the LMC Cepheids define tight period-luminosity
relations in the V, I, W,
J and K bands which agree exceedingly well with the corresponding Galactic PL
relations derived from the same technique, and are significantly steeper than
the LMC PL relations in these bands observed by the OGLE-II Project in V, I and
W, and by Persson et al. in J and K. We find that the tilt-corrected true
distance moduli of the LMC Cepheids show a significant dependence on period,
which hints at a systematic error in the ISB technique related to the period of
the stars. We identify as the most likely culprit the p-factor which converts
the radial into pulsational velocities; our data imply a much steeper period
dependence of the p-factor than previously thought, and we derive p=1.58
(+/-0.02) -0.15 (+/-0.05) logP as the best fit from our data, with a zero point
tied to the Milky Way open cluster Cepheids. Using this revised p-factor law,
the period dependence of the LMC Cepheid distance moduli disappears, and at the
same time the Milky Way and LMC PL relations agree among themselves, and with
the directly observed LMC PL relations, within the 1 sigma uncertainties. Our
main conclusion is that the previous, steeper Galactic PL relations were caused
by an erroneous calibration of the p-factor law, and that there is now evidence
that the slope of the Cepheid PL relation is independent of metallicity up to
solar metallicity, in both optical, and near-infrared bands.Comment: ApJ accepte
BVRIJK light curves and radial velocity curves for selected Magellanic Cloud Cepheids
We present high precision and well sampled BVRIJK light curves and radial
velocity curves for a sample of five Cepheids in the SMC. In addition we
present radial velocity curves for three Cepheids in the LMC. The low
metallicity (Fe/H ~ -0.7) SMC stars have been selected for use in a
Baade-Wesselink type analysis to constrain the metallicity effect on the
Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation. The stars have periods of around 15 days so
they are similar to the Cepheids observed by the Extragalactic Distance Scale
Key Project on the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the stars are
representative of the SMC Cepheid population at that period and thus will
provide a good sample for the proposed analysis. The actual Baade-Wesselink
analysis are presented in a companion paper.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 23 pages, 10 figures, data tables
will be made available electronically from the CD
Critical behaviour in the nonlinear elastic response of hydrogels
In this paper we study the elastic response of synthetic hydrogels to an
applied shear stress. The hydrogels studied here have previously been shown to
mimic the behaviour of biopolymer networks when they are sufficiently far above
the gel point. We show that near the gel point they exhibit an elastic response
that is consistent with the predicted critical behaviour of networks near or
below the isostatic point of marginal stability. This point separates rigid and
floppy states, distinguished by the presence or absence of finite linear
elastic moduli. Recent theoretical work has also focused on the response of
such networks to finite or large deformations, both near and below the
isostatic point. Despite this interest, experimental evidence for the existence
of criticality in such networks has been lacking. Using computer simulations,
we identify critical signatures in the mechanical response of sub-isostatic
networks as a function of applied shear stress. We also present experimental
evidence consistent with these predictions. Furthermore, our results show the
existence of two distinct critical regimes, one of which arises from the
nonlinear stretch response of semi-flexible polymers.
A pulsational approach to near infrared and visual magnitudes of RR Lyrae stars
In this paper we present an improved theoretical scenario concerning near
infrared and visual magnitudes of RR Lyrae variables, as based on up-to-date
pulsating models. On this basis, we revisit the case of the prototype variable
RR Lyr, showing that the parallax inferred by this new pulsational approach
appears in close agreement with HST absolute parallax. Moreover, available K
and V measurements for field and cluster RR Lyrae variables with known
reddening and metal content are used to derive a relation connecting the K
absolute magnitude to period and metallicity, as well as a new calibration of
the M_V-[Fe/H] relation. The comparison between theoretical prescriptions and
observations suggests that RR Lyrae stars in the field and in Galactic Globular
Clusters should have quite similar evolutionary histories. The comparison
between theory and observations also discloses a general agreement that
supports the reliability of current pulsational scenario. On the contrary,
current empirical absolute magnitudes based on the Baade-Wesselink (BW) method
suggest relations with a zero-point that is fainter than predicted by pulsation
models, together with a milder metallicity dependence. However, preliminary
results based on a new calibration of the BW method provided by Cacciari et al.
(2000) for RR Cet and SW And appear in a much better agreement with the
pulsational predictions.Comment: 11 pages, 9 postscript figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
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