3,286 research outputs found
Sensation Seeking and Perceived Need for Structure Moderate Soldiers’ Well-Being Before and After Operational Deployment
This study examined associations between sensation seeking and perceived need for structure, and changes in reported well-being among deployed soldiers. Participants (n = 167) were assessed before and after a six-month deployment to south Afghanistan. Results indicated that although well-being declined in the soldier sample as a whole following deployment, the degree of decrease was significantly different among soldiers with different personality profiles. Differences were moderated by soldiers’ level of sensation seeking and perceived need for structure. Results are discussed in terms of a person-environment fit theory in the context of preparation and rehabilitation of deployed military personnel
Non-LTE models for the gaseous metal component of circumstellar discs around white dwarfs
Gaseous metal discs around single white dwarfs have been discovered recently.
They are thought to develop from disrupted planetary bodies. Spectroscopic
analyses will allow us to study the composition of extrasolar planetary
material. We investigate in detail the first object for which a gas disc was
discovered (SDSS J122859.93+104032.9). Therefor we perform non-LTE modelling of
viscous gas discs by computing the detailed vertical structure and line
spectra. The models are composed of carbon, oxygen, magnesium, silicon,
calcium, and hydrogen with chemical abundances typical for Solar System
asteroids. Line asymmetries are modelled by assuming spiral-arm and eccentric
disc structures as suggested by hydrodynamical simulations. The observed
infrared Ca II emission triplet can be modelled with a hydrogen-deficient metal
gas disc located inside of the tidal disruption radius, with an effective
temperature of about 6000 K and a surface mass density of 0.3 g/cm^2. The inner
radius is well constrained at about 0.64 Solar radii. The line profile
asymmetry can be reproduced by either a spiral-arm structure or an eccentric
disc, the latter being favoured by its time variability behaviour. Such
structures, reaching from 0.64 to 1.5 Solar radii, contain a mass of about 3 to
6*10^21 g, the latter equivalent to the mass of a 135-km diameter Solar System
asteroid.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The chemical composition of nearby young associations: s-process element abundances in AB Doradus, Carina-Near, and Ursa Major
Recently, several studies have shown that young, open clusters are
characterised by a considerable over-abundance in their barium content. In
particular, D'Orazi et al. (2009) reported that in some younger clusters
[Ba/Fe] can reach values as high as ~0.6 dex. The work also identified the
presence of an anti-correlation between [Ba/Fe] and cluster age. For clusters
in the age range ~4.5 Gyr-500 Myr, this is best explained by assuming a higher
contribution from low-mass asymptotic giant branch stars to the Galactic
chemical enrichment. The purpose of this work is to investigate the ubiquity of
the barium over-abundance in young stellar clusters. We analysed
high-resolution spectroscopic data, focusing on the s-process elemental
abundance for three nearby young associations, i.e. AB Doradus, Carina-Near,
and Ursa Major. The clusters have been chosen such that their age spread would
complement the D'Orazi et al. (2009) study. We find that while the s-process
elements Y, Zr, La, and Ce exhibit solar ratios in all three associations, Ba
is over-abundant by ~0.2 dex. Current theoretical models can not reproduce this
abundance pattern, thus we investigate whether this unusually large Ba content
might be related to chromospheric effects. Although no correlation between
[Ba/Fe] and several activity indicators seems to be present, we conclude that
different effects could be at work which may (directly or indirectly) be
related to the presence of hot stellar chromospheres.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
The Discovery of a Debris Disk Around the DAV White Dwarf PG 1541+651
To search for circumstellar disks around evolved stars, we targeted roughly
100 DA white dwarfs from the Palomar Green survey with the Peters Automated
Infrared Imaging Telescope (PAIRITEL). Here we report the discovery of a debris
disk around one of these targets, the pulsating white dwarf PG 1541+651 (KX
Draconis, hereafter PG1541). We detect a significant flux excess around PG1541
in the K-band. Follow-up near-infrared spectroscopic observations obtained at
the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and photometric observations with
the warm Spitzer Space Telescope confirm the presence of a warm debris disk
within 0.13-0.36 Rsun (11-32x the stellar radius) at an inclination angle of
60deg. At Teff = 11880 K, PG1541 is almost a twin of the DAV white dwarf
G29-38, which also hosts a debris disk. All previously known dusty white dwarfs
are of the DAZ/DBZ spectral type due to accretion of metals from the disk.
High-resolution optical spectroscopy is needed to search for metal absorption
lines in PG1541 and to constrain the accretion rate from the disk. PG1541 is
only 55 pc away from the Sun and the discovery of its disk in our survey
demonstrates that our knowledge of the nearby dusty white dwarf population is
far from complete.Comment: MNRAS Letters, in pres
Identification of a nearby stellar association in the Hipparcos catalog: implications for recent, local star formation
The TW Hydrae Association (~55 pc from Earth) is the nearest known region of
recent star formation. Based primarily on the Hipparcos catalog, we have now
identified a group of 9 or 10 co-moving star systems at a common distance (~45
pc) from Earth that appear to comprise another, somewhat older, association
(``the Tucanae Association''). Together with ages and motions recently
determined for some nearby field stars, the existence of the Tucanae and TW
Hydrae Associations suggests that the Sun is now close to a region that was the
site of substantial star formation only 10-40 million years ago. The TW Hydrae
Association represents a final chapter in the local star formation history.Comment: 5 pages incl figs and table
Discovery of magnetic fields in central stars of planetary nebulae
For the first time we have directly detected magnetic fields in central stars
of planetary nebulae by means of spectro-polarimetry with FORS1 at the VLT. In
all four objects of our sample we found kilogauss magnetic fields, in NGC1360
and LSS1362 with very high significance, while in EGB5 and Abell36 the
existence of a magnetic field is probable but with less certainty. This
discovery supports the hypothesis that the non-spherical symmetry of most
planetary nebulae is caused by magnetic fields in AGB stars. Our high discovery
rate demands mechanisms to prevent full conservation of magnetic flux during
the transition to white dwarfs.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for Publication by Astronomy &
Astrophysics See also press release by A&A on their homepage
www.edpsiences.or
Lucky Imaging survey for southern M dwarf binaries
While M dwarfs are the most abundant stars in the Milky Way, there is still
large uncertainty about their basic physical properties (mass, luminosity,
radius, etc.) as well as their formation environment. Precise knowledge of
multiplicity characteristics and how they change in this transitional mass
region, between Sun-like stars on the one side and very low mass stars and
brown dwarfs on the other, provide constraints on low mass star and brown dwarf
formation. In the largest M dwarf binary survey to date, we search for
companions to active, and thus preferentially young, M dwarfs in the solar
neighbourhood. We study their binary/multiple properties, such as the
multiplicity frequency and distributions of mass ratio and separation, and
identify short period visual binaries, for which orbital parameters and hence
dynamical mass estimates can be derived in the near future. The observations
are carried out in the SDSS i' and z' band using the Lucky Imaging camera
AstraLux Sur at the ESO 3.5 m New Technology Telescope. In the first part of
the survey, we observed 124 M dwarfs of integrated spectral types M0-M6 and
identified 34 new and 17 previously known companions to 44 stars. We derived
relative astrometry and component photometry for these systems. More than half
of the binaries have separations smaller than 1 arcsec and would have been
missed in a simply seeing-limited survey. Correcting our sample for selection
effects yields a multiplicity fraction of 32+/-6% for 108 M dwarfs within 52 pc
and with angular separations of 0.1-6.0 arcsec, corresponding to projected
separation 3-180 AU at median distance 30 pc. Compared to early-type M dwarfs
(M>0.3M_Sun), later type (and hence lower mass) M dwarf binaries appear to have
closer separations, and more similar masses.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures. Minor corrections and changes. Revised to match
accepted A&A versio
Heat transfer measurements with TOIRT method
Temperature Oscillation Infra-Red Thermography (TOIRT) method was used to measure heat transfer coefficients between a at surface and a confined impinging jet generated by an impeller in a difusor and baffled vessel. The TOIRT method is based on measuring a phase-lag between the oscillating heat flux applied to the heat transfer surface and the surface temperature response using a contactless infra-red camera. The phase lag is in a direct relationship with the heat transfer coefficient
- …