174 research outputs found
The Signature of Primordial Grain Growth in the Polarized Light of the AU Mic Debris Disk
We have used the Hubble Space Telescope/ACS coronagraph to make polarization
maps of the AU Mic debris disk. The fractional linear polarization rises
monotonically from about 0.05 to 0.4 between 20 and 80 AU. The polarization is
perpendicular to the disk, indicating that the scattered light originates from
micron sized grains in an optically thin disk. Disk models, which
simultaneously fit the surface brightness and polarization, show that the inner
disk (< 40-50 AU) is depleted of micron-sized dust by a factor of more than
300, which means that the disk is collision dominated. The grains have high
maximum linear polarization and strong forward scattering. Spherical grains
composed of conventional materials cannot reproduce these optical properties. A
Mie/Maxwell-Garnett analysis implicates highly porous (91-94%) particles. In
the inner Solar System, porous particles form in cometary dust, where the
sublimation of ices leaves a "bird's nest" of refractory organic and silicate
material. In AU Mic, the grain porosity may be primordial, because the dust
"birth ring" lies beyond the ice sublimation point. The observed porosities
span the range of values implied by laboratory studies of particle coagulation
by ballistic cluster-cluster aggregation. To avoid compactification, the upper
size limit for the parent bodies is in the decimeter range, in agreement with
theoretical predictions based on collisional lifetime arguments. Consequently,
AU Mic may exhibit the signature of the primordial agglomeration process
whereby interstellar grains first assembled to form macroscopic objects.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, ApJ, in pres
The HARPS search for southern extrasolar planets XXI. Three new giant planets orbiting the metal-poor stars HD5388, HD181720, and HD190984
We present the discovery of three new giant planets around three
metal-deficient stars: HD5388b (1.96M_Jup), HD181720b (0.37M_Jup), and
HD190984b (3.1M_Jup). All the planets have moderately eccentric orbits (ranging
from 0.26 to 0.57) and long orbital periods (from 777 to 4885 days). Two of the
stars (HD181720 and HD190984) were part of a program searching for giant
planets around a sample of ~100 moderately metal-poor stars, while HD5388 was
part of the volume-limited sample of the HARPS GTO program. Our discoveries
suggest that giant planets in long period orbits are not uncommon around
moderately metal-poor stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (replaced by version with minor
language corrections
Dusty Planetary Systems
Extensive photometric stellar surveys show that many main sequence stars show
emission at infrared and longer wavelengths that is in excess of the stellar
photosphere; this emission is thought to arise from circumstellar dust. The
presence of dust disks is confirmed by spatially resolved imaging at infrared
to millimeter wavelengths (tracing the dust thermal emission), and at optical
to near infrared wavelengths (tracing the dust scattered light). Because the
expected lifetime of these dust particles is much shorter than the age of the
stars (>10 Myr), it is inferred that this solid material not primordial, i.e.
the remaining from the placental cloud of gas and dust where the star was born,
but instead is replenished by dust-producing planetesimals. These planetesimals
are analogous to the asteroids, comets and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) in our
Solar system that produce the interplanetary dust that gives rise to the
zodiacal light (tracing the inner component of the Solar system debris disk).
The presence of these "debris disks" around stars with a wide range of masses,
luminosities, and metallicities, with and without binary companions, is
evidence that planetesimal formation is a robust process that can take place
under a wide range of conditions. This chapter is divided in two parts. Part I
discusses how the study of the Solar system debris disk and the study of debris
disks around other stars can help us learn about the formation, evolution and
diversity of planetary systems by shedding light on the frequency and timing of
planetesimal formation, the location and physical properties of the
planetesimals, the presence of long-period planets, and the dynamical and
collisional evolution of the system. Part II reviews the physical processes
that affect dust particles in the gas-free environment of a debris disk and
their effect on the dust particle size and spatial distribution.Comment: 68 pages, 25 figures. To be published in "Solar and Planetary
Systems" (P. Kalas and L. French, Eds.), Volume 3 of the series "Planets,
Stars and Stellar Systems" (T.D. Oswalt, Editor-in-chief), Springer 201
On the Puzzle of Odd-Frequency Superconductivity
Since the first theoretical proposal by Berezinskii, an odd-frequency
superconductivity has encountered the fundamental problems on its thermodynamic
stability and rigidity of a homogenous state accompanied by unphysical Meissner
effect. Recently, Solenov {\it et al}. [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 79} (2009) 132502.]
have asserted that the path-integral formulation gets rid of the difficulties
leading to a stable homogenous phase with an ordinary Meissner effect. Here, we
show that it is crucial to choose the appropriate saddle-point solution that
minimizes the effective free energy, which was assumed {\it implicitly} in the
work by Solenov and co-workers. We exhibit the path-integral framework for the
odd-frequency superconductivity with general type of pairings, including an
argument on the retarded functions via the analytic continuation to the real
axis.Comment: 6 pages, in JPSJ forma
The Kuiper Belt and Other Debris Disks
We discuss the current knowledge of the Solar system, focusing on bodies in
the outer regions, on the information they provide concerning Solar system
formation, and on the possible relationships that may exist between our system
and the debris disks of other stars. Beyond the domains of the Terrestrial and
giant planets, the comets in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud preserve some
of our most pristine materials. The Kuiper belt, in particular, is a
collisional dust source and a scientific bridge to the dusty "debris disks"
observed around many nearby main-sequence stars. Study of the Solar system
provides a level of detail that we cannot discern in the distant disks while
observations of the disks may help to set the Solar system in proper context.Comment: 50 pages, 25 Figures. To appear in conference proceedings book
"Astrophysics in the Next Decade
Constrains on planets around beta Pic with Harps radial velocity data
Context. The {\beta} Pictoris system with its debris disk and a massive giant
planet orbiting at \simeq 9 AU represents an ideal laboratory to study giant
planet formation and evolution as well as planet-disk interactions. {\beta} Pic
b can also help testing brightness-mass relations at young ages. Other planets,
yet undetected, may of course be present in the system. Aims. We aim at putting
direct constrains on the mass of {\beta} Pic b and at searching for additional
jovian planets on orbits closer than typically 2 AU. Methods. We use high
precision Harps data collected over 8 years since 2003 to measure and analyse
{\beta} Pic radial velocities. Results. We show that the true mass of {\beta}
Pic b is less than 10, 12, 15.5, 20 and 25 MJup if orbiting respectively at 8,
9, 10, 11 and 12 AU. This is the first direct constraint on the mass of an
imaged planet. The upper mass found is well in the range predicted by
brightness-mass relations provided by current "hot start" models. We also
exclude the presence of giant planets more massive than 2.5 MJup with periods
less than 100 days (hot Jupiters), more massive than 9 MJup for periods in the
range 100-500 days. In the 500-1000 day range, the detection limit is in the
brown dwarf domain. Beyond the intrinsic interest for {\beta} Pic, these
results show the possibilities of precise RV measurements of early type,
rapidly rotating stars.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Possible Odd-Frequency Superconductivity in Strong-Coupling Electron-Phonon Systems
A possibility of the odd-frequency pairing in the strong-coupling
electron-phonon systems is discussed. Using the Holstein-Hubbard model, we
demonstrate that the anomalously soft Einstein mode with the frequency
( is the order of the renormalized
bandwidth) mediates the s-wave odd-frequency triplet pairing against the
ordinary even-frequency singlet pairing. It is necessary for the emergence of
the odd-frequency pairing that the pairing interaction is strongly retarded as
well as the strong coupling, since the pairing interaction for the
odd-frequency pairing is effective only in the diagonal scattering channel,
with
. Namely, the odd-frequency
superconductivity is realized in the opposite limit of the original BCS theory.
The Ginzburg-Landau analysis in the strong-coupling region shows that the
specific-heat discontinuity and the slope of the temperature dependence of the
superfluid density can be quite small as compared with the BCS values,
depending on the ratio of the transition temperature and .Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Exoplanet Characterization and the Search for Life
Over 300 extrasolar planets (exoplanets) have been detected orbiting nearby
stars. We now hope to conduct a census of all planets around nearby stars and
to characterize their atmospheres and surfaces with spectroscopy. Rocky planets
within their star's habitable zones have the highest priority, as these have
the potential to harbor life. Our science goal is to find and characterize all
nearby exoplanets; this requires that we measure the mass, orbit, and
spectroscopic signature of each one at visible and infrared wavelengths. The
techniques for doing this are at hand today. Within the decade we could answer
long-standing questions about the evolution and nature of other planetary
systems, and we could search for clues as to whether life exists elsewhere in
our galactic neighborhood.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Astro2010 Decadal Revie
ISOCAM view of the starburst galaxies M82, NGC253, and NGC1808
We present results of mid-infrared 5.0-16.5 micron spectrophotometric imaging
of the starburst galaxies M82, NGC253, and NGC1808 from the ISOCAM instrument
on board the Infrared Space Observatory. The mid-infrared spectra of the three
galaxies are very similar in terms of features present. The > 11 micron
continuum attributed to very small dust grains (VSGs) exhibits a large spread
in intensity relative to the short-wavelength emission. We find that the 15
micron dust continuum flux density correlates well with the fine-structure
[ArII] 6.99 micron line flux and thus provides a good quantitative indicator of
the level of star formation activity. By contrast, the 5-11 micron region
dominated by emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has a nearly
invariant shape. Variations in the relative intensities of the PAH features are
nevertheless observed, at the 20%-100% level. We illustrate extinction effects
on the shape of the mid-infrared spectrum of obscured starbursts, emphasizing
the differences depending on the applicable extinction law and the consequences
for the interpretation of PAH ratios and extinction estimates. The relative
spatial distributions of the PAH, VSG, and [ArII] 6.99 micron emission between
the three galaxies exhibit remarkable differences. The < 1 kpc size of the
mid-infrared source is much smaller than the optical extent of our sample
galaxies and 70%-100% of the IRAS 12 micron flux is recovered within the ISOCAM
< 1.5 arcmin squared field of view, indicating that the nuclear starburst
dominates the total mid-infrared emission while diffuse light from quiescent
disk star formation contributes little.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics; Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 appear after Sect.
On the Meissner Effect of the Odd-Frequency Superconductivity with Critical Spin Fluctuations: Possibility of Zero Field FFLO pairing
We investigate the influence of critical spin fluctuations on electromagnetic
responses in the odd-frequency superconductivity. It is shown that the Meissner
kernel of the odd-frequency superconductivity is strongly reduced by the
critical spin fluctuation or the massless spin wave mode in the
antiferromagnetic phase. These results imply that the superfluid density is
reduced, and the London penetration depth is lengthened for the odd-frequency
pairing. It is also shown that the zero field Flude-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov
pairing is spontaneously realized both for even- and odd-frequency in the case
of sufficiently strong coupling with low lying spin-modes.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
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