Observation of a possible superflare on Proxima Centauri

We report the observation on UT 2017 July 1 of an unusually powerful flare detected in near-infrared continuum photometry of Proxima Centauri. During a campaign monitoring the star for possible exoplanet transits, we identified an increase in Sloan i' flux leading to an observed peak at BJD 2457935.996 that was at least 10 per cent over pre-flare flux in this band. It was followed by a two-component rapid decline in the first 100 s that became a slower exponential decay with time constant of 1350 s. A smaller flare event 1300 s after the first added an incremental peak flux increase of 1 per cent of pre-flare flux. Since the onset of the flare was not fully time resolved at a cadence of 62 s, its actual peak value is unknown but greater than the time average over a single exposure of 20 s. The i' band is representative of broad optical and near-IR continuum flux over which the integrated energy of the flare is 100 times the stellar luminosity. This meets the criteria that established the concept of superflares on similar stars. The resulting implied ultraviolet flux and space weather could have had an extreme effect on the atmospheres of planets within the star's otherwise habitable zone

A spectroscopic study of hydrogen atom and molecule collisions. Progress report, 1994--1997

In this project the fundamental processes which occur in low energy collisions of excited states of atomic hydrogen with other atoms and ions are being studied with optical, vacuum ultraviolet and laser spectroscopy. This report covers the period from 1994 to early 1997. We begin here with a brief description of the status of the work at the beginning of this project period, then discuss the goals for this period, our results, and the work in progress now. As the accompanying renewal proposal describes in more detail, the purpose of our work is to understand low energy atom-atom collisions during which light is emitted or absorbed. Because of their fundamental character, such collisions of atomic hydrogen could play a central role if experimental data could be compared with a priori theory. Some interactions involving atomic hydrogen can be calculated very accurately, namely those of H{sub 2}, H{sup +}{sub 2} H{sub 3}, and H{sup +}{sub 3}, and simpler diatomic radicals including OH, CH, and NH. The primary difficulty from the experimental side has been the development of techniques to observe neutral atomic hydrogen interactions at densities high enough for spectral line broadening effects to be observable. This specific research discusses in this report are: laser-produced plasmas in H{sub 2},H{sub 2}+H{sub 2}O, and H{sub 2}+Na; layman alpha wing; line shape theory; ArF laser interaction with H{sub 2}; and work in progress

Quasi-molecular lines in Lyman wings of cool DA white dwarfs; Application to FUSE observations of G231-40

We present new theoretical calculations of the total line profiles of Lyman alpha and Lyman beta which include perturbations by both neutral hydrogen AND protons and all possible quasi-molecular states of H_2 and H_2^+. They are used to improve theoretical modeling of synthetic spectra for cool DA white dwarfs. We compare them with FUSE observation of G231-40. The appearance of the line wings between Lyman alpha and Lyman beta is shown to be sensitive to the relative abundance of hydrogen ions and neutral atoms, and thereby to provide a temperature diagnostic for stellar atmospheres and laboratory plasmas.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

A collision-induced satellite in the Lyman Beta profile due to H-H collisions

We present a theoretical profile of the Lyman Beta line of atomic hydrogen perturbed by collisions with neutral hydrogen atoms and protons. We use a general unified theory in which the electric dipole moment varies during a collision. A collision-induced satellite appears on Lyman Beta, correlated to the B''\barB 1Sigma+u - X 1Sigma+g asymptotically forbidden transition of H_2. As a consequence, the appearance of the line wing between Lyman Alpha and Lyman Beta is shown to be sensitive to the relative abundance of hydrogen ions and neutral atoms, and thereby to provide a temperature diagnostic for stellar atmospheres and laboratory plasmas.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, acc.f.publ.European Physical Journal

Theoretical profiles of the Mg + resonance lines perturbed by collisions with He

International audienceThe effects of collision broadening by He are central to understanding the opacity of cool stellar atmospheres. Aims. DZ white dwarfs show metal lines which are, in many cases, believed to come from some rocky material, a remnant of a former exoplanetary system. The analysis of the Mg + resonance lines is a valuable method to determine the chemical abundances in these systems. Methods. Unified profiles of the strongest of the UV lines of Mg + have been calculated in the semi-classical approach using very recent ab initio potential energies. Results. We present the first theoretical line profile calculations of the resonance lines of Mg + that have been perturbed by helium in physical conditions of atmospheres in helium-rich white dwarfs with metal traces

Structural Basis of DNA Recognition by Synthetic Ligands

The DNA double helix presents functional groups in the major and minor grooves that can be used by ligands for readout of the base pair sequence. The overall flexibility and shape also distinguishes various sequences. Although the information displayed in the major groove is more diverse, small DNA-binding polyamides predictably distinguish all four base pairs in the minor groove. In this work, the structural basis of this recognition has been studied using x-ray crystallographic techniques, and is described for G•C (Chapter 2) and T•A base pairs (Chapter 3-4). The polyamides directly read the DNA sequence using a combination of specific hydrogen bonds and shape selection. A second class of ligands called intercalators bind to DNA via the major groove by slipping a planar aromatic ligand between the bases. Although this shape-selective DNA binding is relatively nonspecific, the substitution of the ancillary ligands on octahedral metallointercalators allows specific sequences to be recognized in the major groove. The high resolution crystal structure of a designed metal complex bound to its target site reveals the nature of these specific contacts, as well as the precise stacking of the ligand between the bases. A detailed understanding of specific DNA recognition by small molecules is important for their further development as tools for molecular biology and medicine. These structures reveal how synthetic ligands can distinguish all four base pairs in both the major and the minor grooves of DNA

LiHe spectra from brown dwarfs to helium clusters

International audienceThe detection of Li I lines is the most decisive spectral indicator of substellarity for young brown dwarfs with masses below about 0.06 solar mass. Due to the weakness of the Li resonance lines, it is important to be able to model precisely both their core widths and their wing profiles. This allows an adequate prediction of the mass at which Li lines reappear in the spectra of brown dwarfs for a given age, or reversely an accurate determination of the age of a cluster. We report improved line profiles and the dependence of line width on temperature suitable for modeling substellar atmospheres that were determined from new LiHe molecular potential energies. Over a limited range of density and temperature, comparison with laboratory measurements was used to validate the potential energies which support the spectral line profile theory

Spitzer and z' Secondary Eclipse Observations of the Highly Irradiated Transiting Brown Dwarf KELT-1b

We present secondary eclipse observations of the highly irradiated transiting brown dwarf KELT-1b. These observations represent the first constraints on the atmospheric dynamics of a highly irradiated brown dwarf, and the atmospheres of irradiated giant planets at high surface gravity. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we measure secondary eclipse depths of 0.195+/-0.010% at 3.6um and 0.200+/-0.012% at 4.5um. We also find tentative evidence for the secondary eclipse in the z' band with a depth of 0.049+/-0.023%. These measured eclipse depths are most consistent with an atmosphere model in which there is a strong substellar hotspot, implying that heat redistribution in the atmosphere of KELT-1b is low. While models with a more mild hotspot or even with dayside heat redistribution are only marginally disfavored, models with complete heat redistribution are strongly ruled out. The eclipse depths also prefer an atmosphere with no TiO inversion layer, although a model with TiO inversion is permitted in the dayside heat redistribution case, and we consider the possibility of a day-night TiO cold trap in this object. For the first time, we compare the IRAC colors of brown dwarfs and hot Jupiters as a function of effective temperature. Importantly, our measurements reveal that KELT-1b has a [3.6]-[4.5] color of 0.07+/-0.11, identical to that of isolated brown dwarfs of similarly high temperature. In contrast, hot Jupiters generally show redder [3.6]-[4.5] colors of ~0.4, with a very large range from ~0 to ~1. Evidently, despite being more similar to hot Jupiters than to isolated brown dwarfs in terms of external forcing of the atmosphere by stellar insolation, KELT-1b has an atmosphere most like that of other brown dwarfs. This suggests that surface gravity is very important in controlling the atmospheric systems of substellar mass bodies.Comment: 14 pages, 3 tables, 11 figures. Accepted by ApJ. Updated to reflect the accepted versio

FUSE observations of G226-29: First detection of the H_2 quasi-molecular satellite at 1150A

We present new FUV observations of the pulsating DA white dwarf G226-29 obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). This ZZ Ceti star is the brightest one of its class and the coolest white dwarf observed by FUSE. We report the first detection of the broad quasi-molecular collision-induced satellite of Ly-beta at 1150 A, an absorption feature that is due to transitions which take place during close collisions of hydrogen atoms. The physical interpretation of this feature is based on recent progress of the line broadening theory of the far wing of Ly-beta. This predicted feature had never been observed before, even in laboratory spectra.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters; 6 pages, 3 figure

U2AF65 adapts to diverse pre-mRNA splice sites through conformational selection of specific and promiscuous RNA recognition motifs

Degenerate splice site sequences mark the intron boundaries of pre-mRNA transcripts in multicellular eukaryotes. The essential pre-mRNA splicing factor U2AF(65) is faced with the paradoxical tasks of accurately targeting polypyrimidine (Py) tracts preceding 3\u27 splice sites while adapting to both cytidine and uridine nucleotides with nearly equivalent frequencies. To understand how U2AF(65) recognizes degenerate Py tracts, we determined six crystal structures of human U2AF(65) bound to cytidine-containing Py tracts. As deoxy-ribose backbones were required for co-crystallization with these Py tracts, we also determined two baseline structures of U2AF(65) bound to the deoxy-uridine counterparts and compared the original, RNA-bound structure. Local structural changes suggest that the N-terminal RNA recognition motif 1 (RRM1) is more promiscuous for cytosine-containing Py tracts than the C-terminal RRM2. These structural differences between the RRMs were reinforced by the specificities of wild-type and site-directed mutant U2AF(65) for region-dependent cytosine- and uracil-containing RNA sites. Small-angle X-ray scattering analyses further demonstrated that Py tract variations select distinct inter-RRM spacings from a pre-existing ensemble of U2AF(65) conformations. Our results highlight both local and global conformational selection as a means for universal 3\u27 splice site recognition by U2AF(65)