5,596 research outputs found
Stability implications of delay distribution for first-order and second-order systems
Kiss, G., & Krauskopf, B. (2009). Stability implications of delay distribution for first-order and second-order systems. Early version, also known as pre-print Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-documen
Main-Belt Asteroids in the K2 Engineering Field of View
Unlike NASA's original Kepler Discovery Mission, the renewed K2 Mission will
stare at the plane of the Ecliptic, observing each field for approximately 75
days. This will bring new opportunities and challenges, in particular the
presence of a large number of main-belt asteroids that will contaminate the
photometry. The large pixel size makes K2 data susceptible to the effect of
apparent minor planet encounters. Here we investigate the effects of asteroid
encounters on photometric precision using a sub-sample of the K2 Engineering
data taken in February, 2014. We show examples of asteroid contamination to
facilitate their recognition and distinguish these events from other error
sources. We conclude that main-belt asteroids will have considerable effects on
K2 photometry of a large number of photometric targets during the Mission, that
will have to be taken into account. These results will be readily applicable
for future space photometric missions applying large-format CCDs, such as TESS
and PLATO.Comment: accepted for publication in AJ, 6 page
Thermal Infrared Observations of Asteroid (99942) Apophis with Herschel
The near-Earth asteroid (99942) Apophis is a potentially hazardous asteroid.
We obtained far-infrared observations of this asteroid with the Herschel Space
Observatory's PACS instrument at 70, 100, and 160 micron. These were taken at
two epochs in January and March 2013 during a close Earth encounter. These
first thermal measurements of Apophis were taken at similar phase angles before
and after opposition. We performed a detailed thermophysical model analysis by
using the spin and shape model recently derived from applying a 2-period
Fourier series method to a large sample of well-calibrated photometric
observations. We find that the tumbling asteroid Apophis has an elongated shape
with a mean diameter of 375 m (of an equal volume sphere) and a
geometric V-band albedo of 0.30. We find a thermal inertia in
the range 250-800 JmsK (best solution at 600
JmsK), which can be explained by a mixture of low
conductivity fine regolith with larger rocks and boulders of high thermal
inertia on the surface. The thermal inertia, and other similarities with
(25143) Itokawa indicate that Apophis might also have a rubble-pile structure.
If we combine the new size value with the assumption of an Itokawa-like density
and porosity we estimate a mass between 4.4 and 6.2 10 kg which is more
than 2-3 times larger than previous estimates. We expect that the newly derived
properties will influence impact scenario studies and influence the long-term
orbit predictions of Apophis.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 21 pages, 8
figures, 2 table
TWO-PROTON RADIOACTIVITY: THE INTERESTING CASE OF 67Kr AND FURTHER STUDIES
We report on the observation of 67Kr that has been produced in an experiment
performed at the RIKEN/BigRIPS facility. The two-proton decay
of 67Kr has been evidenced and this nucleus is thus the fourth observed long
lived ground-state two-proton emitter, after 45Fe, 48Ni and 54Zn. In addition,
the decay of several isotopes in the mass region has been investigated.
While for previous cases of two-proton radioactivity, the theoretical models
could reproduce the measured data, this is not the case anymore for
67Kr. Two interpretations have been proposed to explain this discrepancy:
a transition between real two-proton and sequential decay or the influence
of deformation. These hypotheses will be tested in future experiments by
measuring the angular and energy correlations of the emitted proton
Nova Cygni 2001/2 = V2275 Cyg
We present an analysis of low- and medium resolution spectra of the very fast
nova, Nova Cygni 2001/2 (V2275 Cyg) obtained at nine epochs in August,
September and October, 2001. The expansion velocity from hydrogen Balmer lines
is found to be 2100 km/s, although early H-alpha profile showed a weak feature
at -3500 km/s, too. The overall appearance of the optical spectrum is dominated
by broad lines of H, He and N, therefore, the star belongs to the ``He/N''
subclass of novae defined by Williams (1992). Interstellar lines and bands, as
well as BV photometry taken from the literature yielded to a fairly high
reddening of E(B-V)=1.0+/-0.1 mag. The visual light curve was used to deduce
M_V by the maximum magnitude versus rate of decline relationship. The resulting
parameters are: t_0=2452141.4(+0.1)(-0.5), t_2=2.9+/-0.5 days, t_3=7+/-1 days,
M_V=-9.7+/-0.7 mag. Adopting these parameters, the star lies between 3 kpc and
8 kpc from the Sun.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Teleportation: from probability distributions to quantum states
The role of the off-diagonal density matrix elements of the entangled pair is
investigated in quantum teleportation of a qbit. The dependence between them
and the off-diagonal elements of the teleported density matrix is shown to be
linear. In this way the ideal quantum teleportation is related to an entirely
classical communication protocol: the one-time pad cypher. The latter can be
regarded as the classical counterpart of Bennett's quantum teleportation
scheme. The quantum-to-classical transition is demonstrated on the statistics
of a gedankenexperiment.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in J. Phys. A (Math.
Gen.
Physical Properties of OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 derived from Herschel, ESO-VISIR and Spitzer observations
In September 2011, the Herschel Space Observatory performed an observation
campaign with the PACS photometer observing the asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 in
the far infrared. The Herschel observations were analysed, together with ESO
VLT-VISIR and Spitzer-IRS data, by means of a thermophysical model in order to
derive the physical properties of 1999 RQ36. We find the asteroid has an
effective diameter in the range 480 to 511 m, a slightly elongated shape with a
semi-major axis ratio of a/b=1.04, a geometric albedo of 0.045 +0.015/-0.012,
and a retrograde rotation with a spin vector between -70 and -90 deg ecliptic
latitude. The thermal emission at wavelengths below 12 micron -originating in
the hot sub-solar region- shows that there may be large variations in roughness
on the surface along the equatorial zone of 1999 RQ36, but further measurements
are required for final proof. We determine that the asteroid has a
disk-averaged thermal inertia of Gamma = 650 Jm-2s-0.5K-1 with a 3-sigma
confidence range of 350 to 950 Jm-2s-0.5K-1, equivalent to what is observed for
25143 Itokawa and suggestive that 1999 RQ36 has a similar surface texture and
may also be a rubble-pile in nature. The low albedo indicates that 1999 RQ36
very likely contains primitive volatile-rich material, consistent with its
spectral type, and that it is an ideal target for the OSIRIS-REx sample return
mission.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 9 pages, 7
figure
Photometric observations of 9 Near-Earth Objects
We present new CCD observations of nine Near-Earth Asteroids carried out between February, 1999 and July, 2000. The bulk of the data was acquired through an R_C filter, while the minor planet 11405 was observed without filter. We could determine synodic periods and amplitudes for 5 asteroids, 699: 3.3 h, 0.18 mag; 1866: 2.7 h, 0.12 mag; 1999 JD6: 7.68 h, 1.2 mag; 2000 GK137: 4.84 h, 0.27 mag; 2000 NM: 9.24 h, 0.30 mag. Based on observations taken at different phases, we could infer a phase parameter m of 0.018+/-0.005 for 1865 Cerberus. An epoch-method yielded a sidereal period of 0.27024003(5) d for this object with retrograde rotation. The remaining 3 objects have only partial coverage, thus no firm conclusion on their synodic period is possible
The first high-amplitude delta Scuti star in an eclipsing binary system
We report the discovery of the first high-amplitude delta Scuti star in an
eclipsing binary, which we have designated UNSW-V-500. The system is an
Algol-type semi-detached eclipsing binary of maximum brightness V = 12.52 mag.
A best-fitting solution to the binary light curve and two radial velocity
curves is derived using the Wilson-Devinney code. We identify a late A spectral
type primary component of mass 1.49+/-0.02 M_sun and a late K spectral type
secondary of mass 0.33+/-0.02 M_sun, with an inclination of 86.5+/-1.0 degrees,
and a period of 5.3504751+/-0.0000006 d. A Fourier analysis of the residuals
from this solution is performed using PERIOD04 to investigate the delta Scuti
pulsations. We detect a single pulsation frequency of f_1 = 13.621+/-0.015 c/d,
and it appears this is the first overtone radial mode frequency. This system
provides the first opportunity to measure the dynamical mass for a star of this
variable type; previously, masses have been derived from stellar evolution and
pulsation models.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, for submission to MNRAS, v2: paper size
change, small typographical changes to abstrac
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