Distribution and characteristics of the vegetation of Central Luzon, Philippines.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityThis study is an attempt to present concisely the fundamental facts about the distribution and characteristics of the vegetation of Central Luzon, Philippines, and to show the relationship of these facts to the life of the Filipino. Central Luzon, with its tropical climate and fertile soil, is essentially an agricultural region. A variety of agricultural systems have been used for centuries. Today, progressive agriculture is practiced alongside primitive methods of cultivation. For more than three centuries Spanish colonial control restricted the expansion of Filipino economy and tended to centralize privilege, power, and wealth in the hands of a small section of the population. American control since 1900 attempted to reform and reshape the economy of the people, but the Americans failed to carry changes to the point at which they sufficiently improved the standard of living of the mass of rural people. The Filipinos still do not entirely feed themselves and have become dependent upon foreign sources. [TRUNCATED

Planet Hunters IX. KIC 8462852 - Where\u27s the flux?

Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC 8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux of up to ~20 per cent. The dipping activity can last for between 5 and 80 d.We characterize the object with high-resolution spectroscopy, spectral energy distribution fitting, radial velocity measurements, high-resolution imaging, and Fourier analyses of the Kepler light curve. We determine that KIC 8462852 is a typical main-sequence F3 V star that exhibits no significant IR excess, and has no very close interacting companions. In this paper, we describe various scenarios to explain the dipping events observed in the Kepler light curve.We confirm that the dipping signals in the data are not caused by any instrumental or data processing artefact, and thus are astrophysical in origin. We construct scenario-independent constraints on the size and location of a body in the system that are needed to reproduce the observations. We deliberate over several assorted stellar and circumstellar astrophysical scenarios, most of which have problems explaining the data in hand. By considering the observational constraints on dust clumps in orbit around a normal main-sequence star, we conclude that the scenario most consistent with the data in hand is the passage of a family of exocomet or planetesimal fragments, all of which are associated with a single previous break-up event, possibly caused by tidal disruption or thermal processing. The minimum total mass associated with these fragments likely exceeds 10-6 M⊕, corresponding to an original rocky body of \u3e100 km in diameter. We discuss the necessity of future observations to help interpret the system

Planet Hunters IX. KIC 8462852-where's the flux?

Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC 8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux of up to similar to 20 per cent. The dipping activity can last for between 5 and 80 d. We characterize the object with high-resolution spectroscopy, spectral energy distribution fitting, radial velocity measurements, high-resolution imaging, and Fourier analyses of the Kepler light curve. We determine that KIC 8462852 is a typical main-sequence F3 V star that exhibits no significant IR excess, and has no very close interacting companions. In this paper, we describe various scenarios to explain the dipping events observed in the Kepler light curve. We confirm that the dipping signals in the data are not caused by any instrumental or data processing artefact, and thus are astrophysical in origin. We construct scenario-independent constraints on the size and location of a body in the system that are needed to reproduce the observations. We deliberate over several assorted stellar and circumstellar astrophysical scenarios, most of which have problems explaining the data in hand. By considering the observational constraints on dust clumps in orbit around a normal main-sequence star, we conclude that the scenario most consistent with the data in hand is the passage of a family of exocomet or planetesimal fragments, all of which are associated with a single previous break-up event, possibly caused by tidal disruption or thermal processing. The minimum total mass associated with these fragments likely exceeds 10(-6) M-circle plus, corresponding to an original rocky body of > 100 km in diameter. We discuss the necessity of future observations to help interpret the system.Peer reviewe

Planet Hunters IX. KIC 8462852-where's the flux?

Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC 8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux of up to similar to 20 per cent. The dipping activity can last for between 5 and 80 d. We characterize the object with high-resolution spectroscopy, spectral energy distribution fitting, radial velocity measurements, high-resolution imaging, and Fourier analyses of the Kepler light curve. We determine that KIC 8462852 is a typical main-sequence F3 V star that exhibits no significant IR excess, and has no very close interacting companions. In this paper, we describe various scenarios to explain the dipping events observed in the Kepler light curve. We confirm that the dipping signals in the data are not caused by any instrumental or data processing artefact, and thus are astrophysical in origin. We construct scenario-independent constraints on the size and location of a body in the system that are needed to reproduce the observations. We deliberate over several assorted stellar and circumstellar astrophysical scenarios, most of which have problems explaining the data in hand. By considering the observational constraints on dust clumps in orbit around a normal main-sequence star, we conclude that the scenario most consistent with the data in hand is the passage of a family of exocomet or planetesimal fragments, all of which are associated with a single previous break-up event, possibly caused by tidal disruption or thermal processing. The minimum total mass associated with these fragments likely exceeds 10(-6) M-circle plus, corresponding to an original rocky body of > 100 km in diameter. We discuss the necessity of future observations to help interpret the system

Large interferometer for exoplanets (LIFE). I. Improved exoplanet detection yield estimates for a large mid-infrared space-interferometer mission

Stars and planetary system

Direct Imaging Discovery of A Super-Jupiter Around the Late B-Type Star K And*

We present the direct imaging discovery of an extrasolar planet, or possible low-mass brown dwarf, at a projected separation of 55 plus or minus 2 AU (1."058 plus or minus 0."007) from the B9-type star K And. The planet was detected with Subaru/HiCIAO (Subaru/High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next Generation Adaptive Optics) during the SEEDS (Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru Telescope/HiCIAO) survey and confirmed as a bound companion via common proper motion measurements. Observed near-infrared magnitudes of J equals 16.3 plus or minus 0.3, H equals 15.2 plus or minus 0.2, K (sub s) = 14.6 plus or minus 0.4, and L prime equals 13.12 plus or minus 0.09 indicate a temperature of approximately 1700 degrees Kelvin. The galactic kinematics of the host star are consistent with membership in the Columba Association, implying a corresponding age of 30 (exp from plus 20 to minus10) Myr. The systems age, combined with the companion photometry, points to a model-dependent companion mass approximately 12.8 times the mass of Jupiter. The host stars estimated mass of 2.4 to 2.5 times the mass of the sun places it among the most massive stars ever known to harbor an extrasolar planet or low-mass brown dwarf. While the mass of the companion is close to the deuterium burning limit, its mass ratio, orbital separation, and likely planet-like formation scenario imply that it may be best defined as a super-Jupiter with properties similar to other recently discovered companions to massive stars