127 research outputs found
Optimal allocation patterns and optimal seed mass of a perennial plant
We present a novel optimal allocation model for perennial plants, in which
assimilates are not allocated directly to vegetative or reproductive parts but
instead go first to a storage compartment from where they are then optimally
redistributed. We do not restrict considerations purely to periods favourable
for photosynthesis, as it was done in published models of perennial species,
but analyse the whole life period of a perennial plant. As a result, we obtain
the general scheme of perennial plant development, for which annual and
monocarpic strategies are special cases.
We not only re-derive predictions from several previous optimal allocation
models, but also obtain more information about plants' strategies during
transitions between favourable and unfavourable seasons. One of the model's
predictions is that a plant can begin to re-establish vegetative tissues from
storage, some time before the beginning of favourable conditions, which in turn
allows for better production potential when conditions become better. By means
of numerical examples we show that annual plants with single or multiple
reproduction periods, monocarps, evergreen perennials and polycarpic perennials
can be studied successfully with the help of our unified model.
Finally, we build a bridge between optimal allocation models and models
describing trade-offs between size and the number of seeds: a modelled plant
can control the distribution of not only allocated carbohydrates but also seed
size. We provide sufficient conditions for the optimality of producing the
smallest and largest seeds possible
The Araucaria Project: A study of the classical Cepheid in the eclipsing binary system OGLE LMC562.05.9009 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
We present a detailed study of the classical Cepheid in the double-lined,
highly eccentric eclipsing binary system OGLE-LMC562.05.9009. The Cepheid is a
fundamental mode pulsator with a period of 2.988 days. The orbital period of
the system is 1550 days. Using spectroscopic data from three 4-8-m telescopes
and photometry spanning 22 years, we were able to derive the dynamical masses
and radii of both stars with exquisite accuracy. Both stars in the system are
very similar in mass, radius and color, but the companion is a stable,
non-pulsating star. The Cepheid is slightly more massive and bigger (M_1 = 3.70
+/- 0.03M_sun, R_1 = 28.6 +/- 0.2R_sun) than its companion (M_2 = 3.60 +/-
0.03M_sun, R_2 = 26.6 +/- 0.2R_sun). Within the observational uncertainties
both stars have the same effective temperature of 6030 +/- 150K. Evolutionary
tracks place both stars inside the classical Cepheid instability strip, but it
is likely that future improved temperature estimates will move the stable giant
companion just beyond the red edge of the instability strip. Within current
observational and theoretical uncertainties, both stars fit on a 205 Myr
isochrone arguing for their common age. From our model, we determine a value of
the projection factor of p = 1.37 +/- 0.07 for the Cepheid in the
OGLE-LMC562.05.9009 system. This is the second Cepheid for which we could
measure its p-factor with high precision directly from the analysis of an
eclipsing binary system, which represents an important contribution towards a
better calibration of Baade-Wesselink methods of distance determination for
Cepheids.Comment: Accepted to be published in Ap
Microlensing optical depth and event rate in the OGLE-IV Galactic plane fields
Searches for gravitational microlensing events are traditionally concentrated
on the central regions of the Galactic bulge but many microlensing events are
expected to occur in the Galactic plane, far from the Galactic Center. Owing to
the difficulty in conducting high-cadence observations of the Galactic plane
over its vast area, which are necessary for the detection of microlensing
events, their global properties were hitherto unknown. Here, we present results
of the first comprehensive search for microlensing events in the Galactic
plane. We searched an area of almost 3000 square degrees along the Galactic
plane (|b|<7, 0<l<50, 190<l<360 deg) observed by the Optical Gravitational
Lensing Experiment (OGLE) during 2013-2019 and detected 630 events. We
demonstrate that the mean Einstein timescales of Galactic plane microlensing
events are on average three times longer than those of Galactic bulge events,
with little dependence on the Galactic longitude. We also measure the
microlensing optical depth and event rate as a function of Galactic longitude
and demonstrate that they exponentially decrease with the angular distance from
the Galactic Center (with the characteristic angular scale length of 32 deg).
The average optical depth decreases from at l=10 deg to
in the Galactic anticenter. We also find that the optical
depth in the longitude range 240<l<330 deg is asymmetric about the Galactic
equator, which we interpret as a signature of the Galactic warp.Comment: ApJS, in pres
Microlensing optical depth and event rate in the OGLE-IV Galactic plane fields
Searches for gravitational microlensing events are traditionally concentrated on the central regions of the Galactic bulge but many microlensing events are expected to occur in the Galactic plane, far from the Galactic Center. Owing to the difficulty in conducting high-cadence observations of the Galactic plane over its vast area, which are necessary for the detection of microlensing events, their global properties were hitherto unknown. Here, we present results of the first comprehensive search for microlensing events in the Galactic plane. We searched an area of almost 3000 square degrees along the Galactic plane (|b| < 7°, 0° < l < 50°, 190° < l < 360°) observed by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) during 2013–2019 and detected 630 events. We demonstrate that the mean Einstein timescales of Galactic plane microlensing events are on average three times longer than those of Galactic bulge events, with little dependence on the Galactic longitude. We also measure the microlensing optical depth and event rate as a function of Galactic longitude and demonstrate that they exponentially decrease with the angular distance from the Galactic Center (with the characteristic angular scale length of 32°). The average optical depth decreases from 0.5 × 10⁻⁶ at l = 10° to 1.5 × 10⁻⁸ in the Galactic anticenter. We also find that the optical depth in the longitude range 240° < l < 330° is asymmetric about the Galactic equator, which we interpret as a signature of the Galactic warp
OGLE-2018-BLG-0532Lb: Cold Neptune With Possible Jovian Sibling
We report the discovery of the planet OGLE-2018-BLG-0532Lb, with very obvious
signatures in the light curve that lead to an estimate of the planet-host mass
ratio . Although there are
no obvious systematic residuals to this double-lens/single-source (2L1S) fit,
we find that can be significantly improved by adding either a third
lens (3L1S, ) or second source (2L2S, ) to
the lens-source geometry. After thorough investigation, we conclude that we
cannot decisively distinguish between these two scenarios and therefore focus
on the robustly-detected planet. However, given the possible presence of a
second planet, we investigate to what degree and with what probability such
additional planets may affect seemingly single-planet light curves. Our best
estimates for the properties of the lens star and the secure planet are: a host
mass , system distance kpc and planet mass
with projected separation au.
However, there is a relatively bright (and also relatively blue) star
projected within mas of the lens, and if future high-resolution images
show that this is coincident with the lens, then it is possible that it is the
lens, in which case, the lens would be both more massive and more distant than
the best-estimated values above.Comment: 48 pages, 9 figures, 7 table
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