An r -process enhanced star in the dwarf galaxy Tucana III

Chemically peculiar stars in dwarf galaxies provide a window for exploring the birth environment of stars with varying chemical enrichment. We present a chemical abundance analysis of the brightest star in the newly discovered ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidate Tucana III. Because it is particularly bright for a star in an ultra-faint Milky Way (MW) satellite, we are able to measure the abundance of 28 elements, including 13 neutron-capture species. This star, DES J235532.66−593114.9 (DES J235532), shows a mild enhancement in neutron-capture elements associated with the r-process and can be classified as an r-I star. DES J235532 is the first r-I star to be discovered in an ultra-faint satellite, and Tuc III is the second extremely low-luminosity system found to contain rprocess enriched material, after Reticulum II. Comparison of the abundance pattern of DES J235532 with r-I and r-II stars found in other dwarf galaxies and in the MW halo suggests a common astrophysical origin for the neutron-capture elements seen in all r-process enhanced stars. We explore both internal and external scenarios for the r-process enrichment of Tuc III and show that with abundance patterns for additional stars, it should be possible to distinguish between them

VDES J2325−5229 a z = 2.7 gravitationally lensed quasar discovered using morphology-independent supervised machine learning

We present the discovery and preliminary characterization of a gravitationally lensed quasar with a source redshift zs = 2.74 and image separation of 2.9 arcsec lensed by a foreground zl = 0.40 elliptical galaxy. Since optical observations of gravitationally lensed quasars showthe lens system as a superposition of multiple point sources and a foreground lensing galaxy, we have developed a morphology-independent multi-wavelength approach to the photometric selection of lensed quasar candidates based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) supervised machine learning. Using this technique and gi multicolour photometric observations from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), near-IR JK photometry from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS) and WISE mid-IR photometry, we have identified a candidate system with two catalogue components with iAB = 18.61 and iAB = 20.44 comprising an elliptical galaxy and two blue point sources. Spectroscopic follow-up with NTT and the use of an archival AAT spectrum show that the point sources can be identified as a lensed quasar with an emission line redshift of z = 2.739 ± 0.003 and a foreground early-type galaxy with z = 0.400 ± 0.002.We model the system as a single isothermal ellipsoid and find the Einstein radius θE ∼ 1.47 arcsec, enclosed mass Menc ∼ 4 × 1011 M and a time delay of ∼52 d. The relatively wide separation, month scale time delay duration and high redshift make this an ideal system for constraining the expansion rate beyond a redshift of 1

The Dark Energy Survey : more than dark energy – an overview

This overview paper describes the legacy prospect and discovery potential of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) beyond cosmological studies, illustrating it with examples from the DES early data. DES is using a wide-field camera (DECam) on the 4 m Blanco Telescope in Chile to image 5000 sq deg of the sky in five filters (grizY). By its completion, the survey is expected to have generated a catalogue of 300 million galaxies with photometric redshifts and 100 million stars. In addition, a time-domain survey search over 27 sq deg is expected to yield a sample of thousands of Type Ia supernovae and other transients. The main goals of DES are to characterize dark energy and dark matter, and to test alternative models of gravity; these goals will be pursued by studying large-scale structure, cluster counts, weak gravitational lensing and Type Ia supernovae. However, DES also provides a rich data set which allows us to study many other aspects of astrophysics. In this paper, we focus on additional science with DES, emphasizing areas where the survey makes a difference with respect to other current surveys. The paper illustrates, using early data (from ‘Science Verification’, and from the first, second and third seasons of observations), what DES can tell us about the Solar system, the Milky Way, galaxy evolution, quasars and other topics. In addition, we show that if the cosmological model is assumed to be +cold dark matter, then important astrophysics can be deduced from the primary DES probes. Highlights from DES early data include the discovery of 34 trans-Neptunian objects, 17 dwarf satellites of the Milky Way, one published z > 6 quasar (and more confirmed) and two published superluminous supernovae (and more confirmed)

Global impact of tropical cyclones on primary production

International audienceIn this paper, we explore the global responses of surface temperature, chlorophyll, and primary production to tropical cyclones (TCs). Those ocean responses are first characterized from the statistical analysis of satellite data under ~1000 TCs over the 1998–2007 period. Besides the cold wake, the vast majority of TCs induce a weak chlorophyll response, with only ~10% of induced blooms exceeding 0.1 mg m. The largest chlorophyll responses mostly occur within coastal regions, in contrast to the strongest cold wakes that generally occur farther offshore. To understand this decoupling, we analyze a coupled dynamical-biogeochemical oceanic simulation forced by realistic wind vortices applied along observed TC tracks. The simulation displays a realistic spatial structure of TC-induced blooms and its observed decoupling with TC cold wakes. In regions of strong TC energy input, the strongest cold wakes occur in regions of shallow thermocline (<60 m) and the strongest blooms in regions of shallow nitracline and/or subsurface chlorophyll maximum (<60 m). Shallow thermoclines are found over many open ocean regions, while regions of shallow nitracline and/or subsurface chlorophyll maximum are most prominent in near-coastal areas, explaining the spatial decoupling between the cold and bloom wakes. The overall TC contribution to annual primary production is weak and amounts to ~1%, except in a few limited areas (east Eurasian coast, South tropical Indian Ocean, Northern Australian coast, and Eastern Pacific Ocean in the TC-prone region) where it can locally reach up to 20–30%. Nearly 80% of this TC-induced annual primary production is the result of the biogeochemical response to the 30% strongest TCs

Après 1918

La Première Guerre mondiale est considérée comme une rupture majeure de l’histoire contemporaine. Ses conséquences territoriales, politiques, sociales et technologiques, à l’échelle nationale et internationale, ont été amplement étudiées. Certains ont interrogé ses répercussions pour les sciences médicales et de la nature. Mais qu’en est-il des sciences de l’homme ? Que deviennent ces connaissances que leurs promoteurs continuaient à définir comme des sciences morales, au moment où l’humanité même semblait connaître ses « derniers jours » (Karl Kraus) ? Mesurer l’impact du conflit sur ces domaines savants, tel est l’objectif de ce dossier. Il s’agit de retracer la transformation de la carte des sciences de l’homme en traitant de disciplines, de lieux et de techniques jusqu’ici peu abordés. Quelles sont les lignes de force structurant le redéploiement de ces savoirs après l’armistice ? Selon quelles modalités idéologiques, théoriques et pratiques prennent-ils acte – ou non – des effets du conflit ? Entre résilience et reconfigurations, changements et permanences, poursuite des oppositions en temps de paix et volonté de reconstituer une certaine communauté savante internationale, comment les sciences de l’homme ont-elles été « travaillées » par la Grande Guerre ? The First World War is considered to be a major break in contemporary history. Its territorial, political, social and technological consequences, both national and international, have already received thorough treatment. Some researchers have examined its impact on the medical and natural sciences. But what about the human sciences? What became of the knowledge areas that its advocates continued to call 'the moral sciences' at a time when humanity itself seemed to be living its 'last days' (Karl Kraus)? This dossier seeks to assess the impact of the War on these scholarly fields. To understand how the map of the human sciences was transformed, the focus will be on little-discussed disciplines, places and techniques. The contributors ask what main lines of force shaped the redeployment of these disciplines after the armistice; and how the effects of the conflict were - or were not - registered in ideological, theoretical and practical forms. In brief, between resilience and reconfigurations, change and permanence, the persistence of oppositions once peace came and the desire to reconstitute a certain international scholarly community, how were the human sciences 'worked over" by the Great War