202 research outputs found
Gas Giant Protoplanets Formed by Disk Instability in Binary Star Systems
We present a suite of three dimensional radiative gravitational hydrodynamics
models suggesting that binary stars may be quite capable of forming planetary
systems similar to our own. The new models with binary companions do not employ
any explicit artificial viscosity, and also include the third (vertical)
dimension in the hydrodynamic calculations, allowing for transient phases of
convective cooling. The calculations of the evolution of initially marginally
gravitationally stable disks show that the presence of a binary star companion
may actually help to trigger the formation of dense clumps that could become
giant planets. We also show that in models without binary companions, which
begin their evolution as gravitationally stable disks, the disks evolve to form
dense rings, which then break-up into self-gravitating clumps. These latter
models suggest that the evolution of any self-gravitating disk with sufficient
mass to form gas giant planets is likely to lead to a period of disk
instability, even in the absence of a trigger such as a binary star companion.Comment: 52 pages, 28 figure
Source to Accretion Disk Tilt
Many different system types retrogradely precess, and retrograde precession
could be from a tidal torque by the secondary on a misaligned accretion disk.
However, a source to cause and maintain disk tilt is unknown. In this work, we
show that accretion disks can tilt due to a force called lift. Lift results
from differing gas stream supersonic speeds over and under an accretion disk.
Because lift acts at the disk's center of pressure, a torque is applied around
a rotation axis passing through the disk's center of mass. The disk responds to
lift by pitching around the disk's line of nodes. If the gas stream flow ebbs,
then lift also ebbs and the disk attempts to return to its original
orientation.
To first approximation, lift does not depend on magnetic fields or radiation
sources but does depend on mass and the surface area of the disk. Also, for
disk tilt to be initiated, a minimum mass transfer rate must be exceeded. For
example, a disk around a 0.8 compact central
object requires a mass transfer rate greater than
Myr, a value well below known mass transfer
rates in Cataclysmic Variable Dwarf Novae systems that retrogradely precess and
that exhibit negative superhumps in their light curves and a value well below
mass transfer rates in protostellar forming systems
Angular Momentum Transfer in Star-Discs Encounters: The Case of Low-Mass Discs
A prerequisite for the formation of stars and planetary systems is that
angular momentum is transported in some way from the inner regions of the
accretion disc. Tidal effects may play an important part in this angular
momentum transport. Here the angular momentum transfer in an star-disc
encounter is investigated numerically for a variety of encounter parameters in
the case of low mass discs. Although good agreement is found with analytical
results for the entire disc, the loss {\it inside} the disc can be up to an
order of magnitude higher than previously assumed. The differences in angular
momentum transport by secondaries on a hyperbolic, parabolic and elliptical
path are shown, and it is found that a succession of distant encounters might
be equally, if not more, successful in removing angular momentum than single
close encounter.Comment: 11pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl
Assessing the speed and ease of extracting group and person information from faces
This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (FLFL110100199) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (Social Interactions Identity and Well-Being Program).The human face is a key source of social information. In particular, it communicates a target's personal identity and some of their group memberships. Different models of social perception posit distinct stages at which this group-level and person-level information is extracted from the face, with divergent downstream consequences for cognition and behavior. This paper presents four experiments that explore the time-course of extracting group and person information from faces. In Experiments 1 and 2, we explore the effect of chunked versus unchunked processing on the speed of extracting group versus person information, as well as the impact of familiarity in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3, we examine the effect of the availability of a diagnostic cue on these same judgments. In Experiment 4, we explore the effect of both group-level and person-level prototypicality of face exemplars. Across all four experiments, we find no evidence for the perceptual primacy of either group or person information. Instead, we find that chunked processing, featural processing based on a single diagnostic cue, familiarity, and the prototypicality of face exemplars all result in a processing speed advantage for both group-level and person-level judgments equivalently. These results have important implications for influential models of impression formation and can inform, and be integrated with, an understanding of the process of social categorization more broadly.PostprintPeer reviewe
Hydrodynamic Simulations of Propagating Warps and Bending Waves In Accretion Discs
We present the results of a study of propagating warp or bending waves in
accretion discs. Three dimensional hydrodynamic simulations were performed
using SPH, and the results of these are compared with calculations based on the
linear theory of warped discs. We consider primarily the physical regime in
which the dimensionless viscosity parameter `alpha' < H/r, the disc aspect
ratio, so that bending waves are expected to propagate. We also present
calculations in which `alpha' > H/r, where the warps are expected to behave
diffusively. Small amplitude perturbations are studied in both Keplerian and
slightly non Keplerian discs, and we find that the SPH results can be
reasonably well fitted by those of the linear theory. The main results of these
calculations are: (1) the warp in Keplerian discs when `alpha' < H/r propagates
with little dispersion and damps at a rate expected from estimates of the code
viscosity, (2) warps evolve diffusively when `alpha' > H/r, (3) the non
Keplerian discs exhibit a substantially more dispersive behaviour of the warps.
Initially imposed higher amplitude nonlinear warping disturbances were studied
in Keplerian discs. The results indicate that nonlinear warps can lead to the
formation of shocks, and that the evolution of the warp becomes less wave-like
and more diffusive in character. This work is relevant to the study of the
warped accretion discs that may occur around Kerr black holes or in misaligned
binary systems. The results indicate that SPH can accurately model the
hydrodynamics of warped discs, even when using rather modest numbers of
particles.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, to appear in MNRA
On the tilting of protostellar disks by resonant tidal effects
We consider the dynamics of a protostellar disk surrounding a star in a
circular-orbit binary system. Our aim is to determine whether, if the disk is
initially tilted with respect to the plane of the binary orbit, the inclination
of the system will increase or decrease with time. The problem is formulated in
the binary frame in which the tidal potential of the companion star is static.
We consider a steady, flat disk that is aligned with the binary plane and
investigate its linear stability with respect to tilting or warping
perturbations. The dynamics is controlled by the competing effects of the m=0
and m=2 azimuthal Fourier components of the tidal potential. In the presence of
dissipation, the m=0 component causes alignment of the system, while the m=2
component has the opposite tendency. We find that disks that are sufficiently
large, in particular those that extend to their tidal truncation radii, are
generally stable and will therefore tend to alignment with the binary plane on
a time-scale comparable to that found in previous studies. However, the effect
of the m=2 component is enhanced in the vicinity of resonances where the outer
radius of the disk is such that the natural frequency of a global bending mode
of the disk is equal to twice the binary orbital frequency. Under such
circumstances, the disk can be unstable to tilting and acquire a warped shape,
even in the absence of dissipation. The outer radius corresponding to the
primary resonance is always smaller than the tidal truncation radius. For disks
smaller than the primary resonance, the m=2 component may be able to cause a
very slow growth of inclination through the effect of a near resonance that
occurs close to the disk center. We discuss these results in the light of
recent observations of protostellar disks in binary systems.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, to be published in the Astrophysical Journa
Optical spectroscopy of the microquasar GRS 1758-258: a possible intermediate mass system?
Context. GRS 1758-258 is one of two prototypical microquasars towards the
Galactic Center direction discovered almost a quarter of a century ago. The
system remains poorly studied in the optical domain due to its counterpart
being a very faint and absorbed target in a crowded region of the sky. Aims.
Our aim is to investigate GRS 1758-258 in order to shed light on the nature of
the stellar binary components. In particular, the main physical parameters of
the donor star, such as the mass or the spectral type, are not yet well
constrained. Methods. GRS 1758-258 has remained so far elusive to optical
spectroscopy owing to its observational difficulties. Here, we use this
traditional tool of stellar astronomy at low spectral resolution with a 10 m
class telescope and a long slit spectrograph. Results. An improved spectrum is
obtained as compared to previous work. The quality of the data does not allow
the detection of emission or absorption features but, nevertheless, we manage
to partially achieve our aims comparing the de-reddened continuum with the
spectral energy distribution expected from an irradiated disc model and
different donor star templates. Conclusions. We tentatively propose that GRS
1758-258 does not host a giant star companion. Instead, a main sequence star
with mid-A spectral type appears to better agree with our data. The main
impacts of this finding are the possibility that we are dealing with an
intermediate mass system and, in this case, the prediction of an orbital period
significantly shorter than previously proposed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
VLBA images of the precessing jet of LSI+61303
Context: In 2004, changes in the radio morphology of the Be/X-ray binary
system LSI+61303 suggested that it is a precessing microquasar. In 2006, a set
of VLBA observations performed throughout the entire orbit of the system were
not used to study its precession because the changes in radio morphology could
tentatively be explained by the alternative pulsar model. However, a recent
radio spectral index data analysis has confirmed the predictions of the
two-peak microquasar model, which therefore does apply in LSI+61303. Aims: We
revisit the set of VLBA observations performed throughout the orbit to
determine the precession period and improve our understanding of the physical
mechanism behind the precession. Methods: By reanalyzing the VLBA data set, we
improve the dynamic range of images by a factor of four, using
self-calibration. Different fitting techniques are used and compared to
determine the peak positions in phase-referenced maps. Results: The improved
dynamic range shows that in addition to the images with a one-sided structure,
there are several images with a double-sided structure. The astrometry
indicates that the peak in consecutive images for the whole set of observations
describes a well-defined ellipse, 6-7 times larger than the orbit, with a
period of about 28 d. Conclusions: A double-sided structure is not expected to
be formed from the expanding shocked wind predicted in the pulsar scenario. In
contrast, a precessing microquasar model can explain the double- and one-sided
structures in terms of variable Doppler boosting. The ellipse defined by the
astrometry could be the cross-section of the precession cone, at the distance
of the 8.4 GHz-core of the steady jet, and 28d the precession period.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics, added references for sect.
Proper Motions of the Jets in the Region of HH 30 and HL/XZ Tau. Evidence for a Binary Exciting Source of the HH 30 Jet
We present [SII] images of the HH 30 and HL/XZ Tau region obtained at two
epochs, as well as long-slit optical spectroscopy of the HH 30 jet. We measured
proper motions of about 100-300 km/s for the HH 30 jet and counterjet, and of
about 120 km/s for the HL Tau jet. Inclination angles with respect to the plane
of the sky are 0-40 deg for the HH 30 jet and 60 deg for the HL Tau jet.
Comparison with previous observations suggests that most of the jet knots
consist of persisting structures. Also, we corroborate that the HH 30-N knots
correspond to the head of the HH 30 jet. The overall HH 30 jet structure can be
well described by a wiggling ballistic jet, arising either by the orbital
motion of the jet source around a primary or by precession of the jet axis
because of the tidal effects of a companion. In the first scenario, the orbital
period would be 53 yr and the total mass 0.25-2 solar masses. In the precession
scenario, the mass of the jet source would be 0.1-1 solar masses, the orbital
period <1 yr, and the mass of the companion less than a few times 0.01 solar
masses, thus being a substellar object or a giant exoplanet. In both scenarios
a binary system with a separation <18 AU (<0.13 arcsec) is required. Since the
radius of the flared disk observed with the HST is about 250 AU, we conclude
that this disk appears to be circumbinary rather than circumstellar, suggesting
that the search for the collimating agent of the HH 30 jet should be carried
out at much smaller scales.Comment: 42 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables. To Appear in The Astronomical Journal,
Vol. 133 No. 6 (June 2007
Feasibility Study of Lense-Thirring Precession in LS I +61303
Very recent analysis of the radio spectral index and high energy observations
have shown that the two-peak accretion/ejection microquasar model applies for
LSI+61303. The fast variations of the position angle observed with MERLIN and
confirmed by consecutive VLBA images must therefore be explained in the context
of the microquasar scenario. We calculate what could be the precessional period
for the accretion disk in LSI+61303 under tidal forces of the Be star
(P_{tidal-forces}) or under the effect of frame dragging produced by the
rotation of the compact object (P_{Lense-Thirring}). P_{tidal-forces}R_{tr}r_g$, where the Bardeen-Petterson effect
should align the midplane of the disk. For this truncated radius of the
accretion disk P_{Lense-Thirring} for a slow rotator results in a few days.
Therefore, Lense-Thirring precession induced by a slowly rotating compact
object could be compatible with the daily variations of the ejecta angle
observed in LSI+61303.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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