396 research outputs found
Resolved stellar population of distant galaxies in the ELT era
The expected imaging capabilities of future Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs)
will offer the unique possibility to investigate the stellar population of
distant galaxies from the photometry of the stars in very crowded fields. Using
simulated images and photometric analysis we explore here two representative
science cases aimed at recovering the characteristics of the stellar
populations in the inner regions of distant galaxies. Specifically: case A) at
the center of the disk of a giant spiral in the Centaurus Group, (mu B~21,
distance of 4.6 Mpc); and, case B) at half of the effective radius of a giant
elliptical in the Virgo Cluster (mu~19.5, distance of 18 Mpc). We generate
synthetic frames by distributing model stellar populations and adopting a
representative instrumental set up, i.e. a 42 m Telescope operating close to
the diffraction limit. The effect of crowding is discussed in detail showing
how stars are measured preferentially brighter than they are as the confusion
limit is approached. We find that (i) accurate photometry (sigma~0.1,
completeness >90%) can be obtained for case B) down to I~28.5, J~27.5 allowing
us to recover the stellar metallicity distribution in the inner regions of
ellipticals in Virgo to within ~0.1 dex; (ii) the same photometric accuracy
holds for the science case A) down to J~28.0, K~27.0, enabling to reconstruct
of the star formation history up to the Hubble time via simple star counts in
diagnostic boxes. For this latter case we discuss the possibility of deriving
more detailed information on the star formation history from the analysis of
their Horizontal Branch stars. We show that the combined features of high
sensitivity and angular resolution of ELTs may open a new era for our knowledge
of the stellar content of galaxies of different morphological type up to the
distance of the Virgo cluster.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures, PASP accepted in pubblicatio
Stick-Slip Sliding of Water Drops on Chemically Heterogeneous Surfaces
We present a comprehensive study of water drops sliding down chemically heterogeneous surfaces formed by a periodic pattern of alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic stripes. Drops are found to undergo a stick-slip motion whose average speed is an order of magnitude smaller than that measured on a homogeneous surface having the same static contact angle. This motion is the result of the periodic deformations of the drop interface when crossing the stripes. Numerical simulations confirm this view and are used to elucidate the principles underlying the experimental observations
Characterizing HR3549B using SPHERE
Aims. In this work, we characterize the low mass companion of the A0 field
star HR3549. Methods. We observed HR3549AB in imaging mode with the the NIR
branch (IFS and IRDIS) of SPHERE@VLT, with IFS in YJ mode and IRDIS in the H
band. We also acquired a medium resolution spectrum with the IRDIS long slit
spectroscopy mode. The data were reduced using the dedicated SPHERE GTO
pipeline, purposely designed for this instrument. We employed algorithms such
as PCA and TLOCI to reduce the speckle noise. Results. The companion was
clearly visible both with IRDIS and IFS.We obtained photometry in four
different bands as well as the astrometric position for the companion. Based on
our astrometry, we confirm that it is a bound object and put constraints on its
orbit. Although several uncertainties are still present, we estimate an age of
~100-150 Myr for this system, yielding a most probable mass for the companion
of 40-50MJup and T_eff ~300-2400 K. Comparing with template spectra points to a
spectral type between M9 and L0 for the companion, commensurate with its
position on the color-magnitude diagram.Comment: Accepted by A&A, 13 pages, 10 Figures (Figures 9 and 10 degraded to
reduce the dimension
A golden perspective for catalysis
In the present paper we discuss the importance of gold nanoparticles in heterogeneous catalysis
and show their different roles as active phases, electronic promoters and poisoning deactivators. In particular,
some examples of our recent experience are presented:
i) Gold nanoparticles as active sites: the LT-WGSR. In this example gold acts as the active phase, and catalytic
performances are strongly related to gold nanosizes.
ii) Gold nanoparticles as electronic promoters: the H2O2 direct synthesis. In this example gold nanoparticles
are inactive for the reaction, while they are able to increase selectivity since they act as electronic promoters.
iii) Gold nanoparticles as poisoning deactivators: the TPA purification. In this example gold nanoparticles are
not active for the reaction but have an important role in delaying deactivation by sulphur poisoning
SOXS: a wide band spectrograph to follow up transients
SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) will be a spectrograph for the ESO NTT telescope
capable to cover the optical and NIR bands, based on the heritage of the
X-Shooter at the ESO-VLT. SOXS will be built and run by an international
consortium, carrying out rapid and longer term Target of Opportunity requests
on a variety of astronomical objects. SOXS will observe all kind of transient
and variable sources from different surveys. These will be a mixture of fast
alerts (e.g. gamma-ray bursts, gravitational waves, neutrino events), mid-term
alerts (e.g. supernovae, X-ray transients), fixed time events (e.g. close-by
passage of minor bodies). While the focus is on transients and variables, still
there is a wide range of other astrophysical targets and science topics that
will benefit from SOXS. The design foresees a spectrograph with a
Resolution-Slit product ~ 4500, capable of simultaneously observing over the
entire band the complete spectral range from the U- to the H-band. The limiting
magnitude of R~20 (1 hr at S/N~10) is suited to study transients identified
from on-going imaging surveys. Light imaging capabilities in the optical band
(grizy) are also envisaged to allow for multi-band photometry of the faintest
transients. This paper outlines the status of the project, now in Final Design
Phase.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be published in SPIE Proceedings 1070
Multi-band high resolution spectroscopy rules out the hot Jupiter BD+20 1790b - First data from the GIARPS Commissioning
Context. Stellar activity is currently challenging the detection of young
planets via the radial velocity (RV) technique. Aims. We attempt to
definitively discriminate the nature of the RV variations for the young active
K5 star BD+20 1790, for which visible (VIS) RV measurements show divergent
results on the existence of a substellar companion. Methods. We compare VIS
data with high precision RVs in the near infrared (NIR) range by using the
GIANO - B and IGRINS spectrographs. In addition, we present for the first time
simultaneous VIS-NIR observations obtained with GIARPS (GIANO - B and HARPS -
N) at Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). Orbital RVs are achromatic, so the RV
amplitude does not change at different wavelengths, while stellar activity
induces wavelength-dependent RV variations, which are significantly reduced in
the NIR range with respect to the VIS. Results. The NIR radial velocity
measurements from GIANO - B and IGRINS show an average amplitude of about one
quarter with respect to previously published VIS data, as expected when the RV
jitter is due to stellar activity. Coeval multi-band photometry surprisingly
shows larger amplitudes in the NIR range, explainable with a mixture of cool
and hot spots in the same active region. Conclusions. In this work, the claimed
massive planet around BD+20 1790 is ruled out by our data. We exploited the
crucial role of multi- wavelength spectroscopy when observing young active
stars: thanks to facilities like GIARPS that provide simultaneous observations,
this method can reach its maximum potential.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
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