Reconstruction of the Structure of Accretion Disks in Dwarf Novae from the Multi-Band Light Curves of Early Superhumps

We propose a new method to reconstruct the structure of accretion disks in dwarf novae using multi-band light curves of early superhumps. Our model assumes that early superhumps are caused by the rotation effect of non-axisymmetrically flaring disks. We have developed a Bayesian model for this reconstruction, in which a smoother disk-structure tends to have a higher prior probability. We analyzed simultaneous optical and near-infrared photometric data of early superhumps of the dwarf nova, V455 And using this technique. The reconstructed disk has two flaring parts in the outermost region of the disk. These parts are responsible for the primary and secondary maxima of the light curves. The height-to-radius ratio is h/r=0.20-0.25 in the outermost region. In addition to the outermost flaring structures, flaring arm-like patterns can be seen in an inner region of the reconstructed disk. The overall profile of the reconstructed disk is reminiscent of the disk structure that is deformed by the tidal effect. However, an inner arm-like pattern, which is responsible for the secondary minimum in the light curve, cannot be reproduced only by the tidal effect. It implies the presence of another mechanism that deforms the disk structure. Alternatively, the temperature distribution of the disk could be non-axisymmetric. We demonstrate that the disk structure with weaker arm-like patterns is optimal in the model including the irradiation effect. However, the strongly irradiated disk gives quite blue colors, which may conflict with the observation. Our results suggest that the amplitude of early superhumps depends mainly on the height of the outermost flaring regions of the disk. We predict that early superhumps can be detected with an amplitude of >0.02 mag in about 90% of WZ Sge stars.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Optical and CO Radio Observations of Poor Cluster Zwicky 1615.8+3505

The cluster Zwicky 1615.8+3505 is considered to be a dynamically young poor cluster. To investigate the morphology and star-formation activity of galaxies under the environment of a dynamically young poor cluster, we have performed V, R, and I surface photometry, optical low-resolution spectroscopy, and 12CO (J=1-0) line observations for member galaxies. Our data show that more than 90% of the observed galaxies show regular morphologies and no star-formation activities, indicating that the environment does not affect these galaxy properties. Among sixteen galaxies observed, only NGC 6104 shows a significant star-formation activity, and shows a distorted morphology, indicating a tidal interaction. This galaxy contains double knots, and only one knot possesses Seyfert activity, though the sizes and luminosities are similar to each other; we also discuss this feature.Comment: LaTeX manuscript (text.tex, use PASJ style files), four PS figures (fig[a-d].ps), and three PASJ style files. text.tex, figb.ps, and figd.ps are up-dated. To be appeared in The Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, Vol. 51, No. 3 (1999 June issue

A heavy Higgs boson from flavor and electroweak symmetry breaking unification

We present a unified picture of flavor and electroweak symmetry breaking based on a nonlinear sigma model spontaneously broken at the TeV scale. Flavor and Higgs bosons arise as pseudo-Goldstone modes. Explicit collective symmetry breaking yields stable vacuum expectation values and masses protected at one loop by the little-Higgs mechanism. The coupling to the fermions generates well-definite mass textures--according to a U(1) global flavor symmetry--that correctly reproduce the mass hierarchies and mixings of quarks and leptons. The model is more constrained than usual little-Higgs models because of bounds on weak and flavor physics. The main experimental signatures testable at the LHC are a rather large mass m_{h^0} = 317\pm 80 GeV for the (lightest) Higgs boson and a characteristic spectrum of new bosons and fermions at the TeV scale.Comment: 5 page

KIC 4150611: a rare multi-eclipsing quintuple with a hybrid pulsator

We present the results of our analysis of KIC 4150611 (HD 181469) - an interesting, bright quintuple system that includes a hybrid $\delta$ Sct/$\gamma$ Dor pulsator. Four periods of eclipses - 94.2, 8.65, 1.52 and 1.43 d - have been observed by the Kepler satellite, and three point sources (A, B, and C) are seen in high angular resolution images. From spectroscopic observations made with the HIDES spectrograph attached to the 1.88-m telescope of the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (OAO), for the first time we calculated radial velocities (RVs) of the component B - a pair of G-type stars - and combined them with Kepler photometry in order to obtain absolute physical parameters of this pair. We also managed to directly measure RVs of the pulsator, also for the first time. Additionally, we modelled the light curves of the 1.52 and 1.43-day pairs, and measured their eclipse timing variations (ETVs). We also performed relative astrometry and photometry of three sources seen on the images taken with the NIRC2 camera of the Keck II telescope. Finally, we compared our results with theoretical isochrones. The brightest component Aa is the hybrid pulsator, transited every 94.2 days by a pair of K/M-type stars (Ab1+Ab2), which themselves form a 1.52-day eclipsing binary. The components Ba and Bb are late G-type stars, forming another eclipsing pair with a 8.65 day period. Their masses and radii are $M_{Ba}=0.894\pm0.010$ M$_\odot$, $R_{Ba}=0.802\pm0.044$ R$_\odot$ for the primary, and $M_{Bb}=0.888\pm0.010$ M$_\odot$, $R_{Bb}=0.856\pm0.038$ R$_\odot$ for the secondary. The remaining period of 1.43 days is possibly related to a faint third star C, which itself is most likely a background object. The system's properties are well-represented by a 35 Myr isochrone. There are also hints of additional bodies in the system.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables, to appear in A&A, abstract modified in order to fit the arXiv limi

Dynamical Generation of CKM Mixings by Broken Horizontal Gauge Interactions

The fermion mass matrices are calculated in the framework of the dynamical mass generation by the broken horizontal gauge interactions. The non-proportional mass spectra between up- and down-sectors and CKM mixings are obtained solely by radiative corrections due to the ordinary gauge interactions.Comment: 20 pages + 1 uuencoded eps figure, PHYZZ

About the Algebraic Solutions of Smallest Enclosing Cylinders Problems

Given n points in Euclidean space E^d, we propose an algebraic algorithm to compute the best fitting (d-1)-cylinder. This algorithm computes the unknown direction of the axis of the cylinder. The location of the axis and the radius of the cylinder are deduced analytically from this direction. Special attention is paid to the case d=3 when n=4 and n=5. For the former, the minimal radius enclosing cylinder is computed algebrically from constrained minimization of a quartic form of the unknown direction of the axis. For the latter, an analytical condition of existence of the circumscribed cylinder is given, and the algorithm reduces to find the zeroes of an one unknown polynomial of degree at most 6. In both cases, the other parameters of the cylinder are deduced analytically. The minimal radius enclosing cylinder is computed analytically for the regular tetrahedron and for a trigonal bipyramids family with a symmetry axis of order 3.Comment: 13 pages, 0 figure; revised version submitted to publication (previous version is a copy of the original one of 2010