6,336 research outputs found
Switching of Magnetic Moments of Nanoparticles by Surface Acoustic Waves
We report evidence of the magnetization reversal in nanoparticles by surface
acoustic waves (SAWs). The experimental system consists of isolated magnetite
nanoparticles dispersed on a piezoelectric substrate. Magnetic relaxation from
a saturated state becomes significantly enhanced in the presence of the SAW at
a constant temperature of the substrate. The dependence of the relaxation on
SAW power and frequency has been investigated. The effect is explained by the
effective ac magnetic field generated by the SAW in the nanoparticles.Comment: Accepted in Europhysics Letter
Solar analogs with and without planets: T trends and galactic evolution
We explore a sample of 148 solar-like stars to search for a possible
correlation between the slopes of the abundance trends versus condensation
temperature (known as the Tc slope) both with stellar parameters and Galactic
orbital parameters in order to understand the nature of the peculiar chemical
signatures of these stars and the possible connection with planet formation. We
find that the Tc slope correlates at a significant level with the stellar age
and the stellar surface gravity. We also find tentative evidence that the Tc
slope correlates with the mean galactocentric distance of the stars (Rmean),
suggesting that stars that originated in the inner Galaxy have fewer refractory
elements relative to the volatile ones. We found that the chemical
peculiarities (small refractory-to-volatile ratio) of planet-hosting stars is
probably a reflection of their older age and their inner Galaxy origin. We
conclude that the stellar age and probably Galactic birth place are key to
establish the abundances of some specific elements.Comment: Proceedings of the GREAT-ITN conference: The Milky Way Unravelled by
Gaia. Will be published in the "EAS Publications Series
Exploring the alpha-enhancement of metal-poor planet-hosting stars. The Kepler and HARPS samples
Recent studies showed that at low metallicities Doppler-detected
planet-hosting stars have preferably high alpha-content and belong to the thick
disk. We used the reconnaissance spectra of 87 Kepler planet candidates and
data available from the HARPS planet search survey to explore this phenomena.
Using the traditional spectroscopic abundance analysis methods we derived Ti,
Ca, and Cr abundances for the Kepler stars. In the metallicity region -0.65 <
[Fe/H] < -0.3 dex the fraction of Ti-enhanced thick-disk HARPS planet harboring
stars is 12.3 +/- 4.1 % and for their thin-disk counterparts this fraction is
2.2 +/- 1.3 %. The binomial statistics gives a probability of 0.008 that this
could have occurred by chance. Combining the two samples (HARPS + Kepler)
reinforces the significance of this result (P ~ 99.97 %). Since most of these
stars are harboring small-mass/size planets we can assume that, although
terrestrial planets can be found at low-iron regime, they are mostly enhanced
by alpha-elements. This implies that early formation of rocky planets could get
started in the Galactic thick disk, where the chemical conditions for their
formation were more favorable.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Abundance trend with condensation temperature for stars with different Galactic birth places
During the past decade, several studies reported a correlation between
chemical abundances of stars and condensation temperature (also known as Tc
trend). However, the real astrophysical nature of this correlation is still
debated. The main goal of this work is to explore the possible dependence of
the Tc trend on stellar Galactocentric distances, Rmean. We used high-quality
spectra of about 40 stars observed with the HARPS and UVES spectrographs to
derive precise stellar parameters, chemical abundances, and stellar ages. A
differential line-by-line analysis was applied to achieve the highest possible
precision in the chemical abundances. We confirm previous results that [X/Fe]
abundance ratios depend on stellar age and that for a given age, some elements
also show a dependence on Rmean. When using the whole sample of stars, we
observe a weak hint that the Tc trend depends on Rmean. The observed dependence
is very complex and disappears when only stars with similar ages are
considered. To conclude on the possible dependence of the Tc trend on the
formation place of stars, a larger sample of stars with very similar
atmospheric parameters and stellar ages observed at different Galactocentric
distances is neededComment: Accepted by A&
Kinematics and chemical properties of the Galactic stellar populations. The HARPS FGK dwarfs sample
(Abridged) We analyze chemical and kinematical properties of about 850 FGK
solar neighborhood long-lived dwarfs observed with the HARPS high-resolution
spectrograph. The stars in the sample have logg > 4 dex, 5000 < Teff < 6500 K,
and -1.39 < [Fe/H] < 0.55 dex. We apply a purely chemical analysis approach
based on the [alpha/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] plot to separate Galactic stellar
populations into the thin disk, thick disk and high-alpha metal-rich (hamr).
Our analysis shows a negative gradient of the rotational velocity of the thin
disk stars with [Fe/H] (-17 km s^-1 dex^-1), and a steep positive gradient for
both the thick disk and hamr stars with the same magnitude of about +42 km s^-1
dex^-1. For the thin disk stars we observed no correlation between orbital
eccentricities and metallicity, but observed a steep negative gradient for the
thick disk and hamr stars with practically the same magnitude (about -0.18
dex^-1). Our results suggest that radial migration played an important role in
the formation and evolution of the thin disk. For the thick disk stars it is
not possible to reach a firm conclusion about their origin. Based on the
eccentricity distribution of the thick disk stars only their accretion origin
can be ruled out, and the heating and migration scenario could explain the
positive steep gradient of V_phi with [Fe/H]. Analyzing the hamr stellar
population we found that they share properties of both the thin and thick disk
population. A comparison of the properties of the hamr stars with that of the
subsample of stars from the N-body/SPH simulation using radial migration
suggest that they may have originated from the inner Galaxy. Further detailed
investigations would help to clarify their exact nature and origin.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, and 2 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
J-PLUS: analysis of the intracluster light in the Coma cluster
The intracluster light (ICL) is a luminous component of galaxy clusters
composed of stars that are gravitationally bound to the cluster potential but
do not belong to the individual galaxies. Previous studies of the ICL have
shown that its formation and evolution are intimately linked to the
evolutionary stage of the cluster. Thus, the analysis of the ICL in the Coma
cluster will give insights into the main processes driving the dynamics in this
highly complex system. Using a recently developed technique, we measure the ICL
fraction in Coma at several wavelengths, using the J-PLUS unique filter system.
The combination of narrow- and broadband filters provides valuable information
on the dynamical state of the cluster, the ICL stellar types, and the
morphology of the diffuse light. We use the Chebyshev-Fourier Intracluster
Light Estimator (CICLE) to disentangle the ICL from the light of the galaxies,
and to robustly measure the ICL fraction in seven J-PLUS filters. We obtain the
ICL fraction distribution of the Coma cluster at different optical wavelengths,
which varies from , showing the highest values in the narrowband
filters J0395, J0410, and J0430. This ICL fraction excess is distinctive
pattern recently observed in dynamically active clusters (mergers), indicating
a higher amount of bluer stars in the ICL compared to the cluster galaxies.
Both the high ICL fractions and the excess in the bluer filters are indicative
of a merging state. The presence of younger/lower-metallicity stars the ICL
suggests that the main mechanism of ICL formation for the Coma cluster is the
stripping of the stars in the outskirts of infalling galaxies and, possibly,
the disruption of dwarf galaxies during past/ongoing mergers.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&
- …