241 research outputs found
A new ab initio potential energy surface for the collisional excitation of N2H(+) by H2
10 pags.; 14 figs.© 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. We compute a new potential energy surface (PES) for the study of the inelastic collisions between N2H+ and H2 molecules. A preliminary study of the reactivity of N2H+ with H2 shows that neglecting reactive channels in collisional excitation studies is certainly valid at low temperatures. The four dimensional (4D) N2H+–H2 PES is obtained from electronic structure calculations using the coupled cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitation level of theory. The atoms are described by the augmented correlation consistent triple zeta basis set. Both molecules were treated as rigid rotors. The potential energy surface exhibits a well depth of ≃2530 cm−1. Considering this very deep well, it appears that converged scattering calculations that take into account the rotational structure of both N2H+ and H2 should be very difficult to carry out. To overcome this difficulty, the “adiabatic-hindered-rotor” treatment, which allows para-H2(j = 0) to be treated as if it were spherical, was used in order to reduce the scattering calculations to a 2D problem. The validity of this approach is checked and we find that cross sections and rate coefficients computed from the adiabatic reduced surface are in very good agreement with the full 4D calculationsThis research was supported by the CNRS national program
“Physique et Chimie du Milieu Interstellaire.” F.L. and
Y.K. also thank the Agence Nationale de la Recherche
(ANR-HYDRIDES), contract No. ANR-12-BS05-0011-01.
We acknowledge Laurent Pagani for stimulating this work.Peer Reviewe
Formation of helium spectrum in solar quiescent prominences
We present new non-LTE modelling of the helium spectrum emitted by quiescent solar prominences. The calculations are made in the frame of a one-dimensional plane-parallel slab. The physical parameters of our models are the electron temperature, the gas pressure, the slab width, the microturbulent velocity and the height above the solar surface. In this paper, we present isothermal isobaric models for a large range of temperature and pressure values. This work brings considerable improvements over the calculations of Heasley and co-workers (Heasley et al. 1974, Heasley and Milkey 1976, 1978, 1983) with the inclusion in our calculations of partial redistribution effects in the formation of the HI Lyα, Lyβ, HeI λ 584 Å and HeII λ 304 Å lines. In addition we consider detailed incident profiles for the principal transitions. The statistical equilibrium equations are solved for a 33 bound levels (HeI and HeII) plus continuum atom, and the radiative transfer equations are solved by the Feautrier method with variable Eddington factors. In this way we obtain the helium level populations and the emergent line profiles. We discuss the influence of the physical parameters on the helium level populations and on the main helium spectral lines. The effect of helium abundance in the prominence plasma is also studied. Some relations between singlet and triplet lines are given, as well as between optically thin or thick lines, HeI and HeII lines, and between the HeI λ 5876 Å and HI λ 4863 Å lines. In a future work this numerical code will be used for the diagnostic of the prominence plasma by comparing the results with SUMER observations
Theoretical Spectra and Atmospheres of Extrasolar Giant Planets
We present a comprehensive theory of the spectra and atmospheres of
irradiated extrasolar giant planets. We explore the dependences on stellar
type, orbital distance, cloud characteristics, planet mass, and surface
gravity. Phase-averaged spectra for specific known extrasolar giant planets
that span a wide range of the relevant parameters are calculated, plotted, and
discussed. The connection between atmospheric composition and emergent spectrum
is explored in detail. Furthermore, we calculate the effect of stellar
insolation on brown dwarfs. We review a variety of representative observational
techniques and programs for their potential for direct detection, in light of
our theoretical expectations, and we calculate planet-to-star flux ratios as a
function of wavelength. Our results suggest which spectral features are most
diagnostic of giant planet atmospheres and reveal the best bands in which to
image planets of whatever physical or orbital characteristics.Comment: 47 pages, plus 36 postscript figures; with minor revisions, accepted
to the Astrophysical Journal, May 10, 2003 issu
Dynamics of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in a double superconducting tunnel junction detector
We study a class of superconductive radiation detectors in which the
absorption of energy occurs in a long superconductive strip while the redout
stage is provided by superconductive tunnel junctions positioned at the two
ends of the strip. Such a device is capable both of imaging and energy
resolution. In the established current scheme, well studied from the
theoretical and experimental point of view, a fundamental ingredient is
considered the presence of traps, or regions adjacent to the junctions made of
a superconducting material of lower gap. We reconsider the problem by
investigating the dynamics of the radiation induced excess quasiparticles in a
simpler device, i.e. one without traps. The nonequilibrium excess
quasiparticles can be seen to obey a diffusion equation whose coefficients are
discontinuous functions of the position. Based on the analytical solution to
this equation, we follow the dynamics of the quasiparticles in the device,
predict the signal formation of the detector and discuss the potentiality
offered by this configuration.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures Submitted to Superconducting Science and
Technolog
On inelastic hydrogen atom collisions in stellar atmospheres
The influence of inelastic hydrogen atom collisions on non-LTE spectral line
formation has been, and remains to be, a significant source of uncertainty for
stellar abundance analyses, due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate data
for low-energy atomic collisions either experimentally or theoretically. For
lack of a better alternative, the classical "Drawin formula" is often used.
Over recent decades, our understanding of these collisions has improved
markedly, predominantly through a number of detailed quantum mechanical
calculations. In this paper, the Drawin formula is compared with the quantum
mechanical calculations both in terms of the underlying physics and the
resulting rate coefficients. It is shown that the Drawin formula does not
contain the essential physics behind direct excitation by H atom collisions,
the important physical mechanism being quantum mechanical in character.
Quantitatively, the Drawin formula compares poorly with the results of the
available quantum mechanical calculations, usually significantly overestimating
the collision rates by amounts that vary markedly between transitions.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted for A&
PIONIER: a visitor instrument for the VLTI
PIONIER is a 4-telescope visitor instrument for the VLTI, planned to see its
first fringes in 2010. It combines four ATs or four UTs using a pairwise ABCD
integrated optics combiner that can also be used in scanning mode. It provides
low spectral resolution in H and K band. PIONIER is designed for imaging with a
specific emphasis on fast fringe recording to allow closure-phases and
visibilities to be precisely measured. In this work we provide the detailed
description of the instrument and present its updated status.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE conference Optical and Infrared Interferometry II
(Conference 7734) San Diego 201
High precision astrometry mission for the detection and characterization of nearby habitable planetary systems with the Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope (NEAT)
(abridged) A complete census of planetary systems around a volume-limited
sample of solar-type stars (FGK dwarfs) in the Solar neighborhood with uniform
sensitivity down to Earth-mass planets within their Habitable Zones out to
several AUs would be a major milestone in extrasolar planets astrophysics. This
fundamental goal can be achieved with a mission concept such as NEAT - the
Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope. NEAT is designed to carry out space-borne
extremely-high-precision astrometric measurements sufficient to detect
dynamical effects due to orbiting planets of mass even lower than Earth's
around the nearest stars. Such a survey mission would provide the actual
planetary masses and the full orbital geometry for all the components of the
detected planetary systems down to the Earth-mass limit. The NEAT performance
limits can be achieved by carrying out differential astrometry between the
targets and a set of suitable reference stars in the field. The NEAT instrument
design consists of an off-axis parabola single-mirror telescope, a detector
with a large field of view made of small movable CCDs located around a fixed
central CCD, and an interferometric calibration system originating from
metrology fibers located at the primary mirror. The proposed mission
architecture relies on the use of two satellites operating at L2 for 5 years,
flying in formation and offering a capability of more than 20,000
reconfigurations (alternative option uses deployable boom). The NEAT primary
science program will encompass an astrometric survey of our 200 closest F-, G-
and K-type stellar neighbors, with an average of 50 visits. The remaining time
might be allocated to improve the characterization of the architecture of
selected planetary systems around nearby targets of specific interest (low-mass
stars, young stars, etc.) discovered by Gaia, ground-based high-precision
radial-velocity surveys.Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy. The full member
list of the NEAT proposal and the news about the project are available at
http://neat.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr. The final publication is available at
http://www.springerlink.co
Direct constraint on the distance of y2 Velorum from AMBER/VLTI observations
In this work, we present the first AMBER observations, of the Wolf-Rayet and
O (WR+O) star binary system y2 Velorum. The AMBER instrument was used with the
telescopes UT2, UT3, and UT4 on baselines ranging from 46m to 85m. It delivered
spectrally dispersed visibilities, as well as differential and closure phases,
with a resolution R = 1500 in the spectral band 1.95-2.17 micron. We interpret
these data in the context of a binary system with unresolved components,
neglecting in a first approximation the wind-wind collision zone flux
contribution. We show that the AMBER observables result primarily from the
contribution of the individual components of the WR+O binary system. We discuss
several interpretations of the residuals, and speculate on the detection of an
additional continuum component, originating from the free-free emission
associated with the wind-wind collision zone (WWCZ), and contributing at most
to the observed K-band flux at the 5% level. The expected absolute separation
and position angle at the time of observations were 5.1±0.9mas and
66±15° respectively. However, we infer a separation of
3.62+0.11-0.30 mas and a position angle of 73+9-11°. Our analysis thus
implies that the binary system lies at a distance of 368+38-13 pc, in agreement
with recent spectrophotometric estimates, but significantly larger than the
Hipparcos value of 258+41-31 pc
Post conjunction detection of Pictoris b with VLT/SPHERE
With an orbital distance comparable to that of Saturn in the solar system,
\bpic b is the closest (semi-major axis \,9\,au) exoplanet that has
been imaged to orbit a star. Thus it offers unique opportunities for detailed
studies of its orbital, physical, and atmospheric properties, and of
disk-planet interactions. With the exception of the discovery observations in
2003 with NaCo at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), all following astrometric
measurements relative to \bpic have been obtained in the southwestern part of
the orbit, which severely limits the determination of the planet's orbital
parameters. We aimed at further constraining \bpic b orbital properties using
more data, and, in particular, data taken in the northeastern part of the
orbit.
We used SPHERE at the VLT to precisely monitor the orbital motion of beta
\bpic b since first light of the instrument in 2014. We were able to monitor
the planet until November 2016, when its angular separation became too small
(125 mas, i.e., 1.6\,au) and prevented further detection. We redetected \bpic b
on the northeast side of the disk at a separation of 139\,mas and a PA of
30 in September 2018. The planetary orbit is now well constrained.
With a semi-major axis (sma) of au (1 ), it
definitely excludes previously reported possible long orbital periods, and
excludes \bpic b as the origin of photometric variations that took place in
1981. We also refine the eccentricity and inclination of the planet. From an
instrumental point of view, these data demonstrate that it is possible to
detect, if they exist, young massive Jupiters that orbit at less than 2 au from
a star that is 20 pc away.Comment: accepted by A&
SPHERE: the exoplanet imager for the Very Large Telescope
Observations of circumstellar environments to look for the direct signal of
exoplanets and the scattered light from disks has significant instrumental
implications. In the past 15 years, major developments in adaptive optics,
coronagraphy, optical manufacturing, wavefront sensing and data processing,
together with a consistent global system analysis have enabled a new generation
of high-contrast imagers and spectrographs on large ground-based telescopes
with much better performance. One of the most productive is the
Spectro-Polarimetic High contrast imager for Exoplanets REsearch (SPHERE)
designed and built for the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. SPHERE
includes an extreme adaptive optics system, a highly stable common path
interface, several types of coronagraphs and three science instruments. Two of
them, the Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS) and the Infra-Red Dual-band Imager
and Spectrograph (IRDIS), are designed to efficiently cover the near-infrared
(NIR) range in a single observation for efficient young planet search. The
third one, ZIMPOL, is designed for visible (VIR) polarimetric observation to
look for the reflected light of exoplanets and the light scattered by debris
disks. This suite of three science instruments enables to study circumstellar
environments at unprecedented angular resolution both in the visible and the
near-infrared. In this work, we present the complete instrument and its on-sky
performance after 4 years of operations at the VLT.Comment: Final version accepted for publication in A&
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