2,824 research outputs found
The Patterns of High-Level Magnetic Activity Occurring on the Surface of V1285 Aql: The OPEA Model of Flares and DFT Models of Stellar Spots
Statistically analyzing Johnson UBVR observations of V1285 Aql during the
three observing seasons, both activity level and behavior of the star are
discussed in respect to obtained results. We also discuss the out-of-flare
variation due to rotational modulation. Eighty-three flares were detected in
the U-band observations of season 2006 . First, depending on statistical
analyses using the independent samples t-test, the flares were divided into two
classes as the fast and the slow flares. According to the results of the test,
there is a difference of about 73 s between the flare-equivalent durations of
slow and fast flares. The difference should be the difference mentioned in the
theoretical models. Second, using the one-phase exponential association
function, the distribution of the flare-equivalent durations versus the flare
total durations was modeled. Analyzing the model, some parameters such as
plateau, half-life values, mean average of the flare-equivalent durations,
maximum flare rise, and total duration times are derived. The plateau value,
which is an indicator of the saturation level of white-light flares, was
derived as 2.421{\pm}0.058 s in this model, while half-life is computed as 201
s. Analyses showed that observed maximum value of flare total duration is 4641
s, while observed maximum flare rise time is 1817 s. According to these
results, although computed energies of the flares occurring on the surface of
V1285 Aql are generally lower than those of other stars, the length of its
flaring loop can be higher than those of more active stars.Comment: 44 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, 2011PASP..123..659
Recommended from our members
Speculative design for envisioning more-than-human futures in desirable counter-cities
The city has long been regarded as the domain of humans. Residing above the physical constraints of nature, such detached and dualistic anthropocentric perceptions tend to universalize, marginalize and de-politicize the value and possible co-benefits of human/nonhuman nature connections. Recognising a need to re-conceptualise the city as a multispecies space, we analyse outcomes from an interdisciplinary Master's subject that sought to encounter, restore, protect and co-exist with more-than-human species. Students were encouraged to step beyond their disciplinary boundaries to develop innovative strategies that could reconfigure human/nonhuman relationships within the city of Trondheim, Norway. Through their work, visions of alternative, possible futures emerged. Such alternative visions can be powerful: speculation can challenge and transform the linear, dualistic understandings of the city, and shape and redirect innovation practices. This article explores students' visions of multispecies cities to consider their contribution to just and sustainable transitions literature, analysing them with respect to design for sustainability transitions, teaching transdisciplinarity and the concept of the counter city
Bound states of 3He at the edge of a 4He drop on a cesium surface
We show that small amounts of 3He atoms, added to a 4He drop deposited on a
flat cesium surface at zero temperature, populate bound states localized at the
contact line. These edge states show up for drops large enough to develop well
defined surface and bulk regions together with a contact line, and they are
structurally different from the well-known Andreev states that appear at the
free surface and at the liquid-solid interface of films. We illustrate the
one-body density of 3He in a drop with 1000 4He atoms, and show that for
sufficiently large number of impurities, the density profiles spread beyond the
edge, coating both the curved drop surface and its flat base and eventually
isolating it from the substrate.Comment: 10 pages and 7 figures. Submitted to PR
The Chromospheric Activity and Ages of M Dwarf Stars in Wide Binary Systems
We investigate the relationship between age and chromospheric activity for
139 M dwarf stars in wide binary systems with white dwarf companions. The age
of each system is determined from the cooling age of its white dwarf component.
The current limit for activity-age relations found for M dwarfs in open
clusters is 4 Gyr. Our unique approach to finding ages for M stars allows for
the exploration of this relationship at ages older than 4 Gyr. The general
trend of stars remaining active for a longer time at later spectral type is
confirmed. However, our larger sample and greater age range reveals additional
complexity in assigning age based on activity alone. We find that M dwarfs in
wide binaries older than 4 Gyr depart from the log-linear relation for clusters
and are found to have activity at magnitudes, colors and masses which are
brighter, bluer and more massive than predicted by the cluster relation. In
addition to our activity-age results, we present the measured radial velocities
and complete space motions for 161 white dwarf stars in wide binaries.Comment: 22 pages including 9 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication
in The Astronomical Journa
Retrieval of Snow Water Equivalent by the Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP) in the Northern Great Lakes
Performance of the Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP) for estimating the snow water equivalent (SWE) is evaluated through a comparative study with the collocated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service snow stake field measurements. The PIP together with a vertically pointing radar, a weighing bucket gauge, and a laser-optical disdrometer was deployed at the NWS Marquette, Michigan, office building for a long-term field study supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Global Precipitation Measurement mission Ground Validation program. The site was also equipped with a weather station. During the 2017/18 winter, the PIP functioned nearly uninterrupted at frigid temperatures accumulating 2345.8 mm of geometric snow depth over a total of 499 h. This long record consists of 30 events, and the PIP-retrieved and snow stake field measured SWE differed less than 15% in every event. Two of the major events with the longest duration and the highest accumulation are examined in detail. The particle mass with a given diameter was much lower during a shallow, colder, uniform lake-effect event than in the deep, less cold, and variable synoptic event. This study demonstrated that the PIP is a robust instrument for operational use, and is reliable for deriving the bulk properties of falling snow.Peer reviewe
GRAPE: GRaphical Abstracted Protein Explorer
The region surrounding a protein, known as the surface of interaction or molecular surface, can provide valuable insight into its function. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of both their geometry and their surface fields, study of these surfaces can be slow and difficult and important features may be hard to identify. Here, we describe our GRaphical Abstracted Protein Explorer, or GRAPE, a web server that allows users to explore abstracted representations of proteins. These abstracted surfaces effectively reduce the level of detail of the surface of a macromolecule, using a specialized algorithm that removes small bumps and pockets, while preserving large-scale structural features. Scalar fields, such as electrostatic potential and hydropathy, are smoothed to further reduce visual complexity. This entirely new way of looking at proteins complements more traditional views of the molecular surface. GRAPE includes a thin 3D viewer that allows users to quickly flip back and forth between both views. Abstracted views provide a fast way to assess both a molecule's shape and its different surface field distributions. GRAPE is freely available at http://grape.uwbacter.org
The Ethics of Care: Normative Structures and Empirical Implications
In this article I argue that the ethics of care provides us with a novel reading of human relations, and therefore makes possible a fresh approach to several empirical challenges. In order to explore this connection, I discuss some specific normative features of the ethics of care—primarily the comprehension of the moral agent and the concept of care—as these two key elements contribute substantially to a new ethical outlook. Subsequently, I argue that the relational and reciprocal mode of thinking with regard to the moral agent must be extended to our understanding of care. I term this comprehension “mature care”. Citing conflicts of interests as examples, I demonstrate how this conceptualization of care may further advance the ethics of care’s ability to take on empirical challenges. Finally, I discuss political implications that may emanate from the ethics of care and the concept of mature care
Dielectronic Recombination of Argon-Like Ions
We present a theoretical investigation of dielectronic recombination (DR) of
Ar-like ions that sheds new light on the behavior of the rate coefficient at
low-temperatures where these ions form in photoionized plasmas. We provide
results for the total and partial Maxwellian-averaged DR rate coefficients from
the initial ground level of K II -- Zn XIII ions. It is expected that these new
results will advance the accuracy of the ionization balance for Ar-like M-shell
ions and pave the way towards a detailed modeling of astrophysically relevant
X-ray absorption features. We utilize the AUTOSTRUCTURE computer code to obtain
the accurate core-excitation thresholds in target ions and carry out
multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli (MCBP) calculations of the DR cross section in
the independent-processes, isolated-resonance, distorted-wave (IPIRDW)
approximation. Our results mediate the complete absence of direct DR
calculations for certain Ar-like ions and question the reliability of the
existing empirical rate formulas, often inferred from renormalized data within
this isoelectronic sequence
The Density of Coronal Plasma in Active Stellar Coronae
We have analyzed high-resolution X-ray spectra of a sample of 22 active stars
observed with the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer on {\em
Chandra} in order to investigate their coronal plasma density. Densities where
investigated using the lines of the He-like ions O VII, Mg XI, and Si XIII.
While Si XIII lines in all stars of the sample are compatible with the
low-density limit, Mg XI lines betray the presence of high plasma densities ( cm) for most of the sources with higher X-ray luminosity ( erg/s); stars with higher and tend to have higher
densities at high temperatures. Ratios of O VII lines yield much lower
densities of a few cm, indicating that the ``hot'' and
``cool'' plasma resides in physically different structures. Our findings imply
remarkably compact coronal structures, especially for the hotter plasma
emitting the Mg XI lines characterized by coronal surface filling factor,
, ranging from to , while we find
values from a few up to for the cooler plasma emitting the O
VII lines. We find that approaches unity at the same stellar surface
X-ray flux level as solar active regions, suggesting that these stars become
completely covered by active regions. At the same surface flux level,
is seen to increase more sharply with increasing surface flux. These
results appear to support earlier suggestions that hot K plasma in
active coronae arises from flaring activity, and that this flaring activity
increases markedly once the stellar surface becomes covered with active
regions.Comment: 53 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal. A version of the paper with higher quality figures is available from
http://www.astropa.unipa.it/Library/preprint.htm
The discovery of an M4+T8.5 binary system
The original article can be found at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com Copyright Blackwell Publishing / Royal Astronomical Society. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.14620.xWe report the discovery of a T8.5 dwarf, which is a companion to the M4 dwarf Wolf 940. [Please see original online abstract for complete version with correct notation]Peer reviewe
- …