3,727 research outputs found
A multiwavelength radial velocity search for planets around the brown dwarf LP 944-20
The nearby brown dwarf LP 944-20 has been monitored for radial velocity
variability at optical and near-infrared wavelengths using the VLT/UVES and the
Keck/NIRSPEC spectrographs, respectively. The UVES radial velocity data
obtained over 14 nights spanning a baseline of 841 days shows significant
variability with an amplitude of 3.5 km s. The periodogram analysis of
the UVES data indicates a possible period between 2.5 hours and 3.7 hours,
which is likely due to the rotation of the brown dwarf. However, the NIRSPEC
data obtained over 6 nights shows an rms dispersion of only 0.36 km s
and do not follow the periodic trend. These results indicate that the
variability seen with UVES is likely to be due to rotationally modulated
inhomogeneous surface features. We suggest that future planet searches around
very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs using radial velocities will be better
conducted in the near-infrared than in the optical.Comment: accepted by ApJ Letter
Bridging the ARCH model for finance and nonextensive entropy
Engle's ARCH algorithm is a generator of stochastic time series for financial
returns (and similar quantities) characterized by a time-dependent variance. It
involves a memory parameter ( corresponds to {\it no memory}), and the
noise is currently chosen to be Gaussian. We assume here a generalized noise,
namely -Gaussian, characterized by an index
( recovers the Gaussian case, and corresponds to tailed
distributions). We then match the second and fourth momenta of the ARCH return
distribution with those associated with the -Gaussian distribution obtained
through optimization of the entropy S_{q}=\frac{% 1-\sum_{i} {p_i}^q}{q-1},
basis of nonextensive statistical mechanics. The outcome is an {\it analytic}
distribution for the returns, where an unique corresponds to each
pair ( if ). This distribution is compared with
numerical results and appears to be remarkably precise. This system constitutes
a simple, low-dimensional, dynamical mechanism which accommodates well within
the current nonextensive framework.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures.Figure 4 fixe
Heralded photon amplification for quantum communication
Heralded noiseless amplification based on single-photon sources and linear
optics is ideally suited for long-distance quantum communication tasks based on
discrete variables. We experimentally demonstrate such an amplifier, operating
at telecommunication wavelengths. Coherent amplification is performed with a
gain of G=1.98+/-0.2, for a state with a maximum expected gain G=2. We also
demonstrate that there is no need for a stable phase reference between the
initial signal state and the local auxiliary photons used by the amplifier.
These results highlight the potential of heralded quantum amplifiers for
long-distance quantum communication, and bring device-independent quantum key
distribution one step closer.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Membership and Multiplicity among Very Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in the Pleiades Cluster
We present near-infrared photometry and optical spectroscopy of very low-mass
stars and brown dwarf candidates in the Pleiades open cluster. The membership
status of these objects is assessed. Eight objects out of 45 appear to be
non-members. A search for companions among 34 very low-mass Pleiades members
(M0.09 M) in high-spatial resolution images obtained with the
Hubble Space Telescope and the adaptive optics system of the
Canada-France-Hawaii telescope produced no resolved binaries with separations
larger than 0.2 arcsec (a ~ 27 AU; P ~ 444 years). Nevertheless, we find
evidence for a binary sequence in the color-magnitude diagrams, in agreement
with the results of Steele & Jameson (1995) for higher mass stars. We compare
the multiplicity statistics of the Pleiades very low-mass stars and brown
dwarfs with that of G and K-type main sequence stars in the solar neighborhood
(Duquennoy & Mayor 1991). We find that there is some evidence for a deficiency
of wide binary systems (separation >27 AU) among the Pleiades very low-mass
members. We briefly discuss how this result can fit with current scenarios of
brown dwarf formation. We correct the Pleiades substellar mass function for the
contamination of cluster non-members found in this work. We find a
contamination level of 33% among the brown dwarf candidates identified by
Bouvier et al. (1998). Assuming a power law IMF across the substellar boundary,
we find a slope dN/dM ~ M^{-0.53}, implying that the number of objects per mass
bin is still rising but the contribution to the total mass of the cluster is
declining in the brown dwarf regime.Comment: to be published in The Astrophysical Journa
Hydrostatic Pressure Sensing With Surface-core Fibers
In this paper, we report the employment of surface-core fibers for hydrostatic pressure sensing. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the use of these fibers for the referenced purpose. Theoretical simulations of the fiber structure were performed in order to estimate fiber phase and group birefringence values and its pressure sensitivity coefficient. In order to test fiber performance when acting as a pressure sensor, the same was placed in an polarimetric setup and its spectral response was measured. A sensitivity of 4.8 nm/MPa was achieved, showing good resemblance to the expected sensitivity value (4.6 nm/MPa).963
Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - VI. Population properties of metal-poor degenerate brown dwarfs
© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We presented 15 new T dwarfs that were selected from UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer surveys, and confirmed with optical to near infrared spectra obtained with the Very Large Telescope and the Gran Telescopio Canarias. One of these new T dwarfs is mildly metal-poor with slightly suppressed -band flux. We presented a new X-shooter spectrum of a known benchmark sdT5.5 subdwarf, HIP 73786B. To better understand observational properties of brown dwarfs, we discussed transition zones (mass ranges) with low-rate hydrogen, lithium, and deuterium burning in brown dwarf population. The hydrogen burning transition zone is also the substellar transition zone that separates very low-mass stars, transitional, and degenerate brown dwarfs. Transitional brown dwarfs have been discussed in previous works of the Primeval series. Degenerate brown dwarfs without hydrogen fusion are the majority of brown dwarfs. Metal-poor degenerate brown dwarfs of the Galactic thick disc and halo have become T5+ subdwarfs. We selected 41 T5+ subdwarfs from the literature by their suppressed -band flux. We studied the spectral-type - colour correlations, spectral-type - absolute magnitude correlations, colour-colour plots, and HR diagrams of T5+ subdwarfs, in comparison to these of L-T dwarfs and L subdwarfs. We discussed the T5+ subdwarf discovery capability of deep sky surveys in the 2020s.Peer reviewe
Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - IV. New L subdwarfs, Gaia astrometry, population properties, and a blue brown dwarf binary
30 pages, 23 figuresWe present 27 new L subdwarfs and classify five of them as esdL and 22 as sdL. Our L subdwarf candidates were selected with the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Spectroscopic follow-up was carried out primarily with the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Some of these new objects were followed up with the X-shooter instrument on the Very Large Telescope. We studied the photometric properties of the population of known L subdwarfs using colour-spectral type diagrams and colour-colour diagrams, by comparison with L dwarfs and main-sequence stars, and identified new colour spaces for L subdwarf selection/study in current and future surveys. We further discussed the brown dwarf transition-zone and the observational stellar/substellar boundary. We found that about one-third of 66 known L subdwarfs are substellar objects, with two-thirds being very low-mass stars. We also present the Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams, spectral type-absolute magnitude corrections, and tangential velocities of 20 known L subdwarfs observed by the Gaia astrometry satellite. One of our L subdwarf candidates, ULAS J233227.03+123452.0, is a mildly metal-poor spectroscopic binary brown dwarf: a ~L6p dwarf and a ~T4p dwarf. This binary is likely a thick disc member according to its kinematics.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
Magnetic levitation on a type-I superconductor as a practical demonstration experiment for students
We describe and discuss an experimental set-up which allows undergraduate and
graduate students to view and study magnetic levitation on a type-I
superconductor. The demonstration can be repeated many times using one readily
available 25 liter liquid helium dewar. We study the equilibrium position of a
magnet that levitates over a lead bowl immersed in a liquid hand-held helium
cryostat. We combine the measurement of the position of the magnet with simple
analytical calculations. This provides a vivid visualization of magnetic
levitation from the balance between pure flux expulsion and gravitation. The
experiment contrasts and illustrates the case of magnetic levitation with high
temperature type-II superconductors using liquid nitrogen, where levitation
results from partial flux expulsion and vortex physics
Additive-multiplicative stochastic models of financial mean-reverting processes
We investigate a generalized stochastic model with the property known as mean
reversion, that is, the tendency to relax towards a historical reference level.
Besides this property, the dynamics is driven by multiplicative and additive
Wiener processes. While the former is modulated by the internal behavior of the
system, the latter is purely exogenous. We focus on the stochastic dynamics of
volatilities, but our model may also be suitable for other financial random
variables exhibiting the mean reversion property. The generalized model
contains, as particular cases, many early approaches in the literature of
volatilities or, more generally, of mean-reverting financial processes. We
analyze the long-time probability density function associated to the model
defined through a It\^o-Langevin equation. We obtain a rich spectrum of shapes
for the probability function according to the model parameters. We show that
additive-multiplicative processes provide realistic models to describe
empirical distributions, for the whole range of data.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
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