1,714 research outputs found
Properties of analytic transit light-curve models
In this paper a set of analytic formulae are presented with which the partial
derivatives of the flux obscuration function can be evaluated -- for planetary
transits and eclipsing binaries -- under the assumption of quadratic limb
darkening. The knowledge of these partial derivatives is crucial for many of
the data modeling algorithms and estimates of the light curve variations
directly from the changes in the orbital elements. These derivatives can also
be utilized to speed up some of the fitting methods. A gain of ~8 in computing
time can be achieved in the implementation of the Levenberg-Marquardt
algorithm, relative to using numerical derivatives.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 8 pages, 5 figures. Routines are
available from http://szofi.elte.hu/~apal/utils/astro/ntiq
Refined stellar, orbital and planetary parameters of the eccentric HAT-P-2 planetary system
We present refined parameters for the extrasolar planetary system HAT-P-2
(also known as HD 147506), based on new radial velocity and photometric data.
HAT-P-2b is a transiting extrasolar planet that exhibits an eccentric orbit. We
present a detailed analysis of the planetary and stellar parameters, yielding
consistent results for the mass and radius of the star, better constraints on
the orbital eccentricity, and refined planetary parameters. The improved
parameters for the host star are M_star = 1.36 +/- 0.04 M_sun and R_star = 1.64
+/- 0.08 R_sun, while the planet has a mass of M_p = 9.09 +/- 0.24 M_Jup and
radius of R_p = 1.16 +/- 0.08 R_Jup. The refined transit epoch and period for
the planet are E = 2,454,387.49375 +/- 0.00074 (BJD) and P = 5.6334729 +/-
0.0000061 (days), and the orbital eccentricity and argument of periastron are e
= 0.5171 +/- 0.0033 and omega = 185.22 +/- 0.95 degrees. These orbital elements
allow us to predict the timings of secondary eclipses with a reasonable
accuracy of ~15 minutes. We also discuss the effects of this significant
eccentricity including the characterization of the asymmetry in the transit
light curve. Simple formulae are presented for the above, and these, in turn,
can be used to constrain the orbital eccentricity using purely photometric
data. These will be particularly useful for very high precision, space-borne
observations of transiting planets.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publication in MNRAS, 11 pages, 6
figure
Maximal violation of the I3322 inequality using infinite dimensional quantum systems
The I3322 inequality is the simplest bipartite two-outcome Bell inequality
beyond the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality, consisting of three
two-outcome measurements per party. In case of the CHSH inequality the maximal
quantum violation can already be attained with local two-dimensional quantum
systems, however, there is no such evidence for the I3322 inequality. In this
paper a family of measurement operators and states is given which enables us to
attain the largest possible quantum value in an infinite dimensional Hilbert
space. Further, it is conjectured that our construction is optimal in the sense
that measuring finite dimensional quantum systems is not enough to achieve the
true quantum maximum. We also describe an efficient iterative algorithm for
computing quantum maximum of an arbitrary two-outcome Bell inequality in any
given Hilbert space dimension. This algorithm played a key role to obtain our
results for the I3322 inequality, and we also applied it to improve on our
previous results concerning the maximum quantum violation of several bipartite
two-outcome Bell inequalities with up to five settings per party.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Evidence for fresh frost layer on the bare nucleus of comet Hale--Bopp at 32 AU distance
Here we report that the activity of comet Hale--Bopp ceased between late 2007
and March, 2009, at about 28 AU distance from the Sun. At that time the comet
resided at a distance from the Sun that exceeded the freeze-out distance of
regular comets by an order of magnitude. A Herschel Space Observatory PACS scan
was taken in mid-2010, in the already inactive state of the nucleus. The albedo
has been found to be surprisingly large (8.10.9%{}), which exceeds the
value known for any other comets. With re-reduction of archive HST images from
1995 and 1996, we confirm that the pre-perihelion albedo resembled that of an
ordinary comet, and was smaller by a factor of two than the post-activity
albedo. Our further observations with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) also
confirmed that the albedo increased significantly by the end of the activity.
We explain these observations by proposing gravitational redeposition of icy
grains towards the end of the activity. This is plausible for such a massive
body in a cold environment, where gas velocity is lowered to the range of the
escape velocity. These observations also show that giant comets are not just
the upscaled versions of the comets we know but can be affected by processes
that are yet to be fully identified.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Antitumor effect of lysine-isopeptides
Isopeptides (ε-peptides) of lysine, with a given Mw and low polydispersity (10–400 units), were synthesized to study the relationship between their chemical structure and biological effect. The designed compounds were of high purity, low polydispersity and high stereochemical purity. The effect of the compounds was tested on a human erythroleukemia cell line (K-562) and on four transplantable mouse tumors (L1210 lymphoid leukemia, P38 macrophage derived tumor, Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, Lewis lung tumor /LLT/). In case of the L1210 and P388 tumors and the Ehrlich carcinoma, survival of the animals was used as an indicator of the effect. In case of the Lewis lung tumor, the number and size of metastases in the lung and/or liver of treated and untreated mice were used as indicators. The polymers of polymerisation degree 80–120 (Mw 10.2–15.4 KD) showed the strongest antiproliferative effect both on K562 cells and the tumors growing in vivo. This effect was manifest with a significantly higher survival rate as compared to the control (L1210, P38, Ehrlich ascites), furthermore, by a decrease in the number and size of liver and lung metastases (LLT)
First observations of W Virginis stars with K2: detection of period doubling
We present the first analysis of W Vir stars observed by the Kepler space
telescope in the K2 mission. Clear cycle-to-cycle variation were detected in
the light curves of KT Sco and the globular cluster member M80-V1. While the
variations in the former star seems to be irregular on the short time scale of
the K2 data, the latter appears to experience period doubling in its pulsation.
Ground-based colour data confirmed that both stars are W Vir-type pulsators,
while a comparison with historical photometric time-series data revealed
drastic period changes in both stars. For comparison we reexamine ground-based
observations of W Vir, the prototype of the class, and conclude that it shows
period doubling instead of mode beating. These results support the notion that
nonlinear dynamics plays an important role in the pulsation of W Virginis-type
stars.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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