Meson and Quark Degrees of Freedom and the Radius of the Deuteron

The existing experimental data for the deuteron charge radius are discussed. The data of elastic electron scattering are inconsistent with the value obtained in a recent atomic physics experiment. Theoretical predictions based on a nonrelativistic description of the deuteron with realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials and with a rather complete set of meson-exchange contributions to the charge operator are presented. Corrections arising from the quark-gluon substructure of the nucleon are explored in a nonrelativistic quark model; the quark-gluon corrections, not accounted for by meson exchange, are small. Our prediction for the deuteron charge radius favors the value of a recent atomic physics experiment.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, 4 Postscript figures, to appear in Few-Body-System

The Onset of Planet Formation in Brown Dwarf Disks

The onset of planet formation in protoplanetary disks is marked by the growth and crystallization of sub-micron-sized dust grains accompanied by dust settling toward the disk mid-plane. Here we present infrared spectra of disks around brown dwarfs and brown dwarf candidates. We show that all three processes occur in such cool disks in a way similar or identical to that in disks around low- and intermediate-mass stars. These results indicate that the onset of planet formation extends to disks around brown dwarfs, suggesting that planet formation is a robust process occurring in most young circumstellar disks.Comment: Published in Science 2005, vol 310, 834; 3 pages in final format, 4 figures + 8 pages Supporting Online Material. For final typeset, see http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5749/834?eto

Gaps, Rings, and Non-Axisymmetric Structures in Protoplanetary Disks - From Simulations to ALMA Observations

Recent observations by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of disks around young stars revealed distinct asymmetries in the dust continuum emission. In this work we want to study axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric structures, evocated by the magneto-rotational instability in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks. We combine the results of state-of-the-art numerical simulations with post-processing radiative transfer (RT) to generate synthetic maps and predictions for ALMA. We performed non-ideal global 3D MHD stratified simulations of the dead-zone outer edge using the FARGO MHD code PLUTO. The stellar and disk parameters are taken from a parameterized disk model applied for fitting high-angular resolution multi-wavelength observations of circumstellar disks. The 2D temperature and density profiles are calculated consistently from a given surface density profile and Monte-Carlo radiative transfer. The 2D Ohmic resistivity profile is calculated using a dust chemistry model. The magnetic field is a vertical net flux field. The resulting dust reemission provides the basis for the simulation of observations with ALMA. The fiducial model develops a large gap followed by a jump in surface density located at the dead-zone outer edge. The jump in density and pressure is strong enough to stop the radial drift of particles. In addition, we observe the generation of vortices by the Rossby wave instability (RWI) at the jumps location close to 60 AU. The vortices are steadily generated and destroyed at a cycle of 40 local orbits. The RT results and simulated ALMA observations predict the feasibility to observe such large scale structures appearing in magnetized disks without having a planet.Comment: Language update, added comments, added citations, in press. (A&A

Gain Dependence of the Noise in the Single Electron Transistor

An extensive investigation of low frequency noise in single electron transistors as a function of gain is presented. Comparing the output noise with gain for a large number of bias points, it is found that the noise is dominated by external charge noise. For low gains we find an additional noise contribution which is compared to a model including resistance fluctuations. We conclude that this excess noise is not only due to resistance fluctuations. For one sample, we find a record low minimum charge noise of qn = 9*10^-6 e/sqrt(Hz) in the superconducting state and qn = 9*10^-6 e/sqrt(Hz) in the normal state at a frequency of 4.4 kHz.Comment: 10 pages, LaTex 2.09, 4 figures (epsfig

petitRADTRANS: a Python radiative transfer package for exoplanet characterization and retrieval

We present the easy-to-use, publicly available, Python package petitRADTRANS, built for the spectral characterization of exoplanet atmospheres. The code is fast, accurate, and versatile; it can calculate both transmission and emission spectra within a few seconds at low resolution ($\lambda/\Delta\lambda$ = 1000; correlated-k method) and high resolution ($\lambda/\Delta\lambda = 10^6$; line-by-line method), using only a few lines of input instruction. The somewhat slower correlated-k method is used at low resolution because it is more accurate than methods such as opacity sampling. Clouds can be included and treated using wavelength-dependent power law opacities, or by using optical constants of real condensates, specifying either the cloud particle size, or the atmospheric mixing and particle settling strength. Opacities of amorphous or crystalline, spherical or irregularly-shaped cloud particles are available. The line opacity database spans temperatures between 80 and 3000 K, allowing to model fluxes of objects such as terrestrial planets, super-Earths, Neptunes, or hot Jupiters, if their atmospheres are hydrogen-dominated. Higher temperature points and species will be added in the future, allowing to also model the class of ultra hot-Jupiters, with equilibrium temperatures $T_{\rm eq} \gtrsim 2000$ K. Radiative transfer results were tested by cross-verifying the low- and high-resolution implementation of petitRADTRANS, and benchmarked with the petitCODE, which itself is also benchmarked to the ATMO and Exo-REM codes. We successfully carried out test retrievals of synthetic JWST emission and transmission spectra (for the hot Jupiter TrES-4b, which has a $T_{\rm eq}$ of $\sim$ 1800 K). The code is publicly available at http://gitlab.com/mauricemolli/petitRADTRANS, and its documentation can be found at https://petitradtrans.readthedocs.io.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, published in A&

High spatial resolution mid-infrared observations of the low-mass young star TW Hya

We want to improve knowledge of the structure of the inner few AU of the circumstellar disk around the nearby T Tauri star TW Hya. Earlier studies have suggested the existence of a large inner hole, possibly caused by interactions with a growing protoplanet. We used interferometric observations in the N-band obtained with the MIDI instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, together with 10 micron spectra recorded by the infrared satellite Spitzer. The fact that we were able to determine N-band correlated fluxes and visibilities for this comparatively faint source shows that MIR interferometry can be applied to a large number of low-mass young stellar objects. The MIR spectra obtained with Spitzer reveal emission lines from HI (6-5), HI (7-6), and [Ne II] and show that over 90% of the dust we see in this wavelength regime is amorphous. According to the correlated flux measured with MIDI, most of the crystalline material is in the inner, unresolved part of the disk, about 1 AU in radius. The visibilities exclude the existence of a very large (3-4 AU radius) inner hole in the circumstellar disk of TW Hya, which was required in earlier models. We propose instead a geometry of the inner disk where an inner hole still exists, but at a much reduced radius, with the transition from zero to full disk height between 0.5 and 0.8 AU, and with an optically thin distribution of dust inside. Such a model can comply with SED and MIR visibilities, as well as with visibility and extended emission observed in the NIR at 2 micron. If a massive planet was the reason for this inner hole, as has been speculated, its orbit would have to be closer to the star than 0.3 AU. Alternatively, we may be witnessing the end of the accretion phase and an early phase of an inward-out dispersal of the circumstellar disk.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted by A&

Soft Photons from Off-shell Particles in a Hot Plasma

Considering the propagation of off-shell particles in the framework of thermal field theory, we present the general formalism for the calculation of the production rate of soft photons and dileptons from a hot plasma. This approach is illustrated with an electrodynamic plasma. The photon production rate from strongly interacting quarks in the quark-gluon plasma, which might be formed in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, is calculated in the previously unaccessible regime of photon energies of the order of the plasma temperature within an effective field theory incorporating dynamical chiral symmetry breaking.Comment: 8 pages in RevTeX format, 3 figures uuencoded postscript added. Also available by anonymous ftp at ftp://tpri6c.gsi.de/pub/phenning/qh95ga

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health of the Aldabra Group, Southern Seychelles: Scientific Report to the Government of Seychelles.

National Geographic's Pristine Seas project, in collaboration with the government of the Seychelles, the Island Conservation Society (ICS), the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), and the Waitt Foundation, conducted an expedition to explore the poorly known marine environment around these islands. The goals were to assess the biodiversity of the nearshore marine environment and to survey the largely unknown deep sea realm. The data collected contribute to the marine spatial planning of the Seychelles, in particular the creation of large marine reserves