3,008 research outputs found
Asteroseismology of the visual binary 70 Ophiuchi
Convection in stars excites resonant acoustic waves. The frequencies of these
oscillations depend on the sound speed inside the star, which in turn depends
on density, temperature, gas motion, and other properties of the stellar
interior. Therefore, analysis of the oscillations provides an unrivaled method
to probe the internal structure of a star. Solar-like oscillations in the
primary of the visual binary 70 Ophiuchi are investigated. 70 Ophiuchi A was
observed with the Harps spectrograph mounted on the 3.6-m telescope at the ESO
La Silla Observatory (Chile) during 6 nights in July 2004 allowing us to
collect 1758 radial velocity measurements with a standard deviation of about
1.39 m s-1. The power spectrum of the high precision velocity time series
clearly presents several identifiable peaks between 3 and 6 mHz showing
regularity with a large spacing of Delta_nu = 161.7 +- 0.3 uHz. Fourteen
individual modes were identified with amplitudes in the range 11 to 14 cm s-1.Comment: 5 pages, A&A in pres
A search for solar-like oscillations in the Am star HD 209625
The goal is to test the structure of hot metallic stars, and in particular
the structure of a near-surface convection zone using asteroseismic
measurements. Indeed, stellar models including a detailed treatement of the
radiative diffusion predict the existence of a near-surface convection zone in
order to correctly reproduce the anomalies in surface abundances that are
observed in Am stars. The Am star HD 209625 was observed with the Harps
spectrograph mounted on the 3.6-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory
(Chile) during 9 nights in August 2005. This observing run allowed us to
collect 1243 radial velocity (RV) measurements, with a standard deviation of
1.35 m/s. The power spectrum associated with these RV measurements does not
present any excess. Therefore, either the structure of the external layers of
this star does not allow excitation of solar-like oscillations, or the
amplitudes of the oscillations remain below 20-30 cm/s (depending on their
frequency range).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, A&A accepte
Solar-like oscillations in the metal-poor subgiant nu Indi: II. Acoustic spectrum and mode lifetime
Convection in stars excites resonant acoustic waves which depend on the sound
speed inside the star, which in turn depends on properties of the stellar
interior. Therefore, asteroseismology is an unrivaled method to probe the
internal structure of a star. We made a seismic study of the metal-poor
subgiant star nu Indi with the goal of constraining its interior structure. Our
study is based on a time series of 1201 radial velocity measurements spread
over 14 nights obtained from two sites, Siding Spring Observatory in Australia
and ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile. The power spectrum of the high precision
velocity time series clearly presents several identifiable peaks between 200
and 500 uHz showing regularity with a large and small spacing of 25.14 +- 0.09
uHz and 2.96 +- 0.22 uHz at 330 uHz. Thirteen individual modes have been
identified with amplitudes in the range 53 to 173 cm/s. The mode damping time
is estimated to be about 16 days (1-sigma range between 9 and 50 days),
substantially longer than in other stars like the Sun, the alpha Cen system or
the giant xi Hya.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, A&A accepte
Estimation-based synthesis of H∞-optimal adaptive FIR filtersfor filtered-LMS problems
This paper presents a systematic synthesis procedure for H∞-optimal adaptive FIR filters in the context of an active noise cancellation (ANC) problem. An estimation interpretation of the adaptive control problem is introduced first. Based on this interpretation, an H∞ estimation problem is formulated, and its finite horizon prediction (filtering) solution is discussed. The solution minimizes the maximum energy gain from the disturbances to the predicted (filtered) estimation error and serves as the adaptation criterion for the weight vector in the adaptive FIR filter. We refer to this adaptation scheme as estimation-based adaptive filtering (EBAF). We show that the steady-state gain vector in the EBAF algorithm approaches that of the classical (normalized) filtered-X LMS algorithm. The error terms, however, are shown to be different. Thus, these classical algorithms can be considered to be approximations of our algorithm. We examine the performance of the proposed EBAF algorithm (both experimentally and in simulation) in an active noise cancellation problem of a one-dimensional (1-D) acoustic duct for both narrowband and broadband cases. Comparisons to the results from a conventional filtered-LMS (FxLMS) algorithm show faster convergence without compromising steady-state performance and/or robustness of the algorithm to feedback contamination of the reference signal
Analytic studies on satellite detection of severe, two-cell tornadoes
It is argued that a two-cell structure is likely to be the unique property, and potentially satellite-accessible observable, of the exceptionally severe tornado. Analysis elucidating the dynamic, thermodynamic, and geometric properties of this two-cell structure is described. The analysis ultimately will furnish instrumentation requirements
Binaries among Ap and Am stars
The results of long-term surveys of radial velocities of cool Ap and Am stars
are presented. There are two samples, one of about 100 Ap stars and the other
of 86 Am stars. Both have been observed with the CORAVEL scanner from
Observatoire de Haute-Provence (CNRS), France.
The conspicuous lack of short-period binaries among cool Ap stars seems
confirmed, although this may be the result of an observational bias; one system
has a period as short as 1.6 days. A dozen new orbits could be determined,
including that of one SB2 system. Considering the mass functions of 68 binaries
from the literature and from our work, we conclude that the distribution of the
mass ratios is the same for the Bp-Ap stars than for normal G dwarfs.
Among the Am stars, we found 52 binaries, i.e. 60%; an orbit could be
computed for 29 of them. Among these 29, there are 7 SB2 systems, one triple
and one quadruple system. The 21 stars with an apparently constant radial
velocity may show up later as long-period binaries with a high eccentricity.
The mass functions of the SB1 systems are compatible with cool main-sequence
companions, also suggested by ongoing spectral observations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in: Proc. of the 26th workshop of the
European Working Group on CP stars, Contrib. Astr. Obs. Skalnate Pleso Vol.
27, No
Asteroseismology and calibration of alpha Cen binary system
Using the oscillation frequencies of alpha Cen A recently discovered by
Bouchy & Carrier, the available astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic
data, we tried to improve the calibration of the visual binary system alpha
Cen. With the revisited masses of Pourbaix et al. (2002) we do not succeed to
obtain a solution satisfying all the seismic observational constraints.
Relaxing the constraints on the masses, we have found an age t_alpha
Cen=4850+-500 Myr, an initial helium mass fraction Y_i = 0.300+-0.008, and an
initial metallicity (Z/X)_i=0.0459+-0.0019, with M_A=1.100+-0.006M_o and
M_B=0.907+-0.006M_o for alpha Cen A&B.Comment: accepted for publication as a letter in A&
Reformulation of the Stochastic Potential Switching Algorithm and a Generalized Fourtuin-Kasteleyn Representation
A new formulation of the stochastic potential switching algorithm is
presented. This reformulation naturally leads us to a generalized
Fourtuin-Kasteleyn representation of the partition function Z. A formula for
internal energy E and that of heat capacity C are derived from derivatives of
the partition function. We also derive a formula for the exchange probability
in the replica exchange Monte Carlo method. By combining the formulae with the
Stochastic Cutoff method, we can greatly reduce the computational time to
perform internal energy and heat capacity measurements and the replica exchange
Monte Carlo method in long-range interacting systems. Numerical simulations in
three dimensional magnetic dipolar systems show the validity and efficiency of
the method.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, to appear in PR
Interface growth in two dimensions: A Loewner-equation approach
The problem of Laplacian growth in two dimensions is considered within the
Loewner-equation framework. Initially the problem of fingered growth recently
discussed by Gubiec and Szymczak [T. Gubiec and P. Szymczak, Phys. Rev. E 77,
041602 (2008)] is revisited and a new exact solution for a three-finger
configuration is reported. Then a general class of growth models for an
interface growing in the upper-half plane is introduced and the corresponding
Loewner equation for the problem is derived. Several examples are given
including interfaces with one or more tips as well as multiple growing
interfaces. A generalization of our interface growth model in terms of
``Loewner domains,'' where the growth rule is specified by a time evolving
measure, is briefly discussed.Comment: To appear in Physical Review
Topoclimatic Zones and Ice Dynamics in the Caves of the Northern Yukon, Canada
In the upper basin of the Porcupine River, the subhorizontal caves of Bear Cave and Tsi-it-toh-Choh mountains are characterized by a very rich ice zone. The authors propose a model for the build-up of ice based on the formation of hexagonal ice sublimation crystals on the cold walls of underground passages. In this model, water freezes and thaws many times, causing a series of different forms from the ceiling to the floor of the caves. This process will sometimes provoke total obstruction of a passage due to particular topoclimatic conditions or a change of climate, notably an increase in atmospheric humidity. During the summer the passage where the ice is located is preceded by a warm and humid passage and is followed by a cold and extremely dry passage, in which are preserved fragments of wood, animal faeces and remains of small mammals.Key words: Yukon, Porcupine River, Bear Cave and Tsi-it-toh-Choh mountains, caves, climate, cave iceMots clés: Yukon Rivière Porcupine, massifs de Bear Cave et de Tsi-it-toh-Choh, cavernes, climat, glaces de caverne
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