68 research outputs found
A new interferometric study of four exoplanet host stars : {\theta} Cygni, 14 Andromedae, {\upsilon} Andromedae and 42 Draconis
Studying exoplanet host stars is of the utmost importance to establish the
link between the presence of exoplanets around various types of stars and to
understand the respective evolution of stars and exoplanets.
Using the limb-darkened diameter (LDD) obtained from interferometric data, we
determine the fundamental parameters of four exoplanet host stars. We are
particularly interested in the F4 main-sequence star, {\theta} Cyg, for which
Kepler has recently revealed solar-like oscillations that are unexpected for
this type of star. Furthermore, recent photometric and spectroscopic
measurements with SOPHIE and ELODIE (OHP) show evidence of a quasi-periodic
radial velocity of \sim150 days. Models of this periodic change in radial
velocity predict either a complex planetary system orbiting the star, or a new
and unidentified stellar pulsation mode.
We performed interferometric observations of {\theta} Cyg, 14 Andromedae,
{\upsilon} Andromedae and 42 Draconis for two years with VEGA/CHARA (Mount
Wilson, California) in several three-telescope configurations. We measured
accurate limb darkened diameters and derived their radius, mass and temperature
using empirical laws.
We obtain new accurate fundamental parameters for stars 14 And, {\upsilon}
And and 42 Dra. We also obtained limb darkened diameters with a minimum
precision of \sim 1.3%, leading to minimum planet masses of Msini=5.33\pm 0.57,
0.62 \pm 0.09 and 3.79\pm0.29 MJup for 14 And b, {\upsilon} And b and 42 Dra b,
respectively. The interferometric measurements of {\theta} Cyg show a
significant diameter variability that remains unexplained up to now. We propose
that the presence of these discrepancies in the interferometric data is caused
by either an intrinsic variation of the star or an unknown close companion
orbiting around it.Comment: 10 pages + 2 pages appendix, 16 figures, accepted for publication in
A&
The SPHERE data center: a reference for high contrast imaging processing
The objective of the SPHERE Data Center is to optimize the scientific return
of SPHERE at the VLT, by providing optimized reduction procedures, services to
users and publicly available reduced data. This paper describes our motivation,
the implementation of the service (partners, infrastructure and developments),
services, description of the on-line data, and future developments. The SPHERE
Data Center is operational and has already provided reduced data with a good
reactivity to many observers. The first public reduced data have been made
available in 2017. The SPHERE Data Center is gathering a strong expertise on
SPHERE data and is in a very good position to propose new reduced data in the
future, as well as improved reduction procedures.Comment: SF2A proceeding
Collisional dust avalanches in debris discs
We quantitatively investigate how collisional avalanches may developin debris
discs as the result of the initial break-up of a planetesimal or comet-like
object, triggering a collisional chain reaction due to outward escaping small
dust grains. We use a specifically developed numerical code that follows both
the spatial distribution of the dust grains and the evolution of their
size-frequency distribution due to collisions. We investigate how strongly
avalanche propagation depends on different parameters (e.g., amount of dust
released in the initial break-up, collisional properties of dust grains and
their distribution in the disc). Our simulations show that avalanches evolve on
timescales of ~1000 years, propagating outwards following a spiral-like
pattern, and that their amplitude exponentially depends on the number density
of dust grains in the system. We estimate a probability for witnessing an
avalanche event as a function of disc densities, for a gas-free case around an
A-type star, and find that features created by avalanche propagation can lead
to observable asymmetries for dusty systems with a beta Pictoris-like dust
content or higher. Characteristic observable features include: (i) a brightness
asymmetry of the two sides for a disc viewed edge-on, and (ii) a one-armed open
spiral or a lumpy structure in the case of face-on orientation. A possible
system in which avalanche-induced structures might have been observed is the
edge-on seen debris disc around HD32297, which displays a strong luminosity
difference between its two sides.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures; has been accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysics, section 6. Interstellar and circumstellar matter. The
official date of acceptance is 29/08/200
Markov Chain Methods For Analyzing Complex Transport Networks
We have developed a steady state theory of complex transport networks used to
model the flow of commodity, information, viruses, opinions, or traffic. Our
approach is based on the use of the Markov chains defined on the graph
representations of transport networks allowing for the effective network
design, network performance evaluation, embedding, partitioning, and network
fault tolerance analysis. Random walks embed graphs into Euclidean space in
which distances and angles acquire a clear statistical interpretation. Being
defined on the dual graph representations of transport networks random walks
describe the equilibrium configurations of not random commodity flows on
primary graphs. This theory unifies many network concepts into one framework
and can also be elegantly extended to describe networks represented by directed
graphs and multiple interacting networks.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figure
Temporal Dynamics of Interferon Gamma Responses in Children Evaluated for Tuberculosis
BACKGROUND: Development of T-cells based-Interferon gamma (IFNgamma) assays has offered new possibilities for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active disease in adults. Few studies have been performed in children, none in France. With reference to the published data on childhood TB epidemiology in the Paris and Ile de France Region, we considered it important to evaluate the performance of IGRA (QuantiFERON TB Gold In Tube(R), QF-TB-IT) in the diagnosis and the follow-up through treatment of LTBI and active TB in a cohort of French children. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 131 children were recruited during a prospective and multicentre study (October 2005 and May 2007; Ethical Committee St Louis Hospital, Paris, study number 2005/32). Children were sampled at day 0, 10, 30, 60 (except Healthy Contacts, HC) and 90 for LTBI and HC, and a further day 120, and day 180 for active TB children. Median age was 7.4 years, with 91% of the children BCG vaccinated. LTBI and active TB children undergoing therapy produced significant higher IFNgamma values after 10 days of treatment (p = 0.035). In addition, IFNgamma values were significantly lower at the end of treatment compared to IFNgamma values at day 0, although the number of positive patients was not significantly different between day 0 and end of treatment. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: By following quantitative IFNgamma values in each enrolled child with LTBI or active TB and receiving treatment, we were able to detect an increase in the IFNgamma response at day 10 of treatment which might allow the confirmation of a diagnosis. In addition, a decline in IFNgamma values during treatment makes it possible for clinicians to monitor the effect of preventive or curative therapy
Future Exoplanet Research: Science Questions and How to Address Them
Started approximately in the late 1980s, exoplanetology has up to now
unveiled the main gross bulk characteristics of planets and planetary systems.
In the future it will benefit from more and more large telescopes and advanced
space missions. These instruments will dramatically improve their performance
in terms of photometric precision, detection speed, multipixel imaging,
high-resolution spectroscopy, allowing to go much deeper in the knowledge of
planets. Here we outline some science questions which should go beyond these
standard improvements and how to address them. Our prejudice is that one is
never too speculative: experience shows that the speculative predictions
initially not accepted by the community have been confirmed several years later
(like spectrophotometry of transits or circumbinary planets).Comment: Invited review, accepte
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