Bridging the lower- and the upper-atmosphere of exoplanets through high-resolution transmission spectroscopy

Only two decades have passed since the first exoplanets were discovered, yet we already know thousands of them. They show a huge range of masses, radii and orbits. Our planet formation and evolution theories, mostly based on the Solar System, are inadequate to explain such a variety, and need to be expanded. Sizes and masses (thus density) are now available for about 1,000 exoplanets, but are insufficient to get the full picture. The bulk composition of a planet is a much better tracer of its formation and evolution history, but harder to access. Still, since about 15 years, a window on planetary interiors and chemistry is open: the study of their atmospheres. The chemical composition of an atmosphere depends both on formation and evolution processes. The location where the planet formed (inside or outside the snow line) and the detailed formation process (core accretion or disk instability) determine the initial enrichment in heavy elements, best traced with the lower atmosphere composition. Subsequent processes, such as atmospheric evaporation in the upper atmosphere, cause a departure from the initial composition. Both the lower and the upper atmosphere need to be studied to disentangle these effects. Transmission spectroscopy, in particular, offers the opportunity to probe atmospheres from 10 bar, where composition more closely follows the bulk chemistry, to the outermost, non-collisional exosphere, where evaporation and other evolutionary processes take place. Two major challenges limit the effectiveness of transmission spectroscopy: 1) Observations of the lower and the upper atmosphere come from different instruments, in terms of wavelength coverage, resolving power, and sensitivity to the planetary continuum, hampered by the effects of Earth atmosphere for ground-based instruments. These differences make it challenging to combine them; 2) Scattering by aerosols can mask spectral features, preventing us from identifying key atmospheric components, but also bias our interpretation leading to wrong conclusions on the abundances of atmospheric constituents. During my PhD, I developed the pyeta code to address these issues. pyeta is a flexible tool able to simulate transmission spectra observations from low- to high-resolution R ~ 100-100,000), over a broad wavelength range (0.3 micron-2 micron), taken from ground or space, across the lower and the upper atmosphere. First, I benchmarked pyeta by matching its predictions to optical, ground-based, high-resolution (R ~ 100,000) HARPS transmission spectra of hot gaseous giants. In WASP-49b, I determined that the strong cores of sodium lines are generated in the thermosphere, as their large intensity requires an atmospheric temperature in excess of about 2,000 K compared to the equilibrium temperature of the planet. In HD189733b, I showed that a non-detection of water with HARPS is consistent with the expectations, and determined that the new ESPRESSO spectrograph should be able to reveal water in a bright, aerosol-free hot Jupiter with just one transit. Exploiting pyeta, now validated, I combined for the first time low-resolution (R ~ 100), space-borne, optical to near-infrared (NIR), HST observations, and high-resolution (R~100,000), ground-based, optical, HARPS observations of the sodium doublet. Combined, they probe from the lower to the upper atmosphere of HD189733b (Pino et al. 2017). Results on the separate HST and HARPS data sets are consistent with those reported in the literature (HST: e.g. Pont et al. 2013, Sing et al. 2016; HARPS: Wyttenbach et al. 2015). While the HST data set shows the prevalence of aerosols in the atmosphere of the planet, previous analyses of HARPS observations of the cores of the sodium doublet had assumed that these are too low to impact their intensity. Yet, by accounting for constraints from both data sets, I have shown that under this assumption they underestimated the thermospheric temperature, which may be as high as 10,000 K at 0.25 Rp (in accordance with models and far-UV observations; Koskinen et al. 2013, Etangs et al. 2010). Alternatively, HD189733b may have up to 100 times solar abundance of sodium. Besides impacting on the interpretation of atomic lines, aerosols constitute a limiting factor for transmission spectroscopy since they occult spectral features such as molecular bands. If not occulted, molecules can be revealed in high-resolution transmission spectra from their cross-correlation function (CCF). Water has several well separated absorption bands, with increasing intensity from the optical to the near-infrared. On the other hand, the intensity of scattering by aerosols is a decreasing, or constant, function of wavelength. Therefore, in the presence of aerosols, bluer molecular absorption bands are more muted than redder bands. The difference in the contrast of the CCF of different bands is thus a measure of how high in the atmosphere aerosols are. By simulating a grid of high-resolution transmission spectra of hot Jupiters with and without aerosols, I found that the contrast difference between the CCFs of two bands can reach 100 ppm, which could be readily detectable with current or upcoming high-resolution stabilized spectrographs spanning a wide spectral range, such as ESPRESSO, CARMENES, HARPS-N+GIANO, HARPS+NIRPS, CRIRES+ or SPIRou. Aerosols do not however impact our findings in WASP-43b, where a preliminary reduction of 3 HARPS/-N transmission spectra showed a deep sodium signature that could be matched only by putting sodium 200 scale heights up in the atmosphere, possibly in the exosphere. The host star is dim, and removal of telluric correction is thus not optimal. For this reason I asked for and obtained HST STIS G750M data at medium resolution (R ~ 5,000) to confirm this unprecedented detection. Data reduction is ongoing, and the tools developed in this thesis will allow the combination of this data set with previous ground-based data. Summarizing, this thesis benchmarked the possibility to characterize planetary atmospheres with a combination of different techniques, able to probe from the lower to the upper atmosphere. The issue of aerosols is also tackled, by providing an alternative and innovative method to diagnose them. Observations from JWST and the ELTs will provide key insights in planet formation and evolution theories, and may greatly benefit from a development of the ideas presented in this thesis

Estudio sobre el perfil del alumnado de Educación Social

En este artículo se realiza una aproximación al perfil del alumnado de Educación Social con el fin de optimizar el diseño y elaboración del programa formativo de la Titulación, ajustándolo a sus características. Con el estudio realizado se indaga en las peculiaridades de los estudiantes relacionadas con la edad, sexo, procedencia geográfica, nivel socioeconómico familiar, actividad laboral y/o de voluntariado, preferencias de ocio y tiempo libre. La investigación desarrollada es de tipo descriptivo-interpretativo e intenta profundizar en la realidad educativa analizada de forma crítico-reflexiva, tratando de favorecer el compromiso de los profesionales a través de la transformación y mejora de la práctica

Análisis de los problemas de los libros de texto de matemáticas para alumnos de 12 a 14 años de edad de España y de Chile en relación con los contenidos de proporcionalidad

Los informes de evaluación internacionales, realizados en los últimos años, han vuelto a poner el énfasis en la necesidad de enseñar a resolver problemas, al considerar los bajos resultados obtenidos en Matemáticas. A este respecto, queremos recordar que en las propuestas curriculares, para los niveles de primaria y secundaria, se indica desde hace algunos años que la resolución de problemas debía ser un contenido central y el contexto donde se desarrollara la enseñanza/aprendizaje de las Matemáticas. En el trabajo que presentamos hemos analizado cómo los libros de textos refl ejan las propuestas curriculares sobre la resolución de problemas. Para ello, hemos seleccionado 8 libros de texto (cuatro en Chile y cuatro en España) de amplia difusión en Chile y España, centrándonos en el tema de proporcionalidad en enseñanza secundaria. La importancia de este análisis radica en el uso que de los libros de textos hacen los profesores, que los convierten en mediadores entre el currículo y el aula.International evaluation reports in recent years have again highlighted the need to teach problem-solving, given the poor results obtained in Mathematics. In this regard, we would recall that the curricular proposals for primary and secondary education have for some years indicated that problem-solving should constitute core content, and form the context in which the teaching and learning of mathematics takes place. In the present work, we analyzed how textbooks refl ect these curricular proposals on problem-solving. To this end, we selected 8 textbooks –4 each from Chile and Spain– that are widely used in their respective countries. Our focus was the topic of proportionality in secondary education. The importance of this analysis lies in the use that teachers make of textbooks, which makes them mediators between the curriculum and the classroom.Facultad de Educación y Humanidades - Campus de Melilla (Universidad de Granada

Nuevos eutimizantes y ciclo reproductivo

Introduction. The use of new mood stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar disorder has supposed a revolution, especially due to its more favorable profile in many aspects. Nevertheless, therapeutic decisions on treatment during pregnancy and the breastfeeding period are still being debated. Since these new anticonvulsants appeared in the decade of 1990, less naturalistic experience in its use exists during these periods than with other older anticonvulsants. Methods. A Medline and Embase search was conducted from 1970 to 2003 to review the articles published on the use of the new mood stabilizers during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and its effects on contraception. Neurology and psychiatry text chapters and abstracts of the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (years 2001-2003) were also reviewed. Results. Although some recent articles suggest that new mood stabilizers could have a smaller risk of congenital defects, and therefore could be used with smaller risks in women in fertile age, most of articles reviewed indicate that there is not enough knowledge on the safety of the new mood stabilizers in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Conclusions. The risks and benefits of continuing with the new mood stabilizers during pregnancy and breastfeeding must be weighed carefully, and the severity of the disease and the previous answer to treatment should be taken into account

Análisis de las interacciones en mezclas binarias de ceras sobre las características microestructurales y textura de oleogeles

Las grasas sólidas son ampliamente usadas en formulaciones alimentarias aportando características texturales particulares a los alimentos. Sin embargo, conforme a la mejora continua de la conciencia de los consumidores en el ámbito de la salud, se ha impulsado la búsqueda de sustitutos de estas grasas que puedan reducir su consumo manteniendo las características sensoriales del producto final. La “estructuración” de aceites insaturados (oleogeles) ha surgido como un nuevo campo de investigación en este sentido. Los oleogeles (OGs) comprenden una fase orgánica que se estructura a través de agentes gelificantes que forman una red tridimensional para el atrapar el aceite. Son termorreversibles y se comportan de manera similar a las grasas sólidas, incluso cuando tienen un alto contenido de ácidos grasos insaturados (Blake et al., 2014). Las ceras se definen generalmente como un material químicamente heterogéneo que contiene ésteres de cadena larga derivados de ácidos grasos y alcoholes grasos, que muestran tendencias hidrófobas, tienen altas temperaturas de fusión y son sólidas a temperatura ambiente (Blake et al., 2018). Estas, en su mayoría, se obtienen como subproductos de otros procesos, lo que las hace comercialmente disponibles y económicamente viables. Son empleadas mayormente en la elaboración de productos cosméticos y farmacéuticos, sin embargo, se demostró recientemente que son capaces de estructurar aceites vegetales. Si bien existen algunos trabajos que analizan el efecto gelante de las ceras de forma individual, resulta muy escasa la bibliografía que aborde las posibles interacciones de estos componentes. Por lo tanto, el objetivo del trabajo fue analizar la interacción en mezclas binarias de ceras y su influencia sobre las características de OGs.Facultad de Ingenierí

Supporting Telecommunication Alarm Management System with Trouble Ticket Prediction

Fault alarm data emanated from heterogeneous telecommunication network services and infrastructures are exploding with network expansions. Managing and tracking the alarms with Trouble Tickets using manual or expert rule- based methods has become challenging due to increase in the complexity of Alarm Management Systems and demand for deployment of highly trained experts. As the size and complexity of networks hike immensely, identifying semantically identical alarms, generated from heterogeneous network elements from diverse vendors, with data-driven methodologies has become imperative to enhance efficiency. In this paper, a data-driven Trouble Ticket prediction models are proposed to leverage Alarm Management Systems. To improve performance, feature extraction, using a sliding time-window and feature engineering, from related history alarm streams is also introduced. The models were trained and validated with a data-set provided by the largest telecommunication provider in Italy. The experimental results showed the promising efficacy of the proposed approach in suppressing false positive alarms with Trouble Ticket prediction

Improving oral presentation skills for radiology residents through clinical session meetings in the virtual world Second Life

Background: The objective of this study was to conduct a clinical session meeting in the virtual world of Second Life to improve the oral presentation skills of radiology residents and to assess the perception of the attendees. Methods: A clinical session meeting (10 two-hour sessions over four weeks), where participants presented their own clinical sessions, followed by a turn of interventions by the attendees, was designed and carried out. Attendees were asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results: Twenty-eight radiology residents attended the meeting, and 23 (81.2%) completed the evaluation questionnaire; 95.7–100% of them agreed that the virtual environment was attractive and suitable for holding the meeting and that the content was appropriate for their training as residents. They rated with ≥8.9 points (from 1 to 10) different aspects of the experience, highlighting the role of teachers (9.7 ± 0.6) and the usefulness of their training (9.4 ± 0.9). Conclusions: Second Life can be used effectively to train oral communication skills in public, in an environment perceived as attractive and suitable for learning, through an experience described by the attendees as interesting and useful, highlighting the advantages of social contact with their peersWe want to acknowledge the Asociación de Radiólogos del Sur, a subsidiary of SERAM, for its contribution to the maintenance costs of the Medical Master Island during the development of this project. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Instructors’ teaching styles: relation with competences, self-efficacy, and commitment in pre-service teachers

Instructors’ teaching styles in higher education are an issue of major importance because these interactions affect students’ self-perceptions, involvement, and achievement. This study aimed to test a theoretical model of relations between perceived teaching styles (autonomy support, structure, and control) and competences, self-efficacy, and commitment in pre-service teachers; to assess the invariance of the model in two samples; and to analyze the mediated relations between these variables. Measures were collected from 842 Spanish pre-service teachers. As main research implications, teaching styles predicted acquired competences, competences predicted teaching self-efficacy, and self-efficacy predicted commitment to the profession. This model was equivalent in two samples of childhood and primary education pre-service teachers. Competences and self-efficacy mediated the relationships between variables. As practical implications, this study clearly shows the need for different interventions to enhance adequate instructors’ teaching styles and to foster among novice pre-service teachers the acquisition of professional competences, initial self-efficacy, and a good level of commitment to their profession

Development of robust chiroptical systems through spirobifluorenes

Chiroptical responses are valuable for the structural determination of dissymmetric molecules. However, the development of everyday applications based on chiroptical systems is yet to come. We have been earlier using axially chiral allenes for the construction of linear, cyclic, and cage‐shaped molecules that present remarkable chiroptical responses. Additionally, we have developed chiral surfaces through upstanding chiral architectures. Since the goal is to obtain robust chiroptical materials, more recently we have been studying spirobifluorenes (SBFs), a well‐established building block in optoelectronic applications. After theoretical and experimental demonstration, the suitability of chiral SBFs for the development of robust chiroptical systems was certified by the construction all‐carbon double helices, flexible shape‐persistent macrocycles, chiral frameworks for surface functionalization, and structures featuring helical or spiroconjugated molecular orbitals. Here, we give an overview of our contribution to these matters.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion | Ref. TED2021-131760B-100Ministerio de UniversidadesXunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2017/51Universidade de Vigo/CISU