161 research outputs found
Limits on I-band microvariability of the Galactic Bulge Miras
We search for microvariability in a sample of 485 Mira variables with high
quality I-band light curves from the second generation Optical Gravitational
Lensing Experiment (OGLE-II). Rapid variations with amplitudes in the ~0.2-1.1
mag range lasting hours to days were discovered in Hipparcos data by de Laverny
et al. (1998). Our search is primarily sensitive to events with time-scales of
about 1 day, but retains a few percent efficiency (per object) for detecting
unresolved microvariability events as short as 2 hours. We do not detect any
candidate events. Assuming that the distribution of the event time profiles is
identical to that from the Hipparcos light curves we derive the 95% confidence
level upper limit of 0.038 per year per star for the rate of such events (1 per
26 years per average object of the ensemble). The high event rates of the order
of 1 per year per star implied by the Hipparcos study in the H_P band are
excluded with high confidence by the OGLE-II data in the I band. Our
non-detection could still be explained by much redder spectral response of the
I filter compared to the H_P band or by population differences between the
bulge and the solar neighborhood. In any case, the OGLE-II I-band data provide
the first limit on the rate of the postulated microvariability events in Mira
stars and offer new quantitative constraints on their properties. Similar
limits are obtained for other pulse shapes and a range of the assumed
time-scales and size-frequency distributions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Prospects for precision measurements of atomic helium using direct frequency comb spectroscopy
We analyze several possibilities for precisely measuring electronic
transitions in atomic helium by the direct use of phase-stabilized femtosecond
frequency combs. Because the comb is self-calibrating and can be shifted into
the ultraviolet spectral region via harmonic generation, it offers the prospect
of greatly improved accuracy for UV and far-UV transitions. To take advantage
of this accuracy an ultracold helium sample is needed. For measurements of the
triplet spectrum a magneto-optical trap (MOT) can be used to cool and trap
metastable 2^3S state atoms. We analyze schemes for measuring the two-photon
interval, and for resonant two-photon excitation to high
Rydberg states, . We also analyze experiments on the
singlet-state spectrum. To accomplish this we propose schemes for producing and
trapping ultracold helium in the 1^1S or 2^1S state via intercombination
transitions. A particularly intriguing scenario is the possibility of measuring
the transition with extremely high accuracy by use of
two-photon excitation in a magic wavelength trap that operates identically for
both states. We predict a ``triple magic wavelength'' at 412 nm that could
facilitate numerous experiments on trapped helium atoms, because here the
polarizabilities of the 1^1S, 2^1S and 2^3S states are all similar, small, and
positive.Comment: Shortened slightly and reformatted for Eur. Phys. J.
Migrations and habitat use of the smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena) in the Atlantic Ocean
The smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrna zygaena, is a cosmopolitan semipelagic shark captured as bycatch in pelagic oceanic fisheries, especially pelagic longlines targeting swordfish and/or tunas. From 2012 to 2016, eight smooth hammerheads were tagged with Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags in the inter-tropical region of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, with successful transmissions received from seven tags (total of 319 tracking days). Results confirmed the smooth hammerhead is a highly mobile species, as the longest migration ever documented for this species (> 6600 km) was recorded. An absence of a diel vertical movement behavior was noted, with the sharks spending most of their time at surface waters (0-50 m) above 23 degrees C. The operating depth of the pelagic long-line gear was measured with Minilog Temperature and Depth Recorders, and the overlap with the species vertical distribution was calculated. The overlap is taking place mainly during the night and is higher for juveniles (similar to 40% of overlap time). The novel information presented can now be used to contribute to the provision of sustainable management tools and serve as input for Ecological Risk Assessments for smooth hammerheads caught in Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries.Oceanario de Lisboa through Project "SHARK-TAG: Migrations and habitat use of the smooth hammerhead shark in the Atlantic Ocean"; Investigador-FCT from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) [Ref: IF/00253/2014]; EU European Social Fund; Programa Operacional Potencial Human
Absolute atomic oxygen density measurements by two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy in an RF-excited atmospheric pressure plasma jet
Gene expression changes in the salivary glands of Anopheles coluzzii elicited by Plasmodium berghei infection
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