Defect and Hodge numbers of hypersurfaces

We define defect for hypersurfaces with A-D-E singularities in complex projective normal Cohen-Macaulay fourfolds having some vanishing properties of Bott-type and prove formulae for Hodge numbers of big resolutions of such hypersurfaces. We compute Hodge numbers of Calabi-Yau manifolds obtained as small resolutions of cuspidal triple sextics and double octics with higher A_j singularities.Comment: 25 page

5-micron photometry of late-type dwarfs

We present narrowband-M photometry of nine low-mass dwarfs with spectral types ranging from M2.5 to L0.5. Combining the (L'-M') colours derived from our observations with data from the literature, we find colours consistent with a Rayleigh-Jeans flux distribution for spectral types earlier than M5, but enhanced F_3.8/F_4.7 flux ratios (negative (L'-M') colours) at later spectral types. This probably reflects increased absorption at M' due to the CO fundamental band. We compare our results against recent model predictions and briefly discuss the implications.Comment: accepted for the Astronomical Journa

Brown dwarfs in the Hyades and beyond?

We have used both the Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrograph and the HIRES echelle spectrograph on the Keck telescopes to obtain spectra of twelve candidate members of the Hyades cluster identified by Leggett and Hawkins (1988, 1989). All of the objects are chromospherically-active, late-type M-dwarfs, with H$\alpha$ equivalent widths varying from 1 to 30\AA. Based on our measured radial velocities, the level of stellar activity and other spectroscopic features, only one of the twelve stars has properties consistent with cluster membership. We consider how this result affects estimates of the luminosity and mass function of the Hyades cluster. Five of the eleven field stars have weak K I 7665/7699\AA and CaH absorption as compared with M-dwarf standards of the same spectral type, suggesting a lower surface gravity. Two of these sources, LH0416+14 and LH0419+15, exhibit significant lithium 6708 \AA absorption. Based partly on parallax measurements by the US Naval Observatory (Harris et al, 1998), we identify all five as likely to be young, pre-main sequence objects in or near the Taurus-Auriga association at distances of between 150 and 250 parsecs. A comparison with theoretical models of pre-main sequence stars indicates masses of less than 0.05 M$_\odot$.Comment: to appear in AJ, January 1999; 34 pages, (Latex format), including 10 embedded postscript figures and two table

Constraining the History of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy Using Observations of its Tidal Debris

We present a comparison of semi-analytic models of the phase-space structure of tidal debris with observations of stars associated with the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). We find that many features in the data can be explained by these models. The properties of stars 10-15 degrees away from the center of Sgr --- in particular, the orientation of material perpendicular to Sgr's orbit (c.f. Alard 1996) and the kink in the velocity gradient (Ibata et al 1997) --- are consistent with those expected for unbound material stripped during the most recent pericentric passage ~50 Myrs ago. The break in the slope of the surface density seen by Mateo, Olszewski & Morrison (1998) at ~ b=-35 can be understood as marking the end of this material. However, the detections beyond this point are unlikely to represent debris in a trailing streamer, torn from Sgr during the immediately preceding passage ~0.7 Gyrs ago, but are more plausibly explained by a leading streamer of material that was lost more that 1 Gyr ago and has wrapped all the way around the Galaxy. The observations reported in Majewski et al (1999) also support this hypothesis. We determine debris models with these properties on orbits that are consistent with the currently known positions and velocities of Sgr in Galactic potentials with halo components that have circular velocities v_circ=140-200 km/s. The best match to the data is obtained in models where Sgr currently has a mass of ~10^9 M_sun and has orbited the Galaxy for at least the last 1 Gyr, during which time it has reduced its mass by a factor of 2-3, or luminosity by an amount equivalent to ~10% of the total luminosity of the Galactic halo. These numbers suggest that Sgr is rapidly disrupting and unlikely to survive beyond a few more pericentric passages.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Astronomical Journa

The Detection of Low Mass Companions in Hyades Cluster Spectroscopic Binary Stars

We have observed a large sample of spectroscopic binary stars in the Hyades Cluster, using high resolution infrared spectroscopy to detect low mass companions. We combine our double-lined infrared measurements with well constrained orbital parameters from visible light single-lined observations to derive dynamical mass ratios. Using these results, along with photometry and theoretical mass-luminosity relationships, we estimate the masses of the individual components in our binaries. In this paper we present double-lined solutions for 25 binaries in our sample, with mass ratios from ~0.1-0.8. This corresponds to secondary masses as small as ~0.15 Msun. We include here our preliminary detection of the companion to vB 142, with a very small mass ratio of q=0.06+-0.04; this indicates that the companion may be a brown dwarf. This paper is an initial step in a program to produce distributions of mass ratio and secondary mass for Hyades cluster binaries with a wide range of periods, in order to better understand binary star formation. As such, our emphasis is on measuring these distributions, not on measuring precise orbital parameters for individual binaries.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

From d-wave to s-wave pairing in the iron-pnictide superconductor (Ba,K)Fe2As2

The nature of the pairing state in iron-based superconductors is the subject of much debate. Here we argue that in one material, the stoichiometric iron pnictide KFe2As2, there is overwhelming evidence for a d-wave pairing state, characterized by symmetry-imposed vertical line nodes in the superconducting gap. This evidence is reviewed, with a focus on thermal conductivity and the strong impact of impurity scattering on the critical temperature Tc. We then compare KFe2As2 to Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2, obtained by Ba substitution, where the pairing symmetry is s-wave and the Tc is ten times higher. The transition from d-wave to s-wave within the same crystal structure provides a rare opportunity to investigate the connection between band structure and pairing mechanism. We also compare KFe2As2 to the nodal iron-based superconductor LaFePO, for which the pairing symmetry is probably not d-wave, but more likely s-wave with accidental line nodes

Nodes in the gap structure of the iron-arsenide superconductor Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_x)_2As_2 from c-axis heat transport measurements

The thermal conductivity k of the iron-arsenide superconductor Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_x)_2As_2 was measured down to 50 mK for a heat current parallel (k_c) and perpendicular (k_a) to the tetragonal c axis, for seven Co concentrations from underdoped to overdoped regions of the phase diagram (0.038 < x < 0.127). A residual linear term k_c0/T is observed in the T = 0 limit when the current is along the c axis, revealing the presence of nodes in the gap. Because the nodes appear as x moves away from the concentration of maximal T_c, they must be accidental, not imposed by symmetry, and are therefore compatible with an s_{+/-} state, for example. The fact that the in-plane residual linear term k_a0/T is negligible at all x implies that the nodes are located in regions of the Fermi surface that contribute strongly to c-axis conduction and very little to in-plane conduction. Application of a moderate magnetic field (e.g. H_c2/4) excites quasiparticles that conduct heat along the a axis just as well as the nodal quasiparticles conduct along the c axis. This shows that the gap must be very small (but non-zero) in regions of the Fermi surface which contribute significantly to in-plane conduction. These findings can be understood in terms of a strong k dependence of the gap Delta(k) which produces nodes on a Fermi surface sheet with pronounced c-axis dispersion and deep minima on the remaining, quasi-two-dimensional sheets.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures