6,218 research outputs found
Primary transit of the planet HD189733b at 3.6 and 5.8 microns
The hot Jupiter HD 189733b was observed during its primary transit using the
Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The transit depths were
measured simultaneously at 3.6 and 5.8 microns. Our analysis yields values of
2.356 +- 0.019 % and 2.436 +- 0.020$ % at 3.6 and 5.8 microns respectively, for
a uniform source. We estimated the contribution of the limb-darkening and
star-spot effects on the final results. We concluded that although the limb
darkening increases by ~0.02-0.03 % the transit depths, and the differential
effects between the two IRAC bands is even smaller, 0.01 %. Furthermore, the
host star is known to be an active spotted K star with observed photometric
modulation. If we adopt an extreme model of 20 % coverage with spots 1000K
cooler of the star surface, it will make the observed transits shallower by
0.19 and 0.18 %. The difference between the two bands will be only of 0.01 %,
in the opposite direction to the limb darkening correction. If the transit
depth is affected by limb darkening and spots, the differential effects between
the 3.6 and 5.8 microns bands are very small. The differential transit depths
at 3.6 and 5.8 microns and the recent one published by Knutson et al.(2007) at
8 microns are in agreement with the presence of water vapour in the upper
atmosphere of the planet. This is the companion paper to Tinetti et al.
(2007b), where the detailed atmosphere models are presented.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Astrophysical Journal 675. Accepted Nov 21,
20007, to appear on March 10, 200
Habitable planets around the star Gl 581?
Radial velocity surveys are now able to detect terrestrial planets at
habitable distance from M-type stars. Recently, two planets with minimum masses
below 10 Earth masses were reported in a triple system around the M-type star
Gliese 581. Using results from atmospheric models and constraints from the
evolution of Venus and Mars, we assess the habitability of planets Gl 581c and
Gl 581d and we discuss the uncertainties affecting the habitable zone (HZ)
boundaries determination. We provide simplified formulae to estimate the HZ
limits that may be used to evaluate the astrobiological potential of
terrestrial exoplanets that will hopefully be discovered in the near future.
Planets Gl 581c and 'd' are near, but outside, what can be considered as the
conservative HZ. Planet 'c' receives 30% more energy from its star than Venus
from the Sun, with an increased radiative forcing caused by the spectral energy
distribution of Gl 581. Its habitability cannot however be positively ruled out
by theoretical models due to uncertainties affecting cloud properties.
Irradiation conditions of planet 'd' are comparable with those of early Mars.
Thanks to the warming effect of CO2-ice clouds planet 'd' might be a better
candidate for the first exoplanet known to be potentially habitable. A mixture
of various greenhouse gases could also maintain habitable conditions on this
planet.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (2007) accepted for publicatio
Cultural dissemination and interactive audiovisual commucation
Interactive electronic systems are generating specific ways of knowledge transmission. As always, when a new medium appears some of these ways come from pre-existing ones, whilw others are original. In this article we will sum up our view of this process and apply it to several examples of interactive audiovisual communication in general and web connectivity in particular, can add to knowledge transission procesess
A possible black hole in the gamma-ray microquasar LS 5039
The population of high energy and very high energy gamma-ray sources,
detected with EGRET and the new generation of ground-based Cherenkov
telescopes, conforms a reduced but physically important sample. Most of these
sources are extragalactic (e.g., blazars), while among the galactic ones there
are pulsars and SN remnants. The microquasar LS 5039, previously proposed to be
associated with an EGRET source by Paredes et al. (2000), has recently been
detected at TeV energies, confirming that microquasars should be regarded as a
class of high energy gamma-ray sources. To model and understand how the
energetic photons are produced and escape from LS 5039 it is crucial to unveil
the nature of the compact object, which remains unknown. Here we present new
intermediate-dispersion spectroscopy of this source which, combined with values
reported in the literature, provides an orbital period of 3.90603+/-0.00017 d,
a mass function f(M)=0.0053+/-0.0009 M_sun, and an eccentricity e=0.35+/-0.04.
Atmosphere model fitting to the spectrum of the optical companion, together
with our new distance estimate of d=2.5+/-0.1 kpc, yields R_opt=9.3+0.7-0.6
R_sun, log (L_opt/L_sun)=5.26+/-0.06, and M_opt=22.9+3.4-2.9 M_sun. These,
combined with our dynamical solution and the assumption of
pseudo-synchronization, yield an inclination i=24.9+/-2.8 degree and a compact
object mass M_X=3.7+1.3-1.0 M_sun. This is above neutron star masses for most
of the standard equations of state and, therefore, we propose that the compact
object in LS 5039 is a black hole. We finally discuss about the implications of
our orbital solution and new parameters of the binary system on the CNO
products, the accretion/ejection energetic balance, the SN explosion scenario,
and the behaviour of the TeV emission with the new orbital period.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Minor changes
according to referee repor
Difusió cultural i comunicació audiovisual interactiva
Els sistemes electrònics interactius estan generant formes especÃfiques de transmissió de coneixements. Com sempre que apareix un nou mitjà , algunes d'aquestes formes es deriven dels mitjans preexistents, mentre que d'altres són originals. En aquest article resumirem la nostra visió d'aquest procés i l'aplicarem a diversos exemples d'aplicacions interactives off-line per tenir finalment una primera idea del que la comunicació audiovisual interactiva en general i la conectivitat en xarxa en particular poden afegir als processos de transmissió de coneixements
Photospheric activity, rotation and magnetic interaction in LHS 6343 A
Context. The Kepler mission has recently discovered a brown dwarf companion
transiting one member of the M4V+M5V visual binary system LHS 6343 AB with an
orbital period of 12.71 days. Aims. The particular interest of this transiting
system lies in the synchronicity between the transits of the brown dwarf C
component and the main modulation observed in the light curve, which is assumed
to be caused by rotating starspots on the A component. We model the activity of
this star by deriving maps of the active regions that allow us to study stellar
rotation and the possible interaction with the brown dwarf companion. Methods.
An average transit profile was derived, and the photometric perturbations due
to spots occulted during transits are removed to derive more precise transit
parameters. We applied a maximum entropy spot model to fit the out-of-transit
optical modulation as observed by Kepler during an uninterrupted interval of
500 days. It assumes that stellar active regions consist of cool spots and
bright faculae whose visibility is modulated by stellar rotation. Results.
Thanks to the extended photometric time series, we refine the determination of
the transit parameters and find evidence of spots that are occulted by the
brown dwarf during its transits. The modelling of the out-of-transit light
curve of LHS 6343 A reveals several starspots rotating with a slightly longer
period than the orbital period of the brown dwarf, i.e., 13.13 +- 0.02 days. No
signature attributable to differential rotation is observed. We find evidence
of a persistent active longitude on the M dwarf preceding the sub- companion
point by 100 deg and lasting for at least 500 days. This can be relevant for
understanding how magnetic interaction works in low-mass binary and star-planet
systems.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figure
The initial-final mass relationship of white dwarfs in common proper motion pairs
A promising approach to decrease the uncertainties in the initial-final mass relationship, which is still poorly constrained, is to study white dwarfs for which external constraints are available, for instance, white dwarfs in common proper motion pairs (CPMPs). Important information of the white dwarf can be inferred from the study of the companion, since they were born at the same time and with the same initial chemical composition. In this contribution, we report new results obtained from spectroscopic observations of both members of several CPMPs composed of a F, G or K type star and a DA white dwarf
Doppler-beaming in the Kepler light curve of LHS 6343 A
Context. Kepler observations revealed a brown dwarf eclipsing the M-type star
LHS 6343 A with a period of 12.71 days. In addition, an out-of-eclipse light
modulation with the same period and a relative semi-amplitude of 2 x 10^-4 was
observed showing an almost constant phase lag to the eclipses produced by the
brown dwarf. In a previous work, we concluded that this was due to the light
modulation induced by photospheric active regions in LHS 6343 A. Aims. In the
present work, we prove that most of the out-of-eclipse light modulation is
caused by the Doppler-beaming induced by the orbital motion of the primary
star. Methods. We introduce a model of the Doppler-beaming for an eccentric
orbit and also considered the ellipsoidal effect. The data were fitted using a
Bayesian approach implemented through a Monte Carlo Markov chain method. Model
residuals were analysed by searching for periodicities using a Lomb-Scargle
periodogram. Results. For the first seven quarters of Kepler observations and
the orbit previously derived from the radial velocity measurements, we show
that the light modulation of the system outside eclipses is dominated by the
Doppler-beaming effect. A period search performed on the residuals shows a
significant periodicity of 42.5 +- 3.2 days with a false-alarm probability of 5
x 10^-4, probably associated with the rotational modulation of the primary
component.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
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