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

Aluminosi, problema resolt o conflicte latent?

L’ensorrament del sostre d’un edifici del Turó de la Peira de Barcelona va desencadenar una gran alarma social a l’entorn de l’estat del parc edifica t. Una alarma que a poc a poc es va anar apaivagant amb mesures polítiques i tècniques que han permès assolir un bon coneixement dels edificis, del seu estat, de les seves mancances i de la manera de corregir- les. Avui, vint anys després, encara són molts els malentesos de caire tècnic i social que hi ha a l’entorn d’aquest tema i que cal clarificar per evitar les conseqüències perverses que comporten. L’aluminosi ha deixat de ser un problema tècnic per esdevenir un problema de caire socioeconòmic i judicial. El que va començar com un problema estructural dels edificis, la degradació de les biguetes fabricades amb ciment aluminós, –els mitjans de comunicació ho van popularitzar amb el nom d’aluminosi– ha passat a ser: un problema social, ja que els edificis on hi ha ciment aluminós són considerats edificis malalts i perillosos per als seus habitants; un problema econòmic, ja que les entitats financeres concedeixen un valor molt reduït a aquests edificis; i un problema judicial, perquè la simple presència de ciment aluminós en un edifici és considerada una patologia greu per part dels jutges. El concepte científic d’aluminosi el va definir per primer cop, l’any 1989, el químic Rafael Talero, com un fenomen que es podia produir en el formigó fabricat amb ciment aluminós i que necessitava tres processos patològics simultanis: la conversió, la carbonatació i la hidròlisi alcalina. El resultat és un formigó que, com deia Talero, es desfà dins de l’aigua com un terròs de sucre. Però també és cert que la hidròlisi alcalina que sí que existeix als laboratoris, fins ara no l’hem trobada en cap dels edificis ni en els milers de mostres analitzades.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

GU Boo: A New 0.6 Msun Detached Eclipsing Binary

We have found a new low-mass, double-lined, detached eclipsing binary, GU Boo, among a sample of new variables from the ROTSE-I database. The binary has an orbital period of 0.488728 +/- 0.000002 days, and estimated apparent magnitudes Vrotse = 13.7 and I = 11.8. Our analysis of the light and radial velocity curves of the system yields individual masses and radii of M1= 0.610 +/- 0.007 Msun, M2 = 0.599 +/- 0.006 Msun, R1= 0.623 +/- 0.016 Rsun, R2= 0.620 +/- 0.020 Rsun. The stars in GU Boo are therefore very similar to the components of the eclipsing binary YY Gem. For this study we have adopted a mean effective temperature for the binary of Teff = 3870 +/- 130 K. Based on its space velocities we suggest that GU Boo is a main sequence binary, possibly with an age of several Gyr. The metallicity of the binary is not well constrained at this point but we speculate that it should not be very different from solar. We have compared the physical parameters of GU Boo with current low-mass stellar models, where we accounted for uncertainties in age and metallicity by considering a wide range of values for those parameters. Our comparisons reveal that all the models underestimate the radii of the components of GU Boo by at least 10-15%. This result is in agreement with the recent studies of YY Gem and CU Cnc.Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures, 11 tables; accepted by Ap

Accurate Spitzer infrared radius measurement for the hot Neptune GJ 436b

We present Spitzer Space Telescope infrared photometry of a primary transit of the hot Neptune GJ 436b. The observations were obtained using the 8 microns band of the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC). The high accuracy of the transit data and the weak limb-darkening in the 8 microns IRAC band allow us to derive (assuming M = 0.44 +- 0.04 Msun for the primary) a precise value for the planetary radius (4.19 +0.21-0.16 Rearth), the stellar radius (0.463 +0.022-0.017 Rsun), the orbital inclination (85.90 +0.19-0.18 degrees) and transit timing (2454280.78186 +0.00015-0.00008 HJD). Assuming current planet models, an internal structure similar to that of Neptune with a small H/He envelope is necessary to account for the measured radius of GJ 436b.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A on 21/07/2007; 5 pages, 3 figure

Constraining non-minimally coupled tachyon fields by Noether symmetry

A model for a spatially flat homogeneous and isotropic Universe whose gravitational sources are a pressureless matter field and a tachyon field non-minimally coupled to the gravitational field is analyzed. Noether symmetry is used to find the expressions for the potential density and for the coupling function, and it is shown that both must be exponential functions of the tachyon field. Two cosmological solutions are investigated: (i) for the early Universe whose only source of the gravitational field is a non-minimally coupled tachyon field which behaves as an inflaton and leads to an exponential accelerated expansion and (ii) for the late Universe whose gravitational sources are a pressureless matter field and a non-minimally coupled tachyon field which plays the role of dark energy and is the responsible of the decelerated-accelerated transition period.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Version accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Patterning graphene nanostripes in substrate-supported functionalized graphene: A promising route to integrated, robust, and superior transistors

It is promising to apply quantum-mechanically confined graphene systems in field-effect transistors. High stability, superior performance, and large-scale integration are the main challenges facing the practical application of graphene transistors. Our understandings of the adatom-graphene interaction combined with recent progress in the nanofabrication technology indicate that very stable and high-quality graphene nanostripes could be integrated in substrate-supported functionalized (hydrogenated or fluorinated) graphene using electron-beam lithography. We also propose that parallelizing a couple of graphene nanostripes in a transistor should be preferred for practical application, which is also very useful for transistors based on graphene nanoribbon.Comment: Frontiers of Physics (2012) to be publishe