70 research outputs found
The gravitational mass of Proxima Centauri measured with SPHERE from a microlensing event
Proxima Centauri, our closest stellar neighbour, is a low-mass M5 dwarf
orbiting in a triple system. An Earth-mass planet with an 11 day period has
been discovered around this star. The star's mass has been estimated only
indirectly using a mass-luminosity relation, meaning that large uncertainties
affect our knowledge of its properties. To refine the mass estimate, an
independent method has been proposed: gravitational microlensing. By taking
advantage of the close passage of Proxima Cen in front of two background stars,
it is possible to measure the astrometric shift caused by the microlensing
effect due to these close encounters and estimate the gravitational mass of the
lens (Proxima Cen). Microlensing events occurred in 2014 and 2016 with impact
parameters, the closest approach of Proxima Cen to the background star, of
1\farcs6 0\farcs1 and 0\farcs5 0\farcs1, respectively. Accurate
measurements of the positions of the background stars during the last two years
have been obtained with HST/WFC3, and with VLT/SPHERE from the ground. The
SPHERE campaign started on March 2015, and continued for more than two years,
covering 9 epochs. The parameters of Proxima Centauri's motion on the sky,
along with the pixel scale, true North, and centering of the instrument
detector were readjusted for each epoch using the background stars visible in
the IRDIS field of view. The experiment has been successful and the astrometric
shift caused by the microlensing effect has been measured for the second event
in 2016. We used this measurement to derive a mass of
0.150 (an error of 40\%) \MSun for Proxima
Centauri acting as a lens. This is the first and the only currently possible
measurement of the gravitational mass of Proxima Centauri.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted by MNRA
Microtomography developments on the ANATOMIX beamline at Synchrotron SOLEIL
The new ANATOMIX beamline at Synchrotron SOLEIL is dedicated to hard X-ray
full-field tomography techniques. Operating in a range of photon energies from
approximately 5 to 50 keV, it offers both parallel-beam projection
microtomography and nanotomography using a zone-plate transmission X-ray
microscope and thus covers a range of spatial resolution from 20 nm to 20
m, expressed in terms of useful pixel size. Here we describe the
microtomography instrumentation and its performance.Comment: Paper submitted for publication in the Proceedings of the 15th
International Conference on X-Ray Microscopy (XRM 2020), 19--24 July 2020,
Taipei, Taiwan, edited by D.-H. Wei and C.-M. Cheng and H.-W. Shiu and T.-H.
Chuang, AIP Conf. Pro
SPHERE: the exoplanet imager for the Very Large Telescope
Observations of circumstellar environments to look for the direct signal of
exoplanets and the scattered light from disks has significant instrumental
implications. In the past 15 years, major developments in adaptive optics,
coronagraphy, optical manufacturing, wavefront sensing and data processing,
together with a consistent global system analysis have enabled a new generation
of high-contrast imagers and spectrographs on large ground-based telescopes
with much better performance. One of the most productive is the
Spectro-Polarimetic High contrast imager for Exoplanets REsearch (SPHERE)
designed and built for the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. SPHERE
includes an extreme adaptive optics system, a highly stable common path
interface, several types of coronagraphs and three science instruments. Two of
them, the Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS) and the Infra-Red Dual-band Imager
and Spectrograph (IRDIS), are designed to efficiently cover the near-infrared
(NIR) range in a single observation for efficient young planet search. The
third one, ZIMPOL, is designed for visible (VIR) polarimetric observation to
look for the reflected light of exoplanets and the light scattered by debris
disks. This suite of three science instruments enables to study circumstellar
environments at unprecedented angular resolution both in the visible and the
near-infrared. In this work, we present the complete instrument and its on-sky
performance after 4 years of operations at the VLT.Comment: Final version accepted for publication in A&
Discovery of a brown dwarf companion to the star HIP 64892
We report the discovery of a bright, brown dwarf companion to the star HIP
64892, imaged with VLT/SPHERE during the SHINE exoplanet survey. The host is a
B9.5V member of the Lower-Centaurus-Crux subgroup of the Scorpius Centaurus OB
association. The measured angular separation of the companion
(") corresponds to a projected distance of AU. We
observed the target with the dual-band imaging and long-slit spectroscopy modes
of the IRDIS imager to obtain its SED and astrometry. In addition, we
reprocessed archival NACO L-band data, from which we also recover the
companion. Its SED is consistent with a young (<30 Myr), low surface gravity
object with a spectral type of M9. From comparison with the
BT-Settl atmospheric models we estimate an effective temperature of
K, and comparison of the companion photometry
to the COND evolutionary models yields a mass of M at
the estimated age of Myr for the system. HIP 64892 is a rare
example of an extreme-mass ratio system () and will be useful for
testing models relating to the formation and evolution of such low-mass
objects.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The SPHERE infrared survey for exoplanets (SHINE). III. The demographics of young giant exoplanets below 300 au with SPHERE
The SHINE project is a 500-star survey performed with SPHERE on the VLT for
the purpose of directly detecting new substellar companions and understanding
their formation and early evolution. Here we present an initial statistical
analysis for a subsample of 150 stars that are representative of the full SHINE
sample. Our goal is to constrain the frequency of substellar companions with
masses between 1 and 75 MJup and semimajor axes between 5 and 300 au. We adopt
detection limits as a function of angular separation from the survey data for
all stars converted into mass and projected orbital separation using the
BEX-COND-hot evolutionary tracks and known distance to each system. Based on
the results obtained for each star and on the 13 detections in the sample, we
use a MCMC tool to compare our observations to two different types of models.
The first is a parametric model based on observational constraints, and the
second type are numerical models that combine advanced core accretion and
gravitational instability planet population synthesis. Using the parametric
model, we show that the frequencies of systems with at least one substellar
companion are , , and
for BA, FGK, and M stars, respectively. We also
demonstrate that a planet-like formation pathway probably dominates the mass
range from 1-75 MJup for companions around BA stars, while for M dwarfs, brown
dwarf binaries dominate detections. In contrast, a combination of binary
star-like and planet-like formation is required to best fit the observations
for FGK stars. Using our population model and restricting our sample to FGK
stars, we derive a frequency of , consistent with
predictions from the parametric model. More generally, the frequency values
that we derive are in excellent agreement with values obtained in previous
studies.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
VizieR Online Data Catalog: SPHERE and NaCo images of HD 19467B (Maire+, 2020)
The SPHERE and NaCo high-contrast images processed with angular differential imaging are provided. The SPHERE and NaCo/Lp images were processed with TLOCI-ADI (see Galicher et al., 2018A&A...615A..92G) and are normalized to the stellar peak (contrast with respect to the star). The NaCo/Mp image was processed with PCA (see Cheetham et al., 2019A&A...622A..80C). (2 data files)
Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches
© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly.Peer reviewe
VizieR Online Data Catalog: HD 284149 SPHERE/IFS spectrum (Bonavita+, 2017)
HD 284149 was observed with SPHERE in IRDIFS mode on 2015-10-25 and with IRDIFS_EXT mode on 2015-11-27 as part of the SHINE (SpHere INfrared survey for Exoplanet) GTO campaign. (1 data file)
Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly
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