HATS-18 b: An Extreme Short--Period Massive Transiting Planet Spinning Up Its Star

We report the discovery by the HATSouth network of HATS-18 b: a 1.980 +/- 0.077 Mj, 1.337 +0.102 -0.049 Rj planet in a 0.8378 day orbit, around a solar analog star (mass 1.037 +/- 0.047 Msun, and radius 1.020 +0.057 -0.031 Rsun) with V=14.067 +/- 0.040 mag. The high planet mass, combined with its short orbital period, implies strong tidal coupling between the planetary orbit and the star. In fact, given its inferred age, HATS-18 shows evidence of significant tidal spin up, which together with WASP-19 (a very similar system) allows us to constrain the tidal quality factor for Sun-like stars to be in the range 6.5 <= lg(Q*/k_2) <= 7 even after allowing for extremely pessimistic model uncertainties. In addition, the HATS-18 system is among the best systems (and often the best system) for testing a multitude of star--planet interactions, be they gravitational, magnetic or radiative, as well as planet formation and migration theories.Comment: Submitted. 12 pages, 9 figures, 5 table

Transmission electron microscopy of a model crystalline organic, theophylline

We report on the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to analyse the diffraction patterns of the model crystalline organic theophylline to investigate beam damage in relation to changing accelerating voltage, sample temperature and TEM grid support films. We find that samples deposited on graphene film grids have the longest lifetimes when also held at -190 °C and imaged at 200 kV accelerating voltage. Finally, atomic lattice images are obtained in bright field STEM by working close to the estimated critical electron dose for theophylline

Analysis of Electron Beam Damage of Crystalline Pharmaceutical Materials by Transmission Electron Microscopy

We have studied the impact of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and low dose electron diffraction on ten different crystalline pharmaceutical compounds, covering a diverse chemical space and with differing physical properties. The aim was to establish if particular chemical moieties were more susceptible to damage within the electron beam. We have measured crystalline diffraction patterns for each and indexed nine out of ten of them. Characteristic electron dosages are reported for each material, with no apparent correlation between chemical structure and stability within the electron beam. Such low dose electron diffraction protocols are suitable for the study of pharmaceutical compounds

Liquid-phase sintering of lead halide perovskites and metal-organic framework glasses

Lead halide perovskite (LHP) semiconductors show exceptional optoelectronic properties. Barriers for their applications, however, lie in their polymorphism, instability to polar solvents, phase segregation, and susceptibility to the leaching of lead ions. We report a family of scalable composites fabricated through liquid-phase sintering of LHPs and metal-organic framework glasses. The glass acts as a matrix for LHPs, effectively stabilizing nonequilibrium perovskite phases through interfacial interactions. These interactions also passivate LHP surface defects and impart bright, narrow-band photoluminescence with a wide gamut for creating white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The processable composites show high stability against immersion in water and organic solvents as well as exposure to heat, light, air, and ambient humidity. These properties, together with their lead self-sequestration capability, can enable breakthrough applications for LHPs