SOAP 2.0: A tool to estimate the photometric and radial velocity variations induced by stellar spots and plages

This paper presents SOAP 2.0, a new version of the SOAP code that estimates in a simple way the photometric and radial velocity variations induced by active regions. The inhibition of the convective blueshift inside active regions is considered, as well as the limb brightening effect of plages, a quadratic limb darkening law, and a realistic spot and plage contrast ratio. SOAP 2.0 shows that the activity-induced variation of plages is dominated by the inhibition of the convective blueshift effect. For spots, this effect becomes significant only for slow rotators. In addition, in the case of a major active region dominating the activity-induced signal, the ratio between the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the RV peak-to-peak amplitudes of the cross correlation function can be used to infer the type of active region responsible for the signal for stars with \vsini$\le8$\kms. A ratio smaller than three implies a spot, while a larger ratio implies a plage. Using the observation of HD189733, we show that SOAP 2.0 manages to reproduce the activity variation as well as previous simulations when a spot is dominating the activity-induced variation. In addition, SOAP 2.0 also reproduces the activity variation induced by a plage on the slowly rotating star $\alpha$ Cen B, which is not possible using previous simulations. Following these results, SOAP 2.0 can be used to estimate the signal induced by spots and plages, but also to correct for it when a major active region is dominating the RV variation.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ after minor revisions (taken into account in this version

Metallicity of M dwarfs III. Planet-metallicity and planet-stellar mass correlations of the HARPS GTO M dwarf sample

Aims. The aim of this work is the study of the planet-metallicity and the planet-stellar mass correlations for M dwarfs from the HARPS GTO M dwarf subsample Methods. We use a new method that takes advantage of the HARPS high-resolution spectra to increase the precision of metallicity, using previous photometric calibrations of [Fe/H] and effective temperature as starting values. Results. In this work we use our new calibration (rms = 0.08 dex) to study the planet-metallicity relation of our sample. The well-known correlation for Giant planet FGKM hosts with metallicity is present. Regarding Neptunians and smaller hosts no correlation is found but there is a hint that an anti-correlation with [Fe/H] may exist. We combined our sample with the California Planet Survey late-K and M-type dwarf sample to increase our statistics but found no new trends. We fitted a power law to the frequency histogram of the Jovian hosts for our sample and for the combined sample, f_p = C10^\alpha[Fe/H], using two different approaches: a direct bin fitting and a bayesian fitting procedure. We obtained a value for C between 0.02 and 0.04 and for \alpha between 1.26 and 2.94. Regarding stellar mass, an hypothetical correlation with planets was discovered, but was found to be the result of a detection bias.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 18 pages, 11 Figures, 12 Table

Metallicity of M dwarfs IV. A high-precision [Fe/H] and Teff technique from high-resolution optical spectra for M dwarfs

Aims. In this work we develop a technique to obtain high precision determinations of both metallicity and effective temperature of M dwarfs in the optical. Methods. A new method is presented that makes use of the information of 4104 lines in the 530-690 nm spectral region. It consists in the measurement of pseudo equivalent widths and their correlation with established scales of [Fe/H] and $T_{eff}$. Results. Our technique achieves a $rms$ of 0.08$\pm$0.01 for [Fe/H], 91$\pm$13 K for $T_{eff}$, and is valid in the (-0.85, 0.26 dex), (2800, 4100 K), and (M0.0, M5.0) intervals for [Fe/H], $T_{eff}$ and spectral type respectively. We also calculated the RMSE$_{V}$ which estimates uncertainties of the order of 0.12 dex for the metallicity and of 293 K for the effective temperature. The technique has an activity limit and should only be used for stars with $\log{L_{H_{\alpha}}/L_{bol}} < -4.0$. Our method is available online at \url{http://www.astro.up.pt/resources/mcal}.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Updated one important reference in the introduction. Some typos correcte

Bosonization and entanglement spectrum for one-dimensional polar bosons on disordered lattices

The extended Bose-Hubbard model subjected to a disordered potential is predicted to display a rich phase diagram. In the case of uniform random disorder one finds two insulating quantum phases -- the Mott-insulator and the Haldane insulator -- in addition to a superfluid and a Bose glass phase. In the case of a quasiperiodic potential further phases are found, eg the incommensurate density wave, adiabatically connected to the Haldane insulator. For the case of weak random disorder we determine the phase boundaries using a perturbative bosonization approach. We then calculate the entanglement spectrum for both types of disorder, showing that it provides a good indication of the various phases.Comment: Submitted to NJ

Domain wall dynamics in integrable and chaotic spin-1/2 chains

We study the time evolution of correlation functions, spin current, and local magnetization in an isolated spin-1/2 chain initially prepared in a sharp domain wall state. The results are compared with the level of spatial delocalization of the eigenstates of the system which is measured using the inverse participation ratio. Both integrable and non-integrable regimes are considered. Non-integrability is introduced to the integrable Hamiltonian with nearest neighbor couplings by adding a single site impurity field or by adding next-nearest-neighbor couplings. A monotonic correspondence between the enhancement of the level of delocalization, spin current and magnetization dynamics occurs in the integrable domain. This correspondence is however lost for chaotic models with weak Ising interactions.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Quantum Levy flights and multifractality of dipolar excitations in a random system

We consider dipolar excitations propagating via dipole-induced exchange among immobile molecules randomly spaced in a lattice. The character of the propagation is determined by long-range hops (Levy flights). We analyze the eigen-energy spectra and the multifractal structure of the wavefunctions. In 1D and 2D all states are localized, although in 2D the localization length can be extremely large leading to an effective localization-delocalization crossover in realistic systems. In 3D all eigenstates are extended but not always ergodic, and we identify the energy intervals of ergodic and non-ergodic states. The reduction of the lattice filling induces an ergodic to non-ergodic transition, and the excitations are mostly non-ergodic at low filling.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

High resolution imaging of the early-type galaxy NGC 1380: an insight into the nature of extended extragalactic star clusters

NGC 1380 is a lenticular galaxy located near the centre of the Fornax Cluster northeast of NGC 1399. The globular cluster system of this galaxy was previously studied only from the ground. Recent studies of similar early-type galaxies, specially lenticular ones, reveal the existence of star clusters that apparently break up the traditional open/globular cluster dichotomy. With higher quality photometry from HST/WFPC2 we study the star clusters in NGC 1380, measuring their magnitudes, colours, sizes and projected distances from the centre of the galaxy. We used deep archival HST/WFPC2 in the B and V bands. We built colour magnitude diagrams from which we selected a sample of cluster candidates. We also analysed their colour distribution and measured their sizes. Based on their location in the luminosity-size diagram we estimated probabilities of them being typical globular clusters as those found in the Galaxy. A total of about 570 cluster candidates were found down to V=26.5. We measured sizes for approximately 200 of them. The observed colour distribution has three apparent peaks. Likewise for the size distribution. We identified the smaller population as being mainly typical globular clusters, while the more extended objects have small probabilities of being such objects. Different correlations between absolute magnitudes, sizes, colours and location were inferred for these cluster sub-populations. Most extended clusters (Reff > 4 pc) share similar properties to the diffuse star clusters reported to inhabit luminous early-type galaxies in the Virgo galaxy cluster such as being of low surface brightness and fainter than MV ~ -8. We also report on a small group of (Reff ~ 10 pc), -8< MV < -6, red clusters located near the centre of NGC 1380, which may be interpreted as faint fuzzies.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

The self-consistent quantum-electrostatic problem in strongly non-linear regime

The self-consistent quantum-electrostatic (also known as Poisson-Schr\"odinger) problem is notoriously difficult in situations where the density of states varies rapidly with energy. At low temperatures, these fluctuations make the problem highly non-linear which renders iterative schemes deeply unstable. We present a stable algorithm that provides a solution to this problem with controlled accuracy. The technique is intrinsically convergent including in highly non-linear regimes. We illustrate our approach with (i) a calculation of the compressible and incompressible stripes in the integer quantum Hall regime and (ii) a calculation of the differential conductance of a quantum point contact geometry. Our technique provides a viable route for the predictive modeling of the transport properties of quantum nanoelectronics devices.Comment: 28 pages. 14 figures. Added solution to a potential failure mode of the algorith

Disorderless quasi-localization of polar gases in one-dimensional lattices

One-dimensional polar gases in deep optical lattices present a severely constrained dynamics due to the interplay between dipolar interactions, energy conservation, and finite bandwidth. The appearance of dynamically-bound nearest-neighbor dimers enhances the role of the $1/r^3$ dipolar tail, resulting, in the absence of external disorder, in quasi-localization via dimer clustering for very low densities and moderate dipole strengths. Furthermore, even weak dipoles allow for the formation of self-bound superfluid lattice droplets with a finite doping of mobile, but confined, holons. Our results, which can be extrapolated to other power-law interactions, are directly relevant for current and future lattice experiments with magnetic atoms and polar molecules.Comment: 5 + 2 Page