The evolution of the self-lensing binary KOI-3278: evidence of extra energy sources during CE evolution

Post-common-envelope binaries (PCEBs) have been frequently used to observationally constrain models of close-compact-binary evolution, in particular common-envelope (CE) evolution. However, recent surveys have detected PCEBs consisting of a white dwarf (WD) exclusively with an M dwarf companion. Thus, we have been essentially blind with respect to PCEBs with more massive companions. Recently, the second PCEB consisting of a WD and a G-type companion, the spectacularly self-lensing binary KOI-3278, has been identified. This system is different from typical PCEBs not only because of the G-type companion, but also because of its long orbital period. Here we investigate whether the existence of KOI-3278 provides new observational constraints on theories of CE evolution. We reconstruct its evolutionary history and predict its future using BSE, clarifying the proper use of the binding energy parameter in this code. We find that a small amount of recombination energy, or any other source of extra energy, is required to reconstruct the evolutionary history of KOI-3278. Using BSE we derive progenitor system parameters of M1,i = 2.450 Msun, M2,i = 1.034 Msun, and Porb,i ~ 1300 d. We also find that in ~9 Gyr the system will go through a second CE phase leaving behind a double WD, consisting of a C/O WD and a He WD with masses of 0.636 Msun and 0.332 Msun, respectively. After IK Peg, KOI-3278 is the second PCEB that clearly requires an extra source of energy, beyond that of orbital energy, to contribute to the CE ejection. Both systems are special in that they have long orbital periods and massive secondaries. This may also indicate that the CE efficiency increases with secondary mass.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters, 4 pages, 2 figure

The Dwarf Nova Outbursts of Nova Her 1960 (=V446 Her)

V446 Her is the best example of an old nova which has developed dwarf nova eruptions in the post-nova state. We report on observed properties of the long-term light curve of V446 Her, using photometry over 19 years. Yearly averages of the outburst magnitudes shows a decline of ~0.013 mag/yr, consistent with the decline of other post-novae that do not have dwarf nova outbursts. Previous suggestions of bimodal distributions of the amplitudes and widths of the outbursts are confirmed. The outbursts occur at a mean spacing of 18 days but the range of spacings is large (13-30 days). From simulations of dwarf nova outbursts it has been predicted that the outburst spacing in V446 Her will increase as M-dot from the red dwarf companion slowly falls following the nova; however the large intrinsic scatter in the spacings serves to hide any evidence of this effect. We do find a systematic change in the outburst pattern in which the brighter, wider type of outbursts disappeared after late 2003, and this phenomenon is suggested to be due to falling M-dot following the nova.Comment: To appear at the Astronomical Journal; 7 pages, 1 table, 11 figure

Cold giant planets evaporated by hot white dwarfs

Atmospheric escape from close-in Neptunes and hot Jupiters around Sun-like stars driven by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiation plays an important role in the evolution of exoplanets and in shaping their ensemble properties. Intermediate and low mass stars are brightest at EUV wavelengths at the very end of their lives, after they have expelled their envelopes and evolved into hot white dwarfs. Yet the effect of the intense EUV irradiation of giant planets orbiting young white dwarfs has not been assessed. We show that the giant planets in the solar system will experience significant hydrodynamic escape caused by the EUV irradiation from the white dwarf left behind by the Sun. A fraction of the evaporated volatiles will be accreted by the solar white dwarf, resulting in detectable photospheric absorption lines. As a large number of the currently known extrasolar giant planets will survive the metamorphosis of their host stars into white dwarfs, observational signatures of accretion from evaporating planetary atmospheres are expected to be common. In fact, one-third of the known hot single white dwarfs show photospheric absorption lines of volatile elements, which we argue are indicative of ongoing accretion from evaporating planets. The fraction of volatile contaminated hot white dwarfs strongly decreases as they cool. We show that accretion from evaporating planetary atmospheres naturally explains this temperature dependence if more than 50% of hot white dwarfs still host giant planets

Measures of galaxy dust and gas mass with Herschel photometry and prospects for ALMA

(Abridged) Combining the deepest Herschel extragalactic surveys (PEP, GOODS-H, HerMES), and Monte Carlo mock catalogs, we explore the robustness of dust mass estimates based on modeling of broad band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with two popular approaches: Draine & Li (2007, DL07) and a modified black body (MBB). As long as the observed SED extends to at least 160-200 micron in the rest frame, M(dust) can be recovered with a >3 sigma significance and without the occurrence of systematics. An average offset of a factor ~1.5 exists between DL07- and MBB-based dust masses, based on consistent dust properties. At the depth of the deepest Herschel surveys (in the GOODS-S field) it is possible to retrieve dust masses with a S/N>=3 for galaxies on the main sequence of star formation (MS) down to M(stars)~1e10 [M(sun)] up to z~1. At higher redshift (z<=2) the same result is achieved only for objects at the tip of the MS or lying above it. Molecular gas masses, obtained converting M(dust) through the metallicity-dependent gas-to-dust ratio delta(GDR), are consistent with those based on the scaling of depletion time, and on CO spectroscopy. Focusing on CO-detected galaxies at z>1, the delta(GDR) dependence on metallicity is consistent with the local relation. We combine far-IR Herschel data and sub-mm ALMA expected fluxes to study the advantages of a full SED coverage.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Some figures have degraded quality for filesize reason

Thickness dependence of linear and quadratic magneto-optical Kerr effect in ultrathin Fe(001) films

Magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometry is one of the most widely employed techniques for the characterization of ferromagnetic thin-film samples. Some information, such as coercive fields or anisotropy strengths can be obtained without any knowledge of the optical and magneto-optical (MO) properties of the material. On the other hand, a quantitative analysis, which requires a precise knowledge of the material's index of refraction n and the MO coupling constants K and G is often desirable, for instance for the comparison of samples, which are different with respect to ferromagnetic layer thicknesses, substrates, or capping layers. While the values of the parameters n and the linear MO coupling parameter K reported by different authors usually vary considerably, the relevant quadratic MO coupling parameters G of Fe are completely unknown. Here, we report on measurements of the thickness dependence (0-60nm) of the linear and quadratic MOKE in epitaxial bcc-Fe(001) wedge-type samples performed at a commonly used laser wavelength of 670nm. By fitting the thickness dependence we are able to extract a complete set of parameters n, K, (G11 - G12), and G44 for the quantitative description of the MOKE of bcc-Fe(001). We find sizable different n, K, and G parameters for films thinner than about 10nm as compared to thicker films, which is indicative of a thickness dependence of the electronic properties or of surface contributions to the MOKE. The effect size of the quadratic MOKE is found to be about a third of the record values recently reported for Co2FeSi.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

A Categorical Equivalence between Generalized Holonomy Maps on a Connected Manifold and Principal Connections on Bundles over that Manifold

A classic result in the foundations of Yang-Mills theory, due to J. W. Barrett ["Holonomy and Path Structures in General Relativity and Yang-Mills Theory." Int. J. Th. Phys. 30(9), (1991)], establishes that given a "generalized" holonomy map from the space of piece-wise smooth, closed curves based at some point of a manifold to a Lie group, there exists a principal bundle with that group as structure group and a principal connection on that bundle such that the holonomy map corresponds to the holonomies of that connection. Barrett also provided one sense in which this "recovery theorem" yields a unique bundle, up to isomorphism. Here we show that something stronger is true: with an appropriate definition of isomorphism between generalized holonomy maps, there is an equivalence of categories between the category whose objects are generalized holonomy maps on a smooth, connected manifold and whose arrows are holonomy isomorphisms, and the category whose objects are principal connections on principal bundles over a smooth, connected manifold. This result clarifies, and somewhat improves upon, the sense of "unique recovery" in Barrett's theorems; it also makes precise a sense in which there is no loss of structure involved in moving from a principal bundle formulation of Yang-Mills theory to a holonomy, or "loop", formulation.Comment: 20 page

SDSS J212531.92–010745.9 : the first definite PG 1159 close binary system

Aims. The archival spectrum of SDSS J212531.92−010745.9 shows not only the typical signature of a PG 1159 star, but also indicates the presence of a companion. Our aim was the proof of the binary nature of this object and the determination of its orbital period. Methods. We performed time-series photometry of SDSS J212531.92−010745.9. We observed the object during 10 nights, spread over one month, with the Tübingen 80 cm and the Göttingen 50 cm telescopes. We fitted the observed light curve with a sine and simulated the light curve of this system with the nightfall program. Furthermore, we compared the spectrum of SDSS J212531.92−010745.9 with NLTE models, the results of which also constrain the light curve solution. Results. An orbital period of 6.95616(33) h with an amplitude of 0.354(3) mag is derived from our observations. A pulsation period could not be detected. For the PG 1159 star we found, as preliminary results from comparison with our NLTE models, T eff ∼ 90 000 K, log g ∼ 7.60, and the abundance ratio C/He ∼ 0.05 by number fraction. For the companion we obtained with a mean radius of 0.4 ± 0.1 R, a mass of 0.4 ± 0.1 M, and a temperature of 8200 K on the irradiated side, good agreement between the observed light curve and the nightfall simulation, but we do not regard those values as final

Non-spiky density of states of an icosahedral quasicrystal

The density of states of the ideal three-dimensional Penrose tiling, a quasicrystalline model, is calculated with a resolution of 10 meV. It is not spiky. This falsifies theoretical predictions so far, that spikes of width 10-20 meV are generic for the density of states of quasicrystals, and it confirms recent experimental findings. The qualitative difference between our results and previous calculations is partly explained by the small number of k points that has usually been included in the evaluation of the density of states of periodic approximants of quasicrystals. It is also shown that both the density of states of a small approximant of the three-dimensional Penrose tiling and the density of states of the ideal two-dimensional Penrose tiling do have spiky features, which also partly explains earlier predictions.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Changes in this version: longer introduction, details of figures shown in inset

Direct visualization reveals dynamics of a transient intermediate during protein assembly

Interactions between proteins underlie numerous biological functions. Theoretical work suggests that protein interactions initiate with formation of transient intermediates that subsequently relax to specific, stable complexes. However, the nature and roles of these transient intermediates have remained elusive. Here, we characterized the global structure, dynamics, and stability of a transient, on-pathway intermediate during complex assembly between the Signal Recognition Particle (SRP) and its receptor. We show that this intermediate has overlapping but distinct interaction interfaces from that of the final complex, and it is stabilized by long-range electrostatic interactions. A wide distribution of conformations is explored by the intermediate; this distribution becomes more restricted in the final complex and is further regulated by the cargo of SRP. These results suggest a funnel-shaped energy landscape for protein interactions, and they provide a framework for understanding the role of transient intermediates in protein assembly and biological regulation