1,517 research outputs found
The UV absorption spectrum of C60 (buckminsterfullerene): A narrow band at 3860 Ã…
The absorption spectrum of the special C60 cluster buckminsterfullerene has been studied in a supersonic beam by laser depletion of the cold van der Waals complexes of C60 with benzene and methylene chloride. Both complexes were found to display a single, isolated absorption band in the near ultraviolet superimposed on a structureless absorption continuum. For the methylene chloride complex this feature is centered at 3860 Å, and is roughly 50 cm−1 wide. In the benzene van der Waals cluster, the corresponding feature is located at 3863 Å, and has a similar width. This spectrum is tentatively assigned to the 0–0 band of the lowest 1T1u<--1Ag (LUMO+1<--HOMO) transition of a truncated icosahedral carbon shell structure, broadened by coupling to the underlying quasicontinuum of ground state vibrational levels
Effects of Feeding by Two Folivorous Arthropods on Susceptibility of Hybrid Poplar Clones to a Foliar Pathogen
We investigated variation in folivore-induced effects on subsequent plant suitability to a foliar pathogen. We used a leaf disk assay to expose three clones of hybrid poplar, NC11382, NE332 and NM6, to colonization by a leaf spot pathogen, Septoria musiva. Undamaged leaf disks of NE332 were the most resistant to S. musiva, followed by NM6 and NC11382, respectively. To test the effects of prior herbivory on subsequent susceptibility to this fungal pathogen, we inoculated S. musiva on leaf disks taken from leaves which had been exposed to feeding by Tetranychus mites or cottonwood leaf beetles. Prior activity by mites and cottonwood leaf beetle affected the subsequent susceptibility of clones NC 11382 and NE332 to S. musiva
The Li Overabundance of J37: Diffusion or Accretion?
In September 2002 the discovery of a super Li-rich F-dwarf (J37) in NGC 6633,
an iron poor analogue of the better studied Hyades and Praecepe open clusters,
was announced. This unique star was thought to be the smoking gun for the
action of diffusion, models of which predict a narrow "Li-peak" at
approximately the correct temperature. However, with more detailed studies into
J37s abundance pattern this star provides firm evidence for the accretion of
planetesimals or other material from the circumstellar environment of new born
stars.
Thanks to the specific predictions made about the behaviour of Be abundances,
(the most striking of which being no Be in super-Li-rich dwarfs subject to
diffusion) the opposing diffusion/accretion predictions can be tested.
Initial modelling of the Be line indicates that J37 is as Be rich as it is Li
rich; log N(Be) = 2.25 +/- 0.25, and so is broadly consistent with an
accretion-fuelled enhancement. However, that both Li and Be are enhanced by
much more than the iron-peak elements (as determined in previous studies)
suggests that diffusion also plays a role in increasing the abundances of Li
and Be specifically.
Furthermore, a new data set from the UVES/UT2 combination has allowed the
elemental abundance of Iron to be measured, and the set of preliminary stellar
parameters determined; Teff ~ 7340 K, log g ~ 4.1, microturbulence ~ 4.3 km/s,
[Fe/H] ~ 0.50. This again provides distinct evidence for the effects of
accretion in J37 and requires a new synthesis of the Be doublet.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Poster presented at IAU Symposium 224 "The A Star
Puzzle", 7-13 July 2004, Poprad, Slovaki
Beryllium Enhancement as Evidence for Accretion in a Lithium-Rich F Dwarf
The early F dwarf star ``J37'' in the open cluster NGC6633 shows an unusual
pattern of photospheric abundances, including an order of magnitude enhancement
of lithium and iron-peak elements, but an under-abundance of carbon. As a
consequence of its thin convection zone these anomalies have been attributed to
either radiative diffusion or the accretion of hydrogen-depleted material. By
comparing high resolution VLT/UVES spectra of J37 (and other F stars in NGC
6633) with syntheses of the Be ii doublet region at 3131 Ang, we establish that
J37 also has a Be abundance (A(Be)=3.0+/-0.5) that is at least ten times the
cosmic value. This contradicts radiative diffusion models that produce a Li
over-abundance, as they also predict photospheric Be depletion. Instead, since
Be is a highly refractory element, it supports the notion that J37 is the first
clear example of a star that has accreted volatile-depleted material with a
composition similar to chondritic meteorites, although some diffusion may be
necessary to explain the low C and O abundances.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS letters, 5 page
Accurate fundamental parameters of eclipsing binary stars
The study of detached eclipsing binaries is one of the most powerful ways to
investigate the properties of individual stars and stellar systems. We present
preliminary masses, radii and effective temperatures for the eclipsing binary
WW Aurigae, which is composed of two metallic-lined A-type stars. We also
reanalyse the data on HD 23642, an A-type eclipsing binary member of the
Pleiades open cluster with a metallic-lined component, and determine its
distance to be 139 +/- 4 pc. This is in agreement with the traditional Pleiades
distance, but in disagreement with distance to the Pleiades, and to HD 23642
itself, derived from Hipparcos trigonometrical parallaxes.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, Poster presented at IAU Symposium 224 "The A
Star Puzzle", 7-13 July 2004, Poprad, Slovaki
Spitzer 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron full-orbit lightcurves of WASP-18
We present new lightcurves of the massive hot Jupiter system WASP-18 obtained
with the Spitzer spacecraft covering the entire orbit at 3.6 micron and 4.5
micron. These lightcurves are used to measure the amplitude, shape and phase of
the thermal phase effect for WASP-18b. We find that our results for the thermal
phase effect are limited to an accuracy of about 0.01% by systematic noise
sources of unknown origin. At this level of accuracy we find that the thermal
phase effect has a peak-to-peak amplitude approximately equal to the secondary
eclipse depth, has a sinusoidal shape and that the maximum brightness occurs at
the same phase as mid-occultation to within about 5 degrees at 3.6 micron and
to within about 10 degrees at 4.5 micron. The shape and amplitude of the
thermal phase curve imply very low levels of heat redistribution within the
atmosphere of the planet. We also perform a separate analysis to determine the
system geometry by fitting a lightcurve model to the data covering the
occultation and the transit. The secondary eclipse depths we measure at 3.6
micron and 4.5 micron are in good agreement with previous measurements and
imply a very low albedo for WASP-18b. The parameters of the system (masses,
radii, etc.) derived from our analysis are in also good agreement with those
from previous studies, but with improved precision. We use new high-resolution
imaging and published limits on the rate of change of the mean radial velocity
to check for the presence of any faint companion stars that may affect our
results. We find that there is unlikely to be any significant contribution to
the flux at Spitzer wavelengths from a stellar companion to WASP-18. We find
that there is no evidence for variations in the times of eclipse from a linear
ephemeris greater than about 100 seconds over 3 years.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Accpeted for publication in MNRA
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