4,872 research outputs found
Lithium abundance and 6Li/7Li ratio in the active giant HD123351 I. A comparative analysis of 3D and 1D NLTE line-profile fits
Current three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical model atmospheres together with
NLTE spectrum synthesis, permit to derive reliable atomic and isotopic chemical
abundances from high-resolution stellar spectra. Not much is known about the
presence of the fragile 6Li isotope in evolved solar-metallicity RGB stars, not
to mention its production in magnetically active targets like HD123351. From
fits of the observed CFHT spectrum with synthetic line profiles based on 1D and
3D model atmospheres, we seek to estimate the abundance of the 6Li isotope and
to place constraints on its origin. We derive A(Li) and the 6Li/7Li isotopic
ratio by fitting different synthetic spectra to the Li-line region of a
high-resolution CFHT spectrum (R=120 000, S/R=400). The synthetic spectra are
computed with four different line lists, using in parallel 3D hydrodynamical
CO5BOLD and 1D LHD model atmospheres and treating the line formation of the
lithium components in non-LTE (NLTE). We find A(Li)=1.69+/-0.11 dex and
6Li/7Li=8.0+/-4.4 % in 3D-NLTE, using the line list of Mel\'endez et al.
(2012), updated with new atomic data for V I, which results in the best fit of
the lithium line profile of HD123351. Two other line lists lead to similar
results but with inferior fit qualities. Our 2-sigma detection of the 6Li
isotope is the result of a careful statistical analysis and the visual
inspection of each achieved fit. Since the presence of a significant amount of
6Li in the atmosphere of a cool evolved star is not expected in the framework
of standard stellar evolution theory, non-standard, external lithium production
mechanisms, possibly related to stellar activity or a recent accretion of rocky
material, need to be invoked to explain the detection of 6Li in HD123351.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Chemical composition of a sample of bright solar-metallicity stars
We present a detailed analysis of seven young stars observed with the
spectrograph SOPHIE at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence for which the
chemical composition was incomplete or absent in the literature. For five
stars, we derived the stellar parameters and chemical compositions using our
automatic pipeline optimized for F, G, and K stars, while for the other two
stars with high rotational velocity, we derived the stellar parameters by using
other information (parallax), and performed a line-by-line analysis.
Chromospheric emission-line fluxes from CaII are obtained for all targets. The
stellar parameters we derive are generally in good agreement with what is
available in the literature. We provide a chemical analysis of two of the stars
for the first time. The star HIP 80124 shows a strong Li feature at 670.8 nm
implying a high lithium abundance. Its chemical pattern is not consistent with
it being a solar sibling, as has been suggested.Comment: To be published on A
Recent warming in Greenland in a long-term instrumental (1881-2012) climatic context: I. Evaluation of surface air temperature records
We present an updated analysis of monthly means of daily mean, minimum and maximum surface air temperature (SAT) data from Greenland coastal weather stations and from a long-running site on the Greenland ice sheet, and analyse these data for evidence of climate change, especially focusing on the last 20 years but using the whole periods of available records (some since 1873). We demonstrate very strong recent warming along the west coast of Greenland, especially during winter (locally >10 °C since 1991), and rather weaker warming on the east Greenland coast, which is influenced by different oceanographic/sea-ice and meteorological synoptic forcing conditions to the rest of Greenland. Coastal Greenland seasonal mean SAT trends were generally 2-6 °C, strongest in winter (5.7 °C) and least in summer and autumn (both 2.2 °C), during 1981-2011/12. Since 2001 Greenland mean coastal SAT increased significantly by 2.9 °C in winter and 0.8 °C in summer but decreased insignificantly by 1.1 °C in autumn and 0.2 °C in spring, during a period when there was little net change (� ± 0.1 °C) in northern hemisphere temperatures. SAT means for the latest 2001-11/12 decade were significantly in excess of those for peak decadal periods during the Early Twentieth Century Warm Period only in summer and winter, and not significantly greater in spring and autumn. Summer SAT increases in southern Greenland for the last 20 years were generally greater for maximum than minimum temperatures. By contrast, in winter, the recent warming was greater for minimum than maximum temperatures. The greatest SAT changes in all seasons are seen on Greenland's west coast. SAT changes on the ice sheet and a key marginal glacier closely followed nearby coastal temperatures over the last 20 years. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd
Laboratory Tests of Gravitational Physics Using a Cryogenic Torsion Pendulum
Progress and plans are reported for a program of gravitational physics
experiments using cryogenic torsion pendula undergoing large amplitude
torsional oscillation. The program includes a UC Irvine project to measure the
gravitational constant G and joint UC Irvine - U. Washington projects to test
the gravitational inverse square law at a range of about 10 cm and to test the
weak equivalence principle.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, contribution to the 10th Marcel Grossman
Conference Proceedings (Rio de Janeiro, July 20 - 26, 2003) - changed wording
in first paragraph of section
Can we trust elemental abundances derived in late-type giants with the classical 1D stellar atmosphere models?
We compare the abundances of various chemical species as derived with 3D
hydrodynamical and classical 1D stellar atmosphere codes in a late-type giant
characterized by T_eff=3640K, log g = 1.0, [M/H] = 0.0. For this particular set
of atmospheric parameters the 3D-1D abundance differences are generally small
for neutral atoms and molecules but they may reach up to 0.3-0.4 dex in case of
ions. The 3D-1D differences generally become increasingly more negative at
higher excitation potentials and are typically largest in the optical
wavelength range. Their sign can be both positive and negative, and depends on
the excitation potential and wavelength of a given spectral line. While our
results obtained with this particular late-type giant model suggest that 1D
stellar atmosphere models may be safe to use with neutral atoms and molecules,
care should be taken if they are exploited with ions.Comment: Poster presented at the IAU Symposium 265 "Chemical Abundances in the
Universe: Connecting First Stars to Planets", Rio de Janeiro, 10-14 August
2009; 2 pages, 1 figur
Light from Cascading Partons in Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions
We calculate the production of high energy photons from Compton and
annihilation processes as well as fragmentation off quarks in the parton
cascade model. The multiple scattering of partons is seen to lead to a
substantial production of high energy photons, which rises further when parton
multiplication due to final state radiation is included. The photon yield is
found to be proportional to the number of collisions among the cascading
partons.Comment: revised version: 4 pages, 4 figures, uses REVTEX
Gravitino Dark Matter and Cosmological Constraints
The gravitino is a promising candidate for cold dark matter. We study
cosmological constraints on scenarios in which the gravitino is the lightest
supersymmetric particle and a charged slepton the next-to-lightest
supersymmetric particle (NLSP). We obtain new results for the hadronic
nucleosynthesis bounds by computing the 4-body decay of the NLSP slepton into
the gravitino, the associated lepton, and a quark-antiquark pair. The bounds
from the observed dark matter density are refined by taking into account
gravitinos from both late NLSP decays and thermal scattering in the early
Universe. We examine the present free-streaming velocity of gravitino dark
matter and the limits from observations and simulations of cosmic structures.
Assuming that the NLSP sleptons freeze out with a thermal abundance before
their decay, we derive new bounds on the slepton and gravitino masses. The
implications of the constraints for cosmology and collider phenomenology are
discussed and the potential insights from future experiments are outlined. We
propose a set of benchmark scenarios with gravitino dark matter and long-lived
charged NLSP sleptons and describe prospects for the Large Hadron Collider and
the International Linear Collider.Comment: 51 pages, 20 figures, revised version matches published version
(results unchanged, JHEP style used, figures replaced with new high-quality
figures, typos corrected, references added
Family predictors of physical activity change during the COVID-19 lockdown in preschool children in Germany
The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with crucial changes in children’s daily life including their physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST). Among preschool children, the family represents an important factor for sufficient PA levels by being the gatekeeper for PA. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the family environment, specifically SES, parental support, and having siblings on COVID-19-related changes of PA and ST behavior in 317 (170 boys, 147 girls) German preschool children using longitudinal data. Our results indicate a decline in total amount of sports-related PA, an increase in outdoor play, as well as an increase in leisure ST in preschool children. The changes in total amount of PA differed between children with different levels of parental support as well as in dependence on having siblings. Furthermore, levels of outdoor play and ST in preschool children were influenced by environmental factors like having access to their own garden. We conclude that the family environment (parental support as well as physical environment) is highly relevant for PA and ST levels in preschool children. To provide every child with PA opportunities during potential future lockdowns, restriction policies should be adapted and parents need sophisticated information about the importance of their support and thus the PA levels of their children
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