Forest views: Northeast Oregon survey looks at community and environment

This brief reports on a survey conducted in fall 2011 as one component of the ongoing Communities and Forests in Oregon (CAFOR) project. The CAFOR project focuses on the people and landscapes of three counties in northeast Oregon (Baker, Union, and Wallowa), where landscapes and communities are changing in interconnected ways

Interactome comparison of human embryonic stem cell lines with the inner cell mass and trophectoderm

Networks of interacting co-regulated genes distinguish the inner cell mass (ICM) from the differentiated trophectoderm (TE) in the preimplantation blastocyst, in a species specific manner. In mouse the ground state pluripotency of the ICM appears to be maintained in murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from the ICM. This is not the case for human ESCs. In order to gain insight into this phenomenon, we have used quantitative network analysis to identify how similar human (h)ESCs are to the human ICM. Using the hESC lines MAN1, HUES3 and HUES7 we have shown that all have only a limited overlap with ICM specific gene expression, but that this overlap is enriched for network properties that correspond to key aspects of function including transcription factor activity and the hierarchy of network modules. These analyses provide an important framework which highlights the developmental origins of hESCs

KELT-12b: A P ~ 5 day, Highly Inflated Hot Jupiter Transiting a Mildly Evolved Hot Star

We announce the discovery of KELT-12b, a highly inflated Jupiter-mass planet transiting the mildly evolved, V = 10.64 host star TYC 2619-1057-1. We followed up the initial transit signal in the KELT-North survey data with precise ground-based photometry, high-resolution spectroscopy, precise radial velocity measurements, and high-resolution adaptive optics imaging. Our preferred best-fit model indicates that the host star has T_(eff) = 6279 ± 51 K, log g⋆ = 3.89 ± 0.05, [Fe/H] = 0.19^(+0.08)_(-0.09), M* = 1.59^(+0.07)_(-0.09)M⊙, and R* = 2.37 ± 0.17 R⊙. The planetary companion has M_P = 0.95 ± 0.14 M_J, R_P = 1.78^(+0.17)_(-0.16)R_J, log g_P = 2.87^(+0.09)_(-0.10), and density ρ_P = 0.21^(+0.07)_(-0.05) g cm^(−3), making it one of the most inflated giant planets known. Furthermore, for future follow-up, we report a high-precision time of inferior conjunction in BJD_(TDB) of 2,457,083.660459 ± 0.000894 and period of P = 5.0316216 ± 0.000032 days. Despite the relatively large separation of ~0.07 au implied by its ~5.03-day orbital period, KELT-12b receives significant flux of 2.38^(+0.32)_(-0.29) x 10^9 erg s^(−1) cm^(−2) from its host. We compare the radii and insolations of transiting gas giant planets around hot (T_(eff) ⩾ 6250 K) and cool stars, noting that the observed paucity of known transiting giants around hot stars with low insolation is likely due to selection effects. We underscore the significance of long-term ground-based monitoring of hot stars and space-based targeting of hot stars with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite to search for inflated gas giants in longer-period orbits

1FGL J1417.7-4407: A likely gamma-ray bright binary with a massive neutron star and a giant secondary

We present multiwavelength observations of the persistent Fermi-LAT unidentified gamma-ray source 1FGL J1417.7-4407, showing it is likely to be associated with a newly discovered X-ray binary containing a massive neutron star (nearly 2 M_sun) and a ~ 0.35 M_sun giant secondary with a 5.4 day period. SOAR optical spectroscopy at a range of orbital phases reveals variable double-peaked H-alpha emission, consistent with the presence of an accretion disk. The lack of radio emission and evidence for a disk suggests the gamma-ray emission is unlikely to originate in a pulsar magnetosphere, but could instead be associated with a pulsar wind, relativistic jet, or could be due to synchrotron self-Compton at the disk--magnetosphere boundary. Assuming a wind or jet, the high ratio of gamma-ray to X-ray luminosity (~ 20) suggests efficient production of gamma-rays, perhaps due to the giant companion. The system appears to be a low-mass X-ray binary that has not yet completed the pulsar recycling process. This system is a good candidate to monitor for a future transition between accretion-powered and rotational-powered states, but in the context of a giant secondary.Comment: ApJL in pres

The Architecture of the GW Ori Young Triple Star System and Its Disk: Dynamical Masses, Mutual Inclinations, and Recurrent Eclipses

We present spatially and spectrally resolved Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of gas and dust orbiting the pre-main sequence hierarchical triple star system GW Ori. A forward-modeling of the ${}^{13}$CO and C${}^{18}$O $J$=2-1 transitions permits a measurement of the total stellar mass in this system, $5.29 \pm 0.09\,M_\odot$, and the circum-triple disk inclination, $137.6 \pm 2.0^\circ$. Optical spectra spanning a 35 year period were used to derive new radial velocities and, coupled with a spectroscopic disentangling technique, revealed that the A and B components of GW Ori form a double-lined spectroscopic binary with a $241.50\pm0.05$ day period; a tertiary companion orbits that inner pair with a $4218\pm50$ day period. Combining the results from the ALMA data and the optical spectra with three epochs of astrometry in the literature, we constrain the individual stellar masses in the system ($M_\mathrm{A} \approx 2.7\,M_\odot$, $M_\mathrm{B} \approx 1.7\,M_\odot$, $M_\mathrm{C} \approx 0.9\,M_\odot$) and find strong evidence that at least one (and likely both) stellar orbital planes are misaligned with the disk plane by as much as $45^\circ$. A $V$-band light curve spanning 30 years reveals several new $\sim$30 day eclipse events 0.1-0.7~mag in depth and a 0.2 mag sinusoidal oscillation that is clearly phased with the AB-C orbital period. Taken together, these features suggest that the A-B pair may be partially obscured by material in the inner disk as the pair approaches apoastron in the hierarchical orbit. Lastly, we conclude that stellar evolutionary models are consistent with our measurements of the masses and basic photospheric properties if the GW Ori system is $\sim$1 Myr old.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, accepted to Ap

KELT-10b: The First Transiting Exoplanet from the KELT-South Survey -- A Hot Sub-Jupiter Transiting a V = 10.7 Early G-Star

We report the discovery of KELT-10b, the first transiting exoplanet discovered using the KELT-South telescope. KELT-10b is a highly inflated sub-Jupiter mass planet transiting a relatively bright $V = 10.7$ star (TYC 8378-64-1), with T$_{eff}$ = $5948\pm74$ K, $\log{g}$ = $4.319_{-0.030}^{+0.020}$ and [Fe/H] = $0.09_{-0.10}^{+0.11}$, an inferred mass M$_{*}$ = $1.112_{-0.061}^{+0.055}$ M$_{\odot}$ and radius R$_{*}$ = $1.209_{-0.035}^{+0.047}$ R$_{\odot}$. The planet has a radius R$_{P}$ = $1.399_{-0.049}^{+0.069}$ R$_{J}$ and mass M$_{P}$ = $0.679_{-0.038}^{+0.039}$ M$_{J}$. The planet has an eccentricity consistent with zero and a semi-major axis $a$ = $0.05250_{-0.00097}^{+0.00086}$ AU. The best fitting linear ephemeris is $T_{0}$ = 2457066.72045$\pm$0.00027 BJD$_{TDB}$ and P = 4.1662739$\pm$0.0000063 days. This planet joins a group of highly inflated transiting exoplanets with a radius much larger and a mass much less than those of Jupiter. The planet, which boasts deep transits of 1.4%, has a relatively high equilibrium temperature of T$_{eq}$ = $1377_{-23}^{+28}$ K, assuming zero albedo and perfect heat redistribution. KELT-10b receives an estimated insolation of $0.817_{-0.054}^{+0.068}$ $\times$ 10$^9$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, which places it far above the insolation threshold above which hot Jupiters exhibit increasing amounts of radius inflation. Evolutionary analysis of the host star suggests that KELT-10b is unlikely to survive beyond the current subgiant phase, due to a concomitant in-spiral of the planet over the next $\sim$1 Gyr. The planet transits a relatively bright star and exhibits the third largest transit depth of all transiting exoplanets with V $<$ 11 in the southern hemisphere, making it a promising candidate for future atmospheric characterization studies.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA