87 research outputs found
An integrated ultra-high vacuum apparatus for growth and in situ characterization of complex materials
Here we present an integrated ultra-high vacuum apparatus \u2013 named MBE-Cluster \u2013 dedicated to the growth
and in situ structural, spectroscopic and magnetic characterization of complex materials. Molecular Beam
Epitaxy (MBE) growth of metal oxides, e.g. manganites, and deposition of patterned metallic layers can be
fabricated and in situ characterized by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), low-energy
electron diffraction (LEED) - Auger Electron Spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and
azimuthal longitudinal magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE). The temperature can be controlled in the range
from 5 to 580 K, with the possibility of application of magnetic fields H up to \ub17 kOe and electric fields E for
voltages up to \ub1500 V. The MBE-Cluster operates for in-house research as well as user facility in combination
with the APE beamlines at Sincrotrone-Trieste and the high harmonic generator (HHG) facility for timeresolved
spectroscopy
Properties of 42 Solar-type Kepler Targets from the Asteroseismic Modeling Portal
Recently the number of main-sequence and subgiant stars exhibiting solar-like
oscillations that are resolved into individual mode frequencies has increased
dramatically. While only a few such data sets were available for detailed
modeling just a decade ago, the Kepler mission has produced suitable
observations for hundreds of new targets. This rapid expansion in observational
capacity has been accompanied by a shift in analysis and modeling strategies to
yield uniform sets of derived stellar properties more quickly and easily. We
use previously published asteroseismic and spectroscopic data sets to provide a
uniform analysis of 42 solar-type Kepler targets from the Asteroseismic
Modeling Portal (AMP). We find that fitting the individual frequencies
typically doubles the precision of the asteroseismic radius, mass and age
compared to grid-based modeling of the global oscillation properties, and
improves the precision of the radius and mass by about a factor of three over
empirical scaling relations. We demonstrate the utility of the derived
properties with several applications.Comment: 12 emulateapj pages, 9 figures, 1 online-only extended figure, 1
table, ApJS accepted (typo corrected in Eq.8
Asteroseismology of Solar-type Stars with Kepler I: Data Analysis
We report on the first asteroseismic analysis of solar-type stars observed by
Kepler. Observations of three G-type stars, made at one-minute cadence during
the first 33.5d of science operations, reveal high signal-to-noise solar-like
oscillation spectra in all three stars: About 20 modes of oscillation can
clearly be distinguished in each star. We discuss the appearance of the
oscillation spectra, including the presence of a possible signature of faculae,
and the presence of mixed modes in one of the three stars.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure, submitted to Astronomische Nachrichte
Asteroseismic fundamental properties of solar-type stars observed by the NASA Kepler Mission
We use asteroseismic data obtained by the NASA Kepler Mission to estimate the
fundamental properties of more than 500 main-sequence and sub-giant stars. Data
obtained during the first 10 months of Kepler science operations were used for
this work, when these solar-type targets were observed for one month each in a
survey mode. Stellar properties have been estimated using two global
asteroseismic parameters and complementary photometric and spectroscopic data.
Homogeneous sets of effective temperatures were available for the entire
ensemble from complementary photometry; spectroscopic estimates of T_eff and
[Fe/H] were available from a homogeneous analysis of ground-based data on a
subset of 87 stars. [Abbreviated version... see paper for full abstract.]Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJS; 90 pages, 22 figures, 6 tables.
Units on rho in tables now listed correctly as rho(Sun
MOST photometry of the enigmatic PMS pulsator HD 142666
We present precise photometry of the pulsating Herbig Ae star HD 142666
obtained in two consecutive years with the MOST (Microvariability & Oscilations
of STars) satellite.
Previously, only a single pulsation period was known for HD 142666. The MOST
photometry reveals that HD 142666 is multi-periodic. However, the unique
identification of pulsation frequencies is complicated by the presence of
irregular variability caused by the star's circumstellar dust disk. The two
light curves obtained with MOST in 2006 and 2007 provided data of unprecedented
quality to study the pulsations in HD 142666 and also to monitor the
circumstellar variability.
We attribute 12 frequencies to pulsation. Model fits to the three frequencies
with the highest amplitudes lie well outside the uncertainty box for the star's
position in the HR diagram based on published values.
The models suggest that either (1) the published estimate of the luminosity
of HD 142666, based on a relation between circumstellar disk radius and stellar
luminosity, is too high and/or (2) additional physics such as mass accretion
may be needed in our models to accurately fit both the observed frequencies and
HD 142666's position in the HR diagram.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication by Astronomy and
Astrophysic
PolyQ Tract Toxicity in SCA1 is Length Dependent in the Absence of CAG Repeat Interruption
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expansion of a polyglutamine tract within the ATXN1 gene. Normal alleles have been reported to range from 6 to 35 repeats, intermediate alleles from 36 to 38 repeats and fully penetrant pathogenic alleles have at least 39 repeats. This distribution was based on relatively few samples and the narrow intermediate range makes the accuracy of the repeat sizing crucial for interpreting and reporting diagnostic tests, which can vary between laboratories. Here, we examine the distribution of 6378 SCA1 chromosomes and identify a very late onset SCA1 family with a fully penetrant uninterrupted pathogenic allele containing 38 repeats. This finding supports the theory that polyQ toxicity is related to the increase of the length of the inherited tracts and not as previously hypothesized to the structural transition occurring above a specific threshold. In addition, the threshold of toxicity shifts to a shorter polyQ length with the increase of the lifespan in SCA1. Furthermore, we show that SCA1 intermediate alleles have a different behavior compared to the other polyglutamine disorders as they do not show reduced penetrance when uninterrupted. Therefore, the pathogenic mechanism in SCA1 is distinct from other cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat disorders. Accurately sizing repeats is paramount in precision medicine and can be challenging particularly with borderline alleles. We examined plasmids containing cloned CAG repeat tracts alongside a triplet repeat primed polymerase chain reaction (TP PCR) CAG repeat ladder to improve accuracy in repeat sizing by fragment analysis. This method accurately sizes the repeats irrespective of repeat composition or length. We also improved the model for calculating repeat length from fragment analysis sizing by fragment analyzing 100 cloned repeats of known size. Therefore, we recommend these methods for accurately sizing repeat lengths and restriction enzyme digestion to identify interruptions for interpretation of a given allele’s pathogenicity
Asteroseismology
Asteroseismology is the determination of the interior structures of stars by
using their oscillations as seismic waves. Simple explanations of the
astrophysical background and some basic theoretical considerations needed in
this rapidly evolving field are followed by introductions to the most important
concepts and methods on the basis of example. Previous and potential
applications of asteroseismology are reviewed and future trends are attempted
to be foreseen.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, to appear in: "Planets, Stars and Stellar
Systems", eds. T. D. Oswalt et al., Springer Verla
Predicting the detectability of oscillations in solar-type stars observed by Kepler
Asteroseismology of solar-type stars has an important part to play in the
exoplanet program of the NASA Kepler Mission. Precise and accurate inferences
on the stellar properties that are made possible by the seismic data allow very
tight constraints to be placed on the exoplanetary systems. Here, we outline
how to make an estimate of the detectability of solar-like oscillations in any
given Kepler target, using rough estimates of the temperature and radius, and
the Kepler apparent magnitude.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication Astrophysical Journa
Solar-like oscillations in low-luminosity red giants: first results from Kepler
We have measured solar-like oscillations in red giants using time-series
photometry from the first 34 days of science operations of the Kepler Mission.
The light curves, obtained with 30-minute sampling, reveal clear oscillations
in a large sample of G and K giants, extending in luminosity from the red clump
down to the bottom of the giant branch. We confirm a strong correlation between
the large separation of the oscillations (Delta nu) and the frequency of
maximum power (nu_max). We focus on a sample of 50 low-luminosity stars (nu_max
> 100 muHz, L <~ 30 L_sun) having high signal-to-noise ratios and showing the
unambiguous signature of solar-like oscillations. These are H-shell-burning
stars, whose oscillations should be valuable for testing models of stellar
evolution and for constraining the star-formation rate in the local disk. We
use a new technique to compare stars on a single echelle diagram by scaling
their frequencies and find well-defined ridges corresponding to radial and
non-radial oscillations, including clear evidence for modes with angular degree
l=3. Measuring the small separation between l=0 and l=2 allows us to plot the
so-called C-D diagram of delta nu_02 versus Delta nu. The small separation
delta nu_01 of l=1 from the midpoint of adjacent l=0 modes is negative,
contrary to the Sun and solar-type stars. The ridge for l=1 is notably
broadened, which we attribute to mixed modes, confirming theoretical
predictions for low-luminosity giants. Overall, the results demonstrate the
tremendous potential of Kepler data for asteroseismology of red giants.Comment: accepted by ApJ Letters, to appear in special Kepler issue. Updated
reference
Kepler observations of variability in B-type stars
The analysis of the light curves of 48 B-type stars observed by Kepler is
presented. Among these are 15 pulsating stars, all of which show low
frequencies characteristic of SPB stars. Seven of these stars also show a few
weak, isolated high frequencies and they could be considered as SPB/beta Cep
hybrids. In all cases the frequency spectra are quite different from what is
seen from ground-based observations. We suggest that this is because most of
the low frequencies are modes of high degree which are predicted to be unstable
in models of mid-B stars. We find that there are non-pulsating stars within the
beta Cep and SPB instability strips. Apart from the pulsating stars, we can
identify stars with frequency groupings similar to what is seen in Be stars but
which are not Be stars. The origin of the groupings is not clear, but may be
related to rotation. We find periodic variations in other stars which we
attribute to proximity effects in binary systems or possibly rotational
modulation. We find no evidence for pulsating stars between the cool edge of
the SPB and the hot edge of the delta Sct instability strips. None of the stars
show the broad features which can be attributed to stochastically-excited modes
as recently proposed. Among our sample of B stars are two chemically peculiar
stars, one of which is a HgMn star showing rotational modulation in the light
curve.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, 4 table
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