14,376 research outputs found
The mid-infrared spectrum of the transiting exoplanet HD 209458b
We report the spectroscopic detection of mid-infrared emission from the
transiting exoplanet HD 209458b. Using archive data taken with the Spitzer/IRS
instrument, we have determined the spectrum of HD 209458b between 7.46 and
15.25 microns. We have used two independent methods to determine the planet
spectrum, one differential in wavelength and one absolute, and find the results
are in good agreement. Over much of this spectral range, the planet spectrum is
consistent with featureless thermal emission. Between 7.5 and 8.5 microns, we
find evidence for an unidentified spectral feature. If this spectral modulation
is due to absorption, it implies that the dayside vertical temperature profile
of the planetary atmosphere is not entirely isothermal. Using the IRS data, we
have determined the broad-band eclipse depth to be 0.00315 +/- 0.000315,
implying significant redistribution of heat from the dayside to the nightside.
This work required development of improved methods for Spitzer/IRS data
calibration that increase the achievable absolute calibration precision and
dynamic range for observations of bright point sources.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures, revised version accepted by the Astrophysical
Journa
Conceptual design study for a teleoperator visual system, phase 2
An analysis of the concept for the hybrid stereo-monoscopic television visual system is reported. The visual concept is described along with the following subsystems: illumination, deployment/articulation, telecommunications, visual displays, and the controls and display station
Ground-based NIR emission spectroscopy of HD189733b
We investigate the K and L band dayside emission of the hot-Jupiter HD
189733b with three nights of secondary eclipse data obtained with the SpeX
instrument on the NASA IRTF. The observations for each of these three nights
use equivalent instrument settings and the data from one of the nights has
previously reported by Swain et al (2010). We describe an improved data
analysis method that, in conjunction with the multi-night data set, allows
increased spectral resolution (R~175) leading to high-confidence identification
of spectral features. We confirm the previously reported strong emission at
~3.3 microns and, by assuming a 5% vibrational temperature excess for methane,
we show that non-LTE emission from the methane nu3 branch is a physically
plausible source of this emission. We consider two possible energy sources that
could power non-LTE emission and additional modelling is needed to obtain a
detailed understanding of the physics of the emission mechanism. The validity
of the data analysis method and the presence of strong 3.3 microns emission is
independently confirmed by simultaneous, long-slit, L band spectroscopy of HD
189733b and a comparison star.Comment: ApJ accepte
Transport and magnetic properties in YBaCo2O5.45: Focus on the high-temperature transition
The electronic transport properties and the magnetic susceptibility were
measured in detail in . Close to the so-called metal-insulator
transition, strong effects of resistance relaxation, a clear thermal hysteresis
and a sudden increase of the resistance noise are observed. This is likely due
to the first order character of the transition and to the underlying phases
coexistence. Despite these out of equilibrium features, a positive and linear
magneto-resistance is also observed, possibly linked to the heterogeneity of
the state. From a magnetic point of view, the paramagnetic to ordered magnetic
state transition is observed using non linear susceptibilty. This transition
shows the characteristics of a continuous transition, and time dependent
effects can be linked with the dynamics of magnetic domains in presence of
disorder. Thus, when focusing on the order of the transitions, the electronic
one and the magnetic one can not be directly associated.Comment: accepted for publication in PR
Two Effective Feature Selection Criteria for Multispectral Remote Sensing
In an earlier study, Swain et al. reported on two statistical separability measures which for multiclass feature selection were shown experimentally to be more reliable than divergence. However, the empirical results of that study together with the best theoretical results in the literature left open some practical questions regarding the quantitative characterization of these separability measures. This paper is concerned with an empirical study aimed at answering such questions. It has been possible to further substantiate that the Jeffreys-Matusita Distance and a saturating transform of divergence are effective feature selection criteria for remote sensing applications. In fact, an explanation as to why this should be the case has now been made apparent
Fatigue crack initiation and small crack growth in several airframe alloys
The growth of naturally-initiated small cracks under a variety of constant amplitude and variable amplitude load sequences is examined for several airframe materials: the conventional aluminum alloys, 2024-T3 and 7075-T6, the aluminum-lithium alloy, 2090-T8E41, and 4340 steel. Loading conditions investigated include constant amplitude loading at R = 0.5, 0, -1 and -2 and the variable amplitude sequences FALSTAFF, Mini-TWIST and FELIX/28. Crack growth was measured at the root of semicircular edge notches using acetate replicas. Crack growth rates are compared on a stress intensity factor basis, to those for large cracks to evaluate the extent of the small crack effect in each alloy. In addition, the various alloys are compared on a crack initiation and crack growth morphology basis
Primary and secondary eclipse spectroscopy with JWST: exploring the exoplanet parameter space
Eclipse exoplanet spectroscopy has yielded detection of H_2O, CH_4, CO_2 and
CO in the atmosphere of hot jupiters and neptunes. About 40 large terrestrial
planets are announced or confirmed, two of which are transiting, and another
deemed habitable. Hence the potential for eclipse spectroscopy of terrestrial
planets with James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has become an active field of
study. We explore the parameter space (type of stars, planet orbital periods
and types, and instruments/wavelengths) in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio
(S/N) achievable on the detection of spectroscopic features. We use analytic
formula and model data for both the astrophysical scene and the instrument, to
plot S/N contour maps, while indicating how the S/N scales with the fixed
parameters. We systematically compare stellar photon noise-only figures with
ones including detailed instrumental and zodiacal noises. Likelihood of
occurring targets is based both on model and catalog star population of the
solar neighborhood. The 9.6 micron ozone band is detectable (S/N = 3) with
JWST, for a warm super-earth 6.7 pc away, using ~2% of the 5-year nominal
mission time (summing observations, M4V and lighter host star for primary
eclipses, M5V for secondary). If every star up to this mass limit and distance
were to host a habitable planet, there should be statistically ~1 eclipsing
case. Investigation of systematic noises in the co-addition of 5 years worth-,
tens of days separated-, hours-long observations is critical, complemented by
dedicated characterisation of the instruments, currently in integration phase.
The census of nearby transiting habitable planets must be complete before the
beginning of science operations.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 16 pages, 19 figure
Electric Dipole Moments and Polarizability in the Quark-Diquark Model of the Neutron
For a bound state internal wave function respecting parity symmetry, it can
be rigorously argued that the mean electric dipole moment must be strictly
zero. Thus, both the neutron, viewed as a bound state of three quarks, and the
water molecule, viewed as a bound state of ten electrons two protons and an
oxygen nucleus, both have zero mean electric dipole moments. Yet, the water
molecule is said to have a nonzero dipole moment strength with
. The neutron may also be said to have
an electric dipole moment strength with .
The neutron analysis can be made experimentally consistent, if one employs a
quark-diquark model of neutron structure.Comment: four pages, two figure
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