4,721 research outputs found
Discovery of a stellar companion to the nearby solar-analogue HD 104304
Sun-like stars are promising candidates to host exoplanets and are often
included in exoplanet surveys by radial velocity (RV) and direct imaging. In
this paper we report on the detection of a stellar companion to the nearby
solar-analogue star HD 104304, which previously was considered to host a
planetary mass or brown dwarf companion. We searched for close stellar and
substellar companions around extrasolar planet host stars with high angular
resolution imaging to characterize planet formation environments. The detection
of the stellar companion was achieved by high angular resolution measurements,
using the "Lucky Imaging" technique at the ESO NTT 3.5m with the AstraLux Sur
instrument. We combined the results with VLT/NACO archive data, where the
companion could also be detected. The results were compared to precise RV
measurements of HD 104304, obtained at the Lick and Keck observatories from
2001-2010.
We confirmed common proper motion of the binary system. A spectral type of
M4V of the companion and a mass of 0.21 M_Sun was derived. Due to comparison of
the data with RV measurements of the unconfirmed planet candidate listed in the
Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia, we suggest that the discovered companion is
the origin of the RV trend and that the inclination of the orbit of
approximately 35 degrees explains the relatively small RV signal.Comment: 4 pages, 4 PNG figures, use aa.cls, accepted for publication in
Astronomy & Astrophysic
Ultrafast Coulomb-induced dynamics of 2D magnetoexcitons
We study theoretically the ultrafast nonlinear optical response of quantum
well excitons in a perpendicular magnetic field. We show that for
magnetoexcitons confined to the lowest Landau levels, the third-order
four-wave-mixing (FWM) polarization is dominated by the exciton-exciton
interaction effects. For repulsive interactions, we identify two regimes in the
time-evolution of the optical polarization characterized by exponential and
{\em power law} decay of the FWM signal. We describe these regimes by deriving
an analytical solution for the memory kernel of the two-exciton wave-function
in strong magnetic field. For strong exciton-exciton interactions, the decay of
the FWM signal is governed by an antibound resonance with an
interaction-dependent decay rate. For weak interactions, the continuum of
exciton-exciton scattering states leads to a long tail of the time-integrated
FWM signal for negative time delays, which is described by the product of a
power law and a logarithmic factor. By combining this analytic solution with
numerical calculations, we study the crossover between the exponential and
non-exponential regimes as a function of magnetic field. For attractive
exciton-exciton interaction, we show that the time-evolution of the FWM signal
is dominated by the biexcitonic effects.Comment: 41 pages with 11 fig
Simultaneous X-ray, radio, near-infrared, and optical monitoring of Young Stellar Objects in the Coronet cluster
Multi-wavelength (X-ray to radio) monitoring of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs)
can provide important information about physical processes at the stellar
surface, in the stellar corona, and/or in the inner circumstellar disk regions.
While coronal processes should mainly cause variations in the X-ray and radio
bands, accretion processes may be traced by time-correlated variability in the
X-ray and optical/infrared bands. Several multi-wavelength studies have been
successfully performed for field stars and approx. 1-10 Myr old T Tauri stars,
but so far no such study succeeded in detecting simultaneous X-ray to radio
variability in extremely young objects like class I and class 0 protostars.
Here we present the first simultaneous X-ray, radio, near-infrared, and optical
monitoring of YSOs, targeting the Coronet cluster in the Corona Australis
star-forming region, which harbors at least one class 0 protostar, several
class I objects, numerous T Tauri stars, and a few Herbig AeBe stars. [...]
Seven objects are detected simultaneously in the X-ray, radio, and
optical/infrared bands; they constitute our core sample. While most of these
sources exhibit clear variability in the X-ray regime and several also display
optical/infrared variability, none of them shows significant radio variability
on the timescales probed. We also do not find any case of clearly
time-correlated optical/infrared and X-ray variability. [...] The absence of
time-correlated multi-wavelength variability suggests that there is no direct
link between the X-ray and optical/infrared emission and supports the notion
that accretion is not an important source for the X-ray emission of these YSOs.
No significant radio variability was found on timescales of days.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (06 Dec 2006
Congenital bipartite lunate presenting as a misdiagnosed lunate fracture: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>A rare case of congenital bipartite lunate in a child is reported. Carpal variants are very uncommon as independent entities, with only three previous reports of this condition in the English literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>An 11-year-old Caucasian boy presented with pain in the left wrist after a fall. Radiographs in the emergency department demonstrated a lunate that was divided into palmar and dorsal parts, causing a misdiagnosis of fractured lunate. Magnetic resonance imaging was then used to differentiate between the two diagnoses.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Very few cases of bipartite lunate have been reported in the literature, and unless awareness is raised about congenital anomalies such as this variant, confusion may arise.</p
Measurement of the Omega_c Lifetime
We present the measurement of the lifetime of the Omega_c we have performed
using three independent data samples from two different decay modes. Using a
Sigma- beam of 340 GeV/c we have obtained clean signals for the Omega_c
decaying into Xi- K- pi+ pi+ and Omega- pi+ pi- pi+, avoiding topological cuts
normally used in charm analysis. The short but measurable lifetime of the
Omega_c is demonstrated by a clear enhancement of the signals at short but
finite decay lengths. Using a continuous maximum likelihood method we
determined the lifetime to be tau(Omega_c) = 55 +13-11(stat) +18-23(syst) fs.
This makes the Omega_c the shortest living weakly decaying particle observed so
far. The short value of the lifetime confirms the predicted pattern of the
charmed baryon lifetimes and demonstrates that the strong interaction plays a
vital role in the lifetimes of charmed hadrons.Comment: 15 pages, including 7 figures; gzipped, uuencoded postscrip
Theory of Electronic Ferroelectricity
We present a theory of the linear and nonlinear optical characteristics of
the insulating phase of the Falicov-Kimball model within the self-consistent
mean-field approximation. The Coulomb attraction between the itinerant
d-electrons and the localized f-holes gives rise to a built-in coherence
between the d and f-states, which breaks the inversion symmetry of the
underlying crystal, leading to: (1) electronic ferroelectricity, (2)
ferroelectric resonance, and (3) a nonvanishing susceptibility for
second-harmonic generation. As experimental tests of such a built-in coherence
in mixed-valent compounds we propose measurements of the static dielectric
constant, the microwave absorption spectrum, and the dynamic second-order
susceptibility.Comment: 15 pages, 5 PostScript figures, submitted to Physical Review
Search for the exotic Resonance in 340GeV/c -Nucleus Interactions
We report on a high statistics search for the resonance in
-nucleus collisions at 340GeV/c. No evidence for this resonance is
found in our data sample which contains 676000 candidates above
background. For the decay channel and the
kinematic range 0.150.9 we find a 3 upper limit for the
production cross section of 3.1 and 3.5 b per nucleon for reactions with
carbon and copper, respectively.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, modification of ref. 43 and 4
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