Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission VIII. CoRoT-7b: the first Super-Earth with measured radius

We report the discovery of very shallow (DF/F = 3.4 10-4), periodic dips in the light curve of an active V = 11.7 G9V star observed by the CoRoT satellite, which we interpret as due to the presence of a transiting companion. We describe the 3-colour CoRoT data and complementary ground-based observations that support the planetary nature of the companion. Methods. We use CoRoT color information, good angular resolution ground-based photometric observations in- and out- of transit, adaptive optics imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy and preliminary results from Radial Velocity measurements, to test the diluted eclipsing binary scenarios. The parameters of the host star are derived from optical spectra, which were then combined with the CoRoT light curve to derive parameters of the companion. We examine carefully all conceivable cases of false positives, and all tests performed support the planetary hypothesis. Blends with separation larger than 0.40 arcsec or triple systems are almost excluded with a 8 10-4 risk left. We conclude that, as far as we have been exhaustive, we have discovered a planetary companion, named CoRoT-7b, for which we derive a period of 0.853 59 +/- 3 10-5 day and a radius of Rp = 1.68 +/- 0.09 REarth. Analysis of preliminary radial velocity data yields an upper limit of 21 MEarth for the companion mass, supporting the finding. CoRoT-7b is very likely the first Super-Earth with a measured radius.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics; typos and language corrections; version sent to the printer w few upgrade

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. VIII. CoRoT-7b: the first super-Earth with measured radius

Copyright © The European Southern Observatory (ESO)Aims. We report the discovery of very shallow (ΔF/F ≈ 3.4×10−4), periodic dips in the light curve of an active V = 11.7 G9V star observed by the CoRoT satellite, which we interpret as caused by a transiting companion. We describe the 3-colour CoRoT data and complementary ground-based observations that support the planetary nature of the companion. Methods. We used CoRoT colours information, good angular resolution ground-based photometric observations in- and out- of transit, adaptive optics imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy, and preliminary results from radial velocity measurements, to test the diluted eclipsing binary scenarios. The parameters of the host star were derived from optical spectra, which were then combined with the CoRoT light curve to derive parameters of the companion. Results. We examined all conceivable cases of false positives carefully, and all the tests support the planetary hypothesis. Blends with separation >0.40'' or triple systems are almost excluded with a 8 × 10−4 risk left. We conclude that, inasmuch we have been exhaustive, we have discovered a planetary companion, named CoRoT-7b, for which we derive a period of 0.853 59 ± 3 × 10−5 day and a radius of Rp = 1.68 ± 0.09 REarth. Analysis of preliminary radial velocity data yields an upper limit of 21 MEarth for the companion mass, supporting the finding. Conclusions. CoRoT-7b is very likely the first Super-Earth with a measured radius. This object illustrates what will probably become a common situation with missions such as Kepler, namely the need to establish the planetary origin of transits in the absence of a firm radial velocity detection and mass measurement. The composition of CoRoT-7b remains loosely constrained without a precise mass. A very high surface temperature on its irradiated face, ≈1800–2600 K at the substellar point, and a very low one, ≈50 K, on its dark face assuming no atmosphere, have been derived

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Application of Lattice Boltzmann Method to sensitivity analysis via complex differentiation

International audienceSensitivity analysis of flows computed by Lattice Boltzmann Method via Complex Differentiation is proposed. The theoretical work is illustrated and the proposed method assessed considering the D2Q9 scheme, along with the differentiation of the Lattice Boltzmann Equation. Boundary condition implementation is also detailed. Some examples illustrate the capability of the proposed method

A lattice Boltzmann method for nonlinear disturbances around an arbitrary base flow

International audienceIn this paper we address the problem of the time evolution of a perturbation around a steady base flow with the use of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). This approach, named base flow lattice Boltzmann method, is of great interest in particular for aeroacoustic fields where the acoustic perturbation, on the one hand, is almost exclusively influenced by the large scale average structures of the underlying flow, and on the other hand, has a low effect on the large structures. The method is implemented for weakly compressible flows and the results of the base flow lattice Boltzmann are compared with the standard single relaxation time LBM. The boundary conditions for the base flow lattice Boltzmann method are discussed, as well as the implementation of outflow conditions for acoustic waves

An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian approach for the simulation of immersed moving solids with Lattice Boltzmann Method

International audienceThe flow-structure interactions streaming from the motion of an immersed solid body are investigated through an Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) approach applied to the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The method is based on the use of a moving grid to describe the flow around the solid body, while the physical domain is resolved by the use of an Eulerian frame fixed grid. The moving grid displacements follows the same moving law of the body, and its shape does not change during the simulation. The communication between the moving grid and the fixed grid is performed at the beginning of each time step through interpolation.The ALE–LBM approach has been derived from the discretized Boltzmann equation by a Chapman–Enskog expansion procedure, the equivalence of the proposed method with the Navier–Stokes equations for a weakly compressible athermal flow being recovered.Numerical simulations of academical test cases have been performed in order to assess the method and to investigate the sensitivity of the error to the simulation parameters. Three different test cases have been considered, in order to perform a robust assessment of the ALE–LBM approach. More specifically, the Uniform Flow, the Poiseuille Flow and the Plane Wave test cases have been studied and the limits of application of the approach have been defined and discussed.Finally, the case of a rotating two dimensional square cylinder immersed in a Poiseuille Flow, Re=80Re=80, has been numerically investigated. The results confirm that the ALE–LBM approach is able to correctly represent the physical flow features and, in particular, the transition zone between the two grids used is smooth and continuous, a sign that the error due to the interpolation process is bounded and does not diverge in time

A time-reversal lattice Boltzmann method

International audienceIn this paper we address the time-reversed simulation of viscous flows by the lattice Boltzmann method (LB). The theoretical derivation of the reversed LB from the Boltzmann equation is detailed, and the method implemented for weakly compressible flows using the D2Q9 scheme. The implementation of boundary conditions is also discussed. The accuracy and stability are illustrated by four test cases, namely the propagation of an acoustic wave in a medium at rest and in an uniform mean flow, the Taylor–Green vortex decay and the vortex pair–wall collision

A time-reversal Lattice Boltzmann Method

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