577 research outputs found
Determination of pulsation periods and other parameters of 2875 stars classified as MIRA in the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS)
We have developed an interactive PYTHON code and derived crucial ephemeris
data of 99.4% of all stars classified as 'Mira' in the ASAS data base,
referring to pulsation periods, mean maximum magnitudes and, whenever possible,
the amplitudes among others. We present a statistical comparison between our
results and those given by the AAVSO International Variable Star Index (VSX),
as well as those determined with the machine learning automatic procedure of
Richards et al. 2012. Our periods are in good agreement with those of the VSX
in more than 95% of the stars. However, when comparing our periods with those
of Richards et al, the coincidence rate is only 76% and most of the remaining
cases refer to aliases. We conclude that automatic codes require still more
refinements in order to provide reliable period values. Period distributions of
the target stars show three local maxima around 215, 275 and 330 d, apparently
of universal validity, their relative strength seems to depend on galactic
longitude. Our visual amplitude distribution turns out to be bimodal, however
1/3 of the targets have rather small amplitudes (A 2.5) and could
refer to semi-regular variables (SR). We estimate that about 20% of our targets
belong to the SR class. We also provide a list of 63 candidates for period
variations and a sample of 35 multiperiodic stars which seem to confirm the
universal validity of typical sequences in the double period and in the
Petersen diagramsComment: 14 pages, 14 figures, and 8 tables. Accepted to The Astrophysical
Journal Supplement Series, September 201
The B-type Binaries Characterisation Programme II. VFTS 291: A stripped star from a recent mass transfer phase
Recent studies of massive binaries with putative black hole companions have
uncovered a phase of binary evolution that has not been observed before,
featuring a bloated stripped star that very recently ceased transferring mass
to a main-sequence companion. In this study, we focus on the candidate system
VFTS 291, a binary with an orbital period of 108 d and a high semi-amplitude
velocity ( km s). Through our analysis of the
disentangled spectra of the two components, together with dynamical and
evolutionary arguments, we identify a narrow-lined star of ~1.5-2.5
dominating the spectrum, and an early B-type main-sequence companion of
. The low mass of the narrow-lined star, and the high
mass ratio, suggest that VFTS 291 is a post-mass-transfer system, with the
narrow-lined star being bloated and stripped of its hydrogen-rich envelope,
sharing many similarities with other recently discovered stripped stars. Our
finding is supported by our detailed binary evolution models, which indicate
that the system can be well explained by an initial configuration consisting of
an 8.1 primary with an 8 companion in a 7 d orbital period.
While some open questions remain, particularly concerning the surface helium
enrichment of the stripped star and the rotational velocity of the companion,
we expect that high-resolution spectroscopy may help reconcile our estimates
with theory. Our study highlights the importance of multi-epoch spectroscopic
surveys to identify and characterize binary interaction products, and provides
important insights into the evolution of massive binary stars.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figures. Published by MNRAS, Advance Acces
Noncollinear magnetic ordering in small Chromium Clusters
We investigate noncollinear effects in antiferromagnetically coupled clusters
using the general, rotationally invariant form of local spin-density theory.
The coupling to the electronic degrees of freedom is treated with relativistic
non-local pseudopotentials and the ionic structure is optimized by Monte-Carlo
techniques. We find that small chromium clusters (N \le 13) strongly favor
noncollinear configurations of their local magnetic moments due to frustration.
This effect is associated with a significantly lower total magnetization of the
noncollinear ground states, ameliorating the disagreement between Stern-Gerlach
measurements and previous collinear calculations for Cr_{12} and Cr_{13}. Our
results further suggest that the trend to noncollinear configurations might be
a feature common to most antiferromagnetic clusters.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX plus .eps/.ps figure
Observation of the Crab Nebula with the HAWC Gamma-Ray Observatory
The Crab Nebula is the brightest TeV gamma-ray source in the sky and has been
used for the past 25 years as a reference source in TeV astronomy, for
calibration and verification of new TeV instruments. The High Altitude Water
Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC), completed in early 2015, has been used to observe
the Crab Nebula at high significance across nearly the full spectrum of
energies to which HAWC is sensitive. HAWC is unique for its wide field-of-view,
nearly 2 sr at any instant, and its high-energy reach, up to 100 TeV. HAWC's
sensitivity improves with the gamma-ray energy. Above 1 TeV the
sensitivity is driven by the best background rejection and angular resolution
ever achieved for a wide-field ground array.
We present a time-integrated analysis of the Crab using 507 live days of HAWC
data from 2014 November to 2016 June. The spectrum of the Crab is fit to a
function of the form . The data is well-fit with values of
, , and
log when
is fixed at 7 TeV and the fit applies between 1 and 37 TeV. Study of the
systematic errors in this HAWC measurement is discussed and estimated to be
50\% in the photon flux between 1 and 37 TeV.
Confirmation of the Crab flux serves to establish the HAWC instrument's
sensitivity for surveys of the sky. The HAWC survey will exceed sensitivity of
current-generation observatories and open a new view of 2/3 of the sky above 10
TeV.Comment: Submitted 2017/01/06 to the Astrophysical Journa
The thermodynamic limit and black hole entropy in the area ensemble
We discuss the thermodynamic limit in the canonical area ensemble used in
loop quantum gravity to model quantum black holes. The computation of the
thermodynamic limit is the rigorous way to obtain a smooth entropy from the
counting entropy given by a direct determination of the number of microstates
compatible with macroscopic quantities (the energy in standard statistical
mechanics or the area in the framework presented here). As we will show in
specific examples the leading behavior of the smoothed entropy for large
horizon areas is the same as the counting entropy but the subleading
contributions differ. This is important because these corrections determine the
concavity or convexity of the entropy as a function of the area.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figure
All-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum measured by the HAWC experiment from 10 to 500 TeV
We report on the measurement of the all-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum
with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory in the energy range
10 to 500 TeV. HAWC is a ground based air-shower array deployed on the slopes
of Volcan Sierra Negra in the state of Puebla, Mexico, and is sensitive to
gamma rays and cosmic rays at TeV energies. The data used in this work were
taken from 234 days between June 2016 to February 2017. The primary cosmic-ray
energy is determined with a maximum likelihood approach using the particle
density as a function of distance to the shower core. Introducing quality cuts
to isolate events with shower cores landing on the array, the reconstructed
energy distribution is unfolded iteratively. The measured all-particle spectrum
is consistent with a broken power law with an index of prior to
a break at ) TeV, followed by an index of . The
spectrum also respresents a single measurement that spans the energy range
between direct detection and ground based experiments. As a verification of the
detector response, the energy scale and angular resolution are validated by
observation of the cosmic ray Moon shadow's dependence on energy.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, submission to Physical Review
VAMOS: a Pathfinder for the HAWC Gamma-Ray Observatory
VAMOS was a prototype detector built in 2011 at an altitude of 4100m a.s.l.
in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The aim of VAMOS was to finalize the design,
construction techniques and data acquisition system of the HAWC observatory.
HAWC is an air-shower array currently under construction at the same site of
VAMOS with the purpose to study the TeV sky. The VAMOS setup included six water
Cherenkov detectors and two different data acquisition systems. It was in
operation between October 2011 and May 2012 with an average live time of 30%.
Besides the scientific verification purposes, the eight months of data were
used to obtain the results presented in this paper: the detector response to
the Forbush decrease of March 2012, and the analysis of possible emission, at
energies above 30 GeV, for long gamma-ray bursts GRB111016B and GRB120328B.Comment: Accepted for pubblication in Astroparticle Physics Journal (20 pages,
10 figures). Corresponding authors: A.Marinelli and D.Zaboro
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