487 research outputs found
Relationship of body condition and milk parameters during lactation in Simmental cows in Bavaria, Germany
In dairy cows the body condition forms a reflection of the energy reserves of the organism. Health, welfare and productivity of dairy cows are strongly associated with changes in body condition. As lactation puts substantial demands on the metabolism of dairy cows, farm management aims at avoiding either a deficient body condition or a substantial loss of body condition within a short period of time. A body condition higher or lower than recommended (over- and underconditioning in the following) compromises dairy cow productivity. While the body condition of Holstein Friesian cows has been thoroughly explored, few is known about the consequences of deviations from a target body condition for health and productivity of cows from other breeds. This study explores the percentage of over- and underconditioned cows at different days post partum [dpp] and their association with production parameters i.e., milk yield, milk fat and milk protein content of Simmental cows on Bavarian farms, categorized by parity (primi- or multiparous). Our study displays that in Simmental cows, overconditioning is more prevalent than underconditioning. While the middle of lactation (dpp = 100–199) resulted in higher percentage of overconditioning, the dry period (dpp = 299) indicated a higher percentage of underconditioned cows. The dry period and the middle of lactation are therefore the most challenging lactation stages for Simmental cows. We found milk protein content to have the strongest association with over- and underconditioning in Simmental cows. The probability of overconditioning was higher with higher milk protein content for every lactation stage and the probability of underconditioning was lower with higher milk protein content in every lactation stage. This study provides a theoretical basis for potential improvements in stockbreeding, which, if implemented, could improve not only the milk yield of Simmental dairy cows, but also their health and welfare
HATS-8b: A Low-Density Transiting Super-Neptune
HATS-8b is a low density transiting super-Neptune discovered as part of the
HATSouth project. The planet orbits its solar-like G dwarf host (V=14.03
0.10 and T =5679 50 K) with a period of 3.5839 d. HATS-8b is the
third lowest mass transiting exoplanet to be discovered from a wide-field
ground based search, and with a mass of 0.138 0.019 M it is
approximately half-way between the masses of Neptune and Saturn. However
HATS-8b has a radius of 0.873 (+0.123,-0.075) R, resulting in a bulk
density of just 0.259 0.091 g.cm. The metallicity of the host star
is super-Solar ([Fe/H]=0.210 0.080), arguing against the idea that low
density exoplanets form from metal-poor environments. The low density and large
radius of HATS-8b results in an atmospheric scale height of almost 1000 km, and
in addition to this there is an excellent reference star of near equal
magnitude at just 19 arcsecond separation on the sky. These factors make
HATS-8b an exciting target for future atmospheric characterization studies,
particularly for long-slit transmission spectroscopy.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A
HATS-18 b: An Extreme Short--Period Massive Transiting Planet Spinning Up Its Star
We report the discovery by the HATSouth network of HATS-18 b: a 1.980 +/-
0.077 Mj, 1.337 +0.102 -0.049 Rj planet in a 0.8378 day orbit, around a solar
analog star (mass 1.037 +/- 0.047 Msun, and radius 1.020 +0.057 -0.031 Rsun)
with V=14.067 +/- 0.040 mag. The high planet mass, combined with its short
orbital period, implies strong tidal coupling between the planetary orbit and
the star. In fact, given its inferred age, HATS-18 shows evidence of
significant tidal spin up, which together with WASP-19 (a very similar system)
allows us to constrain the tidal quality factor for Sun-like stars to be in the
range 6.5 <= lg(Q*/k_2) <= 7 even after allowing for extremely pessimistic
model uncertainties. In addition, the HATS-18 system is among the best systems
(and often the best system) for testing a multitude of star--planet
interactions, be they gravitational, magnetic or radiative, as well as planet
formation and migration theories.Comment: Submitted. 12 pages, 9 figures, 5 table
HATS-7b: A Hot Super Neptune Transiting a Quiet K Dwarf Star
IW ../submit_V2/abstract.txt ( Row 1 Col 1 6:48 Ctrl-K H for help We report
the discovery by the HATSouth network of HATS-7b, a transiting Super-Neptune
with a mass of 0.120+/-0.012MJ, a radius of 0.563+/-(0.046,0.034)RJ, and an
orbital period of 3.1853days. The host star is a moderately bright
(V=13.340+/-0.010mag, K_S=10.976+/-0.026mag) K dwarf star with a mass of
0.849+/-0.027Msun , a radius of 0.815+/-(0.049,-0.035)Rsun, and a metallicity
of [Fe/H]=+0.250+/-0.080. The star is photometrically quiet to within the
precision of the HATSouth measurements and has low RV jitter. HATS-7b is the
second smallest radius planet discovered by a wide-field ground-based transit
survey, and one of only a handful of Neptune-size planets with mass and radius
determined to 10% precision. Theoretical modeling of HATS-7b yields a
hydrogen-helium fraction of 18+/-4% (rock-iron core and H2-He envelope), or
9+/-4% (ice core and H2-He envelope), i.e.it has a composition broadly similar
to that of Uranus and Neptune, and very different from that of Saturn, which
has 75% of its mass in H2-He. Based on a sample of transiting exoplanets with
accurately (<20%) determined parameters, we establish approximate power-law
relations for the envelopes of the mass-density distribution of exoplanets.
HATS-7b, which, together with the recently discovered HATS-8b, is one of the
first two transiting super-Neptunes discovered in the Southern sky, is a prime
target for additional follow-up observations with Southern hemisphere
facilities to characterize the atmospheres of Super-Neptunes (which we define
as objects with mass greater than that of Neptune, and smaller than halfway
between that of Neptune and Saturn, i.e. 0.054 MJ<Mp<0.18 MJ).Comment: 11 pages, accepted for publication by Ap
TrES-2: The First Transiting Planet in the Kepler Field
We announce the discovery of the second transiting hot Jupiter discovered by
the Trans-atlantic Exoplanet Survey. The planet, which we dub TrES-2, orbits
the nearby star GSC 03549-02811 every 2.47063 days. From high-resolution
spectra, we determine that the star has T_eff = 5960 +/- 100 K and log(g) = 4.4
+/- 0.2, implying a spectral type of G0V and a mass of 1.08 +0.11/-0.05 M_sun.
High-precision radial-velocity measurements confirm a sinusoidal variation with
the period and phase predicted by the photometry, and rule out the presence of
line-bisector variations that would indicate that the spectroscopic orbit is
spurious. We estimate a planetary mass of 1.28 +0.09/-0.04 M_Jup. We model B,
r, R, and I photometric timeseries of the 1.4%-deep transits and find a
planetary radius of 1.24 +0.09/-0.06 R_Jup. This planet lies within the field
of view of the NASA Kepler mission, ensuring that hundreds of upcoming transits
will be monitored with exquisite precision and permitting a host of
unprecedented investigations.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL. 15 pages, 2 figure
HATS-9b and HATS-10b: Two Compact Hot Jupiters in Field 7 of the K2 Mission
We report the discovery of two transiting extrasolar planets by the HATSouth
survey. HATS-9b orbits an old (10.8 1.5 Gyr) V=13.3 G dwarf star, with a
period P = 1.9153 d. The host star has a mass of 1.03 M, radius of
1.503 R and effective temperature 5366 70 K. The planetary
companion has a mass of 0.837 M, and radius of 1.065 R yielding a mean
density of 0.85 g cm . HATS-10b orbits a V=13.1 G dwarf star, with a
period P = 3.3128 d. The host star has a mass of 1.1 M, radius of 1.11
R and effective temperature 5880 120 K. The planetary companion
has a mass of 0.53 M, and radius of 0.97 R yielding a mean density of
0.7 g cm . Both planets are compact in comparison with planets receiving
similar irradiation from their host stars, and lie in the nominal coordinates
of Field 7 of K2 but only HATS-9b falls on working silicon. Future
characterisation of HATS-9b with the exquisite photometric precision of the
Kepler telescope may provide measurements of its reflected light signature.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A
TrES-3: A Nearby, Massive, Transiting Hot Jupiter in a 31-Hour Orbit
We describe the discovery of a massive transiting hot Jupiter with a very
short orbital period (1.30619 d), which we name TrES-3. From spectroscopy of
the host star GSC 03089-00929, we measure T_eff = 5720 +- 150 K, logg=4.6 +-
0.3, and vsini < 2 km/s, and derive a stellar mass of 0.90 +- 0.15 M_sun. We
estimate a planetary mass of 1.92 +- 0.23 M_Jup, based on the sinusoidal
variation of our high-precision radial velocity measurements. This variation
has a period and phase consistent with our transit photometry. Our spectra show
no evidence of line bisector variations that would indicate a blended eclipsing
binary star. From detailed modeling of our B and z photometry of the 2.5%-deep
transits, we determine a stellar radius 0.802 +- 0.046 R_sun and a planetary
radius 1.295 +- 0.081 R_Jup. TrES-3 has one of the shortest orbital periods of
the known transiting exoplanets, facilitating studies of orbital decay and mass
loss due to evaporation, and making it an excellent target for future studies
of infrared emission and reflected starlight.Comment: v1. 14 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to ApJL 27 April 2007.
Accepted for publication in ApJL 14 May 200
HATS-15 b and HATS-16 b: Two massive planets transiting old G dwarf stars
We report the discovery of HATS-15 b and HATS-16 b, two massive transiting
extrasolar planets orbiting evolved ( Gyr) main-sequence stars. The
planet HATS-15 b, which is hosted by a G9V star ( mag), is a hot
Jupiter with mass of and radius of
, and completes its orbit in nearly 1.7 days.
HATS-16 b is a very massive hot Jupiter with mass of and radius of ; it orbits around
its G3 V parent star ( mag) in days. HATS-16 is slightly
active and shows a periodic photometric modulation, implying a rotational
period of 12 days which is unexpectedly short given its isochronal age. This
fast rotation might be the result of the tidal interaction between the star and
its planet.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PAS
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