624 research outputs found
A New Linear Inductive Voltage Adder Driver for the Saturn Accelerator
Saturn is a dual-purpose accelerator. It can be operated as a large-area
flash x-ray source for simulation testing or as a Z-pinch driver especially for
K-line x-ray production. In the first mode, the accelerator is fitted with
three concentric-ring 2-MV electron diodes, while in the Z-pinch mode the
current of all the modules is combined via a post-hole convolute arrangement
and driven through a cylindrical array of very fine wires. We present here a
point design for a new Saturn class driver based on a number of linear
inductive voltage adders connected in parallel. A technology recently
implemented at the Institute of High Current Electronics in Tomsk (Russia) is
being utilized[1].
In the present design we eliminate Marx generators and pulse-forming
networks. Each inductive voltage adder cavity is directly fed by a number of
fast 100-kV small-size capacitors arranged in a circular array around each
accelerating gap. The number of capacitors connected in parallel to each cavity
defines the total maximum current. By selecting low inductance switches,
voltage pulses as short as 30-50-ns FWHM can be directly achieved.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures. This paper is submitted for the 20th Linear
Accelerator Conference LINAC2000, Monterey, C
Extrasolar Planets in the Classroom
The field of extrasolar planets is still, in comparison with other
astrophysical topics, in its infancy. There have been about 300 or so
extrasolar planets detected and their detection has been accomplished by
various different techniques. Here we present a simple laboratory experiment to
show how planets are detected using the transit technique. Following the simple
analysis procedure describe we are able to determine the planetary radius to be
1.27 +/- 0.20 R_{J} which, within errors agrees with the establish value of
1.32 +/- 0.25 R_{J}.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, published in Physics Educatio
Direct Observation of the Fourth Star in the Zeta Cancri System
Direct imaging of the zeta Cnc system has resolved the fourth star in the
system, which is in orbit around zeta Cnc C. The presence of the fourth star
has been inferred for many years from irregularities in the motion of star C,
and recently from C's spectroscopic orbit. However, its mass is close to that
of C, making its non-detection puzzling. Observing at wavelengths of 1.2, 1.7,
and 2.2 microns with the adaptive-optics system of the CFHT, we have obtained
images which very clearly reveal star D and show it to have the color of an M2
star. Its brightness is consonant with its being two M stars, which are not
resolved in our observations but are likely to be in a short-period orbit,
thereby accounting for the large mass and the difficulty of detection at
optical wavelengths, where the magnitude difference is much larger. The
positions and colors of all four stars in the system are reported and are
consistent with the most recent astrometric observations.Comment: 7 pages including 3 tables, 1 figure; To appear in PAS
The Challenge of Wide-Field Transit Surveys: The Case of GSC 01944-02289
Wide-field searches for transiting extra-solar giant planets face the
difficult challenge of separating true transit events from the numerous false
positives caused by isolated or blended eclipsing binary systems. We describe
here the investigation of GSC 01944-02289, a very promising candidate for a
transiting brown dwarf detected by the Transatlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES)
network. The photometry and radial velocity observations suggested that the
candidate was an object of substellar mass in orbit around an F star. However,
careful analysis of the spectral line shapes revealed a pattern of variations
consistent with the presence of another star whose motion produced the
asymmetries observed in the spectral lines of the brightest star. Detailed
simulations of blend models composed of an eclipsing binary plus a third star
diluting the eclipses were compared with the observed light curve and used to
derive the properties of the three components. Our photometric and
spectroscopic observations are fully consistent with a blend model of a
hierarchical triple system composed of an eclipsing binary with G0V and M3V
components in orbit around a slightly evolved F5 dwarf. We believe that this
investigation will be helpful to other groups pursuing wide-field transit
searches as this type of false detection could be more common than true
transiting planets, and difficult to identify.Comment: To appear in ApJ, v. 621, 2005 March 1
Orbital parameters, masses and distance to Beta Centauri determined with the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer and high resolution spectroscopy
The bright southern binary star beta Centauri (HR 5267) has been observed
with the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) and spectroscopically
with the ESO CAT and Swiss Euler telescopes at La Silla. The interferometric
observations have confirmed the binary nature of the primary component and have
enabled the determination of the orbital parameters of the system. At the
observing wavelength of 442 nm the two components of the binary system have a
magnitude difference of 0.15. The combination of interferometric and
spectroscopic data gives the following results: orbital period 357 days,
semi-major axis 25.30 mas, inclination 67.4 degrees, eccentricity 0.821,
distance 102.3 pc, primary and secondary masses M1 = M2 = 9.1 solar masses and
absolute visual magnitudes of the primary and secondary M1V = -3.85 and M2V =
-3.70. The high accuracy of the results offers a fruitful starting point for
future asteroseismic modelling of the pulsating binary components.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
New ground-based observational methods and instrumentation for asteroseismology
Space instrumentation like SOHO, MOST, CoRoT and Kepler has been and is being
built to attain very high precision data to be used for asteroseismic analysis.
Nonetheless, there is a very strong need for providing additional information,
especially on mode identification. With this contribution I will review the
efforts been put on new ground-based instrumentation and the methodology that
can be used to achieve this aim.Comment: 6 pages. Review contribution to be published in Astrophysics and
Space Science Proceedings series (ASSP), in the proceedings of "20th Stellar
Pulsation Conference Series: Impact of new instrumentation and new insights
in stellar pulsations", 5-9 September 2011, Granada, Spai
TrES-1: The Transiting Planet of a Bright K0V Star
We report the detection of a transiting Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a
relatively bright (V=11.79) K0V star. We detected the transit light-curve
signature in the course of the TrES multi-site transiting planet survey, and
confirmed the planetary nature of the companion via multicolor photometry and
precise radial velocity measurements. We designate the planet TrES-1; its
inferred mass is 0.75 +/- 0.07 Jupiter masses, its radius is 1.08 (+0.18/-0.04)
Jupiter radii, and its orbital period is 3.030065 +/- 0.000008 days. This
planet has an orbital period similar to that of HD 209458b, but about twice as
long as those of the OGLE transiting planets. Its mass is indistinguishable
from that of HD 209458b, but its radius is significantly smaller and fits the
theoretical models without the need for an additional source of heat deep in
the atmosphere, as has been invoked by some investigators for HD 209458b.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. To be published in Astrophysical
Journal Letters. Ascii data in
http://www.hao.ucar.edu/public/research/stare/data/TrES1.as
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