1,061 research outputs found
K2 Variable Catalogue II: Machine Learning Classification of Variable Stars and Eclipsing Binaries in K2 Fields 0-4
We are entering an era of unprecedented quantities of data from current and
planned survey telescopes. To maximise the potential of such surveys, automated
data analysis techniques are required. Here we implement a new methodology for
variable star classification, through the combination of Kohonen Self
Organising Maps (SOM, an unsupervised machine learning algorithm) and the more
common Random Forest (RF) supervised machine learning technique. We apply this
method to data from the K2 mission fields 0-4, finding 154 ab-type RR Lyraes
(10 newly discovered), 377 Delta Scuti pulsators, 133 Gamma Doradus pulsators,
183 detached eclipsing binaries, 290 semi-detached or contact eclipsing
binaries and 9399 other periodic (mostly spot-modulated) sources, once class
significance cuts are taken into account. We present lightcurve features for
all K2 stellar targets, including their three strongest detected frequencies,
which can be used to study stellar rotation periods where the observed
variability arises from spot modulation. The resulting catalogue of variable
stars, classes, and associated data features are made available online. We
publish our SOM code in Python as part of the open source PyMVPA package, which
in combination with already available RF modules can be easily used to recreate
the method.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 16 pages, 13 figures. Updated with
proof corrections. Full catalogue tables available at
https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/astro/people/armstrong/
or at the CD
(G)hosting television: Ghostwatch and its medium
This articleâs subject is Ghostwatch (BBC, 1992), a drama broadcast on Halloween night of 1992 which adopted the rhetoric of live non-fiction programming, and attracted controversy and ultimately censure from the Broadcasting Standards Council. In what follows, we argue that Ghostwatch must be understood as a televisually-specific artwork and artefact. We discuss the programmeâs ludic relationship with some key features of television during what Ellis (2000) has termed its era of âavailabilityâ, principally liveness, mass simultaneous viewing, and the flow of the television super-text. We trace the programmeâs television-specific historicity whilst acknowledging its allusions and debts to other media (most notably film and radio). We explore the sophisticated ways in which Ghostwatchâs visual grammar and vocabulary and deployment of âbroadcast talkâ (Scannell 1991) variously ape, comment upon and subvert the rhetoric of factual programming, and the ends to which these strategies are put. We hope that these arguments collectively demonstrate the aesthetic and historical significance of Ghostwatch and identify its relationship to its medium and that mediumâs history. We offer the programme as an historically-reflexive artefact, and as an exemplary instance of the work of art in televisionâs age of broadcasting, liveness and co-presence
A polarized neutron-scattering study of the Cooper-pair moment in Sr2RuO4
We report a study of the magnetization density in the mixed state of the
unconventional superconductor S2RuO4. On entering the superconducting state we
find no change in the magnitude or distribution of the induced moment for a
magnetic field of 1 Tesla applied within the RuO2 planes. Our results are
consistent with a spin-triplet Cooper pairing with spins lying in the basal
plane. This is in contrast with similar experiments performed on conventional
and high-Tc superconductors.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter
WASP-86b and WASP-102b: super-dense versus bloated planets
We report the discovery of two transiting planetary systems: a super dense, sub-Jupiter mass planet WASP-86b (Mpl = 0.82 ± 0.06 MJ; Rpl = 0.63 ± 0.01 RJ), and a bloated, Saturn-like planet WASP-102b (Mpl = 0.62 ± 0.04 MJ; Rpl = 1.27 ± 0.03 RJ). They orbit their
host star every âŒ5.03, and âŒ2.71 days, respectively. The planet hosting WASP-86 is a F7 star (Teff = 6330±110 K, [Fe/H] = +0.23 ± 0.14 dex, and age âŒ0.8â1 Gyr); WASP-102 is a G0 star (Teff = 5940±140 K, [Fe/H] = â0.09± 0.19 dex, and age âŒ1 Gyr). These two systems highlight the diversity of planetary radii over similar masses for giant planets with masses between Saturn and Jupiter. WASP-102b shows a larger than model-predicted radius, indicating that the planet is receiving a strong incident flux which contributes to the inflation of its radius. On the other hand, with a density of Ïpl = 3.24± 0.3 ÏJ, WASP-86b is the densest gas giant planet among
planets with masses in the range 0.05 Mpl J. With a stellar mass of 1.34 Mâ and [Fe/H]= +0.23 dex, WASP-86 could host additional massive and dense planets given that its protoplanetary disc is expected to also have been enriched with heavy elements. In order to match WASP-86bâs density, an extrapolation of theoretical models predicts a planet composition of more than 80% in heavy elements (whether confined in a core or mixed in the envelope). This fraction corresponds to a core mass of approximately 210Mâ for WASP-86bâs mass of MplâŒ260 Mâ. Only planets with masses larger than about 2 MJ have larger densities than that of WASP-86b, making it exceptional in its mass range
Transit Photometry as an Exoplanet Discovery Method
Photometry with the transit method has arguably been the most successful
exoplanet discovery method to date. A short overview about the rise of that
method to its present status is given. The method's strength is the rich set of
parameters that can be obtained from transiting planets, in particular in
combination with radial velocity observations; the basic principles of these
parameters are given. The method has however also drawbacks, which are the low
probability that transits appear in randomly oriented planet systems, and the
presence of astrophysical phenomena that may mimic transits and give rise to
false detection positives. In the second part we outline the main factors that
determine the design of transit surveys, such as the size of the survey sample,
the temporal coverage, the detection precision, the sample brightness and the
methods to extract transit events from observed light curves. Lastly, an
overview over past, current and future transit surveys is given. For these
surveys we indicate their basic instrument configuration and their planet
catch, including the ranges of planet sizes and stellar magnitudes that were
encountered. Current and future transit detection experiments concentrate
primarily on bright or special targets, and we expect that the transit method
remains a principal driver of exoplanet science, through new discoveries to be
made and through the development of new generations of instruments.Comment: Review chapte
XMM-Newton detection of Nova Muscae 1991 in Quiescence
The soft X-ray transient GU Mus has been detected by XMM-Newton in the
quiescent state. The source is very faint, with a 0.5-10.0 keV unabsorbed flux
of ergs cm s. The spectra is well
fit by an absorbed powerlaw with a photon index of ,
close to the value seen when the source was in the low/hard state in Aug. 1991.
From our observed luminosity, it seems unlikely that the quiescent state
emission is dominated by coronal X-rays from the secondary. The flux also
appears to be in agreement with the ADAF model of BH-transients in quiescence.Comment: 6 pages including 3 figures. Accepted for publication, Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
The discovery of WASP-151b, WASP-153b, WASP-156b: Insights on giant planet migration and the upper boundary of the Neptunian desert
To investigate the origin of the features discovered in the exoplanet population, the knowledge of exoplanetsâ mass and radius with a good precision (âČ10%) is essential. To achieve this purpose the discovery of transiting exoplanets around bright stars is of prime interest. In this paper, we report the discovery of three transiting exoplanets by the SuperWASP survey and the SOPHIE spectrograph with mass and radius determined with a precision better than 15%. WASP-151b and WASP-153b are two hot Saturns with masses, radii, densities and equilibrium temperatures of 0.31â0.03+0.04 MJ, 1.13â0.03+0.03 RJ, 0.22â0.02+0.03 ÏJ and 1290â10+20 K, and 0.39â0.02+0.02 MJ, 1.55â0.08+0.10 RJ, 0.11â0.02+0.02 ÏJ and 1700â40+40 K, respectively. Their host stars are early G type stars (with mag V ~ 13) and their orbital periods are 4.53 and 3.33 days, respectively. WASP-156b is a super-Neptune orbiting a K type star (mag V = 11.6). It has a mass of 0.128â0.009+0.010 MJ, a radius of 0.51â0.02+0.02 RJ, a density of 1.0â0.1+0.1 ÏJ, an equilibrium temperature of 970â20+30 K and an orbital period of 3.83 days. The radius of WASP-151b appears to be only slightly inflated, while WASP-153b presents a significant radius anomaly compared to a recently published model. WASP-156b, being one of the few well characterized super-Neptunes, will help to constrain the still debated formation of Neptune size planets and the transition between gas and ice giants. The estimates of the age of these three stars confirms an already observed tendency for some stars to have gyrochronological ages significantly lower than their isochronal ages. We propose that high eccentricity migration could partially explain this behavior for stars hosting a short period planet. Finally, these three planets also lie close to (WASP-151b and WASP-153b) or below (WASP-156b) the upper boundary of the Neptunian desert. Their characteristics support that the ultra-violet irradiation plays an important role in this depletion of planets observed in the exoplanet population
Subjective well-being and engagement in arts, culture and sport
This paper explores the relationship between engagement in arts, culture and sport, and subjective well-being, contributing to our understanding of the leisure experience, and cultural value, of these activities. Ordered probit analysis of UK data from wave 2 (2010-11) of Understanding Society , provides evidence in support of a wide range of cultural goods generating positive leisure experience, reflected in overall (life, general happiness) and domain (leisure) satisfaction. Frequency of engagement is central to certain activities: only regular participation in arts activities and sport generates positive effects. In contrast, arts events are positive irrespective of frequency. The findings also indicate even less frequent engagement in activities exhibiting cultural characteristics, e.g. museums/historical sites, has positive association with satisfaction. Finally, although employment has a negative association with leisure satisfaction, engagement in leisure activities is not found to spillover into job satisfaction (with the exception of certain sports). This suggests individuals consider work and leisure (including quality of leisure time) separately
The relative emission from chromospheres and coronae: dependence on spectral type and age
Stars and planetary system
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