64,459 research outputs found
On the equilibrium rotation of Earth-like extra-solar planets
The equilibrium rotation of tidally evolved "Earth-like" extra-solar planets
is often assumed to be synchronous with their orbital mean motion. The same
assumption persisted for Mercury and Venus until radar observations revealed
their true spin rates. As many of these planets follow eccentric orbits and are
believed to host dense atmospheres, we expect the equilibrium rotation to
differ from the synchronous motion. Here we provide a general description of
the allowed final equilibrium rotation states of these planets, and apply this
to already discovered cases in which the mass is lower than twelve
Earth-masses. At low obliquity and moderate eccentricity, it is shown that
there are at most four distinct equilibrium possibilities, one of which can be
retrograde. Because most presently known "Earth-like" planets present eccentric
orbits, their equilibrium rotation is unlikely to be synchronous.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics. to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysic
HD60532, a planetary system in a 3:1 mean motion resonance
In a recent paper it was reported a planetary system around the star HD60532,
composed by two giant planets in a possible 3:1 mean motion resonance, that
should be confirmed within the next decade. Here we show that the analysis of
the global dynamics of the system allows to confirm this resonance. The present
best fit to data already corresponds to this resonant configuration and the
system is stable for at least 5Gry. The 3:1 resonance is so robust that
stability is still possible for a wide variety of orbital parameters around the
best fit solution and also if the inclination of the system orbital plane with
respect to the plane of the sky is as small as 15 deg. Moreover, if the
inclination is taken as a free parameter in the adjustment to the observations,
we find an inclination ~ 20 deg, which corresponds to M_b =3.1 M_Jup and M_c =
7.4 M_Jup for the planetary companions.Comment: 4 Pages, 4 Figures, accepted by A&
Reconstruction of the Past Climate in Southern Portugal from Geothermal Data
The study of the past climate in the territory of mainland Portugal using geothermal data started in 1996. From an initial set of about 90 temperature logs obtained Portugal, eight were chosen as good for estimating ground surface temperature (GST) in the past. The main results from the analysis of the collected geothermal data show, on average, that there has been an increase of the atmosphere mean surface temperature of about 1 K since the middle of the nineteenth century. This conclusion agrees with the results obtained from the analysis of air temperature records that were obtained in the Lisbon weather station since 1856. With the objective of improving the reconstruction of GST history in Portugal one of the eight wells (the TGQC-1 well) was cased and is being used for repeated temperature logging since 1997. The results of the temperature measurements repetition indicate that the warming trend continues to
the present day, accelerating in the last 10 to 15 years. Since 2005 a geothermal climate change observatory was installed in the TGQC-1 well to study the air-ground coupling
On the possibility of using geothermal data for paleoclimate studies in Antarctica: the experience from Portugal
The study of the climate in the past and the climate change in mainland Portugal using geothermal data has started in 1996. Reconstruction of ground surface temperature (GST) history from temperature logs measured in a 200 m deep borehole located 5 km away from the town of Évora in Portugal, indicates a warming of 1K since the second half of the nineteenth century to the middle of the 90s of the twentieth century, increasing considerably in the last 10 years. Results of the reconstruction (based on a functional space inversion – FSI – method) are compared with air temperatures recorded at the Lisbon meteorological station since 1856. The air
temperature time series display a warming trend with the amplitude about 1K for the
same period. The coupling of the air and ground temperature changes and their downward
propagation by heat conduction was confirmed by repeated logging in November 2003, 6.7 years after obtaining the first temperature log. The method can be used in paleoclimatic studies in Antarctica as well as in areas with permafrost
Anisotropic simplicial minisuperspace model
The computation of the simplicial minisuperspace wavefunction in the case of
anisotropic universes with a scalar matter field predicts the existence of a
large classical Lorentzian universe like our own at late timesComment: 19 pages, Latex, 6 figure
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