414 research outputs found
Retired A Stars and Their Companions: Exoplanets Orbiting Three Intermediate-Mass Subgiants
We report precision Doppler measurements of three intermediate-mass subgiants
from Lick and Keck Observatories. All three stars show variability in their
radial velocities consistent with planet-mass companions in Keplerian orbits.
We find a planet with a minimum mass of 2.5 Mjup in a 351.5 day orbit around HD
192699, a planet with a minimum mass of 2.0 Mjup in a 341.1 day orbit around HD
210702, and a planet with a minimum mass of 0.61 Mjup in a 297.3 day orbit
around HD 175541. Stellar mass estimates from evolutionary models indicate that
all of these stars were formerly A-type dwarfs with masses ranging from 1.65 to
1.85 Msun. These three long-period planets would not have been detectable
during their stars' main-sequence phases due to the large rotational velocities
and stellar jitter exhibited by early-type dwarfs. There are now 9 "retired"
(evolved) A-type stars (Mstar > 1.6 Msun) with known planets. All 9 planets
orbit at distances a \geq 0.78 AU, which is significantly different than the
semimajor axis distribution of planets around lower-mass stars. We examine the
possibility that the observed lack of close-in planets is due to engulfment by
their expanding host stars, but we find that this explanation is inadequate
given the relatively small stellar radii of K giants (Rstar < 32 Rsun = 0.15
AU) and subgiants (Rstar < 7 Rsun = 0.03 AU). Instead, we conclude that planets
around intermediate-mass stars reside preferentially beyond ~0.8 AU, which may
be a reflection of different formation and migration histories of planets
around A-type stars.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables, ApJ accepted, corrected minor typo
Investigating metallic cores using experiments on the physical properties of liquid iron alloys
An outstanding goal in planetary science is to understand how terrestrial cores evolved to have the compositions, thermal properties, and magnetic fields observed today. To achieve that aim requires the integration of datasets from space missions with laboratory experiments conducted at high pressures and temperatures. Over the past decade, technological advances have enhanced the capability to conduct in situ measurements of physical properties on samples that are analogs to planetary cores. These challenging experiments utilize large-volume presses that optimize control of pressure and temperature, and diamond-anvil cells to reach the highest pressures. In particular, the current experimental datasets of density, compressional velocity, viscosity, and thermal conductivity of iron alloys are most relevant to the core conditions of small terrestrial planets and moons. Here we review the physical properties of iron alloys measured in the laboratory at conditions relevant to the cores of Mars, the Moon, and Mercury. We discuss how these properties inform models of core composition, as well as thermal and magnetic evolution of their cores. Experimental geochemistry (in particular, metal-silicate partitioning experiments) provides additional insights into the nature and abundance of light elements within cores, as well as crystallization processes. Emphasis is placed on the Martian core to discuss the effect of chemistry on core evolution
Singly-resonant sum frequency generation of visible light in a semiconductor disk laser
In this paper a generic approach for visible light generation is presented. It is based on sum frequency generation between a semiconductor disk laser and a solid-state laser, where the frequency mixing is achieved within the cavity of the semiconductor disk laser using a singlepass of the solid-state laser light. This exploits the good beam quality and high intra-cavity power present in the semiconductor disk laser to achieve high conversion efficiency. Combining sum frequency mixing and semiconductor disk lasers in this manner allows in principle for generation of any wavelength within the visible spectrum, by appropriate choice of semiconductor material and single-pass laser wavelength
Numerical study of oscillatory regimes in the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation
The aim of this paper is the accurate numerical study of the KP equation. In
particular we are concerned with the small dispersion limit of this model,
where no comprehensive analytical description exists so far. To this end we
first study a similar highly oscillatory regime for asymptotically small
solutions, which can be described via the Davey-Stewartson system. In a second
step we investigate numerically the small dispersion limit of the KP model in
the case of large amplitudes. Similarities and differences to the much better
studied Korteweg-de Vries situation are discussed as well as the dependence of
the limit on the additional transverse coordinate.Comment: 39 pages, 36 figures (high resolution figures at
http://www.mis.mpg.de/preprints/index.html
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