1,867 research outputs found
Model of the polarized foreground diffuse Galactic emissions from 33 to 353 GHz
We present 3D models of the Galactic magnetic field including regular and
turbulent components, and of the distribution of matter in the Galaxy including
relativistic electrons and dust grains. By integrating along the line of sight,
we construct maps of the polarized Galactic synchrotron and thermal dust
emissions for each of these models. We perform a likelihood analysis to compare
the maps of the Ka, Q, V and W bands of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy
Probe (Wmap) and the 353 GHz Archeops data to the models obtained by varying
the pitch angle of the regular magnetic field, the relative amplitude of the
turbulent magnetic field and the extrapolation spectral indices of the
synchrotron and thermal dust emissions. The best-fit parameters obtained for
the different frequency bands are very similar and globally the data seem to
favor a negligible isotropic turbulent magnetic field component at large
angular scales (an anisotropic line-of-sight ordered component can not be
studied using these data). From this study, we conclude that we are able to
propose a consistent model of the polarized diffuse Galac- tic synchrotron and
thermal dust emissions in the frequency range from 33 to 353 GHz, where most of
the CMB studies are performed and where we expect a mixture of these two main
foreground emissions. This model can be very helpful to estimate the
contamination by foregrounds of the polarized CMB anisotropies, for experiments
like the Planck satellite.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure
A framework to combine low- and high-resolution spectroscopy for the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets
Current observations of the atmospheres of close-in exoplanets are
predominantly obtained with two techniques: low-resolution spectroscopy with
space telescopes and high-resolution spectroscopy from the ground. Although the
observables delivered by the two methods are in principle highly complementary,
no attempt has ever been made to combine them, perhaps due to the different
modeling approaches that are typically used in their interpretation. Here we
present the first combined analysis of previously-published dayside spectra of
the exoplanet HD 209458b obtained at low resolution with HST/WFC3 and
Spitzer/IRAC, and at high resolution with VLT/CRIRES. By utilizing a novel
retrieval algorithm capable of computing the joint probability distribution of
low- and high-resolution spectra, we obtain tight constraints on the chemical
composition of the planet's atmosphere. In contrast to the WFC3 data, we do not
confidently detect H2O at high spectral resolution. The retrieved water
abundance from the combined analysis deviates by 1.9 sigma from the
expectations for a solar-composition atmosphere in chemical equilibrium.
Measured relative molecular abundances of CO and H2O strongly favor an
oxygen-rich atmosphere (C/O<1 at 3.5 sigma) for the planet when compared to
equilibrium calculations including O rainout. From the abundances of the seven
molecular species included in this study we constrain the planet metallicity to
0.1-1.0x the stellar value (1 sigma). This study opens the way to coordinated
exoplanet surveys between the flagship ground- and space-based facilities,
which ultimately will be crucial for characterizing potentially-habitable
planets.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL. Section 4
largely updated from previous version, Figure 2 updated to contain
information on the T-p profil
Temporal variations in the evaporating atmosphere of the exoplanet HD 189733b
Atmospheric escape has been detected from the exoplanet HD 209458b through
transit observations of the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line. Here we present
spectrally resolved Lyman-alpha transit observations of the exoplanet HD
189733b at two different epochs. These HST/STIS observations show for the first
time, that there are significant temporal variations in the physical conditions
of an evaporating planetary atmosphere. While atmospheric hydrogen is not
detected in the first epoch observations, it is observed at the second epoch,
producing a transit absorption depth of 14.4+/-3.6% between velocities of -230
to -140 km/s. Contrary to HD 209458b, these high velocities cannot arise from
radiation pressure alone and require an additional acceleration mechanism, such
as interactions with stellar wind protons. The observed absorption can be
explained by an atmospheric escape rate of neutral hydrogen atoms of about 10^9
g/s, a stellar wind with a velocity of 190 km/s and a temperature of ~10^5K.
An X-ray flare from the active star seen with Swift/XRT 8 hours before the
second-epoch observation supports the idea that the observed changes within the
upper atmosphere of the planet can be caused by variations in the stellar wind
properties, or by variations in the stellar energy input to the planetary
escaping gas (or a mix of the two effects). These observations provide the
first indication of interaction between the exoplanet's atmosphere and stellar
variations.Comment: To be published in A&A Letters, June 28, 201
Gran Telescopio Canarias OSIRIS Transiting Exoplanet Atmospheric Survey: Detection of potassium in XO-2b from narrowband spectrophotometry
We present Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) optical transit narrow-band
photometry of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet XO-2b using the OSIRIS instrument. This
unique instrument has the capabilities to deliver high cadence narrow-band
photometric lightcurves, allowing us to probe the atmospheric composition of
hot Jupiters from the ground. The observations were taken during three transit
events which cover four wavelengths at spectral resolutions near 500, necessary
for observing atmospheric features, and have near-photon limited sub-mmag
precisions. Precision narrow-band photometry on a large aperture telescope
allows for atmospheric transmission spectral features to be observed for
exoplanets around much fainter stars than those of the well studied targets
HD209458b and HD189733b, providing access to the majority of known transiting
planets. For XO-2b, we measure planet-to-star radius contrasts of
R_pl/R_star=0.10508+/-0.00052 at 6792 Ang, 0.10640+/-0.00058 at 7582 Ang, and
0.10686+/-0.00060 at 7664.9 Ang, and 0.10362+/-0.00051 at 8839 Ang. These
measurements reveal significant spectral features at two wavelengths, with an
absorption level of 0.067+/-0.016% at 7664.9 Ang due to atmospheric potassium
in the line core (a 4.1-sigma significance level), and an absorption level of
0.058+/-0.016% at 7582 Ang, (a 3.6-sigma significance level). When comparing
our measurements to hot-Jupiter atmospheric models, we find good agreement with
models which are dominated in the optical by alkali metals. This is the first
evidence for potassium in an extrasolar planet, an element that has long been
theorized along with sodium to be a dominant source of opacity at optical
wavelengths for hot Jupiters.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted in A&A, minor changes to wording,
primarily section 4.2, and the title has also been slightly modifie
A Sunyaev-Zel'dovich map of the massive core in the luminous X-ray cluster RXJ1347-1145
We have mapped the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich decrement (hereafter SZ) in the
direction of the most luminous X-ray cluster known to date, RXJ1347-1145, at
z=0.451. This has been achieved with an angular resolution of about 23'' using
the Diabolo photometer running on the IRAM 30 meter radio telescope. We present
here a map of the cluster central region at 2.1mm. The Comptonization parameter
towards the cluster center, \yc=(12.7^{+2.9}_{-3.1})\times 10^{-4},
corresponds to the deepest SZ decrement ever observed. Using the gas density
distribution derived from X-ray data, this measurement implies a gas
temperature \te=16.2 \pm 3.8 keV. The resulting total mass of the cluster is,
under hydrostatic equilibrium, for a corresponding gas fraction .Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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