1,727 research outputs found
An exceptional X-ray view of the young open cluster NGC 6231: what XMM-Newton has taught us
Considered as the core of the Sco OB1 association, the young open cluster NGC
6231 harbours a rich O-type star population. In 2001, the XMM-Newton satellite
targeted the cluster for a nominal duration of about 180 ks. Thanks to the
detector sensitivity, the EPIC cameras provided an unprecedented X-ray view of
NGC 6231, revealing about 600 point-like sources. In this contribution, we
review the main results that have been obtained thanks to this unprecedented
data set. Concerning the O-type stars, we present the latest developments
related to the so-called 'canonical' Lx-Lbol relation. The dispersion around
this relation might actually be much smaller than previously thought. In our
data set, the sole mechanism that yields a significant deviation from this
scheme is wind interaction. It is also the sole mechanism that induces a
significant variation of the early-type star X-ray flux. In a second part of
this contribution, we probe the properties of the optically faint X-ray
sources. Most of them are believed to be low mass pre-main sequence stars.
Their analysis provides direct insight into the star formation history of the
cluster.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to appear in "The X-Ray Universe 2005", ESA
Symposium held at El Escorial, Madrid (Spain), 26-30 Sep 200
Another look at anomalous J/Psi suppression in Pb+Pb collisions at P/A = 158 GeV/c
A new data presentation is proposed to consider anomalous
suppression in Pb + Pb collisions at GeV/c. If the inclusive
differential cross section with respect to a centrality variable is available,
one can plot the yield of J/Psi events per Pb-Pb collision as a function of an
estimated squared impact parameter. Both quantities are raw experimental data
and have a clear physical meaning. As compared to the usual J/Psi over
Drell-Yan ratio, there is a huge gain in statistical accuracy. This
presentation could be applied advantageously to many processes in the field of
nucleus-nucleus collisions at various energies.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to The European Physical Journal C;
minor revisions for final versio
Space Resources and Space Settlements
The technical papers from the five tasks groups that took part in the 1977 Ames Summer Study on Space Settlements and Industrialization Using Nonterrestrial Materials are presented. The papers are presented under the following general topics: (1) research needs for regenerative life-support systems; (2) habitat design; (3) dynamics and design of electromagnetic mass drivers; (4) asteroids as resources for space manufacturing; and (5) processing of nonterrestrial materials
The atypical emission-line star Hen3-209
We analyse observations, spanning 15 years, dedicated to the extreme
emission-line object Hen3-209. Our photometric data indicate that the
luminosity of the star undergoes marked variations with a peak-to-peak
amplitude of 0.65mag. These variations are recurrent, with a period of
16.093+-0.005d. The spectrum of Hen3-209 is peculiar with many different lines
(HI, HeI, FeII,...) showing P Cygni profiles. The line profiles are apparently
changing in harmony with the photometry. The spectrum also contains [OIII]
lines that display a saddle profile topped by three peaks, with a maximum
separation of about 600km/s. Hen3-209 is most likely an evolved luminous object
suffering from mass ejection events and maybe belonging to a binary system.Comment: 6p, 5 fig, accepted for publication in MNRAS
(www.blackwell-synergy.com
Observational signatures of past mass-exchange episodes in massive binaries: The case of LSS 3074
The role of mass and momentum exchanges in close massive binaries is very
important in the subsequent evolution of the components. Such exchanges produce
several observational signatures such as asynchronous rotation and altered
chemical compositions, that remain after the stars detach again. We
investigated these effects for the close O-star binary LSS 3074 (O4 f + O6-7
:(f):), which is a good candidate for a past Roche lobe overflow (RLOF) episode
because of its very short orbital period, P = 2.185 days, and the luminosity
classes of both components. We determined a new orbital solution for the
system. We studied the photometric light curves to determine the inclination of
the orbit and Roche lobe filling factors of both stars. Using phase-resolved
spectroscopy, we performed the disentangling of the optical spectra of the two
stars. We then analysed the reconstructed primary and secondary spectra with
the CMFGEN model atmosphere code to determine stellar parameters, such as the
effective temperatures and surface gravities, and to constrain the chemical
composition of the components. We confirm the apparent low stellar masses and
radii reported in previous studies. We also find a strong overabundance in
nitrogen and a strong carbon and oxygen depletion in both primary and secondary
atmospheres, together with a strong enrichment in helium of the primary star.
We propose several possible evolutionary pathways through a RLOF process to
explain the current parameters of the system. We confirm that the system is
apparently in overcontact configuration and has lost a significant portion of
its mass to its surroundings. We suggest that some of the discrepancies between
the spectroscopic and photometric properties of LSS 3074 could stem from the
impact of a strong radiation pressure of the primary
QMA-complete problems for stoquastic Hamiltonians and Markov matrices
We show that finding the lowest eigenvalue of a 3-local symmetric stochastic
matrix is QMA-complete. We also show that finding the highest energy of a
stoquastic Hamiltonian is QMA-complete and that adiabatic quantum computation
using certain excited states of a stoquastic Hamiltonian is universal. We also
show that adiabatic evolution in the ground state of a stochastic frustration
free Hamiltonian is universal. Our results give a new QMA-complete problem
arising in the classical setting of Markov chains, and new adiabatically
universal Hamiltonians that arise in many physical systems.Comment: 11 pages. Contains several new results not present in version 1
Apsidal motion in the massive binary HD152218
Massive binary systems are important laboratories in which to probe the
properties of massive stars and stellar physics in general. In this context, we
analysed optical spectroscopy and photometry of the eccentric short-period
early-type binary HD 152218 in the young open cluster NGC 6231. We
reconstructed the spectra of the individual stars using a separating code. The
individual spectra were then compared with synthetic spectra obtained with the
CMFGEN model atmosphere code. We furthermore analysed the light curve of the
binary and used it to constrain the orbital inclination and to derive absolute
masses of 19.8 +/- 1.5 and 15.0 +/- 1.1 solar masses. Combining radial velocity
measurements from over 60 years, we show that the system displays apsidal
motion at a rate of (2.04^{+.23}_{-.24}) degree/year. Solving the
Clairaut-Radau equation, we used stellar evolution models, obtained with the
CLES code, to compute the internal structure constants and to evaluate the
theoretically predicted rate of apsidal motion as a function of stellar age and
primary mass. In this way, we determine an age of 5.8 +/- 0.6 Myr for HD
152218, which is towards the higher end of, but compatible with, the range of
ages of the massive star population of NGC 6231 as determined from isochrone
fitting.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The massive star binary fraction in young open clusters - II. NGC 6611 (Eagle Nebula)
Based on a set of over 100 medium- to high-resolution optical spectra
collected from 2003 to 2009, we investigate the properties of the O-type star
population in NGC6611 in the core of the Eagle Nebula (M16). Using a much more
extended data set than previously available, we revise the spectral
classification and multiplicity status of the nine O-type stars in our sample.
We confirm two suspected binaries and derive the first SB2 orbital solutions
for two systems. We further report that two other objects are displaying a
composite spectrum, suggesting possible long-period binaries. Our analysis is
supported by a set of Monte-Carlo simulations, allowing us to estimate the
detection biases of our campaign and showing that the latter do not affect our
conclusions. The absolute minimal binary fraction in our sample is f_min=0.44
but could be as high as 0.67 if all the binary candidates are confirmed. As in
NGC6231 (see Paper I), up to 75% of the O star population in NGC6611 are found
in an O+OB system, thus implicitly excluding random pairing from a classical
IMF as a process to describe the companion association in massive binaries. No
statistical difference could be further identified in the binary fraction,
mass-ratio and period distributions between NGC6231 and NGC6611, despite the
difference in age and environment of the two clusters.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS; 15 pages, 17 fi
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