124 research outputs found
The CN Isotopic Ratios In Comets
Our aim is to determine the isotopic ratios (12)C/(13)C and (14)N/(15)N in a variety of comets and link these measurements to the formation and evolution of the solar system. The (12)C/(13)C and (14)N/(15)N isotopic ratios are measured for the CN radical by means of high-resolution optical spectra of the R branch of the B-X (0, 0) violet band. 23 comets from different dynamical classes have been observed, sometimes at various heliocentric and nucleocentric distances, in order to estimate possible variations of the isotopic ratios in parent molecules. The (12)C/(13)C and (14)N/(15)N isotopic ratios in CN are remarkably constant (average values of, respectively, 91.0 +/- 3.6 and 147.8 +/- 5.7) within our measurement errors, for all comets whatever their origin or heliocentric distance. While the carbon isotopic ratio does agree with the terrestrial value (89), the nitrogen ratio is a factor of two lower than the terrestrial value (272), indicating a fractionation in the early solar system, or in the protosolar nebula, common to all the comets of our sample. This points towards a common origin of the comets independently of their birthplaces, and a relationship between HCN and CN.NSFAstronom
Disc loss and renewal in A0535+26
This paper presents observations of the Be/X-ray binary system A0535+26
revealing the first observed loss of its circumstellar disc, demonstrated by
the loss of its JHK infrared excess and optical/IR line emission. However
optical/IR spectroscopy reveals the formation of a new inner disc with
significant density and emission strength at small radii; the disc has proven
to be stable over 5 months in this intermediate state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRAS, uses mn.st
Preliminary results of an observational campaign aiming at the study of the binary system LSS3074
We present preliminary results of an observational campaign aiming at the study of the binary system LSS3074. A new lightcurve clearly indicates that the system is in contact. Recent spectroscopy broadly confirms the previous results and the rather low masses of both components (O4f[SUP]+[/SUP] and O6-7:(f):). We further analyse an XMM-Newton observation of the object that indicates a rather hard X-ray spectrum. This is partly due to the high interstellar extinction towards the object but also to the high plasma temperature (kT Ë 1.2-1.3 keV)
An inversion method for cometary atmospheres
Remote observation of cometary atmospheres produces a measurement of the cometary emissions integrated along the line of sight. This integration is the so-called Abel transform of the local emission rate. The observation is generally interpreted under the hypothesis of spherical symmetry of the coma. Under that hypothesis, the Abel transform can be inverted. We derive a numerical inversion method adapted to cometary atmospheres using both analytical results and least squares fitting techniques. This method, derived under the usual hypothesis of spherical symmetry, allows us to retrieve the radial distribution of the emission rate of any unabsorbed emission, which is the fundamental, physically meaningful quantity governing the observation. A Tikhonov regularization technique is also applied to reduce the possibly deleterious effects of the noise present in the observation and to warrant that the problem remains well posed. Standard error propagation techniques are included in order to estimate the uncertainties affecting the retrieved emission rate. Several theoretical tests of the inversion techniques are carried out to show its validity and robustness. In particular, we show that the Abel inversion of real data is only weakly sensitive to an offset applied to the input flux, which implies that the method, applied to the study of a cometary atmosphere, is only weakly dependent on uncertainties on the sky background which has to be subtracted from the raw observations of the coma. We apply the method to observations of three different comets observed using the TRAPPIST telescope: 103P/ Hartley 2, F6/ Lemmon and A1/ Siding Spring. We show that the method retrieves realistic emission rates, and that characteristic lengths and production rates can be derived from the emission rate for both CN and C2 molecules. We show that the retrieved characteristic lengths can differ from those obtained from a direct least squares fitting over the observed flux of radiation, and that discrepancies can be reconciled for by correcting this flux by an offset (to which the inverse Abel transform is nearly not sensitive). The A1/Siding Spring observations were obtained very shortly after the comet produced an outburst, and we show that the emission rate derived from the observed flux of CN emission at 387 nm and from the C2 emission at 514.1 nm both present an easily-identifiable shoulder that corresponds to the separation between pre- and post-outburst gas. As a general result, we show that diagnosing properties and features of the coma using the emission rate is easier than directly using the observed flux, because the Abel transform produces a smoothing that blurs the signatures left by features present in the coma. We also determine the parameters of a Haser model fitting the inverted data and fitting the line-of-sight integrated observation, for which we provide the exact analytical expression of the line-of-sight integration of the Haser model
Photometric monitoring of the doubly imaged quasar UM673: possible evidence for chromatic microlensing
We present the results of two-band CCD photometric monitoring of the
gravitationally lensed quasar Q 0142-100 (UM 673).The data, obtained at ESO-La
Silla with the 1.54 m Danish telescope in the Gunn i-band (October 1998 -
September 1999) and in the Johnson V-band (October 1998 to December 2001), were
analyzed using three different photometric methods. The light-curves obtained
with all methods show variations, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.14
magnitude in . Although it was not possible to measure the time delay
between the two lensed QSO images, the brighter component displays possible
evidence for microlensing: it becomes bluer as it gets brighter, as expected
under the assumption of differential magnification of a quasar accretion diskComment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics; 8 pages, 7
figure
The binary near-Earth asteroid (175706) 1996 FG3 - An observational constraint on its orbital evolution
Using our photometric observations taken between 1996 and 2013 and other
published data, we derived properties of the binary near-Earth asteroid
(175706) 1996 FG3 including new measurements constraining evolution of the
mutual orbit with potential consequences for the entire binary asteroid
population. We also refined previously determined values of parameters of both
components, making 1996 FG3 one of the most well understood binary asteroid
systems. We determined the orbital vector with a substantially greater accuracy
than before and we also placed constraints on a stability of the orbit.
Specifically, the ecliptic longitude and latitude of the orbital pole are
266{\deg} and -83{\deg}, respectively, with the mean radius of the uncertainty
area of 4{\deg}, and the orbital period is 16.1508 +/- 0.0002 h (all quoted
uncertainties correspond to 3sigma). We looked for a quadratic drift of the
mean anomaly of the satellite and obtained a value of 0.04 +/- 0.20 deg/yr^2,
i.e., consistent with zero. The drift is substantially lower than predicted by
the pure binary YORP (BYORP) theory of McMahon and Scheeres (McMahon, J.,
Scheeres, D. [2010]. Icarus 209, 494-509) and it is consistent with the theory
of an equilibrium between BYORP and tidal torques for synchronous binary
asteroids as proposed by Jacobson and Scheeres (Jacobson, S.A., Scheeres, D.
[2011]. ApJ Letters, 736, L19). Based on the assumption of equilibrium, we
derived a ratio of the quality factor and tidal Love number of Q/k = 2.4 x 10^5
uncertain by a factor of five. We also derived a product of the rigidity and
quality factor of mu Q = 1.3 x 10^7 Pa using the theory that assumes an elastic
response of the asteroid material to the tidal forces. This very low value
indicates that the primary of 1996 FG3 is a 'rubble pile', and it also calls
for a re-thinking of the tidal energy dissipation in close asteroid binary
systems.Comment: Many changes based on referees comment
Large excess of heavy nitrogen in both hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen from comet 17P/Holmes
From millimeter and optical observations of the Jupiter-family comet
17P/Holmes performed soon after its huge outburst of October 24, 2007, we
derive 14 N/15N = 139 +/- 26 in HCN, and 14N/15N = 165 +/- 40 in CN,
establishing that HCN has the same non-terrestrial isotopic composition as CN.
The same conclusion is obtained for the long-period comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
after a reanalysis of previously published measurements. These results are
compatible with HCN being the prime parent of CN in cometary atmospheres. The
15N excess relative to the Earth atmospheric value indicates that N-bearing
volatiles in the solar nebula underwent important N isotopic fractionation at
some stage of Solar System formation. HCN molecules never isotopically
equilibrated with the main nitrogen reservoir in the solar nebula before being
incorporated in Oort-cloud and Kuiper-belt comets. The 12C/13C ratios in HCN
and CN are measured to be consistent with the terrestrial value.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (Letters) 4
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Ground-Based Submillimagnitude CCD Photometry of Bright Stars Using Snapshot Observations
We demonstrate ground-based submillimagnitude (<10^-3) photometry of widely
separated bright stars using snapshot CCD imaging. We routinely achieved this
photometric precision by (1) choosing nearby comparison stars of a similar
magnitude and spectral type, (2) defocusing the telescope to allow high signal
(>10^7 electrons) to be acquired in a single integration, (3) pointing the
telescope so that all stellar images fall on the same detector pixels, and (4)
using a region of the CCD detector that is free of nonlinear or aberrant
pixels. We describe semiautomated observations with the Supernova Integrated
Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) on the University of Hawaii 2.2m telescope on Mauna
Kea, with which we achieved photometric precision as good as 5.2x10^-4
(0.56mmag) with a 5 minute cadence over a 2hr interval. In one experiment, we
monitored eight stars, each separated by several degrees, and achieved
submillimagnitude precision with a cadence (per star) of ~17 minutes. Our
snapshot technique is suitable for automated searches for planetary transits
among multiple bright stars.Comment: Accepted to PAS
The non-convex shape of (234) Barbara, the first Barbarian
Asteroid (234) Barbara is the prototype of a category of asteroids that has
been shown to be extremely rich in refractory inclusions, the oldest material
ever found in the Solar System. It exhibits several peculiar features, most
notably its polarimetric behavior. In recent years other objects sharing the
same property (collectively known as "Barbarians") have been discovered.
Interferometric observations in the mid-infrared with the ESO VLTI suggested
that (234) Barbara might have a bi-lobated shape or even a large companion
satellite. We use a large set of 57 optical lightcurves acquired between 1979
and 2014, together with the timings of two stellar occultations in 2009, to
determine the rotation period, spin-vector coordinates, and 3-D shape of (234)
Barbara, using two different shape reconstruction algorithms. By using the
lightcurves combined to the results obtained from stellar occultations, we are
able to show that the shape of (234) Barbara exhibits large concave areas.
Possible links of the shape to the polarimetric properties and the object
evolution are discussed. We also show that VLTI data can be modeled without the
presence of a satellite.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Radial distribution of the multiple stellar populations in omega Centauri
We present a detailed study of the radial distribution of the multiple
populations identified in the Galactic globular cluster omega Cen. We used both
space-based images (ACS/WFC and WFPC2) and ground-based images (FORS1@VLT and
[email protected] ESO telescopes) to map the cluster from the inner core to the
outskirts (~20 arcmin). These data sets have been used to extract high-accuracy
photometry for the construction of color-magnitude diagrams and astrometric
positions of ~900 000 stars. We find that in the inner ~2 core radii the blue
main sequence (bMS) stars slightly dominate the red main sequence (rMS) in
number. At greater distances from the cluster center, the relative numbers of
bMS stars with respect to rMS drop steeply, out to ~8 arcmin, and then remain
constant out to the limit of our observations. We also find that the dispersion
of the Gaussian that best fits the color distribution within the bMS is
significantly greater than the dispersion of the Gaussian that best fits the
color distribution within the rMS. In addition, the relative number of
intermediate-metallicity red-giant-branch stars which includes the progeny of
the bMS) with respect to the metal-poor component (the progeny of the rMS)
follows a trend similar to that of the main-sequence star-count ratio
N_bMS/N_rMS. The most metal-rich component of the red-giant branch follows the
same distribution as the intermediate-metallicity component. We briefly discuss
the possible implications of the observed radial distribution of the different
stellar components in omega Cen.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures (6 in low resolution), 3 tables. Accepted for
publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics on 23 September 200
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