29,876 research outputs found
The Decay of Debris Disks around Solar-Type Stars
We present a Spitzer MIPS study of the decay of debris disk excesses at 24
and 70 m for 255 stars of types F4 - K2. We have used multiple tests,
including consistency between chromospheric and X-ray activity and placement on
the HR diagram, to assign accurate stellar ages. Within this spectral type
range, at 24 m, of the stars younger than 5 Gyr have
excesses at the 3 level or more, while none of the older stars do,
confirming previous work. At 70 m, of the younger stars
have excesses at 3 significance, while only
% of the older stars do. To characterize the far infrared
behavior of debris disks more robustly, we double the sample by including stars
from the DEBRIS and DUNES surveys. For the F4 - K4 stars in this combined
sample, there is only a weak (statistically not significant) trend in the
incidence of far infrared excess with spectral type (detected fractions of
21.9, late F; 16.5, G; and
16.9, early K). Taking this spectral type range together,
there is a significant decline between 3 and 4.5 Gyr in the incidence of
excesses with fractional luminosities just under . There is an
indication that the timescale for decay of infrared excesses varies roughly
inversely with the fractional luminosity. This behavior is consistent with
theoretical expectations for passive evolution. However, more excesses are
detected around the oldest stars than is expected from passive evolution,
suggesting that there is late-phase dynamical activity around these stars.Comment: 46 pages. 7 figures. Accepted to Ap
Common Warm Dust Temperatures Around Main-sequence Stars
We compare the properties of warm dust emission from a sample of main-sequence A-type stars (B8-A7) to those of dust around solar-type stars (F5-K0) with similar Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph/MIPS data and similar ages. Both samples include stars with sources with infrared spectral energy distributions that show evidence of multiple components. Over the range of stellar types considered, we obtain nearly the same characteristic dust temperatures (~190 K and ~60 K for the inner and outer dust components, respectively)—slightly above the ice evaporation temperature for the inner belts. The warm inner dust temperature is readily explained if populations of small grains are being released by sublimation of ice from icy planetesimals. Evaporation of low-eccentricity icy bodies at ~150 K can deposit particles into an inner/warm belt, where the small grains are heated to T_(dust)~ 190 K. Alternatively, enhanced collisional processing of an asteroid belt-like system of parent planetesimals just interior to the snow line may account for the observed uniformity in dust temperature. The similarity in temperature of the warmer dust across our B8-K0 stellar sample strongly suggests that dust-producing planetesimals are not found at similar radial locations around all stars, but that dust production is favored at a characteristic temperature horizon
Low-Altitude Reconnection Inflow-Outflow Observations during a 2010 November 3 Solar Eruption
For a solar flare occurring on 2010 November 3, we present observations using
several SDO/AIA extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) passbands of an erupting flux rope
followed by inflows sweeping into a current sheet region. The inflows are soon
followed by outflows appearing to originate from near the termination point of
the inflowing motion - an observation in line with standard magnetic
reconnection models. We measure average inflow plane-of-sky speeds to range
from ~150-690 km/s with the initial, high-temperature inflows being the
fastest. Using the inflow speeds and a range of Alfven speeds, we estimate the
Alfvenic Mach number which appears to decrease with time. We also provide
inflow and outflow times with respect to RHESSI count rates and find that the
fast, high-temperature inflows occur simultaneously with a peak in the RHESSI
thermal lightcurve. Five candidate inflow-outflow pairs are identified with no
more than a minute delay between detections. The inflow speeds of these pairs
are measured to be 10^2 km/s with outflow speeds ranging from 10^2-10^3 km/s -
indicating acceleration during the reconnection process. The fastest of these
outflows are in the form of apparently traveling density enhancements along the
legs of the loops rather than the loop apexes themselves. These flows could
either be accelerated plasma, shocks, or waves prompted by reconnection. The
measurements presented here show an order of magnitude difference between the
retraction speeds of the loops and the speed of the density enhancements within
the loops - presumably exiting the reconnection site.Comment: 31 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, Accepted to ApJ (expected publication
~July 2012
DIFFERENCES IN SEGMENTAL MOMENTUM TRANSFERS BETWEEN TWO STROKE POSTURES FOR TENNIS TWO-HANDED BACKHAND STROKE
Tennis stroke force depends on momentum transfer from racket to ball during ball-racket impact. Previous researchers study backhand stroke mechanics, focusing on comparison of one-handed and two-handed backhand stroke biomechanics (Reid & Elliott, 2002). This study investigated linear (LM) and angular momentum (AM) transfer from the trunk and upper extremities to the racket in open (OS) and square stances (SS) for different skill levels of players in the two-handed backhand stroke
Infrared Emission by Dust Around lambda Bootis Stars: Debris Disks or Thermally Emitting Nebulae?
We present a model that describes stellar infrared excesses due to heating of
the interstellar (IS) dust by a hot star passing through a diffuse IS cloud.
This model is applied to six lambda Bootis stars with infrared excesses.
Plausible values for the IS medium (ISM) density and relative velocity between
the cloud and the star yield fits to the excess emission. This result is
consistent with the diffusion/accretion hypothesis that lambda Bootis stars (A-
to F-type stars with large underabundances of Fe-peak elements) owe their
characteristics to interactions with the ISM. This proposal invokes radiation
pressure from the star to repel the IS dust and excavate a paraboloidal dust
cavity in the IS cloud, while the metal-poor gas is accreted onto the stellar
photosphere. However, the measurements of the infrared excesses can also be fit
by planetary debris disk models. A more detailed consideration of the
conditions to produce lambda Bootis characteristics indicates that the majority
of infrared-excess stars within the Local Bubble probably have debris disks.
Nevertheless, more distant stars may often have excesses due to heating of
interstellar material such as in our model.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, accepted by ApJ, emulateap
Debris Disks around Solar-Type Stars: Observations of the Pleiades with Spitzer Space Telescope
We present Spitzer MIPS observations at 24 um of 37 solar-type stars in the
Pleiades and combine them with previous observations to obtain a sample of 71
stars. We report that 23 stars, or 32 +/- 6.8%, have excesses at 24 um at least
10% above their photospheric emission. We compare our results with studies of
debris disks in other open clusters and with a study of A stars to show that
debris disks around solar-type stars at 115 Myr occur at nearly the same rate
as around A-type stars. We analyze the effects of binarity and X-ray activity
on the excess flux. Stars with warm excesses tend not to be in equal-mass
binary systems, possibly due to clearing of planetesimals by binary companions
in similar orbits. We find that the apparent anti-correlations in the incidence
of excess and both the rate of stellar rotation and also the level of activity
as judged by X-ray emission are statistically weak.Comment: 34 pages; accepted for publication in ApJ; new version included
corrections of typos, etc to match published versio
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