4,050 research outputs found
Chemical Equilibrium Abundances in Brown Dwarf and Extrasolar Giant Planet Atmospheres
We calculate detailed chemical abundance profiles for a variety of brown
dwarf and extrasolar giant planet atmosphere models, focusing in particular on
Gliese 229B, and derive the systematics of the changes in the dominant
reservoirs of the major elements with altitude and temperature. We assume an
Anders and Grevesse (1989) solar composition of 27 chemical elements and track
330 gas--phase species, including the monatomic forms of the elements, as well
as about 120 condensates. We address the issue of the formation and composition
of clouds in the cool atmospheres of substellar objects and explore the rain
out and depletion of refractories. We conclude that the opacity of clouds of
low--temperature (900 K), small--radius condensibles (specific chlorides
and sulfides), may be responsible for the steep spectrum of Gliese 229B
observed in the near infrared below 1 \mic. Furthermore, we assemble a
temperature sequence of chemical transitions in substellar atmospheres that may
be used to anchor and define a sequence of spectral types for substellar
objects with Ts from 2200 K to 100 K.Comment: 57 pages total, LaTeX, 14 figures, 5 tables, also available in
uuencoded, gzipped, and tarred form via anonymous ftp at
www.astrophysics.arizona.edu (cd to pub/burrows/chem), submitted to Ap.
A New Pleiades Member at the Lithium Substellar Boundary
We present the discovery of an object in the Pleiades open cluster, named
Teide 2, with optical and infrared photometry which place it on the cluster
sequence slightly below the expected substellar mass limit. We have obtained
low- and high-resolution spectra that allow us to determine its spectral type
(M6), radial velocity and rotational broadening; and to detect H in
emission and Li I 670.8 nm in absorption. All the observed properties strongly
support the membership of Teide 2 into the Pleiades. This object has an
important role in defining the reappearance of lithium below the substellar
limit in the Pleiades. The age of the Pleiades very low-mass members based on
their luminosities and absence or presence of lithium is constrained to be in
the range 100--120 Myr.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
A gradient-forming MipZ protein mediating the control of cell division in the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense
Cell division needs to be tightly regulated and closely coordinated with other cellular processes to ensure the generation of fully viable offspring. Here, we investigate division site placement by the cell division regulator MipZ in the alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense, a species that forms linear chains of magnetosomes to navigate within the geomagnetic field. We show that M. gryphiswaldense contains two MipZ homologs, termed MipZ1 and MipZ2. MipZ2 localizes to the division site, but its absence does not cause any obvious phenotype. MipZ1, by contrast, forms a dynamic bipolar gradient, and its deletion or overproduction cause cell filamentation, suggesting an important role in cell division. The monomeric form of MipZ1 interacts with the chromosome partitioning protein ParB, whereas its ATP-dependent dimeric form shows non-specific DNA-binding activity. Notably, both the dimeric and, to a lesser extent, the monomeric form inhibit FtsZ polymerization in vitro. MipZ1 thus represents a canonical gradient-forming MipZ homolog that critically contributes to the spatiotemporal control of FtsZ ring formation. Collectively, our findings add to the view that the regulatory role of MipZ proteins in cell division is conserved among many alphaproteobacteria. However, their number and biochemical properties may have adapted to the specific needs of the host organism
2MASS J154043.42-510135.7: a new addition to the 5 pc population
The aim of the project is to find the stars nearest to the Sun and to
contribute to the completion of the stellar and substellar census of the solar
neighbourhood. We identified a new late-M dwarf within 5 pc, looking for high
proper motion sources in the 2MASS-WISE cross-match. We collected astrometric
and photometric data available from public large-scale surveys. We complemented
this information with low-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy
with instrumentation on the ESO NTT to confirm the nature of our candidate. We
also present a high-quality medium-resolution VLT/X-shooter spectrum covering
the 400 to 2500 nm wavelength range. We classify this new neighbour as an
M7.00.5 dwarf using spectral templates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
and spectral indices. Lithium absorption at 670.8 nm is not detected in the
X-shooter spectrum, indicating that the M7 dwarf is older than 600 Myr and more
massive than 0.06 M. We also derive a trigonometric distance of 4.4
pc, in agreement with the spectroscopic distance estimate, making
2MASS\,J154043.42510135.7 the nearest M7 dwarf to the Sun. This
trigonometric distance is somewhat closer than the 6 pc distance reported
by the ALLWISE team, who independently identified this object recently. This
discovery represents an increase of 25\% in the number of M7--M8 dwarfs already
known at distances closer than 8\,pc from our Sun. We derive a density of
\,=\,1.90.910\,pc for M7 dwarfs in the 8 pc
volume, a value similar to those quoted in the literature. This new ultracool
dwarf is among the 50 nearest systems to the Sun, demonstrating that our
current knowledge of the stellar census within the 5 pc sample remains
incomplete. 2M1540 represents a unique opportunity to search for extrasolar
planets around ultracool dwarfs due to its proximity and brightness.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Acepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics (15/05/2005
Testing the existence of optical linear polarization in young brown dwarfs
Linear polarization can be used as a probe of the existence of atmospheric
condensates in ultracool dwarfs. Models predict that the observed linear
polarization increases withthe degree of oblateness, which is inversely
proportional to the surface gravity. We aimed to test the existence of optical
linear polarization in a sample of bright young brown dwarfs, with spectral
types between M6 and L2, observable from the Calar Alto Observatory, and
cataloged previously as low gravity objects using spectroscopy. Linear
polarimetric images were collected in I and R-band using CAFOS at the 2.2 m
telescope in Calar Alto Observatory (Spain). The flux ratio method was employed
to determine the linear polarization degrees. With a confidence of 3,
our data indicate that all targets have a linear polarimetry degree in average
below 0.69% in the I-band, and below 1.0% in the R-band, at the time they were
observed. We detected significant (i.e. P/ 3) linear polarization
for the young M6 dwarf 2MASS J04221413+1530525 in the R-band, with a degree of
= 0.81 0.17 %.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
On the nature of the deeply embedded protostar OMC-2 FIR 4
We use mid-infrared to submillimeter data from the Spitzer, Herschel, and
APEX telescopes to study the bright sub-mm source OMC-2 FIR 4. We find a point
source at 8, 24, and 70 m, and a compact, but extended source at 160, 350,
and 870 m. The peak of the emission from 8 to 70 m, attributed to the
protostar associated with FIR 4, is displaced relative to the peak of the
extended emission; the latter represents the large molecular core the protostar
is embedded within. We determine that the protostar has a bolometric luminosity
of 37 Lsun, although including more extended emission surrounding the point
source raises this value to 86 Lsun. Radiative transfer models of the
protostellar system fit the observed SED well and yield a total luminosity of
most likely less than 100 Lsun. Our models suggest that the bolometric
luminosity of the protostar could be just 12-14 Lsun, while the luminosity of
the colder (~ 20 K) extended core could be around 100 Lsun, with a mass of
about 27 Msun. Our derived luminosities for the protostar OMC-2 FIR 4 are in
direct contradiction with previous claims of a total luminosity of 1000 Lsun
(Crimier et al 2009). Furthermore, we find evidence from far-infrared molecular
spectra (Kama et al. 2013, Manoj et al. 2013) and 3.6 cm emission (Reipurth et
al 1999) that FIR 4 drives an outflow. The final stellar mass the protostar
will ultimately achieve is uncertain due to its association with the large
reservoir of mass found in the cold core.Comment: Accpeted by ApJ, 17 pages, 11 figure
Scalar Field Dark Matter: behavior around black holes
We present the numerical evolution of a massive test scalar fields around a
Schwarzschild space-time. We proceed by using hyperboloidal slices that
approach future null infinity, which is the boundary of scalar fields, and also
demand the slices to penetrate the event horizon of the black hole. This
approach allows the scalar field to be accreted by the black hole and to escape
toward future null infinity. We track the evolution of the energy density of
the scalar field, which determines the rate at which the scalar field is being
diluted. We find polynomial decay of the energy density of the scalar field,
and use it to estimate the rate of dilution of the field in time. Our findings
imply that the energy density of the scalar field decreases even five orders of
magnitude in time scales smaller than a year. This implies that if a
supermassive black hole is the Schwarzschild solution, then scalar field dark
matter would be diluted extremely fastComment: 15 pages, 21 eps figures. Appendix added, accepted for publication in
JCA
Andean Pastures in the Fourth Region of Chile: Marginal Lands and Vital Spaces for a Transhumance System
In the fourth region of Chile, the high Andean pastures between Chile and Argentina are the summer destination for transhumant shepherds and sustain a part of the regional livestock. Since 2000, Chile has prohibited the passage of livestock to Argentina for animal health reasons in spite of official registers indicating that 60 to 75% of the summer transhumance livestock had an Argentine destination. Under those conditions it is questionable whether the Andean Chilean grasslands can absorb the increased pastoral demand without suffering damage. The objective is to provide elements of an answer to this question regarding the distribution and availability of the Andean forage resource and its modalities of explotation in the local transhumance system
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