470 research outputs found
Energy-limited escape revised
Gas planets in close proximity to their host stars experience
photoevaporative mass loss. The energy-limited escape concept is generally used
to derive estimates for the planetary mass-loss rates. Our photoionization
hydrodynamics simulations of the thermospheres of hot gas planets show that the
energy-limited escape concept is valid only for planets with a gravitational
potential lower than ergg because in these planets the radiative energy input is
efficiently used to drive the planetary wind. Massive and compact planets with
ergg
exhibit more tightly bound atmospheres in which the complete radiative energy
input is re-emitted through hydrogen Ly and free-free emission. These
planets therefore host hydrodynamically stable thermospheres. Between these two
extremes the strength of the planetary winds rapidly declines as a result of a
decreasing heating efficiency. Small planets undergo enhanced evaporation
because they host expanded atmospheres that expose a larger surface to the
stellar irradiation. We present scaling laws for the heating efficiency and the
expansion radius that depend on the gravitational potential and irradiation
level of the planet. The resulting revised energy-limited escape concept can be
used to derive estimates for the mass-loss rates of super-Earth-sized planets
as well as massive hot Jupiters with hydrogen-dominated atmospheres.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&
High-energy irradiation and mass loss rates of hot Jupiters in the solar neighborhood
Giant gas planets in close proximity to their host stars experience strong
irradiation. In extreme cases photoevaporation causes a transonic, planetary
wind and the persistent mass loss can possibly affect the planetary evolution.
We have identified nine hot Jupiter systems in the vicinity of the Sun, in
which expanded planetary atmospheres should be detectable through Lyman alpha
transit spectroscopy according to predictions. We use X-ray observations with
Chandra and XMM-Newton of seven of these targets to derive the high-energy
irradiation level of the planetary atmospheres and the resulting mass loss
rates. We further derive improved Lyman alpha luminosity estimates for the host
stars including interstellar absorption. According to our estimates WASP-80 b,
WASP-77 b, and WASP-43 b experience the strongest mass loss rates, exceeding
the mass loss rate of HD 209458 b, where an expanded atmosphere has been
confirmed. Furthermore, seven out of nine targets might be amenable to Lyman
alpha transit spectroscopy. Finally, we check the possibility of angular
momentum transfer from the hot Jupiters to the host stars in the three binary
systems among our sample, but find only weak indications for increased stellar
rotation periods of WASP-77 and HAT-P-20.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Coronal X-ray emission and planetary irradiation in HD 209458
HD 209458 is one of the benchmark objects in the study of hot Jupiter
atmospheres and their evaporation through planetary winds. The expansion of the
planetary atmosphere is thought to be driven by high-energy EUV and X-ray
irradiation. We obtained new Chandra HRC-I data, which unequivocally show that
HD 209458 is an X-ray source. Combining these data with archival XMM-Newton
observations, we find that the corona of HD 209458 is characterized by a
temperature of about 1 MK and an emission measure of 7e49 cm^-3, yielding an
X-ray luminosity of 1.6e27 erg/s in the 0.124-2.48 keV band. HD 209458 is an
inactive star with a coronal temperature comparable to that of the inactive Sun
but a larger emission measure. At this level of activity, the planetary
high-energy emission is sufficient to support mass-loss at a rate of a few
times 1e10 g/s.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
TPCI: The PLUTO-CLOUDY Interface
We present an interface between the (magneto-) hydrodynamics code PLUTO and
the plasma simulation and spectral synthesis code CLOUDY. By combining these
codes, we constructed a new photoionization hydrodynamics solver: The
PLUTO-CLOUDY Interface (TPCI), which is well suited to simulate
photoevaporative flows under strong irradiation. The code includes the
electromagnetic spectrum from X-rays to the radio range and solves the
photoionization and chemical network of the 30 lightest elements. TPCI follows
an iterative numerical scheme: First, the equilibrium state of the medium is
solved for a given radiation field by CLOUDY, resulting in a net radiative
heating or cooling. In the second step, the latter influences the (magneto-)
hydrodynamic evolution calculated by PLUTO. Here, we validated the
one-dimensional version of the code on the basis of four test problems:
Photoevaporation of a cool hydrogen cloud, cooling of coronal plasma, formation
of a Stroemgren sphere, and the evaporating atmosphere of a hot Jupiter. This
combination of an equilibrium photoionization solver with a general MHD code
provides an advanced simulation tool applicable to a variety of astrophysical
problems.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Swift UVOT near-UV transit observations of WASP-121 b
Close-in gas planets are subject to continuous photoevaporation that can erode their volatile envelopes. Today, ongoing mass loss has been confirmed in a few individual systems via transit observations in the ultraviolet spectral range. We demonstrate that the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) onboard the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory enables photometry to a relative accuracy of about 0.5% and present the first near-UV (200–270 nm, NUV) transit observations of WASP-121 b, a hot Jupiter with one of the highest predicted mass-loss rates. The data cover the orbital phases 0.85–1.15 with three visits. We measure a broadband NUV transit depth of 2.10 ± 0.29%. While still consistent with the optical value of 1.55%, the NUV data indicate excess absorption of 0.55% at a 1.9σ level. Such excess absorption is known from the WASP-12 system, and both of these hot Jupiters are expected to undergo mass loss at extremely high rates. With a Cloudy simulation, we show that absorption lines of Fe II in a dense extended atmosphere can cause broadband near-UV absorption at the 0.5% level. Given the numerous lines of low-ionization metals, the NUV range is a promising tracer of photoevaporation in the hottest gas planets
X-ray emission in the enigmatic CVSO 30 system
CVSO 30 is a young, active, weak-line T Tauri star; it possibly hosts the
only known planetary system with both a transiting hot-Jupiter and a
cold-Jupiter candidate (CVSO 30 b and c). We analyzed archival ROSAT, Chandra,
and XMM-Newton data to study the coronal emission in the system. According to
our modeling, CVSO 30 shows a quiescent X-ray luminosity of about 8e29 erg/s.
The X-ray absorbing column is consistent with interstellar absorption.
XMM-Newton observed a flare, during which a transit of the candidate CVSO 30 b
was expected, but no significant transit-induced variation in the X-ray flux is
detectable. While the hot-Jupiter candidate CVSO 30 b has continuously been
undergoing mass loss powered by the high-energy irradiation, we conclude that
its evaporation lifetime is considerably longer than the estimated stellar age
of 2.6 Myr.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
A survivin gene signature predicts aggressive tumor behavior
Gene signatures that predict aggressive tumor behavior at the earliest stages of disease, ideally before overt tissue abnormalities, are urgently needed. To search for such genes, we generated a transgenic model of survivin, an essential regulator of cell division and apoptosis overexpressed in cancer. Transgenic expression of survivin in the urinary bladder did not cause histologic abnormalities of the urothelium. However, microarray analysis revealed that survivin-expressing bladders exhibited profound changes in gene expression profile affecting extracellular matrix and inflammatory genes. Following exposure to a bladder carcinogen, N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (OH-BBN), survivin transgenic animals exhibited accelerated tumor progression, preferential incidence of tumors as compared with premalignant lesions, and dramatically abbreviated survival. Conversely, transgenic expression of a survivin Thr34--\u3eAla dominant-negative mutant did not cause changes in gene expression or accelerated tumor progression after OH-BBN treatment. Therefore, survivin expression induces global transcriptional changes in the tissue microenvironment that may promote tumorigenesis. Detection of survivin or its associated gene signature may provide an early biomarker of aggressive tumor behavior before the appearance of tissue abnormalities
PPS, a Large Multidomain Protein, Functions with Sex-Lethal to Regulate Alternative Splicing in Drosophila
Alternative splicing controls the expression of many genes, including the Drosophila sex determination gene Sex-lethal (Sxl). Sxl expression is controlled via a negative regulatory mechanism where inclusion of the translation-terminating male exon is blocked in females. Previous studies have shown that the mechanism leading to exon skipping is autoregulatory and requires the SXL protein to antagonize exon inclusion by interacting with core spliceosomal proteins, including the U1 snRNP protein Sans-fille (SNF). In studies begun by screening for proteins that interact with SNF, we identified PPS, a previously uncharacterized protein, as a novel component of the machinery required for Sxl male exon skipping. PPS encodes a large protein with four signature motifs, PHD, BRK, TFS2M, and SPOC, typically found in proteins involved in transcription. We demonstrate that PPS has a direct role in Sxl male exon skipping by showing first that loss of function mutations have phenotypes indicative of Sxl misregulation and second that the PPS protein forms a complex with SXL and the unspliced Sxl RNA. In addition, we mapped the recruitment of PPS, SXL, and SNF along the Sxl gene using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), which revealed that, like many other splicing factors, these proteins bind their RNA targets while in close proximity to the DNA. Interestingly, while SNF and SXL are specifically recruited to their predicted binding sites, PPS has a distinct pattern of accumulation along the Sxl gene, associating with a region that includes, but is not limited to, the SxlPm promoter. Together, these data indicate that PPS is different from other splicing factors involved in male-exon skipping and suggest, for the first time, a functional link between transcription and SXL–mediated alternative splicing. Loss of zygotic PPS function, however, is lethal to both sexes, indicating that its role may be of broad significance
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