648 research outputs found
Observações de planetas extrasolares no Observatório Astronómico da Ribeira Grande (Fronteira)
O estudo dos planetas extra-solares tem sido uma das áreas em maior actividade na Astronomia e inclusivamente
tem impulsionado estudos em áreas como a Geofísica, para uma melhor compreensão da origem e evolução dos planetas. O projecto TRANSIT, do Centro de Geofísica de Évora, desenvolve uma campanha de acompanhamento de trânsitos de planetas extra-solares, utilizando o Observatório Astronómico da Ribeira Grande (Fronteira), cujos resultados apresentamos neste trabalho. Este tipo de campanhas, ainda que com equipamento modesto (pelos padrões actuais),
permitem refinar os elementos orbitais dos planetas já descobertos
Noise Sources in Photometry and Radial Velocities
The quest for Earth-like, extrasolar planets (exoplanets), especially those
located inside the habitable zone of their host stars, requires techniques
sensitive enough to detect the faint signals produced by those planets. The
radial velocity (RV) and photometric transit methods are the most widely used
and also the most efficient methods for detecting and characterizing
exoplanets. However, presence of astrophysical "noise" makes it difficult to
detect and accurately characterize exoplanets. It is important to note that the
amplitude of such astrophysical noise is larger than both the signal of
Earth-like exoplanets and state-of-the-art instrumentation limit precision,
making this a pressing topic that needs to be addressed. In this chapter, I
present a general review of the main sources of noise in photometric and RV
observations, namely, stellar oscillations, granulation, and magnetic activity.
Moreover, for each noise source I discuss the techniques and observational
strategies which allow us to mitigate their impact.Comment: 11 pages, 2 tables, Lecture presented at the IVth Azores
International Advanced School in Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and
Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars and Searching for New Worlds"
(arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta, Azores Islands, Portugal in
July 201
Surface Modification of Natural Rubber by Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) Plasma Treatment: A New Approach to Improve Mechanical and Hydrophobic Properties
Plasma treatments have faced growing interest as important strategy to modify the hydrophobic/hydrophilic characteristics of materials. However, challenges related to the plasma modification of polymers are the improvement of the chemical resistance without decreasing the mechanical resistance. In this letter, we present for the first time a plasma treatment, using Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), analogous to vulcanization process, of natural rubber surface, which resulted in a chemical and tension resistance improvements. The natural rubber membranes were coated with glow discharge plasmas generated in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) atmospheres at a total pressure of 160 mTorr and applying 70 W of radiofrequency. Plasma treatment increases the contact angles from 64° to 125° i.e. leading to a hydrophobic surface. The tension at rupture increased from 3.7 to 6.1 MPa compared to natural rubber without plasma treatment demonstrated by stress-strain investigation. These results provide a fast alternative approach to improve mechanical and chemical properties of rubber-based products
Cambios en la mojabilidad en superficies de maderas tratadas térmicamente: Angulo de contacto y energía libre superficial
Fueron determinados los ángulos de contacto de las maderas Pinus (Pinus taeda), Erisma (Erisma uncinatum), Araucaria (Araucaria angustifolia) e Hymenaea (Hymenaea stilbocarpa) en cuatro líquidos de pruebas (agua, diyodometano, formamida y etilenglicol). Los valores de energía libre superficial fueron calculados en las maderas sometidas al tratamiento térmico, teniendo en cuenta los cambios en sus componentes polares y apolares (dispersivas). De acuerdo con los resultados del ángulo de contacto, energía libre superficial y polaridad superficial, las maderas se mostraron poco mojables después del tratamiento térmico, transformándose en hidrofóbicas. Las maderas Pinus y Araucaria se mostraron más polares y presentaron bajos valores de ángulo de contacto y alta mojabilidad (más hidrofílicas). Los valores de energía libre superficial obtenidos a partir de las medidas de ángulo de contacto mostraron una dependencia por el uso de dos, tres o cuatro líquidos de prueba, produciendo diferentes perfiles de los componentes de la energía libre superficial. Las características superficiales de las maderas fueron definidas con base en sus valores de polaridad superficial, un parámetro importante para inferir cuales maderas son más apolares (más hidrofóbicas), o sea, de mayor interés tecnológico
Mass-luminosity relation for FGK main sequence stars: metallicity and age contributions
The stellar mass-luminosity relation (MLR) is one of the most famous
empirical "laws", discovered in the beginning of the 20th century. MLR is still
used to estimate stellar masses for nearby stars, particularly for those that
are not binary systems, hence the mass cannot be derived directly from the
observations. It's well known that the MLR has a statistical dispersion which
cannot be explained exclusively due to the observational errors in luminosity
(or mass). It is an intrinsic dispersion caused by the differences in age and
chemical composition from star to star. In this work we discuss the impact of
age and metallicity on the MLR. Using the recent data on mass, luminosity,
metallicity, and age for 26 FGK stars (all members of binary systems, with
observational mass-errors <= 3%), including the Sun, we derive the MLR taking
into account, separately, mass-luminosity, mass-luminosity-metallicity, and
mass-luminosity-metallicity-age. Our results show that the inclusion of age and
metallicity in the MLR, for FGK stars, improves the individual mass estimation
by 5% to 15%.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted in Astrophysics and Space
Scienc
Validation of commercial Mas receptor antibodies for utilization in Western Blotting, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry studies
Mas receptor (MasR) is a G protein-coupled receptor proposed as a candidate for mediating the angiotensin (Ang)-converting enzyme 2-Ang (1-7) protective axis of renin-angiotensin system. Because the role of this receptor is not definitively clarified, determination of MasR tissue distribution and expression levels constitutes a critical knowledge to fully understanding its function. Commercially available antibodies have been widely employed for MasR protein localization and quantification, but they have not been adequately validated. In this study, we carried on an exhaustive evaluation of four commercial MasR antibodies, following previously established criteria. Western Blotting (WB) and immunohistochemistry studies starting from hearts and kidneys from wild type (WT) mice revealed that antibodies raised against different MasR domains yielded different patterns of reactivity. Furthermore, staining patterns appeared identical in samples from MasR knockout (MasR-KO) mice. We verified by polymerase chain reaction analysis that the MasR-KO mice used were truly deficient in this receptor as MAS transcripts were undetectable in either heart or kidney from this animal model. In addition, we evaluated the ability of the antibodies to detect the human c-myc-tagged MasR overexpressed in human embryonic kidney cells. Three antibodies were capable of detecting the MasR either by WB or by immunofluorescence, reproducing the patterns obtained with an anti c-myc antibody. In conclusion, although three of the selected antibodies were able to detect MasR protein at high expression levels observed in a transfected cell line, they failed to detect this receptor in mice tissues at physiological expression levels. As a consequence, validated antibodies that can recognize and detect the MasR at physiological levels are still lacking
Spin-orbit misalignment in the HD80606 planetary system
We recently reported the photometric and spectroscopic detection of the
primary transit of the 111-day-period, eccentric extra-solar planet HD80606 b,
at Observatoire de Haute-Provence, France (Moutou et al. 2009). The whole
egress of the primary transit and a section of its central part were observed,
allowing the measurement of the planetary radius, and evidence for a spin-orbit
misalignment through the observation of the Rossiter-McLaughlin anomaly. The
ingress having not been observed for this long-duration transit, uncertainties
remained in the parameters of the system. We present here a refined, combined
analysis of our photometric and spectroscopic data, together with further
published radial velocities, ground-based photometry, and Spitzer photometry
around the secondary eclipse, as well as new photometric measurements of HD
80606 acquired at Mount Hopkins, Arizona, just before the beginning of the
primary transit. Although the transit is not detected in those new data, they
provide an upper limit for the transit duration, which narrows down the
possible behaviour of the Rossiter-McLaughlin anomaly in the unobserved part of
the transit. We analyse the whole data with a Bayesian approach using a
Markov-chain Monte Carlo integration on all available information. We find R_p
= 0.98 +- 0.03 R_Jup for the planetary radius, and a total primary transit
duration of 11.9 +- 1.3 hours from first to fourth contact. Our analysis
reinforces the hypothesis of spin-orbit misalignment in this system (alignment
excluded at >95 % level), with a positive projected angle between the planetary
orbital axis and the stellar rotation (median solution lambda ~ 50 degrees). As
HD80606 is a component of a binary system, the peculiar orbit of its planet
could result from a Kozai mechanism.Comment: accepted for Publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, submitted 11
May 200
Induced four fold anisotropy and bias in compensated NiFe/FeMn double layers
A vector spin model is used to show how frustrations within a multisublattice
antiferromagnet such as FeMn can lead to four-fold magnetic anisotropies acting
on an exchange coupled ferromagnetic film. Possibilities for the existence of
exchange bias are examined and shown to exist for the case of weak chemical
disorder at the interface in an otherwise perfect structure. A sensitive
dependence on interlayer exchange is found for anisotropies acting on the
ferromagnet through the exchange coupling, and we show that a wide range of
anisotropies can appear even for a perfect crystalline structure with an
ideally flat interface.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
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