4,511 research outputs found
Self-Esteem, Spiritual Well-Being, and Intimacy: A Comparison among Couples Using NFP and Oral Contraceptives
The purpose of this study was to compare the intimacy, spiritual well being (SWB), and self-esteem of couples using natural family planning (NFP) with those couples using oral contraceptives (OCs). 22 couples who were using the Creighton Model Ovulation Method of NFP for 1 year to avoid pregnancy were matched with 22 couples who were using OCs for a least a 1-year period and administered a SWB, self-esteem, and intimacy inventory. Student t-tests were calculated to determine differences in the mean scores of the 3 inventories between the 2 groups. The results showed that the NFP couples had statistically higher self-esteem (T=3.15, p0.01), SWB (T=4.25. p0.001), and intellectual intimacy (T=2.53, p0.05) than the OC couples. There were no differences in emotional, social, recreational, and sexual intimacy between the groups. Although the results provide some evidence that NFP can enhance a couple\u27s relationship, other factors such as a sampling bias and educational levels could explain the difference
Coronagraphic phase diversity: performance study and laboratory demonstration
The final performance of current and future instruments dedicated to
exoplanet detection and characterization (such as SPHERE on the European Very
Large Telescope, GPI on Gemini North, or future instruments on Extremely Large
Telescopes) is limited by uncorrected quasi-static aberrations. These
aberrations create long-lived speckles in the scientific image plane, which can
easily be mistaken for planets. Common adaptive optics systems require
dedicated components to perform wave-front analysis. The ultimate wave-front
measurement performance is thus limited by the unavoidable differential
aberrations between the wavefront sensor and the scientific camera. To reach
the level of detectivity required by high-contrast imaging, these differential
aberrations must be estimated and compensated for. In this paper, we
characterize and experimentally validate a wave-front sensing method that
relies on focal-plane data. Our method, called COFFEE (for COronagraphic
Focal-plane wave-Front Estimation for Exoplanet detection), is based on a
Bayesian approach, and it consists in an extension of phase diversity to
high-contrast imaging. It estimates the differential aberrations using only two
focal-plane coronagraphic images recorded from the scientific camera itself. In
this paper, we first present a thorough characterization of COFFEE's
performance by means of numerical simulations. This characterization is then
compared with an experimental validation of COFFEE using an in-house adaptive
optics bench and an apodized Roddier & Roddier phase mask coronagraph. An
excellent match between experimental results and the theoretical study is
found. Lastly, we present a preliminary validation of COFFEE's ability to
compensate for the aberrations upstream of a coronagraph.Comment: A&A accepte
ISO observations of the planetary nebula Lindsay 305 in the Small Magellanic Cloud
We present ISO (Infrared Space Observatory) observations of the planetary
nebula Lindsay 305 (L 305) in the Small Magellanic Cloud. L 305 is very
prominent in the ISOCAM frames at 6.75 and 11.5 m, although it is under
the detection limit at 4.5 m. The obtained spectral energy distribution
shows a strong mid-IR excess, which, depending on the amount of energy radiated
at wavelengths longer than 11.5 m, may be as large as . However, since an accurate estimate of the total nebular luminosity
is not available up to date, the evolutionary status of L 305 can not yet be
constrained precisely.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Publications of the Astronomical
Society of Japa
High-order myopic coronagraphic phase diversity (COFFEE) for wave-front control in high-contrast imaging systems
The estimation and compensation of quasi-static aberrations is mandatory to
reach the ultimate performance of high-contrast imaging systems. COFFEE is a
focal plane wave-front sensing method that consists in the extension of phase
diversity to high-contrast imaging systems. Based on a Bayesian approach, it
estimates the quasi-static aberrations from two focal plane images recorded
from the scientific camera itself. In this paper, we present COFFEE's extension
which allows an estimation of low and high order aberrations with nanometric
precision for any coronagraphic device. The performance is evaluated by
realistic simulations, performed in the SPHERE instrument framework. We develop
a myopic estimation that allows us to take into account an imperfect knowledge
on the used diversity phase. Lastly, we evaluate COFFEE's performance in a
compensation process, to optimize the contrast on the detector, and show it
allows one to reach the 10^-6 contrast required by SPHERE at a few resolution
elements from the star. Notably, we present a non-linear energy minimization
method which can be used to reach very high contrast levels (better than 10^-7
in a SPHERE-like context)Comment: Accepted in Optics Expres
Mott transition in Cr-doped V2O3 studied by ultrafast reflectivity: electron correlation effects on the transient response
The ultrafast response of the prototype Mott-Hubbard system (V1-xCrx)2O3 was
systematically studied with fs pump-probe reflectivity, allowing us to clearly
identify the effects of the metal-insulator transition on the transient
response. The isostructural nature of the phase transition in this material
made it possible to follow across the phase diagram the behaviour of the
detected coherent acoustic wave, whose average value and lifetime depend on the
thermodynamic phase and on the correlated electron density of states. It is
also shown how coherent lattice oscillations can play an important role in some
changes affecting the ultrafast electronic peak relaxation at the phase
transition, changes which should not be mistakenly attributed to genuine
electronic effects. These results clearly show that a thorough understanding of
the ultrafast response of the material over several tenths of ps is necessary
to correctly interpret its sub-ps excitation and relaxation regime, and appear
to be of general interest also for other strongly correlated materials.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Europhysics Letters (in press
The central region of spiral galaxies as seen by Herschel: M 81, M 99, and M 100
With appropriate spatial resolution, images of spiral galaxies in thermal infrared (~10 μm and beyond) often reveal a bright central component, distinct from the stellar bulge, superimposed on a disk with prominent spiral arms. ISO and Spitzer studies have shown that much of the scatter in the mid-infrared colors of spiral galaxies is related to changes in the relative importance of these two components, rather than to other modifications, such as the morphological type or star formation rate, that affect the properties of the galaxy as a whole. With the Herschel imaging capability from 70 to 500 μm, we revisit this two-component approach at longer wavelengths, to see if it still provides a working description of the brightness
distribution of galaxies, and to determine its implications on the interpretation of global far-infrared properties of galaxies. We quantify the luminosity of the central component by both a decomposition of the radial surface brightness profile and a direct extraction in 2D.
We find the central component contribution is variable within the three galaxies in our sample, possibly connected more directly to the presence of a bar than to the morphological type. The central component’s relative contribution is at its maximum in the mid-infrared range and drops around 160 μm to reach a constant value beyond 200 μm. The central component contains a greater fraction of hot dust than the disk component, and while the colors of the central components are scattered, colors of the disk components are more homogenous from one galaxy to the next
Dissecting the spiral galaxy M83: mid-infrared emission and comparison with other tracers of star formation
We present a detailed mid-infrared study of the nearby, face-on spiral galaxy
M83 based on ISOCAM data. M83 is a unique case study, since a wide variety of
MIR broad-band filters as well as spectra, covering the wavelength range of 4
to 18\mu m, were observed and are presented here. Emission maxima trace the
nuclear and bulge area, star-formation regions at the end of the bar, as well
as the inner spiral arms. The fainter outer spiral arms and interarm regions
are also evident in the MIR map. Spectral imaging of the central 3'x3' (4 kpc x
4 kpc) field allows us to investigate five regions of different environments.
The various MIR components (very small grains, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
(PAH) molecules, ionic lines) are analyzed for different regions throughout the
galaxy. In the total 4\mu m to 18\mu m wavelength range, the PAHs dominate the
luminosity, contributing between 60% in the nuclear and bulge regions and 90%
in the less active, interarm regions. Throughout the galaxy, the underlying
continuum emission from the small grains is always a smaller contribution in
the total MIR wavelength regime, peaking in the nuclear and bulge components.
The implications of using broad-band filters only to characterize the
mid-infrared emission of galaxies, a commonly used ISOCAM observation mode, are
discussed. We present the first quantitative analysis of new H-alpha and 6cm
VLA+Effelsberg radio continuum maps of M83. The distribution of the MIR
emission is compared with that of the CO, HI, R band, H-alpha and 6cm radio. A
striking correlation is found between the intensities in the two mid-infrared
filter bands and the 6cm radio continuum. To explain the tight
mid-infrared-radio correlation we propose the anchoring of magnetic field lines
in the photoionized shells of gas clouds.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Infrared Emission from Clusters in the Starforming Disk of He2-10
We have made subarcsecond-resolution images of the central 10" of the
Wolf-Rayet dwarf galaxy He 2-10 at 11.7 microns, using the Long Wavelength
Spectrometer on the Keck Telescope. The spatial distribution of the infrared
emission roughly agrees with that of the rising spectrum radio sources seen by
Kobulnicky & Johnson (1999) and confirms that those sources are compact HII
regions rather than SNR or other objects. The infrared sources are more
extended than the subarcsecond rising spectrum radio sources, although the
entire complex is still less than 5" in extent. On sizescales of 1" the
infrared and radio emission are in excellent agreement, with each source
requiring several hundred to a thousand O stars for excitation. The nebulae lie
in a flattened disk-like distribution about 240 by 100 pc and provide all of
the flux measured by IRAS for the entire galaxy in the 12 micron band; 30% of
the total IRAS flux from the galaxy emanates from one 15-30 pc source. In this
galaxy, intense star formation, probably triggered by an accretion event, is
confined to a central disk which breaks up into distinct nebulae which
presumably mark the sites of young super star clusters.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Astronomical Journa
- …