Direct Ultraviolet Imaging and Spectroscopy of Betelgeuse

Direct images of Betelgeuse were obtained over a span of 4 years with the Faint Object Camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. These images reveal the extended ultraviolet continuum emission (about 2 times the optical diameter), the varying overall ultraviolet flux levels and a pattern of bright surface continuum features that change in position and appearance over several months or less. Concurrent photometry and radial velocity measures support the model of a pulsating star, first discovered in the ultraviolet from IUE. Spatially resolved HST spectroscopy reveals a larger extention in chromospheric emissions of Mg II as well as the rotation of the supergiant. Changing localized subsonic flows occur in the low chromosphere that can cover a substantial fraction of the stellar disk and may initiate the mass outflow.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Betelgeuse Workshop, November 2012, Paris. To be published in the European Astronomical Society Publications Series, 2013, Editors: Pierre Kervella, Thibaut Le Bertre & Guy Perri

Particle Dark Energy

We explore the physics of a gas of particles interacting with a condensate that spontaneously breaks Lorentz invariance. The equation of state of this gas varies from 1/3 to less than -1 and can lead to the observed cosmic acceleration. The particles are always stable. In our particular class of models these particles are fermions with a chiral coupling to the condensate. They may behave as relativistic matter at early times, produce a brief period where they dominate the expansion with w<0 today, and behave as matter at late time. There are no small parameters in our models, which generically lead to dark energy clustering and, depending on the choice of parameters, smoothing of small scale power.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; minor update with added refs; version appearing in Phys. Rev.

Theoretical and experimental analysis of the backward extrusion process with a rotational die of AZ31 alloy

In this work theoretical and experimental analysis of the backward extrusion with a rotary die of the AZ31 alloy has been performed. The modification of the classical extrusion was based on the use of a rotary die. The results of theoretical research have confirmed that the use of the modified backward extrusion causes the appearance of shear stress in deformed material, which could affects the activation of additional mechanisms of deformation. The numerical modelling of the rotating extrusion of AZ31 alloy has been conducted by using the computer program Forge®. The experimental tests were carried out in the conditions of the STD 810 torsion plastometer using newly designed tools

Line Broadening in Field Metal-poor Red Giant and Red Horizontal Branch Stars

We report 349 radial velocities for 45 metal-poor field red giant and red horizontal branch stars. We have have identified one new spectroscopic binary, HD 4306, and one possible such system, HD 184711. We also report 57 radial velocities for 11 of the 91 stars reported on previously by Carney et al. (2003). As was found in the previous study, radial velocity "jitter" is present in many of the most luminous stars. Excluding stars showing spectroscopic binary orbital motion, all 7 of the red giants with M(V) <= -2.0 display jitter, as well as 3 of the 14 stars with -2.0 <= M(V) <= -1.4. We have also measured line broadening in all of the new spectra, using synthetic spectra as templates. The most luminous red giants show significant line broadening, as do many of the red horizontal branch stars, and we discuss briefly possible causes.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journa

The prevention of infertility of mares

In the article it is noted that when the age of physiological maturity is reached, most of mares do not go hunting because of genital infantilism. The authors' studies showed that in the group where the repair filly had a systematic communication with the vasectomized stallions at 36 months of age, the reproductive apparatus was well developed, there were no signs of genital infantilism. All mares were found at the age of 36–37 months, and they became foal, at the mares of the control group at the indicated age the sexual cycles did not appear regularly, signs of genital infantilism were noted. The authors note that the vasectomized stallion provides, normal development of the reproductive sexual system of the repair mares, the full formation and manifestation of sexual cycles. The use of vasectomized stallions allows for an early effective prevention of genital infantilism and infertility in repair mares. Dosed communication of fillies with vasectomized colts and sterile coitus during sexual development promoted the physiological development of the genitals and the full manifestation of the sexual cycle

The Challenge of Wide-Field Transit Surveys: The Case of GSC 01944-02289

Wide-field searches for transiting extra-solar giant planets face the difficult challenge of separating true transit events from the numerous false positives caused by isolated or blended eclipsing binary systems. We describe here the investigation of GSC 01944-02289, a very promising candidate for a transiting brown dwarf detected by the Transatlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES) network. The photometry and radial velocity observations suggested that the candidate was an object of substellar mass in orbit around an F star. However, careful analysis of the spectral line shapes revealed a pattern of variations consistent with the presence of another star whose motion produced the asymmetries observed in the spectral lines of the brightest star. Detailed simulations of blend models composed of an eclipsing binary plus a third star diluting the eclipses were compared with the observed light curve and used to derive the properties of the three components. Our photometric and spectroscopic observations are fully consistent with a blend model of a hierarchical triple system composed of an eclipsing binary with G0V and M3V components in orbit around a slightly evolved F5 dwarf. We believe that this investigation will be helpful to other groups pursuing wide-field transit searches as this type of false detection could be more common than true transiting planets, and difficult to identify.Comment: To appear in ApJ, v. 621, 2005 March 1

SAO 23229: A New Double-Lined Spectroscopic Eclipsing Binary

The discovery of eclipses of the bright star SAO 23229 (HD 14384; V=6.9; Spectral Type F5 V) by Indiana observer Dan Kaiser was described in a recent article in Sky and Telescope magazine (MacRobert, 1990). Photoelectric observations by H. Landis and D. Williams, reproduced in that article, show eclipses of 0.55 mag depth and period of 2.111 days. No secondary eclipses are reported, leaving open the question of whether the system contains a very dim secondary or whether it consists of two identical stars with an actual period of 4.2 days. We report here observations that favor the latter interpretation. [excerpt