arXiv subjects

D. Huber

Publications and source records attributed to D. Huber.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

The GRAVITY metrology system: narrow-angle astrometry via phase-shifting interferometry

The VLTI instrument GRAVITY will provide very powerful astrometry by combining the light from four telescopes for two objects simultaneously. It will measure the angular separation between the two astronomical objects to a precision of 10 microarcseconds. This corresponds to a differential optical path difference (dOPD) between the targets of few nanometers and the paths within the interferometer have to be maintained stable to that level. For this purpose, the novel metrology system of GRAVITY will monitor the internal dOPDs by means of phase-shifting interferometry. We present the four-step phase-shifting concept of the metrology with emphasis on the method used for calibrating the phase shifts. The latter is based on a phase-step insensitive algorithm which unambiguously extracts phases in contrast to other methods that are strongly limited by non-linearities of the phase-shifting device. The main constraint of this algorithm is to introduce a robust ellipse fitting routine. Via this approach we are able to measure phase shifts in the laboratory with a typical accuracy of lambda/2000 or 1 nanometer of the metrology wavelength.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

First Experimental Characterization of Microwave Emission from Cosmic Ray Air Showers

We report the first direct measurement of the overall characteristics of microwave radio emission from extensive air showers. Using a trigger provided by the KASCADE-Grande air shower array, the signals of the microwave antennas of the CROME (Cosmic-Ray Observation via Microwave Emission) experiment have been read out and searched for signatures of radio emission by high-energy air showers in the GHz frequency range. Microwave signals have been detected for more than 30 showers with energies above 3*10^16 eV. The observations presented in this Letter are consistent with a mainly forward-directed and polarised emission process in the GHz frequency range. The measurements show that microwave radiation offers a new means of studying air showers at energies above 10^17 eV.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

WFIRST Ultra-Precise Astrometry II: Asteroseismology

WFIRST microlensing observations will return high-precision parallaxes, sigma(pi) < 0.3 microarcsec, for the roughly 1 million stars with H<14 in its 2.8 deg^2 field toward the Galactic bulge. Combined with its 40,000 epochs of high precision photometry (~0.7 mmag at H_vega=14 and ~0.1 mmag at H=8), this will yield a wealth of asteroseismic data of giant stars, primarily in the Galactic bulge but including a substantial fraction of disk stars at all Galactocentric radii interior to the Sun. For brighter stars, the astrometric data will yield an external check on the radii derived from the two asteroseismic parameters, and nu_max, while for the fainter ones, it will enable a mass measurement from the single measurable asteroseismic parameter nu_max. Simulations based on Kepler data indicate that WFIRST will be capable of detecting oscillations in stars from slightly less luminous than the red clump to the tip of the red giant branch, yielding roughly 1 million detections.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Reconstruction of the energy and depth of maximum of cosmic-ray air-showers from LOPES radio measurements

LOPES is a digital radio interferometer located at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, which measures radio emission from extensive air showers at MHz frequencies in coincidence with KASCADE-Grande. In this article, we explore a method (slope method) which leverages the slope of the measured radio lateral distribution to reconstruct crucial attributes of primary cosmic rays. First, we present an investigation of the method on the basis of pure simulations. Second, we directly apply the slope method to LOPES measurements. Applying the slope method to simulations, we obtain uncertainties on the reconstruction of energy and depth of shower maximum Xmax of 13% and 50 g/cm^2, respectively. Applying it to LOPES measurements, we are able to reconstruct energy and Xmax of individual events with upper limits on the precision of 20-25% for the primary energy and 95 g/cm^2 for Xmax, despite strong human-made noise at the LOPES site.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

The wavefront of the radio signal emitted by cosmic ray air showers

Analyzing measurements of the LOPES antenna array together with corresponding CoREAS simulations for more than 300 measured events with energy above $10^{17}\,$eV and zenith angles smaller than $45^\circ$, we find that the radio wavefront of cosmic-ray air showers is of approximately hyperbolic shape. The simulations predict a slightly steeper wavefront towards East than towards West, but this asymmetry is negligible against the measurement uncertainties of LOPES. At axis distances $\gtrsim 50\,$m, the wavefront can be approximated by a simple cone. According to the simulations, the cone angle is clearly correlated with the shower maximum. Thus, we confirm earlier predictions that arrival time measurements can be used to study the longitudinal shower development, but now using a realistic wavefront. Moreover, we show that the hyperbolic wavefront is compatible with our measurement, and we present several experimental indications that the cone angle is indeed sensitive to the shower development. Consequently, the wavefront can be used to statistically study the primary composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. At LOPES, the experimentally achieved precision for the shower maximum is limited by measurement uncertainties to approximately $140\,$g/cm$^2$. But the simulations indicate that under better conditions this method might yield an accuracy for the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, $X_\mathrm{max}$, better than $30\,$g/cm$^2$. This would be competitive with the established air-fluorescence and air-Cherenkov techniques, where the radio technique offers the advantage of a significantly higher duty-cycle. Finally, the hyperbolic wavefront can be used to reconstruct the shower geometry more accurately, which potentially allows a better reconstruction of all other shower parameters, too.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

M-Dwarf Fast Rotators and the Detection of Relatively Young Multiple M-Star Systems

We have searched the Kepler light curves of ~3900 M-star targets for evidence of periodicities that indicate, by means of the effects of starspots, rapid stellar rotation. Several analysis techniques, including Fourier transforms, inspection of folded light curves, 'sonograms', and phase tracking of individual modulation cycles, were applied in order to distinguish the periodicities due to rapid rotation from those due to stellar pulsations, eclipsing binaries, or transiting planets. We find 178 Kepler M-star targets with rotation periods, P_rot, of < 2 days, and 110 with P_rot < 1 day. Some 30 of the 178 systems exhibit two or more independent short periods within the same Kepler photometric aperture, while several have three or more short periods. Adaptive optics imaging and modeling of the Kepler pixel response function for a subset of our sample support the conclusion that the targets with multiple periods are highly likely to be relatively young physical binary, triple, and even quadruple M star systems. We explore in detail the one object with four incommensurate periods all less than 1.2 days, and show that two of the periods arise from one of a close pair of stars, while the other two arise from the second star, which itself is probably a visual binary. If most of these M-star systems with multiple periods turn out to be bound M stars, this could prove a valuable way of discovering young hierarchical M-star systems; the same approach may also be applicable to G and K stars. The ~5% occurrence rate of rapid rotation among the ~3900 M star targets is consistent with spin evolution models that include an initial contraction phase followed by magnetic braking, wherein a typical M star can spend several hundred Myr before spinning down to periods longer than 2 days.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Stroemgren survey for Asteroseismology and Galactic Archaeology: let the SAGA begin

Asteroseismology has the capability of precisely determining stellar properties which would otherwise be inaccessible, such as radii, masses and thus ages of stars. When coupling this information with classical determinations of stellar parameters, such as metallicities, effective temperatures and angular diameters, powerful new diagnostics for Galactic studies can be obtained. The ongoing Stroemgren survey for Asteroseismology and Galactic Archaeology (SAGA) has the goal of transforming the Kepler field into a new benchmark for Galactic studies, similarly to the solar neighborhood. Here we present first results from a stripe centred at Galactic longitude 74deg and covering latitude from about 8 to 20deg, which includes almost 1000 K-giants with seismic information and the benchmark open cluster NGC 6819. We describe the coupling of classical and seismic parameters, the accuracy as well as the caveats of the derived effective temperatures, metallicities, distances, surface gravities, masses, and radii. Confidence in the achieved precision is corroborated by the detection of the first and secondary clump in a population of field stars with a ratio of 2 to 1, and by the negligible scatter in the seismic distances among NGC 6819 member stars. An assessment of the reliability of stellar parameters in the Kepler Input Catalogue is also performed, and the impact of our results for population studies in the Milky Way is discussed, along with the importance of an all-sky Stroemgren survey.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Limits on surface gravities of Kepler planet-candidate host stars from non-detection of solar-like oscillations

We present a novel method for estimating lower-limit surface gravities log g of Kepler targets whose data do not allow the detection of solar-like oscillations. The method is tested using an ensemble of solar-type stars observed in the context of the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium. We then proceed to estimate lower-limit log g for a cohort of Kepler solar-type planet-candidate host stars with no detected oscillations. Limits on fundamental stellar properties, as provided by this work, are likely to be useful in the characterization of the corresponding candidate planetary systems. Furthermore, an important byproduct of the current work is the confirmation that amplitudes of solar-like oscillations are suppressed in stars with increased levels of surface magnetic activity.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Pulsating red giant stars in eccentric binary systems discovered from Kepler space-based photometry

The unparalleled photometric data obtained by NASA's Kepler space telescope led to an improved understanding of red giant stars and binary stars. Seismology allows us to constrain the properties of red giants. In addition to eclipsing binaries, eccentric non-eclipsing binaries, exhibiting ellipsoidal modulations, have been detected with Kepler. We aim to study the properties of eccentric binary systems containing a red giant star and derive the parameters of the primary giant component. We apply asteroseismic techniques to determine masses and radii of the primary component of each system. For a selected target, light and radial velocity curve modelling techniques are applied to extract the parameters of the system. The effects of stellar on the binary system are studied. The paper presents the asteroseismic analysis of 18 pulsating red giants in eccentric binary systems, for which masses and radii were constrained. The orbital periods of these systems range from 20 to 440days. From radial velocity measurements we find eccentricities between e=0.2 to 0.76. As a case study we present a detailed analysis of KIC5006817. From seismology we constrain the rotational period of the envelope to be at least 165 d, roughly twice the orbital period. The stellar core rotates 13 times faster than the surface. From the spectrum and radial velocities we expect that the Doppler beaming signal should have a maximum amplitude of 300ppm in the light curve. Through binary modelling, we determine the mass of the secondary component to be 0.29$\pm$0.03\,$M_\odot$. For KIC5006817 we exclude pseudo-synchronous rotation of the red giant with the orbit. The comparison of the results from seismology and modelling of the light curve shows a possible alignment of the rotational and orbital axis at the 2$σ$ level. Red giant eccentric systems could be progenitors of cataclysmic variables and hot subdwarf B stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Asteroseismic fundamental properties of solar-type stars observed by the NASA Kepler Mission

We use asteroseismic data obtained by the NASA Kepler Mission to estimate the fundamental properties of more than 500 main-sequence and sub-giant stars. Data obtained during the first 10 months of Kepler science operations were used for this work, when these solar-type targets were observed for one month each in a survey mode. Stellar properties have been estimated using two global asteroseismic parameters and complementary photometric and spectroscopic data. Homogeneous sets of effective temperatures were available for the entire ensemble from complementary photometry; spectroscopic estimates of T_eff and [Fe/H] were available from a homogeneous analysis of ground-based data on a subset of 87 stars. [Abbreviated version... see paper for full abstract.]

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Energy spectra of KASCADE-Grande based on shower size measurements and different hadronic interaction models

KASCADE-Grande is dedicated for investigations of cosmic-ray air showers in the primary energy range from 10 PeV to 1 EeV. The multi-detector system allows us to reconstruct charged particles, electron and muon numbers for individual air showers with high accuracies. Based on the shower size ($N_{ch}$) spectra of the charged particle component, the all-particle energy spectrum of cosmic rays is reconstructed, where attenuation effects in the atmosphere are corrected by applying the constant intensity cut method. The energy calibration is performed by using CORSIKA simulations with high-energy interaction models QGSJET-II-2, QGSJET-II-4, EPOS 1.99 and SIBYLL 2.1, where FLUKA has been used as low-energy interaction model for all cases. In the different hadronic models, different abundances for shower particles are predicted. Such model differences in the observables will be compared and discussed in this contribution. Furthermore, by using data with increasing statistics, the updated energy spectra by means of different interaction models will be presented.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Investigation on the energy and mass composition of cosmic rays using LOPES radio data

The sensitivity to the mass composition as well as the reconstruction of the energy of the primary particle are explored here by leveraging the features of the radio lateral distribution function. For the purpose of this analysis, a set of events measured with the LOPES experiment is reproduced with the latest CoREAS radio simulation code. Based on simulation predictions, a method which exploits the slope of the radio lateral distribution function is developed (Slope Method) and directly applied on measurements. As a result, the possibility to reconstruct both the energy and the depth of the shower maximum of the cosmic ray air shower using radio data and achieving relatively small uncertainties is presented.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Variability of M giant stars based on Kepler photometry: general characteristics

M giants are among the longest-period pulsating stars which is why their studies were traditionally restricted to analyses of low-precision visual observations, and more recently, accurate ground-based data. Here we present an overview of M giant variability on a wide range of time-scales (hours to years), based on analysis of thirteen quarters of Kepler long-cadence observations (one point per every 29.4 minutes), with a total time-span of over 1000 days. About two-thirds of the sample stars have been selected from the ASAS-North survey of the Kepler field, with the rest supplemented from a randomly chosen M giant control sample. We first describe the correction of the light curves from different quarters, which was found to be essential. We use Fourier analysis to calculate multiple frequencies for all stars in the sample. Over 50 stars show a relatively strong signal with a period equal to the Kepler-year and a characteristic phase dependence across the whole field-of-view. We interpret this as a so far unidentified systematic effect in the Kepler data. We discuss the presence of regular patterns in the distribution of multiple periodicities and amplitudes. In the period-amplitude plane we find that it is possible to distinguish between solar-like oscillations and larger amplitude pulsations which are characteristic for Mira/SR stars. This may indicate the region of the transition between two types of oscillations as we move upward along the giant branch.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Kepler White Paper: Asteroseismology of Solar-Like Oscillators in a 2-Wheel Mission

We comment on the potential for continuing asteroseismology of solar-type and red-giant stars in a 2-wheel Kepler Mission. Our main conclusion is that by targeting stars in the ecliptic it should be possible to perform high-quality asteroseismology, as long as favorable scenarios for 2-wheel pointing performance are met. Targeting the ecliptic would potentially facilitate unique science that was not possible in the nominal Mission, notably from the study of clusters that are significantly brighter than those in the Kepler field. Our conclusions are based on predictions of 2-wheel observations made by a space photometry simulator, with information provided by the Kepler Project used as input to describe the degraded pointing scenarios. We find that elevated levels of frequency-dependent noise, consistent with the above scenarios, would have a significant negative impact on our ability to continue asteroseismic studies of solar-like oscillators in the Kepler field. However, the situation may be much more optimistic for observations in the ecliptic, provided that pointing resets of the spacecraft during regular desaturations of the two functioning reaction wheels are accurate at the < 1 arcsec level. This would make it possible to apply a post-hoc analysis that would recover most of the lost photometric precision. Without this post-hoc correction---and the accurate re-pointing it requires---the performance would probably be as poor as in the Kepler-field case. Critical to our conclusions for both fields is the assumed level of pointing noise (in the short-term jitter and the longer-term drift). We suggest that further tests will be needed to clarify our results once more detail and data on the expected pointing performance becomes available, and we offer our assistance in this work.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Study of the muon content of very high-energy EAS measured with the KASCADE-Grande observatory

The KASCADE-Grande detector is an air-shower array devoted to the study of primary cosmic rays with very high-energies (E = 10^{16} - 10^{18} eV). The instrument is composed of different particle detector systems suitable for the detailed study of the properties of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) developed by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. Among the EAS observables studied with the detector, the charged number of particles, the muon content (at different energy thresholds), and the number of electrons are found. By comparing the measurements of these air-shower parameters with the expectations from MC simulations, different hadronic interaction models can be tested at the high-energy regime with the KASCADE-Grande experiment. In this work, the results of a study on the evolution of the muon content of EAS with zenith angle, performed with the KASCADE-Grande instrument, is presented. Measurements are compared with predictions from MC simulations based on the QGSJET II, QGSJET II-04, SIBYLL 2.1 and EPOS 1.99 hadronic interaction models. A mismatch between experiment and simulations is observed. A similar problem is found for the evolution of the lateral distribution function of muons in the atmosphere.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Vectorial Radio Interferometry with LOPES 3D

One successful detection technique for high-energy cosmic rays is based on the radio signal emitted by the charged particles in an air shower. The LOPES experiment at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, has made major contributions to the evolution of this technique. LOPES was reconfigured several times to improve and further develop the radio detection technique. In the latest setup LOPES consisted of 10 tripole antennas. With this, LOPES 3D was the first cosmic ray experiment measuring all three vectorial field components at once and thereby gaining the full information about the electric field vector. We present an analysis based on the data taken with special focus on the benefits of a direct measurement of the vertical polarization component. We demonstrate that by measuring all polarization components the detection and reconstruction efficiency is increased and noisy single channel data can be reconstructed by utilising the information from the other two channels of one antenna station.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2013

Comparison of LOPES data and CoREAS simulations using a full detector simulation (ICRC2013)

The LOPES experiment at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, has been measuring radio emission of air showers for almost 10 years. For a better understanding of the emission process a detailed comparison of data with simulations is necessary. This is possible using a newly developed detector simulation including all LOPES detector components. After propagating a simulated event through this full detector simulation a standard LOPES like event file is written. LOPES data and CoREAS simulations can then be treated equally and the same analysis software can be applied to both. This gives the opportunity to compare data and simulations directly. Furthermore, the standard analysis software can be used with simulations which provide the possibility to check the accuracy regarding reconstruction of air shower parameters. We point out the advantages and present first results using such a full LOPES detector simulation. A comparison of LOPES data and the Monte Carlo code CoREAS based on an analysis using this detector simulation is shown.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2013

The study in the primary energy range 10^{16} - 10^{17} eV with the Muon Tracking Detector in the KASCADE-Grande experiment

The KASCADE-Grande Muon Tracking Detector enables with high accuracy the measurement of directions of EAS muons with energy above 0.8 GeV and up to 700 m distance from the shower centre. Reconstructed muon tracks are used to investigate muon pseudorapidity (eta) distributions. These distributions are nearly identical to the pseudorapidity distributions of their parent mesons produced in hadronic interactions. Comparison of the eta distributions from measured and simulated showers can be used to test the quality of the high energy hadronic interaction models. In this context a comparison of the QGSJet-II-2 and QGSJet-II-4 model will be shown. The pseudorapidity distributions reflect the longitudinal development of EAS and, as such, are sensitive to the mass of the cosmic rays primary particles. With various parameters of the eta distribution, obtained from the MTD data, it is possible to calculate the mean logarithmic mass of CRs. The results of the analysis in the primary energy range 10^{16} eV - 10^{17} eV with the 1st quartile (Q1) of eta distribution will be presented.

astro-ph.HE↗