Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Duncan Wright

Publications and source records attributed to Duncan Wright.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2022

The CUBES Science Case

We introduce the scientific motivations for the development of the Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph (CUBES) that is now in construction for the Very Large Telescope. The assembled cases span a broad range of contemporary topics across Solar System, Galactic and extragalactic astronomy, where observations are limited by the performance of current ground-based spectrographs shortwards of 400nm. A brief background to each case is presented and specific technical requirements on the instrument design that flow-down from each case are identified. These were used as inputs to the CUBES design, that will provide a factor of ten gain in efficiency for astronomical spectroscopy over 300-405nm, at resolving powers of R~24,000 and ~7,000. We include performance estimates that demonstrate the ability of CUBES to observe sources that are up to three magnitudes fainter than currently possible at ground-ultraviolet wavelengths, and we place its predicted performance in the context of existing facillities.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2022

Twinkle -- a small satellite spectroscopy mission for the next phase of exoplanet science

With a focus on off-the-shelf components, Twinkle is the first in a series of cost competitive small satellites managed and financed by Blue Skies Space Ltd. The satellite is based on a high-heritage Airbus platform that will carry a 0.45 m telescope and a spectrometer which will provide simultaneous wavelength coverage from 0.5-4.5 $\rm{μm}$. The spacecraft prime is Airbus Stevenage while the telescope is being developed by Airbus Toulouse and the spectrometer by ABB Canada. Scheduled to begin scientific operations in 2025, Twinkle will sit in a thermally-stable, sun-synchronous, low-Earth orbit. The mission has a designed operation lifetime of at least seven years and, during the first three years of operation, will conduct two large-scale survey programmes: one focused on Solar System objects and the other dedicated to extrasolar targets. Here we present an overview of the architecture of the mission, refinements in the design approach, and some of the key science themes of the extrasolar survey.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2022

Spectral Line Depth Variability in Radial Velocity Spectra

Stellar active regions, including spots and faculae, can create radial velocity (RV) signals that interfere with the detection and mass measurements of low mass exoplanets. In doing so, these active regions affect each spectral line differently, but the origin of these differences is not fully understood. Here we explore how spectral line variability correlated with S-index (Ca H & K emission) is related to the atomic properties of each spectral line. Next we develop a simple analytic stellar atmosphere model that can account for the largest sources of line variability with S-index. Then we apply this model to HARPS spectra of α Cen B to explain Fe I line depth changes in terms of a disk-averaged temperature difference between active and quiet regions on the visible hemisphere of the star. This work helps establish a physical basis for understanding how stellar activity manifests differently in each spectral line, and may help future work mitigating the impact of stellar activity on exoplanet RV surveys.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2022

Graph-Theoretic Approach to Quantum Error Correction

We investigate a novel class of quantum error correcting codes to correct errors on both qubits and higher-state quantum systems represented as qudits. These codes arise from an original graph-theoretic representation of sets of quantum errors. In this new framework, we represent the algebraic conditions for error correction in terms of edge avoidance between graphs providing a visual representation of the interplay between errors and error correcting codes. Most importantly, this framework supports the development of quantum codes that correct against a predetermined set of errors, in contrast to current methods. A heuristic algorithm is presented, providing steps to develop codes that correct against an arbitrary noisy channel. We benchmark the correction capability of reflexive stabilizer codes for the case of single qubit errors by comparison to existing stabilizer codes that are widely used. In addition, we present two instances of optimal encodings: an optimal encoding for fully correlated noise which achieves a higher encoding rate than previously known, and a minimal encoding for single qudit errors on a four-state system.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2021

The obliquity of HIP 67522 b: a 17 Myr old transiting hot Jupiter-sized planet

HIP 67522 b is a 17 Myr old, close-in ($P_{orb} = 6.96$ d), Jupiter-sized ($R = 10\,R_{\oplus}$) transiting planet orbiting a Sun like star in the Sco-Cen OB association. We present our measurement of the system's projected orbital obliquity via two spectroscopic transit observations using the CHIRON spectroscopic facility. We present a global model that accounts for large surface brightness features typical of such young stars during spectroscopic transit observations. With a value of $|λ| = 5.8^{+2.8\,\circ}_{-5.7}$, it is unlikely that this well-aligned system is the result of a high eccentricity driven migration history. By being the youngest planet with a known obliquity, HIP 67522 b holds a special place in contributing to our understanding of giant planet formation and evolution. Our analysis shows the feasibility of such measurements for young and very active stars.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2021

Diving Beneath the Sea of Stellar Activity: Chromatic Radial Velocities of the Young AU Mic Planetary System

We present updated radial-velocity (RV) analyses of the AU Mic system. AU Mic is a young (22 Myr) early M dwarf known to host two transiting planets - $P_{b}\sim8.46$ days, $R_{b}=4.38_{-0.18}^{+0.18}\ R_{\oplus}$, $P_{c}\sim18.86$ days, $R_{c}=3.51_{-0.16}^{+0.16}\ R_{\oplus}$. With visible RVs from CARMENES-VIS, CHIRON, HARPS, HIRES, {\sc {\textsc{Minerva}}}-Australis, and TRES, as well as near-infrared (NIR) RVs from CARMENES-NIR, CSHELL, IRD, iSHELL, NIRSPEC, and SPIRou, we provide a $5σ$ upper limit to the mass of AU Mic c of $M_{c}\leq20.13\ M_{\oplus}$ and present a refined mass of AU Mic b of $M_{b}=20.12_{-1.57}^{+1.72}\ M_{\oplus}$. Used in our analyses is a new RV modeling toolkit to exploit the wavelength dependence of stellar activity present in our RVs via wavelength-dependent Gaussian processes. By obtaining near-simultaneous visible and near-infrared RVs, we also compute the temporal evolution of RV-``color'' and introduce a regressional method to aid in isolating Keplerian from stellar activity signals when modeling RVs in future works. Using a multi-wavelength Gaussian process model, we demonstrate the ability to recover injected planets at $5σ$ significance with semi-amplitudes down to $\approx$ 10\,m\,s$^{-1}$ with a known ephemeris, more than an order of magnitude below the stellar activity amplitude. However, we find that the accuracy of the recovered semi-amplitudes is $\sim$50\% for such signals with our model.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2021

Continuous Time Quantum Walks on Graphs: Group State Transfer

We introduce the concept of group state transfer on graphs, summarize its relationship to other concepts in the theory of quantum walks, set up a basic theory, and discuss examples. Let $X$ be a graph with adjacency matrix $A$ and consider quantum walks on the vertex set $V(X)$ governed by the continuous time-dependent unitary transition operator $U(t)= \exp(itA)$. For $S,T\subseteq V(X)$, we says $X$ admits "group state transfer" from $S$ to $T$ at time $τ$ if the submatrix of $U(τ)$ obtained by restricting to columns in $S$ and rows not in $T$ is the all-zero matrix. As a generalization of perfect state transfer, fractional revival and periodicity, group state transfer satisfies natural monotonicity and transitivity properties. Yet non-trivial group state transfer is still rare; using a compactness argument, we prove that bijective group state transfer (the optimal case where $|S|=|T|$) is absent for almost all $t$. Focusing on this bijective case, we obtain a structure theorem, prove that bijective group state transfer is "monogamous", and study the relationship between the projections of $S$ and $T$ into each eigenspace of the graph. Group state transfer is obviously preserved by graph automorphisms and this gives us information about the relationship between the setwise stabilizer of $S\subseteq V(X)$ and the stabilizers of naturally defined subsets obtained by spreading $S$ out over time and crudely reversing this process. These operations are sufficiently well-behaved to give us a topology on $V(X)$ which is likely to be simply the topology of subsets for which bijective group state transfer occurs at that time. We illustrate non-trivial group state transfer in bipartite graphs with integer eigenvalues, in joins of graphs, and in symmetric double stars. The Cartesian product allows us to build new examples from old ones.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2021

Polarization of hot Jupiter systems: a likely detection of stellar activity and a possible detection of planetary polarization

We present high-precision linear polarization observations of four bright hot Jupiter systems ($τ$ Boo, HD 179949, HD 189733 and 51 Peg) and use the data to search for polarized reflected light from the planets. The data for 51 Peg are consistent with a reflected light polarization signal at about the level expected with 2.8$σ$ significance and a false alarm probability of 1.9 per cent. More data will be needed to confirm a detection of reflected light in this system. HD 189733 shows highly variable polarization that appears to be most likely the result of magnetic activity of the host star. This masks any polarization due to reflected light, but a polarization signal at the expected level of $\sim$20 ppm cannot be ruled out. $τ$ Boo and HD 179949 show no evidence for polarization due to reflected light. The results are consistent with the idea that many hot Jupiters have low geometric albedos. Conclusive detection of polarized reflected light from hot Jupiters is likely to require further improvements in instrument sensitivity.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2020

Fundamental relations for the velocity dispersion of stars in the Milky Way

We explore the fundamental relations governing the radial and vertical velocity dispersions of stars in the Milky Way, from combined studies of complementary surveys including GALAH, LAMOST, APOGEE, the NASA $Kepler$ and K2 missions, and $Gaia$ DR2. We find that different stellar samples, even though they target different tracer populations and employ a variety of age estimation techniques, follow the same set of fundamental relations. We provide the clearest evidence to date that, in addition to the well-known dependence on stellar age, the velocity dispersions of stars depend on orbital angular momentum $L_z$, metallicity and height above the plane $|z|$, and are well described by a multiplicatively separable functional form. The dispersions have a power-law dependence on age with exponents of 0.441$\pm 0.007$ and 0.251$\pm 0.006$ for $σ_z$ and $σ_R$ respectively, and the power law is valid even for the oldest stars. For the solar neighborhood stars, the apparent break in the power law for older stars, as seen in previous studies, is due to the anti-correlation of $L_z$ with age. The dispersions decrease with increasing $L_z$ until we reach the Sun's orbital angular momentum, after which $σ_z$ increases (implying flaring in the outer disc) while $σ_R$ flattens. The dispersions increase with decreasing metallicity, suggesting that the dispersions increase with birth radius. The dispersions also increase linearly with $|z|$. The same set of relations that work in the solar neighborhood also work for stars between $3<R/{\rm kpc}<20$. Finally, the high-[$α$/Fe] stars follow the same relations as the low-[$α$/Fe] stars.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2019

Optimality in Quantum Data Compression using Dynamical Entropy

In this article we study lossless compression of strings of pure quantum states of indeterminate-length quantum codes which were introduced by Schumacher and Westmoreland. Past work has assumed that the strings of quantum data are prepared to be encoded in an independent and identically distributed way. We introduce the notion of quantum stochastic ensembles, allowing us to consider strings of quantum states prepared in a more general way. For any identically distributed quantum stochastic ensemble we define an associated quantum Markov chain and prove that the optimal average codeword length via lossless coding is equal to the quantum dynamical entropy of the associated quantum Markov chain.

cs.IT↗
arXiv2019

The K2-HERMES Survey: Age and Metallicity of the Thick Disc

Asteroseismology is a promising tool to study Galactic structure and evolution because it can probe the ages of stars. Earlier attempts comparing seismic data from the {\it Kepler} satellite with predictions from Galaxy models found that the models predicted more low-mass stars compared to the observed distribution of masses. It was unclear if the mismatch was due to inaccuracies in the Galactic models, or the unknown aspects of the selection function of the stars. Using new data from the K2 mission, which has a well-defined selection function, we find that an old metal-poor thick disc, as used in previous Galactic models, is incompatible with the asteroseismic information. We show that spectroscopic measurements of [Fe/H] and [$α$/Fe] elemental abundances from the GALAH survey indicate a mean metallicity of $\log (Z/Z_{\odot})=-0.16$ for the thick disc. Here $Z$ is the effective solar-scaled metallicity, which is a function of [Fe/H] and [$α$/Fe]. With the revised disc metallicities, for the first time, the theoretically predicted distribution of seismic masses show excellent agreement with the observed distribution of masses. This provides an indirect verification of the asteroseismic mass scaling relation is good to within five percent. Using an importance-sampling framework that takes the selection function into account, we fit a population synthesis model of the Galaxy to the observed seismic and spectroscopic data. Assuming the asteroseismic scaling relations are correct, we estimate the mean age of the thick disc to be about 10 Gyr, in agreement with the traditional idea of an old $α$-enhanced thick disc.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2019

Exoplanets in the Antarctic sky. II. 116 Transiting Exoplanet Candidates Found by AST3-II (CHESPA) within the Southern CVZ of TESS

We report first results from the CHinese Exoplanet Searching Program from Antarctica (CHESPA)---a wide-field high-resolution photometric survey for transiting exoplanets carried out using telescopes of the AST3 (Antarctic Survey Telescopes times 3) project. There are now three telescopes (AST3-I, AST3-II, and CSTAR-II) operating at Dome A---the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau---in a fully automatic and remote mode to exploit the superb observing conditions of the site, and its long and uninterrupted polar nights. The search for transiting exoplanets is one of the key projects for AST3. During the Austral winters of 2016 and 2017 we used the AST3-II telescope to survey a set of target fields near the southern ecliptic pole, falling within the continuous viewing zone of the TESS mission \citep{Ricker10}. The first data release of the 2016 data, including images, catalogs and lightcurves of 26578 bright stars ($7.5\le i \le15$) was presented in \citet{Zhang18}. The best precision, as measured by the RMS of the lightcurves at the optimum magnitude of the survey ($i=10$), is around 2\,mmag. We detect 222 objects with plausible transit signals from these data, 116 of which are plausible transiting exoplanet candidates according to their stellar properties as given by the TESS Input Catalog \citep{Stassun17}, Gaia DR2 \citep{Gaia18} and TESS-HERMES spectroscopy \citep{Sharma18}. With the first data release from TESS expected in late 2018, this candidate list will be a timely for improving the rejection of potential false positives.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2018

Exoplanets in the Antarctic Sky. I. The First Data Release of AST3-II (CHESPA) and New Found Variables within the Southern CVZ of TESS

Located at Dome A, the highest point of the Antarctic plateau, the Chinese Kunlun station is considered to be one of the best ground-based photometric sites because of its extremely cold, dry, and stable atmosphere(Saunders et al. 2009). A target can be monitored from there for over 40 days without diurnal interruption during a polar winter. This makes Kunlun station a perfect site to search for short-period transiting exoplanets. Since 2008, an observatory has been built at Kunlun station and three telescopes are working there. Using these telescopes, the AST3 project has been carried out over the last six years with a search for transiting exoplanets as one of its key programs (CHESPA). In the austral winters of 2016 and 2017, a set of target fields in the Southern CVZ of TESS (Ricker et al. 2009) were monitored by the AST3-II telescope. In this paper, we introduce the CHESPA and present the first data release containing photometry of 26,578 bright stars (m_i < 15). The best photometric precision at the optimum magnitude for the survey is around 2 mmag. To demonstrate the data quality, we also present a catalog of 221 variables with a brightness variation greater than 5 mmag from the 2016 data. Among these variables, 179 are newly identified periodic variables not listed in the AAVSO databasea), and 67 are listed in the Candidate Target List(Stassun et al. 2017). These variables will require careful attention to avoid false-positive signals when searching for transiting exoplanets. Dozens of new transiting exoplanet candidates will be also released in a subsequent paper(Zhang et al. 2018b).

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2018

On the nonlinearity of quantum dynamical entropy

Linearity of a dynamical entropy means that the dynamical entropy of the n-fold composition of a dynamical map with itself is equal to n times the dynamical entropy of the map for every positive integer n. We show that the quantum dynamical entropy introduced by Slomczynski and Zyczkowski is nonlinear in the time interval between successive measurements of a quantum dynamical system. This is in contrast to Kolmogorov-Sinai dynamical entropy for classical dynamical systems, which is linear in time. We also compute the exact values of quantum dynamical entropy for the Hadamard walk with varying Luders-von Neumann instruments and partitions.

math-ph↗
arXiv2018

Veloce Rosso: Australia's new precision radial velocity spectrograph

Veloce is an ultra-stable fibre-fed R4 echelle spectrograph for the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope. The first channel to be commissioned, Veloce 'Rosso', utilises multiple low-cost design innovations to obtain Doppler velocities for Sun-like and M-dwarf stars at <1 m/s precision. The spectrograph has an asymmetric white-pupil format with a 100-mm beam diameter, delivering R>75,000 spectra over a 580-950 nm range for the Rosso channel. Simultaneous calibration is provided by a single-mode pulsed laser frequency comb in tandem with a traditional arc lamp. A bundle of 19 object fibres provides a 2.4" field of view for full sampling of stellar targets from the AAT site. Veloce is housed in dual environmental enclosures that maintain positive air pressure at a stability of +/-0.3 mbar, with a thermal stability of +/-0.01 K on the optical bench. We present a technical overview and early performance data from Australia's next major spectroscopic machine.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2017

The K2-HERMES Survey. I. Planet Candidate Properties from K2 Campaigns 1-3

Accurate and precise radius estimates of transiting exoplanets are critical for understanding their compositions and formation mechanisms. To know the planet, we must know the host star in as much detail as possible. We present first results from the K2-HERMES project, which uses the HERMES multi-object spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope to obtain R$\sim$28,000 spectra of up to 360 stars in one exposure. This ongoing project aims to derive self-consistent spectroscopic parameters for about half of K2 target stars. We present complete stellar parameters and isochrone-derived masses and radii for 46 stars hosting 57 K2 candidate planets in Campaigns 1-3. Our revised host-star radii cast severe doubt on three candidate planets: EPIC\,201407812.01, EPIC\,203070421.01, and EPIC\,202843107.01, all of which now have inferred radii well in excess of the largest known inflated Jovian planets.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2017

HATS-22b, HATS-23b and HATS-24b: Three new transiting Super-Jupiters from the HATSouth Project

We report the discovery of three moderately high-mass transiting hot Jupiters from the HATSouth survey: HATS-22b, HATS-23b and HATS-24b. These planets add to the numbers of known planets in the ~2MJ regime. HATS-22b is a 2.74+/-0.11 MJ mass and 0.953+0.048/-0.029 RJ radius planet orbiting a V = 13.455 +/- 0.040 sub-silar mass (M_star = 0.759+/-0.019 M_sun; R_star = 0.759+/-0.019 R_sun) K-dwarf host star on an eccentric (e = 0.079 +/- 0.026) orbit. This planet's high planet-to-stellar mass ratio is further evidence that migration mechanisms for hot Jupiters may rely on exciting orbital eccentricities that bring planets closer to their parent stars followed by tidal circularisation. HATS-23b is a 1.478 +/- 0.080 MJ mass and 1.69 +/- 0.24 RJ radius planet on a grazing orbit around a V = 13.901 +/- 0.010 G-dwarf with properties very similar to those of the Sun (M_star = 1.115 +/- 0.054 M_sun; R_star = 1.145 +/- 0.070 R_sun). HATS-24b orbits a moderately bright V = 12.830 +/- 0.010 F-dwarf star (M_star = 1.218 +/- 0.036 M_sun; R_star = 1.194+0.066/-0.041 R_sun). This planet has a mass of 2.39 +0.21/-0.12 MJ and an inflated radius of 1.516 +0.085/-0.065 RJ.

astro-ph.EP↗