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At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources
arXiv2008

Diversity among other worlds: characterization of exoplanets by direct detection

The physical characterization of exoplanets will require to take spectra at several orbital positions. For that purpose, a direct imaging capability is necessary. Direct imaging requires an efficient stellar suppression mechanism, associated with an ultrasmooth telescope. We show that before future large space missions (interferometer, 4-8 m class coronograph, external occulter or Fresnel imager), direct imaging of giant planets and close-by super-Earth are at the cross-road of a high scientific interest and a reasonable feasibility. The scientific interest lies in the fact that super-Earths share common geophysical attributes with Earths. They already begin to be detected by radial velocity (RV) and, together with giant planets, they have a larger area than Earths, making them detectable with a 1.5-2 m class telescope in reflected light. We propose such a (space) telescope be a first step before large direct imaging missions.

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arXiv2009

IceCube Collaboration Contributions to ARENA 2008

Contributions of the IceCube Collaboration to the 3rd International Workshop on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino detection Activities (ARENA 2008). The conference was held at Roma University "Sapienza," June 25-27, 2008, in Rome, Italy. This is an html index of the IceCube Collaboration contributions, with clickable links to the individual papers.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

Planets in Stellar Clusters Extensive Search. V. Search for planets and identification of 18 new variable stars in the old open cluster NGC 188

We have undertaken a long-term project, Planets in Stellar Clusters Extensive Search (PISCES), to search for transiting planets in open clusters. In this paper we present the results for NGC 188, an old, rather populous cluster. We have monitored the cluster for more than 87 hours, spread over 45 nights. We have not detected any good transiting planet candidates. We have discovered 18 new variable stars in the cluster, bringing the total number of identified variables to 46, and present for them high precision light curves, spanning 15 months.

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arXiv2008

Unifying disc-jet behaviour in X-ray binaries: an optical/IR approach

Synchrotron emission from jets produced by X-ray binaries can be detected at optical and infrared (IR) frequencies. I show that optical/IR colour-magnitude diagrams of the outbursts of nine X-ray binaries successfully separate thermal disc emission from non-thermal jet emission, in both black hole and neutron star sources. A heated single-temperature blackbody is able to reproduce the observed relations between colour and magnitude, except when excursions are made to a redder colour than expected, which is due to jet emission. The general picture that is developed is then incorporated into the unified picture of disc-jet behaviour in black hole X-ray binaries. At a given position of a source in the X-ray hardness-intensity diagram, the radio, IR and optical properties can be inferred. Similarly, it is possible to predict the X-ray and radio luminosities and spectral states from optical/IR monitoring.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

The DMTPC detector

Directional detection of Dark Matter allows for unambiguous direct detection of WIMPs as well as discrimination between various Dark Matter models in our galaxy. The DMTPC detector is a low-pressure TPC with optical readout designed for directional direct detection of WIMPs. By using CF4 gas as the active material, the detector also has excellent sensitivity to spin-dependent interactions of Dark Matter on protons.

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arXiv2008

Spin Wavelets on the Sphere

In recent years, a rapidly growing literature has focussed on the construction of wavelet systems to analyze functions defined on the sphere. Our purpose in this paper is to generalize these constructions to situations where sections of line bundles, rather than ordinary scalar-valued functions, are considered. In particular, we propose {\em needlet-type spin wavelets} as an extension of the needlet approach recently introduced by Narcowich, Petrushev and Ward, and then considered for more general manifolds by Geller and Mayeli. We discuss localization properties in the real and harmonic domains, and investigate stochastic properties for the analysis of spin random fields. Our results are strongly motivated by cosmological applications, in particular in connection to the analysis of Cosmic Microwave Background polarization data.

math.CA↗
arXiv2008

Multi-wavelength X-ray/mid-infrared observations of GRS 1915+105

We report preliminary results of mid-infrared (MIR) and X-ray observations of GRS 1915+105 that we carried out between 2004 October 2 and 2006 June 5. Our main goals were to study its variability, to detect the presence of dust, and to investigate the possible links between MIR and X-ray emissions. We performed photometric and spectroscopic observations of GRS 1915+105, using the IRAC photometer and the IRS spectrometer mounted on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We completed our set of MIR data with quasi-simultaneous high-energy data obtained with RXTE and INTEGRAL. In the hard state, we detect PAH emission features in the MIR spectrum of GRS 1915+105, which prove the presence of dust in the system. The dust is confirmed by the detection in the hard state of a warm MIR excess in the broadband spectral energy distribution of GRS 1915 105. This excess cannot be explained by the MIR synchrotron emission from the compact jets as GRS 1915+105 was not detected at 15 GHz with the Ryle telescope. We also show that the MIR emission of GRS 1915+105 is strongly variable; it is likely correlated to the soft X-ray emission as it increases in the soft state. We suggest that, beside the dust emission, part of the MIR excess in the soft state is non-thermal, and could be due either to free-free emission from an X-ray driven wind or X-ray reprocessing in the outer part of the accretion disc.

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arXiv2008

The Primordial Helium Abundance

I present a brief review on the determination of the primordial helium abundance by unit mass, Yp. I discuss the importance of the primordial helium abundance in: (a) cosmology, (b) testing the standard big bang nucleosynthesis, (c) studying the physical conditions in H II regions, (d) providing the initial conditions for stellar evolution models, and (e) testing the galactic chemical evolution models.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

The case for optical interferometric polarimetry

Within the last 10 years, long-baseline optical interferometry (LBOI) has benefited significantly from increased sensitivity, spatial resolution, and spectral resolution, e.g., measuring the diameters and asymmetries of single stars, imaging/fitting the orbits of multiple stars, modeling Be star disks, and modeling AGN nuclei. Similarly, polarimetry has also yielded excellent astrophysical results, e.g., characterizing the atmospheres and shells of red giants/supergiants, modeling the envelopes of AGB stars, studying the morphology of Be stars, and monitoring the short- and long- term behavior of AGNs. The next logical evolutionary step in instrumentation is to combine LBOI with polarimetry, which is called optical interferometric polarimetry (OIP). In other words, measurements of spatial coherence are performed simultaneously with measurements of coherence between orthogonal polarization states.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

Internal shocks model for microquasar jets

We present an internal shocks model to investigate particle acceleration and radiation production in microquasar jets. The jet is modelled with discrete ejecta at various time intervals. These ejecta (or 'shells') may have different properties including the bulk velocity. Faster shells can catch up and collide with the slower ones, thus giving rise to shocks. The particles are accelerated inside the shocked plasma. Each collision results in a new shell, which may take part in any subsequent collisions as well as radiate due to synchrotron radiation. Almost continuous energy dissipation along the jet can be obtained with a large number of shell collisions. We investigate the spectral energy distribution of such jets as well as the physical significance of various parameters (e.g. the time interval between ejections and the shell size).

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

Is the ejection of the corona a general phenomenon in microquasars?

We study the evolution of some microquasars during their outbursts as observed with the X-ray telescopes RXTE and INTEGRAL. We focus on the interplay between the accretion disc, and the medium responsible for the production of the hard X-rays (the so-called corona). By comparing the behaviour of two sources (XTE J1550-564 and GRS 1915+105) at X-ray energies and radio wavelengths, we propose a scenario in which the discrete ejections are triggered in coincidence with soft X-ray peaks during the outburst. We also suggest, in those two sources, that the ejected material is the corona that is seen to disappear in coincidence with the X-ray maxima. We then turn to two other sources, XTE J1748-248, and XTE J1859+226, and study whether the same conclusions can be drawn from the existing multi-wave length (radio+X-ray) data.

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arXiv2008

Looking to the future: using IR interferometry to study microquasars

Infrared interferometry is currently in a rapid development phase, with new instrumentation soon achieving milliarcsecond spatial resolutions for faint sources and astrometry on the order of 10 microarcseconds. For jet studies in particular, the next generation of instruments will bring us closer to the event horizon of supermassive black holes such as Sgr A*, and the region where jet launching must occur. But a new possibility to study microquasars in general and jet physics in particular may also arise, using techniques similar to those employed for finding faint exoplanets around stars. The compact, steady jets observed in the hard state of X-ray binaries display a flat/inverted spectrum from the lower radio wavelengths up through at least the far-IR band. Somewhere above this band, a turnover is predicted where the jets become optically thin, revealing a power-law spectrum. This break may have been observed directly in GX339-4, but in most sources such a feature is likely hidden under bright emission from the stellar companion or accretion disk components. Detecting the exact location of this break would provide a new constraint on our models of jet physics, since the break frequency is dependent on the total power, as well as internal density and magnetic field. Furthermore, knowing the break location combined with the spectral index of the power-law would help constrain the amount of synchrotron emission contributed by the jets to the X-ray bands. Along with a summary of some potential observations requiring less optimal instrumental specifications, I will discuss a technique which may enable us to discern the jet break, and the chances of success based on theoretical models applied to some potential target sources.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2009

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. The OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars. II. Type II Cepheids and Anomalous Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud

In the second part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars (OIII-CVS) we present 197 type II Cepheids and 83 anomalous Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The sample of type II Cepheids consists of 64 BL Her stars, 96 W Vir stars and 37 RV Tau stars. Anomalous Cepheids are divided into 62 fundamental-mode and 21 first-overtone pulsators. These are the largest samples of such types of variable stars detected anywhere outside the Galaxy. We present the period-luminosity and color-magnitude diagrams of stars in the sample. If the boundary period between BL Her and W Vir stars is adopted at 4 days, both groups differ significantly in (V-I) colors. We identify a group of 16 peculiar W Vir stars with different appearance of the light curves, brighter and bluer than ordinary stars of that type. Four of these peculiar W Vir stars show additional eclipsing modulation superimposed on the pulsation light curves. Four other stars of that type show long-period secondary variations which may be ellipsoidal modulations. It suggests that peculiar W Vir subgroup may be related to binarity. In total, we identified seven type II Cepheids simultaneously exhibiting eclipsing variations which is a very large fraction compared to classical Cepheids in the LMC. We discuss diagrams showing Fourier parameters of the light curve decomposition against periods. Three sharp features interpreted as an effect of resonances between radial modes are detectable in these diagrams for type II Cepheids.

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arXiv2008

Applications of Nash's Theorem to Cosmology

The cosmological constant problem is seen as a symptom of the ambiguity of the Riemann curvature in general relativity. The solution of that ambiguity provided by Nash's theorem on gravitational perturbations along extra dimensions eliminate the direct comparison between the vacuum energy density and Einstein's cosmological constant, besides being compatible with the formation of structures and the accelerated expansion of the universe.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2011

Can inhomogeneities solve the horizon problem ?

We show how inhomogeneous cosmological models can naturally explain the large angle correlation we observe in the CMB (cosmological microwave background) radiation without invoking any inflationary stage, but simply considering the effects of inhomogeneities on the propagation of photons from the last scattering surface.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

Dark Energy and Modified Gravity

Explanations of the late-time cosmic acceleration within the framework of general relativity are plagued by difficulties. General relativistic models are mostly based on a dark energy field with fine-tuned, unnatural properties. There is a great variety of models, but all share one feature in common -- an inability to account for the gravitational properties of the vacuum energy, and a failure to solve the so-called coincidence problem. Two broad alternatives to dark energy have emerged as candidate models: these typically address only the coincidence problem and not the vacuum energy problem. The first is based on general relativity and attempts to describe the acceleration as an effect of inhomogeneity in the universe. If this alternative could be shown to work, then it would provide a dramatic resolution of the coincidence problem; however, a convincing demonstration of viability has not yet emerged. The second alternative is based on infra-red modifications to general relativity, leading to a weakening of gravity on the largest scales and thus to acceleration. Most examples investigated so far are scalar-tensor or brane-world models, and we focus on the simplest candidates of each type: $f(R)$ models and DGP models respectively. Both of these provide a new angle on the problem, but they also face serious difficulties. However, investigation of these models does lead to valuable insights into the properties of gravity and structure formation, and it also leads to new strategies for testing the validity of General Relativity itself on cosmological scales.

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