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Sample records for sagittarius dwarf tidal

  1. Detectability of weakly interacting massive particles in the Sagittarius dwarf tidal stream

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freese, Katherine; Gondolo, Paolo; Newberg, Heidi Jo

    2005-01-01

    Tidal streams of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr) may be showering dark matter onto the solar system and contributing ∼(0.3-23)% of the local density of our galactic halo. If the Sagittarius galaxy contains dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), the extra contribution from the stream gives rise to a steplike feature in the energy recoil spectrum in direct dark matter detection. For our best estimate of stream velocity (300 km/s) and direction (the plane containing the Sgr dwarf and its debris), the count rate is maximum on June 28 and minimum on December 27 (for most recoil energies), and the location of the step oscillates yearly with a phase opposite to that of the count rate. In the CDMS experiment, for 60 GeV WIMPs, the location of the step oscillates between 35 and 42 keV, and for the most favorable stream density, the stream should be detectable at the 11σ level in four years of data with 10 keV energy bins. Planned large detectors like XENON, CryoArray, and the directional detector DRIFT may also be able to identify the Sgr stream

  2. Recreating the chemical evolution of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal from its tidal debris

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Sheffield, Allyson; Cunha, Katia M. L.; Smith, Verne V.

    2018-06-01

    We present a detailed chemical analysis of the Sagittarius (Sgr) tidal stream based on high-resolution Gemini+GRACES spectra of 42 members of the highest surface brightness portions of both the trailing and leading arms of the Sgr stream. We select Sgr tidal stream candidates using a 2MASS+WISE color-color selection, combined with LAMOST radial velocities, allowing us to efficiently select Sgr stream members with little contamination from field stars. Sgr is a recently infallen, currently disrupting dwarf spheroidal galaxy, with roughly 70% of the luminosity of the Sgr system residing in the tidal streams. With this study, we provide a link between the (known) chemical properties in the intact Sgr core and the significant portion of the Sgr system's luminosity that is estimated to currently reside in the streams. In this talk, we focus on abundances of alpha-elements, but we will also analyze neutron-capture (both r- and s-process) and iron-peak species. We compare our chemical abundances to the few existing measurements in the stream as well as the numerous results in the Sgr core.

  3. RED CLUMP STARS IN THE SAGITTARIUS TIDAL STREAMS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carrell, Kenneth; Chen Yuqin; Wilhelm, Ronald

    2012-01-01

    We have probed a section (l ∼ 150, b ∼ –60) of the trailing tidal arm of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy by identifying a sample of Red Clump (RC) stream stars. RC stars are not generally found in the halo field, but are found in significant numbers in both the Sagittarius galaxy and its tidal streams, making them excellent probes of stream characteristics. Our target sample was selected using photometric data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Data Release 6, which was constrained in color to match the Sagittarius RC stars. Spectroscopic observations of the target stars were conducted at Kitt Peak National Observatory using the WIYN telescope. The resulting spectroscopic sample is magnitude limited and contains both main-sequence disk stars and evolved RC stars. We have developed a method to systematically separate these two stellar classes using kinematic information and a Bayesian approach for surface gravity determination. The resulting RC sample allows us to determine an absolute stellar density of ρ = 2.7 ± 0.5 RC stars kpc –3 at this location in the stream. Future measurements of stellar densities for a variety of populations and at various locations along the streams will lead to a much improved understanding of the original nature of the Sagittarius galaxy and the physical processes controlling its disruption and subsequent stream generation.

  4. Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibata, R.; Murdin, P.

    2000-11-01

    The Sagittarius DWARF GALAXY is the closest member of the Milky Way's entourage of satellite galaxies. Discovered by chance in 1994, its presence had previously been overlooked because it is largely hidden by the most crowded regions of our own Galaxy with which it is merging....

  5. SELECTING SAGITTARIUS: IDENTIFICATION AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SAGITTARIUS STREAM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyde, E. A. [University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797 (Australia); Keller, S. [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Zucker, D. B. [Macquarie University, Physics and Astronomy, NSW 2109 (Australia); Ibata, R.; Siebert, A. [Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l’Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Lewis, G. F.; Conn, A. R. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Penarrubia, J. [ROE, The University of Edinburgh, Institute for Astronomy, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Irwin, M.; Gilmore, G. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Lane, R. R. [Departamento de Astronomía Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160 C, Concepción (Chile); Koch, A. [Landessternwarte, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Königstuhl 12, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Diakogiannis, F. I. [International Center for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009 (Australia); Martell, S., E-mail: E.Hyde@uws.edu.au [Department of Astrophysics, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia)

    2015-06-01

    Wrapping around the Milky Way, the Sagittarius stream is the dominant substructure in the halo. Our statistical selection method has allowed us to identify 106 highly likely members of the Sagittarius stream. Spectroscopic analysis of metallicity and kinematics of all members provides us with a new mapping of the Sagittarius stream. We find correspondence between the velocity distribution of stream stars and those computed for a triaxial model of the Milky Way dark matter halo. The Sagittarius trailing arm exhibits a metallicity gradient, ranging from −0.59 to −0.97 dex over 142°. This is consistent with the scenario of tidal disruption from a progenitor dwarf galaxy that possessed an internal metallicity gradient. We note high metallicity dispersion in the leading arm, causing a lack of detectable gradient and possibly indicating orbital phase mixing. We additionally report on a potential detection of the Sextans dwarf spheroidal in our data.

  6. Solo dwarfs I: survey introduction and first results for the Sagittarius dwarf irregular galaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgs, C. R.; McConnachie, A. W.; Irwin, M.; Bate, N. F.; Lewis, G. F.; Walker, M. G.; Côté, P.; Venn, K.; Battaglia, G.

    2016-05-01

    We introduce the Solitary Local dwarfs survey (Solo), a wide-field photometric study targeting every isolated dwarf galaxy within 3 Mpc of the Milky Way. Solo is based on (u)gi multiband imaging from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/MegaCam for northern targets, and Magellan/Megacam for southern targets. All galaxies fainter than MV ≃ -18 situated beyond the nominal virial radius of the Milky Way and M31 (≳300 kpc) are included in this volume-limited sample, for a total of 42 targets. In addition to reviewing the survey goals and strategy, we present results for the Sagittarius dwarf irregular galaxy (Sag DIG), one of the most isolated, low-mass galaxies, located at the edge of the Local Group. We analyse its resolved stellar populations and their spatial distributions. We provide updated estimates of its central surface brightness and integrated luminosity, and trace its surface brightness profile to a level fainter than 30 mag arcsec-2. Sag DIG is well described by a highly elliptical (disc-like) system following a single component Sérsic model. However, a low-level distortion is present at the outer edges of the galaxy that, were Sag DIG not so isolated, would likely be attributed to some kind of previous tidal interaction. Further, we find evidence of an extremely low level, extended distribution of stars beyond ˜5 arcmin (>1.5 kpc) that suggests Sag DIG may be embedded in a very low-density stellar halo. We compare the stellar and H I structures of Sag DIG, and discuss results for this galaxy in relation to other isolated, dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local Group.

  7. Mapping the Tidal Destruction of the Hercules Dwarf: A Wide-field DECam Imaging Search for RR Lyrae Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garling, Christopher; Willman, Beth; Sand, David J.; Hargis, Jonathan; Crnojević, Denija; Bechtol, Keith; Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Strader, Jay; Zou, Hu; Zhou, Xu; Nie, Jundan; Zhang, Tianmeng; Zhou, Zhimin; Peng, Xiyan

    2018-01-01

    We investigate the hypothesized tidal disruption of the Hercules ultra-faint dwarf galaxy (UFD). Previous tidal disruption studies of the Hercules UFD have been hindered by the high degree of foreground contamination in the direction of the dwarf. We bypass this issue by using RR Lyrae stars, which are standard candles with a very low field-volume density at the distance of Hercules. We use wide-field imaging from the Dark Energy Camera on CTIO to identify candidate RR Lyrae stars, supplemented with observations taken in coordination with the Beijing–Arizona Sky Survey on the Bok Telescope. Combining color, magnitude, and light-curve information, we identify three new RR Lyrae stars associated with Hercules. All three of these new RR Lyrae stars lie outside its published tidal radius. When considered with the nine RR Lyrae stars already known within the tidal radius, these results suggest that a substantial fraction of Hercules’ stellar content has been stripped. With this degree of tidal disruption, Hercules is an interesting case between a visibly disrupted dwarf (such as the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy) and one in dynamic equilibrium. The degree of disruption also shows that we must be more careful with the ways we determine object membership when estimating dwarf masses in the future. One of the three discovered RR Lyrae stars sits along the minor axis of Hercules, but over two tidal radii away. This type of debris is consistent with recent models that suggest Hercules’ orbit is aligned with its minor axis.

  8. THE CHEMISTRY OF THE TRAILING ARM OF THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keller, Stefan C.; Yong, David; Da Costa, Gary S.

    2010-01-01

    We present abundances of C, O, Ti, and Fe for 11 M-giant stars in the trailing tidal arm of the Sagittarius dwarf (Sgr). The abundances were derived by comparing synthetic spectra with high-resolution infrared spectra obtained with the Phoenix spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope. The targeted stars are drawn from two regions of the Sgr trailing arm separated by 66 0 (five stars) and 132 0 (six stars) from the main body of Sgr. The trailing arm provides a more direct diagnostic of the chemical evolution of Sgr compared to the extensively phase-mixed leading arm. Within our restricted sample of ∼2-3 Gyr old stars, we find that the stream material exhibits a significant metallicity gradient of -(2.4 ± 0.3) x 10 -3 dex/degree (-(9.4 ± 1.1) x 10 -4 dex/kpc) away from the main body of Sgr. The tidal disruption of Sgr is a relatively recent event. We therefore interpret the presence of a metallicity gradient in the debris as indicative of a similar gradient in the progenitor. The fact that such a metallicity gradient survived for almost a Hubble time indicates that the efficiency of radial mixing was very low in the Sgr progenitor. No significant gradient is seen to exist in the [α/Fe] abundance ratio along the trailing arm. Our results may be accounted for by a radial decrease in star formation efficiency and/or radial increase in the efficiency of galactic wind-driven metal loss in the chemical evolution of the Sgr progenitor. The [Ti/Fe] and [O/Fe] abundance ratios observed within the stream are distinct from those of the Galactic halo. We conclude that the fraction of the intermediate to metal-rich halo population contributed by the recent dissolution (<3 Gyr) of Sgr-like dwarf galaxies cannot be substantial.

  9. TRACING SAGITTARIUS STRUCTURE WITH SDSS AND SEGUE IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanny, Brian; Newberg, Heidi Jo; Johnson, Jennifer A.; Lee, Young Sun; Beers, Timothy C.; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Brewington, Howard; Malanushenko, Elena; Malanushenko, Viktor; Oravetz, Dan; Pan, Kaike; Simmons, Audrey; Snedden, Stephanie; Fiorentin, Paola Re; Harding, Paul

    2009-01-01

    We show that the Sagittarius dwarf tidal stream can be traced with very red K/M-giant stars, selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry. A subset of these stars are spectroscopically confirmed with SEGUE and SDSS spectra, and the distance scale of 2MASS and SDSS M giants is calibrated to the RR Lyrae distance scale. The absolute magnitude of the K/M-giant stars at the tip of the giant branch is M g 0 =-1.0. The line-of-sight velocities of the M giant and blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars that are spatially coincident with the Sgr dwarf tidal stream are consistent with those of previous authors, reinforcing the need for new models that can explain all of the Sgr tidal debris stream observations. We estimate stellar densities along the tidal tails that can be used to help constrain future models. The K/M giant, BHB, and F-turnoff stars in the lower surface brightness tidal stream that is adjacent to the main leading Sgr dwarf tidal tail have velocities and metallicities that are similar to those of the stars in the leading tidal tail. The ratio of K/M giants to BHBs and BHBs to F-turnoff stars are also similar for both branches of the leading tidal tail. We show that there is an additional low-metallicity tidal stream near the Sgr trailing tidal tail.

  10. Massive stars in the Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Miriam

    2018-02-01

    Low metallicity massive stars hold the key to interpret numerous processes in the past Universe including re-ionization, starburst galaxies, high-redshift supernovae, and γ-ray bursts. The Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy [SagDIG, 12+log(O/H) = 7.37] represents an important landmark in the quest for analogues accessible with 10-m class telescopes. This Letter presents low-resolution spectroscopy executed with the Gran Telescopio Canarias that confirms that SagDIG hosts massive stars. The observations unveiled three OBA-type stars and one red supergiant candidate. Pending confirmation from high-resolution follow-up studies, these could be the most metal-poor massive stars of the Local Group.

  11. On the Nature of Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxy Candidates. II. The Case of Cetus II

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conn, Blair C.; Jerjen, Helmut; Kim, Dongwon; Schirmer, Mischa

    2018-04-01

    We obtained deep Gemini GMOS-S g, r photometry of the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidate Cetus II with the aim of providing stronger constraints on its size, luminosity, and stellar population. Cetus II is an important object in the size–luminosity plane, as it occupies the transition zone between dwarf galaxies and star clusters. All known objects smaller than Cetus II (r h ∼ 20 pc) are reported to be star clusters, while most larger objects are likely dwarf galaxies. We found a prominent excess of main-sequence stars in the color–magnitude diagram of Cetus II, best described by a single stellar population with an age of 11.2 Gyr, metallicity of [Fe/H] = ‑1.28 dex, an [α/Fe] = 0.0 dex at a heliocentric distance of 26.3 ± 1.2 kpc. As well as being spatially located within the Sagittarius dwarf tidal stream, these properties are well matched to the Sagittarius galaxy’s Population B stars. Interestingly, like our recent findings on the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidate Tucana V, the stellar field in the direction of Cetus II shows no evidence of a concentrated overdensity despite tracing the main sequence for over six magnitudes. These results strongly support the picture that Cetus II is not an ultra-faint stellar system in the Milky Way halo, but made up of stars from the Sagittarius tidal stream.

  12. EVOLUTIONARY TRACKS OF TIDALLY STIRRED DISKY DWARF GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lokas, Ewa L.; Kazantzidis, Stelios; Mayer, Lucio

    2011-01-01

    Using collisionless N-body simulations, we investigate the tidal evolution of late-type, rotationally supported dwarfs inside Milky Way sized host galaxies. Our study focuses on a wide variety of dwarf orbital configurations and initial structures. During the evolution, the disky dwarfs undergo strong mass loss, the stellar disks are transformed into spheroids, and rotation is replaced by random motions of the stars. Thus, the late-type progenitors are transformed into early-type dwarfs as envisioned by the tidal stirring model for the formation of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies in the Local Group. We determine the photometric properties of the dwarfs, including the total visual magnitude, the half-light radius, and the central surface brightness as they would be measured by an observer near the galactic center. Special emphasis is also placed on studying their kinematics and shapes. We demonstrate that the measured values are biased by a number of observational effects including the increasing angle of the observation cone near the orbital pericenter, the fact that away from the pericenter the tidal tails are typically oriented along the line of sight, and the fact that for most of the evolution the stellar components of the dwarfs are triaxial ellipsoids whose major axis tumbles with respect to the line of sight. Finally, we compare the measured properties of the simulated dwarfs to those of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. The evolutionary tracks of the dwarfs in different parameter planes and the correlations between their different properties, especially the total magnitude and the surface brightness, strongly suggest that present-day dSph galaxies may have indeed formed from late-type progenitors as proposed by the tidal stirring scenario.

  13. From Globular Clusters to Tidal Dwarfs: Structure Formation in Tidal Tails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knierman, K.; Hunsberger, S.; Gallagher, S.; Charlton, J.; Whitmore, B.; Hibbard, J.; Kundu, A.; Zaritsky, D.

    1999-12-01

    Galaxy interactions trigger star formation in tidal debris. How does this star formation depend on the local and global physical conditions? Using WFPC2/HST images, we investigate the range of structure within tidal tails of four classic ``Toomre Sequence'' mergers: NGC 4038/9 (``Antennae''), NGC 7252 (``Atoms for Peace''), NGC 3921, and NGC 3256. These tails contain a variety of stellar associations with sizes from globular clusters up to dwarf Irregulars. We explore whether there is a continuum between the two extremes. Our eight fields sample seven tidal tails at a variety of stages in the evolutionary sequence. Some of these tails are rich in HI while others are HI poor. Large tidal dwarfs are embedded in three of the tails. Using V and I WFPC2 images, we measure luminosities and colors of substructures within the tidal tails. The properties of globular cluster candidates in the tails will be contrasted with those of the hundreds of young clusters in the central regions of these mergers. We address whether globular clusters form and survive in the tidal tails and whether tidal dwarfs are composed of only young stars. By comparing the properties of structures in the tails of the four mergers with different ages, we examine systematic evolution of structure along the evolutionary sequence and as a function of HI content. We acknowledge support from NASA through STScI, and from NSF for an REU supplement for Karen Knierman.

  14. APOGEE Chemical Abundances of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasselquist, Sten; Shetrone, Matthew D.; Smith, Verne V.; Holtzman, Jon A.; McWilliam, Andrew; APOGEE Team

    2018-06-01

    The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment provides the opportunity of measuring elemental abundances for C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni in vast numbers of stars. We analyze the chemical-abundance patterns of these elements for 158 red giant stars belonging to the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). This is the largest sample of Sgr stars with detailed chemical abundances, and it is the first time that C, N, P, K, V, Cr, Co, and Ni have been studied at high resolution in this galaxy. We find that the Sgr stars with [Fe/H] > -0.8 are deficient in all elemental abundance ratios (expressed as [X/Fe]) relative to the Milky Way, suggesting that the Sgr stars observed today were formed from gas that was less enriched by Type II SNe than stars formed in the Milky Way. By examining the relative deficiencies of the hydrostatic (O, Na, Mg, and Al) and explosive (Si, P, K, and Mn) elements, our analysis supports the argument that previous generations of Sgr stars were formed with a top-light initial mass function, one lacking the most massive stars that would normally pollute the interstellar medium with the hydrostatic elements. We use a simple chemical-evolution model, flexCE, to further support our claim and conclude that recent stellar generations of Fornax and the Large Magellanic Cloud could also have formed according to a top-light initial mass function. We then exploit the unique chemical abundance patters of the Sgr core to trace stars belonging to the Sgr tidal streams elsewhere in the Milky Way.

  15. Characterizing Milky Way Tidal Streams and Dark Matter with MilkyWay@home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newberg, Heidi Jo; Shelton, Siddhartha; Weiss, Jake

    2018-01-01

    MilkyWay@home is a 0.5 PetaFLOPS volunteer computing platform that is mapping out the density substructure of the Sagittarius Dwarf Tidal Stream, the so-called bifurcated portion of the Sagittarius Stream, and the Virgo Overdensity, using turnoff stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It is also using the density of stars along tidal streams such as the Orphan Stream to constrain properties of the dwarf galaxy progenitor of this stream, including the dark matter portion. Both of these programs are enabled by a specially-built optimization package that uses differential evolution or particle swarm methods to find the optimal model parameters to fit a set of data. To fit the density of tidal streams, 20 parameters are simultaneously fit to each 2.5-degree-wide stripe of SDSS data. Five parameters describing the stellar and dark matter profile of the Orphan Stream progenitor and the time that the dwarf galaxy has been evolved through the Galactic potential are used in an n-body simulation that is then fit to observations of the Orphan Stream. New results from MilkyWay@home will be presented. This project was supported by NSF grant AST 16-15688, the NASA/NY Space Grant fellowship, and contributions made by The Marvin Clan, Babette Josephs, Manit Limlamai, and the 2015 Crowd Funding Campaign to Support Milky Way Research.

  16. Field #3 of the Palomar-Groningen Survey; 1, Variable stars at the edge of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schultheis, M.

    1996-01-01

    Submitted to: Astron. Astrophys. Abstract: A catalogue is presented with variable (RR Lyrae, semiregular and Mira) stars located inside field #3 of the Palomar-Groningen Survey, at the outer edge of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. One of the semiregular variables is a carbon star, comparable with

  17. Tidal Dwarf Galaxies and Missing Baryons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederic Bournaud

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Tidal dwarf galaxies form during the interaction, collision, or merger of massive spiral galaxies. They can resemble “normal” dwarf galaxies in terms of mass, size, and become dwarf satellites orbiting around their massive progenitor. They nevertheless keep some signatures from their origin, making them interesting targets for cosmological studies. In particular, they should be free from dark matter from a spheroidal halo. Flat rotation curves and high dynamical masses may then indicate the presence of an unseen component, and constrain the properties of the “missing baryons,” known to exist but not directly observed. The number of dwarf galaxies in the Universe is another cosmological problem for which it is important to ascertain if tidal dwarf galaxies formed frequently at high redshift, when the merger rate was high, and many of them survived until today. In this paper, “dark matter” is used to refer to the nonbaryonic matter, mostly located in large dark halos, that is, CDM in the standard paradigm, and “missing baryons” or “dark baryons” is used to refer to the baryons known to exist but hardly observed at redshift zero, and are a baryonic dark component that is additional to “dark matter”.

  18. From Globular Clusters to Tidal Dwarfs: Structure Formation in the Tidal Tails of Merging Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knierman, Karen A.; Gallagher, Sarah C.; Charlton, Jane C.; Hunsberger, Sally D.; Whitmore, Bradley; Kundu, Arunav; Hibbard, J. E.; Zaritsky, Dennis

    2003-09-01

    Using V and I images obtained with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) of the Hubble Space Telescope, we investigate compact stellar structures within tidal tails. Six regions of tidal debris in the four classic ``Toomre sequence'' mergers: NGC 4038/39 (``Antennae''), NGC 3256, NGC 3921, and NGC 7252 (``Atoms for Peace'') have been studied in order to explore how the star formation depends on the local and global physical conditions. These mergers sample a range of stages in the evolutionary sequence and tails with and without embedded tidal dwarf galaxies. The six tails are found to contain a variety of stellar structures, with sizes ranging from those of globular clusters up to those of dwarf galaxies. From V and I WFPC2 images, we measure the luminosities and colors of the star clusters. NGC 3256 is found to have a large population of blue clusters (0.2<~V-I<~0.9), particularly in its western tail, similar to those found in the inner region of the merger. In contrast, NGC 4038/39 has no clusters in the observed region of the tail, only less luminous point sources likely to be individual stars. NGC 3921 and NGC 7252 have small populations of clusters along their tails. A significant cluster population is clearly associated with the prominent tidal dwarf candidates in the eastern and western tails of NGC 7252. The cluster-rich western tail of NGC 3256 is not distinguished from the others by its dynamical age or by its total H I mass. However, the mergers that have few clusters in the tail all have tidal dwarf galaxies, while NGC 3256 does not have prominent tidal dwarfs. We speculate that star formation in tidal tails may manifest itself either in small structures like clusters along the tail or in large structures such as dwarf galaxies, but not in both. Also, NGC 3256 has the highest star formation rate of the four mergers studied, which may contribute to the high number of star clusters in its tidal tails. Based in part on observations obtained with the

  19. Atypical Thermonuclear Supernovae from Tidally Crushed White Dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosswog, S.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hix, William Raphael

    2008-01-01

    Suggestive evidence has accumulated that intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) exist in some globular clusters. Some stars will inevitably wander sufficiently close to the hole to suffer a tidal disruption. IMBHs can disrupt not only solar-type stars but also compact white dwarf stars. We investigate the fate of white dwarfs that approach the hole close enough to be disrupted and compressed to such an extent that explosive nuclear burning is triggered. Based on a precise modeling of the gas dynamics together with the nuclear reactions, it is argued that thermonuclear ignition is a natural outcome for white dwarfs of all masses passing well within the tidal radius. A good fraction of the star is accreted, yielding high luminosities that persist for up to a year. A peculiar, underluminous thermonuclear explosion accompanied by a soft X-ray transient signal would, if detected, be a compelling testimony for the presence of an IMBH

  20. Dwarf Galaxies Swimming in Tidal Tails

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-01-01

    This false-color infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows little 'dwarf galaxies' forming in the 'tails' of two larger galaxies that are colliding together. The big galaxies are at the center of the picture, while the dwarfs can be seen as red dots in the red streamers, or tidal tails. The two blue dots above the big galaxies are stars in the foreground. Galaxy mergers are common occurrences in the universe; for example, our own Milky Way galaxy will eventually smash into the nearby Andromeda galaxy. When two galaxies meet, they tend to rip each other apart, leaving a trail, called a tidal tail, of gas and dust in their wake. It is out of this galactic debris that new dwarf galaxies are born. The new Spitzer picture demonstrates that these particular dwarfs are actively forming stars. The red color indicates the presence of dust produced in star-forming regions, including organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These carbon-containing molecules are also found on Earth, in car exhaust and on burnt toast, among other places. Here, the molecules are being heated up by the young stars, and, as a result, shine in infrared light. This image was taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer. It is a 4-color composite of infrared light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red). Starlight has been subtracted from the orange and red channels in order to enhance the dust features.

  1. HOW TO MAKE AN ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY: TIDAL STIRRING OF DISKY DWARFS WITH SHALLOW DARK MATTER DENSITY PROFILES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Łokas, Ewa L.; Kazantzidis, Stelios; Mayer, Lucio

    2012-01-01

    In recent years the Sloan Digital Sky Survey has unraveled a new population of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) whose origin remains a puzzle in the vicinity of the Milky Way (MW). Using a suite of collisionless N-body simulations, we investigate the formation of UFDs in the context of the tidal stirring model for the formation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group (LG). Our simulations are designed to reproduce the tidal interactions between MW-sized host galaxies and rotationally supported dwarfs embedded in 10 9 M ☉ dark matter (DM) halos. We explore a variety of inner density slopes ρ∝r –α for the dwarf DM halos, ranging from core-like (α = 0.2) to cuspy (α = 1), and different dwarf orbital configurations. Our experiments demonstrate that UFDs can be produced via tidal stirring of disky dwarfs on relatively tight orbits, consistent with a redshift of accretion by the host galaxy of z ∼ 1, and with intermediate values for the halo inner density slopes (ρ∝r –0.6 ). The inferred slopes are in excellent agreement with those resulting from both the modeling of the rotation curves of dwarf galaxies and recent cosmological simulations of dwarf galaxy formation. Comparing the properties of observed UFDs with those of their simulated counterparts, we find remarkable similarities in terms of basic observational parameters. We conclude that tidal stirring of rotationally supported dwarfs represents a viable mechanism for the formation of UFDs in the LG environment.

  2. The Ital-FLAMES survey of the Sagittarius dwarf Spheroidal galaxy. I. Chemical abundances of bright RGB stars

    OpenAIRE

    Monaco, L.; Bellazzini, M.; Bonifacio, P.; Ferraro, F. R.; Marconi, G.; Pancino, E.; Sbordone, L.; Zaggia, S.

    2005-01-01

    We present iron and $\\alpha$ element (Mg, Ca, Ti) abundances for a sample of 15 Red Giant Branch stars belonging to the main body of the Sagittarius dwarf Spheroidal galaxy. Abundances have been obtained from spectra collected using the high resolution spectrograph FLAMES-UVES mounted at the VLT. Stars of our sample have a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.41$\\pm$0.20 with a metal poor tail extending to [Fe/H]=-1.52. The $\\alpha$ element abundance ratios are slightly subsolar for metallicities hi...

  3. TIDAL NOVAE IN COMPACT BINARY WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuller, Jim; Lai Dong

    2012-01-01

    Compact binary white dwarfs (WDs) undergoing orbital decay due to gravitational radiation can experience significant tidal heating prior to merger. In these WDs, the dominant tidal effect involves the excitation of outgoing gravity waves in the inner stellar envelope and the dissipation of these waves in the outer envelope. As the binary orbit decays, the WDs are synchronized from outside in (with the envelope synchronized first, followed by the core). We examine the deposition of tidal heat in the envelope of a carbon-oxygen WD and study how such tidal heating affects the structure and evolution of the WD. We show that significant tidal heating can occur in the star's degenerate hydrogen layer. This layer heats up faster than it cools, triggering runaway nuclear fusion. Such 'tidal novae' may occur in all WD binaries containing a CO WD, at orbital periods between 5 minutes and 20 minutes, and precede the final merger by 10 5 -10 6 years.

  4. ON THE EFFICIENCY OF THE TIDAL STIRRING MECHANISM FOR THE ORIGIN OF DWARF SPHEROIDALS: DEPENDENCE ON THE ORBITAL AND STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS OF THE PROGENITOR DISKY DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kazantzidis, Stelios; Lokas, Ewa L.; Callegari, Simone; Mayer, Lucio; Moustakas, Leonidas A.

    2011-01-01

    The tidal stirring model posits the formation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) via the tidal interactions between late-type, rotationally supported dwarfs and Milky-Way-sized host galaxies. Using a comprehensive set of collisionless N-body simulations, we investigate the efficiency of the tidal stirring mechanism for the origin of dSphs. In particular, we examine the degree to which the tidal field of the primary galaxy affects the sizes, masses, shapes, and kinematics of the disky dwarfs for a range of dwarf orbital and structural parameters. Our study is the first to employ self-consistent, equilibrium models for the progenitor dwarf galaxies constructed from a composite distribution function and consisting of exponential stellar disks embedded in massive, cosmologically motivated dark matter halos. Exploring a wide variety of dwarf orbital configurations and initial structures, we demonstrate that in the majority of cases the disky dwarfs experience significant mass loss and their stellar distributions undergo a dramatic morphological, as well as dynamical, transformation. Specifically, the stellar components evolve from disks to bars and finally to pressure-supported, spheroidal systems with kinematic and structural properties akin to those of the classic dSphs in the Local Group (LG) and similar environments. The self-consistency of the adopted dwarf models is crucial for confirming this complex transformation process via tidally induced dynamical instabilities and impulsive tidal heating of the stellar distribution. Our results suggest that such tidal transformations should be common occurrences within the currently favored cosmological paradigm and highlight the key factor responsible for an effective metamorphosis to be the strength of the tidal shocks at the pericenters of the orbit. We also demonstrate that the combination of short orbital times and small pericentric distances, characteristic of dwarfs being accreted by their hosts at high redshift

  5. APOGEE Chemical Abundances of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasselquist, Sten; Holtzman, Jon; Shetrone, Matthew; Smith, Verne; Nidever, David L.; McWilliam, Andrew; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Tang, Baitian; Beers, Timothy C.; Majewski, Steven R.; Anguiano, Borja; Tissera, Patricia B.; Alvar, Emma Fernández; Carigi, Leticia; Delgado Inglada, Gloria; Allende Prieto, Carlos; Battaglia, Giuseppina; García-Hernández, D. A.; Almeida, Andres; Frinchaboy, Peter

    2017-01-01

    The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment provides the opportunity of measuring elemental abundances for C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni in vast numbers of stars. We analyze thechemical-abundance patterns of these elements for 158 red giant stars belonging to the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). This is the largest sample of Sgr stars with detailed chemical abundances, and it is the first time that C, N, P, K, V, Cr, Co, and Ni have been studied at high resolution in this galaxy. We find that the Sgr stars with [Fe/H] ≳ −0.8 are deficient in all elemental abundance ratios (expressed as [X/Fe]) relative to the Milky Way, suggesting that the Sgr stars observed today were formed from gas that was less enriched by Type II SNe than stars formed in the Milky Way. By examining the relative deficiencies of the hydrostatic (O, Na, Mg, and Al) and explosive (Si, P, K, and Mn) elements, our analysis supports the argument that previous generations of Sgr stars were formed with a top-light initial mass function, one lacking the most massive stars that would normally pollute the interstellar medium with the hydrostatic elements. We use a simple chemical-evolution model, flexCE, to further support our claim and conclude that recent stellar generations of Fornax and the Large Magellanic Cloud could also have formed according to a top-light initial mass function.

  6. APOGEE Chemical Abundances of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasselquist, Sten; Holtzman, Jon [New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States); Shetrone, Matthew [University of Texas at Austin, McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, TX 79734 (United States); Smith, Verne; Nidever, David L. [National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); McWilliam, Andrew [The Observatories of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Tang, Baitian [Departamento de Astronomía, Casilla 160-C, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción (Chile); Beers, Timothy C. [Department of Physics and JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Majewski, Steven R.; Anguiano, Borja [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325 (United States); Tissera, Patricia B. [Department of Physics, Universidad Andres Bello, 700 Fernandez Concha (Chile); Alvar, Emma Fernández; Carigi, Leticia; Delgado Inglada, Gloria [Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70264, Ciudad de México, 04510 (Mexico); Allende Prieto, Carlos; Battaglia, Giuseppina; García-Hernández, D. A. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Almeida, Andres [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, Cisternas 1200, La Serena (Chile); Frinchaboy, Peter, E-mail: sten@nmsu.edu, E-mail: holtz@nmsu.edu, E-mail: shetrone@astro.as.utexas.edu, E-mail: vsmith@email.noao.edu [Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129 (United States); and others

    2017-08-20

    The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment provides the opportunity of measuring elemental abundances for C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni in vast numbers of stars. We analyze thechemical-abundance patterns of these elements for 158 red giant stars belonging to the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). This is the largest sample of Sgr stars with detailed chemical abundances, and it is the first time that C, N, P, K, V, Cr, Co, and Ni have been studied at high resolution in this galaxy. We find that the Sgr stars with [Fe/H] ≳ −0.8 are deficient in all elemental abundance ratios (expressed as [X/Fe]) relative to the Milky Way, suggesting that the Sgr stars observed today were formed from gas that was less enriched by Type II SNe than stars formed in the Milky Way. By examining the relative deficiencies of the hydrostatic (O, Na, Mg, and Al) and explosive (Si, P, K, and Mn) elements, our analysis supports the argument that previous generations of Sgr stars were formed with a top-light initial mass function, one lacking the most massive stars that would normally pollute the interstellar medium with the hydrostatic elements. We use a simple chemical-evolution model, flexCE, to further support our claim and conclude that recent stellar generations of Fornax and the Large Magellanic Cloud could also have formed according to a top-light initial mass function.

  7. Tidal disruption of dwarf spheroidal galaxies: the strange case of Crater II

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Jason L.; Evans, N. W.; Dehnen, W.

    2018-05-01

    Dwarf spheroidal galaxies of the Local Group obey a relationship between the line-of-sight velocity dispersion and half-light radius, although there are a number of dwarfs that lie beneath this relation with suppressed velocity dispersion. The most discrepant of these (in the Milky Way) is the `feeble giant' Crater II. Using analytic arguments supported by controlled numerical simulations of tidally-stripped flattened two-component dwarf galaxies, we investigate interpretations of Crater II within standard galaxy formation theory. Heavy tidal disruption is necessary to explain the velocity-dispersion suppression which is plausible if the proper motion of Crater II is (μα*, μδ) = ( - 0.21 ± 0.09, -0.24 ± 0.09)mas yr-1. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the velocity dispersion of tidally-disrupted systems is solely a function of the total mass loss even for weakly-embedded and flattened systems. The half-light radius evolution depends more sensitively on orbital phase and the properties of the dark matter profile. The half-light radius of weakly-embedded cusped systems rapidly decreases producing some tension with the Crater II observations. This tension is alleviated by cored dark matter profiles, in which the half-light radius can grow after tidal disruption. The evolution of flattened galaxies is characterised by two competing effects: tidal shocking makes the central regions rounder whilst tidal distortion produces a prolate tidally-locked outer envelope. After ˜70% of the central mass is lost, tidal distortion becomes the dominant effect and the shape of the central regions of the galaxy tends to a universal prolate shape irrespective of the initial shape.

  8. TIDAL INTERACTIONS IN MERGING WHITE DWARF BINARIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piro, Anthony L.

    2011-01-01

    The recently discovered system J0651 is the tightest known detached white dwarf (WD) binary. Since it has not yet initiated Roche-lobe overflow, it provides a relatively clean environment for testing our understanding of tidal interactions. I investigate the tidal heating of each WD, parameterized in terms of its tidal Q parameter. Assuming that the heating can be radiated efficiently, the current luminosities are consistent with Q 1 ∼ 7 x 10 10 and Q 2 ∼ 2 x 10 7 , for the He and C/O WDs, respectively. Conversely, if the observed luminosities are merely from the cooling of the WDs, these estimated values of Q represent the upper limits. A large Q 1 for the He WD means its spin velocity will be slower than that expected if it was tidally locked, which, since the binary is eclipsing, may be measurable via the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. After one year, gravitational wave emission shifts the time of eclipses by 5.5 s, but tidal interactions cause the orbit to shrink more rapidly, changing the time by up to an additional 0.3 s after a year. Future eclipse timing measurements may therefore infer the degree of tidal locking.

  9. CHEMODYNAMIC EVOLUTION OF DWARF GALAXIES IN TIDAL FIELDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Williamson, David; Martel, Hugo [Département de physique, de génie physique et d’optique, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6 (Canada); Romeo, Alessandro B., E-mail: david-john.williamson.1@ulaval.ca [Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg (Sweden)

    2016-11-01

    The mass–metallicity relation shows that the galaxies with the lowest mass have the lowest metallicities. As most dwarf galaxies are in group environments, interaction effects such as tides could contribute to this trend. We perform a series of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of dwarf galaxies in external tidal fields to examine the effects of tides on their metallicities and metallicity gradients. In our simulated galaxies, gravitational instabilities drive gas inwards and produce centralized star formation and a significant metallicity gradient. Strong tides can contribute to these instabilities, but their primary effect is to strip the outer low-metallicity gas, producing a truncated gas disk with a large metallicity. This suggests that the effect of tides on the mass–metallicity relation is to move dwarf galaxies to higher metallicities.

  10. Macho project photometry of RR Lyrae stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alcock, C. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Allsman, R.A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Alves, D.R. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (United States); Axelrod, T.S. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Becker, A.C. [Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)]|[Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Bennett, D.P.; Cook, K.H. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)]|[Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Freeman, K.C. [Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Griest, K. [Center for Particle Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)]|[Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States); Guern, J.A.; Lehner, M.J. [Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States); Marshall, S.L.; Minniti, D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Peterson, B.A. [Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Australian National University, Weston, ACT 2611 (Australia); Pratt, M.R.

    1997-01-01

    We report the discovery of 30 type a, b RR Lyrae (RRab) stars that are likely members of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). Accurate positions, periods, amplitudes, and magnitudes are presented. Their distances are determined with respect to RRab stars in the Galactic bulge found also in the MACHO 1993 data. For R{sub {circle_dot}}=8kpc, the mean distance to these stars is D=22{plus_minus}1kpc, smaller than previous determinations for this galaxy. This indicates that Sgr has an elongated main body extending for more than 10 kpc, which is inclined along the line of sight, with its northern part (in Galactic coordinates) closer to us. The size and shape of Sgr give clues about the past history of this galaxy. If the shape of Sgr follows the direction of its orbit, the observed spatial orientation suggests that Sgr is moving away from the Galactic plane. Also, Sgr stars may be the sources of some of the microlensing events seen toward the bulge. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Astronomical Society}

  11. Whiting 1: Confirmation of its accretion by the Milky Way

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carballo-Bello Julio A.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the association of Whiting 1 with the Sagittarius tidal stream by obtaining radial velocities for a sample of 101 stars observed with VIMOS. Our results reveal the presence of a component of the Sagittarius tidal stream with a radial velocity – and distance – compatible with that of the globular cluster. Therefore, we conclude that Whiting1 was formed in the interior of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy and later accreted by the Milky Way. In addition, our data also reveal the detection for the first time of an ancient wrap of the Sagittarius tidal stream along the same line-of-sight and at the same heliocentric distance.

  12. A Tale of Tidal Tales in the Milky Way

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Andrew R.

    2014-05-01

    Hundreds of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies encircle the Milky Way. Many of these systems have undergone partial disruption due to tidal forces, littering the halo with stellar streams. These tidal tails are sensitive to the Galactic potential, facilitating an excellent laboratory to investigate galaxy formation and evolution. To better understand the emergence of the Milky Way, this thesis examines the dynamics and chemistry of a number of known stellar streams. In particular the Sagittarius, Orphan and Aquarius streams are investigated. Low-resolution spectra for hundreds of stars in the direction of the Virgo Over-Density and the Sagittarius northern leading arms have been obtained. Multiple significant kinematic groups are recovered in this accretion-dominated region, confirming detections by previous studies. A metal-poor population ([Fe/H] = -1.7) in the Sagittarius stream is discovered due to a photometric selection that was inadvertently biased towards more metal-poor stars. Positions and kinematics of Sagittarius stream members are compared with existing best-fitting dark matter models, and a triaxial dark matter halo distribution is favoured. The Orphan stream is appropriately named, as no parent system has yet been identified. The stream has an extremely low surface brightness, which makes distinguishing stream members from field stars particularly challenging. From low-resolution spectra obtained for hundreds of stars, we identify likely Orphan stream red giant branch stars on the basis of velocity, metallicity, surface gravity, and proper motions. A negligible intrinsic velocity dispersion is found, and a wide spread in metallicities is observed, which suggests the undiscovered parent is similar to the present-day dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way. High-resolution spectra were obtained for five Orphan stream candidates, and the intrinsic chemical dispersion found from low-resolution spectra is confirmed from these data. Detailed chemical abundances

  13. TIDAL INTERACTION AS THE ORIGIN OF EARLY-TYPE DWARF GALAXIES IN GROUP ENVIRONMENTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paudel, Sanjaya; Ree, Chang H.

    2014-01-01

    We present a sample of dwarf galaxies that suffer ongoing disruption by the tidal forces of nearby massive galaxies. By analyzing structural and stellar population properties using the archival imaging and spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we find that they are likely a ''smoking gun'' example of the formation through tidal stirring of early-type dwarf galaxies (dEs) in the galaxy group environment. The inner cores of these galaxies are fairly intact and the observed light profiles are well fit by the Sérsic functions while the tidally stretched stellar halos are prominent in the outer parts. They are all located within a sky-projected distance of 50 kpc from the centers of the host galaxies and no dwarf galaxies have relative line-of-sight velocities larger than 205 km s –1 to their hosts. We derive the Composite Stellar Population properties of these galaxies by fitting the SDSS optical spectra to a multiple-burst composite stellar population model. We find that these galaxies accumulate a significant fraction of stellar mass within the last 1 Gyr and contain a majority stellar population with an intermediate age of 2 to 4 Gyr. Based on this evidence, we argue that tidal stirring, particularly through the galaxy-galaxy interaction, might have an important role in the formation and evolution of dEs in the group environment where the influence of other gas stripping mechanism might be limited

  14. The Effects of Ram-pressure Stripping and Supernova Winds on the Tidal Stirring of Disky Dwarfs: Enhanced Transformation into Dwarf Spheroidals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazantzidis, Stelios; Mayer, Lucio; Callegari, Simone; Dotti, Massimo; Moustakas, Leonidas A.

    2017-02-01

    A conclusive model for the formation of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies still remains elusive. Owing to their proximity to the massive spirals Milky Way (MW) and M31, various environmental processes have been invoked to explain their origin. In this context, the tidal stirring model postulates that interactions with MW-sized hosts can transform rotationally supported dwarfs, resembling present-day dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies, into systems with the kinematic and structural properties of dSphs. Using N-body+SPH simulations, we investigate the dependence of this transformation mechanism on the gas fraction, f gas, in the disk of the progenitor dwarf. Our numerical experiments incorporate for the first time the combined effects of radiative cooling, ram-pressure stripping, star formation, supernova (SN) winds, and a cosmic UV background. For a given orbit inside the primary galaxy, rotationally supported dwarfs with gas fractions akin to those of observed dIrrs (f gas ≳ 0.5), demonstrate a substantially enhanced likelihood and efficiency of transformation into dSphs relative to their collisionless (f gas = 0) counterparts. We argue that the combination of ram-pressure stripping and SN winds causes the gas-rich dwarfs to respond more impulsively to tides, augmenting their transformation. When f gas ≳ 0.5, disky dwarfs on previously unfavorable low-eccentricity or large-pericenter orbits are still able to transform. On the widest orbits, the transformation is incomplete; the dwarfs retain significant rotational support, a relatively flat shape, and some gas, naturally resembling transition-type systems. We conclude that tidal stirring constitutes a prevalent evolutionary mechanism for shaping the structure of dwarf galaxies within the currently favored CDM cosmological paradigm.

  15. The Effects of Ram-pressure Stripping and Supernova Winds on the Tidal Stirring of Disky Dwarfs: Enhanced Transformation into Dwarf Spheroidals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kazantzidis, Stelios [Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Zografos, Athens (Greece); Mayer, Lucio [Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology, Institute for Computational Science, University of Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Callegari, Simone [Anthropology Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Dotti, Massimo [Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, I-20126 Milano (Italy); Moustakas, Leonidas A., E-mail: skazantzidis@phys.uoa.gr [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)

    2017-02-10

    A conclusive model for the formation of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies still remains elusive. Owing to their proximity to the massive spirals Milky Way (MW) and M31, various environmental processes have been invoked to explain their origin. In this context, the tidal stirring model postulates that interactions with MW-sized hosts can transform rotationally supported dwarfs, resembling present-day dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies, into systems with the kinematic and structural properties of dSphs. Using N -body+SPH simulations, we investigate the dependence of this transformation mechanism on the gas fraction, f {sub gas}, in the disk of the progenitor dwarf. Our numerical experiments incorporate for the first time the combined effects of radiative cooling, ram-pressure stripping, star formation, supernova (SN) winds, and a cosmic UV background. For a given orbit inside the primary galaxy, rotationally supported dwarfs with gas fractions akin to those of observed dIrrs ( f {sub gas} ≳ 0.5), demonstrate a substantially enhanced likelihood and efficiency of transformation into dSphs relative to their collisionless ( f {sub gas} = 0) counterparts. We argue that the combination of ram-pressure stripping and SN winds causes the gas-rich dwarfs to respond more impulsively to tides, augmenting their transformation. When f {sub gas} ≳ 0.5, disky dwarfs on previously unfavorable low-eccentricity or large-pericenter orbits are still able to transform. On the widest orbits, the transformation is incomplete; the dwarfs retain significant rotational support, a relatively flat shape, and some gas, naturally resembling transition-type systems. We conclude that tidal stirring constitutes a prevalent evolutionary mechanism for shaping the structure of dwarf galaxies within the currently favored CDM cosmological paradigm.

  16. Tidal tails test the equivalence principle in the dark-matter sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kesden, Michael; Kamionkowski, Marc

    2006-01-01

    Satellite galaxies currently undergoing tidal disruption offer a unique opportunity to constrain an effective violation of the equivalence principle in the dark sector. While dark matter in the standard scenario interacts solely through gravity on large scales, a new long-range force between dark-matter particles may naturally arise in theories in which the dark matter couples to a light scalar field. An inverse-square-law force of this kind would manifest itself as a violation of the equivalence principle in the dynamics of dark matter compared to baryons in the form of gas or stars. In a previous paper, we showed that an attractive force would displace stars outwards from the bottom of the satellite's gravitational potential well, leading to a higher fraction of stars being disrupted from the tidal bulge further from the Galactic center. Since stars disrupted from the far (near) side of the satellite go on to form the trailing (leading) tidal stream, an attractive dark-matter force will produce a relative enhancement of the trailing stream compared to the leading stream. This distinctive signature of a dark-matter force might be detected through detailed observations of the tidal tails of a disrupting satellite, such as those recently performed by the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) on the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy. Here we show that this signature is robust to changes in our models for both the satellite and Milky Way, suggesting that we might hope to search for a dark-matter force in the tidal features of other recently discovered satellite galaxies in addition to the Sgr dwarf

  17. The Effects of Ram-pressure Stripping and Supernova Winds on the Tidal Stirring of Disky Dwarfs: Enhanced Transformation into Dwarf Spheroidals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kazantzidis, Stelios; Mayer, Lucio; Callegari, Simone; Dotti, Massimo; Moustakas, Leonidas A.

    2017-01-01

    A conclusive model for the formation of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies still remains elusive. Owing to their proximity to the massive spirals Milky Way (MW) and M31, various environmental processes have been invoked to explain their origin. In this context, the tidal stirring model postulates that interactions with MW-sized hosts can transform rotationally supported dwarfs, resembling present-day dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies, into systems with the kinematic and structural properties of dSphs. Using N -body+SPH simulations, we investigate the dependence of this transformation mechanism on the gas fraction, f _g_a_s, in the disk of the progenitor dwarf. Our numerical experiments incorporate for the first time the combined effects of radiative cooling, ram-pressure stripping, star formation, supernova (SN) winds, and a cosmic UV background. For a given orbit inside the primary galaxy, rotationally supported dwarfs with gas fractions akin to those of observed dIrrs ( f _g_a_s ≳ 0.5), demonstrate a substantially enhanced likelihood and efficiency of transformation into dSphs relative to their collisionless ( f _g_a_s = 0) counterparts. We argue that the combination of ram-pressure stripping and SN winds causes the gas-rich dwarfs to respond more impulsively to tides, augmenting their transformation. When f _g_a_s ≳ 0.5, disky dwarfs on previously unfavorable low-eccentricity or large-pericenter orbits are still able to transform. On the widest orbits, the transformation is incomplete; the dwarfs retain significant rotational support, a relatively flat shape, and some gas, naturally resembling transition-type systems. We conclude that tidal stirring constitutes a prevalent evolutionary mechanism for shaping the structure of dwarf galaxies within the currently favored CDM cosmological paradigm.

  18. From Globular Clusters to Tidal Dwarfs: Structure Formation in the Tidal Tails of Merging Pairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knierman, K. A.; Gallagher, S. C.; Charlton, J. C.; Hunsberger, S. D.; Whitmore, B. C.; Kundu, A.; Hibbard, J. E.; Zaritsky, D. F.

    2001-05-01

    Using V and I images obtained with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) of the Hubble Space Telescope, we investigate compact stellar structures within tidal tails. Six regions of tidal debris in the four classic ``Toomre Sequence'' mergers: NGC 4038/9 (``Antennae''), NGC 3256, NGC 3921, and NGC 7252 (``Atoms for Peace'') have been studied in order to explore how the star formation depends upon the local and global physical conditions. These mergers sample a range of stages in the evolutionary sequence, and include HI--rich and HI--poor environments. The six tails are found to contain a variety of stellar structures, with sizes ranging from those of globular clusters up to those of dwarf galaxies. From V and I WFPC2 images, we measure the luminosities and colors of the star clusters. NGC 3256 is found to have a large population of young clusters lying along both tails, similar to those found in the inner region of the merger. In contrast, NGC 4038/9 has no clusters in the observed region of the tail, only less luminous point sources likely to be individual stars. NGC 3921 and NGC 7252 have small populations of clusters that are concentrated in certain regions of the tail, and particularly in the prominent tidal dwarfs in the eastern and western tails of NGC 7252. The two cluster--rich tails of NGC 3256 are not distinguished from the others by their ages or by their total HI masses. We acknowledge support from NASA through STScI, and from NSF for an REU supplement for Karen Knierman.

  19. Mass Modelling of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies: the Effect of Unbound Stars From Tidal Tails And the Milky Way

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klimentowski, Jaroslaw; Lokas, Ewa L.; /Warsaw, Copernicus Astron. Ctr.; Kazantzidis, Stelios; /KIPAC, Menlo Park; Prada, Francisco; /IAA, Granada; Mayer, Lucio; /Zurich,; Mamon, Gary A.; /Paris, Inst. Astrophys. /Meudon Observ.

    2006-11-14

    We study the origin and properties of the population of unbound stars in the kinematic samples of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. For this purpose we have run a high resolution N- body simulation of a two-component dwarf galaxy orbiting in a Milky Way potential. In agreement with the tidal stirring scenario of Mayer et al., the dwarf is placed on a highly eccentric orbit, its initial stellar component is in the form of an exponential disk and it has a NFW-like dark matter halo. After 10 Gyrs of evolution the dwarf produces a spheroidal stellar component and is strongly tidally stripped so that mass follows light and the stars are on almost isotropic orbits. From this final state, we create mock kinematic data sets for 200 stars by observing the dwarf in different directions.We find that when the dwarf is observed along the tidal tails the kinematic samples are strongly contaminated by unbound stars from the tails.We also study another source of possible contamination by adding stars from the Milky Way. We demonstrate that most of the unbound stars can be removed by the method of interloper rejection proposed by den Hartog & Katgert and recently tested on simulated dark matter haloes. We model the cleaned up kinematic samples using solutions of the Jeans equation with constant mass-to-light ratio and velocity anisotropy parameter. We show that even for such strongly stripped dwarf the Jeans analysis, when applied to cleaned samples, allows us to reproduce the mass and mass-to-light ratio of the dwarf with accuracy typically better than 25 percent and almost exactly in the case when the line of sight is perpendicular to the tidal tails. The analysis was applied to the new data for the Fornax dSph galaxy for which we find a mass-to-light ratio of 11 solar units and isotropic orbits. We demonstrate that most of the contamination in the kinematic sample of Fornax probably originates from the Milky Way.

  20. Tidal interaction and coalescence of close binary white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webbink, R.F.; Iben, I. Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The physical processes which govern the interaction and final coalescence of close binary white dwarfs are examined. During the approach to mass transfer, the rate of accumulation of rotational energy by a white dwarf can exceed 10 to the 37th erg/s, raising the possibility that the initial phases of mass transfer are strongly influenced by tidal heating of the donor star. The potential energy released by accretion is incapable of removing more than a minor fraction of this material from the system, and numerical simulations show that the accreted envelope engulfs the donor star, leading to formation of common envelope binary before carbon can be ignited at the base of the accreted envelope. Unless shocks can lift the degeneracy of the donor core, a core mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit can be created, leading directly to core collapse and a supernova explosion, regardless of whether or not carbon is ignited in the nondegenerate envelope. It is plausible that most of the mass of the donor white dwarf is assimilated in a degenerate state by the accretor. 32 references

  1. Identification of old tidal dwarfs near early-type galaxies from deep imaging and H I observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duc, Pierre-Alain; Paudel, Sanjaya; McDermid, Richard M.; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Serra, Paolo; Bournaud, Frédéric; Cappellari, Michele; Emsellem, Eric

    2014-05-01

    It has recently been proposed that the dwarf spheroidal galaxies located in the Local Group discs of satellites (DoSs) may be tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) born in a major merger at least 5 Gyr ago. Whether TDGs can live that long is still poorly constrained by observations. As part of deep optical and H I surveys with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) MegaCam camera and Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope made within the ATLAS3D project, and follow-up spectroscopic observations with the Gemini-North telescope, we have discovered old TDG candidates around several early-type galaxies. At least one of them has an oxygen abundance close to solar, as expected for a tidal origin. This confirmed pre-enriched object is located within the gigantic, but very low surface brightness, tidal tail that emanates from the elliptical galaxy, NGC 5557. An age of 4 Gyr estimated from its SED fitting makes it the oldest securely identified TDG ever found so far. We investigated the structural and gaseous properties of the TDG and of a companion located in the same collisional debris, and thus most likely of tidal origin as well. Despite several Gyr of evolution close to their parent galaxies, they kept a large gas reservoir. Their central surface brightness is low and their effective radius much larger than that of typical dwarf galaxies of the same mass. This possibly provides us with criteria to identify tidal objects which can be more easily checked than the traditional ones requiring deep spectroscopic observations. In view of the above, we discuss the survival time of TDGs and question the tidal origin of the DoSs.

  2. Tidal Dwarf Galaxies: Disc Formation at \\(z\\simeq0\\

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Lelli

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Collisional debris around interacting and post-interacting galaxies often display condensations of gas and young stars that can potentially form gravitationally bound objects: Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDGs. We summarise recent results on TDGs, which are originally published in Lelli et al. (2015, A&A.We study a sample of six TDGs around three different interacting systems, using high-resolution HI observations from the Very Large Array. We find that the HI emission associated to TDGs can be described by rotating disc models. These discs, however, would have undergone less than one orbit since the time of the TDG formation, raising the question of whether they are in dynamical equilibrium. Assuming that TDGs are in dynamical equilibrium, we find that the ratio of dynamical mass to baryonic mass is consistent with one, implying that TDGs are devoid of dark matter. This is in line with the results of numerical simulations where tidal forces effectively segregate dark matter in the halo from baryonic matter in the disc, which ends up forming tidal tails and TDGs.

  3. Chemical abundances of giant stars in NGC 5053 and NGC 5634, two globular clusters associated with the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sbordone, L.; Monaco, L.; Moni Bidin, C.; Bonifacio, P.; Villanova, S.; Bellazzini, M.; Ibata, R.; Chiba, M.; Geisler, D.; Caffau, E.; Duffau, S.

    2015-07-01

    Context. The tidal disruption of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr dSph) is producing the most prominent substructure in the Milky Way (MW) halo, the Sagittarius Stream. Aside from field stars, it is suspected that the Sgr dSph has lost a number of globular clusters (GC). Many Galactic GC are thought to have originated in the Sgr dSph. While for some candidates an origin in the Sgr dSph has been confirmed owing to chemical similarities, others exist whose chemical composition has never been investigated. Aims: NGC 5053 and NGC 5634 are two of these scarcely studied Sgr dSph candidate-member clusters. To characterize their composition we analyzed one giant star in NGC 5053, and two in NGC 5634. Methods: We analyze high-resolution and signal-to-noise spectra by means of the MyGIsFOS code, determining atmospheric parameters and abundances for up to 21 species between O and Eu. The abundances are compared with those of MW halo field stars, of unassociated MW halo globulars, and of the metal-poor Sgr dSph main body population. Results: We derive a metallicity of [Fe ii/H] = -2.26 ± 0.10 for NGC 5053, and of [Fe i/H] = -1.99 ± 0.075 and -1.97 ± 0.076 for the two stars in NGC 5634. This makes NGC 5053 one of the most metal-poor globular clusters in the MW. Both clusters display an α enhancement similar to the one of the halo at comparable metallicity. The two stars in NGC 5634 clearly display the Na-O anticorrelation widespread among MW globulars. Most other abundances are in good agreement with standard MW halo trends. Conclusions: The chemistry of the Sgr dSph main body populations is similar to that of the halo at low metallicity. It is thus difficult to discriminate between an origin of NGC 5053 and NGC 5634 in the Sgr dSph, and one in the MW. However, the abundances of these clusters do appear closer to that of Sgr dSph than of the halo, favoring an origin in the Sgr dSph system. Appendix A is available in electronic form at http

  4. CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES OF SEVEN IRREGULAR AND THREE TIDAL DWARF GALAXIES IN THE M81 GROUP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Croxall, Kevin V.; Van Zee, Liese; Lee, Henry; Miller, Bryan W.; Skillman, Evan D.; Lee, Janice C.; Cote, Stephanie; Kennicutt, Robert C.

    2009-01-01

    We have derived nebular abundances for 10 dwarf galaxies belonging to the M81 Group, including several galaxies which do not have abundances previously reported in the literature. For each galaxy, multiple H II regions were observed with GMOS-N at the Gemini Observatory in order to determine abundances of several elements (oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, neon, and argon). For seven galaxies, at least one H II region had a detection of the temperature sensitive [O III] λ4363 line, allowing a 'direct' determination of the oxygen abundance. No abundance gradients were detected in the targeted galaxies, and the observed oxygen abundances are typically in agreement with the well-known metallicity-luminosity relation. However, three candidate 'tidal dwarf' galaxies lie well off this relation: UGC 5336, Garland, and KDG 61. The nature of these systems suggests that UGC 5336 and Garland are indeed recently formed systems, whereas KDG 61 is most likely a dwarf spheroidal galaxy which lies along the same line of sight as the M81 tidal debris field. We propose that these H II regions formed from previously enriched gas which was stripped from nearby massive galaxies (e.g., NGC 3077 and M81) during a recent tidal interaction.

  5. Tidal stripping and the structure of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fattahi, Azadeh; Navarro, Julio F.; Frenk, Carlos S.; Oman, Kyle A.; Sawala, Till; Schaller, Matthieu

    2018-05-01

    The shallow faint-end slope of the galaxy mass function is usually reproduced in Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) galaxy formation models by assuming that the fraction of baryons that turn into stars drops steeply with decreasing halo mass and essentially vanishes in haloes with maximum circular velocities Vmax value, unless they are small enough to probe only the rising part of the halo circular velocity curve (i.e. half-mass radii, r1/2 ≪ 1 kpc). Many dwarfs have properties in disagreement with this prediction: they are large enough to probe their halo Vmax but their characteristic velocities are well below 20 km s-1. These `cold faint giants' (an extreme example is the recently discovered Crater 2 Milky Way satellite) can only be reconciled with our ΛCDM models if they are the remnants of once massive objects heavily affected by tidal stripping. We examine this possibility using the APOSTLE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the Local Group. Assuming that low-velocity-dispersion satellites have been affected by stripping, we infer their progenitor masses, radii, and velocity dispersions, and find them in remarkable agreement with those of isolated dwarfs. Tidal stripping also explains the large scatter in the mass discrepancy-acceleration relation in the dwarf galaxy regime: tides remove preferentially dark matter from satellite galaxies, lowering their accelerations below the amin ˜ 10-11 m s-2 minimum expected for isolated dwarfs. In many cases, the resulting velocity dispersions are inconsistent with the predictions from Modified Newtonian Dynamics, a result that poses a possibly insurmountable challenge to that scenario.

  6. An Astrobiological Experiment to Explore the Habitability of Tidally Locked M-Dwarf Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angerhausen, Daniel; Sapers, Haley; Simoncini, Eugenio; Lutz, Stefanie; Alexandre, Marcelo da Rosa; Galante, Douglas

    2014-04-01

    We present a summary of a three-year academic research proposal drafted during the Sao Paulo Advanced School of Astrobiology (SPASA) to prepare for upcoming observations of tidally locked planets orbiting M-dwarf stars. The primary experimental goal of the suggested research is to expose extremophiles from analogue environments to a modified space simulation chamber reproducing the environmental parameters of a tidally locked planet in the habitable zone of a late-type star. Here we focus on a description of the astronomical analysis used to define the parameters for this climate simulation.

  7. Role of ocean heat transport in climates of tidally locked exoplanets around M dwarf stars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yongyun; Yang, Jun

    2014-01-14

    The distinctive feature of tidally locked exoplanets is the very uneven heating by stellar radiation between the dayside and nightside. Previous work has focused on the role of atmospheric heat transport in preventing atmospheric collapse on the nightside for terrestrial exoplanets in the habitable zone around M dwarfs. In the present paper, we carry out simulations with a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model to investigate the role of ocean heat transport in climate states of tidally locked habitable exoplanets around M dwarfs. Our simulation results demonstrate that ocean heat transport substantially extends the area of open water along the equator, showing a lobster-like spatial pattern of open water, instead of an "eyeball." For sufficiently high-level greenhouse gases or strong stellar radiation, ocean heat transport can even lead to complete deglaciation of the nightside. Our simulations also suggest that ocean heat transport likely narrows the width of M dwarfs' habitable zone. This study provides a demonstration of the importance of exooceanography in determining climate states and habitability of exoplanets.

  8. THE NUMBER OF TIDAL DWARF SATELLITE GALAXIES IN DEPENDENCE OF BULGE INDEX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    López-Corredoira, Martín; Kroupa, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    We show that a significant correlation (up to 5σ) emerges between the bulge index, defined to be larger for a larger bulge/disk ratio, in spiral galaxies with similar luminosities in the Galaxy Zoo 2 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the number of tidal-dwarf galaxies in the catalog by Kaviraj et al. In the standard cold or warm dark matter cosmological models, the number of satellite galaxies correlates with the circular velocity of the dark matter host halo. In generalized gravity models without cold or warm dark matter, such a correlation does not exist, because host galaxies cannot capture infalling dwarf galaxies due to the absence of dark-matter-induced dynamical friction. However, in such models, a correlation is expected to exist between the bulge mass and the number of satellite galaxies because bulges and tidal-dwarf satellite galaxies form in encounters between host galaxies. This is not predicted by dark matter models in which bulge mass and the number of satellites are a priori uncorrelated because higher bulge/disk ratios do not imply higher dark/luminous ratios. Hence, our correlation reproduces the prediction of scenarios without dark matter, whereas an explanation is not found readily from the a priori predictions of the standard scenario with dark matter. Further research is needed to explore whether some application of the standard theory may explain this correlation

  9. A TWO MICRON ALL SKY SURVEY VIEW OF THE SAGITTARIUS DWARF GALAXY. VI. s-PROCESS AND TITANIUM ABUNDANCE VARIATIONS ALONG THE SAGITTARIUS STREAM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chou, Mei-Yin; Majewski, Steven R.; Patterson, Richard J.; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.; Martinez-Delgado, David; Geisler, Doug

    2010-01-01

    We present high-resolution spectroscopic measurements of the abundances of the α element titanium (Ti) and s-process elements yttrium (Y) and lanthanum (La) for 59 candidate M giant members of the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf spheroidal (dSph) + tidal tail system pre-selected on the basis of position and radial velocity (RV). As expected, the majority of these stars show peculiar abundance patterns compared to those of nominal Milky Way (MW) stars, but as a group, the stars form a coherent picture of chemical enrichment of the Sgr dSph from [Fe/H] = -1.4 to solar abundance. This sample of spectra provides the largest number of Ti, La, and Y abundances yet measured for a dSph, and spans metallicities not typically probed by studies of the other, generally more metal-poor MW satellites. On the other hand, the overall [Ti/Fe], [Y/Fe], [La/Fe], and [La/Y] patterns with [Fe/H] of the Sgr stream plus Sgr core do, for the most part, resemble those seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and other dSphs, only shifted by Δ[Fe/H] ∼ +0.4 from the LMC and by ∼+1 dex from the other dSphs; these relative shifts reflect the faster and/or more efficient chemical evolution of Sgr compared to the other satellites, and show that Sgr has had an enrichment history more like the LMC than the other dSphs. By tracking the evolution of the abundance patterns along the Sgr stream we can follow the time variation of the chemical make-up of dSph stars donated to the Galactic halo by Sgr. This evolution demonstrates that while the bulk of the stars currently in the Sgr dSph is quite unlike those of the Galactic halo, an increasing number of stars farther along the Sgr stream have abundances like MW halo stars, a trend that shows clearly how the Galactic halo could have been contributed by present-day satellite galaxies even if the present chemistry of those satellites is now different from typical halo field stars. Finally, we analyze the chemical abundances of a moving group of M giants

  10. THE STELLAR STRUCTURE AND KINEMATICS OF DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXIES FORMED BY TIDAL STIRRING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lokas, Ewa L.; Klimentowski, Jaroslaw; Kazantzidis, Stelios; Mayer, Lucio; Callegari, Simone

    2010-01-01

    Using high-resolution N-body simulations, we study the stellar properties of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies resulting from the tidally induced morphological transformation of disky dwarfs on a cosmologically motivated eccentric orbit around the Milky Way. The dwarf galaxy models initially consist of an exponential stellar disk embedded in an extended spherical dark matter halo. Depending on the initial orientation of the disk with respect to the orbital plane, different final configurations are obtained. The least evolved dwarf is triaxial and retains a significant amount of rotation. The more evolved dwarfs are prolate spheroids with little rotation. We show that in this scenario the final density distribution of stars can be approximated by a simple modification of the Plummer law. The kinematics of the dwarfs is significantly different depending on the line of sight which has important implications for mapping the observed stellar velocity dispersions of dwarfs to subhalo circular velocities. When the dwarfs are observed along the long axis, the measured velocity dispersion is higher and decreases faster with radius. In the case where rotation is significant, when viewed perpendicular to the long axis, the effect of minor axis rotation is detected, as expected for triaxial systems. We model the velocity dispersion profiles and rotation curves of the dwarfs under the assumption of constant mass-to-light ratio by solving the Jeans equations for spherical and axisymmetric systems and adjusting different sets of free parameters, including the total mass. We find that the mass is typically overestimated when the dwarf is seen along the long axis and underestimated when the observation is along the short or intermediate axis. For the studied cases, the effect of non-sphericity cannot, however, bias the inferred mass by more than 60% in either direction, even for the most strongly stripped dwarf which is close to disruption.

  11. Prompt emission from tidal disruptions of white dwarfs by intermediate mass black holes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laguna P.

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We present a qualitative picture of prompt emission from tidal disruptions of white dwarfs (WD by intermediate mass black holes (IMBH. The smaller size of an IMBH compared to a supermassive black hole and a smaller tidal radius of a WD disruption lead to a very fast event with high peak luminosity. Magnetic field is generated in situ following the tidal disruption, which leads to effective accretion. Since large-scale magnetic field is also produced, geometrically thick super-Eddington inflow leads to a relativistic jet. The dense jet possesses a photosphere, which emits quasi-thermal radiation in soft X-rays. The source can be classified as a long low-luminosity gamma-ray burst (ll-GRB. Tidal compression of a WD causes nuclear ignition, which is observable as an accompanying supernova. We suggest that GRB060218 and SN2006aj is such a pair of ll-GRB and supernova. We argue that in a flux-limited sample the disruptions of WDs by IMBHs are more frequent then the disruptions of other stars by IMBHs.

  12. Stars of the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Beyond its Measured Tidal Boundary

    OpenAIRE

    Piatek, Slawomir; Pryor, Carlton; Armandroff, Taft E.; Olszewski, Edward W.

    2000-01-01

    We report R- and V-band photometry derived from CCD imaging for objects in nine fields in and around the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The most distant fields are about 1.3 degrees from the center. We use these data to search for Draco stars outside of its measured tidal boundary. The search involves three methods: 1) Plotting color-magnitude diagrams for individual fields, for sections of fields, and for combined fields and sections. A color-magnitude diagram can reveal a population of Drac...

  13. Reconstructing the Dwarf Galaxy Progenitor from Tidal Streams Using MilkyWay@home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newberg, Heidi; Shelton, Siddhartha

    2018-04-01

    We attempt to reconstruct the mass and radial profile of stars and dark matter in the dwarf galaxy progenitor of the Orphan Stream, using only information from the stars in the Orphan Stream. We show that given perfect data and perfect knowledge of the dwarf galaxy profile and Milky Way potential, we are able to reconstruct the mass and radial profiles of both the stars and dark matter in the progenitor to high accuracy using only the density of stars along the stream and either the velocity dispersion or width of the stream in the sky. To perform this test, we simulated the tidal disruption of a two component (stars and dark matter) dwarf galaxy along the orbit of the Orphan Stream. We then created a histogram of the density of stars along the stream and a histogram of either the velocity dispersion or width of the stream in the sky as a function of position along the stream. The volunteer supercomputer MilkyWay@home was given these two histograms, the Milky Way potential model, and the orbital parameters for the progenitor. N-body simulations were run, varying dwarf galaxy parameters and the time of disruption. The goodness-of-fit of the model to the data was determined using an Earth-Mover Distance algorithm. The parameters were optimized using Differential Evolution. Future work will explore whether currently available information on the Orphan Stream stars is sufficient to constrain its progenitor, and how sensitive the optimization is to our knowledge of the Milky Way potential and the density model of the dwarf galaxy progenitor, as well as a host of other real-life unknowns.

  14. Formation of massive clouds and dwarf galaxies during tidal encounters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Michele; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Thomasson, Magnus; Elmegreen, Debra M.

    1993-01-01

    Gerola et al. (1983) propose that isolated dwarf galaxies can form during galaxy interactions. As evidence of this process, Mirabel et al. (1991) find 10(exp 9) solar mass clouds and star formation complexes at the outer ends of the tidal arms in the Antennae and Superantennae galaxies. We describe observations of HI clouds with mass greater than 10(exp 8) solar mass in the interacting galaxy pair IC 2163/NGC 2207. This pair is important because we believe it represents an early stage in the formation of giant clouds during an encounter. We use a gravitational instability model to explain why the observed clouds are so massive and discuss a two-dimensional N-body simulation of an encounter that produces giant clouds.

  15. H i in Virgo’s “Red and Dead” Dwarf Ellipticals—A Tidal Tail and Central Star Formation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hallenbeck, Gregory; Koopmann, Rebecca [Union College, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 807 Union Street, Schenectady NY 12308 (United States); Giovanelli, Riccardo; Haynes, Martha P.; Leisman, Lukas [Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS), Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Huang, Shan [CCPP, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Papastergis, Emmanouil, E-mail: hallenbg@union.edu, E-mail: koopmanr@union.edu, E-mail: riccardo@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: haynes@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: leisman@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: shan.huang@nyu.edu, E-mail: papastergis@astro.rug.nl [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, Groningen NL-9747AD (Netherlands)

    2017-08-01

    We investigate a sample of three dwarf elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster that have significant reservoirs of H i. We present deep optical imaging (from CFHT and KPNO), H i spectra (Arecibo), and resolved H i imaging (VLA) of this sample. These observations confirm their H i content and optical morphologies, and indicate that the gas is unlikely to be recently accreted. The sample has more in common with dwarf transitionals, though dwarf transitionals are generally lower in stellar mass and gas fraction. VCC 190 has an H i tidal tail from a recent encounter with the massive spiral galaxy NGC 4224. In VCC 611, blue star-forming features are observed that were not seen by shallower SDSS imaging.

  16. TWO NEW TIDALLY DISTORTED WHITE DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hermes, J. J.; Montgomery, M. H.; Winget, D. E. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Kilic, Mukremin [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Brown, Warren R., E-mail: jjhermes@astro.as.utexas.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2012-04-10

    We identify two new tidally distorted white dwarfs (WDs), SDSS J174140.49+652638.7 and J211921.96-001825.8 (hereafter J1741 and J2119). Both stars are extremely low mass (ELM, {<=} 0.2 M{sub Sun }) WDs in short-period, detached binary systems. High-speed photometric observations obtained at the McDonald Observatory reveal ellipsoidal variations and Doppler beaming in both systems; J1741, with a minimum companion mass of 1.1 M{sub Sun }, has one of the strongest Doppler beaming signals ever observed in a binary system (0.59% {+-} 0.06% amplitude). We use the observed ellipsoidal variations to constrain the radius of each WD. For J1741, the star's radius must exceed 0.074 R{sub Sun }. For J2119, the radius exceeds 0.10 R{sub Sun }. These indirect radius measurements are comparable to the radius measurements for the bloated WD companions to A-stars found by the Kepler spacecraft, and they constitute some of the largest radii inferred for any WD. Surprisingly, J1741 also appears to show a 0.23% {+-} 0.06% reflection effect, and we discuss possible sources for this excess heating. Both J1741 and J2119 are strong gravitational wave sources, and the time-of-minimum of the ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect the orbital period decay. This may be possible on a timescale of a decade or less.

  17. Ages and Heavy Element Abundances from Very Metal-poor Stars in the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Camilla Juul; El-Souri, Mariam; Monaco, Lorenzo; Villanova, Sandro; Bonifacio, Piercarlo; Caffau, Elisabetta; Sbordone, Luca

    2018-03-01

    Sagittarius (Sgr) is a massive disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the Milky Way halo that has undergone several stripping events. Previous chemical studies were restricted mainly to a few, metal-rich ([Fe/H] \\gtrapprox -1) stars that suggested a top-light initial mass function (IMF). Here we present the first high-resolution, very metal-poor ([Fe/H] =‑1 to ‑3) sample of 13 giant stars in the main body of Sgr. We derive abundances of 13 elements, namely C, Ca, Co, Fe, Sr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Eu, Dy, Pb, and Th, that challenge the interpretation based on previous studies. Our abundances from Sgr mimic those of the metal-poor halo, and our most metal-poor star ([Fe/H] ∼ -3) indicates a pure r-process pollution. Abundances of Sr, Pb, and Th are presented for the first time in Sgr, allowing for age determination using nuclear cosmochronology. We calculate ages of 9+/- 2.5 {Gyr}. Most of the sample stars have been enriched by a range of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with masses between 1.3 and 5 M ⊙. Sgr J190651.47–320147.23 shows a large overabundance of Pb (2.05 dex) and a peculiar abundance pattern best fit by a 3 M ⊙ AGB star. Based on star-to-star scatter and observed abundance patterns, a mixture of low- and high-mass AGB stars and supernovae (15–25 M ⊙) is necessary to explain these patterns. The high level (0.29 ± 0.05 dex) of Ca indicates that massive supernovae must have existed and polluted the early ISM of Sgr before it lost its gas. This result is in contrast with a top-light IMF with no massive stars polluting Sgr. Based on data obtained UVES/VLT ID: 083.B-0774, 075.B-0127.

  18. THE DISCOVERY OF THE MOST METAL-RICH WHITE DWARF: COMPOSITION OF A TIDALLY DISRUPTED EXTRASOLAR DWARF PLANET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dufour, P.; Fontaine, G.; Bergeron, P.; Lachapelle, F.-R.; Kilic, M.; Kleinman, S. J.; Leggett, S. K.

    2010-01-01

    Cool white dwarf stars are usually found to have an outer atmosphere that is practically pure in hydrogen or helium. However, a small fraction have traces of heavy elements that must originate from the accretion of extrinsic material, most probably circumstellar matter. Upon examining thousands of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra, we discovered that the helium-atmosphere white dwarf SDSS J073842.56+183509.6 shows the most severe metal pollution ever seen in the outermost layers of such stars. We present here a quantitative analysis of this exciting star by combining high signal-to-noise ratio follow-up spectroscopic and photometric observations with model atmospheres and evolutionary models. We determine the global structural properties of our target star, as well as the abundances of the most significant pollutants in its atmosphere, i.e., H, O, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, and Fe. The relative abundances of these elements imply that the source of the accreted material has a composition similar to that of Bulk Earth. We also report the signature of a circumstellar disk revealed through a large infrared excess in JHK photometry. Combined with our inferred estimate of the mass of the accreted material, this strongly suggests that we are witnessing the remains of a tidally disrupted extrasolar body that was as large as Ceres.

  19. WEAK GALACTIC HALO-DWARF SPHEROIDAL CONNECTION FROM RR LYRAE STARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fiorentino, Giuliana [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Bono, Giuseppe [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Monelli, Matteo; Gallart, Carme; Martínez-Vásquez, Clara E. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Via Lactea s/n, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Stetson, Peter B. [National Research Council, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada); Tolstoy, Eline [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Postbus 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands); Salaris, Maurizio [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L35RF (United Kingdom); Bernard, Edouard J., E-mail: giuliana.fiorentino@oabo.inaf.it [SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom)

    2015-01-01

    We discuss the role that dwarf galaxies may have played in the formation of the Galactic halo (Halo) using RR Lyrae stars (RRL) as tracers of their ancient stellar component. The comparison is performed using two observables (periods, luminosity amplitudes) that are reddening and distance independent. Fundamental mode RRL in 6 dwarf spheroidals (dSphs) and 11 ultra faint dwarf galaxies (∼1300) show a Gaussian period distribution well peaked around a mean period of (Pab) = 0.610 ± 0.001 days (σ = 0.03). The Halo RRL (∼15,000) are characterized by a broader period distribution. The fundamental mode RRL in all the dSphs apart from Sagittarius are completely lacking in High Amplitude Short Period (HASP) variables, defined as those having P ≲ 0.48 days and A{sub V} ≥ 0.75 mag. Such variables are not uncommon in the Halo and among the globular clusters and massive dwarf irregulars. To further interpret this evidence, we considered 18 globulars covering a broad range in metallicity (–2.3 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ –1.1) and hosting more than 35 RRL each. The metallicity turns out to be the main parameter, since only globulars more metal-rich than [Fe/H] ∼ –1.5 host RRL in the HASP region. This finding suggests that dSphs similar to the surviving ones do not appear to be the major building-blocks of the Halo. Leading physical arguments suggest an extreme upper limit of ∼50% to their contribution. On the other hand, massive dwarfs hosting an old population with a broad metallicity distribution (Large Magellanic Cloud, Sagittarius) may have played a primary role in the formation of the Halo.

  20. THE FORNAX DWARF GALAXY AS A REMNANT OF RECENT DWARF-DWARF MERGING IN THE LOCAL GROUP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yozin, C.; Bekki, K.

    2012-01-01

    We present results from the first numerical analysis to support the hypothesis, first proposed in Coleman et al., that the Fornax dwarf galaxy was formed from the minor merging of two dwarfs about 2 Gyr ago. Using orbits for the Fornax dwarf that are consistent with the latest proper motion measurements, our dynamical evolution models show that the observed asymmetric shell-like substructures can be formed from the remnant of a smaller dwarf during minor merging. These models also predict the formation of diffuse stellar streams. We discuss how these stellar substructures depend on model parameters of dwarf-dwarf merging, and how the intermediate-age subpopulations found in the vicinity of these substructures may be formed from gas accretion in past merger events. We also suggest that one of Fornax's globular clusters originates from a merged dwarf companion, and demonstrate where as yet undetected tidal streams or H I gas formed from the dwarf merging may be found in the outer halo of the Galaxy.

  1. On the Formation of Ultra-Difuse Galaxies as Tidally-Stripped Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carleton, Timothy; Cooper, Michael; Kaplinghat, Manoj; Errani, Raphael; Penarrubia, Jorge

    2018-01-01

    The recent identification of a large population of so-called 'Ultra-Diffuse' Galaxies (UDGs), with stellar masses ~108 M⊙, but half light radii over 1.5 kpc, has challenged our understanding of galaxy evolution. Motivated by the environmental dependence of UDG properties and abundance, I present a model for the formation of UDGs through tidal-stripping of dwarf galaxies in cored dark matter halos. To test this scenario, I utilize results from simulations of tidal stripping, which demonstrate that changes in the stellar profile of a tidally stripped galaxy can be written as a function of the amount of tidal stripping experienced by the halo (tidal tracks). These tracks, however, are different for cored and cuspy halos. Additional simulations show how the halo responds to tidal interactions given the halo orbit within a cluster.In particular, dwarf elliptical galaxies, born in 1010-10.5 M⊙ halos, expand significantly as a result of tidal stripping and produce UDGs. Applying these models to the population of halos in the Bolshoi simulation, I am able to follow the effects of tidal stripping on the dwarf galaxy population in clusters. Using tidal tracks for cuspy halos does not reproduce the observed properties of UDGs. However, using the tidal tracks for cored halos, I reproduce the distribution of sizes, stellar masses, and abundance of UDGs in clusters remarkably well.

  2. Archaeology of the Sagittarius galaxy by means of its stellar clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moni Bidin, C.

    2017-07-01

    The Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal (Sgr dSph) galaxy is a Milky Way satellite currently merging with the parent system. This small galaxy is undergoing disruption due to tidal forces, while stars and clusters lost along the orbit progressively mix with the general Galactic population. The Sgr system is also one of the very few local dSph's known to host stellar clusters, but the census of its cluster population is far from complete. This is very bad, both because the total amount of clusters can help estimating the mass of the original system, and because the age-metallicity relations of the so-far confirmed six members shows an age gap at intermediate ages similar to the well-known gap of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Still, this feature could be due only to the small number of confirmed members. Here we show the status of our project aimed at testing the membership to the Sgr galaxy of a series of candidates proposed in the literature. Our recent spectroscopic studies could exclude the Sgr membership of three candidates, namely Ruprecht 106, NGC 4147, and E 3, although a follow-up study of the latter is ongoing to confirm the previous results. On the other hand, our chemical analysis concluded that NGC 5634 is very likely a member of the Sgr cluster family, and NGC 5053 also could be. Finally, we present our preliminary results of our spectroscopic analysis for the last object, namely AM 4. This candidate is particularly important, because previous estimates of age and metallicity indicate that it closely follow the relation traced by confirmed clusters, but its intermediate age makes it fall exactly at the middle of the supposed age gap.

  3. THE LINK BETWEEN PLANETARY SYSTEMS, DUSTY WHITE DWARFS, AND METAL-POLLUTED WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Debes, John H.; Walsh, Kevin J.; Stark, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    It has long been suspected that metal-polluted white dwarfs (types DAZ, DBZ, and DZ) and white dwarfs with dusty disks possess planetary systems, but a specific physical mechanism by which planetesimals are perturbed close to a white dwarf has not yet been fully posited. In this paper, we demonstrate that mass loss from a central star during post-main-sequence evolution can sweep planetesimals into interior mean motion resonances with a single giant planet. These planetesimals are slowly removed through chaotic excursions of eccentricity that in time create radial orbits capable of tidally disrupting the planetesimal. Numerical N-body simulations of the solar system show that a sufficient number of planetesimals are perturbed to explain white dwarfs with both dust and metal pollution, provided other white dwarfs have more massive relic asteroid belts. Our scenario requires only one Jupiter-sized planet and a sufficient number of asteroids near its 2:1 interior mean motion resonance. Finally, we show that once a planetesimal is perturbed into a tidal crossing orbit, it will become disrupted after the first pass of the white dwarf, where a highly eccentric stream of debris forms the main reservoir for dust-producing collisions. These simulations, in concert with observations of white dwarfs, place interesting limits on the frequency of planetary systems around main-sequence stars, the frequency of planetesimal belts, and the probability that dust may obscure future terrestrial planet finding missions.

  4. Formation of dwarf ellipticals and dwarf irregular galaxies by interaction of giant galaxies under environmental influence

    OpenAIRE

    Chattopadhyay, Tanuka; Debsarma, Suma; Karmakar, Pradip; Davoust, Emmanuel

    2014-01-01

    A model is proposed for the formation of gas-rich dwarf irregular galaxies and gas-poor, rotating dwarf elliptical galaxies following the interaction between two giant galaxies as a function of space density. The formation of dwarf galaxies is considered to depend on a random variable, the tidal index theta, an environmental parameter defined by Karachentsev et al. (2004), such that for theta less than zero, the formation of dwarf irregular galaxy is assured whereas for theta greater than zer...

  5. Star Formation in Dwarf-Dwarf Mergers: Fueling Hierarchical Assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stierwalt, Sabrina; Johnson, K. E.; Kallivayalil, N.; Patton, D. R.; Putman, M. E.; Besla, G.; Geha, M. C.

    2014-01-01

    We present early results from the first systematic study a sample of isolated interacting dwarf pairs and the mechanisms governing their star formation. Low mass dwarf galaxies are ubiquitous in the local universe, yet the efficiency of gas removal and the enhancement of star formation in dwarfs via pre-processing (i.e. dwarf-dwarf interactions occurring before the accretion by a massive host) are currently unconstrained. Studies of Local Group dwarfs credit stochastic internal processes for their complicated star formation histories, but a few intriguing examples suggest interactions among dwarfs may produce enhanced star formation. We combine archival UV imaging from GALEX with deep optical broad- and narrow-band (Halpha) imaging taken with the pre- One Degree Imager (pODI) on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope and with the 2.3-m Bok telescope at Steward Observatory to confirm the presence of stellar bridges and tidal tails and to determine whether dwarf-dwarf interactions alone can trigger significant levels of star formation. We investigate star formation rates and global galaxy colors as a function of dwarf pair separation (i.e. the dwarf merger sequence) and dwarf-dwarf mass ratio. This project is a precursor to an ongoing effort to obtain high spatial resolution HI imaging to assess the importance of sequential triggering caused by dwarf-dwarf interactions and the subsequent affect on the more massive hosts that later accrete the low mass systems.

  6. The Distance to M54 using Infrared Photometry of RR Lyrae Variable Stars and the Implications of its Relation to the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Arvind F.; Beaton, Rachael L.; Majewski, Steven R.; SMHASH Team

    2018-01-01

    CDM cosmological models predict that dark matter halo density profiles will have central cusps. Yet for many dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), this expectation is in contrast with observations of cored, rather than cusped, halos. This 'cusp-core problem' is apparent in the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy (Sgr), one of the largest satellites of the Milky Way. The globular cluster M54, one of several clusters associated with Sgr, coincides in on-sky position with the center of the main body of Sgr. While several studies find that M54 lies within the center of Sgr, other findings show that M54 is offset from the center by several kiloparsecs along our line of sight. The latter requires Sgr to have a cored dark matter distribution. In the presence of a cuspy halo, the orbit of M54 would have decayed via dynamical friction and the cluster would have fallen to the center of Sgr. A clear determination of the relation of the two bodies may help us better understand the distribution of dark matter in Sgr and other dSphs. Here we present a measurement of the distance modulus to M54 using a set of RR Lyrae variable stars in near-infrared Magellan data mid-infrared Spitzer data. The magnitudes of individual stars are measured using multi-epoch PSF photometry and light curve fitting. From precise RR Lyrae period-luminosity relations at these wavelengths, we then find the mean M54 distance modulus to be 17.126 ± 0.023 (ran) ± 0.080 (sys). Our result is consistent with a distance measurement to Sgr derived via nearly identical methods and thus also consistent with the expectation of a central cusp in the dark matter density profile of Sgr.

  7. Radius constraints from high-speed photometry of 20 low-mass white dwarf binaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hermes, J. J.; Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A.; Chote, Paul; Sullivan, D. J.; Winget, D. E.; Bell, Keaton J.; Falcon, R. E.; Winget, K. I.; Harrold, Samuel T.; Montgomery, M. H.; Mason, Paul A.

    2014-01-01

    We carry out high-speed photometry on 20 of the shortest-period, detached white dwarf binaries known and discover systems with eclipses, ellipsoidal variations (due to tidal deformations of the visible white dwarf), and Doppler beaming. All of the binaries contain low-mass white dwarfs with orbital periods of less than four hr. Our observations identify the first eight tidally distorted white dwarfs, four of which are reported for the first time here. We use these observations to place empirical constraints on the mass-radius relationship for extremely low-mass (≤0.30 M ☉ ) white dwarfs. We also detect Doppler beaming in several of these binaries, which confirms their high-amplitude radial-velocity variability. All of these systems are strong sources of gravitational radiation, and long-term monitoring of those that display ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect spin-up of the tidal bulge due to orbital decay.

  8. Radius constraints from high-speed photometry of 20 low-mass white dwarf binaries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hermes, J. J. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Brown, Warren R. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A. [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 West Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Chote, Paul; Sullivan, D. J. [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140 (New Zealand); Winget, D. E.; Bell, Keaton J.; Falcon, R. E.; Winget, K. I.; Harrold, Samuel T.; Montgomery, M. H. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Mason, Paul A., E-mail: j.j.hermes@warwick.ac.uk [Department of Physics, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968 (United States)

    2014-09-01

    We carry out high-speed photometry on 20 of the shortest-period, detached white dwarf binaries known and discover systems with eclipses, ellipsoidal variations (due to tidal deformations of the visible white dwarf), and Doppler beaming. All of the binaries contain low-mass white dwarfs with orbital periods of less than four hr. Our observations identify the first eight tidally distorted white dwarfs, four of which are reported for the first time here. We use these observations to place empirical constraints on the mass-radius relationship for extremely low-mass (≤0.30 M {sub ☉}) white dwarfs. We also detect Doppler beaming in several of these binaries, which confirms their high-amplitude radial-velocity variability. All of these systems are strong sources of gravitational radiation, and long-term monitoring of those that display ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect spin-up of the tidal bulge due to orbital decay.

  9. Genesis of dwarf galaxies in interacting system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duc, Pierre-Alain

    1995-01-01

    This research thesis addresses the study of interacting and merging galaxies, and more particularly the associated stellar formation episodes. The author first reports an analysis of the central regions of these objects by studying a specific class among them, i.e. galaxies discovered by the IRAS satellite which are ultra-luminous in the far infrared. The author presents results obtained by optical and infrared imagery and spectroscopy of a complete sample of objects located in the southern hemisphere. In the second part, the author focusses on outside regions of interacting galaxies, discusses the observation of filaments formed under the influence of tidal forces acting during galactic collisions, and of condensations which are as luminous as dwarf galaxies. Then a multi-wavelength study of several neighbouring systems revealed the existence of a specific class of objects, the tidal dwarf galaxies, which are formed from stellar and gaseous material snatched from the disk of interacting galaxies. Gas-rich tidal dwarf galaxies contain, like dwarf irregular galaxies or blue compact galaxies, newly formed stars. But, in opposition with these ones, they are richer in heavy elements: this is one of the consequences of a specific mode of galactic formation based on a cosmic recycling [fr

  10. ENERGY DISSIPATION THROUGH QUASI-STATIC TIDES IN WHITE DWARF BINARIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Willems, B.; Deloye, C. J.; Kalogera, V.

    2010-01-01

    We present a formalism to study tidal interactions in white dwarf binaries in the limiting case of quasi-static tides, in which the tidal forcing frequencies are small, compared to the inverse of the white dwarf's dynamical timescale. The formalism is valid for arbitrary orbital eccentricities and therefore applicable to white dwarf binaries in the Galactic disk as well as globular clusters. In the quasi-static limit, the total perturbation of the gravitational potential shows a phase shift with respect to the position of the companion, the magnitude of which is determined primarily by the efficiency of energy dissipation through convective damping. We determine rates of secular evolution of the orbital elements and white dwarf rotational angular velocity for a 0.3 M sun helium white dwarf in binaries with orbital frequencies in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) gravitational wave frequency band and companion masses ranging from 0.3 M sun to 10 5 M sun . The resulting tidal evolution timescales for the orbital semimajor axis are longer than a Hubble time, so that convective damping of quasi-static tides need not be considered in the construction of gravitational wave templates of white dwarf binaries in the LISA band. Spin-up of the white dwarf, on the other hand, can occur on timescales of less than 10 Myr, provided that the white dwarf is initially rotating with a frequency much smaller than the orbital frequency. For semi-detached white dwarf binaries spin-up can occur on timescales of less than 1 Myr. Nevertheless, the timescales remain longer than the orbital inspiral timescales due to gravitational radiation, so that the degree of asynchronism in these binaries increases. As a consequence, tidal forcing eventually occurs at forcing frequencies beyond the quasi-static tide approximation. For the shortest period binaries, energy dissipation is therefore expected to take place through dynamic tides and resonantly excited g-modes.

  11. A Pan-STARRS1 VIEW OF THE BIFURCATED SAGITTARIUS STREAM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slater, C. T.; Bell, E. F.; Schlafly, E. F.; Jurić, M.; Finkbeiner, D. P.; Martin, N. F.; Rix, H.-W.; Goldman, B.; Morganson, E. P.; Bernard, E. J.; Burgett, W. S.; Chambers, K. C.; Kaiser, N.; Magnier, E. A.; Tonry, J. L.; Price, P. A.

    2013-01-01

    We use data from the Pan-STARRS1 survey to present a panoramic view of the Sagittarius tidal stream in the southern Galactic hemisphere. As a result of the extensive sky coverage of Pan-STARRS1, the southern stream is visible along more than 60° of its orbit, nearly double the length seen by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The recently discovered southern bifurcation of the stream is also apparent, with the fainter branch of the stream visible over at least 30°. Using a combination of fitting both the main-sequence turnoff and the red clump, we measure the distance to both arms of the stream in the south. We find that the distances to the bright arm of the stream agree very well with the N-body models of Law and Majewski. We also find that the faint arm lies ∼5 kpc closer to the Sun than the bright arm, similar to the behavior seen in the northern hemisphere.

  12. High-resolution Hydrodynamic Simulation of Tidal Detonation of a Helium White Dwarf by an Intermediate Mass Black Hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanikawa, Ataru

    2018-05-01

    We demonstrate tidal detonation during a tidal disruption event (TDE) of a helium (He) white dwarf (WD) with 0.45 M ⊙ by an intermediate mass black hole using extremely high-resolution simulations. Tanikawa et al. have shown tidal detonation in results of previous studies from unphysical heating due to low-resolution simulations, and such unphysical heating occurs in three-dimensional (3D) smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations even with 10 million SPH particles. In order to avoid such unphysical heating, we perform 3D SPH simulations up to 300 million SPH particles, and 1D mesh simulations using flow structure in the 3D SPH simulations for 1D initial conditions. The 1D mesh simulations have higher resolutions than the 3D SPH simulations. We show that tidal detonation occurs and confirm that this result is perfectly converged with different space resolution in both 3D SPH and 1D mesh simulations. We find that detonation waves independently arise in leading parts of the WD, and yield large amounts of 56Ni. Although detonation waves are not generated in trailing parts of the WD, the trailing parts would receive detonation waves generated in the leading parts and would leave large amounts of Si group elements. Eventually, this He WD TDE would synthesize 56Ni of 0.30 M ⊙ and Si group elements of 0.08 M ⊙, and could be observed as a luminous thermonuclear transient comparable to SNe Ia.

  13. The stellar content of the isolated transition dwarf galaxy DDO210

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    McConnachie, Alan W.; Arimoto, Nobuo; Irwin, Mike; Tolstoy, Eline

    2006-01-01

    We use Subaru Suprime-Cam and VLT FORS1 photometry of the dwarf galaxy DDO210 to study the global stellar content and structural properties of a transition-type galaxy (with properties intermediate between dwarf irregular and dwarf spheroidal systems). This galaxy is sufficiently isolated that tidal

  14. Tidal locking of habitable exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Rory

    2017-12-01

    Potentially habitable planets can orbit close enough to their host star that the differential gravity across their diameters can produce an elongated shape. Frictional forces inside the planet prevent the bulges from aligning perfectly with the host star and result in torques that alter the planet's rotational angular momentum. Eventually the tidal torques fix the rotation rate at a specific frequency, a process called tidal locking. Tidally locked planets on circular orbits will rotate synchronously, but those on eccentric orbits will either librate or rotate super-synchronously. Although these features of tidal theory are well known, a systematic survey of the rotational evolution of potentially habitable exoplanets using classic equilibrium tide theories has not been undertaken. I calculate how habitable planets evolve under two commonly used models and find, for example, that one model predicts that the Earth's rotation rate would have synchronized after 4.5 Gyr if its initial rotation period was 3 days, it had no satellites, and it always maintained the modern Earth's tidal properties. Lower mass stellar hosts will induce stronger tidal effects on potentially habitable planets, and tidal locking is possible for most planets in the habitable zones of GKM dwarf stars. For fast-rotating planets, both models predict eccentricity growth and that circularization can only occur once the rotational frequency is similar to the orbital frequency. The orbits of potentially habitable planets of very late M dwarfs ([InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.]) are very likely to be circularized within 1 Gyr, and hence, those planets will be synchronous rotators. Proxima b is almost assuredly tidally locked, but its orbit may not have circularized yet, so the planet could be rotating super-synchronously today. The evolution of the isolated and potentially habitable Kepler planet candidates is computed and about half could be tidally locked. Finally, projected TESS planets

  15. Illuminating massive black holes with white dwarfs: orbital dynamics and high-energy transients from tidal interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacLeod, Morgan; Goldstein, Jacqueline; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Guillochon, James; Samsing, Johan

    2014-01-01

    White dwarfs (WDs) can be tidally disrupted only by massive black holes (MBHs) with masses less than ∼10 5 M ☉ . These tidal interactions feed material to the MBH well above its Eddington limit, with the potential to launch a relativistic jet. The corresponding beamed emission is a promising indication of an otherwise quiescent MBH of relatively low mass. We show that the mass transfer history, and thus the light curve, is quite different when the disruptive orbit is parabolic, eccentric, or circular. The mass lost each orbit exponentiates in the eccentric-orbit case, leading to the destruction of the WD after several tens of orbits. We examine the stellar dynamics of clusters surrounding MBHs to show that single-passage WD disruptions are substantially more common than repeating encounters. The 10 49 erg s –1 peak luminosity of these events makes them visible to cosmological distances. They may be detectible at rates of as many as tens per year by instruments like Swift. In fact, WD-disruption transients significantly outshine their main-sequence star counterparts and are the tidal interaction most likely to be detected arising from MBHs with masses less than 10 5 M ☉ . The detection or nondetection of such WD-disruption transients by Swift is, therefore, a powerful tool to constrain the lower end of the MBH mass function. The emerging ultralong gamma-ray burst class of events all have peak luminosities and durations reminiscent of WD disruptions, offering a hint that WD-disruption transients may already be present in existing data sets.

  16. Brown dwarfs in retrogradely precessing cataclysmic variables?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin E.L.

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available We compare Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic simulations of retrogradely precessing accretion disks that have a white dwarf primary and a main sequence secondary with observational data and with theory on retrograde precession via tidal torques like those by the Moon and the Sun on the Earth [1, 2]. Assuming the primary does not accrete much of the mass lost from the secondary, we identify the theoretical low mass star/brown dwarf boundary. We find no observational candidates in our study that could qualify as brown dwarfs.

  17. Tidal Disruption of Milky Way Satellites with Shallow Dark Matter Density Profiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa L. Łokas

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Dwarf galaxies of the Local Group provide unique possibilities to test current theories of structure formation. Their number and properties have put the broadly accepted cold dark matter model into question, posing a few problems. These problems now seem close to resolution due to the improved treatment of baryonic processes in dwarf galaxy simulations which now predict cored rather than cuspy dark matter profiles in isolated dwarfs with important consequences for their subsequent environmental evolution. Using N-body simulations, we study the evolution of a disky dwarf galaxy with such a shallow dark matter profile on a typical orbit around the Milky Way. The dwarf survives the first pericenter passage but is disrupted after the second due to tidal forces from the host. We discuss the evolution of the dwarf’s properties in time prior to and at the time of disruption. We demonstrate that the dissolution occurs on a rather short timescale as the dwarf expands from a spheroid into a stream with non-zero mean radial velocity. We point out that the properties of the dwarf at the time of disruption may be difficult to distinguish from bound configurations, such as tidally induced bars, both in terms of surface density and line-of-sight kinematics.

  18. Milky Way red dwarfs in the BoRG survey; galactic scale-height and the distribution of dwarf stars in WFC3 imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holwerda, B. W.; Bouwens, R.; Trenti, M.; Clarkson, W.; Sahu, K.; Bradley, L.; Stiavelli, M.; Pirzkal, N.; Ryan, R.; De Marchi, G.; Andersen, M.

    2014-01-01

    We present a tally of Milky Way late-type dwarf stars in 68 Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) pure-parallel fields (227 arcmin 2 ) from the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies survey for high-redshift galaxies. Using spectroscopically identified M-dwarfs in two public surveys, the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey and the Early Release Science mosaics, we identify a morphological selection criterion using the half-light radius (r 50 ), a near-infrared J – H, G – J color region where M-dwarfs are found, and a V – J relation with M-dwarf subtype. We apply this morphological selection of stellar objects, color-color selection of M-dwarfs, and optical-near-infrared color subtyping to compile a catalog of 274 M-dwarfs belonging to the disk of the Milky Way with a limiting magnitude of m F125W < 24(AB). Based on the M-dwarf statistics, we conclude that (1) the previously identified north-south discrepancy in M-dwarf numbers persists in our sample; there are more M-dwarfs in the northern fields on average than in southern ones, (2) the Milky Way's single disk scale-height for M-dwarfs is 0.3-4 kpc, depending on subtype, (3) the scale-height depends on M-dwarf subtype with early types (M0-4) high scale-height (z 0 = 3-4 kpc) and later types M5 and above in the thin disk (z 0 = 0.3-0.5 kpc), (4) a second component is visible in the vertical distribution, with a different, much higher scale-height in the southern fields compared to the northern ones. We report the M-dwarf component of the Sagittarius stream in one of our fields with 11 confirmed M-dwarfs, seven of which are at the stream's distance. In addition to the M-dwarf catalog, we report the discovery of 1 T-dwarfs and 30 L-dwarfs from their near-infrared colors. The dwarf scale-height and the relative low incidence in our fields of L- and T-dwarfs in these fields makes it unlikely that these stars will be interlopers in great numbers in color-selected samples of high-redshift galaxies

  19. Milky Way red dwarfs in the BoRG survey; galactic scale-height and the distribution of dwarf stars in WFC3 imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holwerda, B. W.; Bouwens, R. [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Trenti, M. [Kavli Institute for Cosmology and Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Clarkson, W. [Department of Natural Sciences College of Arts, Sciences and Letters, University of Michigan-Dearborn 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128 (United States); Sahu, K.; Bradley, L.; Stiavelli, M.; Pirzkal, N.; Ryan, R. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); De Marchi, G. [European Space Agency, ESA-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2200 AG Noordwijk (Netherlands); Andersen, M., E-mail: holwerda@strw.leidenuniv.nl [UJF-Grenoble 1/CNRS-INSU, Institut de Planétologie et d' Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) UMR 5274, F-38041 Grenoble (France)

    2014-06-10

    We present a tally of Milky Way late-type dwarf stars in 68 Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) pure-parallel fields (227 arcmin{sup 2}) from the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies survey for high-redshift galaxies. Using spectroscopically identified M-dwarfs in two public surveys, the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey and the Early Release Science mosaics, we identify a morphological selection criterion using the half-light radius (r {sub 50}), a near-infrared J – H, G – J color region where M-dwarfs are found, and a V – J relation with M-dwarf subtype. We apply this morphological selection of stellar objects, color-color selection of M-dwarfs, and optical-near-infrared color subtyping to compile a catalog of 274 M-dwarfs belonging to the disk of the Milky Way with a limiting magnitude of m {sub F125W} < 24(AB). Based on the M-dwarf statistics, we conclude that (1) the previously identified north-south discrepancy in M-dwarf numbers persists in our sample; there are more M-dwarfs in the northern fields on average than in southern ones, (2) the Milky Way's single disk scale-height for M-dwarfs is 0.3-4 kpc, depending on subtype, (3) the scale-height depends on M-dwarf subtype with early types (M0-4) high scale-height (z {sub 0} = 3-4 kpc) and later types M5 and above in the thin disk (z {sub 0} = 0.3-0.5 kpc), (4) a second component is visible in the vertical distribution, with a different, much higher scale-height in the southern fields compared to the northern ones. We report the M-dwarf component of the Sagittarius stream in one of our fields with 11 confirmed M-dwarfs, seven of which are at the stream's distance. In addition to the M-dwarf catalog, we report the discovery of 1 T-dwarfs and 30 L-dwarfs from their near-infrared colors. The dwarf scale-height and the relative low incidence in our fields of L- and T-dwarfs in these fields makes it unlikely that these stars will be interlopers in great numbers in color-selected samples of

  20. Tidal effects in twin-degenerate binaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, C.G.

    1984-01-01

    The tidal velocity field is calculated for an initially non-rotating low mass white dwarf secondary in a twin-degenerate binary. These motions are used to find the tidal torque on the secondary, to first order in the orbital frequency, and an expression is derived for the synchronization time. For a lobe-filling secondary the synchronization time has a weak dependence on the mass and luminosity of the star, and for the binary G61-29 is found to be of the same order as the estimated lifetime of the system. It is emphasized, however, that tidal excitation of non-radial oscillatory modes in the secondary may significantly shorten the synchronization time. (author)

  1. The stellar content of the isolated transition dwarf galaxy DDO210

    OpenAIRE

    McConnachie, Alan W.; Arimoto, Nobuo; Irwin, Mike; Tolstoy, Eline

    2006-01-01

    We use Subaru Suprime-Cam and VLT FORS1 photometry of the dwarf galaxy DDO210 to study the global stellar content and structural properties of a transition-type galaxy (with properties intermediate between dwarf irregular and dwarf spheroidal systems). This galaxy is sufficiently isolated that tidal interactions are not likely to have affected its evolution in any way. The colour-magnitude diagrams of DDO210 show a red giant branch (RGB) population (with an RGB bump), a bright asymptotic gian...

  2. First detection of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the galactic bulge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calamida, A.; Sahu, K. C.; Anderson, J.; Casertano, S.; Brown, T.; Sokol, J.; Bond, H. E.; Ferguson, H.; Livio, M.; Valenti, J. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Cassisi, S.; Buonanno, R.; Pietrinferni, A. [Osservatorio Astronomico di Teramo—INAF, Via M. Maggini, I-64100 Teramo (Italy); Salaris, M. [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF (United Kingdom); Ferraro, I. [Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma—INAF, Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (Italy); Clarkson, W., E-mail: calamida@stsci.edu [University of Michigan-Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128 (United States)

    2014-08-01

    We present Hubble Space Telescope data of the low-reddening Sagittarius window in the Galactic bulge. The Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search field (∼3'× 3'), together with three more Advanced Camera for Surveys and eight Wide-Field Camera 3 fields, were observed in the F606W and F814W filters, approximately every two weeks for 2 yr, with the principal aim of detecting a hidden population of isolated black holes and neutron stars through astrometric microlensing. Proper motions were measured with an accuracy of ≈0.1 mas yr{sup –1} (≈4 km s{sup –1}) at F606W ≈ 25.5 mag, and better than ≈0.5 mas yr{sup –1} (≈20 km s{sup –1}) at F606W ≈ 28 mag, in both axes. Proper-motion measurements allowed us to separate disk and bulge stars and obtain a clean bulge color-magnitude diagram. We then identified for the first time a white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence in the Galactic bulge, together with a dozen candidate extreme horizontal branch stars. The comparison between theory and observations shows that a substantial fraction of the WDs (≈30%) are systematically redder than the cooling tracks for CO-core H-rich and He-rich envelope WDs. This evidence would suggest the presence of a significant number of low-mass WDs and WD-main-sequence binaries in the bulge. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding of two dwarf novae in outburst, two short-period (P ≲ 1 day) ellipsoidal variables, and a few candidate cataclysmic variables in the same field.

  3. First detection of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the galactic bulge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calamida, A.; Sahu, K. C.; Anderson, J.; Casertano, S.; Brown, T.; Sokol, J.; Bond, H. E.; Ferguson, H.; Livio, M.; Valenti, J.; Cassisi, S.; Buonanno, R.; Pietrinferni, A.; Salaris, M.; Ferraro, I.; Clarkson, W.

    2014-01-01

    We present Hubble Space Telescope data of the low-reddening Sagittarius window in the Galactic bulge. The Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search field (∼3'× 3'), together with three more Advanced Camera for Surveys and eight Wide-Field Camera 3 fields, were observed in the F606W and F814W filters, approximately every two weeks for 2 yr, with the principal aim of detecting a hidden population of isolated black holes and neutron stars through astrometric microlensing. Proper motions were measured with an accuracy of ≈0.1 mas yr –1 (≈4 km s –1 ) at F606W ≈ 25.5 mag, and better than ≈0.5 mas yr –1 (≈20 km s –1 ) at F606W ≈ 28 mag, in both axes. Proper-motion measurements allowed us to separate disk and bulge stars and obtain a clean bulge color-magnitude diagram. We then identified for the first time a white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence in the Galactic bulge, together with a dozen candidate extreme horizontal branch stars. The comparison between theory and observations shows that a substantial fraction of the WDs (≈30%) are systematically redder than the cooling tracks for CO-core H-rich and He-rich envelope WDs. This evidence would suggest the presence of a significant number of low-mass WDs and WD-main-sequence binaries in the bulge. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding of two dwarf novae in outburst, two short-period (P ≲ 1 day) ellipsoidal variables, and a few candidate cataclysmic variables in the same field.

  4. Nonvalidity of I-Love-Q Relations for Hot White Dwarf Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boshkayev, K.; Quevedo, H.

    2018-05-01

    The equilibrium configurations of uniformly rotating white dwarfs at finite temperatures are investigated, exploiting the Chandrasekhar equation of state for different isothermal cores. The Hartle-Thorne formalism is applied to construct white dwarf configurations in the framework of Newtonian physics. The equations of structure are considered in the slow rotation approximation and all basic parameters of rotating hot white dwarfs are computed to test the so-called moment of inertia, tidal Love number and quadrupole moment (I-Love-Q) relations. It is shown that even within the same equation of state the I-Love-Q relations are not universal for white dwarfs at finite temperatures.

  5. Dynamics of Tidally Locked, Ultrafast Rotating Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Xianyu; Showman, Adam P.

    2017-10-01

    Tidally locked gas giants, which exhibit a novel regime of day-night thermal forcing and extreme stellar irradiation, are typically in several-day orbits, implying slow rotation and a modest role for rotation in the atmospheric circulation. Nevertheless, there exist a class of gas-giant, highly irradiated objects - brown dwarfs orbiting white dwarfs in extremely tight orbits - whose orbital and hence rotation periods are as short as 1-2 hours. Spitzer phase curves and other observations have already been obtained for this fascinating class of objects, which raise fundamental questions about the role of rotation in controlling the circulation. So far, most modeling studies have investigated rotation periods exceeding a day, as appropriate for typical hot Jupiters. In this work we investigate the dynamics of tidally locked atmospheres in shorter rotation periods down to about two hours. With increasing rotation rate (decreasing rotation period), we show that the width of the equatorial eastward jet decreases, consistent with the narrowing of wave-mean-flow interacting region due to decrease of the equatorial deformation radius. The eastward-shifted equatorial hot spot offset decreases accordingly, and the westward-shifted hot regions poleward of the equatorial jet associated with Rossby gyres become increasingly distinctive. At high latitudes, winds becomes weaker and more geostrophic. The day-night temperature contrast becomes larger due to the stronger influence of rotation. Our simulated atmospheres exhibit small-scale variability, presumably caused by shear instability. Unlike typical hot Jupiters, phase curves of fast-rotating models show an alignment of peak flux to secondary eclipse. Our results have important implications for phase curve observations of brown dwarfs orbiting white dwarfs in ultra tight orbits.

  6. Tidal interaction, star formation and chemical evolution in blue compact dwarf galaxy Mrk 22

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paswan, A.; Omar, A.; Jaiswal, S.

    2018-02-01

    The optical spectroscopic and radio interferometric H I 21 cm-line observations of the blue compact dwarf galaxy Mrk 22 are presented. The Wolf-Rayet (WR) emission-line features corresponding to high ionization lines of He II λ4686 and C IV λ5808 from young massive stars are detected. The ages of two prominent star-forming regions in the galaxy are estimated as ∼10 and ∼ 4 Myr. The galaxy has non-thermal radio deficiency, which also indicates a young starburst and lack of supernovae events from the current star formation activities, consistent with the detection of WR emission-line features. A significant N/O enrichment is seen in the fainter star-forming region. The gas-phase metallicities [12 + log(O/H)] for the bright and faint regions are estimated as 7.98±0.07 and 7.46±0.09, respectively. The galaxy has a large diffuse H I envelop. The H I images reveal disturbed gas kinematics and H I clouds outside the optical extent of the galaxy, indicating recent tidal interaction or merger in the system. The results strongly indicate that Mrk 22 is undergoing a chemical and morphological evolution due to ongoing star formation, most likely triggered by a merger.

  7. Exoplanet recycling in massive white-dwarf debris discs

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Lieshout, R.; Kral, Q.; Charnoz, S.; Wyatt, M. C.; Shannon, A.

    2018-05-01

    Several tens of white dwarfs are known to host circumstellar discs of dusty debris, thought to arise from the tidal disruption of rocky bodies originating in the star's remnant planetary system. This paper investigates the evolution of such discs if they are very massive, as may be the case if their progenitor was a terrestrial planet, moon, or dwarf planet. Assuming the discs are physically thin and flat, like Saturn's rings, their evolution is governed by Poynting-Robertson drag or viscous spreading, where the disc's effective viscosity is due to self-gravity wakes. For discs with masses ≳ 1026 g, located in the outer parts of the tidal disruption zone, viscous spreading dominates the evolution, and mass is transported both in- and outwards. When outwards-spreading material flows beyond the Roche limit, it coagulates into new (minor) planets in a process analogous to the ongoing formation of moonlets at the outer edge of Saturn's rings. The newly formed bodies migrate outwards by exchanging angular momentum with the disc and coalesce into larger objects through mutual collisions. Eventually, the disc's Roche-limit overflow recycles tens of percent of the original disc mass; most ends up in a single large body near 2:1 mean-motion resonance with the disc's outer edge. Hence, the recycling of a tidally disrupted super-Earth, for example, could yield an Earth-mass planet on a ˜10-h orbit, located in the habitable zone for 2-to-10-Gyr-old white dwarfs. The recycling process also creates a population of smaller bodies just outside the Roche limit, which may explain the minor planets recently postulated to orbit WD 1145+017.

  8. Star Formation in Dwarf Galaxies: Life in a Rough Neighborhood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murray, S

    2003-10-16

    Star formation within dwarf galaxies is governed by several factors. Many of these factors are external, including ram-pressure stripping, tidal stripping, and heating by external UV radiation. The latter, in particular, may prevent star formation in the smallest systems. Internal factors include negative feedback in the form of UV radiation, winds and supernovae from massive stars. These act to reduce the star formation efficiency within dwarf systems, which may, in turn, solve several theoretical and observational problems associated with galaxy formation. In this contribution, we discuss our recent work being done to examine the importance of the many factors in the evolution of dwarf galaxies.

  9. NuSTAR detection of high-energy X-ray emission and rapid variability from sagittarius A* flares

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barrière, Nicolas M.; Tomsick, John A.; Baganoff, Frederick K.

    2014-01-01

    Sagittarius A* harbors the supermassive black hole that lies at the dynamical center of our Galaxy. Sagittarius A* spends most of its time in a low luminosity emission state but flares frequently in the infrared and X-ray, increasing up to a few hundred fold in brightness for up to a few hours at...

  10. Does the dwarf galaxy system of the Milky Way originate from Andromeda?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fouquet, Sylvain; Hammer, François; Yang, Yanbin; Puech, Mathieu; Flores, Hector

    2012-12-01

    The Local Group is often seen to be a quiescent environment without significant merger events. However, an ancient major merger may have occurred in the most massive galaxy as suggested by the M31 classical bulge and its halo haunted by numerous stellar streams. Numerical simulations have shown that tidal tails formed during gas-rich major mergers are long-lived and could be responsible for old stellar streams and likely induce the formation of tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs). Using several hydrodynamical simulations we have investigated the most prominent tidal tail formed during the first passage, which is gas rich and contains old and metal-poor stars. We discovered several striking coincidences after comparing its location and motion to those of the Milky Way (MW) and of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). First, the tidal tail is sweeping a relatively small volume in which the MW precisely lies. Because the geometry of the merger is somehow fixed by the anisotropic properties of the giant stream (GS), we evaluate the chance of the MW to be at such a rendezvous with this gigantic tidal tail to be 5 per cent. Secondly, the velocity of the tidal tail matches the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) proper motion, and reproduces quite well the geometrical and angular momentum properties of the MW dwarfs, that is, the so-called disc of satellites, also known as the vast polar structure (VPOS). Thirdly, the simulation of the tidal tail reveals one of the formed TDGs with the mass and location almost comparable to those of the LMC. Our present modelling is, however, too limited to study the detailed interaction of gas-rich TDGs with the potential of the MW, and a complementary study is required to test whether the dwarf intrinsic properties can be accounted for by our scenario. Nevertheless this study suggests a causal link between an expected event, an ancient, gas-rich major merger at the M31 location, and several enigmas in the Local Group, namely the GS in the M31 outskirts, the

  11. Gas dynamics in tidal dwarf galaxies: Disc formation at z = 0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lelli, Federico; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Brinks, Elias; Bournaud, Frédéric; McGaugh, Stacy S.; Lisenfeld, Ute; Weilbacher, Peter M.; Boquien, Médéric; Revaz, Yves; Braine, Jonathan; Koribalski, Bärbel S.; Belles, Pierre-Emmanuel

    2015-12-01

    Tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) are recycled objects that form within the collisional debris of interacting and merging galaxies. They are expected to be devoid of non-baryonic dark matter, since they can only form from dissipative material ejected from the discs of the progenitor galaxies. We investigate the gas dynamics in a sample of six bona fide TDGs around three interacting and post-interacting systems: NGC 4694, NGC 5291, and NGC 7252 ("Atoms for Peace"). For NGC 4694 and NGC 5291, we analyse existing H I data from the Very Large Array (VLA), while for NGC 7252 we present new H I observations from the Jansky VLA, together with long-slit and integral-field optical spectroscopy. For all six TDGs, the H I emission can be described by rotating disc models. These H I discs, however, have undergone less than a full rotation since the time of the interaction/merger event, raising the question of whether they are in dynamical equilibrium. Assuming that these discs are in equilibrium, the inferred dynamical masses are consistent with the observed baryonic masses, implying that TDGs are devoid of dark matter. This puts constraints on putative "dark discs" (either baryonic or non-baryonic) in the progenitor galaxies. Moreover, TDGs seem to systematically deviate from the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation. These results provide a challenging test for alternative theories like MOND. Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at Paranal Observatory under programmes 65.O-0563, 67.B-0049, and 083.B-0647.Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgThe reduced data cubes are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/584/A113

  12. Tidally Heated Terrestrial Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henning, Wade Garrett

    This work models the surface and internal temperatures for hypothetical terrestrial planets in situations involving extreme tidal heating. The feasibility of such planets is evaluated in terms of the orbital perturbations that may give rise to them, their required proximity to a hoststar, and the potential for the input tidal heating to cause significant partial melting of the mantle. Trapping terrestrial planets into 2:1 resonances with migrating Hot Jupiters is considered as a reasonable way for Earth-like worlds to both maintain high eccentricities and to move to short enough orbital periods (1-20 days) for extreme tidal heating to occur. Secular resonance and secular orbital perturbations may support moderate tidal heating at a low equilibrium eccentricity. At orbital periods below 10-30 days, with eccentricities from 0.01 to 0.1, tidal heat may greatly exceed radiogenic heat production. It is unlikely to exceed insolation, except when orbiting very low luminosity hosts, and thus will have limited surface temperature expression. Observations of such bodies many not be able to detect tidal surface enhancements given a few percent uncertainty in albedo, except on the nightside of spin synchronous airless objects. Otherwise detection may occur via spectral detection of hotspots or high volcanic gas concentrations including sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The most extreme cases may be able to produce magma oceans, or magma slush mantles with up to 40-60% melt fractions. Tides may alter the habitable zones for smaller red dwarf stars, but are generally detrimental. Multiple viscoelastic models, including the Maxwell, Voigt-Kelvin, Standard Anelastic Solid, and Burgers rheologies are explored and applied to objects such as Io and the super-Earth planet GJ 876d. The complex valued Love number for the Burgers rheology is derived and found to be a useful improvement when modeling the low temperature behavior of tidal bodies, particularly during low eccentricity

  13. Orbital circularisation of white dwarfs and the formation of gravitational radiation sources in star clusters containing an intermediate mass black hole

    OpenAIRE

    Ivanov, P. B.; Papaloizou, J. C. B.

    2007-01-01

    (abbreviated) We consider how tight binaries consisting of a super-massive black hole of mass $M=10^{3}-10^{4}M_{\\odot}$ and a white dwarf can be formed in a globular cluster. We point out that a major fraction of white dwarfs tidally captured by the black hole may be destroyed by tidal inflation during ongoing circularisation, and the formation of tight binaries is inhibited. However, some stars may survive being spun up to high rotation rates. Then the energy loss through gravitational wave...

  14. An extended star formation history in an ultra-compact dwarf

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Mark A.; Escudero, Carlos G.; Faifer, Favio R.; Kannappan, Sheila J.; Forte, Juan Carlos; van den Bosch, Remco C. E.

    2015-08-01

    There has been significant controversy over the mechanisms responsible for forming compact stellar systems like ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs), with suggestions that UCDs are simply the high-mass extension of the globular cluster population, or alternatively, the liberated nuclei of galaxies tidally stripped by larger companions. Definitive examples of UCDs formed by either route have been difficult to find, with only a handful of persuasive examples of stripped-nucleus-type UCDs being known. In this paper, we present very deep Gemini/GMOS spectroscopic observations of the suspected stripped-nucleus UCD NGC 4546-UCD1 taken in good seeing conditions (noise spectrum to detect a temporally extended star formation history for this UCD. We find that the UCD was forming stars since the earliest epochs until at least 1-2 Gyr ago. Taken together these observations confirm that NGC 4546-UCD1 is the remnant nucleus of a nucleated dwarf galaxy that was tidally destroyed by NGC 4546 within the last 1-2 Gyr.

  15. Tidal and magnetic interactions in close binary stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, C.G.

    1983-03-01

    The thesis investigates the nature of non-synchronous motions in members of close binary stars under the influence of gravitational and magnetic fields existing in these systems, and the evolution of such motions in different classes of binaries. Largely convective stars are considered and a solution is found for the fluid flow associated with the non-synchronous rotation of such a secondary in a close binary system, taking tidal and rotational forces into account. The tidal velocity field is calculated for a low mass white dwarf secondary star in a twin - degenerate binary. It is found that the synchronisation times can be comparable to the lifetime of the binary so that some asynchronism may remain present. (U.K.)

  16. Evidence for dwarf stars at D of about 100 kiloparsecs near the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, Andrew; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Richstone, Douglas; Flynn, Chris

    1992-01-01

    A method is presented for detecting individual, metal-poor, dwarf stars at distances less than about 150 kpc - a method specifically designed to filter out stars from among the much more numerous faint background field galaxies on the basis of broad-band colors. This technique is applied to two fields at high Galactic latitude, for which there are deep CCD data in four bands ranging from 3600 to 9000 A. The field in Sextans probably contains more than about five dwarf stars with BJ not greater than 25.5. These are consistent with being at a common distance about 100 kpc and lie about 1.7 deg from the newly discovered dwarf galaxy in Sextans whose distance is about 85 +/- 10 kpc. The stars lie near the major axis of the galaxy and are near or beyond the tidal radius. The second field, toward the south Galactic pole, may contain up to about five extra-Galactic stars, but these show no evidence for being at a common distance. Possible applications of this type technique are discussed, and it is shown that even very low surface brightness star clusters or dwarf galaxies may be detected at distances less than about 1 Mpc.

  17. The Fate of Close-in Planets: Tidal or Magnetic Migration?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strugarek, A.; Bolmont, E.; Mathis, S.; Brun, A. S.; Réville, V. [Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CEA/Irfu Université Paris-Diderot CNRS/INSU, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Gallet, F.; Charbonnel, C., E-mail: antoine.strugarek@cea.fr [Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland)

    2017-10-01

    Planets in close-in orbits interact magnetically and tidally with their host stars. These interactions lead to a net torque that makes close-in planets migrate inward or outward depending on their orbital distance. We systematically compare the strength of magnetic and tidal torques for typical observed star–planet systems (T-Tauri and hot Jupiter, M-dwarf and Earth-like planet, K star and hot Jupiter) based on state-of-the-art scaling laws. We find that depending on the characteristics of the system, tidal or magnetic effects can dominate. For very close-in planets, we find that both torques can make a planet migrate on a timescale as small as 10–100 thousands of years. Both effects thus have to be taken into account when predicting the evolution of compact systems.

  18. The Metal-poor non-Sagittarius (?) Globular Cluster NGC 5053: Orbit and Mg, Al, and Si Abundances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Baitian; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Geisler, Doug; Zamora, Olga; Mészáros, Szabolcs; Masseron, Thomas; Cohen, Roger E.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Dell’Agli, Flavia; Beers, Timothy C.; Schiavon, Ricardo P.; Sohn, Sangmo Tony; Hasselquist, Sten; Robin, Annie C.; Shetrone, Matthew; Majewski, Steven R.; Villanova, Sandro; Schiappacasse Ulloa, Jose; Lane, Richard R.; Minnti, Dante; Roman-Lopes, Alexandre; Almeida, Andres; Moreno, E.

    2018-03-01

    Metal-poor globular clusters (GCs) exhibit intriguing Al–Mg anti-correlations and possible Si–Al correlations, which are important clues to decipher the multiple-population phenomenon. NGC 5053 is one of the most metal-poor GCs in the nearby universe and has been suggested to be associated with the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy, due to its similarity in location and radial velocity with one of the Sgr arms. In this work, we simulate the orbit of NGC 5053, and argue against a physical connection between Sgr and NGC 5053. On the other hand, the Mg, Al, and Si spectral lines, which are difficult to detect in the optical spectra of NGC 5053 stars, have been detected in the near-infrared APOGEE spectra. We use three different sets of stellar parameters and codes to derive the Mg, Al, and Si abundances. Regardless of which method is adopted, we see a large Al variation, and a substantial Si spread. Along with NGC 5053, metal-poor GCs exhibit different Mg, Al, and Si variations. Moreover, NGC 5053 has the lowest cluster mass among the GCs that have been identified to exhibit an observable Si spread until now.

  19. Confirmation of Faint Dwarf Galaxies in the M81 Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiboucas, Kristin; Jacobs, Bradley A.; Tully, R. Brent; Karachentsev, Igor D.

    2013-11-01

    We have followed up on the results of a 65 deg2 CFHT/MegaCam imaging survey of the nearby M81 Group searching for faint and ultra-faint dwarf galaxies. The original survey turned up 22 faint candidate dwarf members. Based on two-color HST ACS/WFC and WFPC2 photometry, we now confirm 14 of these as dwarf galaxy members of the group. Distances and stellar population characteristics are discussed for each. To a completeness limit of M_{r^{\\prime }} = -10, we find a galaxy luminosity function slope of -1.27 ± 0.04 for the M81 Group. In this region, there are now 36 M81 Group members known, including 4 blue compact dwarfs; 8 other late types including the interacting giants M81, NGC 3077, and M82; 19 early type dwarfs; and at least 5 potential tidal dwarf galaxies. We find that the dSph galaxies in M81 appear to lie in a flattened distribution, similar to that found for the Milky Way and M31. One of the newly discovered dSph galaxies has properties similar to the ultra-faint dwarfs being found in the Local Group with a size Re ~ 100 pc and total magnitude estimates M_{r^{\\prime }} = -6.8 and MI ~ -9.1.

  20. MAPPING THE GALACTIC HALO. VIII. QUANTIFYING SUBSTRUCTURE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Starkenburg, Else; Helmi, Amina; Van Woerden, Hugo; Morrison, Heather L.; Harding, Paul; Frey, Lucy; Oravetz, Dan; Mateo, Mario; Dohm-Palmer, R. C.; Olszewski, Edward W.; Sivarani, Thirupathi; Norris, John E.; Freeman, Kenneth C.; Shectman, Stephen A.

    2009-01-01

    We have measured the amount of kinematic substructure in the Galactic halo using the final data set from the Spaghetti project, a pencil-beam high-latitude sky survey. Our sample contains 101 photometrically selected and spectroscopically confirmed giants with accurate distance, radial velocity, and metallicity information. We have developed a new clustering estimator: the '4distance' measure, which when applied to our data set leads to the identification of one group and seven pairs of clumped stars. The group, with six members, can confidently be matched to tidal debris of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. Two pairs match the properties of known Virgo structures. Using models of the disruption of Sagittarius in Galactic potentials with different degrees of dark halo flattening, we show that this favors a spherical or prolate halo shape, as demonstrated by Newberg et al. using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. One additional pair can be linked to older Sagittarius debris. We find that 20% of the stars in the Spaghetti data set are in substructures. From comparison with random data sets, we derive a very conservative lower limit of 10% to the amount of substructure in the halo. However, comparison to numerical simulations shows that our results are also consistent with a halo entirely built up from disrupted satellites, provided that the dominating features are relatively broad due to early merging or relatively heavy progenitor satellites.

  1. Nearby Red Dwarfs are Sexy for Planets and Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, T. J.; Jao, W.-C.; Subasavage, J. P.; RECONS Team

    2005-12-01

    The RECONS group continues to discover many nearby red dwarfs in the southern sky through a combination of proper motion surveys, literature review, and ultimately, our parallax program CTIOPI. Already, we have measured the first accurate parallaxes for 11 of the nearest 100 stellar systems, including four within 5 parsecs of the Sun. These nearby red dwarfs are prime candidates for NASA's Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) because the astrometric perturbations are largest for planets orbiting stars of low mass that are nearby. In addition, new multiple red dwarf systems can be targeted for mass determinations, thereby providing points on a comprehensive mass-luminosity relation for the most populous members of the Galaxy. Recent atmospheric modeling of planets orbiting red dwarfs indicates that even if the planets are tidally locked, heat distribution is highly effective in keeping the worlds balmy over the entire surface. Red dwarfs are therefore "back on the table" as viable hosts of life-bearing planets. Given their ubiquity, red dwarfs are being seriously considered as prime SETI targets, and will allow us to answer not only the question "Are We Alone?" but "Just How Alone Are We?" This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, and Georgia State University.

  2. Symbolics of the constellations of sagittarius and centaurus in russian traditional culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagdasarov, R.

    2001-12-01

    Centaurus falls into the category of 'imaginary animals'. The Russian tradition used not only the symbol Sgr (a result of its acquaintance with the circle of Zodiac), but also the symbol Cen, which fact, as we shall demonstrate, is an evidence of certain mythological-astronomical conceptions. Both the constellations Sagittarius (Sgr) and Centaurus (Cen) are usually represented as versions of the picture of a fantastic being, a Centaur, shaped as man from head to waist, and as an animal, mostly, a horse, from waist down. 'Centaurus' (from the Greek word kev (or kevw)) for 'kill' and o, for 'bull') means 'bull killer', and is probably related to the opposition of the zodiacal constellations Taurus and Sagittarius. When the latter begins to rise on to the night sky, the former disappears completely from view. Sagittarius is represented at ancient monuments related to astronomy as a centaur holding a bow and pointing at certain stars. The constellation of Centaurus is also symbolised by a centaur, but holding not a bow, but a staff or a spear in one hand and an 'animal of sacrifice' in the other (Higinus, Astronomica, III, 37, 1; Chernetsov, 1975, Figure 1). The attributes stand for the Peliases Spear (The Mithological Dictionary, 1991), depicted in astrological maps as The Spear of Centaurus1, The Wolf (Lupus), the Panther or the Beast (Flammarion, 1994).

  3. Spin-orbital Tidal Dynamics and Tidal Heating in the TRAPPIST-1 Multiplanet System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makarov, Valeri V.; Berghea, Ciprian T.; Efroimsky, Michael

    2018-04-01

    We perform numerical simulations of the TRAPPIST-1 system of seven exoplanets orbiting a nearby M dwarf, starting with a previously suggested stable configuration. The long-term stability of this configuration is confirmed, but the motion of planets is found to be chaotic. The eccentricity values are found to vary within finite ranges. The rates of tidal dissipation and tidal evolution of orbits are estimated, assuming an Earth-like rheology for the planets. We find that under this assumption, the planets b, d, and e were captured in the 3:2 or higher spin–orbit resonances during the initial spin-down, but slipped further down into the 1:1 resonance. Depending on its rheology, the innermost planet b may be captured in a stable pseudosynchronous rotation. Nonsynchronous rotation ensures higher levels of tidal dissipation and internal heating. The positive feedback between the viscosity and the dissipation rate—and the ensuing runaway heating—are terminated by a few self-regulation processes. When the temperature is high and the viscosity is low enough, the planet spontaneously leaves the 3:2 resonance. Further heating is stopped either by passing the peak dissipation or by the emergence of partial melt in the mantle. In the post-solidus state, the tidal dissipation is limited to the levels supported by the heat transfer efficiency. The tides on the host star are unlikely to have had a significant dynamical impact. The tides on the synchronized inner planets tend to reduce these planets’ orbital eccentricity, possibly contributing thereby to the system’s stability.

  4. TIDAL STIRRING OF SATELLITES WITH SHALLOW DENSITY PROFILES PREVENTS THEM FROM BEING TOO BIG TO FAIL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomozeiu, Mihai; Mayer, Lucio [Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Quinn, Thomas, E-mail: mihai@physik.uzh.ch [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

    2016-08-10

    The “too big to fail” problem is revisited by studying the tidal evolution of populations of dwarf satellites with different density profiles. The high-resolution cosmological ΛCDM “ErisMod” set of simulations is used. These simulations can model both the stellar and dark matter components of the satellites, and their evolution under the action of the tides of a Milky Way (MW)-sized host halo at a force resolution better than 10 pc. The stronger tidal mass loss and re-shaping of the mass distribution induced in satellites with γ = 0.6 dark matter density distributions, as those resulting from the effect of feedback in hydrodynamical simulations of dwarf galaxy formation, are sufficient to bring the circular velocity profiles in agreement with the kinematics of MW’s dSphs. In contrast, in simulations in which the satellites retain cusps at z = 0 there are several “massive failures” with circular velocities in excess of the observational constraints. Various sources of deviations in the conventionally adopted relation between the circular velocity at the half-light radius and the one-dimensional line of sight velocity dispersions are found. Such deviations are caused by the response of circular velocity profiles to tidal effects, which also varies depending on the initially assumed inner density profile and by the complexity of the stellar kinematics, which include residual rotation and anisotropy. In addition, tidal effects naturally induce large deviations in the stellar mass–halo mass relation for halo masses below 10{sup 9} M {sub ⊙}, preventing any reliable application of the abundance matching technique to dwarf galaxy satellites.

  5. Rapid Evolution of the Gaseous Exoplanetary Debris Around the White Dwarf Star HE 1349--2305

    OpenAIRE

    Dennihy, E.; Clemens, J. C.; Dunlap, B. H.; Fanale, S. M.; Fuchs, J. T.; Hermes, J. J.

    2018-01-01

    Observations of heavy metal pollution in white dwarf stars indicate that metal-rich planetesimals are frequently scattered into star-grazing orbits, tidally disrupted, and accreted onto the white dwarf surface, offering direct insight into the dynamical evolution of post-main-sequence exoplanetary systems. Emission lines from the gaseous debris in the accretion disks of some of these systems show variations on timescales of decades, and have been interpreted as the general relativistic preces...

  6. DETECTING FLARING STRUCTURES IN SAGITTARIUS A* WITH HIGH-FREQUENCY VLBI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Fish, Vincent L.; Rogers, Alan E. E.; Broderick, Avery E.; Loeb, Abraham

    2009-01-01

    The super-massive black hole candidate, Sagittarius A*, exhibits variability from radio to X-ray wavelengths on timescales that correspond to <10 Schwarzschild radii. We survey the potential of millimeter wavelength very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to detect and constrain time-variable structures that could give rise to such variations, focusing on a model in which an orbiting hot spot is embedded in an accretion disk. Nonimaging algorithms are developed that use interferometric closure quantities to test for periodicity, and applied to an ensemble of hot spot models that sample a range of parameter space. We find that structural periodicity in a wide range of cases can be detected on most potential VLBI arrays using modern VLBI instrumentation. Future enhancements of millimeter/submillimeter VLBI arrays including phased-array processors to aggregate VLBI station collecting area, increased bandwidth recording, and addition of new VLBI sites all significantly aid periodicity detection. The methods described herein can be applied to other models of Sagittarius A*, including jet outflows and magnetohydrodynamic accretion simulations.

  7. White dwarf planets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bonsor Amy

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The recognition that planets may survive the late stages of stellar evolution, and the prospects for finding them around White Dwarfs, are growing. We discuss two aspects governing planetary survival through stellar evolution to the White Dwarf stage. First we discuss the case of a single planet, and its survival under the effects of stellar mass loss, radius expansion, and tidal orbital decay as the star evolves along the Asymptotic Giant Branch. We show that, for stars initially of 1 − 5 M⊙, any planets within about 1 − 5 AU will be engulfed, this distance depending on the stellar and planet masses and the planet's eccentricity. Planets engulfed by the star's envelope are unlikely to survive. Hence, planets surviving the Asymptotic Giant Branch phase will probably be found beyond ∼ 2 AU for a 1  M⊙ progenitor and ∼ 10 AU for a 5 M⊙ progenitor. We then discuss the evolution of two-planet systems around evolving stars. As stars lose mass, planet–planet interactions become stronger, and many systems stable on the Main Sequence become destabilised following evolution of the primary. The outcome of such instabilities is typically the ejection of one planet, with the survivor being left on an eccentric orbit. These eccentric planets could in turn be responsible for feeding planetesimals into the neighbourhood of White Dwarfs, causing observed pollution and circumstellar discs.

  8. Genesis of magnetic fields in isolated white dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, Gordon P.; Ferrario, Lilia; Tout, Christopher A.; Wickramasinghe, Dayal T.

    2018-05-01

    A dynamo mechanism driven by differential rotation when stars merge has been proposed to explain the presence of strong fields in certain classes of magnetic stars. In the case of the high field magnetic white dwarfs (HFMWDs), the site of the differential rotation has been variously thought to be the common envelope, the hot outer regions of a merged degenerate core or an accretion disc formed by a tidally disrupted companion that is subsequently accreted by a degenerate core. We have shown previously that the observed incidence of magnetism and the mass distribution in HFMWDs are consistent with the hypothesis that they are the result of merging binaries during common envelope evolution. Here we calculate the magnetic field strengths generated by common envelope interactions for synthetic populations using a simple prescription for the generation of fields and find that the observed magnetic field distribution is also consistent with the stellar merging hypothesis. We use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to study the correlation between the calculated and the observed field strengths and find that it is consistent for low envelope ejection efficiency. We also suggest that field generation by the plunging of a giant gaseous planet on to a white dwarf may explain why magnetism among cool white dwarfs (including DZ white dwarfs) is higher than among hot white dwarfs. In this picture a super-Jupiter residing in the outer regions of the white dwarf's planetary system is perturbed into a highly eccentric orbit by a close stellar encounter and is later accreted by the white dwarf.

  9. CONFIRMATION OF FAINT DWARF GALAXIES IN THE M81 GROUP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chiboucas, Kristin [Gemini Observatory, 670 North A' ohoku Pl, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Jacobs, Bradley A.; Tully, R. Brent [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96821 (United States); Karachentsev, Igor D., E-mail: kchibouc@gemini.edu, E-mail: bjacobs@ifa.hawaii.edu, E-mail: tully@ifa.hawaii.edu, E-mail: ikar@luna.sao.ru [Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachai-Cherkessian Republic 369167 (Russian Federation)

    2013-11-01

    We have followed up on the results of a 65 deg{sup 2} CFHT/MegaCam imaging survey of the nearby M81 Group searching for faint and ultra-faint dwarf galaxies. The original survey turned up 22 faint candidate dwarf members. Based on two-color HST ACS/WFC and WFPC2 photometry, we now confirm 14 of these as dwarf galaxy members of the group. Distances and stellar population characteristics are discussed for each. To a completeness limit of M{sub r{sup '}}= -10, we find a galaxy luminosity function slope of –1.27 ± 0.04 for the M81 Group. In this region, there are now 36 M81 Group members known, including 4 blue compact dwarfs; 8 other late types including the interacting giants M81, NGC 3077, and M82; 19 early type dwarfs; and at least 5 potential tidal dwarf galaxies. We find that the dSph galaxies in M81 appear to lie in a flattened distribution, similar to that found for the Milky Way and M31. One of the newly discovered dSph galaxies has properties similar to the ultra-faint dwarfs being found in the Local Group with a size R{sub e} ∼ 100 pc and total magnitude estimates M{sub r{sup '}}= -6.8 and M{sub I} ∼ –9.1.

  10. Chaotic Excitation and Tidal Damping in the GJ 876 System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puranam, Abhijit; Batygin, Konstantin

    2018-04-01

    The M-dwarf GJ 876 is the closest known star to harbor a multi-planetary system. With three outer planets locked in a chaotic Laplace-type resonance and an appreciably eccentric short-period super-Earth, this system represents a unique exposition of extrasolar planetary dynamics. A key question that concerns the long-term evolution of this system, and the fate of close-in planets in general, is how the significant eccentricity of the inner-most planet is maintained against tidal circularization on timescales comparable to the age of the universe. Here, we employ stochastic secular perturbation theory and N-body simulations to show that the orbit of the inner-most planet is shaped by a delicate balance between extrinsic chaotic forcing and tidal dissipation. As such, the planet’s orbital eccentricity represents an indirect measure of its tidal quality factor. Based on the system’s present-day architecture, we estimate that the extrasolar super-Earth GJ 876 d has a tidal Q ∼ 104–105, a value characteristic of solar system gas giants.

  11. THE POST-MERGER MAGNETIZED EVOLUTION OF WHITE DWARF BINARIES: THE DOUBLE-DEGENERATE CHANNEL OF SUB-CHANDRASEKHAR TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AND THE FORMATION OF MAGNETIZED WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji Suoqing; Fisher, Robert T.; García-Berro, Enrique; Tzeferacos, Petros; Jordan, George; Lee, Dongwook; Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo; Cremer, Pascal; Behrends, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) play a crucial role as standardizable cosmological candles, though the nature of their progenitors is a subject of active investigation. Recent observational and theoretical work has pointed to merging white dwarf binaries, referred to as the double-degenerate channel, as the possible progenitor systems for some SNe Ia. Additionally, recent theoretical work suggests that mergers which fail to detonate may produce magnetized, rapidly rotating white dwarfs. In this paper, we present the first multidimensional simulations of the post-merger evolution of white dwarf binaries to include the effect of the magnetic field. In these systems, the two white dwarfs complete a final merger on a dynamical timescale, and are tidally disrupted, producing a rapidly rotating white dwarf merger surrounded by a hot corona and a thick, differentially rotating disk. The disk is strongly susceptible to the magnetorotational instability (MRI), and we demonstrate that this leads to the rapid growth of an initially dynamically weak magnetic field in the disk, the spin-down of the white dwarf merger, and to the subsequent central ignition of the white dwarf merger. Additionally, these magnetized models exhibit new features not present in prior hydrodynamic studies of white dwarf mergers, including the development of MRI turbulence in the hot disk, magnetized outflows carrying a significant fraction of the disk mass, and the magnetization of the white dwarf merger to field strengths ∼2 × 10 8 G. We discuss the impact of our findings on the origins, circumstellar media, and observed properties of SNe Ia and magnetized white dwarfs

  12. The Post-merger Magnetized Evolution of White Dwarf Binaries: The Double-degenerate Channel of Sub-Chandrasekhar Type Ia Supernovae and the Formation of Magnetized White Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Suoqing; Fisher, Robert T.; García-Berro, Enrique; Tzeferacos, Petros; Jordan, George; Lee, Dongwook; Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo; Cremer, Pascal; Behrends, Jan

    2013-08-01

    Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) play a crucial role as standardizable cosmological candles, though the nature of their progenitors is a subject of active investigation. Recent observational and theoretical work has pointed to merging white dwarf binaries, referred to as the double-degenerate channel, as the possible progenitor systems for some SNe Ia. Additionally, recent theoretical work suggests that mergers which fail to detonate may produce magnetized, rapidly rotating white dwarfs. In this paper, we present the first multidimensional simulations of the post-merger evolution of white dwarf binaries to include the effect of the magnetic field. In these systems, the two white dwarfs complete a final merger on a dynamical timescale, and are tidally disrupted, producing a rapidly rotating white dwarf merger surrounded by a hot corona and a thick, differentially rotating disk. The disk is strongly susceptible to the magnetorotational instability (MRI), and we demonstrate that this leads to the rapid growth of an initially dynamically weak magnetic field in the disk, the spin-down of the white dwarf merger, and to the subsequent central ignition of the white dwarf merger. Additionally, these magnetized models exhibit new features not present in prior hydrodynamic studies of white dwarf mergers, including the development of MRI turbulence in the hot disk, magnetized outflows carrying a significant fraction of the disk mass, and the magnetization of the white dwarf merger to field strengths ~2 × 108 G. We discuss the impact of our findings on the origins, circumstellar media, and observed properties of SNe Ia and magnetized white dwarfs.

  13. THE POST-MERGER MAGNETIZED EVOLUTION OF WHITE DWARF BINARIES: THE DOUBLE-DEGENERATE CHANNEL OF SUB-CHANDRASEKHAR TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AND THE FORMATION OF MAGNETIZED WHITE DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ji Suoqing; Fisher, Robert T. [University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Department of Physics, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02740 (United States); Garcia-Berro, Enrique [Departament de Fisica Aplicada, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, c/Esteve Terrades, 5, E-08860 Castelldefels (Spain); Tzeferacos, Petros; Jordan, George; Lee, Dongwook [Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Loren-Aguilar, Pablo [School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); Cremer, Pascal [Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Universitaet Bonn, Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn (Germany); Behrends, Jan [Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Arnimallee 14, D-14195 Berlin (Germany)

    2013-08-20

    Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) play a crucial role as standardizable cosmological candles, though the nature of their progenitors is a subject of active investigation. Recent observational and theoretical work has pointed to merging white dwarf binaries, referred to as the double-degenerate channel, as the possible progenitor systems for some SNe Ia. Additionally, recent theoretical work suggests that mergers which fail to detonate may produce magnetized, rapidly rotating white dwarfs. In this paper, we present the first multidimensional simulations of the post-merger evolution of white dwarf binaries to include the effect of the magnetic field. In these systems, the two white dwarfs complete a final merger on a dynamical timescale, and are tidally disrupted, producing a rapidly rotating white dwarf merger surrounded by a hot corona and a thick, differentially rotating disk. The disk is strongly susceptible to the magnetorotational instability (MRI), and we demonstrate that this leads to the rapid growth of an initially dynamically weak magnetic field in the disk, the spin-down of the white dwarf merger, and to the subsequent central ignition of the white dwarf merger. Additionally, these magnetized models exhibit new features not present in prior hydrodynamic studies of white dwarf mergers, including the development of MRI turbulence in the hot disk, magnetized outflows carrying a significant fraction of the disk mass, and the magnetization of the white dwarf merger to field strengths {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8} G. We discuss the impact of our findings on the origins, circumstellar media, and observed properties of SNe Ia and magnetized white dwarfs.

  14. Time scales in tidal disruption events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krolik J.

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We explore the temporal structure of tidal disruption events pointing out the corresponding transitions in the lightcurves of the thermal accretion disk and of the jet emerging from such events. The hydrodynamic time scale of the disrupted star is the minimal time scale of building up the accretion disk and the jet and it sets a limit on the rise time. This suggest that Swift J1644+57, that shows several flares with a rise time as short as a few hundred seconds could not have arisen from a tidal disruption of a main sequence star whose hydrodynamic time is a few hours. The disrupted object must have been a white dwarf. A second important time scale is the Eddington time in which the accretion rate changes form super to sub Eddington. It is possible that such a transition was observed in the light curve of Swift J2058+05. If correct this provides interesting constraints on the parameters of the system.

  15. Tidal streams in the local group and beyond observations and implications

    CERN Document Server

    Carlin, Jeffrey

    2016-01-01

    This volume is written by leading scientists in the field, who review the current state of our knowledge of tidal streams in the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy, and in other nearby galaxies.  The cosmological origins of dwarf galaxies and the physical processes by which they are tidally disrupted into streams and incorporated into galaxy halos are discussed. The techniques that have been used to identify tidal streams are presented, and will be useful to researchers who would like to find substructures in the next generation of optical sky surveys, including Pan-STARRS and LSST.  The methods that are currently under development to constrain both large scale distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way and the (small scale) lumpiness of the dark matter distribution are also explained.  The authors also provide motivation for future spectroscopic surveys of Milky Way halo stars, which will aid both in the identification of tidal streams and the constraint of dark matter properties.This volume is aimed at g...

  16. A COMPREHENSIVE, WIDE-FIELD STUDY OF PULSATING STARS IN THE CARINA DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vivas, A. Katherina [Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía (CIDA), Apartado Postal 264, Mérida 5101-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Mateo, Mario, E-mail: akvivas@cida.ve, E-mail: mmateo@umich.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2013-12-01

    We report the detection of 388 pulsating variable stars (and some additional miscellaneous variables) in the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy over an area covering the full visible extent of the galaxy and extending a few times beyond its photometric (King) tidal radius along the direction of its major axis. Included in this total are 340 newly discovered dwarf Cepheids (DCs), which are mostly located ∼2.5 mag below the horizontal branch and have very short periods (<0.1 days), typical of their class and consistent with their location on the upper part of the extended main sequence of the younger populations of the galaxy. Several extra-tidal DCs were found in our survey up to a distance of ∼1° from the center of Carina. Our sample also includes RR Lyrae stars and anomalous Cepheids, some of which were found outside the galaxy's tidal radius as well. This supports past works that suggest that Carina is undergoing tidal disruption. We use the period-luminosity relationship for DCs to estimate a distance modulus of μ{sub 0} = 20.17 ± 0.10 mag, in very good agreement with the estimate from RR Lyrae stars. We find some important differences in the properties of the DCs of Carina and those in Fornax and the LMC, the only extragalactic samples of DCs currently known. These differences may reflect a metallicity spread, depth along the line of sight, and/or different evolutionary paths of the DC stars.

  17. Structure of the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

    OpenAIRE

    Piatek, Slawomir; Pryor, Carlton; Armandroff, Taft E.; Olszewski, Edward W.

    2002-01-01

    This article studies the structure of the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy with an emphasis on the question of whether the spatial distribution of its stars has been affected by the tidal interaction with the Milky Way, using R- and V-band CCD photometry for eleven fields. The article reports coordinates for the center, a position angle of the major axis, and the ellipticity. It also reports the results of searches for asymmetries in the structure of Draco. These results, and searches for a ``br...

  18. The dynamical fate of self-gravitating disc fragments after tidal downsizing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgan, Duncan; Parker, Richard J.; Rice, Ken

    2015-02-01

    The gravitational instability model of planet/brown dwarf formation proposes that protostellar discs can fragment into objects with masses above a few Jupiter masses at large semimajor axis. Tidal downsizing may reduce both the object mass and semimajor axis. However, most studies of tidal downsizing end when the protostellar disc disperses, while the system is embedded in its parent star-forming region. To compare disc fragment descendants with exoplanet and brown dwarf observations, the subsequent dynamical evolution must be explored. We carry out N-body integrations of fragment-fragment scattering in multi-object star systems, and star systems embedded in substructured clusters. In both cases, we use initial conditions generated by population synthesis models of tidal downsizing. The scattering simulations produce a wide range of eccentricities. The ejection rate is around 25 per cent. The ejecta mass distribution is similar to that for all objects, with a velocity dispersion consistent with those produced by full hydrodynamic simulations. The semimajor axis distribution after scattering extends to parsec scales. In the cluster simulations, 13 per cent of the objects are ejected from their planetary system, and around 10 per cent experience significant orbit modification. A small number of objects are recaptured on high-eccentricity, high-inclination orbits. The velocity distribution of ejecta is similar to that produced by fragment-fragment scattering. If fragment-fragment scattering and cluster stripping act together, then disc fragmentation should be efficient at producing free-floating substellar objects, and hence characterizing the free-floating planet population will provide strong constraints on the frequency of disc fragmentation.

  19. POX 186: A Dwarf Galaxy Under Construction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corbin, M. R.; Vacca, W. D.

    2000-12-01

    We have obtained deep images of the ultracompact ( ~ 3'') blue compact dwarf galaxy POX 186 in the F336W, F555W, and F814W filters of the Planetary Camera of the Hubble Space Telescope. We have additionally obtained a low-resolution near ultraviolet spectrum of the object with STIS and combine this with a ground-based spectrum covering the visible continuum and emission lines. Our images confirm this object to be highly compact, with a maximum projected size of only ~ 240 pc, making it one of the smallest galaxies known. We also confirm that the outer regions of the galaxy consist of an evolved stellar population, ruling out earlier speculations that POX 186 is a protogalaxy. However, the PC images reveal the galaxy to have a highly irregular morphology, with a pronounced tidal arm on its western side. This morphology is strongly suggestive of a recent collision between two smaller components which has in turn triggered the central starburst. The F336W image also shows that the material in this tidal stream is actively star forming. Given the very small ( ~ 100 pc) sizes of the colliding components, POX 186 may be a dwarf galaxy in the early stages of formation, which would be consistent with current ``downsizing'' models of galaxy formation in which the least massive objects are the last to form. This work is supported by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

  20. Serendipitous discovery of a dwarf Nova in the Kepler field near the G dwarf KIC 5438845

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Alexander; Ayres, Thomas R.; Neff, James E.; Wells, Mark A.; Kowalski, Adam; Hawley, Suzanne; Berdyugina, Svetlana; Harper, Graham M.; Korhonen, Heidi; Piskunov, Nikolai; Saar, Steven; Walkowicz, Lucianne

    2015-01-01

    The Kepler satellite provides a unique window into stellar temporal variability by observing a wide variety of stars with multi-year, near-continuous, high precision, optical photometric time series. While most Kepler targets are faint stars with poorly known physical properties, many unexpected discoveries should result from a long photometric survey of such a large area of sky. During our Kepler Guest Observer programs that monitored late-type stars for starspot and flaring variability, we discovered a previously unknown dwarf nova that lies within a few arcseconds of the mid-G dwarf star KIC 5438845. This dwarf nova underwent nine outbursts over a 4 year time span. The two largest outbursts lasted ∼17–18 days and show strong modulations with a 110.8 minute period and a declining amplitude during the outburst decay phase. These properties are characteristic of an SU UMa-type cataclysmic variable. By analogy with other dwarf nova light curves, we associate the 110.8 minute (1.847 hr) period with the superhump period, close to but slightly longer than the orbital period of the binary. No precursor outbursts are seen before the super-outbursts and the overall super-outburst morphology corresponds to Osaki and Meyer “Case B” outbursts, which are initiated when the outer edge of the disk reaches the tidal truncation radius. “Case B” outbursts are rare within the Kepler light curves of dwarf novae. The dwarf nova is undergoing relatively slow mass transfer, as evidenced by the long intervals between outbursts, but the mass transfer rate appears to be steady, because the smaller “normal” outbursts show a strong correlation between the integrated outburst energy and the elapsed time since the previous outburst. At super-outburst maximum the system was at V ∼ 18, but in quiescence it is fainter than V ∼ 22, which will make any detailed quiescent follow-up of this system difficult.

  1. Chemical Abundances of Hydrostatic and Explosive Alpha-elements in Sagittarius Stream Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Sheffield, Allyson A.; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.

    2018-05-01

    We analyze chemical abundances of stars in the Sagittarius (Sgr) tidal stream using high-resolution Gemini+GRACES spectra of 42 members of the highest surface-brightness portions of both the trailing and leading arms. Targets were chosen using a 2MASS+WISE color–color selection, combined with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) radial velocities. In this Letter, we analyze [Fe/H] and α-elements produced by both hydrostatic (O, Mg) and explosive (Si, Ca, Ti) nucleosynthetic processes. The average [Fe/H] for our Sgr stream stars is lower than that for stars in the Sgr core, and stars in the trailing and leading arms show systematic differences in [Fe/H]. Both hydrostatic and explosive elements are depleted relative to Milky Way (MW) disk and halo stars, with a larger gap between the MW trend and Sgr stars for the hydrostatic elements. Chemical abundances of Sgr stream stars show similar patterns to those measured in the core of the Sgr dSph. We explore the ratio of hydrostatic to explosive α-elements [α h/ex] (which we refer to as the “HEx ratio”). Our observed HEx ratio trends for Sgr debris are deficient relative to MW stars. Via simple chemical evolution modeling, we show that these HEx ratio patterns are consistent with a Sgr IMF that lacks the most massive stars. This study provides a link between the chemical properties in the intact Sgr core and the significant portion of the Sgr system’s luminosity that is estimated to currently reside in the streams.

  2. Gravitational waves from the collision of tidally disrupted stars with massive black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    East, William E.

    2014-01-01

    We use simulations of hydrodynamics coupled with full general relativity to investigate the gravitational waves produced by a star colliding with a massive black hole when the star's tidal disruption radius lies far outside of the black hole horizon. We consider both main-sequence and white-dwarf compaction stars, and nonspinning black holes, as well as those with near-extremal spin. We study the regime in between where the star can be accurately modeled by a point particle, and where tidal effects completely suppress the gravitational wave signal. We find that nonnegligible gravitational waves can be produced even when the star is strongly affected by tidal forces, as well as when it collides with large angular momentum. We discuss the implications that these results have for the potential observation of gravitational waves from these sources with future detectors.

  3. DWARFS GOBBLING DWARFS: A STELLAR TIDAL STREAM AROUND NGC 4449 AND HIERARCHICAL GALAXY FORMATION ON SMALL SCALES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martínez-Delgado, David; Rix, Hans-Walter; Macciò, Andrea V.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Arnold, Jacob A.; Brodie, Jean P.; Jay Gabany, R.; Annibali, Francesca; Fliri, Jürgen; Zibetti, Stefano; Van der Marel, Roeland P.; Aloisi, Alessandra; Chonis, Taylor S.; Carballo-Bello, Julio A.; Gallego-Laborda, J.; Merrifield, Michael R.

    2012-01-01

    A candidate diffuse stellar substructure was previously reported in the halo of the nearby dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 4449 by Karachentsev et al. We map and analyze this feature using a unique combination of deep integrated-light images from the BlackBird 0.5 m telescope, and high-resolution wide-field images from the 8 m Subaru Telescope, which resolve the nebulosity into a stream of red giant branch stars, and confirm its physical association with NGC 4449. The properties of the stream imply a massive dwarf spheroidal progenitor, which after complete disruption will deposit an amount of stellar mass that is comparable to the existing stellar halo of the main galaxy. The stellar mass ratio between the two galaxies is ∼1:50, while the indirectly measured dynamical mass ratio, when including dark matter, may be ∼1:10-1:5. This system may thus represent a 'stealth' merger, where an infalling satellite galaxy is nearly undetectable by conventional means, yet has a substantial dynamical influence on its host galaxy. This singular discovery also suggests that satellite accretion can play a significant role in building up the stellar halos of low-mass galaxies, and possibly in triggering their starbursts.

  4. SDSS J074511.56+194926.5: Discovery of a metal-rich and tidally distorted extremely low mass white dwarf

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gianninas, A.; Barber, Sara D.; Kilic, Mukremin [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Hermes, J. J.; Harrold, Samuel T. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Brown, Warren R.; Kenyon, Scott J. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Dufour, P., E-mail: alexg@nhn.ou.edu [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7 (Canada)

    2014-02-01

    We present the discovery of an unusual, tidally distorted extremely low mass white dwarf (WD) with nearly solar metallicity. Radial velocity measurements confirm that this is a compact binary with an orbital period of 2.6975 hr and a velocity semi-amplitude of K = 108.7 km s{sup –1}. Analysis of the hydrogen Balmer lines yields an effective temperature of T {sub eff} = 8380 K and a surface gravity of log g = 6.21 that in turn indicate a mass of M = 0.16 M {sub ☉} and a cooling age of 4.2 Gyr. In addition, a detailed analysis of the observed metal lines yields abundances of log (Mg/H) = –3.90, log (Ca/H) = –5.80, log (Ti/H) = –6.10, log (Cr/H) = –5.60, and log (Fe/H) = –4.50, similar to the sun. We see no evidence of a debris disk from which these metals would be accreted, though the possibility cannot entirely be ruled out. Other potential mechanisms to explain the presence of heavy elements are discussed. Finally, we expect this system to ultimately undergo unstable mass transfer and merge to form a ∼0.3-0.6 M {sub ☉} WD in a few Gyr.

  5. ARE ULTRA-LONG GAMMA-RAY BURSTS CAUSED BY BLUE SUPERGIANT COLLAPSARS, NEWBORN MAGNETARS, OR WHITE DWARF TIDAL DISRUPTION EVENTS?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ioka, Kunihito [Center for Gravitational Physics, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Hotokezaka, Kenta; Piran, Tsvi, E-mail: kunihito.ioka@yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel)

    2016-12-10

    Ultra-long gamma-ray bursts (ulGRBs) are a new population of GRBs with extreme durations of ∼10{sup 4} s. Leading candidates for their origin are blue supergiant collapsars, magnetars, and white dwarf tidal disruption events (WD-TDEs) caused by massive black holes (BHs). Recent observations of supernova-like (SN-like) bumps associated with ulGRBs challenged both the WD-TDE and the blue supergiant models because of the detection of SNe and the absence of hydrogen lines, respectively. We propose that WD-TDEs can accommodate the observed SN-like bumps if the fallback WD matter releases energy into the unbound WD ejecta. The observed ejecta energy, luminosity, and velocity are explained by the gravitational energy, Eddington luminosity, and escape velocity of the formed accretion disk, respectively. We also show that the observed X-rays can ionize the ejecta, eliminating lines. The SN-like light curves (SN 2011kl) for the ulGRB 111209A are consistent with all three models, although a magnetar model is unnatural because the spin-down time required to power the SN-like bump is a hundred times longer than the GRB. Our results imply that TDEs are a possible energy source for SN-like events in general and for ulGRBs in particular.

  6. DID THE MILKY WAY DWARF SATELLITES ENTER THE HALO AS A GROUP?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metz, Manuel; Kroupa, Pavel; Theis, Christian; Hensler, Gerhard; Jerjen, Helmut

    2009-01-01

    The dwarf satellite galaxies in the Local Group are generally considered to be hosted in dark matter subhalos that survived the disruptive processes during infall onto their host halos. It has recently been argued that if the majority of satellites entered the Milky Way (MW) halo in a group rather than individually, this could explain the spatial and dynamical peculiarities of its satellite distribution. Such groups were identified as dwarf galaxy associations that are found in the nearby universe. In this paper, we address the question whether galaxies in such associations can be the progenitors of the MW satellite galaxies. We find that the dwarf associations are much more extended than would be required to explain the disklike distribution of the MW and Andromeda satellite galaxies. We further identify a possible minor filamentary structure, perpendicular to the supergalactic plane, in which the dwarf associations are located, that might be related to the direction of infall of a progenitor galaxy of the MW satellites, if they are of tidal origin.

  7. PAndAS' CUBS: DISCOVERY OF TWO NEW DWARF GALAXIES IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE ANDROMEDA AND TRIANGULUM GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, Nicolas F.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Irwin, Mike; Chapman, Scott; Widrow, Lawrence M.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Dubinski, John; Babul, Arif; Navarro, Julio; Fardal, Mark; Lewis, Geraint F.; Rich, R. Michael

    2009-01-01

    We present the discovery of two new dwarf galaxies, Andromeda XXI and Andromeda XXII, located in the surroundings of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies (M31 and M33). These discoveries stem from the first year data of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey, a photometric survey of the M31/M33 group conducted with the Megaprime/MegaCam Wide-Field Camera mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Both satellites appear as spatial overdensities of stars which, when plotted in a color-magnitude diagram, follow metal-poor, [Fe/H] = -1.8, red giant branches at the distance of M31/M33. Andromeda XXI is a moderately bright dwarf galaxy (M V = -9.9 ± 0.6), albeit with low surface brightness, emphasizing again that many relatively luminous M31 satellites still remain to be discovered. It is also a large satellite, with a half-light radius close to 1 kpc, making it the fourth largest Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxy after the recently discovered Andromeda XIX, Andromeda II, and Sagittarius around the Milky Way, and supports the trend that M31 satellites are larger than their Milky Way counterparts. Andromeda XXII is much fainter (M V = -6.5 ± 0.8) and lies a lot closer in projection to M33 than it does to M31 (42 versus 224 kpc), suggesting that it could be the first Triangulum satellite to be discovered. Although this is a very exciting possibility in the context of a past interaction of M33 with M31 and the fate of its satellite system, a confirmation will have to await a good distance estimate to confirm its physical proximity to M33. Along with the dwarf galaxies found in previous surveys of the M31 surroundings, these two new satellites bring the number of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in this region to 20.

  8. Formation and evolution of substructures in tidal tails: spherical dark matter haloes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinoso, B.; Fellhauer, M.; Véjar, R.

    2018-05-01

    Recently a theory about the formation of overdensities of stars along tidal tails of globular clusters has been presented. This theory predicts the position and the time of the formation of such overdensities and was successfully tested with N-body simulations of globular clusters in a point-mass galactic potential. In this work, we present a comparison between this theory and our simulations using a dwarf galaxy orbiting two differently shaped dark matter haloes to study the effects of a cored and a cuspy halo on the formation and the evolution of tidal tails. We find no difference using a cuspy or a cored halo, however, we find an intriguing asymmetry between the leading arm and the trailing arm of the tidal tails. The trailing arm grows faster than the leading arm. This asymmetry is seen in the distance to the first overdensity and its size as well. We establish a relation between the distance to the first overdensity and the size of this overdensity.

  9. Evolution of tidal capture X-ray binaries - 4U 2127+12 (M15) to 4U 1820-30 (NGC 6624)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailyn, C.D.; Grindlay, J.E.

    1987-01-01

    A new evolutionary scenario for X-ray binaries in globular clusters, which begins with a tidal capture of a main-sequence star by a neutron star and ends with a white dwarf-neutron star system, is presented. For tidal captures of main-sequence stars into orbits too wide to begin mass transfer immediately, the subsequent evolution of the secondary can lead to a common envelope binary similar to what the 9 hr X-ray binary 4U 2127+12 in M15 is suspected to be. If the common envelope is thick enough, it may cause the neutron star and the white dwarf core of the secondary to spiral in, producing a detached white dwarf-neutron star system. Subsequently, gravitational radiation losses may evolve this into the configuration seen in the 11 minute X-ray binary 4U 1820-30 in NGC 6624. This model appears more likely on statistical grounds than formation by collision of a neutron star and a red giant. In some circumstances, the latter process may result in unstable mass transfer, which would result in coalescence rather than a binary system like 4U 1820-30. 34 references

  10. COMPARING THE OBSERVABLE PROPERTIES OF DWARF GALAXIES ON AND OFF THE ANDROMEDA PLANE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, Michelle L. M.; Martin, Nicolas F. [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Rich, R. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Ibata, Rodrigo A. [Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11, Rue de l' Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Chapman, Scott C. [Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Coburg Road, Halifax B3H1A6 (Canada); McConnachie, Alan W. [NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, 5071 West Saanich Road, British Columbia, Victoria V9E 2E7 (Canada); Ferguson, Annette M. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Irwin, Michael J. [Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Rise, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Lewis, Geraint F., E-mail: michelle.collins@yale.edu [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

    2015-01-20

    The thin, extended planes of satellite galaxies detected around both the Milky Way and Andromeda are not a natural prediction of the Λ-cold dark matter paradigm. Galaxies in these distinct planes may have formed and evolved in a different way (e.g., tidally) from their off-plane neighbors. If this were the case, one would expect the on- and off-plane dwarf galaxies in Andromeda to have experienced different evolutionary histories, which should be reflected by the chemistries, dynamics, and star formation histories of the two populations. In this work, we present new, robust kinematic observations for two on-plane M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxies (And XVI and XVII) and compile and compare all available observational metrics for the on- and off-plane dwarfs to search for a signal that would corroborate such a hypothesis. We find that, barring their spatial alignment, the on- and off-plane Andromeda dwarf galaxies are indistinguishable from one another, arguing against vastly different formative and evolutionary histories for these two populations.

  11. COMPARING THE OBSERVABLE PROPERTIES OF DWARF GALAXIES ON AND OFF THE ANDROMEDA PLANE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collins, Michelle L. M.; Martin, Nicolas F.; Rich, R. M.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Chapman, Scott C.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Ferguson, Annette M.; Irwin, Michael J.; Lewis, Geraint F.

    2015-01-01

    The thin, extended planes of satellite galaxies detected around both the Milky Way and Andromeda are not a natural prediction of the Λ-cold dark matter paradigm. Galaxies in these distinct planes may have formed and evolved in a different way (e.g., tidally) from their off-plane neighbors. If this were the case, one would expect the on- and off-plane dwarf galaxies in Andromeda to have experienced different evolutionary histories, which should be reflected by the chemistries, dynamics, and star formation histories of the two populations. In this work, we present new, robust kinematic observations for two on-plane M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxies (And XVI and XVII) and compile and compare all available observational metrics for the on- and off-plane dwarfs to search for a signal that would corroborate such a hypothesis. We find that, barring their spatial alignment, the on- and off-plane Andromeda dwarf galaxies are indistinguishable from one another, arguing against vastly different formative and evolutionary histories for these two populations

  12. A violent interaction between the dwarf galaxy UGC 7636 and the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4472

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mcnamara, Brian R.; Sancisi, Renzo; Henning, Patricia A.; Junor, William

    1994-01-01

    We present new U, B, R, and H I imagery of the Virgo Cluster giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4472 and its interacting dwarf companion galaxy UGC 7636. Using a composite image reconstruction technique, we show that a trail of debris approx. 5 arcmin in length and approx. 1 arcmin in width (30x6 kpc for a Virgo cluster distance of 20 Mpc) is projected northward from the dwarf galaxy. A cloud of H I is projected along the northwest edge of the debris between the dwarf and gE. The dwarf's nuclear morphology is irregular and bow-shaped on what appears to be its leading edge. Apart from a number of isolated blue regions, most of of the trailing debris is similar in color to the dwarf's nucleus. Only a modest enhancement of star formation appears to have been induced by the interaction. Although separated by 15 kpc, the H I and stellar morphologies are remarkably similar. The stars and H I appear to have been tidally distorted in situ, prior to the cloud's removal by ram pressure. If the H I has maintained its shape by magnetic support, a magnetic field strength an order of magnitude larger than the galaxy's is required. Ram pressure deceleration due to the cloud's motion through NGC 4472's x-ray-emitting interstellar medium shold be sufficient for the cloud to become gravitationally bound to NGC 4472. The H I cloud is not self-gravitating and may fragment and be destroyed in the interaction. UGC 7636 will probably be disrupted by NGC 4472's strong tidal forces; the stellar debris will disperse into the Virgo cluster or become bound to NGC 4472's halo on eccentric orbits. The debris captured in the collision will have a negligible impact on NGC 4472's stellar and gaseous content. On the other hand, if similar interactions are common in giant elliptical galaxies, they could alter or deplete surrounding dwarf galaxy populations, fuel bursts of nuclear activity, and perhaps provide a source of magnetic energy to their interstellar media.

  13. White dwarf-red dwarf binaries in the Galaxy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Besselaar, E.J.M. van den

    2007-01-01

    This PhD thesis shows several studies on white dwarf - red dwarf binaries. White dwarfs are the end products of most stars and red dwarfs are normal hydrogen burning low-mass stars. White dwarf - red dwarf binaries are both blue (white dwarf) and red (red dwarf). Together with the fact that they are

  14. THE FATE OF DWARF GALAXIES IN CLUSTERS AND THE ORIGIN OF INTRACLUSTER STARS. II. COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martel, Hugo; Barai, Paramita; Brito, William

    2012-01-01

    We combine an N-body simulation algorithm with a subgrid treatment of galaxy formation, mergers, and tidal destruction, and an observed conditional luminosity function Φ(L|M), to study the origin and evolution of galactic and extragalactic light inside a cosmological volume of size (100 Mpc) 3 , in a concordance ΛCDM model. This algorithm simulates the growth of large-scale structures and the formation of clusters, the evolution of the galaxy population in clusters, the destruction of galaxies by mergers and tides, and the evolution of the intracluster light (ICL). We find that destruction of galaxies by mergers dominates over destruction by tides by about an order of magnitude at all redshifts. However, tidal destruction is sufficient to produce ICL fractions f ICL that are sufficiently high to match observations. Our simulation produces 18 massive clusters (M cl > 10 14 M ☉ ) with values of f ICL ranging from 1% to 58% at z = 0. There is a weak trend of f ICL to increase with cluster mass. The bulk of the ICL (∼60%) is provided by intermediate galaxies of total masses 10 11 -10 12 M ☉ and stellar masses 6 × 10 8 M ☉ to 3 × 10 10 M ☉ that were tidally destroyed by even more massive galaxies. The contribution of low-mass galaxies to the ICL is small and the contribution of dwarf galaxies is negligible, even though, by numbers, most galaxies that are tidally destroyed are dwarfs. Tracking clusters back in time, we find that their values of f ICL tend to increase over time, but can experience sudden changes that are sometimes non-monotonic. These changes occur during major mergers involving clusters of comparable masses but very different intracluster luminosities. Most of the tidal destruction events take place in the central regions of clusters. As a result, the ICL is more centrally concentrated than the galactic light. Our results support tidal destruction of intermediate-mass galaxies as a plausible scenario for the origin of the ICL.

  15. High-energy cosmic ray nuclei from tidal disruption events: Origin, survival, and implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, B. Theodore; Murase, Kohta; Oikonomou, Foteini; Li, Zhuo

    2017-09-01

    Tidal disruption events (TDEs) by supermassive or intermediate mass black holes have been suggested as candidate sources of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and high-energy neutrinos. Motivated by the recent measurements from the Pierre Auger Observatory, which indicates a metal-rich cosmic-ray composition at ultrahigh energies, we investigate the fate of UHECR nuclei loaded in TDE jets. First, we consider the production and survival of UHECR nuclei at internal shocks, external forward and reverse shocks, and nonrelativistic winds. Based on the observations of Swift J 1644 +57 , we show that the UHECRs can survive for external reverse and forward shocks, and disk winds. On the other hand, UHECR nuclei are significantly disintegrated in internal shocks, although they could survive for low-luminosity TDE jets. Assuming that UHECR nuclei can survive, we consider implications of different composition models of TDEs. We find that the tidal disruption of main sequence stars or carbon-oxygen white dwarfs does not successfully reproduce UHECR observations, namely the observed composition or spectrum. The observed mean depth of the shower maximum and its deviation could be explained by oxygen-neon-magnesium white dwarfs, although they may be too rare to be the sources of UHECRs.

  16. Universal Dark Halo Scaling Relation for the Dwarf Spheroidal Satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayashi, Kohei; Ishiyama, Tomoaki; Ogiya, Go; Chiba, Masashi; Inoue, Shigeki; Mori, Masao

    2017-07-01

    Motivated by a recently found interesting property of the dark halo surface density within a radius, {r}\\max , giving the maximum circular velocity, {V}\\max , we investigate it for dark halos of the Milky Way’s and Andromeda’s dwarf satellites based on cosmological simulations. We select and analyze the simulated subhalos associated with Milky-Way-sized dark halos and find that the values of their surface densities, {{{Σ }}}{V\\max }, are in good agreement with those for the observed dwarf spheroidal satellites even without employing any fitting procedures. Moreover, all subhalos on the small scales of dwarf satellites are expected to obey the universal relation, irrespective of differences in their orbital evolutions, host halo properties, and observed redshifts. Therefore, we find that the universal scaling relation for dark halos on dwarf galaxy mass scales surely exists and provides us with important clues for understanding fundamental properties of dark halos. We also investigate orbital and dynamical evolutions of subhalos to understand the origin of this universal dark halo relation and find that most subhalos evolve generally along the {r}\\max \\propto {V}\\max sequence, even though these subhalos have undergone different histories of mass assembly and tidal stripping. This sequence, therefore, should be the key feature for understanding the nature of the universality of {{{Σ }}}{V\\max }.

  17. HERSCHEL/HIFI OBSERVATIONS OF HYDROGEN FLUORIDE TOWARD SAGITTARIUS B2(M)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monje, R. R.; Emprechtinger, M.; Phillips, T. G.; Lis, D. C.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Bergin, E. A.; Bell, T. A.; Neufeld, D. A.; Sonnentrucker, P.

    2011-01-01

    Herschel/HIFI observations have revealed the presence of widespread absorption by hydrogen fluoride (HF) J = 1-0 rotational transition, toward a number of Galactic sources. We present observations of HF J = 1-0 toward the high-mass star-forming region Sagittarius B2(M). The spectrum obtained shows a complex pattern of absorption, with numerous features covering a wide range of local standard of rest velocities (-130 to 100 km -1 ). An analysis of this absorption yields HF abundances relative to H 2 of ∼1.3 x 10 -8 , in most velocity intervals. This result is in good agreement with estimates from chemical models, which predict that HF should be the main reservoir of gas-phase fluorine under a wide variety of interstellar conditions. Interestingly, we also find velocity intervals in which the HF spectrum shows strong absorption features that are not present, or are very weak, in spectra of other molecules, such as 13 CO (1-0) and CS (2-1). HF absorption reveals components of diffuse clouds with small extinction that can be studied for the first time. Another interesting observation is that water is significantly more abundant than hydrogen fluoride over a wide range of velocities toward Sagittarius B2(M), in contrast to the remarkably constant H 2 O/HF abundance ratio with average value close to unity measured toward other Galactic sources.

  18. Formation of Tidal Captures and Gravitational Wave Inspirals in Binary-single Interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samsing, Johan; MacLeod, Morgan; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico

    2017-01-01

    We perform the first systematic study of how dynamical stellar tides and general relativistic (GR) effects affect the dynamics and outcomes of binary-single interactions. For this, we have constructed an N -body code that includes tides in the affine approximation, where stars are modeled as self-similar ellipsoidal polytropes, and GR corrections using the commonly used post-Newtonian formalism. Using this numerical formalism, we are able resolve the leading effect from tides and GR across several orders of magnitude in both stellar radius and initial target binary separation. We find that the main effect from tides is the formation of two-body tidal captures that form during the chaotic and resonant evolution of the triple system. The two stars undergoing the capture spiral in and merge. The inclusion of tides can thus lead to an increase in the stellar coalescence rate. We also develop an analytical framework for calculating the cross section of tidal inspirals between any pair of objects with similar mass. From our analytical and numerical estimates, we find that the rate of tidal inspirals relative to collisions increases as the initial semimajor axis of the target binary increases and the radius of the interacting tidal objects decreases. The largest effect is therefore found for triple systems hosting white dwarfs and neutron stars (NSs). In this case, we find the rate of highly eccentric white dwarf—NS mergers to likely be dominated by tidal inspirals. While tidal inspirals occur rarely, we note that they can give rise to a plethora of thermonuclear transients, such as Ca-rich transients.

  19. Formation of Tidal Captures and Gravitational Wave Inspirals in Binary-single Interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samsing, Johan [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); MacLeod, Morgan [School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

    2017-09-01

    We perform the first systematic study of how dynamical stellar tides and general relativistic (GR) effects affect the dynamics and outcomes of binary-single interactions. For this, we have constructed an N -body code that includes tides in the affine approximation, where stars are modeled as self-similar ellipsoidal polytropes, and GR corrections using the commonly used post-Newtonian formalism. Using this numerical formalism, we are able resolve the leading effect from tides and GR across several orders of magnitude in both stellar radius and initial target binary separation. We find that the main effect from tides is the formation of two-body tidal captures that form during the chaotic and resonant evolution of the triple system. The two stars undergoing the capture spiral in and merge. The inclusion of tides can thus lead to an increase in the stellar coalescence rate. We also develop an analytical framework for calculating the cross section of tidal inspirals between any pair of objects with similar mass. From our analytical and numerical estimates, we find that the rate of tidal inspirals relative to collisions increases as the initial semimajor axis of the target binary increases and the radius of the interacting tidal objects decreases. The largest effect is therefore found for triple systems hosting white dwarfs and neutron stars (NSs). In this case, we find the rate of highly eccentric white dwarf—NS mergers to likely be dominated by tidal inspirals. While tidal inspirals occur rarely, we note that they can give rise to a plethora of thermonuclear transients, such as Ca-rich transients.

  20. Evolution of double white dwarf binaries undergoing direct-impact accretion: Implications for gravitational wave astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kremer, Kyle; Breivik, Katelyn; Larson, Shane L.; Kalogera, Vassiliki

    2017-01-01

    For close double white dwarf binaries, the mass-transfer phenomenon known as direct-impact accretion (when the mass transfer stream impacts the accretor directly rather than forming a disc) may play a pivotal role in the long-term evolution of the systems. In this analysis, we explore the long-term evolution of white dwarf binaries accreting through direct-impact and explore implications of such systems to gravitational wave astronomy. We cover a broad range of parameter space which includes initial component masses and the strength of tidal coupling, and show that these systems, which lie firmly within the LISA frequency range, show strong negative chirps which can last as long as several million years. Detections of double white dwarf systems in the direct-impact phase by detectors such as LISA would provide astronomers with unique ways of probing the physics governing close compact object binaries.

  1. Does Explosive Nuclear Burning Occur in Tidal Disruption Events of White Dwarfs by Intermediate-mass Black Holes?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanikawa, Ataru; Sato, Yushi; Hachisu, Izumi [Department of Earth Science and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902 (Japan); Nomoto, Ken’ichi; Maeda, Keiichi [Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Nakasato, Naohito, E-mail: tanikawa@ea.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Aizu, Tsuruga Ikki-machi Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima 965-8580 (Japan)

    2017-04-20

    We investigate nucleosynthesis in tidal disruption events (TDEs) of white dwarfs (WDs) by intermediate-mass black holes. We consider various types of WDs with different masses and compositions by means of three-dimensional (3D) smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. We model these WDs with different numbers of SPH particles, N , from a few 10{sup 4} to a few 10{sup 7} in order to check mass resolution convergence, where SPH simulations with N > 10{sup 7} (or a space resolution of several 10{sup 6} cm) have unprecedentedly high resolution in this kind of simulation. We find that nuclear reactions become less active with increasing N and that these nuclear reactions are excited by spurious heating due to low resolution. Moreover, we find no shock wave generation. In order to investigate the reason for the absence of a shock wave, we additionally perform one-dimensional (1D) SPH and mesh-based simulations with a space resolution ranging from 10{sup 4} to 10{sup 7} cm, using a characteristic flow structure extracted from the 3D SPH simulations. We find shock waves in these 1D high-resolution simulations, one of which triggers a detonation wave. However, we must be careful of the fact that, if the shock wave emerged in an outer region, it could not trigger the detonation wave due to low density. Note that the 1D initial conditions lack accuracy to precisely determine where a shock wave emerges. We need to perform 3D simulations with ≲10{sup 6} cm space resolution in order to conclude that WD TDEs become optical transients powered by radioactive nuclei.

  2. CONSTRAINTS ON THE LIFETIMES OF DISKS RESULTING FROM TIDALLY DESTROYED ROCKY PLANETARY BODIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Girven, J.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Marsh, T. R.; Brinkworth, C. S.; Hoard, D. W.; Farihi, J.; Koester, D.

    2012-01-01

    Spitzer IRAC observations of 15 metal-polluted white dwarfs reveal infrared excesses in the spectral energy distributions of HE 0110–5630, GD 61, and HE 1349–2305. All three of these stars have helium-dominated atmospheres, and their infrared emissions are consistent with warm dust produced by the tidal destruction of (minor) planetary bodies. This study brings the number of metal-polluted, helium and hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs surveyed with IRAC to 53 and 38, respectively. It also nearly doubles the number of metal-polluted helium-rich white dwarfs found to have closely orbiting dust by Spitzer. From the increased statistics for both atmospheric types with circumstellar dust, we derive a typical disk lifetime of log [t disk (yr)] = 5.6 ± 1.1 (ranging from 3 × 10 4 to 5 × 10 6 yr). This assumes a relatively constant rate of accretion over the timescale where dust persists, which is uncertain. We find that the fraction of highly metal-polluted helium-rich white dwarfs that have an infrared excess detected by Spitzer is only 23%, compared to 48% for metal-polluted hydrogen-rich white dwarfs, and we conclude from this difference that the typical lifetime of dusty disks is somewhat shorter than the diffusion timescales of helium-rich white dwarf. We also find evidence for higher time-averaged accretion rates onto helium-rich stars compared to the instantaneous accretion rates onto hydrogen-rich stars; this is an indication that our picture of evolved star-planetary system interactions is incomplete. We discuss some speculative scenarios that can explain the observations.

  3. Innocent Bystanders and Smoking Guns: Dwarf Carbon Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Paul J.

    2014-01-01

    As far as we know, most carbon throughout the Universe is created and dispersed by AGB stars. So it was at first surprising to find that the carbon stars most prevalent in the Galaxy are in fact dwarfs. We suspect that dC stars are most likely innocent bystanders in post-mass transfer binaries, and may be predominantly metal-poor. Among 1200 C stars found in the SDSS (Green 2013), we confirm 724 dCs, of which a dozen are DA/dC stars in composite spectrum binaries, quadrupling the total sample of these "smoking guns" for AGB binary mass transfer. The dCs likely span absolute magnitudes M_i from about 6.5 to 10.5. G-type dC stars with weak CN and relatively blue colors are probably the most massive dCs still cool enough to show C_2 bands. Eleven very red C stars with strong red CN bands appear to be N-type AGB stars at large Galactocentric distances, one likely a new discovery in the dIrr galaxy Le A. Two such stars within 30arcmin of each other may trace a previously unidentified dwarf galaxy or tidal stream at ~40 kpc. We describe follow-up projects to study the spatial, kinematic, and binary properties of these C-enriched dwarfs.

  4. Final stages of evolution of cold, mass-accreting white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernanz, M.; Isern, J.; Canal, R.; Labay, J.; Mochkovitch, R.

    1988-01-01

    The evolution of solid C + O white dwarf models upon mass accretion is calculated up to the point of either explosive thermonuclear ignition or gravitational collapse. It is shown that both explosions and quiet collapses to a neutron star are possible for each of two different phase diagrams for high-density C + O mixtures. The ranges of initial masses and temperatures and of accretion rates leading to the different outcomes are determined. Problems concerning the chemical composition of the accreted matter and the effects of tidal dissipation are discussed. 68 references

  5. The K Dwarf Advantage for Biosignatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arney, Giada; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn David; Meadows, Victoria

    2018-01-01

    Biosignature detection is typically studied in the context of an atmosphere in chemical disequilibrium. Oxygen (O2) and methane (CH4) are generally considered the “canonical” biosignature disequilibrium pair. However, the modern CH4 concentration poses a major detection challenge to future direct imaging telescopes, and it has been difficult for Earth to accumulate spectrally detectable quantities of O2 and CH4 over its history (Olson et al 2016, Reinhard et al 2017). Even the lower atmospheric levels of O2 typical of the Earth’s Proterozoic eon (0.01-1% of the modern O2 amount) may have resulted in a reduced photochemical lifetime of CH4 due to decreased UV shielding of CH4 (Claire et al 2006, Goldblatt et al 2006). However, while the above is true for an Earthlike planet orbiting a sunlike star, the situation changes for other stars. For instance, Segura et al (2005) found longer photochemical lifetimes for CH4 in the atmospheres of Earthlike planets orbiting M dwarfs. M dwarfs, however, present several barriers to planetary habitability including desiccation during the stellar super-luminous pre-main sequence phase (Lugar and Barnes 2015) and tidal locking. K dwarfs, which comprise about 12% of all main sequence stars, avoid these M dwarf hazards, and will be important targets for future exoplanet direct imaging missions. Using a photochemical model, we find CH4 and O2 are simultaneously detectable in the atmospheres of K dwarf planets with various O2 concentrations ranging between Proterozoic levels and modern O2 amounts. For instance, for a planet with an Earth-like CH4 surface flux (1 x 1011 molecules/cm2/s) and a Proterozoic-like O2 level (1% of modern), the planet generates a CH4 surface mixing ratio of 1x10-5 for a planet orbiting the sun, and 1.5x10-4 – an order of magnitude more CH4 – for a planet orbiting a K6V star. This is enough to produce detectable CH4 and O2 for the planet orbiting the K6V star. We discuss the implications of this

  6. Sagittarius A* High-energy X-Ray Flare Properties during NuStar Monitoring of the Galactic Center from 2012 to 2015

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Shuo; Baganoff, Frederick K.; Ponti, Gabriele

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the origin of the flaring activity from the Galactic center supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is a major scientific goal of the NuSTAR Galactic plane survey campaign. We report on the data obtained between 2012 July and 2015 April, including 27 observations on Sgr A*, with a to......Understanding the origin of the flaring activity from the Galactic center supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is a major scientific goal of the NuSTAR Galactic plane survey campaign. We report on the data obtained between 2012 July and 2015 April, including 27 observations on Sgr A...

  7. THE FATE OF DWARF GALAXIES IN CLUSTERS AND THE ORIGIN OF INTRACLUSTER STARS. II. COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martel, Hugo [Departement de physique, de genie physique et d' optique, Universite Laval, Quebec, QC (Canada); Barai, Paramita [Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, I-34143 Trieste (Italy); Brito, William [Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Quebec, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC (Canada)

    2012-09-20

    We combine an N-body simulation algorithm with a subgrid treatment of galaxy formation, mergers, and tidal destruction, and an observed conditional luminosity function {Phi}(L|M), to study the origin and evolution of galactic and extragalactic light inside a cosmological volume of size (100 Mpc){sup 3}, in a concordance {Lambda}CDM model. This algorithm simulates the growth of large-scale structures and the formation of clusters, the evolution of the galaxy population in clusters, the destruction of galaxies by mergers and tides, and the evolution of the intracluster light (ICL). We find that destruction of galaxies by mergers dominates over destruction by tides by about an order of magnitude at all redshifts. However, tidal destruction is sufficient to produce ICL fractions f{sub ICL} that are sufficiently high to match observations. Our simulation produces 18 massive clusters (M{sub cl} > 10{sup 14} M{sub Sun }) with values of f{sub ICL} ranging from 1% to 58% at z = 0. There is a weak trend of f{sub ICL} to increase with cluster mass. The bulk of the ICL ({approx}60%) is provided by intermediate galaxies of total masses 10{sup 11}-10{sup 12} M{sub Sun} and stellar masses 6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8} M{sub Sun} to 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun} that were tidally destroyed by even more massive galaxies. The contribution of low-mass galaxies to the ICL is small and the contribution of dwarf galaxies is negligible, even though, by numbers, most galaxies that are tidally destroyed are dwarfs. Tracking clusters back in time, we find that their values of f{sub ICL} tend to increase over time, but can experience sudden changes that are sometimes non-monotonic. These changes occur during major mergers involving clusters of comparable masses but very different intracluster luminosities. Most of the tidal destruction events take place in the central regions of clusters. As a result, the ICL is more centrally concentrated than the galactic light. Our results

  8. The puzzling assembly of the Milky Way halo – contributions from dwarf Spheroidals and globular clusters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lépine S.

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available While recent sky surveys have uncovered large numbers of ever fainter Milky Way satellites, their classification as star clusters, low-luminosity galaxies, or tidal overdensities remains often unclear. Likewise, their contributions to the build-up of the halo is yet debated. In this contribution we will discuss the current knowledge of the stellar populations and chemo-dynamics in these puzzling satellites, with a particular focus on dwarf spheroidal galaxies and the globular clusters in the outer Galactic halo. Also the question of whether some of the outermost halo objects are dynamically associated with the (Milky Way halo at all is addressed in terms of proper measurements in the remote Leo I and II dwarf galaxies.

  9. THE EFFECTS OF ACCRETION FLOW DYNAMICS ON THE BLACK HOLE SHADOW OF SAGITTARIUS A*

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pu, Hung-Yi; Asada, Keiichi [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU No. 1, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Akiyama, Kazunori [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 (United States)

    2016-11-01

    A radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF), which is commonly characterized by its sub-Keplerian nature, is a favored accretion model for the supermassive black hole at the Galactic center, Sagittarius A*. To investigate the observable features of an RIAF, we compare the modeled shadow images, visibilities, and spectra of three flow models with dynamics characterized by (i) a Keplerian shell that is rigidly rotating outside the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) and infalling with a constant angular momentum inside ISCO, (ii) a sub-Keplerian motion, and (iii) a free-falling motion with zero angular momentum at infinity. At near-millimeter wavelengths, the emission is dominated by the flow within several Schwarzschild radii. The energy shift due to these flow dynamics becomes important and distinguishable, suggesting that the flow dynamics are an important model parameter for interpreting the millimeter/sub-millimeter very long baseline interferometric observations with the forthcoming, fully assembled Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). As an example, we demonstrate that structural variations of Sagittarius A* on event horizon-scales detected in previous EHT observations can be explained by the non-stationary dynamics of an RIAF.

  10. THE EVENT HORIZON OF SAGITTARIUS A*

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broderick, Avery E.; Loeb, Abraham; Narayan, Ramesh

    2009-01-01

    Black hole event horizons, causally separating the external universe from compact regions of spacetime, are one of the most exotic predictions of general relativity. Until recently, their compact size has prevented efforts to study them directly. Here we show that recent millimeter and infrared observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, all but require the existence of a horizon. Specifically, we show that these observations limit the luminosity of any putative visible compact emitting region to below 0.4% of Sgr A*'s accretion luminosity. Equivalently, this requires the efficiency of converting the gravitational binding energy liberated during accretion into radiation and kinetic outflows to be greater than 99.6%, considerably larger than those implicated in Sgr A*, and therefore inconsistent with the existence of such a visible region. Finally, since we are able to frame this argument entirely in terms of observable quantities, our results apply to all geometric theories of gravity that admit stationary solutions, including the commonly discussed f(R) class of theories.

  11. THE EVENT HORIZON OF SAGITTARIUS A*

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Broderick, Avery E [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, 60 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S 3H8 (Canada); Loeb, Abraham; Narayan, Ramesh [Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard University, Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2009-08-20

    Black hole event horizons, causally separating the external universe from compact regions of spacetime, are one of the most exotic predictions of general relativity. Until recently, their compact size has prevented efforts to study them directly. Here we show that recent millimeter and infrared observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, all but require the existence of a horizon. Specifically, we show that these observations limit the luminosity of any putative visible compact emitting region to below 0.4% of Sgr A*'s accretion luminosity. Equivalently, this requires the efficiency of converting the gravitational binding energy liberated during accretion into radiation and kinetic outflows to be greater than 99.6%, considerably larger than those implicated in Sgr A*, and therefore inconsistent with the existence of such a visible region. Finally, since we are able to frame this argument entirely in terms of observable quantities, our results apply to all geometric theories of gravity that admit stationary solutions, including the commonly discussed f(R) class of theories.

  12. Dynamical Studies of N-Body Gravity and Tidal Dissipation in the TRAPPIST-1 Star System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayak, Michael; Kuettel, Donald H.; Stebler, Shane T.; Udrea, Bogdan

    2018-01-01

    To date, we have discovered a total of 2,729 planetary systems that contain more than 3,639 known exoplanets [1]. A majority of these are defined as compact systems, containing multiple exoplanets within 0.25 AU of the central star. It has been shown that tightly packed exoplanets avoid colliding due to long-term resonance-induced orbit stability [2]. However, due to extreme proximity, these planets experience intense gravitational forces from each other that are unprecedented within our own solar system, which makes the existence of exomoons doubtful. We present the results of an initial study evaluating dynamical stability of potential exomoons within such highly compact systems.This work is baselined around TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star that hosts seven temperate terrestrial planets, three of which are in the habitable zone, orbiting within 0.06 AU [3]. N-body simulations place a grid of test particles varying semi-major axis, eccentricity, and inclination around the three habitable zone planets. We find that most exomoons with semi-major axes less than half the Hill sphere of their respective planet are stable over 10 kyrs, with several stable over 300 kyrs.However, in compact systems, tidal influences from other planets can compete with tidal effects from the primary planet, resulting in possible instabilities and massive amounts of tidal dissipation. We investigate these effects with a large grid search that incorporates exomoon radius, tidal quality factor and a range of planet rigidities. Results of simulations that combine n-body gravity effects with both planetary and satellite tides are presented and contrasted with n-body results. Finally, we examine long-term stability (> 1Myrs) of the stable subset of test particles from the n-body simulation with the addition of tidal dissipation, to determine if exomoons can survive around planets e, f, and g in the TRAPPIST-1 system.[1] Schneider (2017). The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia. http

  13. Habitable planets around white and brown dwarfs: the perils of a cooling primary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Rory; Heller, René

    2013-03-01

    White and brown dwarfs are astrophysical objects that are bright enough to support an insolation habitable zone (IHZ). Unlike hydrogen-burning stars, they cool and become less luminous with time; hence their IHZ moves in with time. The inner edge of the IHZ is defined as the orbital radius at which a planet may enter a moist or runaway greenhouse, phenomena that can remove a planet's surface water forever. Thus, as the IHZ moves in, planets that enter it may no longer have any water and are still uninhabitable. Additionally, the close proximity of the IHZ to the primary leads to concern that tidal heating may also be strong enough to trigger a runaway greenhouse, even for orbital eccentricities as small as 10(-6). Water loss occurs due to photolyzation by UV photons in the planetary stratosphere, followed by hydrogen escape. Young white dwarfs emit a large amount of these photons, as their surface temperatures are over 10(4) K. The situation is less clear for brown dwarfs, as observational data do not constrain their early activity and UV emission very well. Nonetheless, both types of planets are at risk of never achieving habitable conditions, but planets orbiting white dwarfs may be less likely to sustain life than those orbiting brown dwarfs. We consider the future habitability of the planet candidates KOI 55.01 and 55.02 in these terms and find they are unlikely to become habitable.

  14. Environmental Mechanisms Shaping the Nature of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies: The View of Computer Simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucio Mayer

    2010-01-01

    cosmic ultraviolet ionizing flux was much higher than today, and was thus able to keep the gas in the dwarfs warm and diffuse, were rapidly stripped of their baryons via ram pressure and tidal forces, producing very dark-matter-dominated objects with truncated star-formation histories, such as the Draco dSph. The low star-formation efficiency expected in such low-metallicity objects prior to their infall was crucial for keeping their disks gas dominated until stripping took over. Therefore gas stripping along with inefficient star-formation provides a new feedback mechanism, alternative to photoevaporation or supernovae feedback, playing a crucial role in dwarf galaxy formation and evolution. We also discuss how the ultra-faint dSphs belong to a different population of lower-mass dwarf satellites that were mostly shaped by reionization rather than by environmental mechanisms (“reionization fossils”. Finally, we scrutinize the various caveats in the current understanding of environmental effects as well as other recent ideas on the origin of Local Group dSphs.

  15. On the Growth and Detectability of Land Plants on Habitable Planets around M Dwarfs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Duo; Tian, Feng; Wang, Yuwei; Li, Changshen; Yu, Chaoqing; Yu, Le

    2017-12-01

    One signature of life on Earth is the vegetation red edge (VRE) feature of land plants, a dramatic change of reflectivity at wavelength near 0.7 μm. Potentially habitable planets around M dwarfs are tidally locked, which can limit the distribution of land plants. In this study, we used a biogeochemical model to investigate the distribution of land plants on potentially habitable planets around M dwarfs driven by climate data produced in a general circulation model (GCM). When considering the effects of clouds, the observation time needed for VRE detection on nearby p = 1 exoplanets around nearby M dwarfs is on the order of days using a 25 m 2 telescope if a large continent faces Earth during observations. For p = 1.5 exoplanets, the detection time could be similar if land plants developed the capability to endure a dark/cold environment for extended periods of time and the continent configuration favors observations. Our analysis suggests that hypothetical exovegetation VRE features are easier to detect than Earth vegetation and that VRE detection is possible for nearby exoplanets even under cloudy conditions. Key Words: Vegetation red edge-Exoplanets-M dwarfs-Biosignature detection. Astrobiology 17, 1219-1232.

  16. Tidal disruption of white dwarfs by intermediate mass black holes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bode T.

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Modeling ultra-close encounters between a white dwarf and a spinning, intermediate mass black hole requires a full general relativistic treatment of gravity. This paper summarizes results from such a study. Our results show that the disruption process and prompt accretion of the debris strongly depend on the magnitude and orientation of the black hole spin. On the other hand, the late-time accretion onto the black hole follows the same decay, Ṁ ∝  t−5/3, estimated from Newtonian gravity disruption studies. The spectrum of the fallback material peaks in the soft X-rays and sustains Eddington luminosity for 1–3 yrs after the disruption. The orientation of the black hole spin has also a profound effect on how the outflowing debris obscures the central region. The disruption produces a burst of gravitational radiation with characteristic frequencies of ∼3.2 Hz and strain amplitudes of ∼10−18 for galactic intermediate mass black holes.

  17. Environmental effects on stellar populations of star clusters and dwarf galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasetto, Stefano; Cropper, Mark; Fujita, Yutaka; Chiosi, Cesare; Grebel, Eva K.

    2017-03-01

    We investigate the competitive role of the different dissipative phenomena acting on the onset of star formation of gravitationally bound systems in an external environment. Ram pressure, Kelvin-Helmholtz and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, and tidal forces are accounted for separately in an analytical framework and compared in their role in influencing the star forming regions. We present an analytical criterion to elucidate the dependence of star formation in a spherical stellar system on its surrounding environment. We consider the different signatures of these phenomena in synthetically realized colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of the orbiting system thus investigating the detectability limits of these different effects for future observational projects and their relevance. The developed theoretical framework has direct applications to the cases of massive star clusters, dwarf galaxies in galaxy clusters and dwarf galaxies orbiting our Milky Way system, as well as any primordial gas-rich cluster of stars orbiting within its host galaxy.

  18. Environmental effects on stellar populations of dwarf galaxies and star clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasetto, Stefano; Cropper, Mark; fujita, Yutaka; Chiosi, Cesare; Grebel, Eva K.

    2015-08-01

    We investigate the competitive role of the different dissipative phenomena acting on the onset of star formation history of gravitationally bound system in an external environment. Ram pressure, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, Rayleigh-Taylor, and tidal forces are accounted separately in an analytical framework and compared in their role in influencing the star forming regions. We present an analytical criterion to elucidate the dependence of star formation in a spherical stellar system on its surrounding environment useful in observational applications as well as theoretical interpretations of numerical results.We consider the different signatures of these phenomena in synthetically realized colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of the orbiting system thus investigating the detectability limits of these different effects for future observational projects and their relevance.The theoretical framework developed has direct applications to the cases of dwarf galaxies in galaxy clusters and dwarf galaxies orbiting our Milky Way system, as well as any primordial gas-rich cluster of stars orbiting within its host galaxy.

  19. Infrared Colors of Dwarf-Dwarf Galaxy Interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liss, Sandra; Stierwalt, Sabrina; Johnson, Kelsey; Patton, Dave; Kallivayalil, Nitya

    2015-10-01

    We request Spitzer Warm Mission IRAC Channel 1 & 2 imaging for a sample of 60 isolated dwarf galaxy pairs as a key component of a larger, multi-wavelength effort to understand the role low-mass mergers play in galaxy evolution. A systematic study of dwarf-dwarf mergers has never been done, and we wish to characterize the impact such interactions have on fueling star formation in the nearby universe. The Spitzer imaging proposed here will allow us to determine the extent to which the 3.6 and 4.5 mum bands are dominated by stellar light and investigate a) the extent to which interacting pairs show IR excess and b) whether the excess is related to the pair separation. Second, we will use this IR photometry to constrain the processes contributing to the observed color excess and scatter in each system. We will take advantage of the wealth of observations available in the Spitzer Heritage Archive for 'normal' non-interacting dwarfs by comparing the stellar populations of those dwarfs with the likely interacting dwarfs in our sample. Ultimately, we can combine the Spitzer imaging proposed here with our current, ongoing efforts to obtain groundbased optical photometry to model the star formation histories of these dwarfs and to help constrain the timescales and impact dwarf-dwarf mergers have on fueling star formation. The sensitivity and resolution offered by Spitzer are necessary to determine the dust properties of these interacting systems, and how these properties vary as a function of pair separation, mass ratio, and gas fraction.

  20. Tidal origin of NGC 1427A in the Fornax cluster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee-Waddell, K.; Serra, P.; Koribalski, B.; Venhola, A.; Iodice, E.; Catinella, B.; Cortese, L.; Peletier, R.; Popping, A.; Keenan, O.; Capaccioli, M.

    2018-02-01

    We present new HI observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array and deep optical imaging from OmegaCam on the VLT Survey Telescope of NGC 1427A, an arrow-shaped dwarf irregular galaxy located in the Fornax cluster. The data reveal a star-less HI tail that contains ˜10 per cent of the atomic gas of NGC 1427A as well as extended stellar emission that shed new light on the recent history of this galaxy. Rather than being the result of ram pressure induced star formation, as previously suggested in the literature, the disturbed optical appearance of NGC 1427A has tidal origins. The galaxy itself likely consists of two individual objects in an advanced stage of merging. The HI tail may be made of gas expelled to large radii during the same tidal interaction. It is possible that some of this gas is subject to ram pressure, which would be considered a secondary effect and implies a north-west trajectory of NGC 1427A within the Fornax cluster.

  1. Satellite dwarf galaxies in a hierarchical universe: the prevalence of dwarf-dwarf major mergers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deason, Alis; Wetzel, Andrew; Garrison-Kimmel, Shea

    2014-01-01

    Mergers are a common phenomenon in hierarchical structure formation, especially for massive galaxies and clusters, but their importance for dwarf galaxies in the Local Group remains poorly understood. We investigate the frequency of major mergers between dwarf galaxies in the Local Group using the ELVIS suite of cosmological zoom-in dissipationless simulations of Milky Way- and M31-like host halos. We find that ∼10% of satellite dwarf galaxies with M star > 10 6 M ☉ that are within the host virial radius experienced a major merger of stellar mass ratio closer than 0.1 since z = 1, with a lower fraction for lower mass dwarf galaxies. Recent merger remnants are biased toward larger radial distance and more recent virial infall times, because most recent mergers occurred shortly before crossing within the virial radius of the host halo. Satellite-satellite mergers also occur within the host halo after virial infall, catalyzed by the large fraction of dwarf galaxies that fell in as part of a group. The merger fraction doubles for dwarf galaxies outside of the host virial radius, so the most distant dwarf galaxies in the Local Group are the most likely to have experienced a recent major merger. We discuss the implications of these results on observable dwarf merger remnants, their star formation histories, the gas content of mergers, and massive black holes in dwarf galaxies.

  2. DEEP IMAGING OF M51: A NEW VIEW OF THE WHIRLPOOL’S EXTENDED TIDAL DEBRIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watkins, Aaron E.; Mihos, J. Christopher; Harding, Paul

    2015-01-01

    We present deep, wide-field imaging of the M51 system using CWRU’s Burrell Schmidt Telescope at KPNO to study the faint tidal features that constrain its interaction history. Our images trace M51's tidal morphology down to a limiting surface brightness of μ B,lim ∼ 30 mag arcsec −2 and provide accurate colors (σ B−V <0.1) down to μ B ∼ 28. We identify two new tidal streams in the system (the south and northeast plumes) with surface brightnesses of μ B = 29 and luminosities of ∼10 6 L ⊙,B . While the northeast plume may be a faint outer extension of the tidal “crown” north of NGC 5195 (M51b), the south plume has no analog in any existing M51 simulation and may represent a distinct tidal stream or disrupted dwarf galaxy. We also trace the extremely diffuse northwest plume out to a total extent of 20′ (43 kpc) from NGC 5194 (M51a) and show it to be physically distinct from the overlapping bright tidal streams from M51b. The northwest plume’s morphology and red color (B−V=0.8) instead argue that it originated from tidal stripping of M51a’s extreme outer disk. Finally, we confirm the strong segregation of gas and stars in the southeast tail and do not detect any diffuse stellar component in the H i portion of the tail. Extant simulations of M51 have difficulty matching both the wealth of tidal structure in the system and the lack of stars in the H i tail, motivating new modeling campaigns to study the dynamical evolution of this classic interacting system

  3. NuSTAR detection of high-energy X-ray emission and rapid variability from Sagittarius A{sup *} flares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrière, Nicolas M.; Tomsick, John A.; Boggs, Steven E.; Craig, William W.; Zoglauer, Andreas [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Baganoff, Frederick K. [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States); Christensen, Finn E. [DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Dexter, Jason [Departments of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Grefenstette, Brian; Harrison, Fiona A.; Madsen, Kristin K. [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Hailey, Charles J.; Mori, Kaya; Zhang, Shuo [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Stern, Daniel [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Zhang, William W. [X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2014-05-01

    Sagittarius A{sup *} harbors the supermassive black hole that lies at the dynamical center of our Galaxy. Sagittarius A{sup *} spends most of its time in a low luminosity emission state but flares frequently in the infrared and X-ray, increasing up to a few hundred fold in brightness for up to a few hours at a time. The physical processes giving rise to the X-ray flares are uncertain. Here we report the detection with the NuSTAR observatory in Summer and Fall 2012 of four low to medium amplitude X-ray flares to energies up to 79 keV. For the first time, we clearly see that the power-law spectrum of Sagittarius A{sup *} X-ray flares extends to high energy, with no evidence for a cutoff. Although the photon index of the absorbed power-law fits are in agreement with past observations, we find a difference between the photon index of two of the flares (significant at the 95% confidence level). The spectra of the two brightest flares (∼55 times quiescence in the 2-10 keV band) are compared to simple physical models in an attempt to identify the main X-ray emission mechanism, but the data do not allow us to significantly discriminate between them. However, we confirm the previous finding that the parameters obtained with synchrotron models are, for the X-ray emission, physically more reasonable than those obtained with inverse Compton models. One flare exhibits large and rapid (<100 s) variability, which, considering the total energy radiated, constrains the location of the flaring region to be within ∼10 Schwarzschild radii of the black hole.

  4. THE CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF THE MONOCEROS RING/GALACTIC ANTICENTER STELLAR STRUCTURE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chou Meiyin; Majewski, Steven R.; Patterson, Richard J.; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.; MartInez-Delgado, David

    2010-01-01

    The origin of the Galactic Anticenter Stellar Structure (GASS) or 'Monoceros Ring' - a low-latitude overdensity at the edge of the Galactic disk spanning at least the second and third Galactic quadrants-remains controversial. Models for the origin of GASS generally fall into scenarios where either it is a part (e.g., warp) of the Galactic disk or it represents tidal debris from the disruption of a Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxy. To further constrain models for the origin of GASS, we derive chemical abundance patterns from high-resolution spectra for 21 M giants spatially and kinematically identified with it. The abundances of the (mostly) α-element, titanium, and s-process elements, yttrium and lanthanum, for these GASS stars are found to be lower at the same [Fe/H] than those for MW stars, but similar to those of stars in the Sagittarius stream, other dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. This demonstrates that GASS stars have a chemical enrichment history typical of dwarf galaxies-and unlike those of typical MW stars (at least MW stars near the Sun). Nevertheless, these abundance results cannot definitively rule out the possibility that GASS was dynamically created out of a previously formed, outer MW disk because ΛCDM-based structure formation models show that galactic disks grow outward by accretion of dwarf galaxies. On the other hand, the chemical patterns seen in GASS stars do provide striking verification that accretion of dwarf galaxies has indeed happened at the edge of the MW disk.

  5. Satellite dwarf galaxies in a hierarchical universe: the prevalence of dwarf-dwarf major mergers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deason, Alis [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); Wetzel, Andrew [TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Garrison-Kimmel, Shea, E-mail: alis@ucolick.org [Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

    2014-10-20

    Mergers are a common phenomenon in hierarchical structure formation, especially for massive galaxies and clusters, but their importance for dwarf galaxies in the Local Group remains poorly understood. We investigate the frequency of major mergers between dwarf galaxies in the Local Group using the ELVIS suite of cosmological zoom-in dissipationless simulations of Milky Way- and M31-like host halos. We find that ∼10% of satellite dwarf galaxies with M {sub star} > 10{sup 6} M {sub ☉} that are within the host virial radius experienced a major merger of stellar mass ratio closer than 0.1 since z = 1, with a lower fraction for lower mass dwarf galaxies. Recent merger remnants are biased toward larger radial distance and more recent virial infall times, because most recent mergers occurred shortly before crossing within the virial radius of the host halo. Satellite-satellite mergers also occur within the host halo after virial infall, catalyzed by the large fraction of dwarf galaxies that fell in as part of a group. The merger fraction doubles for dwarf galaxies outside of the host virial radius, so the most distant dwarf galaxies in the Local Group are the most likely to have experienced a recent major merger. We discuss the implications of these results on observable dwarf merger remnants, their star formation histories, the gas content of mergers, and massive black holes in dwarf galaxies.

  6. Habitable Planets Around White and Brown Dwarfs: The Perils of a Cooling Primary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heller, René

    2013-01-01

    Abstract White and brown dwarfs are astrophysical objects that are bright enough to support an insolation habitable zone (IHZ). Unlike hydrogen-burning stars, they cool and become less luminous with time; hence their IHZ moves in with time. The inner edge of the IHZ is defined as the orbital radius at which a planet may enter a moist or runaway greenhouse, phenomena that can remove a planet's surface water forever. Thus, as the IHZ moves in, planets that enter it may no longer have any water and are still uninhabitable. Additionally, the close proximity of the IHZ to the primary leads to concern that tidal heating may also be strong enough to trigger a runaway greenhouse, even for orbital eccentricities as small as 10−6. Water loss occurs due to photolyzation by UV photons in the planetary stratosphere, followed by hydrogen escape. Young white dwarfs emit a large amount of these photons, as their surface temperatures are over 104 K. The situation is less clear for brown dwarfs, as observational data do not constrain their early activity and UV emission very well. Nonetheless, both types of planets are at risk of never achieving habitable conditions, but planets orbiting white dwarfs may be less likely to sustain life than those orbiting brown dwarfs. We consider the future habitability of the planet candidates KOI 55.01 and 55.02 in these terms and find they are unlikely to become habitable. Key Words: Extrasolar terrestrial planets—Habitability—Habitable zone—Tides—Exoplanets. Astrobiology 13, 279–291. PMID:23537137

  7. Far-infrared observations of Sagittarius B2 - reconsideration of source structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thronson, H.A. Jr.; Harper, D.A.; Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, WI)

    1986-01-01

    New moderate-angular-resolution far-infrared observations of the Sagittarius B2 star-forming region are presented, discussed, and compared with recent radio molecular and continuum observations of this source. In contrast to previous analyses, its far-infrared spectrum is interpreted as the result of a massive frigid cloud overlying a more-or-less normal infrared source, a natural explanation for the object's previously-noted peculiarities. The characteristics derived for the obscuring cloud are similar to those found for the W51 MAIN object. Both sources have high sub-millimeter surface brightness, a high ratio of sub-millimeter to far-infrared flux, and numerous regions of molecular maser emission. 28 references

  8. A reappraisal of the habitability of planets around M dwarf stars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarter, Jill C; Backus, Peter R; Mancinelli, Rocco L; Aurnou, Jonathan M; Backman, Dana E; Basri, Gibor S; Boss, Alan P; Clarke, Andrew; Deming, Drake; Doyle, Laurance R; Feigelson, Eric D; Freund, Friedmann; Grinspoon, David H; Haberle, Robert M; Hauck, Steven A; Heath, Martin J; Henry, Todd J; Hollingsworth, Jeffery L; Joshi, Manoj M; Kilston, Steven; Liu, Michael C; Meikle, Eric; Reid, I Neill; Rothschild, Lynn J; Scalo, John; Segura, Antigona; Tang, Carol M; Tiedje, James M; Turnbull, Margaret C; Walkowicz, Lucianne M; Weber, Arthur L; Young, Richard E

    2007-02-01

    Stable, hydrogen-burning, M dwarf stars make up about 75% of all stars in the Galaxy. They are extremely long-lived, and because they are much smaller in mass than the Sun (between 0.5 and 0.08 M(Sun)), their temperature and stellar luminosity are low and peaked in the red. We have re-examined what is known at present about the potential for a terrestrial planet forming within, or migrating into, the classic liquid-surface-water habitable zone close to an M dwarf star. Observations of protoplanetary disks suggest that planet-building materials are common around M dwarfs, but N-body simulations differ in their estimations of the likelihood of potentially habitable, wet planets that reside within their habitable zones, which are only about one-fifth to 1/50th of the width of that for a G star. Particularly in light of the claimed detection of the planets with masses as small as 5.5 and 7.5 M(Earth) orbiting M stars, there seems no reason to exclude the possibility of terrestrial planets. Tidally locked synchronous rotation within the narrow habitable zone does not necessarily lead to atmospheric collapse, and active stellar flaring may not be as much of an evolutionarily disadvantageous factor as has previously been supposed. We conclude that M dwarf stars may indeed be viable hosts for planets on which the origin and evolution of life can occur. A number of planetary processes such as cessation of geothermal activity or thermal and nonthermal atmospheric loss processes may limit the duration of planetary habitability to periods far shorter than the extreme lifetime of the M dwarf star. Nevertheless, it makes sense to include M dwarf stars in programs that seek to find habitable worlds and evidence of life. This paper presents the summary conclusions of an interdisciplinary workshop (http://mstars.seti.org) sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute and convened at the SETI Institute.

  9. The Shape of Long Outbursts in U Gem Type Dwarf Novae from AAVSO Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannizzo, John K.

    2012-01-01

    We search the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) archives of the two best studied dwarf novae in an attempt to find light curves for long out bursts that are extremely well-characterized. The systems are U Gem and S8 Cyg. Our goal is to search for embedded precursors such as those that have been found recently in the high fidelity Kepler data for superoutbursts of some members of the 8U UMa subclass of dwarf novae. For the vast majority of AAV80 data, the combination of low data cadence and large errors associated with individual measurements precludes one from making any strong statement about the shape of the long outbursts. However, for a small number of outbursts, extensive long term monitoring with digital photometry yields high fidelity light curves. We report the finding of embedded precursors in two of three candidate long outbursts. This reinforces van Paradijs' finding that long outbursts in dwarf novae above the period gap and superoutbursts in systems below the period gap constitute a unified class. The thermal-tidal instability to account for superoutbursts in the SU UMa stars predicts embedded precursors only for short orbital period dwarf novae, therefore the presence of embedded precursors in long orbital period systems - U Gem and SS Cyg - argues for a more general mechanism to explain long outbursts.

  10. Double white dwarfs as progenitors of R coronae borealis stars and type I supernovae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webbink, R.F.

    1984-01-01

    Close double white dwarfs should arise from the second phase of mass exchagne in close binaries which first encountered mass exchange while the more massive star was crossing the Hertzprung gap. Tidal mass transfer in these double degenerate systems is explored. The sequence of double white dwarf divides naturally into three segments. (1) Low-mass helium/helium pairs are unstable to dynamical time-scale mass transfer and probably coalesce to form helium-burning sdO stars. (2) In helium/carbon-oxygen pairs, mass transfer occurs on the time scale for gravitational radiation losses (approx.10 -4 M/sub sun/ yr -1 ); the accreted helium is quickly ignited, and the accretor expands to dimensions characteristic of R CrB stars, engulfing its companion star. (3) Carbon-oxygen/carbon-oxygen pairs are again unstable to dynamical time-scale mass transfer and, since their total masses exceed the Chandrasekhar limit, are destined to become supernovae. Inactive lifetimes in these latter systems between creation and interaction can exceed 10 10 years. Birthrates of R CrB stars and Type I supernovae by evolution of double white dwarfs are in reasonable agreement with observational estimates

  11. Cool carbon stars in the halo and in dwarf galaxies: Hα, colours, and variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mauron, N.; Gigoyan, K. S.; Berlioz-Arthaud, P.; Klotz, A.

    2014-02-01

    The population of cool carbon (C) stars located far from the galactic plane is probably made of debris of small galaxies such as the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr), which are disrupted by the gravitational field of the Galaxy. We aim to know this population better through spectroscopy, 2MASS photometric colours, and variability data. When possible, we compared the halo results to C star populations in the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy, Sgr, and the solar neighbourhood. We first present a few new discoveries of C stars in the halo and in Fornax. The number of spectra of halo C stars is now 125. Forty percent show Hα in emission. The narrow location in the JHK diagram of the halo C stars is found to differ from that of similar C stars in the above galaxies. The light curves of the Catalina and LINEAR variability databases were exploited to derive the pulsation periods of 66 halo C stars. A few supplementary periods were obtained with the TAROT telescopes. We confirm that the period distribution of the halo strongly resembles that of Fornax, and we found that it is very different from the C stars in the solar neighbourhood. There is a larger proportion of short-period Mira/SRa variables in the halo than in Sgr, but the survey for C stars in this dwarf galaxy is not complete, and the study of their variability needs to be continued to investigate the link between Sgr and the cool halo C stars. Based on observations made with the NTT and 3.6 m telescope at the European Southern Observatory (La Silla, Chile; programs 084.D-0302 and 070.D-0203), with the TAROT telescopes at La Silla and at Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (France), and on the exploitation of the Catalina Sky Survey and the LINEAR variability databases.Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  12. Tidal Venuses: triggering a climate catastrophe via tidal heating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Rory; Mullins, Kristina; Goldblatt, Colin; Meadows, Victoria S; Kasting, James F; Heller, René

    2013-03-01

    Traditionally, stellar radiation has been the only heat source considered capable of determining global climate on long timescales. Here, we show that terrestrial exoplanets orbiting low-mass stars may be tidally heated at high-enough levels to induce a runaway greenhouse for a long-enough duration for all the hydrogen to escape. Without hydrogen, the planet no longer has water and cannot support life. We call these planets "Tidal Venuses" and the phenomenon a "tidal greenhouse." Tidal effects also circularize the orbit, which decreases tidal heating. Hence, some planets may form with large eccentricity, with its accompanying large tidal heating, and lose their water, but eventually settle into nearly circular orbits (i.e., with negligible tidal heating) in the habitable zone (HZ). However, these planets are not habitable, as past tidal heating desiccated them, and hence should not be ranked highly for detailed follow-up observations aimed at detecting biosignatures. We simulated the evolution of hypothetical planetary systems in a quasi-continuous parameter distribution and found that we could constrain the history of the system by statistical arguments. Planets orbiting stars with massesplanet orbiting a 0.3 MSun star at 0.12 AU. We found that it probably did not lose its water via tidal heating, as orbital stability is unlikely for the high eccentricities required for the tidal greenhouse. As the inner edge of the HZ is defined by the onset of a runaway or moist greenhouse powered by radiation, our results represent a fundamental revision to the HZ for noncircular orbits. In the appendices we review (a) the moist and runaway greenhouses, (b) hydrogen escape, (c) stellar mass-radius and mass-luminosity relations, (d) terrestrial planet mass-radius relations, and (e) linear tidal theories.

  13. On feathers, bifurcations and shells: the dynamics of tidal streams across the mass scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amorisco, N. C.

    2015-06-01

    I present an organic description of the spectrum of regimes of collisionless tidal streams and define the orderings between the relevant physical quantities that shape their morphology. Three fundamental dichotomies are identified and described in the form of dimensionless inequalities. These govern (i) the speed of the stream's growth, (ii) the internal coherence of the stream and (iii) its thickness or opening angle, within and outside the orbital plane. The mechanisms through which such main qualitative properties are regulated and the relevant limiting cases are analysed. For example, the slope of the host's density profile strongly influences the speed of the stream's growth, in both length and width, as steeper density profiles enhance differential streaming. Internal coherence is the natural requirement for the appearance of substructure and overdensities in tidal debris, and I concentrate on the characteristic `feathering' typical of streams of star clusters. Overdensities and substructures are associated with minima in the relative streaming velocity of the stream members. For streams with high circularity, these are caused by the epicyclic oscillations of stars; however, for highly non-circular progenitor's orbits, internal substructure is caused by the oscillating differences in energy and actions with which material is shed at different orbital phases of the progenitor. This modulation results in different streaming speeds along the tidal arm: the streakline of material shed between two successive apocentric passages is folded along its length, pulled at its centre by the faster differential streaming of particles released near pericentre, which are therefore more widely scattered. When the stream is coherent enough, the same mechanism is potentially capable of generating a bimodal profile in the density distributions of the longer wraps of more massive progenitors, which I dub `bifurcations'. The conditions that allow streams to be internally coherent

  14. Naming Disney's Dwarfs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidwell, Robert T.

    1980-01-01

    Discusses Disney's version of the folkloric dwarfs in his production of "Snow White" and weighs the Disney rendition of the dwarf figure against the corpus of traits and behaviors pertaining to dwarfs in traditional folklore. Concludes that Disney's dwarfs are "anthropologically true." (HOD)

  15. Temperatures and luminosities of white dwarfs in dwarf novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smak, J.

    1984-01-01

    Far ultraviolet radiation observed in dwarf novae at minimum can only be attributed to their white dwarfs. In three systems white dwarfs are detected directly through their eclipses. These data are used to determine the effective temperatures and luminosities of white dwarfs. The resulting temperatures range from about logT e = 4.1 to about 4.9, with typical values of about 4.5. The luminosities range from about logL 1 = 31.0 to about 33.5 and show correlation with the average accretion rates. Radiation from white dwarfs is likely to be the source of excitation of the emission lines from disks. It is also argued that the heating by the white dwarf can significantly modify the structure of the innermost parts of the disk and, particularly, inhibit the incidence of thermal instability in that region. 26 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab. (author)

  16. A DEEP STUDY OF THE DWARF SATELLITES ANDROMEDA XXVIII AND ANDROMEDA XXIX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slater, Colin T.; Bell, Eric F.; Martin, Nicolas F.; Tollerud, Erik J.; Ho, Nhung

    2015-01-01

    We present the results of a deep study of the isolated dwarf galaxies Andromeda XXVIII and Andromeda XXIX with Gemini/GMOS and Keck/DEIMOS. Both galaxies are shown to host old, metal-poor stellar populations with no detectable recent star formation, conclusively identifying both of them as dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). And XXVIII exhibits a complex horizontal branch morphology, which is suggestive of metallicity enrichment and thus an extended period of star formation in the past. Decomposing the horizontal branch into blue (metal-poor, assumed to be older) and red (relatively more metal-rich, assumed to be younger) populations shows that the metal-rich are also more spatially concentrated in the center of the galaxy. We use spectroscopic measurements of the calcium triplet, combined with the improved precision of the Gemini photometry, to measure the metallicity of the galaxies, confirming the metallicity spread and showing that they both lie on the luminosity–metallicity relation for dwarf satellites. Taken together, the galaxies exhibit largely typical properties for dSphs despite their significant distances from M31. These dwarfs thus place particularly significant constraints on models of dSph formation involving environmental processes such as tidal or ram pressure stripping. Such models must be able to completely transform the two galaxies into dSphs in no more than two pericentric passages around M31, while maintaining a significant stellar population gradient. Reproducing these features is a prime requirement for models of dSph formation to demonstrate not just the plausibility of environmental transformation but the capability of accurately recreating real dSphs

  17. Prehospital tidal volume influences hospital tidal volume: A cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoltze, Andrew J; Wong, Terrence S; Harland, Karisa K; Ahmed, Azeemuddin; Fuller, Brian M; Mohr, Nicholas M

    2015-06-01

    The purposes of the study are to describe current practice of ventilation in a modern air medical system and to measure the association of ventilation strategy with subsequent ventilator care and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Retrospective observational cohort study of intubated adult patients (n = 235) transported by a university-affiliated air medical transport service to a 711-bed tertiary academic center between July 2011 and May 2013. Low tidal volume ventilation was defined as tidal volumes less than or equal to 8 mL/kg predicted body weight. Multivariable regression was used to measure the association between prehospital tidal volume, hospital ventilation strategy, and ARDS. Most patients (57%) were ventilated solely with bag valve ventilation during transport. Mean tidal volume of mechanically ventilated patients was 8.6 mL/kg predicted body weight (SD, 0.2 mL/kg). Low tidal volume ventilation was used in 13% of patients. Patients receiving low tidal volume ventilation during air medical transport were more likely to receive low tidal volume ventilation in the emergency department (P tidal volume (P = .840). Low tidal volume ventilation was rare during air medical transport. Air transport ventilation strategy influenced subsequent ventilation but was not associated with ARDS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Tidal Venuses: Triggering a Climate Catastrophe via Tidal Heating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullins, Kristina; Goldblatt, Colin; Meadows, Victoria S.; Kasting, James F.; Heller, René

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Traditionally, stellar radiation has been the only heat source considered capable of determining global climate on long timescales. Here, we show that terrestrial exoplanets orbiting low-mass stars may be tidally heated at high-enough levels to induce a runaway greenhouse for a long-enough duration for all the hydrogen to escape. Without hydrogen, the planet no longer has water and cannot support life. We call these planets “Tidal Venuses” and the phenomenon a “tidal greenhouse.” Tidal effects also circularize the orbit, which decreases tidal heating. Hence, some planets may form with large eccentricity, with its accompanying large tidal heating, and lose their water, but eventually settle into nearly circular orbits (i.e., with negligible tidal heating) in the habitable zone (HZ). However, these planets are not habitable, as past tidal heating desiccated them, and hence should not be ranked highly for detailed follow-up observations aimed at detecting biosignatures. We simulated the evolution of hypothetical planetary systems in a quasi-continuous parameter distribution and found that we could constrain the history of the system by statistical arguments. Planets orbiting stars with massestidal heating. We have applied these concepts to Gl 667C c, a ∼4.5 MEarth planet orbiting a 0.3 MSun star at 0.12 AU. We found that it probably did not lose its water via tidal heating, as orbital stability is unlikely for the high eccentricities required for the tidal greenhouse. As the inner edge of the HZ is defined by the onset of a runaway or moist greenhouse powered by radiation, our results represent a fundamental revision to the HZ for noncircular orbits. In the appendices we review (a) the moist and runaway greenhouses, (b) hydrogen escape, (c) stellar mass-radius and mass-luminosity relations, (d) terrestrial planet mass-radius relations, and (e) linear tidal theories. Key Words: Extrasolar terrestrial planets—Habitability—Habitable zone

  19. GAS DEPLETION IN LOCAL GROUP DWARFS ON ∼250 kpc SCALES: RAM PRESSURE STRIPPING ASSISTED BY INTERNAL HEATING AT EARLY TIMES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, Matthew; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss

    2011-01-01

    A recent survey of the Galaxy and M31 reveals that more than 90% of dwarf galaxies within 270 kpc of their host galaxy are deficient in H I gas. At such an extreme radius, the coronal halo gas is an order of magnitude too low to remove H I gas through ram pressure stripping for any reasonable orbit distribution. However, all dwarfs are known to have an ancient stellar population (∼> 10 Gyr) from early epochs of vigorous star formation which, through heating of H I, could allow the hot halo to remove this gas. Our model looks at the evolution of these dwarf galaxies analytically as the host-galaxy dark matter halo and coronal halo gas build up over cosmic time. The dwarf galaxies-treated as spherically symmetric, smooth distributions of dark matter and gas-experience early star formation, which sufficiently heats the gas, allowing it to be removed easily through tidal stripping by the host galaxy, or ram pressure stripping by a tenuous hot halo (n H = 3 x 10 -4 cm -3 at 50 kpc). This model of evolution is able to explain the observed radial distribution of gas-deficient and gas-rich dwarfs around the Galaxy and M31 if the dwarfs fell in at high redshift (z ∼ 3-10).

  20. Bounds on Cross-sections and Lifetimes for Dark Matter Annihilation and Decay into Charged Leptons from Gamma-ray Observations of Dwarf Galaxies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Essig, Rouven; /SLAC; Sehgal, Neelima; Strigari, Louis E.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park

    2009-06-19

    We provide conservative bounds on the dark matter cross-section and lifetime from final state radiation produced by annihilation or decay into charged leptons, either directly or via an intermediate particle {phi}. Our analysis utilizes the experimental gamma-ray flux upper limits from four Milky Way dwarf satellites: HESS observations of Sagittarius and VERITAS observations of Draco, Ursa Minor, and Willman 1. Using 90% confidence level lower limits on the integrals over the dark matter distributions, we find that these constraints are largely unable to rule out dark matter annihilations or decays as an explanation of the PAMELA and ATIC/PPB-BETS excesses. However, if there is an additional Sommerfeld enhancement in dwarfs, which have a velocity dispersion {approx} 10 to 20 times lower than that of the local Galactic halo, then the cross-sections for dark matter annihilating through {phi}'s required to explain the excesses are very close to the cross-section upper bounds from Willman 1. Dark matter annihilation directly into {tau}'s is also marginally ruled out by Willman 1 as an explanation of the excesses, and the required cross-section is only a factor of a few below the upper bound from Draco. Finally, we make predictions for the gamma-ray flux expected from the dwarf galaxy Segue 1 for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We find that for a sizeable fraction of the parameter space in which dark matter annihilation into charged leptons explains the PAMELA excess, Fermi has good prospects for detecting a gamma-ray signal from Segue 1 after one year of observation.

  1. Facies architecture of heterolithic tidal deposits : The Holocene Holland Tidal Basin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Donselaar, M.E.; Geel, C.R.

    2007-01-01

    The size, shape and spatial position of lithofacies types (or facies architecture) in a tidal estuarine basin are complex and therefore difficult to model. The tidal currents in the basin concentrate sand-sized sediment in a branching pattern of tidal channels and fringing tidal flats. Away from the

  2. A 12 MINUTE ORBITAL PERIOD DETACHED WHITE DWARF ECLIPSING BINARY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Kenyon, Scott J.; Hermes, J. J.; Winget, D. E.; Prieto, Carlos Allende

    2011-01-01

    We have discovered a detached pair of white dwarfs (WDs) with a 12.75 minute orbital period and a 1315 km s -1 radial velocity amplitude. We measure the full orbital parameters of the system using its light curve, which shows ellipsoidal variations, Doppler boosting, and primary and secondary eclipses. The primary is a 0.25 M sun tidally distorted helium WD, only the second tidally distorted WD known. The unseen secondary is a 0.55 M sun carbon-oxygen WD. The two WDs will come into contact in 0.9 Myr due to loss of energy and angular momentum via gravitational wave radiation. Upon contact the systems may merge (yielding a rapidly spinning massive WD), form a stable interacting binary, or possibly explode as an underluminous Type Ia supernova. The system currently has a gravitational wave strain of 10 -22 , about 10,000 times larger than the Hulse-Taylor pulsar; this system would be detected by the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna gravitational wave mission in the first week of operation. This system's rapid change in orbital period will provide a fundamental test of general relativity.

  3. An unsuccessful search for brown dwarf companions to white dwarf stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shipman, Harry L.

    1986-01-01

    The results of a survey to detect excess infrared emission from white dwarf stars which would be attributable to a low mass companion are reviewed. Neither a simple comparison of spectroscopically identified white dwarf stars with the IRAS Point Source Catalog nor the coadding of IRAS survey data resulted in a detection of a brown dwarf. The seven nearest stars where the most stringent limits to the presence of a brown dwarf were obtained are listed, and an effort to detect brown dwarfs in the solar neighborhood is discussed.

  4. White dwarf radii and boundary-layer constraints in three dwarf novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, J.H.

    1990-01-01

    The structure of the boundary layer between the accretion disc and white dwarf in three quiescent dwarf novae is explored with high signal-to-noise eclipse light curves obtained by phase folding 12-20 eclipses. Models of the eclipse shapes of various white dwarf/boundary layer configurations that might be at the centres of the accretion discs are calculated and compared with observations of the eclipses in Z Cha, OY Car and HT Cas. Possible models for the central objects are found to be a white dwarf with or without its lower hemisphere occulted by the disc, or a white dwarf with an optically thick boundary layer significantly extended in latitude up and down its sides. The most likely of these models for each system is an unocculted white dwarf with no boundary layer contributing significantly to the optical flux, or a white dwarf totally covered by an optically thick boundary layer. (author)

  5. SATELLITE DWARF GALAXIES IN A HIERARCHICAL UNIVERSE: THE PREVALENCE OF DWARF-DWARF MAJOR MERGERS

    OpenAIRE

    Deason, A; Wetzel, A; Garrison-Kimmel, S

    2014-01-01

    Mergers are a common phenomenon in hierarchical structure formation, especially for massive galaxies and clusters, but their importance for dwarf galaxies in the Local Group remains poorly understood. We investigate the frequency of major mergers between dwarf galaxies in the Local Group using the ELVIS suite of cosmological zoom-in dissipationless simulations of Milky Way- and M31-like host halos. We find that ~10% of satellite dwarf galaxies with M_star > 10^6 M_sun that are within the host...

  6. Modeling the Structure and Dynamics of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with Dark Matter and Tides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, Ricardo R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Johnston, Kathryn V.

    2008-05-01

    We report the results of N-body simulations of disrupting satellites aimed at exploring whether the observed features of dSphs can be accounted for with simple, mass-follows-light (MFL) models including tidal disruption. As a test case, we focus on the Carina dwarf spheroidal (dSph), which presently is the dSph system with the most extensive data at large radius. We find that previous N-body, MFL simulations of dSphs did not sufficiently explore the parameter space of satellite mass, density, and orbital shape to find adequate matches to Galactic dSph systems, whereas with a systematic survey of parameter space we are able to find tidally disrupting, MFL satellite models that rather faithfully reproduce Carina's velocity profile, velocity dispersion profile, and projected density distribution over its entire sampled radius. The successful MFL model satellites have very eccentric orbits, currently favored by CDM models, and central velocity dispersions that still yield an accurate representation of the bound mass and observed central M/L ~ 40 of Carina, despite inflation of the velocity dispersion outside the dSph core by unbound debris. Our survey of parameter space also allows us to address a number of commonly held misperceptions of tidal disruption and its observable effects on dSph structure and dynamics. The simulations suggest that even modest tidal disruption can have a profound effect on the observed dynamics of dSph stars at large radii. Satellites that are well described by tidally disrupting MFL models could still be fully compatible with ΛCDM if, for example, they represent a later stage in the evolution of luminous subhalos.

  7. Herschel/HIFI measurements of the ortho/para ratio in water towards Sagittarius B2(M) and W31C

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lis, D. C.; Phillips, T. G.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Neufeld, D. A.; Herbst, E.; Comito, C.; Schilke, P.; Mueller, H. S. P.; Bergin, E. A.; Gerin, M.; Bell, T. A.; Emprechtinger, M.; Black, J. H.; Blake, G. A.; Boulanger, F.; Caux, E.; Ceccarelli, C.; Cernicharo, J.; Coutens, A.; Crockett, N. R.; Daniel, F.; Dartois, E.; De Luca, M.; Dubernet, M. -L.; Encrenaz, P.; Falgarone, E.; Geballe, T. R.; Godard, B.; Giesen, T. F.; Goicoechea, J. R.; Gry, C.; Gupta, H.; Hennebelle, P.; Hily-Blant, P.; Kolos, R.; Krelowski, J.; Joblin, C.; Johnstone, D.; Kazmierczak, M.; Lord, S. D.; Maret, S.; Martin, P. G.; Martin-Pintado, J.; Melnick, G. J.; Menten, K. M.; Monje, R.; Mookerjea, B.; Morris, P.; Murphy, J. A.; Ossenkopf, V.; Pearson, J. C.; Perault, M.; Persson, C.; Plume, R.; Qin, S. -L.; Salez, M.; Schlemmer, S.; Schmidt, M.; Sonnentrucker, P.; Stutzki, J.; Teyssier, D.; Trappe, N.; van der Tak, F. F. S.; Vastel, C.; Wang, S.; Yorke, H. W.; Yu, S.; Zmuidzinas, J.; Boogert, A.; Erickson, N.; Karpov, A.; Kooi, J.; Maiwald, F. W.; Schieder, R.; Zaal, P.

    2010-01-01

    We present Herschel/HIFI observations of the fundamental rotational transitions of ortho- and para-(H2O)-O-16 and (H2O)-O-18 in absorption towards Sagittarius B2(M) and W31C. The ortho/para ratio in water in the foreground clouds on the line of sight towards these bright continuum sources is

  8. White dwarf heating and the ultraviolet flux in dwarf novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pringle, J.E.

    1988-01-01

    An investigation is made of the heating of the outer layers of the white dwarf which is likely to occur during a dwarf nova outburst. It is shown that the decline in IUE flux, observed during quiescent intervals in the dwarf novae VW Hydri and WX Hydri, may be due to the outer layers cooling off once the heat source is removed. The calculations here assume uniformity of the heat source over the white dwarf surface. This is unlikely to be realized from disc accretion, and we discuss that further calculations are required. (author)

  9. Searching for benchmark systems containing ultra-cool dwarfs and white dwarfs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinfield D.J.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available We have used the 2MASS all-sky survey and WISE to look for ultracool dwarfs that are part of multiple systems containing main sequence stars. We cross-matched L dwarf candidates from the surveys with Hipparcos and Gliese stars, finding two new systems. We consider the binary fraction for L dwarfs and main sequence stars, and further assess possible unresolved multiplicity within the full companion sample. This analysis shows that some of the L dwarfs in this sample might actually be unresolved binaries themselves. We have also identified a sample of common proper motion systems in which a main sequence star has a white dwarf as wide companion. These systems can help explore key issues in star evolution theory, as the initial-final mass relationship of white dwarfs, or the chromospheric activity-age relationship for stars still in the main sequence. Spectroscopy for 50 white dwarf candidates, selected from the SuperCOSMOS Science Archive, was obtained. We have also observed 6 of the main sequence star companions, and have estimated their effective temperatures, rotational and microturbulent velocities and metallicities.

  10. Tidal radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mashhoon, B.

    1977-01-01

    The general theory of tides is developed within the framework of Einstein's theory of gravitation. It is based on the concept of Fermi frame and the associated notion of tidal frame along an open curve in spacetime. Following the previous work of the author an approximate scheme for the evaluation of tidal gravitational radiation is presented which is valid for weak gravitational fields. The emission of gravitational radiation from a body in the field of a black hole is discussed, and for some cases of astrophysical interest estimates are given for the contributions of radiation due to center-of-mass motion, purely tidal deformation, and the interference between the center of mass and tidal motions

  11. Tides and tidal currents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roos, A.

    1997-01-01

    Basic phenomena, origin and generation of tides, analysis and prediction of tides, basic equation and types of long waves in one dimension, tidal propagation in one dimension, tidal propagation in two directions, analytical tidal computation, numerical tidal computation.

  12. FIRST DIRECT EVIDENCE THAT BARIUM DWARFS HAVE WHITE DWARF COMPANIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, R. O.; McGahee, C. E.; Griffin, R. E. M.; Corbally, C. J.

    2011-01-01

    Barium II (Ba) stars are chemically peculiar F-, G-, and K-type objects that show enhanced abundances of s-process elements. Since s-process nucleosynthesis is unlikely to take place in stars prior to the advanced asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stage, the prevailing hypothesis is that each present Ba star was contaminated by an AGB companion which is now a white dwarf (WD). Unless the initial mass ratio of such a binary was fairly close to unity, the receiving star is thus at least as likely to be a dwarf as a giant. So although most known Ba stars appear to be giants, the hypothesis requires that Ba dwarfs be comparably plentiful and moreover that they should all have WD companions. However, despite dedicated searches with the IUE satellite, no WD companions have been directly detected to date among the classical Ba dwarfs, even though some 90% of those stars are spectroscopic binaries, so the contamination hypothesis is therefore presently in some jeopardy. In this paper, we analyze recent deep, near-UV and far-UV Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) exposures of four of the brightest of the class (HD 2454, 15360, 26367, and 221531), together with archived GALEX data for two newly recognized Ba dwarfs: HD 34654 and HD 114520 (which also prove to be spectroscopic binaries). The GALEX observations of the Ba dwarfs as a group show a significant far-UV excess compared to a control sample of normal F-type dwarfs. We suggest that this ensemble far-UV excess constitutes the first direct evidence that Ba dwarfs have WD companions.

  13. Coordinated mm/sub-mm observations of Sagittarius A* in May 2007

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kunneriath, D; Eckart, A; Bertram, T; Konig, S [University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str. 77, D-50937 Cologne (Germany); Vogel, S [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Sjouwerman, L [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box 0, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Wiesemeyer, H [IRAM, Avenida Divina Pastora, 7, Nuecleo Central, E-18012 Granada (Spain); Schoedel, R [Instituto de AstrofIsica de AndalucIa, Camino Bajo de Huetor 50, 18008 Granada (Spain); Baganoff, F K [Center for Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States); Morris, M; Mauerhan, J; Meyer, L [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Dovciak, M; Karas, V [Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences, BocnI II, CZ-14131 Prague (Czech Republic); Dowries, D [Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique, Domaine Universitaire, 38406 St. Martin d' Heres (France); Krichbaum, T; Lu, R-S [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, 53121 Bonn (Germany); Krips, M [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, SMA project, 60 Garden Street, MS 78 Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Markoff, S [Astronomical Institute ' Anton Pannekoek' , University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098SJ Amsterdam (Netherlands); Duschl, W J, E-mail: eckart@phl.uni-koeln.de (and others)

    2008-10-15

    At the center of the Milky Way, with a distance of {approx}8 kpc, the compact source Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) can be associated with a super massive black hole of {approx}4x 10{sup 6}M{sub o-dot}. SgrA* shows strong variability from the radio to the X-ray wavelength domains. Here we report on simultaneous NIR/sub-millimeter/X-ray observations from May 2007 that involved the NACO adaptive optics (AO) instrument at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), the US mm-array CARMA, the IRAM 30m mm-telescope, and other telescopes. We concentrate on the time series of mm/sub-mm data from CARMA, ATCA, and the MAMBO bolometer at the IRAM 30m telescope.

  14. White Dwarf Stars

    OpenAIRE

    Kepler, S. O.; Romero, Alejandra Daniela; Pelisoli, Ingrid; Ourique, Gustavo

    2017-01-01

    White dwarf stars are the final stage of most stars, born single or in multiple systems. We discuss the identification, magnetic fields, and mass distribution for white dwarfs detected from spectra obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey up to Data Release 13 in 2016, which lead to the increase in the number of spectroscopically identified white dwarf stars from 5000 to 39000. This number includes only white dwarf stars with log g >= 6.5 stars, i.e., excluding the Extremely Low Mass white dw...

  15. Radiation of dwarf novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruch, A.

    1987-01-01

    The nature of dwarf novae with their components white dwarf star, cool star, accretion disk, boundary layer and hot spot is investigated. It is shown that very different physical states and processes occur in the components of dwarf novae. Spectroscopical and photometrical observations are carried out. For better understanding the radiation portions of the single dwarf novae components are separated from the total electromagnetic spectrum recieved from the dwarf novae. The model assumptions are compared with the observations and verified

  16. WHITE DWARF/M DWARF BINARIES AS SINGLE DEGENERATE PROGENITORS OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wheeler, J. Craig

    2012-01-01

    Limits on the companions of white dwarfs in the single-degenerate scenario for the origin of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have gotten increasingly tight, yet igniting a nearly Chandrasekhar mass C/O white dwarf from a condition of near hydrostatic equilibrium provides compelling agreement with observed spectral evolution. The only type of non-degenerate stars that survive the tight limits, M V ∼> 8.4 on the SN Ia in SNR 0509-67.5 and M V ∼> 9.5 in the remnant of SN 1572, are M dwarfs. While M dwarfs are observed in cataclysmic variables, they have special properties that have not been considered in most work on the progenitors of SNe Ia: they have small but finite magnetic fields and they flare frequently. These properties are explored in the context of SN Ia progenitors. White dwarf/M dwarf pairs may be sufficiently plentiful to provide, in principle, an adequate rate of explosions even with slow orbital evolution due to magnetic braking or gravitational radiation. Even modest magnetic fields on the white dwarf and M dwarf will yield adequate torques to lock the two stars together, resulting in a slowly rotating white dwarf, with the magnetic poles pointing at one another in the orbital plane. The mass loss will be channeled by a 'magnetic bottle' connecting the two stars, landing on a concentrated polar area on the white dwarf. This enhances the effective rate of accretion compared to spherical accretion. Luminosity from accretion and hydrogen burning on the surface of the white dwarf may induce self-excited mass transfer. The combined effects of self-excited mass loss, polar accretion, and magnetic inhibition of mixing of accretion layers give possible means to beat the 'nova limit' and grow the white dwarf to the Chandrasekhar mass even at rather moderate mass accretion rates.

  17. Rapid Evolution of the Gaseous Exoplanetary Debris around the White Dwarf Star HE 1349–2305

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennihy, E.; Clemens, J. C.; Dunlap, B. H.; Fanale, S. M.; Fuchs, J. T.; Hermes, J. J.

    2018-02-01

    Observations of heavy metal pollution in white dwarf stars indicate that metal-rich planetesimals are frequently scattered into star-grazing orbits, tidally disrupted, and accreted onto the white dwarf surface, offering direct insight into the dynamical evolution of post-main-sequence exoplanetary systems. Emission lines from the gaseous debris in the accretion disks of some of these systems show variations on timescales of decades, and have been interpreted as the general relativistic precession of a recently formed, elliptical disk. Here we present a comprehensive spectroscopic monitoring campaign of the calcium infrared triplet emission in one system, HE 1349–2305, which shows morphological emission profile variations suggestive of a precessing, asymmetric intensity pattern. The emission profiles are shown to vary on a timescale of one to two years, which is an order of magnitude shorter than what has been observed in other similar systems. We demonstrate that this timescale is likely incompatible with general relativistic precession, and consider alternative explanations for the rapid evolution, including the propagation of density waves within the gaseous debris. We conclude with recommendations for follow-up observations, and discuss how the rapid evolution of the gaseous debris in HE 1349–2305 could be leveraged to test theories of exoplanetary debris disk evolution around white dwarf stars.

  18. LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF DOUBLE WHITE DWARF BINARIES ACCRETING THROUGH DIRECT IMPACT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kremer, Kyle; Kalogera, Vassiliki; Sepinsky, Jeremy

    2015-01-01

    We calculate the long-term evolution of angular momentum in double white dwarf binaries undergoing direct impact accretion over a broad range of parameter space. We allow the rotation rate of both components to vary and account for the exchange of angular momentum between the spins of the white dwarfs and the orbit, while conserving the total angular momentum. We include gravitational, tidal, and mass transfer effects in the orbital evolution, and allow the Roche radius of the donor star to vary with both the stellar mass and the rotation rate. We examine the long-term stability of these systems, focusing in particular on those systems that may be progenitors of AM CVn or SNe Ia. We find that our analysis yields an increase in the predicted number of stable systems compared to that in previous studies. Additionally, we find that by properly accounting for the effects of asynchronism between the donor and the orbit on the Roche-lobe size, we eliminate oscillations in the orbital parameters, which were found in previous studies. Removing these oscillations can reduce the peak mass transfer rate in some systems, keeping them from entering an unstable mass transfer phase

  19. Tidal power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, A.C.

    1991-01-01

    This book describes how large tides develop in particular places and how the energy could be extracted by building suitable barrages. The principal features of a barrage and possible methods of operation are described in detail. Although a tidal power barrage would be non-polluting, the resulting changes in the tidal regime would have important environmental effects. These are discussed together with the economics of tidal power. Methods of assessing the likely cost of electricity from any site are set out and applied to possible sites around the world. (author)

  20. THE EFFECTS OF CLOSE COMPANIONS (AND ROTATION) ON THE MAGNETIC ACTIVITY OF M DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgan, Dylan P.; West, Andrew A.; Dhital, Saurav; Fuchs, Miriam; Garcés, Ane; Catalán, Silvia; Silvestri, Nicole M.

    2012-01-01

    We present a study of close white dwarf and M dwarf (WD+dM) binary systems and examine the effect that a close companion has on the magnetic field generation in M dwarfs. We use a base sample of 1602 white dwarf main-sequence binaries from Rebassa-Mansergas et al. to develop a set of color cuts in GALEX, SDSS, UKIDSS, and 2MASS color space. Then using the SDSS Data Release 8 spectroscopic database, we construct a sample of 1756 WD+dM high-quality pairs from our color cuts and previous catalogs. We separate the individual WD and dM from each spectrum using an iterative technique that compares the WD and dM components to best-fit templates. Using the absolute height above the Galactic plane as a proxy for age, and the Hα emission line as an indicator for magnetic activity, we investigate the age-activity relation for our sample for spectral types ≤ M7. Our results show that early-type M dwarfs (≤M4) in close binary systems are more likely to be active and have longer activity lifetimes compared to their field counterparts. However, at a spectral type of M5 (just past the onset of full convection in M dwarfs), the activity fraction and lifetimes of WD+dM binary systems become more comparable to that of the field M dwarfs. One of the implications of having a close binary companion is presumed to be increased stellar rotation through disk disruption, tidal effects, or angular momentum exchange. Thus, we interpret the similarity in activity behavior between late-type dMs in WD+dM pairs and late-type field dMs to be due to a decrease in sensitivity in close binary companions (or stellar rotation), which has implications for the nature of magnetic activity in fully convective stars. Using the WD components of the pairs, we find WD cooling ages to use as an additional constraint on the age-activity relation for our sample. We find that, on average, active early-type dMs tend to be younger and that active late-type dMs span a much broader age regime making them

  1. FORMATION OF ULTRA-COMPACT BLUE DWARF GALAXIES AND THEIR EVOLUTION INTO NUCLEATED DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bekki, Kenji

    2015-01-01

    We propose that there is an evolutionary link between ultra-compact blue dwarf galaxies (UCBDs) with active star formation and nucleated dwarfs based on the results of numerical simulations of dwarf–dwarf merging. We consider the observational fact that low-mass dwarfs can be very gas-rich, and thereby investigate the dynamical and chemical evolution of very gas-rich, dissipative dwarf–dwarf mergers. We find that the remnants of dwarf–dwarf mergers can be dominated by new stellar populations formed from the triggered starbursts and consequently can have blue colors and higher metallicities (Z ∼ [0.2–1]Z ⊙ ). We also find that the remnants of these mergers can have rather high mass densities (10 4 M ⊙ pc −3 ) within the central 10 pc and small half-light radii (40−100 pc). The radial stellar structures of some merger remnants are similar to those of nucleated dwarfs. Star formation can continue in nuclear gas disks (R < 100 pc) surrounding stellar galactic nuclei (SGNs) so that the SGNs can finally have multiple stellar populations with different ages and metallicities. These very compact blue remnants can be identified as UCBDs soon after merging and as nucleated dwarfs after the young stars fade. We discuss these results in the context of the origins of metal-rich ultra-compact dwarfs and SGNs

  2. FORMATION OF ULTRA-COMPACT BLUE DWARF GALAXIES AND THEIR EVOLUTION INTO NUCLEATED DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bekki, Kenji [ICRAR, M468, The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley Western Australia, 6009 (Australia)

    2015-10-10

    We propose that there is an evolutionary link between ultra-compact blue dwarf galaxies (UCBDs) with active star formation and nucleated dwarfs based on the results of numerical simulations of dwarf–dwarf merging. We consider the observational fact that low-mass dwarfs can be very gas-rich, and thereby investigate the dynamical and chemical evolution of very gas-rich, dissipative dwarf–dwarf mergers. We find that the remnants of dwarf–dwarf mergers can be dominated by new stellar populations formed from the triggered starbursts and consequently can have blue colors and higher metallicities (Z ∼ [0.2–1]Z{sub ⊙}). We also find that the remnants of these mergers can have rather high mass densities (10{sup 4} M{sub ⊙} pc{sup −3}) within the central 10 pc and small half-light radii (40−100 pc). The radial stellar structures of some merger remnants are similar to those of nucleated dwarfs. Star formation can continue in nuclear gas disks (R < 100 pc) surrounding stellar galactic nuclei (SGNs) so that the SGNs can finally have multiple stellar populations with different ages and metallicities. These very compact blue remnants can be identified as UCBDs soon after merging and as nucleated dwarfs after the young stars fade. We discuss these results in the context of the origins of metal-rich ultra-compact dwarfs and SGNs.

  3. New Light on Dark Stars Red Dwarfs, Low-Mass Stars, Brown Dwarfs

    CERN Document Server

    Reid, I. Neill

    2005-01-01

    There has been very considerable progress in research into low-mass stars, brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets during the past few years, particularly since the fist edtion of this book was published in 2000. In this new edtion the authors present a comprehensive review of both the astrophysical nature of individual red dwarf and brown dwarf stars and their collective statistical properties as an important Galactic stellar population. Chapters dealing with the observational properies of low-mass dwarfs, the stellar mass function and extrasolar planets have been completely revised. Other chapters have been significantly revised and updated as appropriate, including important new material on observational techniques, stellar acivity, the Galactic halo and field star surveys. The authors detail the many discoveries of new brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets made since publication of the first edition of the book and provide a state-of-the-art review of our current knowledge of very low-mass stars, brown dwarfs a...

  4. Exploitation of tidal power in the Bay of Cadiz: ancient tidal mills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José J. Alonso del Rosario

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Tidal mills were the main industrial activity in the Bay of Cadiz for centuries. They were the last step in the production of salt and flour made by grinding grains. They were installed along the shallow channels, called “caños”, around the Bay, where the frictional and geometrical effects are very strong. The authors have analyzed the propagation of the semidiurnal tidal waves along the Caño de Sancti Petri and the available tidal power in the area. The ancient tidal mills were located where the available tidal potential energy is highest, which ensured productivity for grinding salt and wheat in ancient times. Some considerations about the possibility of installing tidal power plants in the Bay of Cadiz now are given, which show that it could be a real and renewal alternative source of energy for the area.

  5. Tidal current and tidal energy changes imposed by a dynamic tidal power system in the Taiwan Strait, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Peng; Zhang, Jisheng; Zheng, Jinhai

    2017-12-01

    The Taiwan Strait has recently been proposed as a promising site for dynamic tidal power systems because of its shallow depth and strong tides. Dynamic tidal power is a new concept for extracting tidal potential energy in which a coast-perpendicular dike is used to create water head and generate electricity via turbines inserted in the dike. Before starting such a project, the potential power output and hydrodynamic impacts of the dike must be assessed. In this study, a two-dimensional numerical model based on the Delft3D-FLOW module is established to simulate tides in China. A dike module is developed to account for turbine processes and estimate power output by integrating a special algorithm into the model. The domain decomposition technique is used to divide the computational zone into two subdomains with grid refinement near the dike. The hydrodynamic processes predicted by the model, both with and without the proposed construction, are examined in detail, including tidal currents and tidal energy flux. The predicted time-averaged power yields with various opening ratios are presented. The results show that time-averaged power yield peaks at an 8% opening ratio. For semidiurnal tides, the flow velocity increases in front of the head of the dike and decreases on either side. For diurnal tides, these changes are complicated by the oblique incidence of tidal currents with respect to the dike as well as by bathymetric features. The dike itself blocks the propagation of tidal energy flux.

  6. Porewater biogeochemistry and soil metabolism in dwarf red mangrove habitats (Twin Cays, Belize)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, R.Y.; Porubsky, W.P.; Feller, Ilka C.; McKee, K.L.; Joye, S.B.

    2008-01-01

    Seasonal variability in biogeochemical signatures was used to elucidate the dominant pathways of soil microbial metabolism and elemental cycling in an oligotrophic mangrove system. Three interior dwarf mangrove habitats (Twin Cays, Belize) where surface soils were overlain by microbial mats were sampled during wet and dry periods of the year. Porewater equilibration meters and standard biogeochemical methods provided steady-state porewater profiles of pH, chloride, sulfate, sulfide, ammonium, nitrate/nitrite, phosphate, dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, reduced iron and manganese, dissolved inorganic carbon, methane and nitrous oxide. During the wet season, the salinity of overlying pond water and shallow porewaters decreased. Increased rainwater infiltration through soils combined with higher tidal heights appeared to result in increased organic carbon inventories and more reducing soil porewaters. During the dry season, evaporation increased both surface water and porewater salinities, while lower tidal heights resulted in less reduced soil porewaters. Rainfall strongly influenced inventories of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, possibly due to more rapid decay of mangrove litter during the wet season. During both times of year, high concentrations of reduced metabolites accumulated at depth, indicating substantial rates of organic matter mineralization coupled primarily to sulfate reduction. Nitrous oxide and methane concentrations were supersaturated indicating considerable rates of nitrification and/or incomplete denitrification and methanogenesis, respectively. More reducing soil conditions during the wet season promoted the production of reduced manganese. Contemporaneous activity of sulfate reduction and methanogenesis was likely fueled by the presence of noncompetitive substrates. The findings indicate that these interior dwarf areas are unique sites of nutrient and energy regeneration and may be critical to the overall persistence

  7. POX 4 and Tol 35: Two Peculiar Wolf-Rayet Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez, David I.; Esteban, César

    1999-12-01

    We present results of narrowband (Hα and adjacent continuum) and broadband (U, B, and V) optical CCD imaging together with high-resolution Hα spectroscopy of the blue compact Wolf-Rayet dwarf galaxies POX 4 and Tol 35. POX 4 has a fainter, irregular, and diffuse companion located 20.5" (4.7 kpc) along the minor axis of the galaxy, which is visible also in the Hα emission. The difference in recession velocity between the galaxy and the companion is about 130 km s-1. The observational results lead us to propose that POX 4 could be interpreted as a low-mass ring galaxy, produced by a head-on intrusion of the fainter companion. Regarding the other object, a spectrum taken along the major axis of Tol 35 shows the coexistence of systems of motion with a velocity difference of about 50 km s-1. Moreover, the deep continuum-subtracted Hα image of the galaxy shows very faint features that resemble the beginning of crossed tidal tails or gaseous filaments powered by the mechanical action of the young stellar population. In this sense, Tol 35 could be interpreted either as an object in an intermediate-stage merging process between two gas-rich dwarf galaxies or as an object suffering the effect of a galactic wind.

  8. EXPLORING HALO SUBSTRUCTURE WITH GIANT STARS: SUBSTRUCTURE IN THE LOCAL HALO AS SEEN IN THE GRID GIANT STAR SURVEY INCLUDING EXTENDED TIDAL DEBRIS FROM ωCENTAURI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majewski, Steven R.; Nidever, David L.; Damke, Guillermo J.; Patterson, Richard J.; García Pérez, Ana E.; Smith, Verne V.; Kunkel, William E.; Bizyaev, Dmitry

    2012-01-01

    We present the latitude-normalized radial velocity (v b ) distribution of 3318 subsolar metallicity, V ∼ b sequences. One sequence in the fourth Galactic quadrant lies within the l-v b space expected to contain tidal debris from the 'star cluster' ωCentauri. Not only does ωCen lie precisely in this l-v b sequence, but the positions and v b of member stars match those of N-body simulations of tidally disrupting dwarf galaxies on orbits ending with ωCen's current position and space motion. But the ultimate proof that we have very likely found extended parts of the ωCen tidal stream comes from echelle spectroscopy of a subsample of the stars that reveals a very particular chemical abundance signature known to occur only in ωCen. The newly discovered ωCen debris accounts for almost all fourth Galactic quadrant retrograde stars in the southern GGSS, which suggests ωCen is a dominant contributor of retrograde giant stars in the inner Galaxy.

  9. Distinguishing CDM dwarfs from SIDM dwarfs in baryonic simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strickland, Emily; Fitts, Alex B.; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael

    2017-06-01

    Dwarf galaxies in the nearby Universe are the most dark-matter-dominated systems known. They are therefore natural probes of the nature of dark matter, which remains unknown. Our collaboration has performed several high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of isolated dwarf galaxies. We simulate each galaxy in standard cold dark matter (ΛCDM) as well as self-interacting dark matter (SIDM, with a cross section of σ/m ~ 1 cm2/g), both with and without baryons, in order to identify distinguishing characteristics between the two. The simulations are run using GIZMO, a meshless-finite-mass hydrodynamical code, and are part of the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) project. By analyzing both the global properties and inner structure of the dwarfs in varying dark matter prescriptions, we provide a side-by-side comparison of isolated, dark-matter-dominated galaxies at the mass scale where differences in the two models of dark matter are thought to be the most obvious. We find that the edge of classical dwarfs and ultra-faint dwarfs (at stellar masses of ~105 solar masses) provides the clearest window for distinguishing between the two theories. At these low masses, our SIDM galaxies have a cored inner density profile, while their CDM counterparts have “cuspy” centers. The SIDM versions of each galaxy also have measurably lower stellar velocity dispersions than their CDM counterparts. Future observations of ultra faint dwarfs with JWST and 30-m telescopes will be able to discern whether such alternate theories of dark matter are viable.

  10. Indirect research of dark matter toward dwarf galaxies with the ANTARES neutrino telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dumas, Alexis

    2014-01-01

    The first part of this document summarizes the astrophysical arguments to suppose the existence of dark matter. The cosmological model γCDM is presented as well as the concept of cross section of dark matter self-annihilation. Dwarf galaxies satellites of the Milky Way, the sources of our study are introduced into a second chapter. After recalling the large structures that make up the universe, the issues related to dwarf galaxies are addressed: missing satellites problem, distribution of dark matter density within them and tidal forces due to the Milky Way. The second part discusses the modeling of the dark matter density in dwarf galaxies. The methodology, using the Jeans equation and dispersion of projected stars velocities, is presented. Three dark matter profiles are retained: NFW, Burkert and Einasto and fifteen dwarf galaxies. Neutrino production during the self-annihilation of dark matter is then addressed. The energy spectra of neutrinos are generated with PYTHIA software and compared with other results for the galactic center. Twenty-three assumptions of mass dark matter candidates are chosen, ranging from 25 GeV/c 2 100 TeV/c 2 . Five self-annihilation channels are selected for analysis: b - b, W + W - T + T - μ + μ - νμ νμ. The third part includes a presentation of the detector used for the study, the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Three reconstruction algorithms developed and used in collaboration are also detailed: AAFIT, BBFit and GridFit. The analysis of data ANTARES aimed to find a neutrinos excess characteristic of dark matter self-annihilation is summarized in the sixth and final chapter. No excess was observed, a limit on the cross section of dark matter self-annihilation was determined. (author)

  11. THE BROWN DWARF KINEMATICS PROJECT (BDKP). III. PARALLAXES FOR 70 ULTRACOOL DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Shara, Michael M.; Cruz, Kelle L.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Walter, Frederick M.; Van der Bliek, Nicole; West, Andrew A.; Vrba, Frederick J.; Anglada-Escudé, Guillem

    2012-01-01

    We report parallax measurements for 70 ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) including 11 late-M, 32 L, and 27 T dwarfs. In this sample, 14 M and L dwarfs exhibit low surface gravity features, 6 are close binary systems, and 2 are metal-poor subdwarfs. We combined our new measurements with 114 previously published UCD parallaxes and optical-mid-IR photometry to examine trends in spectral-type/absolute magnitude, and color-color diagrams. We report new polynomial relations between spectral type and M JHK . Including resolved L/T transition binaries in the relations, we find no reason to differentiate between a 'bright' (unresolved binary) and a 'faint' (single source) sample across the L/T boundary. Isolating early T dwarfs, we find that the brightening of T0-T4 sources is prominent in M J where there is a [1.2-1.4] mag difference. A similar yet dampened brightening of [0.3-0.5] mag happens at M H and a plateau or dimming of [–0.2 to –0.3] mag is seen in M K . Comparison with evolutionary models that vary gravity, metallicity, and cloud thickness verifies that for L into T dwarfs, decreasing cloud thickness reproduces brown dwarf near-IR color-magnitude diagrams. However we find that a near constant temperature of 1200 ±100 K along a narrow spectral subtype of T0-T4 is required to account for the brightening and color-magnitude diagram of the L-dwarf/T-dwarf transition. There is a significant population of both L and T dwarfs which are red or potentially 'ultra-cloudy' compared to the models, many of which are known to be young indicating a correlation between enhanced photospheric dust and youth. For the low surface gravity or young companion L dwarfs we find that 8 out of 10 are at least [0.2-1.0] mag underluminous in M JH and/or M K compared to equivalent spectral type objects. We speculate that this is a consequence of increased dust opacity and conclude that low surface gravity L dwarfs require a completely new spectral-type/absolute magnitude polynomial for analysis.

  12. THE BROWN DWARF KINEMATICS PROJECT (BDKP). III. PARALLAXES FOR 70 ULTRACOOL DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Shara, Michael M.; Cruz, Kelle L. [Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10034 (United States); Burgasser, Adam J. [Center of Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093 (United States); Walter, Frederick M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3800 (United States); Van der Bliek, Nicole [CTIO/National Optical Astronomy Observatory (Chile); West, Andrew A. [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Ave Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Vrba, Frederick J. [US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, P.O. Box 1149, Flagstaff, AZ 86002 (United States); Anglada-Escude, Guillem, E-mail: jfaherty@amnh.org [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015 (United States)

    2012-06-10

    We report parallax measurements for 70 ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) including 11 late-M, 32 L, and 27 T dwarfs. In this sample, 14 M and L dwarfs exhibit low surface gravity features, 6 are close binary systems, and 2 are metal-poor subdwarfs. We combined our new measurements with 114 previously published UCD parallaxes and optical-mid-IR photometry to examine trends in spectral-type/absolute magnitude, and color-color diagrams. We report new polynomial relations between spectral type and M{sub JHK}. Including resolved L/T transition binaries in the relations, we find no reason to differentiate between a 'bright' (unresolved binary) and a 'faint' (single source) sample across the L/T boundary. Isolating early T dwarfs, we find that the brightening of T0-T4 sources is prominent in M{sub J} where there is a [1.2-1.4] mag difference. A similar yet dampened brightening of [0.3-0.5] mag happens at M{sub H} and a plateau or dimming of [-0.2 to -0.3] mag is seen in M{sub K} . Comparison with evolutionary models that vary gravity, metallicity, and cloud thickness verifies that for L into T dwarfs, decreasing cloud thickness reproduces brown dwarf near-IR color-magnitude diagrams. However we find that a near constant temperature of 1200 {+-}100 K along a narrow spectral subtype of T0-T4 is required to account for the brightening and color-magnitude diagram of the L-dwarf/T-dwarf transition. There is a significant population of both L and T dwarfs which are red or potentially 'ultra-cloudy' compared to the models, many of which are known to be young indicating a correlation between enhanced photospheric dust and youth. For the low surface gravity or young companion L dwarfs we find that 8 out of 10 are at least [0.2-1.0] mag underluminous in M{sub JH} and/or M{sub K} compared to equivalent spectral type objects. We speculate that this is a consequence of increased dust opacity and conclude that low surface gravity L dwarfs require a completely new

  13. Activity and Kinematics of White Dwarf-M Dwarf Binaries from the SUPERBLINK Proper Motion Survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skinner, Julie N.; Morgan, Dylan P.; West, Andrew A.; Lépine, Sébastien; Thorstensen, John R.

    2017-01-01

    We present an activity and kinematic analysis of high proper motion white dwarf-M dwarf binaries (WD+dMs) found in the SUPERBLINK survey, 178 of which are new identifications. To identify WD+dMs, we developed a UV–optical–IR color criterion and conducted a spectroscopic survey to confirm each candidate binary. For the newly identified systems, we fit the two components using model white dwarf spectra and M dwarf template spectra to determine physical parameters. We use H α chromospheric emission to examine the magnetic activity of the M dwarf in each system, and investigate how its activity is affected by the presence of a white dwarf companion. We find that the fraction of WD+dM binaries with active M dwarfs is significantly higher than their single M dwarf counterparts at early and mid-spectral types. We corroborate previous studies that find high activity fractions at both close and intermediate separations. At more distant separations, the binary fraction appears to approach the activity fraction for single M dwarfs. Using derived radial velocities and the proper motions, we calculate 3D space velocities for the WD+dMs in SUPERBLINK. For the entire SUPERBLINK WD+dMs, we find a large vertical velocity dispersion, indicating a dynamically hotter population compared to high proper motion samples of single M dwarfs. We compare the kinematics for systems with active M dwarfs and those with inactive M dwarfs, and find signatures of asymmetric drift in the inactive sample, indicating that they are drawn from an older population.

  14. Activity and Kinematics of White Dwarf-M Dwarf Binaries from the SUPERBLINK Proper Motion Survey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skinner, Julie N. [Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Morgan, Dylan P.; West, Andrew A. [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Lépine, Sébastien [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, 25 Park Place NE, Atlanta, GA, 30303 (United States); Thorstensen, John R., E-mail: jskinner@bu.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States)

    2017-09-01

    We present an activity and kinematic analysis of high proper motion white dwarf-M dwarf binaries (WD+dMs) found in the SUPERBLINK survey, 178 of which are new identifications. To identify WD+dMs, we developed a UV–optical–IR color criterion and conducted a spectroscopic survey to confirm each candidate binary. For the newly identified systems, we fit the two components using model white dwarf spectra and M dwarf template spectra to determine physical parameters. We use H α chromospheric emission to examine the magnetic activity of the M dwarf in each system, and investigate how its activity is affected by the presence of a white dwarf companion. We find that the fraction of WD+dM binaries with active M dwarfs is significantly higher than their single M dwarf counterparts at early and mid-spectral types. We corroborate previous studies that find high activity fractions at both close and intermediate separations. At more distant separations, the binary fraction appears to approach the activity fraction for single M dwarfs. Using derived radial velocities and the proper motions, we calculate 3D space velocities for the WD+dMs in SUPERBLINK. For the entire SUPERBLINK WD+dMs, we find a large vertical velocity dispersion, indicating a dynamically hotter population compared to high proper motion samples of single M dwarfs. We compare the kinematics for systems with active M dwarfs and those with inactive M dwarfs, and find signatures of asymmetric drift in the inactive sample, indicating that they are drawn from an older population.

  15. X-RAY AND INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF TWO EXTERNALLY POLLUTED WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jura, M.; Zuckerman, B.; Muno, M. P.; Farihi, J.

    2009-01-01

    With XMM-Newton and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we obtain upper bounds to the X-ray fluxes from G29-38 and GD 362, and the 70 μm flux from G29-38. These data provide indirect evidence that G29-38 is accreting from a tidally disrupted asteroid: it is neither accreting large amounts of hydrogen and helium nor is its surrounding dusty disk being replenished from a reservoir of cold grains experiencing Poynting-Robertson drag. The upper bound to the X-ray flux from GD 362 is consistent with the estimated rate of mass accretion required to explain its pollution by elements heavier than helium. GD 362 also possesses 0.01 M + of hydrogen, an anomalously large amount for a white dwarf with a helium-dominated atmosphere. One possibility is that before the current disk was formed, this hydrogen was accreted either from ∼100 Ceres-like asteroids or one large object. An alternative scenario which simultaneously explains all of GD 362's distinctive properties is that we are witnessing the consequences of the tidal destruction of a single parent body that had internal water and was at least as massive as Callisto and probably as massive as Mars.

  16. The distribution and tapping tidal energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zygmunt Kowalik

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available Tidal power along tidal shores has been used for centuries to run small tidal mills. Generating electricity by tapping tidal power proved to be very successful only in the last century through the tidal power plant constructed in 1967 in La Rance, France. This used a large barrier to generate the sea level head necessary for driving turbines. Construction of such plants evolved very slowly because of prohibitive costs and concerns about the environmental impact. Developments in the construction of small, efficient and inexpensive underwater turbines admit the possibility of small scale operations that will use local tidal currents to bring electricity to remote locations. Since the generation of such electricity is concerned with the tidal energy in local water bodies, it is important to understand the site-specific energy balance, i.e., the energy flowing in through open boundaries, and the energy generated and dissipated within the local domain. The question is how to tap the tidal energy while keeping possible changes in the present tidal regimes to a minimum. The older approach of constructing barrages may still be quite useful in some locations. The basics of such tidal power plants constructed in a small bay are analyzed in order to understand the principal parameter for tidal plant evaluation, i.e., the power produced.     The new approach is to place turbines - devices similar to windmills - in the pathway of tidal currents. Theoretically, the amount of power available by such turbines for electricity generation is proportional to the water density and velocity cubed of the tidal flow. The naturally dissipated tidal power due to bottom friction forces is also proportional to the cube of the velocity. Because of this similarity, the exploitation of tidal energy can be directed to reinvesting the naturally dissipated power into tidal power for the generation of electricity. This approach to tidal power exploitation is better tuned

  17. Activity and Kinematics of White Dwarf-M Dwarf Binaries from the SUPERBLINK Proper Motion Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, Julie N.; Morgan, Dylan P.; West, Andrew A.; Lépine, Sébastien; Thorstensen, John R.

    2017-09-01

    We present an activity and kinematic analysis of high proper motion white dwarf-M dwarf binaries (WD+dMs) found in the SUPERBLINK survey, 178 of which are new identifications. To identify WD+dMs, we developed a UV-optical-IR color criterion and conducted a spectroscopic survey to confirm each candidate binary. For the newly identified systems, we fit the two components using model white dwarf spectra and M dwarf template spectra to determine physical parameters. We use Hα chromospheric emission to examine the magnetic activity of the M dwarf in each system, and investigate how its activity is affected by the presence of a white dwarf companion. We find that the fraction of WD+dM binaries with active M dwarfs is significantly higher than their single M dwarf counterparts at early and mid-spectral types. We corroborate previous studies that find high activity fractions at both close and intermediate separations. At more distant separations, the binary fraction appears to approach the activity fraction for single M dwarfs. Using derived radial velocities and the proper motions, we calculate 3D space velocities for the WD+dMs in SUPERBLINK. For the entire SUPERBLINK WD+dMs, we find a large vertical velocity dispersion, indicating a dynamically hotter population compared to high proper motion samples of single M dwarfs. We compare the kinematics for systems with active M dwarfs and those with inactive M dwarfs, and find signatures of asymmetric drift in the inactive sample, indicating that they are drawn from an older population. Based on observations obtained at the MDM Observatory operated by Dartmouth College, Columbia University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Michigan.

  18. 37 NEW T-TYPE BROWN DWARFS IN THE CANADA-FRANCE BROWN DWARFS SURVEY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albert, Loic; Artigau, Etienne; Delorme, Philippe; Reyle, Celine; Forveille, Thierry; Delfosse, Xavier; Willott, Chris J.

    2011-01-01

    The Canada-France Brown Dwarfs Survey is an i'- and z'-band survey realized with MegaCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope that covers a surface area of 780 deg 2 . Image analysis is now completed while J-band follow-up campaigns are ∼90% done. The survey identified about 70 T dwarf candidates, of which 43 now have near-infrared spectra obtained with NIRI and GNIRS at Gemini and ISAAC at the Very Large Telescope. Six of these were previously published and we present here the 37 new discoveries, all T dwarfs. They range from T0 to T8.5 with four being of type T7 or later. Both newly identified T8 dwarfs are possibly high log (g) massive brown dwarfs of thin disk age. One T4.5 dwarf shows signs of sub-metallicity. We present proper motions and near-infrared photometry, and discuss about the most peculiar/interesting objects in some details.

  19. Mid-Infrared Observations of the White Dwarf Brown Dwarf Binary GD 1400

    OpenAIRE

    Farihi, J.; Zuckerman, B.; Becklin, E. E.

    2005-01-01

    Fluxes are measured for the DA white dwarf plus brown dwarf pair GD 1400 with the Infrared Array Camera on the {\\em Spitzer Space Telescope}. GD 1400 displays an infrared excess over the entire $3-8\\mu$m region consistent with the presence of a mid- to late-type L dwarf companion. A discussion is given regarding current knowledge of this unique system.

  20. Stark Broadening and White Dwarfs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrijević Milan S.

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available White dwarf and pre-white dwarfs are the best types of stars for the application of Stark broadening research results in astrophysics, since in the atmospheres of these stars physical conditions are very favorable for this line broadening mechanism - in hot hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs and pre-white dwarfs Teff = 75 000–180 000 K and log g = 5.5–8 [cgs]. Even for much cooler DA and DB white dwarfs with the typical effective temperatures 10 000-20 000 K, Stark broadening is usually the dominant broadening mechanism. In this review, Stark broadening in white dwarf spectra is considered, and the attention is drawn to the STARK-B database (http://stark-b.obspm.fr/, containing the parameters needed for analysis and synthesis of white dwarf spectra, as well as for the collective efforts to develop the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Center.

  1. Dwarf Mice and Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masternak, Michal M; Darcy, Justin; Victoria, Berta; Bartke, Andrzej

    2018-01-01

    Dwarf mice have been studied for many decades, however, the focus of these studies shifted in 1996 when it was shown by Brown-Borg and her coworkers that Ames dwarf (Prop1 df ) mice are exceptionally long-lived. Since then, Snell dwarf (Pit1 dw ) and growth hormone receptor knockout (GHR-KO, a.k.a. Laron dwarf) mice were also shown to be exceptionally long-lived, presumably due to their growth hormone (GH)-deficiency or -resistance, respectively. What is of equal importance in these dwarf mice is their extended health span, that is, these animals have a longer period of life lived free of frailty and age-related diseases. This review article focuses on recent studies conducted in these dwarf mice, which concerned brown and white adipose tissue biology, microRNA (miRNA) profiling, as well as early-life dietary and hormonal interventions. Results of these studies identify novel mechanisms linking reduced GH action with extensions of both life span and health span. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. Milky Way structure in the space between the Local and Sagittarius branches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuznetsov, V I; Guseva, N G [Kievskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (Ukrainian SSR). Astronomicheskaya Observatoriya; Metreveli, M D [AN Gruzinskoj SSR, Abastumi. Abastumanskaya Astrofizicheskaya Observatoriya

    1980-01-01

    The two areas of the Milky Way with their centres coincident with the open stellar clusters NGC 6823 and NGC 6802 (l=53 deg-63 deg) are studied. NGC 6823 direction passes tangentially along the inner side of the local spiral arm and that of NGC 6802 is located in the area between the local and Sagittarius spiral arms. In each area of 5 deg in diameter the density distribution of different spectral type stars and the dark matter is investigated. The results obtained are compared with the same data for the areas in the spiral arms (l=66 deg, 77 deg, 112 deg, 187 deg). The conclusion is drawn that the area between the spiral arms is characterised by a low density for all spectral type stars and neutal hydrogen and by a high one for the interstellar absorptive matter.

  3. Benchmarking Brown Dwarf Models With a Non-irradiated Transiting Brown Dwarf in Praesepe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beatty, Thomas; Marley, Mark; Line, Michael; Gizis, John

    2018-05-01

    We wish to use 9.4 hours of Spitzer time to observe two eclipses, one each at 3.6um and 4.5um, of the transiting brown dwarf AD 3116b. AD 3116b is a 54.2+/-4.3 MJ, 1.08+/-0.07 RJ object on a 1.98 day orbit about a 3200K M-dwarf. Uniquely, AD 3116 and its host star are both members of Praesepe, a 690+/-60 Myr old open cluster. AD 3116b is thus one of two transiting brown dwarfs for which we have a robust isochronal age that is not dependent upon brown dwarf evolutionary models, and the youngest brown dwarf for which this is the case. Importantly, the flux AD 3116b receives from its host star is only 0.7% of its predicted internal luminosity (Saumon & Marley 2008). This makes AD 3116b the first known transiting brown dwarf that simultaneously has a well-defined age, and that receives a negligible amount of external irradiation, and a unique laboratory to test radius and luminosity predictions from brown dwarf evolutionary models. Our goal is to measure the emission from the brown dwarf. AD 3116b should have large, 25 mmag, eclipse depths in the Spitzer bandpasses, and we expect to measure them with a precision of +/-0.50 mmag at 3.6um and +/-0.54 mmag at 4.5um. This will allow us to make measure AD 3116b?s internal effective temperature to +/-40K. We will also use the upcoming Gaia DR2 parallaxes to measure AD 3116b's absolute IRAC magnitudes and color, and hence determine the cloud properties of the atmosphere. As the only known brown dwarf with an independently measured mass, radius, and age, Spitzer measurements of AD 3116b's luminosity and clouds will provide a critical benchmark for brown dwarf observation and theory.

  4. Marvel-ous Dwarfs: Results from Four Heroically Large Simulated Volumes of Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munshi, Ferah; Brooks, Alyson; Weisz, Daniel; Bellovary, Jillian; Christensen, Charlotte

    2018-01-01

    We present results from high resolution, fully cosmological simulations of cosmic sheets that contain many dwarf galaxies. Together, they create the largest collection of simulated dwarf galaxies to date, with z=0 stellar masses comparable to the LMC or smaller. In total, we have simulated almost 100 luminous dwarf galaxies, forming a sample of simulated dwarfs which span a wide range of physical (stellar and halo mass) and evolutionary properties (merger history). We show how they can be calibrated against a wealth of observations of nearby galaxies including star formation histories, HI masses and kinematics, as well as stellar metallicities. We present preliminary results answering the following key questions: What is the slope of the stellar mass function at extremely low masses? Do halos with HI and no stars exist? What is the scatter in the stellar to halo mass relationship as a function of dwarf mass? What drives the scatter? With this large suite, we are beginning to statistically characterize dwarf galaxies and identify the types and numbers of outliers to expect.

  5. From strange stars to strange dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glendenning, N.K.; Kettner, C.; Weber, F.

    1995-01-01

    We determine all possible equilibrium sequences of compact strange-matter stars with nuclear crusts, which range from massive strange stars to strange white dwarf endash like objects (strange dwarfs). The properties of such stars are compared with those of their nonstrange counterparts emdash neutron stars and ordinary white dwarfs. The main emphasis of this paper is on strange dwarfs, which we divide into two distinct categories. The first one consists of a core of strange matter enveloped within ordinary white dwarf matter. Such stars are hydrostatically stable with or without the strange core and are therefore referred to as open-quote open-quote trivial close-quote close-quote strange dwarfs. This is different for the second category which forms an entirely new class of dwarf stars that contain nuclear material up to 4x10 4 times denser than in ordinary white dwarfs of average mass, M∼0.6 M circle-dot , and still about 400 times denser than in the densest white dwarfs. The entire family of such dwarfs, denoted dense strange dwarfs, owes its hydrostatic stability to the strange core. A striking features of strange dwarfs is that the entire sequence from the maximum-mass strange star to the maximum-mass strange dwarf is stable to radial oscillations. The minimum-mass star is only conditionally stable, and the sequences on both sides are stable. Such a stable, continuous connection does not exist between ordinary white dwarfs and neutron stars, which are known to be separated by a broad range of unstable stars. We find an expansive range of very low mass (planetary-like) strange-matter stars (masses even below 10 -4 M circle-dot are possible) that arise as natural dark-matter candidates, which if abundant enough in our Galaxy, should be seen in the gravitational microlensing searches that are presently being performed. copyright 1995 The American Astronomical Society

  6. Hubble Space Telescope Imaging and Spectral Analysis of Two Brown Dwarf Binaries at the L Dwarf/T Dwarf Transition

    OpenAIRE

    Burgasser, Adam J.; Gagliuffi, Daniella C. Bardalez; Gizis, John E.

    2010-01-01

    We present a detailed examination of the brown dwarf multiples 2MASS J08503593+1057156 and 2MASS J17281150+3948593, both suspected of harboring components that straddle the L dwarf/T dwarf transition. Resolved photometry from Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS show opposite trends in the relative colors of the components, with the secondary of 2MASS J0850+1057 being redder than its primary, while that of 2MASS J1728+3948 is bluer. We determine near-infrared component types by matching combined-lig...

  7. Empirical Tidal Dissipation in Exoplanet Hosts From Tidal Spin-up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penev, Kaloyan; Bouma, L. G.; Winn, Joshua N.; Hartman, Joel D.

    2018-04-01

    Stars with hot Jupiters (HJs) tend to rotate faster than other stars of the same age and mass. This trend has been attributed to tidal interactions between the star and planet. A constraint on the dissipation parameter {Q}\\star {\\prime } follows from the assumption that tides have managed to spin up the star to the observed rate within the age of the system. This technique was applied previously to HATS-18 and WASP-19. Here, we analyze the sample of all 188 known HJs with an orbital period tidal dissipation parameter ({Q}\\star {\\prime }) increases sharply with forcing frequency, from 105 at 0.5 day‑1 to 107 at 2 day‑1. This helps to resolve a number of apparent discrepancies between studies of tidal dissipation in binary stars, HJs, and warm Jupiters. It may also allow for a HJ to damp the obliquity of its host star prior to being destroyed by tidal decay.

  8. Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Michael D; Fish, Vincent L; Doeleman, Sheperd S; Marrone, Daniel P; Plambeck, Richard L; Wardle, John F C; Akiyama, Kazunori; Asada, Keiichi; Beaudoin, Christopher; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Ray; Bower, Geoffrey C; Brinkerink, Christiaan; Broderick, Avery E; Cappallo, Roger; Chael, Andrew A; Crew, Geoffrey B; Dexter, Jason; Dexter, Matt; Freund, Robert; Friberg, Per; Gold, Roman; Gurwell, Mark A; Ho, Paul T P; Honma, Mareki; Inoue, Makoto; Kosowsky, Michael; Krichbaum, Thomas P; Lamb, James; Loeb, Abraham; Lu, Ru-Sen; MacMahon, David; McKinney, Jonathan C; Moran, James M; Narayan, Ramesh; Primiani, Rurik A; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Rogers, Alan E E; Rosenfeld, Katherine; SooHoo, Jason; Tilanus, Remo P J; Titus, Michael; Vertatschitsch, Laura; Weintroub, Jonathan; Wright, Melvyn; Young, Ken H; Zensus, J Anton; Ziurys, Lucy M

    2015-12-04

    Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure. We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. We have found evidence for partially ordered magnetic fields near the event horizon, on scales of ~6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intrahour variability associated with these fields. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  9. The influence of waves on the tidal kinetic energy resource at a tidal stream energy site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillou, Nicolas; Chapalain, Georges; Neill, Simon P.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We model the influence of waves on tidal kinetic energy in the Fromveur Strait. • Numerical results are compared with field data of waves and currents. • The introduction of waves improve predictions of tidal stream power during storm. • Mean spring tidal stream potential is reduced by 12% during extreme wave conditions. • Potential is reduced by 7.8% with waves forces and 5.3% with enhanced friction. - Abstract: Successful deployment of tidal energy converters relies on access to accurate and high resolution numerical assessments of available tidal stream power. However, since suitable tidal stream sites are located in relatively shallow waters of the continental shelf where tidal currents are enhanced, tidal energy converters may experience effects of wind-generated surface-gravity waves. Waves may thus influence tidal currents, and associated kinetic energy, through two non-linear processes: the interaction of wave and current bottom boundary layers, and the generation of wave-induced currents. Here, we develop a three-dimensional tidal circulation model coupled with a phase-averaged wave model to quantify the impact of the waves on the tidal kinetic energy resource of the Fromveur Strait (western Brittany) - a region that has been identified with strong potential for tidal array development. Numerical results are compared with in situ observations of wave parameters (significant wave height, peak period and mean wave direction) and current amplitude and direction 10 m above the seabed (the assumed technology hub height for this region). The introduction of waves is found to improve predictions of tidal stream power at 10 m above the seabed at the measurement site in the Strait, reducing kinetic energy by up to 9% during storm conditions. Synoptic effects of wave radiation stresses and enhanced bottom friction are more specifically identified at the scale of the Strait. Waves contribute to a slight increase in the spatial gradient of

  10. Brown dwarfs as dark galactic halos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, F.C.; Walker, T.P.

    1990-01-01

    The possibility that the dark matter in galactic halos can consist of brown dwarf stars is considered. The radiative signature for such halos consisting solely of brown dwarfs is calculated, and the allowed range of brown dwarf masses, the initial mass function (IMF), the stellar properties, and the density distribution of the galactic halo are discussed. The prediction emission from the halo is compared with existing observations. It is found that, for any IMF of brown dwarfs below the deuterium burning limit, brown dwarf halos are consistent with observations. Brown dwarf halos cannot, however, explain the recently observed near-IR background. It is shown that future satellite missions will either detect brown dwarf halos or place tight constraints on the allowed range of the IMF. 30 refs

  11. Increased Tidal Dissipation Using Advanced Rheological Models: Implications for Io and Tidally Active Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renaud, Joe P.; Henning, Wade G.

    2018-04-01

    The advanced rheological models of Andrade and Sundberg & Cooper are compared to the traditional Maxwell model to understand how each affects the tidal dissipation of heat within rocky bodies. We find both Andrade and Sundberg–Cooper rheologies can produce at least 10× the tidal heating compared to a traditional Maxwell model for a warm (1400–1600 K) Io-like satellite. Sundberg–Cooper can cause even larger dissipation around a critical temperature and frequency. These models allow cooler planets to stay tidally active in the face of orbital perturbations—a condition we term “tidal resilience.” This has implications for the time evolution of tidally active worlds and the long-term equilibria they fall into. For instance, if Io’s interior is better modeled by the Andrade or Sundberg–Cooper rheologies, the number of possible resonance-forming scenarios that still produce a hot, modern Io is expanded, and these scenarios do not require an early formation of the Laplace resonance. The two primary empirical parameters that define the Andrade anelasticity are examined in several phase spaces to provide guidance on how their uncertainties impact tidal outcomes, as laboratory studies continue to constrain their real values. We provide detailed reference tables on the fully general equations required for others to insert the models of Andrade and Sundberg–Cooper into standard tidal formulae. Lastly, we show that advanced rheologies can greatly impact the heating of short-period exoplanets and exomoons, while the properties of tidal resilience could mean a greater number of tidally active worlds among all extrasolar systems.

  12. The radius anomaly in the planet/brown dwarf overlapping mass regime

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baraffe I.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The recent detection of the transit of very massive substellar companions (Deleuil et al. 2008; Bouchy et al. 2010; Anderson et al. 2010; Bakos et al. 2010 provides a strong constraint to planet and brown dwarf formation and migration mechanisms. Whether these objects are brown dwarfs originating from the gravitational collapse of a dense molecular cloud that, at the same time, gave birth to the more massive stellar companion, or whether they are planets that formed through core accretion of solids in the protoplanetary disk can not always be determined unambiguously and the mechanisms responsible for their short orbital distances are not yet fully understood. In this contribution, we examine the possibility to constrain the nature of a massive substellar object from the various observables provided by the combination of Radial Velocity and Photometry measurements (e.g. Mp , Rp , M⋆, Age, a, e.... In a second part, developments in the modeling of tidal evolution at high eccentricity and inclination - as measured for HD 80 606 with e = 0.9337 (Naef et al. 2001 , XO-3 with a stellar obliquity ε⋆  > 37.3 ± 3.7 deg (Hébrard et al. 2008; Winn et al. 2009 and several other exoplanets - are discussed along with their implication in the understanding of the radius anomaly problem of extrasolar giant planets.

  13. Environmental effects on star formation in dwarf galaxies and star clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasetto, Stefano; Cropper, Mark; fujita, Yutaka; Chiosi, Cesare; Grebel, Eva K.

    2015-08-01

    We investigate the competitive role of the different dissipative phenomena acting on the onset of star formation history of gravitationally bound system in an external environment.Ram pressure, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, Rayleigh-Taylor, and tidal forces are accounted separately in an analytical framework and compared in their role in influencing the star forming regions. The two-fluids instability at the interface between a stellar system and its surrounding hotter and less dense environment is related to the star formation processes through a set of differential equations. We present an analytical criterion to elucidate the dependence of star formation in a spherical stellar system on its surrounding environment useful in theoretical interpretations of numerical results as well as observational applications. We show how spherical coordinates naturally enlighten the interpretation of the two-fluids instability in a geometry that directly applies to astrophysical case. Finally, we consider the different signatures of these phenomena in synthetically realized colour-magnitude diagrams of the orbiting system thus investigating the detectability limits of these different effects for future observational projects and their relevance.The theoretical framework developed has direct applications to the cases of dwarf galaxies in galaxy clusters and dwarf galaxies orbiting our Milky Way system, as well as any primordial gas-rich cluster of stars orbiting within its host galaxy.

  14. Testing Gravity Using Dwarf Stars

    OpenAIRE

    Sakstein, Jeremy

    2015-01-01

    Generic scalar-tensor theories of gravity predict deviations from Newtonian physics inside astrophysical bodies. In this paper, we point out that low mass stellar objects, red and brown dwarf stars, are excellent probes of these theories. We calculate two important and potentially observable quantities: the radius of brown dwarfs and the minimum mass for hydrogen burning in red dwarfs. The brown dwarf radius can differ significantly from the GR prediction and upcoming surveys that probe the m...

  15. The galactic population of white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Napiwotzki, Ralf

    2009-01-01

    The contribution of white dwarfs of the different Galactic populations to the stellar content of our Galaxy is only poorly known. Some authors claim a vast population of halo white dwarfs, which would be in accordance with some investigations of the early phases of Galaxy formation claiming a top-heavy initial- mass- function. Here, I present a model of the population of white dwarfs in the Milky Way based on observations of the local white dwarf sample and a standard model of Galactic structure. This model will be used to estimate the space densities of thin disc, thick disc and halo white dwarfs and their contribution to the baryonic mass budget of the Milky Way. One result of this investigation is that white dwarfs of the halo population contribute a large fraction of the Galactic white dwarf number count, but they are not responsible for the lion's share of stellar mass in the Milky Way. Another important result is the substantial contribution of the - often neglected - population of thick disc white dwarfs. Misclassification of thick disc white dwarfs is responsible for overestimates of the halo population in previous investigations.

  16. Dwarfs in ancient Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozma, Chahira

    2006-02-15

    Ancient Egypt was one of the most advanced and productive civilizations in antiquity, spanning 3000 years before the "Christian" era. Ancient Egyptians built colossal temples and magnificent tombs to honor their gods and religious leaders. Their hieroglyphic language, system of organization, and recording of events give contemporary researchers insights into their daily activities. Based on the record left by their art, the ancient Egyptians documented the presence of dwarfs in almost every facet of life. Due to the hot dry climate and natural and artificial mummification, Egypt is a major source of information on achondroplasia in the old world. The remains of dwarfs are abundant and include complete and partial skeletons. Dwarfs were employed as personal attendants, animal tenders, jewelers, and entertainers. Several high-ranking dwarfs especially from the Old Kingdom (2700-2190 BCE) achieved important status and had lavish burial places close to the pyramids. Their costly tombs in the royal cemeteries and the inscriptions on their statutes indicate their high-ranking position in Egyptian society and their close relation to the king. Some of them were Seneb, Pereniankh, Khnumhotpe, and Djeder. There were at least two dwarf gods, Ptah and Bes. The god Ptah was associated with regeneration and rejuvenation. The god Bes was a protector of sexuality, childbirth, women, and children. He was a favored deity particularly during the Greco-Roman period. His temple was recently excavated in the Baharia oasis in the middle of Egypt. The burial sites and artistic sources provide glimpses of the positions of dwarfs in daily life in ancient Egypt. Dwarfs were accepted in ancient Egypt; their recorded daily activities suggest assimilation into daily life, and their disorder was not shown as a physical handicap. Wisdom writings and moral teachings in ancient Egypt commanded respect for dwarfs and other individuals with disabilities. Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  17. Search for brown dwarfs and late M dwarfs in the Hyades and the Pleiades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zuckerman, B.; Becklin, E.E.; Hawaii Univ., Honolulu)

    1987-01-01

    The J and K colors of 14 white dwarfs that are believed to be single stars and members of either the Hyades or Pleiades clusters or the Hyades supercluster were measured, and no indication of any excess 2.2 micron (K) emission above that expected from the white dwarf was found. Based on recently published theoretical cooling curves for brown dwarfs, the existence of any cool companion stars, with masses greater than approximately 0.03 solar mass within a radius of 6 arcsec of eight white dwarfs in the Hyades cluster and greater than approximately 0.015 solar mass toward the single white dwarf in the Pleiades, is ruled out. This latter limit, only 15 Jupiter masses, is probably the lowest that has yet been established for any star by purely infrared techniques. 21 references

  18. Plant distributions along salinity and tidal gradients in Oregon tidal marshes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accurately modeling climate change effects on tidal marshes in the Pacific Northwest requires understanding how plant assemblages and species are presently distributed along gradients of salinity and tidal inundation. We outline on-going field efforts by the EPA and USGS to dete...

  19. Binary Star Orbits. V. The Nearby White Dwarf/Red Dwarf Pair 40 Eri BC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Brian D.; Hartkopf, William I.; Miles, Korie N.

    2017-11-01

    A new relative orbit solution with new dynamical masses is determined for the nearby white dwarf-red dwarf pair 40 Eri BC. The period is 230.09 ± 0.68 years. It is predicted to close slowly over the next half-century, getting as close as 1.″32 in early 2066. We determine masses of 0.575 ± 0.018 {{ M }}⊙ for the white dwarf and 0.2041 ± 0.0064 {{ M }}⊙ for the red dwarf companion. The inconsistency of the masses determined by gravitational redshift and dynamical techniques, due to a premature orbit calculation, no longer exists.

  20. IDENTIFYING STAR STREAMS IN THE MILKY WAY HALO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    King, Charles III; Brown, Warren R.; Geller, Margaret J.; Kenyon, Scott J., E-mail: cking@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: wbrown@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: mgeller@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: skenyon@cfa.harvard.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2012-05-01

    We develop statistical methods for identifying star streams in the halo of the Milky Way that exploit observed spatial and radial velocity distributions. Within a great circle, departures of the observed spatial distribution from random provide a measure of the likelihood of a potential star stream. Comparisons between the radial velocity distribution within a great circle and the radial velocity distribution of the entire sample also measure the statistical significance of potential streams. The radial velocities enable construction of a more powerful joint statistical test for identifying star streams in the Milky Way halo. Applying our method to halo stars in the Hypervelocity Star (HVS) survey, we detect the Sagittarius stream at high significance. Great circle counts and comparisons with theoretical models suggest that the Sagittarius stream comprises 10%-17% of the halo stars in the HVS sample. The population of blue stragglers and blue horizontal branch stars varies along the stream and is a potential probe of the distribution of stellar populations in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy prior to disruption.

  1. IDENTIFYING STAR STREAMS IN THE MILKY WAY HALO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, Charles III; Brown, Warren R.; Geller, Margaret J.; Kenyon, Scott J.

    2012-01-01

    We develop statistical methods for identifying star streams in the halo of the Milky Way that exploit observed spatial and radial velocity distributions. Within a great circle, departures of the observed spatial distribution from random provide a measure of the likelihood of a potential star stream. Comparisons between the radial velocity distribution within a great circle and the radial velocity distribution of the entire sample also measure the statistical significance of potential streams. The radial velocities enable construction of a more powerful joint statistical test for identifying star streams in the Milky Way halo. Applying our method to halo stars in the Hypervelocity Star (HVS) survey, we detect the Sagittarius stream at high significance. Great circle counts and comparisons with theoretical models suggest that the Sagittarius stream comprises 10%-17% of the halo stars in the HVS sample. The population of blue stragglers and blue horizontal branch stars varies along the stream and is a potential probe of the distribution of stellar populations in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy prior to disruption.

  2. The ultracool-field dwarf luminosity-function and space density from the Canada-France Brown Dwarf Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reylé, C.; Delorme, P.; Willott, C. J.; Albert, L.; Delfosse, X.; Forveille, T.; Artigau, E.; Malo, L.; Hill, G. J.; Doyon, R.

    2010-11-01

    Context. Thanks to recent and ongoing large scale surveys, hundreds of brown dwarfs have been discovered in the last decade. The Canada-France Brown Dwarf Survey is a wide-field survey for cool brown dwarfs conducted with the MegaCam camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Aims: Our objectives are to find ultracool brown dwarfs and to constrain the field brown-dwarf luminosity function and the mass function from a large and homogeneous sample of L and T dwarfs. Methods: We identify candidates in CFHT/MegaCam i' and z' images and follow them up with pointed near infrared (NIR) imaging on several telescopes. Halfway through our survey we found ~50 T dwarfs and ~170 L or ultra cool M dwarfs drawn from a larger sample of 1400 candidates with typical ultracool dwarfs i'-z' colours, found in 780 square degrees. Results: We have currently completed the NIR follow-up on a large part of the survey for all candidates from mid-L dwarfs down to the latest T dwarfs known with utracool dwarfs' colours. This allows us to draw on a complete and well defined sample of 102 ultracool dwarfs to investigate the luminosity function and space density of field dwarfs. Conclusions: We found the density of late L5 to T0 dwarfs to be 2.0+0.8-0.7 × 10-3 objects pc-3, the density of T0.5 to T5.5 dwarfs to be 1.4+0.3-0.2 × 10-3 objects pc-3, and the density of T6 to T8 dwarfs to be 5.3+3.1-2.2 × 10-3 objects pc-3. We found that these results agree better with a flat substellar mass function. Three latest dwarfs at the boundary between T and Y dwarfs give the high density 8.3+9.0-5.1 × 10-3 objects pc-3. Although the uncertainties are very large this suggests that many brown dwarfs should be found in this late spectral type range, as expected from the cooling of brown dwarfs, whatever their mass, down to very low temperature. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by

  3. On luminescence bleaching of tidal channel sediments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fruergaard, Mikkel; Pejrup, Morten; Murray, Andrew S.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the processes responsible for bleaching of the quartz OSL signal from tidal channel sediment. Tidal dynamics are expected to play an important role for complete bleaching of tidal sediments. However, no studies have examined the amount of reworking occurring in tidal channels...... and on tidal flats due to the mixing caused by currents and waves. We apply bed level data to evaluate the amount of vertical sediment reworking in modern tidal channels and at a tidal flat. Cycles of deposition and erosion are measured with a bed level sensor, and the results show that gross sedimentation...... was several times higher than net sedimentation. We propose that tidal channel sediment is bleached either on the tidal flat before it is transported to the tidal channels and incorporated in channel-fill successions or, alternatively, on the shallow intertidal part of the channel banks. Based...

  4. The influence of neap-spring tidal variation and wave energy on sediment flux in salt marsh tidal creeks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacy, Jessica; Ferner, Matthew C.; Callaway, John C.

    2018-01-01

    Sediment flux in marsh tidal creeks is commonly used to gage sediment supply to marshes. We conducted a field investigation of temporal variability in sediment flux in tidal creeks in the accreting tidal marsh at China Camp State Park adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), velocity, and depth were measured near the mouths of two tidal creeks during three six-to-ten-week deployments: two in winter and one in summer. Currents, wave properties and SSC were measured in the adjacent shallows. All deployments spanned the largest spring tides of the season. Results show that tidally-averaged suspended-sediment flux (SSF) in the tidal creeks decreased with increasing tidal energy, and SSF was negative (bayward) for tidal cycles with maximum water surface elevation above the marsh plain. Export during the largest spring tides dominated the cumulative SSF measured during the deployments. During ebb tides following the highest tides, velocities exceeded 1 m/s in the narrow tidal creeks, resulting in negative tidally-averaged water flux, and mobilizing sediment from the creek banks or bed. Storm surge also produced negative SSF. Tidally-averaged SSF was positive in wavey conditions with moderate tides. Spring-tide sediment export was about 50% less at a station 130 m further up the tidal creek than at the creek mouth. The negative tidally-averaged water flux near the creek mouth during spring tides indicates that in the lower marsh, some of the water flooding directly across the bay--marsh interface drains through the tidal creeks, and suggests that this interface may be a pathway for sediment supply to the lower marsh as well.

  5. The impact of Faraday effects on polarized black hole images of Sagittarius A*.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Rosales, Alejandra; Dexter, Jason

    2018-05-01

    We study model images and polarization maps of Sagittarius A* at 230 GHz. We post-process GRMHD simulations and perform a fully relativistic radiative transfer calculation of the emitted synchrotron radiation to obtain polarized images for a range of mass accretion rates and electron temperatures. At low accretion rates, the polarization map traces the underlying toroidal magnetic field geometry. At high accretion rates, we find that Faraday rotation internal to the emission region can depolarize and scramble the map. We measure the net linear polarization fraction and find that high accretion rate "jet-disc" models are heavily depolarized and are therefore disfavoured. We show how Event Horizon Telescope measurements of the polarized "correlation length" over the image provide a model-independent upper limit on the strength of these Faraday effects, and constrain plasma properties like the electron temperature and magnetic field strength.

  6. Coastal inlets and tidal basins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Vriend, H.J.; Dronkers, J.; Stive, M.J.F.; Van Dongeren, A.; Wang, J.H.

    2002-01-01

    lecture note: Tidal inlets and their associated basins (lagoons) are a common feature of lowland coasts all around the world. A significant part ofthe world's coastlines is formed by barrier island coasts, and most other tidal coasts are interrupted by estuaries and lagoon inlets. These tidal

  7. The brown dwarf kinematics project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faherty, Jackie K.

    2010-10-01

    Brown dwarfs are a recent addition to the plethora of objects studied in Astronomy. With theoretical masses between 13 and 75 MJupiter , they lack sustained stable Hydrogen burning so they never join the stellar main sequence. They have physical properties similar to both planets and low-mass stars so studies of their population inform on both. The distances and kinematics of brown dwarfs provide key statistical constraints on their ages, moving group membership, absolute brightnesses, evolutionary trends, and multiplicity. Yet, until my thesis, fundamental measurements of parallax and proper motion were made for only a relatively small fraction of the known population. To address this deficiency, I initiated the Brown Dwarf Kinematics (BDKP). Over the past four years I have re-imaged the majority of spectroscopically confirmed field brown dwarfs (or ultracool dwarfs---UCDs) and created the largest proper motion catalog for ultracool dwarfs to date. Using new astrometric information I examined population characteristics such as ages calculated from velocity dispersions and correlations between kinematics and colors. Using proper motions, I identified several new wide co-moving companions and investigated binding energy (and hence formation) limitations as well as the frequency of hierarchical companions. Concurrently over the past four years I have been conducting a parallax survey of 84 UCDs including those showing spectral signatures of youth, metal-poor brown dwarfs, and those within 20 pc of the Sun. Using absolute magnitude relations in J,H, and K, I identified overluminous binary candidates and investigated known flux-reversal binaries. Using current evolutionary models, I compared the MK vs J-K color magnitude diagram to model predictions and found that the low-surface gravity dwarfs are significantly red-ward and underluminous of predictions and a handful of late-type T dwarfs may require thicker clouds to account for their scatter.

  8. White dwarfs - the once and future suns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trimble, V.

    1986-01-01

    The history and properties of white dwarfs (Bessel's conclusion that Sirius and Procyon have invisible companions, Clark's discovery of Sirius B, Adams and Russell's study of white dwarf spectra, Chandrasekhar's explanation of white dwarf structure by equations incorporating quantum mechanics and relativity) are treated. Formation of white dwarfs, degeneracy, binary white dwarfs (and novae and supernovae) are explained. A mystery nearly 50 years old regarding the spectrum of the star Greenwich +70 degrees-8247 has been solved: it involves a stationary line phenomenon and a magnetic field of 300-500 million gauss. Processes being studied in white dwarfs and white dwarf models include gravitational settling, accretion, dredge-up, radiation pressure, and diffusive hydrogen burning

  9. WHITE DWARF-RED DWARF SYSTEMS RESOLVED WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. II. FULL SNAPSHOT SURVEY RESULTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farihi, J.; Hoard, D. W.; Wachter, S.

    2010-01-01

    Results are presented for a Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys high-resolution imaging campaign of 90 white dwarfs with known or suspected low-mass stellar and substellar companions. Of the 72 targets that remain candidate and confirmed white dwarfs with near-infrared excess, 43 are spatially resolved into two or more components, and a total of 12 systems are potentially triples. For 68 systems where a comparison is possible, 50% have significant photometric distance mismatches between their white dwarf and M dwarf components, suggesting that white dwarf parameters derived spectroscopically are often biased due to the cool companion. Interestingly, 9 of the 30 binaries known to have emission lines are found to be visual pairs and hence widely separated, indicating an intrinsically active cool star and not irradiation from the white dwarf. There is a possible, slight deficit of earlier spectral types (bluer colors) among the spatially unresolved companions, exactly the opposite of expectations if significant mass is transferred to the companion during the common envelope phase. Using the best available distance estimates, the low-mass companions to white dwarfs exhibit a bimodal distribution in projected separation. This result supports the hypothesis that during the giant phases of the white dwarf progenitor, any unevolved companions either migrate inward to short periods of hours to days, or outward to periods of hundreds to thousands of years. No intermediate projected separations of a few to several AU are found among these pairs. However, a few double M dwarfs (within triples) are spatially resolved in this range, empirically demonstrating that such separations were readily detectable among the binaries with white dwarfs. A straightforward and testable prediction emerges: all spatially unresolved, low-mass stellar and substellar companions to white dwarfs should be in short-period orbits. This result has implications for substellar companion and

  10. Detecting Changing Polarization Structures in Sagittarius A* with High Frequency VLBI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fish, Vincent L.; Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Broderick, Avery E.; Loeb, Abraham; Rogers, Alan E. E.

    2009-12-01

    Sagittarius A* is the source of near infrared, X-ray, radio, and (sub)millimeter emission associated with the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. In the submillimeter regime, Sgr A* exhibits time-variable linear polarization on timescales corresponding to errors. Although the source-integrated linear polarization fraction in the models is typically only a few percent, the linear polarization fraction on small angular scales can be much higher, enabling the detection of changes in the polarimetric structure of Sgr A* on a wide variety of baselines. The shortest baselines track the source-integrated linear polarization fraction, while longer baselines are sensitive to polarization substructures that are beam-diluted by connected-element interferometry. The detection of periodic variability in source polarization should not be significantly affected even if instrumental polarization terms cannot be calibrated out. As more antennas are included in the (sub)millimeter-VLBI array, observations with full polarization will provide important new diagnostics to help disentangle intrinsic source polarization from Faraday rotation effects in the accretion and outflow region close to the black hole event horizon.

  11. Turning the tide : tidal power in the UK

    OpenAIRE

    Sustainable Development Commission

    2007-01-01

    Contents: Turning the tide : tidal power in the UK -- Executive summary -- Tidal power in the UK : research report 1 : UK tidal resource assessment -- Tidal power in the UK : research report 2 : tidal technologies overview -- Tidal power in the UK : research report 3 : Severn barrage proposals -- Tidal power in the UK : research report 4 : Severn non-barrage options -- Tidal power in the UK : research report 5 : UK case studies. Summarised in the Welsh language version of the executive ...

  12. Tidal energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lochte, H.G.

    1995-01-01

    Together with wave energy, ocean thermal energy, and the often overlooked energy from ocean curents tidal energy belongs to those renewable energy sources that can be subsumed under the generic term of ocean energy. All that these energy sources have in common, however, is that they are found in the ocean. The present article discusses tidal energy with respect to the four principal factors determining the scope of a renewable energy source, namely global, technical, and economic availability and ecological acceptability. (orig.) [de

  13. Phase lag control of tidally reversing mega-ripple geometry and bed stress in tidal inlets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traykovski, P.

    2016-02-01

    Recent observations in the Columbia River Mouth, New River Inlet, and Wasque Shoals have shown that tidally reversing mega-ripples are an ubiquitous bedform morphology in energetic tidal inlets. As the name implies, these bedforms reverse asymmetry and migration direction in each half tidal cycle. With wavelengths of 2 to 5 m and heights of 0.2 to 0.5 m, these bedforms are larger than current formed ripples, but smaller than dunes. Unlike dunes which have a depth dependent geometry, observations indicate the tidally reversing mega-ripples geometry is related to the time dependent tidal flow and independent of depth. Previous empirical relations for predicting the geometry of ripples or dunes do not successfully predict the geometry of these features. A time dependent geometric model was developed that accounts for the reversal of migration and asymmetry to successfully predict bedform geometry. The model requires sufficient sediment transport in each half tidal cycle to reverse the asymmetry before the bedforms begin to grow. Both the observations and model indicate that the complete reversal of asymmetry and development of a steep lee face occurs near or after maximum flow in each half tidal cycle. This phase lag in bedform response to tidal forcing also has important implications for bed stress in tidal inlets. Observations of frictional drag in the Columbia River mouth based on a tidal momentum balance of surface slope over 10 km regressed against quadratic near bed velocity show drag coefficients that fall off as CD U-1.4. Reynolds stress measurements performed using the dual ADV differencing technique show similar relations. The Reynolds stress measurements also show a dramatic asymmetry between accelerating flows and decelerating flows with a factor of 5 increase during deceleration. Pulse coherent Doppler profiles of near bed turbulence indicate that the turbulence is dominated by energetic fluctuations in separation zones downstream of steep lee faces. The

  14. ULTRA-COMPACT HIGH VELOCITY CLOUDS AS MINIHALOS AND DWARF GALAXIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faerman, Yakov; Sternberg, Amiel [Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978 (Israel); McKee, Christopher F., E-mail: yakovfae@post.tau.ac.il [Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2013-11-10

    We present dark matter minihalo models for the Ultra-Compact, High-Velocity H I Clouds (UCHVCs) recently discovered in the 21 cm ALFALFA survey. We assume gravitational confinement of 10{sup 4} K H I gas by flat-cored dark-matter subhalos within the Local Group. We show that for flat cores, typical (median) tidally stripped cosmological subhalos at redshift z = 0 have dark-matter masses of ∼10{sup 7} M{sub ☉} within the central 300 pc (independent of total halo mass), consistent with the 'Strigari mass scale' observed in low-luminosity dwarf galaxies. Flat-cored subhalos also resolve the mass discrepancy between simulated and observed satellites around the Milky Way. For the UCHVCs, we calculate the photoionization-limited hydrostatic gas profiles for any distance-dependent total observed H I mass and predict the associated (projected) H I half-mass radii, assuming the clouds are embedded in distant (d ∼> 300 kpc) and unstripped subhalos. For a typical UCHVC (0.9 Jy km s{sup –1}), we predict physical H I half-mass radii of 0.18 to 0.35 kpc (or angular sizes of 0.'6 to 2.'1) for distances ranging from 300 kpc to 2 Mpc. As a consistency check, we model the gas-rich dwarf galaxy Leo T, for which there is a well-resolved H I column density profile and a known distance (420 kpc). For Leo T, we find that a subhalo with M{sub 300} = 8 (± 0.2) × 10{sup 6} M{sub ☉} best fits the observed H I profile. We derive an upper limit of P{sub HIM} ∼< 150 cm{sup –3} K for the pressure of any enveloping hot intergalactic medium gas at the distance of Leo T. Our analysis suggests that some of the UCHVCs may in fact constitute a population of 21 cm-selected but optically faint dwarf galaxies in the Local Group.

  15. Asteroseismology of White Dwarf Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Carl J.

    1997-01-01

    The primary purpose of this investigation has been to study various aspects of multimode pulsations in variable white dwarfs. In particular, nonlinear interactions among pulsation modes in white dwarfs (and, to some extent, in other variable stars), analysis of recent observations where such interactions are important, and preliminary work on the effects of crystallization in cool white dwarfs are reported.

  16. SDSS DR7 WHITE DWARF CATALOG

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kleinman, S. J.; Nitta, A. [Gemini Observatory, 670 North A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Kepler, S. O.; Pelisoli, Ingrid; Pecanha, Viviane; Costa, J. E. S. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Koester, D. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universitaet Kiel, D-24098 Kiel (Germany); Krzesinski, J. [Mt. Suhora Observatory, Pedagogical University of Cracow, ul. Podchorazych 2, 30-084 Cracow (Poland); Dufour, P.; Lachapelle, F.-R.; Bergeron, P. [Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, C. P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7 (Canada); Yip, Ching-Wa [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3701 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Harris, Hugh C. [United States Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, 10391 West Naval Observatory Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001-8521 (United States); Eisenstein, Daniel J. [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS 20, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Althaus, L.; Corsico, A., E-mail: hch@nofs.navy.mil [Facultad de Ciencias Astronomicas y Geofisicas, Paseo del Bosque S/N, (1900) La Plata (Argentina)

    2013-01-15

    We present a new catalog of spectroscopically confirmed white dwarf stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 spectroscopic catalog. We find 20,407 white dwarf spectra, representing 19,712 stars, and provide atmospheric model fits to 14,120 DA and 1011 DB white dwarf spectra from 12,843 and 923 stars, respectively. These numbers represent more than a factor of two increase in the total number of white dwarf stars from the previous SDSS white dwarf catalogs based on DR4 data. Our distribution of subtypes varies from previous catalogs due to our more conservative, manual classifications of each star in our catalog, supplementing our automatic fits. In particular, we find a large number of magnetic white dwarf stars whose small Zeeman splittings mimic increased Stark broadening that would otherwise result in an overestimated log g if fit as a non-magnetic white dwarf. We calculate mean DA and DB masses for our clean, non-magnetic sample and find the DB mean mass is statistically larger than that for the DAs.

  17. The late-M dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bessell, M.S.

    1991-01-01

    Far-red spectra and VRIJHK photometry have been obtained for a sample of late-M dwarfs selected on the basis of large reduced red magnitudes from the LHS Catalog. Half of the stars in the three faintest 1 mag bins are late-M stars, the other red stars are metallic-hydride subdwarfs. Relations between various colors for the late-M dwarfs are investigated. Of all the colors I - K most reliably correlates with spectral type. FeH bands near 9900 A are clearly seen in the spectra of all dwarf stars later than M5. Two stars cooler than VB10, and similar in temperature to LHS2924 have been identified; both have H-alpha in emission and appear variable in magnitude and R - I color; one is a flare star. The other stars are of earlier spectral type and resemble W359 and VB8. The observed MI, I - K main sequence is in good agreement with the IG theoretical main sequence of Stringfellow, and the faintest stars could be about 0.09 solar mass red dwarfs or lower mass brown dwarfs. 65 refs

  18. Understanding Brown Dwarf Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marley, Mark S.

    2013-01-01

    Surveys of brown dwarf variability continue to find that roughly half of all brown dwarfs are variable. While variability is observed amongst all types of brown dwarfs, amplitudes are typically greatest for L-T transition objects. In my talk I will discuss the possible physical mechanisms that are responsible for the observed variability. I will particularly focus on comparing and contrasting the effects of changes in atmospheric thermal profile and cloud opacity. The two different mechanisms will produce different variability signatures and I will discuss the extent to which the current datasets constrain both mechanisms. By combining constraints from studies of variability with existing spectral and photometric datasets we can begin to construct and test self-consistent models of brown dwarf atmospheres. These models not only aid in the interpretation of existing objects but also inform studies of directly imaged giant planets.

  19. Evolution models of helium white dwarf-main-sequence star merger remnants: the mass distribution of single low-mass white dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xianfei; Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon; Bi, Shaolan

    2018-02-01

    It is not known how single white dwarfs with masses less than 0.5Msolar -- low-mass white dwarfs -- are formed. One way in which such a white dwarf might be formed is after the merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence star that produces a red giant branch star and fails to ignite helium. We use a stellar-evolution code to compute models of the remnants of these mergers and find a relation between the pre-merger masses and the final white dwarf mass. Combining our results with a model population, we predict that the mass distribution of single low-mass white dwarfs formed through this channel spans the range 0.37 to 0.5Msolar and peaks between 0.45 and 0.46Msolar. Helium white dwarf--main-sequence star mergers can also lead to the formation of single helium white dwarfs with masses up to 0.51Msolar. In our model the Galactic formation rate of single low-mass white dwarfs through this channel is about 8.7X10^-3yr^-1. Comparing our models with observations, we find that the majority of single low-mass white dwarfs (<0.5Msolar) are formed from helium white dwarf--main-sequence star mergers, at a rate which is about $2$ per cent of the total white dwarf formation rate.

  20. Tidal alignment of galaxies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blazek, Jonathan; Vlah, Zvonimir; Seljak, Uroš

    2015-08-01

    We develop an analytic model for galaxy intrinsic alignments (IA) based on the theory of tidal alignment. We calculate all relevant nonlinear corrections at one-loop order, including effects from nonlinear density evolution, galaxy biasing, and source density weighting. Contributions from density weighting are found to be particularly important and lead to bias dependence of the IA amplitude, even on large scales. This effect may be responsible for much of the luminosity dependence in IA observations. The increase in IA amplitude for more highly biased galaxies reflects their locations in regions with large tidal fields. We also consider the impact of smoothing the tidal field on halo scales. We compare the performance of this consistent nonlinear model in describing the observed alignment of luminous red galaxies with the linear model as well as the frequently used "nonlinear alignment model," finding a significant improvement on small and intermediate scales. We also show that the cross-correlation between density and IA (the "GI" term) can be effectively separated into source alignment and source clustering, and we accurately model the observed alignment down to the one-halo regime using the tidal field from the fully nonlinear halo-matter cross correlation. Inside the one-halo regime, the average alignment of galaxies with density tracers no longer follows the tidal alignment prediction, likely reflecting nonlinear processes that must be considered when modeling IA on these scales. Finally, we discuss tidal alignment in the context of cosmic shear measurements.

  1. A 3.5-million Solar Masses Black Hole in the Centre of the Ultracompact Dwarf Galaxy Fornax UCD3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afanasiev, Anton V.; Chilingarian, Igor V.; Mieske, Steffen; Voggel, Karina T.; Picotti, Arianna; Hilker, Michael; Seth, Anil; Neumayer, Nadine; Frank, Matthias; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Hau, George; Baumgardt, Holger; Ahn, Christopher; Strader, Jay; den Brok, Mark; McDermid, Richard; Spitler, Lee; Brodie, Jean; Walsh, Jonelle L.

    2018-04-01

    The origin of ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs), a class of compact stellar systems discovered two decades ago, still remains a matter of debate. Recent discoveries of central supermassive black holes in UCDs likely inherited from their massive progenitor galaxies provide support for the tidal stripping hypothesis. At the same time, on statistical grounds, some massive UCDs might be representatives of the high luminosity tail of the globular cluster luminosity function. Here we present a detection of a 3.3^{+1.4}_{-1.2}× 10^6 M_{⊙} black hole (1σ uncertainty) in the centre of the UCD3 galaxy in the Fornax cluster, that corresponds to 4 per cent of its stellar mass. We performed isotropic Jeans dynamical modelling of UCD3 using internal kinematics derived from adaptive optics assisted observations with the SINFONI spectrograph and seeing limited data collected with the FLAMES spectrograph at the ESO VLT. We rule out the zero black hole mass at the 3σ confidence level when adopting a mass-to-light ratio inferred from stellar populations. This is the fourth supermassive black hole found in a UCD and the first one in the Fornax cluster. Similarly to other known UCDs that harbour black holes, UCD3 hosts metal rich stars enhanced in α-elements that supports the tidal stripping of a massive progenitor as its likely formation scenario. We estimate that up to 80 per cent of luminous UCDs in galaxy clusters host central black holes. This fraction should be lower for UCDs in groups, because their progenitors are more likely to be dwarf galaxies, which do not tend to host central black holes.

  2. EROS 2 proper motion survey a field brown dwarf and an L dwarf companion to LHS 102

    CERN Document Server

    Goldman, B; Forveille, T; Afonso, C; Alard, C; Albert, J N; Andersen, J; Ansari, R; Aubourg, E; Bareyre, P; Bauer, F; Beaulieu, J P; Borsenberger, J; Bouquet, A; Char, S; Charlot, X; Couchot, F; Coutures, C; Derue, F; Ferlet, R; Fouqué, P; Glicenstein, J F; Gould, A; Graff, D S; Gros, M H; Haïssinski, J; Hamilton, J C; Hardin, D P; De Kat, J; Kim, A; Lasserre, T; Lesquoy, E; Loup, C; Magneville, C; Mansoux, B; Marquette, J B; Martín, E L; Maurice, E; Milshtein, A I; Moniez, M; Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie; Perdereau, O; Prévôt, L; Regnault, N; Rich, J; Spiro, Michel; Vidal-Madjar, A; Virgoux, L; Zylberajch, S

    1999-01-01

    We report the discovery of two L dwarfs (the new spectral class defined for dwarfs cooler than the M type) in a two-epoch CCD proper motion survey of 413 square degrees, complemented by infrared photometry from DENIS. One of them has a strong lithium line and is therefore a brown dwarf. The other is a common proper motion companion to the mid-M dwarf LHS 102 (GJ 1001), which has a well determined trigonometric parallax. LHS 102B is thus the coolest L dwarf of known distance and luminosity. Its infrared absolute photometry are very well reproduced by the Allard et al DUSTY models.

  3. The Galaxy's Eating Habits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putman, M. E.; Thom, C.; Gibson, B. K.; Staveley-Smith, L.

    2004-06-01

    The possibility of a gaseous halo stream which was stripped from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy is presented. The total mass of the neutral hydrogen along the orbit of the Sgr dwarf in the direction of the Galactic Anti-Center is 4 - 10 × 106 M⊙ (at 36 kpc, the distance to the stellar debris in this region). Both the stellar and gaseous components have negative velocities in this part of the sky, but the gaseous component extends to higher negative velocities. We suggest this gaseous stream was stripped from the main body of the dwarf 0.2 - 0.3 Gyr ago during its current orbit after a passage through a diffuse edge of the Galactic disk with a density > 10-4 cm-3. The gas would then represent the dwarf's last source of star formation fuel and explains how the galaxy was forming stars 0.5-2 Gyr ago.

  4. Suites of dwarfs around Nearby giant galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karachentsev, Igor D.; Kaisina, Elena I.; Makarov, Dmitry I.

    2014-01-01

    The Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (UNGC) contains the most comprehensive summary of distances, radial velocities, and luminosities for 800 galaxies located within 11 Mpc from us. The high density of observables in the UNGC makes this sample indispensable for checking results of N-body simulations of cosmic structures on a ∼1 Mpc scale. The environment of each galaxy in the UNGC was characterized by a tidal index Θ 1 , depending on the separation and mass of the galaxy's main disturber (MD). We grouped UNGC galaxies with a common MD in suites, and ranked suite members according to their Θ 1 . All suite members with positive Θ 1 are assumed to be physical companions of the MD. About 58% of the sample are members of physical groups. The distribution of suites by the number of members, n, follows a relation N(n) ∼ n –2 . The 20 most populated suites contain 468 galaxies, i.e., 59% of the UNGC sample. The fraction of MDs among the brightest galaxies is almost 100% and drops to 50% at M B = –18 m . We discuss various properties of MDs, as well as galaxies belonging to their suites. The suite abundance practically does not depend on the morphological type, linear diameter, or hydrogen mass of the MD, the tightest correlation being with the MD dynamical mass. Dwarf galaxies around MDs exhibit well-known segregation effects: the population of the outskirts has later morphological types, richer H I contents, and higher rates of star formation activity. Nevertheless, there are some intriguing cases where dwarf spheroidal galaxies occur at the far periphery of the suites, as well as some late-type dwarfs residing close to MDs. Comparing simulation results with galaxy groups, most studies assume the Local Group is fairly typical. However, we recognize that the nearby groups significantly differ from each other and there is considerable variation in their properties. The suites of companions around the Milky Way and M31, consisting of the Local Group, do not

  5. TIDAL FRICTION AND TIDAL LAGGING. APPLICABILITY LIMITATIONS OF A POPULAR FORMULA FOR THE TIDAL TORQUE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Efroimsky, Michael; Makarov, Valeri V.

    2013-01-01

    Tidal torques play a key role in rotational dynamics of celestial bodies. They govern these bodies' tidal despinning and also participate in the subtle process of entrapment of these bodies into spin-orbit resonances. This makes tidal torques directly relevant to the studies of habitability of planets and their moons. Our work begins with an explanation of how friction and lagging should be built into the theory of bodily tides. Although much of this material can be found in various publications, a short but self-consistent summary on the topic has been lacking in the hitherto literature, and we are filling the gap. After these preparations, we address a popular concise formula for the tidal torque, which is often used in the literature, for planets or stars. We explain why the derivation of this expression, offered in the paper by Goldreich and in the books by Kaula (Equation (4.5.29)) and Murray and Dermott (Equation (4.159)), implicitly sets the time lag to be frequency independent. Accordingly, the ensuing expression for the torque can be applied only to bodies having a very special (and very hypothetical) rheology which makes the time lag frequency independent, i.e., the same for all Fourier modes in the spectrum of tide. This expression for the torque should not be used for bodies of other rheologies. Specifically, the expression cannot be combined with an extra assertion of the geometric lag being constant, because at finite eccentricities the said assumption is incompatible with the constant-time-lag condition.

  6. TIDAL FRICTION AND TIDAL LAGGING. APPLICABILITY LIMITATIONS OF A POPULAR FORMULA FOR THE TIDAL TORQUE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Efroimsky, Michael; Makarov, Valeri V., E-mail: michael.efroimsky@usno.navy.mil, E-mail: vvm@usno.navy.mil [US Naval Observatory, Washington, DC 20392 (United States)

    2013-02-10

    Tidal torques play a key role in rotational dynamics of celestial bodies. They govern these bodies' tidal despinning and also participate in the subtle process of entrapment of these bodies into spin-orbit resonances. This makes tidal torques directly relevant to the studies of habitability of planets and their moons. Our work begins with an explanation of how friction and lagging should be built into the theory of bodily tides. Although much of this material can be found in various publications, a short but self-consistent summary on the topic has been lacking in the hitherto literature, and we are filling the gap. After these preparations, we address a popular concise formula for the tidal torque, which is often used in the literature, for planets or stars. We explain why the derivation of this expression, offered in the paper by Goldreich and in the books by Kaula (Equation (4.5.29)) and Murray and Dermott (Equation (4.159)), implicitly sets the time lag to be frequency independent. Accordingly, the ensuing expression for the torque can be applied only to bodies having a very special (and very hypothetical) rheology which makes the time lag frequency independent, i.e., the same for all Fourier modes in the spectrum of tide. This expression for the torque should not be used for bodies of other rheologies. Specifically, the expression cannot be combined with an extra assertion of the geometric lag being constant, because at finite eccentricities the said assumption is incompatible with the constant-time-lag condition.

  7. Infrared photometry of cool white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wickramasinghe, D.T.; Allen, D.A.; Bessell, M.S.

    1982-01-01

    The results are presented of a search for the effects of pressure induced H 2 dipole opacity on the infrared JHK magnitudes of cool white dwarfs. LHS 1126 is found to be a very cool (Tsub(e) approximately 4250 K) DC white dwarf with a H rich atmospheric composition dominated by H 2 dipole opacity in the infrared. JHK photometry also favours a H rich atmospheric composition for the DK white dwarfs LP 658-2 and W 489. The surprisingly high proportion of hydrogen rich white dwarfs in the sample appears to suggest that the mechanism which inhibits the accretion of hydrogen in the hotter helium stars becomes less effective at low (Tsub(e) approximately 3 + ion in cool hydrogen rich white dwarf atmospheres is pointed out and it is suggested that the opacity due to this ion may be responsible for the blanketing observed in the U and B magnitudes of some cool white dwarfs. (author)

  8. The Hunt for Missing Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2015-11-01

    Theories of galaxy formation and evolution predict that there should be significantly more dwarf galaxies than have been observed. Are our theories wrong? Or are dwarf galaxies just difficult to detect? Recent results from a survey of a galaxy cluster 62 million light-years away suggest there may be lots of undiscovered dwarf galaxies hiding throughout the universe!Hiding in FaintnessThe missing dwarf problem has had hints of a resolution with the recent discovery of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs) in the Coma and Virgo galaxy clusters. UDGs have low masses and large radii, resulting in a very low surface brightness that makes them extremely difficult to detect. If many dwarfs are UDGs, this could well explain why weve been missing them!But the Coma and Virgo galaxy clusters are similar in that theyre both very massive. Are there UDGs in other galaxy clusters as well? To answer this question, an international team of scientists is running the Next Generation Fornax Survey (NGFS), a survey searching for faint dwarf galaxies in the central 30 square degrees of the Fornax galaxy cluster.The NGFS uses near-UV and optical observations from the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the 4m Blanco Telescope in Chile. The survey is still underway, but in a recent publication led by Roberto P. Muoz (Institute of Astrophysics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), the team has released an overview of the first results from only the central 3 square degrees of the NGFS field.Surprising DetectionGalaxy radii vs. their absolute i-band magnitudes, for the dwarfs found in NGFS as well as other stellar systems in the nearby universe. The NGFS dwarfs are similar to the ultra-diffuse dwarfs found in the Virgo and Coma clusters, but are several orders of magnitude fainter. [Muoz et al. 2015]In just this small central field, the team has found an astounding 284 low-surface-brightness dwarf galaxy candidates 158 of them previously undetected. At the bright end of this sample are dwarf

  9. Lists of semi-dwarf cereal stocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    The lists are prepared in relation to the Co-ordinated Research Programme. At the first Research Co-ordination Meeting on evaluation of cereal semi-dwarf mutants for cross breeding, March 1981, programme participants were requested to list semi-dwarf mutants available at their institutes including also non-induced semi-dwarf stocks being used in cross-breeding programme for short stature. List-I is prepared from such lists provided by programme participants. Further it was requested to name breeders and institutes providing characteristics of the listed semi-dwarf stocks. List-II gives that information. In the List-I: Parents of semi-dwarf stocks derived from cross breeding, are shown in brackets. In column ''Culm length'', figures are in cm and those of parent cultivars are shown in brackets

  10. Pulsations in white dwarf stars

    OpenAIRE

    Van Grootel, Valérie; Fontaine, Gilles; Brassard, Pierre; Dupret, Marc-Antoine

    2017-01-01

    I will present a description of the six distinct families of pulsating white dwarfs that are currently known. Pulsations are present at various stages of the evolution (from hot, pre-white dwarfs to cool white dwarfs), at various stellar masses, and for various atmospheric compositions. In all of them, a mechanism linked to opacity changes along the evolution drives the oscillations. The existence of these oscillations offers the opportunity to apply asteroseismology for constraining physics ...

  11. NGC 5291: Implications for the Formation of Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malphrus, Benjamin K.; Simpson, Caroline E.; Gottesman, S. T.; Hawarden, Timothy G.

    1997-01-01

    The possible formation and evolution of dwarf irregular galaxies from material derived from perturbed evolved galaxies is addressed via an H I study of a likely example, the peculiar system NGC 5291. This system, located in the western outskirts of the cluster Abell 3574, contains the lenticular galaxy NGC 5291 which is in close proximity to a disturbed companion and is flanked by an extensive complex of numerous knots extending roughly 4 min north and 4 min south of the galaxy. In an initial optical and radio study, Longmore et al. (1979, MNRAS, 188, 285) showed that these knots have the spectra of vigorous star-forming regions, and suggested that some may in fact be young dwarf irregular galaxies. High resolution 21-cm line observations taken with the VLA are presented here and reveal that the H I distribution associated with this system encompasses not only the entire N-S complex of optical knots, but also forms an incomplete ring or tail that extends approximately 3 min to the west. The H I associated with NGC 5291 itself shows a high velocity range; the Seashell is not detected. The formation mechanism for this unusual system is unclear and two models - a large, low-luminosity ram-swept disk, and a ram-swept interaction-are discussed. The H I in the system contains numerous concentrations, mostly along the N-S arc of the star-forming complexes, which generally coincide with one or more optical knots; the larger H I features contain several x 10(exp 9) solar mass of gas. Each of the knots is compared to a set of criteria designed to determine if these objects are bound against their own internal kinetic energy and are tidally stable relative to the host galaxy. An analysis of the properties of the H I concentrations surrounding the optical star-forming complexes indicates that at least the largest of these is a bound system; it also possesses a stellar component. It is suggested that this object is a genuinely young dwarf irregular galaxy that has evolved from

  12. White dwarfs in the WTS: Eclipsing binaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burleigh M.R.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available We have identified photometric white dwarf candidates in the WFCAM transit survey through a reduced proper motion versus colour approach. Box-fitting with parameters adjusted to detect the unique signature of a white dwarf + planet/brown dwarf transit/eclipse event was performed, as well as looking for variability due to the irradiation of the companions atmosphere by the white dwarf's high UV flux. We have also performed a simple sensitivity analysis in order to assess the ability of the survey to detect companions to white dwarfs via the transit method.

  13. Environmental consequences of tidal power in a hyper-tidal muddy regime: the Severn estuary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirby, R.

    1997-01-01

    Muddy hyper-tidal regimes, such as the Severn Estuary in the UK, are especially difficult for plants and animals. The difficulties stem from the semi-diurnal and semi-lunar energy fluctuations. On spring tides entrained fine sediment induces elevated suspended sediment concentrations such that photosynthesis is inhibited. On neap tides much of the entrained fine sediment is deposited on the sub-tidal bed over periods of several days to form ephemeral dense layers, which reach in excess of 100 G/l and rapidly become anaerobic on stagnation. Such occasional bed faunas as develop are characterised by very large numbers of immature individuals of a few species. One of the few organisms able to cope with the extreme conditions is the siliceous reef-building worn Sabellaria. Arising from the long term suppression in its calcareous fauna, erosion and winnowing of these Holocene clays fails to give rise to lag shell deposits, called chenier ridges, found elsewhere in eroding muddy inter-tidal systems. A tidal power barrage would shift the regime from hyper-tidal to macro-tidal decrease in turbidity would permit photosynthesis and phytoplankton growth, so stimulating the higher food chain. Ironically, perhaps, cleaning up the sewage discharges in the estuary, in the absence of barrage construction would lead to a wading bird crash whereas barrage construction would lead to an improved carrying capacity. (author)

  14. Habitability of planets around red dwarf stars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heath, M J; Doyle, L R; Joshi, M M; Haberle, R M

    1999-08-01

    Recent models indicate that relatively moderate climates could exist on Earth-sized planets in synchronous rotation around red dwarf stars. Investigation of the global water cycle, availability of photosynthetically active radiation in red dwarf sunlight, and the biological implications of stellar flares, which can be frequent for red dwarfs, suggests that higher plant habitability of red dwarf planets may be possible.

  15. A systematic search for brown dwarfs orbiting nearby stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henry, T.J.; Mccarthy, D.W. Jr.

    1990-01-01

    Survey data for brown dwarf and stellar companions relative to known M dwarf stars within 5 pc north of -30 deg are analyzed. A region 0.2 to 5 arcsec in radius around 27 stars at the IR H and K bands are examined using IR speckle interferometry. The frequency of binary versus single M dwarfs in the solar neighborhood is examined. The IR mass-magnitude relations and mass-luminosity-age relation are studied. The data reveal that there are 19 single M dwarfs, 8 M dwarf binaries, 1 M dwarf triple system, and 1 M dwarf in a triple system for M dwarfs within 5 pc north of -30 deg. Also of the 27 M dwarfs studied none was found to have a brown dwarf companion. 64 refs

  16. Dwarf galaxies in the coma cluster: Star formation properties and evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Derek M.

    in the process of being quenched or were only recently quenched. We modeled the quenching timescales for transition galaxies, or “green valley” objects, and found that the majority are quenched in less than 1 Gyr. This timescale is consistent with rapid dynamical processes that are active in the cluster environment as opposed to the more gradual quenching mechanisms that exist in the group environment. For the passive galaxy population, we have measured an average stellar age of 6-8 Gyr for the red sequence which is consistent with previous studies based on spectroscopic observations. We note that the star formation properties of Coma member galaxies were established from photometry alone, as opposed to using spectroscopic data which are more challenging to obtain for dwarf galaxies. We have measured the faintest UV luminosity functions (LFs) presented for a rich galaxy cluster thus far. The Coma UV LFs are 3.5 mag fainter than previous studies in Coma, and are sufficiently deep that we reach the dwarf passive galaxy population for the first time. We have introduced a new technique for measuring the LF which avoids color selection effects associated with previous methods. The UV LFs constructed separately for star-forming and passive galaxies follow a similar distribution at faint magnitudes, which suggests that the recent quenching of infalling dwarf star-forming galaxies is sufficient to build the dwarf passive population in Coma. The Coma UV LFs show a turnover at faint magnitudes as compared to the field, owing to a deficit of dwarf galaxies with stellar masses below M∗ = 108 M⊙ . We show that the UV LFs for the field behind the Coma cluster are nearly identical to the average field environment, and do not show evidence for a turnover at faint magnitudes. We suspect that the missing dwarf galaxies in Coma are severely disrupted by tidal processes as they are accreted onto the cluster, just prior to reaching the infall region studied here.

  17. The Metallicity of Void Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreckel, K.; Croxall, K.; Groves, B.; van de Weygaert, R.; Pogge, R. W.

    2015-01-01

    The current ΛCDM cosmological model predicts that galaxy evolution proceeds more slowly in lower density environments, suggesting that voids are a prime location to search for relatively pristine galaxies that are representative of the building blocks of early massive galaxies. To test the assumption that void galaxies are more pristine, we compare the evolutionary properties of a sample of dwarf galaxies selected specifically to lie in voids with a sample of similar isolated dwarf galaxies in average density environments. We measure gas-phase oxygen abundances and gas fractions for eight dwarf galaxies (Mr > -16.2), carefully selected to reside within the lowest density environments of seven voids, and apply the same calibrations to existing samples of isolated dwarf galaxies. We find no significant difference between these void dwarf galaxies and the isolated dwarf galaxies, suggesting that dwarf galaxy chemical evolution proceeds independent of the large-scale environment. While this sample is too small to draw strong conclusions, it suggests that external gas accretion is playing a limited role in the chemical evolution of these systems, and that this evolution is instead dominated mainly by the internal secular processes that are linking the simultaneous growth and enrichment of these galaxies.

  18. PERSISTENT ASYMMETRIC STRUCTURE OF SAGITTARIUS A* ON EVENT HORIZON SCALES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fish, Vincent L.; Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Lu, Ru-Sen; Akiyama, Kazunori; Beaudoin, Christopher; Cappallo, Roger; Johnson, Michael D.; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Ray; Chael, Andrew A.; Broderick, Avery E.; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Chan, Chi-Kwan; Alef, Walter; Bertarini, Alessandra; Algaba, Juan Carlos; Asada, Keiichi; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Brinkerink, Christiaan; Chamberlin, Richard

    2016-01-01

    The Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a prime observing target for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which can resolve the 1.3 mm emission from this source on angular scales comparable to that of the general relativistic shadow. Previous EHT observations have used visibility amplitudes to infer the morphology of the millimeter-wavelength emission. Potentially much richer source information is contained in the phases. We report on 1.3 mm phase information on Sgr A* obtained with the EHT on a total of 13 observing nights over four years. Closure phases, which are the sum of visibility phases along a closed triangle of interferometer baselines, are used because they are robust against phase corruptions introduced by instrumentation and the rapidly variable atmosphere. The median closure phase on a triangle including telescopes in California, Hawaii, and Arizona is nonzero. This result conclusively demonstrates that the millimeter emission is asymmetric on scales of a few Schwarzschild radii and can be used to break 180° rotational ambiguities inherent from amplitude data alone. The stability of the sign of the closure phase over most observing nights indicates persistent asymmetry in the image of Sgr A* that is not obscured by refraction due to interstellar electrons along the line of sight

  19. PERSISTENT ASYMMETRIC STRUCTURE OF SAGITTARIUS A* ON EVENT HORIZON SCALES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fish, Vincent L.; Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Lu, Ru-Sen; Akiyama, Kazunori; Beaudoin, Christopher; Cappallo, Roger [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 (United States); Johnson, Michael D.; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Ray; Chael, Andrew A. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Broderick, Avery E. [Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5 (Canada); Psaltis, Dimitrios; Chan, Chi-Kwan [Steward Observatory and Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85721-0065 (United States); Alef, Walter; Bertarini, Alessandra [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Algaba, Juan Carlos [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Asada, Keiichi [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Bower, Geoffrey C. [Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 645 N. A‘ohōkū Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Brinkerink, Christiaan [Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Chamberlin, Richard, E-mail: vfish@haystack.mit.edu [Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, 111 Nowelo Street, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); and others

    2016-04-01

    The Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a prime observing target for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which can resolve the 1.3 mm emission from this source on angular scales comparable to that of the general relativistic shadow. Previous EHT observations have used visibility amplitudes to infer the morphology of the millimeter-wavelength emission. Potentially much richer source information is contained in the phases. We report on 1.3 mm phase information on Sgr A* obtained with the EHT on a total of 13 observing nights over four years. Closure phases, which are the sum of visibility phases along a closed triangle of interferometer baselines, are used because they are robust against phase corruptions introduced by instrumentation and the rapidly variable atmosphere. The median closure phase on a triangle including telescopes in California, Hawaii, and Arizona is nonzero. This result conclusively demonstrates that the millimeter emission is asymmetric on scales of a few Schwarzschild radii and can be used to break 180° rotational ambiguities inherent from amplitude data alone. The stability of the sign of the closure phase over most observing nights indicates persistent asymmetry in the image of Sgr A* that is not obscured by refraction due to interstellar electrons along the line of sight.

  20. Evolution of White Dwarf Stars

    OpenAIRE

    L. G. Althaus

    2001-01-01

    This paper is aimed at presenting the main results we have obtained for the study of the evoution of white dwarf stars. The calculations are carried out by means of a detailed evolutionary code based on an updated physical description. In particular, we briefly discuss the results for the evolution of white dwarfs of different stellar masses and chemical composition, and the evolution of whit e dwarfs in the framework of a varying gravitational constant G scenario as well.

  1. Calibrating Detailed Chemical Analysis of M dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veyette, Mark; Muirhead, Philip Steven; Mann, Andrew; Brewer, John; Allard, France; Homeier, Derek

    2018-01-01

    The ability to perform detailed chemical analysis of Sun-like F-, G-, and K-type stars is a powerful tool with many applications including studying the chemical evolution of the Galaxy, assessing membership in stellar kinematic groups, and constraining planet formation theories. Unfortunately, complications in modeling cooler stellar atmospheres has hindered similar analysis of M-dwarf stars. Large surveys of FGK abundances play an important role in developing methods to measure the compositions of M dwarfs by providing benchmark FGK stars that have widely-separated M dwarf companions. These systems allow us to empirically calibrate metallicity-sensitive features in M dwarf spectra. However, current methods to measure metallicity in M dwarfs from moderate-resolution spectra are limited to measuring overall metallicity and largely rely on astrophysical abundance correlations in stellar populations. In this talk, I will discuss how large, homogeneous catalogs of precise FGK abundances are crucial to advancing chemical analysis of M dwarfs beyond overall metallicity to direct measurements of individual elemental abundances. I will present a new method to analyze high-resolution, NIR spectra of M dwarfs that employs an empirical calibration of synthetic M dwarf spectra to infer effective temperature, Fe abundance, and Ti abundance. This work is a step toward detailed chemical analysis of M dwarfs at a similar precision achieved for FGK stars.

  2. Observations of Superwinds in Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marlowe, A. T.; Heckman, T. M.; Wyse, R.; Schommer, R.

    1993-12-01

    Dwarf galaxies are important in developing our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies, and of the structure in the universe. The concept of supernova-driven mass outflows is a vital ingredient in theories of the structure and evolution of dwarfs galaxies. We have begun a detailed multi-waveband search for outflows in starbursting dwarf galaxies, and have obtained Fabry-Perot images and Echelle spectra of 20 nearby actively-star-forming dwarf galaxies. In about half the sample, the Fabry-Perot Hα images show loops and filaments with sizes of one to a few kpc. The Echelle spectra taken through the loops and filaments show kinematics consistent with expanding bubble-like structures. We describe these data, and present seven dwarfs in our sample that have the strongest evidence of outflows.

  3. Formation of double galaxies by tidal capture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alladin, S.M.; Potdar, A.; Sastry, K.S.

    1975-01-01

    The conditions under which double galaxies may be formed by tidal capture are considered. Estimates for the increase in the internal energy of colliding galaxies due to tidal effects are used to determine the magnitudes Vsub(cap) and Vsub(dis) of the maximum relative velocities at infinite separation required for tidal capture and tidal disruption respectively. A double galaxy will be formed by tidal capture without tidal disruption of a component if Vsub(cap)>Vsub(i) and Vsub(cap)>Vsub(dis) where Vsub(i) is the initial relative speed of the two galaxies at infinite separation. If the two galaxies are of the same dimension, formulation of double galaxies by tidal capture is possible in a close collision either if the two galaxies do not differ much in mass and density distribution or if the more massive galaxy is less centrally concentrated than the other. If it is assumed as statistics suggest, that the mass of a galaxy is proportional to the square of its radius, it follows that the probability of the formation of double galaxies by tidal capture increases with the increase in mass of the galaxies and tidal distribution does not occur in a single collision for any distance of closest approach of the two galaxies. (Auth.)

  4. Evidence for the Translocation of Gibberellin A_3 and Gibberellin-Like Substances in Grafts between Normal, Dwarf_1 and Dwarf_5 Seedlings of Zea mays L.

    OpenAIRE

    M., Katsumi; D.E., Foard; B.O., Phinney; Biology Department, International Christian University; Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University; Department of Biology, University of California

    1983-01-01

    Approach grafts were made between the cut surfaces of mesocotyls from normal and dwarf seedlings of Zea mays L. (maize). The dwarfs were the non-allelic single gene gibberellin mutants, dwarf_1 and dwarf_5. The graft combinations were normal-normal, normal-dwarf_1, normal-dwarf_5, dwarf_1-dwarf_1, dwarf_5-dwarf_5, and dwarf_1-dwarf_5. The grafts were used to demonstrate the movement of gibberellin-like substances across the union. GA_3, added to one member of the graft, resulted in leaf-sheat...

  5. Formation, tidal evolution, and habitability of the Kepler-186 system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bolmont, Emeline; Raymond, Sean N.; Selsis, Franck; Hersant, Franck; Von Paris, Philip; Quintana, Elisa V.; Barclay, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    The Kepler-186 system consists of five planets orbiting an early M dwarf. The planets have physical radii of 1.0-1.50 R ⊕ and orbital periods of 4-130 days. The 1.1 R ⊕ Kepler-186f with a period of 130 days is of particular interest. Its insolation of roughly 0.32 S ⊕ places it within the surface liquid water habitable zone (HZ). We present a multifaceted study of the Kepler-186 system, using two sets of parameters which are consistent with the data and also self-consistent. First, we show that the distribution of planet masses can be roughly reproduced if the planets were accreted from a high surface density disk presumably sculpted by an earlier phase of migration. However, our simulations predict the existence of one to two undetected planets between planets e and f. Next, we present a dynamical analysis of the system including the effect of tides. The timescale for tidal evolution is short enough that the four inner planets must have small obliquities and near-synchronous rotation rates. The tidal evolution of Kepler-186f is slow enough that its current spin state depends on a combination of its initial spin state, its dissipation rate, and the stellar age. Finally, we study the habitability of Kepler-186f with a one-dimensional climate model. The planet's surface temperature can be raised above 273 K with 0.5-5 bars of CO 2 , depending on the amount of N 2 present. Kepler-186f represents a case study of an Earth-sized planet in the cooler regions of the HZ of a cool star.

  6. Tidal controls on earthquake size-frequency statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ide, S.; Yabe, S.; Tanaka, Y.

    2016-12-01

    The possibility that tidal stresses can trigger earthquakes is a long-standing issue in seismology. Except in some special cases, a causal relationship between seismicity and the phase of tidal stress has been rejected on the basis of studies using many small events. However, recently discovered deep tectonic tremors are highly sensitive to tidal stress levels, with the relationship being governed by a nonlinear law according to which the tremor rate increases exponentially with increasing stress; thus, slow deformation (and the probability of earthquakes) may be enhanced during periods of large tidal stress. Here, we show the influence of tidal stress on seismicity by calculating histories of tidal shear stress during the 2-week period before earthquakes. Very large earthquakes tend to occur near the time of maximum tidal stress, but this tendency is not obvious for small earthquakes. Rather, we found that tidal stress controls the earthquake size-frequency statistics; i.e., the fraction of large events increases (i.e. the b-value of the Gutenberg-Richter relation decreases) as the tidal shear stress increases. This correlation is apparent in data from the global catalog and in relatively homogeneous regional catalogues of earthquakes in Japan. The relationship is also reasonable, considering the well-known relationship between stress and the b-value. Our findings indicate that the probability of a tiny rock failure expanding to a gigantic rupture increases with increasing tidal stress levels. This finding has clear implications for probabilistic earthquake forecasting.

  7. PREFACE: 16th European White Dwarfs Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Berro, Enrique; Hernanz, Margarita; Isern, Jordi; Torres, Santiago

    2009-07-01

    The 16th European Workshop on White Dwarfs was held in Barcelona, Spain, from 30 June to 4 July 2008 at the premises of the UPC. Almost 120 participants from Europe (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and several others), America (USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile), and other continents (Australia, South Africa, . . . ) attended the workshop. Among these participants were the most relevant specialists in the field. The topics covered by the conference were: White dwarf structure and evolution Progenitors and Planetary Nebulae White dwarfs in binaries: cataclysmic variables, double degenerates and other binaries White dwarfs, dust disks and planetary systems Atmospheres, chemical composition, magnetic fields Variable white dwarfs White dwarfs in stellar clusters and the halo White Dwarfs as SNIa progenitors The programme included 54 talks, and 45 posters. The oral presentations were distributed into the following sessions: Luminosity function, mass function and populations White dwarf structure and evolution White dwarf ages White dwarf catalogs and surveys Central stars of planetary nebulae Supernovae progenitors White dwarfs in novae and CVs Physical processes in white dwarfs and magnetic white dwarfs Disks, dust and planets around white dwarfs Pulsating white dwarfs Additionally we had a special open session about Spitzer and white dwarfs. The Proceedings of the 16th European Workshop on White Dwarfs are representative of the current state-of-the-art of the research field and include new and exciting results. We acknowledge the very positive attitude of the attendants to the workshop, which stimulated very fruitful discussions that took place in all the sessions and after the official schedule. Also, the meeting allowed new collaborations tp start that will undoubtedly result in significant advances in the research field. We also acknowledge the willingness of the participants to deliver their contributions before the final deadline. We sincerely

  8. Field migration rates of tidal meanders recapitulate fluvial morphodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finotello, Alvise; Lanzoni, Stefano; Ghinassi, Massimiliano; Marani, Marco; Rinaldo, Andrea; D'Alpaos, Andrea

    2018-02-01

    The majority of tidal channels display marked meandering features. Despite their importance in oil-reservoir formation and tidal landscape morphology, questions remain on whether tidal-meander dynamics could be understood in terms of fluvial processes and theory. Key differences suggest otherwise, like the periodic reversal of landscape-forming tidal flows and the widely accepted empirical notion that tidal meanders are stable landscape features, in stark contrast with their migrating fluvial counterparts. On the contrary, here we show that, once properly normalized, observed migration rates of tidal and fluvial meanders are remarkably similar. Key to normalization is the role of tidal channel width that responds to the strong spatial gradients of landscape-forming flow rates and tidal prisms. We find that migration dynamics of tidal meanders agree with nonlinear theories for river meander evolution. Our results challenge the conventional view of tidal channels as stable landscape features and suggest that meandering tidal channels recapitulate many fluvial counterparts owing to large gradients of tidal prisms across meander wavelengths.

  9. Assessment of tidal circulation and tidal current asymmetry in the Iroise sea with specific emphasis on characterization of tidal energy resources around the Ushant Island.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiébaut, Maxime; Sentchev, Alexei

    2015-04-01

    We use the current velocity time series recorded by High Frequency Radars (HFR) to study circulation in highly energetic tidal basin - the Iroise sea. We focus on the analysis of tidal current pattern around the Ushant Island which is a promising site of tidal energy. The analysis reveals surface current speeds reaching 4 m/s in the North of Ushant Island and in the Fromveur Strait. In these regions 1 m/s is exceeded 60% of time and up to 70% of time in center of Fromveur. This velocity value is particularly interesting because it represents the cut-in-speed of the most of marine turbine devices. Tidal current asymmetry is not always considered in tidal energy site selection. However, this quantity plays an important role in the quantification of hydrokinetic resources. Current velocity times series recorded by HFR highlights the existence of a pronounced asymmetry in current magnitude between the flood and ebb tide ranging from -0.5 to more 2.5. Power output of free-stream devices depends to velocity cubed. Thus a small current asymmetry can generate a significant power output asymmetry. Spatial distribution of asymmetry coefficient shows persistent pattern and fine scale structure which were quantified with high degree of accuracy. The particular asymmetry evolution on both side of Fromveur strait is related to the spatial distribution of the phase lag of the principal semi-diurnal tidal constituent M2 and its higher order harmonics. In Fromveur, the asymmetry is reinforced due to the high velocity magnitude of the sixth-diurnal tidal harmonics. HF radar provides surface velocity speed, however the quantification of hydrokinetic resources has to take into account the decreasing of velocity with depth. In order to highlight this phenomenon, we plot several velocity profiles given by an ADCP which was installed in the HFR study area during the same period. The mean velocity in the water column calculated by using the ADCP data show that it is about 80% of the

  10. Seasonal variability of tidal and non-tidal currents off Beypore, SW coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    DineshKumar, P.K.; Srinivas, K.; AnilKumar, N.

    and summer monsoon seasons of year 2000. Information on tidal signals contained in the currents were extracted using harmonic analysis - Least Squares Method and non-tidal component were analyzed using the Chi sub(o) filter. The study established...

  11. SpeX Spectroscopy of Unresolved Very Low-Mass Binaries. I. Identification of Seventeen Candidate Binaries Straddling the L Dwarf/T Dwarf Transition

    OpenAIRE

    Burgasser, Adam J.; Cruz, Kelle L.; Cushing, Michael C.; Gelino, Christopher R.; Looper, Dagny L.; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Reid, I. Neill

    2009-01-01

    We report the identification of 17 candidate brown dwarf binaries whose components straddle the L dwarf/T dwarf transition. These sources were culled from a large near-infrared spectral sample of L and T dwarfs observed with the Infrared Telescope Facility SpeX spectrograph. Candidates were selected on the basis of spectral ratios which segregate known (resolved) L dwarf/T dwarf pairs from presumably single sources. Composite templates, constructed by combining 13581 pairs of absolute flux-ca...

  12. Remnants of strong tidal interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mcglynn, T.A.

    1990-01-01

    This paper examines the properties of stellar systems that have recently undergone a strong tidal shock, i.e., a shock which removes a significant fraction of the particles in the system, and where the shocked system has a much smaller mass than the producer of the tidal field. N-body calculations of King models shocked in a variety of ways are performed, and the consequences of the shocks are investigated. The results confirm the prediction of Jaffe for shocked systems. Several models are also run where the tidal forces on the system are constant, simulating a circular orbit around a primary, and the development of tidal radii under these static conditions appears to be a mild process which does not dramatically affect material that is not stripped. The tidal radii are about twice as large as classical formulas would predict. Remnant density profiles are compared with a sample of elliptical galaxies, and the implications of the results for the development of stellar populations and galaxies are considered. 38 refs

  13. Quantum liquid signatures in dwarf stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gabadadze, Gregory; Pirtskhalava, David, E-mail: gg32@nyu.edu, E-mail: dmp371@nyu.edu [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

    2009-05-15

    We develop further the proposal of arXiv:0806.3692 that a new state of matter - charged condensate of spin-0 nuclei - may exist in helium-core dwarf stars. The charged condensate and its fluctuations are described by an effective field theory Lagrangian. The spectrum of bosonic fluctuations is gapped, while electrons, at temperatures of interest, give rise to gapless excitations near the Fermi surface. These properties determine the evolution of the dwarfs with condensed cores. In particular, we show that such dwarf stars would cool significantly faster than their crystallized counterparts. As a result, the luminosity function for the helium-core dwarfs will have a sharp drop-off after the condensation. It is tempting to interpret the recently discovered abrupt termination of a sequence of 24 helium-core dwarf candidates in NGC 6397 as a signature of the charged condensation.

  14. Dynamics of tidal and non-tidal currents along the southwest continental shelf of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Aruna, C.; Ravichandran, C.; Srinivas, K.; Rasheed, P.A.A.; Lekshmi, S.

    are predominantly mixed, semidiurnal in nature. Motion over any continental shelf is governed by the tide-driven oscillatory flow. In this paper, tidal and non-tidal characteristics of the waters of Southwest continental shelf of India are assessed using...

  15. An overview of white dwarf stars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charpinet S.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available We present a brief summary of what is currently known about white dwarf stars, with an emphasis on their evolutionary and internal properties. As is well known, white dwarfs represent the end products of stellar evolution for the vast majority of stars and, as such, bear the signatures of past events (such as mass loss, mixing phases, loss and redistribution of angular momentum, and thermonuclear burning that are of essential importance in the evolution of stars in general. In addition, white dwarf stars represent ideal testbeds for our understanding of matter under extreme conditions, and work on their constitutive physics (neutrino production rates, conductive and radiative opacities, interior liquid/solid equations of state, partially ionized and partially degenerate envelope equations of state, diffusion coefficients, line broadening mechanisms is still being actively pursued. Given a set of constitutive physics, cooling white dwarfs can be used advantageously as cosmochronometers. Moreover, the field has been blessed by the existence of four distinct families of pulsating white dwarfs, each mapping a different evolutionary phase, and this allows the application of the asteroseismological method to probe and test their internal structure and evolutionary state. We set the stage for the reviews that follow on cooling white dwarfs as cosmochronometers and physics laboratories, as well as on the properties of pulsating white dwarfs and the asteroseismological results that can be inferred.

  16. A CROSS-MATCH OF 2MASS AND SDSS. II. PECULIAR L DWARFS, UNRESOLVED BINARIES, AND THE SPACE DENSITY OF T DWARF SECONDARIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geissler, Kerstin; Metchev, Stanimir; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Berriman, G. Bruce; Looper, Dagny

    2011-01-01

    We present the completion of a program to cross-correlate the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 1 (SDSS DR1) and Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) Point Source Catalog in search for extremely red L and T dwarfs. The program was initiated by Metchev and collaborators, who presented the findings on all newly identified T dwarfs in SDSS DR1 and estimated the space density of isolated T0-T8 dwarfs in the solar neighborhood. In the current work, we present most of the L dwarf discoveries. Our red-sensitive (z - J ≥ 2.75 mag) cross-match proves to be efficient in detecting peculiarly red L dwarfs, adding two new ones, including one of the reddest known L dwarfs. Our search also nets a new peculiarly blue L7 dwarf and, surprisingly, two M8 dwarfs. We further broaden our analysis to detect unresolved binary L or T dwarfs through spectral template fitting to all L and T dwarfs presented here and in the earlier work by Metchev and collaborators. We identify nine probable binaries, six of which are new and eight harbor likely T dwarf secondaries. We combine this result with current knowledge of the mass ratio distribution and frequency of substellar companions to estimate an overall space density of 0.005-0.05 pc -3 for individual T0-T8 dwarfs.

  17. Merger of white dwarf-neutron star binaries: Prelude to hydrodynamic simulations in general relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paschalidis, Vasileios; MacLeod, Morgan; Baumgarte, Thomas W.; Shapiro, Stuart L.

    2009-01-01

    White dwarf-neutron star binaries generate detectable gravitational radiation. We construct Newtonian equilibrium models of corotational white dwarf-neutron star (WDNS) binaries in circular orbit and find that these models terminate at the Roche limit. At this point the binary will undergo either stable mass transfer (SMT) and evolve on a secular time scale, or unstable mass transfer (UMT), which results in the tidal disruption of the WD. The path a given binary will follow depends primarily on its mass ratio. We analyze the fate of known WDNS binaries and use population synthesis results to estimate the number of LISA-resolved galactic binaries that will undergo either SMT or UMT. We model the quasistationary SMT epoch by solving a set of simple ordinary differential equations and compute the corresponding gravitational waveforms. Finally, we discuss in general terms the possible fate of binaries that undergo UMT and construct approximate Newtonian equilibrium configurations of merged WDNS remnants. We use these configurations to assess plausible outcomes of our future, fully relativistic simulations of these systems. If sufficient WD debris lands on the NS, the remnant may collapse, whereby the gravitational waves from the inspiral, merger, and collapse phases will sweep from LISA through LIGO frequency bands. If the debris forms a disk about the NS, it may fragment and form planets.

  18. Larch Dwarf Mistletoe (FIDL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerome S. Beatty; Gregory M. Filip; Robert L. Mathiason

    1997-01-01

    Larch dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium laricis (Piper) St. John) is a common and damaging parasite of western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) in the Pacific Northwest and southern British Columbia. Larch dwarf mistletoe occurs commonly throughout the range of western larch in British Columbia, northern and central Idaho, western Montana and east of the Cascades in...

  19. Tidal power dams in the Bay of Fundy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walsun, W. van

    1998-01-01

    The challenges of harnessing tidal power and the construction of dams and tidal power plants in a tidal-ocean environment such as the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick are discussed. In the 1966-1988 series of studies, three sites were chosen at the Bay of Fundy as being the most promising, namely (1) site B9 in Minas Basin at the entrance to Cobequid Bay, (2) site A8 at the narrow neck beyond the entrance to Cumberland Basin, and (3) site A6 at the entrance to Shepody Bay. All the sites are located at the head of the Bay of Fundy because that is where the maximum tidal ranges are found and a basin's tidal energy potential is proportional to the square of its tidal range. Site B9 was determined to have the greatest tidal power potential but no plant has ever been built because reports have stated that a solid conventional tidal power barrage at site B9 would increase the tidal range at Boston by as much as 30 cm. Rather than abandoning the site for this reason, an installation consisting of a series of piers from shore to shore with hydraulic turbines mounted in the spaces between piers, was suggested. A simple mathematical model has been developed for determining the operation of this tidal fence. The cost of energy, generated by the tidal fence at site B9 was also calculated. Further studies are suggested to determine the exact environmental effect of the tidal fence on the tidal regime. If environmental problems persist, machines with larger discharge capabilities could be considered to reduce the interference of the fence with natural tidal movements. 9 refs., 6 figs

  20. Star Formation Histories of Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

    OpenAIRE

    Grebel, Eva K.

    2000-01-01

    Properties of nearby dwarf galaxies are briefly discussed. Dwarf galaxies vary widely in their star formation histories, the ages of their subpopulations, and in their enrichment history. Furthermore, many dwarf galaxies show evidence for spatial variations in their star formation history; often in the form of very extended old populations and radial gradients in age and metallicity. Determining factors in dwarf galaxy evolution appear to be both galaxy mass and environment. We may be observi...

  1. Tidal power: trends and developments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This volume covers works and studies on tidal power currently being undertaken, both nationally and internationally. The 20 papers included cover the proposed Mersey barrage, the Severn estuary and several papers on the Severn barrage. The Department of Energy's continued variety of generic work on tidal power and various overseas studies carried out by other experts are also detailed, giving the reader an up to date picture of developments in tidal power worldwide. Separate abstracts have been prepared for the individual papers. (author)

  2. Field migration rates of tidal meanders recapitulate fluvial morphodynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finotello, Alvise; Lanzoni, Stefano; Ghinassi, Massimiliano; Marani, Marco; Rinaldo, Andrea; D'Alpaos, Andrea

    2018-02-13

    The majority of tidal channels display marked meandering features. Despite their importance in oil-reservoir formation and tidal landscape morphology, questions remain on whether tidal-meander dynamics could be understood in terms of fluvial processes and theory. Key differences suggest otherwise, like the periodic reversal of landscape-forming tidal flows and the widely accepted empirical notion that tidal meanders are stable landscape features, in stark contrast with their migrating fluvial counterparts. On the contrary, here we show that, once properly normalized, observed migration rates of tidal and fluvial meanders are remarkably similar. Key to normalization is the role of tidal channel width that responds to the strong spatial gradients of landscape-forming flow rates and tidal prisms. We find that migration dynamics of tidal meanders agree with nonlinear theories for river meander evolution. Our results challenge the conventional view of tidal channels as stable landscape features and suggest that meandering tidal channels recapitulate many fluvial counterparts owing to large gradients of tidal prisms across meander wavelengths. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  3. Evolution models of helium white dwarf--main-sequence star merger remnants: the mass distribution of single low-mass white dwarfs

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Xianfei; Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon; Bi, Shaolan

    2017-01-01

    It is not known how single white dwarfs with masses less than 0.5Msolar -- low-mass white dwarfs -- are formed. One way in which such a white dwarf might be formed is after the merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence star that produces a red giant branch star and fails to ignite helium. We use a stellar-evolution code to compute models of the remnants of these mergers and find a relation between the pre-merger masses and the final white dwarf mass. Combining our results with ...

  4. Hemlock Dwarf Mistletoe (FIDL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul E. Hennon; Jerome S. Beatty; Diane Hildebrand

    2001-01-01

    Hemlock dwarf mistletoe, Arceuthobium tsugense (Rosendahl) G.N. Jones, causes a serious disease of western hemlock and several other tree species along the Pacific Coast of North America. This small, seed-bearing plant lives exclusively as a parasite on living trees. Throughout its range, hemlock dwarf mistletoe occurs in patch-like patterns in the forests. Some...

  5. The effects of tidal range on saltmarsh morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Guillaume; Mudd, Simon

    2017-04-01

    Saltmarshes are highly productive coastal ecosystems that act simultaneously as flood barriers, carbon storage, pollutant filters and nurseries. As halophytic plants trap suspended sediment and decay in the settled strata, innervated platforms emerge from the neighbouring tidal flats, forming sub-vertical scarps on their eroding borders and sub-horizontal pioneer zones in areas of seasonal expansion. These evolutions are subject to two contrasting influences: stochastically generated waves erode scarps and scour tidal flats, whereas tidally-generated currents transport sediment to and from the marsh through the channel network. Hence, the relative power of waves and tidal currents strongly influences saltmarsh evolution, and regional variations in tidal range yield marshes of differing morphologies. We analyse several sheltered saltmarshes to determine how their morphology reflects variations in tidal forcing. Using tidal, topographic and spectral data, we implement an algorithm based on the open-source software LSDTopoTools to automatically identify features such as marsh platforms, tidal flats, erosion scarps, pioneer zones and tidal channels on local Digital Elevation Models. Normalised geometric properties are then computed and compared throughout the spectrum of tidal range, highlighting a notable effect on channel networks, platform geometry and wave exposure. We observe that micro-tidal marshes typically display jagged outlines and multiple islands along with wide, shallow channels. As tidal range increases, we note the progressive disappearance of marsh islands and linearization of scarps, both indicative of higher hydrodynamic stress, along with a structuration of channel networks and the increase of levee volume, suggesting higher sediment input on the platform. Future research will lead to observing and modelling the evolution of saltmarshes under various tidal forcing in order to assess their resilience to environmental change.

  6. Merging white dwarfs and thermonuclear supernovae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kerkwijk, M H

    2013-06-13

    Thermonuclear supernovae result when interaction with a companion reignites nuclear fusion in a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, causing a thermonuclear runaway, a catastrophic gain in pressure and the disintegration of the whole white dwarf. It is usually thought that fusion is reignited in near-pycnonuclear conditions when the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar mass. I briefly describe two long-standing problems faced by this scenario, and the suggestion that these supernovae instead result from mergers of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs, including those that produce sub-Chandrasekhar-mass remnants. I then turn to possible observational tests, in particular, those that test the absence or presence of electron captures during the burning.

  7. A radio-pulsing white dwarf binary star.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, T R; Gänsicke, B T; Hümmerich, S; Hambsch, F-J; Bernhard, K; Lloyd, C; Breedt, E; Stanway, E R; Steeghs, D T; Parsons, S G; Toloza, O; Schreiber, M R; Jonker, P G; van Roestel, J; Kupfer, T; Pala, A F; Dhillon, V S; Hardy, L K; Littlefair, S P; Aungwerojwit, A; Arjyotha, S; Koester, D; Bochinski, J J; Haswell, C A; Frank, P; Wheatley, P J

    2016-09-15

    White dwarfs are compact stars, similar in size to Earth but approximately 200,000 times more massive. Isolated white dwarfs emit most of their power from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, but when in close orbits with less dense stars, white dwarfs can strip material from their companions and the resulting mass transfer can generate atomic line and X-ray emission, as well as near- and mid-infrared radiation if the white dwarf is magnetic. However, even in binaries, white dwarfs are rarely detected at far-infrared or radio frequencies. Here we report the discovery of a white dwarf/cool star binary that emits from X-ray to radio wavelengths. The star, AR Scorpii (henceforth AR Sco), was classified in the early 1970s as a δ-Scuti star, a common variety of periodic variable star. Our observations reveal instead a 3.56-hour period close binary, pulsing in brightness on a period of 1.97 minutes. The pulses are so intense that AR Sco's optical flux can increase by a factor of four within 30 seconds, and they are also detectable at radio frequencies. They reflect the spin of a magnetic white dwarf, which we find to be slowing down on a 10 7 -year timescale. The spin-down power is an order of magnitude larger than that seen in electromagnetic radiation, which, together with an absence of obvious signs of accretion, suggests that AR Sco is primarily spin-powered. Although the pulsations are driven by the white dwarf's spin, they mainly originate from the cool star. AR Sco's broadband spectrum is characteristic of synchrotron radiation, requiring relativistic electrons. These must either originate from near the white dwarf or be generated in situ at the M star through direct interaction with the white dwarf's magnetosphere.

  8. White-dwarf-white-dwarf galactic background in the LISA data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edlund, Jeffrey A.; Tinto, Massimo; Krolak, Andrzej; Nelemans, Gijs

    2005-01-01

    LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a proposed space mission, which will use coherent laser beams exchanged between three remote spacecraft to detect and study low-frequency cosmic gravitational radiation. In the low part of its frequency band, the LISA strain sensitivity will be dominated by the incoherent superposition of hundreds of millions of gravitational wave signals radiated by inspiraling white-dwarf binaries present in our own Galaxy. In order to estimate the magnitude of the LISA response to this background, we have simulated a synthesized population that recently appeared in the literature. Our approach relies on entirely analytic expressions of the LISA time-delay interferometric responses to the gravitational radiation emitted by such systems, which allows us to implement a computationally efficient and accurate simulation of the background in the LISA data. We find the amplitude of the galactic white-dwarf binary background in the LISA data to be modulated in time, reaching a minimum equal to about twice that of the LISA noise for a period of about two months around the time when the Sun-LISA direction is roughly oriented towards the Autumn equinox. This suggests that, during this time period, LISA could search for other gravitational wave signals incoming from directions that are away from the galactic plane. Since the galactic white-dwarf background will be observed by LISA not as a stationary but rather as a cyclostationary random process with a period of 1 yr, we summarize the theory of cyclostationary random processes, present the corresponding generalized spectral method needed to characterize such process, and make a comparison between our analytic results and those obtained by applying our method to the simulated data. We find that, by measuring the generalized spectral components of the white-dwarf background, LISA will be able to infer properties of the distribution of the white-dwarf binary systems present in our Galaxy

  9. Response of dwarf mistletoe-infested ponderosa pine to thinning: 2. Dwarf mistletoe propagation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis F. Roth; James W. Barrett

    1985-01-01

    Propagation of dwarf mistletoe in ponderosa pine saplings is little influenced by thinning overly dense stands to 250 trees per acre. Numerous plants that appear soon after thinning develop from formerly latent plants in the suppressed under-story. Subsequently, dwarf mistletoe propagates nearly as fast as tree crowns enlarge but the rate differs widely among trees....

  10. The economics of tidal energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denny, Eleanor

    2009-01-01

    Concern over global climate change has led policy makers to accept the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This in turn has led to a large growth in clean renewable generation for electricity production. Much emphasis has been on wind generation as it is among the most advanced forms of renewable generation, however, its variable and relatively unpredictable nature result in increased challenges for electricity system operators. Tidal generation on the other hand is almost perfectly forecastable and as such may be a viable alternative to wind generation. This paper calculates the break-even capital cost for tidal generation on a real electricity system. An electricity market model is used to determine the impact of tidal generation on the operating schedules of the conventional units on the system and on the resulting cycling costs, emissions and fuel savings. It is found that for tidal generation to produce positive net benefits for the case study, the capital costs would have to be less than Euro 510,000 per MW installed which is currently an unrealistically low capital cost. Thus, it is concluded that tidal generation is not a viable option for the case system at the present time.

  11. Ecology of tidal freshwater forests in coastal deltaic Louisiana and northeastern South Carolina: Chapter 9

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, William H.; Krauss, Ken W.; Doyle, Thomas W.

    2007-01-01

    were converted to tidal rice fields in the 1700s (Porcher 1995). Canopy members of the present day forests include baldcypress, water tupelo, swamp tupelo (N. biflora Walt.), red maple, and Carolina ash (Fraxinus caroliniana Miller). Subcanopy and shrub species include Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica L.), dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor (Jacquin) Pers.), coastal plain willow (Salix caroliniana Michx.), redbay, and water-elm (Planera aquatica Gmel.).

  12. Tidal sails : an alternative to turbines for harvesting tidal current energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanssen, J.E. [Tidal Sails, Haugesund (Norway)

    2008-07-01

    Tidal sail technology harnesses the energy of tidal streams in order to produce electricity. Tidal currents move the sails that are attached to wires that rotate generator wheels to produce electricity. The technology has a low impact on the surrounding environment and is simple to install. This presentation discussed the methods used to determine the influence of relative sail velocity and measure estimated energy output levels. The sails were recently tested at an on-grid tidal stream pilot in the Norwegian Arctic. A 300 kW turbine installed at the site demonstrated that the site was suitable for a full-scale development of 20 tripod-mounted 600 kW turbines placed at 50 m depth. It was estimated that the 10 strings of 1000 m length provided between 200 and 250 GWh per year. The sails have also been used at a high speed site in Washington state in the United States. The 25 m pilot plant was installed to verify site suitability and examine sail behaviour in real, high-flow currents. It is expected that the technology will be fully commercialized by 2011. Other pilot tests are being conducted to examine flow behaviour; mooring and flotation functionality; and launch and lift capabilities. Engineering work is ongoing to examine plant designs, variable sail spacing, and collaborations with key component suppliers. tabs., figs.

  13. A PETAL OF THE SUNFLOWER: PHOTOMETRY OF THE STELLAR TIDAL STREAM IN THE HALO OF MESSIER 63 (NGC 5055)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chonis, Taylor S.; Martínez-Delgado, David; Gabany, R. Jay; Majewski, Steven R.; Hill, Gary J.; Gralak, Ray; Trujillo, Ignacio

    2011-01-01

    We present deep surface photometry of a very faint, giant arc-loop feature in the halo of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5055 (M63) that is consistent with being a part of a stellar stream resulting from the disruption of a dwarf satellite galaxy. This faint feature was first detected in early photographic studies by van der Kruit; more recently, in the study of Martínez-Delgado and as presented in this work, from the loop has been realized to be the result of a recent minor merger through evidence obtained by wide-field, deep images taken with a telescope of only 0.16 m aperture. The stellar stream is clearly confirmed in additional deep images taken with the 0.5 m telescope of the BlackBird Remote Observatory and the 0.8 m telescope of the McDonald Observatory. This low surface brightness (μ R ≈ 26 mag arcsec –2 ) arc-like structure around the disk of the galaxy extends 14.'0 (∼29 kpc projected) from its center, with a projected width of 1.'6 (∼3.3 kpc). The stream's morphology is consistent with that of the visible part of a giant, 'great-circle' type stellar stream originating from the recent accretion of a ∼10 8 M ☉ dwarf satellite in the last few Gyr. The progenitor satellite's current position and final fate are not conclusive from our data. The color of the stream's stars is consistent with dwarfs in the Local Group and is similar to the outer faint regions of M63's disk and stellar halo. From our photometric study, we detect other low surface brightness 'plumes'; some of these may be extended spiral features related to the galaxy's complex spiral structure, and others may be tidal debris associated with the disruption of the galaxy's outer stellar disk as a result of the accretion event. We are able to differentiate between features related to the tidal stream and faint, blue extended features in the outskirts of the galaxy's disk previously detected by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite. With its highly warped H I gaseous disk (∼20

  14. A Double-line M-dwarf Eclipsing Binary from CSS × SDSS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Chien-Hsiu, E-mail: leech@naoj.org [Subaru Telescope, NAOJ, 650 N Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)

    2017-03-01

    Eclipsing binaries offer a unique opportunity to determine basic stellar properties. With the advent of wide-field camera and all-sky time-domain surveys, thousands of eclipsing binaries have been charted via light curve classification, yet their fundamental properties remain unexplored mainly due to the extensive efforts needed for spectroscopic follow-ups. In this paper, we present the discovery of a short-period ( P  = 0.313 day), double-lined M-dwarf eclipsing binary, CSSJ114804.3+255132/SDSSJ114804.35+255132.6, by cross-matching binary light curves from the Catalina Sky Survey and spectroscopically classified M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We obtain follow-up spectra using the Gemini telescope, enabling us to determine the mass, radius, and temperature of the primary and secondary component to be M {sub 1} = 0.47 ± 0.03(statistic) ± 0.03(systematic) M {sub ⊙}, M {sub 2} = 0.46 ± 0.03(statistic) ± 0.03(systematic) M {sub ⊙}, R {sub 1} = 0.52 ± 0.08(statistic) ± 0.07(systematic) R {sub ⊙}, R {sub 2} =0.60 ± 0.08(statistic) ± 0.08(systematic) R {sub ⊙}, T {sub 1} = 3560 ± 100 K, and T {sub 2} = 3040 ± 100 K, respectively. The systematic error was estimated using the difference between eccentric and non-eccentric fits. Our analysis also indicates that there is definitively third-light contamination (66%) in the CSS photometry. The secondary star seems inflated, probably due to tidal locking of the close secondary companion, which is common for very short-period binary systems. Future spectroscopic observations with high resolution will narrow down the uncertainties of stellar parameters for both components, rendering this system as a benchmark for studying fundamental properties of M dwarfs.

  15. A Double-line M-dwarf Eclipsing Binary from CSS × SDSS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Chien-Hsiu

    2017-01-01

    Eclipsing binaries offer a unique opportunity to determine basic stellar properties. With the advent of wide-field camera and all-sky time-domain surveys, thousands of eclipsing binaries have been charted via light curve classification, yet their fundamental properties remain unexplored mainly due to the extensive efforts needed for spectroscopic follow-ups. In this paper, we present the discovery of a short-period ( P  = 0.313 day), double-lined M-dwarf eclipsing binary, CSSJ114804.3+255132/SDSSJ114804.35+255132.6, by cross-matching binary light curves from the Catalina Sky Survey and spectroscopically classified M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We obtain follow-up spectra using the Gemini telescope, enabling us to determine the mass, radius, and temperature of the primary and secondary component to be M 1  = 0.47 ± 0.03(statistic) ± 0.03(systematic) M ⊙ , M 2  = 0.46 ± 0.03(statistic) ± 0.03(systematic) M ⊙ , R 1  = 0.52 ± 0.08(statistic) ± 0.07(systematic) R ⊙ , R 2  =0.60 ± 0.08(statistic) ± 0.08(systematic) R ⊙ , T 1  = 3560 ± 100 K, and T 2  = 3040 ± 100 K, respectively. The systematic error was estimated using the difference between eccentric and non-eccentric fits. Our analysis also indicates that there is definitively third-light contamination (66%) in the CSS photometry. The secondary star seems inflated, probably due to tidal locking of the close secondary companion, which is common for very short-period binary systems. Future spectroscopic observations with high resolution will narrow down the uncertainties of stellar parameters for both components, rendering this system as a benchmark for studying fundamental properties of M dwarfs.

  16. Relativistic theory of tidal Love numbers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Binnington, Taylor; Poisson, Eric

    2009-01-01

    In Newtonian gravitational theory, a tidal Love number relates the mass multipole moment created by tidal forces on a spherical body to the applied tidal field. The Love number is dimensionless, and it encodes information about the body's internal structure. We present a relativistic theory of Love numbers, which applies to compact bodies with strong internal gravities; the theory extends and completes a recent work by Flanagan and Hinderer, which revealed that the tidal Love number of a neutron star can be measured by Earth-based gravitational-wave detectors. We consider a spherical body deformed by an external tidal field, and provide precise and meaningful definitions for electric-type and magnetic-type Love numbers; and these are computed for polytropic equations of state. The theory applies to black holes as well, and we find that the relativistic Love numbers of a nonrotating black hole are all zero.

  17. STELLAR POPULATIONS IN COMPACT GALAXY GROUPS: A MULTI-WAVELENGTH STUDY OF HCGs 16, 22, AND 42, THEIR STAR CLUSTERS, AND DWARF GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konstantopoulos, I. S.; Maybhate, A.; Charlton, J. C.; Gronwall, C.; Fedotov, K.; Desjardins, T. D.; Gallagher, S. C.; Durrell, P. R.; Mulchaey, J. S.; English, J.; Walker, L. M.; Johnson, K. E.; Tzanavaris, P.

    2013-01-01

    We present a multi-wavelength analysis of three compact galaxy groups, Hickson compact groups (HCGs) 16, 22, and 42, which describe a sequence in terms of gas richness, from space- (Swift, Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and Spitzer) and ground-based (Las Campanas Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory) imaging and spectroscopy. We study various signs of past interactions including a faint, dusty tidal feature about HCG 16A, which we tentatively age-date at <1 Gyr. This represents the possible detection of a tidal feature at the end of its phase of optical observability. Our HST images also resolve what were thought to be double nuclei in HCG 16C and D into multiple, distinct sources, likely to be star clusters. Beyond our phenomenological treatment, we focus primarily on contrasting the stellar populations across these three groups. The star clusters show a remarkable intermediate-age population in HCG 22, and identify the time at which star formation was quenched in HCG 42. We also search for dwarf galaxies at accordant redshifts. The inclusion of 33 members and 27 ''associates'' (possible members) radically changes group dynamical masses, which in turn may affect previous evolutionary classifications. The extended membership paints a picture of relative isolation in HCGs 16 and 22, but shows HCG 42 to be part of a larger structure, following a dichotomy expected from recent studies. We conclude that (1) star cluster populations provide an excellent metric of evolutionary state, as they can age-date the past epochs of star formation; and (2) the extended dwarf galaxy population must be considered in assessing the dynamical state of a compact group.

  18. The origin of neap-spring tidal cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kvale, E.P.

    2006-01-01

    The origin of oceanic tides is a basic concept taught in most introductory college-level sedimentology/geology, oceanography, and astronomy courses. Tides are typically explained in the context of the equilibrium tidal theory model. Yet this model does not take into account real tides in many parts of the world. Not only does the equilibrium tidal model fail to explicate amphidromic circulation, it also does not explain diurnal tides in low latitude positions. It likewise fails to explain the existence of tide-dominated areas where neap-spring cycles are synchronized with the 27.32-day orbital cycle of the Moon (tropical month), rather than with the more familiar 29.52-day cycle of lunar phases (synodic month). Both types of neap-spring cycles can be recognized in the rock record. A complete explanation of the origin of tides should include a discussion of dynamic tidal theory. In the dynamic tidal model, tides resulting from the motions of the Moon in its orbit around the Earth and the Earth in its orbit around the Sun are modeled as products of the combined effects of a series of phantom satellites. The movement of each of these satellites, relative to the Earth's equator, creates its own tidal wave that moves around an amphidromic point. Each of these waves is referred to as a tidal constituent. The geometries of the ocean basins determine which of these constituents are amplified. Thus, the tide-raising potential for any locality on Earth can be conceptualized as the result of a series of tidal constituents specific to that region. A better understanding of tidal cycles opens up remarkable opportunities for research on tidal deposits with implications for, among other things, a more complete understanding of the tidal dynamics responsible for sediment transport and deposition, changes in Earth-Moon distance through time, and the possible influences tidal cycles may exert on organisms. ?? 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. What fraction of white dwarfs are members of binary systems?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holberg, J B

    2009-01-01

    White dwarfs were originally discovered as the subordinate faint companions of bright nearby stars (i.e. Sirius B and 40 Eri B). Several general categories of binary systems involving white dwarfs are recognized: Sirius-like systems, where the white dwarf may be difficult to detect, binary systems containing white dwarfs and low mass stars, where the white dwarf is often readily discerned; and double degenerate systems. Different modes of white dwarf discovery influence our perception of both the overall binary fraction and the nature of these systems; proper motion surveys emphasize resolved systems, while photometric surveys emphasize unresolved systems containing relatively hot white dwarfs. Recent studies of the local white dwarf population offer some hope of achieving realistic estimates of the relative number of binary systems containing white dwarfs. A sample of 132 white dwarfs within 20 pc indicates that an individual white dwarf has a probability of 32 ± 8% of occurring within a binary or multiple star system.

  20. Activity-induced radial velocity variation of M dwarf stars

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jan Marie; Korhonen, Heidi Helena

    2012-01-01

    that can drown out a planetary signature. Cool, low-mass M dwarf stars can be highly active, which can make detection of potentially habitable planets around these stars difficult. We investigate radial velocity variations caused by different activity (spot) patterns on M dwarf stars in order to determine...... the limits of detectability for small planets orbiting active M dwarfs. We report on our progress toward the aim of answering the following questions: What types of spot patterns are realistic for M dwarf stars? What effect will spots have on M dwarf RV measurements? Can jitter from M dwarf spots mimic...... planetary signals? What is the ideal observing wavelength to reduce M dwarf jitter?...

  1. NEW COOLING SEQUENCES FOR OLD WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renedo, I.; Althaus, L. G.; GarcIa-Berro, E.; Miller Bertolami, M. M.; Romero, A. D.; Corsico, A. H.; Rohrmann, R. D.

    2010-01-01

    We present full evolutionary calculations appropriate for the study of hydrogen-rich DA white dwarfs. This is done by evolving white dwarf progenitors from the zero-age main sequence, through the core hydrogen-burning phase, the helium-burning phase, and the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase to the white dwarf stage. Complete evolutionary sequences are computed for a wide range of stellar masses and for two different metallicities, Z = 0.01, which is representative of the solar neighborhood, and Z = 0.001, which is appropriate for the study of old stellar systems, like globular clusters. During the white dwarf cooling stage, we self-consistently compute the phase in which nuclear reactions are still important, the diffusive evolution of the elements in the outer layers and, finally, we also take into account all the relevant energy sources in the deep interior of the white dwarf, such as the release of latent heat and the release of gravitational energy due to carbon-oxygen phase separation upon crystallization. We also provide colors and magnitudes for these sequences, based on a new set of improved non-gray white dwarf model atmospheres, which include the most up-to-date physical inputs like the Lyα quasi-molecular opacity. The calculations are extended down to an effective temperature of 2500 K. Our calculations provide a homogeneous set of evolutionary cooling tracks appropriate for mass and age determinations of old DA white dwarfs and for white dwarf cosmochronology of the different Galactic populations.

  2. Calorie restriction and dwarf mice in gerontological research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee Alderman, J; DePetrillo, Michael A; Gluesenkamp, Angela M; Hartley, Antonia C; Verhoff, S Veronica; Zavodni, Katherine L; Combs, Terry P

    2010-01-01

    What aging process is delayed by calorie restriction (CR) and mutations that produce long-lived dwarf mice? From 1935 until 1996, CR was the only option for increasing the maximum lifespan of laboratory rodents. In 1996, the mutation producing the Ames dwarf mouse (Prop-1(-/-)) was reported to increase lifespan. Since 1996, other gene mutations that cause dwarfism or lower body weight have been reported to increase the lifespan of mice. The recent discovery of long-lived mutant dwarf mice provides an opportunity to investigate common features between CR and dwarf models. Both CR and dwarf mutations increase insulin sensitivity. Elevated insulin sensitivity reduces oxidative stress, a potential cause of aging. The elevation of liver insulin sensitivity by the hormone adiponectin in CR and long-lived dwarf mice can lower endogenous glucose production and raise fatty acid oxidation. Adiponectin reduction of plasma glucose in CR and long-lived dwarf mice can thereby lower age-related increases in oxidative damage and cancer. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  3. Development of tidal watersheds in the Wadden Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Z.B.; Vroom, J.; van Prooijen, B.C.; Labeur, R.J.; Stive, M.J.F.; Hansen, M.H.P.

    2011-01-01

    The Wadden Sea consists of a series of tidal lagoons which are connected to the North Sea by tidal inlets. Boundaries to each lagoon are the mainland coast, the barrier islands on both sides of the tidal inlet, and the tidal watersheds behind the two barrier islands. Behind each Wadden Island there

  4. TIDALLY HEATED TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS: VISCOELASTIC RESPONSE MODELS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henning, Wade G.; O'Connell, Richard J.; Sasselov, Dimitar D.

    2009-01-01

    Tidal friction in exoplanet systems, driven by orbits that allow for durable nonzero eccentricities at short heliocentric periods, can generate internal heating far in excess of the conditions observed in our own solar system. Secular perturbations or a notional 2:1 resonance between a hot Earth and hot Jupiter can be used as a baseline to consider the thermal evolution of convecting bodies subject to strong viscoelastic tidal heating. We compare results first from simple models using a fixed Quality factor and Love number, and then for three different viscoelastic rheologies: the Maxwell body, the Standard Anelastic Solid (SAS), and the Burgers body. The SAS and Burgers models are shown to alter the potential for extreme tidal heating by introducing the possibility of new equilibria and multiple response peaks. We find that tidal heating tends to exceed radionuclide heating at periods below 10-30 days, and exceed insolation only below 1-2 days. Extreme cases produce enough tidal heat to initiate global-scale partial melting, and an analysis of tidal limiting mechanisms such as advective cooling for earthlike planets is discussed. To explore long-term behaviors, we map equilibria points between convective heat loss and tidal heat input as functions of eccentricity. For the periods and magnitudes discussed, we show that tidal heating, if significant, is generally detrimental to the width of habitable zones.

  5. Starbursts in Blue compact dwarf galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thuan, T.X.

    1987-01-01

    We summarize all the arguments for a bursting mode of star formation in blue compact dwarf galaxies. We show in particular how spectral synthesis of far ultraviolet spectra of Blue compact dwarf galaxy constitutes a powerful way for studying the star formation history in these galaxies. Blue compact dwarf galaxy luminosity functions show jumps and discontinuities. These jumps act like fossil records of the star-forming bursts, helping us to count and date the bursts

  6. Merging White Dwarfs and Thermonuclear Supernovae

    OpenAIRE

    van Kerkwijk, Marten H.

    2012-01-01

    Thermonuclear supernovae result when interaction with a companion reignites nuclear fusion in a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, causing a thermonuclear runaway, a catastrophic gain in pressure, and the disintegration of the whole white dwarf. It is usually thought that fusion is reignited in near-pycnonuclear conditions when the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar mass. I briefly describe two long-standing problems faced by this scenario, and our suggestion that these supernovae instead resul...

  7. Rare White dwarf stars with carbon atmospheres

    OpenAIRE

    Dufour, P.; Liebert, James; Fontaine, G.; Behara, N.

    2007-01-01

    White dwarfs represent the endpoint of stellar evolution for stars with initial masses between approximately 0.07 msun and 8-10 msun, where msun is the mass of the Sun (more massive stars end their life as either black holes or neutron stars). The theory of stellar evolution predicts that the majority of white dwarfs have a core made of carbon and oxygen, which itself is surrounded by a helium layer and, for ~80 per cent of known white dwarfs, by an additional hydrogen layer. All white dwarfs...

  8. Pulsating White Dwarfs in Cataclysmic Variables: The Marriage of ZZ Cet and Dwarf Nova

    OpenAIRE

    Warner, Brian; Woudt, Patrick A.

    2003-01-01

    There are now four dwarf novae known with white dwarf primaries that show large amplitude non-radial oscillations of the kind seen in ZZ Cet stars. We compare the properties of these stars and point out that by the end of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey more than 30 should be known.

  9. 1I/‘Oumuamua as a Tidal Disruption Fragment from a Binary Star System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ćuk, Matija

    2018-01-01

    1I/‘Oumuamua is the first known interstellar small body, probably being only about 100 m in size. Against expectations based on comets, ‘Oumuamua does not show any activity and has a very elongated figure, and it also exhibits undamped rotational tumbling. In contrast, ‘Oumuamua’s trajectory indicates that it was moving with the local stars, as expected from a low-velocity ejection from a relatively nearby system. Here, I assume that ‘Oumuamua is typical of 100 m interstellar objects and speculate on its origins. I find that giant planets are relatively inefficient at ejecting small bodies from inner solar systems of main-sequence stars, and that binary systems offer a much better opportunity for ejections of non-volatile bodies. I also conclude that ‘Oumuamua is not a member of a collisional population, which could explain its dramatic difference from small asteroids. I observe that 100 m small bodies are expected to carry little mass in realistic collisional populations and that occasional events, when whole planets are disrupted in catastrophic encounters, may dominate the interstellar population of 100 m fragments. Unlike the Sun or Jupiter, red dwarf stars are very dense and are capable of thoroughly tidally disrupting terrestrial planets. I conclude that ‘Oumuamua may have originated as a fragment from a planet that was tidally disrupted and then ejected by a dense member of a binary system, which could explain its peculiarities.

  10. Pulsations in carbon-atmosphere white dwarfs: A new chapter in white dwarf asteroseismology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontaine, G; Brassard, P; Dufour, P; Green, E M; Liebert, J

    2009-01-01

    We present some of the results of a survey aimed at exploring the asteroseismological potential of the newly-discovered carbon-atmosphere white dwarfs. We show that, in certains regions of parameter space, carbon-atmosphere white dwarfs may drive low-order gravity modes. We demonstrate that our theoretical results are consistent with the recent exciting discovery of luminosity variations in SDSS J1426+5752 and some null results obtained by a team of scientists at McDonald Observatory. We also present follow-up photometric observations carried out by ourselves at the Mount Bigelow 1.6-m telescope using the new Mont4K camera. The results of follow-up spectroscopic observations at the MMT are also briefly reported, including the surprising discovery that SDSS J1426+5752 is not only a pulsating star but that it is also a magnetic white dwarf with a surface field near 1.2 MG. The discovery of g-mode pulsations in SDSS J1426+5752 is quite significant in itself as it opens a fourth asteroseismological 'window', after the GW Vir, V777 Her, and ZZ Ceti families, through which one may study white dwarfs.

  11. Tidal flow separation at protruding beach nourishments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Radermacher, M.; de Schipper, M.A.; Swinkels, Cilia M.; MacMahan, Jamie; Reniers, A.J.H.M.

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, the application of large-scale beach nourishments has been discussed, with the Sand Motor in the Netherlands as the first real-world example. Such protruding beach nourishments have an impact on tidal currents, potentially leading to tidal flow separation and the generation of tidal

  12. The RSA survey of dwarf galaxies, 1: Optical photometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vader, J. Patricia; Chaboyer, Brian

    1994-01-01

    We present detailed surface photometry, based on broad B-band charge coupled device (CCD) images, of about 80 dwarf galaxies. Our sample represents approximately 10% of all dwarf galaxies identified in the vicinity of Revised Shapley-Ames (RSA) galaxies on high resolution blue photographic plates, referred to as the RSA survey of dwarf galaxies. We derive global properties and radial surface brightness profiles, and examine the morphologies. The radial surface brightness profiles of dwarf galaxies, whether early or late type, display the same varieties in shape and complexity as those of classical giant galaxies. Only a few are well described by a pure r(exp 1/4) law. Exponential profiles prevail. Features typical of giant disk galaxies, such as exponential profiles with a central depression, lenses, and even, in one case (IC 2041), a relatively prominent bulge are also found in dwarf galaxies. Our data suggest that the central region evolves from being bulge-like, with an r(exp 1/4) law profile, in bright galaxies to a lens-like structure in dwarf galaxies. We prove detailed surface photometry to be a helpful if not always sufficient tool in investigating the structure of dwarf galaxies. In many cases kinematic information is needed to complete the picture. We find the shapes of the surface brightness profiles to be loosely associated with morphological type. Our sample contains several new galaxies with properties intermediate between those of giant and dwarf ellipticals (but no M32-like objects). This shows that such intermediate galaxies exist so that at least a fraction of early-type dwarf ellipticals is structurally related to early-type giants instead of belonging to a totally unrelated, disjunct family. This supports an origin of early-type dwarf galaxies as originally more massive systems that acquired their current morphology as a result of substantial, presumable supernova-driven, mass loss. On the other hand, several early-type dwarfs in our sample are

  13. Formation, tidal evolution, and habitability of the Kepler-186 system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bolmont, Emeline; Raymond, Sean N.; Selsis, Franck; Hersant, Franck [Univ. Bordeaux, Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Bordeaux, UMR 5804, F-33270 Floirac (France); Von Paris, Philip [Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Quintana, Elisa V. [SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States); Barclay, Thomas, E-mail: bolmont@obs.u-bordeaux1.fr [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)

    2014-09-20

    The Kepler-186 system consists of five planets orbiting an early M dwarf. The planets have physical radii of 1.0-1.50 R {sub ⊕} and orbital periods of 4-130 days. The 1.1 R {sub ⊕} Kepler-186f with a period of 130 days is of particular interest. Its insolation of roughly 0.32 S {sub ⊕} places it within the surface liquid water habitable zone (HZ). We present a multifaceted study of the Kepler-186 system, using two sets of parameters which are consistent with the data and also self-consistent. First, we show that the distribution of planet masses can be roughly reproduced if the planets were accreted from a high surface density disk presumably sculpted by an earlier phase of migration. However, our simulations predict the existence of one to two undetected planets between planets e and f. Next, we present a dynamical analysis of the system including the effect of tides. The timescale for tidal evolution is short enough that the four inner planets must have small obliquities and near-synchronous rotation rates. The tidal evolution of Kepler-186f is slow enough that its current spin state depends on a combination of its initial spin state, its dissipation rate, and the stellar age. Finally, we study the habitability of Kepler-186f with a one-dimensional climate model. The planet's surface temperature can be raised above 273 K with 0.5-5 bars of CO{sub 2}, depending on the amount of N{sub 2} present. Kepler-186f represents a case study of an Earth-sized planet in the cooler regions of the HZ of a cool star.

  14. The WFCAM transit survey and cool white dwarfs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinfield D.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available We present results from our search for cool white dwarfs in the WTS (WFCAM Transit Survey. Repeat observations starting in 2007 allowed to produce deep stacked images in J and measure proper motions. We combine this with deep optical imaging to select cool white dwarf candidates (Teff < 5000 K. About 27 cool white dwarf candidates with proper motions above 0.10 arcsec/yr were identified in one of the fields representing 1/8th of the survey area. Follow-up spectroscopy with the 10.2 m GTC telescope at La Palma confirmed the white dwarf status for all observed candidates. On-going work is being carried out to increase the sample of cool white dwarfs that will allow a more comprehensive study of the thick disk/halo white dwarf population.

  15. Production and evaluation of dwarf and semi-dwarf winter wheat mutants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barabas, Z.; Kertesz, Z.

    1984-01-01

    A special research programme for evolving and evaluating dwarf wheat forms resistant to lodging was carried out at the Cereal Research Institute, Wheat Division, Szeged, Hungary. Seed lots of the two tall winter wheat varieties Jubilejnaya 50 and Partizanka were exposed to gamma ray of 60 Co. With irradiation of 15000 rad 60 Co all of M 1 plants grown in the field were almost totally destroyed in 1980 and about 50% in 1982. In the greenhouse the number of lost M 1 plants was insignificant. Only a small number of plants died both in the greenhouse and in the field when they were irradiated with 5000 rad. A treatment with this lower dose of irradiation probably may help the breeders in selection for winter hardiness. 97 dwarf wheat lines already established were analysed for height character by a top cross method using the variety Jubilejnaya 50 as a tester. Height data of the simultaneously grown parental as well as the F 1 and F 2 offsprings indicated that the majority of them were recessive, except 3 cases where dominant or semi-dominant dwarfism was observed. Noteworthy is the Mx 158 a new semi-dwarf variety candidate, 60-65 cm in height at normal stand and resistant to all the main diseases here (powdery mildew and rusts). Its grain and protein production per unit area is also very good. Some genetically lesser-known dwarf sources were investigated in a complete crossing diallel test. (author)

  16. WISE Y dwarfs as probes of the brown dwarf-exoplanet connection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beichman, C.; Gelino, Christopher R.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Cushing, Michael C.; Dodson-Robinson, Sally; Marley, Mark S.; Morley, Caroline V.; Wright, E. L.

    2014-01-01

    We have determined astrometric positions for 15 WISE-discovered late-type brown dwarfs (six T8-9 and nine Y dwarfs) using the Keck-II telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Combining data from 8 to 20 epochs we derive parallactic and proper motions for these objects, which puts the majority within 15 pc. For ages greater than a few Gyr, as suggested from kinematic considerations, we find masses of 10-30 M Jup based on standard models for the evolution of low-mass objects with a range of mass estimates for individual objects, depending on the model in question. Three of the coolest objects have effective temperatures ∼350 K and inferred masses of 10-15 M Jup . Our parallactic distances confirm earlier photometric estimates and direct measurements and suggest that the number of objects with masses below about 15 M Jup must be flat or declining, relative to higher mass objects. The masses of the coldest Y dwarfs may be similar to those inferred for recently imaged planet-mass companions to nearby young stars. Objects in this mass range, which appear to be rare in both the interstellar and protoplanetary environments, may both have formed via gravitational fragmentation—the brown dwarfs in interstellar clouds and companion objects in a protoplanetary disk. In both cases, however, the fact that objects in this mass range are relatively infrequent suggests that this mechanism must be inefficient in both environments.

  17. Morphology and Structures of Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Mira; Ann, HongBae

    2015-08-01

    We performed an analysis of the structure of nearby dwarf galaxies based on a 2-dimensional decomposition of galaxy images using GALFIT. The present sample consists of ~1,100 dwarf galaxies with redshift less than z = 0.01, which is is derived from the morphology catalog of the Visually classified galaxies in the local universe (Ann, Seo, and Ha 2015). In this catalog, dwarf galaxies are divided into 5 subtypes: dS0, dE, dSph, dEbc, dEblue with distinction of the presence of nucleation in dE, dSph, and dS0. We found that dSph and dEblue galaxies are fainter than other subtypes of dwarf galaxies. In most cases, single component, represented by the Sersic profile with n=1~1.5, well describes the luminosity distribution of dwarf galaxies in the present sample. However, a significant fraction of dS0, dEbc, and dEbue galaxies show sub-structures such as spiral arms and rings. We will discuss the morphology dependent evolutionary history of the local dwarf galaxies.

  18. Probing M Dwarf Model-Data Discrepancies via Precise, Empirical Characterization of a Long-Period F+M Binary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Daniel; Gaudi, Scott; Beatty, Thomas; Siverd, Robert

    2018-05-01

    Double-lined eclipsing binaries (EBs) have been the gold standard for direct, precise (less than a few percent), and accurate measurements of stellar masses and radii. However, with the availability of Gaia parallaxes and nearly complete spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of millions of stars, it will soon be possible to make such measurements for the much larger number of single-lined EBs such as high mass-ratio systems and transiting planets, both of which are routinely found by transit surveys. Combining high-precision eclipse photometry and radial velocity (RV) observations of the primary star enables measurements of the primary star's density, the ratio of stellar radii, and a combination of the stars' masses. Broad-band photometry from the ultraviolet to the infrared plus a Gaia parallax and an effective temperature of the primary from either the SED or high-resolution spectra, allow one to measure the radius (and mass via the density) of the primary. The radius and mass of the secondary can then be determined in the usual way with the radius ratio and RVs, and the companion's effective temperature can be determined from a secondary eclipse measurement and the primary star's effective temperature. For single-lined EBs, the precision of ingress/egress duration measurements dominates the error budget of the masses and companion radius. We propose to observe one primary and secondary eclipse of the F+M binary TYC 4223-1012-1, an M dwarf on a 16.5-day orbit around an F dwarf. Ground-based data poorly constrain TYC 4223-1012-1's masses due to the near-impossibility of observing the full 10-hr eclipse from the ground. By combining extant RV and SED data with the Spitzer data, we expect to measure the mass, radius, and effective temperature of the M dwarf to a few percent. This is comparable to the precision of the best-characterized literature M dwarfs, but at an orbital period far beyond the majority of such systems, where tidal effects should be negligible.

  19. High-dispersion observations of H-alpha in the suspected brown dwarf, white dwarf binary system G29-38

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liebert, J.; Saffer, R.A.; Pilachowski, C.A.

    1989-01-01

    High-dispersion spectroscopy of the H-alpha absorption line of the cool DA white dwarf G29-38 is reported. This is the star for which a recently detected IR excess has been suggested to be due to a possible brown dwarf companion. Three echelle spectra show no evidence for radial-velocity variations larger than about 1.1 + or - 8.7 km/s and are used to derive a weighted heliocentric radial velocity of 33.7 + or - 4.3 kms/s for the white dwarf. The observations of a sharp absorption-line core restricts the possible rotation of the white dwarf to 40 km/s or less and ensures that any surface magnetic field has a strength of 100,000 G or less. These results make it unlikely that the DA white dwarf has previously been in a cataclysmic variable accretion phase. 18 references

  20. Tidally influenced alongshore circulation at an inlet-adjacent shoreline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Jeff E.; Elias, Edwin P.L.; List, Jeffrey H.; Erikson, Li H.; Barnard, Patrick L.

    2013-01-01

    The contribution of tidal forcing to alongshore circulation inside the surfzone is investigated at a 7 km long sandy beach adjacent to a large tidal inlet. Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA (USA) is onshore of a ∼150 km2 ebb-tidal delta and directly south of the Golden Gate, the sole entrance to San Francisco Bay. Using a coupled flow-wave numerical model, we find that the tides modulate, and in some cases can reverse the direction of, surfzone alongshore flows through two separate mechanisms. First, tidal flow through the inlet results in a barotropic tidal pressure gradient that, when integrated across the surfzone, represents an important contribution to the surfzone alongshore force balance. Even during energetic wave conditions, the tidal pressure gradient can account for more than 30% of the total alongshore pressure gradient (wave and tidal components) and up to 55% during small waves. The wave driven component of the alongshore pressure gradient results from alongshore wave height and corresponding setup gradients induced by refraction over the ebb-tidal delta. Second, wave refraction patterns over the inner shelf are tidally modulated as a result of both tidal water depth changes and strong tidal flows (∼1 m/s), with the effect from currents being larger. These tidally induced changes in wave refraction result in corresponding variability of the alongshore radiation stress and pressure gradients within the surfzone. Our results indicate that tidal contributions to the surfzone force balance can be significant and important in determining the direction and magnitude of alongshore flow.

  1. Progenitors of white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drilling, J.S.; Schoenberner, D.

    1985-01-01

    Direct observational evidence is presented which indicates that the immediate progenitors of white dwarfs are the central stars of planetary nebulae (approximately 70%), other post-AGB objects (approximately 30%), and post-HB objects not massive enough to climb the AGB (approximately 0.3%). The combined birth rate for these objects is in satisfactory agreement with the death rate of main-sequence stars and the birth rate of white dwarfs

  2. Tidal influence on subtropical estuarine methane emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturm, Katrin; Grinham, Alistair; Werner, Ursula; Yuan, Zhiguo

    2014-05-01

    The relatively unstudied subtropical estuaries, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, represent an important gap in our understanding of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These systems are likely to form an important component of GHG budgets as they occupy a relatively large surface area, over 38 000 km2 in Australia. Here, we present studies conducted in the Brisbane River estuary, a representative system within the subtropical region of Queensland, Australia. This is a highly modified system typical of 80% of Australia's estuaries. Generally, these systems have undergone channel deepening and straightening for safer shipping access and these modifications have resulted in large increases in tidal reach. The Brisbane River estuary's natural tidal reach was 16 km and this is now 85 km and tidal currents influence double the surface area (9 km2 to 18 km2) in this system. Field studies were undertaken to improve understanding of the driving factors behind methane water-air fluxes. Water-air fluxes in estuaries are usually calculated with the gas exchange coefficient (k) for currents and wind as well as the concentration difference across the water-air interface. Tidal studies in the lower and middle reaches of the estuary were performed to monitor the influence of the tidal stage (a proxy for kcurrent) on methane fluxes. Results for both investigated reaches showed significantly higher methane fluxes during the transition time of tides, the time of greatest tidal currents, than during slack tide periods. At these tidal transition times with highest methane chamber fluxes, lowest methane surface water concentrations were monitored. Modelled fluxes using only wind speed (kwind) were at least one order of magnitude lower than observed from floating chambers, demonstrating that current speed was likely the driving factor of water-air fluxes. An additional study was then conducted sampling the lower, middle and upper reaches during a tidal transition period

  3. Explosive helium burning in white dwarf stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khokhlov, A.M. (AN SSSR, Moscow. Astronomicheskij Sovet)

    1984-04-01

    Helium burning kinetics in white dwarfs has been considered at constant temperatures T >= 10/sup 9/ K and densities rho >10/sup 5/ g/cm/sup 3/. It is found, that helium detonation in white dwarfs does not lead to formation of light (A < 56) elements. Thus, helium white dwarf model for supernova 1 is inconsistent with observations.

  4. Project DWARF - using eclipsing binaries for searching for exoplanets and brown dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudak, V.; Parimucha, Š.

    2016-12-01

    Project DWARF is a long-term observation campaign for about 60 selected eclipsing binaries aimed for detection of exoplanets or other objects (brown dwarfs) in low-mass detached binaries of different types (low-mass eclipsing binaries with M and K components, short-period binaries with sdB or sdO component, post-common-envelope systems containing a white dwarf). Existence of other bodies in systems are determined by analysing of O-C diagrams, constructed from observed minima times of binaries. Objects are selected with intention to determine minima with high precision. About 40 observatories are involved into the network at present time, mostly situated in Europe. The observations are made by small or middle class telescopes with apertures of 20-200 cm. In this contribution we give information about current status of the project, we present main goals and results of 4 years observations.

  5. A Survey for Hα Emission from Late L Dwarfs and T Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pineda, J. Sebastian; Hallinan, Gregg; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Cotter, Garret; Kao, Melodie M.; Mooley, Kunal

    2016-07-01

    Recently, studies of brown dwarfs have demonstrated that they possess strong magnetic fields and have the potential to produce radio and optical auroral emissions powered by magnetospheric currents. This emission provides the only window on magnetic fields in the coolest brown dwarfs and identifying additional benchmark objects is key to constraining dynamo theory in this regime. To this end, we conducted a new red optical (6300-9700 Å) survey with the Keck telescopes looking for Hα emission from a sample of late L dwarfs and T dwarfs. Our survey gathered optical spectra for 29 targets, 18 of which did not have previous optical spectra in the literature, greatly expanding the number of moderate-resolution (R ˜ 2000) spectra available at these spectral types. Combining our sample with previous surveys, we confirm an Hα detection rate of 9.2±{}2.13.5% for L and T dwarfs in the optical spectral range of L4-T8. This detection rate is consistent with the recently measured detection rate for auroral radio emission from Kao et al., suggesting that geometrical selection effects due to the beaming of the radio emission are small or absent. We also provide the first detection of Hα emission from 2MASS 0036+1821, previously notable as the only electron cyclotron maser radio source without a confirmed detection of Hα emission. Finally, we also establish optical standards for spectral types T3 and T4, filling in the previous gap between T2 and T5. The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

  6. Polarized radiation in magnetic white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosi, L.A.; Zimmerman, R.L.; Kemp, J.C.

    1976-01-01

    A model for magnetic white dwarfs is proposed which attributes the partially polarized light to synchrotron radiation. The source of the radiation is relativistic electrons trapped in the magnetosphere of a white dwarf. The white dwarf's magnetic field is assumed to be dipolar. The Stokes parameters for the synchrotron radiation are tabulated as a function of frequency, observer's orientation, and energy and spatial distribution of the relativistic electrons. The results of the synchrotron calculations are applied to the polarization observations of Grw+70degree8247 and DQ Herculis. This model can account for the major features of the polarized radiation coming from these two magnetic white dwarfs. The calculations predict for Grw+70degree8247 that the surface magnetic field is B/sub s/approximately-less-than4 x 10 6 gauss, that the incident viewing angle is 45degreeapproximately-less-thantheta 0 approximately-less-than75degree, and that the electrons are trapped with nearly an isotropic distribution about the white dwarf. For DQ Herculis the surface magnetic field is B/sub s/approximately-less-than7 x 10 6 gauss and the trapped electrons are confined to a dislike region about the white dwarf. For both cases the density of electrons in the magnetosphere falls in the range of 10 5 approximately-less-thannapproximately-less-than10 7 cm -3 with energies of about 4--35 MeV

  7. A DARK SPOT ON A MASSIVE WHITE DWARF

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, Alexandros; Curd, Brandon; Wisniewski, John P. [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Bell, Keaton J.; Winget, D. E.; Winget, K. I. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Brown, Warren R. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Hermes, J. J. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Dufour, Patrick [Institut de recherche sur les exoplanétes (iREx), Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada)

    2015-12-01

    We present the serendipitous discovery of eclipse-like events around the massive white dwarf SDSS J152934.98+292801.9 (hereafter J1529+2928). We selected J1529+2928 for time-series photometry based on its spectroscopic temperature and surface gravity, which place it near the ZZ Ceti instability strip. Instead of pulsations, we detect photometric dips from this white dwarf every 38 minutes. Follow-up optical spectroscopy observations with Gemini reveal no significant radial velocity variations, ruling out stellar and brown dwarf companions. A disintegrating planet around this white dwarf cannot explain the observed light curves in different filters. Given the short period, the source of the photometric dips must be a dark spot that comes into view every 38 minutes due to the rotation of the white dwarf. Our optical spectroscopy does not show any evidence of Zeeman splitting of the Balmer lines, limiting the magnetic field strength to B < 70 kG. Since up to 15% of white dwarfs display kG magnetic fields, such eclipse-like events should be common around white dwarfs. We discuss the potential implications of this discovery on transient surveys targeting white dwarfs, like the K2 mission and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

  8. Effects of magnetic fields in white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Franzon, Bruno; Schramm, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    We perform calculations of white dwarfs endowed with strong magnetic fields. White dwarfs are the progenitors of supernova Type Ia explosions and they are widely used as candles to show that the Universe is expanding and accelerating. However, observations of ultraluminous supernovae have suggested that the progenitor of such an explosion should be a white dwarf with mass above the well-known Chandrasekhar limit ∼ 1.4 M⊙. In corroboration with other works, but by using a fully general relativistic framework, we obtained also strongly magnetized white dwarfs with masses M ∼ 2.0 M⊙. (paper)

  9. Genetic identification of a dwarf mutant in cucumber ( Cucumis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The dwarf (compact) plant architecture is an important trait in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) breeding. A dwarf type mutant was selected from the cucumbers. The morphological and reproductive characteristics of the dwarf were compared with the vine plants. The dwarf type of cucumbers is characterized by its short ...

  10. Tidal disruption of fuzzy dark matter subhalo cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Xiaolong; Schwabe, Bodo; Niemeyer, Jens C.; Bürger, David

    2018-03-01

    We study tidal stripping of fuzzy dark matter (FDM) subhalo cores using simulations of the Schrödinger-Poisson equations and analyze the dynamics of tidal disruption, highlighting the differences with standard cold dark matter. Mass loss outside of the tidal radius forces the core to relax into a less compact configuration, lowering the tidal radius. As the characteristic radius of a solitonic core scales inversely with its mass, tidal stripping results in a runaway effect and rapid tidal disruption of the core once its central density drops below 4.5 times the average density of the host within the orbital radius. Additionally, we find that the core is deformed into a tidally locked ellipsoid with increasing eccentricities until it is completely disrupted. Using the core mass loss rate, we compute the minimum mass of cores that can survive several orbits for different FDM particle masses and compare it with observed masses of satellite galaxies in the Milky Way.

  11. Atmospheric noise of a breaking tidal bore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanson, Hubert

    2016-01-01

    A tidal bore is a surge of waters propagating upstream in an estuary as the tidal flow turns to rising and the flood tide propagates into a funnel-shaped system. Large tidal bores have a marked breaking roller. The sounds generated by breaking tidal bores were herein investigated in the field (Qiantang River) and in laboratory. The sound pressure record showed two dominant periods, with some similarity with an earlier study [Chanson (2009). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125(6), 3561-3568]. The two distinct phases were the incoming tidal bore when the sound amplitude increased with the approaching bore, and the passage of the tidal bore in front of the microphone when loud and powerful noises were heard. The dominant frequency ranged from 57 to 131 Hz in the Qiantang River bore. A comparison between laboratory and prototype tidal bores illustrated both common features and differences. The low pitch sound of the breaking bore had a dominant frequency close to the collective oscillations of bubble clouds, which could be modeled with a bubble cloud model using a transverse dimension of the bore roller. The findings suggest that this model might be over simplistic in the case of a powerful breaking bore, like that of the Qiantang River.

  12. Stellar Population Properties of Ultracompact Dwarfs in M87: A Mass–Metallicity Correlation Connecting Low-metallicity Globular Clusters and Compact Ellipticals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong-Xin; Puzia, Thomas H.; Peng, Eric W.; Liu, Chengze; Côté, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Eigenthaler, Paul; Lim, Sungsoon; Lançon, Ariane; Muñoz, Roberto P.; Roediger, Joel; Sánchez-Janssen, Ruben; Taylor, Matthew A.; Yu, Jincheng

    2018-05-01

    We derive stellar population parameters for a representative sample of ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) and a large sample of massive globular clusters (GCs) with stellar masses ≳ 106 M ⊙ in the central galaxy M87 of the Virgo galaxy cluster, based on model fitting to the Lick-index measurements from both the literature and new observations. After necessary spectral stacking of the relatively faint objects in our initial sample of 40 UCDs and 118 GCs, we obtain 30 sets of Lick-index measurements for UCDs and 80 for GCs. The M87 UCDs have ages ≳ 8 Gyr and [α/Fe] ≃ 0.4 dex, in agreement with previous studies based on smaller samples. The literature UCDs, located in lower-density environments than M87, extend to younger ages and smaller [α/Fe] (at given metallicities) than M87 UCDs, resembling the environmental dependence of the stellar nuclei of dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs) in the Virgo cluster. The UCDs exhibit a positive mass–metallicity relation (MZR), which flattens and connects compact ellipticals at stellar masses ≳ 108 M ⊙. The Virgo dE nuclei largely follow the average MZR of UCDs, whereas most of the M87 GCs are offset toward higher metallicities for given stellar masses. The difference between the mass–metallicity distributions of UCDs and GCs may be qualitatively understood as a result of their different physical sizes at birth in a self-enrichment scenario or of galactic nuclear cluster star formation efficiency being relatively low in a tidal stripping scenario for UCD formation. The existing observations provide the necessary but not sufficient evidence for tidally stripped dE nuclei being the dominant contributors to the M87 UCDs.

  13. Tidal exchange between a freshwater tidal marsh and an impacted estuary: the Scheldt estuary, Belgium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Damme, S.; Dehairs, F.; Tackx, M.; Beauchard, O.; Struyf, E.; Gribsholt, B.; van Cleemput, O.; Meire, P.

    2009-01-01

    Tidal marsh exchange studies are relatively simple tools to investigate the interaction between tidal marshes and estuaries. They have mostly been confined to only a few elements and to saltwater or brackish systems. This study presents mass-balance results of an integrated one year campaign in a

  14. Flow paths of water and sediment in a tidal marsh: relations with marsh developmental stage and tidal inundation height

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Temmerman, S.; Bouma, T.J.; Govers, G.; Lauwaet, D.

    2005-01-01

    This study provides new insights in the relative role of tidal creeks and the marsh edge in supplying water and sediments to and from tidal marshes for a wide range of tidal inundation cycles with different high water levels and for marsh zones of different developmental stage. Net import or export

  15. Widespread infilling of tidal channels and navigable waterways in human-modified tidal deltaplain of southwest Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol Wilson

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Since the 1960s, ~5000 km2 of tidal deltaplain in southwest Bangladesh has been embanked and converted to densely inhabited, agricultural islands (i.e., polders. This landscape is juxtaposed to the adjacent Sundarbans, a pristine mangrove forest, both well connected by a dense network of tidal channels that effectively convey water and sediment throughout the region. The extensive embanking in poldered areas, however, has greatly reduced the tidal prism (i.e., volume of water transported through local channels. We reveal that >600 km of these major waterways have infilled in recent decades, converting to land through enhanced sedimentation and the direct blocking of waterways by embankments and sluice gates. Nearly all of the observed closures (~98% have occurred along the embanked polder systems, with no comparable changes occurring in channels of the Sundarbans (<2% change. We attribute most of the channel infilling to the local reduction of tidal prism in poldered areas and the associated decline in current velocities. The infilled channels account for ~90 km2 of new land in the last 40–50 years, the rate of which, ~2 km2/yr, offsets the 4 km2/yr that is eroded at the coast, and is equivalent to ~20% of the new land produced naturally at the Ganges-Brahmaputra tidal rivermouth. Most of this new land, called ‘khas’ in Bengali, has been reclaimed for agriculture or aquaculture, contributing to the local economy. However, benefits are tempered by the loss of navigable waterways for commerce, transportation, and fishing, as well as the forced rerouting of tidal waters and sediments necessary to sustain this low-lying landscape against rising sea level. A more sustainable delta will require detailed knowledge of the consequences of these hydrodynamic changes to support more scientifically-grounded management of water, sediment, and tidal energy distribution.

  16. Microlensing Binaries with Candidate Brown Dwarf Companions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shin, I.-G; Han, C.; Gould, A.

    2012-01-01

    masses of the brown dwarf companions are 0.02 ± 0.01 M⊙ and 0.019 ± 0.002 M⊙ for MOA-2011-BLG-104/OGLE-2011-BLG-0172 and MOA-2011-BLG-149, respectively, and both companions are orbiting low-mass M dwarf host stars. More microlensing brown dwarfs are expected to be detected as the number of lensing events...

  17. Half Moon Cove Tidal Project. Feasibility report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-11-01

    The proposed Half Moon Cove Tidal Power Project would be located in a small cove in the northern part of Cobscook Bay in the vicinity of Eastport, Maine. The project would be the first tidal electric power generating plant in the United States of America. The basin impounded by the barrier when full will approximate 1.2 square miles. The average tidal range at Eastport is 18.2 feet. The maximum spring tidal range will be 26.2 feet and the neap tidal range 12.8 feet. The project will be of the single pool-type single effect in which generation takes place on the ebb tide only. Utilizing an average mean tidal range of 18.2 feet the mode of operation enables generation for approximately ten and one-half (10-1/2) hours per day or slightly in excess of five (5) hours per tide. The installed capacity will be 12 MW utilizing 2 to 6 MW units. An axial flow, or Bulb type of turbine was selected for this study.

  18. TIDAL LIMITS TO PLANETARY HABITABILITY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnes, Rory; Jackson, Brian; Greenberg, Richard; Raymond, Sean N.

    2009-01-01

    The habitable zones (HZs) of main-sequence stars have traditionally been defined as the range of orbits that intercept the appropriate amount of stellar flux to permit surface water on a planet. Terrestrial exoplanets discovered to orbit M stars in these zones, which are close-in due to decreased stellar luminosity, may also undergo significant tidal heating. Tidal heating may span a wide range for terrestrial exoplanets and may significantly affect conditions near the surface. For example, if heating rates on an exoplanet are near or greater than that on Io (where tides drive volcanism that resurfaces the planet at least every 1 Myr) and produce similar surface conditions, then the development of life seems unlikely. On the other hand, if the tidal heating rate is less than the minimum to initiate plate tectonics, then CO 2 may not be recycled through subduction, leading to a runaway greenhouse that sterilizes the planet. These two cases represent potential boundaries to habitability and are presented along with the range of the traditional HZ for main-sequence, low-mass stars. We propose a revised HZ that incorporates both stellar insolation and tidal heating. We apply these criteria to GJ 581 d and find that it is in the traditional HZ, but its tidal heating alone may be insufficient for plate tectonics.

  19. Sedimentary structures of tidal flats

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Sedimentary structures of some coastal tropical tidal flats of the east coast of India, and inner estuarine tidal point bars located at 30 to 50 kilometers inland from the coast, have been extensively studied under varying seasonal conditions. The results reveal that physical features such as flaser bedding, herringbone ...

  20. Analysis of Tidal Data for Dagang Tidal Gauge and Study of the Changes for the National Height Datum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WU Fumei

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The main tides affecting Dagang sea level are analyzed and the national height datum is studied by analyzing 1980—2011 hourly tidal data and 1952—2007 monthly mean tidal data. Firstly, the frequencies and amplitudes of main tides including 180 short-period tides and 6 long-period tides are gained by the Fouirer transform. Then the actual amplitudes and their variations of main tides are obtained by the harmonic analysis of the 1980—2011 hourly tidal data, and the changes with about 19 year period can easily be found in the amplitudes of Q1、O1、M2、K1、K2. And then the changes of the mean sea level at Dagang tidal gauge defining national height datum during the period of 1952—2011 are studied by the harmonic analysis and the shifting average of 18.61 year tidal heights. The results of these methods show that the mean sea level at Dagang tidal gauge descended with the speed of 1.07 mm/a and 0.76 mm/a respectively during 1952—1980, and that it ascended with the speed of 1.59 mm/a and 1.62 mm/a respectively during 1980—2011. And finally the difference of 0.14 cm is achieved by the shifting average of 18.61 year tidal heights for 1985 National Height Datum.

  1. DRAFTS: A DEEP, RAPID ARCHIVAL FLARE TRANSIENT SEARCH IN THE GALACTIC BULGE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osten, Rachel A.; Sahu, Kailash; Kowalski, Adam; Hawley, Suzanne L.

    2012-01-01

    We utilize the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys data set for a Deep Rapid Archival Flare Transient Search to constrain the flare rate toward the older stellar population in the Galactic bulge. During seven days of monitoring 229,293 stars brighter than V = 29.5, we find evidence for flaring activity in 105 stars between V = 20 and V = 28. We divided the sample into non-variable stars and variable stars whose light curves contain large-scale variability. The flare rate on variable stars is ∼700 times that of non-variable stars, with a significant correlation between the amount of underlying stellar variability and peak flare amplitude. The flare energy loss rates are generally higher than those of nearby well-studied single dMe flare stars. The distribution of proper motions is consistent with the flaring stars being at the distance and age of the Galactic bulge. If they are single dwarfs, then they span a range of ≈1.0-0.25 M ☉ . A majority of the flaring stars exhibit periodic photometric modulations with P < 3 days. If these are tidally locked magnetically active binary systems, then their fraction in the bulge is enhanced by a factor of ∼20 compared to the local value. These stars may be useful for placing constraints on the angular momentum evolution of cool close binary stars. Our results expand the type of stars studied for flares in the optical band, and suggest that future sensitive optical time-domain studies will have to contend with a larger sample of flaring stars than the M dwarf flare stars usually considered.

  2. Meteorologies of brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Curtis Steven

    2006-06-01

    This dissertation explores the consequences of atmospheric dynamics for observations of substellar mass objects (SMOs). Discussed first is the growth of cloud particles of various compositions in brown dwarfs of different surface gravities and effective temperatures. The structure of these objects is calculated with a one-dimensional radiative transfer model. To determine particle sizes, the timescales for microphysical growth processes, including nucleation, coagulation, and coalescence, are compared to the timescale for gravitational sedimentation. The model also allows for sustained uplifting of condensable vapor in convective regions. The results show that particle sizes vary greatly over the range of objects studied. In most cases, clouds on brown dwarfs do not dominate the opacity. Rather, they smooth the emergent spectrum and partially redistribute the radiative energy. The focus then shifts to extrasolar giant planets (EGPs). Results are presented from a three-dimensional model of atmospheric dynamics on the transiting Jupiter-like planet HD 209458b. As a close-in orbiter (known as a "roaster"), HD 209458b is super-heated on its dayside. Due to tidal locking of the interior, the dayside hemisphere faces the star in perpetuity, which leads to very different dynamics than is seen on Jupiter. The flow is characterized by an eastward supersonic jet ( u ~ 4 kms - 1 ) extending from the equator to the mid-latitudes. Temperature contrasts are ~500 K at the photosphere. At 220 mbar, winds blow the hottest regions downstream from the substellar point by ~60°, with direct implications for the infrared light curve. These simulations are extended to the study of carbon chemistry in HD 209458b's atmosphere by coupling the CO/CH 4 reaction kinetics to the dynamics. Disequilibrium results from slow reaction rates at low temperatures and pressures. Effective vertical quenching near the ~3 bar level leads to uniformly high concentrations of CO at the photosphere, even in

  3. Maximum gravitational redshift of white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shapiro, S.L.; Teukolsky, S.A.

    1976-01-01

    The stability of uniformly rotating, cold white dwarfs is examined in the framework of the Parametrized Post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism of Will and Nordtvedt. The maximum central density and gravitational redshift of a white dwarf are determined as functions of five of the nine PPN parameters (γ, β, zeta 2 , zeta 3 , and zeta 4 ), the total angular momentum J, and the composition of the star. General relativity predicts that the maximum redshifts is 571 km s -1 for nonrotating carbon and helium dwarfs, but is lower for stars composed of heavier nuclei. Uniform rotation can increase the maximum redshift to 647 km s -1 for carbon stars (the neutronization limit) and to 893 km s -1 for helium stars (the uniform rotation limit). The redshift distribution of a larger sample of white dwarfs may help determine the composition of their cores

  4. Axion cooling of white dwarfs

    OpenAIRE

    Isern, J.; Catalan, S.; Garcia--Berro, E.; Salaris, M.; Torres, S.

    2013-01-01

    The evolution of white dwarfs is a simple gravothermal process. This process can be tested in two ways, through the luminosity function of these stars and through the secular variation of the period of pulsation of those stars that are variable. Here we show how the mass of the axion can be constrained using the white dwarf luminosity function.

  5. A modeling study of tidal energy extraction and the associated impact on tidal circulation in a multi-inlet bay system of Puget Sound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Taiping; Yang, Zhaoqing

    2017-12-01

    Previous tidal energy projects in Puget Sound have focused on major deep channels such as Admiralty Inlet that have a larger power potential but pose greater technical challenges than minor tidal channels connecting to small sub-basins. This paper focuses on the possibility of extracting energy from minor tidal channels by using a hydrodynamic model to quantify the power potential and the associated impact on tidal circulation. The study site is a multi-inlet bay system connected by two narrow inlets, Agate Pass and Rich Passage, to the Main Basin of Puget Sound. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was applied to the study site and calibrated for tidal elevations and currents. We examined three energy extraction scenarios in which turbines were deployed in each of the two passages and concurrently in both. Extracted power rates and associated changes in tidal elevation, current, tidal flux, and residence time were examined. Maximum instantaneous power rates reached 250 kW, 1550 kW, and 1800 kW, respectively, for the three energy extraction scenarios. The model suggests that with the proposed level of energy extraction, the impact on tidal circulation is very small. It is worth investigating the feasibility of harnessing tidal energy from minor tidal channels of Puget Sound.

  6. THE NIRSPEC ULTRACOOL DWARF RADIAL VELOCITY SURVEY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blake, Cullen H.; Charbonneau, David; White, Russel J.

    2010-01-01

    We report the results of an infrared Doppler survey designed to detect brown dwarf and giant planetary companions to a magnitude-limited sample of ultracool dwarfs. Using the NIRSPEC spectrograph on the Keck II telescope, we obtained approximately 600 radial velocity (RV) measurements over a period of six years of a sample of 59 late-M and L dwarfs spanning spectral types M8/L0 to L6. A subsample of 46 of our targets has been observed on three or more epochs. We rely on telluric CH 4 absorption features in Earth's atmosphere as a simultaneous wavelength reference and exploit the rich set of CO absorption features found in the K-band spectra of cool stars and brown dwarfs to measure RVs and projected rotational velocities. For a bright, slowly rotating M dwarf standard we demonstrate an RV precision of 50 m s -1 and for slowly rotating L dwarfs we achieve a typical RV precision of approximately 200 m s -1 . This precision is sufficient for the detection of close-in giant planetary companions to mid-L dwarfs as well as more equal mass spectroscopic binary systems with small separations (a +0.7 -0.6 Gyr, similar to that of nearby sun-like stars. We simulate the efficiency with which we detect spectroscopic binaries and find that the rate of tight (a +8.6 -1.6 %, consistent with recent estimates in the literature of a tight binary fraction of 3%-4%.

  7. Nucleosynthesis in cold white dwarf explosions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canal, R.; Hernanz, M.

    1986-01-01

    Type I supernovae (SNI) are generally thought to be the main contributors to the galactic nucleosynthesis of iron-peak elements and their yields of intermediate-mass elements may also be important. We concentrate here upon a different class of models, based on the explosion of cold, massive, partially solid white dwarfs. We show that such white dwarfs must be relatively frequent among SNI progenitors and how their hydrodynamics upon ignition is very different from that of hotter, fluid white dwarfs. The implications for nucleosynthesis are briefly discussed and some preliminary results are presented

  8. Downstream hydraulic geometry of a tidally influenced river delta

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sassi, M.G.; Hoitink, A.J.F.; Brye, de B.; Deleersnijder, E.

    2012-01-01

    Channel geometry in tidally influenced river deltas can show a mixed scaling behavior between that of river and tidal channel networks, as the channel forming discharge is both of river and tidal origin. We present a method of analysis to quantify the tidal signature on delta morphology, by

  9. White dwarf models of supernovae and cataclysmic variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomoto, K.; Hashimoto, M.

    1986-01-01

    If the accreting white dwarf increases its mass to the Chandrasekhar mass, it will either explode as a Type I supernova or collapse to form a neutron star. In fact, there is a good agreement between the exploding white dwarf model for Type I supernovae and observations. We describe various types of evolution of accreting white dwarfs as a function of binary parameters (i.e,. composition, mass, and age of the white dwarf, its companion star, and mass accretion rate), and discuss the conditions for the precursors of exploding or collapsing white dwarfs, and their relevance to cataclysmic variables. Particular attention is given to helium star cataclysmics which might be the precursors of some Type I supernovae or ultrashort period x-ray binaries. Finally we present new evolutionary calculations using the updated nuclear reaction rates for the formation of O+Ne+Mg white dwarfs, and discuss the composition structure and their relevance to the model for neon novae. 61 refs., 14 figs

  10. Is EG 50 a White or Strange Dwarf?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajyan, G. S.; Vartanyan, Yu. L.

    2017-12-01

    The time dependences of the luminosity of a white dwarf and four strange dwarfs with masses of 0.5 M (the mass of the white dwarf EG 50 with a surface temperature of 2.1·104 K) are determined taking neutrino energy losses into account. It was assumed that these configurations radiate only at the expense of thermal energy reserves. It is shown that the sources of thermal energy owing to nonequilibrium b-processes and the phenomenon of crystallization of electron-nuclear matter are insignificant in determining the cooling time of white and strange dwarfs with masses of 0.5 M⨀. It is shown that in this approximation the time dependences of the luminosity of white and strange dwarfs with masses of 0.5 M⨀ differ significantly only for surface temperatures TR≥7·104 K, so it is impossible to determine whether EG 50 is a white or strange dwarf based on the cooling time.

  11. White dwarf evolution - Cradle-to-grave constraints via pulsation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawaler, Steven D.

    1990-01-01

    White dwarf evolution, particularly in the early phases, is not very strongly constrained by observation. Fortunately, white dwarfs undergo nonradial pulsation in three distinct regions of the H-R diagram. These pulsations provide accurate masses, surface compositional structure and rotation velocities, and help constrain other important physical properties. We demonstrate the application of the tools of stellar seismology to white dwarf evolution using the hot white dwarf star PG 1159-035 and the cool DAV (or ZZ Ceti) stars as examples. From pulsation studies, significant challenges to the theory of white dwarf evolution emerge.

  12. Conditions for tidal bore formation in convergent alluvial estuaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonneton, Philippe; Filippini, Andrea Gilberto; Arpaia, Luca; Bonneton, Natalie; Ricchiuto, Mario

    2016-04-01

    Over the last decade there has been an increasing interest in tidal bore dynamics. However most studies have been focused on small-scale bore processes. The present paper describes the first quantitative study, at the estuary scale, of the conditions for tidal bore formation in convergent alluvial estuaries. When freshwater discharge and large-scale spatial variations of the estuary water depth can be neglected, tide propagation in such estuaries is controlled by three main dimensionless parameters: the nonlinearity parameter ε0 , the convergence ratio δ0 and the friction parameter ϕ0. In this paper we explore this dimensionless parameter space, in terms of tidal bore occurrence, from a database of 21 estuaries (8 tidal-bore estuaries and 13 non tidal-bore estuaries). The field data point out that tidal bores occur for convergence ratios close to the critical convergence δc. A new proposed definition of the friction parameter highlights a clear separation on the parameter plane (ϕ0,ε0) between tidal-bore estuaries and non tidal-bore estuaries. More specifically, we have established that tidal bores occur in convergent estuaries when the nonlinearity parameter is greater than a critical value, εc , which is an increasing function of the friction parameter ϕ0. This result has been confirmed by numerical simulations of the two-dimensional Saint Venant equations. The real-estuary observations and the numerical simulations also show that, contrary to what is generally assumed, tide amplification is not a necessary condition for tidal bore formation. The effect of freshwater discharge on tidal bore occurrence has been analyzed from the database acquired during three long-term campaigns carried out on the Gironde/Garonne estuary. We have shown that in the upper estuary the tidal bore intensity is mainly governed by the local dimensionless tide amplitude ε. The bore intensity is an increasing function of ε and this relationship does not depend on freshwater

  13. Searching for chemical signatures of brown dwarf formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maldonado, J.; Villaver, E.

    2017-06-01

    Context. Recent studies have shown that close-in brown dwarfs in the mass range 35-55 MJup are almost depleted as companions to stars, suggesting that objects with masses above and below this gap might have different formation mechanisms. Aims: We aim to test whether stars harbouring massive brown dwarfs and stars with low-mass brown dwarfs show any chemical peculiarity that could be related to different formation processes. Methods: Our methodology is based on the analysis of high-resolution échelle spectra (R 57 000) from 2-3 m class telescopes. We determine the fundamental stellar parameters, as well as individual abundances of C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, and Zn for a large sample of stars known to have a substellar companion in the brown dwarf regime. The sample is divided into stars hosting massive and low-mass brown dwarfs. Following previous works, a threshold of 42.5 MJup was considered. The metallicity and abundance trends of the two subsamples are compared and set in the context of current models of planetary and brown dwarf formation. Results: Our results confirm that stars with brown dwarf companions do not follow the well-established gas-giant planet metallicity correlation seen in main-sequence planet hosts. Stars harbouring massive brown dwarfs show similar metallicity and abundance distribution as stars without known planets or with low-mass planets. We find a tendency of stars harbouring less-massive brown dwarfs of having slightly higher metallicity, [XFe/Fe] values, and abundances of Sc II, Mn I, and Ni I than the stars having the massive brown dwarfs. The data suggest, as previously reported, that massive and low-mass brown dwarfs might present differences in period and eccentricity. Conclusions: We find evidence of a non-metallicity dependent mechanism for the formation of massive brown dwarfs. Our results agree with a scenario in which massive brown dwarfs are formed as stars. At high metallicities, the core

  14. Tidal energy site - Tidal energy site mammal/bird survey

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A vessel-based line visual transect survey was conducted for birds and marine mammals near the proposed Snohomish County PUD Admiralty Inlet tidal energy site...

  15. Tidal and sub-tidal sea level variability at the northern shelf of the Brazilian Northeast Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frota, Felipe F; Truccolo, Eliane C; Schettini, Carlos A F

    2016-09-01

    A characterization of the sea level variability at tidal and sub-tidal frequencies at the northern shore of the Brazilian Northeast shelf for the period 2009-2011 is presented. The sea level data used was obtained from the Permanent Geodetic Tide Network from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics for the Fortaleza gauge station. Local wind data was also used to assess its effects on the low-frequency sea level variability. The variability of the sea level was investigated by classical harmonic analysis and by morphology assessment over the tidal signal. The low frequencies were obtained by low-pass filtering. The tidal range oscillated with the highest value of 3.3 m during the equinox and the lowest value of 0.7 m during the solstice. Differences between the spring and neap tides were as high as 1 m. A total of 59 tidal constituents were obtained from harmonic analysis, and the regional tide was classified as semi-diurnal pure with a form number of 0.11. An assessment of the monthly variability of the main tidal constituents (M2, S2, N2, O1, and K1) indicated that the main semi-diurnal solar S2 presented the highest variability, ranging from 0.21 to 0.41 m; it was the main element altering the form number through the years. The low frequency sea-level variability is negligible, although there is a persistent signal with an energy peak in the 10-15 day period, and it cannot be explained by the effects of local winds.

  16. Maine Tidal Power Initiative: Environmental Impact Protocols For Tidal Power

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peterson, Michael Leroy [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME; Zydlewski, Gayle Barbin [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME; Xue, Huijie [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME; Johnson, Teresa R. [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME

    2014-02-02

    The Maine Tidal Power Initiative (MTPI), an interdisciplinary group of engineers, biologists, oceanographers, and social scientists, has been conducting research to evaluate tidal energy resources and better understand the potential effects and impacts of marine hydro-kinetic (MHK) development on the environment and local community. Project efforts include: 1) resource assessment, 2) development of initial device design parameters using scale model tests, 3) baseline environmental studies and monitoring, and 4) human and community responses. This work included in-situ measurement of the environmental and social response to the pre-commercial Turbine Generator Unit (TGU®) developed by Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) as well as considering the path forward for smaller community scale projects.

  17. A low-temperature companion to a white dwarf star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becklin, E. E.; Zuckerman, B.

    1988-01-01

    An infrared object located about 120 AU from the white dwarf GD165 has been discovered. With the exception of the possible brown dwarf companion to Giclas 29-38 reported last year, the companion to GD165 is the coolest (2100 K) dwarf star ever reported and, according to some theoretical models, it should be a substellar brown dwarf with a mass between 0.06 and 0.08 solar mass. These results, together with newly discovered low-mass stellar companions to white dwarfs, change the investigation of very low-mass stars from the study of a few chance objects to that of a statistical distribution. In particular, it appears that very low-mass stars and perhaps even brown dwarfs could be quite common in the Galaxy.

  18. VISCOELASTIC MODELS OF TIDALLY HEATED EXOMOONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobos, Vera; Turner, Edwin L.

    2015-01-01

    Tidal heating of exomoons may play a key role in their habitability, since the elevated temperature can melt the ice on the body even without significant solar radiation. The possibility of life has been intensely studied on solar system moons such as Europa or Enceladus where the surface ice layer covers a tidally heated water ocean. Tidal forces may be even stronger in extrasolar systems, depending on the properties of the moon and its orbit. To study the tidally heated surface temperature of exomoons, we used a viscoelastic model for the first time. This model is more realistic than the widely used, so-called fixed Q models because it takes into account the temperature dependence of the tidal heat flux and the melting of the inner material. Using this model, we introduced the circumplanetary Tidal Temperate Zone (TTZ), which strongly depends on the orbital period of the moon and less on its radius. We compared the results with the fixed Q model and investigated the statistical volume of the TTZ using both models. We have found that the viscoelastic model predicts 2.8 times more exomoons in the TTZ with orbital periods between 0.1 and 3.5 days than the fixed Q model for plausible distributions of physical and orbital parameters. The viscoelastic model provides more promising results in terms of habitability because the inner melting of the body moderates the surface temperature, acting like a thermostat

  19. VISCOELASTIC MODELS OF TIDALLY HEATED EXOMOONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dobos, Vera [Konkoly Thege Miklos Astronomical Institute, Research Centre of Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1121 Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, Budapest (Hungary); Turner, Edwin L., E-mail: dobos@konkoly.hu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 08544, 4 Ivy Lane, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ (United States)

    2015-05-01

    Tidal heating of exomoons may play a key role in their habitability, since the elevated temperature can melt the ice on the body even without significant solar radiation. The possibility of life has been intensely studied on solar system moons such as Europa or Enceladus where the surface ice layer covers a tidally heated water ocean. Tidal forces may be even stronger in extrasolar systems, depending on the properties of the moon and its orbit. To study the tidally heated surface temperature of exomoons, we used a viscoelastic model for the first time. This model is more realistic than the widely used, so-called fixed Q models because it takes into account the temperature dependence of the tidal heat flux and the melting of the inner material. Using this model, we introduced the circumplanetary Tidal Temperate Zone (TTZ), which strongly depends on the orbital period of the moon and less on its radius. We compared the results with the fixed Q model and investigated the statistical volume of the TTZ using both models. We have found that the viscoelastic model predicts 2.8 times more exomoons in the TTZ with orbital periods between 0.1 and 3.5 days than the fixed Q model for plausible distributions of physical and orbital parameters. The viscoelastic model provides more promising results in terms of habitability because the inner melting of the body moderates the surface temperature, acting like a thermostat.

  20. The Living with a Red Dwarf / Goldiloks Program: The Activity-Rotation-Age Relationships of M and K Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engle, Scott; Guinan, Edward Francis

    2018-01-01

    Over the past several years, the database of M dwarfs with determined ages has continually expanded, allowing us to furnish Activity-Rotation-Age Relationships as part of the Living with a Red Dwarf program. We have now begun to expand this successful program to also cover K dwarfs - the Goldiloks program. Both M and K dwarfs suffer from the same limitation - due to their long lifetimes and very slow nuclear evolution, the best method for determining ages for a large number of M and K dwarf targets is through “magnetic tracers” such as X-UV activity levels and stellar rotation rates. We report on the current results of our relationships: deriving photometric rotation rates; gathering X-UV measures with HST, IUE Chandra and XMM (both proposed by us, and archival); and assessing their impacts on our understanding of the evolutions and habitability of these stellar types.We gratefully acknowledge the support from NSF/RUI Grant AST 1009903, Chandra Grant GO-13200633, HST Grants GO-12124X and GO-13020X.

  1. Space distribution and physical properties of cool dwarf stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Staller, R.F.A.

    1979-01-01

    A new study of the space density of red dwarfs based on a sample of red dwarfs in a field of 238 square degrees towards the South Galactic Pole is presented. A blink survey using red and blue copies of Mount Palomar Sky Survey plates of a six square degrees field centered on the South Galactic Pole was performed and the results (approximately 2500 red objects) and the discussion of these results are presented. The time that elapsed before a black dwarf becomes invisible is estimated and is suggested that low-velocity red dwarfs could be explained by contracting black dwarfs. Based on theoretical considerations it can be shown that the existence of a large number of low-velocity stars is in serious conflict with criteria for the stability of the galactic disk. It is shown that if one also takes into account all generations of black dwarfs that are already invisible and therfore old, the mean velocity of all black dwarfs is much higher so that there is no conflict with theory. Luminosity functions of red and black dwarfs in several photometric passbands are calculated. (Auth.)

  2. A possible magnetic DA white dwarf

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wickramasinghe, D.T.; Bessell, M.S.

    1976-01-01

    The spectrum of a peculiar southern white dwarf suspect BPM 25114 is described. A possible magnetic interpretation suggests a DA white dwarf with a field of about 10 7 gauss. The star appears to be both a spectrum variable and perhaps light variable

  3. Long-lived ames dwarf mice are resistant to chemical stressors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bokov, Alex F; Lindsey, Merry L; Khodr, Christina; Sabia, Marian R; Richardson, Arlan

    2009-08-01

    To probe the connection between longevity and stress resistance, we compared the sensitivity of Ames long-lived dwarf mice and control littermates with paraquat, diquat, and dobutamine. In young adult animals, 95% of male and 39% of female controls died after paraquat administration, but no dwarf animals died. When the experiment was repeated at an older age or a higher dosage of paraquat, dwarf mice still showed greater resistance. Dwarf mice also were more resistant to diquat; 80% of male and 60% of female controls died compared with 40% and 20% of dwarf mice, despite greater sensitivity of dwarf liver to diquat. Dwarf mice were also less sensitive to dobutamine-induced cardiac stress and had lower levels of liver and lung F(2)-isoprostanes. This is the first direct in vivo evidence that long-lived Ames dwarf mice have enhanced resistance to chemical insult, particularly oxidative stressors.

  4. Tidal interactions with Kerr black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hiscock, W.A.

    1977-01-01

    The tidal deformation of an extended test body falling with zero angular momentum into a Kerr black hole is calculated. Numerical results for infall along the symmetry axis and in the equatorial plane of the black hole are presented for a range of values of a, the specific angular momentum of the black hole. Estimates of the tidal contribution to the gravitational radiation are also given. The tidal contribution in equatorial infall into a maximally rotating Kerr black hole may be of the same order as the center-of-mass contribution to the gravitational radiation

  5. Sweating the small stuff: simulating dwarf galaxies, ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, and their own tiny satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Coral; Oñorbe, Jose; Bullock, James S.; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Elbert, Oliver D.; Garrison-Kimmel, Shea; Hopkins, Philip F.; Kereš, Dušan

    2015-10-01

    We present Feedback in Realistic Environment (FIRE)/GIZMO hydrodynamic zoom-in simulations of isolated dark matter haloes, two each at the mass of classical dwarf galaxies (Mvir ≃ 1010 M⊙) and ultra-faint galaxies (Mvir ≃ 109 M⊙), and with two feedback implementations. The resulting central galaxies lie on an extrapolated abundance matching relation from M⋆ ≃ 106 to 104 M⊙ without a break. Every host is filled with subhaloes, many of which form stars. Each of our dwarfs with M⋆ ≃ 106 M⊙ has 1-2 well-resolved satellites with M⋆ = 3-200 × 103 M⊙. Even our isolated ultra-faint galaxies have star-forming subhaloes. If this is representative, dwarf galaxies throughout the Universe should commonly host tiny satellite galaxies of their own. We combine our results with the Exploring the Local Volume in Simulations (ELVIS) simulations to show that targeting ˜ 50 kpc regions around nearby isolated dwarfs could increase the chances of discovering ultra-faint galaxies by ˜35 per cent compared to random pointings, and specifically identify the region around the Phoenix dwarf galaxy as a good potential target. The well-resolved ultra-faint galaxies in our simulations (M⋆ ≃ 3-30 × 103 M⊙) form within Mpeak ≃ 0.5-3 × 109 M⊙ haloes. Each has a uniformly ancient stellar population ( > 10 Gyr) owing to reionization-related quenching. More massive systems, in contrast, all have late-time star formation. Our results suggest that Mhalo ≃ 5 × 109 M⊙ is a probable dividing line between haloes hosting reionization `fossils' and those hosting dwarfs that can continue to form stars in isolation after reionization.

  6. THE BROWN DWARF KINEMATICS PROJECT (BDKP). IV. RADIAL VELOCITIES OF 85 LATE-M AND L DWARFS WITH MagE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burgasser, Adam J. [Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States); Logsdon, Sarah E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, 430 Portola Plaza, Box 951547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Gagné, Jonathan [Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx), Université de Montréal, Département de Physique, C.P. 6128 Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Bochanski, John J. [Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (United States); Faherty, Jaqueline K. [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015 (United States); West, Andrew A. [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Mamajek, Eric E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 (United States); Schmidt, Sarah J. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Cruz, Kelle L., E-mail: aburgasser@ucsd.edu [Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10034 (United States)

    2015-09-15

    Radial velocity measurements are presented for 85 late M- and L-type very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs obtained with the Magellan Echellette spectrograph. Targets primarily have distances within 20 pc of the Sun, with more distant sources selected for their unusual spectral energy distributions. We achieved precisions of 2–3 km s{sup −1}, and combined these with astrometric and spectrophotometric data to calculate UVW velocities. Most are members of the thin disk of the Galaxy, and velocity dispersions indicate a mean age of 5.2 ± 0.2 Gyr for sources within 20 pc. We find signficantly different kinematic ages between late-M dwarfs (4.0 ± 0.2 Gyr) and L dwarfs (6.5 ± 0.4 Gyr) in our sample that are contrary to predictions from prior simulations. This difference appears to be driven by a dispersed population of unusually blue L dwarfs which may be more prevalent in our local volume-limited sample than in deeper magnitude-limited surveys. The L dwarfs exhibit an asymmetric U velocity distribution with a net inward flow, similar to gradients recently detected in local stellar samples. Simulations incorporating brown dwarf evolution and Galactic orbital dynamics are unable to reproduce the velocity asymmetry, suggesting non-axisymmetric perturbations or two distinct L dwarf populations. We also find the L dwarfs to have a kinematic age-activity correlation similar to more massive stars. We identify several sources with low surface gravities, and two new substellar candidate members of nearby young moving groups: the astrometric binary DENIS J08230313–4912012AB, a low-probability member of the β Pictoris Moving Group; and 2MASS J15104786–2818174, a moderate-probability member of the 30–50 Myr Argus Association.

  7. A multiwavelength study of superoutbursts in dwarf novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woerd, H.J. van der.

    1987-01-01

    Dwarf novae are stellar systems consisting of two stars which orbit around each other within a few hours. In dwarf novae one of the stars, which is a bit smaller and less massive than our sun, loses matter to a very compact and degenerated star: a white dwarf. This white dwarf has nearly the same mass as our sun but its radius is about a hundred times smaller. The process of mass transport was studied on the basis of observations with the Exosat-satelite (European X-ray Observatory satelite). 397 refs.; 50 figs.; 21 tabs

  8. White dwarf evolution - Cradle-to-grave constraints via pulsation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawaler, S.D.

    1990-01-01

    White dwarf evolution, particularly in the early phases, is not very strongly constrained by observation. Fortunately, white dwarfs undergo nonradial pulsation in three distinct regions of the H-R diagram. These pulsations provide accurate masses, surface compositional structure and rotation velocities, and help constrain other important physical properties. We demonstrate the application of the tools of stellar seismology to white dwarf evolution using the hot white dwarf star PG 1159-035 and the cool DAV (or ZZ Ceti) stars as examples. From pulsation studies, significant challenges to the theory of white dwarf evolution emerge. 44 refs

  9. Relevance of tidal heating on large TNOs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Prabal; Renaud, Joe P.; Henning, Wade G.; Jutzi, Martin; Hurford, Terry

    2018-03-01

    We examine the relevance of tidal heating for large Trans-Neptunian Objects, with a focus on its potential to melt and maintain layers of subsurface liquid water. Depending on their past orbital evolution, tidal heating may be an important part of the heat budget for a number of discovered and hypothetical TNO systems and may enable formation of, and increased access to, subsurface liquid water. Tidal heating induced by the process of despinning is found to be particularly able to compete with heating due to radionuclide decay in a number of different scenarios. In cases where radiogenic heating alone may establish subsurface conditions for liquid water, we focus on the extent by which tidal activity lifts the depth of such conditions closer to the surface. While it is common for strong tidal heating and long lived tides to be mutually exclusive, we find this is not always the case, and highlight when these two traits occur together. We find cases where TNO systems experience tidal heating that is a significant proportion of, or greater than radiogenic heating for periods ranging from100‧s of millions to a billion years. For subsurface oceans that contain a small antifreeze component, tidal heating due to very high initial spin states may enable liquid water to be preserved right up to the present day. Of particular interest is the Eris-Dysnomia system, which in those cases may exhibit extant cryovolcanism.

  10. No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Checlair, Jade; Menou, Kristen; Abbot, Dorian S.

    2017-08-01

    The TRAPPIST-1, Proxima Centauri, and LHS 1140 systems are the most exciting prospects for future follow-up observations of potentially inhabited planets. All of the planets orbit nearby M-stars and are likely tidally locked in 1:1 spin–orbit states, which motivates the consideration of the effects that tidal locking might have on planetary habitability. On Earth, periods of global glaciation (snowballs) may have been essential for habitability and remote signs of life (biosignatures) because they are correlated with increases in the complexity of life and in the atmospheric oxygen concentration. In this paper, we investigate the snowball bifurcation (sudden onset of global glaciation) on tidally locked planets using both an energy balance model and an intermediate-complexity global climate model. We show that tidally locked planets are unlikely to exhibit a snowball bifurcation as a direct result of the spatial pattern of insolation they receive. Instead, they will smoothly transition from partial to complete ice coverage and back. A major implication of this work is that tidally locked planets with an active carbon cycle should not be found in a snowball state. Moreover, this work implies that tidally locked planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone with low CO2 outgassing fluxes will equilibrate with a small unglaciated substellar region rather than cycling between warm and snowball states. More work is needed to determine how the lack of a snowball bifurcation might affect the development of life on a tidally locked planet.

  11. No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Checlair, Jade; Abbot, Dorian S.; Menou, Kristen

    2017-01-01

    The TRAPPIST-1, Proxima Centauri, and LHS 1140 systems are the most exciting prospects for future follow-up observations of potentially inhabited planets. All of the planets orbit nearby M-stars and are likely tidally locked in 1:1 spin–orbit states, which motivates the consideration of the effects that tidal locking might have on planetary habitability. On Earth, periods of global glaciation (snowballs) may have been essential for habitability and remote signs of life (biosignatures) because they are correlated with increases in the complexity of life and in the atmospheric oxygen concentration. In this paper, we investigate the snowball bifurcation (sudden onset of global glaciation) on tidally locked planets using both an energy balance model and an intermediate-complexity global climate model. We show that tidally locked planets are unlikely to exhibit a snowball bifurcation as a direct result of the spatial pattern of insolation they receive. Instead, they will smoothly transition from partial to complete ice coverage and back. A major implication of this work is that tidally locked planets with an active carbon cycle should not be found in a snowball state. Moreover, this work implies that tidally locked planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone with low CO 2 outgassing fluxes will equilibrate with a small unglaciated substellar region rather than cycling between warm and snowball states. More work is needed to determine how the lack of a snowball bifurcation might affect the development of life on a tidally locked planet.

  12. Tidal mixing in Dahej creek waters

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Swamy, G.N.; Sarma, R.V.

    Mixing characteristics of a tidal inlet near Dahej at the mouth of Narmada River, Gujarat, India are examined in terms of tides, currents and bathymetry. The dilution potential of the Dahej Creek waters during a tidal march for a given rate...

  13. IUE spectrophotometry of the DA4 primary in the short-period white dwarf-red dwarf spectroscopic binary Case 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sion, E. M.; Guinan, E. F.; Wesemael, F.

    1984-01-01

    Low-resolution ultraviolet International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra of the DA white dwarf Case 1 are presented. The spectra show the presence of the 1400 A feature, already discovered in several other DA stars, and of a shallower trough in the 1550-1700 A range. A model atmosphere analysis of the ultraviolet energy distribution of the Ly-alpha red wing yields T(e) = 13,000 + or - 500 K. Possible interpretations of the 1400 A feature are reviewed. Case 1 is the coolest white dwarf found in a short-period, detached white dwarf-red dwarf binary, and its cooling time is consistent with estimates of the efficiency of angular momentum removal mechanisms in the phases subsequent to common envelope binary evolution.

  14. Conditions for accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomoto, Kenichi; Kondo, Yoji

    1991-01-01

    Recent discovery of an unexpectedly large number of low-mass binary pulsars (LMBPs) in globular clusters has instigated active discussions on the evolutionary origin of binary pulsars. Prompted by the possibility that at least some of LMBPs originate from accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of white dwarfs, a reexamination is conducted as to whether or not AIC occurs for the new models of O + Ne + Mg white dwarfs and solid C + O white dwarfs that can ignite explosive nuclear burning at significantly lower central densities than in the previous models. Even with low critical densities, AIC is still much more likely than explosion for both types of white dwarfs. Possible regions for AIC are presented in a diagram of mass accretion rate vs initial mass of the white dwarfs. 42 refs

  15. White dwarf stars with carbon atmospheres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufour, P; Liebert, J; Fontaine, G; Behara, N

    2007-11-22

    White dwarfs represent the endpoint of stellar evolution for stars with initial masses between approximately 0.07 and 8-10, where is the mass of the Sun (more massive stars end their life as either black holes or neutron stars). The theory of stellar evolution predicts that the majority of white dwarfs have a core made of carbon and oxygen, which itself is surrounded by a helium layer and, for approximately 80 per cent of known white dwarfs, by an additional hydrogen layer. All white dwarfs therefore have been traditionally found to belong to one of two categories: those with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere (the DA spectral type) and those with a helium-rich atmosphere (the non-DAs). Here we report the discovery of several white dwarfs with atmospheres primarily composed of carbon, with little or no trace of hydrogen or helium. Our analysis shows that the atmospheric parameters found for these stars do not fit satisfactorily in any of the currently known theories of post-asymptotic giant branch evolution, although these objects might be the cooler counterpart of the unique and extensively studied PG 1159 star H1504+65 (refs 4-7). These stars, together with H1504+65, might accordingly form a new evolutionary sequence that follows the asymptotic giant branch.

  16. Geometry of tidal inlet systems : A key factor for the net sediment transport in tidal inlets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ridderinkhof, W.; de Swart, H. E.; van der Vegt, M.; Alebregtse, N. C.; Hoekstra, P.

    2014-01-01

    The net transport of sediment between the back-barrier basin and the sea is an important process for determining the stability of tidal inlet systems. Earlier studies showed that in a short basin, tidal flats favor peak ebb-currents stronger than peak flood currents, implying export of coarse

  17. HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE IMAGING AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF TWO BROWN DWARF BINARIES AT THE L DWARF/T DWARF TRANSITION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burgasser, Adam J.; Bardalez-Gagliuffi, Daniella C.; Gizis, John E.

    2011-01-01

    We present a detailed examination of the brown dwarf multiples 2MASS J08503593+1057156 and 2MASS J17281150+3948593, both suspected of harboring components that straddle the L dwarf/T dwarf transition. Resolved photometry from Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS shows opposite trends in the relative colors of the components, with the secondary of 2MASS J0850+1057 being redder than its primary, while that of 2MASS J1728+3948 is bluer. We determine near-infrared component types by matching combined-light, near-infrared spectral data to binary templates, with component spectra scaled to resolved NICMOS and K p photometry. Combinations of L7 + L6 for 2MASS J0850+1057 and L5 + L6.5 for 2MASS J1728+3948 are inferred. Remarkably, the primary of 2MASS J0850+1057 appears to have a later-type classification compared to its secondary, despite being 0.8-1.2 mag brighter in the near-infrared, while the primary of 2MASS J1728+3948 is unusually early for its combined-light optical classification. Comparison to absolute magnitude/spectral type trends also distinguishes these components, with 2MASS J0850+1057A being ∼1 mag brighter and 2MASS J1728+3948A ∼ 0.5 mag fainter than equivalently classified field counterparts. We deduce that thick condensate clouds are likely responsible for the unusual properties of 2MASS J1728+3948A, while 2MASS J0850+1057A is either an inflated young brown dwarf or a tight unresolved binary, making it potentially part of a wide, low-mass, hierarchical quintuple system.

  18. Genetic Segregation Analysis of a Rapeseed Dwarf Mutant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiang, G.; Yu, S.; Zhang, T.; Zhao, J.; Lei, S.; Du, C.

    2016-01-01

    Dwarf resources in Brassica napus are very important for developing high-yield cultivars through dwarf-type and lodging-resistant breeding. However, few dwarf varieties have been available for this species. Here, we reported a new rapeseed dwarf mutant GRC1157, which exhibits obvious phenotypic variations on dwarf. Six generations (P /sub 1/, P/sub 1/, F/sub 1/, F/sub 1/, B/sub 1/, and B/sub 1/) were produced from a cross between dwarf mutant GRC1157 and an elite tall-type line XR16 to analyze genetic inheritances of plant height (PH), numbers of the 1st valid branch (VBN), main inflorescence length (MIL), pod numbers per main inflorescence (MPN), pod length (PL) and seed numbers per pod (PSN) using the mixed major gene plus polygene inheritance model. The genetic analysis shows different traits were controlled by different inheritance models: PH and PL by two pairs of additive-dominant-epistatic major genes plus additive-dominant-epistatic polygenes, MPN and PSN by two-pair additive-dominant-epistatic major genes plus additive-dominant polygenes, MIL by two-pair additive-dominant-epistatic major genes and VBN by one-pair additive-dominant major genes plus additive-dominant-epistatic polygenes. Furthermore, positive correlations between PH and some other traits were observed, suggesting that some traits may be co-regulated by several linkage or same loci/genes. In addition, high heritability (40.35-93.7 percent) were found for five traits (except VBN) in different segregating generations, indicating these traits were mainly affected by hereditary factors and suitable for early artificial selection. In sum, the dwarf mutant GRC1157 can serve as a valuable resource for rapeseed dwarf breeding and the genetic analysis in this study provided a foundation for further mapping and cloning dwarf genes in mutant GRC1157. (author)

  19. Tidal variations of earth rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoder, C. F.; Williams, J. G.; Parke, M. E.

    1981-01-01

    The periodic variations of the earths' rotation resulting from the tidal deformation of the earth by the sun and moon were rederived including terms with amplitudes of 0.002 millisec and greater. The series applies to the mantle, crust, and oceans which rotate together for characteristic tidal periods; the scaling parameter is the ratio of the fraction of the Love number producing tidal variations in the moment of inertia of the coupled mantle and oceans (k) to the dimensionless polar moment of inertia of the coupled moments (C). The lunar laser ranging data shows that k/C at monthly and fortnightly frequencies equals 0.99 + or - 0.15 and 0.99 + or - 0.20 as compared to the theoretical value of 0.94 + or - 0.04.

  20. CCD photometry of apparent dwarf galaxies in Fornax

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillipps, S.; Grimley, P.L.; Disney, M.J.; Cawson, M.G.M.; Kibblewhite, E.J.

    1986-01-01

    Blue and red CCD surface photometry of two apparent dwarf galaxies in the Fornax cluster region is presented. Luminosity profiles are derived and their form discussed. The fainter galaxy resembles an archetypal diffuse dwarf elliptical but the brighter of the pair is either an unusual red dwarf or a background galaxy in chance juxtaposition. (author)

  1. A BROWN DWARF CENSUS FROM THE SIMP SURVEY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert, Jasmin; Gagné, Jonathan; Artigau, Étienne; Lafrenière, David; Nadeau, Daniel; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Albert, Loïc; Simard, Corinne [Département de physique and Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Gagliuffi, Daniella C. Bardalez; Burgasser, Adam J., E-mail: jasmin@astro.umontreal.ca [Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., Mail Code 0424, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)

    2016-10-20

    We have conducted a near-infrared (NIR) proper motion survey, the Sondage Infrarouge de Mouvement Propre, in order to discover field ultracool dwarfs (UCD) in the solar neighborhood. The survey was conducted by imaging ∼28% of the sky with the Caméra PAnoramique Proche-InfraRouge both in the southern hemisphere at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.5 m telescope, and in the northern hemisphere at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic 1.6 m telescope and comparing the source positions from these observations with the Two Micron All-Sky Survey Point Source Catalog (2MASS PSC). Additional color criteria were used to further discriminate unwanted astrophysical sources. We present the results of an NIR spectroscopic follow-up of 169 M, L, and T dwarfs. Among the sources discovered are 2 young field brown dwarfs, 6 unusually red M and L dwarfs, 25 unusually blue M and L dwarfs, 2 candidate unresolved L+T binaries, and 24 peculiar UCDs. Additionally, we add 9 L/T transition dwarfs (L6–T4.5) to the already known objects.

  2. A BROWN DWARF CENSUS FROM THE SIMP SURVEY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robert, Jasmin; Gagné, Jonathan; Artigau, Étienne; Lafrenière, David; Nadeau, Daniel; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Albert, Loïc; Simard, Corinne; Gagliuffi, Daniella C. Bardalez; Burgasser, Adam J.

    2016-01-01

    We have conducted a near-infrared (NIR) proper motion survey, the Sondage Infrarouge de Mouvement Propre, in order to discover field ultracool dwarfs (UCD) in the solar neighborhood. The survey was conducted by imaging ∼28% of the sky with the Caméra PAnoramique Proche-InfraRouge both in the southern hemisphere at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.5 m telescope, and in the northern hemisphere at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic 1.6 m telescope and comparing the source positions from these observations with the Two Micron All-Sky Survey Point Source Catalog (2MASS PSC). Additional color criteria were used to further discriminate unwanted astrophysical sources. We present the results of an NIR spectroscopic follow-up of 169 M, L, and T dwarfs. Among the sources discovered are 2 young field brown dwarfs, 6 unusually red M and L dwarfs, 25 unusually blue M and L dwarfs, 2 candidate unresolved L+T binaries, and 24 peculiar UCDs. Additionally, we add 9 L/T transition dwarfs (L6–T4.5) to the already known objects.

  3. Dwarf Galaxies in the Chandra COSMOS Legacy Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Civano, Francesca Maria; Mezcua, Mar; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Marchesi, Stefano; Suh, Hyewon; Volonteri, Marta; cyrille

    2018-01-01

    The existence of intermediate mass black holes (100 7. While detecting these seed black holes in the young Universe is observationally challenging, the nuclei of local dwarf galaxies are among the best places where to look for them as these galaxies resemble in mass and metallicity the first galaxies and they have not significantly grown through merger and accretion processes. We present a sample of 40 AGN in dwarf galaxies (107 0.5, our sample constitutes the highest-redshift discovery of AGN in dwarf galaxies. One of the dwarf galaxies is the least massive galaxy (M* = 6.6x107 Msun) found so far to host an active BH. We also present for the first time the evolution of the AGN fraction with stellar mass, X-ray luminosity, and redshift in dwarf galaxies out to z = 0.7, finding that it decreases with X-ray luminosity and stellar mass. Unlike massive galaxies, the AGN fraction is found to decrease with redshift, suggesting that AGN in dwarf galaxies evolve differently than those in high-mass galaxies.

  4. Possible new class of dense white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glendenning, N.K.; Kettner, C.; Weber, F.

    1995-01-01

    If the strange quark matter hypothesis is true, then a new class of white dwarfs can exist whose nuclear material in their deep interiors can have a density as high as the neutron drip density, a few hundred times the density in maximum-mass white dwarfs and 4x10 4 the density in dwarfs of mass, M∼0.6 M circle-dot . Their masses fall in the approximate range 10 -4 to 1 M circle-dot . They are stable against acoustical modes of vibration. A strange quark core stabilizes these stars, which otherwise would have central densities that would place them in the unstable region of the sequence between white dwarfs and neutron stars. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

  5. THE NEXT GENERATION VIRGO CLUSTER SURVEY. VI. THE KINEMATICS OF ULTRA-COMPACT DWARFS AND GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN M87

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Hong-Xin; Peng, Eric W.; Li, Biao [Department of Astronomy, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Côté, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Gwyn, Stephen D. J.; Blakeslee, John P. [National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Program, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada); Liu, Chengze [Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Cuillandre, Jean-Charles [Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, Kamuela, HI 96743 (United States); Caldwell, Nelson [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Jordán, Andrés; Muñoz, Roberto P.; Puzia, Thomas H. [Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 7820436 Macul, Santiago (Chile); Lançon, Ariane [Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l' Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Bekki, Kenji [School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, NSW (Australia); Boselli, Alessandro [Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, F-13388 Marseille (France); Drinkwater, Michael J. [School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072 (Australia); Duc, Pierre-Alain, E-mail: hongxin@pku.edu.cn, E-mail: peng@pku.edu.cn [Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CNRS/INSU, Université Paris Diderot, CEA/IRFU/SAp, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); and others

    2015-03-20

    The origin of ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs; r{sub h} ≳ 10 pc)—objects larger and more massive than typical globular clusters (GCs), but more compact than typical dwarf galaxies—has been hotly debated in the 15 years since their discovery. Even whether UCDs should be considered galactic in origin, or simply the most extreme star clusters, is not yet settled. We present the dynamical properties of 97 spectroscopically confirmed UCDs and 911 GCs associated with the central cD galaxy of the Virgo cluster, M87. Our UCDs, of which 89% have M {sub *} ≳ 2× 10{sup 6} M {sub ☉} and 92% are as blue as the classic blue GCs, nearly triple the confirmed sample of Virgo UCDs, providing by far the best opportunity for studying global dynamics of a UCD system. We found that (1) UCDs have a surface number density profile that is shallower than that of blue GCs in the inner ∼70 kpc and as steep as that of red GCs at larger radii; (2) UCDs exhibit a significantly stronger rotation than GCs, and blue GCs seem to have a velocity field that is more consistent with that of the surrounding dwarf ellipticals than with that of UCDs; (3) UCDs have an orbital anisotropy profile that is tangentially biased at radii ≲40 kpc and radially biased farther out, whereas blue GCs become more tangentially biased at larger radii beyond ∼40 kpc; (4) GCs with M {sub *} ≳ 2 × 10{sup 6} M {sub ☉} have rotational properties indistinguishable from the less massive ones, suggesting that it is the size, instead of mass, that differentiates UCDs from GCs as kinematically distinct populations. We conclude that most UCDs in M87 are not consistent with being merely the most luminous and extended examples of otherwise normal GCs. The radially biased orbital structure of UCDs at large radii is in general agreement with the 'tidally threshed dwarf galaxy' scenario.

  6. THE NEXT GENERATION VIRGO CLUSTER SURVEY. VI. THE KINEMATICS OF ULTRA-COMPACT DWARFS AND GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN M87

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Hong-Xin; Peng, Eric W.; Li, Biao; Côté, Patrick; Ferrarese, Laura; Gwyn, Stephen D. J.; Blakeslee, John P.; Liu, Chengze; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Caldwell, Nelson; Jordán, Andrés; Muñoz, Roberto P.; Puzia, Thomas H.; Lançon, Ariane; Bekki, Kenji; Boselli, Alessandro; Drinkwater, Michael J.; Duc, Pierre-Alain

    2015-01-01

    The origin of ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs; r h ≳ 10 pc)—objects larger and more massive than typical globular clusters (GCs), but more compact than typical dwarf galaxies—has been hotly debated in the 15 years since their discovery. Even whether UCDs should be considered galactic in origin, or simply the most extreme star clusters, is not yet settled. We present the dynamical properties of 97 spectroscopically confirmed UCDs and 911 GCs associated with the central cD galaxy of the Virgo cluster, M87. Our UCDs, of which 89% have M *  ≳ 2× 10 6 M ☉ and 92% are as blue as the classic blue GCs, nearly triple the confirmed sample of Virgo UCDs, providing by far the best opportunity for studying global dynamics of a UCD system. We found that (1) UCDs have a surface number density profile that is shallower than that of blue GCs in the inner ∼70 kpc and as steep as that of red GCs at larger radii; (2) UCDs exhibit a significantly stronger rotation than GCs, and blue GCs seem to have a velocity field that is more consistent with that of the surrounding dwarf ellipticals than with that of UCDs; (3) UCDs have an orbital anisotropy profile that is tangentially biased at radii ≲40 kpc and radially biased farther out, whereas blue GCs become more tangentially biased at larger radii beyond ∼40 kpc; (4) GCs with M *  ≳ 2 × 10 6 M ☉ have rotational properties indistinguishable from the less massive ones, suggesting that it is the size, instead of mass, that differentiates UCDs from GCs as kinematically distinct populations. We conclude that most UCDs in M87 are not consistent with being merely the most luminous and extended examples of otherwise normal GCs. The radially biased orbital structure of UCDs at large radii is in general agreement with the 'tidally threshed dwarf galaxy' scenario

  7. POPULATION PROPERTIES OF BROWN DWARF ANALOGS TO EXOPLANETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Gagne, Jonathan; Weinberger, Alycia; Riedel, Adric R.; Cruz, Kelle L.; Filippazzo, Joseph C.; Lambrides, Erini; Fica, Haley; Baldassare, Vivienne; Lemonier, Emily; Rice, Emily L.; Thorstensen, John R.; Tinney, C. G.

    2016-01-01

    We present a kinematic analysis of 152 low surface gravity M7-L8 dwarfs by adding 18 new parallaxes (including 10 for comparative field objects), 38 new radial velocities, and 19 new proper motions. We also add low- or moderate-resolution near-infrared spectra for 43 sources confirming their low surface gravity features. Among the full sample, we find 39 objects to be high-likelihood or new bona fide members of nearby moving groups, 92 objects to be ambiguous members and 21 objects that are non-members. Using this age-calibrated sample, we investigate trends in gravity classification, photometric color, absolute magnitude, color–magnitude, luminosity, and effective temperature. We find that gravity classification and photometric color clearly separate 5–130 Myr sources from >3 Gyr field objects, but they do not correlate one to one with the narrower 5–130 Myr age range. Sources with the same spectral subtype in the same group have systematically redder colors, but they are distributed between 1 and 4 σ from the field sequences and the most extreme outlier switches between intermediate- and low-gravity sources either confirmed in a group or not. The absolute magnitudes of low-gravity sources from the J band through W 3 show a flux redistribution when compared to equivalently typed field brown dwarfs that is correlated with spectral subtype. Low-gravity, late-type L dwarfs are fainter at J than the field sequence but brighter by W 3. Low-gravity M dwarfs are >1 mag brighter than field dwarfs in all bands from J through W 3. Clouds, which are a far more dominant opacity source for L dwarfs, are the likely cause. On color–magnitude diagrams, the latest-type, low-gravity L dwarfs drive the elbow of the L/T transition up to 1 mag redder and 1 mag fainter than field dwarfs at M J but are consistent with or brighter than the elbow at M W1 and M W2 . We conclude that low-gravity dwarfs carry an extreme version of the cloud conditions of field objects to lower

  8. Infrared spectrum of an extremely cool white-dwarf star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodgkin; Oppenheimer; Hambly; Jameson; Smartt; Steele

    2000-01-06

    White dwarfs are the remnant cores of stars that initially had masses of less than 8 solar masses. They cool gradually over billions of years, and have been suggested to make up much of the 'dark matter' in the halo of the Milky Way. But extremely cool white dwarfs have proved difficult to detect, owing to both their faintness and their anticipated similarity in colour to other classes of dwarf stars. Recent improved models indicate that white dwarfs are much more blue than previously supposed, suggesting that the earlier searches may have been looking for the wrong kinds of objects. Here we report an infrared spectrum of an extremely cool white dwarf that is consistent with the new models. We determine the star's temperature to be 3,500 +/- 200 K, making it the coolest known white dwarf. The kinematics of this star indicate that it is in the halo of the Milky Way, and the density of such objects implied by the serendipitous discovery of this star is consistent with white dwarfs dominating the dark matter in the halo.

  9. Identifying Likely Disk-hosting M dwarfs with Disk Detective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverberg, Steven; Wisniewski, John; Kuchner, Marc J.; Disk Detective Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    M dwarfs are critical targets for exoplanet searches. Debris disks often provide key information as to the formation and evolution of planetary systems around higher-mass stars, alongside the planet themselves. However, less than 300 M dwarf debris disks are known, despite M dwarfs making up 70% of the local neighborhood. The Disk Detective citizen science project has identified over 6000 new potential disk host stars from the AllWISE catalog over the past three years. Here, we present preliminary results of our search for new disk-hosting M dwarfs in the survey. Based on near-infrared color cuts and fitting stellar models to photometry, we have identified over 500 potential new M dwarf disk hosts, nearly doubling the known number of such systems. In this talk, we present our methodology, and outline our ongoing work to confirm systems as M dwarf disks.

  10. THE WHITE DWARF AGE OF NGC 2477

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeffery, Elizabeth J.; Von Hippel, Ted; DeGennaro, Steven; Jefferys, William H.; Van Dyk, David A.; Stein, Nathan

    2011-01-01

    We present deep photometric observations of the open cluster NGC 2477 using HST/WFPC2. By identifying seven cluster white dwarf candidates, we present an analysis of the white dwarf age of this cluster, using both the traditional method of fitting isochrones to the white dwarf cooling sequence, and by employing a new Bayesian statistical technique that has been developed by our group. This new method performs an objective, simultaneous model fit of the cluster and stellar parameters (namely, age, metallicity, distance, reddening, as well as individual stellar masses, mass ratios, and cluster membership) to the photometry. Based on this analysis, we measure a white dwarf age of 1.035 ± 0.054 ± 0.087 Gyr (uncertainties represent the goodness of model fits and discrepancy among models, respectively) in good agreement with the cluster's main-sequence turnoff age. This work is part of our ongoing work to calibrate main-sequence turnoff and white dwarf ages using open clusters, and to improve the precision of cluster ages to the ∼5% level.

  11. Branes constrictions with White Dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    García-Aspeitia, Miguel A.

    2015-01-01

    We consider here a robust study of stellar dynamics for white dwarf stars with polytropic matter in the weak-field approximation using the Lane–Emden equation from the brane-world scenario. We also derive an analytical solution to the nonlocal energy density and show the behavior and sensitivity of these stars to the presence of extra dimensions. Similarly, we analyze stability and compactness, in order to show whether it is possible to agree with the conventional wisdom of white dwarfs dynamics. Our results predict an average value of the brane tension of <λ>≳84.818 MeV 4 , with a standard deviation σ≃82.021 MeV 4 , which comes from a sample of dwarf stars, being weaker than other astrophysical observations but remaining higher than cosmological results provided by nucleosynthesis among others

  12. Topics in white dwarf astrophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hintzen, P.M.N.

    1975-01-01

    This study was designed to investigate the apparent deficiency, compared to theoretical predictions, of cool degenerate stars. Two approaches to the problem were employed: a spectroscopic survey designed to identify red degenerates, and a model atmospheres study of the spectroscopic and photometric differences between red dwarfs and red degenerate stars. On computed atmospheric models for white dwarfs at the temperatures under investigation. Line profiles obtained from these models indicate that degenerate stars with T/sub e/ approximately 6000 0 K and depleted surface metals would be extremely difficult to identify spectroscopically. Their hydrogen and calcium line profiles would strongly resemble those of classical sub-dwarfs. Three apparently degenerate stars whose spectral features match our predictions have been identified. These results indicate that the existence of the previously postulated deficiency of red degenerate stars is uncertain

  13. No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Checlair, Jade; Abbot, Dorian S. [Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Menou, Kristen, E-mail: jadecheclair@uchicago.edu [Centre for Planetary Sciences, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4 (Canada)

    2017-08-20

    The TRAPPIST-1, Proxima Centauri, and LHS 1140 systems are the most exciting prospects for future follow-up observations of potentially inhabited planets. All of the planets orbit nearby M-stars and are likely tidally locked in 1:1 spin–orbit states, which motivates the consideration of the effects that tidal locking might have on planetary habitability. On Earth, periods of global glaciation (snowballs) may have been essential for habitability and remote signs of life (biosignatures) because they are correlated with increases in the complexity of life and in the atmospheric oxygen concentration. In this paper, we investigate the snowball bifurcation (sudden onset of global glaciation) on tidally locked planets using both an energy balance model and an intermediate-complexity global climate model. We show that tidally locked planets are unlikely to exhibit a snowball bifurcation as a direct result of the spatial pattern of insolation they receive. Instead, they will smoothly transition from partial to complete ice coverage and back. A major implication of this work is that tidally locked planets with an active carbon cycle should not be found in a snowball state. Moreover, this work implies that tidally locked planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone with low CO{sub 2} outgassing fluxes will equilibrate with a small unglaciated substellar region rather than cycling between warm and snowball states. More work is needed to determine how the lack of a snowball bifurcation might affect the development of life on a tidally locked planet.

  14. Variable Stars in the M31 Dwarf Spheroidal Companion Cassiopeia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pritzl, Barton J.; Armandroff, T. E.; Jacoby, G. H.; Da Costa, G. S.

    2007-12-01

    Dwarf spheroidal galaxies show very diverse star formation histories. For the Galactic dwarf spheroidal galaxies, a correlation exists between Galactocentric distance and the prominence of intermediate-age ( 2 - 10 Gyr) populations. To test whether this correlation exists for the M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxies, we observed the Cassiopeia (And VII) dwarf galaxy, which is one of the most distant M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We will present the results of a variable star search using HST/ACS data, along with a preliminary color-magnitude diagram. From the RR Lyrae stars we can obtain an independent distance and metallicity estimate for the dwarf galaxy. These results will be compared to those found for the other M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxies.This research is supported in part by NASA through grant number GO-11081.11 from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

  15. ROBO-AO M DWARF MULTIPLICITY SURVEY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamman, Claire; Berta-Thompson, Zachory; Baranec, Christoph; Law, Nicholas; Schonhut, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    We analyzed over 7,000 observations from Robo-AO’s field M dwarf survey taken on the 2.1m Kitt Peak telescope. Results will help determine the multiplicity fraction of M dwarfs as a function of primary mass, which is a crucial step towards understanding their evolution and formation mechanics. Through its robotic, laser-guided, and automated system, the Robo-AO instrument has yielded the largest adaptive-optics M dwarf survey to date. I developed a graphical user interface to quickly analyze this data. Initial data analysis included assessing data quality, checking the result from Robo-AO’s automatic reduction pipeline, and determining existence as well as the relative position of companions through a visual inspection. This program can be applied to other datasets and was successfully tested by re-analyzing observations from a separate Robo-AO survey. Following the preliminary results from this data analysis tool, further observations were done with the Keck II telescope by using its NIRC2 imager to follow up on ten select targets for the existence and physical association of companions. After a conservative initial cut for quality, 356 companions were found within 4” of a primary star out of 2,746 high quality Robo-AO M dwarf observations, including four triple systems. We will present a preliminary estimate for the multiplicity rate of wide M dwarf companions after accounting for observation limitations and the completeness of our search. Future research will yield insights into low-mass stellar formation and provide a database of nearby M dwarf multiples that will potentially assist ongoing and future surveys for planets around these stars, such as the NASA TESS mission.

  16. Molecular characterization of barley 3H semi-dwarf genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haobing Li

    Full Text Available The barley chromosome 3H accommodates many semi-dwarfing genes. To characterize these genes, the two-rowed semi-dwarf Chinese barley landrace 'TX9425' was crossed with the Australian barley variety 'Franklin' to generate a doubled haploid (DH population, and major QTLs controlling plant height have been identified in our previous study. The major QTL derived from 'TX9425' was targeted to investigate the allelism of the semi-dwarf gene uzu in barley. Twelve sets of near-isogenic lines and a large NILF2 fine mapping population segregating only for the dwarfing gene from 'TX9425' were developed. The semi-dwarfing gene in 'TX9425' was located within a 2.8 cM region close to the centromere on chromosome 3H by fine mapping. Molecular cloning and sequence analyses showed that the 'TX9425'-derived allele contained a single nucleotide substitution from A to G at position 2612 of the HvBRI1 gene. This was apparently the same mutation as that reported in six-rowed uzu barley. Markers co-segregating with the QTL were developed from the sequence of the HvBRI1 gene and were validated in the 'TX9425'/'Franklin' DH population. The other major dwarfing QTL derived from the Franklin variety was distally located on chromosome 3HL and co-segregated with the sdw1 diagnostic marker hv20ox2. A third dwarfing gene, expressed only in winter-sown trials, was identified and located on chromosome 3HS. The effects and interactions of these dwarfing genes under different growing conditions are discussed. These results improve our understanding of the genetic mechanisms controlling semi-dwarf stature in barley and provide diagnostic markers for the selection of semi-dwarfness in barley breeding programs.

  17. TIDAL EVOLUTION OF CLOSE-IN PLANETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumura, Soko; Rasio, Frederic A.; Peale, Stanton J.

    2010-01-01

    Recent discoveries of several transiting planets with clearly non-zero eccentricities and some large obliquities started changing the simple picture of close-in planets having circular and well-aligned orbits. The two major scenarios that form such close-in planets are planet migration in a disk and planet-planet interactions combined with tidal dissipation. The former scenario can naturally produce a circular and low-obliquity orbit, while the latter implicitly assumes an initially highly eccentric and possibly high-obliquity orbit, which are then circularized and aligned via tidal dissipation. Most of these close-in planets experience orbital decay all the way to the Roche limit as previous studies showed. We investigate the tidal evolution of transiting planets on eccentric orbits, and find that there are two characteristic evolution paths for them, depending on the relative efficiency of tidal dissipation inside the star and the planet. Our study shows that each of these paths may correspond to migration and scattering scenarios. We further point out that the current observations may be consistent with the scattering scenario, where the circularization of an initially eccentric orbit occurs before the orbital decay primarily due to tidal dissipation in the planet, while the alignment of the stellar spin and orbit normal occurs on a similar timescale to the orbital decay largely due to dissipation in the star. We also find that even when the stellar spin-orbit misalignment is observed to be small at present, some systems could have had a highly misaligned orbit in the past, if their evolution is dominated by tidal dissipation in the star. Finally, we also re-examine the recent claim by Levrard et al. that all orbital and spin parameters, including eccentricity and stellar obliquity, evolve on a similar timescale to orbital decay. This counterintuitive result turns out to have been caused by a typo in their numerical code. Solving the correct set of tidal

  18. Relativistic tidal properties of neutron stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Damour, Thibault; Nagar, Alessandro

    2009-01-01

    We study the various linear responses of neutron stars to external relativistic tidal fields. We focus on three different tidal responses, associated to three different tidal coefficients: (i) a gravito-electric-type coefficient Gμ l =[length] 2l+1 measuring the lth-order mass multipolar moment GM a 1 ...a l induced in a star by an external lth-order gravito-electric tidal field G a 1 ...a l ; (ii) a gravito-magnetic-type coefficient Gσ l =[length] 2l+1 measuring the lth spin multipole moment GS a 1 ...a l induced in a star by an external lth-order gravito-magnetic tidal field H a 1 ...a l ; and (iii) a dimensionless 'shape' Love number h l measuring the distortion of the shape of the surface of a star by an external lth-order gravito-electric tidal field. All the dimensionless tidal coefficients Gμ l /R 2l+1 , Gσ l /R 2l+1 , and h l (where R is the radius of the star) are found to have a strong sensitivity to the value of the star's 'compactness'c≡GM/(c 0 2 R) (where we indicate by c 0 the speed of light). In particular, Gμ l /R 2l+1 ∼k l is found to strongly decrease, as c increases, down to a zero value as c is formally extended to the 'black hole (BH) limit'c BH =1/2. The shape Love number h l is also found to significantly decrease as c increases, though it does not vanish in the formal limit c→c BH , but is rather found to agree with the recently determined shape Love numbers of black holes. The formal vanishing of μ l and σ l as c→c BH is a consequence of the no-hair properties of black holes. This vanishing suggests, but in no way proves, that the effective action describing the gravitational interactions of black holes may not need to be augmented by nonminimal worldline couplings.

  19. Thermochemical modelling of brown dwarf discs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Greenwood, A. J.; Kamp, I.; Waters, L. B. F. M.; Woitke, P.; Thi, W.-F.; Rab, Ch.; Aresu, G.; Spaans, M.

    The physical properties of brown dwarf discs, in terms of their shapes and sizes, are still largely unexplored by observations. ALMA has by far the best capabilities to observe these discs in sub-mm CO lines and dust continuum, while also spatially resolving some discs. To what extent brown dwarf

  20. White dwarfs in cataclysmic variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sion, E.M.

    1987-01-01

    The physical properties and evolutionary state of the underlying white dwarfs in CVs are explored. Observations of 25 white dwarfs with effective temperature upper limits of 9000-75,000 K are discussed. Correlations between effective temperature, orbital period, accretion rate, and CV type with respect to the CV period gap are considered. Quasi-static and hydrodynamic evolutionary models are used to explain the surface temperature/luminosity distribution ratios. 42 references

  1. Assessment of Kinetic Tidal Energy Resources Using SELFE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manasa Ranjan Behera

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available An investigation is carried out to study the theoretical tidal stream energy resource in the Singapore Strait to support the search for renewable energy in the effort to reduce the carbon footprints in the Southeast Asia. The tidal hydrodynamics in the Singapore Strait has been simulated using a Semi-implicit Eulerian-Lagrangian Finite-Element (SELFE model solving the 3D shallow water equations with Boussinesq approximations. Potential sites, with high tidal current (2.5 m/s and suitable for Tidal Energy Converter (TEC array installation to generate sustainable energy, have been identified. Further, various operational factors for installation of Tidal Energy Converters are considered before computing the theoretical power output for a typical TEC array. An approximate estimation of the possible theoretical power extraction from a TEC array shows an energy potential of up to 4.36% of the total energy demand of Singapore in 2011. Thus, the study suggests a detailed investigation of potential sites to quantify the total tidal stream energy potential in the Singapore Strait.

  2. Tidal energy, a renewable energy within hand reach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Danielo, O.

    2011-01-01

    Tide energy and oceanic current energy represent a strong potentiality for a few countries in the world including France. In the domain of tidal energy there are 2 strategies. The first one is based on the search for the lowest power production cost in order to contribute efficiently to the country's energy mix. Generally this strategy leads to the construction of tidal dams. The second strategy is based on the search for the lowest environmental impact. This strategy is economically competitive only in places where electrical power is expensive like isolated islands. This strategy is illustrated by the tidal power station of the Alderney island. In fact the amount of energy delivered by a tidal power station depends on the rise of the tide and on the surface of the dam. It appears that tidal dams require less surface that hydroelectric power plants. The energy of oceanic currents like Gulf Stream or the thermal energy of oceans or wave power are very little exploited now but represent a potentiality higher by several orders of magnitude than tidal energy. (A.C.)

  3. The complete nucleotide sequence of the Barley yellow dwarf virus-RMV genome reveals it to be a new Polerovirus distantly related to other yellow dwarf viruses

    Science.gov (United States)

    The yellow dwarf viruses (YDVs) of the Luteoviridae family represent the most widespread group of cereal viruses worldwide. They include the Barley yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs) of genus Luteovirus, the Cereal yellow dwarf viruses (CYDVs) and Wheat yellow dwarf virus (WYDV) of genus Polerovirus. All ...

  4. Dusty Dwarfs Galaxies Occulting A Bright Background Spiral

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holwerda, Benne

    2017-08-01

    The role of dust in shaping the spectral energy distributions of low mass disk galaxies remains poorly understood. Recent results from the Herschel Space Observatory imply that dwarf galaxies contain large amounts of cool (T 20K) dust, coupled with very modest optical extinctions. These seemingly contradictory conclusions may be resolved if dwarfs harbor a variety of dust geometries, e.g., dust at larger galactocentric radii or in quiescent dark clumps. We propose HST observations of six truly occulting dwarf galaxies drawn from the Galaxy Zoo catalog of silhouetted galaxy pairs. Confirmed, true occulting dwarfs are rare as most low-mass disks in overlap are either close satellites or do not have a confirmed redshift. Dwarf occulters are the key to determining the spatial extent of dust, the small scale structure introduced by turbulence, and the prevailing dust attenuation law. The recent spectroscopic confirmation of bona-fide low mass occulting dwarfs offers an opportunity to map dust in these with HST. What is the role of dust in the SED of these dwarf disk galaxies? With shorter feedback scales, how does star-formation affect their morphology and dust composition, as revealed from their attenuation curve? The resolution of HST allows us to map the dust disks down to the fine scale structure of molecular clouds and multi-wavelength imaging maps the attenuation curve and hence dust composition in these disks. We therefore ask for 2 orbits on each of 6 dwarf galaxies in F275W, F475W, F606W, F814W and F125W to map dust from UV to NIR to constrain the attenuation curve.

  5. Physiological values of some blood indicators in selected dwarf rabbit breeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Šimek

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of breed on haematological and biochemical indicators in 3 dwarf rabbit breeds. In the experiment, 30 sexually intact dwarf rabbit females aged 6 mo were used. With the sole exception of white blood cells and haematocrit value, breed had the most significant effect on the majority of haematological indicators monitored. The red blood cell count was higher in the Dwarf Lop compared to the Netherland Dwarf (+1.91×1012 cells/L; P<0.05 and also the Teddy Dwarf (+1.32×1012 cells/L; P<0.05. For haemoglobin concentration, a higher value was found in the Netherland Dwarf than in the Teddy Dwarf (+39.29 g/L; P<0.05 and the Dwarf Lop (+26.36 g/L; P<0.05. For erythrocytic indicators, the highest values of mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration were found in the Netherland Dwarf. The breed had a significant effect on the urea and potassium values. A higher value of urea was recorded in the Dwarf Lop compared to the Teddy Dwarf (+1.56 mmol/L; P<0.05. For potassium, a higher value was found in the Netherland Dwarf compared to the Teddy Dwarf (+0.85 mmol/L; P<0.05. In addition, a significantly positive correlation (P<0.05 was found between the live weight of dwarf females and values of haematocrit (0.49, albumin (0.54, alanine aminotransferase (0.51, and aspartate aminotransferase (0.41, while a significantly negative correlation (P<0.05 was found between their live weight and values of triacylglycerols (–0.44, alkaline phosphatase (–0.38 and inorganic phosphorus (–0.52.

  6. Geometro-thermodynamics of tidal charged black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gergely, Laszlo Arpad; Pidokrajt, Narit; Winitzki, Sergei

    2011-01-01

    Tidal charged spherically symmetric vacuum brane black holes are characterized by their mass m and tidal charge q, an imprint of the five-dimensional Weyl curvature. For q>0 they are formally identical to the Reissner-Nordstroem black hole of general relativity. We study the thermodynamics and thermodynamic geometries of tidal charged black holes and discuss similarities and differences as compared to the Reissner-Nordstroe m black hole. As a similarity, we show that (for q>0) the heat capacity of the tidal charged black hole diverges on a set of measure zero of the parameter space, nevertheless both the regularity of the Ruppeiner metric and a Poincare stability analysis show no phase transition at those points. The thermodynamic state spaces being different indicates that the underlying statistical models could be different. We find that the q<0 parameter range, which enhances the localization of gravity on the brane, is thermodynamically preferred. Finally we constrain for the first time the possible range of the tidal charge from the thermodynamic limit on gravitational radiation efficiency at black hole mergers. (orig.)

  7. Tidal Marshes: The Boundary between Land and Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosselink, James

    An overview of the ecology of the tidal marshes along the gulf coast of the United States is presented. The following topics are included: (1) the human impact on tidal marshes; (2) the geologic origins of tidal marshes; (3) a description of the physical characteristics and ecosystem of the marshlands; (4) a description of the marshland food chain…

  8. LOW CO LUMINOSITIES IN DWARF GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schruba, Andreas; Walter, Fabian; Sandstrom, Karin; Leroy, Adam K.; Bigiel, Frank; Brinks, Elias; De Blok, W. J. G.; Kramer, Carsten; Rosolowsky, Erik; Schuster, Karl; Usero, Antonio; Weiss, Axel; Wiesemeyer, Helmut

    2012-01-01

    We present maps of 12 COJ = 2-1 emission covering the entire star-forming disks of 16 nearby dwarf galaxies observed by the IRAM HERACLES survey. The data have 13'' angular resolution, ∼250 pc at our average distance of D = 4 Mpc, and sample the galaxies by 10-1000 resolution elements. We apply stacking techniques to perform the first sensitive search for CO emission in dwarf galaxies outside the Local Group ranging from individual lines of sight, stacking over IR-bright regions of embedded star formation, and stacking over the entire galaxy. We detect five galaxies in CO with total CO luminosities of L CO2-1 = (3-28) × 10 6 K km s –1 pc 2 . The other 11 galaxies remain undetected in CO even in the stacked images and have L CO2-1 ∼ 6 K km s –1 pc 2 . We combine our sample of dwarf galaxies with a large sample of spiral galaxies from the literature to study scaling relations of L CO with M B and metallicity. We find that dwarf galaxies with metallicities of Z ≈ 1/2-1/10 Z ☉ have L CO of 2-4 orders of magnitude smaller than massive spiral galaxies and that their L CO per unit L B is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller. A comparison with tracers of star formation (FUV and 24 μm) shows that L CO per unit star formation rate (SFR) is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller in dwarf galaxies. One possible interpretation is that dwarf galaxies form stars much more efficiently: we argue that the low L CO /SFR ratio is due to the fact that the CO-to-H 2 conversion factor, α CO , changes significantly in low-metallicity environments. Assuming that a constant H 2 depletion time of τ dep = 1.8 Gyr holds in dwarf galaxies (as found for a large sample of nearby spirals) implies α CO values for dwarf galaxies with Z ≈ 1/2-1/10 Z ☉ that are more than one order of magnitude higher than those found in solar metallicity spiral galaxies. Such a significant increase of α CO at low metallicity is consistent with previous studies, in particular those of Local Group dwarf

  9. General Relativistic Calculations for White Dwarf Stars

    OpenAIRE

    Mathew, Arun; Nandy, Malay K.

    2014-01-01

    The mass-radius relations for white dwarf stars are investigated by solving the Newtonian as well as Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) equations for hydrostatic equilibrium assuming the electron gas to be non-interacting. We find that the Newtonian limiting mass of $1.4562M_\\odot$ is modified to $1.4166M_\\odot$ in the general relativistic case for $^4_2$He (and $^{12}_{\\ 6}$C) white dwarf stars. Using the same general relativistic treatment, the critical mass for $^{56}_{26}$Fe white dwarf is ...

  10. Satellite Tidal Magnetic Signals Constrain Oceanic Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary Earth Tomography with Tidal Magnetic Signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grayver, Alexander V.; Schnepf, Neesha R.; Kuvshinov, Alexey V.; Sabaka, Terence J.; Chandrasekharan, Manoj; Olsen, Niles

    2016-01-01

    The tidal flow of electrically conductive oceans through the geomagnetic field results in the generation of secondary magnetic signals, which provide information on the subsurface structure. Data from the new generation of satellites were shown to contain magnetic signals due to tidal flow; however, there are no reports that these signals have been used to infer subsurface structure. Here we use satellite-detected tidal magnetic fields to image the global electrical structure of the oceanic lithosphere and upper mantle down to a depth of about 250 km. The model derived from more than 12 years of satellite data reveals an Approximately 72 km thick upper resistive layer followed by a sharp increase in electrical conductivity likely associated with the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, which separates colder rigid oceanic plates from the ductile and hotter asthenosphere.

  11. Are Wave and Tidal Energy Plants New Green Technologies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douziech, Mélanie; Hellweg, Stefanie; Verones, Francesca

    2016-07-19

    Wave and tidal energy plants are upcoming, potentially green technologies. This study aims at quantifying their various potential environmental impacts. Three tidal stream devices, one tidal range plant and one wave energy harnessing device are analyzed over their entire life cycles, using the ReCiPe 2008 methodology at midpoint level. The impacts of the tidal range plant were on average 1.6 times higher than the ones of hydro-power plants (without considering natural land transformation). A similar ratio was found when comparing the results of the three tidal stream devices to offshore wind power plants (without considering water depletion). The wave energy harnessing device had on average 3.5 times higher impacts than offshore wind power. On the contrary, the considered plants have on average 8 (wave energy) to 20 (tidal stream), or even 115 times (tidal range) lower impact than electricity generated from coal power. Further, testing the sensitivity of the results highlighted the advantage of long lifetimes and small material requirements. Overall, this study supports the potential of wave and tidal energy plants as alternative green technologies. However, potential unknown effects, such as the impact of turbulence or noise on marine ecosystems, should be further explored in future research.

  12. A STUDY OF THE DIVERSE T DWARF POPULATION REVEALED BY WISE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mace, Gregory N.; Wright, Edward L.; McLean, Ian S.; Davy Kirkpatrick, J.; Gelino, Christopher R.; Griffith, Roger L.; Mix, Katholeen; Beichman, Charles A.; Lowrance, Patrick J.; Cushing, Michael C.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; Eisenhardt, Peter R.; Thompson, Maggie A.; Bailey, Vanessa; Hinz, Philip M.; Knox, Russell P.; Bloom, Joshua S.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Fortney, Jonathan J.

    2013-01-01

    We report the discovery of 87 new T dwarfs uncovered with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and 3 brown dwarfs with extremely red near-infrared colors that exhibit characteristics of both L and T dwarfs. Two of the new T dwarfs are likely binaries with L7 ± 1 primaries and mid-type T secondaries. In addition, our follow-up program has confirmed 10 previously identified T dwarfs and 4 photometrically selected L and T dwarf candidates in the literature. This sample, along with the previous WISE discoveries, triples the number of known brown dwarfs with spectral types later than T5. Using the WISE All-Sky Source Catalog we present updated color-color and color-type diagrams for all the WISE-discovered T and Y dwarfs. Near-infrared spectra of the new discoveries are presented along with spectral classifications. To accommodate later T dwarfs we have modified the integrated flux method of determining spectral indices to instead use the median flux. Furthermore, a newly defined J-narrow index differentiates the early-type Y dwarfs from late-type T dwarfs based on the J-band continuum slope. The K/J indices for this expanded sample show that 32% of late-type T dwarfs have suppressed K-band flux and are blue relative to the spectral standards, while only 11% are redder than the standards. Comparison of the Y/J and K/J index to models suggests diverse atmospheric conditions and supports the possible re-emergence of clouds after the L/T transition. We also discuss peculiar brown dwarfs and candidates that were found not to be substellar, including two young stellar objects and two active galactic nuclei. The substantial increase in the number of known late-type T dwarfs provides a population that will be used to test models of cold atmospheres and star formation. The coolest WISE-discovered brown dwarfs are the closest of their type and will remain the only sample of their kind for many years to come.

  13. Branes constrictions with White Dwarfs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    García-Aspeitia, Miguel A., E-mail: aspeitia@fisica.uaz.edu.mx [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Av, Insurgentes Sur 1582, Colonia Crédito Constructor, Del. Benito Juárez, C.P. 03940, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Unidad Académica de Física, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Calzada Solidaridad esquina con Paseo a la Bufa S/N, C.P. 98060, Zacatecas (Mexico)

    2015-11-06

    We consider here a robust study of stellar dynamics for white dwarf stars with polytropic matter in the weak-field approximation using the Lane–Emden equation from the brane-world scenario. We also derive an analytical solution to the nonlocal energy density and show the behavior and sensitivity of these stars to the presence of extra dimensions. Similarly, we analyze stability and compactness, in order to show whether it is possible to agree with the conventional wisdom of white dwarfs dynamics. Our results predict an average value of the brane tension of <λ>≳84.818 MeV{sup 4}, with a standard deviation σ≃82.021 MeV{sup 4}, which comes from a sample of dwarf stars, being weaker than other astrophysical observations but remaining higher than cosmological results provided by nucleosynthesis among others.

  14. Branes constrictions with White Dwarfs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia-Aspeitia, Miguel A. [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Mexico (Mexico); Unidad Academica de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas (Mexico)

    2015-11-15

    We consider here a robust study of stellar dynamics for white dwarf stars with polytropic matter in the weak-field approximation using the Lane-Emden equation from the brane-world scenario. We also derive an analytical solution to the nonlocal energy density and show the behavior and sensitivity of these stars to the presence of extra dimensions. Similarly, we analyze stability and compactness, in order to show whether it is possible to agree with the conventional wisdom of white dwarfs dynamics. Our results predict an average value of the brane tension of left angle λ right angle >or similar 84.818 MeV{sup 4}, with a standard deviation σ ≅ 82.021 MeV{sup 4}, which comes from a sample of dwarf stars, being weaker than other astrophysical observations but remaining higher than cosmological results provided by nucleosynthesis among others. (orig.)

  15. Tidal regimes and salt marshes - the River Hamble analogue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, A.J.; Moy, I.L.; Warman, E.A.; Dawson, F.H.; Henville, P.

    1993-01-01

    Construction of estuarine tidal-energy barrages has a potentially major effect on the tidal regime of the estuary, particularly upstream of a barrage. Because tidal regime largely controls the distribution and species composition of intertidal plant and animal communities, it is important to understand how barrages may affect such communities. The main objectives of the research described in this report were to relate recent changes in tidal regime within an embanked area of salt marsh and mudflat to changes in the distribution of plant species. This was to test predictions about tidal control of species' range and to assess the site's suitability as an analogue of post-barrage conditions. (author)

  16. Benchmark ultra-cool dwarfs in widely separated binary systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jones H.R.A.

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Ultra-cool dwarfs as wide companions to subgiants, giants, white dwarfs and main sequence stars can be very good benchmark objects, for which we can infer physical properties with minimal reference to theoretical models, through association with the primary stars. We have searched for benchmark ultra-cool dwarfs in widely separated binary systems using SDSS, UKIDSS, and 2MASS. We then estimate spectral types using SDSS spectroscopy and multi-band colors, place constraints on distance, and perform proper motions calculations for all candidates which have sufficient epoch baseline coverage. Analysis of the proper motion and distance constraints show that eight of our ultra-cool dwarfs are members of widely separated binary systems. Another L3.5 dwarf, SDSS 0832, is shown to be a companion to the bright K3 giant η Cancri. Such primaries can provide age and metallicity constraints for any companion objects, yielding excellent benchmark objects. This is the first wide ultra-cool dwarf + giant binary system identified.

  17. Implications of the dwarfs spheroidal galaxy mass-metallicity relation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, G.H.

    1985-01-01

    The properties of the mass-metallicity relation among dwarf spheroidal galaxies are discussed in terms of a model which assumes that the internal chemical evolution of the dwarf spheroidals was promoted by supernova activity. The model can be used to explain the observed dwarf spheroidal mass-metallicity relation assuming the present mass of these systems M sub s is proportional to their initial masses M as M sub s varies according to a power-law index of exp 7/4. It is inferred from the power-law dependence of M on the proto-cloud radius that the most massive dwarf spheroids were formed from the densest clouds. The observed slope of the mass-metallicity relation for dwarf spheroidal galaxies is found to be significantly different from theoretical estimates of this slope for elliptical galaxies. It is suggested that the difference may imply that spheroidal dwarfs and elliptical galaxies had different formation histories, confirming Kormendy's (1985) observations of differences in the brightness and luminosity trends. 54 references

  18. The Structure and Dark Halo Core Properties of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkert, A.

    2015-08-01

    The structure and dark matter halo core properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are investigated. A double-isothermal (DIS) model of an isothermal, non-self-gravitating stellar system embedded in an isothermal dark halo core provides an excellent fit to the various observed stellar surface density distributions. The stellar core scale length a* is sensitive to the central dark matter density ρ0,d. The maximum stellar radius traces the dark halo core radius {r}c,d. The concentration c* of the stellar system, determined by a King profile fit, depends on the ratio of the stellar-to-dark-matter velocity dispersion {σ }*/{σ }d. Simple empirical relationships are derived that allow us to calculate the dark halo core parameters ρ0,d, {r}c,d, and σd given the observable stellar quantities σ*, a*, and c*. The DIS model is applied to the Milky Way’s dSphs. All dSphs closely follow the same universal dark halo scaling relations {ρ }0,d× {r}c,d={75}-45+85 M⊙ pc-2 that characterize the cores of more massive galaxies over a large range in masses. The dark halo core mass is a strong function of core radius, {M}c,d˜ {r}c,d2. Inside a fixed radius of ˜400 pc the total dark matter mass is, however, roughly constant with {M}d=2.6+/- 1.4× {10}7 M⊙, although outliers are expected. The dark halo core densities of the Galaxy’s dSphs are very high, with {ρ }0,d ≈ 0.2 M⊙ pc-3. dSphs should therefore be tidally undisturbed. Evidence for tidal effects might then provide a serious challenge for the CDM scenario.

  19. WIYN Open Cluster Study: Tidal Interactions in Solar type Binaries

    OpenAIRE

    Meibom, S.; Mathieu, R. D.

    2003-01-01

    We present an ongoing study on tidal interactions in late-type close binary stars. New results on tidal circularization are combined with existing data to test and constrain theoretical predictions of tidal circularization in the pre-main-sequence (PMS) phase and throughout the main-sequence phase of stellar evolution. Current data suggest that tidal circularization during the PMS phase sets the tidal cutoff period for binary populations younger than ~1 Gyr. Binary populations older than ~1 G...

  20. Genetic and agronomic evaluation of induced semi-dwarf mutants of rice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutger, J.N.

    1984-01-01

    Induced semi-dwarf mutants have played an important role in California's rapid shift from nearly all tall rice varieties in 1978 to nearly all semi-dwarf varieties at present. In 1981 over half of the California rice area was planted with semi-dwarf varieties carrying the induced mutant semi-dwarfing gene sd 1 , while much of the other half was planted to a variety deriving its semi-dwarfism from IR8. The sd 1 mutant is allelic to the major semi-dwarfing gene in DGWG and IR8. Current objectives are to determine the inheritance of new semi-dwarf mutants, including allelism tests with sd 1 , and to evaluate the agronomic potential of nonallelic sources and of double-dwarfs. To date semi-dwarf mutants from 10 varieties have been partially or completely evaluated. At least three nonallelic semi-dwarfing genes, sd 1 , sd 2 , and sd 4 , have been described. Rather than attempt to determine all possible allelic relationships of new mutants, crosses are being made only to the reference sd 1 source, since sd 1 , still seems to be the most productive semi-dwarfing gene source. However, nonallelic semi-dwarf mutants in the varieties M5 and Labelle may be useful if genetic vulnerability from widespread usage of the sd 1 source becomes a problem. (author)

  1. Tidal propagation off the central west coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Unnikrishnan, A.S.

    . [Keywords: Tidal propagation, Mumbai high, Global tidal model, Shelf model, Central west coast of India] Introduction In coastal regions, tides play an important role in determining circulation and hydrography. Barotropic tides coming from the open... with increase in the width of the shelf. Materials and Methods Global tidal models Schwiderski5 used a hydrodynamic interpolation technique to determine the amplitude and phase of tidal constituents of global ocean. Since the availability of satellite...

  2. ON THE EVOLUTION OF MAGNETIC WHITE DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tremblay, P.-E. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Fontaine, G.; Brassard, P. [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C. P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Freytag, B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University, Regementsvägen 1, Box 516, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden); Steiner, O. [Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik, Schöneckstr. 6, D-79104 Freiburg (Germany); Ludwig, H.-G. [Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Königstuhl 12, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Steffen, M. [Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); Wedemeyer, S., E-mail: tremblay@stsci.edu [Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1029 Blindern, NO-0315 Oslo (Norway)

    2015-10-10

    We present the first radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarf stars. We demonstrate that convective energy transfer is seriously impeded by magnetic fields when the plasma-β parameter, the thermal-to-magnetic-pressure ratio, becomes smaller than unity. The critical field strength that inhibits convection in the photosphere of white dwarfs is in the range B = 1–50 kG, which is much smaller than the typical 1–1000 MG field strengths observed in magnetic white dwarfs, implying that these objects have radiative atmospheres. We have employed evolutionary models to study the cooling process of high-field magnetic white dwarfs, where convection is entirely suppressed during the full evolution (B ≳ 10 MG). We find that the inhibition of convection has no effect on cooling rates until the effective temperature (T{sub eff}) reaches a value of around 5500 K. In this regime, the standard convective sequences start to deviate from the ones without convection due to the convective coupling between the outer layers and the degenerate reservoir of thermal energy. Since no magnetic white dwarfs are currently known at the low temperatures where this coupling significantly changes the evolution, the effects of magnetism on cooling rates are not expected to be observed. This result contrasts with a recent suggestion that magnetic white dwarfs with T{sub eff} ≲ 10,000 K cool significantly slower than non-magnetic degenerates.

  3. Dissipation of Tidal Energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    The moon's gravity imparts tremendous energy to the Earth, raising tides throughout the global oceans. What happens to all this energy? This question has been pondered by scientists for over 200 years, and has consequences ranging from the history of the moon to the mixing of the oceans. Richard Ray at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. and Gary Egbert of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore. studied six years of altimeter data from the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite to address this question. According to their report in the June 15 issue of Nature, about 1 terawatt, or 25 to 30 percent of the total tidal energy dissipation, occurs in the deep ocean. The remainder occurs in shallow seas, such as on the Patagonian Shelf. 'By measuring sea level with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimeter, our knowledge of the tides in the global ocean has been remarkably improved,' said Richard Ray, a geophysicist at Goddard. The accuracies are now so high that this data can be used to map empirically the tidal energy dissipation. (Red areas, above) The deep-water tidal dissipation occurs generally near rugged bottom topography (seamounts and mid-ocean ridges). 'The observed pattern of deep-ocean dissipation is consistent with topographic scattering of tidal energy into internal motions within the water column, resulting in localized turbulence and mixing', said Gary Egbert an associate professor at OSU. One important implication of this finding concerns the possible energy sources needed to maintain the ocean's large-scale 'conveyor-belt' circulation and to mix upper ocean heat into the abyssal depths. It is thought that 2 terawatts are required for this process. The winds supply about 1 terawatt, and there has been speculation that the tides, by pumping energy into vertical water motions, supply the remainder. However, all current general circulation models of the oceans ignore the tides. 'It is possible that properly

  4. Carbon sequestration by Australian tidal marshes

    KAUST Repository

    Macreadie, Peter I.

    2017-03-10

    Australia\\'s tidal marshes have suffered significant losses but their recently recognised importance in CO2 sequestration is creating opportunities for their protection and restoration. We compiled all available data on soil organic carbon (OC) storage in Australia\\'s tidal marshes (323 cores). OC stocks in the surface 1 m averaged 165.41 (SE 6.96) Mg OC ha-1 (range 14-963 Mg OC ha-1). The mean OC accumulation rate was 0.55 ± 0.02 Mg OC ha-1 yr-1. Geomorphology was the most important predictor of OC stocks, with fluvial sites having twice the stock of OC as seaward sites. Australia\\'s 1.4 million hectares of tidal marshes contain an estimated 212 million tonnes of OC in the surface 1 m, with a potential CO2-equivalent value of $USD7.19 billion. Annual sequestration is 0.75 Tg OC yr-1, with a CO2-equivalent value of $USD28.02 million per annum. This study provides the most comprehensive estimates of tidal marsh blue carbon in Australia, and illustrates their importance in climate change mitigation and adaptation, acting as CO2 sinks and buffering the impacts of rising sea level. We outline potential further development of carbon offset schemes to restore the sequestration capacity and other ecosystem services provided by Australia tidal marshes.

  5. Dwarf mistletoes: Biology, pathology, and systematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank G. Hawksworth; Delbert Wiens

    1996-01-01

    Arceuthobium (dwarf mistletoes), a well defined but morphologically reduced genus of the family Viscaceae, is parasitic on Pinaceae in the Old and New Worlds and on Cupressaceae in the Old World. Although conifer forests in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere are infested with dwarf mistletoes, those most commonly infested are in western North...

  6. TIDALLY ENHANCED STELLAR WIND: A WAY TO MAKE THE SYMBIOTIC CHANNEL TO TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA VIABLE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, X.; Han, Z.; Tout, C. A.

    2011-01-01

    In the symbiotic (or WD+RG) channel of the single-degenerate scenario for type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), the explosions occur a relatively long time after star formation. The birthrate from this channel would be too low to account for all observed SNe Ia were it not for some mechanism to enhance the rate of accretion on to the white dwarf. A tidally enhanced stellar wind, of the type which has been postulated to explain many phenomena related to giant star evolution in binary systems, can do this. Compared to mass stripping, this model extends the space of SNe Ia progenitors to longer orbital periods and hence increases the birthrate to about 0.0069 yr -1 for the symbiotic channel. Two symbiotic stars, T CrB and RS Oph, considered to be the most likely progenitors of SNe Ia through the symbiotic channel, are well inside the period-companion mass space predicted by our models.

  7. A dwarf wheat mutant is associated with increased drought ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... was significantly higher than Jingdong 6. Most of the s-dwarf seedlings survived in recovering experiement after water loss. The stalk of s-dwarf seedling also showed reduced gravitropism. This is the first report about a new dwarf wheat mutant associated with increased drought resistance and altered stalk gravitropism.

  8. Ages of white dwarf-red subdwarf systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hektor Monteiro

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available We provide the first age estimates for two recently discovered white dwarf-red subdwarf systems, LHS 193AB and LHS 300AB. These systems provide a new opportunity for linking the reliable age estimates for the white dwarfs to the (measurable metallicities of the red subdwarfs. We have obtained precise photometry in the VJRKCIKCJH bands and spectroscopy covering from 6,000°A to 9,000°A (our spectral coveragefor the two new systems, as well as for a comparison white dwarfmain sequence red dwarf system, GJ 283 AB. Using model grids, we estimate the cooling age as well as temperature, surface gravity, mass, progenitor mass and total lifetimes of the white dwarfs. The results indicate that the two new systems are probably ancient thick disk objects with ages of at least 6-9 gigayears (Gyr.

  9. Double Degenerates among DA white dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bragaglia, A.; Greggio, L.; Renzini, A.; D'odorico, S.

    1990-01-01

    The results of a spectroscopic survey of catalog white dwarfs in search of radial velocity variations indicative of a binary motion are reported. In a sample of 54 DA white dwarfs, one Double Degenerate (DD) system with a period of 1.15 days (the shortest period DD system yet discovered) is found. Two other excellent and two good DD candidates, and two white dwarf + red dwarf pairs were also found. If all the candidates should be confirmed, this would indicate a frequency of about 13 percent of interacting binaries in an unbiased sample of evolved stars, with a DD frequency of about 10 percent. These results suggest fairly large values for the common-envelope parameter alpha, implying that a source of energy other than orbital may be required to eject the envelope during common-envelope events. Finally, in combination with previous evidence our result implies that DDs with WD components of the DA variety are unlikely to be the precursors of Type I supernovae, but DDs with non-DA components remain very attractive candidates. 20 refs

  10. Evaluation on selected dwarf and semidwarf mutants of upland rice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riyanti Sumanggono, A.M.

    1984-01-01

    Seratus malam local upland rice variety was irradiated with gamma-rays at doses of O.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 kGy. Observation of radiation effect was carried out on root and shoot length of M 1 seedlings; plant height, panicle length and number of tiller and seed sterility in M 1 plants. Selection for dwarf and semi-dwarf characteristics were done in M 2 plants, and selected again in M 3 . Observation on radiation effect indicated that 'Seratus Malam' seems to be more resistant than the lowland rice varieties. Increasing doses of radiation caused increasing frequency of chlorophyll mutations as well as chlorophyll mutants. Whereas, selection of dwarf or semi-dwarf in M 2 plants seems that mutant and mutation frequencies decreased as the dose increased. Dose of 0.2 kGy was suitable for selection of dwarf or semi-dwarf plants. Plant height could be influenced by environmental condition. Many of the selected M 2 plants were not really dwarf or semi-dwarf mutants. M 3 evaluation of the selected M 2 plants was really beneficial in the mutant selection. (author)

  11. Population demographics for the federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galbraith, Heather S.; Lellis, William A.; Cole, Jeffrey C.; Blakeslee, Carrie J.; St. John White, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    The dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon, is a federally endangered freshwater mussel species inhabiting several Atlantic Slope rivers. Studies on population demographics of this species are necessary for status assessment and directing recovery efforts. We conducted qualitative and quantitative surveys for dwarf wedgemussel in the mainstem Delaware River and in four of its tributaries (Big Flat Brook, Little Flat Brook, Neversink River, and Paulinskill River). Population range, relative abundance, size, size structure, and sex ratio were quantified within each river. Total dwarf wedgemussel population size for the surveyed rivers in the Delaware Basin was estimated to be 14,432 individuals (90% confidence limits, 7,961-26,161). Our results suggest that the historically robust Neversink River population has declined, but that this population persists and substantial populations remain in other tributaries. Sex ratios were generally female-biased, and small individuals (Dwarf wedgemussel was most often found at the surface of the sediment (not buried below) in shallow quadrats (dwarf wedgemussel viability within the Delaware River Basin.

  12. METALLICITY AND TEMPERATURE INDICATORS IN M DWARF K-BAND SPECTRA: TESTING NEW AND UPDATED CALIBRATIONS WITH OBSERVATIONS OF 133 SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD M DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rojas-Ayala, Barbara [Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024 (United States); Covey, Kevin R.; Lloyd, James P. [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Muirhead, Philip S., E-mail: babs@amnh.org [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2012-04-01

    We present K-band spectra for 133 nearby (d < 33 ps) M dwarfs, including 18 M dwarfs with reliable metallicity estimates (as inferred from an FGK type companion), 11 M dwarf planet hosts, more than 2/3 of the M dwarfs in the northern 8 pc sample, and several M dwarfs from the LSPM catalog. From these spectra, we measure equivalent widths of the Ca and Na lines, and a spectral index quantifying the absorption due to H{sub 2}O opacity (the H{sub 2}O-K2 index). Using empirical spectral type standards and synthetic models, we calibrate the H{sub 2}O-K2 index as an indicator of an M dwarf's spectral type and effective temperature. We also present a revised relationship that estimates the [Fe/H] and [M/H] metallicities of M dwarfs from their Na I, Ca I, and H{sub 2}O-K2 measurements. Comparisons to model atmosphere provide a qualitative validation of our approach, but also reveal an overall offset between the atomic line strengths predicted by models as compared to actual observations. Our metallicity estimates also reproduce expected correlations with Galactic space motions and H{alpha} emission line strengths, and return statistically identical metallicities for M dwarfs within a common multiple system. Finally, we find systematic residuals between our H{sub 2}O-based spectral types and those derived from optical spectral features with previously known sensitivity to stellar metallicity, such as TiO, and identify the CaH1 index as a promising optical index for diagnosing the metallicities of near-solar M dwarfs.

  13. Global and photospheric physical parameters of active dwarf stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pettersen, B.R.

    1983-01-01

    Physical parameters (temperature, luminosity, radius, mass and chemical abundance) of the photospheres of red dwarf flare stars and spotted stars are determined for quiescent conditions. The interrelations between these quantities are compared to the results of theoretical investigation for low mass stars. The evolutionary state of flare stars is discussed. Observational results from spectroscopic and photometric methods to determine the rotation of active dwarfs are reviewed. The possibilities of global oscillations in dwarf stars are considered and preliminary results of a photometric search for oscillation in red dwarf luminosities are presented. (orig.)

  14. EVIDENCE FOR AN INTERACTION IN THE NEAREST STARBURSTING DWARF IRREGULAR GALAXY IC 10

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nidever, David L.; Slater, Colin T.; Bell, Eric F.; Ashley, Trisha; Simpson, Caroline E.; Ott, Jürgen; Johnson, Megan; Stanimirović, Snežana; Putman, Mary; Majewski, Steven R.; Jütte, Eva; Oosterloo, Tom A.; Burton, W. Butler

    2013-01-01

    Using deep 21 cm H I data from the Green Bank Telescope we have detected an ≳18.3 kpc long gaseous extension associated with the starbursting dwarf galaxy IC 10. The newly found feature stretches 1.°3 to the northwest and has a large radial velocity gradient reaching to ∼65 km s –1 lower than the IC 10 systemic velocity. A region of higher column density at the end of the extension that possesses a coherent velocity gradient (∼10 km s –1 across ∼26') transverse to the extension suggests rotation and may be a satellite galaxy of IC 10. The H I mass of IC 10 is 9.5 × 10 7 (d/805 kpc) 2 M ☉ and the mass of the new extension is 7.1 × 10 5 (d/805 kpc) 2 M ☉ . An IC 10-M31 orbit using known radial velocity and proper motion values for IC 10 show that the H I extension is inconsistent with the trailing portion of the orbit so that an M31-tidal or ram pressure origin seems unlikely. We argue that the most plausible explanation for the new feature is that it is the result of a recent interaction (and possible late merger) with another dwarf galaxy. This interaction could not only have triggered the origin of the recent starburst in IC 10, but could also explain the existence of previously found counter-rotating H I gas in the periphery of the IC 10 which was interpreted as originating from primordial gas infall

  15. Modeling In-stream Tidal Energy Extraction and Its Potential Environmental Impacts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Zhaoqing; Wang, Taiping; Copping, Andrea; Geerlofs, Simon H.

    2014-09-30

    In recent years, there has been growing interest in harnessing in-stream tidal energy in response to concerns of increasing energy demand and to mitigate climate change impacts. While many studies have been conducted to assess and map tidal energy resources, efforts for quantifying the associated potential environmental impacts have been limited. This paper presents the development of a tidal turbine module within a three-dimensional unstructured-grid coastal ocean model and its application for assessing the potential environmental impacts associated with tidal energy extraction. The model is used to investigate in-stream tidal energy extraction and associated impacts on estuarine hydrodynamic and biological processes in a tidally dominant estuary. A series of numerical experiments with varying numbers and configurations of turbines installed in an idealized estuary were carried out to assess the changes in the hydrodynamics and biological processes due to tidal energy extraction. Model results indicated that a large number of turbines are required to extract the maximum tidal energy and cause significant reduction of the volume flux. Preliminary model results also indicate that extraction of tidal energy increases vertical mixing and decreases flushing rate in a stratified estuary. The tidal turbine model was applied to simulate tidal energy extraction in Puget Sound, a large fjord-like estuary in the Pacific Northwest coast.

  16. The mass dependence of dwarf satellite galaxy quenching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slater, Colin T.; Bell, Eric F.

    2014-01-01

    We combine observations of the Local Group with data from the NASA-Sloan Atlas to show the variation in the quenched fraction of satellite galaxies from low-mass dwarf spheroidals and dwarf irregulars to more massive dwarfs similar to the Magellanic Clouds. While almost all of the low-mass (M * ≲ 10 7 M ☉ ) dwarfs are quenched, at higher masses the quenched fraction decreases to approximately 40%-50%. This change in the quenched fraction is large and suggests a sudden change in the effectiveness of quenching that correlates with satellite mass. We combine this observation with models of satellite infall and ram pressure stripping to show that the low-mass satellites must quench within 1-2 Gyr of pericenter passage to maintain a high quenched fraction, but that many more massive dwarfs must continue to form stars today even though they likely fell into their host >5 Gyr ago. We also characterize how the susceptibility of dwarfs to ram pressure must vary as a function of mass if it is to account for the change in quenched fractions. Though neither model predicts the quenching effectiveness a priori, this modeling illustrates the physical requirements that the observed quenched fractions place on possible quenching mechanisms.

  17. Robo-AO M Dwarf Multiplicity Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamman, Claire; Baranec, Christoph; Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Law, Nicholas M.; Ziegler, Carl; Schonhut-Stasik, Jessica

    2018-06-01

    We analyzed close to 7,000 observations from Robo-AO’s field M dwarf survey taken on the 2.1m Kitt Peak telescope. Results will help determine the total multiplicity fraction and multiplicity functions of M dwarfs, which are crucial steps towards understanding their evolution and formation mechanics. Through its robotic, laser-guided, and automated system, the Robo-AO instrument has yielded the largest adaptive-optics M dwarf survey to date. I developed a graphical user interface to quickly analyze this data. Initial data analysis included assessing data quality, checking the result from Robo-AO’s automatic reduction pipeline, and determining existence as well as the relative position of companions through a visual inspection. This program can be applied to other datasets and was successfully tested by re-analyzing observations from a separate Robo-AO survey. After a conservative initial cut for quality, over 350 companions were found within 4” of a primary star out of 2,746 high quality Robo-AO M dwarf observations, including four triple systems. Further observations were done with the Keck II telescope by using its NIRC2 imager to follow up on ten select targets for the existence and physical association of companions. Future research will yield insights into low-mass stellar formation and provide a database of nearby M dwarf multiples that will potentially assist ongoing and future surveys for planets around these stars, such as the NASA TESS mission.

  18. FINDING ROCKY ASTEROIDS AROUND WHITE DWARFS BY THEIR PERIODIC THERMAL EMISSION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Henry W. [Harvard College, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Loeb, Abraham, E-mail: henrylin@college.harvard.edu [Harvard Astronomy Department, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2014-10-01

    Since white dwarfs (WDs) are small, the contrast between the thermal emission of an orbiting object and a WD is dramatically enhanced compared to a main-sequence host. Furthermore, rocky objects much smaller than the moon have no atmospheres and are tidally locked to the WD. We show that this leads to temperature contrasts between their day and night side of the order of unity that should lead to temporal variations in infrared flux over an orbital period of ∼0.2 to ∼2 days. Ground-based telescopes could detect objects with a mass as small as 1% of the lunar mass M{sub L} around Sirius B with a few hours of exposure. The James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect objects as small as 10{sup –3} M{sub L} around most nearby WDs. The tightest constraints will typically be placed on 12,000 K WDs, whose Roche zone coincides with the dust sublimation zone. Constraining the abundance of minor planets around WDs as a function of their surface temperatures (and therefore age) provides a novel probe for the physics of planetary formation.

  19. Large tidal plants may supply 1,000 TWh / year

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemperiere, F.

    2006-10-01

    Many studies of tidal plants have been made fifty years ago: they were usually devoted to sites with average tidal head over 6 m and reduced works at sea: estuaries such as La Rance (France) or Severn (U.K.) were favoured: preferred corresponding operation was using flow from a high basin to low sea level, supplying power 4 hours from 12. Such solutions had 2 drawbacks: power supply poorly adapted to needs and modified shore tidal ecosystems. Beyond that the power cost was usually higher than from thermal plants and very few plants were built, the main one being the Rance plant in France supplying 0,5 TWh/year with 240 MW. The world theoretical tidal potential is in the same range as the traditional hydropower potential. A new approach of tidal plants based upon solutions existing now and using new operating methods substantiates the possibility of over 1,000 TWh/year of cost efficient tidal energy with limited environmental impact and power supply well adapted to requirements. Over 15 countries may be involved. Tidal plants with heads as low as 4 m may be cost efficient. (author)

  20. Understanding the Influence of Retention Basin on Tidal Dynamics in Tidal Estuaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Mohit; Schuttelaars, Henk; Roos, Pieter

    2014-05-01

    Both the tidal motion and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in tidal embayments and estuaries are influenced by anthropogenic (e.g. deepening ) and natural changes. An example of such an estuary is the Ems estuary, situated on the border of the Netherlands and Germany. The mean tidal range towards the end of the Ems estuary has increased from 1.5m in the 1950s to more than 3m in the 1990s while the suspended concentration has increased by a factor 10. To possibly reduce these negative effects, the construction of retention basin(s) (RB) is considered. In this contribution, the influence of location and geometry of RBs on tidal dynamics and SSC is investigated. For this purpose, a three-dimensional semi-analytic idealized model is developed. This model is an extension of the model proposed by Winant (2007) to arbitrary domain and realistic bathymetry with partial slip boundary condition at the bottom. The sea surface elevation (SSE) is calculated numerically using a finite element method. Next, the three-dimensional velocities are calculated by combining the analytically calculated vertical profiles and the gradients of the SSE which are obtained numerically. Firstly, the influence of a RB on the tidal dynamics in an infinitely long, rectangular, frictionless estuary is considered. The SSE decreases when the RB is located between a node and a landward antinode, consistent with the work of Alebregtse et al. (2013). Secondly, an estuary of finite length is connected to a sea. By varying the width of the sea, not only the effect of the distance of the RB to the landward end plays a role, but also the distance to the open sea becomes important. Finally, we discuss the influence of a RB on the tidal motion and initial sediment transport, considering the Ems estuary with realistic bathymetry. Results show that the SSE at the landward end of the Ems estuary decreases for all locations of the RBs. This decrease is most pronounced for the RB which is closest to the end

  1. K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey. III. White Light Flares Are Ubiquitous in M6-L0 Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paudel, Rishi R.; Gizis, John E.; Mullan, D. J.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Williams, Peter K. G.; Berger, Edo

    2018-05-01

    We report the white light flare rates for 10 ultracool dwarfs using Kepler K2 short-cadence data. Among our sample stars, two have spectral type M6, three are M7, three are M8, and two are L0. Most of our targets are old low-mass stars. We identify a total of 283 flares in all of the stars in our sample, with Kepler energies in the range log E Kp ∼ (29–33.5) erg. Using the maximum-likelihood method of line fitting, we find that the flare frequency distribution (FFD) for each star in our sample follows a power law with slope ‑α in the range ‑(1.3–2.0). We find that cooler objects tend to have shallower slopes. For some of our targets, the FFD follows either a broken power law, or a power law with an exponential cutoff. For the L0 dwarf 2MASS J12321827-0951502, we find a very shallow slope (‑α = ‑1.3) in the Kepler energy range (0.82–130) × 1030 erg: this L0 dwarf has flare rates which are comparable to those of high-energy flares in stars of earlier spectral types. In addition, we report photometry of two superflares: one on the L0 dwarf 2MASS J12321827-0951502 and another on the M7 dwarf 2MASS J08352366+1029318. In the case of 2MASS J12321827-0951502, we report a flare brightening by a factor of ∼144 relative to the quiescent photospheric level. Likewise, for 2MASS J08352366+1029318, we report a flare brightening by a factor of ∼60 relative to the quiescent photospheric level. These two superflares have bolometric (ultraviolet/optical/infrared) energies 3.6 × 1033 erg and 8.9 × 1033 erg respectively, while the full width half maximum timescales are very short, ∼2 min. We find that the M8 star TRAPPIST-1 is more active than the M8.5 dwarf 2M03264453+1919309, but less active than another M8 dwarf (2M12215066-0843197).

  2. The development and application practice of neglected tidal energy in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Li-qun; Liu, Chun-xia; Sun, Zhi-yi; Han, Ru-cheng [Department of Electronic and Information, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, 030024 Taiyuan, Shanxi Province (China)

    2011-02-15

    Along the eastcoasts of China are large bodies of water, China has abundant ocean energy resource, such as the theory reserves of tidal resource is about 0.2 billion kW, as early as 1958, Jizhou tidal power station is the first tidal power station in China, which built in Shunde, Guangdong province, and more than 40 small tidal power stations are built in east coastal region in 1960s, and the total installed capacity is about 0.5 MW. But it is a pity, the application and development of tidal energy has not been regarded by the government and ordinary people due to the investment of power plant is big and the technology is not mature, so there are only several small tidal power stations in China, and Jiangxia tidal power station with an installed capacity of 3.2 MW is the most famous. Fortunately, with the rapid development of Chinese economic and society, the renewable and sustainable energy have been regarded by Chinese government, and the application and development of wind energy and solar energy is increasing in an incredible speed, and more and more specialists began to regard the application of tidal energy, and they thought that tidal energy can relieve the energy stress of east coastal region, and many layout of tidal energy exploitation is unfold in recently. This paper discusses the distribution zone and current developmental situation of tidal energy in China. Then, some application practice is described, such as tidal power station and tidal stream turbine. The policies and law of China central government and local governments are described in the following paragraph. At the end, the developmental prospect of tidal energy in future China and the development barriers and recommendations are introduced, respectively. (author)

  3. Simple Tidal Prism Models Revisited

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luketina, D.

    1998-01-01

    Simple tidal prism models for well-mixed estuaries have been in use for some time and are discussed in most text books on estuaries. The appeal of this model is its simplicity. However, there are several flaws in the logic behind the model. These flaws are pointed out and a more theoretically correct simple tidal prism model is derived. In doing so, it is made clear which effects can, in theory, be neglected and which can not.

  4. IC 3475: A stripped dwarf galaxy in the Virgo cluster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vigroux, L.; Thuan, T.X.; Vader, J.P.; Lachieze-Rey, M.

    1986-01-01

    We have obtained B and R CCD and H I observations of the Virgo dwarf galaxy IC 3475. The galaxy is remarkable for its very large diameter (approx.10 kpc for a Virgo distance modulus of 31) and is comparable in size to the large dwarfs discussed by Sandage and Binggeli. Its light profile is best fitted by an exponential law, characteristic of a dwarf Magellanic irregular galaxy. It possesses a central bar with many knots and inclusions concentrated toward the center of the galaxy. These knots and inclusions have the same color (B-Rapprox.1.5) as the rest of the galaxy and are best explained as intermediate-age (1--7 x 10 9 yr) star clusters such as those found in the Magellanic Clouds. Despite possessing the photometric structure of a dwarf Magellanic irregular galaxy, IC 3475 contains less than 5.3 x 10 6 M/sub sun/ of neutral hydrogen. Its hydrogen mass to blue light ratio is less than 0.01, approx.60 times less than the mean value observed for dwarf Magellanic irregulars. It is most likely that IC 3475, which is located near the core of the Virgo cluster, is a stripped dwarf galaxy. The very large size of the galaxy (its diameter is approx.1.8 times larger than that of ''normal'' dwarfs) appears to rule out evolution of IC 3475 from a normal dwarf irregular or to a normal dwarf elliptical

  5. Interaction between the SNR Sagittarius A East and the 50-km s-1 Molecular Cloud

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuboi, Masato; Okumura, Sachiko K; Miyazaki, Atsushi

    2006-01-01

    We performed high-resolution observations of the Galactic Center 50-km s -1 molecular cloud in the CS J = 1 - 0 line using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. The 50-km s -1 molecular cloud corresponds to a break in the Sagittarius (Sgr) A east shell. A very broad and negative velocity wing feature is detected at an apparent contact spot between the molecular cloud and the Sgr A east shell. The velocity width of the wing feature is over 50-km s -1 . The width is three times wider than those of typical Galactic Center clouds. This strongly suggests that the shell is interacting physically with the molecular cloud. The asymmetric velocity profile of the wing feature indicates that the Sgr A east shell expands and crashes into the far side of the molecular cloud. About 50 clumps are identified in the cloud using CLUMPFIND. The velocity width-size relation and the mass spectrum of clumps in the cloud are similar to those in Central Molecular Zone (CMZ)

  6. Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project Final Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collar, Craig [Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County, Everett, WA (United States)

    2015-09-14

    This document represents the final report for the Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project, located in Puget Sound, Washington, United States. The Project purpose was to license, permit, and install a grid-connected deep-water tidal turbine array (two turbines) to be used as a platform to gather operational and environmental data on tidal energy generation. The data could then be used to better inform the viability of commercial tidal energy generation from technical, economic, social, and environmental standpoints. This data would serve as a critical step towards the responsible advancement of commercial scale tidal energy in the United States and around the world. In late 2014, Project activities were discontinued due to escalating costs, and the DOE award was terminated in early 2015. Permitting, licensing, and engineering design activities were completed under this award. Final design, deployment, operation, and monitoring were not completed. This report discusses the results and accomplishments achieved under the subject award.

  7. Kinematically Decoupled Cores in Dwarf (Elliptical) Galaxies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toloba, E.; Peletier, R. F.; Guhathakurta, P.; van de Ven, G.; Boissier, S.; Boselli, A.; Brok, M. d.; Falcón-Barroso, J.; Hensler, G.; Janz, J.; Laurikainen, E.; Lisker, T.; Paudel, S.; Ryś, A.; Salo, H.

    An overview is given of what we know about the frequency of kinematically decoupled cores in dwarf elliptical galaxies. New observations show that kinematically decoupled cores happen just as often in dwarf elliptical as in ordinary early-type galaxies. This has important consequences for the

  8. K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey. II. The White Light Flare Rate of Young Brown Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gizis, John E.; Paudel, Rishi R.; Mullan, Dermott; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Williams, Peter K. G.

    2017-08-01

    We use Kepler K2 Campaign 4 short-cadence (one-minute) photometry to measure white light flares in the young, moving group brown dwarfs 2MASS J03350208+2342356 (2M0335+23) and 2MASS J03552337+1133437 (2M0355+11), and report on long-cadence (thirty-minute) photometry of a superflare in the Pleiades M8 brown dwarf CFHT-PL-17. The rotation period (5.24 hr) and projected rotational velocity (45 km s-1) confirm 2M0335+23 is inflated (R≥slant 0.20 {R}⊙ ) as predicted for a 0.06 {M}⊙ , 24 Myr old brown dwarf βPic moving group member. We detect 22 white light flares on 2M0335+23. The flare frequency distribution follows a power-law distribution with slope -α =-1.8+/- 0.2 over the range 1031 to 1033 erg. This slope is similar to that observed in the Sun and warmer flare stars, and is consistent with lower-energy flares in previous work on M6-M8 very-low-mass stars; taking the two data sets together, the flare frequency distribution for ultracool dwarfs is a power law over 4.3 orders of magnitude. The superflare (2.6× {10}34 erg) on CFHT-PL-17 shows higher-energy flares are possible. We detect no flares down to a limit of 2× {10}30 erg in the nearby L5γ AB Dor moving group brown dwarf 2M0355+11, consistent with the view that fast magnetic reconnection is suppressed in cool atmospheres. We discuss two multi-peaked flares observed in 2M0335+23, and argue that these complex flares can be understood as sympathetic flares, in which fast-mode magnetohydrodynamic waves similar to extreme-ultraviolet waves in the Sun trigger magnetic reconnection in different active regions.

  9. Tidal Forces in Dyonic Reissner-Nördstrom Black Hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharif, M.; Kousar, Lubna

    2018-03-01

    This paper investigates the tidal as well as magnetic charge effects produced in dyonic Reissner-Nordström black hole. We evaluate Newtonian radial acceleration using radial geodesics for freely falling test particles. We establish system of equations governing radial and angular tidal forces using geodesic deviation equation and discuss their solutions for bodies falling freely towards this black hole. The radial tidal force turns out to be compressing outside the event horizon whereas the angular tidal force changes sign between event and Cauchy horizons unlike Schwarzschild black hole. The radial geodesic component starts decreasing in dyonic Reissner-Nordström black hole unlike Schwarzschild case. We conclude that magnetic charge strongly affects the radial as well as angular components of tidal force.

  10. Short-term effects of tidal flooding on soil nitrogen mineralization in a Chinese tidal salt marsh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Haifeng; Bai, Junhong; Deng, Xiaoya; Lu, Qiongqiong; Ye, Xiaofei

    2018-02-01

    Tidal flooding is an important control of nitrogen biogeochemistry in wetland ecosystems of Yellow River Delta, China. Variations in hydrology could change soil redox dynamics and conditions for microorganisms living. A tidal simulation experiment was designed to extract tidal flooding effect on nitrogen mineralization of salt marsh soil. Inorganic nitrogen and relevant enzyme were measured during the 20-day incubation period. Considering the variation of both inorganic N and enzymes, nitrogen mineralization process in tidal salt marsh could be divided into 2 phases of short term response and longtime adaption by around 12th incubation day as the inflection point. Soil ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and volatilized ammonia (NH3) occupied the mineralization process since nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) was not detected over whole incubation period. NH4+-N varied fluctuant and increased significantly after 12 day's incubation. Released NH3 reached to peak value of 14.24 mg m-2 d-1 at the inflection point and declined thereafter. Inorganic nitrogen released according to net nitrogen mineralization rate (RM) under the tidal flooding condition without plant uptake except first 2 days. However, during the transitional period of 6-12 days, RM decreased notably to almost 0 and increased again after inflection point with the value of 0.182 mg kg-1 d-1. It might be due to the change of microbial composition and function when soil shifted from oxic to anoxic, which were reflected by arylamidase, urease and fluorescein diacetate. Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis and arylamidase had the similar variation of U style with decreasing activities before 12 days' incubation. All the enzymes measured in this experiment increased after inflection point. Whereas, urease activity kept constant from 2 to 12 days. Alternant oxidation reduction condition would increase N loss through denitrification and ammonia volatilization during the transitional period, while more inorganic nitrogen would be

  11. Kinematics and stellar populations of 17 dwarf early-type galaxies

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas, D.; Bender, R.; Hopp, U.; Maraston, C.; Greggio, L.

    2002-01-01

    We present kinematics and stellar population properties of 17 dwarf early-type galaxies in the luminosity range -14> M_B> -19. Our sample fills the gap between the intensively studied giant elliptical and Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies. The dwarf ellipticals of the present sample have constant velocity dispersion profiles within their effective radii and do not show significant rotation, hence are clearly anisotropic. The dwarf lenticulars, instead, rotate faster and are, at least part...

  12. Search for brown dwarfs in the IRAS data bases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Low, F.J.

    1986-01-01

    A report is given on the initial searches for brown dwarf stars in the IRAS data bases. The paper was presented to the workshop on 'Astrophysics of brown dwarfs', Virginia, USA, 1985. To date no brown dwarfs have been discovered in the solar neighbourhood. Opportunities for future searches with greater sensitivity and different wavelengths are outlined. (U.K.)

  13. Magnetic white dwarfs: Observations, theory and future prospects

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Berro, Enrique; Kilic, Mukremin; Kepler, Souza Oliveira

    2016-01-01

    Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from 103G to 109G, and constitute an interesting class of objects. The origin of the magnetic field is still the subject of a hot debate. Whether these fields are fossil, hence the remnants of original weak magnetic fields amplified during the course of the evolution of the progenitor of white dwarfs, or on the contrary, are the result of binary interactions or, finally, other physical mechanisms that could produce such large magnetic fields during the evolution of the white dwarf itself, remains to be elucidated. In this work, we review the current status and paradigms of magnetic fields in white dwarfs, from both the theoretical and observational points of view.

  14. The Andromeda Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

    OpenAIRE

    Armandroff, Taft E.; Da Costa, Gary S.

    1998-01-01

    Our current knowledge of M31's dwarf spheroidal companions is reviewed. Two topics of recent interest constitute the bulk of this review. First, color-magnitude diagrams reaching below the horizontal branch have been constructed for two M31 dwarf spheroidals based on images from HST/WFPC2. The horizontal branches are predominantly red in both galaxies, redder than expected for their metallicity based on Galactic globular clusters. Thus, the second parameter effect is seen in the M31 halo. Sec...

  15. Carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in dwarf galaxies

    OpenAIRE

    Salvadori, Stefania; Skuladottir, Asa; Tolstoy, Eline

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the frequency and origin of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars in Local Group dwarf galaxies by means of a statistical, data-calibrated cosmological model for the hierarchical build-up of the Milky Way and its dwarf satellites. The model self-consistently explains the variation with dwarf galaxy luminosity of the observed: i) frequency and [Fe/H] range of CEMP stars; ii) metallicity distribution functions; iii) star formation histories. We show that if primordial faint sup...

  16. Morphodynamics of the Manyema Tidal Delta at Kunduchi, Tanzania

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Keywords: Morphodynamics, Kunduchi, Manyema, shoreline change, tidal creek, tidal delta. Abstract—The prevailing northward longshore drift of beach sand on the northern part of Msasani Bay, north of Dar es Salaam, is interrupted at Kunduchi by the tidal flushing of ... Western Indian Ocean J. Mar. Sci. Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.

  17. Tidal extension and sea-level rise: recommendations for a research agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ensign, Scott H.; Noe, Gregory

    2018-01-01

    Sea-level rise is pushing freshwater tides upstream into formerly non-tidal rivers. This tidal extension may increase the area of tidal freshwater ecosystems and offset loss of ecosystem functions due to salinization downstream. Without considering how gains in ecosystem functions could offset losses, landscape-scale assessments of ecosystem functions may be biased toward worst-case scenarios of loss. To stimulate research on this concept, we address three fundamental questions about tidal extension: Where will tidal extension be most evident, and can we measure it? What ecosystem functions are influenced by tidal extension, and how can we measure them? How do watershed processes, climate change, and tidal extension interact to affect ecosystem functions? Our preliminary answers lead to recommendations that will advance tidal extension research, enable better predictions of the impacts of sea-level rise, and help balance the landscape-scale benefits of ecosystem function with costs of response.

  18. Adélie penguin foraging location predicted by tidal regime switching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliver, Matthew J; Irwin, Andrew; Moline, Mark A; Fraser, William; Patterson, Donna; Schofield, Oscar; Kohut, Josh

    2013-01-01

    Penguin foraging and breeding success depend on broad-scale environmental and local-scale hydrographic features of their habitat. We investigated the effect of local tidal currents on a population of Adélie penguins on Humble Is., Antarctica. We used satellite-tagged penguins, an autonomous underwater vehicle, and historical tidal records to model of penguin foraging locations over ten seasons. The bearing of tidal currents did not oscillate daily, but rather between diurnal and semidiurnal tidal regimes. Adélie penguins foraging locations changed in response to tidal regime switching, and not to daily tidal patterns. The hydrography and foraging patterns of Adélie penguins during these switching tidal regimes suggest that they are responding to changing prey availability, as they are concentrated and dispersed in nearby Palmer Deep by variable tidal forcing on weekly timescales, providing a link between local currents and the ecology of this predator.

  19. Tidal Current Energy Resource Assessment Around Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Ribal, Agustinus; Amir, Amir Kamal; Toaha, Syamsuddin; Kusuma, Jeffry; Khaeruddin

    2017-01-01

    International Journal bereputasi An early stage of assessing tidal current energy resources is carried out in this present work. Tidal current power is estimated around Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi province, Indonesia. Two-dimensional, depth-integrated of Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) model has been used to simulate tidal elevation and barotropic tidal current around the island. Green???s function approach has been used to improve eight tidal constituents on the open boundary condition...

  20. The Brown Dwarf Kinematics Project (BDKP. III. Parallaxes for 70 Ultracool Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-10

    a low surface gravity dwarf, Cal is a calibrator ultracool dwarf, SD is an ultracool subdwarf, B is a tight binary unresolved in 2MASS . d F indicates...procedure described in Vrba et al. (2004), we obtained 2MASS photometry for all reference stars. We com- pared with the intrinsic colors described in...140.5 ± 5.8 38.44 ± 2.83 −1191.00 ± 13.00 −115.00 ± 13.00 A 1 2MASS J0746+2000 86.2 ± 4.6 −355.9 ± 5.1 −63.7 ± 5.2 81.90 ± 0.30 −374.04 ± 0.31 −57.91

  1. Ages of M Dwarf Stars from their Alpha Enhancement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muirhead, Philip Steven; Veyette, Mark

    2018-01-01

    M dwarf stars dominate stellar populations, and recent results from NASA's Kepler Mission suggest rocky planets are abundant around M dwarf stars. With so many planets orbiting M dwarfs, exoplanet scientists can now turn to questions about their history and evolution. Unfortunately, measuring fundamental properties of M dwarfs is challenging for a variety of reasons. I will discuss the importance of near-infrared spectroscopy in this effort. With high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy covering Y to K band, we can measure detailed fundamental properties of low-mass stars. With new techniques to measure stellar alpha and iron abundances, we can begin to measure the most challenging fundamental property of M dwarfs: their age. These efforts are even more exciting in the coming years, when the TESS spacecraft is expected to discover five times as many planets orbiting low-mass stars as Kepler.

  2. A Dark Spot on a Massive White Dwarf

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, Alexandros; Bell, Keaton J.; Curd, Brandon; Brown, Warren R.; Hermes, J. J.; Dufour, Patrick; Wisniewski, John P.; Winget, D. E.; Winget, K. I.

    2015-12-01

    We present the serendipitous discovery of eclipse-like events around the massive white dwarf SDSS J152934.98+292801.9 (hereafter J1529+2928). We selected J1529+2928 for time-series photometry based on its spectroscopic temperature and surface gravity, which place it near the ZZ Ceti instability strip. Instead of pulsations, we detect photometric dips from this white dwarf every 38 minutes. Follow-up optical spectroscopy observations with Gemini reveal no significant radial velocity variations, ruling out stellar and brown dwarf companions. A disintegrating planet around this white dwarf cannot explain the observed light curves in different filters. Given the short period, the source of the photometric dips must be a dark spot that comes into view every 38 minutes due to the rotation of the white dwarf. Our optical spectroscopy does not show any evidence of Zeeman splitting of the Balmer lines, limiting the magnetic field strength to B Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina).

  3. [Evaluation of tidal volume delivered by ventilators during volume-controlled ventilation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Juan; Yan, Yong; Cao, Desen

    2014-12-01

    To study the ways which ensure the delivery of enough tidal volume to patients under various conditions close to the demand of the physician. The volume control ventilation model was chosen, and the simulation lung type was active servo lung ASL 5000 or Michigan lung 1601. The air resistance, air compliance and lung type in simulation lungs were set. The tidal volume was obtained from flow analyzer PF 300. At the same tidal volume, the displaying values of tidal volume of E5, Servo i, Evital 4, and Evital XL ventilators with different lung types of patient, compliance of gas piping, leakage, gas types, etc. were evaluated. With the same setting tidal volume of a same ventilator, the tidal volume delivered to patients was different with different lung types of patient, compliance of gas piping, leakage, gas types, etc. Reducing compliance and increasing resistance of the patient lungs caused high peak airway pressure, the tidal volume was lost in gas piping, and the tidal volume be delivered to the patient lungs was decreased. If the ventilator did not compensate to leakage, the tidal volume delivered to the patient lungs was decreased. When the setting gas type of ventilator did not coincide with that applying to the patient, the tidal volume be delivered to the patient lungs might be different with the setting tidal volume of ventilator. To ensure the delivery of enough tidal volume to patients close to the demand of the physician, containable factors such as the compliance of gas piping, leakage, and gas types should be controlled.

  4. NUCLEAR CONDENSATE AND HELIUM WHITE DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bedaque, Paulo F.; Berkowitz, Evan [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Cherman, Aleksey, E-mail: bedaque@umd.edu, E-mail: evanb@umd.edu, E-mail: a.cherman@damtp.cam.ac.uk [Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom)

    2012-04-10

    We consider a high-density region of the helium phase diagram, where the nuclei form a Bose-Einstein condensate rather than a classical plasma or a crystal. Helium in this phase may be present in helium-core white dwarfs. We show that in this regime there is a new gapless quasiparticle not previously noticed, arising when the constraints imposed by gauge symmetry are taken into account. The contribution of this quasiparticle to the specific heat of a white dwarf core turns out to be comparable in a range of temperatures to the contribution from the particle-hole excitations of the degenerate electrons. The specific heat in the condensed phase is two orders of magnitude smaller than in the uncondensed plasma phase, which is the ground state at higher temperatures, and four orders of magnitude smaller than the specific heat that an ion lattice would provide, if formed. Since the specific heat of the core is an important input for setting the rate of cooling of a white dwarf star, it may turn out that such a change in the thermal properties of the cores of helium white dwarfs has observable implications.

  5. NUCLEAR CONDENSATE AND HELIUM WHITE DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bedaque, Paulo F.; Berkowitz, Evan; Cherman, Aleksey

    2012-01-01

    We consider a high-density region of the helium phase diagram, where the nuclei form a Bose-Einstein condensate rather than a classical plasma or a crystal. Helium in this phase may be present in helium-core white dwarfs. We show that in this regime there is a new gapless quasiparticle not previously noticed, arising when the constraints imposed by gauge symmetry are taken into account. The contribution of this quasiparticle to the specific heat of a white dwarf core turns out to be comparable in a range of temperatures to the contribution from the particle-hole excitations of the degenerate electrons. The specific heat in the condensed phase is two orders of magnitude smaller than in the uncondensed plasma phase, which is the ground state at higher temperatures, and four orders of magnitude smaller than the specific heat that an ion lattice would provide, if formed. Since the specific heat of the core is an important input for setting the rate of cooling of a white dwarf star, it may turn out that such a change in the thermal properties of the cores of helium white dwarfs has observable implications.

  6. EVIDENCE FOR ACCRETION IN A NEARBY, YOUNG BROWN DWARF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiners, Ansgar

    2009-01-01

    We report on the discovery of the young, nearby, brown dwarf 2MASS J0041353-562112. The object has a spectral type of M7.5; it shows Li absorption and signatures of accretion, which implies that it still has a disk and suggests an age below 10 Myr. The space motion vector and position on the sky indicate that the brown dwarf is probably a member of the ∼20 Myr old Tuc-Hor association, or that it may be an ejected member of the ∼12 Myr old β Pic association; both would imply that 2MASS J0041353-562112 may in fact be older than 10 Myr. No accreting star or brown dwarf was previously known in these associations. Assuming an age of 10 Myr, the brown dwarf has a mass of about 30 M Jup and is located at 35 pc distance. The newly discovered object is the closest accreting brown dwarf known. Its membership to an association older than 10 Myr implies that either disks in brown dwarfs can survive as long as in more massive stars, perhaps even longer, or that star formation in Tuc-Hor or β Pic occurred more recently than previously thought. The history and evolution of this object can provide new fundamental insight into the formation process of stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.

  7. Hepatic response to oxidative injury in long-lived Ames dwarf mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Liou Y; Bokov, Alex F; Richardson, Arlan; Miller, Richard A

    2011-01-01

    Multiple stress resistance pathways were evaluated in the liver of Ames dwarf mice before and after exposure to the oxidative toxin diquat, seeking clues to the exceptional longevity conferred by this mutation. Before diquat treatment, Ames dwarf mice, compared with nonmutant littermate controls, had 2- to 6-fold higher levels of expression of mRNAs for immediate early genes and 2- to 5-fold higher levels of mRNAs for genes dependent on the transcription factor Nrf2. Diquat led to a 2-fold increase in phosphorylation of the stress kinase ERK in control (but not Ames dwarf) mice and to a 50% increase in phosphorylation of the kinase JNK2 in Ames dwarf (but not control) mice. Diquat induction of Nrf2 protein was higher in dwarf mice than in controls. Of 6 Nrf2-responsive genes evaluated, 4 (HMOX, NQO-1, MT-1, and MT-2) remained 2- to 10-fold lower in control than in dwarf liver after diquat, and the other 2 (GCLM and TXNRD) reached levels already seen in dwarf liver at baseline. Thus, livers of Ames dwarf mice differ systematically from controls in multiple stress resistance pathways before and after exposure to diquat, suggesting mechanisms for stress resistance and extended longevity in Ames dwarf mice.

  8. Unusual Slowly Rotating Brown Dwarfs Discovered through Precision Spitzer Photometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinze, Aren; Metchev, S.

    2014-01-01

    Many brown dwarfs exhibit low-amplitude rotationally modulated variability due to photospheric inhomogeneities caused by condensate clouds in their atmospheres. The Spitzer Space Telescope 'Weather on Other Worlds' (WoW) project has monitored 44 brown dwarfs at unprecedented photometric precision from space. We present one of several important new results from WoW: the discovery of brown dwarfs with unexpectedly slow rotation periods. While most brown dwarfs have periods of 2-12 hours, we have identified two with well-constrained periods of 13±1 and >20 hours, respectively, and 2 others that show more tentative evidence of longer than 20-hour periods. By serving as almost non-rotating standards, these objects will allow more accurate calibration of spectroscopic measurements of brown dwarfs' projected rotational velocities. The existence of such slowly-rotating objects also constrains models of brown dwarf formation and angular momentum evolution.

  9. Observed tidal braking in the earth/moon/sun system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christodoulidis, D. C.; Smith, D. E.; Williamson, R. G.; Klosko, S. M.

    1987-01-01

    The low degree and order terms in the spherical harmonic model of the tidal potential were observed through the perturbations which are induced on near-earth satellite orbital motions. Evaluations of tracking observations from 17 satellites and a GEM-T1 geopotential model were used in the tidal recovery which was made in the presence of over 600 long-wavelength coefficients from 32 major and minor tides. Wahr's earth tidal model was used as a basis for the recovery of the ocean tidal terms. Using this tidal model, the secular change in the moon's mean motion due to tidal dissipation was found to be -25.27 + or - 0.61 arcsec/century squared. The estimation of lunar acceleration agreed with that observed from lunar laser ranging techniques (-24.9 + or - 1.0 arcsec/century squared), with the corresponding tidal braking of earth's rotation being -5.98 + or - 0.22 x 10 to the minus 22 rad/second squared. If the nontidal braking of the earth due to the observed secular change in the earth's second zonal harmonic is considered, satellite techniques yield a total value of the secular change of the earth's rotation rate of -4.69 + or - 0.36 x 10 to the minus 22 rad/second squared.

  10. Tidal exchange of larvae of Sesarma catenata (Decapoda, Brachyura)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The tidal exchange of larvae of the salt-marsh grapsid crab Sesarma catenata was studied in the Swartkops estuary, a tidally driven, shallow estuary in Algoa Bay, South Africa. Plankton samples were collected bimonlhly during spring and neap tides from October to March at the tidal inlet. Samples were collected hourly for ...

  11. The mass and radius of the M dwarf companion to GD 448

    OpenAIRE

    Maxted, P. F. L.; Marsh, T. R.; Moran, C.; Dhillon, V. S.; Hilditch, R. W.

    1998-01-01

    We present spectroscopy and photometry of GD 448, a detached white dwarf - M dwarf binary with a period of 2.47h. We find that the NaI 8200A feature is composed of narrow emission lines due to irradiation of the M dwarf by the white dwarf within broad absorption lines that are essentially unaffected by heating. Combined with an improved spectroscopic orbit and gravitational red shift measurement from spectra of the H-alpha line, we are able to derive masses for the white dwarf and M dwarf dir...

  12. Periodic optical variability of radio-detected ultracool dwarfs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harding, L. K.; Golden, A.; Singh, Navtej; Sheehan, B.; Butler, R. F.; Hallinan, G.; Boyle, R. P.; Zavala, R. T.

    2013-01-01

    A fraction of very low mass stars and brown dwarfs are known to be radio active, in some cases producing periodic pulses. Extensive studies of two such objects have also revealed optical periodic variability, and the nature of this variability remains unclear. Here, we report on multi-epoch optical photometric monitoring of six radio-detected dwarfs, spanning the ∼M8-L3.5 spectral range, conducted to investigate the ubiquity of periodic optical variability in radio-detected ultracool dwarfs. This survey is the most sensitive ground-based study carried out to date in search of periodic optical variability from late-type dwarfs, where we obtained 250 hr of monitoring, delivering photometric precision as low as ∼0.15%. Five of the six targets exhibit clear periodicity, in all cases likely associated with the rotation period of the dwarf, with a marginal detection found for the sixth. Our data points to a likely association between radio and optical periodic variability in late-M/early-L dwarfs, although the underlying physical cause of this correlation remains unclear. In one case, we have multiple epochs of monitoring of the archetype of pulsing radio dwarfs, the M9 TVLM 513–46546, spanning a period of 5 yr, which is sufficiently stable in phase to allow us to establish a period of 1.95958 ± 0.00005 hr. This phase stability may be associated with a large-scale stable magnetic field, further strengthening the correlation between radio activity and periodic optical variability. Finally, we find a tentative spin-orbit alignment of one component of the very low mass binary, LP 349–25.

  13. Periodic optical variability of radio-detected ultracool dwarfs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harding, L. K.; Golden, A.; Singh, Navtej; Sheehan, B.; Butler, R. F. [Centre for Astronomy, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway (Ireland); Hallinan, G. [Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Boyle, R. P. [Vatican Observatory Research Group, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Zavala, R. T., E-mail: lkh@astro.caltech.edu [United States Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)

    2013-12-20

    A fraction of very low mass stars and brown dwarfs are known to be radio active, in some cases producing periodic pulses. Extensive studies of two such objects have also revealed optical periodic variability, and the nature of this variability remains unclear. Here, we report on multi-epoch optical photometric monitoring of six radio-detected dwarfs, spanning the ∼M8-L3.5 spectral range, conducted to investigate the ubiquity of periodic optical variability in radio-detected ultracool dwarfs. This survey is the most sensitive ground-based study carried out to date in search of periodic optical variability from late-type dwarfs, where we obtained 250 hr of monitoring, delivering photometric precision as low as ∼0.15%. Five of the six targets exhibit clear periodicity, in all cases likely associated with the rotation period of the dwarf, with a marginal detection found for the sixth. Our data points to a likely association between radio and optical periodic variability in late-M/early-L dwarfs, although the underlying physical cause of this correlation remains unclear. In one case, we have multiple epochs of monitoring of the archetype of pulsing radio dwarfs, the M9 TVLM 513–46546, spanning a period of 5 yr, which is sufficiently stable in phase to allow us to establish a period of 1.95958 ± 0.00005 hr. This phase stability may be associated with a large-scale stable magnetic field, further strengthening the correlation between radio activity and periodic optical variability. Finally, we find a tentative spin-orbit alignment of one component of the very low mass binary, LP 349–25.

  14. Salmon habitat use, tidal-fluvial estuary - Columbia River Estuary Tidal Habitats

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The goal of the tidal-fluvial estuary study is to determine the estuary's contribution to the spatial structure and life history diversity of Columbia River salmon...

  15. SURPRISINGLY WEAK MAGNETISM ON YOUNG ACCRETING BROWN DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiners, A.; Basri, G.; Christensen, U. R.

    2009-01-01

    We have measured the surface magnetic flux on four accreting young brown dwarfs and one nonaccreting young very low mass (VLM) star utilizing high-resolution spectra of absorption lines of the FeH molecule. A magnetic field of 1-2 kG had been proposed for one of the brown dwarfs, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) J1207334-393254, because of its similarities to higher mass T Tauri stars as manifested in accretion and the presence of a jet. We do not find clear evidence for a kilogauss field in any of our young brown dwarfs but do find a 2 kG field on the young VLM star. Our 3σ upper limit for the magnetic flux in 2MASS J1207334-393254 just reaches 1 kG. We estimate the magnetic field required for accretion in young brown dwarfs given the observed rotations, and find that fields of only a few hundred gauss are sufficient for magnetospheric accretion. This predicted value is less than our observed upper limit. We conclude that magnetic fields in young brown dwarfs are a factor of 5 or more lower than in young stars of about one solar mass, and in older stars with spectral types similar to our young brown dwarfs. It is interesting that, during the first few million years, the fields scale down with mass in line with what is needed for magnetospheric accretion, yet no such scaling is observed at later ages within the same effective temperature range. This scaling is opposite to the trend in rotation, with shorter rotation periods for very young accreting brown dwarfs compared with accreting solar-mass objects (and very low Rossby numbers in all cases). We speculate that in young objects a deeper intrinsic connection may exist between magnetospheric accretion and magnetic field strength, or that magnetic field generation in brown dwarfs may be less efficient than in stars. Neither of these currently has an easy physical explanation.

  16. Earthquake potential revealed by tidal influence on earthquake size-frequency statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ide, Satoshi; Yabe, Suguru; Tanaka, Yoshiyuki

    2016-11-01

    The possibility that tidal stress can trigger earthquakes is long debated. In particular, a clear causal relationship between small earthquakes and the phase of tidal stress is elusive. However, tectonic tremors deep within subduction zones are highly sensitive to tidal stress levels, with tremor rate increasing at an exponential rate with rising tidal stress. Thus, slow deformation and the possibility of earthquakes at subduction plate boundaries may be enhanced during periods of large tidal stress. Here we calculate the tidal stress history, and specifically the amplitude of tidal stress, on a fault plane in the two weeks before large earthquakes globally, based on data from the global, Japanese, and Californian earthquake catalogues. We find that very large earthquakes, including the 2004 Sumatran, 2010 Maule earthquake in Chile and the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in Japan, tend to occur near the time of maximum tidal stress amplitude. This tendency is not obvious for small earthquakes. However, we also find that the fraction of large earthquakes increases (the b-value of the Gutenberg-Richter relation decreases) as the amplitude of tidal shear stress increases. The relationship is also reasonable, considering the well-known relationship between stress and the b-value. This suggests that the probability of a tiny rock failure expanding to a gigantic rupture increases with increasing tidal stress levels. We conclude that large earthquakes are more probable during periods of high tidal stress.

  17. Searching for white dwarfs candidates in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nalezyty, Miroslaw; Majczyna, Agnieszka; Ciechanowska, Anna; Madej, Jerzy

    2009-01-01

    Large amount of observational spectroscopic data are recently available from different observational projects, like Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It's become more urgent to identify white dwarfs stars based on data itself i.e. without modelling white dwarf atmospheres. In particular, existing methods of white dwarfs identification presented in Kleinman et al. (2004) and in Eisenstein et al. (2006) did not allow to find all the white dwarfs in examined data. We intend to test various criteria of searching for white dwarf candidates, based on photometric and spectral features.

  18. A Panchromatic View of Brown Dwarf Aurorae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pineda, J. Sebastian [University of Colorado Boulder, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, 3665 Discovery Drive, Boulder CO, 80303 (United States); Hallinan, Gregg; Kao, Melodie M. [California Institute of Technology, Department of Astronomy, 1200 E. California Avenue, Pasadena CA, 91125 (United States)

    2017-09-01

    Stellar coronal activity has been shown to persist into the low-mass star regime, down to late M-dwarf spectral types. However, there is now an accumulation of evidence suggesting that at the end of the main sequence, there is a transition in the nature of the magnetic activity from chromospheric and coronal to planet-like and auroral, from local impulsive heating via flares and MHD wave dissipation to energy dissipation from strong large-scale magnetospheric current systems. We examine this transition and the prevalence of auroral activity in brown dwarfs through a compilation of multiwavelength surveys of magnetic activity, including radio, X-ray, and optical. We compile the results of those surveys and place their conclusions in the context of auroral emission as a consequence of large-scale magnetospheric current systems that accelerate energetic electron beams and drive the particles to impact the cool atmospheric gas. We explore the different manifestations of auroral phenomena, like H α , in brown dwarf atmospheres and define their distinguishing characteristics. We conclude that large-amplitude photometric variability in the near-infrared is most likely a consequence of clouds in brown dwarf atmospheres, but that auroral activity may be responsible for long-lived stable surface features. We report a connection between auroral H α emission and quiescent radio emission in electron cyclotron maser instability pulsing brown dwarfs, suggesting a potential underlying physical connection between quiescent and auroral emissions. We also discuss the electrodynamic engines powering brown dwarf aurorae and the possible role of satellites around these systems both to power the aurorae and seed the magnetosphere with plasma.

  19. OPTICAL–NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRIC CALIBRATION OF M DWARF METALLICITY AND ITS APPLICATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hejazi, N.; Robertis, M. M. De; Dawson, P. C.

    2015-01-01

    Based on a carefully constructed sample of dwarf stars, a new optical–near-infrared photometric calibration to estimate the metallicity of late-type K and early-to-mid-type M dwarfs is presented. The calibration sample has two parts; the first part includes 18 M dwarfs with metallicities determined by high-resolution spectroscopy and the second part contains 49 dwarfs with metallicities obtained through moderate-resolution spectra. By applying this calibration to a large sample of around 1.3 million M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and 2MASS, the metallicity distribution of this sample is determined and compared with those of previous studies. Using photometric parallaxes, the Galactic heights of M dwarfs in the large sample are also estimated. Our results show that stars farther from the Galactic plane, on average, have lower metallicity, which can be attributed to the age–metallicity relation. A scarcity of metal-poor dwarf stars in the metallicity distribution relative to the Simple Closed Box Model indicates the existence of the “M dwarf problem,” similar to the previously known G and K dwarf problems. Several more complicated Galactic chemical evolution models which have been proposed to resolve the G and K dwarf problems are tested and it is shown that these models could, to some extent, mitigate the M dwarf problem as well

  20. OPTICAL–NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRIC CALIBRATION OF M DWARF METALLICITY AND ITS APPLICATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hejazi, N.; Robertis, M. M. De [Physics and Astronomy Department, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 (Canada); Dawson, P. C., E-mail: nedahej@yorku.ca, E-mail: mmdr@yorku.ca, E-mail: pdawson@trentu.ca [Physics Department, Trent University, Peterborough, K9J 7B8 (Canada)

    2015-04-15

    Based on a carefully constructed sample of dwarf stars, a new optical–near-infrared photometric calibration to estimate the metallicity of late-type K and early-to-mid-type M dwarfs is presented. The calibration sample has two parts; the first part includes 18 M dwarfs with metallicities determined by high-resolution spectroscopy and the second part contains 49 dwarfs with metallicities obtained through moderate-resolution spectra. By applying this calibration to a large sample of around 1.3 million M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and 2MASS, the metallicity distribution of this sample is determined and compared with those of previous studies. Using photometric parallaxes, the Galactic heights of M dwarfs in the large sample are also estimated. Our results show that stars farther from the Galactic plane, on average, have lower metallicity, which can be attributed to the age–metallicity relation. A scarcity of metal-poor dwarf stars in the metallicity distribution relative to the Simple Closed Box Model indicates the existence of the “M dwarf problem,” similar to the previously known G and K dwarf problems. Several more complicated Galactic chemical evolution models which have been proposed to resolve the G and K dwarf problems are tested and it is shown that these models could, to some extent, mitigate the M dwarf problem as well.