16071538
Astrometric Detection of Terrestrial Planets in the Habitable Zones of Nearby Stars with SIM PlanetQuest
ABSTRACT SIM PlanetQuest (formerly the Space Interferometry Mission) is a space‐borne Michelson interferometer for precision stellar astrometry, with a 9 m baseline, currently slated for launch in 2016. One of the principal science goals is the astrometric detection and orbital characterization of terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. Differential astrometry of the target star against a set of reference stars lying within 1° will allow measurement of the target star’s reflex motion with astrometric accuracy of 1 μas in a single measurement. The purpose of the present paper is to quantitatively assess SIM’s capability for detection (as opposed to characterization by orbital determination) of terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. Note that the orbital periods of these planets are generally shorter than the 5 year SIM mission. We formulate a “joint periodogram” as a tool for planet detection from astrometric data. For adequately sampled orbits (i.e., five or more o...
17321714
Active optics and coronagraphy with the Hubble Space Telescope
This paper describes the method used to determine the actuator strokes applied to a deformable mirror to achieve planet detection and the design of a coronograph which implements this novel technique.
124149505
Wigner solution to the quark gap equation in the nonzero current quark mass
From the graphical representation of the Dyson—Schwinger equation for the dressed gluon propagator it is shown that the gluon propagator in the Wigner phase should be different from that in the Nambu phase. Based on this analysis, we propose a modified gluon propagator to reflect this fact. With such a modified gluon propagator, in the framework of the Nambu—Jona—Lasinio (NJL) model, we obtain the Wigner solution to the quark gap equation at finite current quark mass, which has not been found in literature. This provides a new point of view to study partial restoration of chiral symmetry at finite temperature and chemical potential.
118027623
Calculating the $K_L-K_S$ mass difference and $\epsilon_K$ to sub-percent accuracy
The real and imaginary parts of the $K_L-K_S$ mixing matrix receive contributions from all three charge-2/3 quarks: up, charm and top. These give both short- and long-distance contributions which are accessible through a combination of perturbative and lattice methods. We will discuss a strategy to compute both the mass difference, $\Delta M_K$ and $\epsilon_K$ to sub-percent accuracy, looking in detail at the contributions from each of the three CKM matrix element products $V_{id}^*V_{is}$ for $i=u, c$ and $t$ as described in Ref. [1]
119298711
RAPID DYNAMICAL MASS SEGREGATION AND PROPERTIES OF FRACTAL STAR CLUSTERS
We investigate the evolution of young star clusters using N-body simulations. We confirm that subvirial and fractal-structured clusters will dynamically mass segregate on a short timescale (within 0.5 Myr). We adopt a modified minimum-spanning-tree method to measure the degree of mass segregation, demonstrating that the stars escaping from a cluster's potential are important for the temporal dependence of mass segregation in the cluster. The form of the initial velocity distribution will also affect the degree of mass segregation. If it depends on radius, the outer parts of the cluster would expand without undergoing collapse. In velocity space, we find "inverse mass segregation," which indicates that massive stars have higher velocity dispersions than their lower-mass counterparts.
118543440
A TEST FOR RADIAL MIXING USING LOCAL STAR SAMPLES
We use samples of local main-sequence stars to show that the radial gradient of [Fe/H] in the thin disk of the Milky Way decreases with mean effective stellar temperature. Many of these stars are visiting the solar neighborhood from the inner and outer Galaxy. We use the angular momentum of each star about the Galactic center to determine the guiding center radius and to eliminate the effects of epicyclic motion, which would otherwise blur the estimated gradients. We interpret the effective temperature as a proxy for mean age, and conclude that the decreasing gradient is consistent with the predictions of radial mixing due to transient spiral patterns. We find some evidence that the trend of decreasing gradient with increasing mean age breaks to a constant gradient for samples of stars whose main-sequence lifetimes exceed the likely age of the thin disk.
15889173
The Optical/Infrared Astronomical Quality of High Atacama Sites. I. Preliminary Results of Optical Seeing
The region surrounding the Llano de Chajnantor, a high-altitude plateau in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, has caught the attention of the astronomical community for its potential as an observatory site. Combining high elevation and extremely low atmospheric water content, the Llano has been chosen as the future site of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. We have initiated a campaign to investigate the astronomical potential of the region in the optical/infrared. Here we report on an aspect of our campaign aimed at establishing a seeing benchmark to be used as a reference for future activities in the region. After a brief description of the region and its climate, we describe the results of an astronomical seeing campaign, carried out with a Differential Image Motion Monitor that operates at 0.5 μm wavelength. The seeing at the Llano altitude of 5000 m, measured over 7 nights in 1998 May, yielded a median FWHM of . However, the seeing decreased to at a modest 100 m gain above the plateau (Cerro Chico), as measured over 38 nights spread between 1998 July and 2000 October. Neither of these represents the best seeing expected in the region; the set of measurements provides a reference base for simultaneous dual runs at Cerro Chico and at other sites of interest in the region, currently underway. A comparison between simultaneous measurements at Cerro Chico and Cerro Paranal indicates that the seeing at Cerro Chico is about 12% better than that at Paranal. The percentage of optically photometric nights in the Chajnantor region is about 60%, while that of nights useful for astronomical work is near 80%.