The semantic web for Earth and environmental terminology (SWEET) is an investigation in improving discovery and use of Earth science data, through software understanding of the semantics of web ...resources. Semantic understanding is enabled through the use of ontologies, or formal representations of technical concepts and their interrelations in a form that supports domain knowledge. The ultimate vision of the semantic web consists of web pages with XML namespace tags around terms, enabling search tools to ascertain their meanings by following the link to the defining ontologies. Such a scenario both reduces the number of false hits (where a search returns alternative, unintended meanings of a term) and increases the number of successful hits (where searcher and information provider have a syntax mismatch of the same concept). For SWEET, we developed a collection of ontologies using the web ontology language (OWL) that include both orthogonal concepts (space, time, Earth realms, physical quantities, etc.) and integrative science knowledge concepts (phenomena, events, etc.). This paper describes the development of a knowledge space for Earth system science and related concepts (such as data properties). Some of the ontology contents are “virtual” by means of an OWL wrapper associated with terms in large external databases (including gazetteers and Earthquake databases). We developed a search tool that finds alternative search terms (based on the semantics) and redirects the expanded set of terms to a search engine.
The asteroseismic and planetary studies, like all research related to stars, need precise and accurate stellar atmospheric parameters as input. We aim at deriving the effective temperature (T
eff), ...the surface gravity (log g), the metallicity (Fe/H), the projected rotational velocity (v sin i) and the MK type for 169 F-, G-, K- and M-type Kepler targets which were observed spectroscopically from the ground with five different instruments. We use two different spectroscopic methods to analyse 189 high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise spectra acquired for the 169 stars. For 67 stars, the spectroscopic atmospheric parameters are derived for the first time. KIC 9693187 and 11179629 are discovered to be double-lined spectroscopic binary systems. The results obtained for those stars for which independent determinations of the atmospheric parameters are available in the literature are used for a comparative analysis. As a result, we show that for solar-type stars the accuracy of present determinations of atmospheric parameters is ±150 K in T
eff, ±0.15 dex in Fe/H and ±0.3 dex in log g. Finally, we confirm that the curve-of-growth analysis and the method of spectral synthesis yield systematically different atmospheric parameters when they are applied to stars hotter than 6000 K.
The current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes are estimated, based on published studies and a few original calculations. For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is ...outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of $16 trillion-$54 trillion per year, with an average of $33 trillion per year.
Context. The launches of the MOST, CoRoT, and Kepler missions opened up a new era in asteroseismology, the study of stellar interiors via interpretation of pulsation patterns observed at the surfaces ...of large groups of stars. These space missions deliver a huge amount of high-quality photometric data suitable to study numerous pulsating stars. Aims. Our ultimate goal is a detection and analysis of an extended sample of γ Dor-type pulsating stars with the aim to search for observational evidence of non-uniform period spacings and rotational splittings of gravity modes in main-sequence stars typically twice as massive as the Sun. This kind of diagnostic can be used to deduce the internal rotation law and to estimate the amount of rotational mixing in the near core regions. Methods. We applied an automated supervised photometric classification method to select a sample of 69 Gamma Doradus (γ Dor) candidate stars. We used an advanced method to extract the Kepler light curves from the pixel data information using custom masks. For 36 of the stars, we obtained high-resolution spectroscopy with the HERMES spectrograph installed at the Mercator telescope. The spectroscopic data are analysed to determine the fundamental parameters like Teff, log g, vsini, and M/H. Results. We find that all stars for which spectroscopic estimates of Teff and log g are available fall into the region of the HR diagram, where the γ Dor and δ Sct instability strips overlap. The stars cluster in a 700 K window in effective temperature; log g measurements suggest luminosity class IV-V, i.e. sub-giant or main-sequence stars. From the Kepler photometry, we identify 45 γ Dor-type pulsators, 14 γ Dor/δ Sct hybrids, and 10 stars, which are classified as “possibly γ Dor/δ Sct hybrid pulsators”. We find a clear correlation between the spectroscopically derived vsini and the frequencies of independent pulsation modes. Conclusions. We have shown that our photometric classification based on the light curve morphology and colour information is very robust. The results of spectroscopic classification perfectly agree with the photometric classification. We show that the detected correlation between vsini and frequencies has nothing to do with rotational modulation of the stars but is related to their stellar pulsations. Our sample and frequency determinations offer a good starting point for seismic modelling of slow to moderately rotating γ Dor stars.
Context. Binaries in double-lined spectroscopic systems (SB2) provide a homogeneous set of stars. Differences of parameters, such as age or initial conditions, which otherwise would have strong ...impact on the stellar evolution, can be neglected. The observed differences are determined by the difference in stellar mass between the two components. The mass ratio can be determined with much higher accuracy than the actual stellar mass. Aim. In this work, we aim to study the eccentric binary system KIC 9163796, whose two components are very close in mass and both are low-luminosity red-giant stars. Methods. We analysed four years of Kepler space photometry and we obtained high-resolution spectroscopy with the Hermes instrument. The orbital elements and the spectra of both components were determined using spectral disentangling methods. The effective temperatures, and metallicities were extracted from disentangled spectra of the two stars. Mass and radius of the primary were determined through asteroseismology. The surface rotation period of the primary is determined from the Kepler light curve. From representative theoretical models of the star, we derived the internal rotational gradient, while for a grid of models, the measured lithium abundance is compared with theoretical predictions. Results. From seismology the primary of KIC 9163796 is a star of 1.39 ± 0.06M⊙, while the spectroscopic mass ratio between both components can be determined with much higher precision by spectral disentangling to be 1.015 ± 0.005. With such mass and a difference in effective temperature of 600 K from spectroscopy, the secondary and primary are, respectively, in the early and advanced stage of the first dredge-up event on the red-giant branch. The period of the primary’s surface rotation resembles the orbital period within ten days. The radial rotational gradient between the surface and core in KIC 9163796 is found to be $6.9^{+2.0}_{-1.0}$ 6.9−1.0+2.0 6.9−1.0+2.0 . This is a low value but not exceptional if compared to the sample of typical single field stars. The seismic average of the envelope’s rotation agrees with the surface rotation rate. The lithium’abundance is in agreement with quasi rigidly rotating models. Conclusions. The agreement between the surface rotation with the seismic result indicates that the full convective envelope is rotating quasi-rigidly. The models of the lithium abundance are compatible with a rigid rotation in the radiative zone during the main sequence. Because of the many constraints offered by oscillating stars in binary systems, such objects are important test beds of stellar evolution.
Primary pulmonary myxoid sarcoma with
fusion is an extremely rare tumor. Its clinical manifestation is unspecific and only molecular genetic method can proof this diagnosis. This paper describes an ...unusual clinical presentation of primary pulmonary myxoid sarcoma in a 68-year-old patient with involvement of both lungs.
Context. The long-period, highly eccentric O-star binary 9 Sgr, known for its non-thermal radio emission and its relatively bright X-ray emission, went through its periastron in 2013. Aims. Such an ...event can be used to observationally test the predictions of the theory of colliding stellar winds over a broad range of wavelengths. Methods. We conducted a multi-wavelength monitoring campaign of 9 Sgr around the 2013 periastron. In this paper, we focus on X-ray observations and optical spectroscopy. Results. The optical spectra allow us to revisit the orbital solution of 9 Sgr and to refine its orbital period to 9.1years. The X-ray flux is maximum at periastron over all energy bands, but with clear differences as a function of energy. The largest variations are observed at energies above 2keV, whilst the spectrum in the soft band (0.5-1.0keV) remains mostly unchanged, indicating that it arises far from the collision region, in the inner winds of the individual components. The level of the hard emission at periastron clearly deviates from the 1 /r relation expected for an adiabatic wind-interaction zone, whilst this relation seems to hold at the other phases that are covered by our observations. The spectra taken at phase 0.946 reveal a clear Fexxv line at 6.7keV, but no such line is detected at periastron (phi = 0.000), although a simple model predicts a strong line that should be easily visible in the data. Conclusions. The peculiarities of the X-ray spectrum of 9 Sgr could reflect the effect of radiative inhibition as well as a phase-dependent efficiency of particle acceleration on the shock properties.
Context. The influence of binarity on the late stages of stellar evolution remains an open issue. Aims. While the first binary post-AGB stars were serendipitously discovered, the distinct ...characteristics of their spectral energy distribution (SED) allowed us to launch a more systematic search for binaries. We selected post-AGB objects, which exhibit a broad dust excess starting either at H or K, pointing to the presence of a gravitationally bound dusty disc in the system. We initiated an extensive multiwavelength study of those systems and here report on our radial velocity and photometric monitoring results for six stars of early F type, which are pulsators of small amplitude. Methods. To determine the radial velocity of low signal-to-noise ratio time-series data, we constructed dedicated autocorrelation masks based on high signal-to-noise ratio spectra, used in our published chemical studies. The radial velocity variations were analysed in detail to differentiate between pulsational variability and variability caused by orbital motion. When available, the photometric monitoring data were used to complement the time series of radial velocity data and to establish the nature of the pulsation. Finally, orbital minimalisation was performed to constrain the orbital elements. Results. All of the six objects are binaries with orbital periods ranging from 120 to 1800 days. Five systems have non-circular orbits. The mass functions range from 0.004 to 0.57 $M_{\odot}$ and the companions are probably unevolved objects of (very) low initial mass. We argue that these binaries must have evolved through a phase of strong binary interaction when the primary was a cool supergiant. Although the origin of the circumstellar disc is not well understood, the disc is generally believed to have formed during this strong interaction phase. The eccentric orbits of these highly evolved objects remain poorly understood. In one object, the line-of-sight grazes the edge of the puffed-up inner rim of the disc. Conclusions. These results corroborate our earlier statement that evolved objects in binary stars create a Keplerian dusty circumbinary disc. With the measured orbits and mass functions, we conclude that the circumbinary discs seem to have a major impact on the evolution of a significant fraction of binary systems.
Context. Previous studies have shown that many post-asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with dusty disks are associated with single-lined binary stars. The inferred orbital separations are too small ...to accommodate a fully grown AGB star, hence these systems represent a new evolutionary channel that bypasses a full AGB evolution. Aims. We wish to verify the binarity hypothesis for a larger sample establish the nature of the companions, and probe the disk structure and eventually the disk formation mechanisms in binary stars. To achieve these aims, we started a high-resolution spectral monitoring of ~40 field giants whose binarity had been suspected based on either a light curve, an infrared excess, or a peculiar chemical composition. Methods. Starting from the spring of 2009, we monitored the programme stars with the fibre echelle spectrometer HERMES. We measure their radial velocities (RVs) with a precision of ~0.2 km s-1, perform detailed photospheric abundance analyses, and analyse the time-resolved high-resolution spectra to search for line-profile variability. Results. Here we report on the discovery of periodic RV variations in BD+46°442, a high Galactic latitude F giant with a disk. We infer that the variations are caused by the motion around a faint companion, and deduce the orbital parameters Porb = 140.77 ± 0.02d,e = 0.083 ± 0.002, and asini = 0.31 AU. We find that it is a moderately metal-poor star (M/H = −0.7) without a strong depletion pattern in its photospheric abundances. Interestingly, many lines indeed show periodic changes with the orbital phase: Hα switches between a double-peak emission line and a P Cyg-like profile, while strong metal lines appear to be split at the maximum redshift. Similar effects are likely visible in the spectra of other post-AGB binaries, but their regularity is not always apparent owing to sporadic observations. We propose that these features result from an ongoing mass transfer from the evolved giant to the companion. In particular, the blue-shifted absorption in Hα, which occurs only at superior conjunction, may result from a jet originating in the accretion disk around the companion and that is seen in absorption towards the luminous primary.
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