We classified the reddest (r − J > 2.2) stars observed by the NASA Kepler mission into main-sequence dwarf or evolved giant stars and determined the properties of 4216 M dwarfs based on a comparison ...of available photometry with that of nearby calibrator stars, as well as available proper motions and spectra. We revised the properties of candidate transiting planets using the stellar parameters, high-resolution imaging to identify companion stars, and, in the case of binaries, fitting light curves to identify the likely planet host. In 49 of 54 systems, we validated the primary as the host star. We inferred the intrinsic distribution of M dwarf planets using the method of iterative Monte Carlo simulation. We compared several models of planet orbital geometry and clustering and found that one where planets are exponentially distributed and almost precisely coplanar best describes the distribution of multiplanet systems. We determined that Kepler M dwarfs host an average of 2.2 ± 0.3 planets with radii of 1–4 R⊕ and orbital periods of 1.5–180 d. The radius distribution peaks at ∼1.2 R⊕ and is essentially zero at 4 R⊕, although we identify three giant planet candidates other than the previously confirmed Kepler-45b. There is suggestive but not significant evidence that the radius distribution varies with orbital period. The distribution with logarithmic orbital period is flat except for a decline for orbits less than a few days. 12 candidate planets, including two Jupiter-size objects, experience an irradiance below the threshold level for a runaway greenhouse on an Earth-like planet and are thus in a ‘habitable zone’.
Wide binaries are rare in open clusters Deacon, N R; Kraus, A L
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2020, Letnik:
496, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
ABSTRACT
The population statistics of binary stars are an important output of star formation models. However, populations of wide binaries evolve over time due to interactions within a system’s birth ...environment and the unfolding of wide, hierarchical triple systems. Hence, the wide binary populations observed in star-forming regions or OB associations may not accurately reflect the wide binary populations that will eventually reach the field. We use Gaia DR2 data to select members of three open clusters, Alpha Per, the Pleiades, and Praesepe and to flag cluster members that are likely unresolved binaries due to overluminosity or elevated astrometric noise. We then identify the resolved wide binary population in each cluster, separating it from coincident pairings of unrelated cluster members. We find that these clusters have an average wide binary fraction in the 300–3000 au projected separation range of 2.1$\pm ^{0.4}_{0.2}$ per cent increasing to 3.0$\pm ^{0.8}_{0.7}$ per cent for primaries with masses in the 0.5–1.5 M⊙ range. This is significantly below the observed field wide binary fraction, but shows some wide binaries survive in these dynamically highly processed environments. We compare our results with another open cluster (the Hyades) and two populations of young stars that likely originated in looser associations (young moving groups and the Pisces-Eridanus stream). We find that the Hyades also has a deficit of wide binaries while the products of looser associations have wide binary fractions at or above field level.
We analyze K2 light curves for 794 low-mass ( 1 M * 0.1 M ) members of the 650 Myr old open cluster Praesepe and measure rotation periods (Prot) for 677 of these stars. We find that half of the ...rapidly rotating 0.3 M stars are confirmed or candidate binary systems. The remaining 0.3 M fast rotators have not been searched for companions, and are therefore not confirmed single stars. We previously found that nearly all rapidly rotating 0.3 M stars in the Hyades are binaries, but we require deeper binary searches in Praesepe to confirm whether binaries in these two co-eval clusters have different Prot distributions. We also compare the observed Prot distribution in Praesepe to that predicted by models of angular-momentum evolution. We do not observe the clear bimodal Prot distribution predicted by Brown for >0.5 M stars at the age of Praesepe, but 0.25−0.5 M stars do show stronger bimodality. In addition, we find that >60% of early M dwarfs in Praesepe rotate more slowly than predicted at 650 Myr by Matt et al., which suggests an increase in braking efficiency for these stars relative to solar-type stars and fully convective stars. The incompleteness of surveys for binaries in open clusters likely impacts our comparison with these models since the models only attempt to describe the evolution of isolated single stars.
We present 237 new spectroscopically confirmed pre-main-sequence K- and M-type stars in the young Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Sco–Cen association, the nearest region of recent massive star ...formation. Using the Wide-Field Spectrograph at the Australian National University 2.3 m telescope at Siding Spring, we observed 397 kinematically and photometrically selected candidate members of Upper Scorpius, and identified new members by the presence of lithium absorption. The HR-diagram of the new members shows a spread of ages, ranging from ∼3 to 20 Myr, which broadly agrees with the current age estimates of ∼5–10 Myr. We find a significant range of Li 6708 equivalent widths among the members, and a minor dependence of HR-diagram position on the measured equivalent width of the Li 6708 Å line, with members that appear younger having more lithium. This could indicate the presence of either populations of different age, or a spread of ages in Upper Scorpius. We also use Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer data to infer circumstellar disc presence in 25 of the members on the basis of infrared excesses, including two candidate transition discs. We find that 11.2 ± 3.4 per cent of the M0–M2 spectral type (0.4–0.8 M⊙) Upper Sco stars display an excess that indicates the presence of a gaseous disc.
Adipocyte cell culture is an important tool for mechanistic studies of energy metabolism. Many factors affect the differentiation of adipocytes in culture. Oil red O staining can be used to assess ...the degree of differentiation. However, the validity of this method for quantitative analysis has not yet been established. Here we show that a protocol with arbitrarily chosen parameters does not measure in the linear range and is not suitable for quantitative analysis (R
2
= 0.077, p = 0.382), and develop and validate an optimized protocol for quantitative oil red O staining of cultured adipocytes. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes are fixed with 4% formaldehyde and stained with 0.2% oil red O solution in 40% 2-propanol for 30 minutes. Dye is eluted with 2-propanol, and absorption of the eluate is measured photometrically at 510 nm. This optimized protocol achieves excellent correlation between defined amounts of differentiated adipocytes on constant-size culture plates and photometric absorption (R
2
= 0.972, p = 6.585E-14). The performance of the method is independent of the culture plates used. Thus, the optimized oil red O staining protocol can be universally employed to quantitatively assess adipocyte differentiation.
CoKu Tau/4 has been labeled as one of the very few known transition disk objects--disks around young stars that have their inner disks cleared of dust, arguably as a result of planetary formation. We ...report aperture-masking interferometry and adaptive optics imaging observations showing that CoKu Tau/4 is in fact a near-equal binary star of projected separation similar to 53 mas ( similar to 8 AU). The spectral energy distribution of the disk is then naturally explained by the inner truncation of the disk through gravitational interactions with the binary star system. We discuss the possibility that such "unseen" binary companions could cause other circumbinary disks to be labeled as transitional.
The nearby open cluster NGC 752 presents a rare opportunity to study stellar properties at ages >1 Gyr. However, constructing a membership catalog for it is challenging; most surveys have been ...limited to identifying its giants and dwarf members earlier than mid-K. We supplement past membership catalogs with candidates selected with updated photometric and proper-motion criteria, generating a list of 258 members, a >50% increase over previous catalogs. Using a Bayesian framework to fit MESA Isochrones & Stellar Tracks evolutionary models to literature photometry and the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution data available for 59 cluster members, we infer the age of and distance to NGC 752: 1.34 0.06 Gyr and pc. We also report the results of our optical monitoring of the cluster using the Palomar Transient Factory. We obtain rotation periods for 12 K and M cluster members, the first periods measured for such low-mass stars with a well-constrained age >1 Gyr. We compare these new periods to data from the younger clusters Praesepe and NGC 6811, and to a theoretical model for angular momentum loss, to examine stellar spin-down for low-mass stars over their first 1.3 Gyr. While on average NGC 752 stars are rotating more slowly than their younger counterparts, the difference is not significant. Finally, we use our spectroscopic observations to measure H for cluster stars, finding that members earlier than M2 are magnetically inactive, as expected at this age. Forthcoming Gaia data should solidify and extend the membership of NGC 752 to lower masses, thereby increasing its importance for studies of low-mass stars.
Context. Out-of-focus (OOF) holography can be used to determine the aperture deformations of radio telescopes that lead to errors in the phase of the complex aperture distribution. In contrast to ...traditional methods, OOF holography can be performed without a reference antenna, which has a number of practical advantages. Aims. The aim of this work is to develop a standard procedure for OOF holography at the Effelsberg telescope. This includes performing OOF holography observations and the development of dedicated software, the pyoof package, to compute aberrations of the telescope’s optical system. Methods. Based on the OOF holography method developed at the Green Bank telescope, we adapted the approach to the Effelsberg 100 m telescope in order to determine the aberrations of the aperture phase distribution (phase-error maps). Results. The developed OOF holography software is presented as well as the results from observations at Effelsberg. Early results reveal gravitation-related residual deformation not contained in the previously existing aperture and pointing model, and hence we propose changes to the model to counteract aberrations in the telescope’s surface. Conclusions. The OOF holography method (observations and pyoof package) works as expected at the Effelsberg 100 m telescope and is able to validate the good performance of the existing finite element model. Test measurements show that slight improvements of the aperture efficiency and gain elevation dependence are possible but limited in the current configuration.
Abstract Dengue viruses (DENV) are the etiological agents of dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). The DENV complex consists of four closely related viruses designated DENV serotypes ...1 through 4. Although infection with one serotype induces cross reactive antibody to all 4 serotypes, the long-term protective antibody response is restricted to the serotype responsible for infection. Cross reactive antibodies appear to enhance infection during a second infection with a different serotype. The goal of the present study was to characterize the binding specificity and functional properties of human DENV immune sera. The study focused on domain III of the viral envelope protein (EDIII), as this region has a well characterized epitope that is recognized by strongly neutralizing serotype-specific mouse monoclonal antibodies (Mabs). Our results demonstrate that EDIII-reactive antibodies are present in primary and secondary DENV immune human sera. Human antibodies bound to a serotype specific epitope on EDIII after primary infection and a serotype cross reactive epitope on EDIII after secondary infection. However, EDIII binding antibodies constituted only a small fraction of the total antibody in immune sera binding to DENV. Studies with complete and EDIII antibody depleted human immune sera demonstrated that EDIII binding antibodies play a minor role in DENV neutralization. We propose that human antibodies directed to other epitopes on the virus are primarily responsible for DENV neutralization. Our results have implications for understanding protective immunity following natural DENV infection and for evaluating DENV vaccines.
Open clusters are collections of stars with a single, well-determined age, and can be used to investigate the connections between angular-momentum evolution and magnetic activity over a star's ...lifetime. We present the results of a comparative study of the relationship between stellar rotation and activity in two benchmark open clusters: Praesepe and the Hyades. We have compiled a sample of 720 spectra-more than half of which are new observations-for 516 high-confidence members of Praesepe; we have also obtained 139 new spectra for 130 high-confidence Hyads. We have also collected rotation periods (P sub(rot)) for 135 Praesepe members and 87 Hyads. Our analysis shows that H alpha activity in these stars is saturated for R sub(o) < or =, slant 0.11 super(+0.02) sub(-0.03). Above that value activity declines as a power-law with slope beta = -0.73 super(+0.16) sub(-0.12), before dropping off rapidly at R sub(o) approximately 0.4. These data provide a useful anchor for calibrating the age-activity-rotation relation beyond 600 Myr.
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