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Now showing 1 - 10 of 85
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    Large-scale globally propagating coronal waves
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : MPS, 2015) Warmuth, Alexander
    Large-scale, globally propagating wave-like disturbances have been observed in the solar chromosphere and by inference in the corona since the 1960s. However, detailed analysis of these phenomena has only been conducted since the late 1990s. This was prompted by the availability of high-cadence coronal imaging data from numerous spaced-based instruments, which routinely show spectacular globally propagating bright fronts. Coronal waves, as these perturbations are usually referred to, have now been observed in a wide range of spectral channels, yielding a wealth of information. Many findings have supported the “classical” interpretation of the disturbances: fast-mode MHD waves or shocks that are propagating in the solar corona. However, observations that seemed inconsistent with this picture have stimulated the development of alternative models in which “pseudo waves” are generated by magnetic reconfiguration in the framework of an expanding coronal mass ejection. This has resulted in a vigorous debate on the physical nature of these disturbances. This review focuses on demonstrating how the numerous observational findings of the last one and a half decades can be used to constrain our models of large-scale coronal waves, and how a coherent physical understanding of these disturbances is finally emerging.
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    No further evidence for a transiting inner companion to the hot Jupiter HATS-50b
    (Berlin : Wiley-VCH Verl., 2019) Mallonn, Matthias
    Most hot Jupiter exoplanets do not have a nearby planetary companion in their planetary system. One remarkable exception is the system of WASP-47 with an inner and outer nearby companion to a hot Jupiter, providing detailed constraints on its formation history. In this work, we follow up on a tentative photometric signal of a transiting inner companion to the hot Jupiter HATS-50 b. If confirmed, it would be the third case of a hot Jupiter with an inner companion. Sixty three hours of new ground-based photometry were employed to rule out this signal to about 96% confidence. The injection of artificial transit signals showed the data to be of sufficient quality to reveal the potential photometric feature at high significance. However, no transit signal was found. The discrete pattern of observing blocks leaves a slight chance that the transit was missed.
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    The stratorotational instability of Taylor-Couette flows with moderate Reynolds numbers
    (London [u.a.] : Taylor and Francis, 2017) Rüdiger, G.; Seelig, T.; Schultz, M.; Gellert, M.; Egbers, C.; Harlander, U.
    In view of new experimental data the instability against adiabatic nonaxisymmetric perturbations of a Taylor-Couette flow with an axial density stratification is considered in dependence of the Reynolds number (Re) of rotation and the Brunt-Väisälä number (Rn) of the stratification. The flows at and beyond the Rayleigh limit become unstable between a lower and an upper Reynolds number (for fixed Rn). The rotation can thus be too slow or too fast for the stratorotational instability. The upper Reynolds number above which the instability decays, has its maximum value for the potential flow (driven by cylinders rotating according to the Rayleigh limit) and decreases strongly for flatter rotation profiles finally leaving only isolated islands of instability in the (Rn/Re) map. The maximal possible rotation ratio μmax only slightly exceeds the shear value of the quasi-uniform flow with Uφ≃const. Along and between the lines of neutral stability the wave numbers of the instability patterns for all rotation laws beyond the Rayleigh limit are mainly determined by the Froude number Fr which is defined by the ratio between Re and Rn. The cells are highly prolate for Fr > 1 so that measurements for too high Reynolds numbers become difficult for axially bounded containers. The instability patterns migrate azimuthally slightly faster than the outer cylinder rotates.
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    Worldwide variations in artificial skyglow
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2015) Kyba, Christopher C.M.; Tong, Kai Pong; Bennie, Jonathan; Birriel, Ignacio; Birriel, Jennifer J.; Cool, Andrew; Danielsen, Arne; Davies, Thomas W.; den Outer, Peter N.; Edwards, William; Ehlert, Rainer; Falchi, Fabio; Fischer, Jürgen; Giacomelli, Andrea; Giubbilini, Francesco; Haaima, Marty; Hesse, Claudia; Heygster, Georg; Hölker, Franz; Inger, Richard; Jensen, Linsey J.; Kuechly, Helga U.; Kuehn, John; Langill, Phil; Lolkema, Dorien E.; Nagy, Matthew; Nievas, Miguel; Ochi, Nobuaki; Popow, Emil; Posch, Thomas; Puschnig, Johannes; Ruhtz, Thomas; Schmidt, Wim; Schwarz, Robert; Schwope, Axel; Spoelstra, Henk; Tekatch, Anthony; Trueblood, Mark; Walker, Constance E.; Weber, Michael; Welch, Douglas L.; Zamorano, Jaime; Gaston, Kevin J.
    Despite constituting a widespread and significant environmental change, understanding of artificial nighttime skyglow is extremely limited. Until now, published monitoring studies have been local or regional in scope and typically of short duration. In this first major international compilation of monitoring data we answer several key questions about skyglow properties. Skyglow is observed to vary over four orders of magnitude, a range hundreds of times larger than was the case before artificial light. Nearly all of the study sites were polluted by artificial light. A non-linear relationship is observed between the sky brightness on clear and overcast nights, with a change in behavior near the rural to urban landuse transition. Overcast skies ranged from a third darker to almost 18 times brighter than clear. Clear sky radiances estimated by the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness were found to be overestimated by ~25%; our dataset will play an important role in the calibration and ground truthing of future skyglow models. Most of the brightly lit sites darkened as the night progressed, typically by ~5% per hour. The great variation in skyglow radiance observed from site-to-site and with changing meteorological conditions underlines the need for a long-term international monitoring program.
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    High-Resolution Arrayed-Waveguide-Gratings in Astronomy: Design and Fabrication Challenges
    (Basel : MDPI, 2017) Stoll, Andreas; Zhang, Ziyang; Haynes, Roger; Roth, Martin
    A comprehensive design of a folded-architecture arrayed-waveguide-grating (AWG)-device, targeted at applications as integrated photonic spectrographs (IPS) in near-infrared astronomy, is presented. The AWG structure is designed for the astronomical H-band (1500 nm-1800 nm) with a theoretical maximum resolving power R = 60,000 at 1630 nm. The geometry of the device is optimized for a compact structure with a footprint of 5.5 cm × 3.93 cm on SiO2 platform. To evaluate the fabrication challenges of such high-resolution AWGs, effects of random perturbations of the effective refractive index (RI) distribution in the free propagation region (FPR), as well as small variations of the array waveguide optical lengths are numerically investigated. The results of the investigation show a dramatic degradation of the point spread function (PSF) for a random effective RI distribution with variance values above ~10-4 for both the FPR and the waveguide array. Based on the results, requirements on the fabrication technology for high-resolution AWG-based spectrographs are given in the end.
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    Abell-35 phenomena in symbiotic stars: Discovery of 1.2 and 6.4 day periods in VV8 (V471 per)
    (Vilnius : Lithuanian Astronomical Union, 2012) Munari, U.; Siviero, A.; Tamajo, E.; Fiaschi, M.; Dallaporta, S.; Cherini, G.; Frigo, A.; Castellani, F.; Graziani, M.; Moretti, S.; Tomaselli, S.
    We have collected high precision optical photometry of VV8, so far 782 individual observing runs uniformly distributed over the period 2005-2011. This dataset allows us to refine the known long periodicity of VV8 to P = 16.8 yr, with peak-to-valley amplitudes of ΔB = 0.18 and ΔV = 0.14 mag. In addition, we have discovered two new periodicities: 6.431 d (total amplitude Δ = ΔV = ΔI= 0.05 mag) and 1.185 d (ΔB = 0.022, ΔV = 0.018, ΔI = 0.014 mag). These two short periods are reminiscent of the Abell35 phenomena displayed by binary nuclei of planetary nebulae that have gone through a common envelope phase. Twice the 6.431 d period would nicely correspond to the double-peaked light-curve that the G5 III star in VV8 would display if its Roche lobe would be ellipsoidally distorted.
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    A Leak in the Academic Pipeline : Identity and Health Among Postdoctoral Women
    (Lausanne : Frontiers Research Foundation, 2019) Ysseldyk, Renate; Greenaway, Katharine H.; Hassinger, Elena; Zutrauen, Sarah; Lintz, Jana; Bhatia, Maya P.; Frye, Margaret; Starkenburg, Else; Tai, Vera
    Several challenges (e.g., sexism, parental leave, the glass ceiling, etc.) disproportionately affect women in academia (and beyond), and thus perpetuate the leaky pipeline metaphor for women who opt-out of an academic career. Although this pattern can be seen at all levels of the academic hierarchy, a critical time for women facing such challenges is during the postdoctoral stage, when personal life transitions and professional ambitions collide. Using a social identity approach, we explore factors affecting the mental health of postdoctoral women, including identity development (e.g., as a mother, a scientist) and lack of control (uncertainty about one’s future personal and professional prospects), which likely contribute to the leak from academia. In this mixed-method research, Study 1 comprised interviews with postdoctoral women in North America (n = 13) and Europe (n = 8) across a range disciplines (e.g., psychology, physics, political science). Common themes included the negative impact of career uncertainty, gender-based challenges (especially sexism and maternity leave), and work-life balance on mental and physical health. However, interviewees also described attempts to overcome gender inequality and institutional barriers by drawing on support networks. Study 2 comprised an online survey of postdoctoral women (N = 146) from a range of countries and academic disciplines to assess the relationships between social identification (e.g., disciplinary, gender, social group), perceived control (i.e., over work and life), and mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction). Postdoctoral women showed mild levels of stress and depression, and were only slightly satisfied with life. They also showed only moderate levels of perceived control over one’s life and work. However, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that strongly identifying with one’s discipline was most consistently positively associated with both perceived control and mental health. Collectively, these findings implicate the postdoctoral stage as being stressful and tenuous for women regardless of academic background or nationality. They also highlight the importance of disciplinary identity as a potentially protective factor for mental health that, in turn, may diminish the rate at which postdoctoral women leak from the academic pipeline.
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    Vorbereitende Arbeiten für die Instrumente STIX und EPT für die Sondenmission Solar Orbiter der ESA : Schlussbericht zum Vorhaben
    (Hannover : Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), 2010) Mann, Gottfried
    [no abstract available]
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    The dynamical evolution of planetary nebulae
    (Bristol : IOP Publ., 2016) Schönberner, Detlef
    Based on modern 1D-radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of formation and evolution of planetary nebulae, I discuss in detail the basic dynamical processes responsible for the "grand design" of most planetary nebulae, i.e. their double-shell morphology and their typical expansion properties. Special emphasis is given for a proper definition of a nebula's true expansion rate and its relation to spectroscopically measurable Doppler velocities of the expanding material. It is found that the typical nebular expansion is about twice as fast as hitherto assumed, viz. ≃45 kms-1.
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    The Optical Variability of the BL Lac AO 0235+164
    (Basel : MDPI, 2016) Fan, Junhui; Kurtanidze, Omar; Liu, Yi; Liu, Xiang; Richter, Gotthard; Nikolashvili, Maria; Kurtanidze, Sophia; Chanishvili, Revaz; Wang, Hongtao; Sasada, Mahito; Zhou, Aiying; Lin, Chao; Yuan, Yuhai
    In this work, we present optical R band observations of AO 0235+164 carried out during the period of November 2006 to December 2012 using the Ap6E CCD camera attached to the primary focus of the 70 cm meniscus telescope at Abastumani Observatory, Georgia. It shows a large variation of ΔR = 4.88 mag (14.19–19.07 mag) and a short time scale of ΔTv = 73.5 min during our monitoring period. When periodicity analysis methods are applied to the R-band data from both historic and our observations, periods P1 = 8.26 yr and P2 = 0.54 yr are found.