1,720,998 research outputs found
An ultracompact X-ray binary in the globular cluster NGC 1851
We present far-ultraviolet photometry obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope of the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 0513-40 in the globular cluster NGC 1851. Our observations reveal a clear, roughly sinusoidal periodic signal with P sime 17 minutes and amplitude 3%-10%. The signal appears fully coherent and can be modeled as a simple reprocessing effect associated with the changing projected area presented by the irradiated face of a white dwarf donor star in the system. All of these properties suggest that the signal we have detected is orbital in nature, thus confirming 4U 0513-40 as an ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB). All four confirmed UCXBs in globular clusters have orbital periods below 30 minutes, whereas almost all UCXBs in the Galactic field have orbital periods longer than this. This suggests that dynamical formation processes dominate UCXB production in clusters, producing a different orbital period distribution than observed among field UCXBs. Based on the likely system parameters, we show that 4U 0513-40 should be a strong gravitational wave source and may be detectable by Laser Interferometer Space Antenna over the course of a multiyear mission
Blue hook stars in globular clusters
Blue hook (BHk) stars are a rare class of horizontal branch stars that have so far been found in only very few Galactic globular clusters (GCs). The dominant mechanism for producing these objects is currently still unclear. In order to test if the presence of BHk populations in a given GC is linked to specific physical or structural cluster properties, we have constructed a parent sample of GCs for which existing data are sufficient to establish the presence or absence of BHk populations with confidence. We then compare the properties of those clusters in our parent sample that do contain a BHk population to those that do not. We find that there is only one compelling difference between BHk and non-BHk clusters: all known BHk clusters are unusually massive. However, we also find that the BHk clusters are consistent with being uniformly distributed within the cumulative mass distribution of the parent sample. Thus, while it is attractive to suggest that there is a lower mass cut-off for clusters capable of forming BHk stars, the data do not require this. Instead, the apparent preference for massive clusters could still be a purely statistical effect: intrinsically rare objects can only be found by searching a sufficiently large number of star
Stellar exotica in 47 tucanae
We have used far-ultraviolet spectroscopy and broad-band photometry to identify and study dynamically-formed stellar exotica in the core of 47 Tucanane. Here, we present a subset of our main results, including: (i) the spectroscopic confirmation of three cataclysmic variables; (ii) the discovery of stripped sub-giant core in a binary system with a dark primary; (iii) the discovery of a Helium white dwarf; (iv) the discovery of a blue straggler with a white dwarf companio
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Erratum: "unveiling the core of the globular cluster M 15 in the ultraviolet" (2007, ApJ, 670, 379)
Unveiling the core of M 15 in the far-ultraviolet
We present an analysis of our deep far- (FUV) and near-ultraviolet (NUV) photometry of the core region of the dense globular cluster M 15. Our FUV-NUV colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) is the deepest one presented for a globular cluster so far, and shows all hot stellar populations expected in a globular cluster, such as horizontal branch stars, blue stragglers, white dwarfs, cataclysmic variables and even main sequence stars. The main sequence turn-off is clearly visible and the main sequence stars form a prominent track that extends at least two magnitudes below the main sequence turn-off. We compare and discuss the radial distribution of the various stellar populations that show up in the FUV. We search for variability amongst our FUV sources and tentatively classify our variable candidates based on an analysis of the UV colours and variability properties. We find that RR Lyraes, Cepheids, and SX Phoenicis exhibit massive variability amplitudes in this waveband (several mags
A far-ultraviolet variable with an 18-minute period in the globular cluster NGC 1851
We present the detection of a variable star with an 18.05 minute period in far-ultraviolet (FUV) images of the globular cluster NGC 1851 taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). A candidate optical counterpart lies on the red horizontal branch or the asymptotic giant branch star of the cluster, but it is statistically possible that this is a chance superposition. This interpretation is supported by optical spectroscopt obtained with HST/STIS: the spectrum contains none of the strong emission lines that would be expected if the object was a symbiotic star (i.e. a compact accretor fed by a giant donor). We therefore consider two other possibilities for the nature of FUV variable: (i) an intermediate polar (i.e. a compact binary containing an accreting magnetic white dwarf), or (ii) an AM CVn star (i.e. an interacting double-degenerate system). In the intermediate polar scenario, the object is expected to be an X-ray source. However, no X-rays are detected at its location in ? 65 ksec of Chandra imaging, which limits the X-ray luminosity to LX ? 1032 erg s?1. We therefore favour the AM CVn interpretation, but a FUV spectrum is needed to distinguish conclusively between the two possibilities. If the object is an AM CVn binary, it would be the first such system known in any globular cluster
- …
