Search Publications
Toward Precision Cosmology with Improved PNLF Distances Using VLT-MUSEI. Methodology and Tests
Weilbacher, Peter M.; Roth, Martin M.; Ciardullo, Robin +3 more
The [O III] λ5007 planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) is an established distance indicator that has been used for more than 30 yr to measure the distances of galaxies out to ~15 Mpc. With the advent of the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer on the Very Large Telescope (MUSE) as an efficient wide-field integral-field spectrograph, the PNLF m…
A multiband map of the natural night sky brightness including Gaia and Hipparcos integrated starlight
Masana, Eduard; Carrasco, Josep Manel; Bará, Salvador +1 more
The natural night sky brightness is a relevant input for monitoring the light pollution evolution at observatory sites, by subtracting it from the overall sky brightness determined by direct measurements. It is also instrumental for assessing the expected darkness of the pristine night skies. The natural brightness of the night sky is determined b…
Indications for very high metallicity and absence of methane in the eccentric exo-Saturn WASP-117b
Henning, Thomas; Jordán, Andrés; Apai, Dániel +12 more
Aims: We investigate the atmospheric composition of the long-period (Porb = 10 days) eccentric exo-Saturn WASP-117b. WASP-117b could be similar in atmospheric temperature and chemistry to WASP-107b. In mass and radius, WASP-117b is similar to WASP-39b, which allows a comparative study of these planets.
Methods: We analyzed a n…
The delay time distribution of Type-Ia supernovae in galaxy clusters: the impact of extended star-formation histories
Maoz, Dan; Freundlich, Jonathan
The delay time distribution (DTD) of Type-Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is important for understanding chemical evolution, SN Ia progenitors, and SN Ia physics. Past estimates of the DTD in galaxy clusters have been deduced from SN Ia rates measured in cluster samples observed at various redshifts, corresponding to different time intervals after a presum…
Optimising and comparing source-extraction tools using objective segmentation quality criteria
Venhola, Aku; Peletier, Reynier; Chamba, Nushkia +4 more
Context. With the growth of the scale, depth, and resolution of astronomical imaging surveys, there is increased need for highly accurate automated detection and extraction of astronomical sources from images. This also means there is a need for objective quality criteria, and automated methods to optimise parameter settings for these software too…
Three K2 Campaigns Yield Rotation Periods for 1013 Stars in Praesepe
Cargile, Phillip A.; Rampalli, Rayna; Law, Nicholas M. +8 more
We use three campaigns of K2 observations to complete the census of rotation in low-mass members of the benchmark, ≈670 Myr old open cluster Praesepe. We measure new rotation periods (P rot) for 220 ≲1.3 M ⊙ Praesepe members and recovery periods for 97% (793/812) of the stars with a P rot in the literature. Of the …
Formation of Phosphorus Monoxide (PO) in the Interstellar Medium: Insights from Quantum-chemical and Kinetic Calculations
Jiménez-Serra, Izaskun; Roncero, Octavio; García de la Concepción, Juan +2 more
In recent years, phosphorus monoxide (PO), an important molecule for prebiotic chemistry, has been detected in star-forming regions and in the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. These studies have revealed that, in the interstellar medium (ISM), PO is systematically the most abundant P-bearing species, with abundances that are about one to three tim…
A Search for Technosignatures around 31 Sun-like Stars with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.15-1.73 GHz
Margot, Jean-Luc; Lynch, Ryan S.; MacDougall, Mason +37 more
We conducted a search for technosignatures in 2018 and 2019 April with the L-band receiver (1.15-1.73 GHz) of the 100 m diameter Green Bank Telescope. These observations focused on regions surrounding 31 Sun-like stars near the plane of the Galaxy. We present the results of our search for narrowband signals in this data set, as well as improvement…
A bright inner disk and structures in the transition disk around the very low-mass star CIDA 1
Testi, L.; Tazzari, M.; Natta, A. +7 more
The frequency of Earth-sized planets in habitable zones appears to be higher around M-dwarfs, making these systems exciting laboratories to investigate planet formation. Observations of protoplanetary disks around very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs remain challenging and little is known about their properties. The disk around CIDA 1 (~0.1-0.2 M<…
Do the observational data favor a local void?
Cai, Rong-Gen; Guo, Zong-Kuan; Ding, Jia-Feng +2 more
The increasing tension between the different local direct measurements of the Hubble expansion rate and that inferred from the cosmic microwave background observation by the Λ -cold-dark-matter model could be a smoking gun of new physics, if not caused by either observational systematics or local bias. We generalize previous investigation on the l…