| 1. |
- Crepp, Justin R., et al.
(författare)
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DIRECT SPECTRUM OF THE BENCHMARK T DWARF HD 19467 B
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 798:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- HD 19467 B is presently the only directly imaged T dwarf companion known to induce a measurable Doppler acceleration around a solar-type star. We present spectroscopy measurements of this important benchmark object taken with the Project 1640 integral field unit at Palomar Observatory. Our high-contrast R approximate to 30 observations obtained simultaneously across the JH bands confirm the cold nature of the companion as reported from the discovery article and determine its spectral type for the first time. Fitting the measured spectral energy distribution to SpeX/IRTF T dwarf standards and synthetic spectra from BT-Settl atmospheric models, we find that HD 19467 B is a T5.5 +/- 1 dwarf with effective temperature T-eff = 978(-43)(+20) K. Our observations reveal significant methane absorption affirming its substellar nature. HD 19467 B shows promise to become the first T dwarf that simultaneously reveals its mass, age, and metallicity independent from the spectrum of light that it emits.
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| 2. |
- Dale, Virginia H., et al.
(författare)
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Status and prospects for renewable energy using wood pellets from the southeastern United States
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology Bioenergy. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1757-1693 .- 1757-1707. ; 9:8, s. 1296-1305
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ongoing debate about costs and benefits of wood-pellet based bioenergy production in the southeastern United States (SE USA) requires an understanding of the science and context influencing market decisions associated with its sustainability. Production of pellets has garnered much attention as US exports have grown from negligible amounts in the early 2000s to 4.6 million metric tonnes in 2015. Currently, 98% of these pellet exports are shipped to Europe to displace coal in power plants. We ask, 'How is the production of wood pellets in the SE USA affecting forest systems and the ecosystem services they provide?' To address this question, we review current forest conditions and the status of the wood products industry, how pellet production affects ecosystem services and biodiversity, and what methods are in place to monitor changes and protect vulnerable systems. Scientific studies provide evidence that wood pellets in the SE USA are a fraction of total forestry operations and can be produced while maintaining or improving forest ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are protected by the requirement to utilize loggers trained to apply scientifically based best management practices in planning and implementing harvest for the export market. Bioenergy markets supplement incomes to private rural landholders and provide an incentive for forest management practices that simultaneously benefit water quality and wildlife and reduce risk of fire and insect outbreaks. Bioenergy also increases the value of forest land to landowners, thereby decreasing likelihood of conversion to nonforest uses. Monitoring and evaluation are essential to verify that regulations and good practices are achieving goals and to enable timely responses if problems arise. Conducting rigorous research to understand how conditions change in response to management choices requires baseline data, monitoring, and appropriate reference scenarios. Long-term monitoring data on forest conditions should be publicly accessible and utilized to inform adaptive management.
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| 3. |
- Follert, R., et al.
(författare)
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CRIRES plus : a cross-dispersed high-resolution infrared spectrograph for the ESO VLT
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-resolution infrared spectroscopy plays an important role in astrophysics from the search for exoplanets to cosmology. Yet, many existing infrared spectrographs are limited by a rather small simultaneous wavelength coverage. The AO assisted CRIRES instrument, installed at the ESO VLT on Paranal, is one of the few IR (0.92-5.2 mu m) high-resolution spectrographs in operation since 2006. However it has a limitation that hampers its efficient use: the wavelength range covered in a single exposure is limited to similar to 15 nanometers. The CRIRES Upgrade project (CRIRES+) will transform CRIRES into a cross-dispersed spectrograph and will also add new capabilities. By introducing cross-dispersion elements the simultaneously covered wavelength range will be increased by at least a factor of 10 with respect to the present configuration, while the operational wavelength range will be preserved. For advanced wavelength calibration, new custom made absorption gas cells and etalons will be added. A spectro-polarimetric unit will allow one for the first time to record circularly polarized spectra at the highest spectral resolution. This will be all supported by a new data reduction software which will allow the community to take full advantage of the new capabilities of CRIRES+.
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| 4. |
- Ginsburg, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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astroquery: An Astronomical Web-querying Package in Python
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-3881 .- 0004-6256. ; 157:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Astroquery is a collection of tools for requesting data from databases hosted on remote servers with interfaces exposed on the Internet, including those with web pages but without formal application program interfaces. These tools are built on the Python requests package, which is used to make HTTP requests, and astropy, which provides most of the data parsing functionality. astroquery modules generally attempt to replicate the web page interface provided by a given service as closely as possible, making the transition from browser-based to command-line interaction easy. astroquery has received significant contributions from throughout the astronomical community, including several from telescope archives. astroquery enables the creation of fully reproducible workflows from data acquisition through publication. This paper describes the philosophy, basic structure, and development model of the astroquery package. The complete documentation for astroquery can be found at http://astroquery.readthedocs.io/.
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| 5. |
- Lizon, Jean Louis, et al.
(författare)
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Opto-mechanical design of a new Cross Dispersion Unit for the CRIRES plus high resolution spectrograph for the VLT
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- CRIRES is one of the few IR (0.92-5.2 mu m) high-resolution spectrographs in operation at the VLT since 2006. Despite good performance it suffers a limitation that significantly hampers its ability: a small spectral coverage per exposure. The CRIRES upgrade (CRIRES+) proposes to transform CRIRES into a cross-dispersed spectrograph while maintaining the high resolution (100000) and increasing the wavelength coverage by a factor 10 compared to the current capabilities. A major part of the upgrade is the exchange of the actual cryogenic pre-disperser module by a new cross disperser unit. In addition to a completely new optical design, a number of important changes are required on key components and functions like the slit unit and detectors units. We will outline the design of these new units fitting inside a predefined and restricted space. The mechanical design of the new functions including a description and analysis will be presented. Finally we will present the strategy for the implementation of the changes.
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| 6. |
- Lizon, Jean Louis, et al.
(författare)
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Very accurate cryogenic mechanisms for CRIRES
- 2018
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Ingår i: OPTICAL AND INFRARED INTERFEROMETRY AND IMAGING VI. - : SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. - 9781510619562
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- After 5 years of operation on the VLT, a large upgrade of CRIRES (the ESO Cryogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph) was decided mainly in order to increase the efficiency. Using a cross dispersion design allows better wavelength coverage per exposure. This means a complete re-design of the cryogenic pre-optic which were including a pre-dispersion stage with a large prism as dispersive element. The new design requires a move of the entrance slit and associated decker toward the first intermediate focal plane right behind the window. Implement 2 functions with high positioning accuracy in a pre-defined and limited space was a real challenge. The design and the test results recorded in the ESO Cryogenic Test Facility are reported in this paper. The second critical function is the grating wheel which positions the 6 cross disperser gratings into the beam. The paper describes the design of the mechanism which includes a detente system in order to guaranty the 5 arc sec positioning reproducibility requested. The design includes also feedback system, based on switches, in order to ensure that the right grating is in position before starting a long exposure. The paper reports on the tests carried out at cryogenic temperature at the sub-system level. It also includes early performances recorded in the instrument along the first phases of the system test.
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| 7. |
- Lockhart, Matthew, et al.
(författare)
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Novel infrared polarimeter for the ESO CRIRES plus instrument
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The CRIRES infrared spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) facility will soon receive an upgrade. This upgrade will include the addition of a module for performing high-resolution spectropolarimetry. The polarimetry module will incorporate a novel infrared beamsplitter based on polarization gratings (PGs). The beamsplitter produces a pair of infrared output beams, with opposite circular polarizations, which are then fed into the spectrograph. Visible light passes through the module virtually unaltered and is then available for use by the CRIRES adaptive optics system. We present the design of the polarimetry module and measurements of PG behavior in the 1 to 2.7 mu m wavelength range.
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| 8. |
- Neth, Bryan J, et al.
(författare)
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Modified ketogenic diet is associated with improved cerebrospinal fluid biomarker profile, cerebral perfusion, and cerebral ketone body uptake in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Neurobiology of aging. - : Elsevier BV. - 1558-1497 .- 0197-4580. ; 86, s. 54-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is currently no established therapy to treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease. The ketogenic diet supplies an alternative cerebral metabolic fuel, with potential neuroprotective effects. Our goal was to compare the effects of a modified Mediterranean-ketogenic diet (MMKD) and an American Heart Association Diet (AHAD) on cerebrospinal fluid Alzheimer's biomarkers, neuroimaging measures, peripheral metabolism, and cognition in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's. Twenty participants with subjective memory complaints (n= 11) or mild cognitive impairment (n= 9) completed both diets, with 3 participants discontinuing early. Mean compliance rates were 90% for MMKD and 95% for AHAD. All participants had improved metabolic indices following MMKD. MMKD was associated with increased cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 and decreased tau. There was increased cerebral perfusion and increased cerebral ketone body uptake (11C-acetoacetate PET, in subsample) following MMKD. Memory performance improved after both diets, which may be due to practice effects. Our results suggest that a ketogenic intervention targeted toward adults at risk for Alzheimer's may prove beneficial in the prevention of cognitive decline.
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| 9. |
- Oliva, E., et al.
(författare)
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Concept and optical design of the cross-disperser module for CRIRES
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- CRIRES, the ESO high resolution infrared spectrometer, is a unique instrument which allows astronomers to access a parameter space which up to now was largely uncharted. In its current setup, it consists of a single-order spectrograph providing long-slit, single-order spectroscopy with resolving power up to R=100,000 over a quite narrow spectral range. This has resulted in sub-optimal efficiency and use of telescope time for all the scientific programs requiring broad spectral coverage of compact objects (e.g. chemical abundances of stars and intergalactic medium, search and characterization of extra-solar planets). To overcome these limitations, a consortium was set-up for upgrading CRIRES to a cross-dispersed spectrometer, called CRIRES+. This paper presents the updated optical design of the cross-dispersion module for CRIRES+. This new module can be mounted in place of the current pre-disperser unit. The new system yields a factor of >10 increase in simultaneous spectral coverage and maintains a quite long slit (10"), ideal for observations of extended sources and for precise sky-background subtraction.
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| 10. |
- Roberts, Lewis C., et al.
(författare)
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CHARACTERIZATION OF THE COMPANION mu HER
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 151:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- mu Her is a nearby quadruple system with a G-subgiant primary and several low-mass companions arranged in a 2+2 architecture. While the BC components have been well characterized, the Ab component has been detected astrometrically and with direct imaging but there has been some confusion over its nature, in particular, whether the companion is stellar or substellar. Using near-infrared spectroscopy, we are able to estimate the spectral type of the companion as an M4 +/- 1V star. In addition, we have measured the astrometry of the system for over a decade. We combined the astrometry with archival radial velocity measurements to compute an orbit of the system. From the combined orbit, we are able to compute the mass sum of the system. Using the estimated mass of the primary, we estimate the mass of the secondary as 0.32 MG, which agrees with the estimated spectral type. Our computed orbit is preliminary due to the incomplete orbital phase coverage, but it should be sufficient to predict ephemerides over the next decade.
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