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- Aad, G., et al.
(author)
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- 2014
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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- Cockell, C.S., et al.
(author)
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Darwin - an experimental astronomy mission to search for extrasolar planets
- 2009
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In: Experimental Astronomy. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:1, s. 435-461
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As a response to ESA call for mission concepts for its Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, we propose a mission called Darwin. Its primary goal is the study of terrestrial extrasolar planets and the search for life on them. In this paper, we describe different characteristics of the instrument.
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9. |
- Fridlund, M., et al.
(author)
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The Search for Worlds Like Our Own
- 2010
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In: Astrobiology. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1531-1074 .- 1557-8070. ; 10:1, s. 5-17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The direct detection of Earth-like exoplanets orbiting nearby stars and the characterization of such planets particularly, their evolution, their atmospheres, and their ability to host life-constitute a significant problem. The quest for other worlds as abodes of life has been one of mankind's great questions for several millennia. For instance, as stated by Epicurus similar to 300 BC: "Other worlds, with plants and other living things, some of them similar and some of them different from ours, must exist.'' Demokritos from Abdera (460-370 BC), the man who invented the concept of indivisible small parts-atoms-also held the belief that other worlds exist around the stars and that some of these worlds may be inhabited by life-forms. The idea of the plurality of worlds and of life on them has since been held by scientists like Johannes Kepler and William Herschel, among many others. Here, one must also mention Giordano Bruno. Born in 1548, Bruno studied in France and came into contact with the teachings of Nicolas Copernicus. He wrote the book De l'Infinito, Universo e Mondi in 1584, in which he claimed that the Universe was infinite, that it contained an infinite amount of worlds like Earth, and that these worlds were inhabited by intelligent beings. At the time, this was extremely controversial, and eventually Bruno was arrested by the church and burned at the stake in Rome in 1600, as a heretic, for promoting this and other equally confrontational issues (though it is unclear exactly which idea was the one that ultimately brought him to his end). In all the aforementioned cases, the opinions and results were arrived at through reasoning-not by experiment. We have only recently acquired the technological capability to observe planets orbiting stars other than our Sun; acquisition of this capability has been a remarkable feat of our time. We show in this introduction to the Habitability Primer that mankind is at the dawning of an age when, by way of the scientific method and 21(st)-century technology, we will be able to answer this fascinating controversial issue that has persisted for at least 2500 years.
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10. |
- Borge, M. J. G., et al.
(author)
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Scattering of the halo nucleus 11Li and its core 9Li on 208Pb at energies around the Coulomb barrier
- 2012
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In: Journal of Physics: Conference Series. - : IOP Publishing. - 1742-6588 .- 1742-6596. ; 381:1, s. Art. no. 012085-
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The first measurement of the elastic scattering of the halo nucleus 11Li and its core 9Li on 208Pb at energies around the Coulomb barrier is presented. The 11Li reaction showed a large cross section for the breakup channel, even at energies well below the barrier. The analysis of the 11Li + 208Pb scattering data in terms of the continuum-discretized coupled-channel calculations indicates that the effect of the coupling to the breakup channels produces a strong suppression of the elastic cross section at energies above and below the barrier. This effect is mainly due to the strong Coulomb coupling to the dipole states in the low-lying continuum of 11Li.
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