1. |
- Martin, P., et al.
(author)
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Overview of the RFX-mod fusion science programme
- 2013
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 53:10, s. 104018-
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper reports the highlights of the RFX-mod fusion science programme since the last 2010 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference. The RFX-mod fusion science programme focused on two main goals: exploring the fusion potential of the reversed field pinch (RFP) magnetic configuration and contributing to the solution of key science and technology problems in the roadmap to ITER. Active control of several plasma parameters has been a key tool in this endeavour. New upgrades on the system for active control of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability are underway and will be presented in this paper. Unique among the existing fusion devices, RFX-mod has been operated both as an RFP and as a tokamak. The latter operation has allowed the exploration of edge safety factor q edge < 2 with active control of MHD stability and studies concerning basic energy and flow transport mechanisms. Strong interaction has continued with the stellarator community in particular on the physics of helical states and on three-dimensional codes.
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2. |
- Martin, P., et al.
(author)
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Overview of the RFX fusion science program
- 2011
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 51:9, s. 094023-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper summarizes the main achievements of the RFX fusion science program in the period between the 2008 and 2010 IAEA Fusion Energy Conferences. RFX-mod is the largest reversed field pinch in the world, equipped with a system of 192 coils for active control of MHD stability. The discovery and understanding of helical states with electron internal transport barriers and core electron temperature >1.5 keV significantly advances the perspectives of the configuration. Optimized experiments with plasma current up to 1.8 MA have been realized, confirming positive scaling. The first evidence of edge transport barriers is presented. Progress has been made also in the control of first-wall properties and of density profiles, with initial first-wall lithization experiments. Micro-turbulence mechanisms such as ion temperature gradient and micro-tearing are discussed in the framework of understanding gradient-driven transport in low magnetic chaos helical regimes. Both tearing mode and resistive wall mode active control have been optimized and experimental data have been used to benchmark numerical codes. The RFX programme also provides important results for the fusion community and in particular for tokamaks and stellarators on feedback control of MHD stability and on three-dimensional physics. On the latter topic, the result of the application of stellarator codes to describe three-dimensional reversed field pinch physics will be presented.
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3. |
- Rauer, H., et al.
(author)
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The PLATO 2.0 mission
- 2014
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In: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 38:1-2, s. 249-330
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PLATO 2.0 has recently been selected for ESA's M3 launch opportunity (2022/24). Providing accurate key planet parameters (radius, mass, density and age) in statistical numbers, it addresses fundamental questions such as: How do planetary systems form and evolve? Are there other systems with planets like ours, including potentially habitable planets? The PLATO 2.0 instrument consists of 34 small aperture telescopes (32 with 25 s readout cadence and 2 with 2.5 s cadence) providing a wide field-of-view (2232 deg(2)) and a large photometric magnitude range (4-16 mag). It focuses on bright (4-11 mag) stars in wide fields to detect and characterize planets down to Earth-size by photometric transits, whose masses can then be determined by ground-based radial-velocity follow-up measurements. Asteroseismology will be performed for these bright stars to obtain highly accurate stellar parameters, including masses and ages. The combination of bright targets and asteroseismology results in high accuracy for the bulk planet parameters: 2 %, 4-10 % and 10 % for planet radii, masses and ages, respectively. The planned baseline observing strategy includes two long pointings (2-3 years) to detect and bulk characterize planets reaching into the habitable zone (HZ) of solar-like stars and an additional step-and-stare phase to cover in total about 50 % of the sky. PLATO 2.0 will observe up to 1,000,000 stars and detect and characterize hundreds of small planets, and thousands of planets in the Neptune to gas giant regime out to the HZ. It will therefore provide the first large-scale catalogue of bulk characterized planets with accurate radii, masses, mean densities and ages. This catalogue will include terrestrial planets at intermediate orbital distances, where surface temperatures are moderate. Coverage of this parameter range with statistical numbers of bulk characterized planets is unique to PLATO 2.0. The PLATO 2.0 catalogue allows us to e. g.: - complete our knowledge of planet diversity for low-mass objects, - correlate the planet mean density-orbital distance distribution with predictions from planet formation theories,- constrain the influence of planet migration and scattering on the architecture of multiple systems, and - specify how planet and system parameters change with host star characteristics, such as type, metallicity and age. The catalogue will allow us to study planets and planetary systems at different evolutionary phases. It will further provide a census for small, low-mass planets. This will serve to identify objects which retained their primordial hydrogen atmosphere and in general the typical characteristics of planets in such a low-mass, low-density range. Planets detected by PLATO 2.0 will orbit bright stars and many of them will be targets for future atmosphere spectroscopy exploring their atmospheres. Furthermore, the mission has the potential to detect exomoons, planetary rings, binary and Trojan planets. The planetary science possible with PLATO 2.0 is complemented by its impact on stellar and galactic science via asteroseismology as well as light curves of all kinds of variable stars, together with observations of stellar clusters of different ages. This will allow us to improve stellar models and study stellar activity. A large number of well-known ages from red giant stars will probe the structure and evolution of our Galaxy. Asteroseismic ages of bright stars for different phases of stellar evolution allow calibrating stellar age-rotation relationships. Together with the results of ESA's Gaia mission, the results of PLATO 2.0 will provide a huge legacy to planetary, stellar and galactic science.
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4. |
- Lorenzini, R., et al.
(author)
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Self-organized helical equilibria as a new paradigm for ohmically heated fusion plasmas
- 2009
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In: Nature Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1745-2473 .- 1745-2481. ; 5:8, s. 570-574
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the quest for new energy sources, the research on controlled thermonuclear fusion has been boosted by the start of the construction phase of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). ITER is based on the tokamak magnetic configuration, which is the best performing one in terms of energy confinement. Alternative concepts are however actively researched, which in the long term could be considered for a second generation of reactors. Here, we show results concerning one of these configurations, the reversed-field pinch (RFP). By increasing the plasma current, a spontaneous transition to a helical equilibrium occurs, with a change of magnetic topology. Partially conserved magnetic flux surfaces emerge within residual magnetic chaos, resulting in the onset of a transport barrier. This is a structural change and sheds new light on the potential of the RFP as the basis for a low-magnetic-field ohmic fusion reactor.
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5. |
- Martin, P., et al.
(author)
-
Overview of RFX-mod results
- 2009
-
In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 49:10, s. 104019-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With the exploration of the MA plasma current regime in up to 0.5 s long discharges, RFX-mod has opened new and very promising perspectives for the reversed field pinch (RFP) magnetic configuration, and has made significant progress in understanding and improving confinement and in controlling plasma stability. A big leap with respect to previous knowledge and expectations on RFP physics and performance has been made by RFX-mod since the last 2006 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference. A new self-organized helical equilibrium has been experimentally achieved ( the Single Helical Axis-SHAx-state), which is the preferred state at high current. Strong core electron transport barriers characterize this regime, with electron temperature gradients comparable to those achieved in tokamaks, and by a factor of 4 improvement in confinement time with respect to the standard RFP. RFX-mod is also providing leading edge results on real-time feedback control of MHD instabilities, of general interest for the fusion community.
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6. |
- Esposito, M., et al.
(author)
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HD 219666 b: a hot-Neptune from TESS Sector 1
- 2019
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 623:623
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the confirmation and mass determination of a transiting planet orbiting the old and inactive G7 dwarf star HD219666 (M-star = 0.92 +/- 0.03 M-circle dot, R-star = 1.03 +/- 0.03 R-circle dot, tau(star) = 10 +/- 2 Gyr). With a mass of M-b = 16.6 +/- 1.3 M-circle plus, a radius of R-b = 4.71 +/- 0.17 R-circle plus, and an orbital period of P-orb similar or equal to 6 days, HD219666 b is a new member of a rare class of exoplanets: the hot-Neptunes. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observed HD219666 (also known as TOI-118) in its Sector 1 and the light curve shows four transit-like events, equally spaced in time. We confirmed the planetary nature of the candidate by gathering precise radial-velocity measurements with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at ESO 3.6 m. We used the co-added HARPS spectrum to derive the host star fundamental parameters (T-eff = 5527 +/- 65 K, log g(star) = 4.40 +/- 0.11 (cgs), [Fe/H] = 0.04 +/- 0.04 dex, log R-HK' = -5.07 +/- 0.03), as well as the abundances of many volatile and refractory elements. The host star brightness (V = 9.9) makes it suitable for further characterisation by means of in-transit spectroscopy. The determination of the planet orbital obliquity, along with the atmospheric metal-to-hydrogen content and thermal structure could provide us with important clues on the formation mechanisms of this class of objects.
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7. |
- Puiatti, M. E., et al.
(author)
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Helical equilibria and magnetic structures in the reversed field pinch and analogies to the tokamak and stellarator
- 2009
-
In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 51:12, s. 124031-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The reversed field pinch configuration is characterized by the presence of magnetic structures both in the core and at the edge: in the core, at high plasma current the spontaneous development of a helical structure is accompanied by the appearance of internal electron transport barriers; at the edge strong pressure gradients, identifying an edge transport barrier, are observed too, related to the position of the field reversal surface. The aim of this paper is the experimental characterization of both the internal and edge transport barriers in relation to the magnetic topology, discussing possible analogies and differences with other confinement schemes.
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8. |
- Puiatti, M. E., et al.
(author)
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Internal and external electron transport barriers in the RFX-mod reversed field pinch
- 2011
-
In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 51:7, s. 073038-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An interesting result of magnetic chaos reduction in RFX-mod high current discharges is the development of strong electron transport barriers. An internal heat and particle transport barrier is formed when a bifurcation process changes the magnetic configuration into a helical equilibrium and chaos reduction follows, together with the formation of a null in the q shear. Strong temperature gradients develop, corresponding to a decreased thermal and particle transport. Turbulence analysis shows that the large electron temperature gradients are limited by the onset of micro-tearing modes, in addition to residual magnetic chaos. A new type of electron transport barrier with strong temperature gradients develops more externally (r/a = 0.8) accompanied by a 30% improvement of the global confinement time. The mechanism responsible for the formation of such a barrier is still unknown but it is likely associated with a local reduction of magnetic chaos. These external barriers develop primarily in situations of well-conditioned walls so that they might be regarded as attempts towards an L-H transition. Both types of barriers occur in high-current low-collisionality regimes. Analogies with tokamak and stellarators are discussed.
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9. |
- Bourrier, V., et al.
(author)
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A CHEOPS-enhanced view of the HD 3167 system
- 2022
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 668
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Much remains to be understood about the nature of exoplanets smaller than Neptune, most of which have been discovered in compact multi-planet systems. With its inner ultra-short period planet b aligned with the star and two larger outer planets d-c on polar orbits, the multi-planet system HD 3167 features a peculiar architecture and offers the possibility to investigate both dynamical and atmospheric evolution processes. To this purpose we combined multiple datasets of transit photometry and radial velocimetry (RV) to revise the properties of the system and inform models of its planets. This effort was spearheaded by CHEOPS observations of HD 3167b, which appear inconsistent with a purely rocky composition despite its extreme irradiation. Overall the precision on the planetary orbital periods are improved by an order of magnitude, and the uncertainties on the densities of the transiting planets b and c are decreased by a factor of 3. Internal structure and atmospheric simulations draw a contrasting picture between HD 3167d, likely a rocky super-Earth that lost its atmosphere through photo-evaporation, and HD 3167c, a mini-Neptune that kept a substantial primordial gaseous envelope. We detect a fourth, more massive planet on a larger orbit, likely coplanar with HD 3167d-c. Dynamical simulations indeed show that the outer planetary system d-c-e was tilted, as a whole, early in the system history, when HD 3167b was still dominated by the star influence and maintained its aligned orbit. RV data and direct imaging rule out that the companion that could be responsible for the present-day architecture is still bound to the HD 3167 system. Similar global studies of multi-planet systems will tell how many share the peculiar properties of the HD 3167 system, which remains a target of choice for follow-up observations and simulations.
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10. |
- Terranova, D., et al.
(author)
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A 3D approach to equilibrium, stability and transport studies in RFX-mod improved regimes
- 2010
-
In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 52:12, s. 124023-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The full three-dimensional (3D) approach is now becoming an important issue for all magnetic confinement configurations. It is a necessary condition for the stellarator but also the tokamak and the reversed field pinch (RFP) now cannot be completely described in an axisymmetric framework. For the RFP the observation of self-sustained helical configurations with improved plasma performances require a better description in order to assess a new view on this configuration. In this new framework plasma configuration studies for RFX-mod have been considered both with tools developed for the RFP as well as considering codes originally developed for the stellarator and adapted to the RFP. These helical states are reached through a transition to a very low/reversed shear configuration leading to internal electron transport barriers. These states are interrupted by MHD reconnection events and the large Te gradients at the barriers indicate that both current and pressure driven modes are to be considered. Furthermore the typically flat Te profiles in the helical core have raised the issue of the role of electrostatic and electromagnetic turbulence in these reduced chaos regions, so that a stability analysis in the correct 3D geometry is required to address an optimization of the plasma setup. In this viewtheVMECcode proved to be an effectiveway to obtain helical equilibria to be studied in terms of stability and transport with a suite of well tested codes. In this work, the equilibrium reconstruction technique as well as the experimental evidence of 3D effects and their first interpretation in terms of stability and transport are presented using both RFP and stellarator tools.
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11. |
- Tinetti, G., et al.
(author)
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A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL
- 2018
-
In: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 46:1, s. 135-209
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.
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12. |
- Bonomo, A. S., et al.
(author)
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A deeper view of the CoRoT-9 planetary system A small non-zero eccentricity for CoRoT-9b likely generated by planet-planet scattering
- 2017
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 603, s. A43-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- CoRoT-9b is one of the rare long-period (P = 95 : 3 days) transiting giant planets with a measured mass known to date. We present a new analysis of the CoRoT-9 system based on five years of radial-velocity (RV) monitoring with HARPS and three new space-based transits observed with CoRoT and Spitzer. Combining our new data with already published measurements we redetermine the CoRoT-9 system parameters and find good agreement with the published values. We uncover a higher significance for the small but non-zero eccentricity of CoRoT-9b (e = 0 : 133(-0.037)(+0.042)) and find no evidence for additional planets in the system. We use simulations of planet-planet scattering to show that the eccentricity of CoRoT-9b may have been generated by an instability in which a similar to 50 M-circle plus planet was ejected from the system. This scattering would not have produced a spin-orbit misalignment, so we predict that the CoRoT-9b orbit should lie within a few degrees of the initial plane of the protoplanetary disk. As a consequence, any significant stellar obliquity would indicate that the disk was primordially tilted.
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13. |
- Bordé, P., et al.
(author)
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Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission: XXIX. The hot Jupiters CoRoT-30 b and CoRoT-31 b
- 2020
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 635
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the discovery as well as the orbital and physical characterizations of two new transiting giant exoplanets, CoRoT-30 b and CoRoT-31 b, with the CoRoT space telescope. Methods. We analyzed two complementary data sets: photometric transit light curves measured by CoRoT, and radial velocity curves measured by the HARPS spectrometer. To derive the absolute masses and radii of the planets, we modeled the stars from available magnitudes and spectra. Results. We find that CoRoT-30 b is a warm Jupiter on a close-to-circular 9.06-day orbit around a G3V star with a semi-major axis of about 0.08 AU. It has a radius of 1.01 ± 0.08 RJ, a mass of 2.90 ± 0.22 MJ, and therefore a mean density of 3.45 ± 0.65 g cm-3. The hot Jupiter CoRoT-31 b is on a close-to-circular 4.63-day orbit around a G2 IV star with a semi-major axis of about 0.05 AU. It has a radius of 1.46 ± 0.30 RJ, a mass of 0.84 ± 0.34 MJ, and therefore a mean density of 0.33 ± 0.18 g cm-3. Conclusions. Neither system seems to support the claim that stars hosting planets are more depleted in lithium. The radii of both planets are close to that of Jupiter, but they differ in mass; CoRoT-30 b is ten times denser than CoRoT-31 b. The core of CoRoT-30 b would weigh between 15 and 75 Earth masses, whereas relatively weak constraints favor no core for CoRoT-31 b. In terms of evolution, the characteristics of CoRoT-31 b appear to be compatible with the high-eccentricity migration scenario, which is not the case for CoRoT-30 b. The angular momentum of CoRoT-31 b is currently too low for the planet to evolve toward synchronization of its orbital revolution with stellar rotation, and the planet will slowly spiral-in while its host star becomes a red giant. CoRoT-30 b is not synchronized either: it looses angular momentum owing to stellar winds and is expected reach steady state in about 2 Gyr. CoRoT-30 and 31, as a pair, are a truly remarkable example of diversity in systems with hot Jupiters.
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14. |
- Cabrera, J., et al.
(author)
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Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission: XXVII. CoRoT-28b, a planet orbiting an evolved star, and CoRoT-29b, a planet showing an asymmetric transit
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 579
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © ESO, 2015. Context. We present the discovery of two transiting extrasolar planets by the satellite CoRoT. Aims. We aim at a characterization of the planetary bulk parameters, which allow us to further investigate the formation and evolution of the planetary systems and the main properties of the host stars. Methods. We used the transit light curve to characterize the planetary parameters relative to the stellar parameters. The analysis of HARPS spectra established the planetary nature of the detections, providing their masses. Further photometric and spectroscopic ground-based observations provided stellar parameters (log g, Teff, vsini) to characterize the host stars. Our model takes the geometry of the transit to constrain the stellar density into account, which when linked to stellar evolutionary models, determines the bulk parameters of the star. Because of the asymmetric shape of the light curve of one of the planets, we had to include the possibility in our model that the stellar surface was not strictly spherical. Results. We present the planetary parameters of CoRoT-28b, a Jupiter-sized planet (mass 0.484 ± 0.087 MJup; radius 0.955 ± 0.066 RJup) orbiting an evolved star with an orbital period of 5.208 51 ± 0.000 38 days, and CoRoT-29b, another Jupiter-sized planet (mass 0.85 ± 0.20 MJup; radius 0.90 ± 0.16 RJup) orbiting an oblate star with an orbital period of 2.850 570 ± 0.000 006 days. The reason behind the asymmetry of the transit shape is not understood at this point. Conclusions. These two new planetary systems have very interesting properties and deserve further study, particularly in the case of the star CoRoT-29.
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15. |
- Csizmadia, S., et al.
(author)
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Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission XXVIII. CoRoT-33b, an object in the brown dwarf desert with 2:3 commensurability with its host star
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 584
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the detection of a rare transiting brown dwarf with a mass of 59 M-Jup and radius of 1.1 R-Jup around the metal-rich, [Fe/H] = +0.44, G9V star CoRoT-33. The orbit is eccentric (e = 0.07) with a period of 5.82 d. The companion, CoRoT-33b, is thus a new member in the so-called brown dwarf desert. The orbital period is within 3% to a 3:2 resonance with the rotational period of the star. CoRoT-33b may be an important test case for tidal evolution studies. The true frequency of brown dwarfs close to their host stars (P
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16. |
- Deleuil, M., et al.
(author)
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Planets, candidates, and binaries from the CoRoT/Exoplanet programme: The CoRoT transit catalogue
- 2018
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 619
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The CoRoT space mission observed 163 665 stars over 26 stellar fields in the faint star channel. The exoplanet teams detected a total of 4123 transit-like features in the 177 454 light curves. We present the complete re-analysis of all these detections carried out with the same softwares so that to ensure their homogeneous analysis. Although the vetting process involves some human evaluation, it also involves a simple binary flag system over basic tests: Detection significance, presence of a secondary, difference between odd and even depths, colour dependence, V-shape transit, and duration of the transit. We also gathered the information from the large accompanying ground-based programme carried out on the planet candidates and checked how useful the flag system could have been at the vetting stage of the candidates. From the initial list of transit-like features, we identified and separated 824 false alarms of various kind, 2269 eclipsing binaries among which 616 are contact binaries and 1653 are detached ones, 37 planets and brown dwarfs, and 557 planet candidates. We provide the catalogue of all these transit-like features, including false alarms. For the planet candidates, the catalogue gives not only their transit parameters but also the products of their light curve modelling: Reduced radius, reduced semi-major axis, and impact parameter, together with a summary of the outcome of follow-up observations when carried out and their current status. For the detached eclipsing binaries, the catalogue provides, in addition to their transit parameters, a simple visual classification. Among the planet candidates whose nature remains unresolved, we estimate that eight (within an error of three) planets are still to be identified. After correcting for geometric and sensitivity biases, we derived planet and brown dwarf occurrences and confirm disagreements with Kepler estimates, as previously reported by other authors from the analysis of the first runs: Small-size planets with orbital period less than ten days are underabundant by a factor of three in the CoRoT fields whereas giant planets are overabundant by a factor of two. These preliminary results would however deserve further investigations using the recently released CoRoT light curves that are corrected of the various instrumental effects and a homogeneous analysis of the stellar populations observed by the two missions.
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17. |
- Mancini, L., et al.
(author)
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The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG XVI. Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of transiting planetary systems HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60
- 2018
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 613
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The measurement of the orbital obliquity of hot Jupiters with different physical characteristics can provide clues to the mechanisms of migration and orbital evolution of this particular class of giant exoplanets.Aims. We aim to derive the degree of alignment between planetary orbit and stellar spin angular momentum vectors and look for possible links with other orbital and fundamental physical parameters of the star-planet system. We focus on the characterisation of five transiting planetary systems (HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60) and the determination of their sky-projected planet orbital obliquity through the measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect.Methods. We used HARPS-N high-precision radial velocity measurements, gathered during transit events, to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the target systems and determine the sky-projected angle between the planetary orbital plane and stellar equator. The characterisation of stellar atmospheric parameters was performed by exploiting the HARPS-N spectra, using line equivalent width ratios and spectral synthesis methods. Photometric parameters of the five transiting exoplanets were re-analysed through 17 new light curves, obtained with an array of medium-class telescopes, and other light curves from the literature. Survey-time-series photometric data were analysed for determining the rotation periods of the five stars and their spin inclination.Results. From the analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect we derived a sky-projected obliquity of lambda = 21.2 degrees +/- 8.7 degrees, lambda = -54 degrees(+41 degrees)(-13 degrees), lambda = -2.1 degrees +/- 3.0 degrees, lambda = 0 degrees +/- 11 degrees, and lambda = -129 degrees +/- 17 degrees for HAT-P-3 b, HAT-P-12 b, HAT-P-22 b, WASP-39 b, and WASP-60 b, respectively. The latter value indicates that WASP-60 b is moving on a retrograde orbit. These values represent the first measurements of lambda for the five exoplanetary systems under study. The stellar activity of HAT-P-22 indicates a rotation period of 28.7 +/- 0.4 days, which allowed us to estimate the true misalignment angle of HAT-P-22 b, psi = 24 degrees +/- 18 degrees. The revision of the physical parameters of the five exoplanetary systems returned values that are fully compatible with those existing in the literature. The exception to this is the WASP-60 system, for which, based on higher quality spectroscopic and photometric data, we found a more massive and younger star and a larger and hotter planet.
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18. |
- Rey, J., et al.
(author)
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Brown dwarf companion with a period of 4.6 yr interacting with the hot Jupiter CoRoT-20b
- 2018
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 619
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the discovery of an additional substellar companion in the CoRoT-20 system based on six years of HARPS and SOPHIE radial velocity follow-up. CoRoT-20 c has a minimum mass of 17 ± 1 MJup and orbits the host star in 4.59 ± 0.05 yr, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.60 ± 0.03. This is the first identified system with an eccentric hot Jupiter and an eccentric massive companion. The discovery of the latter might be an indication of the migration mechanism of the hot Jupiter, via the Lidov-Kozai effect. We explore the parameter space to determine which configurations would trigger this type of interactions.
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21. |
- Annibaldi, Silvia Valeria, et al.
(author)
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Strong transport reduction in the helical core of the reversed-field pinch
- 2007
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In: Physics of Plasmas. - : AIP Publishing. - 1070-664X .- 1089-7674. ; 14:11, s. 112515-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An explanation of the strong heating observed in the core of a reversed-field pinch in the quasi-single-helicity state is presented. A magnetic island is formed, in which the heat transport coefficient is much smaller than in the surrounding chaotic sea, because of the formation of well defined magnetic surfaces. The values of the thermal conductivity obtained with the M1TEV [F. Porcelli , Phys. Rev. Lett 82, 1458 (1999)] two-dimensional transport code are in very good agreement with the estimates of the ion diffusion coefficient inside the island, given by a Hamiltonian guiding center code. Moreover, the values of thermal conductivity are in the tokamak range, and are consistent with the peak temperatures measured in the Reversed Field eXperiment [P. Sonato , Fusion Eng. Des. 66-68, 161 (2003)] at Consorzio RFX, Padova, Italy. The effect of the island width and the different powers deposited inside the island on the final temperature peak are also investigated.
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22. |
- Boddaert, S., et al.
(author)
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Fire safety of BIPV : International mapping of accredited and R&D facilities in the context of codes and standards 2023
- 2023
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The objective of Task 15 of the IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme is to create an enabling framework to accelerate the penetration of BIPV products in the global market of renewables, resulting in an equal playing field for BIPV products, BAPV products and regular building envelope components, respecting mandatory issues, aesthetic issues, reliability issues, and financial issues.Subtask E of Task 15 is focused on pre-normative international research on BIPV characterisation methods and activity E.3 is dedicated to fire safety of BIPV modules and installations.
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23. |
- Franz, P, et al.
(author)
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Tomographic imaging of resistive mode dynamics in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch
- 2006
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In: Physics of Plasmas. - : AIP Publishing. - 1070-664X .- 1089-7674. ; 13:1, s. 012510-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A detailed study of the dynamics and magnetic topological effects of resistive-tearing modes is presented for different operational regimes in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch [R. N. Dexter , Fusion Technol. 19, 131 (1991)]. Soft-x-ray tomography and magnetic measurements, along with numerical reconstruction of magnetic-field lines with the ORBIT code [R. B. White and M. S. Chance, Phys. Fluids 27, 2455 (1984)], have been employed. Magnetic-mode dynamics has been investigated in standard plasmas during the transition to the quasi-single helicity state, in which a single mode dominates the mode spectrum. Single helical soft-x-ray structures are studied with tomography in these cases. These structures are associated with magnetic islands, indicating that helical flux surfaces appear in the plasma. Mode dynamics has also been examined during auxiliary inductive current drive, the goal of which is to reduce the tearing-mode amplitudes. In this case the phenomenology of the soft-x-ray structures appearing in the plasma is more complex. In fact, when a quasi-single helicity spectrum occurs, a single island bigger than in the standard case is usually found. On the other hand, when all modes decrease, two helical soft-x-ray structures are observed, with the same helicity as the two innermost resonant modes. This constitutes the first direct evidence of magnetic-chaos reduction during auxiliary inductive current drive, which is responsible for the achievement of the best confinement in the reversed-field pinch configuration up to now.
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24. |
- Frassinetti, Lorenzo, et al.
(author)
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Heat diffusivity model and temperature simulations in RFX-mod
- 2008
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 48:4, s. 045007-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The core transport properties of reversed field pinch (RFP) plasmas in the standard regime are generally associated with a high level of magnetic chaos. Indeed, in the RFX-mod RFP device, the core temperature profile is often very flat, indicating that the heat diffusivity is very high. In contrast, the temperature edge profile has a steep gradient, indicating that the edge is characterized by low heat transport. These simple experimental evidences are the basis of a heat diffusivity model that is used as an input to a numerical code for plasma temperature simulation. The simulated temperature reproduces with good accuracy both the experimental T, time evolution and its radial profiles in different plasma scenarios, showing that the model is useful for estimating the plasma heat diffusivity. This work suggests that the heat transport properties in the RFP plasma core are dominated by magnetic chaos in standard discharges and suggests a simple way to estimate electron heat diffusivity from density, input power and magnetic fluctuation measurements.
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25. |
- Malbet, F., et al.
(author)
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Faint objects in motion: the new frontier of high precision astrometry
- 2021
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In: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 51:3, s. 845-886
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sky survey telescopes and powerful targeted telescopes play complementary roles in astronomy. In order to investigate the nature and characteristics of the motions of very faint objects, a flexibly-pointed instrument capable of high astrometric accuracy is an ideal complement to current astrometric surveys and a unique tool for precision astrophysics. Such a space-based mission will push the frontier of precision astrometry from evidence of Earth-mass habitable worlds around the nearest stars, to distant Milky Way objects, and out to the Local Group of galaxies. As we enter the era of the James Webb Space Telescope and the new ground-based, adaptive-optics-enabled giant telescopes, by obtaining these high precision measurements on key objects that Gaia could not reach, a mission that focuses on high precision astrometry science can consolidate our theoretical understanding of the local Universe, enable extrapolation of physical processes to remote redshifts, and derive a much more consistent picture of cosmological evolution and the likely fate of our cosmos. Already several missions have been proposed to address the science case of faint objects in motion using high precision astrometry missions: NEAT proposed for the ESA M3 opportunity, micro-NEAT for the S1 opportunity, and Theia for the M4 and M5 opportunities. Additional new mission configurations adapted with technological innovations could be envisioned to pursue accurate measurements of these extremely small motions. The goal of this White Paper is to address the fundamental science questions that are at stake when we focus on the motions of faint sky objects and to briefly review instrumentation and mission profiles.
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