First investigation of eclipsing binary KIC 9026766: analysis of light curve and periodic changes

We investigate a short-period W UMa binary KIC 9026766 with an orbital period of 0.2721278d in the Kepler field of view. By applying an automated q-search for the folded light curve and producing a synthetic light curve for this object based on the PHOEBE code, we calculate the fundamental stellar parameters. We also analyze the O − C curve of the primary minima. The orbital period changes can be attributed to the combination of an upward quadratic function and light-travel time effect (LTTE) due to a possible third body with a minimum mass of 0.029 M ⊙ and an orbital period of 972.5866 ±0.0041d. The relative luminosity of the primary and secondary eclipses (Min I − Min II) is calculated. The periodogram of the residuals of the LTTE and Min I − Min II show peaks with the same period of 0.8566d. The background effect of two nearby stars on our target is the possible reason for this signal. By considering the amplitudes and periods of the remaining signals in the O − C curve of minima, spot motion is possible.

Luminosity Measurements at the LHC at CERN Using Medipix, Timepix and Timepix3 Devices

The precise determination of the luminosity is essential for many analyses in physics based on the data from the particle accelerator Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. There are different types of detectors used for the luminosity measurements. The focus of this review is on luminosity measurements with hybrid-pixel detectors and the progress made over the past decade. The first generations of detectors of the Medipix and Timepix families had frame-based readout, while Timepix3 has a quasi-continuous readout. The applications of the detectors are manifold, and in particular, the detectors have been operated in the harsh environment of the LHC. The excellent performance in detecting high fluxes of elementary particles made these detectors ideal tools to measure the delivered luminosity resulting from proton–proton collisions. Important aspects of this review are the performance improvements in relative luminosity measurements from one detector generation to another, the long-term stability of the measurements, absolute luminosity measurements, material activation (radiation-induced) corrections, and the measurement of luminosity from neutron counting. Rather than bunch-average luminosity provided by previous detector generations, owing to the excellent time-resolution, Timepix3 measured the luminosity of individual proton bunches that are 25 ns apart. This review demonstrates the large progress in the precision of luminosity measurements during LHC Run-1 and Run-2 operations using hybrid-pixel detectors, and thus their importance for luminosity measurements in the future of LHC operations.

Relative luminosity in the plus maze upon the exploratory behaviour of female Wistar rats

Objective This study evaluated the provision of two configuration of the Elevated Pluz-Maze (EPM) by analizing the exploratory behaviour of female Wistar rats in different phases of the estrous cycle in EPMs with different gradients of luminosity between the open and enclosed arms (O/E∆Lux).Methods Female Wistar rats were treated with Midazolam (MDZ, 1.0 mg.kg-1) and were tested for their exploratory behaviour in either the EPM 10 O/E∆Lux or EPM 96 O/E∆Lux.Results A multiple regression analysis indicated that the O/E∆Lux is negatively associated with the %Open arm entries and %Open arm time, suggesting that as O/E∆Lux increases, the open arm exploration decreases. The estrous cycle phase did not influence the open-arm exploration in either EPM. MDZ- induced anxiolysis was detected in 96 O/E∆Lux EPM in all phases of the EC.Discussion Results of this study suggest the importance of the O/E∆Lux to establish the arm preference in the EPM, and to preserve the predictive validity of the EPM.

The Evolution and Distance to SCORPIUS X-1

From three VLBA observations at 5 GHz, spanning 13 months, we have measured the trigonometric parallax of Sco X-1 of 0.23 ± 0.28 mas; hence its distance is > 1300 pc. This supports the hypothesis that the the x-ray luminosity is near the Eddington Limit.All three VLBA observations show a radio core of flux density 0.5 mJy and size < 4 mas. However, the third VLBA observation revealed two additional radio components, separated by 12 mas (≈ 20 au) on opposite sides of the radio core. The evolution of these new components is unknown until additional observations can be made. The relative luminosity and separation of the two radio components are inconsistent with the Doppler beaming of two identical ejecta from the radio core.

Pulsations of Proto-Giant-Planets

Nonlinear oscillations of proto-giant-planets have been found in recent numerical calculations relevant to planetary formation. Pulsations are excited in two phases of the protoplanetary evolution, (a) In an ‘instability strip’ at core masses of typically 0.2M⊙ (M⊕ is the earth mass). Perturbations grow into the nonlinear domain and saturate into perodic variations with relative luminosity-amplitudes of 0.2m (b) At the so called critical mass (typically at Mcore ≈ 15M⊕). There the pulsations drive a strong mass loss. A large portion of the envelope is ejected. Then the mass loss fades and the envelope settles into a new quasi-equilibrium. This remnant — a post nucleated instability protoplanet — has a compact envelope and is in core and envelope mass similar to Uranus and Neptune.