Photometric Study of the W Uma-Type Eclipsing Binary System GSC 4832.400

We present a photometric analysis of the eclipsing binary systemGSC4832.400 based on 732 photometric observations obtained on sixteen clear nights during 1999–2000 in the V-Johnson and yb-Strömgren filters. The observed times of the minima yielded a linear ephemeris showing that the system has a constant period of 0.313150 ± 0.000002days. The light curve corresponds to a circular orbit for the system and clearly shows that GSC4832.400 has the defining characteristics of a W UMa-type eclipsing binary. It also shows a small O'Connell effect, which could be due to the presence of a hot spot in the primary star. A preliminary photometric solution based on the assumption of an over contact systemsatis factorily reproduced the observed light curve.     

Longitudinal dispersion compensation for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer

The Very Large Telescope Interferometer [1,13] will be operated in air which will introduce small optical path fluctuations due to internal turbulence [4,6] and dispersion effects. Both may contribute to fringe contrast decrease. Longitudinal dispersion effects can be corrected by inserting an appropriate glass of variable thickness in one arm of the interferometer [3,5,11,12]. This paper presents a new method applied to VLTI in order to select the optimum glass, according to both the observing wavelength and the spectral bandpath, and to calculate its thickness. Results are presented in terms of improvement on the fringe contrast.     

On the non-linear stability of motions around L5 in the elliptic restricted problem of the three bodies

The non-linear stability of motions around L₅ in the elliptic restricted problem of the three bodies is investigated numerically with emphasis on the effect of the orbital eccentricity of the primaries on the shape of the established stability regions. It is shown that with increasing eccentricity, the width of these regions is decreasing.     

Einsteins' gravity with massive gravitons

Graviton may, in principle, have a small non-zero mass. In this paper the relevant theory of the massive graviton with six polarisations is developed. The drastic impact of a non-zero mass of the graviton on cosmology is also illustrated.     

A study of the magnetic helicity during eight HELIOS-observed solar proton events

We have studied the influence of the magnetic helicity on solar particle propagation using the IMF data observed by the HELIOS spacecraft in the range 0.31–0.95 AU, during eight solar proton events. For this, we have derived power and helicity spectra of the turbulence of the magnetic field during the time of the events. These are used to compute the particle pitch-angle scattering coefficients according to the quasi-linear theory (QLT) treatment of particle propagation in turbulent magnetic fields. The results show that in all the cases the helicity effects are negligible and the particle's mean free paths deduced from the pitch-angle diffusion coefficients are the same regardless of whether or not helicity effects are included in the calculations. The computed mean free paths are quite different in each case.Deceased 10 April, 1995.     

Kinematics of Gas and Stars in 20 Disc Galaxies

In this paper we present the kinematics of the gas and/or the stars of a sample of 20 disc galaxies. We investigate whether there is any relation between the kinematics of the gas and stars and the classical morphological type of the galaxies in the sample. We deduce that, in most of the late-type spirals we have studied, the stars and the ionized gas are moving with virtually circular velocity, except when the spectroscopic slit crosses a bar region. On the other hand, we found in the central parts of early-type disc galaxies a wider variety of different behaviour of stars and gas. We find many possible factors that complicate the classification of the kinematical properties of the galaxies by their morphological type: the presence of counter-rotations (star vs. stars or star vs. gas), misalignment between the different kinematic components present in the galaxy, the presence of a bar structure and its orientation with respect to the line of nodes of the galaxy, and interactions and mergers or external accretion processes are some of the problems we find in the study of the kinematics of a galaxy.     

A comparison of artificial solar granules with real solar granules

The lifetimes, characteristics of the shapes as well as lengths and perimeters of artificial solar granules (Nordlund, 1982, 1984a) are compared with data from the literature and parameters determined from two different sets of observed granules. No significant differences of the parameters for these sets of granules are detectable.Mitteilungen aus dem Kiepenheuer-Institut Nr. 251.     

Common Proper Motion Search for Faint Companions Around Early-Type Field Stars – Progress Report

The multiplicity of early-type stars is still not well established. The derived binary fraction is different for individual star forming regions, suggesting a connection with the age and the environment conditions. The few studies that have investigated this connection do not provide conclusive results. To fill in this gap, we started the first detailed adaptive-optic-assisted imaging survey of early-type field stars to derive their multiplicity in a homogeneous way. The sample has been extracted from the Hipparcos Catalog and consists of 341 BA-type stars within ∼300 pc from the Sun. We report the current status of the survey and describe a Monte-Carlo simulation that estimates the completeness of our companion detection.