57-second oscillations in Nova Centauri 1986 (V842 Cen)

High-speed photometry in 2008 shows that the light curve of V842 Cen possesses a coherent modulation at 56.825 s, with sidebands at 56.598 and 57.054 s. These have appeared since this nova remnant was observed in 2000 and 2002. We deduce that the dominant signal is the rotation period of the white dwarf primary and the sidebands are caused by reprocessing from a surface moving with an orbital period of 3.94 h. Thus, V842 Cen is an intermediate polar (IP) of the DQ Herculis subclass, is the fastest rotating white dwarf among the IPs and is the third fastest known in a cataclysmic variable. As in other IPs, we see no dwarf nova oscillations, but there are often quasi-periodic oscillations in the range 350–1500 s. There is a strong brightness modulation with a period of 3.78 h, which we attribute to negative superhumps, and there is an even stronger signal at 2.886 h which is of unknown origin but is probably a further example of that seen in GW Lib and some other systems. We used the Swift satellite to observe V842 Cen in the ultraviolet and in X-rays, although no periodic modulation was detected in the short observations. The X-ray luminosity of this object appears to be much lower than that of other IPs in which the accretion region is directly visible.     

EROS-II Variable Stars: Eclipsing Binaries in the EROS Microlensing Surveys

More than 10 years of microlensing survey observations by the EROS Collaboration have monitored several million stars, amongst them several thousand eclipsing binary stars. In this poster we present some of the difficulties and rewards of the study of this immense database.Based on observations made at ESO by the EROS collaboration     

Potential of the VLTI for linking stellar frames to ICRF

The question of positioning the optical counterparts of the ICRF quasars is outlined in the perspective of future space astrometry missions, which ultimately will bring a new realization of the ICRS in the optical range. Ground-based interferometry with a dual-field observing mode (PRIMA/VLTI),together with the missions DIVA and FAME, will have a key role in building an extragalactic reference frame in the optical/near-IR range with about the same accuracy as that of the present (VLBI) primary frame. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Low‐energy helium ion irradiation‐induced amorphization and chemical changes in olivine: Insights for silicate dust evolution in the interstellar medium

Abstract— We present the results of irradiation experiments aimed at understanding the structural and chemical evolution of silicate grains in the interstellar medium. A series of He+ irradiation experiments have been performed on ultra‐thin olivine, (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄, samples having a high surface/volume (S/V) ratio, comparable to the expected S/V ratio of interstellar dust. The energies and fluences of the helium ions used in this study have been chosen to simulate the irradiation of interstellar dust grains in supernovae shock waves. The samples were mainly studied using analytical transmission electron microscopy. Our results show that olivine is amorphized by low‐energy ion irradiation. Changes in composition are also observed. In particular, irradiation leads to a decrease of the atomic ratios O/Si and Mg/Si as determined by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and by x‐ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. This chemical evolution is due to the differential sputtering of atoms near the surfaces. We also observe a reduction process resulting in the formation of metallic iron. The use of very thin samples emphasizes the role of surface/volume ratio and thus the importance of the particle size in the irradiation‐induced effects. These results allow us to account qualitatively for the observed properties of interstellar grains in different environments, that is, at different stages of their evolution: chemical and structural evolution in the interstellar medium, from olivine to pyroxene‐type and from crystalline to amorphous silicates, porosity of cometary grains as well as the formation of metallic inclusions in silicates.     

Fraile Detection of Solar $$-Modes by Fossat et al.

The internal gravity modes of the Sun are notoriously difficult to detect, and the claimed detection of gravity modes presented by Fossat et al. (Astron. Astrophys.604, A40, 2017) is thus very exciting. Given the importance of these modes for understanding solar structure and dynamics, the results must be robust. While Fossat et al. described their method and parameter choices in detail, the sensitivity of their results to several parameters was not presented. Therefore, we test the sensitivity of the results to a selection of the parameters. The most concerning result is that the detection vanishes when we adjust the start time of the 16.5-year velocity time-series by a few hours. We conclude that this reported detection of gravity modes is extremely fragile and should be treated with utmost caution.     

Numerical simulations of granular dynamics II: Particle dynamics in a shaken granular material

Surfaces of planets and small bodies of our Solar System are often covered by a layer of granular material that can range from a fine regolith to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Therefore, the dynamics of granular materials are involved in many events occurring during planetary and small-body evolution thus contributing to their geological properties.We demonstrate that the new adaptation of the parallel N-body hard-sphere code pkdgrav has the capability to model accurately the key features of the collective motion of bidisperse granular materials in a dense regime as a result of shaking. As a stringent test of the numerical code we investigate the complex collective ordering and motion of granular material by direct comparison with laboratory experiments. We demonstrate that, as experimentally observed, the scale of the collective motion increases with increasing small-particle additive concentration.We then extend our investigations to assess how self-gravity and external gravity affect collective motion. In our reduced-gravity simulations both the gravitational conditions and the frequency of the vibrations roughly match the conditions on asteroids subjected to seismic shaking, though real regolith is likely to be much more heterogeneous and less ordered than in our idealised simulations. We also show that collective motion can occur in a granular material under a wide range of inter-particle gravity conditions and in the absence of an external gravitational field. These investigations demonstrate the great interest of being able to simulate conditions that are to relevant planetary science yet unreachable by Earth-based laboratory experiments.     

Orbital and thermal evolutions of four potential targets for a sample return space mission to a primitive near-Earth asteroid

In this paper, we present our study of the orbital and thermal evolutions, due to solar radiative heating, of four near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) considered as potential target candidates for sample return space missions to primitive asteroids. We used a dynamical model of the NEA population to estimate the most likely source region and orbital history of these objects. Then, for each asteroid, we integrated numerically over their entire lifetime a set of 14 initially indistinguishable orbit (clones), obtained by small variations of the nominal initial conditions. Using a thermal model, we then computed surface and sub-surface temperatures of these bodies during their dynamical history. Our aim is to determine whether these bodies are likely to have experienced high temperature level, and whether great temperature changes can be expected due to the orbital changes as well as their maximum and minimum values. Such information is important in the framework of sample return space missions whose goal is to bring back pristine materials. The knowledge of the temperature range of materials at different depth over the orbital evolution of potential targets can help defining sampling strategies that ensure the likelihood that unaltered material will be brought back. Our results suggest that for all the considered potential targets, the surface has experienced for some time temperatures greater than 400 K and at most 500 K with 50% probability. This probability drops rapidly with increasing temperature. Sub-surface materials at a depth of only 3 cm are much more protected from high temperature and generally do not reach temperatures exceeding 450 K (with 50% probability). They should thus be unaltered at this depth at least from a Sun-driven heating point of view. On the other hand, surface material for some of the considered objects can have a range of temperature which can make them less reliable as pristine materials. However, it is assumed here that the same material is constantly exposed to solar heat, while regolith turnover may occur. The latter can be caused by different processes such as seismic shaking and/or impact cratering. This would reduce the total time that materials are exposed to a certain temperature. Thus, it is very likely that a sample collected from any of the four considered targets, or any primitive NEA with similar dynamical properties, will have components that will be thermally unaltered as long as some of it comes from only 3 to 5 cm depth. Such a depth is not considered difficult to reach with some of the current designs of sampling devices.     

Applications of the DFT/CLEAN Technique to Solar Time Series

A new technique of Fourier analysis, DFT/CLEAN, has been adapted for the study of solar time series. The technique was developed by Roberts and his collaborators (1987, 1994) to address the limitations of other techniques of Fourier analysis and the shortcomings of many astronomical time series. The utility of the technique is illustrated with several applications to solar time series.