Search For Transitions Research Articles

Numerical study of continuous and discontinuous dynamical phase transitions for boundary-driven systems.

The existence and search for thermodynamic phase transitions is of unfading interest. In this paper, we present numerical evidence of dynamical phase transitions occurring in boundary-driven systems with a constrained integrated current. It is shown that certain models exhibit a discontinuous transition between two different density profiles and a continuous transition between a time-independent and a time-dependent profile. We also verified that the Kipnis-Marchioro-Presutti model exhibits no phase transitions in a range much larger than previously explored.

A Search for Transitions between States in Redbacks and Black Widows Using Seven Years of Fermi-LAT Observations

Abstract Considering about seven years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) data, we present a systematic search for variability that is possibly related to transitions between states in redbacks and black widow systems. The transitions are characterized by sudden and significant changes in the gamma-ray flux that persist on a timescale that is much larger than the orbital period. This phenomenology was already detected in the case of two redback systems, PSR J1023+0038 and PSR J1227−4853, which we present here. We show the existence of only one transition for each of these systems over the past seven years. We determine their spectra, establishing high-energy cutoffs at a few GeV for the high gamma-ray state of PSR J1023+0038, and for both states of PSR J1227−4853. The surveying capability of the Fermi-LAT allows further study of whether similar phenomenology has occurred in other sources. Although we have not found any evidence of a state transition for most of the studied pulsars, we note two black-widow systems, PSR J2234+0944 and PSR J1446−4701, whose apparent variabilities are reminiscent of the transitions in PSR J1023+0038 and PSR J1227−4853. For the other systems, we set limits on potential transitions in their measured gamma-ray light curves.

Results from the RHIC Beam Energy Scan

The first phase of the Beam Energy Scan (BES-I) program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is based on Au+Au collision data collected between 2010 and 2014 at center-of-mass energies sNN = 7.7, 11.5, 14.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV. The BES-I program has four physics goals: search for the turning off of the signatures of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), the search for the possible first-order phase transition between hadronic gas and QGP, the search for the possible critical end point and the study of the transport properties of the strongly interacting matter as a function of the temperature T and baryon chemical potential μB . In this article, we briefly review and discuss the main results and their understanding from the BES-I program and future plans for the BES-II program (2019-2020).

Investigation of a Possibility of Chromium-51 Accumulation in the SM-3 Reactor to Fabricate a Neutrino Source

Compact high intensity neutrino sources based on 51Cr isotope are demanded for very short baseline neutrino experiments. In particular, a 3 MCi 51Cr neutrino source is needed for the experiment BEST on search for transitions of electron neutrinos to sterile states. The paper presents the results of the analysis of options of the irradiation of highly enriched 50Cr in the existing trap of thermal neutrons of high-flux reactor SM–3, as well as using the most promising variants of the trap after upcoming reconstruction of the reactor. It is shown that it is possible to to obtain the intensity of 51Cr up to 3.85 MCi at the end of irradiation of 50Cr enriched to 97% in the high-flux reactor SM–3 of the JSC “SSC NIIAR”.

K2 DISCOVERS A BUSY BEE: AN UNUSUAL TRANSITING NEPTUNE FOUND IN THE BEEHIVE CLUSTER

ABSTRACT Open clusters have been the focus of several exoplanet surveys, but only a few planets have so far been discovered. The Kepler spacecraft revealed an abundance of small planets around small cool stars, therefore, such cluster members are prime targets for exoplanet transit searches. Kepler's new mission, K2, is targeting several open clusters and star-forming regions around the ecliptic to search for transiting planets around their low-mass constituents. Here, we report the discovery of the first transiting planet in the intermediate-age (800 Myr) Beehive cluster (Praesepe). K2-95 is a faint ( ) dwarf from K2's Campaign 5 with an effective temperature of , approximately solar metallicity and a radius of . We detected a transiting planet with a radius of and an orbital period of 10.134 days. We combined photometry, medium/high-resolution spectroscopy, adaptive optics/speckle imaging, and archival survey images to rule out any false-positive detection scenarios, validate the planet, and further characterize the system. The planet’s radius is very unusual as M-dwarf field stars rarely have Neptune-sized transiting planets. The comparatively large radius of K2-95b is consistent with the other recently discovered cluster planets K2-25b (Hyades) and K2-33b (Upper Scorpius), indicating systematic differences in their evolutionary states or formation. These discoveries from K2 provide a snapshot of planet formation and evolution in cluster environments and thus make excellent laboratories to test differences between field-star and cluster planet populations.

DETECTION OF POTENTIAL TRANSIT SIGNALS IN 17 QUARTERS OF KEPLER DATA: RESULTS OF THE FINAL KEPLER MISSION TRANSITING PLANET SEARCH (DR25)

ABSTRACT We present results of the final Kepler Data Processing Pipeline search for transiting planet signals in the full 17-quarter primary mission data set. The search includes a total of 198,709 stellar targets, of which 112,046 were observed in all 17 quarters and 86,663 in fewer than 17 quarters. We report on 17,230 targets for which at least one transit signature is identified that meets the specified detection criteria: periodicity, minimum of three observed transit events, detection statistic (i.e., signal-to-noise ratio) in excess of the search threshold, and passing grade on three statistical transit consistency tests. Light curves for which a transit signal is identified are iteratively searched for additional signatures after a limb-darkened transiting planet model is fitted to the data and transit events are removed. The search for additional planets adds 16,802 transit signals for a total of 34,032; this far exceeds the number of transit signatures identified in prior pipeline runs. There was a strategic emphasis on completeness over reliability for the final Kepler transit search. A comparison of the transit signals against a set of 3402 well-established, high-quality Kepler Objects of Interest yields a recovery rate of 99.8%. The high recovery rate must be weighed against a large number of false-alarm detections. We examine characteristics of the planet population implied by the transiting planet model fits with an emphasis on detections that would represent small planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their host stars.

THREE TEMPERATE NEPTUNES ORBITING NEARBY STARS*

ABSTRACT We present the discovery of three modestly irradiated, roughly Neptune-mass planets orbiting three nearby Solar-type stars. HD 42618 b has a minimum mass of 15.4 ± 2.4 , a semimajor axis of 0.55 au, an equilibrium temperature of 337 K, and is the first planet discovered to orbit the solar analogue host star, HD 42618. We also discover new planets orbiting the known exoplanet host stars HD 164922 and HD 143761 (ρ CrB). The new planet orbiting HD 164922 has a minimum mass of 12.9 ± 1.6 and orbits interior to the previously known Jovian mass planet orbiting at 2.1 au. HD 164922 c has a semimajor axis of 0.34 au and an equilibrium temperature of 418 K. HD 143761 c orbits with a semimajor axis of 0.44 au, has a minimum mass of 25 ± 2 , and is the warmest of the three new planets with an equilibrium temperature of 445 K. It orbits exterior to the previously known warm Jupiter in the system. A transit search using space-based CoRoT data and ground-based photometry from the Automated Photometric Telescopes (APTs) at Fairborn Observatory failed to detect any transits, but the precise, high-cadence APT photometry helped to disentangle planetary-reflex motion from stellar activity. These planets were discovered as part of an ongoing radial velocity survey of bright, nearby, chromospherically inactive stars using the Automated Planet Finder (APF) telescope at Lick Observatory. The high-cadence APF data combined with nearly two decades of radial velocity data from Keck Observatory and gives unprecedented sensitivity to both short-period low-mass, and long-period intermediate-mass planets.

MOST OBSERVATIONS OF OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR: FLARES ON PROXIMA CENTAURI

ABSTRACT We present a study of white-light flares from the active M5.5 dwarf Proxima Centauri using the Canadian microsatellite Microvariability and Oscillations of STars. Using 37.6 days of monitoring data from 2014 to 2015, we have detected 66 individual flare events, the largest number of white-light flares observed to date on Proxima Cen. Flare energies in our sample range from 1029 to 1031.5 erg. The flare rate is lower than that of other classic flare stars of a similar spectral type, such as UV Ceti, which may indicate Proxima Cen had a higher flare rate in its youth. Proxima Cen does have an unusually high flare rate given its slow rotation period, however. Extending the observed power-law occurrence distribution down to 1028 erg, we show that flares with flux amplitudes of 0.5% occur 63 times per day, while superflares with energies of 1033 erg occur ∼8 times per year. Small flares may therefore pose a great difficulty in searches for transits from the recently announced 1.27 M ⊕ Proxima b, while frequent large flares could have significant impact on the planetary atmosphere.

Transiting exoplanet candidates fromK2Campaigns 5 and 6

We introduce a new transit search and vetting pipeline for observations from the K2 mission, and present the candidate transiting planets identified by this pipeline out of the targets in Campaigns 5 and 6. Our pipeline uses the Gaussian Process-based K2SC code to correct for the K2 pointing systematics and simultaneously model stellar variability. The systematics-corrected, variability-detrended light curves are searched for transits with the Box Least Squares method, and a period-dependent detection threshold is used to generate a preliminary candidate list. Two or three individuals vet each candidate manually to produce the final candidate list, using a set of automatically-generated transit fits and assorted diagnostic tests to inform the vetting. We detect 147 single-planet system candidates and 5 multi-planet systems, independently recovering the previously-published hot~Jupiters EPIC 212110888b, WASP-55b (EPIC 212300977b) and Qatar-2b (EPIC 212756297b). We also report the outcome of reconnaissance spectroscopy carried out for all candidates with Kepler magnitude Kp < 13, identifying 12 targets as likely false positives. We compare our results to those of other K2 transit search pipelines, noting that ours performs particularly well for variable and/or active stars, but that the results are very similar overall. All the light curves and code used in the transit search and vetting process are publicly available, as are the follow-up spectra.

A retroductive systems-based methodology for socio-technical transitions research

Socio-technical system transitions research describes and categorizes transitions and explains and identifies their driving causes. In the literature, transition research frameworks have received some critique on whether they can facilitate the search for transition causes. As a response, and in order to cater for the complexity and contextuality of multi system transitions, this paper proposes a retroductive systems-based methodology. The methodology relies on qualitative case study development and quantitative simulation modelling. Retroduction along with modelling and simulation can contribute to the shift from researching single system/technology transitions to multi system/technology transitions. Thus the paper offers a step towards coping methodologically with sustainability transitions that often concern multi system interactions. We demonstrate the use of the methodology by adopting the Multi-Level Perspective on transitions to explain the emergence of the functional foods as a niche in the food/nutrition socio-technical system.

Baryon number violation in supersymmetry: n − n ¯ $$ \overline{n} $$ oscillations as a probe beyond the LHC

We study baryon number violation in R-parity violating supersymmetry with focus on ΔB = 2 processes which allow neutron-anti-neutron (n − $$ \overline{n} $$ ) oscillations. We provide prospects for going beyond the present limits by means of a new search for n − $$ \overline{n} $$ oscillations. The motivation is the recently proposed n − $$ \overline{n} $$ oscillation experiment at the European Spallation Source in Lund, which is projected to be able to improve the current bound on the transition probability in the quasi-free regime by three orders of magnitude. We consider various processes giving rise to baryon number violation and extract the corresponding simplified models, including only the relevant superpartners and couplings. In terms of these models we determine the exclusion limits from LHC searches as well as from searches for flavor transitions, CP violation and di-nucleon decays. We find that, for certain regions of parameter space, the proposed n − $$ \overline{n} $$ experiment has a reach that goes beyond all other experiments, as it can probe gluino and squark masses in the multi-TeV range.

K2SC: Flexible systematics correction and detrending ofK2light curves using Gaussian Process regression

We present K2SC (K2 Systematics Correction), a Python pipeline to model instrumental systematics and astrophysical variability in light curves from the K2 mission. K2SC uses Gaussian process regression to model position-dependent systematics and time-dependent variability simultaneously, enabling the user to remove both (e.g., for transit searches) or to remove systematics while preserving variability (for variability studies). For periodic variables, K2SC automatically computes estimates of the period, amplitude and evolution timescale of the variability. We apply K2SC to publicly available K2 data from campaigns 3--5, showing that we obtain photometric precision approaching that of the original Kepler mission. We compare our results to other publicly available K2 pipelines, showing that we obtain similar or better results, on average. We use transit injection and recovery tests to evaluate the impact of K2SC on planetary transit searches in K2 PDC (Pre-search Data Conditioning) data, for planet-to-star radius ratios down Rp/Rstar = 0.01 and periods up to P = 40 d, and show that K2SC significantly improves the ability to distinguish between correct and false detections, particularly for small planets. K2SC can be run automatically on many light curves, or manually tailored for specific objects such as pulsating stars or large amplitude eclipsing binaries. It can be run on ASCII and FITS light curve files, regardless of their origin. Both the code and the processed light curves are publicly available, and we provide instructions for downloading and using them. The methodology used by K2SC will be applicable to future transit search missions such as TESS and PLATO.

A New Multiple-Pattern Matching Algorithm for the Network Intrusion Detection System

String matching algorithms are essential for network application devices that filter packets and flows based on their payload. Applications like intrusion detection/ prevention, web filtering, anti-virus, and anti-spam all raise the demand for efficient algorithms dealing with string matching. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for multiple-pattern exact matching. Our approach reduces character comparisons and memory space based on graph transition structure and search technique using dynamic linked list. Theoretical analysis and experimental results, when compared with previously known pattern-matching algorithms, show that our algorithm is highly efficient in both space and time.

Forbidden Transitions in the Microwave Rotational Spectrum of the Tt Conformer of the N-Propanol Molecule

A search for forbidden transitions was made in the microwave rotational spectrum of the Tt conformer of the propanol molecule (n-CH3CH2CH2OH) in the region of 37.0–78.0 GHz. The n-CH3CH2CH2OH molecule has a plane of symmetry containing μb and μa components of the dipole moment (μc = 0). On account of centrifugal distortion an induced component of the dipole moment μa, perpendicular to the symmetry plane of the molecule and leading to the appearance of previously forbidden rotational transitions, appears in such molecules. Forbidden "centrifugal transitions" of this type were found in the microwave rotational spectrum of the Tt conformer of the n-CH3CH2CH2OH molecule. The spectrum was analyzed by means of the Watson A-reduction rotational Hamiltonian. Sixty four forbidden μc transitions with rotational quantum numbers of up to J = 37 inclusive were identified.

Strangeness Prospects with the CBM Experiment

The CBM experiment will study strongly interacting matter at high net-baryon densities with nuclear collisions up to 45A GeV beam energy at the future FAIR facility. With interaction rates unprecedented in heavy-ion collisions, CBM will give access also to extremely rare probes and thus to the early stage of the collisions, in search for the first-order phase transition from confined to deconfined matter and the QCD critical point. The CBM physics programme will be started with beams delivered by the SIS-100 synchrotron, providing energies from 2 to 11 GeV/nucleon for heavy nuclei, up to 14 GeV/nucleon for light nuclei, and 30 GeV for protons. The highest net baryon densities will be explored with ion beams up to 45 GeV/nucleon energy delivered by SIS-300 in a later stage of the FAIR project.After several years of preparation, the CBM experiment now enters the realisation phase. In this article, we report on the current status of the system developments and the expected physics performance for strange and charmed observables, as well as on the roadmap towards the first data taking.

ПОИСК СТРУКТУРНОГО ПЕРЕХОДА В ПОЛИМЕРЕ НА ТЕРМОГРАММЕ ПУТЕМ ДИСКРЕТНОЙ ФИЛЬТРАЦИИ

ПОИСК СТРУКТУРНОГО ПЕРЕХОДА В ПОЛИМЕРЕ НА ТЕРМОГРАММЕ ПУТЕМ ДИСКРЕТНОЙ ФИЛЬТРАЦИИ

Weakly Bound Clusters in Astrochemistry? Millimeter and Submillimeter Spectroscopy of trans-HO3 and Comparison to Astronomical Observations.

The emergence of chemical complexity during star and planet formation is largely guided by the chemistry of unstable molecules that are reaction intermediates in terrestrial chemistry. Our knowledge of these intermediates is limited by both the lack of laboratory studies and the difficulty in their astronomical detection. In this work, we focus on the weakly bound cluster HO3 as an example of the connection between laboratory spectroscopic study and astronomical observations. Here, we present a fast-sweep spectroscopic technique in the millimeter and submillimeter range to facilitate the laboratory search for trans-HO3 and DO3 transitions in a discharge supersonic jet and report their rotational spectra from 70 to 450 GHz. These new measurements enable full determination of the molecular constants of HO3 and DO3. We also present a preliminary search for trans-HO3 in 32 star-forming regions using this new spectroscopic information. HO3 is not detected, and column density upper limits are reported. This work provides additional benchmark information for computational studies of this intriguing radical, as well as a reliable set of molecular constants for extrapolation of the transition frequencies of HO3 for future astronomical observations.

Periodic transit and variability search with simultaneous systematics filtering: Is it worth it?

By using subsets of the HATNet and K2 (Kepler two-wheel) Campaign 1 databases, we examine the effectiveness of filtering out systematics from photometric time series while simultaneously searching for periodic signals. We carry out tests to recover simulated sinusoidal and transit signals added to time series with both real and artificial noise. We find that the simple (and more traditional) method that performs correction for systematics first and signal search thereafter, produces higher signal recovery rates on the average, while also being substantially faster than the simultaneous method. Independently of the method of search, once the signal is found, a far less time consuming full-fledged model, incorporating both the signal and systematics, must be employed to recover the correct signal shape. As a by-product of the tests on the K2 data, we find that for longer period sinusoidal signals the detection rate decreases (after an optimum value is reached) as the number of light curves used for systematics filtering increases. The decline of the detection rate is observable in both methods of filtering, albeit the simultaneous method performs better in the regime of relative high template number. We suspect that the observed phenomenon is linked to the increased role of low amplitude intrinsic stellar variability in the space-based data. This assumption is also supported by the substantially higher stability of the detection rates for transit signals against the increase of the template number.

Radioluminescence and photoluminescence of Th:CaF2 crystals.

We study thorium-doped CaF2 crystals as a possible platform for optical spectroscopy of the 229Th nuclear isomer transition. We anticipate two major sources of background signal that might cover the nuclear spectroscopy signal: VUV-photoluminescence, caused by the probe light, and radioluminescence, caused by the radioactive decay of 229Th and its daughters. We find a rich photoluminescence spectrum at wavelengths above 260 nm, and radioluminescence emission above 220 nm. This is very promising, as fluorescence originating from the isomer transition, predicted at a wavelength shorter than 200 nm, could be filtered spectrally from the crystal luminescence. Furthermore, we investigate the temperature-dependent decay time of the luminescence, as well as thermoluminescence properties. Our findings allow for an immediate optimization of spectroscopy protocols for both the initial search for the nuclear transition using synchrotron radiation, as well as future optical clock operation with narrow-linewidth lasers.

The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets

High-precision radial velocity surveys explore the population of low-mass exoplanets orbiting bright stars. This allows accurately deriving their orbital parameters such as their occurrence rate and the statistical distribution of their properties. Based on this, models of planetary formation and evolution can be constrained. The SOPHIE spectrograph has been continuously improved in past years, and thanks to an appropriate correction of systematic instrumental drift, it is now reaching 2 m/s precision in radial velocity measurements on all timescales. As part of a dedicated radial velocity survey devoted to search for low-mass planets around a sample of 190 bright solar-type stars in the northern hemisphere, we report the detection of a warm Neptune with a minimum mass of 16.1 +- 2.7 Mearth orbiting the solar analog HD164595 in 40 +- 0.24 days . We also revised the parameters of the multiplanetary system around HD190360. We discuss this new detection in the context of the upcoming space mission CHEOPS, which is devoted to a transit search of bright stars harboring known exoplanets.