We present ALMA band 7 data of the extreme OH/IR star, OH 26.5+0.6. In addition to lines of CO and its isotopologues, the circumstellar envelope also exhibits a number of emission lines due to metal-containing molecules, e.g., NaCl and KCl. A lack of C18O is expected, but a non-detection of C17O is puzzling given the strengths of H217O in Herschel spectra of the star. However, a line associated with Si17O is detected. We also report a tentative detection of a gas-phase emission line of MgS. The ALMA spectrum of this object reveals intriguing features which may be used to investigate chemical processes and dust formation during a high mass-loss phase.

Snow grain-size characterization, its vertical and temporal evolution is a key parameter for the improvement and validation of snow and radiative transfer models (optical and microwave) as well as for remote-sensing retrieval methods. We describe two optical methods, one active and one passive shortwave infrared, for field determination of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow grains. We present a new shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera approach. This new method is compared with a SWIR laser- based system measuring snow albedo with an integrating sphere (InfraRed Integrating Sphere (IRIS)). Good accuracy (10%) and reproducibility in SSA measurements are obtained using the IRIS system on snow samples having densities greater than 200 kg m-3, validated against X-ray microtomography measurements. The SWIRcam approach shows improved sensitivity to snow SSA when compared to a near-infrared camera, giving a better contrast of the snow stratigraphy in a snow pit.

Validation-study data were analysed to investigate retention interval (RI) and prompt effects on the accuracy of fourth-grade children’s reports of school-breakfast and school-lunch (in 24-h recalls), and the accuracy of school-breakfast reports by breakfast location (classroom; cafeteria). Randomly selected fourth-grade children at ten schools in four districts were observed eating school-provided breakfast and lunch, and were interviewed under one of eight conditions created by crossing two RIs (‘short’ – prior-24-hour recall obtained in the afternoon and ‘long’ – previous-day recall obtained in the morning) with four prompts (‘forward’ – distant to recent, ‘meal name’ – breakfast, etc., ‘open’ – no instructions, and ‘reverse’ – recent to distant). Each condition had sixty children (half were girls). Of 480 children, 355 and 409 reported meals satisfying criteria for reports of school-breakfast and school-lunch, respectively. For breakfast and lunch separately, a conventional measure – report rate – and reporting-error-sensitive measures – correspondence rate and inflation ratio – were calculated for energy per meal-reporting child. Correspondence rate and inflation ratio – but not report rate – showed better accuracy for school-breakfast and school-lunch reports with the short RI than with the long RI; this pattern was not found for some prompts for each sex. Correspondence rate and inflation ratio showed better school-breakfast report accuracy for the classroom than for cafeteria location for each prompt, but report rate showed the opposite. For each RI, correspondence rate and inflation ratio showed better accuracy for lunch than for breakfast, but report rate showed the opposite. When choosing RI and prompts for recalls, researchers and practitioners should select a short RI to maximise accuracy. Recommendations for prompt selections are less clear. As report rates distort validation-study accuracy conclusions, reporting-error-sensitive measures are recommended.

We have chosen the name of GYES, one of the mythological giants with one hundred arms,offspring of Gaia and Uranus, for our instrument study of a multifibre spectrograph forthe prime focus of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Such an instrument could provide anexcellent ground-based complement for the Gaia mission and a northern complement to theHERMES project on the AAT. The CFHT is well known for providing a stable prime focusenvironment, with a large field of view, which has hosted several imaging instruments, buthas never hosted a multifibre spectrograph. Building upon the experience gained at GÉPIwith FLAMES-Giraffe and X-Shooter, we are investigating the feasibility of a highmultiplex spectrograph (about 500 fibres) over a field of view one degree in diameter. Weare investigating an instrument with resolution in the range 15 000 to 30 000, whichshould provide accurate chemical abundances for stars down to 16th magnitude and radialvelocities, accurate to 1 km s-1 for fainter stars. The study is led byGÉPI-Observatoire de Paris with a contribution from Oxford for the study of thepositioner. The financing for the study comes from INSU CSAA and Observatoire de Paris.The conceptual study will be delivered to CFHT for review by October 1st 2010.

During the five years of the mission, the Gaia spectrograph, the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) will repeatedly survey the celestial sphere down to magnitude V ~ 17–18. This talk presents: (i) the system which is currently developed within the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) to reduce and calibrate the spectra and to derive the radial and rotational velocities, (ii) the RVS expected performances and (iii) scientific returns.

The calibration of the Radial Velocity Zero-Point (RVZP) of the Radial VelocitySpectrometer (RVS) will be performed with the help of Radial Velocity (RV) standard starsand asteroids. A full-sky list of RV standard stars candidates has been built for thispurpose within the Development Unit (DU) 640 of the Gaia DPAC Consortium. A ground-basedcampaign of RV observations has been initiated to eliminate unsuitable candidates.Simulations have also been performed in order to estimate in advance the number of RVstandard stars and asteroids crossing the RVS field of view. These standard stars andasteroids will also be very helpful for controlling any harmful effect (especially the CCDradiation damage) on calibration and RVZP during the lifetime of the Gaia project.Kinematic RV are expected to be published at the end of the project for the brighteststars, taking into account gravitational redshift and convective shifts for the linespresent in the RVS spectral wavelength range.

We present results of a project aimed at establishing a set of 12 spectro-photometric standards over a wide wavelength range from 320 to 2500 nm. Currently no such set of standard stars covering the near-IR is available. Our strategy is to extend the useful range of existing well-established optical flux standards (Oke 1990, Hamuy et al. 1992, 1994) into the near-IR by means of integral field spectroscopy with SINFONI at the VLT combined with state-of-the-art white dwarf stellar atmospheric models (TMAP, Holberg et al. 2008). As a solid reference, we use two primary HST standard white dwarfs GD71 and GD153 and one HST secondary standard BD+17 4708. The data were collected through an ESO “Observatory Programme” over ~40 nights between February 2007 and September 2008.

This paper is devoted to the study and the characterization of novel magneto-optical waveguides prepared via organic-inorganic sol-gel process. Thin silica/zirconia films doped with magnetic nanoparticles were coated on glass substrate using dip-coating technique. After annealing, samples were UV-treated. Two different techniques were used to measure their properties: m-lines spectroscopy and free space ellipsometry. Results evidence low refractive index waveguides that combine a low modal birefringence (2×10−4) with a Faraday rotation around 15 °/cm (ϕ = 0.1%). The low birefringence is obtained with a soft UV treatment and a graded intrinsic anisotropy is evidenced for films thicker than 5 μm. Therefore, we prove that the organic-inorganic sol-gel approach is very promising to realize magneto-optical waveguides with a non-reciprocal functionality such as TE-TM mode conversion.

Recently, research has been concentrated on the study of the magnetic nanoparticules for their use in the design of magneto-optical devices. The magneto-optical waveguides for example exploitthe Faraday effect to obtain a rotation of polarization TE and TM independent of the propagation direction. In this work, we study isolating component whose operating principle is based on the minimization of the phase mismatch between TE and TM fundamental propagation modes.It appeared promising to use as a guiding film the thin layers doped bymagnetic nanoparticules γ-Fe2O3 in order to carry out an adequate phase mismatch. This last can be adjusted by permanent linear birefringence resulting from the application of an external magnetic field during the gelation of the solution which constitutes the guiding film. Many studies were undertaken primarily to minimize the birefringence between TE and TM modes, for that this work represents a new potential means to reach the phase matching by acting on the anisotropy and the thin layer thickness.This condition can be realized in the waveguides with SiO2/TiO2 guiding thin layer doped by nanoparticules of maghemite γ-Fe2O3. The simulations carried out by the FMM method and MATLAB allowed to deduce the conditions to decrease the phase mismatch and increase the conversion ratio of TE/TM modes in order to ameliorate the isolation.

We evaluated the contributions of somatic and dendritic impulses to the receptive field dimensions of amacrine cells in the amphibian retina. For this analysis, we used the NEURON simulation program with a multicompartmental, multichannel model of an On-Off amacrine cell with a three-dimensional structure obtained through computer tracing techniques. Simulated synaptic inputs were evenly spaced along the dendritic branches and organized into eight annuli of increasing radius. The first set of simulations activated each ring progressively to simulate an area summation experiment, while a second approach activated each annulus individually. Both sets of simulations were done with and without the presence of Na channels in the dendrites and soma. Unexpectedly, the receptive field dimensions observed in the area summation simulations was often smaller than that predicted from the summation of the annular simulations. Collisions of action potentials moving in opposite directions in the dendrites largely accounted for this contraction in receptive field size for the area summation studies. The presence of dendritic Na channels increased the size of the receptive field beyond that achieved in their absence and allowed the physiological size of the receptive field to approximate the physical dimensions of the dendritic tree. This receptive field augmentation was the result of impulse generating ability in the dendrites which enhanced the signal observed at the soma. These simulations provide a plausible mechanistic explanation for physiological recordings from amacrine cells that show similar phenomena.

Using an homogeneous sample of $v\sin i$ values for A-type main sequence stars (Royer et al. 2002), the equatorial velocity ($v$) distributions are determined as function of spectral class, from B9 to F2. The chemically peculiar and binary stars are discarded. These distributions of “normal” stars are discussed in terms of stellar formation and evolution, in particular the remaining bimodality observed for the earliest spectral types of the sample. We show that late B and early A-type main-sequence stars have genuine bimodal distributions of true equatorial rotational velocities probably due to the phenomena of angular momentum loss and of redistribution the star underwent before reaching the main sequence. A striking lack of slow rotators is noticed among intermediate and late A-type stars. The bimodal-like shape of their true equatorial rotational velocity distributions could be due to evolutionary effects.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We reanalyzed high quality spectra of 158 stars of spectral types A0–F1 and $v\,\sin{i}$ values between 60 and 150 km s$^{-1}$. Using a least squares deconvolution technique we extracted high $S/N$ broadening profiles and determined the loci of the Fourier transform zeros $q_{1}$ and $q_{2}$ where the $S/N$-ratio was high enough. For 78 stars $q_{2}$ could be determined and the ratio $q_{2}/q_{1}$ was used as a shape parameter sensitive to solar-like differential rotation (the equatorial velocity is faster than the near polar velocities). Seventy-four of the 78 stars have values of $q_{2}/q_{1}$ consistent with solid body rotation; in four of the 78 cases, values of $q_{2}/q_{1}$ are not consistent with rigid rotation. Although these stars may be binaries, none of their profiles shows any signatures of a companion. The Fourier transforms do not indicate any distortions and the broadening profiles can be considered due to single objects. One of these candidates may be an extremely rapid rotator seen pole-on, but for the other three stars of spectral types as early as A6, differential rotation seems to be the most plausible explanation for the peculiar profiles.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We discuss the v sin i distributions of main sequence B stars in galactic clusters in relation to stellar luminosity and to cluster metallicity. We show that evolutionary effects and/or dependence of initial v sin i distribution on stellar mass are important, so that a much larger sample and a wider metallicity range are required to detect any possible metallicity effect beyond doubt.

We present new observations of projected rotational velocities of main sequence B stars in the galactic clusters NGC 2439, NGC 3293, NGC 3766, NGC 4755, NGC 7160 and h & χ Persei. 257 stars have been observed with three instruments, 207 of which are presented here. Projected rotational velocities have been determined by least-squares fit to synthetic spectra. Our v sin i scale is compared with that of Slettebak et al. (1975).

Distributions of true rotational velocities as a function of spectral type for different luminosity class groups of B and Be Stars are compared. While the distributions for B stars differ clearly from one luminosity class to another, those of Be Stars differ less, which indicates that due to rotational effects many Be Stars are considered more evolved than they actually are. Be Stars ‘select’ a narrow range of true rotational velocities to display the Be phenomenon and those of latter spectral types rotate only marginally faster than the early ones.