The use of airborne imaging spectrometer data to determine experimentally induced variation in coniferous canopy chemistry

It was experimentally determined whether induced differences in forest canopy chemical composition can be detected using data from the Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS). Treatments were applied to an even-aged forest of Douglas fir trees. Work to date has stressed wet chemical analysis of foilage samples and correction of AIS data. Plot treatments were successful in providing a range of foliar N2 concentrations. Much time was spent investigating and correcting problems with the raw AIS data. Initial problems with groups of drop out lines in the AIS data were traced to the tape recorder and the tape drive. Custom adjustment of the tape drive led to recovery of most missing lines. Remaining individual drop out lines were replaced using average of adjacent lines. Application of a notch filter to the Fourier transform of the image in each band satisfactorily removed vertical striping. The aspect ratio was corrected by resampling the image in the line direction using nearest neighbor interpolation

Gravity Modes Reveal the Internal Rotation of a Post-mass Transfer Gamma Doradus/Delta Scuti Hybrid Pulsator in Kepler Eclipsing Binary KIC 9592855

We report the discovery of a post-mass transfer Gamma Doradus/Delta Scuti hybrid pulsator in the eclipsing binary KIC~9592855. This binary has a circular orbit, an orbital period of 1.2 days, and contains two stars of almost identical masses ($M_1=1.72M_{\odot}, M_2=1.71M_{\odot}$). However, the cooler secondary star is more evolved ($R_2=1.96R_{\odot}$) while the hotter primary is still on the zero-age-main-sequence ($R_1=1.53R_{\odot}$). Coeval models from single star evolution cannot explain the observed masses and radii, and binary evolution with mass-transfer needs to be invoked. After subtracting the binary light curve, the Fourier spectrum shows low-order pressure-mode pulsations, and more dominantly, a cluster of low-frequency gravity modes at about $2$ day$^{-1}$. These g-modes are nearly equally-spaced in period, and the period spacing pattern has a negative slope. We identify these g-modes as prograde dipole modes and find that they stem from the secondary star. The frequency range of unstable p-modes also agrees with that of the secondary. We derive the internal rotation rate of the convective core and the asymptotic period spacing from the observed g-modes. The resulting values suggest that the core and envelope rotate nearly uniformly, i.e., their rotation rates are both similar to the orbital frequency of this synchronized binary.Comment: ApJ accepted. We have added the following discussions: (a) the evidence of Am stars in the spectra; (b)two examples of the effect of mass-transfer on stellar oscillations;(c) the evolution of unstable frequency range of p-modes in Figure 7. We have corrected a mistake in the labeling of effective temperatures in Table

Detecting Unresolved Binaries in TESS Data with Speckle Imaging

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is conducting a two-year wide-field survey searching for transiting exoplanets around nearby bright stars that will be ideal for follow-up characterization. To facilitate studies of planet compositions and atmospheric properties, accurate and precise planetary radii need to be derived from the transit light curves. Since 40 - 50% of exoplanet host stars are in multiple star systems, however, the observed transit depth may be diluted by the flux of a companion star, causing the radius of the planet to be underestimated. High angular resolution imaging can detect companion stars that are not resolved in the TESS Input Catalog, or by seeing-limited photometry, to validate exoplanet candidates and derive accurate planetary radii. We examine the population of stellar companions that will be detectable around TESS planet candidate host stars, and those that will remain undetected, by applying the detection limits of speckle imaging to the simulated host star populations of Sullivan et al. (2015) and Barclay et al. (2018). By detecting companions with contrasts of delta m < 7 - 9 and separations of ~0.02 - 1.2'', speckle imaging can detect companion stars as faint as early M stars around A - F stars and stars as faint as mid-M around G - M stars, as well as up to 99% of the expected binary star distribution for systems located within a few hundred parsecs.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal; 16 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Infrared observations of asteroids from earth and space

Infrared reflectances at wavelength between 1 and 4 micrometers are used for determining asteroid surface mineralogy, surface composition, diameters, and albedos. Thermal models were developed for analyzing infrared observations at longer wavelengths. The discovery of a spectral feature due to water of hydration on Ceres seems to contradict the mineralogy inferred from spectrophotometry

High Resolution Spectrometry of Leaf and Canopy Chemistry for Biochemical Cycling

High-resolution laboratory spectrophotometer and Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) data were used to analyze forest leaf and canopy chemistry. Fundamental stretching frequencies of organic bonds in the visible, near infrared and short-wave infrared are indicative of concentrations and total content of nitrogen, phosphorous, starch and sugar. Laboratory spectrophotometer measurements showed very strong negative correlations with nitrogen (measured using wet chemistry) in the visible wavelengths. Strong correlations with green wet canopy weight in the atmospheric water absorption windows were observed in the AIS data. A fairly strong negative correlation between the AIS data at 1500 nm and total nitrogen and nitrogen concentration was evident. This relationship corresponds very closely to protein absorption features near 1500 nm

Bau Petroglyphs

Volume: XXI

Kepler Eclipsing Binaries with δ\delta Scuti/γ\gamma Doradus Pulsating Components 1: KIC 9851944

KIC 9851944 is a short period ($P=2.16$ days) eclipsing binary in the {\it Kepler} field of view. By combining the analysis of {\it Kepler} photometry and phase resolved spectra from Kitt Peak National Observatory and Lowell Observatory, we determine the atmospheric and physical parameters of both stars. The two components have very different radii ($2.27R_{\odot}$, $3.19R_{\odot}$) but close masses ($1.76 M_{\odot}$, $1.79M_{\odot}$) and effective temperatures ($7026$K, $6902$K), indicating different evolutionary stages. The hotter primary is still on the main sequence (MS), while the cooler and larger secondary star has evolved to post-MS, burning hydrogen in a shell. A comparison with coeval evolutionary models shows that it requires solar metallicity and a higher mass ratio to fit the radii and temperatures of both stars simultaneously. Both components show $\delta$ Scuti type pulsations which we interpret as p-modes and p and g mixed modes. After a close examination of the evolution of $\delta$ Scuti pulsational frequencies, we make a comparison of the observed frequencies with those calculated from MESA/GYRE.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ on May 05, 201

The discrepancy in G-band contrast: Where is the quiet Sun?

We compare the rms contrast in observed speckle reconstructed G-band images with synthetic filtergrams computed from two magneto-hydrodynamic simulation snapshots. The observations consist of 103 bursts of 80 frames each taken at the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST), sampled at twice the diffraction limit of the telescope. The speckle reconstructions account for the performance of the Adaptive Optics (AO) system at the DST to supply reliable photometry. We find a considerable discrepancy in the observed rms contrast of 14.1% for the best reconstructed images, and the synthetic rms contrast of 21.5% in a simulation snapshot thought to be representative of the quiet Sun. The areas of features in the synthetic filtergrams that have positive or negative contrast beyond the minimum and maximum values in the reconstructed images have spatial scales that should be resolved. This leads us to conclude that there are fundamental differences in the rms G-band contrast between observed and computed filtergrams. On the basis of the substantially reduced granular contrast of 16.3% in the synthetic plage filtergram we speculate that the quiet-Sun may contain more weak magnetic field than previously thought.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure