Essays in Portfolio Performance Analysis

Doctoral thesis (2013)

ESC working group on valvular heart disease position paper-heart valve clinics: organization, structure, and experiences

in European Heart Journal (2013)

(In)Visible Bodies: Rewriting the Politics of Passing in Incognegro, a Graphic Mystery by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece

Conference (2013, January 03)

How can passing across racial lines be described and conveyed in the comics form? Can the medium develop specific strategies to comment on the themes of transgression and crossing inherent to the trope of ... [more ▼]

How can passing across racial lines be described and conveyed in the comics form? Can the medium develop specific strategies to comment on the themes of transgression and crossing inherent to the trope of passing? This paper shows how the graphic novel Incognegro (2008) goes beyond the traditional socio-historical analysis of passing and plays thematically, generically, and visually with the politics of the trope. Incognegro, set in the US in the early 1930s, depicts a light-skinned African American reporter who passes for white in order to investigate lynchings of blacks in the deep South. Because white papers do not consider these events to be news, the reporter condemns these dreadful acts in the column titled “Incognegro” that he writes for a New York-based newspaper, The New Holland Herald. Thus he risks his life using his “passing abilities” to protect the rights of the community he is trying to defend from white hegemony. In this way, Incognegro challenges the conventional tragic mulatto figure that passes for white to avoid racism and violence or to improve his/her social status. In addition, it echoes the common black trickster figure who practices “masking” to outwit his enemies or opponents, and calls into question the biological, social, and cultural representations of race as perceived by the white dominant group. Here the racial passer functions as an “outsider from within” who can challenge the black vs. white binary model. Moreover, the text subverts narrative paradigms from superhero comics and detective fiction to point out the arbitrariness of racial ideologies and the fallibility of notions of justice and truth. This subversion is further complicated by the comic’s “color free” art (black and white, sans halftones or gray tones), which defies essentialist representations of race. In sum, Incognegro argues that the ambiguities of racial categorization are best represented through a similarly ambiguous literary genre—one that not only challenges generic norms and traditions but also “writes back” to both the mainstream and alternative wings of American comics production. [less ▲]

Discovery of a magnetic field in the rapidly rotating O-type secondary of the colliding-wind binary HD 47129 (Plaskett's star)

in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2013), 428

We report the detection of a strong, organized magnetic field in the secondary component of the massive O8III/I+O7.5V/III double-lined spectroscopic binary system HD 47129 (Plaskett's star) in the context ... [more ▼]

We report the detection of a strong, organized magnetic field in the secondary component of the massive O8III/I+O7.5V/III double-lined spectroscopic binary system HD 47129 (Plaskett's star) in the context of the Magnetism in Massive Stars survey. Eight independent Stokes V observations were acquired using the Echelle SpectroPolarimetric Device for the Observations of Stars (ESPaDOnS) spectropolarimeter at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the Narval spectropolarimeter at the Télescope Bernard Lyot. Using least-squares deconvolution we obtain definite detections of signal in Stokes V in three observations. No significant signal is detected in the diagnostic null (N) spectra. The Zeeman signatures are broad and track the radial velocity of the secondary component; we therefore conclude that the rapidly rotating secondary component is the magnetized star. Correcting the polarized spectra for the line and continuum of the (sharp-lined) primary, we measured the longitudinal magnetic field from each observation. The longitudinal field of the secondary is variable and exhibits extreme values of -810 ± 150 and +680 ± 190 G, implying a minimum surface dipole polar strength of 2850 ± 500 G. In contrast, we derive an upper limit (3σ) to the primary's surface magnetic field of 230 G. The combination of a strong magnetic field and rapid rotation leads us to conclude that the secondary hosts a centrifugal magnetosphere fed through a magnetically confined wind. We revisit the properties of the optical line profiles and X-ray emission - previously interpreted as a consequence of colliding stellar winds - in this context. We conclude that HD 47129 represents a heretofore unique stellar system - a close, massive binary with a rapidly rotating, magnetized component - that will be a rich target for further study. [less ▲]

Effects of the Coriolis force on high-order g modes in γ Doradus stars

in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2013)

γ Doradus stars pulsate with high-order gravity modes having typical frequencies which can be comparable to or higher than their rotation frequencies. Therefore, rotation has a non-negligible effect on ... [more ▼]

γ Doradus stars pulsate with high-order gravity modes having typical frequencies which can be comparable to or higher than their rotation frequencies. Therefore, rotation has a non-negligible effect on their oscillation properties. To explore the rotation-pulsation coupling in γ Dor stars, we perform a non-adiabatic study including the traditional approximation of rotation on a grid of spherical stellar models covering the mass range 1.4 < M[SUB]*[/SUB] < 2.1 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB]. This approximation allows us to treat the effect of the Coriolis force on the frequencies and the stability of high-order g modes. The effect of the Coriolis force depends on the kind of mode considered (prograde sectoral or not) and increases with their periods. As a consequence, we first find that the period spacing between modes is no longer periodically oscillating around a constant value. Secondly, we show that the frequency gap (5-15 cycles day[SUP]-1[/SUP]) arising from stable modes between γ Dor-type high-order g modes and δ Scuti-type modes can be easily filled by g-mode frequencies shifted to higher values by the rotation. Thirdly, we analyse the combined effect of diffusive mixing and the Coriolis force on the period spacings. And finally, we predict a slight broadening of the γ Dor instability strip. [less ▲]

2009: A Colliding-Wind Odyssey

in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series (2013, January 01)

We present the results from two optical spectroscopic campaigns on colliding-wind binaries (CWB) which both occurred in 2009. The first one was on WR 140 (WC7pd + O5.5fc), the archetype of CWB, which ... [more ▼]

We present the results from two optical spectroscopic campaigns on colliding-wind binaries (CWB) which both occurred in 2009. The first one was on WR 140 (WC7pd + O5.5fc), the archetype of CWB, which experienced periastron passage of its highly elliptical 8-year orbit in January. The WR 140 campaign consisted of a unique and constructive collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers and took place at half a dozen locations, including Teide Observatory, Observatoire de Haute Provence, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic and at several small private observatories. The second campaign was on a selection of 5 short-period WR + O binaries not yet studied for colliding-wind effects: WR 12 (WN8h), WR 21 (WN5o + O7 V), WR 30 (WC6 + O7.5 V), WR 31 (WN4o + O8), and WR 47 (WN6o + O5). The campaign took place at Leoncito Observatory, Argentina, during 1 month. We provide updated values of most of these systems for the orbital parameters, new estimates for the WR and O star masses and new constraints on the mass-loss rates and colliding wind geometry. [less ▲]

Are Magnetic OB Stars More Prone to Mixing? Still an Unsettled Issue

in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series (2013, January 01)

We review our knowledge of the mixing properties of magnetic OB stars and discuss whether the observational data presently available support, as predicted by some theoretical models, the idea that ... [more ▼]

We review our knowledge of the mixing properties of magnetic OB stars and discuss whether the observational data presently available support, as predicted by some theoretical models, the idea that magnetic phenomena favour the transport of chemical elements. A (likely statistical) relationship between enhanced mixing and the existence of a field has been emerging over the last few years. As discussed in this contribution, however, a clear answer to this question is presently hampered by the lack of large and well-defined samples of magnetic and non-magnetic stars. [less ▲]

The EBLM Project I-Physical and orbital parameters, including spin-orbit angles, of two low-mass eclipsing binaries on opposite sides of the Brown Dwarf limit

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2013), 549

This paper introduces a series of papers aiming to study the dozens of low mass eclipsing binaries (EBLM), with F, G, K primaries, that have been discovered in the course of the WASP survey. Our objects ... [more ▼]

This paper introduces a series of papers aiming to study the dozens of low mass eclipsing binaries (EBLM), with F, G, K primaries, that have been discovered in the course of the WASP survey. Our objects are mostly single-line binaries whose eclipses have been detected by WASP and were initially followed up as potential planetary transit candidates. These have bright primaries, which facilitates spectroscopic observations during transit and allows the study of the spin-orbit distribution of F, G, K+M eclipsing binaries through the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. Here we report on the spin-orbit angle of WASP-30b, a transiting brown dwarf, and improve its orbital parameters. We also present the mass, radius, spin-orbit angle and orbital parameters of a new eclipsing binary, J1219-39b (1SWAPJ121921.03-395125.6, TYC 7760-484-1), which, with a mass of 95 +/- 2 Mjup, is close to the limit between brown dwarfs and stars. We find that both objects orbit in planes that appear aligned with their primaries' equatorial planes. Neither primaries are synchronous. J1219-39b has a modestly eccentric orbit and is in agreement with the theoretical mass--radius relationship, whereas WASP-30b lies above it. [less ▲]

WASP-77 Ab: A Transiting Hot Jupiter Planet in a Wide Binary System<xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn1">1</xref>

in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (2013), 125

We report the discovery of a transiting planet with an orbital period of 1.36 days orbiting the brighter component of the visual binary star BD 07 436. The host star, WASP-77 A, is a moderately bright G8 ... [more ▼]

We report the discovery of a transiting planet with an orbital period of 1.36 days orbiting the brighter component of the visual binary star BD 07 436. The host star, WASP-77 A, is a moderately bright G8 V star (V=10.3) with a metallicity close to solar ([Fe/H] = 0.0 ± 0.1). The companion star, WASP-77 B, is a K-dwarf approximately 2 mag fainter at a separation of approximately 3″. The spectrum of WASP-77 A shows emission in the cores of the Caii H and K lines, indicative of moderate chromospheric activity. The Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) light curves show photometric variability with a period of 15.3 days and an amplitude of about 0.3% that is probably due to the magnetic activity of the host star. We use an analysis of the combined photometric and spectroscopic data to derive the mass and radius of the planet (1.76 ± 0.06 M[SUB]Jup[/SUB], 1.21 ± 0.02 R[SUB]Jup[/SUB]). The age of WASP-77 A estimated from its rotation rate (˜1 Gyr) agrees with the age estimated in a similar way for WASP-77 B (˜0.6 Gyr) but is in poor agreement with the age inferred by comparing its effective temperature and density to stellar models (˜8 Gyr). Follow-up observations of WASP-77 Ab will make a useful contribution to our understanding of the influence of binarity and host star activity on the properties of hot Jupiters. [less ▲]

GAUFRE: a tool for an automated determination of atmospheric parameters from spectroscopy

in 40th Liege International Astrophysical Colloquium 'Ageing low-mass stars: from red giants to white dwarfs' (2013, January 01)

We present an automated tool for measuring atmospheric parameters (T_eff, log(g), [Fe/H]) for F-G-K dwarf and giant stars. The tool, called GAUFRE, is written in C++ and composed of several routines ... [more ▼]

We present an automated tool for measuring atmospheric parameters (T_eff, log(g), [Fe/H]) for F-G-K dwarf and giant stars. The tool, called GAUFRE, is written in C++ and composed of several routines: GAUFRE-RV measures radial velocity from spectra via cross-correlation against a synthetic template, GAUFRE-EW measures atmospheric parameters through the classic line-by-line technique and GAUFRE-CHI2 performs a chi^2 fitting to a library of synthetic spectra. A set of F-G-K stars extensively studied in the literature were used as a benchmark for the program: their high signal-to-noise and high resolution spectra were analysed by using GAUFRE and results were compared with those present in literature. The tool is also implemented in order to perform the spectral analysis after fixing the surface gravity (log(g)) to the accurate value provided by asteroseismology. A set of CoRoT stars, belonging to LRc01 and LRa01 fields was used for first testing the performances and the behaviour of the program when using the seismic log(g). [less ▲]