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result(s) for
"Stark, Christopher"
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السوق الدينية في الغرب
by
Sherkat, Darren E. 1965- مؤلف
,
Ellison, Christopher G. 1960- مؤلف
,
Stark, Rodney مؤلف
in
الشرق والغرب
,
الإسلام والغرب
,
الإسلام والحضارة الأوروبية
2012
يتوجه الكتاب إلى علم الاجتماع الديني المحكوم بالأطر النظرية الكلاسيكية، الذي طالما ساند أطروحات أفول المقدس واكتساح العلمنة وانحسار الدين، انتقادات جمة بشأن قصور أدواته عن الإحاطة بالواقع الديني الراهن ومن هذا الباب، تعالج الأبحاث الواردة في هذا الكتيب الموضوع بمناهج مستجدة وفي جانب من تلك الأبحاث تعالج سوق الدين في أمريكا، التي تتميز بحيويتها العالية وتحرر أنشطتها، جراء تطور مفهوم الدين المدني فضلا عما يتسرب إليه الدين نحو شتى أطراف النسيج الاجتماعي.
HPIC: The Habitable Worlds Observatory Preliminary Input Catalog
2024
The Habitable Worlds Observatory Preliminary Input Catalog (HPIC) is a list of ∼13,000 nearby bright stars that will be potential targets for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) in its search for Earth-sized planets around Sun-like stars. We construct this target list using the TESS and Gaia DR3 catalogs and develop an automated pipeline to compile stellar measurements and derived astrophysical properties for all stars. We benchmark the stellar properties in the HPIC relative to those of the manually curated ExEP HWO Precursor Science Stars list and find that, for the 164 best targets for exo-Earth direct imaging, our stellar properties are consistent. We demonstrate the utility of the HPIC by using it as an input for yield calculations to predict the science output of various mission designs, including those with larger telescope diameters and those focused on other planet types besides Earth analogs, such as Jupiter-mass planets. The breadth and completeness of the HPIC is essential for accurate HWO mission trade studies, and it will be useful for other exoplanet studies and general astrophysics studying the population of bright nearby stars.
Journal Article
A Refined Photometric Constraint for Exoplanet Direct Imaging Yield Estimation and Observation Scheduling
by
Spohn, Corey
,
Stark, Christopher C
,
Savransky, Dmitry
in
Brightness
,
Completeness
,
Constraints
2025
Science yield studies will drive the development of future direct imaging telescopes, such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory. These studies rely on a metric called completeness, which represents the fraction of planets from an assumed planet population that can be detected for a given observing scenario. Completeness is often calculated by comparing the brightness of planets in the population to the “photometric constraint,” or the dimmest planet detectable in a given observing scenario. The photometric constraint has also been used to calculate the probability of directly imaging a planet detected by the radial velocity method. This work shows how to numerically and analytically invert the analytic exposure time calculator used by the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s coronagraph instrument to calculate a precise photometric constraint that accounts for planet–star separation, integration time, zodiacal light brightness during observation, and assumed exozodiacal light. This refined photometric constraint is then used to calculate completeness and probability of detection in an efficient manner. Finally, we show that the probability of detection values calculated using the refined photometric constraint closely tracks the planet’s true detectability. We validate our approach by generating realistic planetary systems, simulating an extreme-precision radial velocity survey, performing orbit fits, and computing the probability of directly imaging the fitted planets with a telescope design similar to the future Habitable Worlds Observatory. Our validation tests show that the probability of detection values predicts the number of direct imaging detections to within 4% when scheduling observations at high probability of detection values.
Journal Article
Architecture Classification for Extrasolar Planetary Systems
by
Howe, Alex R
,
Stark, Christopher C
,
Adams, Fred C
in
Categories
,
Classification
,
Extrasolar planets
2025
This paper presents a classification framework for the architectures of planetary systems based on a complete survey of the confirmed exoplanet population. With nearly 6000 confirmed exoplanets discovered, including more than 300 multiplanet systems with N ≥ 3 planets, the current observational sample has reached a point where it is both feasible and useful to build a classification system that divides the observed population into meaningful categories. This framework provides a criterion for splitting planetary systems into inner and outer regimes, then further dividing inner systems into dynamical classes. The resulting categories include “peas-in-a-pod systems,” with uniformly small planets, and “warm-Jupiter systems,” with a mix of large and small planets, as well as “closely spaced systems” and “gapped systems,” with further subdivisions based on the locations of gaps and other features. These categories can classify nearly all of the confirmed N ≥ 3 systems with minimal ambiguity. We qualitatively examine the relative prevalence of each type of system, subject to observational selection effects, as well as other notable features, such as the presence of hot Jupiters. A small number of outlier systems are also discussed. Potential additional classes of systems yet to be discovered are proposed.
Journal Article
Mitigating Worst-case Exozodiacal Dust Structure in High-contrast Images of Earth-like Exoplanets
by
Currie, Miles H
,
Kammerer, Jens
,
Stark, Christopher C
in
Circumstellar habitable zone
,
Dust
,
Earth
2023
Detecting Earth-like exoplanets in direct images of nearby Sun-like systems brings a unique set of challenges that must be addressed in the early phases of designing a space-based direct imaging mission. In particular, these systems may contain exozodiacal dust, which is expected to be the dominant source of astrophysical noise. Previous work has shown that it may be feasible to subtract smooth, symmetric dust from observations; however, we do not expect exozodiacal dust to be perfectly smooth. Exozodiacal dust can be trapped into mean-motion resonances with planetary bodies, producing large-scale structures that orbit in lock with the planet. This dust can obscure the planet, complicate noise estimation, or be mistaken for a planetary body. Our ability to subtract these structures from high-contrast images of Earth-like exoplanets is not well understood. In this work, we investigate exozodi mitigation for Earth–Sun-like systems with significant mean-motion resonant disk structures. We find that applying a simple high-pass filter allows us to remove structured exozodi to the Poisson noise limit for systems with inclinations <60° and up to 100 zodis. However, subtracting exozodiacal disk structures from edge-on systems may be challenging, except for cases with densities <5 zodis. For systems with three times the dust of the solar system, which is the median of the best fit to survey data in the habitable zones of nearby Sun-like stars, this method shows promising results for mitigating exozodiacal dust in future Habitable Worlds Observatory observations, even if the dust exhibits significant mean-motion resonance structure.
Journal Article
Bioverse: Assessing the Ability of Direct Imaging Surveys to Empirically Constrain the Habitable Zone via Trends in Albedo
by
Stark, Christopher C
,
Apai, Dániel
,
Tuchow, Noah W
in
Albedo
,
Circumstellar habitable zone
,
Extrasolar planets
2025
Will future direct imaging missions such as NASA’s upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) be able to understand Earth-sized planets as a population? In this study, we simulate the ability of space-based coronagraphy missions to uncover trends in planetary albedo as a function of instellation, and potentially constrain the boundaries of the habitable zone (HZ). We adapt the Bioverse statistical comparative planetology framework to simulate the scientific output of possible designs for HWO. With this tool, we generate a synthetic planetary population with injected population-level trends in albedo and simulate the observability of planets. We then determine the statistical power to which these trends can be recovered as a function of the strength of the injected trend and the sample size of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone (exoEarths). The strongest trends in albedo require a sample size of roughly 25–30 exoEarths to recover with high confidence. However, for weaker albedo trends, the required number of planets increases rapidly. If a mission is designed to meet the Decadal Survey’s requirement of 25 exoEarths, it would be able to recover very strong trends in albedo associated with the HZ, but would struggle to confidently detect weaker trends. We explore multiple strategies to increase one’s ability to recover weak trends, such as reducing the uncertainties in observables, incorporating additional observables such as planet colors, and obtaining direct constraints on planetary albedo from full spectral retrievals.
Journal Article
A Search for Collisions and Planet–Disk Interactions in the Beta Pictoris Disk with 26 Years of High-precision HST/STIS Imaging
2024
β Pictoris's well-studied debris disk and two known giant planets, in combination with the stability of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) (and now also JWST), offers a unique opportunity to test planet–disk interaction models and to observe recent planetesimal collisions. We present HST/STIS coronagraphic imaging from two new epochs of data taken between 2021 and 2023, complementing earlier data taken in 1997 and 2012. This data set enables a temporal comparison with the longest baseline and highest precision of any debris disk to date, with sensitivity to variations in temporal surface brightness of sub-percent levels in the midplane of the disk. While no localized changes in surface brightness are detected, which would be indicative of a recent planetesimal collision, there is a tentative brightening of the southeast side of the disk over the past decade. We link the constraints on surface brightness variations to dynamical models of the planetary system’s evolution and to the collisional history of planetesimals. Using a coupled collisional model and injection/recovery framework, we estimate sensitivity to expanding collisional debris down to a Ceres mass per progenitor in the most sensitive regions of the disk midplane. These results demonstrate the capabilities of long-baseline, temporal studies with HST (and also soon with JWST) for constraining the physical processes occurring within debris disks.
Journal Article
MIRI MRS Observations of β Pictoris. I. The Inner Dust, the Planet, and the Gas
by
Perrin, Marshall D
,
Stark, Christopher C
,
Lisse, Carey M
in
Astronomy
,
Atmosphere
,
Atmospheric models
2024
We present JWST MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) observations of the β Pictoris system. We detect an infrared excess from the central unresolved point source from 5 to 7.5 μm which is indicative of dust within the inner ∼7 au of the system. We perform point-spread function (PSF) subtraction on the MRS data cubes and detect a spatially resolved dust population emitting at 5 μm. This spatially resolved hot dust population is best explained if the dust grains are in the small grain limit (2πa ≪ λ). The combination of unresolved and resolved dust at 5 μm could suggest that dust grains are being produced in the inner few astronomical units of the system and are then radiatively driven outwards, where the particles could accrete onto the known planets in the system, β Pictoris b and c. We also report the detection of an emission line at 6.986 μm that we attribute to [Ar ii]. We find that the [Ar ii] emission is spatially resolved with JWST and appears to be aligned with the dust disk. Through PSF-subtraction techniques, we detect β Pictoris b at the 5σ level in our MRS data cubes and present the first mid-infrared spectrum of the planet from 5 to 7 μm. The planet’s spectrum is consistent with having absorption from water vapor between 5 and 6.5 μm. We perform atmosphere model grid fitting of the spectra and photometry of β Pictoris b and find that the planet’s atmosphere likely has a substellar C/O ratio.
Journal Article
Forecasting Catastrophe: Constraints on the Fomalhaut Main-belt Planetesimal Population from Observed Collisional Remnants
by
Avsar, Arin M
,
Wagner, Kevin
,
Apai, Dániel
in
Catastrophic events
,
Collision rates
,
Collisions
2026
Catastrophic planetesimal disruptions offer a unique opportunity to study and characterize large planetesimal populations in exoplanetary systems that are not currently detectable by modern observatories. The unexpected discovery of a second collision event in the Fomalhaut system raises important questions about the planetesimal population and dynamical state inside the Fomalhaut main belt that led to two collisions in 20 yr. We present a statistical model developed and applied to the archetypal Fomalhaut system to provide new constraints on the bulk properties of the planetesimals in Fomalhaut’s main belt. Utilizing the constraints provided by the spatially resolved Fomalhaut cs1 and cs2 collision events, we retrieve the belt parameters that best reproduce the observed collision rate while remaining consistent with the system’s age and dust mass. Our best-fit model suggests a total main-belt mass of 200–360 M⊕, with the transition from a collisionally evolved to a primordial planetesimal population occurring at a radius of 115−10+30 km and a maximum planetesimal radius of 380−202+643 km. We estimate a catastrophic collision rate of 0.086−0.048+0.067 collision events per year for planetesimals with radii ≥100 km in the region interior to the main belt. Our findings show that further observable collisions are likely, motivating continued monitoring of Fomalhaut and other nearby debris disks.
Journal Article
JWST-TST High Contrast: Asymmetries, Dust Populations, and Hints of a Collision in the β Pictoris Disk with NIRCam and MIRI
2024
We present the first JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) observations of the prominent debris disk around β Pictoris. Coronagraphic observations in eight filters spanning from 1.8 to 23 μm provide an unprecedentedly clear view of the disk at these wavelengths. The objectives of the observing program were to investigate the dust composition and distribution and to investigate the presence of planets in the system. In this paper, we focus on the disk components, providing surface brightness measurements for all images and a detailed investigation of the asymmetries observed. A companion paper by Kammerer et al. will focus on the planets in this system using the same data. We report for the first time the presence of an extended secondary disk in thermal emission, with a curved extension bent away from the plane of the disk. This feature, which we refer to as the “cat’s tail,” seems to be connected with the previously reported CO clump, mid-infrared asymmetry detected on the southwest side of the disk, and the warp observed in scattered light. We present a model of this secondary disk sporadically producing dust that broadly reproduces the morphology, flux, and color of the cat’s tail, as well as other features observed in the disk, and which suggests the secondary disk is composed largely of porous, organic refractory dust grains.
Journal Article