115 research outputs found
Maser Flare Simulations from Oblate and Prolate Clouds
We investigated, through numerical models, the flaring variability that may
arise from the rotation of maser clouds of approximately spheroidal geometry,
ranging from strongly oblate to strongly prolate examples. Inversion solutions
were obtained for each of these examples over a range of saturation levels from
unsaturated to highly saturated. Formal solutions were computed for rotating
clouds with many randomly chosen rotation axes, and corresponding averaged
maser light curves plotted with statistical information. The dependence of
results on the level of saturation and on the degree of deformation from the
spherical case were investigated in terms of a variability index and duty
cycle. It may be possible to distinguish observationally between flares from
oblate and prolate objects. Maser flares from rotation are limited to long
timescales (at least a few years) and modest values of the variability index
(), and can be aperiodic or quasi-periodic. Rotation is therefore
not a good model for HO variability on timescales of weeks to months, or of
truly periodic flares.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Insight into the OH polarimetric structure of OH 26.5+0.6
We present the first view of the magnetic field structure in the OH shell of
the extreme OH/IR star OH 26.5+0.6. MERLIN interferometric observations of this
object were obtained in December 1993 in full polarisation, at 1612, 1665 and
1667 MHz. The maser spots show a spheroidal distribution both at 1612 and 1667
MHz, while at 1665 MHz emission from the blue-shifted maser peak is
concentrated on the stellar position, and the red-shifted peak emission
exhibits a filamentary structure oriented on a SE-NW axis. The linear
polarisation in both main lines is rather faint, ranging from 9 to 20% at 1665
MHz and from 0 to 30% at 1667 MHz. At 1612 MHz most maser spots exhibit a
similar range of linear polarisation although those in the outermost parts of
the envelope reach values as high as 66%. This is particularly apparent in the
southern part of the shell. The detailed distribution of the polarisation
vectors could only be obtained at 1612 MHz. The polarisation vectors show a
highly structured distribution indicative of a poloidal magnetic field inclined
by 40-60 to the line of sight. The velocity distribution of the maser
spots with respect to the radial distance is well explained by an isotropic
outflow at constant velocity in the case of a prolate shaped spheroid envelope,
also tilted about 45-65 to the line of sight.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
A New 3D Maser Code Applied to Flaring Events
We set out the theory and discretization scheme for a new finite-element
computer code, written specifically for the simulation of maser sources. The
code was used to compute fractional inversions at each node of a 3-D domain for
a range of optical thicknesses. Saturation behaviour of the nodes with regard
to location and optical depth were broadly as expected. We have demonstrated
via formal solutions of the radiative transfer equation that the apparent size
of the model maser cloud decreases as expected with optical depth as viewed by
a distant observer. Simulations of rotation of the cloud allowed the
construction of light-curves for a number of observable quantities. Rotation of
the model cloud may be a reasonable model for quasi-periodic variability, but
cannot explain periodic flaring.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 2018 February 23, 12 pages, 6
figure
OH spectral evolution of oxygen-rich late-type stars
We investigated the main-line spectral evolution with shell thickness of
oxygen rich AGB stars. The study is based on a sample of 30 sources distributed
along the IRAS colour-colour diagram. The sources were chosen to trace the
Miras with thick shells and the whole range of OH/IR stars. The Miras exhibit a
1665 MHz emission strength comparable to that at 1667 MHz. Even though the
Miras of the study have quite thick shells, their spectral characteristics in
both main lines attest to a strong heterogeneity in their OH shell with, in
particular, the presence of significant turbulence and acceleration. The
expansion velocity has been found to be about the same at 1665 and 1667 MHz,
taking into account a possible velocity turbulence of 1-2km/s at the location
of the main-line maser emission. An increase in the intensity ratio 1667/1665
with shell thickness has been found. A plausible explanation for such a
phenomenon is that competitive gain in favour of the 1667 MHz line increases
when the shell is getting thicker. There is an evolution in the spectral
profile shape with the appearance of a substantial inter-peak signal when the
shell is getting thicker. Also, inter-peak components are found and can be as
strong as the external standard peaks when the shell is very thick. This trend
for an increase of the signal in between the two main peaks is thought to be
the result of an increase of the saturation with shell thickness. All sources
but two - a Mira and an OH/IR star from the lower part of the colour-colour
diagram - are weakly polarized. The strong polarization observed for those two
particular objects is thought to be the result of perturbations in their
shells.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Astrometry of OH/IR stars using 1612 MHz hydroxyl masers. I. Annual parallaxes of WX Psc and OH138.0+7.2
We report on the measurement of the trigonometric parallaxes of 1612 MHz
hydroxyl masers around two asymptotic giant branch stars, WX Psc and
OH138.0+7.2, using the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array with in-beam phase
referencing calibration. We obtained a 3-sigma upper limit of <=5.3 mas on the
parallax of WX Psc, corresponding to a lower limit distance estimate of >~190
pc. The obtained parallax of OH138.0+7.2 is 0.52+/-0.09 mas (+/-18%),
corresponding to a distance of 1.9(+0.4,-0.3) kpc, making this the first
hydroxyl maser parallax below one milliarcsecond. We also introduce a new
method of error analysis for detecting systematic errors in the astrometry.
Finally, we compare our trigonometric distances to published phase-lag
distances toward these stars and find a good agreement between the two methods.Comment: Preprint, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal
(January 17, 2017
Methanol and excited OH masers towards W51: I - Main and South
MERLIN phase-referenced polarimetric observations towards the W51 complex
were carried out in March 2006 in the Class II methanol maser transition at
6.668 GHz and three of the four excited OH maser hyperfine transitions at 6
GHz. Methanol maser emission is found towards both W51 Main and South. We did
not detect any emission in the excited OH maser lines at 6.030 and 6.049 GHz
down to a 3 sigma limit of ~20 mJy per beam. Excited OH maser emission at 6.035
GHz is only found towards W51 Main. This emission is highly circularly
polarised (typically 45% and up to 87%). Seven Zeeman pairs were identified in
this transition, one of which contains detectable linear polarisation. The
magnetic field strength derived from these Zeeman pairs ranges from +1.6 to
+6.8 mG, consistent with the previously published magnetic field strengths
inferred from the OH ground-state lines. The bulk of the methanol maser
emission is associated with W51 Main, sampling a total area of ~3"x2.2" (i.e.,
~16200x11900 AU), while only two maser components, separated by ~2.5", are
found in the W51 South region. The astrometric distributions of both 6.668-GHz
methanol and 6.035-GHz excited-OH maser emission in the W51 Main/South region
are presented here. The methanol masers in W51 Main show a clear coherent
velocity and spatial structure with the bulk of the maser components
distributed into 2 regions showing a similar conical opening angle with of a
central velocity of ~+55.5 km/s and an expansion velocity of =<5 km/s. The mass
contained in this structure is estimated to be at least 22 solar masses. The
location of maser emission in the two afore-mentioned lines is compared with
that of previously published OH ground-state emission. Association with the
UCHII regions in the W51 Main/South complex and relationship of the masers to
infall or outflow in the region are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures and 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
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