4,185 research outputs found
The relation between column densities of interstellar OH and CH molecules
We present a new, close relation between column densities of OH and CH
molecules based on 16 translucent sightlines (six of them new) and confirm the
theoretical oscillator strengths of the OH A--X transitions at 3078 and 3082
\AA (0.00105, 0.000648) and CH B--X transitions at 3886 and 3890 \AA, (0.00320,
0.00210), respectively. We also report no difference between observed and
previously modelled abundances of the OH molecule.Comment: 4 pages, 0 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Information Of The Milky Way From 2MASS Whole Sky Star Count: The Bimodal Color Distributions
The J-Ks color distribution (CD) with a bin size of 0.05 magnitude for the
entire Milky Way has been carried out by using the Two Micron All Sky Survey
Point Source Catalog (2MASS PSC). The CDs are bimodal, which has a red peak at
0.8 < J-Ks < 0.85 and a blue peak at 0.3 < J-Ks < 0.4. The colors of the red
peak are more or less the same for the whole sky, but that of the blue peak
depend on Galactic latitude, (J-Ks ~ 0.35 at low Galactic latitudes and 0.35 <
J-Ks < 0.4 for other sky areas). The blue peak dominates the bimodal CDs at low
Galactic latitudes and becomes comparable with the red peak in other sky
regions. In order to explain the bimodal distribution and the global trend
shown by the all sky 2MASS CDs, we assemble an empirical HR diagram, which is
composed by observational-based near infrared HR diagrams and color magnitude
diagrams, and incorporate a Milky Way model. In the empirical HR diagram, the
main sequence stars turnoff the thin disk is relatively bluer, (J-Ks)0 = 0.31,
when we compare with the thick disk which is (J-Ks)0 = 0.39. The age of the
thin/thick disk is roughly estimated to be around 4-5/8-9 Gyr according to the
color-age relation of the main sequence turnoff. In general, the 2MASS CDs can
be treated as a tool to census the age of stellar population of the Milky Way
in a statistical manner and to our knowledge this is a first attempt to measure
the age.Comment: Accepted by ApJ on Sept. 11 201
Uncovering the kiloparsec-scale stellar ring of NGC5128
We reveal the stellar light emerging from the kiloparsec-scale, ring-like
structure of the NGC5128 (Centaurus A) galaxy in unprecedented detail. We use
arcsecond-scale resolution near infrared images to create a "dust-free" view of
the central region of the galaxy, which we then use to quantify the shape of
the revealed structure. At the resolution of the data, the structure contains
several hundreds of discreet, point-like or slightly elongated sources. Typical
extinction corrected surface brightness of the structure is K_S = 16.5
mag/arcsec^2, and we estimate the total near infrared luminosity of the
structure to be M = -21 mag. We use diffraction limited (FWHM resolution of ~
0.1", or 1.6 pc) near infrared data taken with the NACO instrument on VLT to
show that the structure decomposes into thousands of separate, mostly
point-like sources. According to the tentative photometry, the most luminous
sources have M_K = -12 mag, naming them red supergiants or relatively low-mass
star clusters. We also discuss the large-scale geometry implied by the
reddening signatures of dust in our near infrared images.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters. A
version with high resolution images can be downloaded from
http://www.helsinki.fi/~jtkainul/CenALette
OH+ in Diffuse Molecular Clouds
Near ultraviolet observations of OH+ and OH in diffuse molecular clouds
reveal a preference for different environments. The dominant absorption feature
in OH+ arises from a main component seen in CH+ (that with the highest CH+/CH
column density ratio), while OH follows CN absorption. This distinction
provides new constraints on OH chemistry in these clouds. Since CH+ detections
favor low-density gas with small fractions of molecular hydrogen, this must be
true for OH+ as well, confirming OH+ and H2O+ observations with the Herschel
Space Telescope. Our observed correspondence indicates that the cosmic ray
ionization rate derived from these measurements pertains to mainly atomic gas.
The association of OH absorption with gas rich in CN is attributed to the need
for high enough density and molecular fraction before detectable amounts are
seen. Thus, while OH+ leads to OH production, chemical arguments suggest that
their abundances are controlled by different sets of conditions and that they
coexist with different sets of observed species. Of particular note is that
non-thermal chemistry appears to play a limited role in the synthesis of OH in
diffuse molecular clouds.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, to appear in ApJ Letter
Model-Independent Diagnostics of Highly Reddened Milky Way Star Clusters: Age Calibration
The next generation near- and mid-infrared Galactic surveys will yield a
large number of new highly obscured star clusters. Detailed characterization of
these new objects with spectroscopy is time-consuming. Diagnostic tools that
will be able to characterize clusters based only on the available photometry
will be needed to study large samples of the newly found objects. The
brightness difference between the red clump and the main-sequence turn-off
point have been used as a model-independent age calibrator for clusters with
ages from a few 10 to 10 yr in the optical. Here we apply for the
first time the method in the near-infrared. We calibrated this difference in
-band, which is likely to be available for obscured clusters, and we apply
it to a number of test clusters with photometry comparable to the one that will
be yielded by the current or near-future surveys. The new calibration yields
reliable ages over the range of ages for which the red clump is present in
clusters. The slope of the relation is smoother than that of the corresponding
-band relation, reducing the uncertainty in the age determinations with
respect to the optical ones.Comment: 5 pages, 5 eps figure, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
How to be a great dad: Parental care in a flock of greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
In the last years, studies on captive greater flamingos have increased. Research on zoo animals is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the parental behaviour of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, to improve the knowledge on this species in zoos. In particular, the present study investigated and compared the parental care of females and males in 35 breeding pairs of greater flamingos. For each pair, we collected durations of parental care behaviour of both females and males, recording their position in relation to the nest (near the nest, on the nest, away from the nest) and individual and social behaviours performed. First, both partners were involved in parental care and displayed species-specific behaviours reported in the wild. The main results were that males spent more time than females on the nest (P = 0.010) and near it (P = 0.0001) and were more aggressive toward other flamingos than females, both when sitting on the nest (P = 0.003) and when near the nest (P = 0.0003). Therefore, male flamingos seem to be more involved in incubation duties and nest protection than females. This kind of research is important not only to expand the knowledge on bird species such as flamingos, but also to improve their husbandry and breeding in controlled environment. Indeed, understanding animal behaviour allows us to gain insights into their individual and social needs, addressing potential animal welfare issues
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