1,573 research outputs found
Soot oxidation rates in gas turbine engines
A basis is proposed for extrapolating soot oxidation rate measurements obtained in laboratory flames to the more extreme operating conditions of gas turbine combustion chambers. The proposal is based on the observation that, within probable experimental uncertainty, the limited soot oxidation measurements correlate with the more extensive measurements of the surface oxidation rates of macroscopic samples of pyrographite. The soot oxidation rates thus determined for the conditions of a typical gas turbine combustion chamber are considerably lower than estimates which were based on simple extrapolations of the flame data
Shock-tube measurements of carbon to oxygen atom ratios for incipient soot formation with C2H2, C2H4 and C2H6 fuels
The critical atomic carbon to oxygen ratios, Phi sub C, for incipient soot formation in shock heated acetylene, ethylene, ethane/oxygen/ argon mixtures was measured over the temperature range 2000 K to 2500 K for reactant partial pressures between 0.1 and 0.4 atoms. Absorption of light from a He-Ne laser at 6328A was was used to detect soot. It was observed that the values of Phi sub C for all three fuels increased uniformly with temperature such that at the highest temperatures Phi sub C was considerably greater than unity, i.e. greater than the value of about unity at which solid carbon should have been precipitated on a thermochemical equilibrium basis. Observations were made over periods extending up to about one millisecond, which was well in excess of the time required for the major heat release of the combustion reactions. The relevance of these experimental findings to the problem of soot formation in gas turbine combustion chambers is discussed
IRAC Observations of M81
IRAC images of M81 show three distinct morphological constituents: a smooth
distribution of evolved stars with bulge, disk, and spiral arm components; a
clumpy distribution of dust emission tracing the spiral arms; and a pointlike
nuclear source. The bulge stellar colors are consistent with M-type giants, and
the disk colors are consistent with a slightly younger population. The dust
emission generally follows the blue and ultraviolet emission, but there are
large areas that have dust emission without ultraviolet and smaller areas with
ultraviolet but little dust emission. The former are presumably caused by
extinction, and the latter may be due to cavities in the gas and dust created
by supernova explosions. The nucleus appears fainter at 8 um than expected from
ground-based 10 um observations made four years ago.Comment: ApJS in press (Spitzer special issue); 15 pages, 3 figures. Changes:
unused references removed, numbers and labels in Table 1 change
Powerful High Velocity-Dispersion Molecular Hydrogen Associated with an Intergalactic Shock Wave in Stephan's Quintet
We present the discovery of strong mid-infrared emission lines of molecular
hydrogen of apparently high velocity dispersion (~870 km/s) originating from a
group-wide shock wave in Stephan's Quintet. These Spitzer Space Telescope
observations reveal emission lines of molecular hydrogen and little else. this
is the first time an almost pure H_2 line spectrum has been seen in an
extragalactic object. Along with the absence of PAH features and very low
excitation ionized gas tracers, the spectra resemble shocked gas seen in
Galactic supernova remnants, but on a vast scale. The molecular emission
extends over 24 kpc along the X-ray emitting shock-front, but has ten times the
surface luminosity as the soft X-rays, and about one-third the surface
luminosity of the IR continuum. We suggest that the powerful H_2 emission is
generated by the shock wave caused when a high-velocity intruder galaxy
collides with filaments of gas in the galaxy group. Our observations suggest a
close connection between galaxy-scale shock-waves and strong broad H_2 emission
lines, like those seen in the spectra of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies where
high-speed collisions between galaxy disks are common.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and 1 tabl
High-Resolution Measurements of the Dark Matter Halo of NGC 2976: Evidence for a Shallow Density Profile
We have obtained two-dimensional velocity fields of the dwarf spiral galaxy
NGC 2976 in Halpha and CO. The high spatial (~75 pc) and spectral (13 km/s and
2 km/s, respectively) resolution of these observations, along with our
multicolor optical and near-infrared imaging, allow us to measure the shape of
the density profile of the dark matter halo with good precision. We find that
the total (baryonic plus dark matter) mass distribution of NGC 2976 follows a
rho_tot ~ r^(-0.27 +/- 0.09) power law out to a radius of 1.8 kpc, assuming
that the observed radial motions provide no support. The density profile
attributed to the dark halo is even shallower, consistent with a nearly
constant density of dark matter over the entire observed region. A maximal disk
fit yields an upper limit to the K-band stellar mass-to-light ratio (M*/L_K) of
0.09^{+0.15}_{-0.08} M_sun/L_sun,K (including systematic uncertainties), with
the caveat that for M*/L_K > 0.19 M_sun/L_sun,K the dark matter density
increases with radius, which is unphysical. Assuming 0.10 M_sun/L_sun,K <
M*/L_K < 0.19 M_sun/L_sun,K, the dark matter density profile lies between
rho_dm ~ r^-0.17 and rho_dm ~ r^-0.01. Therefore, independent of any
assumptions about the stellar disk or the functional form of the density
profile, NGC 2976 does not contain a cuspy dark matter halo. We also
investigate some of the systematic effects that can hamper rotation curve
studies, and show that 1) longslit rotation curves are far more vulnerable to
systematic errors than two-dimensional velocity fields, 2) NGC 2976 contains
large radial motions at small radii, and 3) the Halpha and CO velocity fields
of NGC 2976 agree within their uncertainties. [slightly abridged]Comment: 30 pages, 4 tables, 13 figures (7 in color; Figures 1 and 3 are
low-resolution to save space). Accepted for publication in ApJ. Version with
full-resolution figures available at
http://astro.berkeley.edu/~bolatto/ngc2976rotation.ps (46 MB
Plasma and Warm Dust in the Collisional Ring Galaxy VIIZw466 from VLA and ISO Observations
We present the first mid-infrared (Mid-IR) (m) and radio
continuum (20,~6 and 3.6 cm) observations of the star-forming
collisional ring galaxy VII Zw 466 and its host group made with the Infrared
Space Observatory and the NRAO Very Large Array. A search was also made for CO
line emission in two of the galaxies with the Onsala 20m radio telescope and
upper limits were placed on the mass of molecular gas in those galaxies. The
ring galaxy is believed to owe its morphology to a slightly off-center
collision between an `intruder' galaxy and a disk. An off-center collision is
predicted to generate a radially expanding density wave in the disk which
should show large azimuthal variations in overdensity, and have observational
consequences. The radio continuum emission shows the largest asymmetry,
exhibiting a crescent-shaped distribution consistent with either the trapping
of cosmic-ray particles in the target disk, or an enhanced supernova rate in
the compressed region. On the other hand, the ISO observations (especially
those made at m) show a more scattered distribution, with
emission centers associated with powerful star formation sites distributed more
uniformly around the ring. Low-signal to noise observations at
m show possible emission inside the ring, with little emission
directly associated with the \ion{H}{2} regions. The observations emphasize the
complex relationship between the generation of radio emission and the
development of star formation even in relatively simple and well understood
collisional scenarios.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 23 pages + 6
PS figure
Powerful H Line-cooling in Stephan's Quintet : I - Mapping the Significant Cooling Pathways in Group-wide Shocks
We present results from the mid-infrared spectral mapping of Stephan's
Quintet using the Spitzer Space Telescope. A 1000 km/s collision has produced a
group-wide shock and for the first time the large-scale distribution of warm
molecular hydrogen emission is revealed, as well as its close association with
known shock structures. In the main shock region alone we find 5.0
M of warm H spread over 480 kpc and
additionally report the discovery of a second major shock-excited H
feature. This brings the total H line luminosity of the group in excess of
10 erg/s. In the main shock, the H line luminosity exceeds, by a
factor of three, the X-ray luminosity from the hot shocked gas, confirming that
the H-cooling pathway dominates over the X-ray. [Si II]34.82m
emission, detected at a luminosity of 1/10th of that of the H, appears to
trace the group-wide shock closely and in addition, we detect weak
[FeII]25.99m emission from the most X-ray luminous part of the shock.
Comparison with shock models reveals that this emission is consistent with
regions of fast shocks (100 < < 300 km/s) experiencing depletion of
iron and silicon onto dust grains. Star formation in the shock (as traced via
ionic lines, PAH and dust emission) appears in the intruder galaxy, but most
strikingly at either end of the radio shock. The shock ridge itself shows
little star formation, consistent with a model in which the tremendous H
power is driven by turbulent energy transfer from motions in a post-shocked
layer. The significance of the molecular hydrogen lines over other measured
sources of cooling in fast galaxy-scale shocks may have crucial implications
for the cooling of gas in the assembly of the first galaxies.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, Accepted to Ap
The Mid-IR Properties of Starburst Galaxies from Spitzer-IRS Spectroscopy
We present 5-38um mid-infrared spectra at a spectral resolution of R~65-130
of a large sample of 22 starburst nuclei taken with the Infrared Spectrograph
IRS on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectra show a vast range in
starburst SEDs. The silicate absorption ranges from essentially no absorption
to heavily obscured systems with an optical depth of tau(9.8um)~5. The spectral
slopes can be used to discriminate between starburst and AGN powered sources.
The monochromatic continuum fluxes at 15um and 30um enable a remarkably
accurate estimate of the total infrared luminosity of the starburst. We find
that the PAH equivalent width is independent of the total starburst luminosity
L_IR as both continuum and PAH feature scale proportionally. However, the
luminosity of the 6.2um feature scales with L_IR and can be used to approximate
the total infrared luminosity of the starburst. Although our starburst sample
covers about a factor of ten difference in the [NeIII]/[NeII] ratio, we found
no systematic correlation between the radiation field hardness and the PAH
equivalent width or the 7.7um/11.3um PAH ratio. These results are based on
spatially integrated diagnostics over an entire starburst region, and local
variations may be ``averaged out''. It is presumably due to this effect that
unresolved starburst nuclei with significantly different global properties
appear spectrally as rather similar members of one class of objects.Comment: 22 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ, a high-resolution version
is available from http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~brandl/IRS_starbursts.pd
Spitzer-IRS Spectroscopy of the Prototypical Starburst Galaxy NGC7714
We present observations of the starburst galaxy NGC 7714 with the Infrared
Spectrograph IRS on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectra yield a
wealth of ionic and molecular features that allow a detailed characterization
of its properties. NGC 7714 has an HII region-like spectrum with strong PAH
emission features. We find no evidence for an obscured active galactic nucleus,
and with [NeIII]/[NeII]~0.73, NGC7714 lies near the upper end of
normal-metallicity starburst galaxies. With very little slicate absorption and
a temperature of the hottest dust component of 340K, NGC 7714 is the perfect
template for a young, unobscured starburstComment: To appear in the special ApJSS issue on early results from Spitze
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