457 research outputs found
A multi-wavelength study of star formation activity in the S235 complex
We have carried out an extensive multi-wavelength study to investigate the
star formation process in the S235 complex. The S235 complex has a sphere-like
shell appearance at wavelengths longer than 2 m and harbors an O9.5V type
star approximately at its center. Near-infrared extinction map traces eight
subregions (having A 8 mag), and five of them appear to be
distributed in an almost regularly spaced manner along the sphere-like shell
surrounding the ionized emission. This picture is also supported by the
integrated CO and CO intensity maps and by Bolocam 1.1 mm
continuum emission. The position-velocity analysis of CO reveals an almost
semi-ring like structure, suggesting an expanding H\,{\sc ii} region. We find
that the Bolocam clump masses increase as we move away from the location of the
ionizing star. This correlation is seen only for those clumps which are
distributed near the edges of the shell. Photometric analysis reveals 435 young
stellar objects (YSOs), 59\% of which are found in clusters. Six subregions
(including five located near the edges of the shell) are very well correlated
with the dust clumps, CO gas, and YSOs. The average values of Mach numbers
derived using NH data for three (East~1, East~2, and Central~E) out of
these six subregions are 2.9, 2.3, and 2.9, indicating these subregions are
supersonic. The molecular outflows are detected in these three subregions,
further confirming the on-going star formation activity. Together, all these
results are interpreted as observational evidence of positive feedback of a
massive star.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) friend or foe - Clinical application of IGRA in a tuberculosis endemic country
TIRSPEC : TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager
We describe the TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager (TIRSPEC) designed
and built in collaboration with M/s. Mauna Kea Infrared LLC, Hawaii, USA, now
in operation on the side port of the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT),
Hanle (Ladakh), India at an altitude of 4500 meters above mean sea level. The
TIRSPEC provides for various modes of operation which include photometry with
broad and narrow band filters, spectrometry in single order mode with long
slits of 300" length and different widths, with order sorter filters in the Y,
J, H and K bands and a grism as the dispersing element as well as a cross
dispersed mode to give a coverage of 1.0 to 2.5 microns at a resolving power R
of ~1200. The TIRSPEC uses a Teledyne 1024 x 1024 pixel Hawaii-1 PACE array
detector with a cutoff wavelength of 2.5 microns and on HCT, provides a field
of view of 307" x 307" with a plate scale of 0.3"/pixel. The TIRSPEC was
successfully commissioned in June 2013 and the subsequent characterization and
astronomical observations are presented here. The TIRSPEC has been made
available to the worldwide astronomical community for science observations from
May 2014.Comment: 20 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Journal
of Astronomical Instrumentatio
Reappearance of McNeil's Nebula (V1647 Orionis) and its outburst environment
We present a detailed study of McNeil's nebula (V1647 Ori) in its ongoing outburst phase starting from 2008 September to 2013 March. Our 124 nights of photometric observations were carried out in optical V, R, I, and near-infrared J, H, K bands, and 59 nights of medium-resolution spectroscopic observations were done in the 5200-9000 Å wavelength range. All observations were carried out with the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope and 2 m IUCAA Girawali Telescope. Our observations show that over the past four and a half years, V1647 Ori and region C near the Herbig-Haro object HH 22A have been undergoing a slow dimming at a rate of ~0.04 mag yr–1 and ~0.05 mag yr–1, respectively, in R band, which is six times slower than the rate during a similar stage of V1647 Ori in the 2003 outburst. We detected change in flux distribution over the reflection nebula, implying changes in circumstellar matter distribution between the 2003 and 2008 outbursts. Apart from steady wind of velocity ~350 km s–1, we detected two episodic magnetic reconnection driven winds. Forbidden [O I] λ6300 and [Fe II] λ7155 lines were also detected, implying shock regions probably from jets. We tried to explain the outburst timescales of V1647 Ori using the standard models of the FUors kind of outburst and found that pure thermal instability models like Bell and Lin cannot explain the variations in timescales. In the framework of various instability models we conclude that one possible reason for the sudden ending of the 2003 outburst in 2005 November was a low-density region or gap in the inner region (~1 AU) of the disk
Evidence for He I 10830 \AA~ absorption during the transit of a warm Neptune around the M-dwarf GJ 3470 with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder
Understanding the dynamics and kinematics of out-flowing atmospheres of hot
and warm exoplanets is crucial to understanding the origins and evolutionary
history of the exoplanets near the evaporation desert. Recently, ground based
measurements of the meta-stable Helium atom's resonant absorption at 10830
\AA~has become a powerful probe of the base environment which is driving the
outflow of exoplanet atmospheres. We report evidence for the He I 10830 \AA~in
absorption (equivalent width \AA) in the exosphere of
a warm Neptune orbiting the M-dwarf GJ 3470, during three transits using the
Habitable Zone Planet Finder (HPF) near infrared spectrograph. This marks the
first reported evidence for He I 10830 \AA\, atmospheric absorption for a
planet orbiting an M-dwarf. Our detected absorption is broad and its
blueshifted wing extends to -36 km/sec, the largest reported in the literature
to date. We modelled the state of Helium atoms in the exosphere of GJ3470b
based on assumptions on the UV and X-ray flux of GJ 3470, and found our
measurement of flux-weighted column density of meta-stable state Helium
, derived from our transit
observations, to be consistent with model, within its uncertainties. The
methodology developed here will be useful to study and constrain the
atmospheric outflow models of other exoplanets like GJ 3470b which are near the
edge of the evaporation desert.Comment: Accepted in Ap
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