293 research outputs found
A close view on the protoplanetary disk in the Bok globule CB26
We present new sub-arcsecond-resolution near-infrared polarimetric imaging
and millimetre interferometry data on the circumstellar disk system in the Bok
globule CB26. The data imply the presence of a M > 0.01 M_sun edge-on disk of
>400 AU in diameter, being in Keplerian rotation around a young ~0.35 M_sun
star. The mm dust emission from the inner 200 AU is highly optically thick, but
the outer parts are optically thin and made of small dust grains. Planetesimal
growth in the inner disk could neither be comfirmed nor excluded. The outer
optically thin part of the disk is strongly warped. We argue that the CB 26
disk is a very young protoplanetary disk and show that it is comparable to the
early solar system.Comment: Conference proceeding "Origins of stars and planets: The VLT view",
ESO, Garching, April 24-27 200
Near-infrared polarimetric observations of the afterglow of GRB 000301C
Based on near-infrared polarimetric observations we constrain the degree of
linear polarization of the afterglow light of GRB 000301C to less than 30% 1.8
days after the burst.Comment: To appear in: Proc. 20th Texas Symposium on Relativistic
Astrophysics, eds. J. C. Wheeler and H. Marte
The power of low-resolution spectroscopy: On the spectral classification of planet candidates in the ground-based CoRoT follow-up
Planetary transits detected by the CoRoT mission can be mimicked by a
low-mass star in orbit around a giant star. Spectral classification helps to
identify the giant stars and also early-type stars which are often excluded
from further follow-up.
We study the potential and the limitations of low-resolution spectroscopy to
improve the photometric spectral types of CoRoT candidates. In particular, we
want to study the influence of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the target
spectrum in a quantitative way. We built an own template library and
investigate whether a template library from the literature is able to reproduce
the classifications. Including previous photometric estimates, we show how the
additional spectroscopic information improves the constraints on spectral type.
Low-resolution spectroscopy (1000) of 42 CoRoT targets covering a
wide range in SNR (1-437) and of 149 templates was obtained in 2012-2013 with
the Nasmyth spectrograph at the Tautenburg 2m telescope. Spectral types have
been derived automatically by comparing with the observed template spectra. The
classification has been repeated with the external CFLIB library.
The spectral class obtained with the external library agrees within a few
sub-classes when the target spectrum has a SNR of about 100 at least. While the
photometric spectral type can deviate by an entire spectral class, the
photometric luminosity classification is as close as a spectroscopic
classification with the external library. A low SNR of the target spectrum
limits the attainable accuracy of classification more strongly than the use of
external templates or photometry. Furthermore we found that low-resolution
reconnaissance spectroscopy ensures that good planet candidates are kept that
would otherwise be discarded based on photometric spectral type alone.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten; 12 pages, 4
figures, 7 table
High-Resolution NIR Observations of the Circumstellar Disk System in the Bok Globule CB 26
We report on results of near-infrared and optical observations of the mm disk
embedded in the Bok globule CB 26 (Launhardt & Sargent 2001). The near-infrared
images show a bipolar reflection nebula with a central extinction lane which
coincides with the mm disk. Imaging polarimetry of this object yielded a
polarization pattern which is typical for a young stellar object surrounded by
a large circumstellar disk and an envelope, seen almost edge-on. The strong
linear polarization in the bipolar lobes is caused by single scattering at dust
grains and allowed to locate the illuminating source which coincides with the
center of the mm disk. The spectral energy distribution of the YSO embedded in
CB 26 resembles that of a ClassI source with a luminosity of 0.5 L_sun.Using
the pre-main-sequence evolutionary tracks and the stellar mass inferred from
the rotation curve of the disk, we derive an age of the system of <10^6 yr.
H_alpha and [SII] narrow-band imaging as well as optical spectroscopy revealed
an Herbig-Haro object 6.15 arcmin northwest of CB 26 YSO 1, perfectly aligned
with the symmetry axis of the bipolar nebula. This Herbig-Haro object (HH 494)
indicates ongoing accretion and outflow activity in CB 26 YSO 1. Its excitation
characteristics indicate that the Herbig-Haro flow is propagating into a
low-density environment. We suggest that CB 26 YSO 1 represents the transition
stage between embedded protostellar accretion disks and more evolved
protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars in an undisturbed environment.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures (reduced resolution), ApJ accepte
Detection of an optical filament in the Monogem Ring
The Monogem Ring is a huge bright soft X-ray enhancement with a diameter of ~
25\degr. This 0.3 kpc distant structure is a peculiar Galactic supernova
remnant in that it is obviously visible only in X-rays, due to its expansion
into a region of extremely low ambient density: hence, practically no optical
emission or a neutral HI shell was expected to be detectable. - Here we report
on the discovery of a very faint arc-like nebula on a POSS II R film copy, at
the south-eastern borders of the MR. Spectroscopy revealed this filament to
have a very large [SII] 6716+6731/Halpha ratio of up to ~ 1.8,
indicating shock excitation, and a low density of N_e <100 cm^{-3}. There is no
hint of [OIII] emission in the spectra. On deep wide-field direct images in
Halpha and in [SII] the nebula appears as a ~ 20 arcmin long, thin (~ 1
arcmin), structured filament, stretching N-S. We believe that this filament
belongs to the MR and became visible due to the interaction of the expanding
remnant with a mild density increase in the interstellar medium. Only one other
possible optical filament of the MR has been reported in the literature, but no
spectrum was provided.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, of which 2 in jpeg format and degraded because of
size constraints. Accepted for publication in A&
Infrared variability, maser activity, and accretion of massive young stellar objects
Methanol and water masers indicate young stellar objects. They often exhibit
flares, and a fraction shows periodic activity. Several mechanisms might
explain this behavior but the lack of concurrent infrared (IR) data complicates
to identify the cause. Recently, 6.7 GHz methanol maser flares were observed,
triggered by accretion bursts of high-mass YSOs which confirmed the IR-pumping
of these masers. This suggests that regular IR changes might lead to maser
periodicity. Hence, we scrutinized space-based IR imaging of YSOs associated
with periodic methanol masers. We succeeded to extract the IR light curve from
NEOWISE data for the intermediate mass YSO G107.298+5.639. Thus, for the first
time a relationship between the maser and IR variability could be established.
While the IR light curve shows the same period of ~34.6 days as the masers, its
shape is distinct from that of the maser flares. Possible reasons for the IR
periodicity are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in: Proceedings IAU Symposium 336
"Astrophysical Masers: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe", Editors: A.
Tarchi, M.J. Reid & P. Castangia, updated version with hyperlinks adde
Mid-infrared observations of the SGR 1900+14 error box
We report on mid-infrared observations of the compact stellar cluster located
in the proximity of SGR 1900+14, and the radio/X-ray position of this
soft-gamma repeater. Observations were performed in May and June of 2001 when
the bursting source was in an active state. At the known radio and X-ray
position of the SGR we did not detect transient mid-IR activity, although the
observations were performed only hours before and after an outburst in the
high-energy band.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in "Gamma-Ray Burst and Afterglow
Astronomy 2001", Woods Hole; 5-9 Nov, 200
Dissecting Massive YSOs with Mid-Infrared Interferometry
The very inner structure of massive YSOs is difficult to trace. With
conventional observational methods we often identify structures still several
hundreds of AU in size. But we also need information about the innermost
regions where the actual mass transfer onto the forming high-mass star occurs.
An innovative way to probe these scales is to utilise mid-infrared
interferometry. Here, we present first results of our MIDI GTO programme at the
VLTI. We observed 10 well-known massive YSOs down to scales of 20 mas. We
clearly resolve these objects which results in low visibilities and sizes in
the order of 30 - 50 mas. Thus, with MIDI we can for the first time quantify
the extent of the thermal emission from the warm circumstellar dust and thus
calibrate existing concepts regarding the compactness of such emission in the
pre-UCHII region phase. Special emphasis will be given to the BN-type object
M8E-IR where our modelling is most advanced and where there is indirect
evidence for a strongly bloated central star.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, proceedings contribution for the conference
"Massive Star Formation: Observations confront Theory", held in September
2007 in Heidelberg, Germany; to appear in ASP Conf. Ser. 387, H. Beuther et
al. (eds.
- âŠ