635 research outputs found
Scattered light images of spiral arms in marginally gravitationally unstable discs with an embedded planet
Scattered light images of transition discs in the near-infrared often show
non-axisymmetric structures in the form of wide-open spiral arms in addition to
their characteristic low-opacity inner gap region. We study self-gravitating
discs and investigate the influence of gravitational instability on the shape
and contrast of spiral arms induced by planet-disc interactions.
Two-dimensional non-isothermal hydrodynamical simulations including viscous
heating and a cooling prescription are combined with three-dimensional dust
continuum radiative transfer models for direct comparison to observations. We
find that the resulting contrast between the spirals and the surrounding disc
in scattered light is by far higher for pressure scale height variations, i.e.
thermal perturbations, than for pure surface density variations. Self-gravity
effects suppress any vortex modes and tend to reduce the opening angle of
planet-induced spirals, making them more tightly wound. If the disc is only
marginally gravitationally stable with a Toomre parameter around unity, an
embedded massive planet (planet-to-star mass ratio of ) can trigger
gravitational instability in the outer disc. The spirals created by this
instability and the density waves launched by the planet can overlap resulting
in large-scale, more open spiral arms in the outer disc. The contrast of these
spirals is well above the detection limit of current telescopes.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 13 pages, 8 figure
Lasing at the band edges of plasmonic lattices
We report room temperature lasing in two-dimensional diffractive lattices of
silver and gold plasmon particle arrays embedded in a dye-doped polymer that
acts both as waveguide and gain medium. As compared to conventional dielectric
distributed feedback lasers, a central question is how the underlying band
structure from which lasing emerges is modified by both the much stronger
scattering and the disadvantageous loss of metal. We use spectrally resolved
back-focal plane imaging to measure the wavelength- and angle dependence of
emission below and above threshold, thereby mapping the band structure. We find
that for silver particles, the band structure is strongly modified compared to
dielectric reference DFB lasers, since the strong scattering gives large stop
gaps. In contrast, gold particles scatter weakly and absorb strongly, so that
thresholds are higher, but the band structure is not strongly modified. The
experimental findings are supported by finite element and fourier modal method
calculations of the single particle scattering strength and lattice extinction.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Carrier relaxation in GaAs v-groove quantum wires and the effects of localization
Carrier relaxation processes have been investigated in GaAs/AlGaAs v-groove
quantum wires (QWRs) with a large subband separation (46 meV). Signatures of
inhibited carrier relaxation mechanisms are seen in temperature-dependent
photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence-excitation (PLE) measurements; we
observe strong emission from the first excited state of the QWR below ~50 K.
This is attributed to reduced inter-subband relaxation via phonon scattering
between localized states. Theoretical calculations and experimental results
indicate that the pinch-off regions, which provide additional two-dimensional
confinement for the QWR structure, have a blocking effect on relaxation
mechanisms for certain structures within the v-groove. Time-resolved PL
measurements show that efficient carrier relaxation from excited QWR states
into the ground state, occurs only at temperatures > 30 K. Values for the low
temperature radiative lifetimes of the ground- and first excited-state excitons
have been obtained (340 ps and 160 ps respectively), and their corresponding
localization lengths along the wire estimated.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B Attempted to correct
corrupt figure
Milli-arcsecond images of the Herbig Ae star HD 163296
The very close environments of young stars are the hosts of fundamental
physical processes, such as planet formation, star-disk interactions, mass
accretion, and ejection. The complex morphological structure of these
environments has been confirmed by the now quite rich data sets obtained for a
few objects by near-infrared long-baseline interferometry. We gathered numerous
interferometric measurements for the young star HD163296 with various
interferometers (VLTI, IOTA, KeckI and CHARA), allowing for the first time an
image independent of any a priori model to be reconstructed. Using the
Multi-aperture image Reconstruction Algorithm (MiRA), we reconstruct images of
HD 163296 in the H and K bands. We compare these images with reconstructed
images obtained from simulated data using a physical model of the environment
of HD 163296. We obtain model-independent and -band images of the
surroundings of HD 163296. The images present several significant features that
we can relate to an inclined asymmetric flared disk around HD 163296 with the
strongest intensity at about 4-5 mas. Because of the incomplete spatial
frequency coverage, we cannot state whether each of them individually is
peculiar in any way. For the first time, milli-arcsecond images of the
environment of a young star are produced. These images confirm that the
morphology of the close environment of young stars is more complex than the
simple models used in the literature so far.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted A&A pape
Jets and Outflows From Star to Cloud: Observations Confront Theory
In this review we focus on the role jets and outflows play in the star and
planet formation process. Our essential question can be posed as follows: are
jets/outflows merely an epiphenomenon associated with star formation or do they
play an important role in mediating the physics of assembling stars both
individually and globally? We address this question by reviewing the current
state of observations and their key points of contact with theory. Our review
of jet/outflow phenomena is organized into three length-scale domains: Source
and Disk Scales ( au) where the connection with protostellar and disk
evolution theories is paramount; Envelope Scales ( au) where the
chemistry and propagation shed further light on the jet launching process, its
variability and its impact on the infalling envelope; Parent Cloud Scales
( au) where global momentum injection into cluster/cloud
environments become relevant. Issues of feedback are of particular importance
on the smallest scales where planet formation regions in a disk may be impacted
by the presence of disk winds, irradiation by jet shocks or shielding by the
winds. Feedback on envelope scales may determine the final stellar mass
(core-to-star efficiency) and envelope dissipation. Feedback also plays an
important role on the larger scales with outflows contributing to turbulent
support within clusters including alteration of cluster star formation
efficiencies (feedback on larger scales currently appears unlikely). A
particularly novel dimension of our review is that we consider results on jet
dynamics from the emerging field of High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics
(HEDLA). HEDLA is now providing direct insights into the 3-D dynamics of fully
magnetized, hypersonic, radiative outflows.Comment: Accepted for publication as a chapter in Protostars and Planets VI,
University of Arizona Press (2014), eds. H. Beuther, R. Klessen, C.
Dullemond, Th. Hennin
Planet formation in the PDS 70 system: Constraining the atmospheric chemistry of PDS 70b and c
Understanding the chemical link between protoplanetary disks and planetary
atmospheres is complicated by the fact that the popular targets in the study of
disks and planets are widely separated both in space and time. The 5 Myr PDS 70
systems offers a unique opportunity to directly compare the chemistry of a
giant planet's atmosphere to the chemistry of its natal disk. To that end, we
derive our current best physical and chemical model for the PDS 70 disk through
forward modelling of the CO, CO, and CH emission radial
profiles with the thermochemical code DALI and find a volatile C/O ratio above
unity in the outer disk. Using what we know of the PDS 70 disk today, we
analytically estimate the properties of the disk as it was 4 Myr in the past
when we assume that the giant planets started their formation, and compute a
chemical model of the disk at that time. We compute the formation of PDS 70b
and PDS 70c using the standard core accretion paradigm and account for the
accretion of volatile and refractory sources of carbon and oxygen to estimate
the resulting atmospheric carbon-to-oxygen number ratio (C/O) for these
planets. Our inferred C/O ratio of the gas in the PDS 70 disk indicates that it
is marginally carbon rich relative to the stellar C/O = 0.44 which we derive
from an empirical relation between stellar metallicity and C/O. Under the
assumption that the disk has been carbon rich for most of its lifetime, we find
that the planets acquire a super-stellar C/O in their atmospheres. If the
carbon-rich disk is a relatively recent phenomenon (i.e. developed after the
formation of the planets at Myr) then the planets should have close to
the stellar C/O in their atmospheres. This work lays the groundwork to better
understand the disk in the PDS 70 system as well as the planet formation
scenario that produce its planets.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in A&
A Multi-Wavelength Analysis of Dust and Gas in the SR 24S Transition Disk
We present new Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) 1.3 mm
continuum observations of the SR 24S transition disk with an angular resolution
(12 au radius). We perform a multi-wavelength investigation by
combining new data with previous ALMA data at 0.45 mm. The visibilities and
images of the continuum emission at the two wavelengths are well characterized
by a ring-like emission. Visibility modeling finds that the ring-like emission
is narrower at longer wavelengths, in good agreement with models of dust
trapping in pressure bumps, although there are complex residuals that suggest
potentially asymmetric structures. The 0.45 mm emission has a shallower profile
inside the central cavity than the 1.3 mm emission. In addition, we find that
the CO and CO (J=2-1) emission peaks at the center of the
continuum cavity. We do not detect either continuum or gas emission from the
northern companion to this system (SR 24N), which is itself a binary system.
The upper limit for the dust disk mass of SR 24N is , which gives a disk mass ratio in dust between the two
components of . The current ALMA observations may imply that either
planets have already formed in the SR 24N disk or that dust growth to mm-sizes
is inhibited there and that only warm gas, as seen by ro-vibrational CO
emission inside the truncation radii of the binary, is present.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Discrete and surface solitons in photonic graphene nanoribbons
We analyze localization of light in honeycomb photonic lattices restricted in
one dimension which can be regarded as an optical analog of (``armchair'' and
``zigzag'') graphene nanoribbons. We find the conditions for the existence of
spatially localized states and discuss the effect of lattice topology on the
properties of discrete solitons excited inside the lattice and at its edges. In
particular, we discover a novel type of soliton bistability, the so-called
geometry-induced bistability, in the lattices of a finite extent.Comment: three double-column pages, 5 figures, submitted for publicatio
Kalman-filter control schemes for fringe tracking. Development and application to VLTI/GRAVITY
The implementation of fringe tracking for optical interferometers is
inevitable when optimal exploitation of the instrumental capacities is desired.
Fringe tracking allows continuous fringe observation, considerably increasing
the sensitivity of the interferometric system. In addition to the correction of
atmospheric path-length differences, a decent control algorithm should correct
for disturbances introduced by instrumental vibrations, and deal with other
errors propagating in the optical trains. We attempt to construct control
schemes based on Kalman filters. Kalman filtering is an optimal data processing
algorithm for tracking and correcting a system on which observations are
performed. As a direct application, control schemes are designed for GRAVITY, a
future four-telescope near-infrared beam combiner for the Very Large Telescope
Interferometer (VLTI). We base our study on recent work in adaptive-optics
control. The technique is to describe perturbations of fringe phases in terms
of an a priori model. The model allows us to optimize the tracking of fringes,
in that it is adapted to the prevailing perturbations. Since the model is of a
parametric nature, a parameter identification needs to be included. Different
possibilities exist to generalize to the four-telescope fringe tracking that is
useful for GRAVITY. On the basis of a two-telescope Kalman-filtering control
algorithm, a set of two properly working control algorithms for four-telescope
fringe tracking is constructed. The control schemes are designed to take into
account flux problems and low-signal baselines. First simulations of the
fringe-tracking process indicate that the defined schemes meet the requirements
for GRAVITY and allow us to distinguish in performance. In a future paper, we
will compare the performances of classical fringe tracking to our Kalman-filter
control.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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