991 research outputs found
Computational and Experimental Investigation of Flow Around a 3-1 Prolate Spheroid
The flow around a 3-1 prolate spheroid near the critical
Reynolds number is investigated experimentally and numerically.
This work was conducted as part of a larger project to
examine the flow around Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. The
experimental investigation has been performed in a water tunnel
at the Australian Maritime College. Fast response pressure
probes and a 3-D automated traverse have been developed to
investigate the state of the boundary layer. A commercial CFD
code has been modified to allow the experimentally determined
boundary layer state to be included in the computation. Qualitative
and quantitative comparisons between the measured and
calculated results are discussed. The tests on the spheroid were
conducted within a Reynolds numbers range of 0 .6 ×106 to
4×106. The results presented here are for an incidence of 10
The Peak Brightness and Spatial Distribution of AGB Stars Near the Nucleus of M32
The bright stellar content near the center of the Local Group elliptical
galaxy M32 is investigated with 0.12 arcsec FWHM H and K images obtained with
the Gemini Mauna Kea telescope. Stars with K = 15.5, which are likely evolving
near the tip of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), are resolved to within 2
arcsec of the nucleus, and it is concluded that the peak stellar brightness
near the center of M32 is similar to that in the outer regions of the galaxy.
Moreover, the projected density of bright AGB stars follows the visible light
profile to within 2 arcsec of the nucleus, indicating that the brightest stars
are well mixed throughout the galaxy. Thus, there is no evidence for an age
gradient, and the radial variations in spectroscopic indices and ultraviolet
colors that have been detected previously must be due to metallicity and/or
some other parameter. We suggest that either the bright AGB stars formed as
part of a highly uniform and coherent galaxy-wide episode of star formation, or
they originated in a separate system that merged with M32.Comment: 9 pages of text, 3 figures. ApJ (Letters) in pres
Corona-Australis DANCe I. Revisiting the census of stars with Gaia-DR2 data
Context. Corona-Australis is one of the nearest regions to the Sun with recent and ongoing star formation, but the current picture of its stellar (and substellar) content is not complete yet.
Aims. We take advantage of the second data release of the Gaia space mission to revisit the stellar census and search for additional members of the young stellar association in Corona-Australis.
Methods. We applied a probabilistic method to infer membership probabilities based on a multidimensional astrometric and photometric data set over a field of 128 deg(2) around the dark clouds of the region.
Results. We identify 313 high-probability candidate members to the Corona-Australis association, 262 of which had never been reported as members before. Our sample of members covers the magnitude range between G greater than or similar to 5 mag and G less than or similar to 20 mag, and it reveals the existence of two kinematically and spatially distinct subgroups. There is a distributed "off-cloud" population of stars located in the north of the dark clouds that is twice as numerous as the historically known "on-cloud" population that is concentrated around the densest cores. By comparing the location of the stars in the HR-diagram with evolutionary models, we show that these two populations are younger than 10 Myr. Based on their infrared excess emission, we identify 28 Class II and 215 Class III stars among the sources with available infrared photometry, and we conclude that the frequency of Class II stars (i.e. "disc-bearing" stars) in the on-cloud region is twice as large as compared to the off-cloud population. The distance derived for the Corona-Australis region based on this updated census is d = 149.4(-0.4)(+0.4) pc, which exceeds previous estimates by about 20 pc.
Conclusions. In this paper we provide the most complete census of stars in Corona-Australis available to date that can be confirmed with Gaia data. Furthermore, we report on the discovery of an extended and more evolved population of young stars beyond the region of the dark clouds, which was extensively surveyed in the past
High-Resolution Spectroscopy in Tr37: Gas Accretion Evolution in Evolved Dusty Disks
Using the Hectochelle multifiber spectrograph, we have obtained
high-resolution (R~34,000) spectra in the Halpha region for a large number of
stars in the 4 Myr-old cluster Tr 37, containing 146 previously known members
and 26 newly identified ones. We present the Halpha line profiles of all
members, compare them to our IR observations of dusty disks (2MASS/JHK + IRAC +
MIPS 24 micron), use the radial velocities as a membership criterion, and
calculate the rotational velocities. We find a good correlation between the
accretion-broadened profiles and the presence of protoplanetary disks, noting
that a small fraction of the accreting stars presents broad profiles with
Halpha equivalent widths smaller than the canonical limit separating CTTS and
WTTS. The number of strong accretors appears to be lower than in younger
regions, and a large number of CTTS have very small accretion rates
(dM/dt<10^{-9} Msun/yr). Taking into account that the spectral energy
distributions are consistent with dust evolution (grain growth/settling) in the
innermost disk, this suggests a parallel evolution of the dusty and gaseous
components. We also observe that about half of the "transition objects" (stars
with no IR excesses at wavelengths shorter than ~6 micron) do not show any
signs of active accretion, whereas the other half is accreting with accretion
rates <10^{-9} Msun/yr. These zero or very low accretion rates reveal important
gas evolution and/or gas depletion in the innermost disk, which could be
related to grain growth up to planetesimal or even planet sizes. Finally, we
examine the rotational velocities of accreting and non accreting stars, finding
no significant differences that could indicate disk locking at these ages.Comment: 51 pages, 13 (reduced resolution) figures, 2 tables. AJ in pres
The Initial Mass Function toward the low-mass end in the Large Magellanic Cloud with HST/WFPC2 Observations
We present V and I equivalent HST/WFPC2 photometry of two areas in the Large
Magellanic Cloud: The southern part of the stellar association LH 52, located
on the western edge of the super-shell LMC 4, and a field between two
associations, which is located on the southwestern edge of the shell, and which
accounts for the general background field of the galaxy. The HST/WFPC2
observations reach magnitudes as faint as V=25 mag, much deeper than have been
observed earlier in stellar associations in the LMC. We determine the MF for
main-sequence stars in the areas. Its slope (Gamma) in both areas is steeper
for stars with masses M < 2 M_solar (-4 < Gamma < -6), compared with stars of M
> 2 M_solar (-1 < Gamma < -2). Thus, as far as the field of the LMC concerns
the MF does not have a uniform slope throughout its observed mass range. The MF
of the general field of the LMC was found previously to be steeper than the MF
of a stellar association for massive stars with M > 5 M_solar. We conclude that
this seems to be also the case toward lower masses down to M ~ 1 M_solar. Our
data allow to construct the field-subtracted, incompleteness-corrected,
main-sequence MF of the southwestern part of the young stellar association LH
52, which accounts for the Initial Mass Function (IMF) of the system. Its mean
slope is found to be comparable, but still more shallow than a typical Salpeter
IMF (Gamma = -1.12 +/- 0.24) for masses down to ~ 1 M_solar. We found
indications that the IMF of the association probably is ``top-heavy'', due to
the large number of intermediate-mass stars in the field of the system, while
the general LMC field is found to be responsible for the low-mass population,
with M < 2 M_solar, observed in both fields.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Multiple episodes of star formation in the CN15/16/17 molecular complex
We have started a campaign to identify massive star clusters inside bright
molecular bubbles towards the Galactic Center. The CN15/16/17 molecular complex
is the first example of our study. The region is characterized by the presence
of two young clusters, DB10 and DB11, visible in the NIR, an ultra-compact HII
region identified in the radio, several young stellar objects visible in the
MIR, a bright diffuse nebulosity at 8\mu m coming from PAHs and sub-mm
continuum emission revealing the presence of cold dust. Given its position on
the sky (l=0.58, b=-0.85) and its kinematic distance of ~7.5 kpc, the region
was thought to be a very massive site of star formation in proximity of the
CMZ. The cluster DB11 was estimated to be as massive as 10^4 M_sun. However the
region's properties were known only through photometry and its kinematic
distance was very uncertain given its location at the tangential point. We
aimed at better characterizing the region and assess whether it could be a site
of massive star formation located close to the Galactic Center. We have
obtained NTT/SofI JHKs photometry and long slit K band spectroscopy of the
brightest members. We have additionally collected data in the radio, sub-mm and
mid infrared, resulting in a quite different picture of the region. We have
confirmed the presence of massive early B type stars and have derived a
spectro-photometric distance of ~1.2 kpc, much smaller than the kinematic
distance. Adopting this distance we obtain clusters masses of M(DB10) ~ 170
M_sun and M(DB11) ~ 275 M_sun. This is consistent with the absence of any O
star, confirmed by the excitation/ionization status of the nebula. No HeI
diffuse emission is detected in our spectroscopic observations at 2.113\mu m,
which would be expected if the region was hosting more massive stars. Radio
continuum measurements are also consistent with the region hosting at most
early B stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Fig. 1 and 3
presented in reduced resolutio
Interindividual differences in brain dynamics of early visual processes: Impact on score accuracy in the mental rotation task
Interindividual variations in the ability to perform visuospatial mental transformations have been investigated extensively, in particular through mental rotation tasks. However, the impact of early visual processes on performance has been largely ignored. To clarify this issue, we explored the time-course of early visual processing (from 0 to 450\ua0ms poststimulus) using event-related potentials topographic analyses. The main findings demonstrated a significant link between early attentional processes and accuracy scores occurring more than five seconds later, as well as a strong association between spatial covariance and microstate topographies exhibiting substantial gender differences. More specifically, the results indicated that, in a classical mental rotation task, the male brain expends more time processing visual-spatial information resulting in a longer bilateral positive potential at posterior-occipital sites. In comparison, the female brain initiates earlier processing of non-spatial information resulting in a faster transition from a bilateral positive potential of posterior-occipital sites to a negative potential at central-frontal sites. These findings illustrate how a more complete utilization of the spatiotemporal information contained in EEG recordings can provide important insights about the impact of early visual processes on interindividual differences, particularly across gender, and thus shed new light on alternate cognitive strategies
Discovery of a New Companion and Evidence of a Circumprimary Disk: Adaptive Optics Imaging of the Young Multiple System VW Cha
Since a majority of young low-mass stars are members of multiple systems, the
study of their stellar and disk configurations is crucial to our understanding
of both star and planet formation processes. Here we present near-infrared
adaptive optics observations of the young multiple star system VW Cha. The
previously known 0.7 arcsec binary is clearly resolved already in our raw J and
K band images. We report the discovery of a new, faint companion to the
secondary, at an apparent separation of only 0.1 arcsec or 16 AU. Our
high-resolution photometric observations also make it possible to measure the
J-K colors of each of the three components individually. We detect an infrared
excess in the primary, consistent with theoretical models of a circumprimary
disk. Analytical and numerical calculations of orbital stability show that VW
Cha may be a stable triple system. Using models for the age and total mass of
the secondary pair, we estimate the orbital period to be 74 years. Thus,
follow-up astrometric observations might yield direct dynamical masses within a
few years, and constrain evolutionary models of low-mass stars. Our results
demonstrate that adaptive optics imaging in conjunction with deconvolution
techniques is a powerful tool for probing close multiple systems.Comment: 13 pages including 2 figures. To appear in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
The low-mass Initial Mass Function in the 30 Doradus starburst cluster
We present deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NICMOS 2 F160W band observations
of the central 56*57" (14pc*14.25pc) region around R136 in the starburst
cluster 30 Dor (NGC 2070) located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Our aim is to
derive the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) down to ~1 Msun in order to test
whether the IMF in a massive metal-poor cluster is similar to that observed in
nearby young clusters and the field in our Galaxy. We estimate the mean age of
the cluster to be 3 Myr by combining our F160W photometry with previously
obtained HST WFPC2 optical F555W and F814W band photometry and comparing the
stellar locus in the color-magnitude diagram with main sequence and pre-main
sequence isochrones. The color-magnitude diagrams show the presence of
differential extinction and possibly an age spread of a few megayears. We
convert the magnitudes into masses adopting both a single mean age of 3 Myr
isochrone and a constant star formation history from 2 to 4 Myr. We derive the
IMF after correcting for incompleteness due to crowding. The faintest stars
detected have a mass of 0.5 Msun and the data are more than 50% complete
outside a radius of 5 pc down to a mass limit of 1.1 Msun for 3 Myr old
objects. We find an IMF of dN/dlog(M) M^(-1.20+-0.2) over the mass range
1.1--20 Msun only slightly shallower than a Salpeter IMF. In particular, we
find no strong evidence for a flattening of the IMF down to 1.1 Msun at a
distance of 5 pc from the center, in contrast to a flattening at 2 Msun at a
radius of 2 pc, reported in a previous optical HST study. We examine several
possible reasons for the different results. If the IMF determined here applies
to the whole cluster, the cluster would be massive enough to remain bound and
evolve into a relatively low-mass globular cluster.Comment: Accepted in ApJ. Abstract abridge
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