337 research outputs found
Spectroscopy of Brown Dwarf Candidates in the rho Ophiuchi Molecular Core
We present an analysis of low resolution infrared spectra for 20 brown dwarf
candidates in the core of the Ophiuchi molecular cloud. Fifteen of the
sources display absorption-line spectra characteristic of late-type stars. By
comparing the depths of water vapor absorption bands in our candidate objects
with a grid of M dwarf standards, we derive spectral types which are
independent of reddening. Optical spectroscopy of one brown dwarf candidate
confirms the spectral type derived from the water bands. Combining their
spectral types with published near-infrared photometry, effective temperatures
and bolometric stellar luminosities are derived enabling us to place our sample
on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We compare the positions of the brown dwarf
candidates in this diagram with two sets of theoretical models in order to
estimate their masses and ages. Considering uncertainties in placing the
candidates in the H-R diagram, six objects consistently lie in the brown dwarf
regime and another five objects lie in the transition region between stellar
and substellar objects. The ages inferred for the sample are consistent with
those derived for higher mass association members. Three of the newly
identified brown dwarfs display infrared excesses at =2.2 m
suggesting that young brown dwarfs can have active accretion disks. Comparing
our mass estimates of the brown dwarf candidates with those derived from
photometric data alone suggests that spectroscopy is an essential component of
investigations of the mass functions of young clusters.Comment: Astronomical Journal, in press: 25 pages, latex, 5 tables and 6
figures (separate
New Low-Mass Members of the Taurus Star-Forming Region
Briceno et al. recently used optical imaging, data from the Two-Micron
All-Sky Survey (2MASS), and follow-up spectroscopy to search for young low-mass
stars and brown dwarfs in 8 square degrees of the Taurus star-forming region.
By the end of that study, there remained candidate members of Taurus that
lacked the spectroscopic observations needed to measure spectral types and
determine membership. In this work, we have obtained spectroscopy of the 22
candidates that have A_V<=8, from which we find six new Taurus members with
spectral types of M2.75 through M9. The new M9 source has the second latest
spectral type of the known members of Taurus (~0.02 M_sun). Its spectrum
contains extremely strong emission in H_alpha (W~950 A) as well as emission in
He I 6678 A and the Ca II IR triplet. This is the least massive object known to
exhibit emission in He I and Ca II, which together with the strong H_alpha are
suggestive of intense accretion.Comment: to be published in The Astrophysical Journal, 13 pages, 6 figures,
also found at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/sfgroup/preprints.htm
The stellar content of the young open cluster Trumpler 37
With an apparent cluster diameter of 1.5{\deg} and an age of ~4 Myr, Trumpler
37 is an ideal target for photometric monitoring of young stars as well as for
the search of planetary transits, eclipsing binaries and other sources of
variability. The YETI consortium has monitored Trumpler 37 throughout 2010 and
2011 to obtain a comprehensive view of variable phenomena in this region. In
this first paper we present the cluster properties and membership determination
as derived from an extensive investigation of the literature. We also compared
the coordinate list to some YETI images. For 1872 stars we found literature
data. Among them 774 have high probability of being member and 125 a medium
probability. Based on infrared data we re-calculate a cluster extinction of
0.9-1.2 mag. We can confirm the age and distance to be 3-5 Myr and ~870 pc.
Stellar masses are determined from theoretical models and the mass function is
fitted with a power-law index of alpha=1.90 (0.1-0.4 M_sun) and alpha=1.12
(1-10 M_sun).Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, 2 long tables, accepte
Photometric Accretion Signatures Near the Substellar Boundary
Multi-epoch imaging of the Orion equatorial region by the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey has revealed that significant variability in the blue continuum persists
into the late-M spectral types, indicating that magnetospheric accretion
processes occur below the substellar boundary in the Orion OB1 association. We
investigate the strength of the accretion-related continuum veiling by
comparing the reddening-invariant colors of the most highly variable stars
against those of main sequence M dwarfs and evolutionary models. A gradual
decrease in the g band veiling is seen for the cooler and less massive members,
as expected for a declining accretion rate with decreasing mass. We also see
evidence that the temperature of the accretion shock decreases in the very low
mass regime, reflecting a reduction in the energy flux carried by the accretion
columns. We find that the near-IR excess attributed to circumstellar disk
thermal emission drops rapidly for spectral types later than M4. This is likely
due to the decrease in color contrast between the disk and the cooler stellar
photosphere. Since accretion, which requires a substantial stellar magnetic
field and the presence of a circumstellar disk, is inferred for masses down to
0.05 Msol we surmise that brown dwarfs and low mass stars share a common mode
of formation.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, accepted by A
Spitzer Space Telescope study of disks in the young Orionis cluster
We report new Spitzer Space Telescope observations from the IRAC and MIPS
instruments of the young (~ 3 Myr) sigma Orionis cluster. We identify 336 stars
as members of the cluster using optical and near-infrared color magnitude
diagrams. Using the spectral energy distribution (SED) slopes in the IRAC
spectral range, we place objects in several classes: non-excess stars, stars
with optically thick disks(like classical T Tauri stars), class I
(protostellar) candidates, and stars with ``evolved disks''; the last exhibit
smaller IRAC excesses than optically thick disk systems. In general, this
classification agrees with the location expected in IRAC-MIPS color-color
diagrams for these objects. We find that the evolved disk systems are mostly a
combination of objects with optically thick but non-flared disks, suggesting
grain growth and/or settling, and transition disks, systems in which the inner
disk is partially or fully cleared of small dust. In all, we identify 7
transition disk candidates and 3 possible debris disk systems. As in other
young stellar populations, the fraction of disks depends on the stellar mass,
ranging from ~10% for stars in the Herbig Ae/Be mass range (>2 msun) to ~35% in
the T Tauri mass range (1-0.1 msun). We find that the disk fraction does not
decrease significantly toward the brown dwarf candidates (<0.1 msun). The IRAC
infrared excesses found in stellar clusters and associations with and without
central high mass stars are similar, suggesting that external photoevaporation
is not very important in many clusters. Finally, we find no correlation between
the X-ray luminosity and the disk infrared excess, suggesting that the X-rays
are not strongly affected by disk accretion.Comment: 44pages, 17 figures. Sent to Ap
Issues and Opportunities in Exotic Hadrons
The last few years have been witness to a proliferation of new results
concerning heavy exotic hadrons. Experimentally, many new signals have been
discovered that could be pointing towards the existence of tetraquarks,
pentaquarks, and other exotic configurations of quarks and gluons.
Theoretically, advances in lattice field theory techniques place us at the cusp
of understanding complex coupled-channel phenomena, modelling grows more
sophisticated, and effective field theories are being applied to an ever
greater range of situations. It is thus an opportune time to evaluate the
status of the field. In the following, a series of high priority experimental
and theoretical issues concerning heavy exotic hadrons is presented.Comment: White paper from INT workshop, "Modern Exotic Hadrons". References
added. Version to appear in Chinese Physics
Magneto-Acoustic Waves of Small Amplitude in Optically Thin Quasi-Isentropic Plasmas
The evolution of quasi-isentropic magnetohydrodynamic waves of small but
finite amplitude in an optically thin plasma is analyzed. The plasma is assumed
to be initially homogeneous, in thermal equilibrium and with a straight and
homogeneous magnetic field frozen in. Depending on the particular form of the
heating/cooling function, the plasma may act as a dissipative or active medium
for magnetoacoustic waves, while Alfven waves are not directly affected. An
evolutionary equation for fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves in the single
wave limit, has been derived and solved, allowing us to analyse the wave
modification by competition of weakly nonlinear and quasi-isentropic effects.
It was shown that the sign of the quasi-isentropic term determines the scenario
of the evolution, either dissipative or active. In the dissipative case, when
the plasma is first order isentropically stable the magnetoacoustic waves are
damped and the time for shock wave formation is delayed. However, in the active
case when the plasma is isentropically overstable, the wave amplitude grows,
the strength of the shock increases and the breaking time decreases. The
magnitude of the above effects depends upon the angle between the wave vector
and the magnetic field. For hot (T > 10^4 K) atomic plasmas with solar
abundances either in the interstellar medium or in the solar atmosphere, as
well as for the cold (T < 10^3 K) ISM molecular gas, the range of temperature
where the plasma is isentropically unstable and the corresponding time and
length-scale for wave breaking have been found.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. To appear in ApJ January 200
Discovery of the Optical Transient of the Gamma Ray Burst 990308
The optical transient of the faint Gamma Ray Burst 990308 was detected by the
QUEST camera on the Venezuelan 1-m Schmidt telescope starting 3.28 hours after
the burst. Our photometry gives , , , and for times ranging from 3.28 to 3.47
hours after the burst. The colors correspond to a spectral slope of close to
. Within the standard synchrotron fireball model,
this requires that the external medium be less dense than , the
electrons contain of the shock energy, and the magnetic field energy
must be less than 24% of the energy in the electrons for normal interstellar or
circumstellar densities. We also report upper limits of at 132 s
(with LOTIS), from 132-1029s (with LOTIS), at 28.2 min
(with Super-LOTIS), and a 8.5 GHz flux of at 110 days (with the
Very Large Array). WIYN 3.5-m and Keck 10-m telescopes reveal this location to
be empty of any host galaxy to and . The lack of a host
galaxy likely implies that it is either substantially subluminous or more
distant than a red shift of .Comment: ApJ Lett submitted, 5 pages, 2 figures, no space for 12 coauthor
A Racial/Ethnic Performance Disparity on the Facial Recognition Test
The Facial Recognition Test is a widely used psychometric instrument for assessing visuoperceptual functioning. Only two prior studies have examined the effects of race/ethnicity on this test. Given that the United States has become more culturally diverse since the creation of the test, it is important to re-visit the effects of this demographic variable on performance. Participants were 75 males and 75 females between the ages of 18 and 43 years (M = 21.91, SD = 5.33). Racial/ethnic categories utilized by the U.S. Census Bureau were equally represented. No gender differences were observed. The race/ethnicity main effect was significant. The gender x race/ethnicity interaction was not significant. The data revealed a clear racial/ethnic performance disparity on the Facial Recognition Test
Nature of the Low Field Transition in the Mixed State of High Temperature Superconductors
We have numerically studied the statics and dynamics of a model
three-dimensional vortex lattice at low magnetic fields. For the statics we use
a frustrated 3D XY model on a stacked triangular lattice. We model the dynamics
as a coupled network of overdamped resistively-shunted Josephson junctions with
Langevin noise. At low fields, there is a weakly first-order phase transition,
at which the vortex lattice melts into a line liquid. Phase coherence parallel
to the field persists until a sharp crossover, conceivably a phase transition,
near which develops at the same temperature as an infinite
vortex tangle. The calculated flux flow resistivity in various geometries near
closely resembles experiment. The local density of field induced
vortices increases sharply near , corresponding to the experimentally
observed magnetization jump. We discuss the nature of a possible transition or
crossover at (B) which is distinct from flux lattice melting.Comment: Updated references. 46 pages including low quality 25 eps figures.
Contact [email protected] or visit
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu:80/~ryu/ for better figures and additional
movie files from simulations. To be published in Physical Review B1 01Jun9
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