73 research outputs found
Opening PANDORA's box: APEX observations of CO in PNe
CONTEXT:
Observations of molecular gas have played a key role in developing the current understanding of the late stages of stellar evolution.
AIMS:
The survey Planetary nebulae AND their cO Reservoir with APEX (PANDORA) was designed to study the circumstellar shells of evolved stars with the aim to estimate their physical parameters.
METHODS:
Millimetre carbon monoxide (CO) emission is the most useful probe of the warm molecular component ejected by low- to intermediate-mass stars. CO is the second-most abundant molecule in the Universe, and the millimetre transitions are easily excited, thus making it particularly useful to study the mass, structure, and kinematics of the molecular gas. We present a large survey of the CO (J = 3â2) line using the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope in a sample of 93 proto-planetary nebulae and planetary nebulae.
RESULTS:
CO (J = 3â2) was detected in 21 of the 93 objects. Only two objects (IRC+10216 and PN M2-9) had previous CO (J = 3â2) detections, therefore we present the first detection of CO (J = 3â2) in the following 19 objects: Frosty Leo, HD 101584, IRAS 19475+3119, PN M1-11, V* V852 Cen, IC 4406, Hen 2-113, Hen 2-133, PN Fg 3, PN Cn 3-1, PN M2-43, PN M1-63, PN M1-65, BD+30 3639, Hen 2-447, Hen 2-459, PN M3-35, NGC 3132, and NGC 6326.
CONCLUSIONS:
CO (J = 3â2) was detected in all 4 observed pPNe (100%), 15 of the 75 PNe (20%), one of the 4 wide binaries (25%), and in 1 of the 10 close binaries (10%). Using the CO (J = 3â2) line, we estimated the column density and mass of each source. The H2 column density ranges from 1.7 Ă 1018 to 4.2 Ă 1021 cmâ2 and the molecular mass ranges from 2.7 Ă 10â4 to 1.7 Ă 10â1 Mâ
Psychosocial Factors Associated with Patterns of Smoking Surrounding Pregnancy in Fragile Families
Although research has documented factors associated with maternal smoking, we need a more in-depth understanding of the risk factors associated with changes in smoking behaviors during the postpartum period. We investigate smoking patterns during pregnancy and 1Â year postpartum as a function of relevant psychosocial factors. We use data on 3,522 postpartum mothers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to analyze the predictors of smoking among mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy but smoked at 1Â year postpartum, mothers who smoked both during pregnancy and postpartum, and mothers who did not smoke during either period. Our covariates are grouped into four categories of risk factors for smoking: socioeconomic status, health care, life course and health, and partner and social support. Postpartum mothers in our sample were more likely to smoke throughout or after their pregnancies if they had only a high school education or less, had a household income three or more times below the poverty line, had public or no health insurance, breastfed for less than 5Â months, were not married to the infantâs father, if the infantâs father currently smoked, and if they attended religious services less than once a week. Mental health problems were consistently associated with an increased risk of constant and postpartum smoking relative to non-smoking. Psychosocial factors play a role in postpartum smoking, but they have a stronger effect in predicting smoking that persists throughout pregnancy and the first year postpartum
The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems
We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of
white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and
BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves
(GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact
binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered
by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current
understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are
discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar
remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common
envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary
NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of
binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given
to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by
another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are
thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure
Olfactory discrimination predicts cognitive decline among community-dwelling older adults
The presence of olfactory dysfunction in individuals at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease has significant diagnostic and screening implications for preventive and ameliorative drug trials. Olfactory threshold, discrimination and identification can be reliably recorded in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. The current study has examined the ability of various olfactory functions in predicting cognitive decline in a community-dwelling sample. A group of 308 participants, aged 46â86 years old, were recruited for this study. After 3 years of follow-up, participants were divided into cognitively declined and non-declined groups based on their performance on a neuropsychological battery. Assessment of olfactory functions using the Sniffin' Sticks battery indicated that, contrary to previous findings, olfactory discrimination, but not olfactory identification, significantly predicted subsequent cognitive decline (odds ratio=0.869; P<0.05; 95% confidence interval=0.764â0.988). The current study findings confirm previously reported associations between olfactory and cognitive functions, and indicate that impairment in olfactory discrimination can predict future cognitive decline. These findings further our current understanding of the association between cognition and olfaction, and support olfactory assessment in screening those at higher risk of dementia
Production of dust by massive stars at high redshift
The large amounts of dust detected in sub-millimeter galaxies and quasars at
high redshift pose a challenge to galaxy formation models and theories of
cosmic dust formation. At z > 6 only stars of relatively high mass (> 3 Msun)
are sufficiently short-lived to be potential stellar sources of dust. This
review is devoted to identifying and quantifying the most important stellar
channels of rapid dust formation. We ascertain the dust production efficiency
of stars in the mass range 3-40 Msun using both observed and theoretical dust
yields of evolved massive stars and supernovae (SNe) and provide analytical
expressions for the dust production efficiencies in various scenarios. We also
address the strong sensitivity of the total dust productivity to the initial
mass function. From simple considerations, we find that, in the early Universe,
high-mass (> 3 Msun) asymptotic giant branch stars can only be dominant dust
producers if SNe generate <~ 3 x 10^-3 Msun of dust whereas SNe prevail if they
are more efficient. We address the challenges in inferring dust masses and
star-formation rates from observations of high-redshift galaxies. We conclude
that significant SN dust production at high redshift is likely required to
reproduce current dust mass estimates, possibly coupled with rapid dust grain
growth in the interstellar medium.Comment: 72 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables; to be published in The Astronomy and
Astrophysics Revie
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