5,170 research outputs found
Quantitative features of multifractal subtleties in time series
Based on the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA) and on the
Wavelet Transform Modulus Maxima (WTMM) methods we investigate the origin of
multifractality in the time series. Series fluctuating according to a qGaussian
distribution, both uncorrelated and correlated in time, are used. For the
uncorrelated series at the border (q=5/3) between the Gaussian and the Levy
basins of attraction asymptotically we find a phase-like transition between
monofractal and bifractal characteristics. This indicates that these may solely
be the specific nonlinear temporal correlations that organize the series into a
genuine multifractal hierarchy. For analyzing various features of
multifractality due to such correlations, we use the model series generated
from the binomial cascade as well as empirical series. Then, within the
temporal ranges of well developed power-law correlations we find a fast
convergence in all multifractal measures. Besides of its practical significance
this fact may reflect another manifestation of a conjectured q-generalized
Central Limit Theorem
Evolution of Mass Outflow in Protostars
We have surveyed 84 Class 0, Class I, and flat-spectrum protostars in
mid-infrared [Si II], [Fe II] and [S I] line emission, and 11 of these in
far-infrared [O I] emission. We use the results to derive their mass outflow
rates. Thereby we observe a strong correlation of mass outflow rates with
bolometric luminosity, and with the inferred mass accretion rates of the
central objects, which continues through the Class 0 range the trend observed
in Class II young stellar objects. Along this trend from large to small
mass-flow rates, the different classes of young stellar objects lie in the
sequence Class 0 -- Class I/flat-spectrum -- Class II, indicating that the
trend is an evolutionary sequence in which mass outflow and accretion rates
decrease together with increasing age, while maintaining rough proportionality.
The survey results include two which are key tests of magnetocentrifugal
outflow-acceleration mechanisms: the distribution of the outflow/accretion
branching ratio b, and limits on the distribution of outflow speeds. Neither
rule out any of the three leading outflow-acceleration,
angular-momentum-ejection mechanisms, but they provide some evidence that disk
winds and accretion-powered stellar winds (APSWs) operate in many protostars.
An upper edge observed in the branching-ratio distribution is consistent with
the upper bound of b = 0.6 found in models of APSWs, and a large fraction
(0.31) of the sample have branching ratio sufficiently small that only disk
winds, launched on scales as large as several AU, have been demonstrated to
account for them.Comment: Version submitted to ApJ: 36 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure
Infall models of Class 0 protostars
We have carried out radiative transfer calculations of infalling, dusty
envelopes surrounding embedded protostars to understand the observed properties
of the recently identified ``Class 0'' sources. To match the far-infrared peaks
in the spectral energy distributions of objects such as the prototype Class 0
source VLA 1623, pure collapse models require mass infall rates
\sim10^{-4}\msunyr. The radial intensity distributions predicted by
such infall models are inconsistent with observations of VLA 1623 at sub-mm
wavelengths, in agreement with the results of Andre et al. (1993) who found a
density profile of rather than the expected gradient. To resolve this conflict, while still invoking
infall to produce the outflow source at the center of VLA 1623, we suggest that
the observed sub-mm intensity distribution is the sum of two components: an
inner infall zone, plus an outer, more nearly constant-density region. This
explanation of the observations requires that roughly half the total mass
observed within 2000 AU radius of the source lies in a region external to the
infall zone. The column densities for this external region are comparable to
those found in the larger Oph A cloud within which VLA 1623 is embedded. The
extreme environments of Class 0 sources lead us to suggest an alternative or
additional interpretation of these objects: rather than simply concluding with
Andre et al. that Class 0 objects only represent the earliest phases of
protostellar collapse, and ultimately evolve into older ``Class I'' protostars,
we suggest that many Class 0 sources could be the protostars of very dense
regions. (Shortened)Comment: 22 pages, including 3 PostScript figures, accepted for publication in
The Astrophysical Journa
Characterizing the Youngest Herschel-detected Protostars I. Envelope Structure Revealed by CARMA Dust Continuum Observations
We present CARMA 2.9 mm dust continuum emission observations of a sample of
14 Herschel-detected Class 0 protostars in the Orion A and B molecular clouds,
drawn from the PACS Bright Red Sources (PBRS) sample (Stutz et al.). These
objects are characterized by very red 24 \micron\ to 70 \micron\ colors and
prominent submillimeter emission, suggesting that they are very young Class 0
protostars embedded in dense envelopes. We detect all of the PBRS in 2.9 mm
continuum emission and emission from 4 protostars and 1 starless core in the
fields toward the PBRS; we also report 1 new PBRS source. The ratio of 2.9 mm
luminosity to bolometric luminosity is higher by a factor of 5 on
average, compared to other well-studied protostars in the Perseus and Ophiuchus
clouds. The 2.9 mm visibility amplitudes for 6 of the 14 PBRS are very flat as
a function of uv-distance, with more than 50\% of the source emission arising
from radii 1500 AU. These flat visibility amplitudes are most consistent
with spherically symmetric envelope density profiles with
~~R. Alternatively, there could be a massive unresolved
structure like a disk or a high-density inner envelope departing from a smooth
power-law. The large amount of mass on scales 1500 AU (implying high
average central densities) leads us to suggest that that the PBRS with flat
visibility amplitude profiles are the youngest PBRS and may be undergoing a
brief phase of high mass infall/accretion and are possibly among the youngest
Class 0 protostars. The PBRS with more rapidly declining visibility amplitudes
still have large envelope masses, but could be slightly more evolved.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 40 pages, 9 Figures, 4 Table
IRAC Observations of Taurus Pre-Main Sequence Stars
We present infrared photometry obtained with the IRAC camera on the Spitzer
Space Telescope of a sample of 82 pre-main sequence stars and brown dwarfs in
the Taurus star-forming region. We find a clear separation in some IRAC
color-color diagrams between objects with and without disks. A few
``transition'' objects are noted, which correspond to systems in which the
inner disk has been evacuated of small dust. Separating pure disk systems from
objects with remnant protostellar envelopes is more difficult at IRAC
wavelengths, especially for objects with infall at low rates and large angular
momenta. Our results generally confirm the IRAC color classification scheme
used in previous papers by Allen et al. and Megeath et al. to distinguish
between protostars, T Tauri stars with disks, and young stars without (inner)
disks. The observed IRAC colors are in good agreement with recent improved disk
models, and in general accord with models for protostellar envelopes derived
from analyzing a larger wavelength region. We also comment on a few Taurus
objects of special interest. Our results should be useful for interpreting IRAC
results in other, less well-studied star-forming regions.Comment: 29 pages 10 figures, to appear in Ap
The Masses of Transition Circumstellar Disks: Observational Support for Photoevaporation Models
We report deep Sub-Millimeter Array observations of 26 pre-main-sequence
(PMS) stars with evolved inner disks. These observations measure the mass of
the outer disk (r ~20-100 AU) across every stage of the dissipation of the
inner disk (r < 10 AU) as determined by the IR spectral energy distributions
(SEDs). We find that only targets with high mid-IR excesses are detected and
have disk masses in the 1-5 M_Jup range, while most of our objects remain
undetected to sensitivity levels of M_DISK ~0.2-1.5 M_Jup. To put these results
in a more general context, we collected publicly available data to construct
the optical to millimeter wavelength SEDs of over 120 additional PMS stars. We
find that the near-IR and mid-IR emission remain optically thick in objects
whose disk masses span 2 orders of magnitude (~0.5-50 M_Jup). Taken together,
these results imply that, in general, inner disks start to dissipate only after
the outer disk has been significantly depleted of mass. This provides strong
support for photoevaporation being one of the dominant processes driving disk
evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJL, 4 pages and 3 figure
PAH emission from Herbig AeBe stars
We present spectra of a sample of Herbig Ae and Be (HAeBe) stars obtained
with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All but one of
the Herbig stars show emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
seven of the spectra show PAH emission, but no silicate emission at 10 microns.
The central wavelengths of the 6.2, 7.7--8.2, and 11.3 micron emission features
decrease with stellar temperature, indicating that the PAHs are less
photo-processed in cooler radiation fields. The apparent low level of photo
processing in HAeBe stars, relative to other PAH emission sources, implies that
the PAHs are newly exposed to the UV-optical radiation fields from their host
stars. HAeBe stars show a variety of PAH emission intensities and ionization
fractions, but a narrow range of PAH spectral classifications based on
positions of major PAH feature centers. This may indicate that, regardless of
their locations relative to the stars, the PAH molecules are altered by the
same physical processes in the proto-planetary disks of intermediate-mass
stars. Analysis of the mid-IR spectral energy distributions indicates that our
sample likely includes both radially flared and more flattened/settled disk
systems, but we do not see the expected correlation of overall PAH emission
with disk geometry. We suggest that the strength of PAH emission from HAeBe
stars may depend not only on the degree of radial flaring, but also on the
abundance of PAHs in illuminated regions of the disks and possibly on the
vertical structure of the inner disk as well.Comment: 52 pages, 12 figure
A Survey for Circumstellar Disks Around Young Substellar Objects
(Abridged) We have completed the first systematic survey for disks around
spectroscopically identified young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. We
have obtained L'-band (3.8 um) imaging for 38 very cool objects in IC 348 and
Taurus. Our targets span spectral types from M6 to M9.5 (~100 to ~15 Mjup).
Using the objects' measured spectral types and extinctions, we find that most
of our sample (77%+/-15%) possess intrinsic IR excesses, indicative of disks.
Because the excesses are modest, conventional analyses using only IR colors
would have missed most of the sources with excesses. The observed IR excesses
are correlated with Halpha emission, consistent with a common accretion disk
origin. The excesses can be explained by disk reprocessing of starlight alone;
the implied accretion rates are at least an order of magnitude below typical
values for classical T Tauri stars. The observed distribution of IR excesses
suggests the presence of inner disk holes. The disk frequency appears to be
independent of the mass and age. In the same star-forming regions, disks around
brown dwarfs are at least as long-lived (~3 Myr) as disks around the T Tauri
stars. Altogether, the frequency and properties of young circumstellar disks
appear to be similar from the stellar regime down to the substellar and
planetary-mass regime. This provides prima facie evidence of a common origin
for most stars and brown dwarfs.Comment: ApJ, in press, 28 pages. Minor change to the online, abridged version
of the abstract. No change to the actual pape
Inside-Out Evacuation of Transitional Protoplanetary Disks by the Magneto-Rotational Instability
How do T Tauri disks accrete? The magneto-rotational instability (MRI)
supplies one means, but protoplanetary disk gas is typically too poorly ionized
to be magnetically active. Here we show that the MRI can, in fact, explain
observed accretion rates for the sub-class of T Tauri disks known as
transitional systems. Transitional disks are swept clean of dust inside rim
radii of ~10 AU. Stellar coronal X-rays ionize material in the disk rim,
activating the MRI there. Gas flows from the rim to the star, at a rate limited
by the depth to which X-rays ionize the rim wall. The wider the rim, the larger
the surface area that the rim wall exposes to X-rays, and the greater the
accretion rate. Interior to the rim, the MRI continues to transport gas; the
MRI is sustained even at the disk midplane by super-keV X-rays that Compton
scatter down from the disk surface. Accretion is therefore steady inside the
rim. Blown out by radiation pressure, dust largely fails to accrete with gas.
Contrary to what is usually assumed, ambipolar diffusion, not Ohmic
dissipation, limits how much gas is MRI-active. We infer values for the
transport parameter alpha on the order of 0.01 for GM Aur, TW Hyd, and DM Tau.
Because the MRI can only afflict a finite radial column of gas at the rim, disk
properties inside the rim are insensitive to those outside. Thus our picture
provides one robust setting for planet-disk interaction: a protoplanet interior
to the rim will interact with gas whose density, temperature, and transport
properties are definite and decoupled from uncertain initial conditions. Our
study also supplies half the answer to how disks dissipate: the inner disk
drains from the inside out by the MRI, while the outer disk photoevaporates by
stellar ultraviolet radiation.Comment: Accepted to Nature Physics June 7, 2007. The manuscript for
publication is embargoed per Nature policy. This arxiv.org version contains
more technical details and discussion, and is distributed with permission
from the editors. 10 pages, 4 figure
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