1,004 research outputs found
Rotationally Modulated X-ray Emission from T Tauri Stars
We have modelled the rotational modulation of X-ray emission from T Tauri
stars assuming that they have isothermal, magnetically confined coronae. By
extrapolating surface magnetograms we find that T Tauri coronae are compact and
clumpy, such that rotational modulation arises from X-ray emitting regions
being eclipsed as the star rotates. Emitting regions are close to the stellar
surface and inhomogeneously distributed about the star. However some regions of
the stellar surface, which contain wind bearing open field lines, are dark in
X-rays. From simulated X-ray light curves, obtained using stellar parameters
from the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project, we calculate X-ray periods and make
comparisons with optically determined rotation periods. We find that X-ray
periods are typically equal to, or are half of, the optical periods. Further,
we find that X-ray periods are dependent upon the stellar inclination, but that
the ratio of X-ray to optical period is independent of stellar mass and radius.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Preservation of glaciochemical time-series in snow and ice from the Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island
A detailed investigation of major ion concentrations of snow and ice in the summit region of Penny Ice Cap (PIC) was performed to determine the effects of summer melt on the glaciochemical time-series. While ion migration due to meltwater percolation makes it difficult to confidently count annual layers in the glaciochemical profiles, time-series of these parameters do show good structure and a strong one year spectral component, suggesting that annual to biannual signals are preserved in PIC glaciochemical records
Coronal structure of the cTTS V2129 Oph
The nature of the magnetic coupling between T Tauri stars and their disks
determines not only the mass accretion process but possibly the spin evolution
of the central star. We have taken a recently-published surface magnetogram of
one moderately-accreting T Tauri star (V2129 Oph) and used it to extrapolate
the geometry of its large-scale field. We determine the structure of the open
(wind-bearing) field lines, the closed (X-ray bright) field lines and those
potentially accreting field lines that pass through the equatorial plane inside
the Keplerian co-rotation radius. We consider a series of models in which the
stellar magnetic field is opened up by the outward pressure of the hot coronal
gas at a range of radii. As this radius is increased, accretion takes place
along simpler field structures and impacts on fewer sites at the stellar
surface. This is consistent with the observed variation in the Ca II IRT and
HeI lines which suggests that accretion in the visible hemisphere is confined
to a single high-latitude spot. By determining the density and velocity of the
accretion flows, we find that in order to have most of the total mass accretion
rate impacting on a single high-latitude region we need disk material to
accrete from approximately 7R*, close to the Keplerian co-rotation radius at
6.8R*. We also calculate the coronal density and X-ray emission measure. We
find that both the magnitude and rotational modulation of the emission measure
increase as the source surface is increased. For the field structure of V2129
Oph which is dominantly octupolar, the emission forms a bright, high-latitude
ring that is always in view as the star rotates. Since the accretion funnels
are not dense enough to cause significant scattering of coronal X-ray photons,
they provide only a low rotational modulation of around 10% at most.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
X-ray emission from T Tauri stars
We have modelled the X-ray emission of T Tauri stars assuming that they have
isothermal, magnetically-confined coronae. These coronae extend outwards until
either the pressure of the hot coronal gas overcomes the magnetic field, or, if
the corona interacts with a disk before this happens, by the action of the disk
itself. This work is motivated by the results of the Chandra Orion Ultradeep
Project (COUP) that show an increase in the X-ray emission measure with
increasing stellar mass. We find that this variation (and its large scatter)
result naturally from the variation in the sizes of the stellar coronae. The
reduction in the magnitude of the X-ray emission due to the presence of a disk
stripping the outer parts of the stellar corona is most pronounced for the
lower mass stars. The higher mass stars with their greater surface gravities
have coronae than typically do not extend out as far as the inner edge of the
disk and so are less affected by it. For these stars, accretion takes place
along open field lines that connect to the disk. By extrapolating surface
magnetograms of young main sequence stars we have examined the effect on the
X-ray emission of a realistic degree of field complexity. We find densities
consistent with estimates from modelling of individual flares. A simple dipole
field in contrast gives densities typically an order of magnitude less. We
suggest that T Tauri stars have coronal fields that are slightly more extended
than their main sequence counterparts, but not as extended as a purely dipolar
fields.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, to appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Societ
Role of Synaptic Inhibition in the Coupling of the Respiratory Rhythms that Underlie Eupnea and Sigh Behaviors
The preBötzinger complex (preBötC) gives rise to two types of breathing behavior under normal physiological conditions: eupnea and sighing. Here, we examine the neural mechanisms that couple their underlying rhythms. We measured breathing in awake intact adult mice and recorded inspiratory rhythms from the preBötC in neonatal mouse brainstem slice preparations. We show previously undocumented variability in the temporal relationship between sigh breaths or bursts and their preceding eupneic breaths or inspiratory bursts. Investigating the synaptic mechanisms for this variability in vitro, we further show that pharmacological blockade of chloride-mediated synaptic inhibition strengthens inspiratory-to-sigh temporal coupling. These findings contrast with previous literature, which suggested glycinergic inhibition linked sigh bursts to their preceding inspiratory bursts with minimal time intervals. Furthermore, we verify that pharmacological disinhibition did not alter the duration of the prolonged interval that follows a sigh burst before resumption of the inspiratory rhythm. These results demonstrate that synaptic inhibition does not enhance coupling between sighs and preceding inspiratory events or contribute to post-sigh apneas. Instead, we conclude that excitatory synaptic mechanisms coordinate inspiratory (eupnea) and sigh rhythms
The non-dipolar magnetic fields of accreting T Tauri stars
Models of magnetospheric accretion on to classical T Tauri stars often assume
that stellar magnetic fields are simple dipoles. Recently published surface
magnetograms of BP Tau and V2129 Oph have shown, however, that their fields are
more complex. The magnetic field of V2129 Oph was found to be predominantly
octupolar. For BP Tau the magnetic energy was shared mainly between the dipole
and octupole field components, with the dipole component being almost four
times as strong as that of V2129 Oph. From the published surface maps of the
photospheric magnetic fields we extrapolate the coronal fields of both stars,
and compare the resulting field structures with that of a dipole. We consider
different models where the disc is truncated at, or well-within, the Keplerian
corotation radius. We find that although the structure of the surface magnetic
field is particularly complex for both stars, the geometry of the larger scale
field, along which accretion is occurring, is somewhat simpler. However, the
larger scale field is distorted close to the star by the stronger field
regions, with the net effect being that the fractional open flux through the
stellar surface is less than would be expected with a dipole magnetic field
model. Finally, we estimate the disc truncation radius, assuming that this
occurs where the magnetic torque from the stellar magnetosphere is comparable
to the viscous torque in the disc.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Figures are reduced resolutio
An Ice-Core-Based, Late Holocene History for the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica
Ice core records (major anions and cations, MSA, oxygen isotopes and particles) developed from two shallow (~200 m depth) sites in the Transantarctic Mountains provide documentation of much of the Holocene paleoenvironmental history of this region. From the more southerly site, Dominion Range, an ~7000-year-long record reveals change in the influence of tropospheric transport to the region. At this site, milder conditions and increased tropospheric inflow prior to ~1500 yr BP are characterized by increased seasalt (ss), terrestrial and marine biogenic inputs. Increased persistence and/or extent of polar stratospheric clouds accompanying generally cooler conditions characterize much of the period since ~1500 yr BP. From the more northerly site, Newall Glacier, the dramatic influence of the retreat of grounded ice from McMurdo Sound dated at[Denton et al., 1989] dominates much of the ice core record. This regional environmental change is documented by massive influxes to the core site of evaporitic salts from areas exposed during low lake level stands. During the past ~150 yr, both Dominion Range and Newall Glacier appear to be experiencing an overall increase in the exposure of ice-free terrain
A metamorphic inorganic framework that can be switched between eight single-crystalline states
The design of highly flexible framework materials requires organic linkers, whereas inorganic materials are more robust but inflexible. Here, by using linkable inorganic rings made up of tungsten oxide (P8W48O184) building blocks, we synthesized an inorganic single crystal material that can undergo at least eight different crystal-to-crystal transformations, with gigantic crystal volume contraction and expansion changes ranging from â2,170 to +1,720âĂ
3 with no reduction in crystallinity. Not only does this material undergo the largest single crystal-to-single crystal volume transformation thus far reported (to the best of our knowledge), the system also shows conformational flexibility while maintaining robustness over several cycles in the reversible uptake and release of guest molecules switching the crystal between different metamorphic states. This material combines the robustness of inorganic materials with the flexibility of organic frameworks, thereby challenging the notion that flexible materials with robustness are mutually exclusive
Magnetic fields and accretion flows on the classical T Tauri star V2129 Oph
From observations collected with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter, we report
the discovery of magnetic fields at the surface of the mildly accreting
classical T Tauri star V2129 Oph. Zeeman signatures are detected, both in
photospheric lines and in the emission lines formed at the base of the
accretion funnels linking the disc to the protostar, and monitored over the
whole rotation cycle of V2129 Oph. We observe that rotational modulation
dominates the temporal variations of both unpolarized and circularly polarized
line profiles. We reconstruct the large-scale magnetic topology at the surface
of V2129 Oph from both sets of Zeeman signatures simultaneously. We find it to
be rather complex, with a dominant octupolar component and a weak dipole of
strengths 1.2 and 0.35 kG, respectively, both slightly tilted with respect to
the rotation axis. The large-scale field is anchored in a pair of 2-kG unipolar
radial field spots located at high latitudes and coinciding with cool dark
polar spots at photospheric level. This large-scale field geometry is unusually
complex compared to those of non-accreting cool active subgiants with moderate
rotation rates. As an illustration, we provide a first attempt at modelling the
magnetospheric topology and accretion funnels of V2129 Oph using field
extrapolation. We find that the magnetosphere of V2129 Oph must extend to about
7R* to ensure that the footpoints of accretion funnels coincide with the
high-latitude accretion spots on the stellar surface. It suggests that the
stellar magnetic field succeeds in coupling to the accretion disc as far out as
the corotation radius, and could possibly explain the slow rotation of V2129
Oph. The magnetospheric geometry we derive produces X-ray coronal fluxes
typical of those observed in cTTSs.Comment: MNRAS, in press (18 pages, 17 figures
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