1,457 research outputs found
The kinematics of molecular clumps surrounding hot cores in G29.96-0.02 and G31.41+0.31
We present high angular resolution interferometric observations of the 3 and
1.3mm continuum emission, and HCO+(1-0) and SiO(2-1)v=0 lines, obtained with
the Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter-wave array, toward two hot cores
(HCs) associated with two well known ultracompact (UC) HII regions: G29.96-0.02
and G31.41+0.31. These HCs are believed to host young forming massive stars
which have been suggested to be surrounded by massive rotating accretion disks.
The aim of these new observations is to study the structure and kinematics of
the molecular clumps surrounding the HCs and nearby UCHII regions at moderately
high angular resolution. Our observations reveal that the clumps within which
the HCs and UCHII regions are embedded have a complex kinematical structure.
The total mass of the clumps is estimated to be in the range 1000-3000 Msun,
consistent with previous findings. Our observations also show compelling
evidence that the clump in G29.96-0.02 is contracting onto the HC position,
suggesting that the accretion process onto the massive young stellar object
embedded in the HC is still ongoing. In these objects the kinematical structure
that we observe is also compatible with the presence of a massive rotating disk
within the HC, even though we cannot prove this suggestion with our data. The
case of G31.41+0.31 is more complicated, and our data, although consistent with
the presence of an inner disk and an infalling envelope around it, do not have
the required spatial resolution to resolve the different structures.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figs, A&A in pres
Front propagation in geometric and phase field models of stratified media
We study front propagation problems for forced mean curvature flows and their
phase field variants that take place in stratified media, i.e., heterogeneous
media whose characteristics do not vary in one direction. We consider phase
change fronts in infinite cylinders whose axis coincides with the symmetry axis
of the medium. Using the recently developed variational approaches, we provide
a convergence result relating asymptotic in time front propagation in the
diffuse interface case to that in the sharp interface case, for suitably
balanced nonlinearities of Allen-Cahn type. The result is established by using
arguments in the spirit of -convergence, to obtain a correspondence
between the minimizers of an exponentially weighted Ginzburg-Landau type
functional and the minimizers of an exponentially weighted area type
functional. These minimizers yield the fastest traveling waves invading a given
stable equilibrium in the respective models and determine the asymptotic
propagation speeds for front-like initial data. We further show that
generically these fronts are the exponentially stable global attractors for
this kind of initial data and give sufficient conditions under which complete
phase change occurs via the formation of the considered fronts
Dissecting a hot molecular core: The case of G31.41+0.31
We made a detailed observational analysis of a well known hot molecular core
lying in the high-mass star-forming region G31.41+0.31. This core is believed
to contain deeply embedded massive stars and presents a velocity gradient that
has been interpreted either as rotation or as expansion, depending on the
authors. Our aim was to shed light on this question and possibly prepare the
ground for higher resolution ALMA observations which could directly detect
circumstellar disks around the embedded massive stars. Observations at
sub-arcsecond resolution were performed with the Submillimeter Array in methyl
cyanide, a typical hot molecular core tracer, and 12CO and 13CO, well known
outflow tracers. We also obtained sensitive continuum maps at 1.3 mm. Our
findings confirm the existence of a sharp velocity gradient across the core,
but cannot confirm the existence of a bipolar outflow perpendicular to it. The
improved angular resolution and sampling of the uv plane allow us to attain
higher quality channel maps of the CH3CN lines with respect to previous studies
and thus significantly improve our knowledge of the structure and kinematics of
the hot molecular core. While no conclusive argument can rule out any of the
two interpretations (rotation or expansion) proposed to explain the velocity
gradient observed in the core, in our opinion the observational evidence
collected so far indicates the rotating toroid as the most likely scenario. The
outflow hypothesis appears less plausible, because the dynamical time scale is
too short compared to that needed to form species such as CH3CN, and the mass
loss and momentum rates estimated from our measurements appear too high.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, in pres
Kinematics of a hot massive accretion disk candidate
Characterizing rotation, infall and accretion disks around high-mass
protostars is an important topic in massive star formation research. With the
Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Very Large Array we studied a massive
disk candidate at high angular resolution in ammonia (NH3(4,4) & (5,5)) tracing
the warm disk but not the envelope. The observations resolved at ~0.4''
resolution (corresponding to ~1400AU) a velocity gradient indicative of
rotation perpendicular to the molecular outflow. Assuming a Keplerian accretion
disk, the estimated protostar-disk mass would be high, similar to the
protostellar mass. Furthermore, the position-velocity diagram exhibits
additional deviation from a Keplerian rotation profile which may be caused by
infalling gas and/or a self-gravitating disk. Moreover, a large fraction of the
rotating gas is at temperatures >100K, markedly different to typical low-mass
accretion disks. In addition, we resolve a central double-lobe cm continuum
structure perpendicular to the rotation. We identify this with an ionized,
optically thick jet.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for Astrophysical Journal Letters, a
high-resolution version of the draft can be found at
http://www.mpia.de/homes/beuther/papers.htm
Infall of gas as the formation mechanism of stars up to 20 times more massive than the Sun
Theory predicts and observations confirm that low-mass stars (like the Sun)
in their early life grow by accreting gas from the surrounding material. But
for stars ~ 10 times more massive than the Sun (~10 M_sun), the powerful
stellar radiation is expected to inhibit accretion and thus limit the growth of
their mass. Clearly, stars with masses >10 M_sun exist, so there must be a way
for them to form. The problem may be solved by non-spherical accretion, which
allows some of the stellar photons to escape along the symmetry axis where the
density is lower. The recent detection of rotating disks and toroids around
very young massive stars has lent support to the idea that high-mass (> 8
M_sun) stars could form in this way. Here we report observations of an ammonia
line towards a high-mass star forming region. We conclude from the data that
the gas is falling inwards towards a very young star of ~20 M_sun, in line with
theoretical predictions of non-spherical accretion.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Marketing for technologies: S-D Logic and the Open Innovation paradigm
Firms have been modifying their innovation management processes to generate,
implement and exploit new technological knowledge. A gradual shift from a closed to
an open model of innovation has been the recurring pattern of this change. Firms have
to revise their overall strategic orientation to adapt their managerial procedures
according to the Open Innovation (OI) paradigm. The New Service-Dominant (S-D)
Logic can offer a useful guideline to firms in the implementation of an OI model. This
paper presents the bases of the OI paradigm by means of the S-D Logic mindset. For
each of the premises characterizing the S-D Logic, instances of firms that have
implicitly adopted the OI paradigm are provided. We discuss how the S-D Logic can be
put in practice within the context of the OI model
Momentum-driven outflow emission from an O-type YSO: Comparing the radio jet with the molecular outflow
Aims: We want to study the physical properties of the ionized jet emission in
the vicinity of an O-type young stellar object (YSO), and estimate how
efficient is the transfer of energy and momentum from small- to large-scale
outflows. Methods: We conducted Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA)
observations, at both 22 and 45 GHz, of the compact and faint radio continuum
emission in the high-mass star-forming region G023.01-00.41, with an angular
resolution between 0.3" and 0.1", and a thermal rms of the order of 10
uJy/beam. Results: We discovered a collimated thermal (bremsstrahlung) jet
emission, with a radio luminosity (L_rad) of 24 mJy kpc^2 at 45 GHz, in the
inner 1000 AU from an O-type YSO. The radio thermal jet has an opening angle of
44 degrees and brings a momentum rate of 8 10^-3 M_sun yr^-1 km/s. By combining
the new data with previous observations of the molecular outflow and water
maser shocks, we can trace the outflow emission from its driving source through
the molecular clump, across more than two order of magnitude in length (500
AU-0.2 pc). We find that the momentum-transfer efficiency, between the inner
jet emission and the extended outflow of entrained ambient gas, is near unity.
This result suggests that the large-scale flow is swept-up by the mechanical
force of the radio jet emission, which originates in the inner 1000 AU from the
high-mass YSO.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
Position-Velocity Diagrams for the Maser Emission coming from a Keplerian Ring
We have studied the maser emission from a thin, planar, gaseous ring in
Keplerian rotation around a central mass observed edge-on. The absorption
coefficient within the ring is assumed to follow a power law dependence with
the distance from the central mass as, k=k0r^{-q}. We have calculated
position-velocity diagrams for the most intense maser features, for different
values of the exponent q. We have found that, depending on the value of q,
these diagrams can be qualitatively different. The most intense maser emission
at a given velocity can either come mainly from regions close to the inner or
outer edges of the amplifying ring or from the line perpendicular to the line
of sight and passing through the central mass (as is commonly assumed).
Particularly, when q>1 the position-velocity diagram is qualitatively similar
to the one observed for the water maser emission in the nucleus of the galaxy
NGC 4258. In the context of this simple model, we conclude that in this object
the absorption coefficient depends on the radius of the amplifying ring as a
decreasing function, in order to have significant emission coming from the
inner edge of the ring.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, to appear in the 2007 July 20 issue of The
Astrophysical Journa
SiO collimated outflows driven by high-mass YSOs in G24.78+0.08
We imaged the molecular outflows towards the cluster of high-mass young
stellar objects G24.78+0.08 at high-angular resolution using SiO emission,
which is considered the classical tracer of protostellar jets. We performed SiO
observations with the VLA interferometer in the J = 1-0 v=0 transition and with
the SMA array in the 5-4 transition. A complementary IRAM 30-m single-dish
survey in the (2-1), (3-2), (5-4), and (6-5) SiO lines was also carried out.
Two collimated SiO high-velocity outflows driven by the A2 and C millimeter
continuum massive cores have been imaged. On the other hand, we detected no SiO
outflow driven by the young stellar objects in more evolved evolutionary phases
that are associated with ultracompact (B) or hypercompact (A1) HII regions. The
LVG analysis reveals high-density gas (10^3-10^4 cm-3), with well constrained
SiO column densities (0.5-1 10^15 cm-2). The driving source of the A2 outflow
is associated with typical hot core tracers such as methyl formate, vinyl
cyanide, cyanoacetilene, and acetone. The driving source of the main SiO
outflow in G24 has an estimated luminosity of a few 10^4 Lsun (typical of a
late O-type star) and is embedded in the 1.3 mm continuum core A2, which in
turn is located at the centre of a hot core that rotates on a plane
perpendicular to the outflow main axis. The present SiO images support a
scenario similar to the low-mass case for massive star formation, where jets
that are clearly traced by SiO emission, create outflows of swept-up ambient
gas usually traced by CO.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in pres
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