284 research outputs found
Spitzer Mid-infrared Study of Compact HII Regions in the Magellanic Clouds
We present a study of the mid-infrared properties and dust content of a
sample of 27 HII ``blobs'', a rare class of compact HII regions in the
Magellanic Clouds. A unique feature of this sample is that even though these
HII regions are of high and low excitation they have nearly the same physical
sizes ~1.5-3 pc. We base our analysis on archival 3-8 microns infrared imagery
obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on board the Spitzer Space
Telescope. We find that despite their youth, sub-solar metallicity and varied
degrees of excitation, the mid-infrared colors of these regions are similar to
those of typical HII regions. Higher excitation ``blobs'' (HEBs) display
stronger 8 micron emission and redder colors than their low-excitation
counterparts (LEBs).Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics (higher resolution version is available in
http://www.physics.uoc.gr/~vassilis/papers/blobs_spitzer.pdf
Multidimensional Simulations of Rotating Pair Instability Supernovae
We study the effects of rotation on the dynamics, energetics and Ni-56
production of Pair Instability Supernova explosions by performing rotating
two-dimensional ("2.5-D") hydrodynamics simulations. We calculate the evolution
of eight low metallicity (Z = 10^-3, 10^-4 Zsun) massive (135-245 Msun) PISN
progenitors with initial surface rotational velocities 50% that of the critical
Keplerian value using the stellar evolution code MESA. We allow for both the
inclusion and the omission of the effects of magnetic fields in the angular
momentum transport and in chemical mixing, resulting in slowly-rotating and
rapidly-rotating final carbon-oxygen cores, respectively. Increased rotation
for carbon-oxygen cores of the same mass and chemical stratification leads to
less energetic PISN explosions that produce smaller amounts of Ni-56 due to the
effect of the angular momentum barrier that develops and slows the dynamical
collapse. We find a non-monotonic dependence of Ni-56 production on rotational
velocity in situations when smoother composition gradients form at the outer
edge of the rotating cores. In these cases, the PISN energetics are determined
by the competition of two factors: the extent of chemical mixing in the outer
layers of the core due to the effects of rotation in the progenitor evolution
and the development of angular momentum support against collapse. Our 2.5-D
PISN simulations with rotation are the first presented in the literature. They
reveal hydrodynamic instabilities in several regions of the exploding star and
increased explosion asymmetries with higher core rotational velocity.Comment: 31 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in the Ap
The Three Dimensional Evolution to Core Collapse of a Massive Star
We present the first three dimensional (3D) simulation of the final minutes
of iron core growth in a massive star, up to and including the point of core
gravitational instability and collapse. We self-consistently capture the
development of strong convection driven by violent Si burning in the shell
surrounding the iron core. This convective burning builds the iron core to its
critical (Chandrasekhar) mass and collapse ensues, driven by electron capture
and photodisintegration. The non-spherical structure and motion (turbulent
fluctuations) generated by 3D convection is substantial at the point of
collapse. We examine the impact of such physically-realistic 3D initial
conditions on the core-collapse supernova mechanism using 3D simulations
including multispecies neutrino leakage. We conclude that non-spherical
progenitor structure should not be ignored, and has a significant and favorable
impact on the likelihood for neutrino-driven explosions.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Movies
may be viewed at http://flash.uchicago.edu/~smc/progen3
A strongly inhomogeneous superfluid in an iron-based superconductor
Among the mysteries surrounding unconventional, strongly correlated
superconductors is the possibility of spatial variations in their superfluid
density. We use atomic-resolution Josephson scanning tunneling microscopy to
reveal a strongly inhomogeneous superfluid in the iron-based superconductor
FeTe0.55Se0.45. By simultaneously measuring the topographic and electronic
properties, we find that this inhomogeneity in the superfluid density is not
caused by structural disorder or strong inter-pocket scattering, and does not
correlate with variations in Cooper pair-breaking gap. Instead, we see a clear
spatial correlation between superfluid density and quasiparticle strength,
putting the iron-based superconductors on equal footing with the cuprates and
demonstrating that locally, the quasiparticles are sharpest when the
superconductivity is strongest. When repeated at different temperatures, our
technique could further help elucidate what local and global mechanisms limit
the critical temperature in unconventional superconductors
Amplifier for scanning tunneling microscopy at MHz frequencies
Conventional scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is limited to a bandwidth of
circa 1kHz around DC. Here, we develop, build and test a novel amplifier
circuit capable of measuring the tunneling current in the MHz regime while
simultaneously performing conventional STM measurements. This is achieved with
an amplifier circuit including a LC tank with a quality factor exceeding 600
and a home-built, low-noise high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). The
amplifier circuit functions while simultaneously scanning with atomic
resolution in the tunneling regime, i.e. at junction resistances in the range
of giga-ohms, and down towards point contact spectroscopy. To enable high
signal-to-noise and meet all technical requirements for the inclusion in a
commercial low temperature, ultra-high vacuum STM, we use superconducting
cross-wound inductors and choose materials and circuit elements with low heat
load. We demonstrate the high performance of the amplifier by spatially mapping
the Poissonian noise of tunneling electrons on an atomically clean Au(111)
surface. We also show differential conductance spectroscopy measurements at
3MHz, demonstrating superior performance over conventional spectroscopy
techniques. Further, our technology could be used to perform impedance matched
spin resonance and distinguish Majorana modes from more conventional edge
states
The Exceptionally Luminous Type Ia Supernova 2007If
SN 2007if was the third over-luminous Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) detected after 2003fg and 2006gz. We present the photometric and spectroscopic observations of the SN and its host by ROTSE-III, HET, and Keck. From the H a line identified in the host spectra, we determine a redshift of 0.0736. At this distance, the SN reached an absolute magnitude of -20.4, brighter than any other SNe Ia ever observed. If the source of luminosity is radioactive decay, a large amount of radioactive nickel (similar to 1.5 M(circle dot)) is required to power the peak luminosity, more than can be produced realistically in a Chandrasekhar mass progenitor. Low expansion velocity, similar to that of 2003fg, is also measured around the maximum light. The observations may suggest that SN 2007if was from a massive white dwarf progenitor, plausibly exploding with mass well beyond 1.4 M(circle dot). Alternatively, we investigate circumstellar interaction that may contribute to the excess luminosity.NASA NNX-08AN25G, NNX-08AV63GNSF AST-0707769, PHY-0801007Australian Research CouncilUniversity of New South WalesUniversity of TexasUniversity of MichiganAstronom
SN 2006oz: rise of a super-luminous supernova observed by the SDSS-II SN Survey
We study SN 2006oz, a newly-recognized member of the class of H-poor,
super-luminous supernovae. We present multi-color light curves from the SDSS-II
SN Survey, that cover the rise time, as well as an optical spectrum that shows
that the explosion occurred at z~0.376. We fitted black body functions to
estimate the temperature and radius evolution of the photosphere and used the
parametrized code SYNOW to model the spectrum. We constructed a bolometric
light curve and compared it with explosion models. The very early light curves
show a dip in the g- and r-bands and a possible initial cooling phase in the
u-band before rising to maximum light. The bolometric light curve shows a
precursor plateau with a duration of 6-10 days in the rest-frame. A lower limit
of M_u < -21.5 can be placed on the absolute peak luminosity of the SN, while
the rise time is constrained to be at least 29 days. During our observations,
the emitting sphere doubled its radius to 2x10^15 cm, while the temperature
remained hot at 15000 K. As for other similar SNe, the spectrum is best modeled
with elements including O II and Mg II, while we tentatively suggest that Fe
III might be present. We suggest that the precursor plateau might be related to
a recombination wave in a circumstellar medium (CSM) and discuss whether this
is a common property of all similar explosions. The subsequent rise can be
equally well described by input from a magnetar or by ejecta-CSM interaction,
but the models are not well constrained owing to the lack of post-maximum
observations, and CSM interaction has difficulties accounting for the precursor
plateau self-consistently. Radioactive decay is less likely to be the mechanism
that powers the luminosity. The host galaxy, detected in deep imaging with the
10 m GTC, is a moderately young and star-forming, but not a starburst, galaxy.
It has an absolute magnitude of M_g = -16.9.Comment: Contains minor changes (of editorial nature) with respect to v1 in
order to match the published version. The abstract has been modified to fit
the arXiv space requirements. 11 pages, 8 figures, 3 table
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