127 research outputs found
Simultaneous monitoring of the photometric and polarimetric activity of the young star PV Cep in the optical/near-infrared bands
We present the results of a simultaneous monitoring, lasting more than 2
years, of the optical and near-infrared photometric and polarimetric activity
of the variable protostar PV Cep. During the monitoring period, an outburst has
occurred in all the photometric bands, whose declining phase (J
3 mag) lasted about 120 days. A time lag of 30 days between
optical and infrared light curves has been measured and interpreted in the
framework of an accretion event. This latter is directly recognizable in the
significant variations of the near-infrared colors, that appear bluer in the
outburst phase, when the star dominates the emission, and redder in declining
phase, when the disk emission prevails. All the observational data have been
combined to derive a coherent picture of the complex morphology of the whole PV
Cep system, that, in addition to the star and the accretion disk, is composed
also by a variable biconical nebula. In particular, the mutual interaction
between all these components is the cause of the high value of the polarization
( 20%) and of its fluctuations. The observational data concur to
indicate that PV Cep is not a genuine EXor star, but rather a more complex
object; moreover the case of PV Cep leads to argue about the classification of
other recently discovered young sources in outburst, that have been considered,
maybe over-simplifying, as EXor.Comment: Accepted for publication on Ap
Molecular hydrogen jets and outflows in the Serpens south filamentary cloud
We aimed to map the jets and outflows from the Serpens South star forming
region and find an empirical relationship between the magnetic field and
outflow orientation. Near-infrared H2 v=1-0 S(1) 2.122{\mu}m -line imaging of
the \sim 30'-long filamentary shaped Serpens South star forming region was
carried out. K s broadband imaging of the same region was used for continuum
subraction. Candidate driving sources of the mapped jets/outflows are
identified from the list of known protostars and young stars in this region,
which was derived from studies using recent Spitzer and Herschel telescope
observations. 14 Molecular Hydrogen emission-line objects(MHOs) are identified
using our continuum-subtracted images. They are found to constitute ten
individual flows. Out of these, nine flows are located in the
lower-half(southern) part of the Serpens South filament, and one flow is
located at the northern tip of the filament. Four flows are driven by
well-identified Class 0 protostars, while the remaining six flows are driven by
candidate protostars mostly in the Class I stage, based on the Spitzer and
Herschel observations. The orientation of the outflows is systematically
perpendicular to the direction of the near-infrared polarization vector,
recently published in the literature. No significant correlation was observed
between the orientation of the flows and the axis of the filamentary cloud.Comment: Accepted by A&A for publication. 7 pages, 5 figure
Visual Binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster
We have carried out a major survey for visual binaries towards the Orion
Nebula Cluster using HST images obtained with an H-alpha filter. Among 781
likely ONC members more than 60" from theta-1 Ori C, we find 78 multiple
systems (75 binaries and 3 triples), of which 55 are new discoveries, in the
range from 0.1" to 1.5". About 9 binaries are likely line-of-sight
associations. We find a binary fraction of 8.8%+-1.1% within the limited
separation range from 67.5 to 675 AU. The field binary fraction in the same
range is a factor 1.5 higher. Within the range 150 AU to 675 AU we find that T
Tauri associations have a factor 2.2 more binaries than the ONC. The binary
separation distribution function of the ONC shows unusual structure, with a
sudden steep decrease in the number of binaries as the separation increases
beyond 0.5", corresponding to 225 AU. We have measured the ratio of binaries
wider than 0.5" to binaries closer than 0.5" as a function of distance from the
Trapezium, and find that this ratio is significantly depressed in the inner
region of the ONC. The deficit of wide binaries in the central part of the
cluster is likely due to dissolution or orbital change during their passage
through the potential well of the inner cluster region. Many of the companions
are likely to be brown dwarfs.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted by the Astronomical Journa
First results on a new PIAA coronagraph testbed at NASA Ames
Direct imaging of extrasolar planets, and Earth-like planets in particular, is an exciting but difficult problem requiring a telescope imaging system with 1010 contrast at separations of 100 mas and less. Furthermore, the current NASA science budget may only allow for a small 1-2 m space telescope for this task, which puts strong demands on the performance of the imaging instrument. Fortunately, an efficient coronagraph called the Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph has been maturing and may enable Earth-like planet imaging for such small telescopes. In this paper, we report on the latest results from a new testbed at NASA Ames focused on testing the PIAA coronagraph. This laboratory facility was built in 2008 and is designed to be flexible, operated in a highly stabilized air environment, and to complement existing efforts at NASA JPL. For our wavefront control we are focusing on using small Micro-Electro- Mechanical-System deformable mirrors (MEMS DMs), which promises to reduce the size of the beam and overall instrument, a consideration that becomes very important for small telescopes. At time of this writing, we are operating a refractive PIAA system and have achieved contrasts of about 1.2×10-7 in a dark zone from 2.0 to 4.8 λ/D (with 6.6×10-8 in selected regions). In this paper, we present these results, describe our methods, present an analysis of current limiting factors, and solutions to overcome them
The Anatomy of an Unusual Edge-on Protoplanetary Disk. II. Gas temperature and a warm outer region
We present high-resolution CO and CO 2-1 ALMA observations, as
well as optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, of the highly-inclined
protoplanetary disk around SSTC2D J163131.2-242627. The spectral type we derive
for the source is consistent with a star inferred from
the ALMA observations. Despite its massive circumstellar disk, we find little
to no evidence for ongoing accretion on the star. The CO maps reveal a disk
that is unusually compact along the vertical direction, consistent with its
appearance in scattered light images. The gas disk extends about twice as far
away as both the submillimeter continuum and the optical scattered light. CO is
detected from two surface layers separated by a midplane region in which CO
emission is suppressed, as expected from freeze-out in the cold midplane. We
apply a modified version of the Topographically Reconstructed Distribution
method presented by Dutrey et al. 2017 to derive the temperature structure of
the disk. We find a temperature in the CO-emitting layers and the midplane of
33 K and 20 K at au, respectively. Outside of au, the disk's midplane temperature increases to 30 K, with a
nearly vertically isothermal profile. The transition in CO temperature
coincides with a dramatic reduction in the sub-micron and sub-millimeter
emission from the disk. We interpret this as interstellar UV radiation
providing an additional source of heating to the outer part of the disk.Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, 1 tabl
Inner disc rearrangement revealed by dramatic brightness variations in the young star PV Cep
Young Sun-like stars at the beginning of the pre-main sequence (PMS)
evolution are surrounded by accretion discs and remnant protostellar envelopes.
Photometric and spectroscopic variations of these stars are driven by
interactions of the star with the disc. Time scales and wavelength dependence
of the variability carry information on the physical mechanisms behind these
interactions. We conducted multi-epoch, multi-wavelength study of PV Cep, a
strongly variable, accreting PMS star. By combining our own observations from
2004-2010 with archival and literature data, we show that PV Cep started a
spectacular fading in 2005, reaching an I_C-band amplitude of 4 mag. Analysis
of variation of the optical and infrared fluxes, colour indices, and emission
line fluxes suggests that the photometric decline in 2005-2009 resulted from an
interplay between variable accretion and circumstellar extinction: since the
central luminosity of the system is dominated by accretion, a modest drop in
the accretion rate could induce the drastic restructuring of the inner disc.
Dust condensation in the inner disc region might have resulted in the
enhancement of the circumstellar extinction.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by MNRAS. 3 online
tables adde
POISSON project - II - A multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric survey of young protostars in L 1641
Characterising stellar and circumstellar properties of embedded young stellar
objects (YSOs) is mandatory for understanding the early stages of the stellar
evolution. This task requires the combination of both spectroscopy and
photometry, covering the widest possible wavelength range, to disentangle the
various protostellar components and activities. As part of the POISSON project,
we present a multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric investigation of
embedded YSOs in L1641, aimed to derive the stellar parameters and evolutionary
stages and to infer their accretion properties. Our database includes
low-resolution optical-IR spectra from the NTT and Spitzer (0.6-40 um) and
photometric data covering a spectral range from 0.4 to 1100 um, which allow us
to construct the YSOs spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and to infer the
main stellar parameters. The SED analysis allows us to group our 27 YSOs into
nine Class I, eleven Flat, and seven Class II objects. However, on the basis of
the derived stellar properties, only six Class I YSOs have an age of ~10^5 yr,
while the others are older 5x10^5-10^6 yr), and, among the Flat sources, three
out of eleven are more evolved objects (5x10^6-10^7 yr), indicating that
geometrical effects can significantly modify the SED shapes. Inferred mass
accretion rates (Macc) show a wide range of values (3.6x10^-9 to 1.2x10^-5
M_sun yr^-1), which reflects the age spread observed in our sample. Average
values of mass accretion rates, extinction, and spectral indices decrease with
the YSO class. The youngest YSOs have the highest Macc, whereas the oldest YSOs
do not show any detectable jet activity in either images and spectra. We also
observe a clear correlation among the YSO Macc, M*, and age, consistent with
mass accretion evolution in viscous disc models.Comment: 61 pages, 16 figures; A&A in pres
V2494 cyg: A unique FU ori type object in the cygnus OB7 complex
A photometric and spectral study of the variable star V2494 Cyg in the L 1003 dark cloud is presented. The brightness of the star, formerly known as HH 381 IRS, increased by 2.5 mag in R (probably in the 1980s) and since then has remained nearly constant. Since the brightness increase, V2494 Cyg has illuminated a bipolar cometary nebula. The stellar spectrum has several features typical of the FU Ori (FUor) type, plus it exhibits very strong Ha and forbidden emissionlines with high-velocity components. These emission lines originate in the Herbig-Haro (HH) jet near the star. The kinematic age of the jet is consistent with it forming at the time of the outburst leading to the luminosity increase. V2494 Cyg also produces a rather extended outflow; it is the first known FUor with both an observed outburst and a parsec-sized HH flow. The nebula, illuminated by V2494 Cyg, possesses similar morphological and spectral characteristics to Hubble's variable nebula (R Monocerotis/NGC 2261). © 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society
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