32 research outputs found
Massive Young Stellar Objects in the Galactic Center. I. Spectroscopic Identification from Spitzer/IRS Observations
We present results from our spectroscopic study, using the Infrared
Spectrograph (IRS) onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, designed to identify
massive young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Galactic Center (GC). Our sample of
107 YSO candidates was selected based on IRAC colors from the high spatial
resolution, high sensitivity Spitzer/IRAC images in the Central Molecular Zone
(CMZ), which spans the central ~300 pc region of the Milky Way Galaxy. We
obtained IRS spectra over 5um to 35um using both high- and low-resolution IRS
modules. We spectroscopically identify massive YSOs by the presence of a 15.4um
shoulder on the absorption profile of 15um CO2 ice, suggestive of CO2 ice mixed
with CH3OH ice on grains. This 15.4um shoulder is clearly observed in 16
sources and possibly observed in an additional 19 sources. We show that 9
massive YSOs also reveal molecular gas-phase absorption from CO2, C2H2, and/or
HCN, which traces warm and dense gas in YSOs. Our results provide the first
spectroscopic census of the massive YSO population in the GC. We fit YSO models
to the observed spectral energy distributions and find YSO masses of 8 - 23
Msun, which generally agree with the masses derived from observed radio
continuum emission. We find that about 50% of photometrically identified YSOs
are confirmed with our spectroscopic study. This implies a preliminary star
formation rate of ~0.07 Msun/yr at the GC.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
High-resolution Near-Infrared Images and Models of the Circumstellar Disk in HH 30
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-object
Spectrometer (NICMOS) observations of the reflection nebulosity associated with
the T Tauri star HH 30. The images show the scattered light pattern
characteristic of a highly inclined, optically thick disk with a prominent
dustlane whose width decreases with increasing wavelength. The reflected
nebulosity exhibits a lateral asymmetry in the upper lobe on the opposite side
to that reported in previously published Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2)
images. The radiation transfer model which most closely reproduces the data has
a flared accretion disk with dust grains larger than standard interstellar
medium grains by a factor of approximately 2.1. A single hotspot on the stellar
surface provides the necessary asymmetry to fit the images and is consistent
with previous modeling of the light curve and images. Photometric analysis
results in an estimated extinction of Av>~80; however, since the photometry
measures only scattered light rather than direct stellar flux, this a lower
limit. The radiative transfer models require an extinction of Av = 7,900.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap.
Point Sources from a Spitzer IRAC Survey of the Galactic Center
We have obtained Spitzer/IRAC observations of the central 2.0 x 1.4 degrees
(~280 x 200 pc) of the Galaxy at 3.6-8.0 microns. A point source catalog of
1,065,565 objects is presented. The catalog includes magnitudes for the point
sources at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns, as well as JHK photometry from
2MASS. The point source catalog is confusion limited with average limits of
12.4, 12.1, 11.7, and 11.2 magnitudes for [3.6], [4.5], [5.8], and [8.0],
respectively. We find that the confusion limits are spatially variable because
of stellar surface density, background surface brightness level, and extinction
variations across the survey region. The overall distribution of point source
density with Galactic latitude and longitude is essentially constant, but
structure does appear when sources of different magnitude ranges are selected.
Bright stars show a steep decreasing gradient with Galactic latitude, and a
slow decreasing gradient with Galactic longitude, with a peak at the position
of the Galactic center. From IRAC color-magnitude and color-color diagrams, we
conclude that most of the point sources in our catalog have IRAC magnitudes and
colors characteristic of red giant and AGB stars.Comment: 44 pages, 13 figures, ApJS in pres
First Spectroscopic Identification of Massive Young Stellar Objects in the Galactic Center
We report the detection of several molecular gas-phase and ice
absorption features in three photometrically-selected young stellar object (YSO)
candidates in the central 280 pc of the Milky Way. Our spectra, obtained with
the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, reveal gas-
phase absorption from CO_2 (15.0 ÎŒm), C_2H_2 (13.7 ÎŒm) and HCN (14.0 ÎŒm). We
attribute this absorption to warm, dense gas in massive YSOs. We also detect
strong and broad 15 ÎŒm CO_2 ice absorption features, with a remarkable double-
peaked structure. The prominent long-wavelength peak is due to CH_3OH-rich
ice grains, and is similar to those found in other known massive YSOs. Our
IRS observations demonstrate the youth of these objects, and provide the first
spectroscopic identification of massive YSOs in the Galactic Center
The Initial Mass Function of Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in Young Clusters
We have obtained images of the Trapezium Cluster (140" x 140"; 0.3 pc x 0.3
pc) with the Hubble Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object
Spectrometer (NICMOS). Combining these data with new ground-based K-band
spectra (R=800) and existing spectral types and photometry and the models of
D'Antona & Mazzitelli, we find that the distributions of ages of comparable
samples of stars in the Trapezium, rho Oph, and IC 348 indicate median ages of
\~0.4 Myr for the first two regions and ~1-2 Myr for the latter. The low-mass
IMFs in these sites of clustered star formation are similar over a wide range
of stellar densities and other environmental conditions. With current data, we
cannot rule out modest variations in the substellar mass functions among these
clusters. We then make the best estimate of the true form of the IMF in the
Trapezium by using the evolutionary models of Baraffe et al. and an empirically
adjusted temperature scale and compare this mass function to recent results for
the Pleiades and the field. All of these data are consistent with an IMF that
is flat or rises slowly from the substellar regime to about 0.6 Msun, and then
rolls over into a power law that continues from about 1 Msun to higher masses
with a slope similar to or somewhat larger than the Salpeter value of 1.35. For
the Trapezium, this behavior holds from our completeness limit of ~0.02 Msun
and probably, after a modest completeness correction, even from 0.01-0.02 Msun.
These data include ~50 likely brown dwarfs. We test the predictions of theories
of the IMF against various properties of the observed IMF.Comment: 34 pages, 13 figures, for color image see
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kluhman/trap/colorimage.jp