479 research outputs found
Ground-based detection of a cloud of methanol from Enceladus: When is a biomarker not a biomarker?
Saturn's moon Enceladus has vents emerging from a sub-surface ocean, offering
unique probes into the liquid environment. These vents drain into the larger
neutral torus in orbit around Saturn. We present a methanol (CH3OH) detection
observed with IRAM 30-m from 2008 along the line-of-sight through Saturn's
E-ring. Additionally, we also present supporting observations from the Herschel
public archive of water (ortho-H2O; 1669.9 GHz) from 2012 at a similar
elongation and line-of-sight. The CH3OH 5(1,1)-4(1,1) transition was detected
at 5.9 sigma confidence. The line has 0.43 km/s width and is offset by +8.1
km/s in the moon's reference frame. Radiative transfer models allow for gas
cloud dimensions from 1750 km up to the telescope beam diameter ~73000 km.
Taking into account the CH3OH lifetime against solar photodissociation and the
redshifted line velocity, there are two possible explanations for the CH3OH
emission: methanol is primarily a secondary product of chemical interactions
within the neutral torus that (1) spreads outward throughout the E-ring or (2)
originates from a compact, confined gas cloud lagging Enceladus by several
km/s. We find either scenario to be consistent with significant redshifted H2O
emission (4 sigma) measured from the Herschel public archive. The measured
CH3OH:H2O abundance (> 0.5 per cent) significantly exceeds the observed
abundance in the direct vicinity of the vents (~0.01 per cent), suggesting
CH3OH is likely chemically processed within the gas cloud with methane (CH4) as
its parent species.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the International
Journal of Astrobiology (IJA
The Effect of Molecular Contamination on the Emissivity Spectral Index in Orion A
The emissivity spectral index is a critical component in the study of the physical properties of dust grains in cold and optically thin interstellar star forming regions. Since submillimeter astronomy is an ideal tool to measure the thermal emission of those dust grains, it can be used to characterize this important parameter. We present the SCUBA-2 shared risks observations at 450 μm and 850 μm of the Orion A molecular cloud obtained at the James-Clerk-Maxwell telescope. Previous studies showed that molecular emission lines can also contribute significantly to the measured fluxes in those continuum bands. We use HARP 12CO 3-2 maps to evaluate the total molecular line contamination in the SCUBA-2 maps and its effect on the determination of the spectral index in highly contaminated areas. With the corrected fluxes, we have obtained new spectral index maps for different regions of the well-known integral-shaped filament. This work is part of an ongoing effort to characterize the properties of star forming regions in the Gould belt with the new instruments available at the JCMT
The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: the effect of molecular contamination in SCUBA-2 observations of Orion A
Thermal emission from cold dust grains in giant molecular clouds can be used
to probe the physical properties, such as density, temperature and emissivity
in star-forming regions. We present the SCUBA-2 shared-risk observations at 450
m and 850 m of the Orion A molecular cloud complex taken at the James
Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Previous studies showed that molecular emission
lines can contribute significantly to the measured fluxes in those continuum
bands. We use the HARP CO J=3-2 integrated intensity map for Orion A in
order to evaluate the molecular line contamination and its effects on the
SCUBA-2 maps. With the corrected fluxes, we have obtained a new spectral index
map for the thermal emission of dust in the well-known integral-shaped
filament. Furthermore, we compare a sample of 33 sources, selected over the
Orion A molecular cloud complex for their high CO J=3-2 line
contamination, to 27 previously identified clumps in OMC-4. This allows us to
quantify the effect of line contamination on the ratio of 850 m to 450
m flux densities and how it modifies the deduced spectral index of
emissivity for the dust grains. We also show that at least one
Spitzer-identified protostellar core in OMC-5 has a CO J=3-2
contamination level of 16 %. Furthermore, we find the strongest contamination
level (44 %) towards a young star with disk near OMC-2. This work is part of
the JCMT Gould Belt Legacy Survey.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS
An ALMA Survey of CO isotopologue emission from Protoplanetary Disks in Chamaeleon I
The mass of a protoplanetary disk limits the formation and future growth of
any planet. Masses of protoplanetary disks are usually calculated from
measurements of the dust continuum emission by assuming an interstellar
gas-to-dust ratio. To investigate the utility of CO as an alternate probe of
disk mass, we use ALMA to survey CO and CO J = line
emission from a sample of 93 protoplanetary disks around stars and brown dwarfs
with masses from 0.03 -- 2 M in the nearby Chamaeleon I star-forming
region. We detect CO emission from 17 sources and CO from only
one source. Gas masses for disks are then estimated by comparing the CO line
luminosities to results from published disk models that include CO freeze-out
and isotope-selective photodissociation. Under the assumption of a typical ISM
CO-to-H ratios of , the resulting gas masses are implausibly low,
with an average gas mass of 0.05 M as inferred from the average
flux of stacked CO lines. The low gas masses and gas-to-dust ratios for
Cha I disks are both consistent with similar results from disks in the Lupus
star-forming region. The faint CO line emission may instead be explained if
disks have much higher gas masses, but freeze-out of CO or complex C-bearing
molecules is underestimated in disk models. The conversion of CO flux to CO gas
mass also suffers from uncertainties in disk structures, which could affect gas
temperatures. CO emission lines will only be a good tracer of the disk mass
when models for C and CO depletion are confirmed to be accurate.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Collective Decision Dynamics in the Presence of External Drivers
We develop a sequence of models describing information transmission and
decision dynamics for a network of individual agents subject to multiple
sources of influence. Our general framework is set in the context of an
impending natural disaster, where individuals, represented by nodes on the
network, must decide whether or not to evacuate. Sources of influence include a
one-to-many externally driven global broadcast as well as pairwise
interactions, across links in the network, in which agents transmit either
continuous opinions or binary actions. We consider both uniform and variable
threshold rules on the individual opinion as baseline models for
decision-making. Our results indicate that 1) social networks lead to
clustering and cohesive action among individuals, 2) binary information
introduces high temporal variability and stagnation, and 3) information
transmission over the network can either facilitate or hinder action adoption,
depending on the influence of the global broadcast relative to the social
network. Our framework highlights the essential role of local interactions
between agents in predicting collective behavior of the population as a whole.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
Molecular line contamination in the SCUBA-2 450 {\mu}m and 850 {\mu}m continuum data
Observations of the dust emission using millimetre/submillimetre bolometer
arrays can be contaminated by molecular line flux, such as flux from 12CO. As
the brightest molecular line in the submillimetre, it is important to quantify
the contribution of CO flux to the dust continuum bands. Conversion factors
were used to convert molecular line integrated intensities to flux detected by
bolometer arrays in mJy per beam. These factors were calculated for 12CO line
integrated intensities to the SCUBA-2 850 {\mu}m and 450 {\mu}m bands. The
conversion factors were then applied to HARP 12CO 3-2 maps of NGC 1333 in the
Perseus complex and NGC 2071 and NGC 2024 in the Orion B molecular cloud
complex to quantify the respective 12CO flux contribution to the 850 {\mu}m
dust continuum emission. Sources with high molecular line contamination were
analysed in further detail for molecular outflows and heating by nearby stars
to determine the cause of the 12CO contribution. The majority of sources had a
12CO 3-2 flux contribution under 20 per cent. However, in regions of molecular
outflows, the 12CO can dominate the source dust continuum (up to 79 per cent
contamination) with 12CO fluxes reaching \sim 68 mJy per beam.Comment: Accepted 2012 April 19 for publication in MNRAS. 21 pages, 13
figures, 3 table
The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: the effect of molecular contamination in SCUBA-2 observations of Orion A
JOURThis is the final version of the article. It was first published by Oxford Journals for the Royal Astronomical Society via http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1093/mnras/stv3009Thermal emission from cold dust grains in giant molecular clouds can be used to probe the physical properties, such as density, temperature and emissivity in star-forming regions. We present the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA-2) shared-risk observations at 450 and 850 μm of the Orion A molecular cloud complex taken at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Previous studies showed that molecular emission lines can contribute significantly to the measured fluxes in those continuum bands. We use the Heterodyne Array Receiver Programme 12CO J = 3-2 integrated intensity map for Orion A in order to evaluate the molecular line contamination and its effects on the SCUBA-2 maps. With the corrected fluxes, we have obtained a new spectral index α map for the thermal emission of dust in the well-known integral-shaped filament. Furthermore, we compare a sample of 33 sources, selected over the Orion A molecular cloud complex for their high 12CO J = 3-2 line contamination, to 27 previously identified clumps in OMC 4. This allows us to quantify the effect of line contamination on the ratio of 850-450 μm flux densities and how it modifies the deduced spectral index of emissivity β for the dust grains. We also show that at least one Spitzer-identified protostellar core in OMC 5 has a 12CO J = 3-2 contamination level of 16 per cent. Furthermore, we find the strongest contamination level (44 per cent) towards a young star with disc near OMC 2. This work is part of the JCMT Gould Belt Legacy Survey
The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: Evidence for radiative heating in Serpens MWC 297 and its influence on local star formation
We present SCUBA-2 450micron and 850micron observations of the Serpens MWC
297 region, part of the JCMT Gould Belt Survey of nearby star-forming regions.
Simulations suggest that radiative feedback influences the star-formation
process and we investigate observational evidence for this by constructing
temperature maps. Maps are derived from the ratio of SCUBA-2 fluxes and a two
component model of the JCMT beam for a fixed dust opacity spectral index of
beta = 1.8. Within 40 of the B1.5Ve Herbig star MWC 297, the submillimetre
fluxes are contaminated by free-free emission with a spectral index of
1.03+-0.02, consistent with an ultra-compact HII region and polar winds/jets.
Contamination accounts for 73+-5 per cent and 82+-4 per cent of peak flux at
450micron and 850micron respectively. The residual thermal disk of the star is
almost undetectable at these wavelengths. Young Stellar Objects are confirmed
where SCUBA-2 850micron clumps identified by the fellwalker algorithm coincide
with Spitzer Gould Belt Survey detections. We identify 23 objects and use Tbol
to classify nine YSOs with masses 0.09 to 5.1 Msun. We find two Class 0, one
Class 0/I, three Class I and three Class II sources. The mean temperature is
15+-2K for the nine YSOs and 32+-4K for the 14 starless clumps. We observe a
starless clump with an abnormally high mean temperature of 46+-2K and conclude
that it is radiatively heated by the star MWC 297. Jeans stability provides
evidence that radiative heating by the star MWC 297 may be suppressing clump
collapse.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 7 table
- …