415 research outputs found
Dust in the wind: Crystalline silicates, corundum and periclase in PG 2112+059
We have determined the mineralogical composition of dust in the Broad
Absorption Line (BAL) quasar PG 2112+059 using mid-infrared spectroscopy
obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. From spectral fitting of the solid
state features, we find evidence for Mg-rich amorphous silicates with olivine
stoichiometry, as well as the first detection of corundum (Al_2O_3) and
periclase (MgO) in quasars. This mixed composition provides the first direct
evidence for a clumpy density structure of the grain forming region. The
silicates in total encompass 56.5% of the identified dust mass, while corundum
takes up 38 wt.%. Depending on the choice of continuum, a range of mass
fractions is observed for periclase ranging from 2.7% in the most conservative
case to 9% in a less constrained continuum. In addition, we identify a feature
at 11.2 micron as the crystalline silicate forsterite, with only a minor
contribution from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The 5% crystalline silicate
fraction requires high temperatures such as those found in the immediate quasar
environment in order to counteract rapid destruction from cosmic rays.Comment: 2 figure
Where Are The M Dwarf Disks Older Than 10 Million Years?
We present 11.7-micron observations of nine late-type dwarfs obtained at the
Keck I 10-meter telescope in December 2002 and April 2003. Our targets were
selected for their youth or apparent IRAS 12-micron excess. For all nine
sources, excess infrared emission is not detected. We find that stellar wind
drag can dominate the circumstellar grain removal and plausibly explain the
dearth of M Dwarf systems older than 10 Myr with currently detected infrared
excesses. We predict M dwarfs possess fractional infrared excess on the order
of L_{IR}/L_{*}\sim10^{-6} and this may be detectable with future efforts.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures, accepted to Ap
The Truncated Disk of CoKu Tau/4
We present a model of a dusty disk with an inner hole which accounts for the
Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph observations of the low-mass
pre-main sequence star CoKu Tau/4. We have modeled the mid-IR spectrum (between
8 and 25 mic) as arising from the inner wall of a disk. Our model disk has an
evacuated inner zone of radius ~ 10 AU, with a dusty inner ``wall'', of
half-height ~ 2 AU, that is illuminated at normal incidence by the central
star. The radiative equilibrium temperature decreases from the inner disk edge
outward through the optically-thick disk; this temperature gradient is
responsible for the emission of the silicate bands at 10 and 20 mic. The
observed spectrum is consistent with being produced by Fe-Mg amorphous glassy
olivine and/or pyroxene, with no evidence of a crystalline component. The
mid-infrared spectrum of CoKu Tau/4 is reminiscent of that of the much older
star TW Hya, where it has been suggested that the significant clearing of its
inner disk is due to planet formation. However, no inner disk remains in CoKu
Tau/4, consistent with the star being a weak-emission (non-accreting) T Tauri
star. The relative youth of CoKu Tau/4 (~ 1 Myr) may indicate much more rapid
planet formation than typically assumed.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures, accepted in Ap
The Detection of Crystalline Silicates in Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies
Silicates are an important component of interstellar dust and the structure
of these grains -- amorphous versus crystalline -- is sensitive to the local
physical conditions. We have studied the infrared spectra of a sample of
ultra-luminous infrared galaxies. Here, we report the discovery of weak, narrow
absorption features at 11, 16, 19, 23, and 28 microns, characteristic of
crystalline silicates, superimposed on the broad absorption bands at 10 and 18
microns due to amorphous silicates in a subset of this sample. These features
betray the presence of forsterite (Mg_2SiO_4), the magnesium-rich end member of
the olivines. Previously, crystalline silicates have only been observed in
circumstellar environments. The derived fraction of forsterite to amorphous
silicates is typically 0.1 in these ULIRGs. This is much larger than the upper
limit for this ratio in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way, 0.01. These
results suggest that the timescale for injection of crystalline silicates into
the ISM is short in a merger-driven starburst environment (e.g., as compared to
the total time to dissipate the gas), pointing towards massive stars as a
prominent source of crystalline silicates. Furthermore, amorphization due to
cosmic rays, which is thought to be of prime importance for the local ISM, lags
in vigorous starburst environments.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Crystalline Silicate Feature of the Vega-like star HD145263
We have observed the 8-13 m spectrum (R250) of the Vega-like star
candidate HD145263 using Subaru/COMICS. The spectrum of HD145263 shows the
broad trapezoidal silicate feature with the shoulders at 9.3 m and 11.44
m, indicating the presence of crystalline silicate grains. This detection
implies that crystalline silicate may also be commonly present around Vega-like
stars. The 11.44 m feature is slightly shifted to a longer wavelength
compared to the usual 11.2-3 m crystalline forsterite feature detected
toward Herbig Ae/Be stars and T Tauri stars. Although the peak shift due to the
effects of the grain size can not be ruled out, we suggest that Fe-bearing
crystalline olivine explains the observed peak wavelength fairly well.
Fe-bearing silicates are commonly found in meteorites and most interplanetary
dust particles, which originate from planetesimal-like asteroids. According to
studies of meteorites, Fe-bearing silicate must have been formed in asteroidal
planetesimals, supporting the scenario that dust grains around Vega-like stars
are of planetesimal origin, if the observed 11.44 m peak is due to
Fe-bearing silicates.Comment: accepted for Publication in ApJ
Evolution of dust and ice features around FU Orionis objects
(abridged) We present spectroscopy data for a sample of 14 FUors and 2 TTauri
stars observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope or with the Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO). Based on the appearance of the 10 micron silicate feature we
define 2 categories of FUors. Objects showing the silicate feature in
absorption (Category 1) are still embedded in a dusty and icy envelope. The
shape of the 10 micron silicate absorption bands is compared to typical dust
compositions of the interstellar medium and found to be in general agreement.
Only one object (RNO 1B) appears to be too rich in amorphous pyroxene dust, but
a superposed emission feature can explain the observed shape. We derive optical
depths and extinction values from the silicate band and additional ice bands at
6.0, 6.8 and 15.2 micron. In particular the analysis of the CO_2 ice band at
15.2 micron allows us to search for evidence for ice processing and constrains
whether the absorbing material is physically linked to the central object or in
the foreground. For objects showing the silicate feature in emission (Category
2), we argue that the emission comes from the surface layer of accretion disks.
Analyzing the dust composition reveals that significant grain growth has
already taken place within the accretion disks, but no clear indications for
crystallization are present. We discuss how these observational results can be
explained in the picture of a young, and highly active accretion disk. Finally,
a framework is proposed as to how the two categories of FUors can be understood
in a general paradigm of the evolution of young, low-mass stars. Only one
object (Parsamian 21) shows PAH emission features. Their shapes, however, are
often seen toward evolved stars and we question the object's status as a FUor
and discuss other possible classifications.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ; 63 pages preprint style including 8
tables and 24 figure
3 - 14 Micron Spectroscopy of Comets C/2002 O4 (Honig), C/2002 V1 (NEAT), C/2002 X5 (Kudo-Fujikawa), C/2002 Y1 (Juels-Holvorcem), 69P/Taylor, and the Relationships among Grain Temperature, Silicate Band Strength and Structure among Comet Families
We report 3 - 13 micron spectroscopy of 4 comets observed between August 2002
and February 2003: C/2002 O4 (Honig) on August 1, 2002, C/2002 V1 (NEAT) on
Jan. 9 and 10, 2003, C/2002 X5 (Kudo-Fujikawa) on Jan. 9 and 10, 2003, and
C/2002 Y1 (Juels-Holvorcem) on Feb. 20, 2003. In addition, we include data
obtained much earlier on 69P/Taylor (February 9, 1998) but not previously
published. For Comets Taylor, Honig, NEAT, and Kudo-Fujikawa, the silicate
emission band was detected, being approximately 23%, 12%, 15%, and 10%,
respectively, above the continuum. The data for Comet Juels-Holvorcem were of
insufficient quality to detect the presence of a silicate band of comparable
strength to the other three objects, and we place an upper limit of 24% on this
feature. The silicate features in both NEAT and Kudo-Fujikawa contained
structure indicating the presence of crystalline material. Combining these data
with those of other comets, we confirm the correlation between silicate band
strength and grain temperature of Gehrz & Ney (1992) and Williams et al. (1997)
for dynamically new and long period comets, but the majority of Jupiter family
objects may deviate from this relation. The limited data available on Jupiter
family objects suggest that they may have silicate bands that are slightly
different from the former objects. Finally, when compared to the silicate
emission bands observed in pre-main sequence stars, the dynamically new and
long period comets most closely resemble the more evolved stellar systems,
while the limited data (in quantity and quality) on Jupiter family objects seem
to suggest that these have spectra more like the less-evolved stars.Comment: 45 pages, 12 figure
The small dispersion of the mid IR -- hard X-ray correlation in AGN
Context: We investigate mid-infrared and X-ray properties of the dusty torus
in unification scenarios for active galactic nuclei.
Aims: We use the relation between mid IR and hard X-ray luminosities to
constrain AGN unification scenarios.
Methods: With VISIR at the VLT, we have obtained the currently highest
angular resolution (0".35 FWHM) narrow-band mid infrared images of the nuclei
of 8 nearby Seyfert galaxies. Combining these observations with X-ray data from
the literature we study the correlation between their mid IR and hard X-ray
luminosities.
Results: We find that the rest frame 12.3 mircon (L_MIR) and 2-10 keV (L_X)
luminosities are correlated at a highly significant level. The best fit
power-law to our data is log L_MIR \propto (1.60 \pm 0.22) log L_X, showing a
much smaller dispersion than earlier studies.
Conclusions: The similarity in the og L_MIR / log L_X ratio between Sy1s and
Sy2s even using high angular resolution MIR data implies that the similarity is
intrinsic to AGN and not caused by contamination from extra-nuclear emission.
This supports clumpy torus models. The exponent of the correlation constrains
the inner geometry of the torus.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Near-Infrared Synchrotron Emission from Cas A
High energy observations of Cas A suggested the presence of synchrotron
radiation, implying acceleration of cosmic rays by young supernova remnants. We
detect synchrotron emission from Cas A in the near-infrared using Two Micron
All Sky Survey (2MASS) and Palomar 200 inch PFIRCAM observations. The remnant
is detected in J, H, and Ks bands, with Ks band brightest and J faint. In the J
and H bands, bright [Fe II] lines (1.24um and 1.64um) are detected
spectroscopically. The Palomar observations include Ks continuum, narrow-band
1.64um (centered on [Fe II]) and 2.12um (centered on H2(1-0)) images. While the
narrow-band 1.64um image shows filamentary and knotty structures, similar to
the optical image, the Ks image shows a relatively smooth, diffuse shell,
remarkably similar to the radio image. The broad-band near-infrared fluxes of
Cas A are generally consistent with, but a few tens of percent higher than, an
extrapolation of the radio fluxes. The hardening to higher frequencies is
possibly due to nonlinear shock acceleration and/or spectral index variation
across the remnant. We show evidence of spectral index variation. The presence
of near-infrared synchrotron radiation requires the roll-off frequency to be
higher than 1.5e14 Hz, implying that electrons are accelerated to energies of
at least 0.2 TeV. The morphological similarity in diffuse emission between the
radio and Ks band images implies that synchrotron losses are not dominant. Our
observations show unambiguous evidence that the near-infrared Ks band emission
of Cas A is from synchrotron emission by accelerated cosmic-ray electrons.Comment: accepted by Ap
Dust Grain-Size Distributions From MRN to MEM
Employing the Maximum Entropy Method algorithm, we fit interstellar
extinction measurements which span the wavelength range 0.125-3 micron. We
present a uniform set of MEM model fits, all using the same grain materials,
optical constants and abundance constraints. In addition, we are taking
advantage of improved UV and IR data and better estimates of the gas-to-dust
ratio. The model fits cover the entire range of extinction properties that have
been seen in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. The grain models employed
for this presentation are the simplistic homogeneous spheres models (i.e.,
Mathis, Rumpl, & Nordsieck 1977) with two (graphite, silicate) or three
(graphite, silicate, amorphous carbon) components. Though such usage is only a
first step, the results do provide interesting insight into the use of grain
size as a diagnostic of dust environment. We find that the SMC Bar extinction
curve cannot be fit using carbon grains alone. This is a challenge to the
recent observational result indicating little silicon depletion in the SMC.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
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