The Stellar Content of Obscured Galactic Giant HII Regions. VI: W51A

We present K-band spectra of newly born OB stars in the obscured Galactic giant H II region W51A and ~ 0.8'' angular resolution images in the J, H and K_S-bands. Four objects have been spectroscopically classified as O-type stars. The mean spectroscopic parallax of the four stars gives a distance of 2.0 \pm 0.3 kpc (error in the mean), significantly smaller than the radio recombination line kinematic value of 5.5 kpc or the values derived from maser propermotion observations (6--8 kpc). The number of Lyman continuum photons from the contribution of all massive stars (NLyc ~ 1.5 x 10^{50} s^{-1}) is in good agreement with that inferred from radio recombination lines (NLyc = 1.3 x 10^{50} s^{-1}) after accounting for the smaller distance derived here. We present analysis of archival high angular resolution images (NAOS CONICA at VLT and T-ReCS at Gemini) of the compact region W51 IRS2. The K_S--band images resolve the infrared source IRS~2 indicating that it is a very young compact HII region. Sources IRS2E was resolved into compact cluster (within 660 AU of projected distance) of 3 objects, but one of them is just bright extended emission. W51d1 and W51d2 were identified with compact clusters of 3 objects (maybe 4 in the case of W51d1) each one. Although IRS~2E is the brightest source in the K-band and at 12.6 \micron, it is not clearly associated with a radio continuum source. Our spectrum of IRS~2E shows, similar to previous work, strong emission in Br$\gamma$ and HeI, as well as three forbidden emission lines of FeIII and emission lines of molecular hydrogen (H_2) marking it as a massive young stellar object.Comment: 31 pages and 9 figures, submitted to A

Accretion Signatures from Massive Young Stellar Objects

High resolution (lambda / Delta-lambda = 50,000) K-band spectra of massive, embedded, young stellar objects are presented. The present sample consists of four massive young stars located in nascent clusters powering Galactic giant H II regions. Emission in the 2.3 micron 2--0 vibrational--rotational bandhead of CO is observed. A range of velocity broadened profiles seen in three of the objects is consistent with the emission arising from a circumstellar disk seen at various inclination angles. Br gamma spectra of the same spectral and spatial resolution are also presented which support an accretion disk or torus model for massive stars. In the fourth object, Br emission suggesting a rotating torus is observed, but the CO profile is narrow, indicating that there may be different CO emission mechanisms in massive stars and this is consistent with earlier observations of the BN object and MWC 349. To--date, only young massive stars of late O or early B types have been identified with clear accretion disk signatures in such embedded clusters. Often such stars are found in the presence of other more massive stars which are revealed by their photospheric spectra but which exhibit no disk signatures. This suggests the timescale for dissipating their disks is much faster than the less massive OB stars or that the most massive stars do not form with accretion disks.Comment: 28 pages, 10 Figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A multispectral view of the periodic events in eta Carinae

A full description of the 5.5-yr low excitation events in Eta Carinae is presented. We show that they are not as simple and brief as previously thought, but a combination of two components. The first, the 'slow variation' component, is revealed by slow changes in the ionization level of circumstellar matter across the whole cycle and is caused by gradual changes in the wind-wind collision shock-cone orientation, angular opening and gaseous content. The second, the 'collapse' component, is restricted to around the minimum, and is due to a temporary global collapse of the wind-wind collision shock. High energy photons (E > 16 eV) from the companion star are strongly shielded, leaving the Weigelt objects at low ionization state for >6 months. High energy phenomena are sensitive only to the 'collapse', low energy only to the 'slow variation' and intermediate energies to both components. Simple eclipses and mechanisms effective only near periastron (e.g., shell ejection or accretion onto the secondary star) cannot account for the whole 5.5-yr cycle. We find anti-correlated changes in the intensity and the radial velocity of P Cygni absorption profiles in FeII 6455 and HeI 7065 lines, indicating that the former is associated to the primary and the latter to the secondary star. We present a set of light curves representative of the whole spectrum, useful for monitoring the next event (2009 January 11).Comment: 16 pages, 7 EPS figures, accepted for publication on MNRA

The Stellar Content of Obscured Galactic Giant H II Regions III.: W31

We present near infrared (J, H, and K) photometry and moderate resolution (lambda/Deltalambda = 3000) K-band spectroscopy of the embedded stellar cluster in the giant H II region W31. Four of the brightest five cluster members are early O--type stars based on their spectra. We derive a spectro--photometric distance for W31 of 3.4 +/- 0.3 kpc using these new spectral types and infrared photometry. The brightest cluster source at K is a red object which lies in the region of the J - H vs. H - K color--color plot inhabited by stars with excess emission in the K-band. This point source has an H plus K-band spectrum which shows no photospheric features, which we interpret as being the result of veiling by local dust emission. Strong Brackett series emission and permitted FeII emission are detected in this source; the latter feature is suggestive of a dense inflow or outflow. The near infrared position of this red source is consistent with the position of a 5 GHz thermal radio source seen in previous high angular resolution VLA images. We also identify several other K-band sources containing excess emission with compact radio sources. These objects may represent stars in the W31 cluster still embedded in their birth cocoons.Comment: LaTeX2e/aastex, 29 pages including 9 figures, 3 table

The Stellar Initial Mass Function in the Galactic Center

Massive stars define the upper limits of the star formation process, dominate the energetics of their local environs, and significantly affect the chemical evolution of galaxies. Their role in starburst galaxies and the early Universe is likely to be important, but we still do not know the maximum mass that a star can possess, i.e.``the upper mass cutoff.'' I will discuss results from a program to measure the upper mass cutoff and IMF slope in the Galactic Center. The results suggest that the IMF in the Galactic center may deviate significantly from the Salpeter value, and that there may be an upper mass cutoff to the initial mass function of $\sim$150 Msun.Comment: To be published in the IMF@50 conference proceeding

The UV Scattering Halo of the Central Source Associated with Eta Carinae

We have made an extensive study of the UV spectrum of Eta Carinae, and find that we do not directly observe the star and its wind in the UV. Because of dust along our line of sight, the UV light that we observe arises from bound-bound scattering at large impact parameters. We obtain a reasonable fit to the UV spectrum by using only the flux that originates outside 0.033". This explains why we can still observe the primary star in the UV despite the large optical extinction -- it is due to the presence of an intrinsic coronagraph in the Eta Carinae system, and to the extension of the UV emitting region. It is not due to peculiar dust properties alone. We have computed the spectrum of the purported companion star, and show that it could only be directly detected in the UV spectrum preferentially in the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectral region (912-1175 Ang.). However, we find no direct evidence for a companion star, with the properties indicated by X-ray studies and studies of the Weigelt blobs, in UV spectra. This might be due to reprocessing of the companion's light by the dense stellar wind of the primary. Broad FeII and [FeII] emission lines, which form in the stellar wind, are detected in spectra taken in the SE lobe, 0.2" from the central star. The wind spectrum shows some similarities to the spectra of the B & D Weigelt blobs, but also shows some marked differences in that high excitation lines, and lines pumped by Ly-alpha, are not seen. The detection of the broad lines lends support to our interpretation of the UV spectrum, and to our model for Eta Carinae.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 57 pages with 18 figure

West Nile virus transmission potential in Portugal

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.It is unclear whether West Nile virus (WNV) circulates endemically in Portugal. Despite the country's adequate climate for transmission, Portugal has only reported four human WNV infections so far. We performed a review of WNV-related data (1966-2020), explored mosquito (2016-2019) and land type distributions (1992-2019), and used climate data (1981-2019) to estimate WNV transmission suitability in Portugal. Serological and molecular evidence of WNV circulation from animals and vectors was largely restricted to the south. Land type and climate-driven transmission suitability distributions, but not the distribution of WNV-capable vectors, were compatible with the North-South divide present in serological and molecular evidence of WNV circulation. Our study offers a comprehensive, data-informed perspective and review on the past epidemiology, surveillance and climate-driven transmission suitability of WNV in Portugal, highlighting the south as a subregion of importance. Given the recent WNV outbreaks across Europe, our results support a timely change towards local, active surveillance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Near-Infrared interferometry of Eta Carinae with high spatial and spectral resolution using the VLTI and the AMBER instrument

We present the first NIR spectro-interferometry of the LBV Eta Carinae. The K band observations were performed with the AMBER instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer using three 8.2m Unit Telescopes with baselines from 42 to 89m. The aim of this work is to study the wavelength dependence of Eta Car's optically thick wind region with a high spatial resolution of 5 mas (11 AU) and high spectral resolution. The medium spectral resolution observations (R=1,500) were performed in the wavelength range around both the HeI 2.059 micron and the Br gamma 2.166 micron emission lines, the high spectral resolution observations (R=12,000) only in the Br gamma line region. In the K-band continuum, a diameter of 4.0 +/-0.2 mas (Gaussian FWHM, fit range 28-89m) was measured for Eta Car's optically thick wind region. If we fit Hillier et al. (2001) model visibilities to the observed AMBER visibilities, we obtain 50 % encircled-energy diameters of 4.2, 6.5 and 9.6mas in the 2.17 micron continuum, the HeI, and the Br gamma emission lines, respectively. In the continuum near the Br gamma line, an elongation along a position angle of 120+/-15 degrees was found, consistent with previous VLTI/VINCI measurements by van Boekel et al. (2003). We compare the measured visibilities with predictions of the radiative transfer model of Hillier et al. (2001), finding good agreement. Furthermore, we discuss the detectability of the hypothetical hot binary companion. For the interpretation of the non-zero differential and closure phases measured within the Br gamma line, we present a simple geometric model of an inclined, latitude-dependent wind zone. Our observations support theoretical models of anisotropic winds from fast-rotating, luminous hot stars with enhanced high-velocity mass loss near the polar regions.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables; A&A in pres