675 research outputs found
Reverse engineering a spectrum: using fluorescent spectra of molecular hydrogen to recreate the missing Lyman-α line of pre-main sequence stars
The hydrogen Lyman-α (Lyα) line, a major source of ionization of metals in the circumstellar disks of pre-main sequence (PMS) stars, is usually not observed due to absorption by interstellar and circumstellar hydrogen. We have developed a technique to reconstruct the intrinsic Lyα line using the observed emission in the H2 B-X lines that are fluoresced by Lyα. We describe this technique and the subsequent analysis of the ultraviolet (UV) spectra of the TW Hya, RU Lupi and other PMS stars. We find that the reconstructed Lyα lines are indeed far brighter than any other feature in the UV spectra of these stars and therefore play an important role in the ionization and heating of the outer layers of circumstellar disks
Far infrared CO and HO emission in intermediate-mass protostars
Intermediate-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) provide a link to understand
how feedback from shocks and UV radiation scales from low to high-mass star
forming regions. Aims: Our aim is to analyze excitation of CO and HO in
deeply-embedded intermediate-mass YSOs and compare with low-mass and high-mass
YSOs. Methods: Herschel/PACS spectral maps are analyzed for 6 YSOs with
bolometric luminosities of . The maps
cover spatial scales of AU in several CO and HO lines located
in the m range. Results: Rotational diagrams of CO show two
temperature components at K and
K, comparable to low- and high-mass protostars
probed at similar spatial scales. The diagrams for HO show a single
component at K, as seen in low-mass protostars, and
about K lower than in high-mass protostars. Since the uncertainties in
are of the same order as the difference between the
intermediate and high-mass protostars, we cannot conclude whether the change in
rotational temperature occurs at a specific luminosity, or whether the change
is more gradual from low- to high-mass YSOs. Conclusions: Molecular excitation
in intermediate-mass protostars is comparable to the central AU of
low-mass protostars and consistent within the uncertainties with the high-mass
protostars probed at AU scales, suggesting similar shock
conditions in all those sources.Comment: Accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics. 4 pages, 5 figures, 3 table
Magnetic fields of intermediate mass T Tauri stars
Aims. In this paper, we aim to measure the strength of the surface magnetic
fields for a sample of five intermediate mass T Tauri stars and one low mass T
Tauri star from late-F to mid-K spectral types. While magnetic fields of T
Tauri stars at the low mass range have been extensively characterized, our work
complements previous studies towards the intermediate mass range; this
complementary study is key to evaluate how magnetic fields evolve during the
transition from a convective to a radiative core.
Methods. We studied the Zeeman broadening of magnetically sensitive spectral
lines in the H-band spectra obtained with the CRIRES high-resolution
near-infrared spectrometer. These data are modelled using magnetic spectral
synthesis and model atmospheres. Additional constraints on non-magnetic line
broadening mechanisms are obtained from modelling molecular lines in the K band
or atomic lines in the optical wavelength region.
Results. We detect and measure mean surface magnetic fields for five of the
six stars in our sample: CHXR 28, COUP 107, V2062 Oph, V1149 Sco, and Par 2441.
Magnetic field strengths inferred from the most magnetically sensitive
diagnostic line range from 0.8 to 1.8 kG. We also estimate a magnetic field
strength of 1.9 kG for COUP 107 from an alternative diagnostic. The magnetic
field on YLW 19 is the weakest in our sample and is marginally detected, with a
strength of 0.8 kG.
Conclusions. We populate an uncharted area of the pre-main-sequence HR
diagram with mean magnetic field measurements from high-resolution
near-infrared spectra. Our sample of intermediate mass T Tauri stars in general
exhibits weaker magnetic fields than their lower mass counterparts. Our
measurements will be used in combination with other spectropolarimetric studies
of intermediate mass and lower mass T Tauri stars to provide input into
pre-main-sequence stellar evolutionary models.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Time-Reversal-Violating Schiff Moment of 199Hg
We calculate the Schiff moment of the nucleus 199Hg, created by pi-N-N
vertices that are odd under parity (P) and time-reversal (T). Our approach,
formulated in diagrammatic perturbation theory with important core-polarization
diagrams summed to all orders, gives a close approximation to the expectation
value of the Schiff operator in the odd-A Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov ground state
generated by a Skyrme interaction and a weak P- and T-odd pion-exchange
potential. To assess the uncertainty in the results, we carry out the
calculation with several Skyrme interactions (the quality of which we test by
checking predictions for the isoscalar-E1 strength distribution in 208Pb) and
estimate most of the important diagrams we omit.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
High-pressure, low-abundance water in bipolar outflows. Results from a Herschel-WISH survey
(Abridged) We present a survey of the water emission in a sample of more than
20 outflows from low mass young stellar objects with the goal of characterizing
the physical and chemical conditions of the emitting gas. We have used the HIFI
and PACS instruments on board the Herschel Space Observatory to observe the two
fundamental lines of ortho-water at 557 and 1670 GHz. These observations were
part of the "Water In Star-forming regions with Herschel" (WISH) key program,
and have been complemented with CO and H2 data. We find that the emission from
water has a different spatial and velocity distribution from that of the J=1-0
and 2-1 transitions of CO, but it has a similar spatial distribution to H2, and
its intensity follows the H2 intensity derived from IRAC images. This suggests
that water traces the outflow gas at hundreds of kelvins responsible for the H2
emission, and not the component at tens of kelvins typical of low-J CO
emission. A warm origin of the water emission is confirmed by a remarkable
correlation between the intensities of the 557 and 1670 GHz lines, which also
indicates the emitting gas has a narrow range of excitations. A non-LTE
radiative transfer analysis shows that while there is some ambiguity on the
exact combination of density and temperature values, the gas thermal pressure
nT is constrained within less than a factor of 2. The typical nT over the
sample is 4 10^{9} cm^{-3}K, which represents an increase of 10^4 with respect
to the ambient value. The data also constrain within a factor of 2 the water
column density. When this quantity is combined with H2 column densities, the
typical water abundance is only 3 10^{-7}, with an uncertainty of a factor of
3. Our data challenge current C-shock models of water production due to a
combination of wing-line profiles, high gas compressions, and low abundances.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
An ALMA Constraint on the GSC 6214-210 B Circum-Substellar Accretion Disk Mass
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations
of GSC 6214-210 A and B, a solar-mass member of the 5-10 Myr Upper Scorpius
association with a 15 2 Mjup companion orbiting at 330 AU
(2.2"). Previous photometry and spectroscopy spanning 0.3-5 m revealed
optical and thermal excess as well as strong H and Pa~ emission
originating from a circum-substellar accretion disk around GSC 6214-210 B,
making it the lowest mass companion with unambiguous evidence of a subdisk.
Despite ALMA's unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution, neither
component was detected in our 880 m (341 GHz) continuum observations down
to a 3- limit of 0.22 mJy/beam. The corresponding constraints on the
dust mass and total mass are <0.15 Mearth and <0.05 Mjup, respectively, or
<0.003% and <0.3% of the mass of GSC 6214-210 B itself assuming a 100:1
gas-to-dust ratio and characteristic dust temperature of 10-20 K. If the host
star possesses a putative circum-stellar disk then at most it is a meager
0.0015% of the primary mass, implying that giant planet formation has certainly
ceased in this system. Considering these limits and its current accretion rate,
GSC 6214-210 B appears to be at the end stages of assembly and is not expected
to gain any appreciable mass over the next few Myr.Comment: Accepted to ApJ
Warm gas towards young stellar objects in Corona Australis - Herschel/PACS observations from the DIGIT key programme
The effects of external irradiation on the chemistry and physics in the
protostellar envelope around low-mass young stellar objects are poorly
understood. The Corona Australis star-forming region contains the R CrA dark
cloud, comprising several low-mass protostellar cores irradiated by an
intermediate-mass young star. We study the effects on the warm gas and dust in
a group of low-mass young stellar objects from the irradiation by the young
luminous Herbig Be star R CrA. Herschel/PACS far-infrared datacubes of two
low-mass star-forming regions in the R CrA dark cloud are presented. The
distribution of CO, OH, H2O, [C II], [O I], and continuum emission is
investigated. We have developed a deconvolution algorithm which we use to
deconvolve the maps, separating the point-source emission from the extended
emission. We also construct rotational diagrams of the molecular species. By
deconvolution of the Herschel data, we find large-scale (several thousand AU)
dust continuum and spectral line emission not associated with the point
sources. Similar rotational temperatures are found for the warm CO (
K), hot CO ( K), OH ( K), and H2O ( K) emission,
respectively, in the point sources and the extended emission. The rotational
temperatures are also similar to what is found in other more isolated cores.
The extended dust continuum emission is found in two ridges similar in extent
and temperature to molecular mm emission, indicative of external heating from
the Herbig Be star R CrA. Our results show that a nearby luminous star does not
increase the molecular excitation temperatures in the warm gas around a young
stellar object (YSO). However, the emission from photodissociation products of
H2O, such as OH and O, is enhanced in the warm gas associated with these
protostars and their surroundings compared to similar objects not suffering
from external irradiation.Comment: 37 pages, accepted for publication in A&
The CP-violating asymmetry in \eta\to\pi^+ \pi^- e^+e^-
We study the CP-violating asymmetry {\cal A}_{\rm CP}, which arises, in
\eta\to\pi^+\pi^- e^+e^-, from the angular correlation of the e^+ e^- and
\pi^+\pi^- planes due to the interference between the magnetic and electric
decay amplitudes. With the phenomenologically determined magnetic amplitude and
branching ratio as input, the asymmetry, induced by the electric bremsstrahlung
amplitude through the CP-violating decay \eta\to\pi^+\pi^-, and by an
unconventional tensor type operator, has been estimated respectively. The upper
bound of {\cal A}_{\rm CP} from the former is about 10^{-3}, and the asymmetry
from the latter might be up to O(10^{-2}). One can therefore expect that this
CP asymmetry would be an interesting CP-violating observable for the future
precise measurements in the \eta factories.Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages. One reference corrected, and some new references
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Herschel PACS observations of shocked gas associated with the jets of L1448 and L1157
In the framework of the WISH key program, several H2O (E_u>190 K), high-J CO,
[OI], and OH transitions are mapped with PACS in two shock positions along the
two prototypical low-luminosity outflows L1448 and L1157. Previous HIFI H2O
observations (E_u=53-249 K) and complementary Spitzer mid-IR H2 data are also
used, with the aim of deriving a complete picture of the excitation conditions.
At all selected spots a close spatial association between H2O, mid-IR H2, and
high-J CO emission is found, whereas the low-J CO emission traces either
entrained ambient gas or a remnant of an older shock. The excitation analysis
at L1448-B2 suggests that a two-component model is needed to reproduce the H2O,
CO, and mid-IR H2 lines: an extended warm component (T~450 K) is traced by the
H2O emission with E_u =53-137 K and by the CO lines up to J=22-21, and a
compact hot component (T=1100 K) is traced by the H2O emission with E_u>190 K
and by the higher-J CO lines. At L1448-B2 we obtain an H2O abundance
(3-4)x10^{-6} for the warm component and (0.3-1.3)x10^{-5} for the hot
component; we also detect OH and blue-shifted [OI] emission, spatially
coincident with the other molecular lines and with [FeII] emission. This
suggests a dissociative shock for these species, related to the embedded atomic
jet. On the other hand, a non-dissociative shock at the point of impact of the
jet on the cloud is responsible for the H2O and CO emission. The other examined
shock positions show an H2O excitation similar to L1448-B2, but a slightly
higher H2O abundance (a factor of 4). The two gas components may represent a
gas stratification in the post-shock region. The extended and low-abundance
warm component traces the post-shocked gas that has already cooled down to a
few hundred Kelvin, whereas the compact and possibly higher-abundance hot
component is associated with the gas that is currently undergoing a shock
episode.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
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