82 research outputs found
Science with an ngVLA: Observing the Effects of Chemistry on Exoplanets and Planet Formation
One of the primary mechanisms for inferring the dynamical history of planets
in our Solar System and in exoplanetary systems is through observation of
elemental ratios (i.e. C/O). The ability to effectively use these observations
relies critically on a robust understanding of the chemistry and evolutionary
history of the observed abundances. Significant efforts have been devoted to
this area from within astrochemistry circles, and these efforts should be
supported going forward by the larger exoplanetary science community. In
addition, the construction of a next-generation radio interferometer will be
required to test many of these predictive models in situ, while simultaneously
providing the resolution necessary to pinpoint the location of planets in
formation.Comment: To be published in the ASP Monograph Series, "Science with a
Next-Generation VLA", ed. E. J. Murphy (ASP, San Francisco, CA
CSO and CARMA Observations of L1157. II. Chemical Complexity in the Shocked Outflow
L1157, a molecular dark cloud with an embedded Class 0 protostar possessing a
bipolar outflow, is an excellent source for studying shock chemistry, including
grain-surface chemistry prior to shocks, and post-shock, gas-phase processing.
The L1157-B1 and B2 positions experienced shocks at an estimated ~2000 and 4000
years ago, respectively. Prior to these shock events, temperatures were too low
for most complex organic molecules to undergo thermal desorption. Thus, the
shocks should have liberated these molecules from the ice grain-surfaces en
masse, evidenced by prior observations of SiO and multiple grain mantle species
commonly associated with shocks. Grain species, such as OCS, CH3OH, and HNCO,
all peak at different positions relative to species that are preferably formed
in higher velocity shocks or repeatedly-shocked material, such as SiO and HCN.
Here, we present high spatial resolution (~3") maps of CH3OH, HNCO, HCN, and
HCO+ in the southern portion of the outflow containing B1 and B2, as observed
with CARMA. The HNCO maps are the first interferometric observations of this
species in L1157. The maps show distinct differences in the chemistry within
the various shocked regions in L1157B. This is further supported through
constraints of the molecular abundances using the non-LTE code RADEX (Van der
Tak et al. 2007). We find the east/west chemical differentiation in C2 may be
explained by the contrast of the shock's interaction with either cold, pristine
material or warm, previously-shocked gas, as seen in enhanced HCN abundances.
In addition, the enhancement of the HNCO abundance toward the the older shock,
B2, suggests the importance of high-temperature O-chemistry in shocked regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Shock formation and the ideal shape of ramp compression waves
We derive expressions for shock formation based on the local curvature of the
flow characteristics during dynamic compression. Given a specific ramp adiabat,
calculated for instance from the equation of state for a substance, the ideal
nonlinear shape for an applied ramp loading history can be determined. We
discuss the region affected by lateral release, which can be presented in
compact form for the ideal loading history. Example calculations are given for
representative metals and plastic ablators. Continuum dynamics (hydrocode)
simulations were in good agreement with the algebraic forms. Example
applications are presented for several classes of laser-loading experiment,
identifying conditions where shocks are desired but not formed, and where long
duration ramps are desired
Detection of Interstellar HCNC and an Investigation of Isocyanopolyyne Chemistry under TMC-1 Conditions
We report an astronomical detection of HCNC for the first time in the
interstellar medium with the Green Bank Telescope toward the TMC-1 molecular
cloud with a minimum significance of . The total column density
and excitation temperature of HCNC are determined to be
cm and K,
respectively, using the MCMC analysis. In addition to HCNC, HCCNC is
distinctly detected whereas no clear detection of HCNC is made. We propose
that the dissociative recombination of the protonated cyanopolyyne,
HCNH, and the protonated isocyanopolyyne, HCNCH, are the main
formation mechanisms for HCNC while its destruction is dominated by
reactions with simple ions and atomic carbon. With the proposed chemical
networks, the observed abundances of HCNC and HCCNC are reproduced
satisfactorily.Comment: Accepted in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
Detection of Two Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons via Spectral Matched Filtering
Ubiquitous unidentified infrared emission bands are seen in many astronomical
sources. Although these bands are widely, if not unanimously, attributed to the
collective emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, no single species
from this class has been detected in space. We present the discovery of two -CN
functionalized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1- and 2-cyanonaphthalene, in
the interstellar medium aided by spectral matched filtering. Using radio
observations with the Green Bank Telescope, we observe both bi-cyclic ring
molecules in the molecular cloud TMC-1. We discuss potential in situ gas-phase
formation pathways from smaller organic precursor molecules
Prime Focus Spectrograph - Subaru's future -
The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) of the Subaru Measurement of Images and
Redshifts (SuMIRe) project has been endorsed by Japanese community as one of
the main future instruments of the Subaru 8.2-meter telescope at Mauna Kea,
Hawaii. This optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph targets cosmology
with galaxy surveys, Galactic archaeology, and studies of galaxy/AGN evolution.
Taking advantage of Subaru's wide field of view, which is further extended with
the recently completed Wide Field Corrector, PFS will enable us to carry out
multi-fiber spectroscopy of 2400 targets within 1.3 degree diameter. A
microlens is attached at each fiber entrance for F-ratio transformation into a
larger one so that difficulties of spectrograph design are eased. Fibers are
accurately placed onto target positions by positioners, each of which consists
of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors, through iterations by using
back-illuminated fiber position measurements with a wide-field metrology
camera. Fibers then carry light to a set of four identical fast-Schmidt
spectrographs with three color arms each: the wavelength ranges from 0.38
{\mu}m to 1.3 {\mu}m will be simultaneously observed with an average resolving
power of 3000. Before and during the era of extremely large telescopes, PFS
will provide the unique capability of obtaining spectra of 2400
cosmological/astrophysical targets simultaneously with an 8-10 meter class
telescope. The PFS collaboration, led by IPMU, consists of USP/LNA in Brazil,
Caltech/JPL, Princeton, & JHU in USA, LAM in France, ASIAA in Taiwan, and
NAOJ/Subaru.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, submitted to "Ground-based and Airborne
Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, Ian S. McLean, Suzanne K. Ramsay, Hideki
Takami, Editors, Proc. SPIE 8446 (2012)
CSO and CARMA Observations of L1157. II. Chemical Complexity in the Shocked Outflow
L1157, a molecular dark cloud with an embedded Class 0 protostar possessing a bipolar outflow, is an excellent source for studying shock chemistry, including grain-surface chemistry prior to shocks, and post-shock, gas-phase processing. The L1157-B1 and B2 positions experienced shocks at an estimated ~2000 and 4000 years ago, respectively. Prior to these shock events, temperatures were too low for most complex organic molecules to undergo thermal desorption. Thus, the shocks should have liberated these molecules from the ice grain-surfaces en masse, evidenced by prior observations of SiO and multiple grain mantle species commonly associated with shocks. Grain species, such as OCS, CH_3OH, and HNCO, all peak at different positions relative to species that are preferably formed in higher-velocity shocks or repeatedly shocked material, such as SiO and HCN. Here, we present high spatial resolution (~3") maps of CH_3OH, HNCO, HCN, and HCO^+ in the southern portion of the outflow containing B1 and B2, as observed with Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy. The HNCO maps are the first interferometric observations of this species in L1157. The maps show distinct differences in the chemistry within the various shocked regions in L1157B. This is further supported through constraints of the molecular abundances using the non-LTE code radex. We find that the east/west chemical differentiation in C2 may be explained by the contrast of the shock's interaction with either cold, pristine material or warm, previously shocked gas, as seen in enhanced HCN abundances. In addition, the enhancement of the HNCO abundance toward the the older shock, B2, suggests the importance of high-temperature O-chemistry in shocked regions
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The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Data Release 9 Spectroscopic Galaxy Sample
We present measurements of galaxy clustering from the Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III
(SDSS-III). These use the Data Release 9 (DR9) CMASS sample, which contains
264,283 massive galaxies covering 3275 square degrees with an effective
redshift z=0.57 and redshift range 0.43 < z < 0.7. Assuming a concordance
Lambda-CDM cosmological model, this sample covers an effective volume of 2.2
Gpc^3, and represents the largest sample of the Universe ever surveyed at this
density, n = 3 x 10^-4 h^-3 Mpc^3. We measure the angle-averaged galaxy
correlation function and power spectrum, including density-field reconstruction
of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature. The acoustic features are
detected at a significance of 5\sigma in both the correlation function and
power spectrum. Combining with the SDSS-II Luminous Red Galaxy Sample, the
detection significance increases to 6.7\sigma. Fitting for the position of the
acoustic features measures the distance to z=0.57 relative to the sound horizon
DV /rs = 13.67 +/- 0.22 at z=0.57. Assuming a fiducial sound horizon of 153.19
Mpc, which matches cosmic microwave background constraints, this corresponds to
a distance DV(z=0.57) = 2094 +/- 34 Mpc. At 1.7 per cent, this is the most
precise distance constraint ever obtained from a galaxy survey. We place this
result alongside previous BAO measurements in a cosmological distance ladder
and find excellent agreement with the current supernova measurements. We use
these distance measurements to constrain various cosmological models, finding
continuing support for a flat Universe with a cosmological constant.Comment: 33 page
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