1,965 research outputs found
Synthesis of C-rich dust in CO nova ourbursts
Context. Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions that take place in the
envelopes of accreting white dwarfs in stellar binary systems. The material
transferred onto the white dwarf piles up under degenerate conditions, driving
a thermonuclear runaway. In those outbursts, about 10-7 - 10-3 Msun, enriched
in CNO and, sometimes, other intermediate-mass elements (e.g., Ne, Na, Mg, or
Al, for ONe novae) are ejected into the interstellar medium. The large
concentrations of metals spectroscopically inferred in the nova ejecta reveal
that the (solar-like) material transferred from the secondary mixes with the
outermost layers of the underlying white dwarf.
Aims. Most theoretical models of nova outbursts reported to date yield, on
average, outflows characterized by O > C, from which only oxidized condensates
(e.g, O-rich grains) would be expected, in principle.
Methods. To specifically address whether CO novae can actually produce C-rich
dust, six different hydrodynamic nova models have been evolved, from accretion
to the expansion and ejection stages, with different choices for the
composition of the substrate with which the solar-like accreted material mixes.
Updated chemical profiles inside the H-exhausted core have been used, based on
stellar evolution calculations for a progenitor of 8 Msun through H and
He-burning phases.
Results. We show that these profiles lead to C-rich ejecta after the nova
outburst. This extends the possible contribution of novae to the inventory of
presolar grains identified in meteorites, particularly in a number of
carbonaceous phases (i.e., nanodiamonds, silicon carbides and graphites).Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
On the Steric Sea Level in the Red Sea
Thermal, haline and total steric departures from mean sea level were calculated during winter and summer seasons in six regions representing the whole area of the Red Sea. Thermal and haline components of steric departure are in phase in most regions, although they have different contributions to the total steric departure. The steric sea level in the southern regions of the sea is higher than that in the northern parts by estimated values of about 19 cm in winter and 23 cm in summer. Across the sea, the changes in steric sea level are clearly observed in winter due to the relatively complex circulation pattern characterizing that season. The steric factor is considered to be one of the controlling factors that affect sea level fluctuations in the northern Red Sea during the summer season and in the southern regions in winter
Nanoengineered Curie Temperature in Laterally-Patterned Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Heterostructures
We demonstrate the manipulation of the Curie temperature of buried layers of
the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As using nanolithography to enhance the
effect of annealing. Patterning the GaAs-capped ferromagnetic layers into
nanowires exposes free surfaces at the sidewalls of the patterned (Ga,Mn)As
layers and thus allows the removal of Mn interstitials using annealing. This
leads to an enhanced Curie temperature and reduced resistivity compared to
unpatterned samples. For a fixed annealing time, the enhancement of the Curie
temperature is larger for narrower nanowires.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics Letters (minor corrections
Long-Term Variations of Monthly Mean Sea Level and its Relation to Atmospheric Presssure in the Mediterranean Sea
The monthly mean sea level at 19 stations and the monthly mean atmospheric pressure at 15 stations in the Mediterranean Sea are analysed to find the trend of the sea level and to identify the significant oscillations from the power spectral estimates. The results show that from the present data at Marseille, Trieste and Genova it is expected that the sea level tends to increase by 13 cm /100 years, which will affect the water budget of the area. The spectral analysis of the pressure could explain most of the oscillations in the sea level time series at 12, 6 and 4 months’ periods, except in the Adriatic Sea where the steric effect is expected to have an important contribution
s-Process Nucleosynthesis in Advanced Burning Phases of Massive Stars
We present a detailed study of s-process nucleosynthesis in massive stars of
solar-like initial composition and masses 15, 20,25, and 30 Msun. We update our
previous results of s-process nucleosynthesis during the core He-burning of
these stars and then focus on an analysis of the s-process under the physical
conditions encountered during the shell-carbon burning. We show that the recent
compilation of the Ne22(alpha,n)Mg25 rate leads to a remarkable reduction of
the efficiency of the s-process during core He-burning. In particular, this
rate leads to the lowest overproduction factor of Kr80 found to date during
core He-burning in massive stars. The s-process yields resulting from shell
carbon burning turn out to be very sensitive to the structural evolution of the
carbon shell. This structure is influenced by the mass fraction of C12 attained
at the end of core helium burning, which in turn is mainly determined by the
C12(alpha,gamma)O16 reaction. The still present uncertainty in the rate for
this reaction implies that the s-process in massive stars is also subject to
this uncertainty. We identify some isotopes like Zn70 and Rb87 as the
signatures of the s-process during shell carbon burning in massive stars. In
determining the relative contribution of our s-only stellar yields to the solar
abundances, we find it is important to take into account the neutron exposure
of shell carbon burning. When we analyze our yields with a Salpeter Initial
Mass Function, we find that massive stars contribute at least 40% to s-only
nuclei with mass A 90, massive stars
contribute on average ~7%, except for Gd152, Os187, and Hg198 which are ~14%,
\~13%, and ~11%, respectively.Comment: 52 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
HeII Recombination Lines From the First Luminous Objects
The hardness of the ionizing continuum from the first sources of UV radiation
plays a crucial role in the reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM).
While usual stellar populations have soft spectra, mini-quasars or metal-free
stars with high effective temperatures may emit hard photons, capable of doubly
ionizing helium and increasing the IGM temperature. Absorption within the
source and in the intervening IGM will render the ionizing continuum of
high-redshift sources inaccessible to direct observation. Here we show that
HeII recombination lines from the first luminous objects are potentially
detectable by the Next Generation Space Telescope. Together with measurements
of the hydrogen Balmer alpha emission line, this detection can be used to infer
the ratio of HeII to HI ionizing photons. A measurement of this ratio would
shed light on the nature and emission mechanism of the first luminous sources,
with important astrophysical consequences for the reheating and reionization of
the IGM.Comment: ApJ published version. Due to an error in one of the references, the
strength of the 1640 A line was underestimated in a previous version; this
line is now brighter by a factor of 1
The Molecular Hydrogen Deficit in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
Recent analysis of five gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow spectra reveal the
absence of molecular hydrogen absorption lines, a surprising result in light of
their large neutral hydrogen column densities and the detection of H in
similar, more local star-forming regions like 30 Doradus in the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Observational evidence further indicates that the bulk
of the neutral hydrogen column in these sight lines lies 100 pc beyond the
progenitor and that H was absent prior to the burst, suggesting that direct
flux from the star, FUV background fields, or both suppressed its formation. We
present one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical models of GRB host galaxy
environments, including self-consistent radiative transfer of both ionizing and
Lyman-Werner photons, nine-species primordial chemistry with dust formation of
H, and dust extinction of UV photons. We find that a single GRB progenitor
is sufficient to ionize neutral hydrogen to distances of 50 - 100 pc but that a
galactic Lyman-Werner background is required to dissociate the molecular
hydrogen in the ambient ISM. Intensities of 0.1 - 100 times the Galactic mean
are necessary to destroy H in the cloud, depending on its density and
metallicity. The minimum radii at which neutral hydrogen will be found in
afterglow spectra is insensitive to the mass of the progenitor or the initial
mass function (IMF) of its cluster, if present.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for Ap
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