1,088 research outputs found
Near-Infrared, Adaptive Optics Observations of the T Tauri Multiple-Star System
With high-angular-resolution, near-infrared observations of the young stellar
object T Tauri at the end of 2002, we show that, contrary to previous reports,
none of the three infrared components of T Tau coincide with the compact radio
source that has apparently been ejected recently from the system (Loinard,
Rodriguez, and Rodriguez 2003). The compact radio source and one of the three
infrared objects, T Tau Sb, have distinct paths that depart from orbital or
uniform motion between 1997 and 2000, perhaps indicating that their interaction
led to the ejection of the radio source. The path that T Tau Sb took between
1997 and 2003 may indicate that this star is still bound to the presumably more
massive southern component, T Tau Sa. The radio source is absent from our
near-infrared images and must therefore be fainter than K = 10.2 (if located
within 100 mas of T Tau Sb, as the radio data would imply), still consistent
with an identity as a low-mass star or substellar object.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ
The Ever Changing Circumstellar Nebula Around UW Centauri
We present new images of the reflection nebula surrounding the R Coronae
Borealis Star, UW Cen. This nebula, first detected in 1990, has changed its
appearance significantly. At the estimated distance of UW Cen, this nebula is
approximately 0.6 ly in radius so the nebula cannot have physically altered in
only 8 years. Instead, the morphology of the nebula appears to change as
different parts are illuminated by light from the central star modulated by
shifting thick dust clouds near its surface. These dust clouds form and
dissipate at irregular intervals causing the well-known declines in the R
Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars. In this way, the central star acts like a
lighthouse shining through holes in the dust clouds and lighting up different
portions of the nebula. The existence of this nebula provides clues to the
evolutionary history of RCB stars possibly linking them to the Planetary
Nebulae and the final helium shell flash stars.Comment: To be published in ApJ Letters. 5 pages, 3 figures (2 in color
On the nature of the deeply embedded protostar OMC-2 FIR 4
We use mid-infrared to submillimeter data from the Spitzer, Herschel, and
APEX telescopes to study the bright sub-mm source OMC-2 FIR 4. We find a point
source at 8, 24, and 70 m, and a compact, but extended source at 160, 350,
and 870 m. The peak of the emission from 8 to 70 m, attributed to the
protostar associated with FIR 4, is displaced relative to the peak of the
extended emission; the latter represents the large molecular core the protostar
is embedded within. We determine that the protostar has a bolometric luminosity
of 37 Lsun, although including more extended emission surrounding the point
source raises this value to 86 Lsun. Radiative transfer models of the
protostellar system fit the observed SED well and yield a total luminosity of
most likely less than 100 Lsun. Our models suggest that the bolometric
luminosity of the protostar could be just 12-14 Lsun, while the luminosity of
the colder (~ 20 K) extended core could be around 100 Lsun, with a mass of
about 27 Msun. Our derived luminosities for the protostar OMC-2 FIR 4 are in
direct contradiction with previous claims of a total luminosity of 1000 Lsun
(Crimier et al 2009). Furthermore, we find evidence from far-infrared molecular
spectra (Kama et al. 2013, Manoj et al. 2013) and 3.6 cm emission (Reipurth et
al 1999) that FIR 4 drives an outflow. The final stellar mass the protostar
will ultimately achieve is uncertain due to its association with the large
reservoir of mass found in the cold core.Comment: Accpeted by ApJ, 17 pages, 11 figure
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The Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph Survey of T Tauri Stars in Taurus
We present 161 Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectra of T Tauri stars and young brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region. All of the targets were selected based on their infrared excess and are therefore surrounded by protoplanetary disks; they form the complete sample of all available IRS spectra of T Tauri stars with infrared excesses in Taurus. We also present the IRS spectra of seven Class 0/I objects in Taurus to complete the sample of available IRS spectra of protostars in Taurus. We use spectral indices that are not significantly affected by extinction to distinguish between envelope-and disk-dominated objects. Together with data from the literature, we construct spectral energy distributions for all objects in our sample. With spectral indices derived from the IRS spectra we infer disk properties such as dust settling and the presence of inner disk holes and gaps. We find a transitional disk frequency, which is based on objects with unusually large 13-31 mu m spectral indices indicative of a wall surrounding an inner disk hole, of about 3%, and a frequency of about 20% for objects with unusually large 10 mu m features, which could indicate disk gaps. The shape and strength of the 10 mu m silicate emission feature suggests weaker 10 mu m emission and more processed dust for very low mass objects and brown dwarfs (spectral types M6-M9). These objects also display weaker infrared excess emission from their disks, but do not appear to have more settled disks than their higher-mass counterparts. We find no difference for the spectral indices and properties of the dust between single and multiple systems.NASANASA through JPL/CaltechNASA through the Spitzer Space TelescopeNational Science Foundation AST-0544588, 0901947Pennsylvania State UniversityEberly College of SciencePennsylvania Space Grant ConsortiumNSFAstronom
Emission from Water Vapor and Absorption from Other Gases at 5-7.5 Microns in Spitzer-IRS Spectra of Protoplanetary Disks
We present spectra of 13 T Tauri stars in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming
region showing emission in Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)
5-7.5 micron spectra from water vapor and absorption from other gases in these
stars' protoplanetary disks. Seven stars' spectra show an emission feature at
6.6 microns due to the nu_2 = 1-0 bending mode of water vapor, with the shape
of the spectrum suggesting water vapor temperatures > 500 K, though some of
these spectra also show indications of an absorption band, likely from another
molecule. This water vapor emission contrasts with the absorption from warm
water vapor seen in the spectrum of the FU Orionis star V1057 Cyg. The other
six of the thirteen stars have spectra showing a strong absorption band,
peaking in strength at 5.6-5.7 microns, which for some is consistent with
gaseous formaldehyde (H2CO) and for others is consistent with gaseous formic
acid (HCOOH). There are indications that some of these six stars may also have
weak water vapor emission. Modeling of these stars' spectra suggests these
gases are present in the inner few AU of their host disks, consistent with
recent studies of infrared spectra showing gas in protoplanetary disks.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, to appear in the 20 August, 2014, V791 - 2 issue
of the Astrophysical Journa
Transitional disks and their origins: an infrared spectroscopic survey of Orion A
Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks around young stars, with inner
holes or gaps which are surrounded by optically thick outer, and often inner,
disks. Here we present observations of 62 new transitional disks in the Orion A
star-forming region. These were identified using the \textit{Spitzer Space
Telescope}'s Infrared Spectrograph and followed up with determinations of
stellar and accretion parameters using the Infrared Telescope Facility's SpeX.
We combine these new observations with our previous results on transitional
disks in Taurus, Chamaeleon I, Ophiuchus and Perseus, and with archival X-ray
observations. This produces a sample of 105 transitional disks of "cluster" age
3 Myr or less, by far the largest hitherto assembled. We use this sample to
search for trends between the radial structure in the disks and many other
system properties, in order to place constraints on the possible origins of
transitional disks. We see a clear progression of host star accretion rate and
the different disk morphologies. We confirm that transitional disks with
complete central clearings have median accretion rates an order of magnitude
smaller than radially continuous disks of the same population. Pre-transitional
disks --- those objects with gaps that separate inner and outer disks --- have
median accretion rates intermediate between the two. Our results from the
search for statistically significant trends, especially related to ,
strongly support that in both cases the gaps are far more likely to be due to
the gravitational influence of Jovian planets or brown dwarfs orbiting within
the gaps, than to any of the photoevaporative, turbulent or grain-growth
processes that can lead to disk dissipation. We also find that the fraction of
Class II YSOs which are transitional disks is large, 0.1-0.2, especially in the
youngest associations.Comment: 96 pages, 25 figures, resubmitted to Ap
Quantum matrix algebra for the SU(n) WZNW model
The zero modes of the chiral SU(n) WZNW model give rise to an intertwining
quantum matrix algebra A generated by an n x n matrix a=(a^i_\alpha) (with
noncommuting entries) and by rational functions of n commuting elements
q^{p_i}. We study a generalization of the Fock space (F) representation of A
for generic q (q not a root of unity) and demonstrate that it gives rise to a
model of the quantum universal enveloping algebra U_q(sl_n), each irreducible
representation entering F with multiplicity 1. For an integer level k the
complex parameter q is an even root of unity, q^h=-1 (h=k+n) and the algebra A
has an ideal I_h such that the factor algebra A_h = A/I_h is finite
dimensional.Comment: 48 pages, LaTeX, uses amsfonts; final version to appear in J. Phys.
Revised Stellar Properties of Kepler Targets for the Q1-17 (DR25) Transit Detection Run
The determination of exoplanet properties and occurrence rates using Kepler
data critically depends on our knowledge of the fundamental properties (such as
temperature, radius and mass) of the observed stars. We present revised stellar
properties for 197,096 Kepler targets observed between Quarters 1-17 (Q1-17),
which were used for the final transiting planet search run by the Kepler
Mission (Data Release 25, DR25). Similar to the Q1--16 catalog by Huber et al.
the classifications are based on conditioning published atmospheric parameters
on a grid of Dartmouth isochrones, with significant improvements in the adopted
methodology and over 29,000 new sources for temperatures, surface gravities or
metallicities. In addition to fundamental stellar properties the new catalog
also includes distances and extinctions, and we provide posterior samples for
each stellar parameter of each star. Typical uncertainties are ~27% in radius,
~17% in mass, and ~51% in density, which is somewhat smaller than previous
catalogs due to the larger number of improved logg constraints and the
inclusion of isochrone weighting when deriving stellar posterior distributions.
On average, the catalog includes a significantly larger number of evolved
solar-type stars, with an increase of 43.5% in the number of subgiants. We
discuss the overall changes of radii and masses of Kepler targets as a function
of spectral type, with particular focus on exoplanet host stars.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures. ApJS in pres
Spitzer-IRS Observations of FU Orionis Objects
We present 5-35 m spectra, taken with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on
the Spitzer Space Telescope, of five FU Orionis objects: FU Ori, V1515 Cyg,
V1057 Cyg, BBW 76, and V346 Nor. All but V346 Nor reveal amorphous silicate
grains in emission at 10 m and 20 m, and show water-vapor absorption
bands at 5.8 and 6.8 m and SiO or possibly methane absorption at 8 m.
These absorption features closely match these bands in model stellar
photospheres -- signs of the gaseous photospheres of the inner regions of these
objects' accretion disks. The continuum emission at 5-8 m is also
consistent with such disks, and, for FU Orionis and BBW 76, longer-wavelength
emission may be fit by a model which includes moderate disk flaring. V1057 Cyg
and V1515 Cyg have much more emission at longer wavelengths than the others,
perhaps evidence of substantial remnant of their natal, infalling envelopes.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Ap
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