A study of the 3.3 and 3.4 μm emission features in proto-planetary nebulae

Medium-resolution spectra have been obtained of seven carbon-rich proto - planetary nebulae (PPNs) and one young planetary nebula from 3.2 to 3.8 μm, an interval containing the prominent hydrocarbon C - H stretches at 3.3 and 3.4 μm due to aromatic and aliphatic structures, respectively. The 3.3 μm feature is newly identified in IRAS 23304+6147, 22223+4327, and 06530-0213 and is confirmed in Z02229+6208. Three of the PPNs emit in the 3.4 μm feature, two of these being new identifications, IRAS 20000+3239 and 01005+7910, with two others showing possible detections. The 3.3 and 3.4 μm emission features in IRAS 22272+5435 are seen in the nebula offset from the star but not at the position of the central star, consistent with the 2003 results of Goto et al. A similar distribution is seen for the 3.3 μm feature in IRAS 22223+4327. All of the PPNs except IRAS 22272+5435 show Class A 3 μm emission features. These observations, when combined with those of the approximately equal number of other carbon-rich PPNs previously observed, demonstrate that there are large differences in the 3 μm emission bands, even for PPNs with central stars of similar spectral type, and thus that the behavior of the bands does not depend solely on spectral type. We also investigated other possible correlations to help explain these differences. These differences do not depend on the C/O value, since the Class B sources fall within the C/O range found for Class A. All of these 3.3 μm sources also show C 2 absorption and 21 μm emission features, except IRAS 01005+7910, which is the hottest source at B0. © 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Aromatic, aliphatic, and the unidentified 21 micron emission features in proto-planetary nebulae

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2008, v. 4 n. S251, p. 213-214Aromatic features at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.3 m are observed in proto-planetary nebulae (PPNe) as well as in PNe and H ii regions. Aliphatic features at 3.4 and 6.9 m are also observed; however, these features are often stronger in PPNe than in PNe. These observations suggest an evolution in the features from simple molecules (C2H2) in AGB stars to aliphatics in PPNe to aromatics in PNe. In the same carbon-rich PPNe, a strong, broad, unidentified 21 m emission feature has been found. We will present recent observations of the aromatic, aliphatic, and 21 m emission features, along with C2H2 (13.7 m) and a new feature at 15.8 m, and discuss correlations among them and other properties of these PPNe. © 2008 International Astronomical Union.published_or_final_versio

Four newly identified sources with 21 micron emission

Mid-infrared spectroscopy and near- and mid-infrared photometry have been obtained for four carbon-rich cool IRAS sources whose IRAS low-resolution spectra are similar to those of proto-planetary nebulae (PPNs) possessing the unusual 21 μm emission feature. The 21 μm feature is detected in all four sources, nearly doubling the number of known 21 μm emitters. The energy distributions of these objects show the characteristic "double-peaked" structure, confirming that they are PPNs. Broad features near 7.7 and 11.3 μm similar to the unidentified infrared features (UIRs) seen in carbon-rich planetary nebulae (PNs) are also detected, suggesting a chemical link between these PPNs and PNs. The presence of the 21 μm eature appears to be correlated with the presence of unusually strong 3.4-3.5 μm features. Possible scenarios for the evolution of these emission features in the PPN phase are discussed.published_or_final_versio

HH 222: A Giant Herbig-Haro Flow from the Quadruple System V380 Ori

keywords: Herbig-Haro objects, ISM: individual objects: HH 222, ISM: jets and outflows, proper motions, stars: individual: V380 Ori, stars: pre-main sequence eid: 118 adsurl: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AJ....146..118R adsnote: Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data SystemarticleHH 222 is a giant shocked region in the L1641 cloud, and is popularly known as the Orion Streamers or "the waterfall" on account of its unusual structure. At the center of these streamers are two infrared sources coincident with a nonthermal radio jet aligned along the principal streamer. The unique morphology of HH 222 has long been associated with this radio jet. However, new infrared images show that the two sources are distant elliptical galaxies, indicating that the radio jet is merely an improbable line-of-sight coincidence. Accurate proper motion measurements of HH 222 reveal that the shock structure is a giant bow shock moving directly away from the well-known, very young, Herbig Be star V380 Ori. The already known Herbig-Haro object HH 35 forms part of this flow. A new Herbig-Haro object, HH 1041, is found precisely in the opposite direction of HH 222 and is likely to form part of a counterflow. The total projected extent of this HH complex is 5.3 pc, making it among the largest HH flows known. A second outflow episode from V380 Ori is identified as a pair of HH objects, HH 1031 to the northwest and the already known HH 130 to the southeast, along an axis that deviates from that of HH 222/HH 1041 by only 3fdg7. V380 Ori is a hierarchical quadruple system, including a faint companion of spectral type M5 or M6, which at an age of ~1 Myr corresponds to an object straddling the stellar-to-brown dwarf boundary. We suggest that the HH 222 giant bow shock is a direct result of the dynamical interactions that led to the conversion from an initial non-hierarchical multiple system into a hierarchical configuration. This event occurred no more than 28,000 yr ago, as derived from the proper motions of the HH 222 giant bow shock.Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, IncNational Science FoundationNational Aeronautics and Space Administration through the NASA Astrobiology Institut

ISO observations of V723 Cas and other classical novae in outburst

The ISO mission gave us a unique opportunity to follow the evolution of nova eruptions in detail in the infrared, and there was an active ISO target-of-opportunity programme to observe novae in eruption. Many of the ISO observations were near-simultaneous with ground-based observations, giving wavelength coverage over 100 octaves - another unique feature of this programme. This paper gives an overview of these observations and describes target-of-opportunity observations of the nova V723 Cas (1995), carried out with the SWS and LWS over a period of some 600 days

Enhanced cosmic-ray flux toward zeta Persei inferred from laboratory study of H3+ - e- recombination rate

The H3+ molecular ion plays a fundamental role in interstellar chemistry, as it initiates a network of chemical reactions that produce many interstellar molecules. In dense clouds, the H3+ abundance is understood using a simple chemical model, from which observations of H3+ yield valuable estimates of cloud path length, density, and temperature. On the other hand, observations of diffuse clouds have suggested that H3+ is considerably more abundant than expected from the chemical models. However, diffuse cloud models have been hampered by the uncertain values of three key parameters: the rate of H3+ destruction by electrons, the electron fraction, and the cosmic-ray ionisation rate. Here we report a direct experimental measurement of the H3+ destruction rate under nearly interstellar conditions. We also report the observation of H3+ in a diffuse cloud (towards zeta Persei) where the electron fraction is already known. Taken together, these results allow us to derive the value of the third uncertain model parameter: we find that the cosmic-ray ionisation rate in this sightline is forty times faster than previously assumed. If such a high cosmic-ray flux is indeed ubiquitous in diffuse clouds, the discrepancy between chemical models and the previous observations of H3+ can be resolved.Comment: 6 pages, Nature, in pres

Perspective from a Younger Generation -- The Astro-Spectroscopy of Gisbert Winnewisser

Gisbert Winnewisser's astronomical career was practically coextensive with the whole development of molecular radio astronomy. Here I would like to pick out a few of his many contributions, which I, personally, find particularly interesting and put them in the context of newer results.Comment: 14 pages. (Co)authored by members of the MPIfR (Sub)millimeter Astronomy Group. To appear in the Proceedings of the 4th Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium "The Dense Interstellar Medium in Galaxies" eds. S. Pfalzner, C. Kramer, C. Straubmeier, & A. Heithausen (Springer: Berlin