668 research outputs found
Evidence for Heating of Neutron Stars by Magnetic Field Decay
We show the existence of a strong trend between neutron star surface
temperature and the dipolar component of the magnetic field extending through
three orders of field magnitude, a range that includes magnetars, radio-quiet
isolated neutron stars, and many ordinary radio pulsars. We suggest that this
trend can be explained by the decay of currents in the crust over a time scale
of few Myr. We estimate the minimum temperature that a NS with a given magnetic
field can reach in this interpretation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figures, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Let
Observations of Carbon Isotopic Fractionation in Interstellar Formaldehyde
Primitive Solar System materials (e.g. chondrites. IDPs, the Stardust sample) show large variations in isotopic composition of the major volatiles (H, C, N, and O ) even within samples, witnessing to various degrees of processing in the protosolar nebula. For ex~ ample. the very pronounced D enhancements observed in IDPs [I] . are only generated in the cold. dense component of the interstellar medium (ISM), or protoplanetary disks, through ion-molecule reactions in the presence of interstellar dust. If this isotopic anomaly has an interstellar origin, this leaves open the possibility for preservation of other isotopic signatures throughout the form ation of the Solar System. The most common form of carbon in the ISM is CO molecules, and there are two potential sources of C-13 fractionation in this reservoir: low temperature chemistry and selective photodissociation. While gas-phase chemistry in cold interstellar clouds preferentially incorporates C-13 into CO [2], the effect of self-shielding in the presence of UV radiation instead leads to a relative enhancement of the more abundant isotopologue, 12CO. Solar System organic material exhibit rather small fluctuations in delta C-13 as compared to delta N-15 and delta D [3][1], the reason for which is still unclear. However, the fact that both C-13 depleted and enhanced material exists could indicate an interstellar origin where the two fractionation processes have both played a part. Formaldehyde (H2CO) is observed in the gas-phase in a wide range of interstellar environments, as well as in cometary comae. It is proposed as an important reactant in the formation of more complex organic molecules in the heated environments around young stars, and formaldehyde polymers have been suggested as the common origin of chondritic insoluable organic matter (IOM) and cometary refractory organic solids [4]. The relatively high gas-phase abundance of H2CO observed in molecular clouds (10(exp- 9) - 10(exp- 8) relative to H2) makes it feasible to observe its less common isotopologues. As a step in our investigation of C-13 fractionation patterns in the ISM, we here present comparisons between observations of the C-13 fraction in formaldehyde, and chemical fractionation models
Dissociative recombination measurements of HCl+ using an ion storage ring
We have measured dissociative recombination of HCl+ with electrons using a
merged beams configuration at the heavy-ion storage ring TSR located at the Max
Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. We present the
measured absolute merged beams recombination rate coefficient for collision
energies from 0 to 4.5 eV. We have also developed a new method for deriving the
cross section from the measurements. Our approach does not suffer from
approximations made by previously used methods. The cross section was
transformed to a plasma rate coefficient for the electron temperature range
from T=10 to 5000 K. We show that the previously used HCl+ DR data
underestimate the plasma rate coefficient by a factor of 1.5 at T=10 K and
overestimate it by a factor of 3.0 at T=300 K. We also find that the new data
may partly explain existing discrepancies between observed abundances of
chlorine-bearing molecules and their astrochemical models.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (July 7, 2013
Reaction Networks For Interstellar Chemical Modelling: Improvements and Challenges
We survey the current situation regarding chemical modelling of the synthesis
of molecules in the interstellar medium. The present state of knowledge
concerning the rate coefficients and their uncertainties for the major
gas-phase processes -- ion-neutral reactions, neutral-neutral reactions,
radiative association, and dissociative recombination -- is reviewed. Emphasis
is placed on those reactions that have been identified, by sensitivity
analyses, as 'crucial' in determining the predicted abundances of the species
observed in the interstellar medium. These sensitivity analyses have been
carried out for gas-phase models of three representative, molecule-rich,
astronomical sources: the cold dense molecular clouds TMC-1 and L134N, and the
expanding circumstellar envelope IRC +10216. Our review has led to the proposal
of new values and uncertainties for the rate coefficients of many of the key
reactions. The impact of these new data on the predicted abundances in TMC-1
and L134N is reported. Interstellar dust particles also influence the observed
abundances of molecules in the interstellar medium. Their role is included in
gas-grain, as distinct from gas-phase only, models. We review the methods for
incorporating both accretion onto, and reactions on, the surfaces of grains in
such models, as well as describing some recent experimental efforts to simulate
and examine relevant processes in the laboratory. These efforts include
experiments on the surface-catalysed recombination of hydrogen atoms, on
chemical processing on and in the ices that are known to exist on the surface
of interstellar grains, and on desorption processes, which may enable species
formed on grains to return to the gas-phase.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Review
Non-detection of a pulsar-powered nebula in Puppis A, and implications for the nature of the radio-quiet neutron star RX J0822-4300
We report on a deep radio search for a pulsar wind nebula associated with the
radio-quiet neutron star RX J0822-4300 in the supernova remnant Puppis A. The
well-determined properties of Puppis A allow us to constrain the size of any
nebula to less than 30 arcsec; however we find no evidence for such a source on
any spatial scale up to 30 arcmin. These non-detections result in an upper
limit on the radio luminosity of any pulsar-powered nebula which is three
orders of magnitude below what would be expected if RX J0822-4300 was an
energetic young radio pulsar beaming away from us, and cast doubt on a recent
claim of X-ray pulsations from this source. The lack of a radio nebula leads us
to conclude that RX J0822-4300 has properties very different from most young
radio pulsars, and that it represents a distinct population which may be as
numerous, or even more so, than radio pulsars.Comment: 5 pages, including 2 embedded EPS figures, uses emulateapj.sty.
Accepted to ApJ Letters (minor changes made following referee's report
XMM-Newton Observations of Radio Pulsars B0834+06 and B0826-34 and Implications for Pulsar Inner Accelerator
We report the X-ray observations of two radio pulsars with drifting
subpulses: B0834 + 06 and B0826 - 34 using \xmm\. PSR B0834 + 06 was detected
with a total of 70 counts from the three EPIC instruments over 50 ks exposure
time. Its spectrum was best described as that of a blackbody (BB) with
temperature K and bolometric luminosity
of erg s. As it is typical in
pulsars with BB thermal components in their X-ray spectra, the hot spot surface
area is much smaller than that of the canonical polar cap, implying a
non-dipolar surface magnetic field much stronger than the dipolar component
derived from the pulsar spin-down (in this case about 50 times smaller and
stronger, respectively). The second pulsar PSR B0826 - 34 was not detected over
50 ks exposure time, giving an upper limit for the bolometric luminosity erg s. We use these data as well as the radio
emission data concerned with drifting subpulses to test the Partially Screened
Gap (PSG) model of the inner accelerator in pulsars.Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journa
Turning Points in the Evolution of Isolated Neutron Stars' Magnetic Fields
During the life of isolated neutron stars (NSs) their magnetic field passes
through a variety of evolutionary phases. Depending on its strength and
structure and on the physical state of the NS (e.g. cooling, rotation), the
field looks qualitatively and quantitatively different after each of these
phases. Three of them, the phase of MHD instabilities immediately after NS's
birth, the phase of fallback which may take place hours to months after NS's
birth, and the phase when strong temperature gradients may drive thermoelectric
instabilities, are concentrated in a period lasting from the end of the
proto--NS phase until 100, perhaps 1000 years, when the NS has become almost
isothermal. The further evolution of the magnetic field proceeds in general
inconspicuous since the star is in isolation. However, as soon as the product
of Larmor frequency and electron relaxation time, the so-called magnetization
parameter, locally and/or temporally considerably exceeds unity, phases, also
unstable ones, of dramatic changes of the field structure and magnitude can
appear. An overview is given about that field evolution phases, the outcome of
which makes a qualitative decision regarding the further evolution of the
magnetic field and its host NS.Comment: References updated, typos correcte
Review of important reactions for the nitrogen chemistry in the interstellar medium
Predictions of astrochemical models depend strongly on the reaction rate
coefficients used in the simulations. We reviewed a number of key reactions for
the chemistry of nitrogen-bearing species in the dense interstellar medium and
proposed new reaction rate coefficients for those reactions. The details of the
reviews are given in the form of a datasheet associated with each reaction. The
new recommended rate coefficients are given with an uncertainty and a
temperature range of validity and will be included in KIDA
(http://kida.obs.u-bordeaux1.fr).Comment: 39 pages, not published in refereed journal, datasheets are given in
KID
Spins, Electromagnetic Moments, and Isomers of 107-129Cd
The neutron-rich isotopes of cadmium up to the N=82 shell closure have been
investigated by high-resolution laser spectroscopy. Deep-UV excitation at 214.5
nm and radioactive-beam bunching provided the required experimental
sensitivity. Long-lived isomers are observed in 127Cd and 129Cd for the first
time. One essential feature of the spherical shell model is unambiguously
confirmed by a linear increase of the 11/2- quadrupole moments. Remarkably,
this mechanism is found to act well beyond the h11/2 shell
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