594 research outputs found
A Chandra ACIS Study of the Young Star Cluster Trumpler 15 in Carina and Correlation with Near-infrared Sources
Using the highest-resolution X-ray observation of the Trumpler 15 star
cluster taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, we estimate the total size of
its stellar population by comparing the X-ray luminosity function of the
detected sources to a calibrator cluster, and identify for the first time a
significant fraction (~14%) of its individual members. The highest-resolution
near-IR observation of Trumpler 15 (taken by the HAWK-I instrument on the VLT)
was found to detect most of our X-ray selected sample of cluster members, with
a K-excess disk frequency of 3.8+-0.7%. The near-IR data, X-ray luminosity
function, and published spectral types of the brightest members support a
cluster age estimate (5-10 Myr) that is older than those for the nearby
Trumpler 14 and Trumpler 16 clusters, and suggest that high-mass members may
have already exploded as supernovae. The morphology of the inner ~0.7 pc core
of the cluster is found to be spherical. However, the outer regions (beyond 2
pc) are elongated, forming an `envelope' of stars that, in projection, appears
to connect Trumpler 15 to Trumpler 14; this morphology supports the view that
these clusters are physically associated. Clear evidence of mass segregation is
seen. This study appears in a Special Issue of the ApJS devoted to the Chandra
Carina Complex Project (CCCP), a 1.42 square degree Chandra X-ray survey of the
Great Nebula in Carina.Comment: Accepted for the ApJS Special Issue on the Chandra Carina Complex
Project (CCCP), scheduled for publication in May 2011. All 16 CCCP Special
Issue papers are available at
http://cochise.astro.psu.edu/Carina_public/special_issue.html through 2011 at
least. 30 pages; 8 figures; 3 table
The Spatial Structure of Young Stellar Clusters. III. Physical Properties and Evolutionary States
We analyze the physical properties of stellar clusters that are detected in
massive star-forming regions in the MYStIX project--a comparative,
multiwavelength study of young stellar clusters within 3.6 kpc that contain at
least one O-type star. Tabulated properties of subclusters in these regions
include physical sizes and shapes, intrinsic numbers of stars, absorptions by
the molecular clouds, and median subcluster ages. Physical signs of dynamical
evolution are present in the relations of these properties, including
statistically significant correlations between subcluster size, central
density, and age, which are likely the result of cluster expansion after gas
removal. We argue that many of the subclusters identified in Paper I are
gravitationally bound because their radii are significantly less than what
would be expected from freely expanding clumps of stars with a typical initial
stellar velocity dispersion of ~3 km/s for star-forming regions. We explore a
model for cluster formation in which structurally simpler clusters are built up
hierarchically through the mergers of subclusters--subcluster mergers are
indicated by an inverse relation between the numbers of stars in a subcluster
and their central densities (also seen as a density vs. radius relation that is
less steep than would be expected from pure expansion). We discuss implications
of these effects for the dynamical relaxation of young stellar clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal ; 48 pages, 13
figures, and 6 table
KiDS0239-3211: A new gravitational quadruple lens candidate
We report the discovery of a candidate to quadrupole gravitationally lensed
system KiDS0239-3211 based on the public data release 3 of the KiDS survey and
machine learning techniques
X-Ray flares in Orion Young Stars. II. Flares, Magnetospheres, and Protoplanetary Disks
We study the properties of powerful X-ray flares from 161 pre-main sequence
(PMS) stars observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory in the Orion Nebula
region. Relationships between flare properties, protoplanetary disks and
accretion are examined in detail to test models of star-disk interactions at
the inner edge of the accretion disks. Previous studies had found no
differences in flaring between diskfree and accreting systems other than a
small overall diminution of X-ray luminosity in accreting systems. The most
important finding is that X-ray coronal extents in fast-rotating diskfree stars
can significantly exceed the Keplerian corotation radius, whereas X-ray loop
sizes in disky and accreting systems do not exceed the corotation radius. This
is consistent with models of star-disk magnetic interaction where the inner
disk truncates and confines the PMS stellar magnetosphere. We also find two
differences between flares in accreting and diskfree PMS stars. First, a
subclass of super-hot flares with peak plasma temperatures exceeding 100 MK are
preferentially present in accreting systems. Second, we tentatively find that
accreting stars produce flares with shorter durations. Both results may be
consequences of the distortion and destabilization of the stellar magnetosphere
by the interacting disk. Finally, we find no evidence that any flare types,
even slow-rise flat-top flares are produced in star-disk magnetic loops. All
are consistent with enhanced solar long-duration events with both footprints
anchored in the stellar surface.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (07/17/08); 46 pages, 14 figures, 2
table
A Pan-Carina YSO Catalog: Intermediate-Mass Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula Identified Via Mid-Infrared Excess Emission
We present a catalog of 1439 young stellar objects (YSOs) spanning the 1.42
deg^2 field surveyed by the Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP), which
includes the major ionizing clusters and the most active sites of ongoing star
formation within the Great Nebula in Carina. Candidate YSOs were identified via
infrared (IR) excess emission from dusty circumstellar disks and envelopes,
using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope Vela--Carina survey and the
Two-Micron All Sky Survey. We model the 1--24 /mu m IR spectral energy
distributions of the YSOs to constrain physical properties. Our Pan-Carina YSO
Catalog (PCYC) is dominated by intermediate-mass (2 Msun < m < 10 Msun) objects
with disks, including Herbig Ae/Be stars and their less evolved progenitors.
The PCYC provides a valuable complementary dataset to the CCCP X-ray source
catalogs, identifying 1029 YSOs in Carina with no X-ray detection. We also
catalog 410 YSOs with X-ray counterparts, including 62 candidate protostars.
Candidate protostars with X-ray detections tend to be more evolved than those
without. In most cases, X-ray emission apparently originating from
intermediate-mass, disk-dominated YSOs is consistent with the presence of
low-mass companions, but we also find that X-ray emission correlates with
cooler stellar photospheres and higher disk masses. We suggest that
intermediate-mass YSOs produce X-rays during their early pre-main sequence
evolution, perhaps driven by magnetic dynamo activity during the convective
atmosphere phase, but this emission dies off as the stars approach the main
sequence. Extrapolating over the stellar initial mass function scaled to the
PCYC population, we predict a total population of >2x10^4 YSOs and a
present-day star formation rate (SFR) of >0.008 Msun/yr. The global SFR in the
Carina Nebula, averaged over the past ~5 Myr, has been approximately constant.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, accepted for the ApJS Special Issue on the
Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP), scheduled for publication in May 2011.
All 16 CCCP Special Issue papers, including a version of this article with
high-quality figures and full electronic tables, are available at
http://cochise.astro.psu.edu/Carina_public/special_issue.html (through 2011
at least
A Catalog of Chandra X-ray Sources in the Carina Nebula
We present a catalog of ~14,000 X-ray sources observed by the ACIS instrument
on the Chandra X-ray Observatory within a 1.42 square degree survey of the
Great Nebula in Carina, known as the Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP).
This study appears in a Special Issue of the ApJS devoted to the CCCP. Here, we
describe the data reduction and analysis procedures performed on the X-ray
observations, including calibration and cleaning of the X-ray event data, point
source detection, and source extraction. The catalog appears to be complete
across most of the field to an absorption-corrected total-band luminosity of
~10^{30.7} erg/s for a typical low-mass pre-main sequence star. Counterparts to
the X-ray sources are identified in a variety of visual, near-infrared, and
mid-infrared surveys. The X-ray and infrared source properties presented here
form the basis of many CCCP studies of the young stellar populations in Carina.Comment: Accepted for the ApJS Special Issue on the Chandra Carina Complex
Project (CCCP), scheduled for publication in May 2011. All 16 CCCP Special
Issue papers are available at
http://cochise.astro.psu.edu/Carina_public/special_issue.html through 2011 at
least. 29 pages, 11 figure
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