275 research outputs found
A search for 4750- and 4765-MHz OH masers in Southern Star Forming Regions
We have used the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to make a sensitive
(5- 100 mJy) search for maser emission from the 4765-MHz
F=10 transition of OH. Fifty five star formation regions
were searched and maser emission with a peak flux density in excess of 100 mJy
was detected toward fourteen sites, with ten of these being new discoveries. In
addition we observed the 4750-MHz F=11 transition towards a
sample of star formation regions known to contain 1720-MHz OH masers, detecting
marginal maser emission from G348.550-0.979. If confirmed this would be only
the second maser discovered from this transition. The occurrence of 4765-MHz OH
maser emission accompanying 1720-MHz OH masers in a small number of well
studied star formation regions has lead to a general perception in the
literature that the two transitions favour similar physical conditions. Our
search has found that the presence of the excited-state 6035-MHz OH transition
is a much better predictor of 4765-MHz OH maser emission from the same region
than is 1720-MHz OH maser emission. Combining our results with those of
previous high resolution observations of other OH transitions we have examined
the published theoretical models of OH masers and find that none of them
predict any conditions in which the 1665-, 6035- and 4765-MHz transitions are
simultaneously inverted.
Erratum abstract:
Dodson & Ellingsen (2002) included several observations with significant
pointing errors, invalidating the upper limits found in these directions. These
have now been reobserved or recalculated. A new table of upper limits has been
generated, and two more masers that would have been seen have been found.Comment: Included an Erratum with Max as another author. This erratum was
rejected by MNRAS (Feb 04) as it contained too much data. Resubmitted as a
paper (Jun 04). Rejected (Sep 04) it had too little data. Resubmitted as
reduced erratum (Apr 05). Still waitin
Thermal Infrared MMTAO Observations of the HR 8799 Planetary System
We present direct imaging observations at wavelengths of 3.3, 3.8 (L',band),
and 4.8 (M band) microns, for the planetary system surrounding HR 8799. All
three planets are detected at L'. The c and d component are detected at 3.3
microns, and upper limits are derived from the M band observations. These
observations provide useful constraints on warm giant planet atmospheres. We
discuss the current age constraints on the HR 8799 system, and show that
several potential co-eval objects can be excluded from being co-moving with the
star. Comparison of the photometry is made to models for giant planet
atmospheres. Models which include non-equilibrium chemistry provide a
reasonable match to the colors of c and d. From the observed colors in the
thermal infrared we estimate T_eff < 960 K for b, and T_eff=1300 and 1170 K for
c and d, respectively. This provides an independent check on the effective
temperatures and thus masses of the objects from the Marois 2008 results.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Ap
Exploring the conditions required to form giant planets via gravitational instability in massive protoplanetary discs
We carry out global three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical simulations of
self-gravitating accretion discs to determine if, and under what conditions, a
disc may fragment to form giant planets. We explore the parameter space (in
terms of the disc opacity, temperature and size) and include the effect of
stellar irradiation. We find that the disc opacity plays a vital role in
determining whether a disc fragments. Specifically, opacities that are smaller
than interstellar Rosseland mean values promote fragmentation (even at small
radii, R < 25AU) since low opacities allow a disc to cool quickly. This may
occur if a disc has a low metallicity or if grain growth has occurred. With
specific reference to the HR 8799 planetary system, given its star is
metal-poor, our results suggest that the formation of its imaged planetary
system could potentially have occurred by gravitational instability. We also
find that the presence of stellar irradiation generally acts to inhibit
fragmentation (since the discs can only cool to the temperature defined by
stellar irradiation). However, fragmentation may occur if the irradiation is
sufficiently weak that it allows the disc to attain a low Toomre stability
parameter.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS. 11 pages, 12 figures
Magnetic Fields in Large Diameter HII Regions Revealed by the Faraday Rotation of Compact Extragalactic Radio Sources
We present a study of the line-of-sight magnetic fields in five
large-diameter Galactic HII regions. Using the Faraday rotation of background
polarized radio sources, as well as dust-corrected H-alpha surface brightness
as a probe of electron density, we estimated the strength and orientation of
the magnetic field along 93 individual sight-lines through the HII regions.
Each of the HII regions displayed a coherent magnetic field. The magnetic field
strength (line-of-sight component) in the regions ranges from 2 to 6
microgauss, which is similar to the typical magnetic field strength in the
diffuse interstellar medium. We investigated the relationship between magnetic
field strength and electron density in the 5 HII regions. The slope of magnetic
field vs. density in the low-density regime (0.8 < n_e < 30 per cubic cm) is
very slightly above zero. We also calculated the ratio of thermal to magnetic
pressure, beta_th, for each data point, which fell in the range 1.01 < beta_th
< 25. Finally, we studied the orientation of the magnetic field in the solar
neighborhood (d < 1.1 kpc) using our data from 5 HII regions along with
existing measurements of the line-of-sight magnetic field strength from
polarized pulsars whose distances have been determined from their annual
parallax. We identify a net direction for the magnetic field in the solar
neighborhood, but find no evidence for a preferred vertical direction of the
magnetic field above or below the Galactic plane.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal, June 4th 201
Discovery of the Coldest Imaged Companion of a Sun-Like Star
We present the discovery of a brown dwarf or possible planet at a projected
separation of 1.9" = 29 AU around the star GJ 758, placing it between the
separations at which substellar companions are expected to form by core
accretion (~5 AU) or direct gravitational collapse (typically >100 AU). The
object was detected by direct imaging of its thermal glow with Subaru/HiCIAO.
At 10-40 times the mass of Jupiter and a temperature of 550-640 K, GJ 758 B
constitutes one of the few known T-type companions, and the coldest ever to be
imaged in thermal light around a Sun-like star. Its orbit is likely eccentric
and of a size comparable to Pluto's orbit, possibly as a result of
gravitational scattering or outward migration. A candidate second companion is
detected at 1.2" at one epoch.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention
Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are high-production-volume chemicals used in plastics and resins for food packaging. They have been associated with endocrine disruption in animals and in some human studies. Human exposure sources have been estimated, but the relative contribution of dietary exposure to total intake has not been studied empirically
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Extrasolar Planet HR 8799 b
[Abridged] We present 2.12-2.23 um high contrast integral field spectroscopy
of the extrasolar planet HR 8799 b. Our observations were obtained with OSIRIS
on the Keck II telescope and sample the 2.2 um CH4 feature, which is useful for
spectral classification and as a temperature diagnostic for ultracool objects.
The spectrum of HR 8799 b is relatively featureless, with little or no methane
absorption, and does not exhibit the strong CH4 seen in T dwarfs of similar
absolute magnitudes. Overall, we find that HR 8799 b has a spectral type
consistent with L5-T2, although its SED is atypical compared to most field
objects. We fit the 2.2 um spectrum and the infrared SED using the Hubeny &
Burrows, Burrows et al., and Ames-Dusty model atmosphere grids, which
incorporate nonequilibrium chemistry, non-solar metallicities, and clear and
cloudy variants. No models agree with all of the data, but those with
intermediate clouds produce significantly better fits. The largest discrepancy
occurs in the J-band, which is highly suppressed in HR 8799 b. The best-fitting
effective temperatures range from 1300-1700 K with radii between ~0.3-0.5 RJup.
These values are inconsistent with evolutionary model-derived values of 800-900
K and 1.1-1.3 RJup based on the luminosity of HR 8799 b and the age of HR 8799,
a discrepancy that probably results from imperfect atmospheric models or the
limited range of physical parameters covered by the models. The low temperature
inferred from evolutionary models indicates that HR 8799 b is ~400 K cooler
than field L/T transition objects, providing further evidence that the L/T
transition is gravity-dependent. With an unusually dusty photosphere, an
exceptionally low luminosity for its spectral type, and hints of extreme
secondary physical parameters, HR 8799 b appears to be unlike any class of
field brown dwarf currently known.Comment: 21 pages, 23 figures; accepted by Ap
Deep infrared imaging of close companions to austral A- and F-type stars
The search for substellar companions around stars with different masses along
the main sequence is critical to understand the different processes leading to
the formation of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and planets. In particular, the
existence of a large population of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs physically
bound to early-type main-sequence stars could imply that the massive planets
recently imaged at wide separations (10-100 AU) around A-type stars are
disc-born objects in the low-mass tail of the binary distribution. Our aim is
to characterize the environment of early-type main-sequence stars by detecting
brown dwarf or low-mass star companions between 10 and 500 AU. High contrast
and high angular resolution near-infrared images of a sample of 38 southern A-
and F-type stars have been obtained between 2005 and 2009 with the instruments
VLT/NaCo and CFHT/PUEO. Multi-epoch observations were performed to discriminate
comoving companions from background contaminants. About 41 companion candidates
were imaged around 23 stars. Follow-up observations for 83% of these stars
allowed us to identify a large number of background contaminants. We report the
detection of 7 low-mass stars with masses between 0.1 and 0.8 Msun in 6
multiple systems: the discovery of a M2 companion around the A5V star HD14943
and the detection of the B component of the F4V star HD41742 quadruple system;
we resolve the known companion of the F6.5V star HD49095 as a short-period
binary system composed by 2 M/L dwarfs. We also resolve the companions to the
astrometric binaries iot Crt (F6.5V) and 26 Oph (F3V), and identify a M3/M4
companion to the F4V star omi Gru, associated with a X-ray source. The global
multiplicity fraction measured in our sample of A and F stars is >16%. A
parallel velocimetric survey of our stars let us conclude that the imaged
companions can impact on the observed radial velocity measurements.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysics. The full version of the preprint including the appendices
(24 pages of figures), can be retrieved at
http://www-laog.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr/~dehrenre/articles/afsurvey
Role of non-Indigenous researchers in Indigenous health research in Australia: a review of the literature
First Light LBT AO Images of HR 8799 bcde at 1.65 and 3.3 Microns: New Discrepancies between Young Planets and Old Brown Dwarfs
As the only directly imaged multiple planet system, HR 8799 provides a unique
opportunity to study the physical properties of several planets in parallel. In
this paper, we image all four of the HR 8799 planets at H-band and 3.3 microns
with the new LBT adaptive optics system, PISCES, and LBTI/LMIRCam. Our images
offer an unprecedented view of the system, allowing us to obtain H and 3.3$
micron photometry of the innermost planet (for the first time) and put strong
upper-limits on the presence of a hypothetical fifth companion. We find that
all four planets are unexpectedly bright at 3.3 microns compared to the
equilibrium chemistry models used for field brown dwarfs, which predict that
planets should be faint at 3.3 microns due to CH4 opacity. We attempt to model
the planets with thick-cloudy, non-equilibrium chemistry atmospheres, but find
that removing CH4 to fit the 3.3 micron photometry increases the predicted L'
(3.8 microns) flux enough that it is inconsistent with observations. In an
effort to fit the SED of the HR 8799 planets, we construct mixtures of cloudy
atmospheres, which are intended to represent planets covered by clouds of
varying opacity. In this scenario, regions with low opacity look hot and
bright, while regions with high opacity look faint, similar to the patchy cloud
structures on Jupiter and L/T transition brown-dwarfs. Our mixed cloud models
reproduce all of the available data, but self-consistent models are still
necessary to demonstrate their viability.Comment: Accepted to Ap
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