Lunar base CELSS: A bioregenerative approach

During the twenty-first century, human habitation of a self-sustaining lunar base could become a reality. To achieve this goal, the occupants will have to have food, water, and an adequate atmosphere within a carefully designed environment. Advanced technology will be employed to support terrestrial life-sustaining processes on the Moon. One approach to a life support system based on food production, waste management and utilization, and product synthesis is outlined. Inputs include an atmosphere, water, plants, biodegradable substrates, and manufacutured materials such as fiberglass containment vessels from lunar resources. Outputs include purification of air and water, food, and hydrogen (H2) generated from methane (CH4). Important criteria are as follows: (1) minimize resupply from Earth; and (2) recycle as efficiently as possible

Characterizing star formation activity in infrared dark cloud MSXDC G048.65-00.29

Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs), condensed regions of the ISM with high column densities, low temperatures and high masses, are suspected sites of star formation. Thousands of IRDCs have already been identified. To date, it has not been resolved whether IRDCs always show star formation activity and, if so, if massive star formation (> 8 solar masses) is the rule or the exception in IRDCs. Previous analysis of sub-millimeter cores in the cloud MSXDC G048.65-00.29 (G48.65) indicates embedded star formation activity. To characterize this activity in detail, mid-infrared photometry (3-30 micron) has been obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. This paper analyzes the point sources seen in the 24 micron band, combined with counterparts or upper limits at shorter and longer wavelengths. Data points in wavelength bands ranging from 1 up to 850 micron are used to compare each 24 micron source to a set of Spectral Energy Distributions of Young Stellar Object (YSO) models. By assessing the models that fit the data, an attempt is made to identify YSOs as such and determine their evolutionary stages and stellar masses. A total of 17 sources are investigated, 13 of which are classified as YSOs, primarily - but not exclusively - in an early embedded phase of star formation. The modeled masses of the central stellar objects range from sub-solar to ~8 solar masses. Every YSO is at less than 1 pc projected distance from its nearest YSO neighbor. We conclude that IRDC G48.65 is a region of active star formation. We find YSOs in various evolutionary phases, indicating that the star formation in this cloud is not an instantaneous process. The inferred masses of the central objects suggest that this IRDC hosts only low to intermediate mass YSOs and none with masses exceeding ~8 solar masses.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; v2: minor editorial changes to match published versio

The Spitzer Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Discovery of Embedded Protostars in the HII Region NGC 346

We use Spitzer Space Telescope observations from the Spitzer Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (S3MC) to study the young stellar content of N66, the largest and brightest HII region in the SMC. In addition to large numbers of normal stars, we detect a significant population of bright, red infrared sources that we identify as likely to be young stellar objects (YSOs). We use spectral energy distribution (SED) fits to classify objects as ordinary (main sequence or red giant) stars, asymptotic giant branch stars, background galaxies, and YSOs. This represents the first large-scale attempt at blind source classification based on Spitzer SEDs in another galaxy. We firmly identify at least 61 YSOs, with another 50 probable YSOs; only one embedded protostar in the SMC was reported in the literature prior to the S3MC. We present color selection criteria that can be used to identify a relatively clean sample of YSOs with IRAC photometry. Our fitted SEDs indicate that the infrared-bright YSOs in N66 have stellar masses ranging from 2 Msun to 17 Msun, and that approximately half of the objects are Stage II protostars, with the remaining YSOs roughly evenly divided between Stage I and Stage III sources. We find evidence for primordial mass segregation in the HII region, with the most massive YSOs being preferentially closer to the center than lower-mass objects. Despite the low metallicity and dust content of the SMC, the observable properties of the YSOs appear consistent with those in the Milky Way. Although the YSOs are heavily concentrated within the optically bright central region of N66, there is ongoing star formation throughout the complex and we place a lower limit on the star formation rate of 3.2 x 10^-3 Msun/yr over the last ~1 Myr.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures (3 in color), 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap

Triggered star formation and Young Stellar Population in Bright-Rimmed Cloud SFO 38

We have investigated the young stellar population in and around SFO 38, one of the massive globules located in the northern part of the Galactic HII region IC 1396, using the Spitzer IRAC and MIPS observations (3.6 to 24 micron) and followed up with ground based optical photometric and spectroscopic observations. Based on the IRAC and MIPS colors and H-alpha emission we identify ~45 Young Stellar Objects (Classes 0/I/II) and 13 probable Pre Main Sequence candidates. We derive the spectral types (mostly K- and M-type stars), effective temperatures and individual extinction of the relatively bright and optically visible Class II objects. Based on optical photometry and theoretical isochrones, we estimate the spread in stellar ages to be between 1--8 Myr with a median age of 3 Myr and a mass distribution of 0.3--2.2 Msun with a median value around 0.5 Msun. Using the width of the H-alpha emission line measured at 10% peak intensity, we derive the mass accretion rates of individual objects to be between 10^{-10} to 10^{-8} Msun/yr. From the continuum-subtracted H-alpha line image, we find that the H-alpha emission of the globule is not spatially symmetric with respect to the O type ionizing star HD 206267. We clearly detect an enhanced concentration of YSOs closer to the southern rim of SFO~38 and identify an evolutionary sequence of YSOs from the rim to the dense core of the cloud, with most of the Class II objects located at the bright rim. The YSOs appear to be aligned along two different directions towards the O6.5V type star HD 206267 and the B0V type star HD 206773. This is consistent with the Radiation Driven Implosion (RDI) model for triggered star formation. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Sky maps without anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background are a better fit to WMAP's uncalibrated time ordered data than the official sky maps

The purpose of this reanalysis of the WMAP uncalibrated time ordered data (TOD) was two fold. The first was to reassess the reliability of the detection of the anisotropies in the official WMAP sky maps of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The second was to assess the performance of a proposed criterion in avoiding systematic error in detecting a signal of interest. The criterion was implemented by testing the null hypothesis that the uncalibrated TOD was consistent with no anisotropies when WMAP's hourly calibration parameters were allowed to vary. It was shown independently for all 20 WMAP channels that sky maps with no anisotropies were a better fit to the TOD than those from the official analysis. The recently launched Planck satellite should help sort out this perplexing result.Comment: 11 pages with 1 figure and 2 tables. Extensively rewritten to explain the research bette

The Extended Environment of M17: A Star Formation History

M17 is one of the youngest and most massive nearby star-formation regions in the Galaxy. It features a bright H II region erupting as a blister from the side of a giant molecular cloud (GMC). Combining photometry from the Spitzer GLIMPSE survey with complementary infrared (IR) surveys, we identify candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) throughout a 1.5 deg x 1 deg field that includes the M17 complex. The long sightline through the Galaxy behind M17 creates significant contamination in our YSO sample from unassociated sources with similar IR colors. Removing contaminants, we produce a highly-reliable catalog of 96 candidate YSOs with a high probability of association with the M17 complex. We fit model spectral energy distributions to these sources and constrain their physical properties. Extrapolating the mass function of 62 intermediate-mass YSOs (M >3 Msun), we estimate that >1000 stars are in the process of forming in the extended outer regions of M17. From IR survey images from IRAS and GLIMPSE, we find that M17 lies on the rim of a large shell structure ~0.5 deg in diameter (~20 pc at 2.1 kpc). We present new maps of CO and 13CO (J=2-1) emission, which show that the shell is a coherent, kinematic structure associated with M17 at v = 19 km/s. The shell is an extended bubble outlining the photodissociation region of a faint, diffuse H II region several Myr old. We provide evidence that massive star formation has been triggered by the expansion of the bubble. The formation of the massive cluster ionizing the M17 H II region itself may have been similarly triggered. We conclude that the star formation history in the extended environment of M17 has been punctuated by successive waves of massive star formation propagating through a GMC complex.Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. For a version with higher-quality figures, see http://www.astro.wisc.edu/glimpse/Povich2009_M17.pd

Spitzer View of Young Massive Stars in the LMC HII Complex N44

The HII complex N44 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides an excellent site to perform a detailed study of star formation in a mild starburst, as it hosts three regions of star formation at different evolutionary stages and it is not as complicated and confusing as the 30 Doradus giant HII region. We have obtained Spitzer Space Telescope observations and complementary ground-based 4m uBVIJK observations of N44 to identify candidate massive young stellar objects (YSOs). We further classify the YSOs into Types I, II, and III, according to their spectral energy distributions (SEDs). In our sample of 60 YSO candidates, ~65% of them are resolved into multiple components or extended sources in high-resolution ground-based images. We have modeled the SEDs of 36 YSOs that appear single or dominant within a group. We find good fits for Types I and I/II YSOs,but Types II and II/III YSOs show deviations between their observed SEDs and models that do not include PAH emission. We have also found that some Type III YSOs have central holes in their disk components. YSO counterparts are found in four ultracompact HII regions and their stellar masses determined from SED model fits agree well with those estimated from the ionization requirements of the HII regions. The distribution of YSOs is compared with those of the underlying stellar population and interstellar gas conditions to illustrate a correlation between the current formation of O-type stars and previous formation of massive stars. Evidence of triggered star formation is also presented.Comment: 63 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication for ApJ; some figures in jpeg format to meet the size limit; preprint with high resolution images can be found at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~cc5ye/n44yso.pd

Identifying Young Stellar Objects in the Outer Galaxy: l = 224 deg Region in Canis Major

We study a very young star-forming region in the outer Galaxy that is the most concentrated source of outflows in the Spitzer Space Telescope GLIMPSE360 survey. This region, dubbed CMa-l224, is located in the Canis Major OB1 association. CMa-l224 is relatively faint in the mid-infrared, but it shines brightly at the far-infrared wavelengths as revealed by the Herschel Space Observatory data from the Hi-GAL survey. Using the 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m data from the Spitzer/GLIMPSE360 survey, combined with the JHK$_s$ 2MASS and the 70-500 $\mu$m Herschel/Hi-GAL data, we develop a young stellar object (YSO) selection criteria based on color-color cuts and fitting of the YSO candidates' spectral energy distributions with YSO 2D radiative transfer models. We identify 293 YSO candidates and estimate physical parameters for 210 sources well-fit with YSO models. We select an additional 47 sources with GLIMPSE360-only photometry as `possible YSO candidates'. The vast majority of these sources are associated with high H$_2$ column density regions and are good targets for follow-up studies. The distribution of YSO candidates at different evolutionary stages with respect to Herschel filaments supports the idea that stars are formed in the filaments and become more dispersed with time. Both the supernova-induced and spontaneous star formation scenarios are plausible in the environmental context of CMa-l224. However, our results indicate that a spontaneous gravitational collapse of filaments is a more likely scenario. The methods developed for CMa-l224 can be used for larger regions in the Galactic plane where the same set of photometry is available.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series; 54 pages including appendice

Mid-infrared interferometry of massive young stellar objects

The very inner structure of massive young stellar objects (YSOs) is difficult to trace. With conventional observational methods we identify structures still several hundreds of AU in size. However, the (proto-)stellar growth takes place at the innermost regions (<100 AU) where the actual mass transfer onto the forming high-mass star occurs. We present results from our programme toward massive YSOs at the VLTI, utilising the two-element interferometer MIDI. To date, we observed 10 well-known massive YSOs down to scales of 20 mas (typically corresponding to 20 - 40 AU for our targets) in the 8-13 micron region. We clearly resolve these objects which results in low visibilities and sizes in the order of 30-50 mas. For two objects, we show results of our modelling. We demonstrate that the MIDI data can reveal decisive structure information for massive YSOs. They are often pivotal in order to resolve ambiguities still immanent in model parameters derived from sole SED fitting.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, necessary style files iopams.sty, jpconf11.clo, and jpconf.cls included; contribution for the conference "The Universe under the Microscope" (AHAR 2008), held in Bad Honnef (Germany) in April 2008, to be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series by Institute of Physics Publishing, R. Schoedel, A. Eckart, S. Pfalzner, and E. Ros (eds.

Candidate X-ray-Emitting OB Stars in the Carina Nebula Identified Via Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions

We report the results of a new survey of massive, OB stars throughout the Carina Nebula using the X-ray point source catalog provided by the Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP) in conjunction with infrared (IR) photometry from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey and the Spitzer Space Telescope Vela--Carina survey. Mid-IR photometry is relatively unaffected by extinction, hence it provides strong constraints on the luminosities of OB stars, assuming that their association with the Carina Nebula, and hence their distance, is confirmed. We fit model stellar atmospheres to the optical (UBV) and IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 182 OB stars with known spectral types and measure the bolometric luminosity and extinction for each star. We find that the extinction law measured toward the OB stars has two components: Av=1--1.5 mag produced by foreground dust with a ratio of total-to-selective absorption Rv=3.1 plus a contribution from local dust with Rv>4.0 in the Carina molecular clouds that increases as Av increases. Using X-ray emission as a strong indicator of association with Carina, we identify 94 candidate OB stars with Lbol\geq10^4 Lsun by fitting their IR SEDs. If the candidate OB stars are eventually confirmed by follow-up spectroscopic observations, the number of cataloged OB stars in the Carina Nebula will increase by ~50%. Correcting for incompleteness due to OB stars falling below the Lbol cutoff or the CCCP detection limit, these results potentially double the size of the young massive stellar population.Comment: 19 pages, 8 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, are available at http://cochise.astro.psu.edu/Carina_public/special_issue.html (through 2011 at least