198 research outputs found
A method for comparing discrete kinematic data and N-body simulations
This paper describes a method for quantitatively comparing an N-body model
with a sample of discrete kinematic data. The comparison has two stages: (i)
finding the optimum scaling and orientation of the model relative to the data;
and (ii) calculating a goodness of fit, and hence assessing the plausibility of
the model in vew of the data. The method derives from considering the data and
model both as samples from some underlying binned distribution function, and
applying probability theory arguments. As an example, I consider a published
N-body model for the Galactic bulge and disc, and fictitious l,b,v
measurements, and recover (with error estimates) the spatial and velocity
scales of the model and the orientation of the bar. The fictitious data are
actually derived from the model by assuming the mass scale and the solar
position, but their size and extent mimics a recent survey of OH/IR stars. The
results indicate that mass of the bulge and our viewing angle of the bar are
usefully estimable from current surveys.Comment: To appear in A
Water maser detections in southern candidates to post-AGB stars and Planetary Nebulae
We intended to study the incidence and characteristics of water masers in the
envelopes of stars in the post-AGB and PN evolutionary stages.
We have used the 64-m antenna in Parkes (Australia) to search for water maser
emission at 22 GHz, towards a sample of 74 sources with IRAS colours
characteristic of post-AGB stars and PNe, at declination . In our
sample, 39% of the sources are PNe or PNe candidates, and 50% are post-AGB
stars or post-AGB candidates.
We have detected four new water masers, all of them in optically obscured
sources: three in PNe candidates (IRAS 12405-6219, IRAS 15103-5754, and IRAS
16333-4807); and one in a post-AGB candidate (IRAS 13500-6106). The PN
candidate IRAS 15103-5754 has water fountain characteristics, and it could be
the first PN of this class found.
We confirm the tendency suggested in Paper I that the presence of water
masers in the post-AGB phase is favoured in obscured sources with massive
envelopes. We propose an evolutionary scenario for water masers in the post-AGB
and PNe stages, in which ``water fountain'' masers could develop during
post-AGB and early PN stages. Later PNe would show lower velocity maser
emission, both along jets and close to the central objects, with only the
central masers remaining in more evolved PNe.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
A quasi-time-dependent radiative transfer model of OH104.9+2.4
We investigate the pulsation-phase dependent properties of the circumstellar
dust shell (CDS) of the OH/IR star OH104.9+2.4 based on radiative transfer
modeling (RTM) using the code DUSTY. Our previous study concerning simultaneous
modeling of the spectral energy distribution (SED) and near-infrared (NIR)
visibilities (Riechers et al. 2004) has now been extended by means of a more
detailed analysis of the pulsation-phase dependence of the model parameters of
OH104.9+2.4. In order to investigate the temporal variation in the spatial
structure of the CDS, additional NIR speckle interferometric observations in
the K' band were carried out with the 6 m telescope of the Special
Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). At a wavelength of 2.12 micron the
diffraction-limited resolution of 74 mas was attained. Several key parameters
of our previous best-fitting model had to be adjusted in order to be consistent
with the newly extended amount of observational data. It was found that a
simple rescaling of the bolometric flux F_bol is not sufficient to take the
variability of the source into account, as the change in optical depth over a
full pulsation cycle is rather high. On the other hand, the impact of a change
in effective temperature T_eff on SED and visibility is rather small. However,
observations, as well as models for other AGB stars, show the necessity of
including a variation of T_eff with pulsation phase in the radiative transfer
models. Therefore, our new best-fitting model accounts for these changes.Comment: 7 pages, including 5 postscript figures and 3 tables. Published in
Astronomy and Astrophysics. (v1: accepted version; v2: published version,
minor grammatical changes
Near-infrared observations of water-ice in OH/IR stars
A search for the near-infrared water-ice absorption band was made in a number
of very red OH/IR stars which are known to exhibit the 10um silicate
absorption. As a by-product, accurate positions of these highly reddened
objects are obtained. We derived a dust mass loss rate for each object by
modelling the spectral energy distribution and the gas mass loss rate by
solving the equation of motion for the dust drag wind. The derived mass loss
rates show a strong correlation with the silicate optical depth as well as that
of the water-ice. The stars have a high mass loss rate (> 1.0E-4 Msun/yr) with
an average gas-to-dust mass ratio of 110. In objects which show the 3.1um
water-ice absorption, the near-IR slope is much steeper than those with no
water-ice. Comparison between our calculated mass loss rates and those derived
from OH and CO observations indicates that these stars have recently increased
their mass loss rates.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures : accepted for publication in A&
HE 3-1475 AND ITS JETS
We present spectra and high-resolution images taken with HST, the NTT, the
VLA, and the MPIA/ESO 2.2m of the emission-line star He 3-1475 which we suggest
is a post-AGB star. The star is at the origin of a 15-arcsec-long structure
containing symmetrically opposing bright knots. The knots have radial
velocities of about 500 km/s from the center of He 3-1475 to the ends of the
jets. HST snapshots show that the core of He 3-1475 is unipolar with a star at
the SE end and the nebula fanning out toward the NW. VLA observations show the
presence of OH masers, which are positioned parallel to the optical jets. A
model is proposed that accounts for all of the observational data. This unusual
object may link the OH/IR stars having extreme outflow velocities with highly
bipolar planetary nebulae.Comment: 14 pages, uu-encoded postcript. 6 figures available on request from
Matt Bobrowski ([email protected]
Evidence of triggered star formation in G327.3-0.6. Dust-continuum mapping of an infrared dark cloud with P-ArT\'eMiS
Aims. Expanding HII regions and propagating shocks are common in the
environment of young high-mass star-forming complexes. They can compress a
pre-existing molecular cloud and trigger the formation of dense cores. We
investigate whether these phenomena can explain the formation of high-mass
protostars within an infrared dark cloud located at the position of G327.3-0.6
in the Galactic plane, in between two large infrared bubbles and two HII
regions. Methods: The region of G327.3-0.6 was imaged at 450 ? m with the CEA
P-ArT\'eMiS bolometer array on the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope in
Chile. APEX/LABOCA and APEX-2A, and Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS archives data were
used in this study. Results: Ten massive cores were detected in the P-ArT\'eMiS
image, embedded within the infrared dark cloud seen in absorption at both 8 and
24 ?m. Their luminosities and masses indicate that they form high-mass stars.
The kinematical study of the region suggests that the infrared bubbles expand
toward the infrared dark cloud. Conclusions: Under the influence of expanding
bubbles, star formation occurs in the infrared dark areas at the border of HII
regions and infrared bubbles.Comment: 4 page
From pre- to young Planetary Nebulae: radio continuum variability
Searching for variability, we have observed a sample of hot post-AGB stars
and young Planetary Nebulae candidates with the Very Large Array at 4.8, 8.4,
and 22.4 GHz. The sources had been previously detected in the radio continuum,
which is a proof that the central stars have started ionising their
circumstellar envelopes and an increase in radio flux with time can be expected
as a result of the progression of the ionisation front. Such a behaviour has
been found in IRAS 18062+2410, whose radio modelling has allowed us to
determine that its ionised mass has increased from 10^{-4} to 3.3 10^{-4} M_sun
in 8 years and its envelope has become optically thin at lower frequencies.
Different temporal behaviours have been found for three other sources. IRAS
17423-1755 has shown a possibly periodic pattern and an inversion of its radio
spectral index, as expected from a varying stellar wind. We estimate that the
radio flux arises from a very compact region around the central star (10^{15}
cm) with an electron density of 2 10^6 cm^{-3}. IRAS 22568+6141 and 17516-2525
have decreased their radio flux densities of about 10% per year over 4 years.
While a linear increase of the flux density with time points out to the
progression of the ionisation front in the envelope, decreases as well as
quasi-periodic patterns may indicate the presence of unstable stellar
winds/jets or thick dusty envelopes absorbing ionising photons.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
Revealing the mid-infrared emission structure of IRAS 16594-4656 and IRAS 07027-7934
TIMMI2 diffraction-limited mid-infrared images of a multipolar
proto-planetary nebula IRAS 16594-4656 and a young [WC] elliptical planetary
nebula IRAS 07027-7934 are presented. Their dust shells are for the first time
resolved (only marginally in the case of IRAS 07027-7934) by applying the
Lucy-Richardson deconvolution algorithm to the data, taken under exceptionally
good seeing conditions (<0.5"). IRAS 16594-4656 exhibits a two-peaked
morphology at 8.6, 11.5 and 11.7 microns which is mainly attributed to emission
from PAHs. Our observations suggest that the central star is surrounded by a
toroidal structure observed edge-on with a radius of 0.4" (~640 AU at an
assumed distance of 1.6 kpc) with its polar axis at P.A.~80 degrees, coincident
with the orientation defined by only one of the bipolar outflows identified in
the HST optical images. We suggest that the material expelled from the central
source is currently being collimated in this direction and that the multiple
outflow formation has not been coeval. IRAS 07027-7934 shows a bright,
marginally extended emission (FWHM=0.3") in the mid-infrared with a slightly
elongated shape along the N-S direction, consistent with the morphology
detected by HST in the near-infrared. The mid-infrared emission is interpreted
as the result of the combined contribution of small, highly ionized PAHs and
relatively hot dust continuum. We propose that IRAS 07027-7934 may have
recently experienced a thermal pulse (likely at the end of the AGB) which has
produced a radical change in the chemistry of its central star.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures (figures 1, 2, 4 and 6 are in low resolution)
accepted for publication in Ap
Near-IR spectroscopy of planetary nebulae precursors
We present near-IR spectroscopy of a sample of 30 IRAS sources recently
identified as late AGB stars, post-AGB stars or early
PNe. The spectra obtained are centered at various wavelengths covering the
molecular hydrogen v=1-0 S(1) and v=2-1 S(1) emission lines, the recombination
lines of hydrogen Br-gamma, Pf-gamma and Br-alpha, and the CO[v=2-0] first
overtone bandhead at 2.294 microns. As a result of these observations we have
increased from 4 to 13 the total number of proto-PNe detected in molecular
hydrogen. When the molecular hydrogen is fluorescence-excited the detection
rate is found to be directly correlated with the evolutionary stage of the
central star, rather than with the nebular morphology. In contrast,
shocked-excited molecular hydrogen is detected only in strongly bipolar
proto-PNe, sometimes even at an early stage in the post-AGB phase. The strong
correlation of shocked-excited molecular hydrogen emission with bipolarity
found confirms the result previously reported by Kastner et al. (1996) in
evolved PNe. However, our results show that this correlation does not exist in
the case of fluorescence-excited molecular hydrogen.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Marginalization of end-use technologies in energy innovation for climate protection
Mitigating climate change requires directed innovation efforts to develop and deploy energy technologies. Innovation activities are directed towards the outcome of climate protection by public institutions, policies and resources that in turn shape market behaviour. We analyse diverse indicators of activity throughout the innovation system to assess these efforts. We find efficient end-use technologies contribute large potential emission reductions and provide higher social returns on investment than energy-supply technologies. Yet public institutions, policies and financial resources pervasively privilege energy-supply technologies. Directed innovation efforts are strikingly misaligned with the needs of an emissions-constrained world. Significantly greater effort is needed to develop the full potential of efficient end-use technologies
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