147 research outputs found
Spectroscopic characterization of X-ray emitting young stars associated with the Sh 2-296 nebula
We studied a sample of stars associated with the Sh 2-296 nebula, part of the
reflection nebulae complex in the region of Canis Major (CMa R1). Our sample
corresponds to optical counterparts of X-ray sources detected from observations
with the XMM-Newton satellite, which revealed dozens of possible low-mass young
stars not yet known in this region.
A sample of 58 young star candidates were selected based on optical spectral
features, mainly H{\alpha} and lithium lines, observed with multi-objects
spectroscopy performed by the Gemini South telescope. Among the candidates, we
find 41 confirmed T Tauri and 15 very likely young stars. Based on the
H{\alpha} emission, the T Tauri stars were distinguished between classical
(17%) and weak-lined (83%), but no significant difference was found in the age
and mass distribution of these two classes.
The characterization of the sample was complemented by near- and mid-infrared
data, providing an estimate of ages and masses from the comparison with
pre-main-sequence evolutionary models. While half of the young stars have an
age of 1-2 Myrs or less, only a small fraction (~25%) shows evidence of IR
excess revealing the presence of circumstellar discs. This low fraction is
quite rare compared to most young star-forming regions, suggesting that some
external factor has accelerated the disc dissipation
The Fractal Dimension of Projected Clouds
The interstellar medium seems to have an underlying fractal structure which
can be characterized through its fractal dimension. However, interstellar
clouds are observed as projected two-dimensional images, and the projection of
a tri-dimensional fractal distorts its measured properties. Here we use
simulated fractal clouds to study the relationship between the tri-dimensional
fractal dimension (D_f) of modeled clouds and the dimension resulting from
their projected images. We analyze different fractal dimension estimators: the
correlation and mass dimensions of the clouds, and the perimeter-based
dimension of their boundaries (D_per). We find the functional forms relating
D_f with the projected fractal dimensions, as well as the dependence on the
image resolution, which allow to estimatethe "real" D_f value of a cloud from
its projection. The application of these results to Orion A indicates in a
self-consistent way that 2.5 < D_f < 2.7 for this molecular cloud, a value
higher than the result D_per+1 = 2.3 some times assumed in literature for
interstellar clouds.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Minor
change
An Extremely Lithium-Rich Bright Red Giant in the Globular Cluster M3
We have serendipitously discovered an extremely lithium-rich star on the red
giant branch of the globular cluster M3 (NGC 5272). An echelle spectrum
obtained with the Keck I HIRES reveals a Li I 6707 Angstrom resonance doublet
of 520 milli-Angstrom equivalent width, and our analysis places the star among
the most Li-rich giants known: log[epsilon(Li)] ~= +3.0. We determine the
elemental abundances of this star, IV-101, and three other cluster members of
similar luminosity and color, and conclude that IV-101 has abundance ratios
typical of giants in M3 and M13 that have undergone significant mixing. We
discuss mechanisms by which a low-mass star may be so enriched in Li, focusing
on the mixing of material processed by the hydrogen-burning shell just below
the convective envelope. While such enrichment could conceivably only happen
rarely, it may in fact regularly occur during giant-branch evolution but be
rarely detected because of rapid subsequent Li depletion.Comment: 7-page LaTeX file, including 2 encapsulated ps figures + 1 table;
accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
A companion candidate in the gap of the T Cha transitional disk
T Cha is a young star surrounded by a cold disk. The presence of a gap within
its disk, inferred from fitting to the spectral energy distribution, has
suggested on-going planetary formation. We observed T Cha in L' and K_s with
NAOS-CONICA, the adaptive optics system at the VLT, using sparse aperture
masking. We detected a source in the L' data at a separation of 62+-7 mas,
position angle of 78+-1 degrees, and a contrast of delta L' = 5.1+-0.2 mag. The
object is not detected in the Ks band data, which show a 3-sigma contrast limit
of 5.2 mag at the position of the detected L' source. For a distance of 108 pc,
the detected companion candidate is located at 6.7 AU from the primary, well
within the disk gap. If T Cha and the companion candidate are bound, the
comparison of the L' and Ks photometry with evolutionary tracks shows that the
photometry is inconsistent with any unextincted photosphere at the age and
distance of T Cha. The detected object shows a very red Ks-L' color for which a
possible explanation would be a significant amount of dust around it. This
would imply that the companion candidate is young, which would strengthen the
case for a physical companion, and moreover that the object would be in the
substellar regime, according to the Ks upper limit. Another exciting
possibility would be that this companion is a recently formed planet within the
disk. Additional observations are mandatory to confirm that the object is bound
and to properly characterize it.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication by A&
Multifractal Scaling, Geometrical Diversity, and Hierarchical Structure in the Cool Interstellar Medium
Multifractal scaling (MFS) refers to structures that can be described as a
collection of interwoven fractal subsets which exhibit power-law spatial
scaling behavior with a range of scaling exponents (concentration, or
singularity, strengths) and dimensions. The existence of MFS implies an
underlying multiplicative (or hierarchical, or cascade) process. Panoramic
column density images of several nearby star- forming cloud complexes,
constructed from IRAS data and justified in an appendix, are shown to exhibit
such multifractal scaling, which we interpret as indirect but quantitative
evidence for nested hierarchical structure. The relation between the dimensions
of the subsets and their concentration strengths (the "multifractal spectrum'')
appears to satisfactorily order the observed regions in terms of the mixture of
geometries present: strong point-like concentrations, line- like filaments or
fronts, and space-filling diffuse structures. This multifractal spectrum is a
global property of the regions studied, and does not rely on any operational
definition of "clouds.'' The range of forms of the multifractal spectrum among
the regions studied implies that the column density structures do not form a
universality class, in contrast to indications for velocity and passive scalar
fields in incompressible turbulence, providing another indication that the
physics of highly compressible interstellar gas dynamics differs fundamentally
from incompressible turbulence. (Abstract truncated)Comment: 27 pages, (LaTeX), 13 figures, 1 table, submitted to Astrophysical
Journa
X-ray emission from MP Muscae: an old classical T Tauri star
We study the properties of X-ray emitting plasma of MP Mus, an old classical
T Tauri star. We aim at checking whether an accretion process produces the
observed X-ray emission and at deriving the accretion parameters and the
characteristics of the shock-heated plasma. We compare the properties of MP Mus
with those of younger classical T Tauri stars to test whether age is related to
the properties of the X-ray emission plasma. XMM-Newton X-ray spectra allows us
to measure plasma temperatures, abundances, and electron density. In particular
the density of cool plasma probes whether X-ray emission is produced by plasma
heated in the accretion process. X-ray emission from MP Mus originates from
high density cool plasma but a hot flaring component is also present,
suggesting that both coronal magnetic activity and accretion contribute to the
observed X-ray emission. We find a Ne/O ratio similar to that observed in the
much younger classical T Tauri star BP Tau. From the soft part of the X-ray
emission, mostly produced by plasma heated in the accretion shock, we derive a
mass accretion rate of 5x10^{-11} M_{sun} yr^{-1}.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures, accepted for publication as a Letter
in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Three-Dimensional Dynamical Instabilities in Galactic Ionization Fronts
Ionization front instabilities have long been of interest for their suspected
role in a variety of phenomena in the galaxy, from the formation of bright rims
and 'elephant trunks' in nebulae to triggered star formation in molecular
clouds. Numerical treatments of these instabilities have historically been
limited in both dimensionality and input physics, leaving important questions
about their true evolution unanswered. We present the first three-dimensional
radiation hydrodynamical calculations of both R-type and D-type ionization
front instabilities in galactic environments (i.e., solar metallicity gas).
Consistent with linear stability analyses of planar D-type fronts, our models
exhibit many short-wavelength perturbations growing at early times that later
evolve into fewer large-wavelength structures. The simulations demonstrate that
both self-consistent radiative transfer and three-dimensional flow introduce
significant morphological differences to unstable modes when compared to
earlier two-dimensional approximate models. We find that the amplitude of the
instabilities in the nonlinear regime is primarily determined by the efficiency
of cooling within the shocked neutral shell. Strong radiative cooling leads to
long, extended structures with pronounced clumping while weaker cooling leads
to saturated modes that devolve into turbulent flows. These results suggest
that expanding H II regions may either promote or provide turbulent support
against the formation of later generations of stars, with potential
consequences for star formation rates in the galaxy today.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted to Ap
SACY - a Search for Associations Containing Young stars
The scientific goal of the SACY (Search for Associations Containing
Young-stars) was to identify possible associations of stars younger than the
Pleiades Association among optical counterparts of the ROSAT X-ray bright
sources. High-resolution spectra for possible optical counterparts later than
G0 belonging to HIPPARCOS and/or TYCHO-2 catalogs were obtained in order to
assess both the youth and the spatial motion of each target. More than 1000
ROSAT sources were observed, covering a large area in the Southern Hemisphere.
The newly identified young stars present a patchy distribution in UVW and XYZ,
revealing the existence of huge nearby young associations. Here we present the
associations identified in this survey.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of Open Issues in
Local Formation and Early Stellar Evolution, Ouro Preto, Brazi
The initial stellar mass function from random sampling in hierarchical clouds II: statistical fluctuations and a mass dependence for starbirth positions and times
Observed variations in the slope of the initial stellar mass function are
shown to be consistent with a model in which the protostellar gas is randomly
sampled from hierarchical clouds at a rate proportional to the square root of
the local density. RMS variations in the IMF slope around the Salpeter value
are +/- 0.4 when only 100 stars are observed, and +/- 0.1 when 1000 stars are
observed. The hierarchical-sampling model also reproduces the tendency for
massive stars to form closer to the center of a cloud, at a time somewhat later
than the formation time of the lower mass stars. The assumed density dependence
for the star formation rate is shown to be appropriate for turbulence
compression, magnetic diffusion, gravitational collapse, and clump or
wavepacket coalescence. The low mass flattening in the IMF comes from the
inability of gas to form stars below the thermal Jeans mass at typical
temperatures and pressures. Consideration of heating and cooling processes
indicate why the thermal Jeans mass should be nearly constant in normal
environments, and why it might increase in some starburst regions. The steep
IMF in the extreme field is not explained by the model, but other origins are
suggested.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, scheduled for ApJ vol. 515, April 10, 199
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