3,195 research outputs found
VLTI/MIDI 10 micron interferometry of the forming massive star W33A
We report on resolved interferometric observations with VLTI/MIDI of the
massive young stellar object (MYSO) W33A. The MIDI observations deliver
spectrally dispersed visibilities with values between 0.03 and 0.06, for a
baseline of 45m over the wavelength range 8-13 micron. The visibilities
indicate that W33A has a FWHM size of approximately 120AU (0.030'') at 8 micron
which increases to 240AU at 13 micron, scales previously unexplored among
MYSOs. This observed trend is consistent with the temperature falling off with
distance. 1D dust radiative transfer models are simultaneously fit to the
visibility spectrum, the strong silicate feature and the shape of the mid
infrared spectral energy distribution (SED). For any powerlaw density
distribution, we find that the sizes (as implied by the visibilities) and the
stellar luminosity are incompatible. A reduction to a third of W33A's
previously adopted luminosity is required to match the visibilities; such a
reduction is consistent with new high resolution 70 micron data from Spitzer's
MIPSGAL survey. We obtain best fits for models with shallow dust density
distributions of r^(-0.5) and r^(-1.0) and for increased optical depth in the
silicate feature produced by decreasing the ISM ratio of graphite to silicates
and using optical grain properties by Ossenkopf et al. (1992).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for ApJ letter
Some Further Results for the Stationary Points and Dynamics of Supercooled Liquids
We present some new theoretical and computational results for the stationary
points of bulk systems. First we demonstrate how the potential energy surface
can be partitioned into catchment basins associated with every stationary point
using a combination of Newton-Raphson and eigenvector-following techniques.
Numerical results are presented for a 256-atom supercell representation of a
binary Lennard-Jones system. We then derive analytical formulae for the number
of stationary points as a function of both system size and the Hessian index,
using a framework based upon weakly interacting subsystems. This analysis
reveals a simple relation between the total number of stationary points, the
number of local minima, and the number of transition states connected on
average to each minimum. Finally we calculate two measures of localisation for
the displacements corresponding to Hessian eigenvectors in samples of
stationary points obtained from the Newton-Raphson-based geometry optimisation
scheme. Systematic differences are found between the properties of eigenvectors
corresponding to positive and negative Hessian eigenvalues, and localised
character is most pronounced for stationary points with low values of the
Hessian index.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
The RMS Survey: Far-Infrared Photometry of Young Massive Stars
Context: The Red MSX Source (RMS) survey is a multi-wavelength campaign of
follow-up observations of a colour-selected sample of candidate massive young
stellar objects (MYSOs) in the galactic plane. This survey is returning the
largest well-selected sample of MYSOs to date, while identifying other dust
contaminant sources with similar mid-infrared colours including a large number
of new ultra-compact (UC)HII regions. Aims:To measure the far-infrared (IR)
flux, which lies near the peak of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of
MYSOs and UCHII regions, so that, together with distance information, the
luminosity of these sources can be obtained. Methods:Less than 50% of RMS
sources are associated with IRAS point sources with detections at 60 micron and
100 micron, though the vast majority are visible in Spitzer MIPSGAL or IRAS
Galaxy Atlas (IGA) images. However, standard aperture photometry is not
appropriate for these data due to crowding of sources and strong spatially
variable far-IR background emission in the galactic plane. A new technique
using a 2-dimensional fit to the background in an annulus around each source is
therefore used to obtain far-IR photometry for young RMS sources.
Results:Far-IR fluxes are obtained for a total of 1113 RMS candidates
identified as young sources. Of these 734 have flux measurements using IGA 60
micron and 100 micron images and 724 using MIPSGAL 70 micron images, with 345
having measurements in both data sets.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, 2 Tables, accepted to A&A. A full version of
table 1 is available from the lead author or at the CDS upon publicatio
IR Dust Bubbles: Probing the Detailed Structure and Young Massive Stellar Populations of Galactic HII Regions
We present an analysis of wind-blown, parsec-sized, mid-infrared bubbles and
associated star-formation using GLIMPSE/IRAC, MIPSGAL/MIPS and MAGPIS/VLA
surveys. Three bubbles from the Churchwell et al. (2006) catalog were selected.
The relative distribution of the ionized gas (based on 20 cm emission), PAH
emission (based on 8 um, 5.8 um and lack of 4.5 um emission) and hot dust (24
um emission) are compared. At the center of each bubble there is a region
containing ionized gas and hot dust, surrounded by PAHs. We identify the likely
source(s) of the stellar wind and ionizing flux producing each bubble based
upon SED fitting to numerical hot stellar photosphere models. Candidate YSOs
are also identified using SED fitting, including several sites of possible
triggered star formation.Comment: 37 pages, 17 figure
Probing discs around massive young stellar objects with CO first overtone emission
We present high resolution (R~50,000) spectroastrometry over the CO 1st
overtone bandhead of a sample of seven intermediate/massive young stellar
objects. These are primarily drawn from the red MSX source (RMS) survey, a
systematic search for young massive stars which has returned a large, well
selected sample of such objects. The mean luminosity of the sample is
approximately 5 times 10^4 L_\odot, indicating the objects typically have a
mass of ~15 solar masses. We fit the observed bandhead profiles with a model of
a circumstellar disc, and find good agreement between the models and
observations for all but one object. We compare the high angular precision
(0.2-0.8 mas) spectroastrometric data to the spatial distribution of the
emitting material in the best-fitting models. No spatial signatures of discs
are detected, which is entirely consistent with the properties of the
best-fitting models. Therefore, the observations suggest that the CO bandhead
emission of massive young stellar objects originates in small-scale disks, in
agreement with previous work. This provides further evidence that massive stars
form via disc accretion, as suggested by recent simulations.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Ionization of clusters in intense laser pulses through collective electron dynamics
The motion of electrons and ions in medium-sized rare gas clusters (1000
atoms) exposed to intense laser pulses is studied microscopically by means of
classical molecular dynamics using a hierarchical tree code. Pulse parameters
for optimum ionization are found to be wavelength dependent. This resonant
behavior is traced back to a collective electron oscillation inside the charged
cluster. It is shown that this dynamics can be well described by a driven and
damped harmonic oscillator allowing for a clear discrimination against other
energy absorption mechanisms.Comment: 4 pages (4 figures
A Branching Time Model of CSP
I present a branching time model of CSP that is finer than all other models
of CSP proposed thus far. It is obtained by taking a semantic equivalence from
the linear time - branching time spectrum, namely divergence-preserving coupled
similarity, and showing that it is a congruence for the operators of CSP. This
equivalence belongs to the bisimulation family of semantic equivalences, in the
sense that on transition systems without internal actions it coincides with
strong bisimilarity. Nevertheless, enough of the equational laws of CSP remain
to obtain a complete axiomatisation for closed, recursion-free terms.Comment: Dedicated to Bill Roscoe, on the occasion of his 60th birthda
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