606 research outputs found
High resolution imaging of the Venus night side using a Rockwell 128x128 HgCdTe array
The University of Hawaii operates an infrared camera with a 128x128 HgCdTe detector array on loan from JPL's High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS) project. The characteristics of this camera system are discussed. The infrared camera was used to obtain images of the night side of Venus prior to and after inferior conjunction in 1988. The images confirm Allen and Crawford's (1984) discovery of bright features on the dark hemisphere of Venus visible in the H and K bands. Our images of these features are the best obtained to date. Researchers derive a pseudo rotation period of 6.5 days for these features and 1.74 microns brightness temperatures between 425 K and 480 K. The features are produced by nonuniform absorption in the middle cloud layer (47 to 57 Km altitude) of thermal radiation from the lower Venus atmosphere (20 to 30 Km altitude). A more detailed analysis of the data is in progress
A General Catalogue of Molecular Hydrogen Emission-Line Objects (MHOs) in Outflows from Young Stars
We present a catalogue of Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) in
outflows from young stars, most of which are embedded. All objects are
identified in the near-infrared lines of molecular hydrogen, all reside in the
Milky Way, and all are associated with jets or molecular outflows from young
stars. Objects in both low and high-mass star forming regions are included.
This catalogue complements the existing database of Herbig-Haro objects;
indeed, for completeness, HH objects that are detected in H2 emission are
included in the MHO catalogue.Comment: 8 Pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Searchable
catalogue/Data tables available from http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/UKIRT/MHCat
New Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the High Redshift Quasar B 1422+231 at z=3.62
We present new near-infrared (rest-frame UV-to-optical) spectra of the high
redshift, gravitationally lensed quasar B 1422+231 (z=3.62). Diagnostic
emission lines of FeII, [OIII]5007, and Hb, commonly used to determine the
excitation, ionization, and chemical abundances of radio-quiet and radio-loud
quasars, were detected. Our new data show that the ratio FeII(UV)/Hb=18.1+-4.6
and FeII(optical)/Hb=2.3+-0.6 are higher than those reported by Kawara et al.
(1996) by factors of 1.6 and 3.3, respectively, although the ration
[OIII]5007/Hb=0.19+-0.02 is nearly the same between the two measurements. The
discrepancy of the line flux ratios between the measurements is likely due to
improved data and fitting procedures rather that to intrinsic variability.
While approximately half of the high-z quasars observed to date have much more
extreme FeII(optical)/Hb ratios, the line ratio measured for B 422+231 are
consistent with the observed range of FeII(optical) ratios of low-z quasars.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 4 figures. To appear in The Astronomical Journa
A shallow though extensive H2 2.12 micron imaging survey of Taurus-Auriga-Perseus: I. NGC1333, L1455, L1448 and B1
We discuss wide-field near-IR imaging of the NGC1333, L1448, L1455 and B1
star forming regions in Perseus. The observations have been extracted from a
much larger narrow-band imaging survey of the Taurus-Auriga-Perseus complex.
These H2 2.12 micron observations are complemented by broad-band K imaging,
mid-IR imaging and photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and published
submillimetre CO J=3-2 maps of high-velocity molecular outflows. We detect and
label 85 H2 features and associate these with 26 molecular outflows. Three are
parsec-scale flows, with a mean flow lobe length exceeding 11.5 arcmin. 37
(44%) of the detected H2 features are associated with a known Herbig-Haro
object, while 72 (46%) of catalogued HH objects are detected in H2 emission.
Embedded Spitzer sources are identified for all but two of the 26 molecular
outflows. These candidate outflow sources all have high near-to-mid-IR spectral
indices (mean value of alpha ~ 1.4) as well as red IRAC 3.6-4.5 micron and
IRAC/MIPS 4.5-24.0 micron colours: 80% have [3.6]-[4.5] > 1.0 and [4.5]-[24] >
1.5. These criteria - high alpha and red [4.5]-[24] and [3.6]-[4.5] colours -
are powerful discriminants when searching for molecular outflow sources.
However, we find no correlation between alpha and flow length or opening angle,
and the outflows appear randomly orientated in each region. The more massive
clouds are associated with a greater number of outflows, which suggests that
the star formation efficiency is roughly the same in each region.Comment: 23 pages (including Appoendix); 11 main text figures, 5 colour
appendix figs uploaded as gifs; accepted by MNRAS; for higher-resolution
figures please visit http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/~cdavis
Pre-Main Sequence variables in the VMR-D : identification of T Tauri-like accreting protostars through Spitzer-IRAC variability
We present a study of the infrared variability of young stellar objects by
means of two Spitzer-IRAC images of the Vela Molecular Cloud D (VMR-D) obtained
in observations separated in time by about six months. By using the same
space-born IR instrumentation, this study eliminates all the unwanted effects
usually unavoidable when comparing catalogs obtained from different
instruments. The VMR-D map covers about 1.5 square deg. of a site where star
formation is actively ongoing. We are interested in accreting pre-main sequence
variables whose luminosity variations are due to intermittent events of disk
accretion (i.e. active T Tauri stars and EXor type objects). The variable
objects have been selected from a catalog of more than 170,000 sources detected
at a S/N ratio > 5. We searched the sample of variables for ones whose
photometric properties are close to those of known EXor's. These latter are
monitored in a more systematic way than T Tauri stars and the mechanisms that
regulate the observed phenomenology are exactly the same. Hence the modalities
of the EXor behavior is adopted as driving criterium for selecting variables in
general. We selected 19 bona fide candidates that constitute a well-defined
sample of new variable targets for further investigation. Out of these, 10
sources present a Spitzer MIPS 24 micron counterpart, and have been classified
as 3 Class I, 5 flat spectrum and 2 Class II objects, while the other 9 sources
have spectral energy distribution compatible with phases older than Class I.
This is consistent with what is known about the small sample of known EXor's,
and suggests that the accretion flaring or EXor stage might come as a Class
I/II transition. We present also new prescriptions that can be useful in future
searches for accretion variables in large IR databases.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures To appear in Ap
Dusty star forming galaxies at high redshift
The global star formation rate in high redshift galaxies, based on optical
surveys, shows a strong peak at a redshift of z=1.5, which implies that we have
already seen most of the formation. High redshift galaxies may, however, emit
most of their energy at submillimeter wavelengths if they contain substantial
amounts of dust. The dust would absorb the starlight and reradiate it as
far-infrared light, which would be redshifted to the submillimeter range. Here
we report a deep survey of two blank regions of sky performed at submillimeter
wavelengths (450 and 850-micron). If the sources we detect in the 850-micron
band are powered by star formation, then each must be converting more than 100
solar masses of gas per year into stars, which is larger than the maximum star
formation rates inferred for most optically-selected galaxies. The total amount
of high redshift star formation is essentially fixed by the level of background
light, but where the peak occurs in redshift for the submillimeter is not yet
established. However, the background light contribution from only the sources
detected at 850-micron is already comparable to that from the
optically-selected sources. Establishing the main epoch of star formation will
therefore require a combination of optical and submillimeter studies.Comment: 10 pages + 2 Postscript figures, under embargo at Natur
Near-infrared observations of type Ia supernovae: The best known standard candle for cosmology
We present an analysis of the Hubble diagram for 12 Type Ia supernovae (SNe
Ia) observed in the near-infrared J and H bands. We select SNe exclusively from
the redshift range 0.03 < z < 0.09 to reduce uncertainties coming from peculiar
velocities while remaining in a cosmologically well-understood region. All of
the SNe in our sample exhibit no spectral or B-band light-curve peculiarities
and lie in the B-band stretch range of 0.8-1.15. Our results suggest that SNe
Ia observed in the near-infrared (NIR) are the best known standard candles. We
fit previously determined NIR light-curve templates to new high-precision data
to derive peak magnitudes and to determine the scatter about the Hubble line.
Photometry of the 12 SNe is presented in the natural system. Using a standard
cosmology of (H_0, Omega_m, Lambda) = (70,0.27,0.73) we find a median J-band
absolute magnitude of M_J = -18.39 with a scatter of 0.116 and a median H-band
absolute magnitude of M_H = -18.36 with a scatter of 0.085. The scatter in the
H band is the smallest yet measured. We search for correlations between
residuals in the J- and H-band Hubble diagrams and SN properties, such as SN
colour, B-band stretch and the projected distance from host-galaxy centre. The
only significant correlation is between the J-band Hubble residual and the J-H
pseudo-colour. We also examine how the scatter changes when fewer points in the
near-infrared are used to constrain the light curve. With a single point in the
H band taken anywhere from 10 days before to 15 days after B-band maximum light
and a prior on the date of H-band maximum set from the date of B-band maximum,
we find that we can measure distances to an accuracy of 6%. The precision of
SNe Ia in the NIR provides new opportunities for precision measurements of both
the expansion history of the universe and peculiar velocities of nearby
galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Bispectrum speckle interferometry of the massive protostellar outflow source IRAS 23151+5912
We present bispectrum speckle interferometry of the massive protostellar
object IRAS 23151+5912 in the near-infrared K' band. The reconstructed image
shows the diffuse nebulosity north-east of two point-like sources in
unprecedented detail. The comparison of our near-infrared image with mm
continuum and CO molecular line maps shows that the brighter of the two point
sources lies near the center of the mm peak, indicating that it is a high-mass
protostar. The nebulosity coincides with the blue-shifted molecular outflow
component. The most prominent feature in the nebulosity is a bow-shock-like
arc. We assume that this feature is associated with a precessing jet which has
created an inward-pointed cone in the swept-up material. We present numerical
jet simulations that reproduce this and several other features observed in our
speckle image of the nebulosity. Our data also reveal a linear structure
connecting the central point source to the extended diffuse nebulosity. This
feature may represent the innermost part of a jet that drives the strong
molecular outflow (PA ~80 degr) from IRAS 23151+5912. With the aid of radiative
transfer calculations, we demonstrate that, in general, the observed inner
structures of the circumstellar material surrounding high-mass stars are
strongly influenced by the orientation and symmetry of the bipolar cavity.Comment: accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; preprints with high-resolution
images can be obtained from
http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/tpreibis/iras23151.htm
Molecular Hydrogen Outflows in W51
We present the results of a deep search for the molecular hydrogen shock
fronts associated with young stellar outflows in the giant molecular cloud and
massive star forming region W51. A total of 14 outflows were identified, and a
few of these were studied in detail with high-resolution imaging and
spectroscopy.Comment: 21 pages + 14 figure
PHL 5038: a spatially resolved white dwarf + brown dwarf binary
A near-infrared excess is detected at the white dwarf PHL 5038 in UKIDSS photometry, consistent with the presence of a cool, substellar companion. We have obtained H- and K-grism spectra and images of PHL 5038 using NIRI on Gemini North. The target is spatially and spectrally resolved into two components: an 8000 K DA white dwarf, and a likely L8 brown dwarf companion, separated by 0.94\arcsec. The spectral type of the secondary was determined using standard spectral indices for late L and T dwarfs. The projected orbital separation of the binary is 55 AU, so it becomes only the second known wide WD+dL binary to be found after GD 165AB. This object could potentially be used as a benchmark for testing substellar evolutionary models at intermediate to older ages
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