208 research outputs found
The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST)
The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST) will observe a 2 square degree
field in the Galactic bulge to search for extra-solar planets using a
gravitational lensing technique. This gravitational lensing technique is the
only method employing currently available technology that can detect Earth-mass
planets at high signal-to-noise, and can measure the frequency of terrestrial
planets as a function of Galactic position. GEST's sensitivity extends down to
the mass of Mars, and it can detect hundreds of terrestrial planets with
semi-major axes ranging from 0.7 AU to infinity. GEST will be the first truly
comprehensive survey of the Galaxy for planets like those in our own Solar
System.Comment: 17 pages with 13 figures, to be published in Proc. SPIE vol 4854,
"Future EUV-UV and Visible Space Astrophysics Missions and Instrumentation
Radiation hydrodynamics of SN 1987A: I. Global analysis of the light curve for the first 4 months
The optical/UV light curves of SN 1987A are analyzed with the multi-energy
group radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA. The calculated monochromatic and
bolometric light curves are compared with observations shortly after shock
breakout, during the early plateau, through the broad second maximum, and
during the earliest phase of the radioactive tail. We have concentrated on a
progenitor model calculated by Nomoto & Hashimoto and Saio, Nomoto, & Kato,
which assumes that 14 solar masses of the stellar mass is ejected. Using this
model, we have updated constraints on the explosion energy and the extent of
mixing in the ejecta. In particular, we determine the most likely range of E/M
(explosion energy over ejecta mass) and R_0 (radius of the progenitor). In
general, our best models have energies in the range E = (1.1 +/- 0.3) x 10^{51}
ergs, and the agreement is better than in earlier, flux-limited diffusion
calculations for the same explosion energy. Our modeled B and V fluxes compare
well with observations, while the flux in U undershoots after about 10 days by
a factor of a few, presumably due to NLTE and line transfer effects. We also
compare our results with IUE observations, and a very good quantitative
agreement is found for the first days, and for one IUE band (2500-3000 A) as
long as for 3 months. We point out that the V flux estimated by McNaught &
Zoltowski should probably be revised to a lower value.Comment: 27 pages AASTeX v.4.0 + 35 postscript figures. ApJ, accepte
Dust Production and Particle Acceleration in Supernova 1987A Revealed with ALMA
Supernova (SN) explosions are crucial engines driving the evolution of
galaxies by shock heating gas, increasing the metallicity, creating dust, and
accelerating energetic particles. In 2012 we used the Atacama Large
Millimeter/Submillimeter Array to observe SN 1987A, one of the best-observed
supernovae since the invention of the telescope. We present spatially resolved
images at 450um, 870um, 1.4mm, and 2.8mm, an important transition wavelength
range. Longer wavelength emission is dominated by synchrotron radiation from
shock-accelerated particles, shorter wavelengths by emission from the largest
mass of dust measured in a supernova remnant (>0.2Msun). For the first time we
show unambiguously that this dust has formed in the inner ejecta (the cold
remnants of the exploded star's core). The dust emission is concentrated to the
center of the remnant, so the dust has not yet been affected by the shocks. If
a significant fraction survives, and if SN 1987A is typical, supernovae are
important cosmological dust producers.Comment: ApJL accepte
Serotonin-2C and -2a receptor co-expression on cells in the rat medial prefrontal cortex
Neural function within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) regulates normal cognition, attention and impulse control, implicating neuroregulatory abnormalities within this region in mental dysfunction related to schizophrenia, depression and drug abuse. Both serotonin -2A (5-HT2A) and -2C (5-HT2C) receptors are known to be important in neuropsychiatric drug action and are distributed throughout the mPFC. However, their interactive role in serotonergic cortical regulation is poorly understood. While the main signal transduction mechanism for both receptors is stimulation of phosphoinositide production, they can have opposite effects downstream. 5-HT2A versus 5-HT2C receptor activation oppositely regulates behavior and can oppositely affect neurochemical release within the mPFC. These distinct receptor effects could be caused by their differential cellular distribution within the cortex and/or other areas. It is known that both receptors are located on GABAergic and pyramidal cells within the mPFC, but it is not clear whether they are expressed on the same or different cells. The present work employed immunofluorescence with confocal microscopy to examine this in layers V-VI of the prelimbic mPFC. The majority of GABA cells in the deep prelimbic mPFC expressed 5-HT2C receptor immunoreactivity. Furthermore, most cells expressing 5-HT2C receptor immunoreactivity notably co-expressed 5-HT2A receptors. However, 27% of 5-HT2C receptor immunoreactive cells were not GABAergic, indicating that a population of prelimbic pyramidal projection cells could express the 5-HT2C receptor. Indeed, some cells with 5-HT2C and 5-HT2A receptor co-labeling had a pyramidal shape and were expressed in the typical layered fashion of pyramidal cells. This indirectly demonstrates that 5-HT2C and 5-HT2A receptors may be commonly co-expressed on GABAergic cells within the deep layers of the prelimbic mPFC and perhaps co-localized on a small population of local pyramidal projection cells. Thus a complex interplay of cortical 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor mechanisms exists, which if altered, could modulate efferent brain systems implicated in mental illness
Limits from the Hubble Space Telescope on a Point Source in SN 1987A
We observed supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) with the Space Telescope Imaging
Spectrograph (STIS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in 1999 September, and
again with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the HST in 2003 November.
No point source is observed in the remnant. We obtain a limiting flux of F_opt
< 1.6 x 10^{-14} ergs/s/cm^2 in the wavelength range 2900-9650 Angstroms for
any continuum emitter at the center of the supernova remnant (SNR). It is
likely that the SNR contains opaque dust that absorbs UV and optical emission,
resulting in an attenuation of ~35% due to dust absorption in the SNR. Taking
into account dust absorption in the remnant, we find a limit of L_opt < 8 x
10^{33} ergs/s. We compare this upper bound with empirical evidence from point
sources in other supernova remnants, and with theoretical models for possible
compact sources. Bright young pulsars such as Kes 75 or the Crab pulsar are
excluded by optical and X-ray limits on SN 1987A. Of the young pulsars known to
be associated with SNRs, those with ages < 5000 years are all too bright in
X-rays to be compatible with the limits on SN 1987A. Examining theoretical
models for accretion onto a compact object, we find that spherical accretion
onto a neutron star is firmly ruled out, and that spherical accretion onto a
black hole is possible only if there is a larger amount of dust absorption in
the remnant than predicted. In the case of thin-disk accretion, our flux limit
requires a small disk, no larger than 10^{10} cm, with an accretion rate no
more than 0.3 times the Eddington accretion rate. Possible ways to hide a
surviving compact object include the removal of all surrounding material at
early times by a photon-driven wind, a small accretion disk, or very high
levels of dust absorption in the remnant.Comment: 40 pages, 5 figures. AAStex. Accepted, ApJ 04/28/200
Distribution and Kinematics of O VI in the Galactic Halo
FUSE spectra of 100 extragalactic objects are analyzed to obtain measures of
O VI absorption along paths through the Milky Way thick disk/halo. Strong O VI
absorption over the approximate velocity range from -100 to 100 km/s reveals a
widespread but highly irregular distribution of thick disk O VI, implying the
existence of substantial amounts of hot gas with T ~ 3x10^5 K in the Milky Way
halo. Large irregularities in the distribution of the absorbing gas are found
to be similar over angular scales extending from less than one to 180 degrees,
indicating a considerable amount of small and large scale structure in the gas.
The overall distribution of Galactic O VI is not well described by a
symmetrical plane-parallel layer of patchy O VI absorption. The simplest
departure from such a model that provides a reasonable fit to the observations
is a plane-parallel patchy absorbing layer with a scale height of 2.3 kpc, and
a 0.25 dex excess of O VI in the northern Galactic polar region. The O VI
absorption has a Doppler parameter b = 30 to 99 km/s, with an average value of
60 km/s . Thermal broadening alone cannot explain the large observed profile
widths. The average O VI absorption velocities toward high latitude objects
range from -46 to 82 km/s, with a sample average of 0 km/s and a standard
deviation of 21 km/s. O VI associated with the thick disk moves both toward and
away from the plane with roughly equal frequency. A combination of models
involving the radiative cooling of hot fountain gas, the cooling of supernova
bubbles in the halo, and the turbulent mixing of warm and hot halo gases is
required to explain the presence of O VI and other highly ionized atoms found
in the halo. (abbreviated)Comment: 70 pages, single-spaced, PDF format. Bound copies of this manuscript
and two accompanying articles are available upon request. Submitted to ApJ
Highly-Ionized High-Velocity Gas in the Vicinity of the Galaxy
We report the results of an extensive FUSE study of high velocity OVI
absorption along 102 complete sight lines through the Galactic halo. The high
velocity OVI traces a variety of phenomena, including tidal interactions with
the Magellanic Clouds, accretion of gas, outflow from the Galactic disk,
warm/hot gas interactions in a highly extended Galactic corona, and
intergalactic gas in the Local Group. We identify 85 high velocity OVI features
at velocities of -500 < v(LSR) < +500 km/s along 59 of the 102 sight lines.
Approximately 60% of the sky (and perhaps as much as 85%) is covered by high
velocity H+ associated with the high velocity OVI. Some of the OVI is
associated with known high velocity HI structures (e.g., the Magellanic Stream,
Complexes A and C), while some OVI features have no counterpart in HI 21cm
emission. The smaller dispersion in the OVI velocities in the GSR and LGSR
reference frames compared to the LSR is necessary (but not conclusive) evidence
that some of the clouds are extragalactic. Most of the OVI cannot be produced
by photoionization, even if the gas is irradiated by extragalactic background
radiation. Collisions in hot gas are the primary OVI ionization mechanism. We
favor production of some of the OVI at the boundaries between warm clouds and a
highly extended [R > 70 kpc], hot [T > 10^6 K], low-density [n < 10^-4 cm^-3]
Galactic corona or Local Group medium. A hot Galactic corona or Local Group
medium and the prevalence of high velocity OVI are consistent with predictions
of galaxy formation scenarios. Distinguishing between the various phenomena
producing high velocity OVI will require continuing studies of the distances,
kinematics, elemental abundances, and physical states of the different types of
high velocity OVI features found in this study. (abbreviated)Comment: 78 pages of text/tables + 31 figures, AASTeX preprint format. All
figures are in PNG format due to astro-ph space restrictions. Bound copies of
manuscript and two accompanying articles are available upon request.
Submitted to ApJ
An Infrared Census of DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS). IV. Discovery of High-redshift AGB Analogs
The survey for DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS) identified several candidate Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in nearby dwarf galaxies and showed that dust can form even in very metal-poor systems (). Here, we present a follow-up survey with WFC3/IR on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), using filters that are capable of distinguishing carbon-rich (C-type) stars from oxygen-rich (M-type) stars: F127M, F139M, and F153M. We include six star-forming DUSTiNGS galaxies (NGC 147, IC 10, Pegasus dIrr, Sextans B, Sextans A, and Sag DIG), all more metal-poor than the Magellanic Clouds and spanning 1 dex in metallicity. We double the number of dusty AGB stars known in these galaxies and find that most are carbon rich. We also find 26 dusty M-type stars, mostly in IC 10. Given the large dust excess and tight spatial distribution of these M-type stars, they are most likely on the upper end of the AGB mass range (stars undergoing Hot Bottom Burning). Theoretical models do not predict significant dust production in metal-poor M-type stars, but we see evidence for dust excess around M-type stars even in the most metal-poor galaxies in our sample (12+\mathrm{log}({\rm{O}}/{\rm{H}})=7.26\mbox{--}7.50). The low metallicities and inferred high stellar masses (up to ~10 ) suggest that AGB stars can produce dust very early in the evolution of galaxies (~30 Myr after they form), and may contribute significantly to the dust reservoirs seen in high-redshift galaxies
Carbon Monoxide in the Cold Debris of Supernova 1987A
We report spectroscopic and imaging observations of rotational transitions of
cold CO and SiO in the ejecta of SN1987A, the first such emission detected in a
supernova remnant. In addition to line luminosities for the CO J=1-0, 2-1, 6-5,
and 7-6 transitions, we present upper limits for all other transitions up to
J=13-12, collectively measured from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA),
the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX), and the Herschel Spectral and
Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE). Simple models show the lines are emitted
from at least 0.01 solar masses of CO at a temperature > 14 K, confined within
at most 35% of a spherical volume expanding at ~ 2000 km/s. Moreover, we locate
the emission within 1'' of the central debris. These observations, along with a
partial observation of SiO, confirm the presence of cold molecular gas within
supernova remnants and provide insight into the physical conditions and
chemical processes in the ejecta. Furthermore, we demonstrate the powerful new
window into supernova ejecta offered by submillimeter observations.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 6 pages, 3 figure
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