11,597 research outputs found
Molecular gas and stars in the translucent cloud MBM 18 (LDN 1569)
Seven of ten candidate H-alpha emission-line stars found in an objective
grism survey of a 1 square degree region in MBM 18, were observed
spectroscopically. Four of these have weak H-alpha emission, and 6 out of 7
have spectral types M1-M4V. One star is of type F7-G1V, and has H-alpha in
absorption. The spectra of three of the M-stars may show an absorption line of
LiI, although none of these is an unambiguous detection. For the six M-stars a
good fit is obtained with pre-main-sequence isochrones indicating ages between
7.5 and 15Myr. The molecular cloud mass, derived from the integrated 12CO(1-0)
emission, is 160Mo (for a distance of 120pc), much smaller than the virial mass
(10^3Mo), and the cloud is not gravitationally bound. Nor are the individual
clumps we identified through a clump-finding routine. Considering the relative
weakness or absence of the H-alpha emission, the absence of other emission
lines, and the lack of clear LiI absorption, the targets are not T Tauri stars.
With ages between 7.5 and 15Myr they are old enough to explain the lack of
lithium in their spectra. Based on the derived distances (60-250pc), some of
the stars may lie inside the molecular cloud (120-150pc). From the fact that
the cloud as a whole, as well as the individual clumps, are not gravitationally
bound, in combination with the ages of the stars we conclude that it is not
likely that (these) stars were formed in MBM 18.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (20 pages
Shocked H2 and Fe+ Dynamics in the Orion Bullets
Observations of H2 velocity profiles in the two most clearly defined Orion
bullets are extremely difficult to reconcile with existing steady-state shock
models. We have observed [FeII] 1.644um velocity profiles of selected bullets
and H2 1-0 S(1) 2.122um velocity profiles for a series of positions along and
across the corresponding bow-shaped shock fronts driven into the surrounding
molecular cloud. Integrated [FeII] velocity profiles of the brightest bullets
are consistent with theoretical bow shock predictions. However, observations of
broad, singly-peaked H2 1-0 S(1) profiles at a range of positions within the
most clearly resolved bullet wakes are not consistent with molecular shock
modelling. A uniform, collisionally broadened background component which
pervades the region in both tracers is inconsistent with fluorescence due to
the ionizing radiation of the Trapezium stars alone.Comment: 20 pages including 18 figures, published in MNRA
A star cluster at the edge of the Galaxy
We study stars and molecular gas in the direction of IRAS06145+1455 (WB89-789) through NIR (JHK), molecular line-, and dust continuum observations. The kinematic distance of the associated molecular cloud is 11.9 kpc. With a galactocentric distance of about 20.2 kpc, this object is at the edge of the (molecular) disk of the Galaxy. The near-IR data show the presence of an (embedded) cluster of about 60 stars, with a radius ca. 1.3 pc and an average stellar surface density of ca. 12 pc^{-2}. We find at least 14 stars with NIR-excess, 3 of which are possibly Class I objects. The cluster is embedded in a 1000 Mo molecular/dust core, from which a molecular outflow originates. The temperature of most of the outflowing gas is < 40 K, and the total mass of the swept-up material is < 10 Mo. Near the center of the flow, indications of much higher temperatures are found, probably due to shocks. A spectrum of one of the probable cluster members shows a tentative likeness to that of a K3III-star (with an age of at least 20 Myr). If correct, this would confirm the kinematic distance. This cluster is the furthest one from the Galactic center yet detected. The combination of old and recent activity implies that star formation has been going on for at least 20 Myr, which is difficult to understand considering the location of this object, where external triggers are either absent or weak, compared to the inner Galaxy. This suggests that once star formation is occurring, later generations of stars may form through the effect of the first generation of stars on the (remnants of) the original molecular cloud
Star Formation in the Extreme Outer Galaxy: Digel Cloud 2 Clusters
As a first step for studying star formation in the extreme outer Galaxy
(EOG), we obtained deep near-infrared images of two embedded clusters at the
northern and southern CO peaks of Cloud 2, which is one of the most distant
star forming regions in the outer Galaxy (galactic radius R_g ~ 19 kpc). With
high spatial resolution (FWHM ~ 0".35) and deep imaging (K ~ 21 mag) with the
IRCS imager at the Subaru telescope, we detected cluster members with a mass
detection limit of < 0.1 M_{sun}, which is well into the substellar regime.
These high quality data enables a comparison of EOG to those in the solar
neighborhood on the same basis for the first time. Before interpreting the
photometric result, we have first constructed the NIR color-color diagram
(dwarf star track, classical T Tauri star (CTTS) locus, reddening law) in the
Mauna Kea Observatory filter system and also for the low metallicity
environment since the metallicity in EOG is much lower than those in the solar
neighborhood. The estimated stellar density suggests that an ``isolated type''
star formation is ongoing in Cloud 2-N, while a ``cluster type'' star formation
is ongoing in Cloud 2-S. Despite the difference of the star formation mode,
other characteristics of the two clusters are found to be almost identical: (1)
K-band luminosity function (KLF) of the two clusters are quite similar, as is
the estimated IMF and ages (~ 0.5--1 Myr) from the KLF fitting, (2) the
estimated star formation efficiencies (SFEs) for both clusters are typical
compared to those of embedded clusters in the solar neighborhood (~ 10 %). The
similarity of two independent clusters with a large separation (~ 25 pc)
strongly suggest that their star formation activities were triggered by the
same mechanism, probably the supernova remnant (GSH 138-01-94).Comment: 14pages, 11 figures; Accepted for publication in Ap
Spontaneous soliton formation and modulational instability in Bose-Einstein condensates
The dynamics of an elongated attractive Bose-Einstein condensate in an
axisymmetric harmonic trap is studied. It is shown that density fringes caused
by self-interference of the condensate order parameter seed modulational
instability. The latter has novel features in contradistinction to the usual
homogeneous case known from nonlinear fiber optics. Several open questions in
the interpretation of the recent creation of the first matter-wave bright
soliton train [Strecker {\it et al.} Nature {\bf 417} 150 (2002)] are
addressed. It is shown that primary transverse collapse, followed by secondary
collapse induced by soliton--soliton interactions, produce bursts of hot atoms
at different time scales.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett. in pres
Recursion Aware Modeling and Discovery For Hierarchical Software Event Log Analysis (Extended)
This extended paper presents 1) a novel hierarchy and recursion extension to
the process tree model; and 2) the first, recursion aware process model
discovery technique that leverages hierarchical information in event logs,
typically available for software systems. This technique allows us to analyze
the operational processes of software systems under real-life conditions at
multiple levels of granularity. The work can be positioned in-between reverse
engineering and process mining. An implementation of the proposed approach is
available as a ProM plugin. Experimental results based on real-life (software)
event logs demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of the approach and show
the huge potential to speed up discovery by exploiting the available hierarchy.Comment: Extended version (14 pages total) of the paper Recursion Aware
Modeling and Discovery For Hierarchical Software Event Log Analysis. This
Technical Report version includes the guarantee proofs for the proposed
discovery algorithm
The Double-Lined Spectrum of LBV 1806-20
Despite much theoretical and observational progress, there is no known firm
upper limit to the masses of stars. Our understanding of the interplay between
the immense radiation pressure produced by massive stars in formation and the
opacity of infalling material is subject to theoretical uncertainties, and many
observational claims of ``the most massive star'' have failed the singularity
test. LBV 1806-20 is a particularly luminous object, L~10^6 Lsun, for which
some have claimed very high mass estimates (M_initial>200 Msun), based, in
part, on its similarity to the Pistol Star. We present high-resolution
near-infrared spectroscopy of LBV 1806-20, showing that it is possibly a binary
system with components separated in velocity by ~70 kms. If correct, then this
system is not the most massive star known, yet it is a massive binary system.
We argue that a binary, or merged, system is more consistent with the ages of
nearby stars in the LBV 1806-20 cluster. In addition, we find that the velocity
of V_LSR=36 kms is consistent with a distance of 11.8 kpc, a luminosity of
10^6.3 Lsun, and a system mass of ~130 Msun.Comment: ApJL, accepte
AN ENVIRONMENT FOR ENGINEERING EXTENDED AFFIX GRAMMAR ENVIRONMENTS
Existing formalisms for the specification of programming environments are complex and
strongly biased by the problems of environment generation. It has been investigated
whether a simple two-level grammar, describing a programming language, can be used
without further modification for the generation of an environment for that language.
We believe that there is enough information in most language definitions - albeit
implicitly - to generate most of the tools used in syntax-directed editors.
This paper proposes some simple and elegant improvements in the use of place-
holders and templates, and in the unparsing mechanism. Although the improvements
are implemented in a completely newly designed prototype they can also be applied to
existing syntax-directed editors to improve their workability
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