1,045 research outputs found
Mass Flows in Cometary UCHII Regions
High spectral and spatial resolution, mid-infrared fine structure line
observations toward two ultracompact HII (UCHII) regions (G29.96 -0.02 and Mon
R2) allow us to study the structure and kinematics of cometary UCHII regions.
In our earlier study of Mon R2, we showed that highly organized mass motions
accounted for most of the velocity structure in that UCHII region. In this
work, we show that the kinematics in both Mon R2 and G29.96 are consistent with
motion along an approximately paraboloidal shell. We model the velocity
structure seen in our mapping data and test the stellar wind bow shock model
for such paraboloidal like flows. The observations and the simulation indicate
that the ram pressures of the stellar wind and ambient interstellar medium
cause the accumulated mass in the bow shock to flow along the surface of the
shock. A relaxation code reproduces the mass flow's velocity structure as
derived by the analytical solution. It further predicts that the pressure
gradient along the flow can accelerate ionized gas to a speed higher than that
of the moving star. In the original bow shock model, the star speed relative to
the ambient medium was considered to be the exit speed of ionized gas in the
shell.Comment: 34 pages, including 14 figures and 1 table, to be published in ApJ,
September 200
The Big Five, Learning Goals, Exam Preparedness, and Preference for Flipped Classroom Teaching: Evidence from a Large Psychology Undergraduate Cohort
Previous research has found that the flipped classroom (i.e., learning prior to the lecture, and using the lecture time for consolidating knowledge) increases students’ deep learning, and has an association with improved grades. However, not all students benefit equally from flipping the classroom, and there may be important individual differences that influence preference for different teaching styles. In the present study, undergraduate Psychology students ( n = 200) answered questions about exam preparedness, learning goals, preference for the traditional or flipped classroom, and the Big Five of personality. We found that preference for the flipped classroom had a significant, positive association with agreeableness and the mastery goal. Preference for the traditional lecture was predicted by beliefs about exam preparedness. The results are discussed with a reference to the Big Five paradigm in the context of learning and teaching. </jats:p
A massive cluster of Red Supergiants at the base of the Scutum-Crux arm
We report on the unprecedented Red Supergiant (RSG) population of a massive
young cluster, located at the base of the Scutum-Crux Galactic arm. We identify
candidate cluster RSGs based on {\it 2MASS} photometry and medium resolution
spectroscopy. With follow-up high-resolution spectroscopy, we use CO-bandhead
equivalent width and high-precision radial velocity measurements to identify a
core grouping of 26 physically-associated RSGs -- the largest such cluster
known to-date. Using the stars' velocity dispersion, and their inferred
luminosities in conjuction with evolutionary models, we argue that the cluster
has an initial mass of 40,000\msun, and is therefore among the most
massive in the galaxy. Further, the cluster is only a few hundred parsecs away
from the cluster of 14 RSGs recently reported by Figer et al (2006). These two
RSG clusters represent 20% of all known RSGs in the Galaxy, and now offer the
unique opportunity to study the pre-supernova evolution of massive stars, and
the Blue- to Red-Supergiant ratio at uniform metallicity. We use GLIMPSE,
MIPSGAL and MAGPIS survey data to identify several objects in the field of the
larger cluster which seem to be indicative of recent region-wide starburst
activity at the point where the Scutum-Crux arm intercepts the Galactic bulge.
Future abundance studies of these clusters will therefore permit the study of
the chemical evolution and metallicity gradient of the Galaxy in the region
where the disk meets the bulge.Comment: 49 pages, 22 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Version with
hi-res figures can be found at http://www.cis.rit.edu/~bxdpci/RSGC2.pd
Are Debris Disks and Massive Planets Correlated?
Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Science Program
``Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems'' (FEPS), we have searched for
debris disks around 9 FGK stars (2-10 Gyr), known from radial velocity (RV)
studies to have one or more massive planets. Only one of the sources, HD 38529,
has excess emission above the stellar photosphere; at 70 micron the
signal-to-noise ratio in the excess is 4.7 while at wavelengths < 30 micron
there is no evidence of excess. The remaining sources show no excesses at any
Spitzer wavelengths. Applying survival tests to the FEPS sample and the results
for the FGK survey published in Bryden et al. (2006), we do not find a
significant correlation between the frequency and properties of debris disks
and the presence of close-in planets. We discuss possible reasons for the lack
of a correlation.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures. Accepted to Astrophysical Journa
Trace-element abundances in the shallow lithospheric mantle of the North Atlantic Craton margin: implications for melting and metasomatism beneath Northern Scotland
Bulk rock geochemistry and major- and trace-element compositions of clinopyroxene have been determined for three suites of peridotitic mantle xenoliths from the North Atlantic Craton (NAC) in northern Scotland, to establish the magmatic and metasomatic history of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) below this region. Spinel lherzolites from the southernmost locality (Streap Com'laidh) have non-NAC mantle compositions, while the two northern xenolith suites (Loch Roag and Rinibar) are derived from the thinned NAC marginal keel. Clinopyroxene compositions have characteristic trace-element signatures which show both 'primary' and 'metasomatic' origins. We use Zr and Hf abundances to identify ancient cryptic refertilization in 'primary' clinopyroxenes. We suggest that Loch Roag and Rinibar peridotite xenoliths represent an ancient Archaean-Palaeoproterozoic SCLM with original depleted cratonic signatures which were overprinted by metasomatism around the time of intrusion of the Scourie Dyke Swarm (∼2.4 Ga). This SCLM keel was preserved during Caledonian orogenesis, although some addition of material and/or metasomatism probably also occurred, as recorded by Rinibar xenoliths. Rinibar and Streap xenoliths were entrained in Permo-Carboniferous magmas and thus were isolated from the SCLM ∼200 Ma before Loch Roag xenoliths (in an Eocene dyke). Crucially, despite their geographical location, lithospheric mantle peridotite samples from Loch Roag show no evidence of recent melting or refertilization during the Palaeogene opening of the Atlantic
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Cataclysmic Variables from Sloan Digital Sky Survey. IV. The Fourth Year (2003)
This paper continues the series presenting cataclysmic variables identified during the fourth year (2003) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We describe 44 close binary systems, of which 12 are the previously known systems EN Cet, EG Cnc, V844 Her, GG Leo, Leo 7, CY UMa, DV UMa, EK UMa, EV UMa, UMa 8, EUVE J0854+390, and RX J0859.1+0537 and 32 are new cataclysmic variables. As in the previous papers, the positions, colors, and spectra of all 44 systems are shown, along with follow-up spectroscopic, photometric, and/or polarimetric observations of 15 of the new systems. The new objects include one eclipsing system, eight with prominent He II emission (of which two are confirmed new polars), and 12 systems showing features of the underlying stars. Our spectropolarimetry also confirms EUVE J0854+390 as a polar
Compact HI clouds from the GALFA-HI survey
The Galactic Arecibo L-band Feed Array HI (GALFA-HI) survey is mapping the
entire Arecibo sky at 21-cm, over a velocity range of -700 to +700 km/s (LSR),
at a velocity resolution of 0.18 km/s and a spatial resolution of 3.5 arcmin.
The unprecedented resolution and sensitivity of the GALFA-HI survey have
resulted in the detection of numerous isolated, very compact HI clouds at low
Galactic velocities, which are distinctly separated from the HI disk emission.
In the limited area of ~4600 deg surveyed so far, we have detected 96 of
such compact clouds. The detected clouds are cold with a median T
(the kinetic temperature in the case in which there is no non-thermal
broadening) of 300 K. Moreover, these clouds are quite compact and faint, with
median values of 5 arcmin in angular size, 0.75 K in peak brightness
temperature, and cm in HI column density. Most of the
clouds deviate from Galactic rotation at the 20-30 km/s level, and a
significant fraction show evidence for a multiphase medium and velocity
gradients. No counterparts for these clouds were found in other wavebands. From
the modeling of spatial and velocity distributions of the whole compact cloud
population, we find that the bulk of the compact clouds are related to the
Galactic disk, and their distances are likely to be in the range of 0.1 to a
few kpc. We discuss various possible scenarios for the formation and
maintenance of this cloud population and its significance for Galactic ISM
studies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Molecular Gas in the z=1.2 Ultraluminous Merger GOODS J123634.53+621241.3
We report the detection of CO(2-1) emission from the z=1.2 ultraluminous
infrared galaxy (ULIRG) GOODS J123634.53+621241.3 (also known as the
sub-millimeter galaxy GN26). These observations represent the first discovery
of high-redshift CO emission using the new Combined Array for Research in
Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA). Of all high-redshift (z>1) galaxies within
the GOODS-North field, this source has the largest far-infrared (FIR) flux
observed in the Spitzer 70um and 160um bands. The CO redshift confirms the
optical identification of the source, and the bright CO(2-1) line suggests the
presence of a large molecular gas reservoir of about 7x10^10 M(sun). The
infrared-to-CO luminosity ratio of L(IR)/L'(CO) = 80+/-30 L(sun) (K Km/s
pc^2)^-1 is slightly smaller than the average ratio found in local ULIRGs and
high-redshift sub-millimeter galaxies. The short star-formation time scale of
about 70 Myr is consistent with a starburst associated with the merger event
and is much shorter than the time scales for spiral galaxies and estimates made
for high-redshift galaxies selected on the basis of their B-z and z-K colors.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
The Complete Census of 70-um-Bright Debris Disks within the FEPS (Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems) Spitzer Legacy Survey of Sun-like Stars
(abbreviated) We report detection with the Spitzer Space Telescope of cool
dust surrounding solar type stars. The observations were performed as part of
the Legacy Science Program, ``Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems''
(FEPS). From the overall FEPS sample (Meyer et al. 2006) of 328 stars having
ages ~0.003-3 Gyr we have selected sources with 70 um flux densities indicating
excess in their spectral energy distributions above expected photospheric
emission........ .....The rising spectral energy distributions towards - and
perhaps beyond - 70 um imply dust temperatures T_dust <45-85 K for debris in
equilibrium with the stellar radiation field. We infer bulk properties such as
characteristic temperature, location, fractional luminosity, and mass of the
dust from fitted single temperature blackbody models. For >1/3 of the debris
sources we find that multiple temperature components are suggested, implying a
spatial distribution of dust extending over many tens of AU. Because the disks
are dominated by collisional processes, the parent body (planetesimal) belts
may be extended as well. Preliminary assessment of the statistics of cold
debris around sun-like stars shows that ~10% of FEPS targets with masses
between 0.6 and 1.8 Msun and ages between 30 Myr and 3 Gyr exhibit 70 um
emission in excess of the expected photospheric flux density. We find that
fractional excess amplitudes appear higher for younger stars and that there may
be a trend in 70 um excess frequency with stellar mass.Comment: article accepted to Ap
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