1,120 research outputs found
Dense and warm molecular gas in the envelopes and outflows of southern low-mass protostars
Observations of dense molecular gas lie at the basis of our understanding of
the density and temperature structure of protostellar envelopes and molecular
outflows. We aim to characterize the properties of the protostellar envelope,
molecular outflow and surrounding cloud, through observations of high
excitation molecular lines within a sample of 16 southern sources presumed to
be embedded YSOs. Observations of submillimeter lines of CO, HCO+ and their
isotopologues, both single spectra and small maps were taken with the FLASH and
APEX-2a instruments mounted on APEX to trace the gas around the sources. The
HARP-B instrument on the JCMT was used to map IRAS 15398-3359 in these lines.
HCO+ mapping probes the presence of dense centrally condensed gas, a
characteristic of protostellar envelopes. The rare isotopologues C18O and
H13CO+ are also included to determine the optical depth, column density, and
source velocity. The combination of multiple CO transitions, such as 3-2, 4-3
and 7-6, allows to constrain outflow properties, in particular the temperature.
Archival submillimeter continuum data are used to determine envelope masses.
Eleven of the sixteen sources have associated warm and/or dense quiescent as
characteristic of protostellar envelopes, or an associated outflow. Using the
strength and degree of concentration of the HCO+ 4-3 and CO 4-3 lines as a
diagnostic, five sources classified as Class I based on their spectral energy
distributions are found not to be embedded YSOs. The C18O 3-2 lines show that
for none of the sources, foreground cloud layers are present. Strong molecular
outflows are found around six sources, .. (continued in paper)Comment: Accepted by A&A, 13 figure
Feshbach resonances with large background scattering length: interplay with open-channel resonances
Feshbach resonances are commonly described by a single-resonance Feshbach
model, and open-channel resonances are not taken into account explicitly.
However, an open-channel resonance near threshold limits the range of validity
of this model. Such a situation exists when the background scattering length is
much larger than the range of the interatomic potential. The open-channel
resonance introduces strong threshold effects not included in the
single-resonance description. We derive an easy-to-use analytical model that
takes into account both the Feshbach resonance and the open-channel resonance.
We apply our model to Rb, which has a large background scattering
length, and show that the agreement with coupled-channels calculations is
excellent. The model can be readily applied to other atomic systems with a
large background scattering length, such as Li and Cs. Our approach
provides full insight into the underlying physics of the interplay between
open-channel (or potential) resonances and Feshbach resonances.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A; v2:
added reference
APEX-CHAMP+ high-J CO observations of low-mass young stellar objects: II. Distribution and origin of warm molecular gas
The origin and heating mechanisms of warm (50<T<200 K) molecular gas in
low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) are strongly debated. Both passive
heating of the inner collapsing envelope by the protostellar luminosity as well
as active heating by shocks and by UV associated with the outflows or accretion
have been proposed. We aim to characterize the warm gas within protosteller
objects, and disentangle contributions from the (inner) envelope, bipolar
outflows and the quiescent cloud. High-J CO maps (12CO J=6--5 and 7--6) of the
immediate surroundings (up to 10,000 AU) of eight low-mass YSOs are obtained
with the CHAMP+ 650/850 GHz array receiver mounted on the APEX telescope. In
addition, isotopologue observations of the 13CO J=6--5 transition and [C I]
3P_2-3P_1 line were taken. Strong quiescent narrow-line 12CO 6--5 and 7--6
emission is seen toward all protostars. In the case of HH~46 and Ced 110 IRS 4,
the on-source emission originates in material heated by UV photons scattered in
the outflow cavity and not just by passive heating in the inner envelope. Warm
quiescent gas is also present along the outflows, heated by UV photons from
shocks. Shock-heated warm gas is only detected for Class 0 flows and the more
massive Class I sources such as HH~46. Outflow temperatures, estimated from the
CO 6--5 and 3--2 line wings, are ~100 K, close to model predictions, with the
exception of the L~1551 IRS 5 and IRAS 12496-7650, for which temperatures <50 K
are found. APEX-CHAMP+ is uniquely suited to directly probe a protostar's
feedback on its accreting envelope gas in terms of heating, photodissociation,
and outflow dispersal by mapping 1'x1' regions in high-J CO and [C I] lines.Comment: 18 pages, accepted by A&A, A version with the figures in higher
quality can be found on my website: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~tvankemp
Testing particle trapping in transition disks with ALMA
We present new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) continuum
observations at 336GHz of two transition disks, SR21 and HD135344B. In
combination with previous ALMA observations from Cycle 0 at 689GHz, we compare
the visibility profiles at the two frequencies and calculate the spectral index
(). The observations of SR21 show a clear shift in the
visibility nulls, indicating radial variations of the inner edge of the cavity
at the two wavelengths. Notable radial variations of the spectral index are
also detected for SR21 with values of in the
inner region ( AU) and outside. An
axisymmetric ring (which we call the ring model) or a ring with the addition of
an azimuthal Gaussian profile, for mimicking a vortex structure (which we call
the vortex model), is assumed for fitting the disk morphology. For SR21, the
ring model better fits the emission at 336GHz, conversely the vortex model
better fits the 689GHz emission. For HD135344B, neither a significant shift in
the null of the visibilities nor radial variations of are
detected. Furthermore, for HD135344B, the vortex model fits both frequencies
better than the ring model. However, the azimuthal extent of the vortex
increases with wavelength, contrary to model predictions for particle trapping
by anticyclonic vortices. For both disks, the azimuthal variations of
remain uncertain to confirm azimuthal trapping. The
comparison of the current data with a generic model of dust evolution that
includes planet-disk interaction suggests that particles in the outer disk of
SR21 have grown to millimetre sizes and have accumulated in a radial pressure
bump, whereas with the current resolution there is not clear evidence of radial
trapping in HD135344B, although it cannot be excluded either.Comment: Minor changes after language edition. Accepted for publication in A&A
(abstract slightly shortened for arXiv
Far infrared CO and HO emission in intermediate-mass protostars
Intermediate-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) provide a link to understand
how feedback from shocks and UV radiation scales from low to high-mass star
forming regions. Aims: Our aim is to analyze excitation of CO and HO in
deeply-embedded intermediate-mass YSOs and compare with low-mass and high-mass
YSOs. Methods: Herschel/PACS spectral maps are analyzed for 6 YSOs with
bolometric luminosities of . The maps
cover spatial scales of AU in several CO and HO lines located
in the m range. Results: Rotational diagrams of CO show two
temperature components at K and
K, comparable to low- and high-mass protostars
probed at similar spatial scales. The diagrams for HO show a single
component at K, as seen in low-mass protostars, and
about K lower than in high-mass protostars. Since the uncertainties in
are of the same order as the difference between the
intermediate and high-mass protostars, we cannot conclude whether the change in
rotational temperature occurs at a specific luminosity, or whether the change
is more gradual from low- to high-mass YSOs. Conclusions: Molecular excitation
in intermediate-mass protostars is comparable to the central AU of
low-mass protostars and consistent within the uncertainties with the high-mass
protostars probed at AU scales, suggesting similar shock
conditions in all those sources.Comment: Accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics. 4 pages, 5 figures, 3 table
Dust, Ice and Gas in Time (DIGIT) Herschel program first results: A full PACS-SED scan of the gas line emission in protostar DK Cha
DK Cha is an intermediate-mass star in transition from an embedded
configuration to a star plus disk stage. We aim to study the composition and
energetics of the circumstellar material during this pivotal stage. Using the
Range Scan mode of PACS on the Herschel Space Observatory, we obtained a
spectrum of DK Cha from 55 to 210 micron as part of the DIGIT Key Program.
Almost 50 molecular and atomic lines were detected, many more than the 7 lines
detected in ISO-LWS. Nearly the entire ladder of CO from J=14-13 to 38-37
(E_u/k = 4080 K), water from levels as excited as E_u/k = 843 K, and OH lines
up to E_u/k = 290 K were detected. The continuum emission in our PACS SED scan
matches the flux expected from a model consisting of a star, a surrounding disk
of 0.03 Solar mass, and an envelope of a similar mass, supporting the
suggestion that the object is emerging from its main accretion stage.
Molecular, atomic, and ionic emission lines in the far-infrared reveal the
outflow's influence on the envelope. The inferred hot gas can be photon-heated,
but some emission could be due to C-shocks in the walls of the outflow cavity.Comment: 4 Page letter, To appear in A&A special issue on Hersche
Radio-Frequency Spectroscopy of Ultracold Fermions
Radio-frequency techniques were used to study ultracold fermions. We observed
the absence of mean-field "clock" shifts, the dominant source of systematic
error in current atomic clocks based on bosonic atoms. This is a direct
consequence of fermionic antisymmetry. Resonance shifts proportional to
interaction strengths were observed in a three-level system. However, in the
strongly interacting regime, these shifts became very small, reflecting the
quantum unitarity limit and many-body effects. This insight into an interacting
Fermi gas is relevant for the quest to observe superfluidity in this system.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Predicting scattering properties of ultracold atoms: adiabatic accumulated phase method and mass scaling
Ultracold atoms are increasingly used for high precision experiments that can
be utilized to extract accurate scattering properties. This calls for a
stronger need to improve on the accuracy of interatomic potentials, and in
particular the usually rather inaccurate inner-range potentials. A boundary
condition for this inner range can be conveniently given via the accumulated
phase method. However, in this approach one should satisfy two conditions,
which are in principle conflicting, and the validity of these approximations
comes under stress when higher precision is required. We show that a better
compromise between the two is possible by allowing for an adiabatic change of
the hyperfine mixing of singlet and triplet states for interatomic distances
smaller than the separation radius. A mass scaling approach to relate
accumulated phase parameters in a combined analysis of isotopically related
atom pairs is described in detail and its accuracy is estimated, taking into
account both Born-Oppenheimer and WKB breakdown. We demonstrate how numbers of
singlet and triplet bound states follow from the mass scaling.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
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