242 research outputs found
Evidence for J and H-band excess in classical T Tauri stars and the implications for disk structure and estimated ages
We argue that classical T Tauri stars (cTTs) possess significant non-
photospheric excess in the J and H bands. We first show that normalizing the
spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of cTTs to the J-band leads to a poor fit
of the optical fluxes, while normalizing the SEDs to the Ic-band produces a
better fit to the optical bands and in many cases reveals the presence of a
considerable excess at J and H. NIR spectroscopic veiling measurements from the
literature support this result. We find that J and H-band excesses correlate
well with the K-band excess, and that the J-K and H-K colors of the excess
emission are consistent with that of a black body at the dust sublimation
temperature (~ 1500-2000 K). We propose that this near-IR excess originates at
a hot inner rim, analogous to those suggested to explain the near-IR bump in
the SEDs of Herbig Ae/Be stars. To test our hypothesis, we use the model
presented by Dullemond et al. (2001) to fit the photometry data between 0.5 um
and 24 um of 10 cTTs associated with the Chamaeleon II molecular cloud. The
models that best fit the data are those where the inner radius of the disk is
larger than expected for a rim in thermal equilibrium with the photospheric
radiation field alone. In particular, we find that large inner rims are
necessary to account for the mid infrared fluxes (3.6-8.0 um) obtained by the
Spitzer Space Telescope. Finally, we argue that deriving the stellar
luminosities of cTTs by making bolometric corrections to the J-band fluxes
systematically overestimates these luminosities. The overestimated luminosities
translate into underestimated ages when the stars are placed in the H-R
diagram. Thus, the results presented herein have important implications for the
dissipation timescale of inner accretion disks.Comment: 45 pages, 13 figure
Brinell Limit Testing Machine - Final Design Report
In keeping with the California Polytechnic State University motto of βLearn by Doingβ, this project was performed by Mechanical Engineering students Joe Cloutier, Josh Kessler, and Mike Jaskulsky II as their senior project. Starting in the Fall 2009 quarter and reaching completion with the end of the Spring 2010 quarter, this project provided these students with experience in application of a formal engineering design process in the solving of an open-ended engineering design problem, in developing and maintaining an engineering project schedule, as well as providing further experience working on an engineering team.
As the engineers of Parker Aerospace seek to use different metals in their high performance bearing applications than have traditionally been used in the past, often the data does not exist for them to be able to accurately design against brinelling. To provide their engineers with this data, Parker Aerospace proposed the following as a senior project to Cal Polyβs seniors. They requested that a team of engineering students would design, fabricate, assemble, and validate through testing a machine that would determine the loads at the onset of brinelling for different metals and would allow for multiple measurements to be taken from each set of sample materials tested. Some of the secondary design requirements were for the test fixture to be portable, small enough to be used as a desktop unit, be able to accommodate a thermal chamber around the test area, and also provide measurements of the total deformation of the sample materials when under load. Also, time allowing, Parker Aerospace requested that the senior project team devote the last part of the last quarter to using the machine to provide data for a number of materials that they will provide.
The loads that the test machine would need to deliver to test all material samples to the onset of brinelling were determined through hertzian contact stress analysis. These calculated loads were then used to determine the deflection of the sample materials, allowing for the sizing of structural components and selection of necessary sensors.
The design for the fixture was developed around the initial design concept displayed in the Project Proposal by Parker Aerospace. After developing a number of different designs and variations of specific components of the fixture, the best of these design variations were presented to a panel of Parker Aerospaceβs engineers during a Preliminary Design Review. From these designs, a final design was selected and various modifications were made as suggested by Parker. A final design was decided on and the rest of the project was completed by the end of the Spring quarter
Probing protoplanetary disks with silicate emission: Where is the silicate emission zone?
Recent results indicate that the grain size and crystallinity inferred from observations of silicate features may be correlated with the spectral type of the central star and/or disk geometry. In this paper, we show that grain size, as probed by the 10 ΞΌm silicate feature peak-to-continuum and 11.3 to 9.8 ΞΌm flux ratios, is inversely proportional to log Lsstarf. These trends can be understood using a simple two-layer disk model for passive irradiated flaring disks, CGPLUS. We find that the radius, R10, of the 10 ΞΌm silicate emission zone in the disk goes as (L*/Lβ)^0.56, with slight variations depending on disk geometry (flaring angle and inner disk radius). The observed correlations, combined with simulated emission spectra of olivine and pyroxene mixtures, imply a dependence of grain size on luminosity. Combined with the fact that R10 is smaller for less luminous stars, this implies that the apparent grain size of the emitting dust is larger for low-luminosity sources. In contrast, our models suggest that the crystallinity is only marginally affected, because for increasing luminosity, the zone for thermal annealing (assumed to be at T > 800 K) is enlarged by roughly the same factor as the silicate emission zone. The observed crystallinity is affected by disk geometry, however, with increased crystallinity in flat disks. The apparent crystallinity may also increase with grain growth due to a corresponding increase in contrast between crystalline and amorphous silicate emission bands
Protostellar holes: Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the protostellar binary IRAS16293-2422
Mid-infrared (23-35 micron) emission from the deeply embedded "Class 0"
protostar IRAS16293-2422 is detected with the Spitzer Space Telescope infrared
spectrograph. A detailed radiative transfer model reproducing the full spectral
energy distribution (SED) from 23 micron to 1.3 mm requires a large inner
cavity of radius 600 AU in the envelope to avoid quenching the emission from
the central sources. This is consistent with a previous suggestion based on
high angular resolution millimeter interferometric data. An alternative
interpretation using a 2D model of the envelope with an outflow cavity can
reproduce the SED but not the interferometer visibilities. The cavity size is
comparable to the centrifugal radius of the envelope and therefore appears to
be a natural consequence of the rotation of the protostellar core, which has
also caused the fragmentation leading to the central protostellar binary. With
a large cavity such as required by the data, the average temperature at a given
radius does not increase above 60-80 K and although hot spots with higher
temperatures may be present close to each protostar, these constitute a small
fraction of the material in the inner envelope. The proposed cavity will also
have consequences for the interpretation of molecular line data, especially of
complex species probing high temperatures in the inner regions of the envelope.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Hot Organic Molecules Toward a Young Low-Mass Star: A Look at Inner Disk Chemistry
Spitzer Space Telescope spectra of the low mass young stellar object (YSO)
IRS 46 (L_bol ~ 0.6 L_sun) in Ophiuchus reveal strong vibration-rotation
absorption bands of gaseous C2H2, HCN, and CO2. This is the only source out of
a sample of ~100 YSO's that shows these features and the first time they are
seen in the spectrum of a solar-mass YSO. Analysis of the Spitzer data combined
with Keck L- and M-band spectra gives excitation temperatures of > 350 K and
abundances of 10(-6)-10(-5) with respect to H2, orders of magnitude higher than
those found in cold clouds. In spite of this high abundance, the HCN J=4-3 line
is barely detected with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, indicating a source
diameter less than 13 AU. The (sub)millimeter continuum emission and the
absence of scattered light in near-infrared images limits the mass and
temperature of any remnant collapse envelope to less than 0.01 M_sun and 100 K,
respectively. This excludes a hot-core type region as found in high-mass YSO's.
The most plausible origin of this hot gas rich in organic molecules is in the
inner (<6 AU radius) region of the disk around IRS 46, either the disk itself
or a disk wind. A nearly edge-on 2-D disk model fits the spectral energy
distribution (SED) and gives a column of dense warm gas along the line of sight
that is consistent with the absorption data. These data illustrate the unique
potential of high-resolution infrared spectroscopy to probe organic chemistry,
gas temperatures and kinematics in the planet-forming zones close to a young
star.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; To appear in Astrophysical Journal Letter
C2D Spitzer-IRS spectra of disks around T Tauri stars: IV. Crystalline silicates
Aims. Dust grains in the planet-forming regions around young stars are expected to be heavily processed due to coagulation, fragmentation, and crystallization. This paper focuses on the crystalline silicate dust grains in protoplanetary disks for a statistically significant number of TTauri stars (96).
Methods. As part of the cores to disks (c2d) legacy program, we obtained more than a hundred Spitzer/IRS spectra of TTauri stars, over a spectral range of 5-35 ΞΌm where many silicate amorphous and crystalline solid-state features are present. At these wavelengths, observations probe the upper layers of accretion disks up to distances of a dozen AU from the central object.
Results. More than 3/4 of our objects show at least one crystalline silicate emission feature that can be essentially attributed to Mg-rich silicates. The Fe-rich crystalline silicates are largely absent in the c2d IRS spectra. The strength and detection frequency of the crystalline features seen at Ξ» > 20 ΞΌm correlate with each other, while they are largely uncorrelated with the observational properties of the amorphous silicate 10 ΞΌm feature. This supports the idea that the IRS spectra essentially probe two independent disk regions: a warm zone (β€1 AU) emitting at ~ 10 ΞΌm and a much colder region emitting at Ξ» > 20 ΞΌm (β€10 AU). We identify a crystallinity paradox, as the long-wavelength (Ξ» > 20 m) crystalline silicate features are detected 3.5 times more frequently (~55% vs. ~15%) than the crystalline features arising from much warmer disk regions (Ξ» ~ 10 ΞΌm). This suggests that the disk has an inhomogeneous dust composition within ~10 AU. The analysis of the shape and strength of both the amorphous 10 ΞΌm feature and the crystalline feature around 23 ΞΌm provides evidence for the prevalence of ΞΌm-sized (amorphous and crystalline) grains in upper layers of disks.
Conclusions. The abundant crystalline silicates found far from their presumed formation regions suggest efficient outward radial transport mechanisms in the disks around TTauri stars. The presence of ΞΌm-sized grains in disk atmospheres, despite the short timescales for settling to the midplane, suggests efficient (turbulent) vertical diffusion, probably accompanied by grain-grain fragmentation to balance the expected efficient growth. In this scenario, the depletion of submicron-sized grains in the upper layers of the disks points toward removal mechanisms such as stellar winds or radiation pressure
From Molecular Cores to Planet-forming Disks: An SIRTF Legacy Program
Crucial steps in the formation of stars and planets can be studied only at midβ to farβinfrared wavelengths, where the Space Infrared Telescope (SIRTF) provides an unprecedented improvement in sensitivity. We will use all three SIRTF instruments (Infrared Array Camera [IRAC], Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF [MIPS], and Infrared Spectrograph [IRS]) to observe sources that span the evolutionary sequence from molecular cores to protoplanetary disks, encompassing a wide range of cloud masses, stellar masses, and starβforming environments. In addition to targeting about 150 known compact cores, we will survey with IRAC and MIPS (3.6β70 ΞΌm) the entire areas of five of the nearest large molecular clouds for new candidate protostars and substellar objects as faint as 0.001 solar luminosities. We will also observe with IRAC and MIPS about 190 systems likely to be in the early stages of planetary system formation (ages up to about 10 Myr), probing the evolution of the circumstellar dust, the raw material for planetary cores. Candidate planetβforming disks as small as 0.1 lunar masses will be detectable. Spectroscopy with IRS of new objects found in the surveys and of a select group of known objects will add vital information on the changing chemical and physical conditions in the disks and envelopes. The resulting data products will include catalogs of thousands of previously unknown sources, multiwavelength maps of about 20 deg^2 of molecular clouds, photometry of about 190 known young stars, spectra of at least 170 sources, ancillary data from groundβbased telescopes, and new tools for analysis and modeling. These products will constitute the foundations for many followβup studies with groundβbased telescopes, as well as with SIRTF itself and other space missions such as SIM, JWST, Herschel, and TPF/Darwin
Cold Disks: Spitzer Spectroscopy of Disks around Young Stars with Large Gaps
We have identified four circumstellar disks with a deficit of dust emission
from their inner 15-50 AU. All four stars have F-G spectral type, and were
uncovered as part of the Spitzer Space Telescope ``Cores to Disks'' Legacy
Program Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) first look survey of ~100 pre-main sequence
stars. Modeling of the spectral energy distributions indicates a reduction in
dust density by factors of 100-1000 from disk radii between ~0.4 and 15-50 AU,
but with massive gas-rich disks at larger radii. This large contrast between
the inner and outer disk has led us to use the term `cold disks' to distinguish
these unusual systems. However, hot dust [0.02-0.2 Mmoon] is still present
close to the central star (R ~0.8 AU). We introduce the 30/13 micron, flux
density ratio as a new diagnostic for identifying cold disks. The mechanisms
for dust clearing over such large gaps are discussed. Though rare, cold disks
are likely in transition from an optically thick to an optically thin state,
and so offer excellent laboratories for the study of planet formation.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ
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