1,440 research outputs found
Keck Imaging of Binary L Dwarfs
We present Keck near-infrared imaging of three binary L dwarf systems, all of
which are likely to be sub-stellar. Two are lithium dwarfs, and a third
exhibits an L7 spectral type, making it the coolest binary known to date. All
have component flux ratios near 1 and projected physical separations between 5
and 10 AU, assuming distances of 18 to 26 pc from recent measurements of
trigonometric parallax. These surprisingly similar binaries represent the sole
detections of companions in ten L dwarf systems which were analyzed in the
preliminary phase of a much larger dual-epoch imaging survey. The detection
rate prompts us to speculate that binary companions to L dwarfs are common,
that similar-mass systems predominate, and that their distribution peaks at
radial distances in accord both with M dwarf binaries and with the radial
location of Jovian planets in our own solar system. To fully establish these
conjectures against doubts raised by biases inherent in this small preliminary
survey, however, will require quantitative analysis of a larger volume-limited
sample which has been observed with high resolution and dynamic range.Comment: LaTex manuscript in 13 pages, 3 postscript figures, Accepted for
publication in the Letters of the Astrophysical Journal; Postscript pre-print
version available at: http://www.hep.upenn.edu/PORG/papers/koerner99a.p
A Single Circumbinary Disk in the HD 98800 Quadruple System
We present sub-arcsecond thermal infrared imaging of HD 98800, a young
quadruple system composed of a pair of low-mass spectroscopic binaries
separated by 0.8'' (38 AU), each with a K-dwarf primary. Images at wavelengths
ranging from 5 to 24.5 microns show unequivocally that the optically fainter
binary, HD 98800B, is the sole source of a comparatively large infrared excess
upon which a silicate emission feature is superposed. The excess is detected
only at wavelengths of 7.9 microns and longer, peaks at 25 microns, and has a
best-fit black-body temperature of 150 K, indicating that most of the dust lies
at distances greater than the orbital separation of the spectroscopic binary.
We estimate the radial extent of the dust with a disk model that approximates
radiation from the spectroscopic binary as a single source of equivalent
luminosity. Given the data, the most-likely values of disk properties in the
ranges considered are R_in = 5.0 +/- 2.5 AU, DeltaR = 13+/-8 AU, lambda_0 =
2(+4/-1.5) microns, gamma = 0+/-2.5, and sigma_total = 16+/-3 AU^2, where R_in
is the inner radius, DeltaR is the radial extent of the disk, lambda_0 is the
effective grain size, gamma is the radial power-law exponent of the optical
depth, tau, and sigma_total is the total cross-section of the grains. The range
of implied disk masses is 0.001--0.1 times that of the moon. These results show
that, for a wide range of possible disk properties, a circumbinary disk is far
more likely than a narrow ring.Comment: 11 page Latex manuscript with 3 postscript figures. Accepted for
publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Postscript version of complete
paper also available at
http://www.hep.upenn.edu/PORG/web/papers/koerner00a.p
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EDC-37 Deflagration Rates at Elevated Pressures
We report deflagration rates on EDC-37 at high pressures. Experiments are conducted using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory High Pressure Strand Burner (HPSB) apparatus. The HPSB contains a deflagrating sample in a small volume, high pressure chamber. The sample consists of nine, 6.35 mm diameter, 6.35 mm length cylinders stacked on end, with burn wires placed between cylinders. Sample deflagration is limited to the cross-sectional surface of the cylinder by coating the cylindrical surface of the tower with Halthane 88-2 epoxy. Sample deflagration is initiated on one end of the tower by a B/KNO{sub 3} and HNS igniter train. Simultaneous temporal pressure history and burn front time of arrival measurements yield the laminar deflagration rate for a range of pressures and provide insight into deflagration uniformity. These measurements are one indicator of overall thermal explosion violence. Specific details of the experiment and the apparatus can be found in the literature
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Deflagration Behavior of PBX 9501 at Elevated Temperature and Pressure
We report the deflagration behavior of PBX 9501 at pressures up to 300 MPa and temperatures of 150-180 C where the sample has been held at the test temperature for several hours before ignition. The purpose is to determine the effect on the deflagration behavior of material damage caused by prolonged exposure to high temperature. This conditioning is similar to that experienced by an explosive while it being heated to eventual explosion. The results are made more complicated by the presence of a significant thermal gradient along the sample during the temperature ramp and soak. Three major conclusions are: the presence of nitroplasticizer makes PBX 9501 more thermally sensitive than LX-04 with an inert Viton binder; the deflagration behavior of PBX 9501 is more extreme and more inconsistent than that of LX-04; and something in PBX 9501 causes thermal damage to 'heal' as the deflagration proceeds, resulting in a decelerating deflagration front as it travels along the sample
Large dust particles in disks around T Tauri stars
We present 7-mm continuum observations of 14 low-mass pre-main-sequence stars
in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region obtained with the Very Large Array
with ~1.5" resolution and ~0.3 mJy rms sensitivity. For 10 objects, the
circumstellar emission has been spatially resolved. The large outer disk radii
derived suggest that the emission at this wavelength is mostly optically thin.
The millimetre spectral energy distributions are characterised by spectral
indices alpha = 2.3 to 3.2. After accounting for contribution from free-free
emission and corrections for optical depth, we determine dust opacity indices
beta in the range 0.5 to 1.6, which suggest that millimetre-sized dust
aggregates are present in the circumstellar disks. Four of the sources with
beta > 1 may be consistent with submicron-sized dust as found in the
interstellar medium. Our findings indicate that dust grain growth to
millimetre-sized particles is completed within less than 1 Myr for the majority
of circumstellar disks.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Study of the phase transition in the 3d Ising spin glass from out of equilibrium numerical simulations
Using the decay of the out equilibrium spin-spin correlation function we
compute the equilibrium Edward-Anderson order parameter in the three
dimensional binary Ising spin glass in the spin glass phase. We have checked
that the Edward-Anderson order parameter computed from out of equilibrium
numerical simulations follows with good precision the critical law as
determined in experiments and in numerical studies at equilibrium. We have also
studied the dependence of the order parameter with the lattice size. Finally we
present a large time study of the scaling of the off-equilibrium
fluctuation-dissipation relations.Comment: 14 pages, 7 Postscript figure
The Spitzer c2d Survey of Large, Nearby, Interstellar Clouds. I. Chamaeleon II Observed with MIPS
We present maps of over 1.5 square degrees in Chamaeleon (Cha) II at 24, 70,
and 160 micron observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope Multiband Imaging
Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) and a 1.2 square degree millimeter map from SIMBA
on the Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST). The c2d Spitzer Legacy
Team's data reduction pipeline is described in detail. Over 1500 24 micron
sources and 41 70 micron sources were detected by MIPS with fluxes greater than
10-sigma. More than 40 potential YSOs are identified with a MIPS and 2MASS
color-color diagram and by their spectral indices, including two previously
unknown sources with 24 micron excesses. Our new SIMBA millimeter map of Cha II
shows that only a small fraction of the gas is in compact structures with high
column densities. The extended emission seen by MIPS is compared with previous
CO observations. Some selected interesting sources, including two detected at 1
mm, associated with Cha II are discussed in detail and their SEDs presented.
The classification of these sources using MIPS data is found to be consistent
with previous studies.Comment: 44 pages, 12 figures (1 color), to be published in Ap
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