183 research outputs found
The Relationship Between Molecular Gas Tracers and Kennicutt-Schmidt Laws
We provide a model for how Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) laws, which describe the
correlation between star formation rate and gas surface or volume density,
depend on the molecular line chosen to trace the gas. We show that, for lines
that can be excited at low temperatures, the KS law depends on how the line
critical density compares to the median density in a galaxy's star-forming
molecular clouds. High critical density lines trace regions with similar
physical properties across galaxy types, and this produces a linear correlation
between line luminosity and star formation rate. Low critical density lines
probe regions whose properties vary across galaxies, leading to a star
formation rate that varies superlinearly with line luminosity. We show that a
simple model in which molecular clouds are treated as isothermal and homogenous
can quantitatively reproduce the observed correlations between galactic
luminosities in far infrared and in the CO(1->0) and HCN(1->0) lines, and
naturally explains why these correlations have different slopes. We predict
that IR-line luminosity correlations should change slope for galaxies in which
the median density is close to the line critical density. This prediction may
be tested by observations of lines such as HCO^+(1->0) with intermediate
critical densities, or by HCN(1->0) observations of intensely star-forming high
redshift galaxies with very high densities. Recent observations by Gao et al.
hint at just such a change in slope. We argue that deviations from linearity in
the HCN(1->0)-IR correlation at high luminosity are consistent with the
assumption of a constant star formation efficiency.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 11 pages, 4 figures, emulateapj format. This version
has some additional models exploring the effects of varying metallicity and
temperature. The conclusions are unchange
Wavelength calibration of the JWST-MIRI medium resolution spectrometer
We present the wavelength and spectral resolution characterisation of the
Integral Field Unit (IFU) Medium Resolution Spectrometer for the Mid-InfraRed
Instrument (MIRI), to fly onboard the James Webb Space Telescope in 2014. We
use data collected using the Verification Model of the instrument and develop
an empirical method to calibrate properties such as wavelength range and
resolving power in a portion of the spectrometer's full spectral range (5-28
microns). We test our results against optical models to verify the system
requirements and combine them with a study of the fringing pattern in the
instrument's detector to provide a more accurate calibration. We show that
MIRI's IFU spectrometer will be able to produce spectra with a resolving power
above R=2800 in the wavelength range 6.46-7.70 microns, and that the unresolved
spectral lines are well fitted by a Gaussian profile.Comment: 12 pages, submitted to SPIE Proceedings vol. 7731, Space Telescopes
and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wav
The characteristics of the IR emission features in the spectra of Herbig Ae stars: Evidence for chemical evolution
Herbig Ae/Be stars are a class of young pre-main sequence stellar objects of
intermediate mass and are known to have varying amounts of natal cloud material
still present in their direct vicinity. We characterise the IR emission bands,
due to fluorescence by PAH molecules, in the spectra of Herbig Ae/Be stars and
link observed variations to spatial aspects of the mid-IR emission. We analysed
two PAH dominated spectra from a sample of 15 Herbig Ae/Be stars observed with
Spitzer and derive profiles of the major PAH bands. The shape and the measured
band characteristics show pronounced variations between the two Spitzer
spectra. Those variations parallel those found between three ISO spectra of
other, well-studied, Herbig Ae/Be stars. The derived profiles are compared to
those from a broad sample of sources. The Spitzer and ISO spectra exhibit
characteristics commonly interpreted respectively as interstellar matter-like
(ISM), non-ISM-like, or a combination of the two. We argue that the PAH
emission detected from the sources exhibiting a combination of ISM-like and
non-ISM-like characteristics indicates the presence of two dissimilar,
spatially separated, PAH families. As the shape of the individual PAH band
profiles reflects the composition of the PAH molecules involved, this
demonstrates that PAHs in subsequent, evolutionary linked stages of star
formation are different from those in the general ISM, implying active
chemistry. None of the detected PAH emission can be associated with the
(unresolved) disk and is thus associated with the circumstellar cloud. This
implies that chemical changes may already occur in the natal cloud and not
necessarily in the disk
High resolution spectroscopy of Ne II emission from young stellar objects
Constraining the spatial and thermal structure of the gaseous component of
circumstellar disks is crucial to understand star and planet formation. Models
predict that the [Ne II] line at 12.81 {\mu}m detected in young stellar objects
with Spitzer traces disk gas and its response to high energy radiation, but
such [Ne II] emission may also originate in shocks within powerful outflows. To
distinguish between these potential origins for mid-infrared [Ne II] emission
and to constrain disk models, we observed 32 young stellar objects using the
high resolution (R~30000) mid-infrared spectrograph VISIR at the VLT. We
detected the 12.81 {\mu}m [Ne II] line in 12 objects, tripling the number of
detections of this line in young stellar objects with high spatial and spectral
resolution spectrographs. We obtain the following main results: a) In Class I
objects the [Ne II] emission observed from Spitzer is mainly due to gas at a
distance of more than 20-40 AU from the star, where neon is, most likely,
ionized by shocks due to protostellar outflows. b) In transition and
pre-transition disks, most of the emission is confined to the inner disk,
within 20-40 AU from the central star. c) Detailed analysis of line profiles
indicates that, in transition and pre-transition disks, the line is slightly
blue-shifted (2-12 km s{^-1}) with respect to the stellar velocity, and the
line width is directly correlated with the disk inclination, as expected if the
emission is due to a disk wind. d) Models of EUV/X-ray irradiated disks
reproduce well the observed relation between the line width and the disk
inclination, but underestimate the blue-shift of the line.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on Ap
Evolution of dust and ice features around FU Orionis objects
(abridged) We present spectroscopy data for a sample of 14 FUors and 2 TTauri
stars observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope or with the Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO). Based on the appearance of the 10 micron silicate feature we
define 2 categories of FUors. Objects showing the silicate feature in
absorption (Category 1) are still embedded in a dusty and icy envelope. The
shape of the 10 micron silicate absorption bands is compared to typical dust
compositions of the interstellar medium and found to be in general agreement.
Only one object (RNO 1B) appears to be too rich in amorphous pyroxene dust, but
a superposed emission feature can explain the observed shape. We derive optical
depths and extinction values from the silicate band and additional ice bands at
6.0, 6.8 and 15.2 micron. In particular the analysis of the CO_2 ice band at
15.2 micron allows us to search for evidence for ice processing and constrains
whether the absorbing material is physically linked to the central object or in
the foreground. For objects showing the silicate feature in emission (Category
2), we argue that the emission comes from the surface layer of accretion disks.
Analyzing the dust composition reveals that significant grain growth has
already taken place within the accretion disks, but no clear indications for
crystallization are present. We discuss how these observational results can be
explained in the picture of a young, and highly active accretion disk. Finally,
a framework is proposed as to how the two categories of FUors can be understood
in a general paradigm of the evolution of young, low-mass stars. Only one
object (Parsamian 21) shows PAH emission features. Their shapes, however, are
often seen toward evolved stars and we question the object's status as a FUor
and discuss other possible classifications.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ; 63 pages preprint style including 8
tables and 24 figure
The Detection of Crystalline Silicates in Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies
Silicates are an important component of interstellar dust and the structure
of these grains -- amorphous versus crystalline -- is sensitive to the local
physical conditions. We have studied the infrared spectra of a sample of
ultra-luminous infrared galaxies. Here, we report the discovery of weak, narrow
absorption features at 11, 16, 19, 23, and 28 microns, characteristic of
crystalline silicates, superimposed on the broad absorption bands at 10 and 18
microns due to amorphous silicates in a subset of this sample. These features
betray the presence of forsterite (Mg_2SiO_4), the magnesium-rich end member of
the olivines. Previously, crystalline silicates have only been observed in
circumstellar environments. The derived fraction of forsterite to amorphous
silicates is typically 0.1 in these ULIRGs. This is much larger than the upper
limit for this ratio in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way, 0.01. These
results suggest that the timescale for injection of crystalline silicates into
the ISM is short in a merger-driven starburst environment (e.g., as compared to
the total time to dissipate the gas), pointing towards massive stars as a
prominent source of crystalline silicates. Furthermore, amorphization due to
cosmic rays, which is thought to be of prime importance for the local ISM, lags
in vigorous starburst environments.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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
Detection of interstellar CH_3
Observations with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) onboard the {\it
Infrared Space Observatory} (ISO) have led to the first detection of the methyl
radical in the interstellar medium. The branch at 16.5
m and the (0) line at 16.0 m have been unambiguously detected
toward the Galactic center SgrA. The analysis of the measured bands gives a
column density of (8.02.4) cm and an excitation
temperature of K. Gaseous at a similarly low excitation
temperature and are detected for the same line of sight. Using
constraints on the column density obtained from and
visual extinction, the inferred abundance is
. The chemically related
molecule is not detected, but the pure rotational lines of are seen
with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS). The absolute abundances and the
and ratios are inconsistent with published
pure gas-phase models of dense clouds. The data require a mix of diffuse and
translucent clouds with different densities and extinctions, and/or the
development of translucent models in which gas-grain chemistry, freeze-out and
reactions of with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and solid
aliphatic material are included.Comment: 2 figures. ApJL, Accepte
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