814 research outputs found
The Physical Parameters of the Micro-quasar S26 in the Sculptor Group Galaxy NGC 7793
NGC 7793 - S26 is an extended source (350 pc 185 pc) previously
studied in the radio, optical and x-ray domains. It has been identified as a
micro-quasar which has inflated a super bubble. We used Integral Field Spectra
from the Wide Field Spectrograph on the ANU 2.3 m telescope to analyse spectra
between 3600--7000 \AA. This allowed us to derive fluxes and line ratios for
selected nebular lines. Applying radiative shock model diagnostics, we estimate
shock velocities, densities, radiative ages and pressures across the object. We
show that S26 is just entering its radiative phase, and that the northern and
western regions are dominated by partially-radiative shocks due to a lower
density ISM in these directions. We determine a velocity of expansion along the
jet of 330 km s, and a velocity of expansion of the bubble in the minor
axis direction of 132 km s. We determine the age of the structure to be
yr, and the jet energy flux to be erg
s The jet appears to be collimated within deg, and to undergo
very little precession. If the relativistic , then some 4
M of relativistic matter has already been processed through the jet.
We conclude that the central object in S26 is probably a Black Hole with a mass
typical of the ultra-luminous X-ray source population which is currently
consuming a fairly massive companion through Roche Lobe accretion.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 12 pages, 7 figures and 3 table
Shell formation and star formation in superbubble DEM 192
Was star formation in the OB associations, LH 51 and LH 54, triggered by the
growth of the superbubble DEM 192? To examine this possibility, we investigate
the stellar contents and star formation history, and model the evolution of the
shell. H-R diagrams constructed from UBV photometry and spectral
classifications indicate highly coeval star formation, with the entire massive
star population having an age of ~< 2-3 Myr. However, LH 54 is constrained to
an age of ~3 Myr by the presence of a WR star, and the IMF for LH 51 suggests a
lower-mass limit implying an age of 1-2 Myr. There is no evidence of an earlier
stellar population to create the superbubble, but the modeled shell kinematics
are consistent with an origin due to the strongest stellar winds of LH 54. It
might therefore be possible that LH 54 created the superbubble, which in turn
may have triggered the creation of LH 51. Within the errors, the spatial
distribution of stellar masses and IMF appear uniform within the associations.
We reinvestigate the estimates for stellar wind power L_w(t), during the
H-burning phase, and note that revised mass-loss rates yield a significantly
different form for L_w(t), and may affect stellar evolution timescales. We also
model superbubble expansion into an ambient medium with a sudden, discontinuous
drop in density, and find that this can easily reproduce the anomalously high
shell expansion velocities seen in many superbubbles.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, AASTeX; Figure 1 bitmapped. Accepted to AJ.
Table of Contents and preprint, including hi-resolution version of Figure 1,
available at: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~oey/oeypubs.htm
Optically bright Active Galactic Nuclei in the ROSAT-Faint Source Catalogue
To build a large, optically bright, X-ray selected AGN sample we have
correlated the ROSAT-FSC catalogue of X-ray sources with the USNO catalogue
limited to objects brighter than O=16.5 and then with the APS database. Each of
the 3,212 coincidences was classified using the slitless Hamburg spectra. 493
objects were found to be extended and 2,719 starlike. Using both the extended
objects and the galaxies known from published catalogues we built up a sample
of 185 galaxies with O_APS < 17.0 mag, which are high-probability counterparts
of RASS-FSC X-ray sources. 130 galaxies have a redshift from the literature and
for another 34 we obtained new spectra. The fraction of Seyfert galaxies in
this sample is 20 %. To select a corresponding sample of 144 high-probability
counterparts among the starlike sources we searched for very blue objects in an
APS-based color-magnitude diagram. Forty-one were already known AGN and for
another 91 objects we obtained new spectra, yielding 42 new AGN, increasing
their number in the sample to 83. This confirms that surveys of bright QSOs are
still significantly incomplete. On the other hand we find that, at a flux limit
of 0.02 count /-1 and at this magnitude, only 40 % of all QSOs are detected by
ROSAT.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A&
The 3D Structure of N132D in the LMC: A Late-Stage Young Supernova Remnant
We have used the Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) on the 2.3m telescope at
Siding Spring Observatory to map the [O III] 5007{\AA} dynamics of the young
oxygen-rich supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud. From the
resultant data cube, we have been able to reconstruct the full 3D structure of
the system of [O III] filaments. The majority of the ejecta form a ring of
~12pc in diameter inclined at an angle of 25 degrees to the line of sight. We
conclude that SNR N132D is approaching the end of the reverse shock phase
before entering the fully thermalized Sedov phase of evolution. We speculate
that the ring of oxygen-rich material comes from ejecta in the equatorial plane
of a bipolar explosion, and that the overall shape of the SNR is strongly
influenced by the pre-supernova mass loss from the progenitor star. We find
tantalizing evidence of a polar jet associated with a very fast oxygen-rich
knot, and clear evidence that the central star has interacted with one or more
dense clouds in the surrounding ISM.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Astrophysics & Space Science, 18pp, 8
figure
Putting the Pieces Together: Integrative Modeling Platform Software for Structure Determination of Macromolecular Assemblies
A set of software tools for building and distributing models of macromolecular assemblies uses an integrative structure modeling approach, which casts the building of models as a computational optimization problem where information is encoded into a scoring function used to evaluate candidate models
The expanding dusty bipolar nebula around the nova V1280 Sco
V1280 Sco is one of the slowest dust-forming nova ever historically observed.
We performed multi-epoch high-spatial resolution observations of the
circumstellar dusty environment of V1280 Sco to investigate the level of
asymmetry of the ejecta We observed V1280 Sco in 2009, 2010 and 2011 using
unprecedented high angular resolution techniques. We used the NACO/VLT adaptive
optics system in the J, H and K bands, together with contemporaneous VISIR/VLT
mid-IR imaging that resolved the dust envelope of V1280 Sco, and SINFONI/VLT
observations secured in 2011. We report the discovery of a dusty
hourglass-shaped bipolar nebula. The apparent size of the nebula increased from
0.30" x 0.17" in July 2009 to 0.64" x 0.42" in July 2011. The aspect ratio
suggests that the source is seen at high inclination. The central source shines
efficiently in the K band and represents more than 56+/-5% of the total flux in
2009, and 87+/-6% in 2011. A mean expansion rate of 0.39+/-0.03 mas per day is
inferred from the VISIR observations in the direction of the major axis, which
represents a projected upper limit. Assuming that the dust shell expands in
that direction as fast as the low-excitation slow ejecta detected in
spectroscopy, this yields a lower limit distance to V1280 Sco of 1kpc; however,
the systematic errors remain large due to the complex shape and velocity field
of the dusty ejecta. The dust seems to reside essentially in the polar caps and
no infrared flux is detected in the equatorial regions in the latest dataset.
This may imply that the mass-loss was dominantly polar
Forward Global Photometric Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey
Many scientific goals for the Dark Energy Survey (DES) require calibration of
optical/NIR broadband photometry that is stable in time and uniform
over the celestial sky to one percent or better. It is also necessary to limit
to similar accuracy systematic uncertainty in the calibrated broadband
magnitudes due to uncertainty in the spectrum of the source. Here we present a
"Forward Global Calibration Method (FGCM)" for photometric calibration of the
DES, and we present results of its application to the first three years of the
survey (Y3A1). The FGCM combines data taken with auxiliary instrumentation at
the observatory with data from the broad-band survey imaging itself and models
of the instrument and atmosphere to estimate the spatial- and time-dependence
of the passbands of individual DES survey exposures. "Standard" passbands are
chosen that are typical of the passbands encountered during the survey. The
passband of any individual observation is combined with an estimate of the
source spectral shape to yield a magnitude in the standard
system. This "chromatic correction" to the standard system is necessary to
achieve sub-percent calibrations. The FGCM achieves reproducible and stable
photometric calibration of standard magnitudes of stellar
sources over the multi-year Y3A1 data sample with residual random calibration
errors of per exposure. The accuracy of the
calibration is uniform across the DES footprint to
within . The systematic uncertainties of magnitudes in
the standard system due to the spectra of sources are less than
for main sequence stars with .Comment: 25 pages, submitted to A
Deep optical observations of the interaction of the SS 433 microquasar jet with the W 50 radio continuum shell
Four mosaics of deep, continuum-subtracted, CCD images have been obtained
over the extensive galactic radio continuum shell, W 50, which surrounds the
remarkable stellar system SS 433. Two of these mosaics in the Halpha+[N II] and
[O III] 5007 A emission lines respectively cover a field of ~2.3 x 2.5 degr^2
which contains all of W 50 but at a low angular resolution of 5 arcsec. The
third and fourth mosaics cover the eastern (in [O III] 5007 A) and western (in
Halpha+[N II]) filamentary nebulosity respectively but at an angular resolution
of 1 arcsec. These observations are supplemented by new low dispersion spectra
and longslit, spatially resolved echelle spectra. The [O III] 5007 A images
show for the first time the distribution of this emission in both the eastern
and western filaments while new Halpha+[N II] emission features are also found
in both of these regions. Approaching flows of faintly emitting material from
the bright eastern filaments of up 100 km/s in radial velocity are detected.
The present observations also suggest that the heliocentric systemic radial
velocity of the whole system is 56+-2 km/s. Furthermore, very deep imagery and
high resolution spectroscopy of a small part of the northern radio ridge of W
50 has revealed for the first time the very faint optical nebulosity associated
with this edge. It is suggested that patchy foreground dust along the ~5 kpc
sightline is inhibiting the detection of all of the optical nebulosity
associated with W 50. The interaction of the microquasar jets of SS 433 with
the W 50 shell is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for pubication in MNRA
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