1,784 research outputs found
An experimental testbed for NEAT to demonstrate micro-pixel accuracy
NEAT is an astrometric mission proposed to ESA with the objectives of
detecting Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone of nearby solar-type
stars. In NEAT, one fundamental aspect is the capability to measure stellar
centroids at the precision of 5e-6 pixel. Current state-of-the-art methods for
centroid estimation have reached a precision of about 4e-5 pixel at Nyquist
sampling. Simulations showed that a precision of 2 micro-pixels can be reached,
if intra and inter pixel quantum efficiency variations are calibrated and
corrected for by a metrology system. The European part of the NEAT consortium
is designing and building a testbed in vacuum in order to achieve 5e-6 pixel
precision for the centroid estimation. The goal is to provide a proof of
concept for the precision requirement of the NEAT spacecraft. In this paper we
give the basic relations and trade-offs that come into play for the design of a
centroid testbed and its metrology system. We detail the different conditions
necessary to reach the targeted precision, present the characteristics of our
current design and describe the present status of the demonstration.Comment: SPIE proceeding
Efficient generation of data sets for one-shot statistical calibration of RF/mm-wave circuits
International audienc
Molecular Weight Dependence of Spreading Rates of Ultrathin Polymeric Films
We study experimentally the molecular weight dependence of spreading
rates of molecularly thin precursor films, growing at the bottom of droplets of
polymer liquids. In accord with previous observations, we find that the radial
extension R(t) of the film grows with time as R(t) = (D_{exp} t)^{1/2}. Our
data substantiate the M-dependence of D_{exp}; we show that it follows D_{exp}
\sim M^{-\gamma}, where the exponent \gamma is dependent on the chemical
composition of the solid surface, determining its frictional properties with
respect to the molecular transport. In the specific case of hydrophilic
substrates, the frictional properties can be modified by the change of the
relative humidity (RH). We find that \gamma \approx 1 at low RH and tends to
zero when RH gets progressively increased. We propose simple theoretical
arguments which explain the observed behavior in the limits of low and high RH.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in PR
Dynamics of Spreading of Small Droplets of Chainlike Molecules on Surfaces
Dynamics of spreading of small droplets on surfaces has been studied by the
molecular dynamics method. Simulations have been performed for mixtures of
solvent and dimer, and solvent and tetramer droplets. For solvent particles and
dimers, layering occurs leading to stepped droplet shapes. For tetramers such
shapes occur for relatively deep and strong surface potentials only. For wider
and more shallow potentials, more rapid spreading and rounded droplet shapes
occur. These results are in accordance with experimental data on small non -
volatile polymer droplets. PACS numbers: 68.10Gw, 05.70.Ln, 61.20.Ja, 68.45GdComment: to appear in Europhys. Letters (1994), Latex, 12 page
New Interstellar Dust Models Consistent with Extinction, Emission, and Abundance Constraints
We present new interstellar dust models which have been derived by
simultaneously fitting the far-ultraviolet to near-infrared extinction, the
diffuse infrared (IR) emission and, unlike previous models, the elemental
abundance constraints on the dust for different interstellar medium abundances,
including solar, F and G star, and B star abundances. The fitting problem is a
typical ill-posed inversion problem, in which the grain size distribution is
the unknown, which we solve by using the method of regularization. The dust
model contains various components: PAHs, bare silicate, graphite, and amorphous
carbon particles, as well as composite particles containing silicate, organic
refractory material, water ice, and voids. The optical properties of these
components were calculated using physical optical constants. As a special case,
we reproduce the Li & Draine (2001) results, however their model requires an
excessive amount of silicon, magnesium, and iron to be locked up in dust: about
50 ppm (atoms per million of H atoms), significantly more than the upper limit
imposed by solar abundances of these elements, about 34, 35, and 28 ppm,
respectively. A major conclusion of this paper is that there is no unique
interstellar dust model that simultaneously fits the observed extinction,
diffuse IR emission, and abundances constraints.Comment: 70 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal Supplemen
Decomposing Dusty Galaxies. I. Multi-Component Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting
We present a new multi-component spectral energy distribution (SED)
decomposition method and use it to analyze the ultraviolet to millimeter
wavelength SEDs of a sample of dusty infrared-luminous galaxies. SEDs are
constructed from spectroscopic and photometric data obtained with the Spitzer
Space Telescope, in conjunction with photometry from the literature. Each SED
is decomposed into emission from populations of stars, an AGN accretion disk,
PAHs, atomic and molecular lines, and distributions of graphite and silicate
grains. Decompositions of the SEDs of the template starburst galaxies NGC7714
and NGC2623 and the template AGNs PG0804+761 and Mrk463 provide baseline
properties to aid in quantifying the strength of star-formation and accretion
in the composite systems NGC6240 and Mrk1014. We find that obscured radiation
from stars is capable of powering the total dust emission from NGC6240,
although we cannot rule out a contribution from a deeply embedded AGN visible
only in X-rays. The decomposition of Mrk1014 is consistent with ~65% of its
power emerging from an AGN and ~35% from star-formation. We suggest that many
of the variations in our template starburst SEDs may be explained in terms of
the different mean optical depths through the clouds of dust surrounding the
young stars within each galaxy. Prompted by the divergent far-IR properties of
our template AGNs, we suggest that variations in the relative orientation of
their AGN accretion disks with respect to the disks of the galaxies hosting
them may result in different amounts of AGN-heated cold dust emission emerging
from their host galaxies. We estimate that 30-50% of the far-IR and PAH
emission from Mrk1014 may originate from such AGN-heated material in its host
galaxy disk.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in the Ap
Molecular and Ionic shocks in the Supernova Remnant 3C391
New observations of the supernova remnant 3C391 are in the H2 2.12 micron and
[Fe II] 1.64 micron narrow-band filters at the Palomar 200-inch telescope, and
in the 5-15 micron CVF on ISOCAM. Shocked H2 emission was detected from the
region 3C391:BML, where broad millimeter CO and CS lines had previously been
detected. A new H2 clump was confirmed to have broad CO emission, demonstrating
that the near-infrared H2 images can trace previously undetected molecular
shocks. The [Fe II] emission has a significantly different distribution, being
brightest in the bright radio bar, at the interface between the supernova
remnant and the giant molecular cloud, and following filaments in the radio
shell. The near-infrared [Fe II] and the mid-infrared 12-18 micron filter
images are the first images to reveal the radiative shell of 3C391. The
mid-infrared spectrum is dominated by bright ionic lines and H2 S(2) through
S(7). There are no aromatic hydrocarbons associated with the shocks, nor is
their any mid-infrared continuum, suggesting that macromolecules and very small
grains are destroyed. Comparing 3C391 to the better-studied IC443, both
remnants have molecular- and ionic-dominated regions; for 3C391, the
ionic-dominated region is the interface into the giant molecular cloud, showing
that the main bodies of giant molecular clouds contain significant regions with
densities 100 to 1000/cm^3 and a small filling factor with higher-density. The
molecular shocked region resolves into 16 clumps of H2 emission, with some
fainter diffuse emission but with no associated near-infrared continuum
sources. One of the clumps is coincident with a previously-detected OH 1720 MHz
maser. These clumps are interpreted as a cluster of pre-stellar, dense
molecular cores that are presently being shocked by the supernova blast wave
Infrared Emission from Interstellar Dust. II. The Diffuse Interstellar Medium
We present a quantitative model for the infrared emission from dust in the
diffuse interstellar medium. The model consists of a mixture of amorphous
silicate grains and carbonaceous grains, each with a wide size distribution
ranging from molecules containing tens of atoms to large grains > 1 um in
diameter. We assume that the carbonaceous grains have polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAH)-like properties at very small sizes, and graphitic properties
for radii a > 50 A. On the basis of recent laboratory studies and guided by
astronomical observations, we propose "astronomical" absorption cross sections
for use in modeling neutral and ionized PAHs from the far ultraviolet to the
far infrared. We also propose modifications to the far-infrared emissivity of
"astronomical silicate". We calculate energy distribution functions for small
grains undergoing "temperature spikes" due to stochastic absorption of
starlight photons, using realistic heat capacities and optical properties.
Using a grain size distribution consistent with the observed interstellar
extinction, we are able to reproduce the near-IR to submillimeter emission
spectrum of the diffuse interstellar medium, including the PAH emission
features at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.3um. The model is compared with the
observed emission at high Galactic latitudes as well as in the Galactic plane,
as measured by COBE and IRTS. We calculate infrared emission spectra for our
dust model heated by a range of starlight intensities, and we provide tabulated
dust opacities (extended tables available at
http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~draine/dust/dustmix.html)Comment: Final version published in ApJ, 554, 778 but with factor 1.086 error
in Table 6 and Fig. 16 corrected. Main change from astro-ph version 1 is
correction of typographical errors in Table 1, and correction of typo in eq.
(A2). 51 pages, 16 figures, Late
The Thermal Structure of Gas in Pre-Stellar Cores: A Case Study of Barnard 68
We present a direct comparison of a chemical/physical model to
multitransitional observations of C18O and 13CO towards the Barnard 68
pre-stellar core. These observations provide a sensitive test for models of low
UV field photodissociation regions and offer the best constraint on the gas
temperature of a pre-stellar core. We find that the gas temperature of this
object is surprisingly low (~7-8 K), and significantly below the dust
temperature, in the outer layers (Av < 5 mag) that are traced by C18O and 13CO
emission. As shown previously, the inner layers (Av > 5 mag) exhibit
significant freeze-out of CO onto grain surfaces. Because the dust and gas are
not fully coupled, depletion of key coolants in the densest layers raises the
core (gas) temperature, but only by ~1 K. The gas temperature in layers not
traced by C18O and 13CO emission can be probed by NH3 emission, with a
previously estimated temperature of ~10-11 K. To reach these temperatures in
the inner core requires an order of magnitude reduction in the gas to dust
coupling rate. This potentially argues for a lack of small grains in the
densest gas, presumably due to grain coagulation.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, accepted by Astrophysical Journa
Remarkable Disk and Off-nuclear Starburst Activity in the "Tadpole Galaxy" as revealed by the Spitzer Space Telescope
We present ground-based optical and Spitzer infrared imaging observations of
the interacting galaxy UGC 10214, the "Tadpole Galaxy" (z = 0.0310), focusing
on the star formation activity in the nuclear, disk, spiral arms and tidal tail
regions. The major findings of this study are that the Tadpole is actively
forming stars in the main disk outside of the nucleus and in the tidal plume,
with an estimated mean star formation rate of ~2 to 4 M_sun/yr. The most
prominent sites of mid-infrared emission define a "ring" morphology that,
combined with the overall morphology of the system, suggest the interaction may
belong to the rare class of off-center collisional ring systems that form both
shock-induced rings of star formation and tidal plumes. The nuclear emission is
solely powered by older stars, with little evidence for ongoing star formation
at the center of the Tadpole. Extra-nuclear star formation accounts for >50% of
the total star formation in the disk and spiral arms, featuring infrared-bright
'hot spots' that exhibit strong PAH emission, whose band strength is comparable
to that of late-type star-forming disk galaxies. The tidal tail, which extends
2 arcmin (~75 kpc) into the intergalactic medium, is populated by super massive
star clusters likely triggered by the galaxy-galaxy interaction that has
distorted UGC 10214 into its current "tadpole" shape.Comment: to appear in the January 2006 (vol 131) issue of the Astronomical
Journal; high quality graphics are located here:
http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/jarrett/tadpole.htm
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