2,269 research outputs found
On continuum modeling of sputter erosion under normal incidence: interplay between nonlocality and nonlinearity
Under specific experimental circumstances, sputter erosion on semiconductor
materials exhibits highly ordered hexagonal dot-like nanostructures. In a
recent attempt to theoretically understand this pattern forming process, Facsko
et al. [Phys. Rev. B 69, 153412 (2004)] suggested a nonlocal, damped
Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation as a potential candidate for an adequate
continuum model of this self-organizing process. In this study we theoretically
investigate this proposal by (i) formally deriving such a nonlocal equation as
minimal model from balance considerations, (ii) showing that it can be exactly
mapped to a local, damped Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, and (iii) inspecting
the consequences of the resulting non-stationary erosion dynamics.Comment: 7 pages, 2 Postscript figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. B corrected
typos, few minor change
How ripples turn into dots: modeling ion-beam erosion under oblique incidence
Pattern formation on semiconductor surfaces induced by low energetic ion-beam
erosion under normal and oblique incidence is theoretically investigated using
a continuum model in form of a stochastic, nonlocal, anisotropic
Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. Depending on the size of the parameters this
model exhibits hexagonally ordered dot, ripple, less regular and even rather
smooth patterns. We investigate the transitional behavior between such states
and suggest how transitions can be experimentally detected.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publication, revised versio
Analyzing and reconstructing reticulation networks under timing constraints
Reticulation networks are now frequently used to model the history of life for various groups of organisms whose evolutionary past is likely to include reticulation events like horizontal gene transfer
or hybridization. However, the reconstructed networks are rarely guaranteed to be temporal. If a
reticulation network is temporal, then it satisfies the two biologically motivated timing constraints of
instantaneously occurring reticulation events and successively occurring speciation events. On the other
hand, if a reticulation network is not temporal, it is always possible to resolve this issue by adding a
number of additional unsampled or extinct taxa. In the first half of the paper, we show that deciding
whether a given number of additional taxa is sufficient to transform a non-temporal reticulation network
into a temporal one is an NP-complete problem. As one is often given a set of gene trees instead of a
network in the context of hybridization, this motivates the second half of the paper which provides an
algorithm for reconstructing a temporal hybridization network that simultaneously explains the ancestral
history of two trees or indicates that no such network exists. We highlight two practical applications of
this algorithm and illustrate the second application on a grass data set
Hierarchical fragmentation and collapse signatures in a high-mass starless region
Aims: Understanding the fragmentation and collapse properties of the dense
gas during the onset of high-mass star formation. Methods: We observed the
massive (~800M_sun) starless gas clump IRDC18310-4 with the Plateau de Bure
Interferometer (PdBI) at sub-arcsecond resolution in the 1.07mm continuum
andN2H+(3-2) line emission. Results: Zooming from a single-dish low-resolution
map to previous 3mm PdBI data, and now the new 1.07mm continuum observations,
the sub-structures hierarchically fragment on the increasingly smaller spatial
scales. While the fragment separations may still be roughly consistent with
pure thermal Jeans fragmentation, the derived core masses are almost two orders
of magnitude larger than the typical Jeans mass at the given densities and
temperatures. However, the data can be reconciled with models using
non-homogeneous initial density structures, turbulence and/or magnetic fields.
While most sub-cores remain (far-)infrared dark even at 70mum, we identify weak
70mum emission toward one core with a comparably low luminosity of ~16L_sun,
re-enforcing the general youth of the region. The spectral line data always
exhibit multiple spectral components toward each core with comparably small
line widths for the individual components (in the 0.3 to 1.0km/s regime). Based
on single-dish C18O(2-1) data we estimate a low virial-to-gas-mass ratio
<=0.25. We discuss that the likely origin of these spectral properties may be
the global collapse of the original gas clump that results in multiple spectral
components along each line of sight. Even within this dynamic picture the
individual collapsing gas cores appear to have very low levels of internal
turbulence.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, A&A in pres
Kinematic and Thermal Structure at the onset of high-mass star formation
We want to understand the kinematic and thermal properties of young massive
gas clumps prior to and at the earliest evolutionary stages of high-mass star
formation. Do we find signatures of gravitational collapse? Do we find
temperature gradients in the vicinity or absence of infrared emission sources?
Do we find coherent velocity structures toward the center of the dense and cold
gas clumps? To determine kinematics and gas temperatures, we used ammonia,
because it is known to be a good tracer and thermometer of dense gas. We
observed the NH(1,1) and (2,2) lines within seven very young high-mass
star-forming regions with the VLA and the Effelsberg 100m telescope. This
allows us to study velocity structures, linewidths, and gas temperatures at
high spatial resolution of 3-5, corresponding to 0.05 pc. We find on
average cold gas clumps with temperatures in the range between 10 K and 30 K.
The observations do not reveal a clear correlation between infrared emission
peaks and ammonia temperature peaks. We report an upper limit for the linewidth
of 1.3 km s, at the spectral resolution limit of our VLA
observation. This indicates a relatively low level of turbulence on the scale
of the observations. Velocity gradients are present in almost all regions with
typical velocity differences of 1 to 2 km s and gradients of 5 to 10 km
s pc. These velocity gradients are smooth in most cases, but
there is one exceptional source (ISOSS23053), for which we find several
velocity components with a steep velocity gradient toward the clump centers
that is larger than 30 km s pc. This steep velocity gradient is
consistent with recent models of cloud collapse. Furthermore, we report a
spatial correlation of ammonia and cold dust, but we also find decreasing
ammonia emission close to infrared emission sources.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure
Chemical evolution in the early phases of massive star formation. I
Understanding the chemical evolution of young (high-mass) star-forming
regions is a central topic in star formation research. Chemistry is employed as
a unique tool 1) to investigate the underlying physical processes and 2) to
characterize the evolution of the chemical composition. We observed a sample of
59 high-mass star-forming regions at different evolutionary stages varying from
the early starless phase of infrared dark clouds to high-mass protostellar
objects to hot molecular cores and, finally, ultra-compact HII regions at 1mm
and 3mm with the IRAM 30m telescope. We determined their large-scale chemical
abundances and found that the chemical composition evolves along with the
evolutionary stages. On average, the molecular abundances increase with time.
We modeled the chemical evolution, using a 1D physical model where density and
temperature vary from stage to stage coupled with an advanced gas-grain
chemical model and derived the best-fit chi^2 values of all relevant
parameters. A satisfying overall agreement between observed and modeled column
densities for most of the molecules was obtained. With the best-fit model we
also derived a chemical age for each stage, which gives the timescales for the
transformation between two consecutive stages. The best-fit chemical ages are
~10,000 years for the IRDC stage, ~60,000 years for the HMPO stage, ~40,000
years for the HMC stage, and ~10,000 years for the UCHII stage. The total
chemical timescale for the entire evolutionary sequence of the high-mass star
formation process is on the order of 10^5 years, which is consistent with
theoretical estimates. Furthermore, based on the approach of a multiple-line
survey of unresolved data, we were able to constrain an intuitive and
reasonable physical and chemical model. The results of this study can be used
as chemical templates for the different evolutionary stages in high-mass star
formation.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures, 21 tables, accepted by A&A; typos adde
Carbon in different phases ([CII], [CI], and CO) in infrared dark clouds: Cloud formation signatures and carbon gas fractions
Context: How do molecular clouds form out of the atomic phase? And what are
the relative fractions of carbon in the ionized, atomic and molecular phase?
These are questions at the heart of cloud and star formation. Methods: Using
multiple observatories from Herschel and SOFIA to APEX and the IRAM 30m
telescope, we mapped the ionized, atomic and molecular carbon ([CII]@1900GHz,
[CI]@492GHz and C18O(2-1)@220GHz) at high spatial resolution (12"-25") in four
young massive infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). Results: The three carbon phases
were successfully mapped in all four regions, only in one source the [CII] line
remained a non-detection. Both the molecular and atomic phases trace the dense
structures well, with [CI] also tracing material at lower column densities.
[CII] exhibits diverse morphologies in our sample, from compact to diffuse
structures probing the cloud environment. In at least two out of the four
regions, we find kinematic signatures strongly indicating that the dense gas
filaments have formed out of a dynamically active and turbulent
atomic/molecular cloud, potentially from converging gas flows. The
atomic-to-molecular carbon gas mass ratios are low between 7% and 12% with the
lowest values found toward the most quiescent region. In the three regions
where [CII] is detected, its mass is always higher by a factor of a few than
that of the atomic carbon. The ionized carbon emission depends as well on the
radiation field, however, we also find strong [CII] emission in a region
without significant external sources, indicating that other processes, e.g.,
energetic gas flows can contribute to the [CII] excitation as well.Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics, a higher
resolution version can be found at
http://www.mpia.de/homes/beuther/papers.htm
Long-term Variability of HCO Masers in Star-forming Regions
We present results of a multi-epoch monitoring program on variability of
6cm formaldehyde (HCO) masers in the massive star forming region
NGC7538IRS1 from 2008 to 2015 conducted with the GBT, WSRT, and
VLA. We found that the similar variability behaviors of the two formaldehyde
maser velocity components in NGC7538IRS1 (which was pointed out by
Araya and collaborators in 2007) have continued. The possibility that the
variability is caused by changes in the maser amplification path in regions
with similar morphology and kinematics is discussed. We also observed
12.2GHz methanol and 22.2GHz water masers toward
NGC7538IRS1. The brightest maser components of CHOH and HO
species show a decrease in flux density as a function of time. The brightest
HCO maser component also shows a decrease in flux density and has a similar
LSR velocity to the brightest HO and 12.2GHz CHOH masers. The line
parameters of radio recombination lines and the 20.17 and 20.97GHz CHOH
transitions in NGC7538IRS1 are also reported. In addition, we
observed five other 6cm formaldehyde maser regions. We found no evidence of
significant variability of the 6cm masers in these regions with respect to
previous observations, the only possible exception being the maser in
G29.960.02. All six sources were also observed in the HCO
isotopologue transition of the 6cm HCO line; HCO absorption
was detected in five of the sources. Estimated column density ratios
[HCO]/[HCO] are reported.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
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