20,970 research outputs found
Spatially resolved H_2 emission from a very low-mass star
Molecular outflows from very low-mass stars (VLMSs) and brown dwarfs have
been studied very little. So far, only a few CO outflows have been observed,
allowing us to map the immediate circumstellar environment. We present the
first spatially resolved H2 emission around IRS54 (YLW52), a ~0.1-0.2 Msun
Class I source. By means of VLT SINFONI K-band observations, we probed the H2
emission down to the first ~50 AU from the source. The molecular emission shows
a complex structure delineating a large outflow cavity and an asymmetric
molecular jet. Thanks to the detection of several H2 transitions, we are able
to estimate average values along the jet-like structure (from source position
to knot D) of Av~28 mag, T~2000-3000 K, and H2 column density N(H2)~1.7x10^17
cm^-2. This allows us to estimate a mass loss rate of ~2x10^-10 Msun/yr for the
warm H2 component . In addition, from the total flux of the Br Gamma line, we
infer an accretion luminosity and mass accretion rate of 0.64 Lsun and ~3x10^-7
Msun/yr, respectively. The outflow structure is similar to those found in
low-mass Class I and CTTS. However, the Lacc/Lbol ratio is very high (~80%),
and the mass accretion rate is about one order of magnitude higher when
compared to objects of roughly the same mass, pointing to the young nature of
the investigated source.Comment: accepted as a Letter in A&
IR diagnostics of embedded jets: velocity resolved observations of the HH34 and HH1 jets
We present VLT-ISAAC medium resolution spectroscopy of the HH34 and HH1 jets.
Our aim is to derive the kinematics and the physical parameters and to study
how they vary with jet velocity. We use several important diagnostic lines such
as [FeII] 1.644um, 1.600um and H2 2.122um. In the inner jet region of HH34 we
find that both the atomic and molecular gas present two components at high and
low velocity. The [FeII] LVC in HH34 is detected up to large distances from the
source (>1000 AU), at variance with TTauri jets. In H2 2.122um, the LVC and HVC
are spatially separated. We detect, for the first time, the fainter red-shifted
counterpart down to the central source. In HH1, we trace the jet down to ~1"
from the VLA1 driving source: the kinematics of this inner region is again
characterised by the presence of two velocity components, one blue-shifted and
one red-shifted with respect to the source LSR velocity. In the inner HH34 jet
region, ne increases with decreasing velocity. Up to ~10" from the driving
source, and along the whole HH1 jet an opposite behaviour is observed instead,
with ne increasing with velocity. In both jets the mass flux is carried mainly
by the high-velocity gas. A comparison between the position velocity diagrams
and derived electron densities with models for MHD jet launching mechanisms has
been performed for HH34. While the kinematical characteristics of the line
emission at the jet base can be, at least qualitatively, reproduced by both
X-winds and disc-wind models, none of these models can explain the extent of
the LVC and the dependence of electron density with velocity that we observe.
It is possible that the LVC in HH34 represents gas not directly ejected in the
jet but instead denser ambient gas entrained by the high velocity collimated
jet.Comment: A&A accepte
Jupiter as an exoplanet: UV to NIR transmission spectrum reveals hazes, a Na layer and possibly stratospheric H2O-ice clouds
Currently, the analysis of transmission spectra is the most successful
technique to probe the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. But the
accuracy of these measurements is constrained by observational limitations and
the diversity of possible atmospheric compositions. Here we show the UV-VIS-IR
transmission spectrum of Jupiter, as if it were a transiting exoplanet,
obtained by observing one of its satellites, Ganymede, while passing through
Jupiter's shadow i.e., during a solar eclipse from Ganymede. The spectrum shows
strong extinction due to the presence of clouds (aerosols) and haze in the
atmosphere, and strong absorption features from CH4. More interestingly, the
comparison with radiative transfer models reveals a spectral signature, which
we attribute here to a Jupiter stratospheric layer of crystalline H2O ice. The
atomic transitions of Na are also present. These results are relevant for the
modeling and interpretation of giant transiting exoplanets. They also open a
new technique to explore the atmospheric composition of the upper layers of
Jupiter's atmosphere.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
POISSON project - III - Investigating the evolution of the mass accretion rate
As part of the POISSON project (Protostellar Optical-Infrared Spectral Survey
on NTT), we present the results of the analysis of low-resolution NIR spectra
0.9-2.4 um) of two samples of YSOs in Lupus and Serpens (52 and 17 objects),
with masses 0.1-2.0 Msun and ages from 10^5 to a few 10^7 yr. After determining
the accretion parameters of the Lup and Ser targets by analysing their HI
near-IR emission features, we added the results to those from previous regions
(investigated in POISSON with the same methodology). We obtained a final
catalogue (143 objects) of mass accretion rates (Macc) derived in a homogeneous
fashion and analysed how Macc correlates with M* and how it evolves in time. We
derived the accretion luminosity (Lacc) and Macc for Lup and Ser objects from
the Br_gamma line by using relevant empirical relationships from the literature
that connect HI line luminosity and Lacc. To minimise the biases and also for
self-consistency, we re-derived mass and age for each source using the same set
of evolutionary tracks. We observe a correlation MaccM*^2.2, similarly to what
has previously been observed in several star-forming clouds. The time variation
of Macc is roughly consistent with the expected evolution in viscous disks,
with an asymptotic decay that behaves as t^-1.6. However, Macc values are
characterised by a large scatter at similar ages and are on average higher than
the predictions of viscous models. Although part of the scattering may be
related to the employed empirical relationship and to uncertainties on the
single measurements, the general distribution and decay trend of the Macc
points are real. These findings might be indicative of a large variation in the
initial mass of the disks, of fairly different viscous laws among disks, of
varying accretion regimes, and of other mechanisms that add to the dissipation
of the disks, such as photo-evaporation.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted by A&
Implications of a Sub-Threshold Resonance for Stellar Beryllium Depletion
Abundance measurements of the light elements lithium, beryllium, and boron
are playing an increasingly important role in the study of stellar physics.
Because these elements are easily destroyed in stars at temperatures 2--4
million K, the abundances in the surface convective zone are diagnostics of the
star's internal workings. Standard stellar models cannot explain depletion
patterns observed in low mass stars, and so are not accounting for all the
relevant physical processes. These processes have important implications for
stellar evolution and primordial lithium production in big bang
nucleosynthesis. Because beryllium is destroyed at slightly higher temperatures
than lithium, observations of both light elements can differentiate between the
various proposed depletion mechanisms. Unfortunately, the reaction rate for the
main destruction channel, 9Be(p,alpha)6Li, is uncertain. A level in the
compound nucleus 10B is only 25.7 keV below the reaction's energetic threshold.
The angular momentum and parity of this level are not well known; current
estimates indicate that the resonance entrance channel is either s- or d-wave.
We show that an s-wave resonance can easily increase the reaction rate by an
order of magnitude at temperatures of approximately 4 million K. Observations
of sub-solar mass stars can constrain the strength of the resonance, as can
experimental measurements at lab energies lower than 30 keV.Comment: 9 pages, 1 ps figure, uses AASTeX macros and epsfig.sty. Reference
added, typos corrected. To appear in ApJ, 10 March 199
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