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