111 research outputs found
Observation of the critical regime near Anderson localization of light
Diffusive transport is among the most common phenomena in nature [1].
However, as predicted by Anderson [2], diffusion may break down due to
interference. This transition from diffusive transport to localization of waves
should occur for any type of classical or quantum wave in any media as long as
the wavelength becomes comparable to the transport mean free path [3].
The signatures of localization and those of absorption, or bound states, can
however be similar, such that an unequivocal proof of the existence of wave
localization in disordered bulk materials is still lacking. Here we present
measurements of time resolved non-classical diffusion of visible light in
strongly scattering samples, which cannot be explained by absorption, sample
geometry or reduction in transport velocity. Deviations from classical
diffusion increase strongly with decreasing as expected for a phase
transition. This constitutes an experimental realization of the critical regime
in the approach to Anderson localization.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Shocked and Scorched: The Tail of a Tadpole in an Interstellar Pond
We report multi-wavelength observations of the far-infrared source IRAS
20324+4057, including high-resolution optical imaging with HST, and
ground-based near-infrared, millimeter-wave and radio observations. These data
show an extended, limb-brightened, tadpole-shaped nebula with a bright,
compact, cometary nebula located inside the tadpole head. Our molecular line
observations indicate that the Tadpole is predominantly molecular, with a total
gas mass exceeding 3.7 Msun. Our radio continuum imaging, and archival Spitzer
IRAC images, show the presence of additional tadpole-shaped objects in the
vicinity of IRAS 20324+4057 that share a common E-W head-tail orientation: we
propose that these structures are small, dense molecular cores that originated
in the Cygnus cloud and are now being (i) photoevaporated by the ultraviolet
radiation field of the Cyg OB2 No. 8 cluster located to the North-West, and
(ii) shaped by ram pressure of a distant wind source or sources located to the
West, blowing ablated and photoevaporated material from their heads eastwards.
The ripples in the tail of the Tadpole are interpreted in terms of
instabilities at the interface between the ambient wind and the dense medium of
the former.Comment: (accepted by the Astrophysical Journal
Study of Photon Dominated Regions in Cepheus B
Aim: The aim of the paper is to understand the emission from the photon
dominated regions in Cepheus B, estimate the column densities of neutral carbon
in bulk of the gas in Cepheus B and to derive constraints on the factors which
determine the abundance of neutral carbon relative to CO. Methods: This paper
presents 15'x15' fully sampled maps of CI at 492 GHz and 12CO 4-3 observed with
KOSMA at 1' resolution. The new observations have been combined with the FCRAO
12CO 1-0, IRAM-30m 13CO 2-1 and C18O 1-0 data, and far-infrared continuum data
from HIRES/IRAS. The KOSMA-tau spherical PDR model has been used to understand
the CI and CO emission from the PDRs in Cepheus B and to explain the observed
variation of the relative abundances of both C^0 and CO. Results: The emission
from the PDR associated with Cepheus B is primarily at V_LSR between -14 and
-11 km s^-1. We estimate about 23% of the observed CII emission from the
molecular hotspot is due to the ionized gas in the HII region. Over bulk of the
material the C^0 column density does not change significantly, (2.0+-1.4)x10^17
cm^-2, although the CO column density changes by an order of magnitude. The
observed \cbyco abundance ratio varies between 0.06 and 4 in Cepheus B. We find
an anti-correlation of the observed C/CO abundance ratio with the observed
hydrogen column density, which holds even when all previous observations
providing C/CO ratios are included. Here we show that this observed variation
of C/CO abundance with total column density can be explained only by clumpy
PDRs consisting of an ensemble of clumps. At high H2 column densities high mass
clumps, which exhibit low C/CO abundance, dominate, while at low column
densities, low mass clumps with high C/CO abundance dominate.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Soil chemical legacies trigger speciesâspecific and contextâdependent root responses in later arriving plants
Abstract Soil legacies play an important role for the creation of priority effects. However, we still poorly understand to what extent the metabolome found in the soil solution of a plant community is conditioned by its species composition and whether soil chemical legacies affect subsequent species during assembly. To test these hypotheses, we collected soil solutions from forb or grass communities and evaluated how the metabolome of these soil solutions affected the growth, biomass allocation and functional traits of a forb ( Dianthus deltoides ) and a grass species ( Festuca rubra ). Results showed that the metabolomes found in the soil solutions of forb and grass communities differed in composition and chemical diversity. While soil chemical legacies did not have any effect on F . rubra , root foraging by D . deltoides decreased when plants received the soil solution from a grass or a forb community. Structural equation modelling showed that reduced soil exploration by D . deltoides arose via either a root growthâdependent pathway (forb metabolome) or a root traitâdependent pathway (grass metabolome). Reduced root foraging was not connected to a decrease in total N uptake. Our findings reveal that soil chemical legacies can create belowground priority effects by affecting root foraging in later arriving plants
The Photon Dominated Region in the IC 348 molecular cloud
In this paper we discuss the physical conditions of clumpy nature in the IC
348 molecular cloud.
We combine new observations of fully sampled maps in [C I] at 492 GHz and
12CO 4--3, taken with the KOSMA 3 m telescope at about 1' resolution, with
FCRAO data of 12CO 1--0, 13CO 1--0 and far-infrared continuum data observed by
HIRES/IRAS. To derive the physical parameters of the region we analyze the
three different line ratios. A first rough estimate of abundance is obtained
from an LTE analysis. To understand the [C I] and CO emission from the PDRs in
IC 348, we use a clumpy PDR model. With an ensemble of identical clumps, we
constrain the total mass from the observed absolute intensities. Then we apply
a more realistic clump distribution model with a power law index of 1.8 for
clump-mass spectrum and a power law index of 2.3 for mass-size relation.
We provide detailed fits to observations at seven representative positions in
the cloud, revealing clump densities between 4 10 cm and 4
10 cm and C/CO column density ratios between 0.02 and 0.26. The
derived FUV flux from the model fit is consistent with the field calculated
from FIR continuum data, varying between 2 and 100 Draine units across the
cloud. We find that both an ensemble of identical clumps and an ensemble with a
power law clump mass distribution produce line intensities which are in good
agreement (within a factor ~ 2) with the observed intensities. The models
confirm the anti-correlation between the C/CO abundance ratio and the hydrogen
column density found in many regions.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted by A&
Correlation between the spatial distribution of circumstellar disks and massive stars in the young open cluster NGC 6611. II: Cluster members selected with Spitzer/IRAC
Context: the observations of the proplyds in the Orion Nebula Cluster,
showing clear evidence of ongoing photoevaporation, have provided a clear proof
about the role of the externally induced photoevaporation in the evolution of
circumstellar disks. NGC 6611 is an open cluster suitable to study disk
photoevaporation, thanks to its large population of massive members and of
stars with disk. In a previous work, we obtained evidence of the influence of
the strong UV field generated by the massive cluster members on the evolution
of disks around low-mass Pre-Main Sequence members. That work was based on a
multi-band BVIJHK and X-ray catalog purposely compiled to select the cluster
members with and without disk. Aims: in this paper we complete the list of
candidate cluster members, using data at longer wavelengths obtained with
Spitzer/IRAC, and we revisit the issue of the effects of UV radiation on the
evolution of disks in NGC 6611. Methods: we select the candidate members with
disks of NGC 6611, in a field of view of 33'x34' centered on the cluster, using
IRAC color-color diagrams and suitable reddening-free color indices. Besides,
using the X-ray data to select Class III cluster members, we estimate the disks
frequency vs. the intensity of the incident radiation emitted by massive
members. Results: we identify 458 candidate members with circumstellar disks,
among which 146 had not been revealed in our previous work. Comparing of the
various color indices we used to select the cluster members with disk, we claim
that they detect the excesses due to the emission of the same physical region
of the disk: the inner rim at the dust sublimation radius. Our new results
confirm that UV radiation from massive stars affects the evolution of nearby
circumstellar disks.Comment: Accepted for publication at Astronomy & Astrophysic
Disruption of a Proto-Planetary Disk by the Black Hole at the Milky Way Centre
Recently, an ionized cloud of gas was discovered plunging toward the
supermassive black hole, SgrA*, at the centre of the Milky Way. The cloud is
being tidally disrupted along its path to closest approach at ~3100
Schwarzschild radii from the black hole. Here, we show that the observed
properties of this cloud of gas can naturally be produced by a proto-planetary
disk surrounding a low-mass star, which was scattered from the observed ring of
young stars orbiting SgrA*. As the young star approaches the black hole, its
disk experiences both photo-evaporation and tidal disruption, producing a
cloud. Our model implies that planets form in the Galactic centre, and that
tidal debris from proto-planetary disks can flag low mass stars which are
otherwise too faint to be detected.Comment: Accepted to Nature Communications; new Figure 4b provides predicted
Br-gamma emission as a function of tim
Neutral material around the B[e] supergiant star LHA 115-S 65: An outflowing disk or a detached Keplerian rotating disk?
B[e] supergiants are surrounded by large amounts of hydrogen neutral
material, traced by the emission in the optical [OI] lines. This neutral
material is most plausibly located within their dense, cool circumstellar
disks, which are formed from the (probably non-spherically symmetric) wind
material released by the star. Neither the formation mechanism nor the
resulting structure and internal kinematics of these disks (or disk-like
outflows) are well known. However, rapid rotation, lifting the material from
the equatorial surface region, seems to play a fundamental role. The B[e]
supergiant LHA 115-S 65 (S65) in the SMC is one of the two most rapidly
rotating B[e] stars known. Its almost edge-on orientation allows a detailed
kinematical study of its optically thin forbidden emission lines. With a focus
on the [OI] lines, we test the two plausible disk scenarios: the outflowing and
the Keplerian rotating disk. Based on high- and low-resolution optical spectra,
we investigate the density and temperature structure in those disk regions that
are traced by the [OI] emission to constrain the disk sizes and mass fluxes
needed to explain the observed [OI] line luminosities. In addition, we compute
the emerging line profiles expected for either an outflowing disk or a
Keplerian rotating disk, which can directly be compared to the observed
profiles. Both disk scenarios deliver reasonably good fits to the line
luminosities and profiles of the [OI] lines. Nevertheless, the Keplerian disk
model seems to be the more realistic one, because it also agrees with the
kinematics derived from the large number of additional lines in the spectrum.
As additional support for the presence of a high-density, gaseous disk, the
spectrum shows two very intense and clearly double-peaked [CaII] lines. We
discuss a possible disk-formation mechanism, and similarities between S65 and
the group of LBVs.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Spatially resolved H2 emission from the disk around T Tau N
We report the detection of quiescent H2 emission in a spatially resolved
ring-like structure within 100 AU of T Tau N. We present evidence to show that
the emission most likely arises from shocks in the atmosphere of a nearly
face-on disk around T Tau N. Using high spatial resolution 3D spectroscopic
K-band data, we trace the spatial distribution of several H2 NIR rovibrational
lines in the vicinity of T Tau N. We detect weak H2 emission from the v=1-0
S(0), S(1), Q(1) lines and the v=2-1 S(1) line in a ring-like structure around
T Tau N between 0.1'' (~15 AU) and 0.7'' (~100AU) from the star. The v=1-0 S(0)
and v=2-1 S(1) lines are detected only in the outer parts of the ring
structure. Closer to the star, the strong continuum limits our sensitivity to
these lines. The total flux of the v=1-0 S(1) line is 1.8 *10^{-14} ergs
s^{-1}cm^{-2}, similar to previous measurements of H2 in circumstellar disks.
The velocity of the H2 emitting gas around T Tau N is consistent with the rest
velocity of the star, and the H2 does not seem to be part of a collimated
outflow. Both shocks impinging on the surface of a disk and irradiation of a
disk by UV-photons and X-rays from the central star are plausible candidates
for the H2 excitation mechanism. However, irradiation should not create a large
degree of excitation at radii larger than 20 AU. Most likely the H2 emission
arises in the atmosphere of a flared disk with radius 85-100 AU and mass
0.005-0.5Msun, where the gas is excited by shocks created when a wide-angle
wind impinges on the disk. The H2 emission could also originate from shock
excitation in the cavity walls of an envelope, but this requires an unusually
high velocity of the wide-angle wind from T Tau N.Comment: Accepted by A&
Submillimeter Line Emission from LMC 30Dor: The Impact of a Starburst on a Low Metallicity Environment
(Abridged) The 30 Dor region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the most
vigorous star-forming region in the Local Group. Star formation in this region
is taking place in low-metallicity molecular gas that is exposed to an extreme
far--ultraviolet (FUV) radiation field powered by the massive compact star
cluster R136. We used the NANTEN2 telescope to obtain high-angular resolution
observations of the 12CO 4-3, 7-6, and 13CO 4-3 rotational lines and [CI]
3P1-3P0 and 3P2-3P1 fine-structure submillimeter transitions in 30Dor-10, the
brightest CO and FIR-emitting cloud at the center of the 30Dor region. We
derived the properties of the low-metallicity molecular gas using an
excitation/radiative transfer code and found a self-consistent solution of the
chemistry and thermal balance of the gas in the framework of a clumpy cloud PDR
model. We compared the derived properties with those in the N159W region, which
is exposed to a more moderate far-ultraviolet radiation field compared with
30Dor-10, but has similar metallicity. We also combined our CO detections with
previously observed low-J CO transitions to derive the CO spectral-line energy
distribution in 30Dor-10 and N159W. The separate excitation analysis of the
submm CO lines and the neutral carbon fine structure lines shows that the mid-J
CO and [CI]-emitting gas in the 30Dor-10 region has a temperature of about 160
K and a H2 density of about 10^4 cm^-3. We find that the molecular gas in
30Dor-10 is warmer and has a lower beam filling factor compared to that of
N159W, which might be a result of the effect of a strong FUV radiation field
heating and disrupting the low--metallicity molecular gas. We use a clumpy PDR
model (including the [CII] line intensity reported in the literature) to
constrain the FUV intensity to about chi_0 ~ 3100 and an average total H
density of the clump ensemble of about 10^5 cm^-3 in 30Dor-10.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
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