5,118 research outputs found
Competing Antiferromagnetic and Spin-Glass Phases in a Hollandite Structure
We introduce a simple lattice model with Ising spins to explain recent
experimental results on spin freezing in a hollandite-type structure. We argue
that geometrical frustration of the lattice in combination with
nearest-neighbour antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions is responsible for the
appearance of a spin-glass phase in presence of disorder. We investigate this
system numerically using parallel tempering. The model reproduces the magnetic
behaviour of oxides with hollandite structure, such as
and presents a rich phenomenology: in absence of disorder three types of ground
states are possible, depending on the relative strength of the interactions,
namely AFM ordered and two different disordered, macroscopically degenerate
families of ground states. Remarkably, for sets of AFM couplings having an AFM
ground state in the clean system, there exists a critical value of the disorder
for which the ground state is replaced by a spin-glass phase while maintaining
all couplings AFM. To the best of our knowledge this is the only existing model
that presents this kind of transition with short-range AFM interactions. We
argue that this model could be useful to understand the relation between AFM
coupling, disorder and the appearance of a spin-glass phase.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Spitzer/IRS investigation of MIPSGAL 24 microns compact bubbles
The MIPSGAL 24 m Galactic Plane Survey has revealed more than 400
compact-extended objects. Less than 15% of these MIPSGAL bubbles (MBs) are
known and identified as evolved stars. We present Spitzer observations of 4 MBs
obtained with the InfraRed Spectrograph to determine the origin of the mid-IR
emission. We model the mid-IR gas lines and the dust emission to infer physical
conditions within the MBs and consequently their nature. Two MBs show a
dust-poor spectrum dominated by highly ionized gas lines of [\ion{O}{4}],
[\ion{Ne}{3}], [\ion{Ne}{5}], [\ion{S}{3}] and [\ion{S}{4}]. We identify them
as planetary nebulae with a density of a few 10 and a central
white dwarf of K. The mid-IR emission of the two other MBs is
dominated by a dust continuum and lower-excitation lines. Both of them show a
central source in the near-IR (2MASS and IRAC) broadband images. The first
dust-rich MB matches a Wolf-Rayet star of K at 7.5 kpc with dust
components of and K. Its mass is about $10^{-3}\
\rm{M_\odot}10^{-6}\ \rm{M_\odot/yr}. The second
dust-rich MB has recently been suggested as a Be/B[e]/LBV candidate. The gas
lines of [\ion{Fe}{2}] as well as hot continuum components (\sim300\sim1250\sim7510^{-3}\ \rm{M_\odot}10^{-5}\ \rm{M_\odot/yr}$.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Incommensurate, helical spin ground states on the Hollandite lattice
We present a model of classical Heisenberg spins on a Hollandite lattice,
which has been developed to describe the magnetic properties of
-MnO and similar compounds. The model has nearest neighbor
interacting spins, however the strength and the sign of spin-spin interactions
is anisotropic and depends on the nature of the bonds. Our analysis shows that
the Hollandite lattice supports four different incommensurate and helical
magnetic ground states depending on the relative strengths and signs of
spin-spin interactions. We show that the incommensurate helical ground states
appear due to the geometrical frustration present in the model. We demonstrate
that each of the four helical incommensurate magnetic phases are continuously
connected to four different collinear antiferromagnetic ground states as the
strength of spin-spin interaction along some bonds is increased. The present
results give support to the presence of helical states that have been
previously suggested experimentally for Hollandite compounds. We provide an
in-depth analysis of the magnetic form factors for each helical phase and
describe how it could be used to identify each of these phases in neutron
diffraction experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Proper Motions of Young Stellar Outflows in the Mid-Infrared with Spitzer. II. HH 377/Cep E
We have used multiple mid-infrared observations at 4.5 micron obtained with
the Infrared Array Camera, of the compact (~1.4 arcmin) young stellar bipolar
outflow Cep E to measure the proper motion of its brightest condensations. The
images span a period of ~6 yr and have been reprocessed to achieve a higher
angular resolution (~0.8 arcsec) than their normal beam (2 arcsec).
We found that for a distance of 730 pc, the tangential velocities of the
North and South outflow lobes are 62+/-29 and 94+/-6 km/s respectively, and
moving away from the central source roughly along the major axis of the flow. A
simple 3D hydrodynamical simulation of the H2 gas in a precessing outflow
supports this idea. Observations and model confirm that the molecular Hydrogen
gas, traced by the pure rotational transitions, moves at highly supersonic
velocities without being dissociated. This suggests either a very efficient
mechanism to reform H2 molecules along these shocks or the presence of some
other mechanism (e.g. strong magnetic field) that shields the H2 gas.Comment: Accepted for publication in New Journal of Physics (Special Issue
article
The infrared and molecular environment surrounding the Wolf-Rayet star WR130
We present a study of the molecular CO gas and mid/far infrared radiation
arising from the environment surrounding the Wolf-Rayet (W-R) star 130. We use
the multi-wavelength data to analyze the properties of the dense gas and dust,
and its possible spatial correlation with that of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs).
We use CO J=1-0 data from the FCRAO survey as tracer of the molecular gas, and
mid/far infrared data from the recent WISE and Herschel space surveys to study
the dust continuum radiation and to identify a population of associated
candidate YSOs. The spatial distribution of the molecular gas shows a ring-like
structure very similar to that observed in the HI gas, and over the same
velocity interval. The relative spatial distribution of the HI and CO
components is consistent with a photo-dissociation region. We have identified
and characterized four main and distinct molecular clouds that create this
structure. Cold dust is coincident with the dense gas shown in the CO
measurements. We have found several cYSOs that lie along the regions with the
highest gas column density, and suggest that they are spatially correlated with
the shell. These are indicative of regions of star formation induced by the
strong wind and ionization of the WR star.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 6 Tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Deciphering the large-scale environment of radio galaxies in the local Universe: where do they born, grow and die?
The role played by the large-scale environment on the nuclear activity of
radio galaxies (RGs), is still not completely understood. Accretion mode, jet
power and galaxy evolution are connected with their large-scale environment
from tens to hundreds of kpc. Here we present a detailed, statistical, analysis
of the large-scale environment for two samples of RGs up to redshifts
=0.15. The main advantages of our study, with respect to those
already present in the literature, are due to the extremely homogeneous
selection criteria of catalogs adopted to perform our investigation. This is
also coupled with the use of several clustering algorithms. We performed a
direct search of galaxy-rich environments around RGs using them as beacon. To
perform this study we also developed a new method that does not appear to
suffer by a strong dependence as other algorithms. We conclude
that, despite their radio morphological (FR\,I FR\,II) and/or their
optical (HERG LERG) classification, RGs in the local Universe tend to live
in galaxy-rich large-scale environments having similar characteristics and
richness. We highlight that the fraction of FR\,Is-LERG, inhabiting galaxy rich
environments, appears larger than that of FR\,IIs-LERG. We also found that 5
out of 7 FR\,II-HERGs, with 0.11, lie in groups/clusters of
galaxies. However, we recognize that, despite the high level of completeness of
our catalogs, when restricting to the local Universe, the low number of HERGs
(10\% of the total FR\,IIs investigated) prevent us to make a strong
statistical conclusion about this source class.Comment: 21 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical
Journal Supplement Series - pre-proof versio
A Catalog of MIPSGAL Disk and Ring Sources
We present a catalog of 416 extended, resolved, disk- and ring-like objects
as detected in the MIPSGAL 24 micron survey of the Galactic plane. This catalog
is the result of a search in the MIPSGAL image data for generally circularly
symmetric, extended "bubbles" without prior knowledge or expectation of their
physical nature. Most of the objects have no extended counterpart at 8 or 70
micron, with less than 20% detections at each wavelength. For the 54 objects
with central point sources, the sources are nearly always seen in all IRAC
bands. About 70 objects (16%) have been previously identified, with another 35
listed as IRAS sources. Among the identified objects, those with central
sources are mostly listed as emission-line stars, but with other source types
including supernova remnants, luminous blue variables, and planetary nebulae.
The 57 identified objects (of 362) without central sources are nearly all PNe
(~90%).which suggests that a large fraction of the 300+ unidentified objects in
this category are also PNe. These identifications suggest that this is
primarily a catalog of evolved stars. Also included in the catalog are two
filamentary objects that are almost certainly SNRs, and ten unusual compact
extended objects discovered in the search. Two of these show remarkable spiral
structure at both 8 and 24 micron. These are likely background galaxies
previously hidden by the intervening Galactic plane
Tracing the energetics and evolution of dust with Spitzer : a chapter in the history of the Eagle Nebula
Context. The Spitzer GLIMPSE and MIPSGAL surveys have revealed a wealth of details about the Galactic plane in the infrared (IR)with orders of magnitude higher sensitivity, higher resolution, and wider coverage than previous IR observations. The structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) is tightly connected to the countless star-forming regions. We use these surveys to study the energetics and dust properties of the Eagle Nebula (M16), one of the best known star-forming regions.
Aims. We present MIPSGAL observations of M16 at 24 and 70 μm and combine them with previous IR data. The mid-IR image
shows a shell inside the well-known molecular borders of the nebula, as in the ISO and MSX observations from 15 to 21 μm. The morphologies at 24 and 70 μm are quite different, and its color ratio is unusually warm. The far-IR image resembles the one at 8 μm that enhances the structure of the molecular cloud and the "pillars of creation". We use this set of IR data to analyze the dust energetics and properties within this template for Galactic star-forming regions.
Methods. We measure IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) across the entire nebula, both within the inner shell and the photodissociation regions (PDRs).We use the DUSTEM model to fit these SEDs and constrain the dust temperature, the dust-size distribution, and the radiation field intensity relative to that provided by the star cluster NGC 6611 (χ/χ0). Results. Within the PDRs, the inferred dust temperature (~35 K), the dust-size distribution, and the radiation field intensity (χ/χ0 < 1) are consistent with expectations. Within the inner shell, the dust is hotter (~70 K). Moreover, the radiation field required to fit the
SED is larger than that provided by NGC 6611 (χ/χ0 > 1). We quantify two solutions to this problem: (1) The size distribution of the dust in the shell is not that of interstellar dust. There is a significant enhancement of the carbon dust-mass in stochastically heated
very small grains. (2) The dust emission arises from a hot (~10^6 K) plasma where both UV and collisions with electrons contribute to the heating. Within this hypothesis, the shell SED may be fit for a plasma pressure p/k ~ 5 × 10^7 K cm^(−3).
Conclusions. We suggest two interpretations for the M16 inner shell: (1) The shell matter is supplied by photo-evaporative flows arising from dense gas exposed to ionized radiation. The flows renew the shell matter as it is pushed out by the pressure from stellar winds. Within this scenario, we conclude that massive-star forming regions such as M16 have a major impact on the carbon dustsize
distribution. The grinding of the carbon dust could result from shattering in grain-grain collisions within shocks driven by the dynamical interaction between the stellar winds and the shell. (2) We also consider a more speculative scenario where the shell is a supernova remnant. In this case, we would be witnessing a specific time in the evolution of the remnant where the plasma pressure and temperature would enable the remnant to cool through dust emission
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