3,686 research outputs found
VLT observations of the asymmetric Etched Hourglass Nebula, MyCn 18
Context. The mechanisms that form extreme bipolar planetary nebulae remain
unclear. Aims. The physical properties, structure, and dynamics of the bipolar
planetary nebula, MyCn 18, are investigated in detail with the aim of
understanding the shaping mechanism and evolutionary history of this object.
Methods. VLT infrared images, VLT ISAAC infrared spectra, and long-slit optical
Echelle spectra are used to investigate MyCn 18. Morpho-kinematic modelling was
used to firmly constrain the structure and kinematics of the source. A
timescale analysis was used to determine the kinematical age of the nebula and
its main components. Results. A spectroscopic study of MyCn 18's central and
offset region reveals the detailed make-up of its nebular composition.
Molecular hydrogen, atomic helium, and Bracket gamma emission are detected from
the central regions of MyCn 18. ISAAC spectra from a slit position along the
narrow waist of the nebula demonstrate that the ionised gas resides closer to
the centre of the nebula than the molecular emission. A kinematical age of the
nebula and its components were obtained by the P-V arrays and timescale
analysis. Conclusions. The structure and kinematics of MyCn 18 are better
understood using an interactive 3-D modelling tool called shape. A dimensional
and timescale analysis of MyCn 18's major components provides a possible
mechanism for the nebula's asymmetry. The putative central star is somewhat
offset from the geometric centre of the nebula, which is thought to be the
result of a binary system. We speculate that the engulfing and destruction of
an exoplanet during the AGB phase may have been a key event in shaping MyCn 18
and generating of its hypersonic knotty outflow.Comment: 15 pages, 3 tables, 13 figures. Accepted for publication by A&
Electric Polarization Induced by a Proper Helical Magnetic Ordering in a Delafossite Multiferroic CuFe1-xAlxO2
Multiferroic CuFe1-xAlxO2 (x=0.02) exhibits a ferroelectric ordering
accompanied by a proper helical magnetic ordering below T=7K under zero
magnetic field. By polarized neutron diffraction and pyroelectric measurements,
we have revealed a one-to-one correspondence between the spin helicity and the
direction of the spontaneous electric polarization. This result indicates that
the spin helicity of the proper helical magnetic ordering is essential for the
ferroelectricity in CuFe1-xAlxO2. The induction of the electric polarization by
the proper helical magnetic ordering is, however, cannot be explained by the
Katsura-Nagaosa-Balatsky model, which successfully explains the
ferroelectricity in the recently explored ferroelectric helimagnets, such as
TbMnO3. We thus conclude that CuFe1-xAlxO2 is a new class of magnetic
ferroelectrics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Anomalous phase of MnP at very low field
Manganese phosphide MnP has been investigated for decades because of its rich
magnetic phase diagram. It is well known that the MnP exhibits the
ferromagnetic phase transition at \Tc=292 K and the helical magnetic phase
below \TN=47 K at zero field. Recently, a novel magnetic phase transition was
observed at K when the magnetic field is lower than 5 Oe. However,
the nature of the new phase has not been illuminated yet. In order to reveal
it, we performed the AC and the DC magnetization measurements for a single
crystal MnP at very low field. A divergent behavior of the real and the
imaginary part of the AC susceptibility and a sharp increase of the DC
magnetization was observed at , indicating the magnetic phase transition
at . Furthermore a peculiar temperature hysteresis was observed: namely,
the magnetization depends on whether cooling sample to the temperature lower
than \TN or not before the measurements. This hysteresis phenomenon suggests
the complicated nature of the new phase and a strong relation between the
magnetic state of the new phase and the helical structure.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
An AKARI Search for Intracluster Dust of Globular Clusters
We report the observations of 12 globular clusters with the AKARI/FIS. Our
goal is to search for emission from the cold dust within clusters. We detect
diffuse emissions toward NGC 6402 and 2808, but the IRAS 100-micron maps show
the presence of strong background radiation. They are likely emitted from the
galactic cirrus, while we cannot rule out the possible association of a bump of
emission with the cluster in the case of NGC 6402. We also detect 28 point-like
sources mainly in the WIDE-S images (90 micron). At least several of them are
not associated with the clusters but background galaxies based on some external
catalogs. We present the SEDs by combining the near-and-mid infrared data
obtained with the IRC if possible. The SEDs suggest that most of the point
sources are background galaxies. We find one candidate of the intracluster dust
which has no mid-infrared counterpart unlike the other point-like sources,
although some features such as its point-like appearance should be explained
before we conclude its intracluster origin. For most of the other clusters, we
have confirmed the lack of the intracluster dust. We evaluate upper limits of
the intracluster dust mass to be between 1.0E-05 and 1.0E-03 solar mass
depending on the dust temperature. The lifetime of the intracluster dust
inferred from the upper limits is shorter than 5 Myr (T=70K) or 50 Myr (35K).
Such short lifetime indicates some mechanism(s) are at work to remove the
intracluster dust. We also discuss its impact on the chemical evolution of
globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ AKARI special issue. 14 pages, 11
figure
In situ observation of morphological change of Pd-based bimetallic nanoparticles synthesized by co-sputtering
The formation process of Pd-based bimetallic nanoparticles synthesized by cosputtering is investigated by performing the in-situ morphological observation using the resistive spectroscopy. The segregation of the metal with lower surface energy on the nanoparticle surface is observed, and it is found that the formation process of the alloy nanoparticles tends to be similar to that of the nanoparticles composed of the core metal even when the atomic fraction of the shell metal is higher than that of the core metal. The co-sputtering process is simulated by the molecular dynamics analysis, and the observed formation process is theoretically confirmed.Nakamura N., Matsuura K., Ishii A.. Journal of Applied Physics. 134(14), 1179 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0149492
AKARI Near- to Mid-Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopic Observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud. I. Bright Point Source List
We carried out a near- to mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations
of the patchy areas in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the Infrared Camera on
board AKARI. Two 100 arcmin2 areas were imaged in 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24
um and also spectroscopically observed in the wavelength range continuously
from 2.5 to 13.4 um. The spectral resolving power (lambda/Delta lambda) is
about 20, 50, and 50 at 3.5, 6.6 and 10.6 um, respectively. Other than the two
100 arcmin2 areas, some patchy areas were imaged and/or spectroscopically
observed as well. In this paper, we overview the observations and present a
list of near- to mid-infrared photometric results, which lists ~ 12,000
near-infrared and ~ 1,800 mid-infrared bright point sources detected in the
observed areas. The 10 sigma limits are 16.50, 16.12, 13.28, 11.26, 9.62, and
8.76 in Vega magnitudes at 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24 um bands, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ. Full
resolution version is available at
http://www-irc.mtk.nao.ac.jp/%7Eyita/smc20100112.pd
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