503 research outputs found
Far-infrared imaging of post-AGB stars and (proto)-planetary nebulae with the AKARI Far-Infrared Surveyor
By tracing the distribution of cool dust in the extended envelopes of
post-AGB stars and (proto)-planetary nebulae ((P)PNe) we aim to recover, or
constrain, the mass loss history experienced by these stars in their recent
past. The Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) instrument on board the AKARI satellite
was used to obtain far-infrared maps for a selected sample of post-AGB stars
and (P)PNe. We derived flux densities (aperture photometry) for 13 post-AGB
stars and (P)PNe at four far-infrared wavelengths (60, 90, 140, and 160 um).
Radial (azimuthally averaged) profiles are used to investigate the presence of
extended emission from cool dust. No (detached) extended emission is detected
for any target in our sample at levels significant with respect to background
and cirrus emission. Only IRAS 21046+4739 reveals tentative excess emission
between 30 and 130". Estimates of the total dust and gas mass from the obtained
maps indicate that the envelope masses of these stars should be large in order
to be detected with the AKARI FIS. Imaging with higher sensitivity and higher
spatial resolution is needed to detect and resolve, if present, any cool
compact or extended emission associated with these evolved stars.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (16 pages, 3
figures and 4 tables
The interface between the stellar wind and interstellar medium around R Cassiopeiae revealed by far-infrared imaging
The circumstellar dust shells of intermediate initial-mass (about 1 to 8
solar masses) evolved stars are generated by copious mass loss during the
asymptotic giant branch phase. The density structure of their circumstellar
shell is the direct evidence of mass loss processes, from which we can
investigate the nature of mass loss. We used the AKARI Infrared Astronomy
Satellite and the Spitzer Space Telescope to obtain the surface brightness maps
of an evolved star R Cas at far-infrared wavelengths, since the temperature of
dust decreases as the distance from the star increases and one needs to probe
dust at lower temperatures, i.e., at longer wavelengths. The observed shell
structure and the star's known proper motion suggest that the structure
represents the interface regions between the dusty wind and the interstellar
medium. The deconvolved structures are fitted with the analytic bow shock
structure to determine the inclination angle of the bow shock cone. Our data
show that (1) the bow shock cone of 1 - 5 x 10^-5 solar masses (dust mass) is
inclined at 68 degrees with respect to the plane of the sky, and (2) the dust
temperature in the bow shock cone is raised to more than 20 K by collisional
shock interaction in addition to the ambient interstellar radiation field. By
comparison between the apex vector of the bow shock and space motion vector of
the star we infer that there is a flow of interstellar medium local to R Cas
whose flow velocity is at least 55.6 km/s, consistent with an environment
conducive to dust heating by shock interactions.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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
New Evidence for Mass Loss from delta Cephei from HI 21-cm Line Observations
Recently published Spitzer observations of the classical Cepheid archetype
delta Cephei revealed an extended dusty nebula surrounding this star and its
hot companion. The infrared emission resembles a bow shock aligned with the
direction of space motion of the star, indicating that delta Cep is undergoing
mass-loss through a stellar wind. Here we report HI 21-cm line observations
with the VLA to search for neutral atomic hydrogen associated with this wind.
Our VLA data reveal a spatially extended HI nebula (~13' or 1 pc across)
surrounding the position of delta Cep. The nebula has a head-tail morphology,
consistent with circumstellar ejecta shaped by the interaction between a
stellar wind and the ISM. We directly measure a mass of circumstellar hydrogen
M_HI\approx0.07M_odot, although the total HI mass may be larger. The HI data
imply a stellar wind with an outflow velocity V_o=35.6\pm1.2 km/s and a
mass-loss rate of M_dot=(1.0\pm0.8)x10**-6 M_dot/yr. We have computed
theoretical evolutionary tracks that include mass loss across the instability
strip and show that a mass-loss rate of this magnitude, sustained over the
preceding Cepheid lifetime of delta Cep, could be sufficient to resolve a
significant fraction of the discrepancy between the pulsation and evolutionary
masses for this star. (abridged)Comment: ApJ, in press (January 1, 2012). Version with full resolution figures
available at
http://www.haystack.mit.edu/hay/staff/lmatthew/matthews_deltaCep.pd
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
Sharp lines in the absorption edge of EuTe and PbEuTe in high magnetic fields
The optical absorption spectra in the region of the \fd transition energies
of epitaxial layers of of EuTe and \PbEuTe, grown by molecular beam epitaxy,
were studied using circularly polarized light, in the Faraday configuration.
Under \sigmam polarization a sharp symmetric absorption line (full width at
half-maximum 0.041 eV) emerges at the low energy side of the band-edge
absorption, for magnetic fields intensities greater than 6 T. The absorption
line shows a huge red shift (35 meV/T) with increasing magnetic fields. The
peak position of the absorption line as a function of magnetic field is
dominated by the {\em d-f} exchange interaction of the excited electron and the
\Euion spins in the lattice. The {\em d-f} exchange interaction energy was
estimated to be eV. In \PbEuTe the same absorption line
is detected, but it is broader, due to alloy disorder, indicating that the
excitation is localized within a finite radius. From a comparison of the
absorption spectra in EuTe and \PbEuTe the characteristic radius of the
excitation is estimated to be \AA.Comment: Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (2004, at press
On the loss of stability of periodic oscillations and its relevance to ship capsize
This research revisits the analysis of roll motion and the possible capsize of floating vessels in beam seas. Many analytical investigations of this topic have adopted the softening Duffing equation, which is similar to the ship roll equation of motion. Here we focus on the loss of stability of periodic oscillations and its relevance to ship capsize. Previous researchers have found the thresholds of the saddle-node, flip, and heteroclinic bifurcations. They derived the flip condition from the negative stiffness condition in a Mathieu-type variational equation. In our revisited analysis, we show that this threshold is identical to a pitchfork bifurcation. On the other hand, we simultaneously find that the generated asymmetry solution is unstable due to the limitation of the first order analysis
On the Green's Function of the almost-Mathieu Operator
The square tight-binding model in a magnetic field leads to the
almost-Mathieu operator which, for rational fields, reduces to a
matrix depending on the components , of the wave vector in the
magnetic Brillouinzone. We calculate the corresponding Green's function without
explicit knowledge of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions and obtain analytical
expressions for the diagonal and the first off-diagonal elements; the results
which are consistent with the zero magnetic field case can be used to calculate
several quantities of physical interest (e. g. the density of states over the
entire spectrum, impurity levels in a magnetic field).Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures corrected some minor errors and typo
Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) - First Detection of OH+ in Planetary Nebulae
We report the first detections of OH emission in planetary nebulae (PNe).
As part of an imaging and spectroscopy survey of 11 PNe in the far-IR using the
PACS and SPIRE instruments aboard the Herschel Space Observatory, we performed
a line survey in these PNe over the entire spectral range between 51 and
672m to look for new detections. OH rotational emission lines at
152.99, 290.20, 308.48, and 329.77m were detected in the spectra of three
planetary nebulae: NGC 6445, NGC 6720, and NGC 6781. Excitation temperatures
and column densities derived from these lines are in the range of 27 to 47 K
and 210 to 4 10 cm, respectively. In PNe,
the OH+ rotational line emission appears to be produced in the
photodissociation region (PDR) in these objects. The emission of OH+ is
observed only in PNe with hot central stars (T > 100000 K), suggesting
that high-energy photons may play a role in the OH+ formation and its line
excitation in these objects, as it seems to be the case for ultraluminous
galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in A&
- …