2,525 research outputs found
Spitzer reveals what's behind Orion's Bar
We present Spitzer Space Telescope observations of 11 regions SE of the
Bright Bar in the Orion Nebula, along a radial from the exciting star
theta1OriC, extending from 2.6 to 12.1'. Our Cycle 5 programme obtained deep
spectra with matching IRS short-high (SH) and long-high (LH) aperture grid
patterns. Most previous IR missions observed only the inner few arcmin. Orion
is the benchmark for studies of the ISM particularly for elemental abundances.
Spitzer observations provide a unique perspective on the Ne and S abundances by
virtue of observing the dominant ionization states of Ne (Ne+, Ne++) and S
(S++, S3+) in Orion and H II regions in general. The Ne/H abundance ratio is
especially well determined, with a value of (1.01+/-0.08)E-4. We obtained
corresponding new ground-based spectra at CTIO. These optical data are used to
estimate the electron temperature, electron density, optical extinction, and
the S+/S++ ratio at each of our Spitzer positions. That permits an adjustment
for the total gas-phase S abundance because no S+ line is observed by Spitzer.
The gas-phase S/H abundance ratio is (7.68+/-0.30)E-6. The Ne/S abundance ratio
may be determined even when the weaker hydrogen line, H(7-6) here, is not
measured. The mean value, adjusted for the optical S+/S++ ratio, is Ne/S =
13.0+/-0.6. We derive the electron density versus distance from theta1OriC for
[S III] and [S II]. Both distributions are for the most part decreasing with
increasing distance. A dramatic find is the presence of high-ionization Ne++
all the way to the outer optical boundary ~12' from theta1OriC. This IR result
is robust, whereas the optical evidence from observations of high-ionization
species (e.g. O++) at the outer optical boundary suffers uncertainty because of
scattering of emission from the much brighter inner Huygens Region.Comment: 60 pages, 16 figures, 10 tables. MNRAS accepte
14N overtone NMR spectra under magic angle spinning: experiments and numerically exact simulation
It was recently shown that high resolution 14N overtone NMR spectra can be obtained directly under magic angle spinning (MAS) conditions [L. A. O\u2019Dell and C. I. Ratcliffe, Chem. Phys. Lett. 514, 168 (2011)]10.1016/j.cplett.2011.08.030. Preliminary experimental results showed narrowed powder pattern widths, a frequency shift that is dependent on the MAS rate, and an apparent absence of spinning sidebands, observations which appeared to be inconsistent with previous theoretical treatments. Herein, we reproduce these effects using numerically exact simulations that take into account the full nuclear spin Hamiltonian. Under sample spinning, the 14N overtone signal is split into five (0, \ub11, \ub12) overtone sidebands separated by the spinning frequency. For a powder sample spinning at the magic angle, the +2\u3c9r sideband is dominant while the others show significantly lower signal intensities. The resultant MAS powder patterns show characteristic quadrupolar lineshapes from which the 14N quadrupolar parameters and isotropic chemical shift can be determined. Spinning the sample at other angles is shown to alter both the shapes and relative intensities of the five overtone sidebands, with MAS providing the benefit of averaging dipolar couplings and shielding anisotropy. To demonstrate the advantages of this experimental approach, we present the 14N overtone MAS spectrum obtained from L-histidine, in which powder patterns from all three nitrogen sites are clearly resolved.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye
Explosive Disintegration of a Massive Young Stellar System in Orion
Young massive stars in the center of crowded star clusters are expected to
undergo close dynamical encounters that could lead to energetic, explosive
events. However, there has so far never been clear observational evidence of
such a remarkable phenomenon. We here report new interferometric observations
made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) that indicate the well known enigmatic
wide-angle outflow located in the Orion BN/KL star-forming region to have been
produced by such a violent explosion during the disruption of a massive young
stellar system, and that this was caused by a close dynamical interaction about
500 years ago. This outflow thus belongs to a totally different family of
molecular flows which is not related to the classical bipolar flows that are
generated by stars during their formation process. Our molecular data allow us
to create a 3D view of the debris flow and to link this directly to the well
known Orion H "fingers" farther outComment: Accepted by ApJ Letters The 3D movie can be found in:
ftp://ftp.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/outgoing/lzapata/movie.gi
Integral field spectroscopy of selected areas of the Bright Bar and Orion-S cloud in the Orion Nebula
We present integral field spectroscopy of two selected zones in the Orion
Nebula obtained with the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer (PMAS),
covering the optical spectral range from 3500 to 7200 A and with a spatial
resolution of 1". The observed zones are located on the prominent Bright Bar
and on the brightest area at the northeast of the Orion South cloud, both
containing remarkable ionization fronts. We obtain maps of emission line fluxes
and ratios, electron density and temperatures, and chemical abundances. We
study the ionization structure and morphology of both fields, which ionization
fronts show different inclination angles with respect to the plane of the sky.
We find that the maps of electron density, O+/H+ and O/H ratios show a rather
similar structure. We interpret this as produced by the strong dependence on
density of the [OII] lines used to derive the O+ abundance, and that our
nominal values of electron density-derived from the [SII] line ratio-may be
slightly higher than the appropriate value for the O+ zone. We measure the
faint recombination lines of OII in the field at the northeast of the Orion
South cloud allowing us to explore the so-called abundance discrepancy problem.
We find a rather constant abundance discrepancy across the field and a mean
value similar to that determined in other areas of the Orion Nebula, indicating
that the particular physical conditions of this ionization front do not
contribute to this discrepancy.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Dynamical Instability of a Rotating Dipolar Bose-Einstein Condensate
We calculate the hydrodynamic solutions for a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate
with long-range dipolar interactions in a rotating, elliptical harmonic trap,
and analyse their dynamical stability. The static solutions and their regimes
of instability vary non-trivially on the strength of the dipolar interactions.
We comprehensively map out this behaviour, and in particular examine the
experimental routes towards unstable dynamics, which, in analogy to
conventional condensates, may lead to vortex lattice formation. Furthermore, we
analyse the centre of mass and breathing modes of a rotating dipolar
condensate.Comment: 4 pages, including 2 figure
Young peoplesâ reflections on what teachers think about family obligations that conflict with school: A focus on the non-normative roles of young caring and language brokering
In âWesternâ contexts school attendance is central for an âidealâ childhood. However, many young people engage with home roles that conflict with school expectations. This paper explores perceptions of that process in relation two home activities - language brokering and young caring. We interviewed 46 young people and asked them to reflect on what the teacher would think when a child had to miss school to help a family member. This paper discusses the young peopleâs overall need to keep their out-of-school lives private from their teachers
Atomic Bloch-Zener oscillations for sensitive force measurements in a cavity
Cold atoms in an optical lattice execute Bloch-Zener oscillations when they
are accelerated. We have performed a theoretical investigation into the case
when the optical lattice is the intra-cavity field of a driven Fabry-Perot
resonator. When the atoms oscillate inside the resonator, we find that their
back-action modulates the phase and intensity of the light transmitted through
the cavity. We solve the coupled atom-light equations self-consistently and
show that, remarkably, the Bloch period is unaffected by this back-action. The
transmitted light provides a way to observe the oscillation continuously,
allowing high precision measurements to be made with a small cloud of atoms.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Updated version including cavity heating effect
Terahertz spectroscopy of electromagnons in Eu_{1-x}Y_xMnO_3
Dielectric permittivity spectra of yttrium-doped EuMnO in the composition
range 0 =< x =< 0.5 have been investigated in the terahertz frequency range.
Magnetoelectric contributions to the permittivity were observed in all
compositions for ac electric fields parallel to the crystallographic a-axis.
Well defined electromagnons exist for x >= 0.2 close to \nu ~ 20 cm^{-1} and
with dielectric strength strongly increasing on doping. In addition to
electromagnons, a broad contribution of magnetoelectric origin is observed for
all compositions. For Eu_{0.8}Y_{0.2}MnO_3 the electromagnons can be suppressed
by external magnetic fields which induce a canted antiferromagnetic phase.
Magnetoelectric effects in the different doping regimes are discussed in
detail.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures include
Modelling the Warm H2 Infrared Emission of the Helix Nebula Cometary Knots
Molecular hydrogen emission is commonly observed in planetary nebulae. Images
taken in infrared H2 emission lines show that at least part of the molecular
emission is produced inside the ionised region. In the best-studied case, the
Helix nebula, the H2 emission is produced inside cometary knots (CKs),
comet-shaped structures believed to be clumps of dense neutral gas embedded
within the ionised gas. Most of the H2 emission of the CKs seems to be produced
in a thin layer between the ionised diffuse gas and the neutral material of the
knot, in a mini photodissociation region (PDR). However, PDR models published
so far cannot fully explain all the characteristics of the H2 emission of the
CKs. In this work, we use the photoionisation code \textsc{Aangaba} to study
the H2 emission of the CKs, particularly that produced in the interface H^+/H^0
of the knot, where a significant fraction of the H2 1-0S(1) emission seems to
be produced. Our results show that the production of molecular hydrogen in such
a region may explain several characteristics of the observed emission,
particularly the high excitation temperature of the H2 infrared lines. We find
that the temperature derived from H2 observations even of a single knot, will
depend very strongly on the observed transitions, with much higher temperatures
derived from excited levels. We also proposed that the separation between the
H_alpha and NII peak emission observed in the images of CKs may be an effect of
the distance of the knot from the star, since for knots farther from the
central star the NII line is produced closer to the border of the CK than
H_alpha.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. The paper contains 12 pages, 9 figures, and 3
table
Determination of the Physical Conditions of the Knots in the Helix Nebula from Optical and Infrared Observations
[Abridged] We use new HST and archived images to clarify the nature of the
knots in the Helix Nebula. We employ published far infrared spectrophotometry
and existing 2.12 micron images to establish that the population distribution
of the lowest ro-vibrational states of H2 is close to the distribution of a gas
in LTE at 988 +- 119 K. We derive a total flux from the nebula in H2 lines and
compare this with the power available from the central star for producing this
radiation. We establish that neither soft X-rays nor FUV radiation has enough
energy to power the H2 radiation, only the stellar EUV radiation shortward of
912 Angstrom does. Advection of material from the cold regions of the knots
produces an extensive zone where both atomic and molecular hydrogen are found,
allowing the H2 to directly be heated by Lyman continuum radiation, thus
providing a mechanism that can explain the excitation temperature and surface
brightness of the cusps and tails. New images of the knot 378-801 reveal that
the 2.12 micron cusp and tail lie immediately inside the ionized atomic gas
zone. This firmly establishes that the "tail" structure is an ionization
bounded radiation shadow behind the optically thick core of the knot. A unique
new image in the HeII 4686 Angstrom line fails to show any emission from knots
that might have been found in the He++ core of the nebula. We also re-examined
high signal-to-noise ratio ground-based telescope images of this same inner
region and found no evidence of structures that could be related to knots.Comment: Astronomical Journal, in press. Some figures are shown at reduced
resolution. A full resolution version is available at
http://www.ifront.org/wiki/Helix_Nebula_2007_Pape
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