1,624 research outputs found
A spectral line survey of Orion KL in the bands 486-492 and 541-577 GHz with the Odin satellite I. The observational data
Spectral line surveys are useful since they allow identification of new
molecules and new lines in uniformly calibrated data sets. Nonetheless, large
portions of the sub-millimetre spectral regime remain unexplored due to severe
absorptions by H2O and O2 in the terrestrial atmosphere. The purpose of the
measurements presented here is to cover wavelength regions at and around 0.55
mm -- regions largely unobservable from the ground. Using the Odin
astronomy/aeronomy satellite, we performed the first spectral survey of the
Orion KL molecular cloud core in the bands 486--492 and 541--576 GHz with
rather uniform sensitivity (22--25 mK baseline noise). Odin's 1.1 m size
telescope, equipped with four cryo-cooled tuneable mixers connected to broad
band spectrometers, was used in a satellite position-switching mode. Two mixers
simultaneously observed different 1.1 GHz bands using frequency steps of 0.5
GHz (25 hours each). An on-source integration time of 20 hours was achieved for
most bands. The entire campaign consumed ~1100 orbits, each containing one hour
of serviceable astro-observation. We identified 280 spectral lines from 38
known interstellar molecules (including isotopologues) having intensities in
the range 80 to 0.05 K. An additional 64 weak lines remain unidentified. Apart
from the ground state rotational 1(1,0)--1(0,1) transitions of ortho-H2O, H218O
and H217O, the high energy 6(2,4)--7(1,7) line of para-H2O and the
HDO(2,0,2--1,1,1) line have been observed, as well as the 1,0--0,1 lines from
NH3 and its rare isotopologue 15NH3. We suggest assignments for some
unidentified features, notably the new interstellar molecules ND and SH-.
Severe blends have been detected in the line wings of the H218O, H217O and 13CO
lines changing the true linewidths of the outflow emission.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables, accepeted for publication in
Astronomy and Astrophysics 30 August 200
The Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) I. Data Overview and Analysis Demonstration with NGC 6781
This is the first of a series of investigations into far-IR characteristics
of 11 planetary nebulae (PNs) under the Herschel Space Observatory Open Time 1
program, Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS). Using the HerPlaNS data
set, we look into the PN energetics and variations of the physical conditions
within the target nebulae. In the present work, we provide an overview of the
survey, data acquisition and processing, and resulting data products. We
perform (1) PACS/SPIRE broadband imaging to determine the spatial distribution
of the cold dust component in the target PNs and (2) PACS/SPIRE
spectral-energy-distribution (SED) and line spectroscopy to determine the
spatial distribution of the gas component in the target PNs. For the case of
NGC 6781, the broadband maps confirm the nearly pole-on barrel structure of the
amorphous carbon-richdust shell and the surrounding halo having temperatures of
26-40 K. The PACS/SPIRE multi-position spectra show spatial variations of
far-IR lines that reflect the physical stratification of the nebula. We
demonstrate that spatially-resolved far-IR line diagnostics yield the (T_e,
n_e) profiles, from which distributions of ionized, atomic, and molecular gases
can be determined. Direct comparison of the dust and gas column mass maps
constrained by the HerPlaNS data allows to construct an empirical gas-to-dust
mass ratio map, which shows a range of ratios with the median of 195+-110. The
present analysis yields estimates of the total mass of the shell to be 0.86
M_sun, consisting of 0.54 M_sun of ionized gas, 0.12 M_sun of atomic gas, 0.2
M_sun of molecular gas, and 4 x 10^-3 M_sun of dust grains. These estimates
also suggest that the central star of about 1.5 M_sun initial mass is
terminating its PN evolution onto the white dwarf cooling track.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Self-Consistent Quasi-Particle RPA for the Description of Superfluid Fermi Systems
Self-Consistent Quasi-Particle RPA (SCQRPA) is for the first time applied to
a more level pairing case. Various filling situations and values for the
coupling constant are considered. Very encouraging results in comparison with
the exact solution of the model are obtained. The nature of the low lying mode
in SCQRPA is identified. The strong reduction of the number fluctuation in
SCQRPA vs BCS is pointed out. The transition from superfluidity to the normal
fluid case is carefully investigated.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures and 1 table, submitted to Phys. Rev.
The close circumstellar environment of the semi-regular S-type star Pi^1 Gruis
We study the close circumstellar environment of the nearby S-type star Pi^1
Gruis using high spatial-resolution, mid-infrared observations from the
ESO/VLTI. Spectra and visibilities were obtained with the MIDI interferometer
on the VLT Auxiliary Telescopes. The cool M5III giant Beta Gruis was used as
bright primary calibrator, and a dedicated spectro-interferometric study was
undertaken to determine its angular diameter accurately. The MIDI measurements
were fitted with the 1D numerical radiative transfer code DUSTY to determine
the dust shell parameters of Pi^1 Gruis. Taking into account the low spatial
extension of the model in the 8-9 m spectral band for the smallest
projected baselines, we consider the possibility of a supplementary molecular
shell. The MIDI visibility and phase data are mostly dominated by the spherical
21 mas (694 Rsol) central star, while the extended dusty environment is
over-resolved even with the shortest baselines. No obvious departure from
spherical symmetry is found on the milliarcsecond scale. The
spectro-interferometric observations are well-fitted by an optically thin
(tau(dust)<0.01 in the band) dust shell that is located at about 14 stellar
radii with a typical temperature of 700 K and composed of 70% silicate and 30%
of amorphous alumina grains. An optically thin (tau(mol)<0.1 in the N band)
H2O+SiO molecular shell extending from the photosphere of the star up to 4.4
stellar radii with a typical temperature of 1000 K is added to the model to
improve the fit in the 8-9 m spectral band. We discuss the probable binary
origin of asymmetries as revealed by millimetric observations
The BLAST Survey of the Vela Molecular Cloud: Physical Properties of the Dense Cores in Vela-D
The Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) carried out
a 250, 350 and 500 micron survey of the galactic plane encompassing the Vela
Molecular Ridge, with the primary goal of identifying the coldest dense cores
possibly associated with the earliest stages of star formation. Here we present
the results from observations of the Vela-D region, covering about 4 square
degrees, in which we find 141 BLAST cores. We exploit existing data taken with
the Spitzer MIPS, IRAC and SEST-SIMBA instruments to constrain their
(single-temperature) spectral energy distributions, assuming a dust emissivity
index beta = 2.0. This combination of data allows us to determine the
temperature, luminosity and mass of each BLAST core, and also enables us to
separate starless from proto-stellar sources. We also analyze the effects that
the uncertainties on the derived physical parameters of the individual sources
have on the overall physical properties of starless and proto-stellar cores,
and we find that there appear to be a smooth transition from the pre- to the
proto-stellar phase. In particular, for proto-stellar cores we find a
correlation between the MIPS24 flux, associated with the central protostar, and
the temperature of the dust envelope. We also find that the core mass function
of the Vela-D cores has a slope consistent with other similar (sub)millimeter
surveys.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Data and maps
are available at http://blastexperiment.info
Graphite and Hexagonal Boron-Nitride Possess the Same Interlayer Distance. Why?
Graphite and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are two prominent members of the
family of layered materials possessing a hexagonal lattice. While graphite has
non-polar homo-nuclear C-C intra-layer bonds, h-BN presents highly polar B-N
bonds resulting in different optimal stacking modes of the two materials in
bulk form. Furthermore, the static polarizabilities of the constituent atoms
considerably differ from each other suggesting large differences in the
dispersive component of the interlayer bonding. Despite these major differences
both materials present practically identical interlayer distances. To
understand this finding, a comparative study of the nature of the interlayer
bonding in both materials is presented. A full lattice sum of the interactions
between the partially charged atomic centers in h-BN results in vanishingly
small monopolar electrostatic contributions to the interlayer binding energy.
Higher order electrostatic multipoles, exchange, and short-range correlation
contributions are found to be very similar in both materials and to almost
completely cancel out by the Pauli repulsions at physically relevant interlayer
distances resulting in a marginal effective contribution to the interlayer
binding. Further analysis of the dispersive energy term reveals that despite
the large differences in the individual atomic polarizabilities the
hetero-atomic B-N C6 coefficient is very similar to the homo-atomic C-C
coefficient in the hexagonal bulk form resulting in very similar dispersive
contribution to the interlayer binding. The overall binding energy curves of
both materials are thus very similar predicting practically the same interlayer
distance and very similar binding energies.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, 2 table
Mini Black Holes in the first year of the LHC
The experimental signatures of TeV-mass black hole (BH) formation in heavy
ion collisions at the LHC is examined. We find that the black hole production
results in a complete disappearance of all very high ({} GeV)
back-to-back correlated di-jets of total mass {}TeV. We show
that the subsequent Hawking-decay produces multiple hard mono-jets and discuss
their detection. We study the possibility of cold black hole remnant (BHR)
formation of mass and the experimental distinguishability of
scenarios with BHRs and those with complete black hole decay. Due to the rather
moderate luminosity in the first year of LHC running the least chance for the
observation of BHs or BHRs at this early stage will be by ionizing tracks in
the ALICE TPC. Finally we point out that stable BHRs would be interesting
candidates for energy production by conversion of mass to Hawking radiation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Systematic and Controllable Negative, Zero, and Positive Thermal Expansion in Cubic Zr1âxSnxMo2O8
We describe the synthesis and characterization of a family of materials, Zr1âxSnxMo2O8 (0 < x < 1), whose isotropic thermal expansion coefficient can be systematically varied from negative to zero to positive values. These materials allow tunable expansion in a single phase as opposed to using a composite system. Linear thermal expansion coefficients, αl, ranging from â7.9(2) Ă 10â6 to +5.9(2) Ă 10â6 Kâ1 (12â500 K) can be achieved across the series; contraction and expansion limits are of the same order of magnitude as the expansion of typical ceramics. We also report the various structures and thermal expansion of âcubicâ SnMo2O8, and we use time- and temperature-dependent diffraction studies to describe a series of phase transitions between different ordered and disordered states of this material
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