77 research outputs found
Search for the Infrared Emission Features from Deuterated Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
We report the results of a search for emission features from interstellar
deuterated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the 4um region with the
Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard AKARI. No significant excess emission is seen in
4.3-4.7um in the spectra toward the Orion Bar and M17 after the subtraction of
line emission from the ionized gas. A small excess of emission remains at
around 4.4 and 4.65um, but the ratio of their intensity to that of the band
emission from PAHs at 3.3-3.5um is estimated as 2-3%. This is an order of
magnitude smaller than the values previously reported and also those predicted
by the model of deuterium depletion onto PAHs. Since the subtraction of the
ionized gas emission introduces an uncertainty, the deuterated PAH features are
also searched for in the reflection nebula GN 18.14.0, which does not show
emission lines from ionized gas. We obtain a similar result that excess
emission in the 4um region, if present, is about 2% of the PAH band emission in
the 3um region. The present study does not find evidence for the presence of
the large amount of deuterated PAHs that the depletion model predicts. The
results are discussed in the context of deuterium depletion in the interstellar
medium.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Ap
Akari/irc near-infrared spectral atlas of galactic planetary nebulae
Near-infrared (2.5–5.0 μm) low-resolution (λ/Δλ ~ 100) spectra of 72 Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) were obtained with the Infrared Camera (IRC) in the post-helium phase. The IRC, equipped with a 1' × 1' window for spectroscopy of a point source, was capable of obtaining near-infrared spectra in a slit-less mode without any flux loss due to a slit. The spectra show emission features including hydrogen recombination lines and the 3.3–3.5 μm hydrocarbon features. The intensity and equivalent width of the emission features were measured by spectral fitting. We made a catalog providing unique information on the investigation of the near-infrared emission of PNe. In this paper, details of the observations and characteristics of the catalog are describe
Unusual Carbonaceous Dust Distribution in PN G095.2+00.7
We investigate the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon features in the young
Galactic planetary nebula PN G095.2+00.7 based on mid-infrared observations.
The near- to mid-infrared spectra obtained with the AKARI/IRC and the
Spitzer/IRS show the PAH features as well as the broad emission feature at 12
{\mu}m usually seen in proto-planetary nebulae (pPNe). The spatially resolved
spectra obtained with Subaru/COMICS suggest that the broad emission around 12
{\mu}m is distributed in a shell-like structure, but the unidentified infrared
band at 11.3 {\mu}m is selectively enhanced at the southern part of the nebula.
The variation can be explained by a difference in the amount of the UV
radiation to excite PAHs, and does not necessarily require the chemical
processing of dust grains and PAHs. It suggests that the UV self-extinction is
important to understand the mid-infrared spectral features. We propose a
mechanism which accounts for the evolutionary sequence of the mid-infrared dust
features seen in a transition from pPNe to PNe.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Ionization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Molecules around the Herbig Ae/Be environment
We present the results of mid-infrared N-band spectroscopy of the Herbig
Ae/Be system MWC1080 using the Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer
(COMICS) on board the 8m Subaru Telescope. The MWC1080 has a geometry such that
the diffuse nebulous structures surround the central Herbig B0 type star. We
focus on the properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and PAH-like
species, which are thought to be the carriers of the unidentified infrared
(UIR) bands in such environments. A series of UIR bands at 8.6, 11.0, 11.2, and
12.7um is detected throughout the system and we find a clear increase in the
UIR 11.0um/11.2um ratio in the vicinity of the central star. Since the UIR
11.0um feature is attributed to a solo-CH out-of-plane wagging mode of cationic
PAHs while the UIR 11.2um feature to a solo-CH out-of-plane bending mode of
neutral PAHs, the large 11.0um/11.2um ratio directly indicates a promotion of
the ionization of PAHs near the central star.Comment: accepted for publication in Advances in Geoscienc
Characterization and Improvement of the Image Quality of the Data Taken with the Infrared Camera (IRC) Mid-Infrared Channels onboard AKARI
Mid-infrared images frequently suffer artifacts and extended point spread
functions (PSFs). We investigate the characteristics of the artifacts and the
PSFs in images obtained with the Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard AKARI at four
mid-infrared bands of the S7 (7{\mu}m), S11 (11{\mu}m), L15 (15{\mu}m), and L24
(24 {\mu}m). Removal of the artifacts significantly improves the reliability of
the ref- erence data for flat-fielding at the L15 and L24 bands. A set of
models of the IRC PSFs is also constructed from on-orbit data. These PSFs have
extended components that come from diffraction and scattering within the
detector arrays. We estimate the aperture correction factors for point sources
and the surface brightness correction factors for diffuse sources. We conclude
that the surface brightness correction factors range from 0.95 to 0.8, taking
account of the extended component of the PSFs. To correct for the extended PSF
effects for the study of faint structures, we also develop an image
reconstruction method, which consists of the deconvolution with the PSF and the
convolution with an appropriate Gaussian. The appropriate removal of the
artifacts, improved flat-fielding, and image reconstruction with the extended
PSFs enable us to investigate de- tailed structures of extended sources in IRC
mid-infrared images.Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
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