39 research outputs found
Spectral, Spatial, and Time properties of the hydrogen nebula around exoplanet HD209458b
All far ultraviolet observations of HD209458 tend to support a scenario in
which the inflated hydrogen atmosphere of its planetary companion strongly
absorbs the stellar \lya flux during transit. However, it was not clear how the
transit absorption depends on the selected wavelength range in the stellar line
profile, nor how the atomic hydrogen cloud was distributed spatially around
HD209458b. Here we report a sensitivity study of observed time and spectral
variations of the stellar flux. In particular, the sensitivity of the
absorption depth during transit to the assumed spectral range in the stellar
line profile is shown to be very weak, leading to a transit depth in the range
for all possible wavelength ranges, and thereby confirming
our initially-reported absorption rate. Taking the ratio of the line profile
during transit to the unperturbed line profile, we also show that the spectral
signature of the absorption by the exoplanetary hydrogen nebula is symmetric
and typical of a Lorentzian, optically thick medium. Our results question the
adequacy of models that require a huge absorption and/or a strong asymmetry
between the blue and red side of the absorption line during transit as no such
features could be detected in the HST FUV absorption profile. Finally, we show
that standard atmospheric models of HD209458b provide a good fit to the
observed absorption profile during transit. Other hybrid models assuming a
standard model with a thin layer of superthermal hydrogen on top remain
possible.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
The ERE of the "Red Rectangle" revisited
We present in this paper high signal-to-noise long-slit optical spectra of
the Extended Red Emission (ERE) in the "Red Rectangle" (RR) nebula. These
spectra, obtained at different positions in the nebula, reveal an extremely
complex emission pattern on top of the broad ERE continuum. It is well known
that three features converge at large distance from the central object, in
wavelength and profile to the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) at 5797, 5849.8
and 6614 ang., (e.g. Sarre et al., 1995). In this paper we give a detailed
inventory of all spectral subfeatures observed in the 5550--6850 ang. spectral
range. Thanks to our high S/N spectra, we propose 5 new features in the RR that
can be associated with DIBs. For the 5550--6200 ang. spectral range our slit
position was on top of the NE spike of the X shaped nebula. A detailed
description of the spatial profile-changes is given of the strongest features
revealing that even far out in the nebula at 24 arcsec from the central star,
there remains a small shift in wavelength of 1 respectively 2 ang between the
ERE subfeatures and the DIB wavelengths of 5797.11 and 5849.78 ang.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
HST/NICMOS Imaging Polarimetry of Proto-Planetary Nebulae II: Macro-morphology of the Dust Shell Structure via Polarized Light
The structure of the dusty circumstellar envelopes (CSEs) of proto-planetary
nebulae (PPNs) reveals the mass-loss history of these sources and how such
histories may differ for elliptical (SOLE) and bipolar (DUPLEX) PPNs. To study
the PPN structures via dust-scattered linearly polarized starlight, we have
compiled the imaging-polarimetric data for all 18 evolved stars that have been
obtained to date with NICMOS on-board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This
alternative imaging technique provides a unique way to probe the distribution
of dust grains that scatter light around evolved stars. The new perspective
gained from the imaging-polarimetric data has revealed several new aspects to
the structures of PPNs. Point-symmetry is a prevalent imaging-polarimetric
characteristic resulting from the azimuthal density gradient in the CSEs. Among
these point-symmetric nebulae, three detailed morphological types can be
differentiated by their polarized intensity, I_pol, and polarization strength,
P. While the azimuthal density gradient is reversed above and below the
equatorial plane in optically thicker bipolar nebulae, there is no gradient
reversal in optically thinner elliptical nebulae. The equatorial plane of the
system defined by the integrated angle of polarization is not necessarily
orthogonal to the axis of the apparent bipolar structure in the total intensity
data.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables; to appear in the Astronomical Journal
March 2007 issu
Solar parameters for modeling interplanetary background
The goal of the Fully Online Datacenter of Ultraviolet Emissions (FONDUE)
Working Team of the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland,
was to establish a common calibration of various UV and EUV heliospheric
observations, both spectroscopic and photometric. Realization of this goal
required an up-to-date model of spatial distribution of neutral interstellar
hydrogen in the heliosphere, and to that end, a credible model of the radiation
pressure and ionization processes was needed. This chapter describes the solar
factors shaping the distribution of neutral interstellar H in the heliosphere.
Presented are the solar Lyman-alpha flux and the solar Lyman-alpha resonant
radiation pressure force acting on neutral H atoms in the heliosphere, solar
EUV radiation and the photoionization of heliospheric hydrogen, and their
evolution in time and the still hypothetical variation with heliolatitude.
Further, solar wind and its evolution with solar activity is presented in the
context of the charge exchange ionization of heliospheric hydrogen, and in the
context of dynamic pressure variations. Also the electron ionization and its
variation with time, heliolatitude, and solar distance is presented. After a
review of all of those topics, we present an interim model of solar wind and
the other solar factors based on up-to-date in situ and remote sensing
observations of solar wind. Results of this effort will further be utilised to
improve on the model of solar wind evolution, which will be an invaluable asset
in all heliospheric measurements, including, among others, the observations of
Energetic Neutral Atoms by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX).Comment: Chapter 2 in the planned "Cross-Calibration of Past and Present Far
UV Spectra of Solar System Objects and the Heliosphere", ISSI Scientific
Report No 12, ed. R.M. Bonnet, E. Quemerais, M. Snow, Springe