868 research outputs found
The segregation of starless and protostellar clumps in the Hi-GAL l=224deg region
Stars form in dense, dusty structures, which are embedded in larger clumps of
molecular clouds often showing a clear filamentary structure on large scales (>
1pc). One of the best-studied regions in the Hi-GAL survey can be observed
toward the l=224deg field. Here, a filamentary region has been studied and it
has been found that protostellar clumps are mostly located along the main
filament, whereas starless clumps are detected off this filament and are
instead found on secondary, less prominent filaments. We want to investigate
this segregation effect and how it may affect the clumps properties. We mapped
the 12CO(1-0) line and its main three isotopologues toward the two most
prominent filaments observed toward the l=224deg field using the Mopra radio
telescope, in order to set observational constraints on the dynamics of these
structures and the associated starless and protostellar clumps. Compared to the
starless clumps, the protostellar clumps are more luminous, more turbulent and
lie in regions where the filamentary ambient gas shows larger linewidths. We
see evidence of gas flowing along the main filament, but we do not find any
signs of accretion flow from the filament onto the Hi-GAL clumps. We analyze
the radial column density profile of the filaments and their gravitational
stability. The more massive and highly fragmented main filament appears to be
thermally supercritical and gravitationally bound, assuming that all of the
non-thermal motion is contributing thermal-like support, suggesting a later
stage of evolution compared to the secondary filament. The status and
evolutionary phase of the Hi-GAL clumps would then appear to correlate with
that of the host filament.Comment: Accepted for publication on "Astronomy and Astrophysics
Description of Bocchus irwini sp. nov. from Madagascar (Hymenoptera Dryinidae)
Bocchus irwini sp. nov. is described from a male collected in Analagnambe forest,
Mahajanga Province, Madagascar. The new species is similar to Bocchus watshami Olmi 1987.
Keys to the Afrotropical species of Bocchus are modified to include the new species
The structure of molecular clumps around high-mass young stellar objects
We have used the IRAM 30-m and FCRAO 14-m telescopes to observe the molecular
clumps associated with 12 ultracompact (UC) HII regions in the J=6-5, 8-7 and
13-12 rotational transitions of methyl-acetylene (CH3C2H). Under the assumption
of LTE and optically thin emission, we have derived temperature estimates
ranging from 30 to 56 K. We estimate that the clumps have diameters of 0.2-1.6
pc, H_2 densities of 10^5-10^6 {cm^{-3}}, and masses of 10^2-2 10^4 M_\odot. We
compare these values with those obtained by other authors from different
molecular tracers and find that the H_2 density and the temperature inside the
clumps vary respectively like n_{H_2} ~ R^{-2.6} and T ~ R^{-0.5}, with R
distance from the centre. We also find that the virial masses of the clumps are
~3 times less than those derived from the CH3C2H column densities: we show that
a plausible explanation is that magnetic fields play an important role to
stabilise the clumps, which are on the verge of gravitational collapse.
Finally, we show that the CH3C2H line width increases for decreasing distance
from the clump centre: this effect is consistent with infall in the inner
regions of the clumps. We conclude that the clumps around UC HII regions are
likely to be transient (~10^(5) yr) entities, remnants of isothermal spheres
currently undergoing gravitational collapse: the high mass accretion rates
(~10^{-2} M_\odot yr^{-1}) lead to massive star formation at the centre of such
clumps.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, A & A in pres
Ionization toward the high-mass star-forming region NGC 6334 I
Context. Ionization plays a central role in the gas-phase chemistry of
molecular clouds. Since ions are coupled with magnetic fields, which can in
turn counteract gravitational collapse, it is of paramount importance to
measure their abundance in star-forming regions. Aims. We use spectral line
observations of the high-mass star-forming region NGC 6334 I to derive the
abundance of two of the most abundant molecular ions, HCO+ and N2H+, and
consequently, the cosmic ray ionization rate. In addition, the line profiles
provide information about the kinematics of this region. Methods. We present
high-resolution spectral line observations conducted with the HIFI instrument
on board the Herschel Space Observatory of the rotational transitions with Jup
> 5 of the molecular species C17O, C18O, HCO+, H13CO+, and N2H+. Results. The
HCO+ and N2H+ line profiles display a redshifted asymmetry consistent with a
region of expanding gas. We identify two emission components in the spectra,
each with a different excitation, associated with the envelope of NGC 6334 I.
The physical parameters obtained for the envelope are in agreement with
previous models of the radial structure of NGC 6334 I based on submillimeter
continuum observations. Based on our new Herschel/HIFI observations, combined
with the predictions from a chemical model, we derive a cosmic ray ionization
rate that is an order of magnitude higher than the canonical value of 10^(-17)
s-1. Conclusions. We find evidence of an expansion of the envelope surrounding
the hot core of NGC 6334 I, which is mainly driven by thermal pressure from the
hot ionized gas in the region. The ionization rate seems to be dominated by
cosmic rays originating from outside the source, although X-ray emission from
the NGC 6334 I core could contribute to the ionization in the inner part of the
envelope.Comment: This paper contains a total of 10 figures and 3 table
Long-term Variability of HCO Masers in Star-forming Regions
We present results of a multi-epoch monitoring program on variability of
6cm formaldehyde (HCO) masers in the massive star forming region
NGC7538IRS1 from 2008 to 2015 conducted with the GBT, WSRT, and
VLA. We found that the similar variability behaviors of the two formaldehyde
maser velocity components in NGC7538IRS1 (which was pointed out by
Araya and collaborators in 2007) have continued. The possibility that the
variability is caused by changes in the maser amplification path in regions
with similar morphology and kinematics is discussed. We also observed
12.2GHz methanol and 22.2GHz water masers toward
NGC7538IRS1. The brightest maser components of CHOH and HO
species show a decrease in flux density as a function of time. The brightest
HCO maser component also shows a decrease in flux density and has a similar
LSR velocity to the brightest HO and 12.2GHz CHOH masers. The line
parameters of radio recombination lines and the 20.17 and 20.97GHz CHOH
transitions in NGC7538IRS1 are also reported. In addition, we
observed five other 6cm formaldehyde maser regions. We found no evidence of
significant variability of the 6cm masers in these regions with respect to
previous observations, the only possible exception being the maser in
G29.960.02. All six sources were also observed in the HCO
isotopologue transition of the 6cm HCO line; HCO absorption
was detected in five of the sources. Estimated column density ratios
[HCO]/[HCO] are reported.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
Reflective Toraldo pupil for high-resolution millimeter-wave astronomy
A novel, to the best of our knowledge, beam-shaping reflective surface for high-resolution millimeter/ submillimeter-wave astronomy instruments is presented. The reflector design is based on Toraldo’s superresolution principle and implemented with annulated binary-phase coronae structure inspired by the achromatic magnetic mirror approach. A thin, less than half a free-space wavelength, reflective Toraldo pupil device operated in the W-band has been fabricated using mesh-filter technology developed at Cardiff University. The device has been characterized on a quasi-optical test bench and demonstrated expected reduction of the beam width upon reflection at oblique incidence, while featuring a sidelobe level lower than −10 dB. The proposed reflective Toraldo pupil structure can be easily scaled for upper millimeter and infrared frequency bands as well as designed to transform a Gaussian beam into a flat-top beam with extremely low sidelobe level
A Review of H2CO 6cm Masers in the Galaxy
We present a review of the field of formaldehyde (H2CO) 6cm masers in the
Galaxy. Previous to our ongoing work, H2CO 6cm masers had been detected in the
Galaxy only toward three regions: NGC7538 IRS1, Sgr B2, and G29.96-0.02.
Current efforts by our group using the Very Large Array, Arecibo, and the Green
Bank Telescope have resulted in the detection of four new H2CO 6cm maser
regions. We discuss the characteristics of the known H2CO masers and the
association of H2CO 6cm masers with very young regions of massive star
formation. We also review the current ideas on the pumping mechanism for H2CO
6cm masers.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, IAU Symposium 242: Astrophysical Masers and
their Environment
Bimodal Kuramoto Model with Higher Order Interactions
We have examined the synchronization and de-synchronization transitions
observable in the Kuramoto model with a standard pair-wise first harmonic
interaction plus a higher order (triadic) symmetric interaction for unimodal
and bimodal Gaussian distributions of the natural frequencies. These
transitions have been accurately characterized thanks to a self-consistent
mean-field approach joined to accurate numerical simulations. The higher-oder
interactions favour the formation of two cluster states, which emerge from the
incoherent regime via continuous (discontinuos) transitions for unimodal
(bimodal) distributions. Fully synchronized initial states give rise to two
symmetric equally populated clusters at a angular distance , which
increases for decreasing pair-wise couplings until it reaches
(corresponding to an anti-phase configuration) where the cluster state
disappears via a saddle-node bifurcation and reforms immediately after with a
smaller angle . For bimodal distributions we have obtained detailed
phase diagrams involving all the possible dynamical states in terms of standard
and novel order parameters. In particular, the clustering order parameter, here
introduced, appears quite suitable to characterize the two cluster regime. As a
general aspect, hysteretic (non hysteretic) synchronization transitions, mostly
mediated by the emergence of standing waves, are observable for attractive
(repulsive) higher-order interactions.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figure
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