Sea Turtle Observations at Explosive Removals of Energy Structures

Observers were placed at offshore sites to monitor and protect sea turtles during explosive removals of oil and gas structures in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana and Texas. Data collected during more than 6,500 hours of monitoring at 106 structure removals in 1992 provided information on sea turtle distribution. Eighteen individuals were observed including 10 loggerheads, 2 leatherbacks, 1 hawksbill, and 5 unidentified sea turtles. The observation rate (individuals per monitoring hour) of sea turtles was about 30 times higher during aerial surveys than during day or night suiface surveys

Model Dependence of the 2H Electric Dipole Moment

Background: Direct measurement of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron lies in the future; measurement of a nuclear EDM may well come first. The deuteron is one nucleus for which exact model calculations are feasible. Purpose: We explore the model dependence of deuteron EDM calculations. Methods: Using a separable potential formulation of the Hamiltonian, we examine the sensitivity of the deuteron EDM to variation in the nucleon-nucleon interaction. We write the EDM as the sum of two terms, the first depending on the target wave function with plane-wave intermediate states, and the second depending on intermediate multiple scattering in the 3P1 channel, the latter being sensitive to the off-shell behavior of the 3P1 amplitude. Results: We compare the full calculation with the plane-wave approximation result, examine the tensor force contribution to the model results, and explore the effect of short range repulsion found in realistic, contemporary potential models of the deuteron. Conclusions: Because one-pion exchange dominates the EDM calculation, separable potential model calculations will provide an adequate description of the 2H EDM until such time as a better than 10% measurement is obtained.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review

The low-mass population in the young cluster Stock 8: Stellar properties and Initial Mass Function

The evolution of HII regions/supershells can trigger a new generation of stars/clusters at their peripheries, with environmental conditions that may affect the initial mass function, disk evolution and star formation efficiency. In this paper we study the stellar content and star formation processes in the young cluster Stock 8, which itself is thought to be formed during the expansion of a supershell. We present deep optical photometry along with JHK and 3.6, 4.5 {\mu}m photometry from UKIDSS and Spitzer-IRAC. We use multi-color criteria to identify the candidate young stellar objects in the region. Using evolutionary models, we obtain a median log(age) of ~6.5 (~3.0 Myr) with an observed age spread of ~0.25 dex for the cluster. Monte Carlo simulations of the population of Stock 8, based on estimates for the photometric uncertainty, differential reddening, binarity, and variability, indicate that these uncertainties introduce an age spread of ~0.15 dex. The intrinsic age spread in the cluster is ~0.2 dex. The fraction of young stellar objects surrounded by disk is ~35%. The K-band luminosity function of Stock 8 is similar to that of the Trapezium cluster. The IMF of Stock 8 has a Salpeter- like slope at >0.5 Msun and the IMF flattens and peaks at ~0.4 Msun, below which declines into the substellar regime. Although Stock 8 is surrounded by several massive stars, there seems to be no severe environmental effect in the form of IMF due to the proximity of massive stars around the cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

High-resolution Spectroscopy of [Ne II] Emission from TW Hya

We present high-resolution echelle spectra of [Ne II] 12.81 micron emission from the classical T Tauri star (CTTS) TW Hya obtained with MICHELLE on Gemini North. The line is centered at the stellar radial velocity and has an intrinsic FWHM of 21\pm 4 km/s. The line width is broader than other narrow emission lines typically associated with the disk around TW Hya. If formed in a disk, the line broadening could result from turbulence in a warm disk atmosphere, Keplerian rotation at an average distance of 0.1 AU from the star, or a photoevaporative flow from the optically-thin region of the disk. We place upper limits on the [Ne II] emission flux from the CTTSs DP Tau and BP Tau.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 18 pages, including 2 figures and 2 table

Pulsed Accretion in the T Tauri Binary TWA 3A

TWA 3A is the most recent addition to a small group of young binary systems that both actively accrete from a circumbinary disk and have spectroscopic orbital solutions. As such, it provides a unique opportunity to test binary accretion theory in a well-constrained setting. To examine TWA 3A's time-variable accretion behavior, we have conducted a two-year, optical photometric monitoring campaign, obtaining dense orbital phase coverage (~20 observations per orbit) for ~15 orbital periods. From U-band measurements we derive the time-dependent binary mass accretion rate, finding bursts of accretion near each periastron passage. On average, these enhanced accretion events evolve over orbital phases 0.85 to 1.05, reaching their peak at periastron. The specific accretion rate increases above the quiescent value by a factor of ~4 on average but the peak can be as high as an order of magnitude in a given orbit. The phase dependence and amplitude of TWA 3A accretion is in good agreement with numerical simulations of binary accretion with similar orbital parameters. In these simulations, periastron accretion bursts are fueled by periodic streams of material from the circumbinary disk that are driven by the binary orbit. We find that TWA 3A's average accretion behavior is remarkably similar to DQ Tau, another T Tauri binary with similar orbital parameters, but with significantly less variability from orbit to orbit. This is only the second clear case of orbital-phase-dependent accretion in a T Tauri binary.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Observations of Sea Turtles and Other Marine Life at the Explosive Removal of Offshore Oil and Gas Structures in the Gulf of Mexico

Observers monitored the explosive removal of oil and gas structures in the Gulf of Mexico to protect sea turtles and marine mammals from adverse impacts. More than 7,000 monitoring hours at 131 structure removals were conducted during 1993. Sixteen individual sea turtles were observed including 6 loggerheads, 1 Kemp\u27s ridley, 1 green, and 8 unidentified sea turtles. Aerial surveys were approximately ten times more effective in observing sea turtles than day or night surface surveys

Star formation in W3 - AFGL333: Young stellar content, properties and roles of external feedback

One of the key questions in the field of star formation is the role of stellar feedback on subsequent star formation process. The W3 giant molecular cloud complex at the western border of the W4 super bubble is thought to be influenced by the stellar winds of the massive stars in W4. AFGL333 is a ~10^4 Msun cloud within W3. This paper presents a study of the star formation activity within AFGL333 using deep JHKs photometry obtained from the NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager combined with Spitzer-IRAC-MIPS photometry. Based on the infrared excess, we identify 812 candidate young stellar objects in the complex, of which 99 are classified as Class I and 713 are classified as Class II sources. The stellar density analysis of young stellar objects reveals three major stellar aggregates within AFGL333, named here AFGL333-main, AFGL333-NW1 and AFGL333-NW2. The disk fraction within AFGL333 is estimated to be ~50-60%. We use the extinction map made from the H-Ks colors of the background stars to understand the cloud structure and to estimate the cloud mass. The CO-derived extinction map corroborates the cloud structure and mass estimates from NIR color method. From the stellar mass and cloud mass associated with AFGL333, we infer that the region is currently forming stars with an efficiency of ~4.5% and at a rate of ~2 - 3 Msun Myr-1pc-2. In general, the star formation activity within AFGL333 is comparable to that of nearby low mass star-forming regions. We do not find any strong evidence to suggest that the stellar feedback from the massive stars of nearby W4 super bubble has affected the global star formation properties of the AFGL333 region.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

High-pressure, low-abundance water in bipolar outflows. Results from a Herschel-WISH survey

(Abridged) We present a survey of the water emission in a sample of more than 20 outflows from low mass young stellar objects with the goal of characterizing the physical and chemical conditions of the emitting gas. We have used the HIFI and PACS instruments on board the Herschel Space Observatory to observe the two fundamental lines of ortho-water at 557 and 1670 GHz. These observations were part of the "Water In Star-forming regions with Herschel" (WISH) key program, and have been complemented with CO and H2 data. We find that the emission from water has a different spatial and velocity distribution from that of the J=1-0 and 2-1 transitions of CO, but it has a similar spatial distribution to H2, and its intensity follows the H2 intensity derived from IRAC images. This suggests that water traces the outflow gas at hundreds of kelvins responsible for the H2 emission, and not the component at tens of kelvins typical of low-J CO emission. A warm origin of the water emission is confirmed by a remarkable correlation between the intensities of the 557 and 1670 GHz lines, which also indicates the emitting gas has a narrow range of excitations. A non-LTE radiative transfer analysis shows that while there is some ambiguity on the exact combination of density and temperature values, the gas thermal pressure nT is constrained within less than a factor of 2. The typical nT over the sample is 4 10^{9} cm^{-3}K, which represents an increase of 10^4 with respect to the ambient value. The data also constrain within a factor of 2 the water column density. When this quantity is combined with H2 column densities, the typical water abundance is only 3 10^{-7}, with an uncertainty of a factor of 3. Our data challenge current C-shock models of water production due to a combination of wing-line profiles, high gas compressions, and low abundances.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

The Vector Analyzing Power in Elastic Electron-Proton Scattering

We compute the vector analyzing power (VAP) for the elastic scattering of transversely polarized electrons from protons at low energies using an effective theory of electrons, protons, and photons. We study all contributions through second order in $E/M$, where $E$ and $M$ are the electron energy and nucleon mass, respectively. The leading order VAP arises from the imaginary part of the interference of one- and two-photon exchange amplitudes. Sub-leading contributions are generated by the nucleon magnetic moment and charge radius as well as recoil corrections to the leading-order amplitude. Working to ${\cal O}(E/M)^2$, we obtain a prediction for $A_n$ that is free of unknown parameters and that agrees with the recent measurement of the VAP in backward angle $ep$ scattering.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures. Typos fixe