323 research outputs found
SIGGMA: A Survey of Ionized Gas in the Galaxy, Made with the Arecibo Telescope
A Survey of Ionized Gas in the Galaxy, made with the Arecibo telescope
(SIGGMA) uses the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) to fully sample the Galactic
plane (30 < l < 75 and -2 < b < 2; 175 < l < 207 and -2 < b < 1) observable
with the telescope in radio recombination lines (RRLs). Processed data sets are
being produced in the form of data cubes of 2 degree (along l) x 4 degree
(along b) x 151 (number of channels), archived and made public. The 151
channels cover a velocity range of 600 km/s and the velocity resolution of the
survey changes from 4.2 km/s to 5.1 km/s from the lowest frequency channel to
the highest frequency channel, respectively.RRL maps with 3.4 arcmin resolution
and line flux density sensitivity of 0.5 mJy will enable us to identify new HII
regions, measure their electron temperatures, study the physics of
photodissociation regions (PDRs) with carbon RRLs, and investigate the origin
of the extended low density medium (ELDM). Twelve Hn{\alpha} lines fall within
the 300 MHz bandpass of ALFA; they are resampled to a common velocity
resolution to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SN) by a factor of 3 or more
and preserve the line width. SIGGMA will produce the most sensitive fully
sampled RRL survey to date. Here we discuss the observing and data reduction
techniques in detail. A test observation toward the HII region complex
S255/S257 has detected Hn{\alpha} and Cn{\alpha} lines with SN>10
Tangential Motions and Spectroscopy within NGC 6720, the Ring Nebula
We have combined recent Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images in the [O III]
5007 and [N II] 6583 lines with similar images made 9.557 years earlier to
determine the motion of the Ring Nebula within the plane of the sky. Scaled
ratio images argue for homologous expansion, that is, larger velocities scale
with increasing distance from the central star. The rather noisy pattern of
motion of individual features argues for the same conclusion and that the
silhouetted knots move at the same rate as the surrounding gas. These
tangential velocities are combined with information from a recent high
resolution radial velocity study to determine a dynamic distance, which is in
basic agreement with the distance determined from the parallax of the central
star. We have also obtained very high signal to noise ratio moderate resolution
spectra (9.4 Angstrom) along the major and minor axes of the nebula and from
this determined the electron temperatures and density in the multiple
ionization zones present. These results confirm the status of the Ring Nebula
as one of the older planetary nebulae, with a central star transitioning to the
white dwarf cooling curve. (Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble
Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is
operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.,
under NASA Contract No. NAS 5-26555 and the San Pedro Martir Observatory
operated by the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.)Comment: Astronomical Journal, in pres
HST Measurements of the Expansion of NGC 6543: Parallax Distance and Nebular Evolution
The optical expansion parallax of NGC 6543 has been detected and measured
using two epochs of HST images separated by a time baseline of only three
years. We have utilized three separate methods of deriving the angular
expansion of bright fiducials, the results of which are in excellent agreement.
We combine our angular expansion estimates with spectroscopically obtained
expansion velocities to derive a distance to NGC 6543 of 1001269 pc. The
deduced kinematic age of the inner bright core of the nebula is 1039259
years; however, the kinematic age of the polar caps that surround the core is
larger - perhaps the result of deceleration or earlier mass ejection. The
morphology and expansion patterns of NGC 6543 provide insight into a complex
history of axisymmetric, interacting stellar mass ejections.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ. 18 pages. 6 figure
The post-AGB evolution of AGB mass loss variations
We present new numerical hydrodynamical modelling of the evolution of
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) mass loss fluctuations during the
post-AGB/Planetary Nebula phase. These models show that after ionization, the
observable effects of the mass loss fluctuations disappear in a few thousand
years, consistent with the fact that only few PNe have been found to be
surrounded by `rings'. We derive the observational characteristics of these
rings, and compare them to reported observations of the rings around NGC 6543,
finding a good match of emission properties and line shapes. We predict small
variations in the observable electron temperatures.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, accepted by A&
High resolution radio continuum survey of M33: I. The radio maps
We study the exponential scale length of total radio emission, the spectral
index distribution, and the linear radio polarization in the Scd galaxy M33.
Observations were carried out using the 3.6 cm dual channel and the 6.2 cm four
channel receivers of the 100--m Effelsberg telescope along with the L-band VLA
D--array at 20 cm. High spatial resolution and sensitivity in both total and
linearly polarized radio continuum emission from M33 were achieved. We found
considerable extended emission, not only from the main arms I S and I N, but
also from the weaker arms. The large--scale magnetic field exhibits
well--ordered spiral structure with almost the same orientation as that of the
optical spiral arms, however, it does not show a clear structural correlation
or anti--correlation with the optical arms. There is a north-south asymmetry in
polarization that is frequency-dependent. We found that the ring mean spectral
index versus radius increases faster beyond = 4 kpc. At each wavelength,
the exponential scale length is larger inside than outside = 4 kpc. From
the larger scales lengths at 4 kpc, we conclude that star forming
regions are mainly spread over the region 4 kpc without a dominant
nuclear concentration. Furthermore, at 4 kpc, a spatial correlation
between cosmic rays and star forming regions may exist. From the behaviour of
the mean spectral indices obtained from different pairs of the radio continuum
data at 3.6, 6.2, and 20 cm, we confirm that a decrease in the thermal fraction
causes an increase in the spectral index. The frequency-dependent asymmetry in
the polarization hints to an asymmetry in Faraday depolarization.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomy and
Astrophysics Journa
Foreign Intravascular Object Embolization and Migration: Bullets, Catheters, Wires, Stents, Filters, and More
Foreign intravascular object embolization (FIOE) is an important, yet underreported occurrence that has been described in a variety of settings, from penetrating trauma to intravascular procedures. In this chapter, the authors will review the most common types of FIOEs, including bullet or “projectile” embolism (BPE), followed by intravascular catheter or wire embolization (ICWE), and conclude with intravascular noncatheter object (e.g., coil, gelatin, stent, and venous filter) migration (INCOM). In addition to detailed topic-based summaries, tables highlighting selected references and case scenarios are also presented to provide the reader with a resource for future research in this clinical area
Public health surveillance after the 2010 Haiti earthquake: the experience of Médecins Sans Frontières
Background In January 2010, Haiti was struck by a powerful earthquake, killing and wounding hundreds of thousands and leaving millions homeless. In order to better understand the severity of the crisis, and to provide early warning of epidemics or deteriorations in the health status of the population, Médecins Sans Frontières established surveillance for infections of epidemic potential and for death rates and malnutrition prevalence. Methods Trends in infections of epidemic potential were detected through passive surveillance at health facilities serving as sentinel sites. Active community surveillance of death rates and malnutrition prevalence was established through weekly home visits. Results There were 102,054 consultations at the 15 reporting sites during the 26 week period of operation. Acute respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea and malaria/fever of unknown origin accounted for the majority of proportional morbidity among the diseases under surveillance. Several alerts were triggered through the detection of immediately notifiable diseases and increasing trends in some conditions. Crude and under-5 death rates, and acute malnutrition prevalence, were below emergency thresholds. Conclusion Disease surveillance after disasters should include an alert and response component, requiring investment of resources in informal networks that improve sensitivity to alerts as well as on the more common systems of data collection, compilation and analysis. Information sharing between partners is necessary to strengthen early warning systems. Community-based surveillance of mortality and malnutrition is feasible but requires careful implementation and validation
FLIERs and Other Microstructures in Planetary Nebulae. IV. Images of Elliptical PNs from the Hubble Space Telescope
?????We report new results from high spatial resolution Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 imaging studies of FLIERs and other microstructures in the planetary nebulae NGC 3242, 6826, 7009, and 7662. Most FLIERs have head-tail morphologies, with the tails pointing outward from the nucleus. Ionization gradients that decrease with distance from the nebular center are ubiquitous. These are consistent with an ionization front in neutral knots of density ?104 cm-3. Can neutral knots account for the properties of FLIERs? We compare two broad classes of possible explanations for FLIERs with the new images: high-speed bullets ramming through the shells of planetary nebulae, and photoevaporated gas swept by winds into head-tail shapes. Both classes of models fail basic consistency tests. Hence an entirely new conceptual paradigm is needed to account for the phenomenology of FLIERs
A search for periodicity in the light curves of selected blazars
We present an analysis of multifrequency light curves of the sources 2223-052
(3C 446), 2230+114 (CTA 102), and 2251+158 (3C 454.3), which had shown evidence
of quasi-periodic activity. The analysis made use of data from the University
of Michican Radio Astronomy Observatory (USA) at 4.8, 8, and 14.5 GHz, as well
as the Metsahovi Radio Astronomy Observatory (Finland) at 22 and 37 GHz.
Application of two different methods (the discrete autocorrelation function and
the method of Jurkevich) both revealed evidence for periodicity in the flux
variations of these sources at essentially all frequencies. The periods derived
for at least two of the sources -- 2223-052 and 2251+158-- are in good
agreement with the time interval between the appearance of successive VLBI
components. The derived periods for 2251+158 (P = 12.4 yr and 2223-052 (P = 5.8
yr) coincide with the periods found earlier by other authors based on optical
light curves.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Report
Hubble Space Telescope Expansion Parallaxes of the Planetary Nebulae NGC 6578, NGC 6884, NGC 6891, and IC 2448
We have combined two epochs of Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 imaging data with
ground-based expansion velocities to determine distances to three planetary
nebulae (NGC 6578, NGC 6884, and IC 2448). We used two variants of the
expansion parallax technique--a gradient method and a magnification method--to
determine the distances. The results from the two methods agree to within the
errors. A fourth nebula was included in the study (NGC 6891), but the expansion
was too small to determine the distance, and only a lower limit was obtained.
This is the first paper in a series which will examine at least 24 nebulae in
total.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, figure 2 is color. accepted AJ, March 200
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