1,142 research outputs found
Sky maps without anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background are a better fit to WMAP's uncalibrated time ordered data than the official sky maps
The purpose of this reanalysis of the WMAP uncalibrated time ordered data
(TOD) was two fold. The first was to reassess the reliability of the detection
of the anisotropies in the official WMAP sky maps of the cosmic microwave
background (CMB). The second was to assess the performance of a proposed
criterion in avoiding systematic error in detecting a signal of interest. The
criterion was implemented by testing the null hypothesis that the uncalibrated
TOD was consistent with no anisotropies when WMAP's hourly calibration
parameters were allowed to vary. It was shown independently for all 20 WMAP
channels that sky maps with no anisotropies were a better fit to the TOD than
those from the official analysis. The recently launched Planck satellite should
help sort out this perplexing result.Comment: 11 pages with 1 figure and 2 tables. Extensively rewritten to explain
the research bette
The youngest massive protostars in the Large Magellanic Cloud
We demonstrate the unique capabilities of Herschel to study very young
luminous extragalactic young stellar objects (YSOs) by analyzing a central
strip of the Large Magellanic Cloud obtained through the HERITAGE Science
Demonstration Program. We combine PACS 100 and 160, and SPIRE 250, 350, and 500
microns photometry with 2MASS (1.25-2.17 microns) and Spitzer IRAC and MIPS
(3.6-70 microns) to construct complete spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of
compact sources. From these, we identify 207 candidate embedded YSOs in the
observed region, ~40% never-before identified. We discuss their position in
far-infrared color-magnitude space, comparing with previously studied,
spectroscopically confirmed YSOs and maser emission. All have red colors
indicating massive cool envelopes and great youth. We analyze four example
YSOs, determining their physical properties by fitting their SEDs with
radiative transfer models. Fitting full SEDs including the Herschel data
requires us to increase the size and mass of envelopes included in the models.
This implies higher accretion rates (greater than or equal to 0.0001 M_sun/yr),
in agreement with previous outflow studies of high-mass protostars. Our results
show that Herschel provides reliable longwave SEDs of large samples of
high-mass YSOs; discovers the youngest YSOs whose SEDs peak in Herschel bands;
and constrains the physical properties and evolutionary stages of YSOs more
precisely than was previously possible.Comment: Main text: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; Online material: 3 figures, 1
table; to appear in the A&A Herschel Special Issu
Embedded Star Formation in the Eagle Nebula with Spitzer/GLIMPSE
We present new Spitzer photometry of the Eagle Nebula (M16, containing the
optical cluster NGC 6611) combined with near-infrared photometry from 2MASS. We
use dust radiative transfer models, mid-infrared and near-infrared color-color
analysis, and mid-infrared spectral indices to analyze point source spectral
energy distributions, select candidate young stellar objects (YSOs), and
constrain their mass and evolutionary state. Comparison of the different
protostellar selection methods shows that mid-infrared methods are consistent,
but as has been known for some time, near-infrared-only analysis misses some
young objects. We reveal more than 400 protostellar candidates, including one
massive young stellar object (YSO) that has not been previously highlighted.
The YSO distribution supports a picture of distributed low-level star
formation, with no strong evidence of triggered star formation in the
``pillars''. We confirm the youth of NGC 6611 by a large fraction of
infrared-excess sources, and reveal a younger cluster of YSOs in the nearby
molecular cloud. Analysis of the YSO clustering properties shows a possible
imprint of the molecular cloud's Jeans length. Multiwavelength mid-IR imaging
thus allows us to analyze the protostellar population, to measure the dust
temperature and column density, and to relate these in a consistent picture of
star formation in M16.Comment: 16p preprint - ApJ accepte
The RMS Survey: The Bolometric Fluxes and Luminosity Distributions of Young Massive Stars
Context: The Red MSX Source (RMS) survey is returning a large sample of
massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) and ultra-compact (UC) \HII{} regions
using follow-up observations of colour-selected candidates from the MSX point
source catalogue. Aims: To obtain the bolometric fluxes and, using kinematic
distance information, the luminosities for young RMS sources with far-infrared
fluxes. Methods: We use a model spectral energy distribution (SED) fitter to
obtain the bolometric flux for our sources, given flux data from our work and
the literature. The inputs to the model fitter were optimised by a series of
investigations designed to reveal the effect varying these inputs had on the
resulting bolometric flux. Kinematic distances derived from molecular line
observations were then used to calculate the luminosity of each source.
Results: Bolometric fluxes are obtained for 1173 young RMS sources, of which
1069 have uniquely constrained kinematic distances and good SED fits. A
comparison of the bolometric fluxes obtained using SED fitting with trapezium
rule integration and two component greybody fits was also undertaken, and
showed that both produce considerable scatter compared to the method used here.
Conclusions: The bolometric flux results allowed us to obtain the luminosity
distributions of YSOs and UC\HII{} regions in the RMS sample, which we find to
be different. We also find that there are few MYSOs with L
10\lsol{}, despite finding many MYSOs with 10\lsol{} L
10\lsol{}.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, accepted to A&A. The full versions of
tables 1 and 2 will be available via the CDS upon publicatio
Star Formation in the Milky Way. The Infrared View
I present a brief review of some of the most recent and active topics of star
formation process in the Milky Way using mid and far infrared observations, and
motivated by the research being carried out by our science group using data
gathered by the Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes. These topics include
bringing together the scaling relationships found in extragalactic systems with
that of the local nearby molecular clouds, the synthetic modeling of the Milky
Way and estimates of its star formation rate.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. To apper in "Cosmic-ray induced phenomenology in
star-forming environments: Proceedings of the 2nd Session of the Sant Cugat
Forum of Astrophysics" (April 16-19, 2012), Olaf Reimer and Diego F. Torres
(eds.
IR Dust Bubbles: Probing the Detailed Structure and Young Massive Stellar Populations of Galactic HII Regions
We present an analysis of wind-blown, parsec-sized, mid-infrared bubbles and
associated star-formation using GLIMPSE/IRAC, MIPSGAL/MIPS and MAGPIS/VLA
surveys. Three bubbles from the Churchwell et al. (2006) catalog were selected.
The relative distribution of the ionized gas (based on 20 cm emission), PAH
emission (based on 8 um, 5.8 um and lack of 4.5 um emission) and hot dust (24
um emission) are compared. At the center of each bubble there is a region
containing ionized gas and hot dust, surrounded by PAHs. We identify the likely
source(s) of the stellar wind and ionizing flux producing each bubble based
upon SED fitting to numerical hot stellar photosphere models. Candidate YSOs
are also identified using SED fitting, including several sites of possible
triggered star formation.Comment: 37 pages, 17 figure
LIME - a flexible, non-LTE line excitation and radiation transfer method for millimeter and far-infrared wavelengths
We present a new code for solving the molecular and atomic excitation and
radiation transfer problem in a molecular gas and predicting emergent spectra.
This code works in arbitrary three dimensional geometry using unstructured
Delaunay latices for the transport of photons. Various physical models can be
used as input, ranging from analytical descriptions over tabulated models to
SPH simulations. To generate the Delaunay grid we sample the input model
randomly, but weigh the sample probability with the molecular density and other
parameters, and thereby we obtain an average grid point separation that scales
with the local opacity. Our code does photon very efficiently so that the slow
convergence of opaque models becomes traceable. When convergence between the
level populations, the radiation field, and the point separation has been
obtained, the grid is ray-traced to produced images that can readily be
compared to observations. Because of the high dynamic range in scales that can
be resolved using this type of grid, our code is particularly well suited for
modeling of ALMA data. Our code can furthermore deal with overlapping lines of
multiple molecular and atomic species.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, Accepted by A&A on 06/08/201
Spitzer-IRAC GLIMPSE of high mass protostellar objects. I Infrared point sources and nebulae
The GLIMPSE archive was used to obtain 3.6--8.0micron, point source
photometry and images for 381 massive protostellar candidates lying in the
Galactic mid-plane. The colours, magnitudes and spectral indicies of sources in
each of the 381 target fields were analysed and compared with the predictions
of 2D radiative transfer model simulations. Although no discernable embedded
clusters were found in any targets, multiple sources or associations of
redenned young stellar objects were found in many sources indicating
multiplicity at birth. The spectral index () of these point sources in
3.6--8.0mum bands display large values of =2--5. A color-magnitude
analog plot was used to identify 79 infrared counterparts to the HMPOs. Compact
nebulae are found in 75% of the detected sources with morphologies that can be
well described by core-halo, cometary, shell-like and bipolar geometries
similar to those observed in ultra-compact HII regions. The IRAC band SEDs of
the IR counterparts of HMPOs are best described to represent YSOs with a mass
range of 8--20\msun in their Class I stages when compared with 2D radiative
transfer models. They also suggest that the high values represent
reprocessed star/star+disk emission that is arising in the dense envelopes.
Thus we are witnessing the luminous envelopes around the protostars rather than
their photospheres or disks. We argue that the compact infrared nebulae likely
reflect the underlying physical structure of the dense cores and are found to
imitate the morphologies of known UCHII regions. Our results favour models of
continuuing accretion involving both molecular and ionised accretion components
to build the most massive stars rather than purely molecular rapid accretion
flows.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&
Star Formation Activity in the Galactic HII Complex S255-S257
We present results on the star-formation activity of an optically obscured
region containing an embedded cluster (S255-IR) and molecular gas between two
evolved HII regions S255 and S257. We have studied the complex using optical,
near-infrared (NIR) imaging, optical spectroscopy and radio continnum mapping
at 15 GHz, along with Spitzer-IRAC results. It is found that the main exciting
sources of the evolved HII regions S255 and S257 and the compact HII regions
associated with S255-IR are of O9.5 - B3 V nature, consistent with previous
observations. Our NIR observations reveal 109 likely young stellar object (YSO)
candidates in an area of ~ 4'.9 x 4'.9 centered on S255-IR, which include 69
new YSO candidates. Our observations increased the number of previously
identified YSOs in this region by 32%. To see the global star formation, we
constructed the V-I/V diagram for 51 optically identified IRAC YSOs in an area
of ~ 13' x 13' centered on S255-IR. We suggest that these YSOs have an
approximate age between 0.1 - 4 Myr, indicating a non-coeval star formation.
Using spectral energy distribution models, we constrained physical properties
and evolutionary status of 31 and 16 YSO candidates outside and inside the gas
ridge, respectively. The models suggest that the sources associated within the
gas ridge are of younger population (mean age ~ 1.2 Myr) than the sources
outside the gas ridge (mean age ~ 2.5 Myr). The positions of the young sources
inside the gas ridge at the interface of the HII regions S255 and S257, favor a
site of induced star formation.Comment: 46 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
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