Debye representation of dispersive focused waves

We report on a matrix-based diffraction integral that evaluates the focal field of any diffraction-limited axisymmetric complex system. This diffraction formula is a generalization of the Debye integral applied to apertured focused beams, which may be accommodated to broadband problems. Longitudinal chromatic aberration may limit the convenience of the Debye formulation and, additionally, spatial boundaries of validity around the focal point are provided. Fresnel number is reformulated in order to guarantee that the focal region is entirely into the region of validity of the Debye approximation when the Fresnel number of the focusing geometry largely exceeds unity. We have applied the matrix-based Debye integral to several examples. Concretely, we present an optical system for beam focusing with strong angular dispersion and free of longitudinal chromatic aberration. This simple formalism leaves an open door for analysis and design of focused beams with arbitrary angular dispersion. Our results are valid for ultrashort pulsed and polychromatic incoherent sources

Discovery of an expanding molecular bubble in Orion BN/KL

During their infancy, stars are well known to expel matter violently in the form of well-defined, collimated outflows. A fairly unique exception is found in the Orion BN/KL star-forming region where a poorly collimated and somewhat disordered outflow composed of numerous elongated ``finger-like'' structures was discovered more than 30 years ago. In this letter, we report the discovery in the same region of an even more atypical outflow phenomenon. Using $^{13}$CO(2-1) line observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA), we have identified there a 500 to 1,000 years old, expanding, roughly spherically symmetric bubble whose characteristics are entirely different from those of known outflows associated with young stellar objects. The center of the bubble coincides with the initial position of a now defunct massive multiple stellar system suspected to have disintegrated 500 years ago, and with the center of symmetry of the system of molecular fingers surrounding the Kleinmann-Low nebula. We hypothesize that the bubble is made up of gas and dust that used to be part of the circumstellar material associated with the decayed multiple system. The Orion hot core, recently proposed to be the result of the impact of a shock wave onto a massive dense core, is located toward the south-east quadrant of the bubble. The supersonic expansion of the bubble, and/or the impact of some low-velocity filaments provide a natural explanation for its origin.Comment: Accepted to ApJ

Explosive Disintegration of a Massive Young Stellar System in Orion

Young massive stars in the center of crowded star clusters are expected to undergo close dynamical encounters that could lead to energetic, explosive events. However, there has so far never been clear observational evidence of such a remarkable phenomenon. We here report new interferometric observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) that indicate the well known enigmatic wide-angle outflow located in the Orion BN/KL star-forming region to have been produced by such a violent explosion during the disruption of a massive young stellar system, and that this was caused by a close dynamical interaction about 500 years ago. This outflow thus belongs to a totally different family of molecular flows which is not related to the classical bipolar flows that are generated by stars during their formation process. Our molecular data allow us to create a 3D view of the debris flow and to link this directly to the well known Orion H$_2$ "fingers" farther outComment: Accepted by ApJ Letters The 3D movie can be found in: ftp://ftp.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/outgoing/lzapata/movie.gi

ALMA observations of the outflow from the Source I in the Orion-KL region

In this {\it Letter}, we present sensitive millimeter SiO (J=5-4; $\nu$=0) line observations of the outflow arising from the enigmatic object Orion Source I made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). The observations reveal that at scales of a few thousand AU, the outflow has a marked "butterfly" morphology along a northeast-southwest axis. However, contrary to what is found in the SiO and H$_2$O maser observations at scales of tens of AU, the blueshifted radial velocities of the moving gas are found to the northwest, while the redshifted velocities are in the southeast. The ALMA observations are complemented with SiO (J=8-7; $\nu$=0) maps (with a similar spatial resolution) obtained with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). These observations also show a similar morphology and velocity structure in this outflow. We discuss some possibilities to explain these differences at small and large scales across the flow.Comment: Accepted to ApJ

Circumbinary Molecular Rings Around Young Stars in Orion

We present high angular resolution 1.3 mm continuum, methyl cyanide molecular line, and 7 mm continuum observations made with the Submillimeter Array and the Very Large Array, toward the most highly obscured and southern part of the massive star forming region OMC1S located behind the Orion Nebula. We find two flattened and rotating molecular structures with sizes of a few hundred astronomical units suggestive of circumbinary molecular rings produced by the presence of two stars with very compact circumstellar disks with sizes and separations of about 50 AU, associated with the young stellar objects 139-409 and 134-411. Furthermore, these two circumbinary rotating rings are related to two compact and bright {\it hot molecular cores}. The dynamic mass of the binary systems obtained from our data are $\geq$ 4 M$_\odot$ for 139-409 and $\geq$ 0.5 M$_\odot$ for 134-411. This result supports the idea that intermediate-mass stars will form through {\it circumstellar disks} and jets/outflows, as the low mass stars do. Furthermore, when intermediate-mass stars are in multiple systems they seem to form a circumbinary ring similar to those seen in young, multiple low-mass systems (e.g., GG Tau and UY Aur).Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic

Diffraction-free beams in thin films

The propagation and transmission of Bessel beams through nano-layered structures has been discussed recently. Within this framework we recognize the formation of unguided diffraction-free waves with the spot size approaching and occasionally surpassing the limit of a wavelength when a Bessel beam of any order n is launched onto a thin material slab with grazing incidence. Based on the plane-wave representation of cylindrical waves, a simple model is introduced providing an exact prescription of the transverse pattern of this type of diffraction-suppressed localized waves. Potential applications in surface science are put forward for consideration

Macroporous silicon for high-capacitance devices using metal electrodes

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version