152 research outputs found
Helium Ionization in the Diffuse Ionized Gas surrounding UCHII regions
We present measurements of the singly ionized helium to hydrogen ratio
() toward diffuse gas surrounding three Ultra-Compact HII
(UCHII ) regions: G10.15-0.34, G23.46-0.20 \& G29.96-0.02. We observe radio
recombination lines (RRLs) of hydrogen and helium near 5 GHz using the GBT to
measure the ratio. The measurements are motivated by the low
helium ionization observed in the warm ionized medium (WIM) and in the inner
Galaxy diffuse ionized regions (DIR). Our data indicate that the helium is not
uniformly ionized in the three observed sources. Helium lines are not detected
toward a few observed positions in sources G10.15-0.34 \& G23.46-0.20 and the
upper limits of the ratio obtained are 0.03 and 0.05
respectively. The selected sources harbor stars of type O6 or hotter as
indicated by helium line detection toward the bright radio continuum emission
from the sources with mean value 0.060.02. Our data
thus show that helium in diffuse gas located a few pc away from the young
massive stars embedded in the observed regions is not fully ionized.We
investigate the origin of the non-uniform helium ionization and rule out the
possibilities : (a) that the helium is doubly ionized in the observed regions
and (b) that the low values are due to additional hydrogen
ionizing radiation produced by accreting low-mass stars (Smith 2014). We find
that selective absorption of ionizing photons by dust can result in low helium
ionization but needs further investigation to develop a self-consistent model
for dust in HII regions.Comment: 43 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables accepted to Ap
Magnetic fields at the periphery of UCHII regions from carbon recombination line observations
Several indirect evidences indicate a magnetic origin for the non-thermal
width of spectral lines observed toward molecular clouds. In this letter, I
suggest that the origin of the non-thermal width of carbon recombination lines
(CRLs) observed from photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) near ultra-compact \HII\
regions is magnetic and that the magnitude of the line width is an estimate of
the \alfven speed. The magnetic field strengths estimated based on this
suggestion compare well with those measured toward molecular clouds with
densities similar to PDR densities. I conclude that multi-frequency CRL
observations have the potential to form a new tool to determine the field
strength near star forming regions.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letter
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
Spatial Effects and GWA Mapping of Root Colonization Assessed in the Interaction Between the Rice Diversity Panel 1 and an Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus
The majority of the research reported here is an output of EU project “EURoot” (FP7-KBBE-2011-5 Grant Agreement No. 289300) project. RS’s contribution was funded by FACCE-JPI NET project “GreenRice” (Sustainable and environmental friendly rice cultivation systems in Europe) and was funded by the BBSRC award BB/M018415/1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Implementation of a neonatal hearing screening programme in three provinces in Albania
Objectives: The EUSCREEN study compares the cost-effectiveness of paediatric hearing screening programmes and aims to develop a cost-effectiveness model for this purpose. Alongside and informed by the development of the model, neonatal hearing screening (NHS) is implemented in Albania. We report on the first year. Methods: An implementation plan was made addressing objectives, target population, screening protocol, screener training, screening devices, care pathways and follow up. NHS started January 1st, 2018 in four maternity hospitals: two in Tirana, one in Pogradec and one in Kukës, representing both urban and rural areas. OAE-OAE-aABR was used to screen well infants in maternity hospitals, whereas aABR-aABR was used in neonatal intensive care units and in mountainous Kukës for all infants. Screeners’ uptake and attitudes towards screening and quality of screening were assessed by distributing questionnaires and visiting the maternity hospitals. The result of screening, diagnostics, follow up and entry into early intervention were registered in a database and monitored. Results: Screeners were keen to improve their skills in screening and considered NHS valuable for Albanian health care. The number of “fail” outcomes after the first screen was high initially but decreased to less than 10% after eight months. In 2018, 11,507 infants were born in the four participating maternity hospitals, 10,925 (94.9%) of whom were screened in the first step. For 486 infants the result of screening was not registered. For the first screen, ten parents declined, eight infants died and one infant was discharged before screening could be performed. In 1115 (10.2%) infants the test either could not be performed or the threshold was not reached; 361 (32,4%) of these did not attend the second screen. For the third screen 31 (34.4%) out of 90 did not attend. Reasons given were: parents declined (124), lived too far from screening location (95), their infant died (11), had other health issues (7), or was screened in private clinic (17), no reason given (138). Conclusions: Implementation of NHS in Albania is feasible despite continuing challenges. Acceptance was high for the first screen. However, 32.4% of 1115 infants did not attend the second screen, after a “fail” outcome for the first test
Densities and filling factors of the DIG in the Solar neighbourhood
For the first time we have combined dispersion measures and emission measures
towards 38 pulsars at KNOWN distances from which we derived the mean electron
density in clouds, N_c, and their volume filling factor, F_v, averaged along
the line of sight. The emission measures were corrected for absorption by dust
and contributions from beyond the pulsar distance. Results: The scale height of
the electron layer for our sample is 0.93+/-0.13 kpc and the midplane electron
density is 0.023+/-0.004 cm^-3, in agreement with earlier results. The average
density along the line of sight is = 0.018+/-0.002 cm^-3 and nearly
constant. Since = F_v N_c, an inverse relationship between F_v and N_c is
expected. We find F_v(N_c) = (0.011+/-0.003) N_c^{-1.20+/-0.13}, which holds
for the ranges N_c = 0.05-1 cm^-3 and F_v = 0.4-0.01. Near the Galactic plane
the dependence of F_v on N_c is significantly stronger than away from the
plane. F_v does not systematically change along or perpendicular to the
Galactic plane, but the spread about the mean value of 0.08+/-0.02 is
considerable. Conclusions: The inverse F_v-N_c relation is consistent with a
hierarchical, fractal density distribution in the diffuse ionized gas (DIG)
caused by turbulence. The observed near constancy of then is a signature
of fractal structure in the ionized medium, which is most pronounced outside
the thin disk.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Carbon Recombination Lines from the Galactic Plane at 34.5 & 328 MHz
We present results of a search for carbon recombination lines in the Galaxy
at 34.5 MHz (C) made using the dipole array at Gauribidanur near
Bangalore. Observations made towards 32 directions, led to detections of lines
in absorption at nine positions. Followup observations at 328 MHz
(C) using the Ooty Radio Telescope detected these lines in emission.
A VLA D-array observation of one of the positions at 330 MHz yielded no
detection implying a lower limit of 10' for the angular size of the line
forming region.
The longitude-velocity distribution of the observed carbon lines indicate
that the line forming region are located mainly between 4 kpc and 7 kpc from
the Galactic centre. Combining our results with published carbon recombination
line data near 76 MHz (\nocite{erickson:95} Erickson \et 1995) we obtain
constraints on the physical parameters of the line forming regions. We find
that if the angular size of the line forming regions is , then
the range of parameters that fit the data are: \Te K, \ne \cm3 and pathlengths pc which may correspond to thin
photo-dissociated regions around molecular clouds. On the other hand, if the
line forming regions are in extent, then warmer gas (\Te K) with lower electron densities (\ne \cm3) extending
over several tens of parsecs along the line of sight and possibly associated
with atomic \HI gas can fit the data. Based on the range of derived parameters,
we suggest that the carbon line regions are most likely associated with
photo-dissociation regions.Comment: To appear in Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy, March 200
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