1,516 research outputs found
Near-Infrared Photometric Variability of Stars Toward the Orion A Molecular Cloud
We present an analysis of J, H, and K time series photometry obtained with
the southern 2MASS telescope over a 0.84 x 6 deg^2 region centered near the
Orion Nebula Cluster. These data are used to establish the near-infrared
variability properties of pre-main-sequence stars in Orion on time scales of
1-36 days, 2 months, and 2 years. A total of 1235 variable stars are
identified, ~93% of which are associated with the Orion A molecular cloud. The
variable stars exhibit a diversity of photometric behavior with time, including
cyclic fluctuations, aperiodic day-to-day fluctuations, eclipses, slow drifts
in brightness over one month, colorless variability, stars that become redder
as they fade, and stars that become bluer as they fade. We examine rotational
modulation of cool and hot star spots, variable obscuration from an inner
circumstellar disk, and changes in the mass accretion rate and other properties
in a circumstellar disk as possible origins of the variability. Cool spots can
explain the variability characteristics in 56-77% of the stars, while the
properties of the photometric fluctuations are more consistent with hot spots
or extinction changes in at least 23% of the stars, and with variations in the
disk mass accretion rate or inner disk radius in 1% of our sample. However,
differences between the details of the observations and the details of
variability predicted these models suggest either that another variability
mechanism not considered here may be operative, or that the observed
variability represents the net results of several of these phenomena. Analysis
of the star count data indicates that the ONC is part of a larger area of
enhanced stellar surface density which extends over a 0.4 x 2.4 deg^2 (3.4 x 20
pc^2) region containing 2700 stars brighter than K=14. (abridged version)Comment: 75 pages with 27 figures; to appear in AJ; see also
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~jmc/variables/orio
Periodic Photometric Variability in the Becklin-Neugebauer Object
The Becklin-Neugebauer (BN) object in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) is a
well-studied optically invisible, infrared-bright young stellar object, thought
to be an intermediate-mass protostar. We report here that BN exhibited
nearly-sinusoidal periodic variability at the near-infrared H- and Ks-bands
during a one month observing campaign in 2000 March/April. The period was 8.28
days and the peak-to-peak amplitude ~0.2 mag. Plausible mechanisms for
producing the observed variability characteristics are explored.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter
Near-Infrared Photometric Variability of Stars Toward the Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud
We present the results of a J, H, and K_s photometric monitoring campaign of
a 0.72 x 6 sq deg. area centered on the Chamaeleon I star forming region. Data
were obtained on 15 separate nights over a 4 month time interval using the
2MASS South telescope. Out of a total of 34,539 sources brighter than the
photometric completeness limits (J=16.0, H=15.2, K_s=14.8), 95 exhibit
near-infrared variability in one or more bands. The variables can be grouped
into a population of bright, red objects that are associated with the
Chamaeleon I association, and a population of faint, blue variables that are
dispersed over the full 6 deg of the survey and are likely field stars or older
pre-main-sequence stars unrelated to the present-day Chamaeleon I molecular
cloud. Ten new candidate members of Chamaeleon I, including 8 brown dwarf
candidates, have been identified based on variability and/or near-infrared
excess emission in the J-H vs. H-K_s color-color-diagram. We also provide a
compendium of astrometry and J, H, and K_s photometry for previously identified
members and candidate members of Chamaeleon I.Comment: To appear in AJ; see
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~jmc/variables/cham1
Discovery of low mass objects in Taurus
In infrared (2.2 micron, K-band) search of small regions (25 in square) near 26 members of the Taurus star-forming association has revealed 20 dim (K = 13-16 mag) stellar objects near 13 of them. Of these 20 objects, 9 are exceptionally red. It is argued that these 9 are probably also Taurus members. From the luminosities (0.4 to 4 times 10 the -3 power luminosity) and ages (estimated at 10(exp 6) years), masses can be determined by reference to theoretical low-mass cooling curves. The masses are in the range 0.005 to 0.015 solar mass, i.e., low-mass brown dwarfs. Proper motion studies of 7 of the objects visible on the POSS plates conducted by Burton Jones establish that 4 are highly probable Taurus members while 1 is a possible member
Disentangling the Origin and Heating Mechanism of Supernova Dust: Late-Time Spitzer Spectroscopy of the Type IIn SN 2005ip
This paper presents late-time near-infrared and {\it Spitzer} mid-infrared
photometric and spectroscopic observations of warm dust in the Type IIn SN
2005ip in NGC 2906. The spectra show evidence for two dust components with
different temperatures. Spanning the peak of the thermal emission, these
observations provide strong constraints on the dust mass, temperature, and
luminosity, which serve as critical diagnostics for disentangling the origin
and heating mechanism of each component. The results suggest the warmer dust
has a mass of \msolar, originates from newly formed
dust in the ejecta, or possibly the cool, dense shell, and is continuously
heated by the circumstellar interaction. By contrast, the cooler component
likely originates from a circumstellar shock echo that forms from the heating
of a large, pre-existing dust shell ~\msolar~by the late-time
circumstellar interaction. The progenitor wind velocity derived from the blue
edge of the He 1 1.083 \micron~P Cygni profile indicates a progenitor eruption
likely formed this dust shell 100 years prior to the supernova explosion,
which is consistent with a Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) progenitor star.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, Accepted to Ap
A Global Photometric Analysis of 2MASS Calibration Data
We present results from the application of a global photometric calibration
(GPC) procedure to calibration data from the first 2 years of The Two Micron
All Sky Survey (2MASS). The GPC algorithm uses photometry of both primary
standards and moderately bright `tracer' stars in 35 2MASS calibration fields.
During the first two years of the Survey, each standard was observed on
approximately 50 nights, with about 900 individual measurements. Based on the
photometry of primary standard stars and secondary tracer stars and under the
assumption that the nightly zeropoint drift is linear, GPC ties together all
calibration fields and all survey nights simultaneously, producing a globally
optimized solution. Calibration solutions for the Northern and Southern
hemisphere observatories are found separately, and are tested for global
consistency based on common fields near the celestial equator.
Several results from the GPC are presented, including establishing candidate
secondary standards, monitoring of near-infrared atmospheric extinction
coefficients, and verification of global validity of the standards. The
solution gives long-term averages of the atmospheric extinction coefficients,
A_J=0.096, A_H=0.026, A_{K_s}=0.066 (North) and A_J=0.092, A_H=0.031,
A_{K_s}=0.065 (South), with formal error of 0.001. The residuals show small
seasonal variations, most likely due to changing atmospheric content of water
vapor. Extension of the GPC to approximately 100 field stars in each of the 35
calibration fields yields a catalog of more than two thousand photometric
standards ranging from 10th to 14th magnitude, with photometry that is globally
consistent to .Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures; Submitted to AJ. The table of secondary
standards is available from ftp://nova.astro.umass.edu/pub/nikolaev/ or
ftp://anon-ftp.ipac.caltech.edu/pub/2mass/globalcal
2MASS Studies of Differential Reddening Across Three Massive Globular Clusters
J, H, and K_S band data from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) are used
to study the effects of differential reddening across the three massive
Galactic globular clusters Omega Centauri, NGC 6388, and NGC 6441. Evidence is
found that variable extinction may produce false detections of tidal tails
around Omega Centauri. We also investigate what appears to be relatively strong
differential reddening towards NGC 6388 and NGC 6441, and find that
differential extinction may be exaggerating the need for a metallicity spread
to explain the width of the red giant branches for these two clusters. Finally,
we consider the implications of these results for the connection between
unusual, multipopulation globular clusters and the cores of dwarf spheroidal
galaxies (dSph).Comment: 40 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in Oct. 2003 A
Late-Time Circumstellar Interaction in a Spitzer Selected Sample of Type IIn Supernovae
Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn) are a rare (< 10%) subclass of core-collapse
SNe that exhibit relatively narrow emission lines from a dense, pre-existing
circumstellar medium (CSM). In 2009, a warm Spitzer survey observed 30 SNe IIn
discovered in 2003 - 2008 and detected 10 SNe at distances out to 175 Mpc with
unreported late-time infrared emission, in some cases more than 5 years
post-discovery. For this single epoch of data, the warm-dust parameters suggest
the presence of a radiative heating source consisting of optical/X-ray emission
continuously generated by ongoing CSM interaction. Here we present
multi-wavelength follow-up observations of this sample of 10 SNe IIn and the
well-studied Type IIn SN 2010jl. A recent epoch of Spitzer observations reveals
ongoing mid-infrared emission from nine of the SNe in this sample. We also
detect three of the SNe in archival WISE data, in addition to SNe 1987A,
2004dj, and 2008iy. For at least five of the SNe in the sample, optical and/or
X-ray emission confirms the presence of radiative emission from ongoing CSM
interaction. The two Spitzer nondetections are consistent with the forward
shock overrunning and destroying the dust shell, a result that places upper
limits on the dust-shell size. The optical and infrared observations confirm
the radiative heating model and constrain a number of model parameters,
including progenitor mass-loss characteristics. All of the SNe in this sample
experienced an outburst on the order of tens to hundreds of years prior to the
SN explosion followed by periods of less intense mass loss. Although all
evidence points to massive progenitors, the variation in the data highlights
the diversity in SN IIn progenitor evolution. While these observations do not
identify a particular progenitor system, they demonstrate that future,
coordinated, multi-wavelength campaigns can constrain theoretical mass-loss
models.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted to AJ (with comments
The Dog on the Ship: The "Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy" as an Outlying Part of the Argo Star System
Overdensities in the distribution of low latitude, 2MASS giant stars are
revealed by systematically peeling away from sky maps the bulk of the giant
stars conforming to ``isotropic'' density laws generally accounting for known
Milky Way components. This procedure, combined with a higher resolution
treatment of the sky density of both giants and dust allows us to probe to
lower Galactic latitudes than previous 2MASS giant star studies. While the
results show the swath of excess giants previously associated with the
Monoceros ring system in the second and third Galactic quadrants at distances
of 6-20 kpc, we also find a several times larger overdensity of giants in the
same distance range concentrated in the direction of the ancient constellation
Argo. Isodensity contours of the large structure suggest that it is highly
elongated and inclined by about 3 deg to the disk, although details of the
structure -- including the actual location of highest density, overall extent,
true shape -- and its origin, remain unknown because only a fraction of it lies
outside highly dust-obscured, low latitude regions. Nevertheless, our results
suggest that the 2MASS M giant overdensity previously claimed to represent the
core of a dwarf galaxy in Canis Major (l ~ 240 deg) is an artifact of a dust
extinction window opening to the overall density rise to the more significant
Argo structure centered at larger longitude (l ~ 290 +- 10 deg, b ~ -4 +- 2
deg).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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