1,844 research outputs found
Non-adiabatic effects in long-pulse mixed-field orientation of a linear polar molecule
We present a theoretical study of the impact of an electrostatic field
combined with non-resonant linearly polarized laser pulses on the rotational
dynamics of linear molecules. Within the rigid rotor approximation, we solve
the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation for several field configurations.
Using the OCS molecule as prototype, the field-dressed dynamics is analyzed in
detail for experimentally accessible static field strengths and laser pulses.
Results for directional cosines are presented and compared to the predictions
of the adiabatic theory. We demonstrate that for prototypical field
configuration used in current mixed-field orientation experiments, the
molecular field dynamics is, in general, non-adiabatic, being mandatory a
time-dependent description of these systems. We investigate several field
regimes identifying the sources of non-adiabatic effects, and provide the field
parameters under which the adiabatic dynamics would be achieved.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
K-shell x-ray spectroscopy of atomic nitrogen
Absolute {\it K}-shell photoionization cross sections for atomic nitrogen
have been obtained from both experiment and state-of-the-art theoretical
techniques. Due to the difficulty of creating a target of neutral atomic
nitrogen, no high-resolution {\it K}-edge spectroscopy measurements have been
reported for this important atom. Interplay between theory and experiment
enabled identification and characterization of the strong
resonance features throughout the threshold region. An experimental value
of 409.64 0.02 eV was determined for the {\it K}-shell binding energy.Comment: 4 pages, 2 graphs, 1 tabl
Multiple episodes of star formation in the CN15/16/17 molecular complex
We have started a campaign to identify massive star clusters inside bright
molecular bubbles towards the Galactic Center. The CN15/16/17 molecular complex
is the first example of our study. The region is characterized by the presence
of two young clusters, DB10 and DB11, visible in the NIR, an ultra-compact HII
region identified in the radio, several young stellar objects visible in the
MIR, a bright diffuse nebulosity at 8\mu m coming from PAHs and sub-mm
continuum emission revealing the presence of cold dust. Given its position on
the sky (l=0.58, b=-0.85) and its kinematic distance of ~7.5 kpc, the region
was thought to be a very massive site of star formation in proximity of the
CMZ. The cluster DB11 was estimated to be as massive as 10^4 M_sun. However the
region's properties were known only through photometry and its kinematic
distance was very uncertain given its location at the tangential point. We
aimed at better characterizing the region and assess whether it could be a site
of massive star formation located close to the Galactic Center. We have
obtained NTT/SofI JHKs photometry and long slit K band spectroscopy of the
brightest members. We have additionally collected data in the radio, sub-mm and
mid infrared, resulting in a quite different picture of the region. We have
confirmed the presence of massive early B type stars and have derived a
spectro-photometric distance of ~1.2 kpc, much smaller than the kinematic
distance. Adopting this distance we obtain clusters masses of M(DB10) ~ 170
M_sun and M(DB11) ~ 275 M_sun. This is consistent with the absence of any O
star, confirmed by the excitation/ionization status of the nebula. No HeI
diffuse emission is detected in our spectroscopic observations at 2.113\mu m,
which would be expected if the region was hosting more massive stars. Radio
continuum measurements are also consistent with the region hosting at most
early B stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Fig. 1 and 3
presented in reduced resolutio
Deep near-infrared imaging of W3 Main: constraints on stellar cluster formation
Embedded clusters like W3 Main are complex and dynamically evolving systems
that represent an important phase of the star formation process. We aim at the
characterization of the entire stellar content of W3 Main in a statistical
sense to identify possible differences in evolutionary phase of the stellar
populations and find clues about the formation mechanism of this massive
embedded cluster. Methods. Deep JHKs imaging is used to derive the disk
fraction, Ks-band luminosity functions and mass functions for several
subregions in W3 Main. A two dimensional completeness analysis using artificial
star experiments is applied as a crucial ingredient to assess realistic
completeness limits for our photometry. We find an overall disk fraction of 7.7
2.3%, radially varying from 9.4 3.0 % in the central 1 pc to 5.6
2.2 % in the outer parts of W3 Main. The mass functions derived for three
subregions are consistent with a Kroupa and Chabrier mass function. The mass
function of IRSN3 is complete down to 0.14 Msun and shows a break at M
0.5 Msun. We interpret the higher disk fraction in the center as evidence for a
younger age of the cluster center. We find that the evolutionary sequence
observed in the low-mass stellar population is consistent with the observed age
spread among the massive stars. An analysis of the mass function variations
does not show evidence for mass segregation. W3 Main is currently still
actively forming stars, showing that the ionizing feedback of OB stars is
confined to small areas ( 0.5 pc). The FUV feedback might be influencing
large regions of the cluster as suggested by the low overall disk fraction.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted by A&
Age spread in Galactic star forming region W3 Main
We present near-infrared JHKs imaging as well as K-band multi-object
spectroscopy of the massive stellar content of W3 Main using LUCI at the LBT.
We confirm 13 OB stars by their absorption line spectra in W3 Main and spectral
types between O5V and B4V have been found. Three massive Young Stellar Objects
are identified by their emission line spectra and near-infrared excess. From
our spectrophotometric analysis of the massive stars and the nature of their
surrounding HII regions we derive the evolutionary sequence of W3 Main and we
find an age spread of 2-3 Myr.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, To appear in conference proceedings of "370 years
of Astronomy in Utrecht
The low-mass Initial Mass Function in the 30 Doradus starburst cluster
We present deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NICMOS 2 F160W band observations
of the central 56*57" (14pc*14.25pc) region around R136 in the starburst
cluster 30 Dor (NGC 2070) located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Our aim is to
derive the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) down to ~1 Msun in order to test
whether the IMF in a massive metal-poor cluster is similar to that observed in
nearby young clusters and the field in our Galaxy. We estimate the mean age of
the cluster to be 3 Myr by combining our F160W photometry with previously
obtained HST WFPC2 optical F555W and F814W band photometry and comparing the
stellar locus in the color-magnitude diagram with main sequence and pre-main
sequence isochrones. The color-magnitude diagrams show the presence of
differential extinction and possibly an age spread of a few megayears. We
convert the magnitudes into masses adopting both a single mean age of 3 Myr
isochrone and a constant star formation history from 2 to 4 Myr. We derive the
IMF after correcting for incompleteness due to crowding. The faintest stars
detected have a mass of 0.5 Msun and the data are more than 50% complete
outside a radius of 5 pc down to a mass limit of 1.1 Msun for 3 Myr old
objects. We find an IMF of dN/dlog(M) M^(-1.20+-0.2) over the mass range
1.1--20 Msun only slightly shallower than a Salpeter IMF. In particular, we
find no strong evidence for a flattening of the IMF down to 1.1 Msun at a
distance of 5 pc from the center, in contrast to a flattening at 2 Msun at a
radius of 2 pc, reported in a previous optical HST study. We examine several
possible reasons for the different results. If the IMF determined here applies
to the whole cluster, the cluster would be massive enough to remain bound and
evolve into a relatively low-mass globular cluster.Comment: Accepted in ApJ. Abstract abridge
Fully quantum state-resolved inelastic scattering of NO(X) + Kr: Differential cross sections and product rotational alignment
Fully quantum state selected and resolved inelastic scattering of NO(X) by krypton has been investigated. Initial Λ-doublet state selection is achieved using an inhomogeneous hexapole electric field. Differential cross sections and even-moment polarization dependent differential cross sections have been obtained at a collision energy of 514 cm^−1 for both spin-orbit and parity conserving and changing collisions. Experimental results are compared with those obtained from quantum scattering calculations and are shown to be in very good agreement. Hard shell quantum scattering calculations are also performed to determine the effects of the different parts of the potential on the scattering dynamics. Comparisons are also made with the NO(X)+Ar system
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