263 research outputs found
SwSt 1: an O-rich planetary nebula around a C-rich central star
The hydrogen-deficient carbon-rich [WCL] type central star HD167362 and its
oxygen-rich planetary nebula (PN) SwSt~1 are investigated. The nebular
chemistry might indicate a recent origin for the carbon-rich stellar spectrum.
Its stellar and nebular properties might therefore provide further
understanding of the origin of the [WCL] central star class. The UV-IR stellar
spectra are modelled with state of the codes and show ~40kK central star with a
wind and a C/O~3, indicative of efficient third dredge-up. The synthetic
stellar flux distribution is used to model the high density, compact PN, which
has a solar C/O ratio, is still enshrouded by 1200K and 230K dust shells and,
reported here for the first time, in molecular hydrogen. Although it appears
that the change in C/O ratio has been recent, the published spectroscopy since
1895 has been re-examined and no clear spectral change is seen. If an event
occurred that has turned it into a hydrogen-deficient central star, it did not
happen in the last 100 years.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures (some are gif files), MNRAS in pres
Use of <i>recA</i> as an alternative phylogenetic marker in the family <i>Vibrionaceae</i>
This study analysed the usefulness of recA gene sequences as an alternative phylogenetic and/or identification marker for vibrios. The recA sequences suggest that the genus Vibrio is polyphyletic. The high heterogeneity observed within vibrios was congruent with former polyphasic taxonomic studies on this group. Photobacterium species clustered together and apparently nested within vibrios, while Grimontia hollisae was apart from other vibrios. Within the vibrios, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio mimicus clustered apart from the other genus members. Vibrio harveyi- and Vibrio splendidus-related species formed compact separated groups. On the other hand, species related to Vibrio tubiashii appeared scattered in the phylogenetic tree. The pairs Vibrio coralliilyticus and Vibrio neptunius, Vibrio nereis and Vibrio xuii and V. tubiashii and Vibrio brasiliensis clustered completely apart from each other. There was a correlation of 0·58 between recA and 16S rDNA pairwise similarities. Strains of the same species have at least 94 % recA sequence similarity. recA gene sequences are much more discriminatory than 16S rDNA. For 16S rDNA similarity values above 98 % there was a wide range of recA similarities, from 83 to 99 %
INTEGRAL observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud region
We present the preliminary results of the INTEGRAL survey of the Large
Magellanic Cloud. The observations have been carried out in January 2003 (about
10^6 s) and January 2004 (about 4x10^5 s). Here we concentrate on the bright
sources LMC X-1, LMC X-2, LMC X-3 located in our satellite galaxy, and on the
serendipitous detections of the Galactic Low Mass X-ray Binary EXO 0748-676 and
of the Seyfert 2 galaxy IRAS 04575-7537.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures. To be published in the Proceedings of the 5th
INTEGRAL Workshop: "The INTEGRAL Universe", February 16-20, 2004, Munic
<i>Vibrio gallicus</i> sp. nov., isolated from the gut of the French abalone <i>Haliotis tuberculata</i>
Five alginolytic, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile bacteria were isolated from the gut of the abalone Haliotis tuberculata. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rDNA data indicated that these strains are related to Vibrio wodanis, Vibrio salmonicida, Vibrio logei and Vibrio fischeri (but with Vibrio gallicus sp. nov. (type strain, CIP 107863T=LMG 21878T=HT2-1T; DNA G+C content, 43·6–44·3 mol%) is proposed for this novel taxon. Several phenotypic features were disclosed that discriminated V. gallicus from other Vibrio species: V. gallicus can be differentiated from Vibrio halioticoli on the basis of four traits (β-galactosidase test and assimilation of three carbon compounds) and from Vibrio superstes by 16 traits
INTEGRAL detection of hard X-rays from NGC 6334: Nonthermal emission from colliding winds or an AGN?
We report the detection of hard X-ray emission from the field of the
star-forming region NGC 6334 with the the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics
Laboratory INTEGRAL. The JEM-X monitor and ISGRI imager aboard INTEGRAL and
Chandra ACIS imager were used to construct 3-80 keV images and spectra of NGC
6334. The 3-10 keV and 10-35 keV images made with JEM-X show a complex
structure of extended emission from NGC 6334. The ISGRI source detected in the
energy ranges 20-40 keV and 40-80 keV coincides with the NGC 6334 ridge. The
20-60 keV flux from the source is (1.8+-0.37)*10(-11) erg cm(-2) s(-1).
Spectral analysis of the source revealed a hard power-law component with a
photon index about 1. The observed X-ray fluxes are in agreement with
extrapolations of X-ray imaging observations of NGC 6334 by Chandra ACIS and
ASCA GIS. The X-ray data are consistent with two very different physical
models. A probable scenario is emission from a heavily absorbed, compact and
hard Chandra source that is associated with the AGN candidate radio source NGC
6334B. Another possible model is the extended Chandra source of nonthermal
emission from NGC 6334 that can also account for the hard X-ray emission
observed by INTEGRAL. The origin of the emission in this scenario is due to
electron acceleration in energetic outflows from massive early type stars. The
possibility of emission from a young supernova remnant, as suggested by earlier
infrared observations of NGC 6334, is constrained by the non-detection of 44Ti
lines.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics (in press
C_2 in Peculiar DQ White Dwarfs
White dwarfs (WDs) with carbon absorption features in their optical spectra
are known as DQ WDs. The subclass of peculiar DQ WDs are cool objects
(T_eff<6000 K) which show molecular absorption bands that have centroid
wavelengths ~100-300 Angstroms shortward of the bandheads of the C_2 Swan
bands. These "peculiar DQ bands" have been attributed to a hydrocarbon such as
C_2H. We point out that C_2H does not show strong absorption bands with
wavelengths matching those of the peculiar DQ bands and neither does any other
simple molecule or ion likely to be present in a cool WD atmosphere. The most
straightforward explanation for the peculiar DQ bands is that they are
pressure-shifted Swan bands of C_2. While current models of WD atmospheres
suggest that, in general, peculiar DQ WDs do not have higher photospheric
pressures than normal DQ WDs do, that finding requires confirmation by improved
models of WD atmospheres and of the behavior of C_2 at high pressures and
temperatures. If it is eventually shown that the peculiar DQ bands cannot be
explained as pressure-shifted Swan bands, the only explanation remaining would
seem to be that they arise from highly rotationally excited C_2 (J_peak>45). In
either case, the absorption band profiles can in principle be used to constrain
the pressure and the rotational temperature of C_2 in the line-forming regions
of normal and peculiar DQ WD atmospheres, which will be useful for comparison
with models. Finally, we note that progress in understanding magnetic DQ WDs
may require models which simultaneously consider magnetic fields, high
pressures and rotational excitation of C_2.Comment: ApJ in press. 8 pages emulateapj style, 1 figur
Spectral Modelling of Star-Forming Regions in the Ultraviolet: Stellar Metallicity Diagnostics for High Redshift Galaxies
The chemical composition of high redshift galaxies is an important property
which gives clues to their past history and future evolution and yet is
difficult to measure with current techniques. In this paper we investigate new
metallicity indicators, based upon the strengths of stellar photospheric
features at rest-frame ultraviolet wavelengths. By combining the evolutionary
spectral synthesis code Starburst99 with the output from the non-LTE model
atmosphere code WM-basic, we have developed a code that can model the
integrated ultraviolet stellar spectra of star-forming regions at metallicities
between 1/20 and twice solar. We use our models to explore a number of spectral
regions that are sensitive to metallicity and clean of other spectral features.
The most promising metallicity indicator is an absorption feature between 1935
A and 2020 A, which arises from the blending of numerous Fe III transitions. We
compare our model spectra to observations of two well studied high redshift
star-forming galaxies, MS1512-cB58 (a Lyman break galaxy at z = 2.7276), and
Q1307-BM1163 (a UV-bright galaxy at z = 1.411). The profiles of the
photospheric absorption features observed in these galaxies are well reproduced
by the models. In addition, the metallicities inferred from their equivalent
widths are in good agreement with previous determinations based on interstellar
absorption and nebular emission lines. Our new technique appears to be a
promising alternative, or complement, to established methods which have only a
limited applicability at high redshifts.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
On the nature of the hard X-ray source IGR J2018+4043
We found a very likely counterpart to the recently discovered hard X-ray
source IGR J2018+4043 in the multi-wavelength observations of the source field.
The source, originally discovered in the 20-40 keV band, is now confidently
detected also in the 40-80 keV band, with a flux of (1.4 +/- 0.4) x 10(-11) erg
cm(-2) s(-1). A 5 ks Swift observation of the IGR J2018+4043 field revealed a
hard point-like source with the observed 0.5-10 keV flux of 3.4(+0.7)(-0.8) x
10(-12) erg cm(-2) s(-1) (90% confidence level) at alpha = 20h18m38.55s, delta
= +40d41m00.4s (with a 4.2" uncertainty). The combined Swift-INTEGRAL spectrum
can be described by an absorbed power-law model with photon index gamma = 1.3
+/- 0.2 and N_H = 6.1(+3.2)(-2.2) x 10(22) cm(-2). In archival optical and
infrared data we found a slightly extended and highly absorbed object at the
Swift source position. There is also an extended VLA 1.4 GHz source peaked at a
beam-width distance from the optical and X-ray positions. The observed
morphology and multiwavelength spectra of IGR J2018+4043 are consistent with
those expected for an obscured accreting object, i.e. an AGN or a Galactic
X-ray binary. The identification suggests possible connection of IGR J2018+4043
to the bright gamma-ray source GEV J2020+4023 (3EG J2020+4017) detected by COS
B and CGRO EGRET in the gamma-Cygni SNR field.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, uses emulateapj styl
Determining the Physical Properties of the B Stars I. Methodology and First Results
We describe a new approach to fitting the UV-to-optical spectra of B stars to
model atmospheres and present initial results. Using a sample of lightly
reddened stars, we demonstrate that the Kurucz model atmospheres can produce
excellent fits to either combined low dispersion IUE and optical photometry or
HST FOS spectrophotometry, as long as the following conditions are fulfilled:
1) an extended grid of Kurucz models is employed,
2) the IUE NEWSIPS data are placed on the FOS absolute flux system using the
Massa & Fitzpatrick (1999) transformation, and
3) all of the model parameters and the effects of interstellar extinction are
solved for simultaneously.
When these steps are taken, the temperatures, gravities, abundances and
microturbulence velocities of lightly reddened B0-A0 V stars are determined to
high precision. We also demonstrate that the same procedure can be used to fit
the energy distributions of stars which are reddened by any UV extinction curve
which can be expressed by the Fitzpatrick & Massa (1990) parameterization
scheme.
We present an initial set of results and verify our approach through
comparisons with angular diameter measurements and the parameters derived for
an eclipsing B star binary. We demonstrate that the metallicity derived from
the ATLAS 9 fits to main sequence B stars is essentially the Fe abundance. We
find that a near zero microturbulence velocity provides the best-fit to all but
the hottest or most luminous stars (where it may become a surrogate for
atmospheric expansion), and that the use of white dwarfs to calibrate UV
spectrophotometry is valid.Comment: 17 pages, including 2 pages of Tables and 6 pages of Figures.
Astrophysical Jounral, in pres
Kinematic Structure of H2 and [Fe II] in the Bipolar Planetary Nebula M 2-9
We present high-dispersion long-slit IR spectra of the double-shell bipolar
planetary nebula M 2-9 in the emission lines [Fe II] 16435 and H2 v=1--0 S(1)
21218. H2 spectra reveal for the first time the kinematic structure of the
outer shell in M 2-9. Kinematics of the inner shell, traced by [Fe II],
resemble those of optical lines like [N II]. [Fe II] and H2 shells have
expansion speeds roughly proportional to distance from the star (``Hubble''
flows) and share the same dynamical age of 1200--2000 yr, depending on the
distance to M 2-9. Thus, the inner ionized lobes and outer molecular lobes, as
well as the molecular torus and ``outer loops'' measured by other observers,
were all formed around the same time. Consequently, their nested structure
likely arises from an excitation gradient rather than independent ejections. H2
and [Fe II] emission is distributed more uniformly than [N II], and IR lines
are not dominated by the moving ionization pattern like visual-wavelength
lines. We suggest that this is because IR lines of [Fe II] and H2 are excited
by relatively isotropic far-UV radiation (Balmer continuum), whereas optical
lines respond to a directed rotating beam of Lyman continuum. Finally, we
highlight intriguing similarities between M 2-9 and the Homunculus of eta
Carinae, despite the different central engines powering the two nebulae.Comment: comments: 16 pages, 5 Figs, Fig 1 in color, accepted by AJ (August
2005
- …