3,431 research outputs found
Mid - infrared interferometry of massive young stellar objects II Evidence for a circumstellar disk surrounding the Kleinmann - Wright object
The formation scenario for massive stars is still under discussion. To
further constrain current theories, it is vital to spatially resolve the
structures from which material accretes onto massive young stellar objects
(MYSOs). Due to the small angular extent of MYSOs, one needs to overcome the
limitations of conventional thermal infrared imaging, regarding spatial
resolution, in order to get observational access to the inner structure of
these objects.We employed mid - infrared interferometry, using the MIDI
instrument on the ESO /VLTI, to investigate the Kleinmann - Wright Object, a
massive young stellar object previously identified as a Herbig Be star
precursor. Dispersed visibility curves in the N- band (8 - 13 {\mu}m) have been
obtained at 5 interferometric baselines. We show that the mid - infrared
emission region is resolved. A qualitative analysis of the data indicates a non
- rotationally symmetric structure, e.g. the projection of an inclined disk. We
employed extensive radiative transfer simulations based on spectral energy
distribution fitting. Since SED - only fitting usually yields degenerate
results, we first employed a statistical analysis of the parameters provided by
the radiative transfer models. In addition, we compared the ten best - fitting
self - consistent models to the interferometric observations. Our analysis of
the Kleinmann - Wright Object suggests the existence of a circumstellar disk of
0.1M\odot at an intermediate inclination of 76\circ, while an additional dusty
envelope is not necessary for fitting the data. Furthermore, we demonstrate
that the combination of IR interferometry with radiative transfer simulations
has the potential to resolve ambiguities arising from the analysis of spectral
energy distributions alone.Comment: 12 pages, 22 figures accepted for publication in A&
Maximum stellar mass versus cluster membership number revisited
We have made a new compilation of observations of maximum stellar mass versus
cluster membership number from the literature, which we analyse for consistency
with the predictions of a simple random drawing hypothesis for stellar mass
selection in clusters. Previously, Weidner and Kroupa have suggested that the
maximum stellar mass is lower, in low mass clusters, than would be expected on
the basis of random drawing, and have pointed out that this could have
important implications for steepening the integrated initial mass function of
the Galaxy (the IGIMF) at high masses. Our compilation demonstrates how the
observed distribution in the plane of maximum stellar mass versus membership
number is affected by the method of target selection; in particular, rather low
n clusters with large maximum stellar masses are abundant in observational
datasets that specifically seek clusters in the environs of high mass stars.
Although we do not consider our compilation to be either complete or unbiased,
we discuss the method by which such data should be statistically analysed. Our
very provisional conclusion is that the data is not indicating any striking
deviation from the expectations of random drawing.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Figures; accepted by MNRAS; Reference added
Visual/infrared interferometry of Orion Trapezium stars: Preliminary dynamical orbit and aperture synthesis imaging of the Theta 1 Orionis C system
Located in the Orion Trapezium cluster, Theta 1 Orionis C is one of the
youngest and nearest high-mass stars (O5-O7) and also known to be a close
binary system. Using new multi-epoch visual and near-infrared bispectrum
speckle interferometric observations obtained at the BTA 6 m telescope, and
IOTA near-infrared long-baseline interferometry, we trace the orbital motion of
the Theta 1 Ori C components over the interval 1997.8 to 2005.9, covering a
significant arc of the orbit. Besides fitting the relative position and the
flux ratio, we apply aperture synthesis techniques to our IOTA data to
reconstruct a model-independent image of the Theta 1 Ori C binary system.
The orbital solutions suggest a high eccentricity (e approx. 0.91) and
short-period (P approx. 10.9 yrs) orbit. As the current astrometric data only
allows rather weak constraints on the total dynamical mass, we present the two
best-fit orbits. From these orbital solutions one can be favoured, implying a
system mass of 48 M_sun and a distance to the Trapezium cluster of 434 pc. When
also taking the measured flux ratio and the derived location in the HR-diagram
into account, we find good agreement for all observables, assuming a spectral
type of O5.5 for Theta 1 Ori C1 (M=34.0 M_sun) and O9.5 for C2 (M=15.5 M_sun).
We find indications that the companion C2 is massive itself, which makes it
likely that its contribution to the intense UV radiation field of the Trapezium
cluster is non-negligible. Furthermore, the high eccentricity of the
preliminary orbit solution predicts a very small physical separation during
periastron passage (approx. 1.5 AU, next passage around 2007.5), suggesting
strong wind-wind interaction between the two O stars.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Ionic structure and photoabsorption in medium sized sodium clusters
We present ground-state configurations and photoabsorption spectra of Na-7+,
Na-27+ and Na-41+. Both the ionic structure and the photoabsorption spectra of
medium-size sodium clusters beyond Na-20 have been calculated self-consistently
with a nonspherical treatment of the valence electrons in density functional
theory. We use a local pseudopotential that has been adjusted to experimental
bulk properties and the atomic 3s level of sodium. Our studies have shown that
both the ionic structure of the ground state and the positions of the plasmon
resonances depend sensitively on the pseudopotential used in the calculation,
which stresses the importance of its consistent use in both steps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in PRB, tentatively July
15th, 1998 some typos corrected, brought to nicer forma
The hot core-ultracompact HII connection in G10.47+0.03
We present infrared imaging and spectroscopic data of the complex massive
star-forming region G10.47+0.03. The detection of seven mid-infrared (MIR)
sources in our field combined with a sensitive Ks/ISAAC image allows to
establish a very accurate astrometry, at the level of 0.3". Two MIR sources are
found to be coincident with two ultracompact HII regions (UCHIIs) within our
astrometric accuracy. Another MIR source lies very close to three other UCHII
regions and to the hot molecular core (HMC) in G10.47+0.03. Spectroscopy of two
of the most interesting MIR sources allows to identify the location and
spectral type of the ionizing sources. We discuss in detail the relationship
between the HMC, the UCHII regions and the nearby MIR source. The nature of the
other MIR sources is also investigated.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
High real-space resolution measurement of the local structure of Ga_1-xIn_xAs using x-ray diffraction
High real-space resolution atomic pair distribution functions (PDF)s from the
alloy series Ga_1-xIn_xAs have been obtained using high-energy x-ray
diffraction. The first peak in the PDF is resolved as a doublet due to the
presence of two nearest neighbor bond lengths, Ga-As and In-As, as previously
observed using XAFS. The widths of nearest, and higher, neighbor pairs are
analyzed by separating the strain broadening from the thermal motion. The
strain broadening is five times larger for distant atomic neighbors as compared
to nearest neighbors. The results are in agreement with model calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
High angular resolution N-band observation of the silicate carbon star IRAS08002-3803 with the VLTI/MIDI instrument
We present the results of N-band spectro-interferometric observations of the
silicate carbon star IRAS08002-3803 with the MID-infrared Interferometric
instrument (MIDI) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) of the
European Southern Observatory (ESO). The observations were carried out using
two unit telescopes (UT2 and UT3) with projected baseline lengths ranging from
39 to 47 m. Our observations of IRAS08002-3803 have spatially resolved the
dusty environment of a silicate carbon star for the first time and revealed an
unexpected wavelength dependence of the angular size in the N band: the
uniform-disk diameter is found to be constant and ~36 mas (72 Rstar) between 8
and 10 micron, while it steeply increases longward of 10 micron to reach ~53
mas (106 Rstar) at 13 micron. Model calculations with our Monte Carlo radiative
transfer code show that neither spherical shell models nor axisymmetric disk
models consisting of silicate grains alone can simultaneously explain the
observed wavelength dependence of the visibility and the spectral energy
distribution (SED). We propose that the circumstellar environment of
IRAS08002-3803 may consist of two grain species coexisting in the disk:
silicate and a second grain species, for which we consider amorphous carbon,
large silicate grains, and metallic iron grains. Comparison of the observed
visibilities and SED with our models shows that such disk models can fairly --
though not entirely satisfactorily -- reproduce the observed SED and N-band
visibilities. Our MIDI observations and the radiative transfer calculations
lend support to the picture where oxygen-rich material around IRAS08002-3803 is
stored in a circumbinary disk surrounding the carbon-rich primary star and its
putative low-luminosity companion.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Local structure study of In_xGa_(1-x)As semiconductor alloys using High Energy Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction
Nearest and higher neighbor distances as well as bond length distributions
(static and thermal) of the In_xGa_(1-x)As (0<x<1) semiconductor alloys have
been obtained from high real-space resolution atomic pair distribution
functions (PDFs). Using this structural information, we modeled the local
atomic displacements in In_xGa_(1-x)As alloys. From a supercell model based on
the Kirkwood potential, we obtained 3-D As and (In,Ga) ensemble averaged
probability distributions. This clearly shows that As atom displacements are
highly directional and can be represented as a combination of and
displacements. Examination of the Kirkwood model indicates that the standard
deviation (sigma) of the static disorder on the (In,Ga) sublattice is around
60% of the value on the As sublattice and the (In,Ga) atomic displacements are
much more isotropic than those on the As sublattice. The single crystal diffuse
scattering calculated from the Kirkwood model shows that atomic displacements
are most strongly correlated along directions.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
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