942 research outputs found
Filamentary Accretion Flows in the Embedded Serpens South Protocluster
One puzzle in understanding how stars form in clusters is the source of mass
-- is all of the mass in place before the first stars are born, or is there an
extended period when the cluster accretes material which can continuously fuel
the star formation process? We use a multi-line spectral survey of the southern
filament associated with the Serpens South embedded cluster-forming region in
order to determine if mass is accreting from the filament onto the cluster, and
whether the accretion rate is significant. Our analysis suggests that material
is flowing along the filament's long axis at a rate of ~30Msol/Myr (inferred
from the N2H+ velocity gradient along the filament), and radially contracting
onto the filament at ~130Msol/Myr (inferred from HNC self-absorption). These
accretion rates are sufficient to supply mass to the central cluster at a
similar rate to the current star formation rate in the cluster. Filamentary
accretion flows may therefore be very important in the ongoing evolution of
this cluster.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in Ap
Observations of Global and Local Infall in NGC 1333
We report ``infall asymmetry'' in the HCO (1--0) and (3--2) lines toward
NGC 1333, extended over , a larger extent than has been
reported be fore, for any star-forming region. The infall asymmetry extends
over a major portion of the star-forming complex, and is not limited to a
single protostar, or to a single dense core, or to a single spectral line. It
seems likely that the infall asymmetry represents inward motions, and that
these motions are physically associated with the complex. Both blue-asymmetric
and red-asymmetric lines are seen, but in both the (3--2) and (1--0) lines of
HCO the vast majority of the asymmetric lines are blue, indicating inward
motions. The (3--2) line, tracing denser gas, has the spectra with the
strongest asymmetry and these spectra are associated with the protostars IRAS
4A and 4B, which most likely indicates a warm central source is affecting the
line profiles. The (3--2) and (1--0) lines usually have the same sense of
asymmetry in common positions, but their profiles differ significantly, and the
(1--0) line appears to trace motions on much larger spatial scales than does
the (3--2) line. Line profile models fit the spectra well, but do not strongly
constrain their parameters. The mass accretion rate of the inward motions is of
order 10 M/yr, similar to the ratio of stellar mass to cluster
age.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, 1 colour figur
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Atomic and Molecular Layer Processes for Industrial Applications in Semiconductors, Pharmaceuticals and Optics
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin film growth technique which deposits conformal, pin-hole free films with sub-nanometer precision. Molecular layer deposition (MLD) is an analogous process to ALD where molecular fragments are used to deposit all-organic or organic-inorganic hybrid films. Both ALD and MLD have been employed in numerous industries to advance technologies, notably in the semiconductor, energy storage, display and optics industries. In this thesis, I present three projects which utilize ALD and MLD processes for industrial applications in semiconductors, drug delivery and optical devices. The first project describes a study of the conversion of ZnO to Al2O3 using trimethylaluminum. Past instances of conversion are introduced, a number of analytical techniques are used to show evidence of the conversion mechanism and the generality of exchange reactions is discussed. Exchange reactions are becoming important to consider during ALD processes and as a processing tool in the semiconductor industry. The second project develops low-temperature MLD and ALD processes to coat nanoparticles. The construction of a new reactor built specifically for particle MLD is presented. Evidence of controlled polyamide MLD coatings is shown and we demonstrate MLD and ALD films may be used to modulate the release of pharmaceutical powders. The third project uses ALD to smooth surface roughness and improve the optical performance of Ag mirrors. Current smoothing techniques are abrasive and detrimental to mirror performance. The ALD process shows significant smoothing capabilities of both nano and microscale roughness and dramatically recovers reflectance performance lost due to optical scatter. These projects demonstrate the versatility of ALD and MLD processes and show precise thin film deposition techniques will continue to find use in numerous semiconductor and non-semiconductor industries.</p
The Spitzer c2d Survey of Nearby Dense Cores. IX. Discovery of a Very Low Luminosity Object Driving a Molecular Outflow in the Dense Core L673-7
We present new infrared, submillimeter, and millimeter observations of the
dense core L673-7 and report the discovery of a low-luminosity, embedded Class
0 protostar driving a molecular outflow. L673-7 is seen in absorption against
the mid-infrared background in 5.8, 8, and 24 micron Spitzer images, allowing
for a derivation of the column density profile and total enclosed mass of
L673-7, independent of dust temperature assumptions. Estimates of the core mass
from these absorption profiles range from 0.2-4.5 solar masses. Millimeter
continuum emission indicates a mass of about 2 solar masses, both from a direct
calculation assuming isothermal dust and from dust radiative transfer models
constrained by the millimeter observations. We use dust radiative transfer
models to constrain the internal luminosity of L673-7, defined to be the
luminosity of the central source and excluding the luminosity from external
heating, to be 0.01-0.045 solar luminosities, with 0.04 solar luminosities the
most likely value. L673-7 is thus classified as a very low luminosity object
(VeLLO), and is among the lowest luminosity VeLLOs yet studied. We calculate
the kinematic and dynamic properties of the molecular outflow in the standard
manner, and we show that the expected accretion luminosity based on these
outflow properties is greater than or equal to 0.36 solar luminosities. The
discrepancy between this expected accretion luminosity and the internal
luminosity derived from dust radiative transfer models indicates that the
current accretion rate is much lower than the average rate over the lifetime of
the outflow. Although the protostar embedded within L673-7 is consistent with
currently being substellar, it is unlikely to remain as such given the
substantial mass reservoir remaining in the core.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures. Accepted by Ap
Infall/Expansion Velocities in the Low-Mass Dense Cores L492, L694-2, and L1521F: Dependence on Position and Molecular Tracer
Although surveys of infall motions in dense cores have been carried out for
years, few surveys have focused on mapping infall across cores using multiple
spectral line observations. To fill this gap, we present IRAM 30-m Telescope
maps of N2H+(1-0), DCO+(2-1), DCO+(3-2), and HCO+(3-2) emission towards two
prestellar cores (L492 and L694-2) and one protostellar core (L1521F). We find
that the measured infall velocity varies with position across each core and
choice of molecular line, likely as a result of radial variations in core
chemistry and dynamics. Line-of-sight infall speeds estimated from DCO+(2-1)
line profiles can decrease by 40-50 m/s when observing at a radial offset >=
0.04 pc from the core's dust continuum emission peak. Median infall speeds
calculated from all observed positions across a core can also vary by as much
as 65 m/s depending on the transition. These results show that while
single-pointing, single-transition surveys of core infall velocities may be
good indicators of whether a core is either contracting or expanding, the
magnitude of the velocities they measure are significantly impacted by the
choice of molecular line, proximity to the core center, and core evolutionary
state.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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The Spitzer c2d Survey Of Nearby Dense Cores. X. Star Formation In L673 And Cb188
L673 and CB188 are two low-mass clouds isolated from large star-forming regions that were observed as part of the Spitzer Legacy Project "From Molecular Clouds to Planet Forming disks" (c2d). We identified and characterized all the young stellar objects (YSOs) of these two regions and modeled their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to examine whether their physical properties are consistent with values predicted from the theoretical models and with the YSO properties in the c2d survey of larger clouds. Overall, 30 YSO candidates were identified by the c2d photometric criteria, 27 in L673 and 3 in CB188. We confirm the YSO nature of 29 of them and remove a false Class III candidate in L673. We further present the discovery of two new YSO candidates, one Class 0 and another possible Class I candidate in L673, therefore bringing the total number of YSO candidates to 31. Multiple sites of star formation are present within L673, closely resembling other well-studied c2d clouds containing small groups such as B59 and L1251B, whereas CB188 seems to consist of only one isolated globule-like core. We measure a star formation efficiency (SFE) of 4.6%, which resembles the SFE of the larger c2d clouds. From the SED modeling of our YSO sample we obtain envelope masses for Class I and Flat spectrum sources of 0.01-1.0 M-circle dot. The majority of Class II YSOs show disk accretion rates from 3.3 x 10(-10) to 3 x 10(-8) M-circle dot yr(-1) and disk masses that peak at 10(-4) to 10(-3) M-circle dot. Finally, we examined the possibility of thermal fragmentation in L673 as the main star-forming process. We find that the mean density of the regions where significant YSO clustering occurs is of the order of similar to 10(5) cm(-3) using 850 mu m observations and measure a Jeans Length that is greater than the near-neighbor YSO separations by approximately a factor of 3-4. We therefore suggest that other processes, such as turbulence and shock waves, may have had a significant effect on the cloud's filamentary structure and YSO clustering.University of SouthamptonNASA 1279198, 1288806, 1365763Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyAstronom
The Spitzer c2d Survey of Nearby Dense Cores. V. Discovery of a VeLLO in the "Starless" Dense Core L328
This paper reports the discovery of a Very Low Luminosity Object (VeLLO) in
the "starless" dense core L328, using the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground
based observations from near-infrared to millimeter wavelengths. The Spitzer 8
micron image indicates that L328 consists of three subcores of which the
smallest one may harbor a source, L328-IRS while two other subcores remain
starless. L328-IRS is a Class 0 protostar according to its bolometric
temperature (44 K) and the high fraction ~72 % of its luminosity emitted at
sub-millimeter wavelengths. Its inferred "internal luminosity" (0.04 - 0.06
Lsun) using a radiative transfer model under the most plausible assumption of
its distance as 200 pc is much fainter than for a typical protostar, and even
fainter than other VeLLOs studied previously. Note, however, that its inferred
luminosity may be uncertain by a factor of 2-3 if we consider two extreme
values of the distance of L328-IRS (125 or 310 pc). Low angular resolution
observations of CO do not show any clear evidence of a molecular outflow
activity. But broad line widths toward L328, and Spitzer and near-infrared
images showing nebulosity possibly tracing an outflow cavity, strongly suggest
the existence of outflow activity. Provided that an envelope of at most ~0.1
Msunis the only mass accretion reservoir for L328-IRS, and the star formation
efficiency is close to the canonical value ~30%, L328-IRS has not yet accreted
more than 0.05 Msun. At the assumed distance of 200 pc, L328-IRS is destined to
be a brown dwarf.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, to be published in Astrophysical
Journa
The Spitzer c2d Survey of Nearby Dense Cores: III: Low Mass Star Formation in a Small Group, L1251B
We present a comprehensive study of a low-mass star-forming region,L1251B, at
wavelengths from the near-infrared to the millimeter. L1251B, where only one
protostar, IRAS 22376+7455, was known previously, is confirmed to be a small
group of protostars based on observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The
most luminous source of L1251B is located 5" north of the IRAS position. A
near-infrared bipolar nebula, which is not associated with the brightest object
and is located at the southeast corner of L1251B, has been detected in the IRAC
bands. OVRO and SMA interferometric observations indicate that the brightest
source and the bipolar nebula source in the IRAC bands are deeply embedded disk
sources.Submillimeter continuum observations with single-dish telescopes and
the SMA interferometric observations suggest two possible prestellar objects
with very high column densities. Outside of the small group, many young stellar
object candidates have been detected over a larger region of 12' x 12'.
Extended emission to the east of L1251B has been detected at 850 micron; this
"east core" may be a site for future star formation since no point source has
been detected with IRAC or MIPS. This region is therefore a possible example of
low-mass cluster formation, where a small group of pre- and protostellar
objects (L1251B) is currently forming, alongside a large starless core (the
east core).Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, for the full
resolution paper, visit
"http://peggysue.as.utexas.edu/SIRTF/PAPERS/pap27.pub.pdf
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