332 research outputs found
Accretion Disks Around Young Objects. III. Grain Growth
We present detailed models of irradiated T Tauri disks including dust grain
growth with power-law size distributions. The models assume complete mixing
between dust and gas and solve for the vertical disk structure
self-consistentlyincluding the heating effects of stellar irradiation as well
as local viscous heating. For a given total dust mass, grain growth is found to
decrease the vertical height of the surface where the optical depth to the
stellar radiation becomes unit and thus the local irradiation heating, while
increasing the disk emission at mm and sub-mm wavelengths. The resulting disk
models are less geometrically thick than our previous models assuming
interstellar medium dust, and agree better with observed spectral energy
distributions and images of edge-on disks, like HK Tau/c and HH 30. The
implications of models with grain growth for determining disk masses from
long-wavelength emission are considered.Comment: 29 pages, including 11 figures and 1 table, APJ accepte
The effect of the regular solution model in the condensation of protoplanetary dust
We utilize a chemical equilibrium code in order to study the condensation
process which occurs in protoplanetary discs during the formation of the first
solids. The model specifically focuses on the thermodynamic behaviour on the
solid species assuming the regular solution model. For each solution, we
establish the relationship between the activity of the species, the composition
and the temperature using experimental data from the literature. We then apply
the Gibbs free energy minimization method and study the resulting condensation
sequence for a range of temperatures and pressures within a protoplanetary
disc. Our results using the regular solution model show that grains condense
over a large temperature range and therefore throughout a large portion of the
disc. In the high temperature region (T > 1400 K) Ca-Al compounds dominate and
the formation of corundum is sensitive to the pressure. The mid-temperature
region is dominated by Fe(s) and silicates such as Mg2SiO4 and MgSiO3 . The
chemistry of forsterite and enstatite are strictly related, and our simulations
show a sequence of forsterite-enstatite-forsterite with decreasing temperature.
In the low temperature regions (T < 600 K) a range of iron compounds and
sulfides form. We also run simulations using the ideal solution model and see
clear differences in the resulting condensation sequences with changing
solution model In particular, we find that the turning point in which
forsterite replaces enstatite in the low temperature region is sensitive to the
solution model. Our results show that the ideal solution model is often a poor
approximation to experimental data at most temperatures important in
protoplanetary discs. We find some important differences in the resulting
condensation sequences when using the regular solution model, and suggest that
this model should provide a more realistic condensation sequence.Comment: MNRAS: Accepted 2011 February 16. Received 2011 February 14; in
original form 2010 July 2
Optical and infrared observations of the supernova SN 1999el
Optical and near-infrared light curves of the Type IIn supernova 1999el in
NGC 6951 are presented. A period of 220 days (416 days in the near-infrared) is
covered from the first observation obtained a few days before maximum light.
Spectroscopic observations are also discussed. Using as a distance calibrator
the Type Ia SN 2000E, which occurred some months later in the same galaxy, and
fitting a blackbody law to the photometric data we obtain a maximum bolometric
luminosity for SN 1999el of erg s. In general, the
photometric properties of SN 1999el are very similar to those of SN 1998S, a
bright and well studied Type IIn SN, showing a fast decline in all observed
bands similar to those of Type II-L SNe. The differences with SN 1998S are
analyzed and ascribed to the differences in a pre-existing circumstellar
envelope in which dust was already present at the moment of the SN outburst. We
infer that light echoes may play a possibly significant role in affecting the
observed properties of the light curves, although improved theoretical models
are needed to account for the data. We conclude that mass loss in the
progenitor RG stars is episodic and occurs in an asymmetric way. This implies
that collapsing massive stars appear as normal Type II SN if this occurs far
from major mass loss episodes, whereas they appear as Type IIn SNe if a large
mass loss episode is in progress.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, figure 1 available as jpeg file, ApJ in pres
PAH emission from Herbig AeBe stars
We present spectra of a sample of Herbig Ae and Be (HAeBe) stars obtained
with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All but one of
the Herbig stars show emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
seven of the spectra show PAH emission, but no silicate emission at 10 microns.
The central wavelengths of the 6.2, 7.7--8.2, and 11.3 micron emission features
decrease with stellar temperature, indicating that the PAHs are less
photo-processed in cooler radiation fields. The apparent low level of photo
processing in HAeBe stars, relative to other PAH emission sources, implies that
the PAHs are newly exposed to the UV-optical radiation fields from their host
stars. HAeBe stars show a variety of PAH emission intensities and ionization
fractions, but a narrow range of PAH spectral classifications based on
positions of major PAH feature centers. This may indicate that, regardless of
their locations relative to the stars, the PAH molecules are altered by the
same physical processes in the proto-planetary disks of intermediate-mass
stars. Analysis of the mid-IR spectral energy distributions indicates that our
sample likely includes both radially flared and more flattened/settled disk
systems, but we do not see the expected correlation of overall PAH emission
with disk geometry. We suggest that the strength of PAH emission from HAeBe
stars may depend not only on the degree of radial flaring, but also on the
abundance of PAHs in illuminated regions of the disks and possibly on the
vertical structure of the inner disk as well.Comment: 52 pages, 12 figure
Spitzer Space Telescope study of disks in the young Orionis cluster
We report new Spitzer Space Telescope observations from the IRAC and MIPS
instruments of the young (~ 3 Myr) sigma Orionis cluster. We identify 336 stars
as members of the cluster using optical and near-infrared color magnitude
diagrams. Using the spectral energy distribution (SED) slopes in the IRAC
spectral range, we place objects in several classes: non-excess stars, stars
with optically thick disks(like classical T Tauri stars), class I
(protostellar) candidates, and stars with ``evolved disks''; the last exhibit
smaller IRAC excesses than optically thick disk systems. In general, this
classification agrees with the location expected in IRAC-MIPS color-color
diagrams for these objects. We find that the evolved disk systems are mostly a
combination of objects with optically thick but non-flared disks, suggesting
grain growth and/or settling, and transition disks, systems in which the inner
disk is partially or fully cleared of small dust. In all, we identify 7
transition disk candidates and 3 possible debris disk systems. As in other
young stellar populations, the fraction of disks depends on the stellar mass,
ranging from ~10% for stars in the Herbig Ae/Be mass range (>2 msun) to ~35% in
the T Tauri mass range (1-0.1 msun). We find that the disk fraction does not
decrease significantly toward the brown dwarf candidates (<0.1 msun). The IRAC
infrared excesses found in stellar clusters and associations with and without
central high mass stars are similar, suggesting that external photoevaporation
is not very important in many clusters. Finally, we find no correlation between
the X-ray luminosity and the disk infrared excess, suggesting that the X-rays
are not strongly affected by disk accretion.Comment: 44pages, 17 figures. Sent to Ap
The Truncated Disk of CoKu Tau/4
We present a model of a dusty disk with an inner hole which accounts for the
Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph observations of the low-mass
pre-main sequence star CoKu Tau/4. We have modeled the mid-IR spectrum (between
8 and 25 mic) as arising from the inner wall of a disk. Our model disk has an
evacuated inner zone of radius ~ 10 AU, with a dusty inner ``wall'', of
half-height ~ 2 AU, that is illuminated at normal incidence by the central
star. The radiative equilibrium temperature decreases from the inner disk edge
outward through the optically-thick disk; this temperature gradient is
responsible for the emission of the silicate bands at 10 and 20 mic. The
observed spectrum is consistent with being produced by Fe-Mg amorphous glassy
olivine and/or pyroxene, with no evidence of a crystalline component. The
mid-infrared spectrum of CoKu Tau/4 is reminiscent of that of the much older
star TW Hya, where it has been suggested that the significant clearing of its
inner disk is due to planet formation. However, no inner disk remains in CoKu
Tau/4, consistent with the star being a weak-emission (non-accreting) T Tauri
star. The relative youth of CoKu Tau/4 (~ 1 Myr) may indicate much more rapid
planet formation than typically assumed.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures, accepted in Ap
Mid-infrared observations of the transitional disks around DH Tau, DM Tau, and GM Aur
Aims: We present mid-infrared observations and photometry of the transitional
disks around the young stellar objects DH Tau, DM Tau, and GM Aur, obtained
with VISIR/VLT in N band. Our aim is to resolve the inner region and the
large-scale structures of these transitional disks, carrying potential
signatures of intermediate or later stages of disk evolution and ongoing planet
formation.
Methods: We use the simultaneously observed standard-stars as PSF reference
to constrain the radial flux profiles of our target objects. Subtracting the
obtained standard-star profile from the corresponding science object profile
yields the flux residuals produced by the star-disk system. A detection
threshold takes into account the background standard deviation and also the
seeing variations during the observations to evaluate the significance of these
flux residuals. On the basis of a simple model for the dust re-emission, we
derive constraints on the inner radius of the dust disk.
Results: We spatially resolve the transitional disk around GM Aur and
determine an inner-disk hole radius of 20.5(+1.0,-0.5) AU. The circumstellar
disks around DH Tau and DM Tau are not spatially resolved but we are able to
constrain the inner-disk hole radius to <15.5(+9.0,-2.0) AU and
<15.5(+0.5,-0.5) AU, respectively. The performed photometry yields fluxes of
178+-31 mJy for DH Tau, 56+-6 mJy for DM Tau, and 229+-14 mJy for GM Aur.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. (6 pages,
including 7 figures and 5 tables
Role of Tet proteins in 5mC to 5hmC conversion, ES-cell self-renewal and inner cell mass specification
DNA methylation is one of the best-characterized epigenetic modifications 1â4. While the enzymes that catalyze DNA methylation have been characterized, enzymes responsible for the reversal process have been elusive 5. A recent study indicates that the human Tet1 protein could catalyze the conversion of 5-methyl-C (5mC) of DNA to 5-hydroxyl-methyl-C (5hmC), raising the possibility that DNA demethylation may be a Tet1-mediated process 6. Here we extended this study by demonstrating that all three mouse Tet proteins can also catalyze a similar reaction. Interestingly, Tet1 plays an important role in mouse ES cell maintenance through maintaining the expression of Nanog in ES cells. Importantly, Tet1 knockdown-mediated down-regulation of Nanog correlated with its promoter methylation, supporting a role for Tet1 in regulating DNA methylation status. Furthermore, knockdown of Tet1 in preimplantation embryos resulted in a bias towards trophectoderm differentiation. Thus, our studies not only uncover the enzymatic activity of the Tet proteins, but also demonstrate a role for Tet1 in ES cell maintenance and ICM cell specification
The near-infrared size-luminosity relations for Herbig Ae/Be disks
We report the results of a sensitive K-band survey of Herbig Ae/Be disk sizes
using the 85-m baseline Keck Interferometer. Targets were chosen to span the
maximum range of stellar properties to probe the disk size dependence on
luminosity and effective temperature. For most targets, the measured
near-infrared sizes (ranging from 0.2 to 4 AU) support a simple disk model
possessing a central optically-thin (dust-free) cavity, ringed by hot dust
emitting at the expected sublimation temperatures (T_sub~1000-1500K).
Furthermore, we find a tight correlation of disk size with source luminosity R
propto L^(1/2) for Ae and late Be systems (valid over more than 2 decades in
luminosity), confirming earlier suggestions based on lower-quality data.
Interestingly, the inferred dust-free inner cavities of the highest luminosity
sources (Herbig B0-B3 stars) are under-sized compared to predictions of the
optically-thin cavity model, likely due to optically-thick gas within the inner
AU.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal; 24 pages, 4 figures, 4 table
Magnetospheres and Disk Accretion in Herbig Ae/Be Stars
We present evidence of magnetically-mediated disk accretion in Herbig Ae/Be
stars. Magnetospheric accretion models of Balmer and sodium profiles calculated
with appropriate stellar and rotational parameters are in qualitative agreement
with the observed profiles of the Herbig Ae star UX Ori, and yield a mass
accretion rate of ~ 10^{-8} Msun/yr. If more recent indications of an extremely
large rotation rate for this object are correct, the magnetic field geometry
must deviate from that of a standard dipole in order to produce line emission
consistent with observed flux levels. Models of the associated accretion shock
qualitatively explain the observed distribution of excess fluxes in the Balmer
discontinuity for a large ensemble of Herbig Ae/Be stars, and imply typically
small mass accretion rates, < 10^{-7} Msun/yr. In order for accretion to
proceed onto the star, significant amounts of gas must exist inside the dust
destruction radius, which is potentially problematic for recently advocated
scenarios of "puffed" inner dust wall geometries. However, our models of the
inner gas disk show that for the typical accretion rates we have derived, the
gas should be generally optically thin, thus allowing direct stellar
irradiation of the inner dust edge of the disk.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Ap
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