1,175 research outputs found
Signatures of the Youngest Starbursts: Optically-thick Thermal Bremsstrahlung Radio Sources in Henize 2-10
VLA radio continuum imaging reveals compact (<8 pc) ~1 mJy radio sources in
the central 5" starburst region of the blue compact galaxy Henize 2-10. We
interpret these radio knots as extremely young, ultra-dense HII regions. We
model their luminosities and spectral energy distributions, finding that they
are consistent with unusually dense HII regions having electron densities, 1500
cm^-3 < n_e < 5000 cm^-3, and sizes of 3-8 pc. Since these H II regions are not
visible in optical images, we propose that the radio data preferentially reveal
the youngest, densest, and most highly obscured starforming events. Energy
considerations imply that each of the five \HII regions contains ~750 O7V
equivalent stars, greater than the number found in 30 Doradus in the LMC. The
high densities imply an over-pressure compared to the typical interstellar
medium so that such objects must be short-lived (<0.5 Myr expansion
timescales). We conclude that the radio continuum maps reveal the very young
(<0.5 Myr) precursors of ``super starclusters'' or ``proto globular clusters''
which are prominent at optical and UV wavelengths in He 2-10. If the
ultra-dense HII regions are typical of those which we predict will be found in
other starbursting systems, then super starclusters spend 15% of their lifetime
in heavily-obscured environments, similar to Galactic ultra-compact HII
regions. This body of work leads us to propose that massive extragalactic star
clusters (i.e. proto globular clusters) with ages <10^6 yr may be most easily
identified by finding compact radio sources with optically-thick thermal
bremsstrahlung spectral signatures.Comment: AASTeX, 8 figures 2 included with psfig in text; other 6 in jpeg
format; Postscript versions of figures may be found at
http://zem.ucolick.org/chip/Research/young_clusters.html -- Accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Robust Neutrino Constraints by Combining Low Redshift Observations with the CMB
We illustrate how recently improved low-redshift cosmological measurements
can tighten constraints on neutrino properties. In particular we examine the
impact of the assumed cosmological model on the constraints. We first consider
the new HST H0 = 74.2 +/- 3.6 measurement by Riess et al. (2009) and the
sigma8*(Omegam/0.25)^0.41 = 0.832 +/- 0.033 constraint from Rozo et al. (2009)
derived from the SDSS maxBCG Cluster Catalog. In a Lambda CDM model and when
combined with WMAP5 constraints, these low-redshift measurements constrain sum
mnu<0.4 eV at the 95% confidence level. This bound does not relax when allowing
for the running of the spectral index or for primordial tensor perturbations.
When adding also Supernovae and BAO constraints, we obtain a 95% upper limit of
sum mnu<0.3 eV. We test the sensitivity of the neutrino mass constraint to the
assumed expansion history by both allowing a dark energy equation of state
parameter w to vary, and by studying a model with coupling between dark energy
and dark matter, which allows for variation in w, Omegak, and dark coupling
strength xi. When combining CMB, H0, and the SDSS LRG halo power spectrum from
Reid et al. 2009, we find that in this very general model, sum mnu < 0.51 eV
with 95% confidence. If we allow the number of relativistic species Nrel to
vary in a Lambda CDM model with sum mnu = 0, we find Nrel =
3.76^{+0.63}_{-0.68} (^{+1.38}_{-1.21}) for the 68% and 95% confidence
intervals. We also report prior-independent constraints, which are in excellent
agreement with the Bayesian constraints.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JCAP; v2: accepted version. Added
section on profile likelihood for Nrel, improved plot
Synthesising, using, and correcting for telluric features in high-resolution astronomical spectra
We present a technique to synthesise telluric absorption and emission
features both for in-situ wavelength calibration and for their removal from
astronomical spectra. While the presented technique is applicable for a wide
variety of optical and infrared spectra, we concentrate in this paper on
selected high-resolution near-infrared spectra obtained with the CRIRES
spectrograph to demonstrate its performance and limitation. We find that
synthetic spectra reproduce telluric absorption features to about 2%, even
close to saturated line cores. Thus, synthetic telluric spectra could be used
to replace the observation of telluric standard stars, saving valuable
observing time. This technique also provides a precise in-situ wavelength
calibration, especially useful for high-resolution near-infrared spectra in the
absence of other calibration sources.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (updated
version
V1647 Orionis: Reinvigorated Accretion and the Re-Appearance of McNeil's Nebula
In late 2003, the young eruptive variable star V1647 Orionis optically
brightened by over 5 magnitudes, stayed bright for around 26 months, and then
decline to its pre-outburst level. In August 2008 the star was reported to have
unexpectedly brightened yet again and we herein present the first detailed
observations of this new outburst. Photometrically, the star is now as bright
as it ever was following the 2003 eruption. Spectroscopically, a pronounced P
Cygni profile is again seen in Halpha with an absorption trough extending to
-700 km/s. In the near-infrared, the spectrum now possesses very weak CO
overtone bandhead absorption in contrast to the strong bandhead emission seen
soon after the 2003 event. Water vapor absorption is also much stronger than
previously seen. We discuss the current outburst below and relate it to the
earlier event.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Radioactivities in Population Studies: 26Al and 60Fe from OB Associations
The observation of the interstellar 1.809 MeV decay-line of radioactive 26Al
by the imaging gamma-ray telescope COMPTEL have let to the conclusion, that
massive stars and their subsequent core-collapse supernovae are the dominant
sources of the interstellar 26Al abundance. Massive stars are known to affect
the surrounding interstellar medium by their energetic stellar winds and by the
emission of ionising radiation. We present a population synthesis model
allowing the correlated investigation of the gamma-ray emission characteristics
with integrated matter, kinetic energy and extreme ultra-violet radiation
emission of associations of massive stars. We study the time evolution of the
various observables. In addition, we discuss systematic as well as statistical
uncertainties affecting the model. Beside uncertainties in the input stellar
physics such as stellar rotation, mass loss rates or internal mixing
modifications due to a unknown binary component may lead to significant
uncertainties.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Proc. "Influence of Binaries on
Stellar Population Studies", eds. Vanbeveren & Van Rensbergen, Brussels, Aug.
200
A multifrequency study of the active star forming complex NGC6357. I. Interstellar structures linked to the open cluster Pis24
We investigate the distribution of the gas (ionized, neutral atomic and
molecular), and interstellar dust in the complex star forming region NGC6357
with the goal of studying the interplay between the massive stars in the open
cluster Pis24 and the surrounding interstellar matter. Our study of the
distribution of the ionized gas is based on narrow-band Hhalfa, [SII], and
[OIII] images obtained with the Curtis-Schmidt Camera at CTIO, Chile, and on
radio continuum observations at 1465 MHz taken with the VLA with a synthesized
beam of 40 arcsec. The distribution of the molecular gas is analyzed using
12CO(1-0) data obtained with the Nanten radiotelescope, Chile (angular
resolution = 2.7 arcmin). The interstellar dust distribution was studied using
mid-infrared data from the GLIMPSE survey and far-infrared observations from
IRAS. NGC6357 consists of a large ionized shell and a number of smaller optical
nebulosities. The optical, radio continuum, and near- and mid-IR images
delineate the distributions of the ionized gas and interstellar dust in the HII
regions and in previously unknown wind blown bubbles linked to the massive
stars in Pis24 revealing surrounding photodissociation regions. The CO line
observations allowed us to identify the molecular counterparts of the ionized
structures in the complex and to confirm the presence of photodissociation
regions. The action of the WR star HD157504 on the surrounding gas was also
investigated. The molecular mass in the complex is estimated to be (4+/-2)X10^5
Mo. Mean electron densities derived from the radio data suggest electron
densities > 200 cm^-3, indicating that NGC6357 is a complex formed in a region
of high ambient density. The known massive stars in Pis24 and a number of newly
inferred massive stars are mainly responsible for the excitation and
photodissociation of the parental molecular cloud.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Ionized gas, molecules, and dust in Sh2-132
We analyze the various interstellar components of the HII region Sh2-132. The
main stellar source is the double binary system that includes the Wolf-Rayet
star WR153ab. We use radio continuum images at 408 and 1420 MHz, and HI 21cm
line data taken from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, molecular observations
of the 12CO(1-0) line at 115 GHz from the Five College Radio Astronomy
Observatory, and available mid and far IR observations obtained with the MSX
and IRAS satellites, respectively.
Sh2-132 is composed of two shells showing radio continuum counterparts at
both frequencies. The emission is thermal in nature. The estimated rms electron
density and ionized mass of the nebula are n_e = 20 cm^{-3} and M_HII = 1500
Mo. The distribution of the CO emission shows molecular gas bordering the
ionized nebula and interacting with it. The velocities of the molecular gas is
in the range --38 to --53 km/s, similar to the velocity of the ionized gas. The
emission at 8.3 mic. reveals a ring like feature of about 15' that encircles
the bright optical regions. This emission is due to the PAHs and marks the
location of photodissociation regions.
The gas distribution in the environs of Sh2-132 can be explained in a
scenario where the massive stars in the region photodissociated, ionized, and
swept-up the dense molecular material from the parental cloud through their
strong stellar winds and intense UV photon flux.Comment: 11 figures and 5 tables, accepted in MNRA
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