16 research outputs found
Hot Stars and Cool Clouds: The Photodissociation Region M16
We present high-resolution spectroscopy and images of a photodissociation
region (PDR) in M16 obtained during commissioning of NIRSPEC on the Keck II
telescope. PDRs play a significant role in regulating star formation, and M16
offers the opportunity to examine the physical processes of a PDR in detail. We
simultaneously observe both the molecular and ionized phases of the PDR and
resolve the spatial and kinematic differences between them. The most prominent
regions of the PDR are viewed edge-on. Fluorescent emission from nearby stars
is the primary excitation source, although collisions also preferentially
populate the lowest vibrational levels of H2. Variations in density-sensitive
emission line ratios demonstrate that the molecular cloud is clumpy, with an
average density n = 3x10^5 cm^(-3). We measure the kinetic temperature of the
molecular region directly and find T_H2 = 930 K. The observed density,
temperature, and UV flux imply a photoelectric heating efficiency of 4%. In the
ionized region, n_i=5x10^3 cm^(-3) and T_HII = 9500 K. In the brightest regions
of the PDR, the recombination line widths include a non-thermal component,
which we attribute to viewing geometry.Comment: 5 pages including 2 Postscript figures. To appear in ApJ Letters,
April 200
J-Band Infrared Spectroscopy of a Sample of Brown Dwarfs Using Nirspec on Keck II
Near-infrared spectroscopic observations of a sample of very cool, low-mass
objects are presented with higher spectral resolution than in any previous
studies. Six of the objects are L-dwarfs, ranging in spectral class from L2 to
L8/9, and the seventh is a methane or T-dwarf. These new observations were
obtained during commissioning of NIRSPEC, the first high-resolution
near-infrared cryogenic spectrograph for the Keck II 10-meter telescope on
Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Spectra with a resolving power of R=2500 from 1.135 to 1.360
microns (approximately J-band) are presented for each source. At this
resolution, a rich spectral structure is revealed, much of which is due to
blending of unresolved molecular transitions. Strong lines due to neutral
potassium (K I), and bands due to iron hydride (FeH) and steam (H2O) change
significantly throughout the L sequence. Iron hydride disappears between L5 and
L8, the steam bands deepen and the K I lines gradually become weaker but wider
due to pressure broadening. An unidentified feature occurs at 1.22 microns
which has a temperature dependence like FeH but has no counterpart in the
available FeH opacity data. Because these objects are 3-6 magnitudes brighter
in the near-infrared compared to the I-band, spectral classification is
efficient. One of the objects studied (2MASSW J1523+3014) is the coolest
L-dwarf discovered so far by the 2-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), but its
spectrum is still significantly different from the methane-dominated objects
such as Gl229B or SDSS 1624+0029.Comment: New paper, Latex format, 2 figures, accepted to ApJ Letter
Infrared Spectroscopy of a Massive Obscured Star Cluster in the Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/4039) with NIRSPEC
We present infrared spectroscopy of the Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/4039)
with NIRSPEC at the W. M. Keck Observatory. We imaged the star clusters in the
vicinity of the southern nucleus (NGC 4039) in 0.39" seeing in K-band using
NIRSPEC's slit-viewing camera. The brightest star cluster revealed in the
near-IR (M_K(0) = -17.9) is insignificant optically, but coincident with the
highest surface brightness peak in the mid-IR (12-18 micron) ISO image
presented by Mirabel et al. (1998). We obtained high signal-to-noise 2.03 -
2.45 micron spectra of the nucleus and the obscured star cluster at R ~ 1900.
The cluster is very young (4 Myr old), massive (16e6 M_sun), and compact
(density ~ 115 M_sun pc^(-3) within a 32 pc half-light radius), assuming a
Salpeter IMF (0.1 - 100 M_sun). Its hot stars have a radiation field
characterized by T_eff ~ 39,000 K, and they ionize a compact H II region with
n_e ~ 1e4 cm^(-3). The stars are deeply embedded in gas and dust (A_V ~ 9-10
mag), and their strong FUV field powers a clumpy photodissociation region with
densities n_H >= 1e5 cm^(-3) on scales of up to 200 pc, radiating L[H_2 1-0
S(1)] = 9600 L_sun.Comment: 4 pages, 5 embedded figures. To appear in proceedings of 33d ESLAB
Symposium: Star Formation from the Small to the Large Scale, held in
Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Nov. 1999. Also available at
http://astro.berkeley.edu/~agilber
The Rest-Frame Optical Spectrum of MS 1512-cB58
Moderate resolution, near-IR spectroscopy of MS1512-cB58 is presented,
obtained during commissioning of the the Near IR Spectrometer (NIRSPEC) on the
Keck II telescope. The strong lensing of this z=2.72 galaxy by the foreground
cluster MS1512+36 makes it the best candidate for detailed study of the
rest-frame optical properties of Lyman Break Galaxies.
A redshift of z=2.7290+/-0.0007 is inferred from the emission lines, in
contrast to the z=2.7233 calculated from UV observations of interstellar
absorption lines. Using the Balmer line ratios, we find an extinction of
E(B-V)=0.27. Using the line strengths, we infer an SFR=620+/-18 Msun/yr
(H_0=75, q_0=0.1, Lambda =0), a factor of 2 higher than that measured from
narrow-band imaging observations of the galaxy, but a factor of almost 4 lower
than the SFR inferred from the UV continuum luminosity. The width of the Balmer
lines yields a mass of M_vir=1.2x10^10 Msun. We find that the oxygen abundance
is 1/3 solar, in good agreement with other estimates of the metallicity.
However, we infer a high nitrogen abundance, which may argue for the presence
of an older stellar population.Comment: 14 pages, including 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Letter
Measurement of [OIII] Emission in Lyman Break Galaxies
Measurements of [OIII] emission in Lyman Break galaxies (LBGs) at z>3 are
presented. Four galaxies were observed with narrow-band filters using the
Near-IR Camera on the Keck I 10-m telescope. A fifth galaxy was observed
spectroscopically during the commissioning of NIRSPEC, the new infrared
spectrometer on Keck II. The emission-line spectrum is used to place limits on
the metallicity. Comparing these new measurements with others available from
the literature, we find that strong oxygen emission in LBGs may suggest
sub-solar metallicity for these objects. The [OIII]5007 line is also used to
estimate the star formation rate (SFR) of the LBGs. The inferred SFRs are
higher than those estimated from the UV continuum, and may be evidence for dust
extinction.Comment: 25 pages, including 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
NIRSPEC brown dwarf spectroscopic survey
The NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey is a project to obtain a consistent set of high-quality near-IR spectra for each spectral class and sub-class of low-mass and/or sub- stellar objects to provide a new data base for models of the atmosphere of brown dwarfs and extra-solar giant planets. Most of the current targets are L-dwarfs and T-dwarfs discovered by the 2MASS. The survey is begin performed with the recently-commissioned near-IR spectrometer, NIRSPEC, a 1-5 micrometers cryogenic spectrograph at the WM Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, using resolving powers of R equals 2,500-25,000. Preliminary results for four sources, three L-dwarfs and one T-dwarf, are presented here. Spectra from 1.13-2.33 micrometers at an average resolution of R equals 2,500 illustrate the development of deep steam bands and the weakening of FeH through the L-sequence, and the emergence of methane bands in the T-dwarfs. Complex detail in the spectra are the result of blending of numerous unresolved molecular transitions
Keck Planet Finder: design updates
The Keck Planet Finder (KPF) is a fiber-fed, high-resolution, high-stability spectrometer in development at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory for the W.M. Keck Observatory. KPF is designed to characterize exoplanets via Doppler spectroscopy with a goal of a single measurement precision of 0.3 m s-1 or better, however its resolution and stability will enable a wide variety of astrophysical pursuits. Here we provide post-preliminary design review design updates for several subsystems, including: the main spectrometer, the fabrication of the Zerodur optical bench; the data reduction pipeline; fiber agitator; fiber cable design; fiber scrambler; VPH testing results and the exposure meter
Keck Planet Finder: design updates
The Keck Planet Finder (KPF) is a fiber-fed, high-resolution, high-stability spectrometer in development at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory for the W.M. Keck Observatory. KPF is designed to characterize exoplanets via Doppler spectroscopy with a goal of a single measurement precision of 0.3 m s-1 or better, however its resolution and stability will enable a wide variety of astrophysical pursuits. Here we provide post-preliminary design review design updates for several subsystems, including: the main spectrometer, the fabrication of the Zerodur optical bench; the data reduction pipeline; fiber agitator; fiber cable design; fiber scrambler; VPH testing results and the exposure meter