24,744 research outputs found
Herschel-PACS Measurements of Nitrogen Enrichment in Nebulae around Wolf-Rayet Stars
For three nebulae that have early-WN Wolf-Rayet exciting stars, NGC 6888, WR
8 and Abell 48, we have obtained Herschel-PACS line scans of the [N III] 57 um
and [O III] 88 micron lines, along with the 122 and 205 micron lines of [N II].
From the former two lines we have derived N/O abundance ratios,
equal to the overall N/O ratio under a wide range of nebular conditions. We
find that all of the nebulae observed possess significant nitrogen enrichment,
with derived N/O ratios greater than solar. The two nebulae with massive
Wolf-Rayet exciting stars, NGC 6888 and WR8 are found to have N/O ratios that
are enhanced by factors of 7 - 10 relative to the solar N/O ratio, consistent
with an origin as material ejected just before the onset of the Wolf-Rayet
phase. The other nebula, Abell 48, has recently been reclassified as a member
of the rare class of three planetary nebulae that have early-WN central stars
and are not of Peimbert Type I. We derive a nebular N/O ratio for it that is a
factor of 4 enhanced relative to solar and slightly above the range of N/O
values that have been measured for the other three members of its [WN]
planetary nebula class.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS accepte
OH emission from cometary knots in planetary nebulae
We model the molecular emission from cometary knots in planetary nebulae
(PNe) using a combination of photoionization and photodissociation region (PDR)
codes, for a range of central star properties and gas densities. Without the
inclusion of ionizing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, our models require
central star temperatures to be near the upper limit of the range
investigated in order to match observed H and OH surface brightnesses
consistent with observations - with the addition of EUV flux, our models
reproduce observed OH surface brightnesses for .
For , the predicted OH surface brightness is much
lower, consistent with the non-detection of this molecule in PNe with such
central star temperatures. Our predicted level of H emission is somewhat
weaker than commonly observed in PNe, which may be resolved by the inclusion of
shock heating or fluorescence due to UV photons. Some of our models also
predict ArH and HeH rotational line emission above detection
thresholds, despite neither molecule having been detected in PNe, although the
inclusion of photodissociation by EUV photons, which is neglected by our
models, would be expected to reduce their detectability.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 11 pages, 15 figures. Author accepted manuscript.
Accepted on 24/04/18. Deposited on 27/04/1
The dust and gas content of the Crab Nebula
We have constructed MOCASSIN photoionization plus dust radiative transfer
models for the Crab Nebula core-collapse supernova (CCSN) remnant, using either
smooth or clumped mass distributions, in order to determine the chemical
composition and masses of the nebular gas and dust. We computed models for
several different geometries suggested for the nebular matter distribution but
found that the observed gas and dust spectra are relatively insensitive to
these geometries, being determined mainly by the spectrum of the pulsar wind
nebula which ionizes and heats the nebula. Smooth distribution models are ruled
out since they require 16-49 Msun of gas to fit the integrated optical nebular
line fluxes, whereas our clumped models re quire 7.0 Msun of gas. A global
gas-phase C/O ratio of 1.65 by number is derived, along with a He/H number
ratio of 1.85, neither of which can be matched by current CCSN yield
predictions. A carbonaceous dust composition is favoured by the observed
gas-phase C/O ratio: amorphous carbon clumped model fits to the Crab's Herschel
and Spitzer infrared spectral energy distribution imply the presence of
0.18-0.27 Msun of dust, corresponding to a gas to dust mass ratio of 26-39.
Mixed dust chemistry models can also be accommodated, comprising 0.11-0.13 Msun
of amorphous carbon and 0.39-0.47 Msun of silicates. Power-law grain size
distributions with mass distributions that are weighted towards the largest
grain radii are derived, favouring their longer-term survival when they
eventually interact with the interstellar medium. The total mass of gas plus
dust in the Crab Nebula is 7.2 +/- 0.5 Msun, consistent with a progenitor star
mass of 9 Msun.Comment: Accepted in Ap
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Drying of Colloidal Binder Infiltrated Ceramic Green Parts Produced by Selective Laser Sinteringâ„¢
Colloidal ceramic binders have been used to strengthen ceramic
green shapes produced by Selective Laser Sintering. This paper
focuses on the effectiveness of the colloid infiltration with
respect to the physical properties of the colloidal binder. Mass
gains, strength gains, and dimensional changes resulting from
infiltration were monitored. Controlled drying experiments were
conducted to predict the factors influencing drying times for
complex shapes.Mechanical Engineerin
Restoration of isotropy on fractals
We report a new type of restoration of macroscopic isotropy (homogenization)
in fractals with microscopic anisotropy. The phenomenon is observed in various
physical setups, including diffusions, random walks, resistor networks, and
Gaussian field theories. The mechanism is unique in that it is absent in spaces
with translational invariance, while universal in that it is observed in a wide
class of fractals.Comment: 11 pages, REVTEX, 3 postscript figures. (Compressed and encoded
figures archived by "figure" command). To appear in Physical Review Letter
The timing and location of dust formation in the remnant of SN 1987A
The discovery with the {\it Herschel Space Observatory} of bright far
infrared and submm emission from the ejecta of the core collapse supernova
SN\,1987A has been interpreted as indicating the presence of some
0.4--0.7\,M of dust. We have constructed radiative transfer models of
the ejecta to fit optical to far-infrared observations from the literature at
epochs between 615 days and 24 years after the explosion, to determine when and
where this unexpectedly large amount of dust formed.
We find that the observations by day 1153 are consistent with the presence of
310M of dust. Although this is a larger amount than has
previously been considered possible at this epoch, it is still very small
compared to the amount present in the remnant after 24 years, and significantly
higher dust masses at the earlier epochs are firmly ruled out by the
observations, indicating that the majority of the dust must have formed at very
late times. By 8515-9200 days after the explosion, 0.6--0.8\,M of dust
is present, and dust grains with radii greater than 2\,m are required to
obtain a fit to the observed SED. This suggests that the dust mass increase at
late times was caused by accretion onto and coagulation of the dust grains
formed at earlier epochs.
These findings provide further confirmation that core collapse supernovae can
create large quantities of dust, and indicate that the reason for small dust
masses being estimated in many cases is that the vast majority of the dust
forms long after most supernovae have been detectable at mid-infrared
wavelengths.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
A Variable PV Broad Absorption Line and Quasar Outflow Energetics
Broad absorption lines (BALs) in quasar spectra identify high velocity
outflows that might exist in all quasars and could play a major role in
feedback to galaxy evolution. The viability of BAL outflows as a feedback
mechanism depends on their kinetic energies, as derived from the outflow
velocities, column densities, and distances from the central quasar. We
estimate these quantities for the quasar, Q1413+1143 (redshift ),
aided by the first detection of PV 1118,1128 BAL variability in
a quasar. In particular, PV absorption at velocities where the CIV trough does
not reach zero intensity implies that the CIV BAL is saturated and the absorber
only partially covers the background continuum source (with characteristic size
<0.01 pc). With the assumption of solar abundances, we estimate that the total
column density in the BAL outflow is log N_H > 22.3 (cm^-2). Variability in the
PV and saturated CIV BALs strongly disfavors changes in the ionization as the
cause of the BAL variability, but supports models with high-column density BAL
clouds moving across our lines of sight. The observed variability time of 1.6
yr in the quasar rest frame indicates crossing speeds >750 km/s and a radial
distance from the central black hole of <3.5 pc, if the crossing speeds are
Keplerian. The total outflow mass is ~4100 M_solar, the kinetic energy ~4x10^54
erg, and the ratio of the outflow kinetic energy luminosity to the quasar
bolometric luminosity is ~0.02 (at the minimum column density and maximum
distance), which might be sufficient for important feedback to the quasar's
host galaxy.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Modelling the ArH emission from the Crab Nebula
We have performed combined photoionization and photodissociation region (PDR)
modelling of a Crab Nebula filament subjected to the synchrotron radiation from
the central pulsar wind nebula, and to a high flux of charged particles; a
greatly enhanced cosmic ray ionization rate over the standard interstellar
value, , is required to account for the lack of detected [C I]
emission in published Herschel SPIRE FTS observations of the Crab Nebula. The
observed line surface brightness ratios of the OH and ArH transitions
seen in the SPIRE FTS frequency range can only be explained with both a high
cosmic ray ionization rate and a reduced ArH dissociative recombination
rate compared to that used by previous authors, although consistent with
experimental upper limits. We find that the ArH/OH line strengths and
the observed H vibration-rotation emission can be reproduced by model
filaments with cm,
and visual extinctions within the range found for dusty globules in the Crab
Nebula, although far-infrared emission from [O I] and [C II] is higher than the
observational constraints. Models with cm
underpredict the H surface brightness, but agree with the ArH and
OH surface brightnesses and predict [O I] and [C II] line ratios consistent
with observations. These models predict HeH rotational emission above
detection thresholds, but consideration of the formation timescale suggests
that the abundance of this molecule in the Crab Nebula should be lower than the
equilibrium values obtained in our analysis.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. Author accepted manuscript. Accepted on
05/09/2017. Deposited on 05/09/1
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