Silicate and hydrocarbon emission from Galactic M supergiants

Following our discovery of unidentified infrared (UIR) band emission in a number of M supergiants in h and χ Per, we have obtained 10-μm spectra of a sample of 60 galactic M supergiants. Only three new sources, V1749 Cyg, UW Aql and IRC+40 427, appear to show the UIR bands; the others show the expected silicate emission or a featureless continuum. The occurrence of UIR-band emission in M supergiants is therefore much higher in the h and χ Per cluster than in the Galaxy as a whole. Possible explanations for the origin and distribution of UIR bands in oxygen-rich supergiants are discussed. We use our spectra to derive mass-loss rates ranging from 10−8 to 10−4 M⊙ yr−1 for the new sample, based on the power emitted in the silicate feature. The relationship between mass-loss rate and luminosity for M supergiants is discussed, and correlations are explored between their mid-infrared emission properties

The nature of the silicon carbide in carbon star outflows

We present 7.5-13.5 μm UKIRT CGS3 spectra of 32 definite or candidate carbon stars. In addition to the extreme carbon star AFGL 3068, the only carbon star previously known to show the 11-μm silicon carbide (SiC) feature in absorption, we have discovered three further examples of sources that show SiC in net absorption, namely IRAS 02408 + 5458, AFGL 2477 and AFGL 5625. We investigate the mineralogy of carbon star SiC and its relationship to meteoritic dust by using a χ2-minimization routine to fit the observed SiC features, and laboratory optical constants that have been published for a variety of SiC samples. With the exception of R For, all of the observed SiC features are best fitted by α-SiC grains. Excluding V414 Per, all of the sources with 8–13 μm colour temperatures > 1200 K (corresponding to mass-loss rates at the bottom end of the range) are best fitted by μ-SiC in pure emission, whereas all but one of the sources with 8–13 μm colour temperatures < 1200 K (corresponding to higher mass-loss rates) are best fitted using self-absorbed a-SiC emission. The four sources whose SiC features are in net absorption (and which have the lowest 8–13 μm colour temperatures and therefore presumably the highest mass-loss rates) are also well fitted by self-absorbed α-SiC emission, but with higher optical depths. Given that β-SiC is the form most commonly found in meteorites, we have searched for evidence of β-SiC in the circumstellar shells of all these carbon stars. However, our observations provide no unambiguous evidence for the presence of β-SiC around these stars, with all of the observed SiC features being best explained in terms of α-SiC grains. The self- absorption that we find in the observed SiC emission features has not previously been taken into account in radiative transfer modelling, and so the amount of SiC present in the outflows has probably been underestimated in the past

Silicate dust in a Vega-excess system

The 10-µm spectrum of the K5V star SAO 179815 ( = HD 98800) is presented, and conclusively demonstrates the presence of small silicate dust grains (probably in a disc) around this star. The 9.7-µm silicate dust feature is unusually broad and shallow in this system. This, together with the slow fall-off of flux at longer wavelengths, constrains the size and density distributions of dust grains in models of the disc. We find that there must be a significant population of small grains (radii at least as small as 0.01 µm), as well as a population of large grains (radii at least as large as 100 µm) in order to explain all the observed properties of the disc

UIR-band emission from M supergiants

We have obtained 10−μm spectra of 16 M supergiants, 15 of them in the h and χ Per association. All of the stars exhibit silicate emission features, but in addition seven of the stars show narrow UIR (unidentified infrared) band emission features, at 11.3 μm⁠, 8.65 μm and other wavelengths, which are normally associated with carbon-rich media. Not only are these the coolest objects to have been found to exhibit UIR-band emission, but the outflows from these classical oxygen-rich stars should form only O-rich particles according to equilibrium condensation theory. We interpret our results in terms of the non-equilibrium chemistry model by Beck et al., whereby chromospheric UV radiation can liberate some atomic carbon via the photodissociation of CO molecules, enabling the formation of carbon-rich species as well as silicates. Such a chromospheric UV radiation field could also provide the photons needed to excite the observed UIR-band emission

The nature of dust around the post-asymptotic giant branch objects HD 161796 and HD 179821

Ground-based 7.4-24-micron spectra of two post-AGB objects, HD 161796 and HD 179821, are reported, and they are compared to those of other preplanetary nebulae. HD 161796 and HD 17982 show emission features at 10-12 microns and at 10 microns, and they exhibit a very rapid increase in flux between 13 and 15.5 microns. In view of the O-rich photosphere of HD 161796 and the presence of OH maser emission around all three objects, these features are ascribed to various oxides. The observed spectral features are quite different from the canonical silicate features observed in most O-rich giants. It is argued that HD 161796 and the bipolar nebulae Roberts 22 and NGC 6302 have all undergone the third dredge-up, with most of the dredged-up carbon having been converted to nitrogen by envelope-burning. It is concluded that carbon-rich grain material, produced during the interval between the end of the third dredge-up and the moment when envelope burning finally reduced the C/O ratio below unity again, could be responsible for the UIR bands now being excited in Roberts 22 and NGC 6302

Methanol Ice in the Protostar GL 2136

We present ground-based spectra in the 10 and 20 micron atmospheric windows of the deeply embedded protostar GL 2136. These reveal narrow absorption features at 9.7 and 8.9 microns, which we ascribe to the CO-stretch and CH3 rock (respectively) of solid methanol in grain mantles. The peak position of the 9.7 micron band implies that methanol is an important ice mantle component. However, the CH3OH/H2O abundance ratio derived from the observed column densities is only 0.1. This discrepancy suggests that the solid methanol and water ice are located in independent grain components. These independent components may reflect chemical differentiation during grain mantle formation and/or partial outgassing close to the protostar

A compact, variable radio nebula around P Cygni

We present high spatial resolution images, at a wavelength of 6 cm, of the luminous blue variable star P Cygni. The images fully resolve the core of the stellar wind, and show that it is very clumpy. Two images were taken, separated in time by approximately a month, during which the structure in the wind has changed radically. The total flux observed has also changed significantly. We show that the clump sizes and electron densities are consistent with the radio variability being due to recombination of the ionized gas within the clumps, after key cooling lines become optically thin, causing the free-free emission to disappear. This is the first time that resolved radio images of a hot star wind have been obtained. It also represents important confirmation of a previous observation that thermal free-free wind emission can vary rapidly in a hot stellar wind

Left High and Dry: Deglaciation of Dogger Bank, North Sea, Recorded in Proglacial Lake Evolution

Reconstructions of palaeo-ice sheet retreat in response to climate warming using offshore archives can provide vital analogs for future ice-sheet behavior. At the Last Glacial Maximum, Dogger Bank, in the southern North Sea, was covered by the Eurasian Ice Sheet. However, the maximum extent and behavior of the ice sheet in the North Sea basin is poorly constrained. We reveal ice-marginal dynamics and maximum ice extent at Dogger Bank through sedimentological and stratigraphic investigation of glacial and proglacial lake sediments. We use a large, integrated subsurface dataset of shallow seismic reflection and geotechnical data collected during windfarm site investigation. For the first time, an ice stream is identified at Dogger Bank, based on preserved subglacial bedforms, eskers and meltwater channels. During ice-sheet advance, a terminal thrust-block moraine complex formed, whose crest runs approximately north-northeast to south-southwest. Subsequent ice stream shutdown caused stagnation of ice, and rapid retreat of the ice-sheet margin. The moraine complex, and outwash head from an adjacent ice-sheet lobe to the west, dammed a large (approximately 750 km2) proglacial lake. Subsequent sedimentation infilled the lake with 30 m of glacial outwash sediments. A lobate subaqueous fan formed at the ice-sheet margin, which thins toward the southeast with iceberg scours and ice-rafted debris at the base, and is onlapped by lake sediments calibrated to core as alternating clay and silt laminae, interpreted to be varves. The lake became isolated from the retreating ice-sheet margin, and ice-sheet retreat slowed. Sediment-laden meltwater was supplied to the ice-distal proglacial lake for c. 1500–2000 years. Subsequent ice-sheet retreat off Dogger Bank was more rapid due to the negative subglacial slope. The stepped retreat of rapid downwasting, slow retreat, and a final rapid phase off Dogger Bank occurred after the LGM at around 27 ka and before formation of a ribbon lake, dated previously to 23 ka and approximately 60 m lower in elevation, formed to the north of Dogger Bank. The complicated stratigraphic architecture revealed through these data improves forecasting of ground conditions for turbine footings at Dogger Bank, an important step in the provision of clean, sustainable energy

A large radio nebula around P Cygni

We present a large set of radio observations of the luminous blue variable P Cygni. These include two 6-cm images obtained with MERLIN which spatially resolve the 6-cm photosphere, monitoring observations obtained at Jodrell Bank every few days over a period of two months, and VLA observations obtained every month for seven years. This combination of data shows that the circumstellar environment of P Cyg is highly inhomogeneous, that there is a radio nebula extending to almost an arcminute from the star at 2 and 6 cm, and that the radio emission is variable on a time-scale no longer than one month, and probably as short as a few days. This short-time-scale variability is difficult to explain. We present a model for the radio emission with which we demonstrate that the star has probably been losing mass at a significant rate for at least a few thousand years, and that it has undergone at least two major outbursts of increased mass loss during the past two millenia

Topographic and hydrodynamic controls on barrier retreat and preservation: An example from Dogger Bank, North Sea

Barrier retreat can occur due to in-place drowning, overstepping or rollover, depending on the interplay of controls such as sea-level rise, sediment supply, coastal hydrodynamic regime and topography. Offshore sedimentary archives of barriers active during rapid Holocene sea-level rise provide important records of marine transgression, which are vital analogues to support appropriate mitigation strategies for future coastal realignment under projected relative sea-level rise scenarios. This study analyses the sedimentary archive at Dogger Bank, which is a formerly-glaciated area in the North Sea. Dogger Bank experienced marine transgression due to Early Holocene rapid relative sea-level rise. An integrated dataset of vibrocores and high-resolution seismic reflection data permits a stratigraphic framework to be established, which reveals the buried coastal geomorphology of the southern Dogger Bank for the first time. A transgressive stratigraphy was identified, comprising a topographically complicated basal glacial and terrestrial succession, overlain by two phases of barrier and tidal mudflat deposition, prior to shallow marine sedimentation. Barrier phase A was a recurved barrier drowned in place, and discontinuously overstepped to barrier phase B, which experienced continuous overstepping. By linking barrier elevations to relative sea-level curves, the timing of each barrier phase was established. Both barrier phases retreated during periods of rapid sea-level rise with abundant sediment supply. Coastal hydrodynamics (increasing wave energy) and antecedent topography with spatially variable accommodation are suggested to be the main reason for differing retreat mechanisms, rather than the rate of sea-level rise. Antecedent coastal geomorphology plays a critical role in erosional and depositional patterns during transgression, and therefore on the timing, rate and location of marine inundation, which needs to be included in models that aim to forecast hazards in coastal areas