97 research outputs found
Matchings on infinite graphs
Elek and Lippner (2010) showed that the convergence of a sequence of
bounded-degree graphs implies the existence of a limit for the proportion of
vertices covered by a maximum matching. We provide a characterization of the
limiting parameter via a local recursion defined directly on the limit of the
graph sequence. Interestingly, the recursion may admit multiple solutions,
implying non-trivial long-range dependencies between the covered vertices. We
overcome this lack of correlation decay by introducing a perturbative parameter
(temperature), which we let progressively go to zero. This allows us to
uniquely identify the correct solution. In the important case where the graph
limit is a unimodular Galton-Watson tree, the recursion simplifies into a
distributional equation that can be solved explicitly, leading to a new
asymptotic formula that considerably extends the well-known one by Karp and
Sipser for Erd\"os-R\'enyi random graphs.Comment: 23 page
The 35Cl/37Cl isotopic ratio in dense molecular clouds: HIFI observations of hydrogen chloride towards W3A
We report on the detection with the HIFI instrument on board the Herschel
satellite of the two hydrogen chloride isotopologues, H35Cl and H37Cl, towards
the massive star-forming region W3A. The J=1-0 line of both species was
observed with receiver 1b of the HIFI instrument at 625.9 and 624.9 GHz. The
different hyperfine components were resolved. The observations were modeled
with a non-local, non-LTE radiative transfer model that includes hyperfine line
overlap and radiative pumping by dust. Both effects are found to play an
important role in the emerging intensity from the different hyperfine
components. The inferred H35Cl column density (a few times 1e14 cm^-2), and
fractional abundance relative to H nuclei (~7.5e^-10), supports an upper limit
to the gas phase chlorine depletion of ~200. Our best-fit model estimate of the
H35Cl/H37Cl abundance ratio is ~2.1+/-0.5, slightly lower, but still compatible
with the solar isotopic abundance ratio (~3.1). Since both species were
observed simultaneously, this is the first accurate estimation of the
[35Cl]/[37Cl] isotopic ratio in molecular clouds. Our models indicate that even
for large line opacities and possible hyperfine intensity anomalies, the H35Cl
and H37Cl J=1-0 integrated line-intensity ratio provides a good estimate of the
35Cl/37Cl isotopic abundance ratio.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Herschel
special issue
Detection of hydrogen fluoride absorption in diffuse molecular clouds with Herschel/HIFI: a ubiquitous tracer of molecular gas
We discuss the detection of absorption by interstellar hydrogen fluoride (HF)
along the sight line to the submillimeter continuum sources W49N and W51. We
have used Herschel's HIFI instrument in dual beam switch mode to observe the
1232.4762 GHz J = 1 - 0 HF transition in the upper sideband of the band 5a
receiver. We detected foreground absorption by HF toward both sources over a
wide range of velocities. Optically thin absorption components were detected on
both sight lines, allowing us to measure - as opposed to obtain a lower limit
on - the column density of HF for the first time. As in previous observations
of HF toward the source G10.6-0.4, the derived HF column density is typically
comparable to that of water vapor, even though the elemental abundance of
oxygen is greater than that of fluorine by four orders of magnitude. We used
the rather uncertain N(CH)-N(H2) relationship derived previously toward diffuse
molecular clouds to infer the molecular hydrogen column density in the clouds
exhibiting HF absorption. Within the uncertainties, we find that the abundance
of HF with respect to H2 is consistent with the theoretical prediction that HF
is the main reservoir of gas-phase fluorine for these clouds. Thus, hydrogen
fluoride has the potential to become an excellent tracer of molecular hydrogen,
and provides a sensitive probe of clouds of small H2 column density. Indeed,
the observations of hydrogen fluoride reported here reveal the presence of a
low column density diffuse molecular cloud along the W51 sight line, at an LSR
velocity of ~ 24kms-1, that had not been identified in molecular absorption
line studies prior to the launch of Herschel.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, A&A Letter special issue, accepted on 07/13/201
Strong absorption by interstellar hydrogen fluoride: Herschel/HIFI observations of the sight-line to G10.6-0.4 (W31C)
We report the detection of strong absorption by interstellar hydrogen
fluoride along the sight-line to the submillimeter continuum source G10.6-0.4
(W31C). We have used Herschel's HIFI instrument, in dual beam switch mode, to
observe the 1232.4763 GHz J=1-0 HF transition in the upper sideband of the Band
5a receiver. The resultant spectrum shows weak HF emission from G10.6-0.4 at
LSR velocities in the range -10 to -3 km/s, accompanied by strong absorption by
foreground material at LSR velocities in the range 15 to 50 km/s. The spectrum
is similar to that of the 1113.3430 GHz 1(11)-0(00) transition of para-water,
although at some frequencies the HF (hydrogen fluoride) optical depth clearly
exceeds that of para-H2O. The optically-thick HF absorption that we have
observed places a conservative lower limit of 1.6E+14 cm-2 on the HF column
density along the sight-line to G10.6-0.4. Our lower limit on the HF abundance,
6E-9 relative to hydrogen nuclei, implies that hydrogen fluoride accounts for
between ~ 30 and 100% of the fluorine nuclei in the gas phase along this
sight-line. This observation corroborates theoretical predictions that -
because the unique thermochemistry of fluorine permits the exothermic reaction
of F atoms with molecular hydrogen - HF will be the dominant reservoir of
interstellar fluorine under a wide range of conditions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Herschel
special issue). This revised version corrects a typographic error in the HTML
abstract, in which the lower limit on the HF abundance (should be 6E-9) was
previously misstated. The abstract in the PDF version is correct and the
latter has not been modifie
Large atom number dual-species magneto-optical trap for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms
We present the design, implementation and characterization of a dual-species
magneto-optical trap (MOT) for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms with large atom
numbers. The MOT simultaneously contains 5.2x10^9 6Li-atoms and 8.0x10^9
40K-atoms, which are continuously loaded by a Zeeman slower for 6Li and a
2D-MOT for 40K. The atom sources induce capture rates of 1.2x10^9 6Li-atoms/s
and 1.4x10^9 40K-atoms/s. Trap losses due to light-induced interspecies
collisions of ~65% were observed and could be minimized to ~10% by using low
magnetic field gradients and low light powers in the repumping light of both
atomic species. The described system represents the starting point for the
production of a large-atom number quantum degenerate Fermi-Fermi mixture
Interstellar OH+, H2O+ and H3O+ along the sight-line to G10.6-0.4
We report the detection of absorption lines by the reactive ions OH+, H2O+
and H3O+ along the line of sight to the submillimeter continuum source
G10.60.4 (W31C). We used the Herschel HIFI instrument in dual beam switch
mode to observe the ground state rotational transitions of OH+ at 971 GHz, H2O+
at 1115 and 607 GHz, and H3O+ at 984 GHz. The resultant spectra show deep
absorption over a broad velocity range that originates in the interstellar
matter along the line of sight to G10.60.4 as well as in the molecular gas
directly associated with that source. The OH+ spectrum reaches saturation over
most velocities corresponding to the foreground gas, while the opacity of the
H2O+ lines remains lower than 1 in the same velocity range, and the H3O+ line
shows only weak absorption. For LSR velocities between 7 and 50 kms we
estimate total column densities of (OH+) cm,
(H2O+) cm and (H3O+) cm. These detections confirm the role of O and OH in
initiating the oxygen chemistry in diffuse molecular gas and strengthen our
understanding of the gas phase production of water. The high ratio of the OH+
by the H2O+ column density implies that these species predominantly trace
low-density gas with a small fraction of hydrogen in molecular form
Herschel/HIFI observations of interstellar OH+ and H2O+ towards W49N: a probe of diffuse clouds with a small molecular fraction
We report the detection of absorption by interstellar hydroxyl cations and
water cations, along the sight-line to the bright continuum source W49N. We
have used Herschel's HIFI instrument, in dual beam switch mode, to observe the
972 GHz N = 1 - 0 transition of OH+ and the 1115 GHz 1(11) - 0(00) transition
of ortho-H2O+. The resultant spectra show absorption by ortho-H2O+, and strong
absorption by OH+, in foreground material at velocities in the range 0 to 70
km/s with respect to the local standard of rest. The inferred OH+/H2O+
abundance ratio ranges from ~ 3 to ~ 15, implying that the observed OH+ arises
in clouds of small molecular fraction, in the 2 - 8% range. This conclusion is
confirmed by the distribution of OH+ and H2O+ in Doppler velocity space, which
is similar to that of atomic hydrogen, as observed by means of 21 cm absorption
measurements, and dissimilar from that typical of other molecular tracers. The
observed OH+/H abundance ratio of a few E-8 suggests a cosmic ray ionization
rate for atomic hydrogen of (0.6 - 2.4) E-16 s-1, in good agreement with
estimates inferred previously for diffuse clouds in the Galactic disk from
observations of interstellar H3+ and other species.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Excitation and Abundance of C3 in star forming cores:Herschel/HIFI observations of the sight-lines to W31C and W49N
We present spectrally resolved observations of triatomic carbon (C3) in
several ro-vibrational transitions between the vibrational ground state and the
low-energy nu2 bending mode at frequencies between 1654-1897 GHz along the
sight-lines to the submillimeter continuum sources W31C and W49N, using
Herschel's HIFI instrument. We detect C3 in absorption arising from the warm
envelope surrounding the hot core, as indicated by the velocity peak position
and shape of the line profile. The sensitivity does not allow to detect C3
absorption due to diffuse foreground clouds. From the column densities of the
rotational levels in the vibrational ground state probed by the absorption we
derive a rotation temperature (T_rot) of ~50--70 K, which is a good measure of
the kinetic temperature of the absorbing gas, as radiative transitions within
the vibrational ground state are forbidden. It is also in good agreement with
the dust temperatures for W31C and W49N. Applying the partition function
correction based on the derived T_rot, we get column densities N(C3)
~7-9x10^{14} cm^{-2} and abundance x(C3)~10^{-8} with respect to H2. For W31C,
using a radiative transfer model including far-infrared pumping by the dust
continuum and a temperature gradient within the source along the line of sight
we find that a model with x(C3)=10^{-8}, T_kin=30-50 K, N(C3)=1.5 10^{15}
cm^{-2} fits the observations reasonably well and provides parameters in very
good agreement with the simple excitation analysis.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (HIFI first
results issue
Nitrogen hydrides in interstellar gas: Herschel/HIFI observations towards G10.6-0.4 (W31C)
The HIFI instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory has been used to
observe interstellar nitrogen hydrides along the sight-line towards G10.6-0.4
in order to improve our understanding of the interstellar chemistry of
nitrogen. We report observations of absorption in NH N=1-0, J=2-1 and ortho-NH2
1_1,1-0_0,0. We also observed ortho-NH3 1_0-0_0, and 2_0-1_0, para-NH3 2_1-1_1,
and searched unsuccessfully for NH+. All detections show emission and
absorption associated directly with the hot-core source itself as well as
absorption by foreground material over a wide range of velocities. All spectra
show similar, non-saturated, absorption features, which we attribute to diffuse
molecular gas. Total column densities over the velocity range 11-54 km/s are
estimated. The similar profiles suggest fairly uniform abundances relative to
hydrogen, approximately 6*10^-9, 3*10^-9, and 3*10^-9 for NH, NH2, and NH3,
respectively. These abundances are discussed with reference to models of
gas-phase and surface chemistry.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 online pages with 2 figures. Accepted for
publication in A&A July 6 (Herschel/HIFI special issue
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