304 research outputs found
ISO Spectroscopy of the Young Bipolar Nebulae S106 IR and Cep A East
We present the results of ISO SWS and LWS grating scans towards the embedded
Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) S106 IR and Cep A East. Emission from the pure
rotational lines of H2 and the infrared fine structure lines of [C II], [O I],
[S I], [Si II] and [Fe II], as well as absorption bands due to H2O, CO and CO2
ice were detected toward Cep A. In S106 we detected emission lines of H2, CO, H
I, and a large number of ionized species including Fe, O, N, C, Si, S, Ne and
Ar. S106 also shows many of the infrared PAH bands in emission. Excitation
temperatures and molecular hydrogen masses were derived from the low-lying pure
rotational levels of H2 and are 500 and 730 K and 8 and 3 x 10^{-3} solar
masses for S106 and Cep A, respectively. Since both objects are expected to
have several solar masses of H2 in their environment, we conclude that in both
cases the bulk of the H2 is cooler than a few hundred Kelvins. Excitation
temperatures and line ratios were compared with those predicted by theoretical
models for PDRs and dissociative and non-dissociative shocks. The [S I] 25.2
micron/[Si II] 34.8 micron ratio is a particularly useful shock versus PDR
discriminant and we conclude that S106 IR is dominated by PDR emission while
Cep A East has a large shock component. From an analysis of the ionic lines in
S106 we conclude that the central star must have a temperature around 37,000 K,
corresponding to a spectral type of O8. From its luminosity it is concluded
that the driving source of Cep A must also be a massive early-type star. The
absence of strong high-ionization ionic lines in its ISO spectrum shows that
Cep A has not yet created a significant H II region and must be younger than
S106, illustrating the process of the clearing of the surroundings of a massive
young star.Comment: 15 pages (including 10 figures), to appear in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
A multi-wavelength study of the peculiar galaxy NGC 2976
Researchers are currently studying NGC 2976 at many wavelengths to investigate the extent to which an interaction with M81 may have affected the star formation history of this galaxy. Here, researchers present observations of NGC 2976 made at 50 microns with the high resolution (CPC) instrument onboard Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) at 21-cm (both HI line and radio continuum) with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and in the H alpha line with the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 36 inch telescope. The far infrared emission is not centrally peaked as in other spirals (e.g., Wainscoat et al. 1987), but has obvious intensity peaks near the ends of the disk. The ionized gas as inferred from the H alpha observations, is largely confined to two large, symmetrically placed emission regions near the ends of the disk. Finally, the HI and 21-cm radio continuum emission also exhibit this strongly double-peaked structure. At all of the above wavelengths the emission peaks are roughly coincident and lie approx. 1.2 minutes to the NW and approx. 1.1 minutes to the SE of the optical center of this galaxy
ISO spectroscopy of circumstellar dust in the Herbig Ae systems AB Aur and HD 163296
Using both the Short- and Long-wavelength Spectrometers on board the Infrared
Space Observatory (ISO), we have obtained infrared spectra of the Herbig Ae
systems AB Aur and HD 163296. In addition, we obtained ground-based N band
images of HD 163296. Our results can be summarized as follows: (1) The main
dust components in AB Aur are amorphous silicates, iron oxide and PAHs; (2) The
circumstellar dust in HD 163296 consists of amorphous silicates, iron oxide,
water ice and a small fraction of crystalline silicates; (3) The infrared
fluxes of HD 163296 are dominated by solid state features; (4) The colour
temperature of the underlying continuum is much cooler in HD 163296 than in AB
Aur, pointing to the existence of a population of very large (mm sized) dust
grains in HD 163296; (5) The composition and degree of crystallization of
circumstellar dust are poorly correlated with the age of the central star. The
processes of crystallization and grain growth are also not necessarily coupled.
This means that either the evolution of circumstellar dust in protoplanetary
disks happens very rapidly (within a few Myr), or that this evolution is
governed by factors other than stellar mass and age.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
ISO observations toward the reflection nebula NGC 7023: A nonequilibrium ortho- to para-H2 ratio
We have observed the S(0), S(1), S(2), S(3), S(4) and S(5) rotational lines
of molecular hydrogen (H2) towards the peak of the photodissociation region
(PDR) associated with the reflection nebula NGC 7023. The observed H2 line
ratios show that they arise in warm gas with kinetic temperatures ~300 - 700 K.
However, the data cannot be fitted by an ortho- to para- (OTP) ratio of 3. An
OTP ratio in the range ~1.5 - 2 is necessary to explain our observations. This
is the first detection of a non-equilibrium OTP ratio measured from the H2
pure-rotational lines in a PDR. The existence of a dynamical PDR is discussed
as the most likely explanation for this low OTP ratio.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Probing AGB nucleosynthesis via accurate Planetary Nebula abundances
The elemental abundances of ten planetary nebulae, derived with high accuracy
including ISO and IUE spectra, are analysed with the aid of synthetic
evolutionary models for the TP-AGB phase. Model prescriptions are varied until
we achieve the simultaneous reproduction of all elemental features, which
allows placing important constraints on the characteristic masses and
nucleosynthetic processes experienced by the stellar progenitors. First of all,
it is possible to separate the sample into two groups of PNe, one indicating
the occurrence of only the third dredge-up during the TP-AGB phase, and the
other showing also the chemical signature of hot-bottom burning. The former
group is reproduced by stellar models with variable molecular opacities (see
Marigo 2002), adopting initial solar metallicity, and typical efficiency of the
third dredge-up 0.3-0.4. The latter group of PNe, with extremely high He
content 0.15<=He/H<=0.20 and marked oxygen deficiency, is consistent with
original sub-solar metallicity (i.e. LMC composition). Moreover, we are able to
explain quantitatively both the N/H-He/H correlation and the N/H-C/H
anti-correlation, thus solving the discrepancy pointed out long ago by Becker &
Iben (1980). This is obtained only under the hypothesis that intermediate-mass
TP-AGB progenitors (M > 4.5-5.0 Mo) with LMC composition have suffered a number
of very efficient, carbon-poor, dredge-up events. Finally, the neon abundances
of the He-rich PNe can be recovered by invoking a significant production of
22Ne during thermal pulses, which would imply a reduced role of the
22Ne(alpha,n)25Mg reaction as neutron source to the s-process nucleosynthesis
in these stars.Comment: 22 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Picture gallery: A structured presentation of OAO-2 photometric data supported by UBV, ANS, and TD1 observations
Stellar fluxes for 531 stars in the wavelength range lambda 5500-1330A lambda are presented in the form of graphs. The stars are divided into 52 different categories on the basis of their spectral types and objects within one category are shown together. The agreement between the various ultraviolet photometric systems for early type stars is generally better than 0.10 mag. Stars with known and/or observed variability have been grouped separately. A list of stars with observed photometric properties which are indicative of stellar or interstellar anomalies is also provided
The ISO SWS on-line system
The software which is currently being developed for the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) is described. The spectrometer has a wide range of capabilities in the 2-45 micron infrared band. SWS contains two independent gratings, one for the long and one for the short wavelength section of the band. With the gratings a spectral resolution of approximately 1000 to approximately 2500 can be obtained. The instrument also contains two Fabry-Perault's yielding a resolution between approximately 1000 and approximately 20000. Software is currently being developed for the acquisition, calibration, and analysis of SWS data. The software is firstly required to run in a pipeline mode without human interaction, to process data as they are received from the telescope. However, both for testing and calibration of the instrument as well as for evaluation of the planned operating procedures the software should also be suitable for interactive use. Thirdly the same software will be used for long term characterization of the instrument. The software must work properly within the environment designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the spacecraft operations. As a result strict constraints are put on I/O devices, throughput etc
H_2 Emission From Disks Around Herbig Ae and T Tauri Stars
We present the initial results of a deep ISO-SWS survey
for the low J pure rotational emission lines of H2
toward a number of Herbig Ae and T Tauri stars.
The objects are selected to be as isolated as possible
from molecular clouds, with a spectral energy distribution
characteristic of a circumstellar disk. For most
of them the presence of a disk has been established
directly by millimeter interferometry. The S (1) line is
detected in most sources with a peak flux of 0.3-1 Jy.
The S(0) line is definitely seen in 2 objects: GG Tau
and HD 163296. The observations suggest the presence
of "warm" gas at T_(kin) ≈ 100 K with a mass of a
few % of the total gas+ dust mass, derived assuming
a gas-to-dust ratio of 100:1. The S(1) peak flux does
not show a strong correlation with spectral type of
the central star or continuum flux at 1.3 millimeter.
Possible origins for the warm gas seen in H_2 are discussed,
and comparisons with model calculations are
made
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