| 1. |
- Kamenetzky, J., et al.
(author)
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CARBON MONOXIDE IN THE COLD DEBRIS OF SUPERNOVA 1987A
- 2013
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In: ASTROPHYS J LETT. - 2041-8205. ; 773:2, s. L34-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report spectroscopic and imaging observations of rotational transitions of cold CO and SiO in the ejecta of SN1987A, the first such emission detected in a supernova remnant. In addition to line luminosities for the CO J = 1-0, 2-1, 6-5, and 7-6 transitions, we present upper limits for all other transitions up to J = 13-12, collectively measured from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment, and the Herschel Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver. Simple models show the lines are emitted from at least 0.01 M-circle dot of CO at a temperature >14 K, confined within at most 35% of a spherical volume expanding at similar to 2000 km s(-1). Moreover, we locate the emission within 1 '' of the central debris. These observations, along with a partial observation of SiO, confirm the presence of cold molecular gas within supernova remnants and provide insight into the physical conditions and chemical processes in the ejecta. Furthermore, we demonstrate the powerful new window into supernova ejecta offered by submillimeter observations.
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| 2. |
- Matsuura, M., et al.
(author)
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ALMA spectral survey of Supernova 1987A-molecular inventory, chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis
- 2017
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 469:3, s. 3347-3362
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the first molecular line survey of Supernova 1987A in the millimetre wavelength range. In the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 210-300 and 340360 GHz spectra, we detected cold (20-170 K) CO, (SiO)-Si-28, HCO+ and SO, with weaker lines of 29SiO from ejecta. This is the first identification of HCO+ and SO in a young supernova remnant. We find a dip in the J = 6-5 and 5-4 SiO line profiles, suggesting that the ejecta morphology is likely elongated. The difference of theCOand SiO line profiles is consistent with hydrodynamic simulations, which showthat Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities causemixing of gas, with heavier elements much more disturbed, making more elongated structure. We obtained isotopologue ratios of (SiO)-Si-28/(SiO)-Si-29> 13, (SiO)-Si-28/(SiO)-Si-30> 14 and (CO)-C-12/(CO)-C-13 > 21, with the most likely limits of (SiO)-Si-28/(SiO)-Si-29 > 128, (SiO)-Si-28/(SiO)-Si-30 > 189. Low Si-29 and Si-30 abundances in SN 1987A are consistent with nucleosynthesis models that show inefficient formation of neutron-rich isotopes in a low-metallicity environment, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud. The deduced large mass of HCO+ (similar to 5 x 10(-6)M(circle dot)) and small SiS mass (< 6 x 10-5M(circle dot)) might be explained by some mixing of elements immediately after the explosion. The mixing might have caused some hydrogen from the envelope to sink into carbon- and oxygen-rich zones after the explosion, enabling the formation of a substantial mass of HCO+. Oxygen atoms may have penetrated into silicon and sulphur zones, suppressing formation of SiS. Our ALMA observations open up a new window to investigate chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae.
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| 3. |
- Decin, L., et al.
(author)
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Silicon in the dust formation zone of IRC+10216
- 2010
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518, s. L143-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The interstellar medium is enriched primarily by matter ejected from evolved low and intermediate mass stars. The outflows from these stars create a circumstellar envelope in which a rich gas-phase and dust-nucleation chemistry takes place. We observed the nearest carbon-rich evolved star, IRC + 10216, using the PACS (55-210 mu m) and SPIRE (194-672 mu m) spectrometers on board Herschel. We find several tens of lines from SiS and SiO, including lines from the v = 1 vibrational level. For SiS these transitions range up to J = 124-123, corresponding to energies around 6700 K, while the highest detectable transition is J = 90-89 for SiO, which corresponds to an energy around 8400 K. Both species trace the dust formation zone of IRC + 10216, and the broad energy ranges involved in their detected transitions permit us to derive the physical properties of the gas and the particular zone in which each species has been formed. This allows us to check the accuracy of chemical thermodynamical equilibrium models and the suggested depletion of SiS and SiO due to accretion onto dust grains.
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| 4. |
- Decin, L., et al.
(author)
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Warm water vapour in the sooty outflow from a luminous carbon star
- 2010
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 467:7311, s. 64-67
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The detection(1) of circumstellar water vapour around the ageing carbon star IRC + 10216 challenged the current understanding of chemistry in old stars, because water was predicted(2) to be almost absent in carbon-rich stars. Several explanations for the water were postulated, including the vaporization of icy bodies (comets or dwarf planets) in orbit around the star(1), grain surface reactions(3), and photochemistry in the outer circumstellar envelope(4). With a single water line detected so far from this one carbon-rich evolved star, it is difficult to discriminate between the different mechanisms proposed. Here we report the detection of dozens of water vapour lines in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre spectrum of IRC + 10216 using the Herschel satellite(5). This includes some high-excitation lines with energies corresponding to similar to 1,000 K, which can be explained only if water is present in the warm inner sooty region of the envelope. A plausible explanation for the warm water appears to be the penetration of ultraviolet photons deep into a clumpy circumstellar envelope. This mechanism also triggers the formation of other molecules, such as ammonia, whose observed abundances(6) are much higher than hitherto predicted(7).
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| 5. |
- Royer, P., et al.
(author)
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PACS and SPIRE spectroscopy of the red supergiant VY CMa
- 2010
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518, s. L145-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With a luminosity > 10(5) L-circle dot and a mass-loss rate of similar to 2 x 10(-4) M-circle dot yr(-1), the red supergiant VY CMa truly is a spectacular object. Because of its extreme evolutionary state, it could explode as supernova any time. Studying its circumstellar material, into which the supernova blast will run, provides interesting constraints on supernova explosions and on the rich chemistry taking place in such complex circumstellar envelopes. We have obtained spectroscopy of VY CMa over the full wavelength range offered by the PACS and SPIRE instruments of Herschel, i.e. 55-672 micron. The observations show the spectral fingerprints of more than 900 spectral lines, of which more than half belong to water. In total, we have identified 13 different molecules and some of their isotopologues. A first analysis shows that water is abundantly present, with an ortho-to-para ratio as low as similar to 1.3:1, and that chemical non-equilibrium processes determine the abundance fractions in the inner envelope.
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| 6. |
- Wesson, R., et al.
(author)
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Herschel-SPIRE FTS spectroscopy of the carbon-rich objects AFGL 2688, AFGL 618, and NGC 7027
- 2010
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518, s. L144-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present far-infrared and submillimetre spectra of three carbon-rich evolved objects, AFGL 2688, AFGL 618 and NGC 7027. The spectra were obtained with the SPIRE Fourier-transform spectrometer on board the Herschel Space Observatory, and cover wavelengths from 195-670 mu m, a region of the electromagnetic spectrum hitherto difficult to study in detail. The far infrared spectra of these objects are rich and complex, and we measure over 150 lines in each object. Lines due to 18 different species are detected. We determine physical conditions from observations of the rotational lines of several molecules, and present initial large velocity gradient models for AFGL 618. We detect water in AFGL 2688 for the first time, and confirm its presence in AFGL 618 in both ortho and para forms. In addition, we report the detection of the J = 1-0 line of CH+ in NGC 7027.
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| 7. |
- Bisbas, Thomas G., et al.
(author)
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TORUS-3DPDR : a self-consistent code treating three-dimensional photoionization and photodissociation regions
- 2015
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 454:3, s. 2828-2843
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The interaction of ionizing and far-ultraviolet radiation with the interstellar medium is of great importance. It results in the formation of regions in which the gas is ionized, beyond which are photodissociation regions (PDRs) in which the gas transitions to its atomic and molecular form. Several numerical codes have been implemented to study these two main phases of the interstellar medium either dynamically or chemically. In this paper we present TORUS-3DPDR, a new self-consistent code for treating the chemistry of three-dimensional photoionization and photodissociation regions. It is an integrated code coupling the two codes TORUS, a hydrodynamics and Monte Carlo radiation transport code, and 3D-PDR, a PDRs code. The new code uses a Monte Carlo radiative transfer scheme to account for the propagation of the ionizing radiation including the diffusive component as well as a ray-tracing scheme based on the HEALPIX package in order to account for the escape probability and column density calculations. Here, we present the numerical techniques we followed and we show the capabilities of the new code in modelling three-dimensional objects including single or multiple sources. We discuss the effects introduced by the diffusive component of the ultraviolet field in determining the thermal balance of PDRs as well as the effects introduced by a multiple sources treatment of the radiation field. With this new code, three-dimensional synthetic observations for the major cooling lines are possible, for making feasible a detailed comparison between hydrodynamical simulations and observations.
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| 8. |
- Khouri, T., et al.
(author)
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The wind of W Hydrae as seen by Herschel I. The CO envelope
- 2014
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 561, s. Article no. A5-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars lose their envelopes by means of a stellar wind whose driving mechanism is not understood well. Characterizing the composition and thermal and dynamical structure of the outflow provides constraints that are essential for understanding AGB evolution, including the rate of mass loss and isotopic ratios. Aims. We characterize the CO emission from the wind of the low mass-loss rate oxygen-rich AGB star W Hya using data obtained by the HIFI, PACS, and SPIRE instruments on board the Herschel Space Observatory and ground-based telescopes. (CO)-C-12 and (CO)-C-13 lines are used to constrain the intrinsic C-12/C-13 ratio from resolved HIFI lines. Methods. We combined a state-of-the-art molecular line emission code and a dust continuum radiative transfer code to model the CO lines and the thermal dust continuum. Results. The acceleration of the outflow up to about 5.5 km s(-1) is quite slow and can be represented by a beta-type velocity law with index beta = 5. Beyond this point, acceleration up the terminal velocity of 7 km s(-1) is faster. Using the J = 10-9, 9-8, and 6-5 transitions, we find an intrinsic C-12/C-13 ratio of 18 +/- 10 for W Hya, where the error bar is mostly due to uncertainties in the (CO)-C-12 abundance and the stellar flux around 4.6 mu m. To match the low-excitation CO lines, these molecules need to be photo-dissociated at similar to 500 stellar radii. The radial dust emission intensity profile of our stellar wind model matches PACS images at 70 mu m out to 20 '' (or 800 stellar radii). For larger radii the observed emission is substantially stronger than our model predicts, indicating that at these locations there is extra material present. Conclusions. The initial slow acceleration of the wind may imply inefficient dust formation or dust driving in the lower part of the envelope. The final injection of momentum in the wind might be the result of an increase in the opacity thanks to the late condensation of dust species. The derived intrinsic isotopologue ratio for W Hya is consistent with values set by the first dredge-up and suggestive of an initial mass of 2 M-circle dot or more. However, the uncertainty in the isotopologic ratio is large, which makes it difficult to set reliable limits on W Hya's main-sequence mass.
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| 9. |
- Schady, P., et al.
(author)
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Comparing emission- and absorption-based gas-phase metallicities in GRB host galaxies at z =2-4 using JWST
- 2024
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 529:3, s. 2807-2831
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Much of what is known of the chemical composition of the universe is based on emission line spectra from star-forming galaxies. Emission-based inferences are, nevertheless, model-dependent and they are dominated by light from luminous star-forming regions. An alternative and sensitive probe of the metallicity of galaxies is through absorption lines imprinted on the luminous afterglow spectra of long gamma ray bursts (GRBs) from neutral material within their host galaxy. We present results from a JWST/NIRSpec programme to investigate for the first time the relation between the metallicity of neutral gas probed in absorption by GRB afterglows and the metallicity of the star-forming regions for the same host galaxy sample. Using an initial sample of eight GRB host galaxies at z = 2.1–4.7, we find a tight relation between absorption and emission line metallicities when using the recently proposed ?^ metallicity diagnostic (±0.2 dex). This agreement implies a relatively chemically homogeneous multiphase interstellar medium and indicates that absorption and emission line probes can be directly compared. However, the relation is less clear when using other diagnostics, such as R23 and R3. We also find possible evidence of an elevated N/O ratio in the host galaxy of GRB 090323 at z = 4.7, consistent with what has been seen in other z > 4 galaxies. Ultimate confirmation of an enhanced N/O ratio and of the relation between absorption and emission line metallicities will require a more direct determination of the emission line metallicity via the detection of temperature-sensitive auroral lines in our GRB host galaxy sample.
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