| 1. |
- Dubernet, M. L., et al.
(author)
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The virtual atomic and molecular data centre (VAMDC) consortium
- 2016
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In: Journal of Physics B. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-4075 .- 1361-6455. ; 49:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre (VAMDC) Consortium is a worldwide consortium which federates atomic and molecular databases through an e-science infrastructure and an organisation to support this activity. About 90% of the inter-connected databases handle data that are used for the interpretation of astronomical spectra and for modelling in many fields of astrophysics. Recently the VAMDC Consortium has connected databases from the radiation damage and the plasma communities, as well as promoting the publication of data from Indian institutes. This paper describes how the VAMDC Consortium is organised for the optimal distribution of atomic and molecular data for scientific research. It is noted that the VAMDC Consortium strongly advocates that authors of research papers using data cite the original experimental and theoretical papers as well as the relevant databases.
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| 2. |
- Gratier, P., et al.
(author)
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Molecular and atomic gas in the Local Group galaxy M 33
- 2010
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 522:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present high-resolution large-scale observations of the molecular and atomic gas in the Local Group galaxy M 33. The observations were carried out using the HEterodyne Receiver Array (HERA) at the 30 m IRAM telescope in the CO(2-1) line, achieving a resolution of 12 '' x 2.6 km s(-1), enabling individual giant molecular clouds (GMCs) to be resolved. The observed region is 650 square arcminutes mainly along the major axis and out to a radius of 8.5 kpc, and covers entirely the 2' x 40' radial strip observed with the HIFI and PACS Spectrometers as part of the HERM33ES Herschel key program. The achieved sensitivity in main-beam temperature is 20-50 mK at 2.6 km s(-1) velocity resolution. The CO(2-1) luminosity of the observed region is 1.7 +/- 0.1 x 10(7) K km s(-1) pc(2) and is estimated to be 2.8 +/- 0.3 x 10(7) K km s(-1) pc(2) for the entire galaxy, corresponding to H-2 masses of 1.9 x 10(8) M-circle dot and 3.3 x 10(8) M-circle dot respectively (including He), calculated with N(H-2)/ICO(1-0) twice the Galactic value due to the half-solar metallicity of M 33. The HI 21 cm VLA archive observations were reduced, and the mosaic was imaged and cleaned using the multi-scale task in the CASA software package, yielding a series of datacubes with resolutions ranging from 5 '' to 25 ''. The HI mass within a radius of 8.5 kpc is estimated to be 1.4 x 10(9) M-circle dot. The azimuthally averaged CO surface brightness decreases exponentially with a scale length of 1.9 +/- 0.1 kpc whereas the atomic gas surface density is constant at Sigma(HI) = 6 +/- 2 M-circle dot pc(-2) deprojected to face-on. For an N(H-2)/ICO(1-0) conversion factor twice that of the Milky Way, the central kiloparsec H-2 surface density is Sigma(H2) = 8.5 +/- 0.2 M-circle dot pc(-2). The star formation rate per unit molecular gas (SF efficiency, the rate of transformation of molecular gas into stars), as traced by the ratio of CO to H-alpha and FIR brightness, is constant with radius. The SFE, with a N(H-2)/ICO(1-0) factor twice galactic, appears 2-4 times greater than for large spiral galaxies. A morphological comparison of molecular and atomic gas with tracers of star formation is presented showing good agreement between these maps both in terms of peaks and holes. A few exceptions are noted. Several spectra, including those of a molecular cloud situated more than 8 kpc from the galaxy center, are presented.
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| 3. |
- Kramer, C., et al.
(author)
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PACS and SPIRE photometer maps of M33: First results of the HERschel M33 Extended Survey (HERM33ES)
- 2010
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518:Article Number: L67
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Within the framework of the HERM33ES key program, we are studying the star forming interstellar medium in the nearby, metal-poor spiral galaxy M33, exploiting the high resolution and sensitivity of Herschel. Aims. We use PACS and SPIRE maps at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 mu m wavelength, to study the variation of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with galacto-centric distance. Methods. Detailed SED modeling is performed using azimuthally averaged fluxes in elliptical rings of 2 kpc width, out to 8 kpc galacto-centric distance. Simple isothermal and two-component grey body models, with fixed dust emissivity index, are fitted to the SEDs between 24 mu m and 500 mu m using also MIPS/Spitzer data, to derive first estimates of the dust physical conditions. Results. The far-infrared and submillimeter maps reveal the branched, knotted spiral structure of M33. An underlying diffuse disk is seen in all SPIRE maps (250-500 mu m). Two component fits to the SEDs agree better than isothermal models with the observed, total and radially averaged flux densities. The two component model, with beta fixed at 1.5, best fits the global and the radial SEDs. The cold dust component clearly dominates; the relative mass of the warm component is less than 0.3% for all the fits. The temperature of the warm component is not well constrained and is found to be about 60 K +/- 10 K. The temperature of the cold component drops significantly from similar to 24 K in the inner 2 kpc radius to 13 K beyond 6 kpc radial distance, for the best fitting model. The gas-to-dust ratio for beta = 1.5, averaged over the galaxy, is higher than the solar value by a factor of 1.5 and is roughly in agreement with the subsolar metallicity of M33.
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| 4. |
- Albert, Damien, et al.
(author)
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A Decade with VAMDC : Results and Ambitions
- 2020
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In: Atoms. - : MDPI. - 2218-2004. ; 8:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents an overview of the current status of the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre (VAMDC) e-infrastructure, including the current status of the VAMDC-connected (or to be connected) databases, updates on the latest technological development within the infrastructure and a presentation of some application tools that make use of the VAMDC e-infrastructure. We analyse the past 10 years of VAMDC development and operation, and assess their impact both on the field of atomic and molecular (A&M) physics itself and on heterogeneous data management in international cooperation. The highly sophisticated VAMDC infrastructure and the related databases developed over this long term make them a perfect resource of sustainable data for future applications in many fields of research. However, we also discuss the current limitations that prevent VAMDC from becoming the main publishing platform and the main source of A&M data for user communities, and present possible solutions under investigation by the consortium. Several user application examples are presented, illustrating the benefits of VAMDC in current research applications, which often need the A&M data from more than one database. Finally, we present our vision for the future of VAMDC.
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| 5. |
- Braine, J., et al.
(author)
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Cool gas and dust in M33: Results from the HERschel M33 Extended Survey (HERM33ES)
- 2010
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518:Article Number: L69
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present an analysis of the first space-based far-IR-submm observations of M33, which measure the emission from the cool dust and resolve the giant molecular cloud complexes. With roughly half-solar abundances, M33 is a first step towards young low-metallicity galaxies where the submm may be able to provide an alternative to CO mapping to measure their H-2 content. In this Letter, we measure the dust emission cross-section sigma using SPIRE and recent CO and HI observations; a variation in s is present from a near-solar neighborhood cross-section to about half-solar with the maximum being south of the nucleus. Calculating the total H column density from the measured dust temperature and cross-section, and then subtracting the HI column, yields a morphology similar to that observed in CO. The H-2/HI mass ratio decreases from about unity to well below 10% and is about 15% averaged over the optical disk. The single most important observation to reduce the potentially large systematic errors is to complete the CO mapping of M33.
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| 6. |
- Buchbender, C., et al.
(author)
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Dense gas in M 33 (HerM33es)
- 2013
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 549, s. 17-36
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. We aim to better understand the emission of molecular tracers of the diffuse and dense gas in giant molecular clouds and the influence that metallicity, optical extinction, density, far-UV field, and star formation rate have on these tracers.Methods. Using the IRAM 30 m telescope, we detected HCN, HCO+, 12CO, and 13CO in six GMCs along the major axis of M 33 at a resolution of ~114 pc and out to a radial distance of 3.4 kpc. Optical, far-infrared, and submillimeter data from Herschel and other observatories complement these observations. To interpret the observed molecular line emission, we created two grids of models of photon-dominated regions, one for solar and one for M 33-type subsolar metallicity.Results. The observed HCO+/HCN line ratios range between 1.1 and 2.5. Similarly high ratios have been observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The HCN/CO ratio varies between 0.4% and 2.9% in the disk of M 33. The 12CO/13CO line ratio varies between 9 and 15 similar to variations found in the diffuse gas and the centers of GMCs of the Milky Way. Stacking of all spectra allowed HNC and C2H to be detected. The resulting HCO+/HNC and HCN/HNC ratios of ~8 and 6, respectively, lie at the high end of ratios observed in a large set of (ultra-)luminous infrared galaxies. HCN abundances are lower in the subsolar metallicity PDR models, while HCO+ abundances are enhanced. For HCN this effect is more pronounced at low optical extinctions. The observed HCO+/HCN and HCN/CO line ratios are naturally explained by subsolar PDR models of low optical extinctions between 4 and 10 mag and of moderate densities of n 3 × 103–3 × 104 cm-3, while the FUV field strength only has a small effect on the modeled line ratios. The line ratios are almost equally well reproduced by the solar-metallicity models, indicating that variations in metallicity only play a minor role in influencing these line ratios.
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| 7. |
- Fuente, A., et al.
(author)
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Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular cloudS (GEMS) I. The prototypical dark cloud TMC 1
- 2019
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 624
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GEMS is an IRAM 30 m Large Program whose aim is determining the elemental depletions and the ionization fraction in a set of prototypical star-forming regions. This paper presents the first results from the prototypical dark cloud Taurus molecular cloud (TMC) 1. Extensive millimeter observations have been carried out with the IRAM 30 m telescope (3 and 2mm) and the 40 m Yebes telescope (1.3 cm and 7 mm) to determine the fractional abundances of CO, HCO+, HCN, CS, SO, HCS+, and N2H+ in three cuts which intersect the dense filament at the well-known positions TMC 1-CP, TMC 1-NH3, and TMC 1-C, covering a visual extinction range from A(v) similar to 3 to similar to 20 mag. Two phases with differentiated chemistry can be distinguished: (i) the translucent envelope with molecular hydrogen densities of 1-5 x 10(3) cm(-3); and (ii) the dense phase, located at A(v) > 10 mag, with molecular hydrogen densities >10(4) cm(-3). Observations and modeling show that the gas phase abundances of C and O progressively decrease along the C+/C/CO transition zone (A(v) similar to 3 mag) where C/H similar to 8 x 10(-5) and C/O similar to 0.8-1, until the beginning of the dense phase at A(v) similar to 10 mag. This is consistent with the grain temperatures being below the CO evaporation temperature in this region. In the case of sulfur, a strong depletion should occur before the translucent phase where we estimate an S/H similar to (0.4-2.2) x 10(-6), an abundance similar to 7-40 times lower than the solar value. A second strong depletion must be present during the formation of the thick icy mantles to achieve the values of S/H measured in the dense cold cores (S/H similar to 8 x 10(-8)). Based on our chemical modeling, we constrain the value of zeta(H2) to similar to(0.5-1.8) x 10(-16) s(-1) in the translucent cloud.
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| 8. |
- Kramer, C., et al.
(author)
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Gas and dust cooling along the major axis of M33 (HerM33es) ISO/LWS C II observations
- 2013
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 553
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. We aim to better understand the heating of gas by observing the prominent gas cooling line [C II] at 158 mu m in the low-metallicity environment of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 on scales of 280 pc. In particular, we describe the variation of the photoelectric heating efficiency with the galactic environment.Methods. In this study, we present [C II] observations along the major axis of M33 using the Infrared Space Observatory in combination with Herschel continuum maps, IRAM 30m CO 2-1, and VLA H I data to study the variation in velocity integrated intensities. The ratio of [C II] emission over the far-infrared continuum is used as a proxy for the heating efficiency, and models of photon-dominated regions are used to study the local physical densities, far-ultraviolet radiation fields, and average column densities of the molecular clouds.Results. The heating efficiency stays constant at 0.8% in the inner 4.5 kpc radius of the galaxy, where it increases to reach values of similar to 3% in the outskirts at about a 6 kpc radial distance. The rise of efficiency is explained in the framework of PDR models by lowered volume densities and FUV fields for optical extinctions of only a few magnitudes at constant metallicity. For the significant fraction of Hi emission stemming from PDRs and for typical pressures found in the Galactic cold neutral medium (CNM) traced by Hi emission, the CNM contributes similar to 15% to the observed [C II] emission in the inner 2 kpc radius of M33. The CNM contribution remains largely undetermined in the south, while positions between radial distances of 2 and 7.3 kpc in the north of M33 show a contribution of similar to 40% +/- 20%.
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| 9. |
- Mookerjea, B., et al.
(author)
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The Herschel M 33 extended survey (HerM33es): PACS spectroscopy of the star-forming region BCLMP 302
- 2011
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 532, s. art. no. A152-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The emission line of [CII] at 158 mu m is one of the strongest cooling lines of the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies. Aims. Distinguishing the relative contributions of the different ISM phases to [CII] emission is a major objective of the HerM33es program, a Herschel key project to study the ISM in the nearby spiral galaxy M 33. Methods. Using PACS, we have mapped the emission of [CII] 158 mu m, [OI] 63 mu m, and other FIR lines in a 2' x 2' region of the northern spiral arm of M 33, centered on the HII region BCLMP302. At the peak of Ha emission, we observed in addition a velocity-resolved [CII] spectrum using HIFI. We use scatterplots to compare these data with PACS 160 mu m continuum maps, and with maps of CO and HI data, at a common resolution of 12 '' or 50 pc. Maps of Ha and 24 mu m emission observed with Spitzer are used to estimate the SFR. We created maps of the [CII] and [OI] 63 mu m emission and detected [NII] 122 mu m and [NIII] 57 mu m at individual positions. Results. The [CII] line observed with HIFI is significantly broader than that of CO, and slightly blue-shifted. In addition, there is little spatial correlation between [CII] observed with PACS and CO over the mapped region. There is even less spatial correlation between [CII] and the atomic gas traced by HI. Detailed comparison of the observed intensities towards the HII region with models of photo-ionization and photon-dominated regions, confirms that a significant fraction, 20-30%, of the observed [CII] emission stems from the ionized gas and not from the molecular cloud. The gas heating efficiency, using the ratio of [CII] to the TIR as a proxy, varies between 0.07 and 1.5%, with the largest variations found outside the HII region.
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| 10. |
- Einig, Lucas, et al.
(author)
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Deep learning denoising by dimension reduction: Application to the ORION-B line cubes
- 2023
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 677
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The availability of large bandwidth receivers for millimeter radio telescopes allows for the acquisition of position-position-frequency data cubes over a wide field of view and a broad frequency coverage. These cubes contain a lot of information on the physical, chemical, and kinematical properties of the emitting gas. However, their large size coupled with an inhomogenous signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) are major challenges for consistent analysis and interpretation. Aims. We searched for a denoising method of the low S/N regions of the studied data cubes that would allow the low S/N emission to be recovered without distorting the signals with a high S/N. Methods. We performed an in-depth data analysis of the 13CO and C17O (1-0) data cubes obtained as part of the ORION-B large program performed at the IRAM 30 m telescope. We analyzed the statistical properties of the noise and the evolution of the correlation of the signal in a given frequency channel with that of the adjacent channels. This has allowed us to propose significant improvements of typical autoassociative neural networks, often used to denoise hyperspectral Earth remote sensing data. Applying this method to the 13CO (1-0) cube, we were able to compare the denoised data with those derived with the multiple Gaussian fitting algorithm ROHSA, considered as the state-of-the-art procedure for data line cubes. Results. The nature of astronomical spectral data cubes is distinct from that of the hyperspectral data usually studied in the Earth remote sensing literature because the observed intensities become statistically independent beyond a short channel separation. This lack of redundancy in data has led us to adapt the method, notably by taking into account the sparsity of the signal along the spectral axis. The application of the proposed algorithm leads to an increase in the S/N in voxels with a weak signal, while preserving the spectral shape of the data in high S/N voxels. Conclusions. The proposed algorithm that combines a detailed analysis of the noise statistics with an innovative autoencoder architecture is a promising path to denoise radio-astronomy line data cubes. In the future, exploring whether a better use of the spatial correlations of the noise may further improve the denoising performances seems to be a promising avenue. In addition, dealing with the multiplicative noise associated with the calibration uncertainty at high S/N would also be beneficial for such large data cubes.
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| 11. |
- Gaudel, Mathilde, et al.
(author)
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Gas kinematics around filamentary structures in the Orion B cloud
- 2023
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 670
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Understanding the initial properties of star-forming material and how they affect the star formation process is key. From an observational point of view, the feedback from young high-mass stars on future star formation properties is still poorly constrained. Aims. In the framework of the IRAM 30m ORION-B large program, we obtained observations of the translucent (2 ≤ AV < 6 mag) and moderately dense gas (6 ≤ AV < 15 mag), which we used to analyze the kinematics over a field of 5 deg2 around the filamentary structures. Methods. We used the Regularized Optimization for Hyper-Spectral Analysis (ROHSA) algorithm to decompose and de-noise the C 18 O(1−0) and 13CO(1−0) signals by taking the spatial coherence of the emission into account. We produced gas column density and mean velocity maps to estimate the relative orientation of their spatial gradients. Results. We identified three cloud velocity layers at different systemic velocities and extracted the filaments in each velocity layer. The filaments are preferentially located in regions of low centroid velocity gradients. By comparing the relative orientation between the column density and velocity gradients of each layer from the ORION-B observations and synthetic observations from 3D kinematic toy models, we distinguish two types of behavior in the dynamics around filaments: (i) radial flows perpendicular to the filament axis that can be either inflows (increasing the filament mass) or outflows and (ii) longitudinal flows along the filament axis. The former case is seen in the Orion B data, while the latter is not identified. We have also identified asymmetrical flow patterns, usually associated with filaments located at the edge of an H II region. Conclusions. This is the first observational study to highlight feedback from H II regions on filament formation and, thus, on star formation in the Orion B cloud. This simple statistical method can be used for any molecular cloud to obtain coherent information on the kinematics.
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| 12. |
- Wakelam, V., et al.
(author)
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The 2014 KIDA Network for Interstellar Chemistry
- 2015
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In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 217:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chemical models used to study the chemical composition of the gas and the ices in the interstellar medium are based on a network of chemical reactions and associated rate coefficients. These reactions and rate coefficients are partially compiled from data in the literature, when available. We present in this paper kida.uva.2014, a new updated version of the kida.uva public gas-phase network first released in 2012. In addition to a description of the many specific updates, we illustrate changes in the predicted abundances of molecules for cold dense cloud conditions as compared with the results of the previous version of our network, kida.uva.2011.
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| 13. |
- Bron, E., et al.
(author)
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Tracers of the ionization fraction in dense and translucent gas: I. Automated exploitation of massive astrochemical model grids
- 2021
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 645
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The ionization fraction in the neutral interstellar medium (ISM) plays a key role in the physics and chemistry of the ISM, from controlling the coupling of the gas to the magnetic field to allowing fast ion-neutral reactions that drive interstellar chemistry. Most estimations of the ionization fraction have relied on deuterated species such as DCO+, whose detection is limited to dense cores representing an extremely small fraction of the volume of the giant molecular clouds that they are part of. As large field-of-view hyperspectral maps become available, new tracers may be found. The growth of observational datasets is paralleled by the growth of massive modeling datasets and new methods need to be devised to exploit the wealth of information they contain. Aims. We search for the best observable tracers of the ionization fraction based on a grid of astrochemical models, with the broader aim of finding a general automated method applicable to searching for tracers of any unobservable quantity based on grids of models. Methods. We built grids of models that randomly sample a large range of physical conditions (unobservable quantities such as gas density, temperature, elemental abundances, etc.) and computed the corresponding observables (line intensities, column densities) and the ionization fraction. We estimated the predictive power of each potential tracer by training a random forest model to predict the ionization fraction from that tracer, based on these model grids. Results. In both translucent medium and cold dense medium conditions, we found several observable tracers with very good predictive power for the ionization fraction. Many tracers in cold dense medium conditions are found to be better and more widely applicable than the traditional DCO+/HCO+ ratio. We also provide simpler analytical fits for estimating the ionization fraction from the best tracers, and for estimating the associated uncertainties. We discuss the limitations of the present study and select a few recommended tracers in both types of conditions. Conclusions. The method presented here is very general and can be applied to the measurement of any other quantity of interest (cosmic ray flux, elemental abundances, etc.) from any type of model (PDR models, time-dependent chemical models, etc.).
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Hernández-Vera, C., et al.
(author)
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The extremely sharp transition between molecular and ionized gas in the Horsehead nebula
- 2023
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 677
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Massive stars can determine the evolution of molecular clouds by eroding and photo-evaporating their surfaces with strong ultraviolet (UV) radiation fields. Moreover, UV radiation is relevant in setting the thermal gas pressure in star-forming clouds, whose influence can extend across various spatial scales, from the rims of molecular clouds to entire star-forming galaxies. Probing the fundamental structure of nearby molecular clouds is therefore crucial to understand how massive stars shape their surrounding medium and how fast molecular clouds are destroyed, specifically at their UV-illuminated edges, where models predict an intermediate zone of neutral atomic gas between the molecular cloud and the surrounding ionized gas whose size is directly related to the exposed physical conditions. We present the highest angular resolution (0.≥ 5, corresponding to 207 au) and velocity-resolved images of the molecular gas emission in the Horsehead nebula, using CO J = 3- 2 and HCO+ J = 4- 3 observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We find that CO and HCO+ are present at the edge of the cloud, very close to the ionization (H+/H) and dissociation fronts (H/H2), suggesting a very thin layer of neutral atomic gas (<650 au) and a small amount of CO-dark gas (AV = 0.006- 0.26 mag) for stellar UV illumination conditions typical of molecular clouds in the Milky Way. The new ALMA observations reveal a web of molecular gas filaments with an estimated thermal gas pressure of Pth = (2.3 - 4.0) - 106 K cm- 3, and the presence of a steep density gradient at the cloud edge that can be well explained by stationary isobaric photo-dissociation region (PDR) models with pressures consistent with our estimations. However, in the H≥ ¯II region and PDR interface, we find Pth,PDR > Pth,H≥ ¯II suggesting the gas is slightly compressed. Therefore, dynamical effects cannot be completely ruled out and even higher angular observations will be needed to unveil their role.
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| 16. |
- Monaci, MG, et al.
(author)
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Parental Perception of Vocal Contact with Preterm Infants: Communicative Musicality in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- 2021
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In: Children (Basel, Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2227-9067. ; 8:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, we evaluate mothers’ subjective experience of speaking and singing to their infants while they are in their incubators. We also discuss the relevance of the theoretical framework of Communicative Musicality for identifying the underlying mechanisms that may help explain its beneficial effects, both for parents and infants. Nineteen mothers talked and sung to their stable preterm infants in the incubators, for 5 min each, in three sessions over a period of 6 days. After each session, mothers were asked to assess in a self-report questionnaire the ease and the effectiveness of addressing their infants by speaking and singing and their prior musical experience. Perceived ease and effectiveness in communication were found to increase progressively from one session to the next. Mothers rated the speech to be increasingly more effective. This intuitive mean of interaction between parents and infants could be encouraged and supported by the nurses and the medical staff. Furthermore, individual musical experience affects perceived ease of communicating vocally with infants after a premature birth and should thus be encouraged during pregnancy.
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| 17. |
- Roueff, Antoine, et al.
(author)
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Bias versus variance when fitting multi-species molecular lines with a non-LTE radiative transfer model: Application to the estimation of the gas temperature and volume density
- 2024
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 686
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Robust radiative transfer techniques are requisite for efficiently extracting the physical and chemical information from molecular rotational lines. Aims. We study several hypotheses that enable robust estimations of the column densities and physical conditions when fitting one or two transitions per molecular species. We study the extent to which simplifying assumptions aimed at reducing the complexity of the problem introduce estimation biases and how to detect them. Methods. We focus on the CO and HCO+ isotopologues and analyze maps of a 50 square arcminutes field. We used the RADEX escape probability model to solve the statistical equilibrium equations and compute the emerging line profiles, assuming that all species coexist. Depending on the considered set of species, we also fixed the abundance ratio between some species and explored different values. We proposed a maximum likelihood estimator to infer the physical conditions and considered the effect of both the thermal noise and calibration uncertainty. We analyzed any potential biases induced by model misspecifications by comparing the results on the actual data for several sets of species and confirmed with Monte Carlo simulations. The variance of the estimations and the efficiency of the estimator were studied based on the Cramér-Rao lower bound. Results. Column densities can be estimated with 30% accuracy, while the best estimations of the volume density are found to be within a factor of two. Under the chosen model framework, the peak 12CO (1 -0) is useful for constraining the kinetic temperature. The thermal pressure is better and more robustly estimated than the volume density and kinetic temperature separately. Analyzing CO and HCO+ isotopologues and fitting the full line profile are recommended practices with respect to detecting possible biases. Conclusions. Combining a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model with a rigorous analysis of the accuracy allows us to obtain an efficient estimator and identify where the model is misspecified. We note that other combinations of molecular lines could be studied in the future.
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| 18. |
- Roueff, Antoine, et al.
(author)
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C18O, 13CO, and 12CO abundances and excitation temperatures in the Orion B molecular cloud: Analysis of the achievable precision in modeling spectral lines within the approximation of the local thermodynamic equilibrium
- 2021
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 645
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. CO isotopologue transitions are routinely observed in molecular clouds for the purpose of probing the column density of the gas and the elemental ratios of carbon and oxygen, in addition to tracing the kinematics of the environment. Aims. Our study is aimed at estimating the abundances, excitation temperatures, velocity field, and velocity dispersions of the three main CO isotopologues towards a subset of the Orion B molecular cloud, which includes IC 434, NGC 2023, and the Horsehead pillar. Methods. We used the Cramer Rao bound (CRB) technique to analyze and estimate the precision of the physical parameters in the framework of local-thermodynamic-equilibrium (LTE) excitation and radiative transfer with added white Gaussian noise. We propose a maximum likelihood estimator to infer the physical conditions from the 1-0 and 2-1 transitions of CO isotopologues. Simulations show that this estimator is unbiased and proves efficient for a common range of excitation temperatures and column densities (Tex > 6 K, N > 1014-1015 cm-2). Results. Contrary to general assumptions, the various CO isotopologues have distinct excitation temperatures and the line intensity ratios between different isotopologues do not accurately reflect the column density ratios. We find mean fractional abundances that are consistent with previous determinations towards other molecular clouds. However, significant local deviations are inferred, not only in regions exposed to the UV radiation field, but also in shielded regions. These deviations result from the competition between selective photodissociation, chemical fractionation, and depletion on grain surfaces. We observe that the velocity dispersion of the C18O emission is 10% smaller than that of 13CO. The substantial gain resulting from the simultaneous analysis of two different rotational transitions of the same species is rigorously quantified. Conclusions. The CRB technique is a promising avenue for analyzing the estimation of physical parameters from the fit of spectral lines. Future works will generalize its application to non-LTE excitation and radiative transfer methods.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Santa-Maria, Miriam G., et al.
(author)
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HCN emission from translucent gas and UV-illuminated cloud edges revealed by wide-field IRAM 30 m maps of the Orion B GMC: Revisiting its role as a tracer of the dense gas reservoir for star formation
- 2023
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 679
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Massive stars form within dense clumps inside giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Finding appropriate chemical tracers of the dense gas (n(H2) > several 104 cm-3 or AV > 8 mag) and linking their line luminosity with the star formation rate is of critical importance. Aims. Our aim is to determine the origin and physical conditions of the HCN-emitting gas and study their relation to those of other molecules. Methods. In the context of the IRAM 30m ORION-B large program, we present 5 deg2 (~250 pc2) HCN, HNC, HCO+, and CO J =1-0 maps of the Orion B GMC, complemented with existing wide-field [CI] 492 GHz maps, as well as new pointed observations of rotationally excited HCN, HNC, H13CN, and HN13C lines. We compare the observed HCN line intensities with radiative transfer models including line overlap effects and electron excitation. Furthermore, we study the HCN/HNC isomeric abundance ratio with updated photochemical models. Results. We spectroscopically resolve the HCN J = 1-0 hyperfine structure (HFS) components (and partially resolved J = 2-1 and 3-2 components). We detect anomalous HFS line intensity (and line width) ratios almost everywhere in the cloud. About 70% of the total HCN J = 1-0 luminosity, L′(HCN J = 1-0) = 110 K km s-1 pc-2, arises from AV < 8 mag. The HCN/CO J = 1-0 line intensity ratio, widely used as a tracer of the dense gas fraction, shows a bimodal behavior with an inflection point at AV < 3 mag typical of translucent gas and illuminated cloud edges. We find that most of the HCN J = 1-0 emission arises from extended gas with n(H2) < 104 cm-3, and even lower density gas if the ionization fraction is χe ≥10-5 and electron excitation dominates. This result contrasts with the prevailing view of HCN J = 1-0 emission as a tracer of dense gas and explains the low-AV branch of the HCN/CO J = 1-0 intensity ratio distribution. Indeed, the highest HCN/CO ratios (~ 0.1) at AV < 3 mag correspond to regions of high [CI] 492 GHz/CO J = 1-0 intensity ratios (>1) characteristic of low-density photodissociation regions. The low surface brightness (≲ 1 K km s-1) and extended HCN and HCO+ J = 1-0 emission scale with IFIR -a proxy of the stellar far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation field -in a similar way. Together with CO J = 1-0, these lines respond to increasing IFIR up to G0 ≅ 20. On the other hand, the bright HCN J = 1-0 emission (> 6 K km s-1) from dense gas in star-forming clumps weakly responds to IFIR once the FUV field becomes too intense (G0 > 1500). In contrast, HNC J = 1-0 and [CI] 492 GHz lines weakly respond to IFIR for all G0. The different power law scalings (produced by different chemistries, densities, and line excitation regimes) in a single but spatially resolved GMC resemble the variety of Kennicutt-Schmidt law indexes found in galaxy averages. Conclusions. Given the widespread and extended nature of the [CI] 492 GHz emission, as well as its spatial correlation with that of HCO+, HCN, and 13CO J = 1-0 lines (in this order), we argue that the edges of GMCs are porous to FUV radiation from nearby massive stars. Enhanced FUV radiation favors the formation and excitation of HCN on large scales, not only in dense star-forming clumps, and it leads to a relatively low value of the dense gas mass to total luminosity ratio, α (HCN) = 29 M⊙ /(K km s-1pc2) in Orion B. As a corollary for extragalactic studies, we conclude that high HCN/CO J = 1-0 line intensity ratios do not always imply the presence of dense gas, which may be better traced by HNC than by HCN.
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