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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
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DOE OSTI2014

The unexpectedly bright comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) unveiled at near-infrared wavelengths

We acquired near-infrared spectra of the Oort cloud comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) at three different heliocentric distances (R {sub h}) during the comet's 2013 perihelion passage, providing a comprehensive measure of the outgassing behavior of parent volatiles and cosmogonic indicators. Our observations were performed pre-perihelion at R {sub h} = 1.2 AU with CRIRES (on 2013 February 2 and 4), and post-perihelion at R {sub h} = 0.75 AU with CSHELL (on March 31 and April 1) and R {sub h} = 1.74 AU with NIRSPEC (on June 20). We detected 10 volatile species (H{sub 2}O, OH* prompt emission, C{sub 2}H{sub 6}, CH{sub 3}OH, H{sub 2}CO, HCN, CO, CH{sub 4}, NH{sub 3}, and NH{sub 2}), and obtained upper limits for two others (C{sub 2}H{sub 2} and HDO). One-dimensional spatial profiles displayed different distributions for some volatiles, confirming either the existence of polar and apolar ices, or of chemically distinct active vents in the nucleus. The ortho-para ratio for water was 3.31 ± 0.33 (weighted mean of CRIRES and NIRSPEC results), implying a spin temperature >37 K at the 95% confidence limit. Our (3σ) upper limit for HDO corresponds to D/H < 2.45 × 10{sup –3} (i.e., <16 Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water, VSMOW). At R {sub h} = 1.2 AU (CRIRES), the production rate for water was Q(H{sub 2}O) = 1.9 ± 0.1 × 10{sup 29} s{sup –1} and its rotational temperature was T {sub rot} ∼ 69 K. At R {sub h} = 0.75 AU (CSHELL), we measured Q(H{sub 2}O) = 4.6 ± 0.6 × 10{sup 29} s{sup –1} and T {sub rot} = 80 K on March 31, and 6.6 ± 0.9 × 10{sup 29} s{sup –1} and T {sub rot} = 100 K on April 1. At R {sub h} = 1.74 AU (NIRSPEC), we obtained Q(H{sub 2}O) = 1.1 ± 0.1 × 10{sup 29} s{sup –1} and T {sub rot} ∼ 50 K. The measured volatile abundance ratios classify comet C/2012 F6 as rather depleted in C{sub 2}H{sub 6} and CH{sub 3}OH, while HCN, CH{sub 4}, and CO displayed abundances close to their median values found among comets. H{sub 2}CO was the only volatile showing a relative enhancement. The relative paucity of C{sub 2}H{sub 6} and CH{sub 3}OH (with respect to H{sub 2}O) suggests formation within warm regions of the nebula. However, the normal abundance of HCN and hypervolatiles CH{sub 4} and CO, and the enhancement of H{sub 2}CO, may indicate a possible heterogeneous nucleus of comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon), possibly as a result of radial mixing within the protoplanetary disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Multi-wavelength photometry of the T Tauri binary V582 Mon (KH 15D): A new epoch of occultations

We present multi-wavelength (VRIJHK) observations of KH 15D obtained in 2012/2013, as well as a master table of standard photometry spanning the years 1967 to 2013. The system is a close, eccentric T Tauri binary embedded in an inclined precessing circumbinary (CB) ring. The most recent data show the continued rise of star B with respect to the trailing edge of the occulting horizon as the system's maximum brightness steadily increases. The wealth of data in time and wavelength domains allows us to track the long-term CCD color evolution of KH 15D. We find that the V – I behavior is consistent with direct and scattered light from the composite color of two stars with slightly different temperatures. There is no evidence for any reddening or bluing associated with extinction or scattering by interstellar-medium-size dust grains. Furthermore, we probe the system's faint phase behavior at near-infrared wavelengths in order to investigate extinction properties of the ring and signatures of a possible shepherding planet sometimes invoked to confine the CB ring at ∼5 AU. The wavelength independence of eclipse depth at second contact is consistent with the ring material being fully opaque to 2.2 μm. The color-magnitude diagrams demonstrate excess flux in J and H at low light levels, which may be due to the presence of a hot, young Jupiter-mass planet.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A new estimate of the chondrule cooling rate deduced from an analysis of compositional zoning of relict olivine

Compositional zoning in chondrule phenocrysts records the crystallization environments in the early solar nebula. We modeled the growth of olivine phenocrysts from a silicate melt and proposed a new fractional crystallization model that provides a relation between the zoning profile and the cooling rate. In our model, we took elemental partitioning at a growing solid-liquid interface and time-dependent solute diffusion in the liquid into consideration. We assumed a local equilibrium condition, namely, that the compositions at the interface are equal to the equilibrium ones at a given temperature. We carried out numerical simulations of the fractional crystallization in one-dimensional planar geometry. The simulations revealed that under a constant cooling rate the growth velocity increases exponentially with time and a linear zoning profile forms in the solid as a result. We derived analytic formulae of the zoning profile, which reproduced the numerical results for wide ranges of crystallization conditions. The formulae provide a useful tool to estimate the cooling rate from the compositional zoning. Applying the formulae to low-FeO relict olivine grains in type II porphyritic chondrules observed by Wasson and Rubin, we estimate the cooling rate to be ∼200-2000 K s{sup –1}, which is greater than that expected from furnace-based experiments by orders of magnitude. Appropriate solar nebula environments for such rapid cooling conditions are discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

CSI 2264: simultaneous optical and infrared light curves of young disk-bearing stars in NGC 2264 with CoRoT and Spitzer—evidence for multiple origins of variability

We present the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC 2264, a continuous 30 day multi-wavelength photometric monitoring campaign on more than 1000 young cluster members using 16 telescopes. The unprecedented combination of multi-wavelength, high-precision, high-cadence, and long-duration data opens a new window into the time domain behavior of young stellar objects. Here we provide an overview of the observations, focusing on results from Spitzer and CoRoT. The highlight of this work is detailed analysis of 162 classical T Tauri stars for which we can probe optical and mid-infrared flux variations to 1% amplitudes and sub-hour timescales. We present a morphological variability census and then use metrics of periodicity, stochasticity, and symmetry to statistically separate the light curves into seven distinct classes, which we suggest represent different physical processes and geometric effects. We provide distributions of the characteristic timescales and amplitudes and assess the fractional representation within each class. The largest category (>20%) are optical 'dippers' with discrete fading events lasting ∼1-5 days. The degree of correlation between the optical and infrared light curves is positive but weak; notably, the independently assigned optical and infrared morphology classes tend to be different for the same object. Assessment of flux variation behavior with respect to (circum)stellar properties reveals correlations of variability parameters with Hα emission and with effective temperature. Overall, our results point to multiple origins of young star variability, including circumstellar obscuration events, hot spots on the star and/or disk, accretion bursts, and rapid structural changes in the inner disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A CO survey in planet-forming disks: Characterizing the gas content in the epoch of planet formation

We carried out a {sup 12}CO(3-2) survey of 52 southern stars with a wide range of IR excesses (L {sub IR}/L {sub *}) using the single-dish telescopes APEX and ASTE. The main aims were (1) to characterize the evolution of molecular gas in circumstellar disks using L {sub IR}/L {sub *} values as a proxy of disk dust evolution, and (2) to identify new gas-rich disk systems suitable for detailed study with ALMA. About 60% of the sample (31 systems) have L {sub IR}/L {sub *} > 0.01, typical of T Tauri or Herbig AeBe stars, and the rest (21 systems) have L {sub IR}/L {sub *} < 0.01, typical of debris disks. We detect CO(3-2) emission from 20 systems, and 18 (90%) of these have L {sub IR}/L {sub *} > 0.01. However, the spectra of only four of the newly detected systems appear free of contamination from background or foreground emission from molecular clouds. These include the early-type stars HD 104237 (A4/5V, 116 pc) and HD 98922 (A2 III, 507 pc, as determined in this work), where our observations reveal the presence of CO-rich circumstellar disks for the first time. Of the other detected sources, many could harbor gaseous circumstellar disks, but our data are inconclusive. For these two newly discovered gas-rich disks, we present radiative transfer models that simultaneously reproduce their spectral energy distributions and the {sup 12}CO(3-2) line profiles. For both of these systems, the data are fit well by geometrically flat disks, placing them in the small class of non-flaring disks with significant molecular gas reservoirs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Probing for exoplanets hiding in dusty debris disks: Disk imaging, characterization, and exploration with HST/STIS multi-roll coronagraphy

Spatially resolved scattered-light images of circumstellar debris in exoplanetary systems constrain the physical properties and orbits of the dust particles in these systems. They also inform on co-orbiting (but unseen) planets, the systemic architectures, and forces perturbing the starlight-scattering circumstellar material. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) broadband optical coronagraphy, we have completed the observational phase of a program to study the spatial distribution of dust in a sample of 10 circumstellar debris systems and 1 'mature' protoplanetrary disk, all with HST pedigree, using point-spread-function-subtracted multi-roll coronagraphy. These observations probe stellocentric distances ≥5 AU for the nearest systems, and simultaneously resolve disk substructures well beyond corresponding to the giant planet and Kuiper Belt regions within our own solar system. They also disclose diffuse very low-surface-brightness dust at larger stellocentric distances. Herein we present new results inclusive of fainter disks such as HD 92945 (F {sub disk}/F {sub star} = 5 × 10{sup –5}), confirming, and better revealing, the existence of a narrow inner debris ring within a larger diffuse dust disk. Other disks with ring-like substructures and significant asymmetries and complex morphologies include HD 181327, for which we posit a spray of ejecta from a recent massive collision in an exo-Kuiper Belt; HD 61005, suggested to be interacting with the local interstellar medium; and HD 15115 and HD 32297, also discussed in the context of putative environmental interactions. These disks and HD 15745 suggest that debris system evolution cannot be treated in isolation. For AU Mic's edge-on disk, we find out-of-plane surface brightness asymmetries at ≥5 AU that may implicate the existence of one or more planetary perturbers. Time-resolved images of the MP Mus protoplanetary disk provide spatially resolved temporal variability in the disk illumination. These and other new images from our HST/STIS GO/12228 program enable direct inter-comparison of the architectures of these exoplanetary debris systems in the context of our own solar system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Challenges in forming the solar system's giant planet cores via pebble accretion

Though ∼10 M {sub ⊕} mass rocky/icy cores are commonly held as a prerequisite for the formation of gas giants, theoretical models still struggle to explain how these embryos can form within the lifetimes of gaseous circumstellar disks. In recent years, aerodynamic-aided accretion of 'pebbles', objects ranging from centimeters to meters in size, has been suggested as a potential solution to this long-standing problem. While pebble accretion has been demonstrated to be extremely effective in local simulations that look at the detailed behavior of these pebbles in the vicinity of a single planetary embryo, to date there have been no global simulations demonstrating the effectiveness of pebble accretion in a more complicated, multi-planet environment. Therefore, we have incorporated the aerodynamic-aided accretion physics into LIPAD, a Lagrangian code that can follow the collisional/accretional/dynamical evolution of a protoplanetary system, to investigate how pebble accretion manifests itself in the larger planet formation picture. We find that under generic circumstances, pebble accretion naturally leads to an 'oligarchic' type of growth in which a large number of planetesimals grow to similar-sized planets. In particular, our simulations tend to form hundreds of Mars- and Earth-mass objects between 4 and 10 AU. While merging of some oligarchs may grow massive enough to form giant planet cores, leftover oligarchs lead to planetary systems that cannot be consistent with our own solar system. We investigate various ideas presented in the literature (including evaporation fronts and planet traps) and find that none easily overcome this tendency toward oligarchic growth.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Pursuing the planet-debris disk connection: Analysis of upper limits from the Anglo-Australian planet search

Solid material in protoplanetary disks will suffer one of two fates after the epoch of planet formation; either being bound up into planetary bodies, or remaining in smaller planetesimals to be ground into dust. These end states are identified through detection of sub-stellar companions by periodic radial velocity (or transit) variations of the star, and excess emission at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths, respectively. Since the material that goes into producing the observable outcomes of planet formation is the same, we might expect these components to be related both to each other and their host star. Heretofore, our knowledge of planetary systems around other stars has been strongly limited by instrumental sensitivity. In this work, we combine observations at far-infrared wavelengths by IRAS, Spitzer, and Herschel with limits on planetary companions derived from non-detections in the 16 year Anglo-Australian Planet Search to clarify the architectures of these (potential) planetary systems and search for evidence of correlations between their constituent parts. We find no convincing evidence of such correlations, possibly owing to the dynamical history of the disk systems, or the greater distance of the planet-search targets. Our results place robust limits on the presence of Jupiter analogs which, in concert with the debris disk observations, provides insights on the small-body dynamics of these nearby systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF MULTI-RESONANT SYSTEMS: THE CASE OF GJ 876

The GJ 876 system was among the earliest multi-planetary detections outside of the Solar System, and has long been known to harbor a resonant pair of giant planets. Subsequent characterization of the system revealed the presence of an additional Neptune mass object on an external orbit, locked in a three body Laplace mean motion resonance with the previously known planets. While this system is currently the only known extrasolar example of a Laplace resonance, it differs from the Galilean satellites in that the orbital motion of the planets is known to be chaotic. In this work, we present a simple perturbative model that illuminates the origins of stochasticity inherent to this system and derive analytic estimates of the Lyapunov time as well as the chaotic diffusion coefficient. We then address the formation of the multi-resonant structure within a protoplanetary disk and show that modest turbulent forcing in addition to dissipative effects is required to reproduce the observed chaotic configuration. Accordingly, this work places important constraints on the typical formation environments of planetary systems and informs the attributes of representative orbital architectures that arise from extended disk-driven evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

V409 Tau as another AA Tau: Photometric observations of stellar occultations by the circumstellar disk

AA Tau is a well studied young stellar object (YSO) that presents many of the photometric characteristics of a Classical T Tauri star (CTTS), including short-timescale stochastic variability attributed to spots and/or accretion as well as long-duration dimming events attributed to occultations by vertical features (e.g., warps) in its circumstellar disk. We present new photometric observations of AA Tau from the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope North (KELT-North) which reveal a deep, extended dimming event in 2011, which we show supports the interpretation by Bouvier et al. of an occultation by a high-density feature in the circumstellar disk located >8 AU from the star. We also present KELT-North observations of V409 Tau, a relatively unstudied YSO also in Taurus–Auriga, showing short timescale erratic variability, along with two separate long and deep dimming events, one from 2009 January through late 2010 October, and the other from 2012 March until at least 2013 September. We interpret both dimming events to have lasted more than 600 days, each with a depth of ∼1.4 mag. From a spectral energy distribution analysis, we propose that V409 Tau is most likely surrounded by a circumstellar disk viewed nearly edge-on, and using Keplerian timescale arguments we interpret the deep dimmings of V409 Tau as occultations from one or more features within this disk ≳10 AU from the star. In both AA Tau and V409 Tau, the usual CTTS short-timescale variations associated with accretion processes close to the stars continue during the occultations, further supporting the distant occulting material interpretation. Like AA Tau, V409 Tau serves as a laboratory for studying the detailed structure of the protoplanetary environments of T Tauri disks, specifically disk structures that may be signposts of planet formation at many AU out in the disk. We also provide a table of all currently known disk-occulting young stars as a convenient reference for future work on such objects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Near-IR polarized scattered light imagery of the DoAr 28 transitional disk

We present the first spatially resolved polarized scattered light H-band detection of the DoAr 28 transitional disk. Our two epochs of imagery detect the scattered light disk from our effective inner working angle of 0.″10 (13 AU) out to 0.″50 (65 AU). This inner working angle is interior to the location of the system’s gap inferred by previous studies using spectral energy distribution modeling (15 AU). We detected a candidate point source companion 1.″08 northwest of the system; however, our second epoch of imagery strongly suggests that this object is a background star. We constructed a grid of Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer models of the system, and our best fit models utilize a modestly inclined (50°), 0.01 M{sub ⊙} disk that has a partially depleted inner gap from the dust sublimation radius out to ∼8 AU. Subtracting this best fit, axi-symmetric model from our polarized intensity data reveals evidence for two small asymmetries in the disk, which could be attributable to a variety of mechanisms.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE NATURE AND FREQUENCY OF OUTFLOWS FROM STARS IN THE CENTRAL ORION NEBULA CLUSTER

Recent Hubble Space Telescope images have allowed the determination with unprecedented accuracy of motions and changes of shocks within the inner Orion Nebula. These originate from collimated outflows from very young stars, some within the ionized portion of the nebula and others within the host molecular cloud. We have doubled the number of Herbig–Haro objects known within the inner Orion Nebula. We find that the best-known Herbig–Haro shocks originate from relatively few stars, with the optically visible X-ray source COUP 666 driving many of them. While some isolated shocks are driven by single collimated outflows, many groups of shocks are the result of a single stellar source having jets oriented in multiple directions at similar times. This explains the feature that shocks aligned in opposite directions in the plane of the sky are usually blueshifted because the redshifted outflows pass into the optically thick photon-dominated region behind the nebula. There are two regions from which optical outflows originate for which there are no candidate sources in the SIMBAD database.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

YSOVAR: MID-INFRARED VARIABILITY OF YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS AND THEIR DISKS IN THE CLUSTER IRAS 20050+2720

We present a time-variability study of young stellar objects (YSOs) in the cluster IRAS 20050+2720, performed at 3.6 and 4.5 μm with the Spitzer Space Telescope; this study is part of the Young Stellar Object VARiability (YSOVAR) project. We have collected light curves for 181 cluster members over 60 days. We find a high variability fraction among embedded cluster members of ca. 70%, whereas young stars without a detectable disk display variability less often (in ca. 50% of the cases) and with lower amplitudes. We detect periodic variability for 33 sources with periods primarily in the range of 2–6 days. Practically all embedded periodic sources display additional variability on top of their periodicity. Furthermore, we analyze the slopes of the tracks that our sources span in the color–magnitude diagram (CMD). We find that sources with long variability time scales tend to display CMD slopes that are at least partially influenced by accretion processes, while sources with short variability timescales tend to display extinction-dominated slopes. We find a tentative trend of X-ray detected cluster members to vary on longer timescales than the X-ray undetected members.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

ROVIBRATIONALLY RESOLVED PHOTODISSOCIATION OF HeH{sup +}

Accurate photodissociation cross sections have been obtained for the A{sup 1}{Sigma}{sup +} <- X{sup 1}{Sigma}{sup +} electronic transition of HeH{sup +} using ab initio potential curves and dipole transition moments. Partial cross sections have been evaluated for all rotational transitions from the vibrational levels v'' = 0-11 and over the entire accessible wavelength range {lambda}{lambda}100-1129. Assuming a Boltzmann distribution of the rovibrational levels of the X{sup 1}{Sigma}{sup +} state, photodissociation cross sections are presented for temperatures between 500 and 12,000 K. A similar set of calculations was performed for the pure rovibrational photodissociation in the X{sup 1}{Sigma}{sup +} electronic ground state, but covering photon wavelengths into the far-infrared. Applications of the cross sections to the destruction of HeH{sup +} in the early universe and in UV-irradiated environments such as primordial halos and protoplanetary disks are briefly discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

CARBON AND OXYGEN IN NEARBY STARS: KEYS TO PROTOPLANETARY DISK CHEMISTRY

We present carbon and oxygen abundances for 941 FGK stars-the largest such catalog to date. We find that planet-bearing systems are enriched in these elements. We self-consistently measure N{sub C} /N{sub O} , which is thought to play a key role in planet formation. We identify 46 stars with N{sub C} /N{sub O} {>=} 1.00 as potential hosts of carbon-dominated exoplanets. We measure a downward trend in [O/Fe] versus [Fe/H] and find distinct trends in the thin and thick disks, supporting the work of Bensby et al. Finally, we measure sub-solar N{sub C} /N{sub O} = 0.40{sup +0.11}{sub -0.07}, for WASP-12, a surprising result as this star is host to a transiting hot Jupiter whose dayside atmosphere was recently reported to have N{sub C} /N{sub O} {>=} 1 by Madhusudhan et al. Our measurements are based on 15,000 high signal-to-noise spectra taken with the Keck 1 telescope as part of the California Planet Search. We derive abundances from the [O I] and C I absorption lines at {lambda} = 6300 and 6587 A using the SME spectral synthesizer.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

SURFACE LAYER ACCRETION IN CONVENTIONAL AND TRANSITIONAL DISKS DRIVEN BY FAR-ULTRAVIOLET IONIZATION

Whether protoplanetary disks accrete at observationally significant rates by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) depends on how well ionized they are. Disk surface layers ionized by stellar X-rays are susceptible to charge neutralization by small condensates, ranging from {approx}0.01 {mu}m sized grains to angstrom-sized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Ion densities in X-ray-irradiated surfaces are so low that ambipolar diffusion weakens the MRI. Here we show that ionization by stellar far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation enables full-blown MRI turbulence in disk surface layers. Far-UV ionization of atomic carbon and sulfur produces a plasma so dense that it is immune to ion recombination on grains and PAHs. The FUV-ionized layer, of thickness 0.01-0.1 g cm{sup -2}, behaves in the ideal magnetohydrodynamic limit and can accrete at observationally significant rates at radii {approx}> 1-10 AU. Surface layer accretion driven by FUV ionization can reproduce the trend of increasing accretion rate with increasing hole size seen in transitional disks. At radii {approx}<1-10 AU, FUV-ionized surface layers cannot sustain the accretion rates generated at larger distance, and unless turbulent mixing of plasma can thicken the MRI-active layer, an additional means of transport is needed. In the case of transitional disks, it could be provided by planets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

TURBULENCE AND STEADY FLOWS IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL GLOBAL STRATIFIED MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS OF ACCRETION DISKS

We present full 2{pi} global three-dimensional stratified magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of accretion disks. We interpret our results in the context of protoplanetary disks. We investigate the turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) using the PLUTO Godunov code in spherical coordinates with the accurate and robust HLLD Riemann solver. We follow the turbulence for more than 1500 orbits at the innermost radius of the domain to measure the overall strength of turbulent motions and the detailed accretion flow pattern. We find that regions within two scale heights of the midplane have a turbulent Mach number of about 0.1 and a magnetic pressure two to three orders of magnitude less than the gas pressure, while in those outside three scale heights the magnetic pressure equals or exceeds the gas pressure and the turbulence is transonic, leading to large density fluctuations. The strongest large-scale density disturbances are spiral density waves, and the strongest of these waves has m = 5. No clear meridional circulation appears in the calculations because fluctuating radial pressure gradients lead to changes in the orbital frequency, comparable in importance to the stress gradients that drive the meridional flows in viscous models. The net mass flow rate is well reproduced by a viscous model using the mean stress distribution taken from the MHD calculation. The strength of the mean turbulent magnetic field is inversely proportional to the radius, so the fields are approximately force-free on the largest scales. Consequently, the accretion stress falls off as the inverse square of the radius.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

DISCOVERY AND ANALYSIS OF 21 {mu}m FEATURE SOURCES IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS

Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared spectroscopy has been obtained for 15 carbon-rich protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and for two other such stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Of these 17 PPNe, the unidentified 21 {mu}m feature is strong in 7 spectra, weak in 2 spectra, and very weak or questionable in 4 spectra. Two of the four spectra without the 21 {mu}m feature have a very strong feature near 11 {mu}m, similar to a feature observed in some carbon-rich planetary nebulae (PNe) in the LMC. We attribute this feature to unusual SiC dust, although the feature-to-continuum ratio is much larger than for SiC features in Galactic or Magellanic Cloud carbon star spectra. The remaining two objects show typical carbon-rich PPNe spectra with no 21 {mu}m features. One of the LMC objects that lacks the 21 {mu}m feature and one SMC object with a questionable 21 {mu}m detection may have mixed dust chemistries based upon their spectral similarity to Galactic [WC] PNe. The 13 objects that either definitely or may show the 21 {mu}m feature have distinct dust shell properties compared to the Galactic 21 {mu}m objects-the 21 {mu}m features are weaker, the estimated dust temperatures are significantly higher, the unidentified infrared (UIR) bands are stronger, and the UIRs show more structure. Four of the 21 {mu}m objects appear to show normal SiC emission features in their spectra. Many of the PPNe show strong 30 {mu}m features, although this feature carries less of the total mid-infrared emission than is normally the case for the Galactic 21 {mu}m PPNe. The LMC objects are in the LMC halo rather than in the LMC bar. The estimated luminosities of these PPNe vary from 4700 to 12,500 L{sub sun}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗