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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 361 records · Page 20
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DOE OSTI2017

Candidate X-Ray-emitting OB Stars in MYStIX Massive Star-forming Regions

Massive O-type and early B-type (OB) stars in the nearby Galaxy remain incompletely cataloged due to high extinction, bright visible and infrared nebular emission in H ii regions, and high field star contamination. These difficulties are alleviated by restricting the search to stars with X-ray emission. Using the X-ray point sources from the Massive Young Star-forming Complex Study in Infrared and X-Rays (MYStIX) survey of OB-dominated regions, we identify 98 MYStIX candidate OB (MOBc) stars by fitting their 1–8 μm spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with reddened stellar atmosphere models. We identify 27 additional MOBc stars based on JHK {sub S} photometry of X-ray stars lacking SED fitting. These candidate OB stars indicate that the current census of stars earlier than B1, taken across the 18 MYStIX regions studied, is less than 50% complete. We also fit the SEDs of 239 previously published OB stars to measure interstellar extinction and bolometric luminosities, revealing six candidate massive binary systems and five candidate O-type (super)giants. As expected, candidate OB stars have systematically higher extinction than previously published OB stars. Notable results for individual regions include identification of the OB population of a recently discovered massive cluster in NGC 6357, an older OB association in the M17 complex, and new massive luminous O stars near the Trifid Nebula. In several relatively poorly studied regions (RCW 38, NGC 6334, NGC 6357, Trifid, and NGC 3576), the OB populations may increase by factors of ≳2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

X-RAY EMISSION FROM YOUNG STARS IN THE MASSIVE STAR-FORMING REGION IRAS 20126+4104

We present a 40 ks Chandra observation of the IRAS 20126+4104 core region. In the inner 6'' two X-ray sources were detected, which are coincident with the radio jet source I20S and the variable radio source I20Var. No X-ray emission was detected from the nearby massive protostar I20N. The spectra of both detected sources are hard and highly absorbed, with no emission below 3 keV. For I20S, the measured 0.5-8 keV count rate was 4.3 counts ks{sup -1}. The X-ray spectrum was fitted with an absorbed 1T APEC model with an energy of kT =10 keV and an absorbing column of N{sub H} = 1.2 x 10{sup 23} cm{sup -2}. An unabsorbed X-ray luminosity of about 1.4 x 10{sup 32} erg s{sup -1} was estimated. The spectrum shows broad line emission between 6.4 and 6.7 keV, indicative of emission from both neutral and highly ionized iron. The X-ray light curve indicates that I20S is marginally variable; however, no flare emission was observed. The variable radio source I20Var was detected with a count rate of 0.9 counts ks{sup -1} but there was no evidence of X-ray variability. The best-fit spectral model is a 1T APEC model with an absorbing hydrogen column of N{sub H} = 1.1 x 10{sup 23} cm{sup -2} and a plasma energy of kT = 6.0 keV. The unabsorbed X-ray luminosity is about 3 x 10{sup 31} erg s{sup -1}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ages of young star clusters, massive blue stragglers, and the upper mass limit of stars: Analyzing age-dependent stellar mass functions

Massive stars rapidly change their masses through strong stellar winds and mass transfer in binary systems. The latter aspect is important for populations of massive stars as more than 70% of all O stars are expected to interact with a binary companion during their lifetime. We show that such mass changes leave characteristic signatures in stellar mass functions of young star clusters that can be used to infer their ages and to identify products of binary evolution. We model the observed present-day mass functions of the young Galactic Arches and Quintuplet star clusters using our rapid binary evolution code. We find that the shaping of the mass function by stellar wind mass loss allows us to determine the cluster ages as 3.5 ± 0.7 Myr and 4.8 ± 1.1 Myr, respectively. Exploiting the effects of binary mass exchange on the cluster mass function, we find that the most massive stars in both clusters are rejuvenated products of binary mass transfer, i.e., the massive counterpart of classical blue straggler stars. This resolves the problem of an apparent age spread among the most luminous stars exceeding the expected duration of star formation in these clusters. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to probe stochastic sampling, which support the idea of the most massive stars being rejuvenated binary products. We find that the most massive star is expected to be a binary product after 1.0 ± 0.7 Myr in Arches and after 1.7 ± 1.0 Myr in Quintuplet. Today, the most massive 9 ± 3 stars in Arches and 8 ± 3 in Quintuplet are expected to be such objects. Our findings have strong implications for the stellar upper mass limit and solve the discrepancy between the claimed 150 M {sub ☉} limit and observations of four stars with initial masses of 165-320 M {sub ☉} in R136 and of supernova 2007bi, which is thought to be a pair-instability supernova from an initial 250 M {sub ☉} star. Using the stellar population of R136, we revise the upper mass limit to values in the range 200-500 M {sub ☉}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Galaxy Formation with Self-Consistently Modeled Stars and Massive Black Holes. I: Feedback-Regulated Star Formation and Black Hole Growth

There is mounting evidence for the coevolution of galaxies and their embedded massive black holes (MBHs) in a hierarchical structure formation paradigm. To tackle the nonlinear processes of galaxy-MBH interaction, we describe a self-consistent numerical framework which incorporates both galaxies and MBHs. The high-resolution adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code Enzo is modified to model the formation and feedback of molecular clouds at their characteristic scale of 15.2 pc and the accretion of gas onto an MBH. Two major channels of MBH feedback, radiative feedback (X-ray photons followed through full three-dimensional adaptive ray tracing) and mechanical feedback (bipolar jets resolved in high-resolution AMR), are employed. We investigate the coevolution of a 9.2 x 10{sup 11} M {circle_dot} galactic halo and its 10{sup 5} {circle_dot} M embedded MBH at redshift 3 in a cosmological CDM simulation. The MBH feedback heats the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) up to 10{sup 6} K through photoionization and Compton heating and locally suppresses star formation in the galactic inner core. The feedback considerably changes the stellar distribution there. This new channel of feedback from a slowly growing MBH is particularly interesting because it is only locally dominant and does not require the heating of gas globally on the disk. The MBH also self-regulates its growth by keeping the surrounding ISM hot for an extended period of time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dependency of dynamical ejections of O stars on the masses of very young star clusters

Massive stars can be efficiently ejected from their birth star clusters through encounters with other massive stars. We study how the dynamical ejection fraction of O star systems varies with the masses of very young star clusters, M{sub ecl}, by means of direct N-body calculations. We include diverse initial conditions by varying the half-mass radius, initial mass segregation, initial binary fraction, and orbital parameters of the massive binaries. The results show robustly that the ejection fraction of O star systems exhibits a maximum at a cluster mass of 10{sup 3.5} M{sub ⊙} for all models, even though the number of ejected systems increases with cluster mass. We show that lower mass clusters (M{sub ecl}≈400 M{sub ⊙}) are the dominant sources for populating the Galactic field with O stars by dynamical ejections, considering the mass function of embedded clusters. About 15% (up to ≈38%, depending on the cluster models) of O stars of which a significant fraction are binaries, and which would have formed in a ≈10 Myr epoch of star formation in a distribution of embedded clusters, will be dynamically ejected to the field. Individual clusters may eject 100% of their original O star content. A large fraction of such O stars have velocities up to only 10 km s{sup −1}. Synthesising a young star cluster mass function, it follows, given the stellar-dynamical results presented here, that the observed fractions of field and runaway O stars, and the binary fractions among them, can be well understood theoretically if all O stars form in embedded clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THM determination of the 65 keV resonance strength intervening in the {sup 17}O(p,α){sup 14}N reaction rate

The {sup 17}O(p,α){sup 14}N reaction is of paramount importance for the nucleosynthesis in a number of stellar sites, including red giants (RG), asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, massive stars and classical novae. We report on the indirect study of the {sup 17}O(p,α){sup 14}N reaction via the Trojan Horse Method by applying the approach recently developed for extracting the resonance strength of the narrow resonance at E{sub c.m.}{sup R} = 65 keV (E{sub X} =5.673 MeV). The strength of the 65 keV resonance in the {sup 17}O(p,α){sup 14}N reaction, measured by means of the THM, has been used to renormalize the corresponding resonance strength in the {sup 17}O+p radiative capture channel.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SIMULATED PERFORMANCE OF TIMESCALE METRICS FOR APERIODIC LIGHT CURVES

Aperiodic variability is a characteristic feature of young stars, massive stars, and active galactic nuclei. With the recent proliferation of time-domain surveys, it is increasingly essential to develop methods to quantify and analyze aperiodic variability. We develop three timescale metrics that have been little used in astronomy—Δm-Δt plots, peak-finding, and Gaussian process regression—and present simulations comparing their effectiveness across a range of aperiodic light curve shapes, characteristic timescales, observing cadences, and signal to noise ratios. We find that Gaussian process regression is easily confused by noise and by irregular sampling, even when the model being fit reflects the process underlying the light curve, but that Δm-Δt plots and peak-finding can coarsely characterize timescales across a broad region of parameter space. We make public the software we used for our simulations, both in the spirit of open research and to allow others to carry out analogous simulations for their own observing programs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Determination of Ne 20 ( p , γ ) Na 21 cross sections from E p = 500 - 2000 keV

Background: The reaction 20 Ne(p,γ) 21 Na influences the nucleosynthesis of Ne, Na, and Mg isotopes while contributing to hydrogen burning in several stellar sites, such as red giants, asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, massive stars, and oxygen-neon (ONe) novae. In the relevant temperature range for these environments (T = 0.05–0.5 GK), the main contributions to this reaction rate are from the direct capture process as well as the high-energy tail of a subthreshold resonance in the ground-state transition at E x = 2425 keV in the 21 Na compound nucleus. Purpose: The previous measurement of this reaction reports cross sections with large uncertainties for the ground-state transition. At higher energies, where the subthreshold resonance makes a smaller contribution to the total cross section, only upper limits are provided. This work aims to reduce the uncertainty in the cross section where direct capture dominates, as well as provide cross-section data in previously unmeasured regions. Method: The 20 Ne (p, γ) 21 Na reaction was measured over a wide proton energy range (E p = 0.5–2.0 MeV) at θ lab = 90°. Transitions to the ground state and to the 332 and 2425 keV excited states were observed. The primary transitions to these three bound states were utilized in an R -matrix analysis to determine the contributions of the direct capture and the subthreshold resonance to the total cross section. Results: The cross sections of the present measurements have been found to be in good agreement with the previous data at low energy. Significantly improved cross-section measurements have been obtained over the E p = 1300–1900 keV region. The narrow resonance at E c.m. = 1113 keV (E x = 3544.3 keV) has also been remeasured and its strength has been found to be in good agreement with previous measurements. Conclusions: An extrapolation of the S factor of 20 Ne (p, γ) 21 Na has been made to low energies using the R -matrix fit. The reaction rate from the subthreshold resonance was found to be the main contributor to the reaction rate at temperatures below about 0.1 GK. The present rate is lower in the temperature range of interest than those presented in current reaction rate libraries by up to 20%.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

SYGMA: Stellar Yields for Galactic Modeling Applications

The Stellar Yields for Galactic Modeling Applications (SYGMA) code is an open-source module that models the chemical ejecta and feedback of simple stellar populations (SSPs). It is intended for use in hydrodynamical simulations and semi-analytic models of galactic chemical evolution. The module includes the enrichment from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, massive stars, Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and compact binary mergers. An extensive and extendable stellar yields library includes the NuGrid yields with all elements and many isotopes up to Bi. Stellar feedback from mechanic and frequency-dependent radiative luminosities are computed based on NuGrid stellar models and their synthetic spectra. The module further allows for customizable initial mass functions and SN Ia delay-time distributions to calculate time-dependent ejecta based on stellar yield input. A variety of r-process sites can be included. A comparison of SSP ejecta based on NuGrid yields with those from Portinari et al. and Marigo reveals up to factors of 3.5 and 4.8 less C and N enrichment from AGB stars at low metallicity, a result we attribute to NuGrid's modeling of hot-bottom burning. Different core-collapse supernova explosions and fallback prescriptions may lead to substantial variations for the accumulated ejecta of C, O and Si in the first 107 years at Z = 0.001. Finally, an online interface of the open-source SYGMA module enables interactive simulations, analysis, and data extraction of the evolution of all species formed by the evolution of simple stellar populations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE PROTOPLANETARY DISKS IN THE NEARBY MASSIVE STAR-FORMING REGION CYGNUS OB2

The formation of stars in massive clusters is one of the main modes of the star formation process. However, the study of massive star-forming regions is hampered by their typically large distances to the Sun. One exception to this is the massive star-forming region Cygnus OB2 in the Cygnus X region, at the distance of {approx}1400 pc. Cygnus OB2 hosts very rich populations of massive and low-mass stars, being the best target in our Galaxy to study the formation of stars, circumstellar disks, and planets in the presence of massive stars. In this paper, we combine a wide and deep set of photometric data, from the r band to 24 {mu}m, in order to select the disk-bearing population of stars in Cygnus OB2 and identify the class I, class II, and stars with transition and pre-transition disks. We selected 1843 sources with infrared excesses in an area of 1 Degree-Sign Multiplication-Sign 1 Degree-Sign centered on Cyg OB2 in several evolutionary stages: 8.4% class I, 13.1% flat-spectrum sources, 72.9% class II, 2.3% pre-transition disks, and 3.3% transition disks. The spatial distribution of these sources shows a central cluster surrounded by an annular overdensity and some clumps of recent star formation in the outer region. Several candidate subclusters are identified, both along the overdensity and in the rest of the association.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2003

How Massive Single Stars End Their Life

How massive stars die-what sort of explosion and remnant each produces-depends chiefly on the masses of their helium cores and hydrogen envelopes at death. For single stars, stellar winds are the only means of mass loss, and these are a function of the metallicity of the star. We discuss how metallicity, and a simplified prescription for its effect on mass loss, affects the evolution and final fate of massive stars. We map, as a function of mass and metallicity, where black holes and neutron stars are likely to form and where different types of supernovae are produced. Integrating over an initial mass function, we derive the relative populations as a function of metallicity. Provided that single stars rotate rapidly enough at death, we speculate on stellar populations that might produce gamma-ray bursts and jet-driven supernovae.

Heger, A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

A Smoking Gun in the Carina Nebula

The Carina Nebula is one of thc youngest, most active sites of massive star formation in our Galaxy. In this nebula, we have discovered a bright X-ray source that has persisted for approx.30 years. The soft X-ray spectrum. consistent with kT approx.130 eV blackbody radiation with mild extinction, and no counterpart in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths indicate that it is a, approx. 10(exp 6)-year-old neutron star housed in the Carina Nebula. Current star formation theory does not suggest that the progenitor of the neutron star and massive stars in the Carina Nebula, in particular (eta)Car, are coeval. This result demonstrates that the Carina Nebula experienced at least two major episodes of massive star formation. The neutron star would be responsible for remnants of high energy activity seen in multiple wavelengths.

Hamaguchi, Kenji↗