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At least 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

NH{sub 3}(3,3) AND CH{sub 3}OH NEAR SUPERNOVA REMNANTS: GBT AND VLA OBSERVATIONS

We report on Green Bank Telescope 23.87 GHz NH{sub 3}(3,3) emission observations in five supernova remnants (SNRs) interacting with molecular clouds (G1.4−0.1, IC 443, W44, W51C, and G5.7−0.0). The observations show a clumpy gas density distribution, and in most cases the narrow line widths of ∼3–4 km s{sup −1} are suggestive of maser emission. Very Large Array observations reveal 36 and/or 44 GHz CH{sub 3}OH maser emission in a majority (72%) of the NH{sub 3} peak positions toward three of these SNRs. This good positional correlation is in agreement with the high densities required for the excitation of each line. Through these observations we have shown that CH{sub 3}OH and NH{sub 3} maser emission can be used as indicators of high-density clumps of gas shocked by SNRs, and provide density estimates thereof. Modeling of the optical depth of the NH{sub 3}(3,3) emission is compared to that of CH{sub 3}OH, constraining the densities of the clumps to a typical density of the order of 10{sup 5} cm{sup −3} for cospatial masers. Regions of gas with this density are found to exist in the post-shocked gas quite close to the SNR shock front, and may be associated with sites where cosmic rays produce gamma-ray emission via neutral pion decay.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Rubidium-87 gas cell studies, phase 1

The construction of a quartz bulb-quartz cavity type rubidium maser is described, and the results obtained with two of these masers are presented. The tuning characteristics, medium term stability, and short term stability are reported. It is concluded that the stability of the masers in the short term region is superior to any of the oscillators presently existing. On this basis it is believed that future development of the masers to reduce their size and improve their medium term stability is well justified.

Vanier, J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Ultra-low-noise microwave amplifiers

The highlights of 20 years of maser use and development are presented. Masers discussed include cavity, traveling wave, K band, and S band. Noise temperatures measured since 1960 are summarized. Use of masers in the Deep Space Network is presented. Costs associated with the construction of masers systems are given.

Clauss, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Simultaneous far-infrared, near-infrared, and radio observations of OH/IR stars

Simultaneous far-infrared, near-infrared, and radio observations have been made of five infrared stars which show OH maser emission at 1612 MHz. These stars have very thick circumstellar dust shells and are not seen optically. The data permit a direct comparison of the far-infrared and maser emission from these sources, which strongly supports the hypothesis that the maser emission is pumped by 35 micron photons. A comparison with data obtained at earlier epochs suggests that the maser emission is saturated. The infrared and radio data are used together with estimates of the source distances to determine the luminosities and mass loss rates for these objects. The luminosities lie in the range 2000-30,000 solar luminosities and are consistent with either Mira variable or M supergiant classifications for the underlying stars. The estimated mass loss rates lie between 0.000005-0.00007 solar mass/year.

Werner, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Fine structure of microwave spike bursts and associated cross-field energy transport

The characteristics of the maser emission from a driven system where energetic electrons continue to flow through the source region is investigated using electronic particle simulations. It is shown that, under appropriate conditions, the maser can efficiently radiate a significant portion of the energy of the fast electrons in a very short time. The radiation is emitted in pulses even though the flow of electrons through the system is at a constant rate. The mission of these pulses is proposed as the source of the fine structure. Under other conditions the dominant maser emission changes from fundamental x-mode to either fundamental z-mode or to electrostatic upper hybrid or Bernstein modes. The bulk of the emission from the maser instability cannot propagate across field lines in this regime, and hence strong local plasma heating is expected, with little energy transport across the magnetic field lines.

Winglee, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Spin-lattice relaxation and the calculation of gain, pump power, and noise temperature in ruby

The use of a quantitative analysis of the dominant source of relaxation in ruby spin systems to make predictions of key maser amplifier parameters is described. The spin-lattice Hamiltonian which describes the interaction of the electron spins with the thermal vibrations of the surrounding lattice is obtained from the literature. Taking into account the vibrational anisotropy of ruby, Fermi's rule is used to calculate the spin transition rates between the maser energy levels. The spin population rate equations are solved for the spin transition relaxation times, and a comparison with previous calculations is made. Predictions of ruby gain, inversion ratio, and noise temperature as a function of physical temperature are made for 8.4-GHz and 32-GHz maser pumping schemes. The theory predicts that ruby oriented at 90 deg will have approximately 50 percent higher gain in dB and slightly lower noise temperature than a 54.7-deg ruby at 32 GHz (assuming pump saturation). A specific calculation relating pump power to inversion ratio is given for a single channel of the 32-GHz reflected wave maser.

Lyons, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Determination of an Infrared Reference Frame

The mission of the European Space Agency's Hipparcos satellite was to provide high precision astrometric and photometric data for over 100,000 stars and somewhat lower precision data on over a million additional stars. These observations were made in the optical band (340 - 850 nm) and resulted in median precisions of better than 1 milli-arcsec (mas) in position and parallax and I mas/yr in proper motion. The Hipparcos frame is inertial within an estimated uncertainty of +/- 0.25 mas/yr. The other important wavelength band for astrometry has been the radio band. A reference frame has been defined based on absolute Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) positions of several hundreds of radio sources. There have been a number of projects to refine the link between the optical and radio reference frames. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the astrometry of infrared sources. For example, stars with circumstellar shells can be observed in both the optical and radio (e.g. SiO maser emission). The infrared emission from such sources is dominated by thermal dust emission. The spatial distribution of radiation in the three bands is expected to be quite different. In 1982 we proposed a number of infrared-selected sources (S(sub 10 micron) greater than or approx. equal to 100 J(sub y)) for inclusion in the Hipparcos Input Catalog. Most of those sources were observed, and in Sutton (1997) we report the optical astrometric results (position, proper motion, and parallax) for 87 such sources. These sources were selected to have reasonable agreement between infrared and optical positions, and so may be used as primary standards for future infrared astrometry. They are well distributed across the sky, but exhibit some bias towards the galactic plane and the northern hemisphere. We have also obtained a set of 1480 secondary standards (unpublished) A comparison between optical positions and 86 GHz SiO maser positions for 10 sources indicates coincidence at the 0.15 arcsec level, consistent with current uncertainties in the SiO positions. Improved measurements of the SiO maser positions are needed. VLBI data show that SiO maser spots can be distributed in broken rings of radii 10 - 30 mas, presumably centered on the stellar position. However the SiO flux may be distributed asymmetrically, in which case the flux-weighted center of the SiO emission can be different from the stellar position. We have also published a related paper on phase fluctuations in millimeter interferometry (Sutton and Hueckstaedt 1996). Radiometric monitoring of emission from atmospheric water vapor may be a method for correcting for such fluctuations. This is relevant to positional determinations at centimeter and millimeter wavelengths. The integration of visible, infrared, and radio astrometry is one of our principal goals.

Sutton, Edmund C.↗
NASA NTRS1997

A 2000 Solar Mass Rotating Molecular Disk Around NGC 6334A

We present millimeter and centimeter wave spectroscopic observations of the H II region NGC 6334A. We have mapped the source in several transitions of CO, CS, and NH3. The molecular emission shows a distinct flattened structure in the east-west direction. This structure is probably a thick molecular disk or torus (2.2 x 0.9 pc) responsible for the bipolarity of the near-infrared (NIR) and radio continuum emission which extends in two "lobes" to the north and south of the shell-like H II region. The molecular disk is rotating from west to east (omega approximately equals 2.4 km/s.pc) about an axis approximately parallel to the radio and NIR emission lobes. By assuming virial equilibrium, we find that the molecular disk contains approximately 2000 solar mass. Single-component gas excitation model calculations show that the molecular gas in the disk is warmer and denser (T(sub k) approximately equals 60 K, n approximately equals 3000/cc) than the gas to the north and south (T(sub k) approximately equals 50 K, n approximately equals 400/cc). High resolution (approximately 5 sec) NH3 (3, 3) images of NGC 6334A reveal several small (approximately 0.1 pc) clumps, one of which lies southwest of the radio continuum shell, and is spatially coincident with a near-infrared source, IRS 20. A second NH3 clump is coincident with an H2O maser and the center of a molecular outflow. The dense gas tracers, CS J = 5 approaches 4 and 7 approaches 6, peak near IRS 20 and the H2O maser, not at NGC 6334A. IRS 20 has a substantial far-infrared (FIR) luminosity L(sub FIR) approximately 10(exp 5) solar luminosity, which indicates the presence of an O 7.5 star but has no detected radio continuum (F(sub 6 cm) < 0.02 Jy). The combination of dense gas, a large FIR luminosity and a lack of radio continuum can best be explained if IRS 20 is a protostar. A third clump of NH3 emission lies to the west of IRS 20 but is not associated with any other molecular or continuum features. The star formation activity in the region has moved west of NGC 6334A to IRS 20 and the H2O maser position. We suggest that NGC 6334A, IRS 20, and the H2O maser spot are part of a "protocluster" of stars which is condensing from the massive molecular disk. The similarity between the structure around NGC 6334A and other large (r approximately 1 pc), massive (M approximately 10(exp 3) solar mass), rotating disks (K3-50A and G10.6-0.4) suggests that this may be a common mechanism by which open clusters form.

Kraemer, Kathleen E.↗
DOE OSTI2016

NuSTAR observations of water megamaser AGN

Aims. We study the connection between the masing disk and obscuring torus in Seyfert 2 galaxies. Methods. We present a uniform X-ray spectral analysis of the high energy properties of 14 nearby megamaser active galactic nuclei observed by NuSTAR. We use a simple analytical model to localize the maser disk and understand its connection with the torus by combining NuSTAR spectral parameters with the available physical quantities from VLBI mapping. Results. Most of the sources that we analyzed are heavily obscured, showing a column density in excess of ~1023 cm-2; in particular, 79% are Compton-thick (NH > 1.5 × 1024 cm-2). When using column densities measured by NuSTAR with the assumption that the torus is the extension of the maser disk, and further assuming a reasonable density profile, we can predict the torus dimensions. They are found to be consistent with mid-IR interferometry parsec-scale observations of Circinus and NGC 1068. In this picture, the maser disk is intimately connected to the inner part of the torus. It is probably made of a large number of molecular clouds that connect the torus and the outer part of the accretion disk, giving rise to a thin disk rotating in most cases in Keplerian or sub-Keplerian motion. This toy model explains the established close connection between water megamaser emission and nuclear obscuration as a geometric effect.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

IMPROVING GALACTIC CENTER ASTROMETRY BY REDUCING THE EFFECTS OF GEOMETRIC DISTORTION

We present significantly improved proper motion measurements of the Milky Way's central stellar cluster. These improvements are made possible by refining our astrometric reference frame with a new geometric optical distortion model for the W. M. Keck II 10 m telescope's adaptive optics camera (NIRC2) in its narrow field mode. For the first time, this distortion model is constructed from on-sky measurements and is made available to the public in the form of FITS files. When applied to widely dithered images, it produces residuals in the separations of stars that are a factor of {approx}3 smaller compared with the outcome using previous models. By applying this new model, along with corrections for differential atmospheric refraction, to widely dithered images of SiO masers at the Galactic center (GC), we improve our ability to tie into the precisely measured radio Sgr A*-rest frame. The resulting infrared reference frame is {approx}2-3 times more accurate and stable than earlier published efforts. In this reference frame, Sgr A* is localized to within a position of 0.6 mas and a velocity of 0.09 mas yr{sup -1}, or {approx}3.4 km s{sup -1} at 8 kpc (1{sigma}). Also, proper motions for members of the central stellar cluster are more accurate, although less precise, due to the limited number of these wide field measurements. These proper motion measurements show that, with respect to Sgr A*, the central stellar cluster has no rotation in the plane of the sky to within 0.3 mas yr{sup -1} arcsec{sup -1}, has no net translational motion with respect to Sgr A* to within 0.1 mas yr{sup -1}, and has net rotation perpendicular to the plane of the sky along the Galactic plane, as has previously been observed. While earlier proper motion studies defined a reference frame by assuming no net motion of the stellar cluster, this approach is fundamentally limited by the cluster's intrinsic dispersion and therefore will not improve with time. We define a reference frame with SiO masers and this reference frame's stability should improve steadily with future measurements of the SiO masers in this region ({proportional_to}t {sup -3/2}). This is essential for achieving the necessary reference frame stability required to detect the effects of general relativity and extended mass on short-period stars at the GC.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

THE MEGAMASER COSMOLOGY PROJECT. III. ACCURATE MASSES OF SEVEN SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN ACTIVE GALAXIES WITH CIRCUMNUCLEAR MEGAMASER DISKS

Observations of H{sub 2}O masers from circumnuclear disks in active galaxies for the Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP) allow accurate measurement of the mass of supermassive black holes (BH) in these galaxies. We present the Very Long Baseline Interferometry images and kinematics of water maser emission in six active galaxies: NGC 1194, NGC 2273, NGC 2960 (Mrk 1419), NGC 4388, NGC 6264 and NGC 6323. We use the Keplerian rotation curves of these six megamaser galaxies, plus a seventh previously published, to determine accurate enclosed masses within the central {approx}0.3 pc of these galaxies, smaller than the radius of the sphere of influence of the central mass in all cases. We also set lower limits to the central mass densities of between 0.12 x 10{sup 10} and 61 x 10{sup 10} M{sub sun} pc{sup -3}. For six of the seven disks, the high central densities rule out clusters of stars or stellar remnants as the central objects, and this result further supports our assumption that the enclosed mass can be attributed predominantly to a supermassive BH. The seven BHs have masses ranging between 0.75 x 10{sup 7} and 6.5 x 10{sup 7} M{sub sun}, with the mass errors dominated by the uncertainty of the Hubble constant. We compare the megamaser BH mass determination with BH mass measured from the virial estimation method. The virial estimation BH mass in four galaxies is consistent with the megamaser BH mass, but the virial mass uncertainty is much greater. Circumnuclear megamaser disks allow the best mass determination of the central BH mass in external galaxies and significantly improve the observational basis at the low-mass end of the M-{sigma}{sub *} relation. The M-{sigma}{sub *} relation may not be a single, low-scatter power law as originally proposed. MCP observations continue and we expect to obtain more maser BH masses in the future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

MILLIMETER MULTIPLICITY IN DR21(OH): OUTFLOWS, MOLECULAR CORES, AND ENVELOPES

We present sensitive high angular resolution ({approx}1'') millimeter continuum and line observations from the massive star-forming region DR21(OH) located in the Cygnus X molecular cloud. Within the well-known dusty MM1-2 molecular cores, we report the detection of a new cluster of about 10 compact continuum millimeter sources with masses between 5 and 24 M{sub Sun }, and sizes of a few thousands of astronomical units. These objects are likely to be large dusty envelopes surrounding massive protostars, some of them most probably driving several of the outflows that emanate from this region. Additionally, we report the detection of strong millimeter emission of formaldehyde (H{sub 2}CO) and methanol (CH{sub 3}OH) near 218 GHz as well as compact emission from the typical outflow tracers carbon monoxide and silicon monoxide (CO and SiO) toward this massive star-forming region. The H{sub 2}CO and CH{sub 3}OH emission is luminous ({approx}10{sup -4} L{sub Sun }), well resolved, and found along the collimated methanol maser outflow first identified at centimeter wavelengths and in the sources SMA6 and SMA7. Our observations suggest that this maser outflow might be energized by a millimeter source called SMA4 located in the MM2 dusty core. The CO and SiO emission traces some other collimated outflows that emanate from MM1-2 cores, and are not related with the low-velocity maser outflow.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

NEAR-INFRARED AND MILLIMETER-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF Mol 160: A MASSIVE YOUNG PROTOSTELLAR CORE

We have discovered two compact sources of shocked H{sub 2} 2.12 {mu}m emission coincident with Mol 160 (IRAS 23385+6053), a massive star-forming core thought to be a precursor to an ultracompact H II region. The 2.12 {mu}m sources lie within 2'' (0.05 pc) of a millimeter-wavelength continuum peak where the column density is {>=}10{sup 24} cm{sup -2}. We estimate that the ratio of molecular hydrogen luminosity to bolometric luminosity is >0.2%, indicating a high ratio of mechanical to radiant luminosity. CS J = 2{yields}1 and HCO{sup +} J = 1{yields}0 observations with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) indicate that the protostellar molecular core has a peculiar velocity of {approx}2 km s{sup -1} with respect to its parent molecular cloud. We also observed 95 GHz CH{sub 3}OH J = 8{yields}7 Class I maser emission from several locations within the core. Comparison with previous observations of 44 GHz CH{sub 3}OH maser emission shows that the maser sources have a high mean ratio of 95 GHz to 44 GHz intensity. Our observations strengthen the case that Mol 160 (IRAS 23385+6053) is a rapidly accreting massive protostellar system in a very early phase of its evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

SEARCH FOR CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS AND RADIO JETS IN THE MASSIVE STAR-FORMATION REGION IRAS 23033+5951

We present radio continuum (1.3 and 3.6 cm) and H{sub 2}O maser observations toward the high-mass star-forming region IRAS 23033+5951 carried out with the VLA-EVLA (in transition phase) in the A configuration. Three radio continuum sources are detected at 3.6 cm, which are aligned in the east-west direction. However, no continuum emission is detected in the region at 1.3 cm. Based on the continuum information, we find that the two continuum sources detected in the region could be consistent with ultracompact H II regions harboring ZAMS B2 and B2.5 stars; however, we do not rule out that they could be associated with a radio jet. In addition, nine water maser spots are detected toward IRAS 23033+5951, which are clustered in two groups and located about 2'' to the south of the continuum sources. The spatio-kinematical distribution of the water masers suggests that they are tracing a circumstellar disk associated with a central star ZAMS B0, which could be the least evolved source in the region and has not developed an H II region yet. Moreover, as the circumstellar disk seems to be associated with the CO molecular outflow observed in the region, this conforms to a disk-YSO-outflow system, similar to that found in low-mass stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

AN ARECIBO SURVEY FOR ZEEMAN SPLITTING IN OH MEGAMASER GALAXIES

We present the results of a comprehensive survey using the Arecibo Observatory for Zeeman splitting of OH lines in OH megamasers (OHMs). A total of 77 sources were observed with the Arecibo telescope. Of these, maser emission could not be detected for eight sources, and two sources were only ambiguously detected. Another 27 sources were detected at low signal-to-noise ratios or with interference that prevented placing any useful limits on the presence of magnetic fields. In 26 sources, it was possible to place upper limits on the magnitude of magnetic fields, typically between 10 and 30 mG. For 14 sources, the Stokes V spectra exhibit features consistent with Zeeman splitting. Eleven of these 14 are new detections, and the remaining three are re-detections of Stokes V detections in Robishaw et al. Among confident new detections, we derive magnetic fields associated with maser regions with magnitudes ranging from 6.1 to 27.6 mG. The distribution of magnetic field strengths suggests the magnetic fields in OH masing clouds in OHMs are larger than those in Galactic OH masers. The results are consistent with magnetic fields playing a dynamically important role in OH masing clouds in OHMs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM PROCESSING IN THE INNER 20 pc IN GALACTIC CENTER

We present the Submillimeter Array 157 pointing mosaic in 0.86 mm dust continuum emission with 5.''1 Multiplication-Sign 4.''2 angular resolution, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Green Bank 100 m Telescope (GBT) observations of the CS/C{sup 34}S/{sup 13}CS 1-0 and SiO 1-0 emission with {<=}20'' Multiplication-Sign 18'' angular resolution. The dust continuum image marginally resolves at least several tens of 10-10{sup 2} M{sub Sun} dense clumps in the 5' field including the circumnuclear disk (CND) and the exterior gas streamers. There is very good agreement between the high resolution dust continuum map of the CND and all previous molecular line observations. As the dust emission is the most reliable optically thin tracer of the mass, free from most chemical and excitation effects, we demonstrate the reality of the abundant localized structures within the CND, and their connection to external gas structures. From the spectral line data, the velocity dispersions of the dense clumps and their parent molecular clouds are {approx}10-20 times higher than their virial velocity dispersions. This supports the idea that the CND and its immediate environment may not be stationary or stable structures. Some of the dense gas clumps are associated with 22 GHz water masers and 36.2 GHz and 44.1 GHz CH{sub 3}OH masers. However, we do not find clumps that are bound by the gravity of the enclosed molecular gas. Hence, the CH{sub 3}OH or H{sub 2}O maser emission may be due to strong (proto)stellar feedback, which may be dispersing some of the gas clumps.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DYNAMICAL EVIDENCE FOR A MAGNETOCENTRIFUGAL WIND FROM A 20 M{sub Sun} BINARY YOUNG STELLAR OBJECT

In Orion BN/KL, proper motions of {lambda}7 mm vibrationally excited SiO masers trace the rotation of a nearly edge-on disk and a bipolar wide-angle outflow 10-100 AU from radio source I, a binary young stellar object of {approx}20 M{sub Sun }. Here we map ground-state {lambda}7 mm SiO emission with the Very Large Array and track proper motions over 9 yr. The innermost and strongest emission lies in two extended arcs bracketing Source I. The proper motions trace a northeast-southwest bipolar outflow 100-1000 AU from Source I with a median three-dimensional motion of {approx}18 km s{sup -1}. An overlying distribution of {lambda}1.3 cm H{sub 2}O masers betrays similar flow characteristics. Gas dynamics and emission morphology traced by the masers suggest the presence of a magnetocentrifugal disk wind. Reinforcing evidence lies in the colinearity of the flow, apparent rotation across the flow parallel to the disk rotation, and recollimation that narrows the flow opening angle {approx}120 AU downstream. The arcs of ground-state SiO emission may mark the transition point to a shocked super-Alfvenic outflow.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

DETECTION OF A METHANOL MEGAMASER IN A MAJOR-MERGER GALAXY

We have detected emission from both the 4{sub −1}→3{sub 0} E (36.2 GHz) class I and 7{sub −2}→8{sub −1} E (37.7 GHz) class II methanol transitions toward the center of the closest ultra-luminous infrared galaxy Arp 220. The emission in both methanol transitions shows narrow spectral features and has luminosities approximately 8 orders of magnitude stronger than those observed from typical class I methanol masers observed in Galactic star formation regions. The emission is also orders of magnitude stronger than the expected intensity of thermal emission from these transitions and based on these findings we suggest that the emission from the two transitions are masers. These observations provide the first detection of a methanol megamaser in the 36.2 and 37.7 GHz transitions and represent only the second detection of a methanol megamaser, following the recent report of an 84 GHz methanol megamaser in NGC 1068. We find that the methanol megamasers are significantly offset from the nuclear region and arise toward regions where there is Hα emission, suggesting that they are associated with starburst activity. The high degree of correlation between the spatial distribution of the 36.2 GHz methanol and X-ray plume emission suggests that the production of strong extragalactic class I methanol masers is related to galactic-outflow-driven shocks and perhaps cosmic rays. In contrast to OH and H{sub 2}O megamasers which originate close to the nucleus, methanol megamasers provide a new probe of feedback (e.g., outflows) processes on larger scales and of star formation beyond the circumnuclear starburst regions of active galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗