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At least 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

A STAR-FORMING RING AROUND κ Ori 250 pc FROM THE SUN

X-rays are a powerful probe of activity in early stages of star formation. They allow us to identify young stars even after they have lost the IR signatures of circumstellar disks and provide constraints on their distance. Here, we report on XMM-Newton observations that detect 121 young stellar objects (YSOs) in two fields between L1641 S and κ Ori. These observations extend the Survey of Orion A with XMM and Spitzer (SOXS). The YSOs are contained in a ring of gas and dust apparent at millimeter wavelengths, and in far-IR and near-IR surveys. The X-ray luminosity function of the YSOs detected in the two fields indicates a distance of 250–280 pc, much closer than the Orion A cloud and similar to distance estimates of κ Ori. We propose that the ring is a 5–8 pc diameter shell that has been swept up by κ Ori. This ring contains several groups of stars detected by Spitzer and WISE including one surrounding the Herbig Ae/Be stars V1818 Ori. In this interpretation, the κ Ori ring is one of several shells swept up by massive stars within the Orion Eridanus Superbubble and is unrelated to the southern portion of Orion A/L1641 S.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1987

The history of gas in sprial galaxies

The general association of luminous young stars with spiral arms in galaxies has led to widespread acceptance of the idea that the formation of massive stars, at least, is somehow triggered by the interaction of interstellar gas clouds with a spiral density wave. A very simple model for the gas in a spiral galaxy, with a specified initial surface density and angular velocity is examined. Typical results from this simple model, with parameters appropriate to NGC 6946, are shown. The accuracy of the presumption that the molecular gas distributions in galaxies is based upon observations of CO J = 1-0 emission, is discussed.

Maloney, Philip↗
NASA NTRS1998

Summary of Research on Research Award

During this grant period, we analyzed data obtained with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The goal of the research was to study the distribution of matter around very young stars. These studies resulted in greatly improved understanding of the environment in which stars form. In particular, we studied regions forming stars of intermediate mass. In the process of studying these regions, we found that the models of collapse of low mass stars did a good job of explaining our observations of those regions, but that the dust around more massive stars was distributed in different ways, usually less centrally condensed. We have submitted for publication a large paper, in which all our observations of intermediate mass star-forming regions are presented and analyzed. This paper will provide a valuable reference and will be the basis for future modeling of these sources, using codes that we have developed. In addition to direct studies of the dust, we have used the information from our studies of the dust to make more realistic models of the emission from molecules in star forming regions. In particular, we were able to dispense with ad hoc ideas about the temperature and put in temperature distributions determined from the modeling of the far-infrared observations.

Evans, Neal J., II↗
DOE OSTI2015

Stability and coalescence of massive twin binaries

Massive stars are usually found in binaries, and binaries with periods less than 10 days may have a preference for near equal component masses (“twins”). In this paper we investigate the evolution of massive twin binaries all the way to contact and the possibility that these systems can be progenitors of double neutron star binaries. The small orbital separations of observed double neutron star binaries suggest that the progenitor systems underwent a common envelope phase at least once during their evolution. Bethe and Brown proposed that massive binary twins will undergo a common envelope evolution while both components are ascending the red giant branch (RGB) or asymptotic giant branch (AGB) simultaneously, also known as double-core evolution. Using models generated from the stellar evolution code EZ (evolve zero-age main sequence), we determine the range of mass ratios resulting in a contact binary with both components simultaneously ascending the RGB or AGB as a function of the difference in birth times, Δτ. We find that, even for a generous Δτ = 5 Myr, the minimum mass ratio q{sub min}=0.933 for an 8 M{sub ⊙} primary and increases for larger mass primaries. We use a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code, StarSmasher, to study specifically the evolution of q = 1 common envelope systems as a function of initial component mass, age, and orbital separation. We also consider a q = 0.997 system to test the effect of relaxing the constraint of strictly identical components. We find the dynamical stability limit, the largest orbital separation where the binary becomes dynamically unstable, as a function of the component mass and age. Finally, we calculate the efficiency of ejecting matter during the inspiral phase to extrapolate the properties of the remnant binary from our numerical results, assuming the common envelope is completely ejected. We find that for the nominal core masses, there is a minimum orbital separation for a given component mass such that the helium cores survive common envelope evolution in a tightly bound binary and are viable progenitors for double neutron stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE EVOLUTION OF PROTOPLANETARY DISKS IN THE ARCHES CLUSTER

Most stars form in a cluster environment. These stars are initially surrounded by disks from which potentially planetary systems form. Of all cluster environments, starburst clusters are probably the most hostile for planetary systems in our Galaxy. The intense stellar radiation and extreme density favor rapid destruction of circumstellar disks via photoevaporation and stellar encounters. Evolving a virialized model of the Arches cluster in the Galactic tidal field, we investigate the effect of stellar encounters on circumstellar disks in a prototypical starburst cluster. Despite its proximity to the deep gravitational potential of the Galactic center, only a moderate fraction of members escapes to form an extended pair of tidal tails. Our simulations show that encounters destroy one-third of the circumstellar disks in the cluster core within the first 2.5 Myr of evolution, preferentially affecting the least and most massive stars. A small fraction of these events causes rapid ejection and the formation of a weaker second pair of tidal tails that is overpopulated by disk-poor stars. Two predictions arise from our study. (1) If not destroyed by photoevaporation protoplanetary disks of massive late B- and early O-type stars represent the most likely hosts of planet formation in starburst clusters. (2) Multi-epoch K- and L-band photometry of the Arches cluster would provide the kinematically selected membership sample required to detect the additional pair of disk-poor tidal tails.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

A SURVEY OF STELLAR FAMILIES: MULTIPLICITY OF SOLAR-TYPE STARS

We present the results of a comprehensive assessment of companions to solar-type stars. A sample of 454 stars, including the Sun, was selected from the Hipparcos catalog with {pi}>40 mas, {sigma}{sub {pi}/{pi}} < 0.05, 0.5 {<=} B - V {<=} 1.0 ({approx}F6-K3), and constrained by absolute magnitude and color to exclude evolved stars. These criteria are equivalent to selecting all dwarf and subdwarf stars within 25 pc with V-band flux between 0.1 and 10 times that of the Sun, giving us a physical basis for the term 'solar-type'. New observational aspects of this work include surveys for (1) very close companions with long-baseline interferometry at the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy Array, (2) close companions with speckle interferometry, and (3) wide proper-motion companions identified by blinking multi-epoch archival images. In addition, we include the results from extensive radial-velocity monitoring programs and evaluate companion information from various catalogs covering many different techniques. The results presented here include four new common proper-motion companions discovered by blinking archival images. Additionally, the spectroscopic data searched reveal five new stellar companions. Our synthesis of results from many methods and sources results in a thorough evaluation of stellar and brown dwarf companions to nearby Sun-like stars. The overall observed fractions of single, double, triple, and higher-order systems are 56% {+-} 2%, 33% {+-} 2%, 8% {+-} 1%, and 3% {+-} 1%, respectively, counting all confirmed stellar and brown dwarf companions. If all candidate, i.e., unconfirmed, companions identified are found to be real, the percentages would change to 54% {+-} 2%, 34% {+-} 2%, 9% {+-} 2%, and 3% {+-} 1%, respectively. Our completeness analysis indicates that only a few undiscovered companions remain in this well-studied sample, implying that the majority (54% {+-} 2%) of solar-type stars are single, in contrast to the results of prior multiplicity studies. Our sample is large enough to enable a check of the multiplicity dependence on various physical parameters by analyzing appropriate subsamples. Bluer, more massive stars are seen as more likely to have companions than redder, less massive ones, consistent with the trend seen over the entire spectral range. Systems with larger interaction cross sections, i.e., those with more than two components or long orbital periods, are preferentially younger, suggesting that companions may be stripped over time by dynamical interactions. We confirm the planet-metallicity correlation (i.e., higher metallicity stars are more likely to host planets), but are unable to check it for brown dwarfs due to the paucity of such companions, implying that the brown dwarf desert extends over all separation regimes. We find no correlation between stellar companions and metallicity for B - V < 0.625, but among the redder subset, metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] <-0.3) are more likely to have companions with a 2.4{sigma} significance. The orbital-period distribution of companions is unimodal and roughly log normal with a peak and median of about 300 years. The period-eccentricity relation shows the expected circularization for periods below 12 days, caused by tidal forces over the age of the Galaxy, followed by a roughly flat distribution. The mass-ratio distribution shows a preference for like-mass pairs, which occur more frequently in relatively close pairs. The fraction of planet hosts among single, binary, and multiple systems are statistically indistinguishable, suggesting that planets are as likely to form around single stars as they are around components of binary or multiple systems with sufficiently wide separations. This, along with the preference of long orbital periods among stellar systems, increases the space around stars conducive for planet formation, and perhaps life.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

MAGNETIC FIELDS IN HIGH-MASS INFRARED DARK CLOUDS

High-mass stars are cosmic engines known to dominate the energetics in the Milky Way and other galaxies. However, their formation is still not well understood. Massive, cold, dense clouds, often appearing as infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), are the nurseries of massive stars. No measurements of magnetic fields in IRDCs in a state prior to the onset of high-mass star formation (HMSF) have previously been available, and prevailing HMSF theories do not consider strong magnetic fields. Here, we report observations of magnetic fields in two of the most massive IRDCs in the Milky Way. We show that IRDCs G11.11–0.12 and G0.253+0.016 are strongly magnetized and that the strong magnetic field is as important as turbulence and gravity for HMSF. The main dense filament in G11.11–0.12 is perpendicular to the magnetic field, while the lower density filament merging onto the main filament is parallel to the magnetic field. The implied magnetic field is strong enough to suppress fragmentation sufficiently to allow HMSF. Other mechanisms reducing fragmentation, such as the entrapment of heating from young stars via high-mass surface densities, are not required to facilitate HMSF.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE MASS DISTRIBUTION OF SUBGIANT PLANET HOSTS

High mass stars are hostile to Doppler measurements due to rotation and activity on the main-sequence, so RV searches for planets around massive stars have relied on evolved stars. A large number of planets have been found around evolved stars with M > 1.5 M{sub Sun }. To test the robustness of mass determinations, Lloyd compared mass distributions of planet hosting subgiants with distributions from integrating isochrones and concluded that it is unlikely the subgiant planet hosts are this massive, but rather that the mass inferences are systematically in error. The conclusions of Lloyd have been called in to question by Johnson et al., who show TRILEGAL-based mass distributions that disagree with the mass distributions in Lloyd, which they attribute to Malmquist bias. Johnson et al. argue that the very small spectroscopic observational uncertainties favor high masses, and there are a large number of high mass sub giants in RV surveys. However, in this Letter, it is shown that Malmquist bias does not impact the mass distributions, but the mass distribution is sensitive to Galaxy model. The relationship needed to reconcile the subgiant planet host masses with any model of the Galactic stellar population is implausible, and the conclusion of Lloyd that spectroscopic mass determinations of subgiants are likely to have been overestimated is robust.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE r-PROCESS IN METAL-POOR STARS AND BLACK HOLE FORMATION

Nucleosynthesis of heavy nuclei in metal-poor stars is generally thought to occur via the r-process because the r-process is a primary process that would have operated early in the Galaxy's history. This idea is strongly supported by the fact that the abundance pattern in many metal-poor stars matches well the inferred solar r-process abundance pattern in the mass range between the second and third r-process abundance peaks. Nevertheless, a significant number of metal-poor stars do not share this standard r-process template. In this Letter, we suggest that the nuclides observed in many of these stars are produced by the r-process, but that it is prevented from running to completion in more massive stars by collapse to black holes before the r-process is completed, creating a 'truncated r-process', or 'tr-process'. We find that the observed fraction of tr-process stars is qualitatively what one would expect from the initial mass function and that an apparent sharp truncation observed at around mass 160 could result from a combination of collapses to black holes and the difficulty of observing the higher mass rare-earth elements. We test the tr-process hypothesis with r-process calculations that are terminated before all r-process trajectories have been ejected. We find qualitative agreement between observation and theory when black hole collapse and observational realities are taken into account.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Bayesian model selection for GRB 211211A through multiwavelength analyses

ABSTRACT Although GRB 211211A is one of the closest gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), its classification is challenging because of its partially inconclusive electromagnetic signatures. In this paper, we investigate four astrophysical scenarios as possible progenitors for GRB 211211A: a binary neutron star merger, a black hole–neutron star merger, a core-collapse supernova, and an r-process enriched core collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star (a collapsar). We perform a large set of Bayesian multiwavelength analyses based on different models describing these scenarios and priors to investigate which astrophysical scenarios and processes might be related to GRB 211211A. Our analysis supports previous studies in which the presence of an additional component, likely related to r-process nucleosynthesis, is required to explain the observed light curves of GRB 211211A, as it cannot be explained solely as a GRB afterglow. Fixing the distance to about $350~\rm Mpc$, namely the distance of the possible host galaxy SDSS J140910.47+275320.8, we find a statistical preference for a binary neutron star merger scenario.

(transients:) gamma-ray bursts↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Runaway Yellow Supergiant Star in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We recently discovered a yellow supergiant (YSG) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with a heliocentric radial velocity of ∼300 km s{sup −1}, which is much larger than expected for a star at its location in the SMC. This is the first runaway YSG ever discovered and only the second evolved runaway star discovered in a galaxy other than the Milky Way. We classify the star as G5-8 I and use de-reddened broad-band colors with model atmospheres to determine an effective temperature of 4700 ± 250 K, consistent with what is expected from its spectral type. The star’s luminosity is then log L/L {sub ⊙} ∼ 4.2 ± 0.1, consistent with it being a ∼30 Myr 9 M {sub ⊙} star according to the Geneva evolution models. The star is currently located in the outer portion of the SMC’s body, but if the star’s transverse peculiar velocity is similar to its peculiar radial velocity, in 10 Myr the star would have moved 1.°6 across the disk of the SMC and could easily have been born in one of the SMC’s star-forming regions. Based on its large radial velocity, we suggest it originated in a binary system where the primary exploded as a supernovae, thus flinging the runaway star out into space. Such stars may provide an important mechanism for the dispersal of heavier elements in galaxies given the large percentage of massive stars that are runaways. In the future, we hope to look into additional evolved runaway stars that were discovered as part of our other past surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

DIISC-II: Unveiling the Connections between Star Formation and Interstellar Medium in the Extended Ultraviolet Disk of NGC 3344

We present our investigation of the extended ultraviolet (XUV) disk galaxy, NGC 3344, conducted as part of Deciphering the Interplay between the Interstellar medium, Stars, and the Circumgalactic medium survey. We use surface and aperture photometry of individual young stellar complexes to study star formation and its effect on the physical properties of the interstellar medium. We measure the specific star formation rate (sSFR) and find it to increase from 10 –10 yr –1 in the inner disk to >10 –8 yr –1 in the extended disk. This provides evidence for inside-out disk growth. If these sSFRs are maintained, the XUV disk stellar mass can double in ~0.5 Gyr, suggesting a burst of star formation. The XUV disk will continue forming stars for a long time due to the high gas depletion times (τ dep ). The stellar complexes in the XUV disk have high-Σ H I and low-Σ SFR with τ dep ~ 10 Gyr, marking the onset of a deviation from the traditional Kennicutt–Schmidt law. We find that both far-ultraviolet (FUV) and a combination of FUV and 24 μm effectively trace star formation in the XUV disk. Hα is weaker in general and prone to stochasticities in the formation of massive stars. Investigation of the circumgalactic medium at 29.5 kpc resulted in the detection of two absorbing systems with metal-line species: the stronger absorption component is consistent with gas flows around the disk, most likely tracing inflow, while the weaker component is likely tracing corotating circumgalactic gas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1984

IRAS observations near young objects with bipolar outflows L1551 and HH 46-47

A 6-solar luminosity dust-embedded precursor of a low-mass (about 1 solar mass) pre-main-sequence star has been discovered with IRAS near the northeast lobe of the bipolar outflow region in the dust cloud L1551 and designated L1551 NE. Star formation is proceeding in at least two locations in L1551, reminiscent of the situation in regions of more massive star formation. If the position of NE in the flow from IRS 5 is indicative of the flow having initiated star formation in NE, then the object can be only about 24,000 years old. Alternatively, NE could appear by chance to lie in the flow from IRS 5. In the globule ES 0210-6A, a 12 solar luminosity dust-embedded precursor of a low-mass (about 1 solar mass) pre-main-sequence star is found which drives the bipolar flow responsible for the string of Herbig-Haro objects HH 46-47 A-D. In this globule, there is only one region of active star formation.

Emerson, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Analysis of interstellar cloud structure based on IRAS images

The goal of this project was to develop new tools for the analysis of the structure of densely sampled maps of interstellar star-forming regions. A particular emphasis was on the recognition and characterization of nested hierarchical structure and fractal irregularity, and their relation to the level of star formation activity. The panoramic IRAS images provided data with the required range in spatial scale, greater than a factor of 100, and in column density, greater than a factor of 50. In order to construct densely sampled column density maps of star-forming clouds, column density images of four nearby cloud complexes were constructed from IRAS data. The regions have various degrees of star formation activity, and most of them have probably not been affected much by the disruptive effects of young massive stars. The largest region, the Scorpius-Ophiuchus cloud complex, covers about 1000 square degrees (it was subdivided into a few smaller regions for analysis). Much of the work during the early part of the project focused on an 80 square degree region in the core of the Taurus complex, a well-studied region of low-mass star formation.

Scalo, John M.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Thermal Feedback in the High-mass Star- and Cluster-forming Region W51

High-mass stars have generally been assumed to accrete most of their mass while already contracted onto the main sequence, but this hypothesis has not been observationally tested. We present ALMA observations of a 3×1.5 pc area in the W51 high-mass star-forming complex. We identify dust continuum sources and measure the gas and dust temperature through both rotational diagram modeling of CH{sub 3}OH and brightness-temperature-based limits. The observed region contains three high-mass YSOs that appear to be at the earliest stages of their formation, with no signs of ionizing radiation from their central sources. The data reveal high gas and dust temperatures (T>100 K) extending out to about 5000 au from each of these sources. There are no clear signs of disks or rotating structures down to our 1000 au resolution. The extended warm gas provides evidence that, during the process of forming, these high-mass stars heat a large volume and correspondingly large mass of gas in their surroundings, inhibiting fragmentation and therefore keeping a large reservoir available to feed from. By contrast, the more mature massive stars that illuminate compact H II regions have little effect on their surrounding dense gas, suggesting that these main-sequence stars have completed most or all of their accretion. The high luminosity of the massive protostars (L>10{sup 4} L{sub ⊙}), combined with a lack of centimeter continuum emission from these sources, implies that they are not on the main sequence while they accrete the majority of their mass; instead, they may be bloated and cool.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Intermittent self-sustaining star formation in massive, low-redshift galaxies exhibiting a peak metallicity plateau

The decline of star formation in massive low-redshift galaxies, often referred to as “quenching,” has been attributed to a variety of factors. Some proposals suggest that erupting active galactic nuclei may strip galaxies of their interstellar medium (ISM), and thus the ability to form stars. Here, we note that, whereas star formation is universal in small, low-redshift galaxies, the fractional duty cycles Φ of star formation steadily decline in galaxies of increasing mass, although star formation may not cease entirely. We show that when the infall of gas from extragalactic space ceases, galaxies of high stellar mass M{sub *} appear to sustain star formation with gas liberated in mass loss from evolved low- and intermediate-mass stars admixed with occasional SN II ejecta. This model quantitatively accounts for the universal limiting metallicity plateau at a ratio of oxygen to hydrogen atoms, Z{sub O}=n{sub O}/n{sub H}∼1.3×10{sup −3}, characterizing high-mass, intermittently star-forming galaxies. We show that when duty cycles Φ are specifically taken into account, the star formation rates of galaxies on this plateau correspond to mass loss rates from evolving stars of the order of M-dot ∼10{sup −11} M{sub ∗} yr{sup −1}, in rough agreement with observed estimates. Far-infrared continuum and fine-structure line observations, as well as molecular data, may soon be able to resolve whether or not low levels of sporadic star formation can be sustained indefinitely in massive galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

TAKING THE ''UN'' OUT OF ''UNNOVAE''

It has long been expected that some massive stars produce stellar mass black holes (BHs) upon death. Unfortunately, the observational signature of such events has been unclear. It has even been suggested that the result may be an ''unnova,'' in which the formation of a BH is marked by the disappearance of a star rather than an electromagnetic outburst. I argue that when the progenitor is a red supergiant, evidence for BH creation may instead be a Almost-Equal-To 3-10 day optical transient with a peak luminosity of Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 40}-10{sup 41} erg s{sup -1}, a temperature of Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 4} K, slow ejection speeds of Almost-Equal-To 200 km s{sup -1}, and a spectrum devoid of the nucleosynthetic products associated with explosive burning. This signal is the breakout of a shock generated by the hydrodynamic response of a massive stellar envelope when the protoneutron star loses {approx}few Multiplication-Sign 0.1 M{sub Sun} to neutrino emission prior to collapse to a BH. Current and future wide-field, high-cadence optical surveys make this an ideal time to discover and study these events. Motivated by the unique parameter space probed by this scenario, I discuss more broadly the range of properties expected for shock breakout flashes, with an emphasis on progenitors with large radii and/or small shock energies. This may have application in a wider diversity of explosive events, from pair instability supernovae to newly discovered but yet to be understood transients.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Stellar yields of rotating first stars

First stars, also called population III stars, are born in the earliest universe without any heavy elements. These stars are the first nuclear reactor in the universe and affect their circumstances emitting synthesized materials. Not only the stellar evolution, but also their chemical yields have many distinctive characteristics. We have modeled evolution of population III stars including effect of stellar rotation. Internal mixing induced by rotation naturally results in primary nitrogen production. Evolution of rotating massive stars is followed until the core collapse phase. The new Pop III yield model will consistently explain the observed abundances of metal-poor systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗