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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Structure And Feedback In 30 Doradus. I. Observations, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland Nov 2010

Structure And Feedback In 30 Doradus. I. Observations, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have completed a new optical imaging and spectrophotometric survey of a 140 × 80 pc2 region of 30 Doradus centered on R136, covering key optical diagnostic emission lines including Hα, Hβ, Hγ, [O III] λλ4363, 4959, 5007, [N II] λλ6548, 6584, [SII] λλ6717, 6731 [S III] λ6312, and in some locations [S III] λ9069. We present maps of fluxes and intensity ratios for these lines, and catalogs of isolated ionizing stars, elephant-trunk pillars, and edge-on ionization fronts. The final science-quality spectroscopic data products are available to the public. Our analysis of the new data finds that, while stellar …


On The Disappearance Of The Broad-Line Region In Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei, Moshe Elitzur, Luis C. Ho Aug 2010

On The Disappearance Of The Broad-Line Region In Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei, Moshe Elitzur, Luis C. Ho

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The disk-wind scenario for the broad-line region (BLR) and toroidal obscuration in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) predicts the disappearance of the BLR at low luminosities. In accordance with the model predictions, data from a nearly complete sample of nearby AGNs show that the BLR disappears at luminosities lower than 5 × 1039(M/107 M)2/3 erg s-1, where M is the black hole mass. The radiative efficiency of accretion onto the black hole is ≲10-3 for these sources, indicating that their accretion is advection-dominated.


Herschel Photometry Of Brightest Cluster Galaxies In Cooling Flow Clusters, A. C. Edge, J. B. R. Oonk, R. Mittal, S. W. Allen, S. A. Baum, H. Böhringer, J. N. Bregman, M. N. Bremer, F. Combes, C. S. Crawford, M. Donahue, E. Egami, A. C. Fabian, Gary J. Ferland, S. L. Hamer, N. A. Hatch, W. Jaffe, R. M. Johnstone, B. R. Mcnamara, C. P. O'Dea, P. Popesso, A. C. Quillen, P. Salomé, C. L. Sarazin, G. M. Voit, R. J. Wilman, M. W. Wise Jul 2010

Herschel Photometry Of Brightest Cluster Galaxies In Cooling Flow Clusters, A. C. Edge, J. B. R. Oonk, R. Mittal, S. W. Allen, S. A. Baum, H. Böhringer, J. N. Bregman, M. N. Bremer, F. Combes, C. S. Crawford, M. Donahue, E. Egami, A. C. Fabian, Gary J. Ferland, S. L. Hamer, N. A. Hatch, W. Jaffe, R. M. Johnstone, B. R. Mcnamara, C. P. O'Dea, P. Popesso, A. C. Quillen, P. Salomé, C. L. Sarazin, G. M. Voit, R. J. Wilman, M. W. Wise

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The dust destruction timescales in the cores of clusters of galaxies are relatively short given their high central gas densities. However, substantial mid-infrared and sub-mm emission has been detected in many brightest cluster galaxies. In this letter we present Herschel PACS and SPIRE photometry of the brightest cluster galaxy in three strong cooling flow clusters, A1068, A2597 and Zw3146. This photometry indicates that a substantial mass of cold dust is present (> 3×107 M⊙) at temperatures significantly lower (20–28 K) than previously thought based on limited MIR and/or sub-mm results. The mass and temperature of the dust appear …


A Sea Change In Eta Carinae, Andrea Mehner, Kris Davidson, Roberta M. Humphreys, John C. Martin, Kazunori Ishibashi, Gary J. Ferland, Nolan R. Walborn Jul 2010

A Sea Change In Eta Carinae, Andrea Mehner, Kris Davidson, Roberta M. Humphreys, John C. Martin, Kazunori Ishibashi, Gary J. Ferland, Nolan R. Walborn

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Major stellar-wind emission features in the spectrum of η Car have recently decreased by factors of order 2 relative to the continuum. This is unprecedented in the modern observational record. The simplest, but unproven, explanation is a rapid decrease in the wind density.


Herschel Observations Of Fir Emission Lines In Brightest Cluster Galaxies, A. C. Edge, J. B. R. Oonk, R. Mittal, S. W. Allen, S. A. Baum, H. Böhringer, J. N. Bregman, M. N. Bremer, F. Combes, C. S. Crawford, M. Donahue, E. Egami, A. C. Fabian, Gary J. Ferland, S. L. Hamer, N. A. Hatch, W. Jaffe, R. M. Johnstone, B. R. Mcnamara, C. P. O'Dea, P. Popesso, A. C. Quillen, P. Salomé, C. L. Sarazin, G. M. Voit, R. J. Wilman, M. W. Wise Jul 2010

Herschel Observations Of Fir Emission Lines In Brightest Cluster Galaxies, A. C. Edge, J. B. R. Oonk, R. Mittal, S. W. Allen, S. A. Baum, H. Böhringer, J. N. Bregman, M. N. Bremer, F. Combes, C. S. Crawford, M. Donahue, E. Egami, A. C. Fabian, Gary J. Ferland, S. L. Hamer, N. A. Hatch, W. Jaffe, R. M. Johnstone, B. R. Mcnamara, C. P. O'Dea, P. Popesso, A. C. Quillen, P. Salomé, C. L. Sarazin, G. M. Voit, R. J. Wilman, M. W. Wise

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The question of how much gas cools in the cores of clusters of galaxies has been the focus of many, multiwavelength studies in the past 30 years. In this letter we present the first detections of the strongest atomic cooling lines, [Cii], [Oi] and [Nii] in two strong cooling flow clusters, A1068 and A2597, using Herschel-PACS. These spectra indicate that the substantial mass of cold molecular gas (> 109 M) known to be present in these systems is being irradiated by intense UV radiation, most probably from young stars. The line widths of these FIR lines …


Herschel Images Of Ngc 6720: H2 Formation On Dust Grain, P. A. M. Van Hoof, G. C. Van De Steene, M. J. Barlow, K. M. Exter, B. Sibthorpe, T. Ueta, V. Peris, M. A. T. Groenewegen, J. A. D. L. Blommaert, M. Cohen, W. De Meester, Gary J. Ferland, W. K. Gear, H. L. Gomez, P. C. Hargrave, E. Huygen, R. J. Ivison, C. Jean, S. J. Leeks, T. L. Lim, G. Olofsson, E. T. Polehampton, S. Regibo, P. Royer, B. M. Swinyard, B. Vandenbussche, H. Van Winckel, C. Waelkens, H. J. Walker, R. Wesson Jul 2010

Herschel Images Of Ngc 6720: H2 Formation On Dust Grain, P. A. M. Van Hoof, G. C. Van De Steene, M. J. Barlow, K. M. Exter, B. Sibthorpe, T. Ueta, V. Peris, M. A. T. Groenewegen, J. A. D. L. Blommaert, M. Cohen, W. De Meester, Gary J. Ferland, W. K. Gear, H. L. Gomez, P. C. Hargrave, E. Huygen, R. J. Ivison, C. Jean, S. J. Leeks, T. L. Lim, G. Olofsson, E. T. Polehampton, S. Regibo, P. Royer, B. M. Swinyard, B. Vandenbussche, H. Van Winckel, C. Waelkens, H. J. Walker, R. Wesson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Herschel PACS and SPIRE images have been obtained of NGC 6720 (the Ring nebula). This is an evolved planetary nebula with a central star that is currently on the cooling track, due to which the outer parts of the nebula are recombining. From the PACS and SPIRE images we conclude that there is a striking resemblance between the dust distribution and the H2 emission, which appears to be observational evidence that H2 forms on grain surfaces. We have developed a photoionization model of the nebula with the Cloudy code which we used to determine the physical conditions of …


A Bright Molecular Core In A Crab Nebula Filament, E. D. Loh, J. A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland Jun 2010

A Bright Molecular Core In A Crab Nebula Filament, E. D. Loh, J. A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In a sub-arcsec near-infrared survey of the Crab Nebula using the new Spartan Infrared Camera, we have found several knots with high surface brightness in the H2 2.12 μm line and a very large H2 2.12 μm to Brγ ratio. The brightest of these knots has an intensity ratio I(H2 2.12 μm)/I(Brγ) = 18 ± 9, which we show sets a lower limit on the ratio of masses in the molecular and recombination (i.e., ionized) zones M mol/M rec ≥ 0.9, and a total molecular mass within this single knot M mol ≥ …


A Bare Molecular Cloud At Z ~ 0.45*, Therese M. Jones, Toru Misawa, Jane C. Charlton, Andrew C. Mshar, Gary J. Ferland Jun 2010

A Bare Molecular Cloud At Z ~ 0.45*, Therese M. Jones, Toru Misawa, Jane C. Charlton, Andrew C. Mshar, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Several neutral species (Mg I, Si I, Ca I, Fe I) have been detected in a weak Mg II absorption line system (Wr (2796) ~ 0.15 Å) at z ~ 0.45 along the sightline toward HE0001-2340. These observations require extreme physical conditions, as noted in D'Odorico. We place further constraints on the properties of this system by running a wide grid of photoionization models, determining that the absorbing cloud that produces the neutral absorption is extremely dense (~100-1000 cm-3), cold (< 100 K), and has significant molecular content (~72%-94%). Structures of this size and temperature have been detected in Milky Way CO surveys and have been predicted in hydrodynamic simulations of turbulent gas. In order to explain the observed line profiles in all neutral and singly ionized chemical transitions, the lines must suffer from unresolved saturation and/or the absorber must partially cover the broad emission line region of the background quasar. In addition to this highly unusual cloud, three other ordinary weak Mg II clouds (within densities of ~0.005 cm-3 and temperatures of ~10, 000 K) lie within 500 km s-1 along the …


Luminosity-Variation Independent Location Of The Circum-Nuclear, Hot Dust In Ngc 4151, Jorg-Uwe Pott, Matt A. Malkan, Moshe Elitzur, Andrea M. Ghez, Tom M. Herbst, Rainer Schödel, Julien Woillez Jun 2010

Luminosity-Variation Independent Location Of The Circum-Nuclear, Hot Dust In Ngc 4151, Jorg-Uwe Pott, Matt A. Malkan, Moshe Elitzur, Andrea M. Ghez, Tom M. Herbst, Rainer Schödel, Julien Woillez

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

After recent sensitivity upgrades at the Keck Interferometer (KI), systematic interferometric 2 μm studies of the innermost dust in nearby Seyfert nuclei are within observational reach. Here, we present the analysis of new interferometric data of NGC 4151, discussed in context of the results from recent dust reverberation, spectro-photometric, and interferometric campaigns. The complete data set gives a complex picture, in particular the measured visibilities from now three different nights appear to be rather insensitive to the variation of the nuclear luminosity. KI data alone indicate two scenarios: the K-band emission is either dominated to ~90% by size …


High-Excitation Emission Lines Near Eta Carinae, And Its Likely Companion Star, Andrea Mehner, Kris Davidson, Gary J. Ferland, Roberta M. Humphreys Feb 2010

High-Excitation Emission Lines Near Eta Carinae, And Its Likely Companion Star, Andrea Mehner, Kris Davidson, Gary J. Ferland, Roberta M. Humphreys

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In order to study the distribution of gas and ionizing radiation around η Car and their implications for its likely companion star, we have examined high-excitation emission lines of [Ne III], [Fe III], etc., in spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph instrument during 1998-2004. Our principal results, some of them unexpected, are as follows. (1) The high-excitation fluxes varied systematically and non-trivially throughout η Car's 5.5 year spectroscopic cycle. Instead of rising to a plateau after the 1998 ''event,'' they changed continuously with a maximum in mid-cycle. (2) At one significant location a brief, strong …