Engineering topics

Eisner, J. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Eisner, J. A..

6 records

DOE OSTI2021

ELT Imaging of MWC 297 from the 23 m LBTI: Complex Disk Structure and a Companion Candidate

Herbig Ae/Be stars represent the early outcomes of star formation and the initial stages of planet formation at intermediate stellar masses. Understanding both of these processes requires detailed characterization of their disk structures and companion frequencies. We present new 3.7 μm imaging of the Herbig Be star MWC 297 from nonredundant masking observations on the phase-controlled, 23 m Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer. The images reveal complex disk structure on the scales of several au, as well as a companion candidate. We discuss physical interpretations for these features and demonstrate that the imaging results are independent of choices such as priors, regularization hyperparameters, and error-bar estimates. With an angular resolution of ∼17 mas, these data provide the first robust Extremely Large Telescope–resolution view of a distant young star.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2017

Improved Constraints on the Disk around MWC 349A from the 23 m LBTI

We present new spatially resolved observations of MWC 349A from the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI), a 23 m baseline interferometer made up of two, co-mounted 8 m telescopes. MWC 349A is a B[e] star with an unknown evolutionary state. Proposed scenarios range from a young stellar object, to a B[e] supergiant, to a tight binary system. Radio continuum and recombination line observations of this source revealed a sub-arcsecond bipolar outflow surrounding an ∼100 mas circumstellar disk. Follow-up infrared studies detected the disk, and suggested that it may have skew and an inner clearing. Our new infrared interferometric observations, which have more than twice the resolution of previously published data sets, support the presence of both skew and a compact infrared excess. They rule out inner clearings with radii greater than ∼14 mas. We show the improvements in disk parameter constraints provided by LBTI, and discuss the inferred disk parameters in the context of the posited evolutionary states for MWC 349A.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

PROTOPLANETARY DISKS IN THE ORION OMC1 REGION IMAGED WITH ALMA

We present ALMA observations of the Orion Nebula that cover the OMC1 outflow region. Our focus in this paper is on compact emission from protoplanetary disks. We mosaicked a field containing ∼600 near-IR-identified young stars, around which we can search for sub-millimeter emission tracing dusty disks. Approximately 100 sources are known proplyds identified with the Hubble Space Telescope . We detect continuum emission at 1 mm wavelengths toward ∼20% of the proplyd sample, and ∼8% of the larger sample of near-IR objects. The noise in our maps allows 4 σ detection of objects brighter than ∼1.5 mJy, corresponding to protoplanetary disk masses larger than 1.5 M {sub J} (using standard assumptions about dust opacities and gas-to-dust ratios). None of these disks are detected in contemporaneous CO(2-1) or C{sup 18}O(2-1) observations, suggesting that the gas-to-dust ratios may be substantially smaller than the canonical value of 100. Furthermore, since dust grains may already be sequestered in large bodies in Orion Nebula cluster (ONC) disks, the inferred masses of disk solids may be underestimated. Our results suggest that the distribution of disk masses in this region is compatible with the detection rate of massive planets around M dwarfs, which are the dominant stellar constituent in the ONC.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

The early ALMA view of the FU Ori outburst system

We have obtained ALMA Band 7 observations of the FU Ori outburst system at a 0.″6 × 0.″5 resolution to measure the link between the inner disk instability and the outer disk through submillimeter continuum and molecular line observations. Our observations detect continuum emission that can be well-modeled by two unresolved sources located at the position of each binary component. The interferometric observations recover the entire flux reported in previous single-dish studies, ruling out the presence of a large envelope. Assuming that the dust is optically thin, we derive disk dust masses of 2 × 10{sup −4} M{sub ⊙} and 8×10{sup −5} M{sub ⊙} for the north and south components, respectively. We place limits on the disks’ radii of r < 45 AU. We report the detection of molecular emission from {sup 12}CO(3-2), HCO{sup +}(4-3), and from HCN(4-3). The {sup 12}CO appears widespread across the two binary components and is slightly more extended than the continuum emission. The denser gas tracer HCO{sup +} peaks close to the position of the southern binary component, while HCN appears to be peaked at the position of the northern component. This suggests that the southern binary component is embedded in denser molecular material, consistent with previous studies that indicate a heavily reddened object. At this angular resolution, any interaction between the two unresolved disk components cannot be disentangled. Higher-resolution images are vital for understanding the process of star formation via rapid accretion FU Ori-type episodes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

NEW SPATIALLY RESOLVED OBSERVATIONS OF THE T Cha TRANSITION DISK AND CONSTRAINTS ON THE PREVIOUSLY CLAIMED SUBSTELLAR COMPANION

We present multi-epoch non-redundant masking observations of the T Cha transition disk, taken at the Very Large Telescope and Magellan in the H, Ks, and L' bands. T Cha is one of a small number of transition disks that host companion candidates discovered by high-resolution imaging techniques, with a putative companion at a position angle of 78°, separation of 62 mas, and contrast of ΔL' = 5.1 mag. We find comparable binary parameters in our re-reduction of the initial detection images, and similar parameters in the 2011 L', 2013 NaCo L', and 2013 NaCo Ks data sets. We find a close-in companion signal in the 2012 NaCo L' data set that cannot be explained by orbital motion, and a non-detection in the 2013 MagAO/Clio2 L' data. However, Monte Carlo simulations show that the best fits to the 2012 NaCo and 2013 MagAO/Clio2 followup data may be consistent with noise. There is also a significant probability of false non-detections in both of these data sets. We discuss physical scenarios that could cause the best fits, and argue that previous companion and scattering explanations are inconsistent with the results of the much larger data set presented here.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Variable accretion processes in the young binary-star system UY Aur

We present new K-band spectroscopy of the UY Aur binary star system. Our data are the first to show H{sub 2} emission in the spectrum of UY Aur A and the first to spectrally resolve the Brγ line in the spectrum of UY Aur B. We see an increase in the strength of the Brγ line in UY Aur A and a decrease in Brγ and H{sub 2} line luminosity for UY Aur B compared to previous studies. Converting Brγ line luminosity to accretion rate, we infer that the accretion rate onto UY Aur A has increased by 2 × 10{sup –9} M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} per year since a rate of zero was observed in 1994. The Brγ line strength for UY Aur B has decreased by a factor of 0.54 since 1994, but the K-band flux has increased by 0.9 mag since 1998. The veiling of UY Aur B has also increased significantly. These data evince a much more luminous disk around UY Aur B. If the lower Brγ luminosity observed in the spectrum of UY Aur B indicates an intrinsically smaller accretion rate onto the star, then UY Aur A now accretes at a higher rate than UY Aur B. However, extinction at small radii or mass pile-up in the circumstellar disk could explain decreased Brγ emission around UY Aur B even when the disk luminosity implies an increased accretion rate. In addition to our scientific results for the UY Aur system, we discuss a dedicated pipeline we have developed for the reduction of echelle-mode data from the ARIES spectrograph.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗