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At least 631 records · Page 35

The impact of composition choices on solar evolution: age, helio- and asteroseismology, and neutrinos

ABSTRACT The Sun is the most studied and well-known star, and as such, solar fundamental parameters are often used to bridge gaps in the knowledge of other stars, when these are required for modelling. However, the two most powerful and precise independent methodologies currently available to infer the internal solar structure are in disagreement. We aim to show the potential impact of composition choices in the overall evolution of a star, using the Sun as example. To this effect, we create two Standard Solar Models and a comparison model using different combinations of metallicity and relative element abundances and compare evolutionary, helioseismic, and neutrino-related properties for each. We report differences in age for models calibrated to the same point on the HR diagram, in red giant branch, of more than 1 Gyr, and found that the current precision level of asteroseismic measurements is enough to differentiate these models, which would exhibit differences in period spacing of 1.30–2.58 per cent. Additionally, we show that the measurement of neutrino fluxes from the carbon–nitrogen–oxygen cycle with a precision of around 17 per cent, which could be achieved by the next generation of solar neutrino experiments, could help resolve the stellar abundance problem.

Capelo, Diogo↗

The growth of intracluster light in XCS-HSC galaxy clusters from 0.1 < z < 0.5

ABSTRACT We estimate the intracluster light (ICL) component within a sample of 18 clusters detected in the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS) data using the deep (∼26.8 mag) Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Programme data release 1 i-band data. We apply a rest-frame μB = 25 mag arcsec−2 isophotal threshold to our clusters, below which we define light as the ICL within an aperture of RX,500 (X-ray estimate of R500) centred on the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). After applying careful masking and corrections for flux losses from background subtraction, we recover ∼20 per cent of the ICL flux, approximately four times our estimate of the typical background at the same isophotal level (${\sim}5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$). We find that the ICL makes up about ${\sim}24{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the total cluster stellar mass on average (∼41 per cent including the flux contained in the BCG within 50 kpc); this value is well matched with other observational studies and semi-analytic/numerical simulations, but is significantly smaller than results from recent hydrodynamical simulations (even when measured in an observationally consistent way). We find no evidence for any links between the amount of ICL flux with cluster mass, but find a growth rate of 2–4 for the ICL between 0.1 < z < 0.5. We conclude that the ICL is the dominant evolutionary component of stellar mass in clusters from z ∼ 1. Our work highlights the need for a consistent approach when measuring ICL alongside the need for deeper imaging, in order to unambiguously measure the ICL across as broad a redshift range as possible (e.g. 10-yr stacked imaging from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory).

Furnell, Kate E.↗

Prospects for Galactic and stellar astrophysics with asteroseismology of giant stars in the TESS continuous viewing zones and beyond

ABSTRACT The NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (NASA-TESS) mission presents a treasure trove for understanding the stars it observes and the Milky Way, in which they reside. We present a first look at the prospects for Galactic and stellar astrophysics by performing initial asteroseismic analyses of bright (G < 11) red giant stars in the TESS southern continuous viewing zone (SCVZ). Using three independent pipelines, we detect νmax and Δν in 41 per cent of the 15 405 star parent sample (6388 stars), with consistency at a level of $\sim \! 2{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in νmax and $\sim \! 5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in Δν. Based on this, we predict that seismology will be attainable for ∼3 × 105 giants across the whole sky and at least 104 giants with ≥1 yr of observations in the TESS-CVZs, subject to improvements in analysis and data reduction techniques. The best quality TESS-CVZ data, for 5574 stars where pipelines returned consistent results, provide high-quality power spectra across a number of stellar evolutionary states. This makes possible studies of, for example, the asymptotic giant branch bump. Furthermore, we demonstrate that mixed ℓ = 1 modes and rotational splitting are cleanly observed in the 1-yr data set. By combining TESS-CVZ data with TESS-HERMES, SkyMapper, APOGEE, and Gaia, we demonstrate its strong potential for Galactic archaeology studies, providing good age precision and accuracy that reproduces well the age of high [α/Fe] stars and relationships between mass and kinematics from previous studies based on e.g. Kepler. Better quality astrometry and simpler target selection than the Kepler sample makes this data ideal for studies of the local star formation history and evolution of the Galactic disc. These results provide a strong case for detailed spectroscopic follow-up in the CVZs to complement that which has been (or will be) collected by current surveys.

Mackereth, J. Ted↗

Chemical enrichment and radial migration in the Galactic disc – the origin of the [αFe] double sequence

The ([α/Fe], [Fe/H]) distribution of Milky Way stars shows at least two distinct sequences, which have traditionally been associated with the thin and thick disc components. The abundance distribution varies systematically with location R and |z| across the Galaxy. We reproduce this using an analytical chemodynamical model that includes the effects of radial migration and kinematic heating. Unlike some earlier models, our scheme does not require a distinct thick disc component emerging from a separate evolutionary path. The proposed model has a continuous star formation history and a continuous age velocity dispersion relation. Moreover, [α/Fe] is constant for stellar ages less than 8 Gyr, but increases sharply for older stars over a time-scale of 1.5 Gyr. The gap between the two sequences is due to this sharp transition. We show that the high-[α/Fe] sequence at the low-metallicity end is simply a pile-up of old stars, but towards the high-metallicity end, the age progressively decreases and stars have small birth radii. Our model successfully explains the uniformity of the locus of the high-[α/Fe] sequence across different locations. The low-[α/Fe] sequence contains stars with different birth radii that owes its existence to radial migration. For the low-[α/Fe] stars, angular momentum is anticorrelated with [Fe/H], while the opposite is true for high-[α/Fe] stars. We show that the later trend can be explained by the increase of circular velocity with time. If radial migration is not included, the model fails to generate the double sequence and instead shows only a single sequence. Our simple scheme has major advantages over earlier chemodynamical models, as we show.

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Galaxy Zoo: 3D – crowdsourced bar, spiral, and foreground star masks for MaNGA target galaxies

ABSTRACT The challenge of consistent identification of internal structure in galaxies – in particular disc galaxy components like spiral arms, bars, and bulges – has hindered our ability to study the physical impact of such structure across large samples. In this paper we present Galaxy Zoo: 3D (GZ:3D) a crowdsourcing project built on the Zooniverse platform that we used to create spatial pixel (spaxel) maps that identify galaxy centres, foreground stars, galactic bars, and spiral arms for 29 831 galaxies that were potential targets of the MaNGA survey (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory, part of the fourth phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys or SDSS-IV), including nearly all of the 10 010 galaxies ultimately observed. Our crowdsourced visual identification of asymmetric internal structures provides valuable insight on the evolutionary role of non-axisymmetric processes that is otherwise lost when MaNGA data cubes are azimuthally averaged. We present the publicly available GZ:3D catalogue alongside validation tests and example use cases. These data may in the future provide a useful training set for automated identification of spiral arm features. As an illustration, we use the spiral masks in a sample of 825 galaxies to measure the enhancement of star formation spatially linked to spiral arms, which we measure to be a factor of three over the background disc, and how this enhancement increases with radius.

Masters, Karen L. (ORCID:0000000308469578)↗

Discovery and characterization of five new eclipsing AM CVn systems

ABSTRACT AM CVn systems are ultra-compact, hydrogen-depleted, and helium-rich, accreting binaries with degenerate or semidegenerate donors. We report the discovery of five new eclipsing AM CVn systems with orbital periods of 61.5, 55.5, 53.3, 37.4, and 35.4 min. These systems were discovered by searching for deep eclipses in the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) light curves of white dwarfs selected using Gaia parallaxes. We obtained phase-resolved spectroscopy to confirm that all systems are AM CVn binaries, and we obtained high-speed photometry to confirm the eclipse and characterize the systems. The spectra show double-peaked H e lines but also show metals, including K and Zn, elements that have never been detected in AM CVn systems before. By modelling the high-speed photometry, we measured the mass and radius of the donor star, potentially constraining the evolutionary channel that formed these AM CVn systems. We determined that the average mass of the accreting white dwarf is ≈0.8 M⊙, and that the white dwarfs in long-period systems are hotter than predicted by recently updated theoretical models. The donors have a high entropy and are a factor of ≈2 more massive compared to zero-entropy donors at the same orbital period. The large donor radius is most consistent with H e-star progenitors, although the observed spectral features seem to contradict this. The discovery of five new eclipsing AM CVn systems is consistent with the known observed AM CVn space density and estimated ZTF recovery efficiency.

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Stellar migration and chemical enrichment in the milky way disc: a hybrid model

ABSTRACT We develop a hybrid model of galactic chemical evolution that combines a multiring computation of chemical enrichment with a prescription for stellar migration and the vertical distribution of stellar populations informed by a cosmological hydrodynamic disc galaxy simulation. Our fiducial model adopts empirically motivated forms of the star formation law and star formation history, with a gradient in outflow mass loading tuned to reproduce the observed metallicity gradient. With this approach, the model reproduces many of the striking qualitative features of the Milky Way disc’s abundance structure: (i) the dependence of the [O/Fe]–[Fe/H] distribution on radius Rgal and mid-plane distance |z|; (ii) the changing shapes of the [O/H] and [Fe/H] distributions with Rgal and |z|; (iii) a broad distribution of [O/Fe] at sub-solar metallicity and changes in the [O/Fe] distribution with Rgal, |z|, and [Fe/H]; (iv) a tight correlation between [O/Fe] and stellar age for [O/Fe] > 0.1; (v) a population of young and intermediate-age α-enhanced stars caused by migration-induced variability in the Type Ia supernova rate; (vi) non-monotonic age–[O/H] and age–[Fe/H] relations, with large scatter and a median age of ∼4 Gyr near solar metallicity. Observationally motivated models with an enhanced star formation rate ∼2 Gyr ago improve agreement with the observed age–[Fe/H] and age–[O/H] relations, but worsen agreement with the observed age–[O/Fe] relation. None of our models predict an [O/Fe] distribution with the distinct bimodality seen in the observations, suggesting that more dramatic evolutionary pathways are required. All code and tables used for our models are publicly available through the Versatile Integrator for Chemical Evolution (VICE; https://pypi.org/project/vice).

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SDSS-IV MaStar: theoretical atmospheric parameters for the MaNGA stellar library

ABSTRACT We calculate the fundamental stellar parameters effective temperature, surface gravity, and iron abundance – Teff, log g, [Fe/H] – for the final release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) Stellar Library (MaStar), containing 59 266 per-visit-spectra for 24 290 unique stars at intermediate resolution (R ∼ 1800) and high S/N (median = 96). We fit theoretical spectra from model atmospheres by both MARCS and BOSZ-ATLAS9 to the observed MaStar spectra, using the full spectral fitting code pPXF. We further employ a Bayesian approach, using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to map the parameter space and obtain uncertainties. Originally in this paper, we cross match MaStar observations with Gaia photometry, which enable us to set reliable priors and identify outliers according to stellar evolution. In parallel to the parameter determination, we calculate corresponding stellar population models to test the reliability of the parameters for each stellar evolutionary phase. We further assess our procedure by determining parameters for standard stars such as the Sun and Vega and by comparing our parameters with those determined in the literature from high-resolution spectroscopy (APOGEE and SEGUE) and from lower resolution matching template (LAMOST). The comparisons, considering the different methodologies and S/N of the literature surveys, are favourable in all cases. Our final parameter catalogue for MaStar cover the following ranges: 2592 ≤ Teff ≤ 32 983 K; −0.7 ≤ log g ≤ 5.4 dex; −2.9 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ 1.0 dex and will be available with the last SDSS-IV Data Release, in 2021 December.

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Investigating the origin of observed central dips in radial metallicity profiles

ABSTRACT Radial metallicity trends provide a key indicator of physical processes such as star formation and radial gas migration within a galaxy. Large integral field unit surveys allow for detailed studies of these radial variations, with recent observations detecting central dips in the metallicity, which may trace the impact of various evolutionary processes. However, the origin of these dips has not been conclusively determined, with suggestions that they may be diagnostic dependent. In this paper, we use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory survey to investigate whether the observed dips represent genuine decreases in the central metallicity, or whether they could be an artefact of the diagnostic used. Using a sub-sample of 758 local star-forming galaxies at low inclinations, we investigate in detail the impact of using different strong line diagnostics on the shapes of the returned profiles, and the prevalence of dips. We find no clear evidence of the dips being caused by changing values of the ionization parameter within galaxies. To investigate physical causes, we explore both global and spatially resolved parameters, finding that galaxies exhibiting central dips in the O3N2 metallicity profile have on average lower H α equivalent width values out to $R/R_{\rm {e}} \sim 1.5$, and higher values of DN(4000) in the central regions. We additionally find a higher prevalence of dips in galaxies with high stellar mass, and lower values of global specific star formation rate, suggesting a possible link to central quenching. Nevertheless, these results are dependent on the diagnostic used, suggesting caution should be taken when interpreting observed features in galaxy metallicity gradients.

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The physical connection between central stellar surface density and stellar spin in SAMI and MaNGA nearby galaxies

The stellar surface density within the inner 1 kpc (Σ 1 ) has become a popular tool for understanding the growth of galaxies and its connection with the quenching of star formation. The emerging picture suggests that building a central dense core is a necessary condition for quenching. However, it is not clear whether changes in Σ 1 trace changes in stellar kinematics and the growth of dispersion-dominated bulges. In this paper, we combine imaging from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with stellar kinematics from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field unit and Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory surveys to quantify the correlation between Σ 1 and the proxy for stellar spin parameter within one effective radius (λ re ) for 1599 nearby galaxies. We show that, on the star-forming main sequence and at fixed stellar mass, changes in Σ 1 are mirrored by changes in λ re . While forming stars, main-sequence galaxies remain rotationally-dominated systems, with their Σ 1 increasing but their stellar spin staying either constant or slightly increasing. The picture changes below the main sequence, where Σ 1 and λ re are no longer correlated. Passive systems show a narrower range of Σ 1 , but a wider range of λre compared to star-forming galaxies. Our results indicate that, from a structural point of view, passive galaxies are a more heterogeneous population than star-forming systems, and may have followed a variety of evolutionary paths. This also suggests that, if dispersion-dominated bulges still grow significantly at z ~ 0, this generally takes place during, or after, the quenching phase.

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Hydrodynamic simulations of electron-capture supernovae: progenitor and dimension dependence

ABSTRACT We present neutrino-transport hydrodynamic simulations of electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) in flash with new two-dimensional (2D) collapsing progenitor models. These progenitor models feature the 2D modelling of oxygen-flame propagation until the onset of core collapse. We perform axisymmetric simulations with six progenitor models that, at the time of collapse, span a range of propagating flame front radii. For comparison, we also perform a simulation with the same set-up using the canonical, spherically symmetrical progenitor model n8.8. We found that the variations in the progenitor models inherited from simulations of stellar evolution and flame propagation do not significantly alter the global properties of the neutrino-driven ECSN explosion, such as the explosion energy (∼1.36–1.48 × 1050 erg) and the mass (∼0.017–0.018 M⊙) and composition of the ejecta. Due to aspherical perturbations induced by the 2D flame, the ejecta contains a small amount (≲1.8 × 10−3 M⊙) of low-Ye (0.35 < Ye < 0.4) component. The baryonic mass of the protoneutron star is ∼1.34 M⊙ (∼1.357 M⊙) with the new (n8.8) progenitor models when simulations end at ∼400 ms and the discrepancy is due to updated weak-interaction rates in the progenitor evolutionary simulations. Our results reflect the nature of ECSN progenitors containing a strongly degenerate oxygen–neon–magnesium (ONeMg) core and suggest a standardized ECSN explosion initialized by ONeMg core collapse. Moreover, we carry out a rudimentary three-dimensional simulation and find that the explosion properties are fairly compatible with the 2D counterpart. Our paper facilitates a more thorough understanding of ECSN explosions following the ONeMg core collapse, though more three-dimensional simulations are still needed.

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Nothing to see here: failed supernovae are faint or rare

ABSTRACT The absence of Type IIP core-collapse supernovae arising from progenitors above 17 solar masses suggests the existence of another evolutionary path by which massive stars end their lives. The direct collapse of a stellar core to a black hole without the production of a bright, explosive transient is expected to produce a long-lived, dim, red transient known as a failed supernova. Despite the detection of a number of candidates for disappearing massive stars in recent years, conclusive observational evidence for failed supernovae remains elusive. A custom-built pipeline designed for the detection of faint transients is used to re-analyse 10 yr of observations of 231 nearby galaxies from the PTF/ZTF surveys. This analysis recovers known supernovae, and yields a number of interesting transients. However, none of these are consistent with a failed supernova. Through Monte Carlo tests the recovery efficiency of our pipeline is quantified. By assuming failed supernovae occur as a Poissonian process with zero detections in the data set, 95 per cent upper limits to the rate of failed supernovae are calculated as a function of failed supernova absolute magnitude. We estimate failed supernovae to be less than 0.61, 0.33, 0.26, or 0.23 of the core-collapse SN rate for absolute magnitudes of −11, −12, −13, and −14, respectively. Finally, we show that if they exist, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will find 1.7–3.7 failed SNe per year for an absolute bolometric luminosity of ∼6 × 1039 erg s−1 out to distances of 33–43 Mpc, depending on their assumed spectral energy distribution.

Byrne, R. A. (ORCID:0000000177661737)↗

The influence of Hickson-like compact group environment on galaxy luminosities

Compact groups of galaxies are devised as extreme environments where interactions may drive galaxy evolution. In this work, we analysed whether the luminosities of galaxies inhabiting compact groups differ from those of galaxies in loose galaxy groups. We computed the luminosity functions of galaxy populations inhabiting a new sample of 1412 Hickson-like compact groups of galaxies identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16. We observed a characteristic absolute magnitude for galaxies in compact groups brighter than that observed in the field or loose galaxy systems. We also observed a deficiency of faint galaxies in compact groups in comparison with loose systems. Our analysis showed that the brightening is mainly due to galaxies inhabiting the more massive compact groups. In contrast to what is observed in loose systems, where only the luminosities of Red (and Early) galaxies show a dependency with group mass, luminosities of Red and Blue (also Early and Late) galaxies in compact groups are affected similarly as a function of group virial mass. When using Hubble types, we observed that elliptical galaxies in compact groups are the brightest galaxy population, and groups dominated by an elliptical galaxy also display the brightest luminosities in comparison with those dominated by spiral galaxies. Moreover, we show that the general luminosity trends can be reproduced using a mock catalogue obtained from a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation. These results suggest that the inner extreme environment in compact groups prompts a different evolutionary history for their galaxies.

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Radio fossils, relics, and haloes in Abell 3266: cluster archaeology with ASKAP-EMU and the ATCA

ABSTRACT Abell 3266 is a massive and complex merging galaxy cluster that exhibits significant substructure. We present new, highly sensitive radio continuum observations of Abell 3266 performed with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (0.8–1.1 GHz) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (1.1–3.1 GHz). These deep observations provide new insights into recently reported diffuse non-thermal phenomena associated with the intracluster medium, including a ‘wrong-way’ relic, a fossil plasma source, and an as-yet unclassified central diffuse ridge, which we reveal comprises the brightest part of a large-scale radio halo detected here for the first time. The ‘wrong-way’ relic is highly atypical of its kind: it exhibits many classical signatures of a shock-related radio relic, while at the same time exhibiting strong spectral steepening. While radio relics are generally consistent with a quasi-stationary shock scenario, the ‘wrong-way’ relic is not. We study the spectral properties of the fossil plasma source; it exhibits an ultrasteep and highly curved radio spectrum, indicating an extremely aged electron population. The larger scale radio halo fills much of the cluster centre, and presents a strong connection between the thermal and non-thermal components of the intracluster medium, along with evidence of substructure. Whether the central diffuse ridge is simply a brighter component of the halo, or a mini-halo, remains an open question. Finally, we study the morphological and spectral properties of the multiple complex radio galaxies in this cluster in unprecedented detail, tracing their evolutionary history.

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Investigating the architecture and internal structure of the TOI-561 system planets with CHEOPS, HARPS-N, and TESS

ABSTRACT We present a precise characterization of the TOI-561 planetary system obtained by combining previously published data with TESS and CHEOPS photometry, and a new set of 62 HARPS-N radial velocities (RVs). Our joint analysis confirms the presence of four transiting planets, namely TOI-561 b (P = 0.45 d, R = 1.42 R⊕, M = 2.0 M⊕), c (P = 10.78 d, R = 2.91 R⊕, M = 5.4 M⊕), d (P = 25.7 d, R = 2.82 R⊕, M = 13.2 M⊕), and e (P = 77 d, R = 2.55 R⊕, M = 12.6 R⊕). Moreover, we identify an additional, long-period signal (>450 d) in the RVs, which could be due to either an external planetary companion or to stellar magnetic activity. The precise masses and radii obtained for the four planets allowed us to conduct interior structure and atmospheric escape modelling. TOI-561 b is confirmed to be the lowest density (ρb = 3.8 ± 0.5 g cm−3) ultra-short period (USP) planet known to date, and the low metallicity of the host star makes it consistent with the general bulk density-stellar metallicity trend. According to our interior structure modelling, planet b has basically no gas envelope, and it could host a certain amount of water. In contrast, TOI-561 c, d, and e likely retained an H/He envelope, in addition to a possibly large water layer. The inferred planetary compositions suggest different atmospheric evolutionary paths, with planets b and c having experienced significant gas loss, and planets d and e showing an atmospheric content consistent with the original one. The uniqueness of the USP planet, the presence of the long-period planet TOI-561 e, and the complex architecture make this system an appealing target for follow-up studies.

Lacedelli, G. (ORCID:0000000241977374)↗

On the inconsistency of [C/Fe] abundances and the fractions of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars among various stellar surveys

Carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars are a unique resource for Galactic archaeology because they probe the properties of the First Stars, early chemical evolution, and binary interactions at very low metallicity. Comparing the fractions and properties of CEMP stars in different Galactic environments can provide us with unique insights into the formation and evolution of the Milky Way halo and its building blocks. In this work, we investigate whether directly comparing fractions of CEMP stars from different literature samples of very metal-poor [Fe/H] < -2.0 stars is valid. We compiled published CEMP fractions and samples of Galactic halo stars from the past 25 years, and find that they are not all consistent with each other. Focusing on giant stars, we find significant differences between various surveys when comparing their trends of [Fe/H] versus [C/Fe] and their distributions of CEMP stars. To test the role of the analysis pipelines for low-resolution spectroscopic samples, we re-analysed giant stars from various surveys with the sspp and ferre pipelines. We found systematic differences in [C/Fe] of ~0.1-0.4 dex, partly independent of degeneracies with the stellar atmospheric parameters. These systematics are likely due to the different pipeline approaches, different assumptions in the employed synthetic grids, and/or the comparison of different evolutionary phases. We conclude that current biases in (the analysis of) very metal-poor samples limit the conclusions one can draw from comparing different surveys. We provide some recommendations and suggestions that will hopefully aid the community to unlock the full potential of CEMP stars for Galactic archaeology.

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A survey of deuterated ammonia in the Cepheus star-forming region L1251

ABSTRACT Understanding the chemical processes during starless core and prestellar core evolution is an important step in understanding the initial stages of star and disc formation. This project is a study of deuterated ammonia, o-NH2D, in the L1251 star-forming region towards Cepheus. Twenty-two dense cores (20 of which are starless or prestellar, and two of which have a protostar), previously identified by p-NH3 (1,1) observations, were targeted with the 12m Arizona Radio Observatory telescope on Kitt Peak. o-NH2D J$_{\rm {K_a} \rm {K_c}}^{\pm } =$$1_{11}^{+} \rightarrow 1_{01}^{-}$ was detected in 13 (59 per cent) of the NH3-detected cores with a median sensitivity of $\sigma _{T_{mb}} = 17$ mK. All cores detected in o-NH2D at this sensitivity have p-NH3 column densities >1014 cm−2. The o-NH2D column densities were calculated using the constant excitation temperature (CTEX) approximation while correcting for the filling fraction of the NH3 source size. The median deuterium fraction was found to be 0.11 (including 3σ upper limits). However, there are no strong, discernible trends in plots of deuterium fraction with any physical or evolutionary variables. If the cores in L1251 have similar initial chemical conditions, then this result is evidence of the cores physically evolving at different rates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Arp 58 and Arp 68: two M 51-type systems

ABSTRACT We study two M 51-type systems Arp 68 and Arp 58, which strongly differ by their stellar masses, gas content, and environment. Long-slit spectral observations obtained at the Russian 6-m telescope were used to trace the distributions of a line-of-sight (LOS) velocity and a gas-phase oxygen abundance along the spectral cuts. Two systems are compared by their observed properties. We found a very strong large-scale non-circular motion of gas in both systems and a kpc-size saw-edged velocity profile along the tidal spiral arm of Arp 68, probably caused by the gas outflow due to the stellar feedback. A deep decrease of LOS velocity is also found in the ‘hinge’ region in Arp 58, where the inner spiral arm transforms into the tidal spiral arm, which was predicted earlier for M 51-type galaxies. Local sites of star formation and the satellites are compared with the evolutionary models at the colour–colour diagrams. Unlike the spiral galaxy Arp 58, the main galaxy in Arp 68 system is experiencing an ongoing burst of star formation. Gas-phase metallicity estimates show that Arp 58 has a higher metal abundance and reveals a shallow negative radial gradient of the gas-phase oxygen abundance. The emission gas in Arp 68 has noticeably lower metallicity than it is expected for a given luminosity of this galaxy, which may be connected with its space position in the local void.

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