Dust Hole Research Articles

A study of accretion and disk diagnostics in the NGC 2264 cluster

Context. Understanding disk dissipation is essential for studying how planets form. Disk gaps and holes, which almost correspond to dust-free regions, are inferred from infrared observations of T Tauri stars (TTS), indicating the existence of a transitional phase between thick accreting disks and debris disks. Transition disks are usually referred to as candidates for newly formed planets. Aims. We searched for transition disk candidates belonging to NGC 2264. Using stellar and disk parameters obtained in the observational multiwavelength campaign CSI 2264, we characterized accretion, disk, and stellar properties of transition disk candidates and compared them to systems with a full disk and diskless stars. Methods. We modeled the spectral energy distribution (SED) of a sample of 401 TTS, observed with both CFHT equipped with MegaCam and IRAC instrument on the Spitzer, with Hyperion SED fitting code using photometric data from the U band (0.3 μm) to the Spitzer/MIPS 24 μm band. We used the SED modeling to distinguish transition disk candidates, full disk systems, and diskless stars. Results. We classified ∼52% of the sample as full disk systems, ∼41% as diskless stars, and ∼7% of the systems as transition disk candidates, among which seven systems are new transition disk candidates belonging to the NGC 2264 cluster. The sample of transition disk candidates present dust in the inner disk similar to anemic disks, according to the αIRAC classification, which shows that anemic disk systems can be candidate transition disks. We show that the presence of a dust hole in the inner disk does not stop the accretion process since 82% of transition disk candidates accrete and show Hα, UV excess, and mass accretion rates at the same level as full disk systems. We estimate the inner hole sizes, ranging from 0.1 to 78 AU, for the sample of transition disk candidates. In only ∼18% of the transition disk candidates, the hole size could be explained by X-ray photoevaporation from stellar radiation.

Computational investigation of the dust hole effect on the heat transfer and friction factor characteristics in a U bend channel

In this study, effects of a dust hole and its location on the flow structure, endwall heat transfer and friction factor in a U bend channel used for a gas turbine blade tip cooling are numerically studied. The dust hole is placed on the endwall of a U bend at different locations. The U bend channel without dust hole is considered as Baseline. The Reynolds number ranges from 50,000 to 440,000. Results of the flow structure, Nu number, friction factor, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) are included. The results showed that the fluid flow entering the U bend channel impinges on the endwall and forms a recirculation vortex. The interaction between the recirculation vortex and pressure gradient caused by the wall generated a rotating vortex pair. This significantly affected the heat transfer. As the dust hole is adopted at the inlet channel near the sidewall, the rotating vortex pair was forced to flow near the endwall and accordingly the shearing effect on the endwall was increased. This consequently increased the local transfer. In this case, the heat transfer was increased by 13.47% compared to the Baseline. However, because the adoption of dust hole did not affect the main stream, the pressure drop was decreased by 9.9% instead. The Reynolds analogy performance and the thermal performance indicated that the adoption of a dust hole at the inlet channel near the side wall gave the highest performance augmentation. The augmentation was 26.4% and 17.6% compared to the Baseline, respectively.

THE MOSFIRE DEEP EVOLUTION FIELD (MOSDEF) SURVEY: REST-FRAME OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY FOR ∼1500 H -SELECTED GALAXIES AT $1.37\leqslant z\leqslant 3.8$

In this paper we present the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. The MOSDEF survey aims to obtain moderate-resolution (R=3000-3650) rest-frame optical spectra (~3700-7000 Angstrom) for ~1500 galaxies at 1.37<z<3.80 in three well-studied CANDELS fields: AEGIS, COSMOS, and GOODS-N. Targets are selected in three redshift intervals: 1.37<z<1.70, 2.09<z<2.61, and 2.95<z<3.80, down to fixed H_AB (F160W) magnitudes of 24.0, 24.5 and 25.0, respectively, using the photometric and spectroscopic catalogs from the 3D-HST survey. We target both strong nebular emission lines (e.g., [OII], Hbeta, [OIII], 5008, Halpha, [NII], and [SII]) and stellar continuum and absorption features (e.g., Balmer lines, Ca-II H and K, Mgb, 4000 Angstrom break). Here we present an overview of our survey, the observational strategy, the data reduction and analysis, and the sample characteristics based on spectra obtained during the first 24 nights. To date, we have completed 21 masks, obtaining spectra for 591 galaxies. For ~80% of the targets we derive a robust redshift from either emission or absorption lines. In addition, we confirm 55 additional galaxies, which were serendipitously detected. The MOSDEF galaxy sample includes unobscured star-forming, dusty star-forming, and quiescent galaxies and spans a wide range in stellar mass (~10^9-10^11.5 Msol) and star formation rate (~10^0-10^3 Msol/yr). The spectroscopically confirmed sample is roughly representative of an H-band limited galaxy sample at these redshifts. With its large sample size, broad diversity in galaxy properties, and wealth of available ancillary data, MOSDEF will transform our understanding of the stellar, gaseous, metal, dust, and black hole content of galaxies during the time when the universe was most active.

KRONBERGER 49: A NEW LOW-MASS GLOBULAR CLUSTER OR AN UNPRECEDENTED BULGE WINDOW?

We employ optical and near-infrared photometry to study the stars in the direction of the star cluster candidate Kronberger 49. The optical color-magnitude diagrams (V, I, and Gunn z photometry obtained with the Galileo Telescope) are tight and present evidence of a main-sequence turnoff. We may be dealing with a low-mass, metal-rich globular cluster located in the bulge at a distance from the Sun of d ☉ = 8 ± 1 kpc. Alternatively, it may be a dust hole through which we are sampling the bulge stellar population affected by a very low amount of differential reddening.

A 30 AU RADIUS CO GAS HOLE IN THE DISK AROUND THE HERBIG Ae STAR Oph IRS 48

The physical processes leading to the disappearance of disks around young stars are not well understood. A subclass of transitional disks, the so-called cold disks with large inner dust holes, provide a crucial laboratory for studying disk dissipation processes. IRS 48 has a 30 AU radius hole previously measured from dust continuum imaging at 18.7 micron. Using new optical spectra, we determine that IRS 48 is a pre-main sequence A0 star. In order to characterize this disk's gas distribution, we obtained AO-assisted VLT CRIRES high resolution (R ~100,000) spectra of the CO fundamental rovibrational band at 4.7 micron. All CO emission, including that from isotopologues and vibrationally excited molecules, is off-source and peaks at 30 AU. The gas is thermally excited to a rotational temperature of 260 K and is also strongly UV pumped, showing a vibrational excitation temperature of ~5000 K. We model the kinematics and excitation of the gas and posit that the CO emission arises from the dust hole wall. Prior imaging of UV-excited PAH molecules, usually a gas tracer, within the hole makes the large CO hole even more unexpected.

EMISSION LINES FROM THE GAS DISK AROUND TW HYDRA AND THE ORIGIN OF THE INNER HOLE

We compare line emission calculated from theoretical disk models with optical to sub-millimeter wavelength observational data of the gas disk surrounding TW Hya and infer the spatial distribution of mass in the gas disk. The model disk that best matches observations has a gas mass ranging from $\sim10^{-4}-10^{-5}$\ms\ for $0.06{\rm AU} <r<3.5$AU and $\sim 0.06$\ms\ for $ 3.5 {\rm AU} <r<200$AU. We find that the inner dust hole ($r<3.5$AU) in the disk must be depleted of gas by $\sim 1-2$ orders of magnitude compared to the extrapolated surface density distribution of the outer disk. Grain growth alone is therefore not a viable explanation for the dust hole. CO vibrational emission arises within $r\sim 0.5$AU from thermal excitation of gas. [OI] 6300\AA\ and 5577\AA\ forbidden lines and OH mid-infrared emission are mainly due to prompt emission following UV photodissociation of OH and water at $r\lesssim0.1$AU and at $r\sim 4$AU. [NeII] emission is consistent with an origin in X-ray heated neutral gas at $r\lesssim 10$AU, and may not require the presence of a significant EUV ($h\nu>13.6$eV) flux from TW Hya. H$_2$ pure rotational line emission comes primarily from $r\sim 1-30$AU. [OI]63$\mu$m, HCO$^+$ and CO pure rotational lines all arise from the outer disk at $r\sim30-120$AU. We discuss planet formation and photoevaporation as causes for the decrease in surface density of gas and dust inside 4 AU. If a planet is present, our results suggest a planet mass $\sim 4-7$M$_J$ situated at $\sim 3$AU. Using our photoevaporation models and the best surface density profile match to observations, we estimate a current photoevaporative mass loss rate of $4\times10^{-9}$\ms\ yr$^{-1}$ and a remaining disk lifetime of $\sim 5$ million years.

Classical T Tauri-like Outflow Activity in the Brown Dwarf Mass Regime

Since 2005 we have been analysing the spectra of brown dwarfs (BDs) using the technique of spectro-astrometry and to date have found 5 outflows driven by BDs. Our aim is to obtain an understanding of outflow activity in the BD mass regime and make a comprehensive comparison with low mass protostars, in particular the classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs). Table 1 summarises some results for the sources in our sample. Also see Whelan et al. (2009b) for a complete discussion and comparison with CTTSs. Some noteworthy results include the asymmetry in the ISO-217 bipolar outflow which is revealed in the relative brightness of the two lobes (red-shifted lobe is brighter) and the factor of two difference in radial velocity (the red-shifted lobe is faster). Asymmetries are common in jets from low mass protostars (0.1 Msun to 2 Msun) and the observation of a strong asymmetry at such a low mass supports the idea that BD outflow activity is scaled down from CTTSs. In addition, Whelan et al. (2009a) find a strong contribution to the Hα line emitted by LS-RCrA 1 and evidence of a dust hole in its disk. Using methods previously applied to CTTS Whelan et al. (2009b) estimate the mass outflow rate (Ṁout) for LS-RCrA 1, ISO and ISO-Oph 102 Ṁout to be in the range 10−10 to 10−9 Msun yr−1 which is comparable to measured mass accretion rates.

UNCOVERING THE OUTFLOW DRIVEN BY THE BROWN DWARF LS-RCrA 1: Hα AS A TRACER OF OUTFLOW ACTIVITY IN BROWN DWARFS

It is now apparent that classical T Tauri-like outflows commonly accompany the formation of young brown dwarfs (BDs). To date two optical outflows have been discovered, and results presented in this Letter increase this number to three. Using spectro-astrometry, the origin of the LS-RCrA 1 forbidden emission lines in a blueshifted outflow is confirmed. The nondetection of the redshifted component of the outflow in forbidden lines, along with evidence for some separation between low- and high-velocity outflow components, does not support the hypothesis that LS-RCrA 1 has an edge-on accretion disk. The key result of this analysis is the discovery of an outflow component to the Hα line. The Hα line profile has blueshifted and redshifted features in the wings which spectro-astrometry reveals to also originate in the outflow. The discovery that Hα emission in BDs can have a significant contribution from an outflow suggests that the use of Hα line widths as a proxy of mass accretion in BDs is not clear cut. This method assumes that any contribution to the Hα line flux from a possible outflow is negligible. Finally, the fact that the Hα line traces both lobes of the outflow while only the blueshifted lobe is seen in forbidden emission points to the presence of a dust hole in the accretion disk of LS-RCrA 1. This is commonly seen in classical T Tauri stars and is assumed to signal the onset of planet formation.

A Strong Correlation between Circumnuclear Dust and Black Hole Accretion in Early‐Type Galaxies

We present a detailed investigation of the incidence of circumnuclear dust structure in a large, well-matched sample of early-type galaxies with and without Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). All 34 early-type AGN hosts in our sample have circumnuclear dust, while dust is only observed in 26% (nine) of a pair-matched sample of 34 early-type, inactive galaxies. This result demonstrates a strong correlation between the presence of circumnuclear dust and accretion onto the central, supermassive black hole in elliptical and lenticular galaxies. This correlation is not present at later Hubble types, where a sample of 31 active and 31 inactive galaxies all contain circumnuclear dust. These archival, HST observations reveal a wide range of mostly chaotic dust morphologies. Current estimates suggest the dust settling or destruction time is on order of 10^8 years and therefore the presence of dust in ~ 50% of early-type galaxies requires frequent replenishment and similarly frequent fueling of their central, supermassive black holes. The observed dust could be internally-produced (via stellar winds) or externally-accreted, although there are observational challenges for both of these scenarios. Our analysis also reveals that approximately a third of the early-type galaxies without circumnuclear dust have nuclear stellar disks. These nuclear stellar disks may provide a preferred kinematic axis to externally-accreted material and this material may in turn form new stars in these disks. The observed incidence of nuclear stellar disks and circumnuclear dust suggests that episodic replenishment of nuclear stellar disks occurs and is approximately concurrent with the fueling of the central AGN.

The Reverberation Radius of the Central Dust Hole in NGC 5548

The most intensive multicolor monitoring observations in the optical and near-infrared wave bands were carried out for the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. During a monitoring period from 2001 March to 2003 July, the V(0.55 μm) and K(2.2 μm) fluxes separately reached a minimum state twice. A delayed response of light variations in the K band to those in the V band was detected, and the lag time Δt was measured by a cross-correlation analysis based on a new technique of simulating the light curves to fill in the sampling gaps. The measured lag time is Δt = 48 days in the first minimum state and Δt = 47 days in the second minimum state. The lag time is interpreted as the light-travel time from the central energy source to the surrounding dust torus, because the K light is emitted from the hot dust heated by absorption of ultraviolet and optical light from the central energy source. Compared with lag measurements of the broad emission lines in the literature, the lag time for such dust reverberation is found to be longer, indicating that the inner radius of the dust torus corresponds to an outer edge of the broad emission line region in NGC 5548. Furthermore, the V light curve exhibits short-timescale variations superposed on its global variation. These variations on timescales of 10 days or less are found to correlate with X-ray variations and delay behind them by 1 or 2 days, indicating the optical reprocessing of X-ray emission in the central accretion flow in NGC 5548.

The fate of the solid matter orbiting HR 4796A

We have obtained optical spectra, 2 micrometers speckle images, and an upper limit to the 800 micrometers flux for HR 4796A, and optical spectra for its physical companion separated by 7.7 arcsecs, HR 4796B. We detect H-beta, H-gamma, and the calcium H and K lines in emission from HR 4796B; these data are consistent with the hypothesis that it is later than spectral type M2 and lies substantially above the main-sequence. From the location of HR 4796B on the H-R diagram, the estimated age of this star is 3 x 10(exp 6) yr, and assuming this age for the entire system, we find from our 2 micrometers speckle data that there is no close stellar companion to HR 4796A (M greater than 0.125 solar mass) between 11 and 120 AU from the star. From the IRAS and ground-based photometry, it seems that there is a hole in the dust distribution around HR 4796A with an inner radius of between approximately 40 and approximately 200 AU. The observed circumstellar dust grains, which lie at D greater than 40 AU from the star, are likely to be at least 3 micrometers in radius in order to be gravitationally bound to HR 4796A, if the circumstellar dust cloud is optically thin. Since they are larger than almost all interstellar grains, the circumstellar dust grains probably grew by coalescence. Because the existing grains at D greater than 40 AU have undergone measurable coalescence, it is possible that particles that presumably once existed at D less than 40 AU, where the collision times were shorter than at D greater than 40 AU, grew into macroscopic objects. A likely explanation for the dust hole is that there is a companion located at about half the inner radius of the dust hole, or between 20 and 100 AU from the star. If such a companion exists, it must have a mass less than 0.125 solar mass. Since grain coalescence has occurred, this putative companion possibly could be a planet.

Charged dust in the Earth's mesopause; effects on radar backscatter

We discuss to what extent small scale density inhomogeneities in the dust distribution may influence radar backscatter in the summer mesopause. We show for a reasonable range of parameters that falling dust interacting with a neutral gas vortex cannot penetrate to the centre of the vortex. The size of the hole in the dust space density distribution around the vortex centre depends on the vortex size and rotation speed and on the free fall velocity of the dust. If the dust contains a non-negligible fraction of the space charge (this requires that the dust is charged by the photoelectric effect), a substantial gradient in the positive charge density across the dust hole edge results. The positive charge density profile in the thin boundary layer will depend on the size distribution of the dust grains. A corresponding gradient in the electron density will appear and we discuss the conditions under which it will lead to a radar reflection of the magnitude observed in the summer polar mesosphere (PMSE - Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes). This mechanism appears to have the potential of explaining the observed characteristics of the radar echoes such as the strong wavelength dependence and the narrow and sometimes complex and composite spectral signal profiles.