Circumstellar discs in the young σ Orionis cluster     

J. M. Oliveira  R. D. Jeffries  J. Th. van Loon  M. T. Rushton 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2006,369(1):272-280

We present new K - and L '-band imaging observations for members of the young (3–5 Myr) σ Orionis cluster, obtained at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) with the UKIRT 1–5 micron Imager Spectrometer (UIST). We determine ( K − L ') colour excesses with respect to the photospheres, finding evidence for warm circumstellar dust around 27 out of 83 cluster members that have masses between 0.04 and  1.0 M_⊙  . This indicates a circumstellar disc frequency of at least (33 ± 6) per cent for this cluster, consistent with previous determinations from smaller samples and also consistent with the 3-Myr disc half-life suggested by Haisch et al. There is marginal evidence that the disc frequency declines towards lower masses, but the data are also consistent with no mass dependence at all. There is no evidence for spatial segregation of objects with and without circumstellar discs.  相似文献   

The Tully–Fisher relation for S0 galaxies     

A. G. Bedregal  A. Aragón-Salamanca  M. R. Merrifield 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2006,373(3):1125-1140

We present a study of the local B - and K _s-band Tully–Fisher relation (TFR) between absolute magnitude and maximum circular speed in S0 galaxies. To make this study, we have combined kinematic data, including a new high-quality spectral data set from the Fornax cluster, with homogeneous photometry from the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies and Two Micron All Sky Survey catalogues, to construct the largest sample of S0 galaxies ever used in a study of the TFR. Independent of environment, S0 galaxies are found to lie systematically below the TFR for nearby spirals in both optical and infrared bands. This offset can be crudely interpreted as arising from the luminosity evolution of spiral galaxies that have faded since ceasing star formation.
However, we also find a large scatter in the TFR. We show that most of this scatter is intrinsic, not due to the observational uncertainties. The presence of such a large scatter means that the population of S0 galaxies cannot have formed exclusively by the above simple fading mechanism after all transforming at a single epoch. To better understand the complexity of the transformation mechanism, we have searched for correlations between the offset from the TFR and other properties of the galaxies such as their structural properties, central velocity dispersions and ages (as estimated from line indices). For the Fornax cluster data, the offset from the TFR correlates with the estimated age of the stars in the individual galaxies, in the sense and of the magnitude expected if S0 galaxies had passively faded since being converted from spirals. This correlation implies that a significant part of the scatter in the TFR arises from the different times at which galaxies began their transformation.  相似文献   

G359.95-0.04: an energetic pulsar candidate near Sgr A*     

Q. D. Wang  F. J. Lu  E. V. Gotthelf 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2006,367(3):937-944

We report the discovery of a prominent non-thermal X-ray feature located near the Galactic centre that we identify as an energetic pulsar wind nebula. This feature, G359.95-0.04, lies 1-lyr north of Sgr A* (in projection), is comet like in shape, and has a power-law spectrum that steepens with increasing distance from the putative pulsar. The distinct spectral and spatial X-ray characteristics of the feature are similar to those belonging to the rare class of ram-pressure confined pulsar wind nebulae. The luminosity of the nebula at the distance of Sgr A*, consistent with the inferred X-ray absorptions, is   L_x ∼ 1 × 10³⁴ erg s⁻¹  in the 2–10 keV energy band. The cometary tail extends back to a region centred at the massive stellar complex IRS 13 and surrounded by an enhanced diffuse X-ray emission, which may represent an associated supernova remnant. Furthermore, the inverse Compton scattering of the strong ambient radiation by the nebula consistently explains the observed TeV emission from the Galactic centre. We also briefly discuss plausible connections of G359.95-0.04 to other high-energy sources in the region, such as the young stellar complexes IRS 13 and SNR Sgr A East.  相似文献   

Long-term evolution of the Neptune Trojan 2001 QR322     

R. Brasser  S. Mikkola  T.-Y. Huang  P. Wiegert  K. Innanen 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,347(3):833-836

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On the observed disc temperature of accreting intermediate mass black holes     

A. C. Fabian  R. R. Ross  J. M. Miller 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,355(2):359-362

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How many cosmological parameters?     

Andrew R. Liddle 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,351(3):L49-L53

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Stellar contents of two young open clusters: NGC 663 and 654     

A. K. Pandey  K. Upadhyay  K. Ogura  Ram Sagar  V. Mohan  H. Mito  H. C. Bhatt  B. C. Bhatt 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2005,358(4):1290-1308

UBVRI CCD photometry in a wide field around two young open clusters, NGC 663 and 654, has been carried out. Hα and polarimetric observations for the cluster NGC 654 have also been obtained. We use the photometric data to construct colour–colour and colour–magnitude diagrams, from which we can investigate the reddening, age, mass and evolutionary states of the stellar contents of the these clusters. The reddening across the cluster regions is found to be variable. There is evidence for anomalous reddening law in both clusters; however, more infrared and polarimetric data are needed to conclude about the reddening law. Both clusters are situated at about a distance of 2.4 kpc. Star formation in both clusters is found to be a continuous process. In the case of NGC 663, star formation seems to have taken place sequentially, in the sense that formation of low-mass stars precedes the formation of most massive stars. Whereas, in the case of NGC 654, formation of low-mass stars did not cease after the formation of most massive stars in the cluster.  相似文献   

The photometric properties of isolated early-type galaxies     

Fatma M. Reda  Duncan A. Forbes  Michael A. Beasley  Ewan J. O'Sullivan  Paul Goudfrooij 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,354(3):851-869

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The non-radially pulsating primary of the cataclysmic variable GW Librae     

L. van Zyl  B. Warner  D. O'Donoghue  C. Hellier  P. Woudt  D. Sullivan  J. Pritchard  J. Kemp  J. Patterson  W. Welsh  J. Casares  T. Shahbaz  F. van der Hooft  S. Vennes 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,350(1):307-316

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Mass and density of Asteroid 121 Hermione from an analysis of its companion orbit     

F. Marchis  D. Hestroffer  J. Berthier  I. de Pater 《Icarus》2005,178(2):450-464

We report on Adaptive Optics observations of the satellite of Asteroid 121 Hermione with the ESO-Paranal UT4 VLT and the Keck AO telescopes. The binary system, belonging to the Cybele family, was observed during two observing campaigns in January 2003 and January 2004 aiming to confirm its trajectory and accurately determine its orbital elements. A precessing Keplerian model was used to describe the motion of S/2002 (121) 1. We find that the satellite of Hermione revolves at a=768±11 km from the primary in P=2.582±0.002 days with a roughly circular and prograde orbit (e=0.001±0.001, i=3±2° w.r.t. equator primary). These extensive astrometric measurements enable us to determine the mass of Hermione to be 0.54±0.03×¹⁰¹⁹ kg and its pole solution (λ₀=1.5°±2.00, β₀=10°±2.0 in ecliptic J2000). Additional Keck AO observations taken close to the asteroid opposition in December 2003 give us direct insight into the structure of the primary which presents a bilobated shape. Since the angular resolution is limited to the theoretical angular resolution of the telescope (43 mas corresponding to a spatial resolution of 80 km), two shape models (called snowman and peanut) are proposed based on the images which were deconvolved with MISTRAL deconvolution process. Assuming a purely synchronous orbit and knowing the mass of the primary, the peanut shape composed of two separated components is quite unlikely. Additionally the J₂ calculated from the analysis of the secondary orbit is not in agreement with the peanut model, but close to the snowman shape. The bulk density of the primary as derived from the observed size of the snowman shape is estimated to ρ∼1.8±0.2 g/cm³ implying a porosity ∼14% for this C-type asteroid, corresponding to a fractured asteroid. Considering the IRAS diameter, the density is lower (ρ=1.1±0.3 g/cm³) leading to a high porosity (p=30-60%) with a nominal value of p=48%, which indicates a completely loose rubble-pile structure for the primary. Further work is necessary to better constrain the size, shape, and then internal structure of Hermione's primary.  相似文献