Infrared Classification of Galactic Objects

Unbiased analysis shows that IRAS data reliably differentiate between the early and late stages of stellar evolution because objects at these stages clearly segregate in infrared color-color diagrams. Structure in these diagrams is primarily controlled by the density distribution of circumstellar dust. The density profile around older objects is the steepest, declining as r-2, while young objects have profiles that vary as r-3/2 and flatter. The different density profiles reflect the different dynamics that govern the different environments. Our analysis also shows that high-mass star formation is strongly concentrated within approximately 5 kpc around the Galactic center, in support of other studies.     

Infrared observations of eight X-ray sources from Galactic plane surveys

Increasing the identification completeness of sources from new X-ray sky surveys is a necessary condition for further works on analyzing the formation and long-term evolution of star systems in our Galaxy. Infrared observations of several sources selected from Galactic plane surveys as candidates for low-mass X-ray binaries with the IRSF telescope at the South African Astronomical Observatory are presented. The infrared fluxes have been reliably measured from five of the eight sources (4U 1556-60, 4U 1708-40, AX J165901-4208, IGR J16287-5021, IGR J17350-2045, AX J171922-3703, SAX J1712.6-3739, 4U 1705-32). One of the objects (AX J165901-4208) may be a candidate for symbiotic X-ray binaries, i.e., binaries in which the companion of a relativistic object is a giant star. The distances have been estimated for three sources and the orbital periods have been estimated for two.     

从ROSAT数据中寻找河内X射线暂现源

从ＲＯＳＡＴ巡天和定点观测结果的对比出发，发现了几个低银纬的巡天源表中的Ｘ射线源在定点观测中没有出现．本文计算了在这些位置的定点观测中出现点源的流强上限，发现比巡天源表中这些源的流强值低很多，这表明它们的流强变化很大，可能是Ｘ射线双星系统中的一类———Ｘ射线暂现源．     

The Third Integral in a Self-consistent Galactic Model

We apply the theory of the third integral to a self-consistent galactic model, generated by the collapse of a N-body system. The final configuration after the collapse is a stationary triaxial system, that represents an almost prolate non-rotating elliptical galaxy with its longest axis in the z-direction. This system is represented by an axisymmetric potential V plus a small triaxial perturbation V ₁. The orbits in the potential V are of three types: box orbits, tube orbits (corresponding to various resonances), and chaotic orbits.The intersections of the box and tube orbits by a Poincaré surface of section z=0 are closed invariant curves. The main tube orbits are like ellipses and form an island of stability on the (R,R) plane.We calculated the third integral I in the potential V for the general non-resonant case and for various resonant cases. The agreement between the invariant curves of the orbits and the level curves of the third integral is good for the box and tube orbits, if we truncate the third integral at an appropriate level. As expected the third integral fails in the case of chaotic orbits. The most important result is the form of the number density F on the Poincaré surface of section. This function decreases exponentially outwards for the box orbits, like Fexp(–bI), while it is constant, as expected, for the chaotic orbits. In the case of the island of the main tube orbits it has a minimum at the center of the island. This can be explained by the form of the near elliptical orbits that are elongated along R, thus they fail to support a self-consistent galaxy, which is elongated along the z-axis.     

On the Nature of the Variable Gamma-Ray Sources at Low Galactic Latitudes

Population studies of EGRET gamma-ray sources indicate that there is a distinctive population of bright sources at low galactic latitudes. The sources have a distribution consistent with that of young galactic objects, with a concentration toward the inner spiral arms. There is a subgroup that displays strong variability with timescales from days to months. Following an earlier suggestion by Kaufman Bernadó et al. (2002), we explore the possibility that these sources could be high-mass microquasars. Detailed models for the gamma-ray emission that include inverse Compton interactions of electrons in the relativistic jets and photons from all local fields (stellar UV photons, synchrotron photons, soft X-ray photons from the accretion disk, and hard X-ray photons from a corona) are presented. We conclude that microquasars are excellent candidates for the parent population of the subgroup of variable low-latitude EGRET sources.     

A Statistical Analysis of Point-like Sources in the Chandra Galactic Center Survey

The Chandra Galactic Center Survey detected ～ 800 X-ray point-like sources in the 2°× 0.8° sky region around the Galactic Center. We study the spatial and luminosity distributions of these sources according to their spectral properties. Fourteen bright sources detected are used to fit jointly an absorbed power-law model, from which the power-law photon index is determined to be ～2.5. Assuming that all other sources have the same power-law form, the relation between hardness ratio and HI column density NH is used to estimate the NH values for all sources. Monte Carlo simulations show that these sources are more likely concentrated in the Galactic center region, rather than distributed throughout the Galactic disk. We also find that the luminosities of the sources are positively correlated with their HI column densities, i.e., a more luminous source has a higher HI column density. From this relation, we suggest that the X-ray luminosity comes from the interaction between an isolated old neutron star and interstellar medium (mainly dense molecular clouds). Using the standard Bondi accretion theory and the statistical information of molecular clouds in the Galactic center, we confirm this positive correlation and calculate the luminosity range in this scenario,which is consistent with the observation (1032 - 1035 erg s-1).     

Galactic kinematics from a sample of young massive stars

Based on published sources, we have created a kinematic database on 220 massive (> 10 M _⊙) young Galactic star systems located within ≤3 kpc of the Sun. Out of them, ≈100 objects are spectroscopic binary and multiple star systems whose components are massive OB stars; the remaining objects are massive Hipparcos B stars with parallax errors of no more than 10%. Based on the entire sample, we have constructed the Galactic rotation curve, determined the circular rotation velocity of the solar neighborhood around the Galactic center at R ₀ = 8kpc, V ₀ = 259±16 km s^?1, and obtained the following spiral density wave parameters: the amplitudes of the radial and azimuthal velocity perturbations f _R = ?10.8 ± 1.2 km s^?1 and f _θ = 7.9 ± 1.3 km s^?1, respectively; the pitch angle for a two-armed spiral pattern i = ?6.0° ± 0.4°, with the wavelength of the spiral density wave near the Sun being λ = 2.6 ± 0.2 kpc; and the radial phase of the Sun in χ _⊙ = ?120° ± 4°. We show that such peculiarities of the Gould Belt as the local expansion of the system, the velocity ellipsoid vertex deviation, and the significant additional rotation can be explained in terms of the density wave theory. All these effects decrease noticeably once the influence of the spiral density wave on the velocities of nearby stars has been taken into account. The influence of Gould Belt stars on the Galactic parameter estimates has also been revealed. Eliminating them from the kinematic equations has led to the following new values of the spiral density wave parameters: f _θ = 2.9 ± 2.1 km s^?1 and χ _⊙ = ?104° ± 6°.     

Infrared Characteristics of Associated Sources of Water Masers

We present an analysis of the infrared properties of 1417 water masers collected from the literature published by December 2004. The associated infrared sources of the water masers were identified with IRAS and MSX (Midcourse Space Experiment) catalogues. There are 1252 water masers associated with IRAS sources within 1', which include 700 interstellar and 552 stellar sources. For 382 sources, the IRAS counterpart identification and the maser classification are new. We found the colors of the interstellar maser sources are much redder than those of the stellar ones at IRAS wavelength bands; 99% of the interstellar maser sources are above black body line, while 95% of the stellar masers are below. The distribution difference of the two kinds of masers shown in the color-color diagram is due to their different optical depths and temperature distributions of dust regions. There are 743 water masers with MSX counterparts, of which 552 are interstellar masers and 191 are stellar masers. MSX colors of the associated sources of water masers are here analyzed for the first time. The color differences among the MSX bands are small and the interstellar masers are redder than the stellar masers. There is a correlation between the intensity of the stellar water maser emission and that of the 12μm and 25μm emissions, while there is no correlation between the water maser emission and the 8 μm emission. The infrared intensity increases with increasing wavelength for the interstellar masers, while it is the opposite for stellar masers. These results may provide clues for the pumping of water maser and for the properties of the two kinds of maser emission regions.     

Catalog of X-Ray Active Galactic Nuclei Based on ROSAT BSC and FSC Sources

Astrophysics - A general catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGN) has been created from identified optical sources of X-ray data from the Hamburg-ROSAT Catalog (HRC) and the Byurakan-Hamburg ROSAT...     

含有磁单极星系核的非黑洞模型

本文以磁单极催化核子衰变反应(Rubakov和Callan效应)作为能源,建立了星系核巨型致密天体的磁单极非黑洞模型(其中磁单极含量低于Parker极限值)。本文结论如下:只要磁单极催化核子衰变反应存在(即使截面积10~(26)cm~2),它就有可能作为主要能源来维持星系核这类超巨型致密天体的巨大光度,使其不致于塌缩成为黑洞,即超巨型致密天体的黑洞厄运是可以避免的。此模型目前的主要观测依据是:磁单极催化反应可以不断地产生大量正电子,由此发射出很强的正负电子对湮灭线,这在银心以及其他星系核中已经被观测到。     

An Analytic Model of Galactic Winds and Mass Outflows

Galactic winds and mass outflows are observed both in nearby starburst galaxies and in high-redshift star-forming galaxies. We develop a simple analytic model to understand the observed superwind phenomenon with a discussion of the model uncertainties. Our model is built upon the model of McKee & Ostriker for the interstellar medium. It allows one to predict how properties of a superwind, such as wind velocity and mass outflow rate, are related to properties of its starforming host galaxy, such as size, gas density and star formation rate. The model predicts a threshold of star formation rate density for the generation of observable galactic winds. Galaxies with more concentrated star formation activities produce superwinds with higher velocities. The predicted mass outflow rates are comparable to (or slightly larger than) the corresponding star formation rates. We apply our model to both local starburst galaxies and high-redshift Lyman break galaxies, and find its predictions to be in good agreement with current observations. Our model is simple and so can be easily incorporated into numerical simulations and semi-analytical models of galaxy formation.     

Calculations of infrared fluxes from galactic sources for a polysaccharide grain model

Using transmittance data appropriate for grain material which is predominantly comprised of polysaccharides we have computed infrared fluxes from several types of galactic infrared source. The model used in these computations involves polysaccharide condensation in material flowing out from O-type stars. With the exception of rather minor discrepancies we show that it is possible to match the 2.1–13 observations of a wide range of galactic infrared sources.     

A search for radio emission from Galactic supersoft X-ray sources

We have made a deep search for radio emission from all the northern hemisphere supersoft X-ray sources using the Very Large Array (VLA) and multi-element radio-linked interferometer network (MERLIN) telescopes, at 5 and 8.4 GHz. Three previously undetected sources, T Pyx, V1974 Cygni and RX J0019.8+2156, were imaged in quiescence using the VLA in order to search for any persistent emission. No radio emission was detected in any of the VLA fields down to a typical 1 σ rms noise of 20 μJy beam⁻¹, however, 17 new point sources were detected in the fields with 5-GHz fluxes between 100 and 1500 μJy, giving an average 100-μJy source density of ∼200 deg⁻², comparable to what was found in the MERLIN Hubble Deep Field survey. The persistent source AG Draconis was observed by MERLIN to provide a confirmation of previous VLA observations and to investigate the source at a higher resolution. The core is resolved at the milliarcsec scale into two components that have a combined flux of ∼1 mJy. It is possible that we are detecting nebulosity, which is becoming resolved out by the higher MERLIN resolution. We have investigated possible causes of radio emission from a wind environment, both directly from the secondary star, and also consequently, of the high X-ray luminosity from the white dwarf. There is an order of magnitude discrepancy between observed and modelled values that can be explained by the uncertainty in fundamental quantities within these systems.     

The Galactic Center: a laboratory for AGN?

Summary. This paper reviews the physical state of stars and Interstellar Matter in the Galactic Bulge (radius kpc from the dynamical center of the Galaxy), in the Nuclear Bulge (kpc) and in the Sgr A Radio and GMC Complex, i.e. the central \,pc of our Galaxy. The Galactic Bulge is devoid of cold Interstellar Matter and consists mainly of old stars, while the Nuclear Bulge accounts for of the mass of all of the Interstellar Matter in the Galaxy. A similar ratio holds for the formation rate of medium and high mass stars in Bulge and Disk. The metal abundance of the Interstellar Matter in the Galactic Bulge is found to be . The H-to-CO conversion factors to be applied to molecular gas in the Central Region are by factors 3 (Arimoto et al. 1996) to 10 (Sodroski et al. 1995) lower than in the solar vicinity. Hence, most H masses derived for the Central Region appear to be considerably overestimated. The Nuclear Bulge is pervaded by a thermal plasma (K) which is responsible for the diffuse free-free emission. Lyman continuum photon and dust IR luminosity of the Nuclear Bulge again account for of the respective total luminosities of the Galaxy. Magnetic fields in the Nuclear Bulge are strong (up to mG) as compared with the Galactic Disk (a few tens of G). The field lines are oriented parallel to the galactic plane inside giant molecular clouds and perpendicular to the plane in the intercloud medium. The compact source Sgr A* is close to or at the dynamical center of the Galaxy. Its radio spectrum with a high frequency cut-off at GHz, a low frequency turnover at GHz and a flux density dependence in between can be explained by synchrotron emission from quasi-monoenergetic relativistic electrons. Due to an extinction between Sun and Galactic Center corresponding to , an intrinsic weakness of this source in the near infrared, and a strong background emission from warm dust there are only upper limits available for the flux density of Sgr A* in the far, mid and near infrared and X-ray regime. The size of Sgr A* in the radio regime is cm, its dereddened K-band flux density is mJy, its luminosity has upper limits of (if radiation comes from an Accretion Disk) and (if black-body radiation from an object with a single temperature of K is assumed). If anyone of the soft X-ray sources detected by ROSAT actually coincides with Sgr A*, its X-ray luminosity would be less than a few . With a dark mass of Sgr A* is the best candidate for a starving black hole, although there are no observational indications for the presence of a (Standard) Accretion Disk. While the radio/IR spectrum of Sgr A* is purely nonthermal, the spectrum integrated over the central parsec resembles that of a Seyfert galaxy. Sgr A* is embedded in the Hii region Sgr A West with part of the ionized gas forming a minispiral. Sgr A West is surrounded by the Circum Nuclear Disk, an irregular shaped assembly of molecular gas which extends from pc and rotates around the Galactic Center with an estimated dynamical time scale of \,yr. The total luminosity of of the central parsec is due to the radiation of early-type stars of which have now been directly identified as luminous blue supergiants. It is still debated, however, if these stars can also account for all of the ionization of Sgr A West. In addition, the central parsec contains red giants, AGB stars, and a few super giants of which the brightest are now identified by direct imaging. These stars – together with a few million low mass main sequence stars – account for the bulk of the 2.2\,m emission. The spatial distributions of the three stellar populations in the central pc are remarkably different. Sgr A* is – along the line-of-sight – presumably located close to the center of the Hii region Sgr A West, which in turn is located in front of the extended (pc) synchrotron source Sgr A East, which appears to be the remnant of a gigantic explosion (of the order of the energy of a single supernova explosion) which took place yr ago inside the GMC Sgr A East Core. X-ray observations show within pc a pervasive hot (keV) plasma of expansion age of yr. Both phenomena – as well as the formation of the Circum Nuclear Disk – may have the same origin. Influx of material is observed within the Nuclear Bulge on all distance scales. In the Nuclear Bulge (pc) as well as in the Circum Nuclear Disk (pc) inflow towards the Galactic Center occurs primarily in the galactic plane and amounts to a few . The accretion rate into the central Black Hole, deduced from the luminosity of Sgr A*, however, appears to be lower by at least five orders of magnitude (assuming standard disk accretion). But in an equilibrium state only part of the infalling mass which is not accreted by the Black Hole can be consumed by star formation. A mass inflow rate varying with time is a more natural explanation. Comparing the physical state of the Center of our Galaxy with that of Active Galactic Nuclei derived from observations and modelling, we find that most of the basic characteristics of an AGN are also present in the Galactic Center. Lacking are, however, both the evidence for a standard Accretion Disk and a hard UV spectrum with accompanying high excitation emission lines in the Galactic Center which are characteristic for AGN. The luminosity of the central parsec, , amounts to only of the total luminosity of the Galaxy of . Seen from a distance of M31 (kpc) with an angular resolution of (corresponding to a linear size of pc) the Center of our Galaxy would appear as a mildly active nucleus with some starburst activity and would probably be classified as a weak Seyfert galaxy. The synchrotron spectrum of Sgr A*, however, would be completely masked by reprocessed stellar light (i.e. free-free and dust emission). Received: October 21, 1996     

Annihilation radiation from a dark matter spike at the Galactic Centre

We study annihilation radiation of neutralinos in the Galactic Centre, assuming the existence of a 'spike' in the dark matter density profile, caused by adiabatic accretion on to the massive black hole lying at the Galactic Centre. Under this assumption we find that it is possible to reproduce the observed SgrA* emission at radio and gamma-ray frequencies in a consistent scenario with a magnetic field close to the equipartition strength and with values of γ (the density profile power-law index) around 0.1.     

Searching for neutrinos from WIMP annihilations in the Galactic stellar disc

Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are a viable candidate for the relic abundance of dark matter (DM) produced in the early universe. So far, WIMPs have eluded direct detection through interactions with baryonic matter. Neutrino emission from accumulated WIMP annihilations in the solar core has been proposed as a signature of DM, but has not yet been detected. These null results may be due to small-scale DM density fluctuations in the halo with the density of our local region being lower than the average  (∼0.3 GeV cm⁻³)  . However, the accumulated neutrino signal from WIMP annihilations in the Galactic stellar disc would be insensitive to local density variations. Inside the disc, DM can be captured by stars causing an enhanced annihilation rate and therefore a potentially higher neutrino flux than what would be observed from elsewhere in the halo. We estimate a neutrino flux from the WIMP annihilations in the stellar disc to be enhanced by more than an order of magnitude compared to the neutrino fluxes from the halo. We offer a conservative estimate for this enhanced flux, based on the WIMP–nucleon cross-sections obtained from direct-detection experiments by assuming a density of  ∼0.3 GeV cm⁻³  for the local DM. We also compare the detectability of these fluxes with a signal of diffuse high-energy neutrinos produced in the Milky Way by the interaction of cosmic rays with the interstellar medium. These comparative signals should be observable by large neutrino detectors.     

A Composite Model for GHz Peaked Spectra of Radio Sources

GHz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources are powerful and compact sources with convex spectra. With increasing observational findings, it has been realized that either Synchrotron Self-Absorption (SSA) alone or Free-Free Absorption (FFA) alone is not enough to account for all the spectral features. We present a model consisting of an SSA region partially covered by FFA plasma, and derive a composite spectral formula. By applying the model to a sample of 19 GPS sources having strong absorption, it is found that the external FFA process makes the SSA peak frequency linearly shift to a higher (observed) peak frequency. The shift indicates that the FFA does play a role at the frequency close to the observed peak frequency.