Microlensing of tidal debris on the Magellanic great circle

Increasing evidence suggests that the Galactic halo is lumpy on kpc scales as a result of the accretion of at least a dozen small galaxies [Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), Sgr, Fornax, etc.]. Faint stars in such lumpy structures can significantly microlense a background star with an optical depth of 10⁻⁷–10⁻⁶, which is comparable to the observed value to the LMC. The observed microlensing events towards the LMC can be explained by a tidal debris tail from the progenitor of the Magellanic Clouds and Magellanic Stream. The LMC stars can either lense stars in the debris tail a few kpc behind the LMC, or be lensed by stars in the part of the debris tail in front of the LMC. The models are consistent with an elementary particle dominated Galactic halo without massive compact halo objects (MACHOs). They also differ from Sahu's LMC-self-lensing model by predicting a higher optical depth and event rate and lower concentration of events to the LMC centre.     

A new population of planetary nebulae discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud – I. Preliminary sample

We report our initial discovery of 73 new planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) following confirmatory 2dF spectroscopy on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Preliminary candidate sources come from a 10 per cent sub-area of our new deep, high-resolution Hα map of the central 25 deg² of the LMC obtained with the UK Schmidt Telescope. The depth of the high-resolution map was extended to   R _equiv∼ 22  for  Hα (4.5 × 10⁻¹⁷ erg cm⁻² s⁻¹Å⁻¹)  by a process of multi-exposure median co-addition of a dozen 2-h Hα exposures. The resulting map is at least 1-mag deeper than the best wide-field narrow-band LMC images currently available. This depth, combined with our selection technique, has also led to the discovery of extended asymptotic giant branch (AGB) haloes around many new and previously known LMC PNe for the first time. Once complete, our new survey is expected to triple the LMC PN population and have significant implications for the LMC PN luminosity function, kinematics, abundance gradients, chemical evolution and, via study of the AGB haloes, the initial to final mass relation for low- to intermediate-mass stars.     

Spitzer observations of acetylene bands in carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We investigate the molecular bands in carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope ( SST ) over the 5–38 μm range. All 26 low-resolution spectra show acetylene (C₂H₂) bands at 7 and 14 μm. The hydrogen cyanide (HCN) bands at these wavelengths are very weak or absent. This is consistent with low nitrogen abundances in the LMC. The observed 14 μm C₂H₂  band is reasonably reproduced by an excitation temperature of 500 K. There is no clear dilution of the 14 μm C₂H₂  band by circumstellar dust emission. This 14-μm band originates from molecular gas in the circumstellar envelope in these high mass-loss rate stars, in agreement with previous findings for Galactic stars. The C₂H₂ column density, derived from the 13.7 μm band, shows a gas mass-loss rate in the range 3 × 10⁻⁶ to 5 × 10⁻⁵ M_⊙ yr⁻¹. This is comparable with the total mass-loss rate of these stars estimated from the spectral energy distribution. Additionally, we compare the line strengths of the 13.7 μm C₂H₂  band of our LMC sample with those of a Galactic sample. Despite the low metallicity of the LMC, there is no clear difference in the C₂H₂  abundance among LMC and Galactic stars. This reflects the effect of the third dredge-up bringing self-produced carbon to the surface, leading to high carbon-to-oxygen ratio at low metallicity.     

Suspected cool R Coronae Borealis stars in the Magellanic Clouds

Six stars out of a sample of ∼2300 carbon stars in the Magellanic Clouds have been identified as having strong C₂ bands but CN bands that are very weak or absent. It is argued that five of these are likely to be R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars on the basis of their spectral characteristics and peculiar colours. Most are variables and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) members have extreme radial velocities that are more like the planetary nebula population than the carbon stars. This sample consists of four LMC members (only one of them previously recognized as an RCB star), one Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) member (the first RCB star reported in the SMC) and one foreground Galactic star.     

A search for absorption of Mg and Ca compounds in molecular clouds towards Galactic continuum sources

Absorption lines of MgH and CaH N  = 1 − 0 transitions were searched for in foreground molecular clouds towards the continuum sources associated with Sgr B2 (M) and W49A (N). None of these lines was detected with our sensitivity level of ∼20 mK. Millimetric absorption lines of MgO, MgOH, CaO and CaOH were also searched for towards Sgr B2 (M) without success. The fractional abundances relative to molecular hydrogen are ≲ 1.0 × 10⁻¹¹ for MgH, ≲ 7.9 × 10⁻¹³ for MgO, ≲ 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁰ for MgOH, ≲ 1.6 × 10⁻⁹ for CaH, ≲ 2.0 × 10⁻¹² for CaO, and ≲ 2.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ for CaOH, respectively. The low abundances measured in absorption indicate that a significant fraction of interstellar magnesium and calcium cannot be tied up in their monohydrides, monoxides and monohydroxides. The low abundance of MgH also implies that grain-surface chemistry involving magnesium is not efficient and that magnesium is depleted on to grains to a factor of ≳ 10^2.5 in well-shielded molecular clouds.     

Microlensing in dark matter haloes

Using eight dark matter haloes extracted from fully self-consistent cosmological N -body simulations, we perform microlensing experiments. A hypothetical observer is placed at a distance of 8.5 kpc from the centre of the halo measuring optical depths, event durations and event rates towards the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud. We simulate 1600 microlensing experiments for each halo. Assuming that the whole halo consists of massive astronomical compact halo objects (MACHOs),   f = 1.0  , and a single MACHO mass is   m _M= 1.0 M_⊙  , the simulations yield mean values of  τ= 4.7^+5.0_−2.2× 10⁻⁷  and  Γ= 1.6^+1.3_−0.6× 10⁻⁶  events star⁻¹ yr⁻¹. We find that triaxiality and substructure can have major effects on the measured values so that τ and Γ values of up to three times the mean can be found. If we fit our values of τ and Γ to the MACHO collaboration observations, we find   f = 0.23^+0.15_−0.13  and   m _M= 0.44^+0.24_−0.16  . Five out of the eight haloes under investigation produce f and m _M values mainly concentrated within these bounds.     

Metal-rich carbon stars in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy

We present spectroscopic observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope of six carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr dSph) and two foreground Galactic carbon stars. The band strengths of the observed C₂H₂ and SiC features are very similar to those observed in Galactic AGB stars. The metallicities are estimated from an empirical relation between the acetylene optical depth and the strength of the SiC feature. The metallicities are higher than those of the Large Magellanic Cloud, and close to Galactic values. While the high metallicity could imply an age of around 1 Gyr, for the dusty AGB stars, the pulsation periods suggest ages in excess of 2 or 3 Gyr. We fit the spectra of the observed stars using the dusty radiative transfer model and determine their dust mass-loss rates to be in the range  1.0–3.3 × 10⁻⁸ M_⊙ yr⁻¹  . The two Galactic foreground carbon-rich AGB stars are located at the far side of the solar circle, beyond the Galactic Centre. One of these two stars shows the strongest SiC feature in our present Local Group sample.     

Constraining the LMC cluster age gap: Washington photometry of NGC 2155 and SL 896 (LW 480)

We carried out Washington system photometry of the intermediate-age Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) star clusters NGC 2155 and SL 896 (LW 480). We derive ages and metallicities from the T ₁ versus     colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs). For the first time an age has been obtained for SL 896,     . For NGC 2155 we derive     . The two clusters basically define the lower age limit of the LMC age gap. In particular, NGC 2155 is confirmed as the oldest intermediate-age LMC cluster so far studied. The derived metallicities are     and     for NGC 2155 and SL 896, respectively. We also studied the CMDs of the surrounding fields, which have a dominant turn-off comparable to that of the clusters themselves, and similar metallicity, showing that one is dealing with an intermediate-age disc where clusters and field stars have the same origin. We inserted the present clusters in the LMC and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) age–metallicity relations, using a set of homogeneous determinations with the same method as in our previous studies, now totalling 15 LMC clusters and four SMC clusters, together with some additional values from the literature. The LMC and SMC age–metallicity relations appear to be remarkably complementary, since the SMC was actively star-forming during the LMC quiescent age gap epoch.     

On the intrinsic bias in detecting caustic crossings between Galactic halo and self-lensing events in the Magellanic Clouds

In this paper, we investigate the intrinsic bias in detecting caustic crossings between the Galactic halo and self-lensing gravitational microlensing events in the Magellanic Clouds. For this, we determine the region for optimal caustic-crossing detection in the parameter space of the physical binary separations, ℓ, and the total binary lens mass, M , and find that the optimal regions for both populations of events are similar to each other. In particular, if the Galactic halo is composed of lenses with the claimed average mass of 〈 M 〉∼0.5 M_⊙, the optimal binary separation range of Galactic halo events of 3.5 au≲ℓ≲14 au matches well with that of a Magellanic Cloud self-lensing event caused by a binary lens with a total mass of M ∼1 M_⊙; well within the mass range of the most probable lens population of stars in the Magellanic Clouds. Therefore, our computation implies that if the binary fractions and the distributions of binary separations of the two populations of lenses are not significantly different from each other, there is no strong detection bias against Galactic halo caustic-crossing events.     

The deepest Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet observations in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present a new analysis of the deepest pure-ultraviolet (UV) observations with the highest angular resolution ever performed. A set of 12 exposures with the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) WFPC2 and F160BW filter obtained in parallel observing mode, which cover ∼12 arcmin² in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), north of the bar and in the 'general field' region of the LMC, contain stars with far-UV monochromatic magnitudes as faint as 22 mag. The 198 detected UV sources represent an accumulated exposure of  ≥ 2 × 10⁴ s  and reveal stars as faint as   m _UV≃ 20 mag  . We combine these observations with deep UBVI charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging of the same region reaching as faint as   V ≃ 26 mag  , and reselect probable optical counterparts for the UV sources. After a two-stage search-and-analysis process, we detect robust counterparts for 129 stars. These are mostly upper main-sequence stars, from early B to early A spectral classes, with several F stars. We point out the lack of blue supergiants, which could have been easily detected in our survey. We measure a foreground extinction   E ( B − V ) ≃ 0.08 mag  by Galactic dust and a surface density of star formation rate twice the average Galactic value. These observations indicate that relatively recent star formation took place even off the bar of the LMC.     

The contribution of pulsars to diffuse gamma-rays in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We study the contribution of young pulsars, with characteristic ages of less than 10⁶ yr, to the diffuse γ-ray emission from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Based on the outer gap model for γ-ray emission proposed by Zhang & Cheng and pulsar properties in the LMC given by Hartmann, Brown & Schnepf, we simulate the properties of the young pulsars in the LMC. We show that γ-rays produced by the pulsars in the LMC may make an important contribution to the diffuse γ-rays in the LMC, especially in the high-energy range. We calculate the γ-ray energy spectrum of the pulsars in the LMC and show that the γ-ray component contributed by the pulsars to the diffuse γ-rays in the high-energy range (above ∼1 GeV) becomes dominant. We expect that none of the young pulsars should be detectable as an individual point source of γ-ray emission by EGRET. We also expect that pulsar contribution above ∼1 GeV in the SMC is very important.     

Globular clusters and the Mira period–luminosity relation

A globular cluster distance scale based on Hipparcos parallaxes of subdwarfs has been used to derive estimates of M _K for cluster Miras, including one in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) globular cluster NGC 121. These lead to a zero-point of the Mira infrared period–luminosity (PL) relation, PL( K ), in good agreement with that derived from Hipparcos parallaxes of nearby field Miras. The mean of these two estimates together with data on LMC Miras yields a Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) distance modulus of     in evident agreement with a metallicity-corrected Cepheid modulus     .
The use of luminous asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars as extragalactic population indicators is also discussed.     

Radio planetary nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds

We report the extragalactic radio-continuum detection of 15 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) from recent Australia Telescope Compact Array+Parkes mosaic surveys. These detections were supplemented by new and high-resolution radio, optical and infrared observations which helped to resolve the true nature of the objects. Four of the PNe are located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and 11 are located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Based on Galactic PNe the expected radio flux densities at the distance of the LMC/SMC are up to ∼2.5 and ∼2.0 mJy at 1.4 GHz, respectively. We find that one of our new radio PNe in the SMC has a flux density of 5.1 mJy at 1.4 GHz, several times higher than expected. We suggest that the most luminous radio PN in the SMC (N S68) may represent the upper limit to radio-peak luminosity because it is approximately three times more luminous than NGC 7027, the most luminous known Galactic PN. We note that the optical diameters of these 15 Magellanic Clouds (MCs) PNe vary from very small (∼0.08 pc or 0.32 arcsec; SMP L47) to very large (∼1 pc or 4 arcsec; SMP L83). Their flux densities peak at different frequencies, suggesting that they may be in different stages of evolution. We briefly discuss mechanisms that may explain their unusually high radio-continuum flux densities. We argue that these detections may help solve the 'missing mass problem' in PNe whose central stars were originally  1–8 M_⊙  . We explore the possible link between ionized haloes ejected by the central stars in their late evolution and extended radio emission. Because of their higher than expected flux densities, we tentatively call this PNe (sub)sample –'Super PNe'.     

CCD photometry of variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds — V. The eclipsing binaries HV 1620 and HV 2241

Using improved techniques, high-quality CCD uvbyVI _C photometry has been obtained for the 14th magnitude eclipsing binaries HV 1620 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and HV 2241 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). IUE ultraviolet spectrophotometry was also obtained. These data have been analysed using the Wilson & Devinney synthetic light-curve code and Kurucz model atmospheres. Both systems are semi-detached and appear to have undergone mass exchange. In HV 1620 the mass ratio and the effective temperatures of the primary and secondary are q  =  M ₂/ M ₁ = 0.68 ± 0.03, T _eff,1 = 33 000 ± 4500 K and T _eff,2 = 24 000 ± 3500 K. The corresponding values for HV 2241 are 0.53 ± 0.01, 27 000 ± 3000 K and 20 200 ± 1500 K. Using the radial-velocity curves obtained by Niemela & Bassino with a 1-m telescope, we find that both systems are massive, as expected. Reddening considerations suggest both systems may lie towards the rear of their respective Clouds.     

The temperature of the warm neutral medium in the Milky Way

We report high-spectral-resolution Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) H  i 21-cm observations resulting in the detection of the warm neutral medium (WNM) of the Galaxy in absorption against two extragalactic radio sources, PKS 1814−637 and PKS 0407−658. The two lines of sight were selected on the basis of the simplicity of their absorption profiles and the strength of the background sources; the high velocity resolution of the spectra then enabled us to estimate the kinetic temperatures of the absorbing gas by fitting multiple Gaussians to the absorption profiles. Four separate WNM components were detected towards the two sources, with peak optical depths  τ_max= (1.0 ± 0.08) × 10⁻², (1.4 ± 0.2) × 10⁻³, (2.2 ± 0.5) × 10⁻³  and  (3.4 ± 0.5) × 10⁻³  and kinetic temperatures   T _k= 3127 ± 300, 3694 ± 1595, 3500 ± 1354  and  2165 ± 608 K  , respectively. All four components were thus found to have temperatures in the thermally unstable range  500 < T _k < 5000 K  ; this suggests that thermal equilibrium has not been reached throughout the WNM.     

Microlensing by cosmic strings

We consider the signature and detectability of gravitational microlensing of distant quasars by cosmic strings. Because of the simple image configuration such events will have a characteristic lightcurve, in which a source would appear to brighten by exactly a factor of 2, before reverting to its original apparent brightness. We calculate the optical depth and event rate, and conclude that current predictions and limits on the total length of strings on the sky imply optical depths of ≲ 10⁻⁸ and event rates of fewer than one event per 10⁹ sources per year. Disregarding those predictions but replacing them with limits on the density of cosmic strings from the cosmic microwave background fluctuation spectrum, leaves only a small region of parameter space (in which the sky contains about 3 × 10⁵ strings with deficit angle of the order of 0.3 milli-seconds) for which a microlensing survey of exposure 10⁷ source years, spanning a 20–40-year period, might reveal the presence of cosmic strings.     

ASCA observations of deep ROSAT fields — III. The discovery of an obscured Type 2 AGN at z = 0.67

We report on the discovery of a narrow-emission-line object at z  = 0.672 detected in a deep ASCA survey. The object, AXJ 0341.4–4453, has a flux in the 2–10 keV band of 1.1 ± 0.27 × 10⁻¹³ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻², corresponding to a luminosity of 1.8 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ ( q ₀ = 0.5, H ₀ = 50 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹). It is also marginally detected in the ROSAT 0.5–2 keV band with a flux 5.8 × 10⁻¹⁵ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻². Both the ASCA data alone and the combined ROSAT/ASCA data show a very hard X-ray spectrum, consistent with either a flat power law (α < 0.1) or photoelectric absorption with a column of n _H > 4 × 10²² cm⁻² (α = 1). The optical spectrum shows the high-ionization, narrow emission lines typical of a Seyfert 2 galaxy. We suggest that this object may be typical of the hard sources required to explain the remainder of the X-ray background at hard energies.     

Faraday ghosts: depolarization canals in the Galactic radio emission

An analysis is presented of the power spectrum of X-ray variability of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 766 as observed by XMM–Newton . Over the 0.2–10 keV energy range the power spectral density (PSD) is well-represented by a power-law with a slope of  α_low≈ 1  at low frequencies, breaking to a slope of  α_hi= 2.8^+0.2_−0.4  at a frequency   f _br≈ 5 × 10⁻⁴ Hz  . As has been noted before, this broken power-law PSD shape is similar to that observed in the Galactic black hole candidate Cygnus X-1. If it is assumed that Mrk 766 shows a power spectrum similar in form to that of Cyg X-1, and that the break time-scale scales linearly with black hole mass, then the mass of the black hole in Mrk 766 is inferred to be  ≲ 5 × 10⁵ M_⊙  . This rather low mass would mean Mrk 766 radiates above the Eddington limit. The coherence between different energy bands is significantly below unity implying that variations in the different energy bands are rather poorly correlated. The low coherence can be explained in the framework of standard Comptonization models if the properties of the Comptonizing medium are rapidly variable or if there are several distinct emission sites.     

Kinematics of massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We present radial velocities for 2045 stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), obtained from the 2dF survey by Evans et al. The great majority of these stars are of OBA type, tracing the dynamics of the young stellar population. Dividing the sample into ad hoc 'bar' and 'wing' samples (north and south, respectively, of the line:  δ=−77°50'+[4α]'  , where α is the right ascension in minutes of time) we find that the velocities in the SMC bar show a gradient of 26.3 ± 1.6 km s⁻¹ deg⁻¹ at a position angle of 126°± 4°. The derived gradient in the bar is robust to the adopted line of demarcation between the two samples. The largest redshifts are found in the SMC wing, in which the velocity distribution appears distinct from that in the bar, most probably a consequence of the interaction between the Magellanic Clouds that is predicted to have occurred 0.2 Gyr ago. The mean velocity for all stars in the sample is +172.0 ± 0.2 km s⁻¹ (redshifted by ∼20 km s⁻¹ when compared to published results for older populations), with a velocity dispersion of 30 km s⁻¹.     

Application of a clumpy core model to NGC 2071

The multi-transitional observations of CS molecules towards the NGC 2071 core have been re-analysed by using a tri-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. Better agreement with the observations is made by an introduction of clumpiness to this model than by smoothly varying density to the 1D microturbulent one. The best-fitting model shows that, when a unique density is assumed for clumps, the volume filling factor of the clumps varies as r ⁻² with an average of ∼5 per cent over the entire core, and that the H₂ number density and the CS abundance of the clump relative to H₂ are ∼ 2 × 10⁶ cm⁻³ and ∼ 6 × 10⁻¹⁰, respectively. The radial density gradient ∝ r ⁻² obtained from our clumpy core model is steeper than that (∝ r ^−1.3) obtained from the microturbulent model. Since all clumps are subject to random bulk motions in this 3D clumpy macroturbulent model, synthesized line profiles do not show self-absorption dips even for opaque transitions and the resulting linewidth is in good accordance with the observations.