Optical observations of the Be/X‐ray transient system KS 1947+300

ROTSE‐IIId observations of the Be/X‐ray transient system KS 1947+300 obtained between September 2004 and December 2005 make it possible to study the correlation between optical and X‐ray activity. The optical outburst of 0.1 mag was accompanied by an increase of the X‐ray flux in the 2004 observations. A strong correlation between the optical and X‐ray light curves suggests that the neutron star directly accretes from the outflowing material of the Be star. The nearly zero time lag between X‐ray and optical light curves suggests a heating of the disk of Be star by X‐rays. No optical brightening and X‐ray enhancement was seen in the 2005 observations. There is no indication of an orbital modulation in the optical light curve. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

红外源IRAS 05437-0001和IRAS 05351+3549的CO分子谱线观测研究

利用紫金山天文台青海观测站13.7米射电望远镜对红外源IRAS05437-0001和IRAS05351+3549附近区域进行了CO(J=1-0)的分子谱线观测.发现在这两个源的方向都有很强的CO发射,CO谱线还有明显的线翼成分,这暗示两个红外源存在分子外流.同时还获得了每个源5＇×5＇的成图.通过对高速气体的空间分布的观测和分析,认为这两个源为分子外流源.其中IRAS05437-0001附近区域的外流结构比较复杂,可能这一区域的外流是多极的.IRAS05351+3549附近的外流结构较简单.从两个源的红外光谱分类以及外流的动力学时标得出都是年轻星(年龄～105yrs).通过对这两个外流源的参数估算,得出两个外流源的质量损失率.     

Electron density and temperature measurements, and abundance anomalies in the solar atmosphere

Using spectra obtained from the SUMER (Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation) spectrograph on the spacecraft SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), we investigate the height dependence of electron density, temperature and abundance anomalies in the solar atmosphere. In particular, we present the behaviour of the solar FIP effect (the abundance enhancement of elements with first ionization potential < 10 eV in the corona with respect to photospheric values) with height above an active region observed at the solar limb, with emphasis on the so-called transition region lines.     

WR 146 – observing the OB-type companion

We present new radio and optical observations of the colliding-wind system WR 146 aimed at understanding the nature of the companion to the Wolf–Rayet (WR) star and the collision of their winds. The radio observations reveal emission from three components: the WR stellar wind, the non-thermal wind–wind interaction region and, for the first time, the stellar wind of the OB companion. This provides the unique possibility of determining the mass-loss rate and terminal wind velocity ratios of the two winds, independent of distance. Respectively, these ratios are 0.20±0.06 and 0.56±0.17 for the OB-companion star relative to the WR star. A new optical spectrum indicates that the system is more luminous than had been believed previously. We deduce that the 'companion' cannot be a single, low-luminosity O8 star as suggested previously, but is either a high-luminosity O8 star, or possibly an O8+WC binary system.     

Ammonia observations of the nearby molecular cloud MBM 12

We present NH₃(1,1) and (2,2) observations of MBM 12, the closest known molecular cloud (65-pc distance), aimed at finding evidence for on-going star formation processes. No local temperature (with a T _rot upper limit of 12 K) or linewidth enhancement is found, which suggests that the area of the cloud that we have mapped (15-arcmin size) is not currently forming stars. Therefore this nearby 'starless' molecular gas region is an ideal laboratory to study the physical conditions preceding new star formation.
A radio continuum source has been found in Very Large Array archive data, close to but outside the NH₃ emission. This source is likely to be a background object.     

Radio galaxies with a 'double-double morphology'– I. Analysis of the radio properties and evidence for interrupted activity in active galactic nuclei

We present four Mpc-sized radio galaxies which consist of a pair of double-lobed radio sources, aligned along the same axis, and with a coinciding radio core. We call these peculiar radio sources 'double-double' radio galaxies (DDRGs) and propose a general definition of such sources: a 'double-double' radio galaxy consists of a pair of double radio sources with a common centre. Furthermore, the two lobes of the inner radio source must have a clearly extended, edge-brightened radio morphology. Adopting this definition, we find several other candidate DDRGs in the literature. We find that in all sources the smaller (inner) pair of radio lobes is less luminous than the larger (outer) pair, and that the ratio of 1.4-GHz flux density of these two pairs appears to be anticorrelated with the projected linear size of the inner source. Also, the outer radio structures are large, exceeding 700 kpc. We discuss possible formation scenarios of the DDRGs, and we conclude that an interruption of the jet-forming central activity is the most likely mechanism. For one of our sources (B 1834+620) we have been able observationally to constrain the length of time of the interruption to a few Myr. We discuss several scenarios for the cause of the interruption, and suggest multiple encounters between interacting galaxies as a possibility. Finally, we discuss whether such interruptions help the formation of extremely large radio sources.     

Infrared emission from 6.7-GHz methanol maser sources

Near-infrared photometry was performed on 56 southern 6.7-GHz methanol maser sources. A simple spherically symmetric model of the radiative transfer through a dust shell was developed and used to study the conditions in the dust cloud in which the masers are produced. The parameters investigated were the size of the cloud, the spectral type of the embedded star, the optical depth of the dust cloud and the dust density distribution. It was found that the infrared colours of the models have a complex dependence on the parameters and that no unique combination of parameter values explains the spectral energy distribution of any particular source. The model effectively reproduces the far-infrared ( IRAS ) colours but cannot simultaneously explain the near-infrared colours for any of the observed sources.     

A model for the molecular accretion disk and H2O maser in the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 4258

A model is developed for the H₂O maser source observed in the circumnuclear region of the galaxy NGC 4258. The maser emission originates at distances of 0.15–0.29 pc from the center in a thin, cold accretion disk (gas-dust torus) rotating around a supermassive black hole of mass 4 × 10⁷ M _⊙. The conditions for the emergence of an inverse population of the signal 6₁₆?5₂₃ levels in ortho-H₂O working molecules are simulated numerically. The complex line profile, which includes both central and high-velocity components, is calculated. A comparison of the calculations with radiointerferometric and spectrophotometric observations allowed the physical conditions in the emitting region to be determined.     

Non-thermal emission in Wolf–Rayet stars: are massive companions required?

We examine the radio spectral indices of 23 Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars to identify the nature of their radio emission. We identify nine systems as non-thermal emitters. In seven of these systems the non-thermal emission dominates the radio spectrum, while in the remaining two it is of comparable strength to the thermal, stellar wind emission, giving 'composite' spectra. Among these nine systems, seven have known spectroscopic or visual binary companions. The companions are all massive O or early B-type stars, strongly supporting a connection between the appearance of non-thermal emission in WR stars and the presence of a massive companion. In three of these binaries, the origin of non-thermal emission in a wind-collision region between the stars has been well established in earlier work. The binary systems that exhibit only thermal emission are all short‐period systems where a wind-collision zone is deep within the opaque region of the stellar wind of the WR star. To detect non-thermal emission in these systems requires optically thin lines of sight to the wind-collision region.     

Analysis of λ = 6 cm VLBI polarization observations of a complete sample of northern BL Lacertae objects

The results of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) total intensity ( I ) and linear polarization ( P ) observations at     are presented for 10 radio bright BL Lacertae objects. These images complete first-epoch polarization observations for the 1-Jy sample of northern BL Lacertae objects defined by Kühr & Schmidt. Estimates of superluminal speeds are presented for several sources, bringing the total number of sources in the sample for which such estimates are available to 16. Second-epoch observations currently being reduced should yield speed estimates for VLBI features in essentially all the sources in the sample. The jet magnetic fields of these BL Lacertae objects are usually transverse to the local jet direction, but a sizeable minority (about 30 per cent) have VLBI jet components with longitudinal magnetic fields. This may suggest that the conditions in the VLBI jets of BL Lacertae objects are favourable for the formation of relativistic shocks; alternatively, it may be that the toroidal component of the intrinsic jet magnetic field is characteristically dominant in these sources.