Singular points of the polarization tensor

The problem to compute the magnetic field above the chromosphere using data of the vector = B _t/Bt that gives the projected field direction can be solved with different approximations. The field of direction vectors is, however, not the only field accessible to observations. The Stokes parameters, which are components of the radiation tensor, can be measured at each point of the image plane. The directions of the eigenvectors of the radiation tensor define two mutually orthogonal systems of integral curves in the image plane. These families of curves have singular points, which are generally of different type than those of the vector field. When the morphology of H chromospheric fibrils are used to infer the topology of the magnetic field, a similar problem is met, suggesting that singular points should also be present there.     

Hydrodynamics of photoionized columns in the Eagle Nebula, M 16

We present hydrodynamical simulations of the formation, structure and evolution of photoionized columns, with parameters based on those observed in the Eagle Nebula. On the basis of these simulations we argue that there is no unequivocal evidence that the dense neutral clumps at heads of the columns were cores in the pre-existing molecular cloud. In our simulations, a variety of initial conditions leads to the formation and maintenance of near-equilibrium columns. Therefore, it is likely that narrow columns will often occur in regions with large-scale inhomogeneities, but that observations of such columns can tell us little about the processes by which they formed. The manner in which the columns in our simulations develop suggests that their evolution may result in extended sequences of radiation-induced star formation.     

Eagle Nebula Pillars: From Models to Observations

Over the past few years, our group has been developing hydrodynamic models to simulate formation of the Eagle Nebula pillars. The true test of any model is, of course, how well it can reproduce the observations. Here, we discuss how we go about testing our models against observations. We describe the process by which we “observe” the model data to create synthetic maps. We show an example of this technique using one of our model runs and compare the resultant synthetic map to the real one.     

Near-infrared and optical emission-line structure of the Keyhole Nebula in NGC 3372

Narrow-band infrared and optical images of the Keyhole Nebula in NGC 3372 reveal which structures are caused by extinction, and show the underlying morphology of photoionized and shock-excited gas. Dark clouds conspire with ionized gas to create the apparent keyhole shape, which is prominent at blue wavelengths and less apparent in the infrared. The  Pa β /H α   line ratio shows the spatial distribution of foreground extinction. The wavelength dependence of this extinction indicates a reddening law with   R ≈4.8  , different from the normal interstellar medium. This confirms previous estimates of reddening toward the Carina Nebula determined from stellar photometry, and reveals that the anomalous extinction is patchy and within the H  ii region. The morphology of the ionized gas is different from the extinction clouds; it shows an edge-on ionization front running NE to SW, with a limb-brightened indentation that forms the upper outline of the keyhole shape. A fast polar wind from η Carinae may have punctured the ionization front, since the indentation is directly along a projection of the polar axis of the star. This is supported by the morphology of shock-excited gas revealed by a high  [S  ii ]/H α   ratio. High-excitation gas emitting [O  iii ] and He  i has a smoother distribution. Molecular clumps in the region are also discussed.     

Impact angle influence in high velocity dust collisions during planetesimal formation

We have examined the influence of impact angle in collisions between small dust aggregates and larger dust targets through laboratory experiments. Targets consisted of μm-sized quartz dust and had a porosity of about 67%; the projectiles, between 1 and 5 mm in diameter, were slightly more compact (64% porosity). The collision velocity was centered at 20 m/s and impact angles range from 0° to 45°. At a given impact angle, the target gained mass for projectiles smaller than a threshold size, which decreases with increasing angle from about 3 mm to 1 mm. The fact that growth is possible up to the largest angles studied supports the idea of planetesimal formation by sweep-up of small dust aggregates.     

A population of very young brown dwarfs and free-floating planets in Orion

We describe the results of a very deep imaging survey of the Trapezium cluster in the IJH bands, using the UKIRT high-resolution camera UFTI. Approximately 32 per cent of the 515 point sources detected are brown dwarf candidates, including several free-floating objects with masses below the deuterium-burning (planetary) threshold at 0.013 M_⊙, which are detectable because of their extreme youth. We have confidence that almost all the sources detected are cluster members, since foreground contamination is minimal in the 33-arcmin² area surveyed, and the dense backdrop of OMC-1 obscures all background stars at these wavelengths. Extinction is calculated from the ( J − H ) colours, permitting accurate luminosity estimates, and temperatures are derived from the dereddened ( I − J ) colours. There is some evidence for a cut-off in the luminosity function below the level corresponding to several Jupiter masses, which may represent the bottom end of the initial mass function . Since star formation is complete in the Trapezium, this limit could have wide significance, if confirmed. However, it could well be an effect of the dispersal of the molecular cloud by the central O-type stars, a process for which the time-scale will vary between star formation regions.