11144784
A Chandra Study of the Rosette Star-forming Complex. I. The Stellar Population and Structure of the Young Open Cluster NGC 2244
We present the first high spatial resolution X-ray study of NGC 2244, the 2 Myr old stellar cluster in the Rosette Nebula, using Chandra. Over 900 X-ray sources are detected; 77% have optical or FLAMINGOS NIR stellar counterparts and are mostly previously uncataloged young cluster members. The X-ray-selected population is estimated to be nearly complete between 0.5 and 3 M☉. A number of further results emerge from our analysis: (1) The X-ray LF and the associated K-band LF indicate a normal Salpeter IMF for NGC 2244. This is inconsistent with the top-heavy IMF reported from earlier optical studies that lacked a good census of log (LX/Lbol) ~ − 7 relation. The Rosette OB X-ray spectra are soft and consistent with the standard model of small-scale shocks in the inner wind of a single massive star.
14223783
A CHANDRA STUDY OF THE ROSETTE STAR-FORMING COMPLEX. II. CLUSTERS IN THE ROSETTE MOLECULAR CLOUD
We explore here the young stellar populations in the Rosette Molecular Cloud (RMC) region with high spatial resolution X-ray images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which are effective in locating weak-lined T Tauri stars as well as disk-bearing young stars. A total of 395 X-ray point sources are detected, 299 of which (76%) have an optical or near-infrared (NIR) counterpart identified from deep FLAMINGOS images. From X-ray and mass sensitivity limits, we infer a total population of ~1700 young stars in the survey region. Based on smoothed stellar surface density maps, we investigate the spatial distribution of the X-ray sources and define three distinctive structures and substructures within them. Structures B and C are associated with previously known embedded IR clusters, while structure A is a new X-ray-identified unobscured cluster. A high-mass protostar RMCX #89 = IRAS 06306+0437 and its associated sparse cluster are studied. The different subregions are not coeval but do not show a simple spatial-age pattern. Disk fractions vary between subregions and are generally 20% of the total stellar population inferred from the X-ray survey. The data are consistent with speculations that triggered star formation around the H II region is present in the RMC, but do not support a simple sequential triggering process through the cloud interior. While a significant fraction of young stars are located in a distributed population throughout the RMC region, it is not clear if they originated in clustered environments.
118658903
Young stellar clusters and star formation throughout the Galaxy
Most stars are born in rich young stellar clusters (YSCs) embedded in giant molecular clouds. The most massive stars live out their short lives there, profoundly influencing their natal environments by ionizing HII regions, inflating wind-blown bubbles, and soon exploding as supernovae. Thousands of lower-mass pre-main sequence stars accompany the massive stars, and the expanding HII regions paradoxically trigger new star formation as they destroy their natal clouds. While this schematic picture is established, our understanding of the complex astrophysical processes involved in clustered star formation have only just begun to be elucidated. The technologies are challenging, requiring both high spatial resolution and wide fields at wavelengths that penetrate obscuring molecular material and remove contaminating Galactic field stars. We outline several important projects for the coming decade: the IMFs and structures of YSCs; triggered star formation around YSC; the fate of OB winds; the stellar populations of Infrared Dark Clouds; the most massive star clusters in the Galaxy; tracing star formation throughout the Galactic Disk; the Galactic Center region and YSCs in the Magellanic Clouds. Programmatic recommendations include: developing a 30m-class adaptive optics infrared telescope; support for high-resolution and wide field X-ray telescopes; large-aperture sub-millimeter and far-infrared telescopes; multi-object infrared spectrographs; and both numerical and analytical theory.
15644301
A CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF THE YOUNG STAR CLUSTER TRUMPLER 15 IN CARINA AND CORRELATION WITH NEAR-INFRARED SOURCES
Using the highest-resolution X-ray observation of the Trumpler 15 star cluster taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, we estimate the total size of its stellar population by comparing the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of the detected sources to a calibrator cluster and identify for the first time a significant fraction (~14%) of its individual members. The highest-resolution near-IR observation of Trumpler 15 (taken by the HAWK-I instrument on the Very Large Telescope) was found to detect most of our X-ray selected sample of cluster members, with a K-excess disk frequency of 3.8% ± 0.7%. The near-IR data, XLF, and published spectral types of the brightest members support a cluster age estimate (5-10 Myr) that is older than those for the nearby Trumpler 14 and Trumpler 16 clusters, and suggest that high-mass members may have already exploded as supernovae. The morphology of the inner ~0.7 pc core of the cluster is found to be spherical. However, the outer regions (beyond ~2 pc) are elongated, forming an "envelope" of stars that, in projection, appears to connect Trumpler 15 to Trumpler 14; this morphology supports the view that these clusters are physically associated. Clear evidence of mass segregation is seen. This study appears in this special issue devoted to the Chandra Carina Complex Project, a 1.42 deg2 Chandra X-ray survey of the Great Nebula in Carina.
18395747
IMAGING THE CIRCUMNUCLEAR REGION OF NGC 1365 WITH CHANDRA
We present the first Chandra/ACIS imaging study of the circumnuclear region of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1365. The X-ray emission is resolved into pointlike sources and complex, extended emission. The X-ray morphology of the extended emission shows a biconical soft X-ray-emission region extending ~5 kpc in projection from the nucleus, coincident with the high-excitation outflow cones seen in optical emission lines particularly to the northwest. Harder X-ray emission is detected from a kpc-diameter circumnuclear ring, coincident with the star-forming ring prominent in the Spitzer mid-infrared (IR) images; this X-ray emission is partially obscured by the central dust lane of NGC 1365. Spectral fitting of spatially separated components indicates a thermal plasma origin for the soft extended X-ray emission (kT = 0.57 keV). Only a small amount of this emission can be due to photoionization by the nuclear source. Detailed comparison with [O III]λ5007 observations shows that the hot interstellar medium (ISM) is spatially anticorrelated with the [O III]-emitting clouds and has thermal pressures comparable to those of the [O III] media, suggesting that the hot ISM acts as a confining medium for the cooler photoionized clouds. The abundance ratios of the hot ISM are fully consistent with the theoretical values for enrichment from Type II supernovae, suggesting that the hot ISM is a wind from the starburst circumnuclear ring. X-ray emission from a ~450 pc long nuclear radio jet is also detected to the southeast.
118589254
A CHANDRA STUDY OF THE ROSETTE STAR-FORMING COMPLEX. III. THE NGC 2237 CLUSTER AND THE REGION'S STAR FORMATION HISTORY
We present high spatial resolution Chandra X-ray images of the NGC 2237 young stellar cluster on the periphery of the Rosette Nebula. We detect 168 X-ray sources, 80% of which have stellar counterparts in USNO, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and deep FLAMINGOS images. These constitute the first census of the cluster members with 0.2 {approx}< M {approx}< 2 M {sub sun}. Star locations in near-infrared color-magnitude diagrams indicate a cluster age around 2 Myr with a visual extinction of 1 {approx}< A{sub V} {approx}< 3 at 1.4 kpc, the distance of the Rosette Nebula's main cluster NGC 2244. We derive the K-band luminosity function and the X-ray luminosity function of the cluster, which indicate a population {approx}400-600 stars. The X-ray-selected sample shows a K-excess disk frequency of 13%. The young Class II counterparts are aligned in an arc {approx}3 pc long suggestive of a triggered formation process induced by the O stars in NGC 2244. The diskless Class III sources are more dispersed. Several X-ray emitting stars are located inside the molecular cloud and around gaseous pillars projecting from the cloud. These stars, together with a previously unreported optical outflow originating inside the cloud, indicate that star formation ismore » continuing at a low level and the cluster is still growing. This X-ray view of young stars on the western side of the Rosette Nebula complements our earlier studies of the central cluster NGC 2244 and the embedded clusters on the eastern side of the Nebula. The large-scale distribution of the clusters and molecular material is consistent with a scenario in which the rich central NGC 2244 cluster formed first, and its expanding H II region triggered the formation of the now-unobscured satellite clusters Rosette Molecular Cloud (RMC) XA and NGC 2237. A large swept-up shell material around the H II region is now in a second phase of collect-and-collapse fragmentation, leading to the recent formation of subclusters. Other clusters deeper in the molecular cloud appear unaffected by the Rosette Nebula expansion.« less
119193461
ESTIMATING BLACK HOLE MASSES IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI USING THE Mg II λ2800 EMISSION LINE
We investigate the relationship between the linewidths of broad Mg II lambda 2800 and H beta in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to refine them as tools to estimate black hole (BH) masses. We perform a detailed spectral analysis of a large sample of AGNs at intermediate redshifts selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, along with a smaller sample of archival ultraviolet spectra for nearby sources monitored with reverberation mapping (RM). Careful attention is devoted to accurate spectral decomposition, especially in the treatment of narrow-line blending and Fe II contamination. We show that, contrary to popular belief, the velocity width of Mg II tends to be smaller than that of H beta, suggesting that the two species are not cospatial in the broad-line region. Using these findings and recently updated BH mass measurements from RM, we present a new calibration of the empirical prescriptions for estimating virial BH masses for AGNs using the broad Mg II and H beta lines. We show that the BH masses derived from our new formalisms show subtle but important differences compared to some of the mass estimators currently used in the literature.
119278481
The X-ray nature of the nucleus in Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7590
We present the results of the Chandra high-resolution observation of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7590. This object was reported to show no X-ray absorption in the low-spatial resolution ASCA data. The XMM-Newton observations show that the X-ray emission of NGC 7590 is dominated by an off-nuclear ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) and extended emissions from the host galaxy, and the nucleus is rather weak, likely hosting a Compton-thick AGN. Our recent Chandra observation of NGC 7590 enables us to effectively remove the X-ray contamination from the ULX and the extended component. The nuclear source remains undetected at the flux level of ~ 4 × 10 −15 erg cm −2 s −1 . Although not detected, the Chandra data give a 2–10 keV flux upper limit of ~ 6.1 × 10 −15 erg cm −2 s −1 (at a 3σ level), a factor of three less than the XMM-Newton value, strongly supporting the Compton-thick nature of the nucleus. In addition, we detected five off-nuclear X-ray point sources within the galaxy’s D 25 ellipse, all with 2 – 10 keV luminosity above 2 × 10 38 erg s −1 (assuming the distance of NGC 7590). In particular, the ULX previously identified by ROSAT data is resolved by Chandr a into two distinct X-ray sources. Our analysis highlights the importance of high spatial resolution images in discovering and studying ULXs.
17545642
Results from the CLIC X-Band Structure Test Program at NLCTA *
As part of a SLAC-CERN-KEK collaboration on high gradient X-band structure research, several prototype structures for the CLIC linear collider study have been tested using two of the high power (300 MW) X-band rf stations in the NLCTA facility at SLAC. These structures differ in terms of their fabrication (brazed disks and clamped quadrants), gradient profile (amount by which the gradient increases along the structure, which optimizes efficiency and maximizes sustainable gradient) and HOM damping (use of slots or waveguides to rapidly dissipate dipole mode energy). The CLIC goal in the next few years is to demonstrate the feasibility of a CLIC-ready baseline design and to investigate alternatives that could increase efficiency. This paper summarizes the high gradient test results from NLCTA in support of this effort.
13214805
Accelerator Structure Development for NLC / GLC *
The NLC (Next Linear Collider) and GLC (Global Linear Collider) [1,2] are e e linear collider proposals based on room-temperature accelerator technology – so called “warm machines” in comparison with the TESLA “cold machine” that is based on superconducting accelerator technology. There have been two major challenges in developing X-band (11.4 GHz) accelerator structures for the GLC/NLC. The first is to demonstrate stable, long-term operation at the high gradient (65 MV/m) that is required to optimize the machine cost. The second is to strongly suppress the beam induced long-range wakefields, which is required to achieve high luminosity. The development of high gradient structures has been a high priority in recent years. Nearly thirty X-band structures with various rf parameters, cavity shapes and coupler types have been fabricated and tested since 2000. This program has been a successful collaborative effort among groups at SLAC, KEK, FNAL and other labs. A summary of the main achievements and experiences are presented in this paper as well as a status report on the structure design, high power performance, manufacturing techniques, and other structure related issues.
119774045
The Chandra Deep Field-South: The 1 Million Second Exposure*
We present the main results from our 940 ks observation of the Chandra Deep Field-South using the source catalog described in an accompanying paper by Giacconi et al. We extend the measurement of source number counts to 5.5 × 10-17 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the soft 0.5-2 keV band and 4.5 × 10-16 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the hard 2-10 keV band. The hard-band log N-log S shows a significant flattening (slope 0.6) below ≈10-14 ergs cm-2 s-1, leaving at most 10%-15% of the X-ray background to be resolved, the main uncertainty lying in the measurement of the total flux of the X-ray background (XRB). On the other hand, the analysis in the very hard 5-10 keV band reveals a relatively steep log N-log S (slope 1.3) down to 10-15 ergs cm-2 s-1. Together with the evidence of a progressive flattening of the average X-ray spectrum near the flux limit, this indicates that there is still a nonnegligible population of faint hard sources to be discovered at energies not well probed by Chandra, which possibly contributes to the 30 keV bump in the spectrum of the XRB. We use optical redshifts and identifications, obtained with the Very Large Telescope, for one-quarter of the sample to characterize the combined optical and X-ray properties of the Chandra Deep Field-South sample. Different source types are well separated in a parameter space that includes X-ray luminosity, hardness ratio, and R-K color. Type II objects, while redder on average than the field population, have colors that are consistent with being hosted by a range of galaxy types. Type II active galactic nuclei are mostly found at z 1, in contrast with predictions based on active galactic nucleus population synthesis models, thus suggesting a revision of their evolutionary parameters.