Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 0805.3399

Galactic interstellar 18O/17O ratios - a radial gradient?

J. G. A. Wouterloot·C. Henkel·J. Brand·G. R. Davis
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

(Abridged) Our aim is to determine 18O/17O abundance ratios across the entire Galaxy. These provide a measure of the amount of enrichment by high-mass versus intermediate-mass stars. Such ratios, derived from the C18O and C17O J=1-0 lines alone, may be affected by systematic errors. Therefore, the C18O and C17O (1-0), (2-1), and (3-2), as well as the 13CO (1-0) and (2-1) lines, were observed towards 18 prominent galactic targets (a total of 25 positions). The combined dataset was analysed with an LVG model, accounting for optical depth effects. The data cover galactocentric radii R between 0.1 and 16.9 kpc (solar circle at 8.5 kpc). Near the centre of the Galaxy, 18O/17O = 2.88 +/- 0.11. For the galactic disc out to an R of ca. 10 kpc, 18O/17O = 4.16 +/- 0.09. At ca. R = 16.5 kpc, 18O/17O = 5.03 +/- 0.46. Assuming that 18O is synthesised predominantly in high-mass stars (M > 8 Msun), while C17O is mainly a product of lower-mass stars, the ratio from the inner Galaxy indicates a dominance of CNO-hydrogen burning products that is also apparent in the C- and N-isotope ratios. The high 18O/17O value of the solar system (5.5) relative to that of the ambient ISM suggests contamination by nearby high-mass stars during its formation. High values in the metal-poor environment of the outer Galaxy are not matched by the low values observed towards the even more metal-poor LMC. Apparently, the outer Galaxy cannot be considered as an intermediate environment between the solar neighbourhood and the ISM of small metal-poor galaxies. The apparent 18O/17O gradient along the galactic disc and the discrepancy between outer disc and LMC isotope ratios may be explained by different ages of the respective stellar populations.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

J. G. A. Wouterloot, C. Henkel, J. Brand, G. R. Davis. 2008-05-22. Galactic interstellar 18O/17O ratios - a radial gradient?. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20078156

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2011

Radial velocity-acceleration curve analysis of the spectroscopic binary stars by the nonlinear regression

We will introduce a new method to derive the orbital elements of the spectroscopic binary stars. Fitting the adopted radial velocity curves on the measured experimental data, the corresponding radial acceleration data are obtained. The orbital parameters are estimated by the nonlinear least squares of the radial velocity-acceleration curves. This method is implemented for the three double line spectroscopic binary systems RZ CAS, CC Cas and V1130 Tau. Numerical calculations show that the result are in good agreement with the those obtained by others using the method of Lehmann-Filhés.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2011

Resonant absorption in dissipative flux tubes

We study the resonant absorption of MHD waves in magnetized flux tubes with a radial density inhomogeneity. Within the approximation that resistive and viscous processes are operative in thin layers surrounding the singularities of the MHD equations, we give the full spectrum of the eigenfrequencies and damping rates of the MHD quasi modes of the tube. Both surface and body modes are analyzed. \keywords{Sun -- corona: magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) -- Sun: magnetic fields -- Sun: oscillations

astro-ph↗
arXiv2011

Understanding the WMAP Cold Spot mystery

The first and third year data releases from the WMAP provide evidence of an anomalous Cold Spot (CS) at galactic latitude b=-57deg and longitude l=209deg. We have examined the properties of the CS in some detail in order to assess its cosmological significance. We have performed a cluster analysis of the local extrema in the CMB signal to show that the CS is actually associated with a large group of extrema rather than just one. In the light of this we have re-examined the properties of the WMAP ILC and co-added "cleaned" WCM maps, which have previously been used for the analysis of the properties of the signal in the vicinity of the CS. These two maps have remarkably similar properties on equal latitude rings for |b|>30deg, as well as in the vicinity of the CS. We have also checked the idea that the CMB signal has a non-Gaussian tail, localized in the low multipole components of the signal. For each ring we apply a linear filter with characteristic scale R, dividing the CMB signal in two parts: the filtered part, with characteristic scale above that of the filter R, and the difference between the initial and filtered signal. Using the filter scale as a variable, we can maximize the skewness and kurtosis of the smoothed signal and minimize these statistics for the difference between initial and filtered signal. We have discovered that the shape of the CS is formed primarily by the components of the CMB signal represented by multipoles between 10<=L<=20, with a corresponding angular scale about 5-10 degs. This signal leads to modulation of the whole CMB sky, clearly seen at |b|>30deg in both the ILC and WCM maps, rather than a single localized feature. After subtraction of this modulation, the remaining part of the CMB signal appears to be consistent with statistical homogeneity and Gaussianity.

astro-ph↗