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K. Hamaguchi

Publications and source records attributed to K. Hamaguchi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PDS 144: The First Confirmed Herbig Ae - Herbig Ae Wide Binary

PDS 144 is a pair of Herbig Ae stars that are separated by 5.35" on the sky. It has previously been shown to have an A2Ve Herbig Ae star viewed at 83\circ inclination as its northern member and an A5Ve Herbig Ae star as its southern member. Direct imagery revealed a disk occulting PDS 144 N - the first edge-on disk observed around a Herbig Ae star. The lack of an obvious disk in direct imagery suggested PDS 144 S might be viewed face-on or not physically associated with PDS 144 N. Multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope imagery of PDS 144 with a 5 year baseline demonstrates PDS 144 N & S are comoving and have a common proper motion with TYC 6782-878-1. TYC 6782-878-1 has previously been identified as a member of Upper Sco sub-association A at d = 145 \pm 2 pc with an age of 5-10 Myr. Ground-based imagery reveals jets and a string of Herbig-Haro knots extending 13' (possibly further) which are aligned to within 7\circ \pm 6\circ on the sky. By combining proper motion data and the absence of a dark mid-plane with radial velocity data, we measure the inclination of PDS 144 S to be i = 73\circ \pm 7\circ. The radial velocity of the jets from PDS 144 N & S indicates they, and therefore their disks, are misaligned by 25\circ \pm 9\circ. This degree of misalignment is similar to that seen in T Tauri wide binaries.

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The X-ray Lightcurve of WR 140

WR 140 is a canonical massive "colliding wind" binary system in which periodically-varying X-ray emission is produced by the collision between the wind of the WC7 and O4-5 star components in the space between the two stars. We have obtained X-ray observations using the RXTE satellite observatory through almost one complete orbital cycle including two consecutive periastron passages. We discuss the results of this observing campaign, and the implications of the X-ray data for our understanding of the orbital dynamics and the stellar mass loss.

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Spiralling out of control: 3D hydrodynamical modelling of the colliding winds in $η\thinspace$Carinae

Three dimensional (3D) adaptive-mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamical simulations of the wind-wind collision between the enigmatic super-massive star \etacar and its mysterious companion star are presented which include radiative driving of the stellar winds, gravity, optically-thin radiative cooling, and orbital motion. Simulations with static stars with a periastron passage separation reveal that the preshock companion star's wind speed is sufficiently reduced that radiative cooling in the postshock gas becomes important, permitting the runaway growth of non-linear thin shell (NTSI) instabilities which massively distort the WCR. However, large-scale simulations which include the orbital motion of the stars, show that orbital motion reduces the impact of radiative inhibition, and thus increases the acquired preshock velocities. As such, the postshock gas temperature and cooling time see a commensurate increase, and sufficient gas pressure is preserved to stabilize the WCR against catastrophic instability growth. We then compute synthetic X-ray spectra and lightcurves and find that, compared to previous models, the X-ray spectra agree much better with {\it XMM-Newton} observations just prior to periastron. The narrow width of the 2009 X-ray minimum can also be reproduced. However, the models fail to reproduce the extended X-ray mimimum from previous cycles. We conclude that the key to explaining the extended X-ray minimum is the rate of cooling of the companion star's postshock wind. If cooling is rapid then powerful NTSIs will heavily disrupt the WCR. Radiative inhibition of the companion star's preshock wind, albeit with a stronger radiation-wind coupling than explored in this work, could be an effective trigger.

astro-ph.HE↗

Searching for a link between the magnetic nature and other observed properties of Herbig Ae/Be stars and stars with debris disks

Among the 21 Herbig Ae/Be stars studied, new detections of a magnetic field were achieved in six stars. For three Herbig Ae/Be stars, we confirm previous magnetic field detections. The largest longitudinal magnetic field, = -454+-42G, was detected in the Herbig Ae/Be star HD101412 using hydrogen lines. No field detection at a significance level of 3sigma was achieved in stars with debris disks. Our study does not indicate any correlation of the strength of the longitudinal magnetic field with disk orientation, disk geometry, or the presence of a companion. We also do not see any simple dependence on the mass-accretion rate. However, it is likely that the range of observed field values qualitatively supports the expectations from magnetospheric accretion models giving support for dipole-like field geometries. Both the magnetic field strength and the X-ray emission show hints for a decline with age in the range of ~2-14Myrs probed by our sample supporting a dynamo mechanism that decays with age. However, our study of rotation does not show any obvious trend of the strength of the longitudinal magnetic field with rotation period. Furthermore, the stars seem to obey the universal power-law relation between magnetic flux and X-ray luminosity established for the Sun and main-sequence active dwarf stars.

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HD 100453: A Link Between Gas-Rich Protoplanetary Disks and Gas-Poor Debris Disks

HD 100453 has an IR spectral energy distribution (SED) which can be fit with a power-law plus a blackbody. Previous analysis of the SED suggests that the system is a young Herbig Ae star with a gas-rich, flared disk. We reexamine the evolutionary state of the HD 100453 system by refining its age (based on a candidate low-mass companion) and by examining limits on the disk extent, mass accretion rate, and gas content of the disk environment. We confirm that HD 100453B is a common proper motion companion to HD 100453A, with a spectral type of M4.0V - M4.5V, and derive an age of 10 +/- 2 Myr. We find no evidence of mass accretion onto the star. Chandra ACIS-S imagery shows that the Herbig Ae star has L_X/L_Bol and an X-ray spectrum similar to non-accreting Beta Pic Moving Group early F stars. Moreover, the disk lacks the conspicuous Fe II emission and excess FUV continuum seen in spectra of actively accreting Herbig Ae stars, and from the FUV continuum, we find the accretion rate is < 1.4x10^-9 M_Sun yr^-1. A sensitive upper limit to the CO J = 3-2 intensity indicates that the gas in the outer disk is likely optically thin. Assuming a [CO]/[H2] abundance of 1x10^-4 and a depletion factor of 10^3, we find that the mass of cold molecular gas is less than ~0.33 M_J and that the gas-to-dust ratio is no more than ~4:1 in the outer disk. The combination of a high fractional IR excess luminosity, a relatively old age, an absence of accretion signatures, and an absence of detectable circumstellar molecular gas suggests that the HD 100453 system is in an unusual state of evolution between a gas-rich protoplanetary disk and a gas-poor debris disk.

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3D modelling of the colliding winds in Eta Carinae - evidence for radiative inhibition

The X-ray emission from the super-massive star Eta Carinae is simulated using a three dimensional model of the wind-wind collision. In the model the intrinsic X-ray emission is spatially extended and energy dependent. Absorption due to the unshocked stellar winds and the cooled postshock material from the primary LBV star is calculated as the intrinsic emission is ray-traced along multiple sightlines through the 3D spiral structure of the circumstellar environment. The observable emission is then compared to available X-ray data, including the lightcurve observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and spectra observed by XMM-Newton. The orientation and eccentricity of the orbit are explored, as are the wind parameters of the stars and the nature and physics of their close approach. Our modelling supports a viewing angle with an inclination of ~ 42 degrees, consistent with the polar axis of the Homunculus nebula (Smith 2006), and the projection of the observer's line-of-sight onto the orbital plane has an angle of ~ 0 - 30 degrees in the prograde direction on the apastron side of the semi-major axis. However, there are significant discrepancies between the observed and model lightcurves and spectra through the X-ray minimum. In particular, the hard flux in our synthetic spectra is an order of magnitude greater than observed. Further calculations reveal that radiative inhibition significantly reduces the preshock velocity of the companion wind. As a consequence the hard X-ray emission is quenched, but it is unclear whether the long duration of the minimum is due solely to this mechanism alone. Models incorporating a collapse/disruption of the WCR and/or reduced preshock companion wind velocities bring the predicted emission and the observations into much better agreement (abridged).

astro-ph.HE↗

Chandra X-ray Grating Spectrometry of Eta Carinae near X-ray Minimum: I. Variability of the Sulfur and Silicon Emission Lines

We report on variations in important X-ray emission lines in a series of Chandra grating spectra of the supermassive colliding wind binary star Eta Carinae, including key phases around the X-ray minimum/periastron passage in 2003.5. The X-rays arise from the collision of the slow, dense wind of Eta Car with the fast, low-density wind of an otherwise hidden companion star. The X-ray emission lines provide the only direct measure of the flow dynamics of the companion's wind along the wind-wind collision zone. We concentrate here on the silicon and sulfur lines, which are the strongest and best resolved lines in the X-ray spectra. Most of the line profiles can be adequately fit with symmetric Gaussians with little significant skewness. Both the silicon and sulfur lines show significant velocity shifts and correlated increases in line widths through the observations. The R = forbidden-to-intercombination ratio from the Si XIII and S XV triplets is near or above the low-density limit in all observations, suggesting that the line-forming region is >1.6 stellar radii from the companion star. We show that simple geometrical models cannot simultaneously fit both the observed centroid variations and changes in line width as a function of phase. We show that the observed profiles can be fitted with synthetic profiles with a reasonable model of the emissivity along the wind-wind collision boundary. We use this analysis to help constrain the line formation region as a function of orbital phase, and the orbital geometry.

astro-ph↗

Supersymmetric Inflation of Dynamical Origin

Dynamical models of inflation are given with composite inflatons by means of massive supersymmetric gauge theory. Nearly flat directions and stable massive ones in the potential are identified and slow-roll during inflation is examined. This kind of dynamical inflations may be ubiquitous in fundamental unified theory with supersymmetry, which should contain gauge theories for interactions of elementary particles.

hep-ph↗

Determining the mass for an ultralight gravitino at LHC

In supersymmetric (SUSY) models with the gravitino being the lightest SUSY particle (LSP), the SUSY breaking scale (i.e., the gravitino mass) could be determined by measuring the lifetime of the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP). However, for an ultralight gravitino of mass of O(1) eV, which is favored cosmologically, the determination of the SUSY breaking scale, or the gravitino mass, is difficult because the NLSP decay length is too short to be measured directly. Recently we proposed a new determination of the gravitino mass by measuring a branching fraction of two decay modes of sleptons. In this paper, we investigate the prospects for determining the gravitino mass at LHC. For demonstration we take some explicit gauge-mediation models and show that the gravitino mass can be determined with an accuracy of a few 10% for an integrated luminosity 10-100 fb^{-1}.

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Composite Messenger Baryon as a Cold Dark Matter

Among various supersymmetric (SUSY) models, gauge-mediated SUSY breaking models with an ultra-light gravitino of mass m_{3/2} \lesssim O(10) eV are very attractive, since they are completely free from notorious gravitino problems. A drawback of such a scenario is the absence of the supersymmetric cold dark matter. In this letter, we propose that a baryonic bound state of strongly interacting messenger particles, with a mass of O(100) TeV, can naturally be the cold dark matter. We also exemplify a model which realizes such a scenario.

hep-ph↗

Determining the Mass for a Light Gravitino

Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking scenarios with an ultra-light gravitino of mass m_{3/2}=1-10 eV are very interesting, since there is no cosmological gravitino problem. We propose a new experimental determination of the gravitino mass for such an ultra-light gravitino, by measuring a branching ratio of two decay modes of sleptons.

hep-ph↗

Eta Car and Its Surroundings: the X-ray Diagnosis

X-ray emission from the supermassive star Eta Carinae (\ec) originates from hot shocked gas produced by current stellar mass loss as well as ejecta from prior eruptive events. Absorption of this emission by cool material allows the determination of the spatial and temporal distribution of this material. Emission from the shocked gas can provide important information about abundances through the study of thermal X-ray line emission. We discuss how studies of the X-ray emission from Eta Car at a variety of temporal, spatial and spectral scales and resolutions have helped refine our knowledge of both the continuous and discrete mass loss from the system, and its interactions with more extended material around the star.

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Stau-catalyzed $^6$Li Production in Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis

If the gravitino mass is in the region from a few GeV to a few 10's GeV, the scalar lepton X such as stau is most likely the next lightest supersymmetry particle. The negatively charged and long-lived X^- may form a Coulomb bound state (A X) with a nucleus A and may affect the big-bang nucleosynthesis through catalyzed fusion process. We calculate a production cross section of Li6 from the catalyzed fusion (He4 X^-) + d \to Li6 + X^- by solving the Schrödinger equation exactly for three-body system of He4, d, and X. We utilize the state-of-the-art coupled-channel method, which is known to be very accurate to describe other three-body systems in nuclear and atomic reactions. The importance of the use of appropriate nuclear potential and the exact treatment of the quantum tunneling in the fusion process are emphasized. We find that the astrophysical S-factor at the Gamow peak corresponding to T=10 keV is 0.038 MeV barn. This leads to the Li6 abundance from the catalyzed process as Li6|_{CBBN}\simeq 4.3\times 10^{-11} (D/2.8\times 10^{-5}) ([n_{X^-}/s]/10^{-16}) in the limit of long lifetime of X. Particle physics implication of this result is also discussed.

hep-ph↗

Eta Carinae across the 2003.5 minimum: Spectroscopic Evidence for Massive Binary Interactions

We have analyzed high spatial, moderate spectral resolution observations of Eta Carinae obtained with the STIS from 1998.0 to 2004.3. The spectra show prominent P-Cygni lines in H I, Fe II and He I which are complicated by blends and contamination by nebular emission and absorption along the line-of-sight toward the observer. All lines show phase and species dependent variations in emission and absorption. For most of the cycle the He I emission is blueshifted relative to the H I and Fe II P-Cygni emission lines, which are approximately centered at system velocity. The blueshifted He I absorption varies in intensity and velocity throughout the 2024 day period. We construct radial velocity curves for the absorption component of the He I and H I lines. The He I absorption shows significant radial velocity variations throughout the cycle, with a rapid change of over 200 km/s near the 2003.5 event. The H I velocity curve is similar to that of the He I absorption, though offset in phase and reduced in amplitude. We interpret the complex line profile variations in He I, H I and Fe II to be a consequence of the dynamic interaction of the dense wind of Eta Car A with the less dense, faster wind plus the radiation field of a hot companion star, Eta Car B. During most of the orbit, Eta Car B and the He+ recombination zone are on the near side of Eta Car A, producing blueshifted He I emission. He I absorption is formed in the part of the He+ zone that intersects the line-of-sight toward Eta Car. We use the variations seen in He I and the other P-Cygni lines to constrain the geometry of the orbit and the character of Eta Car B.

astro-ph↗

Stau-catalyzed Nuclear Fusion

We point out that the stau may play a role of a catalyst for nuclear fusions if the stau is a long-lived particle as in the scenario of gravitino dark matter. In this letter, we consider d d fusion under the influence of stau where the fusion is enhanced because of a short distance between the two deuterons. We find that one chain of the d d fusion may release an energy of O(10) GeV per stau. We discuss problems of making the stau-catalyzed nuclear fusion of practical use with the present technology of producing stau.

hep-ph↗

Monte-Carlo Simulator and Ancillary Response Generator of Suzaku XRT/XIS System for Spatially Extended Source Analysis

We have developed a framework for the Monte-Carlo simulation of the X-Ray Telescopes (XRT) and the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS) onboard Suzaku, mainly for the scientific analysis of spatially and spectroscopically complex celestial sources. A photon-by-photon instrumental simulator is built on the ANL platform, which has been successfully used in ASCA data analysis. The simulator has a modular structure, in which the XRT simulation is based on a ray-tracing library, while the XIS simulation utilizes a spectral "Redistribution Matrix File" (RMF), generated separately by other tools. Instrumental characteristics and calibration results, e.g., XRT geometry, reflectivity, mutual alignments, thermal shield transmission, build-up of the contamination on the XIS optical blocking filters (OBF), are incorporated as completely as possible. Most of this information is available in the form of the FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) files in the standard calibration database (CALDB). This simulator can also be utilized to generate an "Ancillary Response File" (ARF), which describes the XRT response and the amount of OBF contamination. The ARF is dependent on the spatial distribution of the celestial target and the photon accumulation region on the detector, as well as observing conditions such as the observation date and satellite attitude. We describe principles of the simulator and the ARF generator, and demonstrate their performance in comparison with in-flight data.

astro-ph↗

V1647 Ori: The X-ray Evolution of a Pre-main Sequence Accretion Burst

We present Chandra X-ray Observatory monitoring observations of the recent accretion outburst displayed by the pre-main sequence (pre-MS) star V1647 Ori. The X-ray observations were obtained over a period beginning prior to outburst onset in late 2003 and continuing through its apparent cessation in late 2005, and demonstrate that the mean flux of the spatially coincident X-ray source closely tracked the near-infrared luminosity of V1647 Ori throughout its eruption. We find negligible likelihood that the correspondence between X-ray and infrared light curves over this period was the result of multiple X-ray flares unrelated to the accretion burst. The recent Chandra data confirm that the X-ray spectrum of V1647 Ori hardened during outburst, relative both to its pre-outburst state and to the X-ray spectra of nearby pre-MS stars in the L1630 cloud. We conclude that the observed changes in the X-ray emission from V1647 Ori over the course of its 2003-2005 eruption were generated by a sudden increase and subsequent decline in its accretion rate. These results for V1647 Ori indicate that the flux of hard X-ray emission from erupting low-mass, pre-MS stars, and the duration and intensity of such eruptions, reflect the degree to which star-disk magnetic fields are reorganized before and during major accretion events.

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