arXiv subjects

Kevin France

Publications and source records attributed to Kevin France.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

The SLICE, CHESS, and SISTINE Ultraviolet Spectrographs: Rocket-borne Instrumentation Supporting Future Astrophysics Missions

NASA's suborbital program provides an opportunity to conduct unique science experiments above Earth's atmosphere and is a pipeline for the technology and personnel essential to future space astrophysics, heliophysics, and atmospheric science missions. In this paper, we describe three astronomy payloads developed (or in development) by the Ultraviolet Rocket Group at the University of Colorado. These far-ultraviolet (100 - 160 nm) spectrographic instruments are used to study a range of scientific topics, from gas in the interstellar medium (accessing diagnostics of material spanning five orders of magnitude in temperature in a single observation) to the energetic radiation environment of nearby exoplanetary systems. The three instruments, SLICE, CHESS, and SISTINE form a progression of instrument designs and component-level technology maturation. SLICE is a pathfinder instrument for the development of new data handling, storage, and telemetry techniques. CHESS and SISTINE are testbeds for technology and instrument design enabling high-resolution (R > 100,000) point source spectroscopy and high throughput imaging spectroscopy, respectively, in support of future Explorer, Probe, and Flagship-class missions. The CHESS and SISTINE payloads support the development and flight testing of large-format photon-counting detectors and advanced optical coatings: NASA's top two technology priorities for enabling a future flagship observatory (e.g., the LUVOIR Surveyor concept) that offers factors of roughly 50 - 100 gain in ultraviolet spectroscopy capability over the Hubble Space Telescope. We present the design, component level laboratory characterization, and flight results for these instruments.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

The Evolution of Inner Disk Gas in Transition Disks

Investigating the molecular gas in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks provides insight into how the molecular disk environment changes during the transition from primordial to debris disk systems. We conduct a small survey of molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) fluorescent emission, using 14 well-studied Classical T Tauri stars at two distinct dust disk evolutionary stages, to explore how the structure of the inner molecular disk changes as the optically thick warm dust dissipates. We simulate the observed HI-Lyman $α$-pumped H$_2$ disk fluorescence by creating a 2D radiative transfer model that describes the radial distributions of H$_{2}$ emission in the disk atmosphere and compare these to observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. We find the radial distributions that best describe the observed H$_2$ FUV emission arising in primordial disk targets (full dust disk) are demonstrably different than those of transition disks (little-to-no warm dust observed). For each best-fit model, we estimate inner and outer disk emission boundaries (r$_{in}$ and r$_{out}$), describing where the bulk of the observed H$_2$ emission arises in each disk, and we examine correlations between these and several observational disk evolution indicators, such as n$_{13-31}$, r$_{in,CO}$, and the mass accretion rate. We find strong, positive correlations between the H$_2$ radial distributions and the slope of the dust SED, implying the behavior of the molecular disk atmosphere changes as the inner dust clears in evolving protoplanetary disks. Overall, we find that H$_2$ inner radii are $\sim$4 times larger in transition systems, while the bulk of the H$_2$ emission originates inside the dust gap radius for all transitional sources.

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arXiv2015

Science with KRAKENS

The Keck science community is entering an era of unprecedented change. Powerful new instrument like ZTF, JWST, LSST, and the ELTs will catalyze this change, and we must be ready to take full advantage to maintain our position of scientific leadership. The best way to do this is to continue the UC and Caltech tradition of technical excellence in instrumentation. In this whitepaper we describe a new instrument called KRAKENS to help meet these challenges. KRAKENS uses a unique detector technology (MKIDs) to enable groundbreaking science across a wide range of astrophysical research topics. This document will lay out the detailed expected science return of KRAKENS.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

The Destruction of the Circumstellar Ring of SN 1987A

We present imaging and spectroscopic observations with HST and VLT of the ring of SN 1987A from 1994 to 2014. After an almost exponential increase of the shocked emission from the hotspots up to day ~8,000 (~2009), both this and the unshocked emission are now fading. From the radial positions of the hotspots we see an acceleration of these up to 500-1000 km/s, consistent with the highest spectroscopic shock velocities from the radiative shocks. In the most recent observations (2013 and 2014), we find several new hotspots outside the inner ring, excited by either X-rays from the shocks or by direct shock interaction. All of these observations indicate that the interaction with the supernova ejecta is now gradually dissolving the hotspots. We predict, based on the observed decay, that the inner ring will be destroyed by ~2025.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Characterizing the Habitable Zones of Exoplanetary Systems with a Large Ultraviolet/Visible/Near-IR Space Observatory

Understanding the surface and atmospheric conditions of Earth-size, rocky planets in the habitable zones (HZs) of low-mass stars is currently one of the greatest astronomical endeavors. Knowledge of the planetary effective surface temperature alone is insufficient to accurately interpret biosignature gases when they are observed in the coming decades. The UV stellar spectrum drives and regulates the upper atmospheric heating and chemistry on Earth-like planets, is critical to the definition and interpretation of biosignature gases, and may even produce false-positives in our search for biologic activity. This white paper briefly describes the scientific motivation for panchromatic observations of exoplanetary systems as a whole (star and planet), argues that a future NASA UV/Vis/near-IR space observatory is well-suited to carry out this work, and describes technology development goals that can be achieved in the next decade to support the development of a UV/Vis/near-IR flagship mission in the 2020s.

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arXiv2015

Mapping High-velocity H-alpha and Lyman-alpha Emission from Supernova 1987A

We present new {\it Hubble Space Telescope} images of high-velocity H-$α$ and Lyman-$α$ emission in the outer debris of SN~1987A. The H-$α$ images are dominated by emission from hydrogen atoms crossing the reverse shock. For the first time we observe emission from the reverse shock surface well above and below the equatorial ring, suggesting a bipolar or conical structure perpendicular to the ring plane. Using the H$α$ imaging, we measure the mass flux of hydrogen atoms crossing the reverse shock front, in the velocity intervals ($-$7,500~$<$~$V_{obs}$~$<$~$-$2,800 km s$^{-1}$) and (1,000~$<$~$V_{obs}$~$<$~7,500 km s$^{-1}$), $\dot{M_{H}}$ = 1.2~$\times$~10$^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. We also present the first Lyman-$α$ imaging of the whole remnant and new $Chandra$ X-ray observations. Comparing the spatial distribution of the Lyman-$α$ and X-ray emission, we observe that the majority of the high-velocity Lyman-$α$ emission originates interior to the equatorial ring. The observed Lyman-$α$/H-$α$ photon ratio, $\langle$$R(Lα/ Hα)$$\rangle$ $\approx$~17, is significantly higher than the theoretically predicted ratio of $\approx$ 5 for neutral atoms crossing the reverse shock front. We attribute this excess to Lyman-$α$ emission produced by X-ray heating of the outer debris. The spatial orientation of the Lyman-$α$ and X-ray emission suggests that X-ray heating of the outer debris is the dominant Lyman-$α$ production mechanism in SN 1987A at this phase in its evolution.

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arXiv2014

High Density Circumstellar Interaction in the Luminous Type IIn SN 2010jl: The first 1100 days

HST and ground based observations of the Type IIn SN 2010jl are analyzed, including photometry, spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, optical and NIR bands, 26-1128 days after first detection. At maximum the bolometric luminosity was $\sim 3\times10^{43}$ erg/s and even at 850 days exceeds $10^{42}$ erg/s. A NIR excess, dominating after 400 days, probably originates in dust in the circumstellar medium (CSM). The total radiated energy is $> 6.5\times10^{50}$ ergs, excluding the dust component. The spectral lines can be separated into one broad component due to electron scattering, and one narrow with expansion velocity $\sim 100$ km/s from the CSM. The broad component is initially symmetric around zero velocity but becomes blueshifted after $\sim 50$ days, while remaining symmetric about a shifted centroid velocity. Dust absorption in the ejecta is unlikely to explain the line shifts, and we attribute the shift instead to acceleration by the SN radiation. From the optical lines and the X-ray and dust properties, there is strong evidence for large scale asymmetries in the CSM. The ultraviolet lines indicate CNO processing in the progenitor, while the optical shows a number of narrow coronal lines excited by the X-rays. The bolometric light curve is consistent with a radiative shock in an $r^{-2}$ CSM with a mass loss rate of $\sim 0.1$ M_sun/yr. The total mass lost is $> 3$ M_sun. These properties are consistent with the SN expanding into a CSM characteristic of an LBV progenitor with a bipolar geometry. The apparent absence of nuclear processing is attributed to a CSM still opaque to electron scattering.

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arXiv2014

CO/H2 Abundance Ratio ~ 10^{-4} in a Protoplanetary Disk

The relative abundances of atomic and molecular species in planet-forming disks around young stars provide important constraints on photochemical disk models and provide a baseline for calculating disk masses from measurements of trace species. A knowledge of absolute abundances, those relative to molecular hydrogen (H2), are challenging because of the weak rovibrational transition ladder of H$_{2}$ and the inability to spatially resolve different emission components within the circumstellar environment. To address both of these issues, we present new contemporaneous measurements of CO and H2 absorption through the "warm molecular layer" of the protoplanetary disk around the Classical T Tauri Star RW Aurigae A. We use a newly commissioned observing mode of the Hubble Space Telescope-Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to detect warm H2 absorption in this region for the first time. An analysis of the emission and absorption spectrum of RW Aur shows components from the accretion region near the stellar photosphere, the molecular disk, and several outflow components. The warm H2 and CO absorption lines are consistent with a disk origin. We model the 1092-1117A spectrum of RW Aur to derive log10 N(H2)~=~19.90$^{+0.33}_{-0.22}$ at T$_{rot}$(H2) ~=~440~+/-~39 K. The CO $A$~--~$X$ bands observed from 1410-1520A are best fit by log10 N(CO)~=~16.1~$^{+0.3}_{-0.5}$ at T$_{rot}$(CO) ~=~200$^{+650}_{-125}$ K. Combining direct measurements of the HI, H2, and CO column densities, we find a molecular fraction in the warm disk surface of $f_{H2}$~>=~0.47 and derive a molecular abundance ratio of CO/H2~=~1.6$^{+4.7}_{-1.3}$~x~10$^{-4}$, both consistent with canonical interstellar dense cloud values.

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arXiv2014

X-ray Emission from Young Stars in the TW Hya Association

The 9 Myr old TW Hya Association (TWA) is the nearest group (typical distances of $\sim$50 pc) of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars with ages less than 10 Myr and contains stars with both actively accreting disks and debris disks. We have studied the coronal X-ray emission from a group of low mass TWA common proper motion binaries using the {\it{Chandra}} and {\it{Swift}} satellites. Our aim is to understand better their coronal properties and how high energy photons affect the conditions around young stars and their role in photo-exciting atoms, molecules and dust grains in circumstellar disks and lower density circumstellar gas. Once planet formation is underway, this emission influences protoplanetary evolution and the atmospheric conditions of the newly-formed planets. The X-ray properties for 7 individual stars (TWA 13A, TWA 13B, TWA 9A, TWA 9B, TWA 8A, TWA 8B, and TWA 7) and 2 combined binary systems (TWA 3AB and TWA 2AB) have been measured. All the stars with sufficient signal require two-component fits to their CCD-resolution X-ray spectra, typically with a dominant hot (~2 kev (25 MK)) component and a cooler component at ~0.4 keV (4 MK). The brighter sources all show significant X-ray variability (at a level of 50-100\% of quiescence) over the course of 5-15 ksec observations due to flares. We present the X-ray properties for each of the stars and find that the coronal emission is in the super-saturated rotational domain.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Lyman-$α$ Transit Spectroscopy and the Neutral Hydrogen Tail of the Hot Neptune GJ436b

To date, more than 750 planets have been discovered orbiting stars other than the Sun. Two sub-classes of these exoplanets, "hot Jupiters" and their less massive counterparts "hot Neptunes," provide a unique opportunity to study the extended atmospheres of planets outside of our solar system. We describe here the first far-ultraviolet transit study of a hot Neptune, specifically GJ436b, for which we use HST/STIS Lyman-$α$ spectra to measure stellar flux as a function of time, observing variations due to absorption from the planetary atmosphere during transit. This analysis permits us to derive information about atmospheric extent, mass-loss rate from the planet, and interactions between the star and planet. We observe an evolution of the Lyman-$α$ lightcurve with a transit depth of GJ436b from $8.8\pm4.5\%$ near mid-transit, to $22.9\pm3.9\%$ $\sim2$ hours after the nominal geometric egress of the planet. Using data from the time-tag mode and considering astrophysical noise from stellar variability, we calculate a post-egress occultation of $23.7\pm4.5\%$, demonstrating that the signature is statistically significant and of greater amplitude than can be attributed to stellar fluctuations alone. The extended egress absorption indicates the probable existence of a comet-like tail trailing the exoplanet. We calculate a mass-loss rate for GJ436b in the range of $3.7\times10^6 -1.1\times10^{9}$ g s$^{-1}$, corresponding to an atmospheric lifetime of $4\times10^{11}-2\times10^{14}$ years.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2014

High-resolution Ultraviolet Radiation Fields of Classical T Tauri Stars

The far-ultraviolet (FUV; 912--1700 Å) radiation field from accreting central stars in Classical T Tauri systems influences the disk chemistry during the period of giant planet formation. Previous efforts to measure the true stellar+accretion-generated FUV luminosity (both hot gas emission lines and continua) have been complicated by a combination of low-sensitivity and/or low-spectral resolution and did not include the contribution from the bright Ly$α$ emission line. In this work, we present a high-resolution spectroscopic study of the FUV radiation fields of 16 T Tauri stars whose dust disks display a range of evolutionary states. We include reconstructed Ly$α$ line profiles and remove atomic and molecular disk emission (from H$_{2}$ and CO fluorescence) to provide robust measurements of both the FUV continuum and hot gas lines (e.g., Ly$α$, \ion{N}{5}, \ion{C}{4}, \ion{He}{2}) for an appreciable sample of T Tauri stars for the first time. We find that the flux of the typical Classical T Tauri Star FUV radiation field at 1 AU from the central star is $\sim$ 10$^{7}$ times the average interstellar radiation field. The Ly$α$ emission line contributes an average of 88% of the total FUV flux, with the FUV continuum accounting for an average of 8%. Both the FUV continuum and Ly$α$ flux are strongly correlated with \ion{C}{4} flux, suggesting that accretion processes dominate the production of both of these components. On average, only $\sim$ 0.5% of the total FUV flux is emitted between the Lyman limit (912 Å) and the H$_{2}$ (0 -- 0) absorption band at 1110 Å. The total and component-level high-resolution radiation fields are made publicly available in machine-readable format.

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arXiv2014

Fluctuations and Flares in the Ultraviolet Line Emission of Cool Stars: Implications for Exoplanet Transit Observations

Variations in stellar flux can potentially overwhelm the photometric signal of a transiting planet. Such variability has not previously been well-characterized in the ultraviolet lines used to probe the inflated atmospheres surrounding hot Jupiters. Therefore, we surveyed 38 F-M stars for intensity variations in four narrow spectroscopic bands: two enclosing strong lines from species known to inhabit hot Jupiter atmospheres, CII $λλ$1334,1335 and SiIII $λ$1206; one enclosing SiIV $λλ$1393,1402; and 36.5 angstroms of interspersed continuum. For each star/band combination, we generated 60 s cadence lightcurves from archival HST COS and STIS time-tagged photon data. Within these lightcurves, we characterized flares and stochastic fluctuations as separate forms of variability. Flares: We used a cross-correlation approach to detect 116 flares. These events occur in the time-series an average of once per 2.5 h, over 50% last 4 min or less, and most produce the strongest response in SiIV. If the flare occurred during a transit measurement integrated for 60 min, 90/116 would destroy the signal of an Earth, 27/116 Neptune, and 7/116 Jupiter, with the upward bias in flux ranging from 1-109% of quiescent levels. Fluctuations: Photon noise and underlying stellar fluctuations produce scatter in the quiescent data. We model the stellar fluctuations as Gaussian white noise with standard deviation $σ_x$. Maximum likelihood values of $σ_x$ range from 1-41% for 60 s measurements. These values suggest that many cool stars will only permit a transit detection to high confidence in ultraviolet resonance lines if the radius of the occulting disk is $\gtrsim$ 1 R$_J$. However, for some M dwarfs this limit can be as low as several $R_{Earth}$.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Type IIb Supernova SN 2011dh: Spectra and Photometry from the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared

We report spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Type IIb SN 2011dh obtained between 4 and 34 days after the estimated date of explosion (May 31.5 UT). The data cover a wide wavelength range from 2,000 Angstroms in the UV to 2.4 microns in the NIR. Optical spectra provide line profiles and velocity measurements of HI, HeI, CaII and FeII that trace the composition and kinematics of the SN. NIR spectra show that helium is present in the atmosphere as early as 11 days after the explosion. A UV spectrum obtained with the STIS reveals that the UV flux for SN 2011dh is low compared to other SN IIb. The HI and HeI velocities in SN 2011dh are separated by about 4,000 km/s at all phases. We estimate that the H-shell of SN 2011dh is about 8 times less massive than the shell of SN 1993J and about 3 times more massive than the shell of SN 2008ax. Light curves (LC) for twelve passbands are presented. The maximum bolometric luminosity of $1.8 \pm 0.2 \times 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ occurred about 22 days after the explosion. NIR emission provides more than 30% of the total bolometric flux at the beginning of our observations and increases to nearly 50% of the total by day 34. The UV produces 16% of the total flux on day 4, 5% on day 9 and 1% on day 34. We compare the bolometric light curves of SN 2011dh, SN 2008ax and SN 1993J. The LC are very different for the first twelve days after the explosions but all three SN IIb display similar peak luminosities, times of peak, decline rates and colors after maximum. This suggests that the progenitors of these SN IIb may have had similar compositions and masses but they exploded inside hydrogen shells that that have a wide range of masses. The detailed observations presented here will help evaluate theoretical models for this supernova and lead to a better understanding of SN IIb.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Direct Measurement of Interstellar Extinction Toward Young Stars Using Atomic Hydrogen Lyman-$α$ Absorption

Interstellar reddening corrections are necessary to reconstruct the intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of accreting protostellar systems. The stellar SED determines the heating and chemical processes that can occur in circumstellar disks. Measurement of neutral hydrogen absorption against broad Lyman-$α$ emission profiles in young stars can be used to obtain the total H I column density (N(H I)) along the line of sight. We measure N(H I) with new and archival ultraviolet observations from the Hubble Space Telescope ($HST$) of 31 classical T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be stars. The H I column densities range from log$_{10}$(N(H I)) $\approx 19.6 - 21.1$, with corresponding visual extinctions of A$_{V}$ $= 0.02 - 0.72$ mag, assuming an R$_{V}$ of 3.1. We find that the majority of the H I absorption along the line of sight likely comes from interstellar rather than circumstellar material. Extinctions derived from new $HST$ blue-optical spectral analyses, previous IR and optical measurements, and new X-ray column densities on average overestimate the interstellar extinction toward young stars compared to the N(H I) values by $\sim 0.6$ mag. We discuss possible explanations for this discrepancy in the context of a protoplanetary disk geometry.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

The Intrinsic Extreme Ultraviolet Fluxes of F5 V to M5 V Stars

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiations (10--117 nm) from host stars play important roles in the ionization, heating, and mass loss from exoplanet atmospheres. Together with the host star's Lyman-alpha and far-UV (117--170 nm) radiation, EUV radiation photodissociates important molecules, thereby changing the chemistry in exoplanet atmospheres. Since stellar EUV fluxes cannot now be measured and interstellar neutral hydrogen completely obscures stellar radiation between 40 and 91.2 nm, even for the nearest stars, we must estimate the unobservable EUV flux by indirect methods. New non-LTE semiempirical models of the solar chromosphere and corona and solar irradiance measurements show that the ratio of EUV flux in a variety of wavelength bands to the Lyman-alpha flux varies slowly with the Lyman-alpha flux and thus with the magnetic heating rate. This suggests and we confirm that solar EUV/Lyman-alpha flux ratios based on the models and observations are similar to the available 10--40 nm flux ratios observed with the EUVE satellite and the 91.2--117 nm flux observed with the FUSE satellite for F5 V--M5 V stars. We provide formulae for predicting EUV flux ratios based on the EUVE and FUSE stellar data and on the solar models, which are essential input for modelling the atmospheres of exoplanets.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

High Stellar FUV/NUV Ratio and Oxygen Contents in the Atmospheres of Potentially Habitable Planets

Recent observations of several planet-hosting M dwarfs show that most have FUV/NUV flux ratios 1000 times greater than that of the Sun. Here we show that the atmospheric oxygen contents (O2 and O3) of potentially habitable planets in this type of UV environment could be 2~3 orders of magnitude greater than those of their counterparts around Sun-like stars as a result of decreased photolysis of O3, H2O2, and HO2. Thus detectable levels of atmospheric oxygen, in combination with the existence of H2O and CO2, may not be the most promising biosignatures on planets around stars with high FUV/NUV ratios such as the observed M dwarfs.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2013

X Ray Detection of GJ 581 and simultaneous UV Observations

Context. GJ 581, an M3 dwarf, hosts a rich system of exo-planets, some of which are potentially within or at the edge of the Habitable Zone. Nevertheless the system habitability might be reduced by large and sterilizing high energy emission flares, if these are frequent. Aims. The GJ 581 radiation environment was studied with simultaneous X-ray and UV observations, performed with the XRT and UVOT instruments, respectively, on board of the SWIFT satellite. Methods. X-ray and UV data were analysed with the distributed standard tools. Results. GJ 581 was detected for the first time in the 0.2-10 keV range, with an intensity of (8+-2)x10^{-4} cts/s and a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.6. If black-body or APEC spectra are assumed then the source X-ray flux is found to be between 1.8 and 3.3x10^{-14}erg cm^{-2}s^{-1} and log10(L_{X}) between 25.914 and 26.176. Despite hints of X-ray variability, better statistics will be needed to establish robust evidence for that. The UV measurements, obtained during 13 pointings, are also reported. A combination of these Swift X-ray and Hubble Space Telescope UV measurements (with Lyman-alpha) indicate a low X-ray to UV luminosity ratio of ~4%. Conclusions. Simultaneous X-ray and UV observations of GJ 581 are reported. These constitute an experimental view of the system radiation environment, which will be a useful input for the habitability studies of the GJ 581 planetary system.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

H2 Excitation Structure on the Sightlines to delta Scorpius and zeta Ophiucus - First Results from the Sub-orbital Local Interstellar Cloud Experiment

We present the first science results from the Sub-orbital Local Interstellar Cloud Experiment (SLICE): moderate resolution 1020-1070A spectroscopy of four sightlines through the local interstellar medium. High signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra of eta Uma, alpha Vir, delta Sco, and zeta Oph were obtained during a 21 April 2013 rocket flight. The SLICE observations constrain the density, molecular photoexcitation rates, and physical conditions present in the interstellar material towards delta Sco and zeta Oph. Our spectra indicate a factor of two lower total N(H2) than previously reported for delta Sco, which we attribute to higher S/N and better scattered light control in the new SLICE observations. We find N(H2) = 1.5 x 10^{19} cm^{-2} on the delta Sco sightline, with kinetic and excitation temperatures of 67 and 529 K, respectively, and a cloud density of n_{H} = 56 cm^{-3}. Our observations of the bulk of the molecular sightline toward zeta Oph are consistent with previous measurements (N(H2) ~ 3 x 10^{20} cm^{-2} at T_{01} = 66 K and T_{exc} = 350 K). However, we detect significantly more rotationally excited H2 towards zeta Oph than previously observed. We infer a cloud density in the rotationally excited component of n_{H} ~ 7600 cm^{-3} and suggest that the increased column densities of excited H2 are a result of the ongoing interaction between zeta Oph and its environment; also manifest as the prominent mid-IR bowshock observed by WISE and the presence of vibrationally-excited H2 molecules observed by HST.

astro-ph.GA↗