arXiv subjects

M. J. Reid

Publications and source records attributed to M. J. Reid.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Parallaxes and proper motions of interstellar masers toward the Cygnus X star-forming complex. I. Membership of the Cygnus X region

Whether the Cygnus X complex consists of one physically connected region of star formation or of multiple independent regions projected close together on the sky has been debated for decades. The main reason for this puzzling scenario is the lack of trustworthy distance measurements. We aim to understand the structure and dynamics of the star-forming regions toward Cygnus X by accurate distance and proper motion measurements. To measure trigonometric parallaxes, we observed 6.7 GHz methanol and 22 GHz water masers with the European VLBI Network and the Very Long Baseline Array. We measured the trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions of five massive star-forming regions toward the Cygnus X complex and report the following distances within a 10% accuracy: 1.30+-0.07 kpc for W 75N, 1.46^{+0.09}_{-0.08} kpc for DR 20, 1.50^{+0.08}_{-0.07} kpc for DR 21, 1.36^{+0.12}_{-0.11} kpc for IRAS20290+4052, and 3.33+-0.11kpc for AFGL 2591. While the distances of W 75N, DR 20, DR 21, and IRAS 20290+4052 are consistent with a single distance of 1.40+-0.08 kpc for the Cygnus X complex, AFGL 2591 is located at a much greater distance than previously assumed. The space velocities of the four star-forming regions in the Cygnus X complex do not suggest an expanding Stroemgren sphere.

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arXiv2011

Clustered star formation and outflows in AFGL 2591

We report on a detailed study of the water maser kinematics and radio continuum emission toward the most massive and young object in the star-forming region AFGL 2591. Our analysis shows at least two spatial scales of multiple star formation, one projected across 0.1 pc on the sky and another one at about 2000 AU from a ZAMS star of about 38 Solar masses. This young stellar object drives a powerful jet- and wind-driven outflow system with the water masers associated to the outflow walls, previously detected as a limb-brightened cavity in the NIR band. At about 1300 AU to the north of this object a younger protostar drives two bow shocks, outlined by arc-like water maser emission, at 200 AU either side of the source. We have traced the velocity profile of the gas that expands along these arc-like maser structures and compared it with the jet-driven outflow model. This analysis suggests that the ambient medium around the northern protostar is swept up by a jet-driven shock (>66 km/s) and perhaps a lower-velocity (~10 km/s) wind with an opening angle of about 20 degrees from the jet axis.

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arXiv2011

Trigonometric Parallaxes of Massive Star-Forming Regions. IX. The Outer Arm in the First Quadrant

We report a trigonometric parallax measurement with the Very Long Baseline Array for the water maser in the distant high-mass star-forming region G75.30+1.32. This source has a heliocentric distance of 9.25+-0.45 kpc, which places it in the Outer arm in the first Galactic quadrant. It lies 200 pc above the Galactic plane and is associated with a substantial HI enhancement at the border of a large molecular cloud. At a Galactocentric radius of 10.7 kpc, G75.30+1.32 is in a region of the Galaxy where the disk is significantly warped toward the North Galactic Pole. While the star-forming region has an instantaneous Galactic orbit that is nearly circular, it displays a significant motion of 18 km/s toward the Galactic plane. The present results, when combined with two previous maser studies in the Outer arm, yield a pitch angle of about 12 degrees for a large section of the arm extending from the first quadrant to the third.

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arXiv2011

Distance and Kinematics of the Red Hypergiant VY CMa: VLBA and VLA Astrometry

We report astrometric results of phase-referencing VLBI observations of 43 GHz SiO maser emission toward the red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris (\vycma) using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). We measured a trigonometric parallax of 0.83 $\pm$ 0.08 mas, corresponding to a distance of 1.20$^{+0.13}_{-0.10}$ kpc. Compared to previous studies, the spatial distribution of SiO masers has changed dramatically, while its total extent remains similar. The internal motions of the maser spots are up to 1.4 \masy, corresponding to 8 \kms, and show a tendency for expansion. After modeling the expansion of maser spots, we derived an absolute proper motion for the central star of \mux\ = $-2.8 \pm 0.2$ and \muy\ = $2.6 \pm 0.2$ \masy\ eastward and northward, respectively. Based on the maser distribution from the VLBA observations, and the relative position between the radio photosphere and the SiO maser emission at 43 GHz from the complementary Very Large Array (VLA) observations, we estimate the absolute position of \vycma\ at mean epoch 2006.53 to be \ra\ = 07\h 22\m 58\decs3259 $\pm$ 0\decs0007, \dec\ = $-$25\arcdeg 46\arcmin03\decas063 $\pm$ 0\decas010. The position and proper motion of \vycma\ from the VLBA observations differ significantly with values measured by the Hipparcos satellite. These discrepancies are most likely associated with inhomogeneities and dust scattering the optical light in the circumstellar envelope. The absolute proper motion measured with VLBA suggests that \vycma\ may be drifting out of the giant molecular cloud to the east of it.

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arXiv2011

The VLBA Calibrator Search for the BeSSeL Survey

We present the results of a survey of radio continuum sources near the Galactic plane using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). Our observations are designed to identify compact extragalactic sources of milliarcsecond size that can be used for parallax measurements in the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy Survey. We selected point sources from the NVSS and CORNISH catalogs with flux densities above 30 mJy and within $1.5\degr$ of known maser targets. Of the 1529 sources observed, 199 were detected. For sources detected on 3 or more baselines, we determined accurate positions and evaluated their quality as potential calibrators. Most of the 1330 sources that were not detected with the VLBA are probably of extragalactic origin.

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arXiv2011

Trigonometric Parallaxes of Massive Star Forming Regions: VIII. G12.89+0.49, G15.03-0.68 (M17) and G27.36-0.16

We report trigonometric parallaxes for three massive star forming regions, corresponding to distances of $2.34^{+0.13}_{-0.11}$ kpc for G12.89+0.49 (also known as IRAS 18089-1732),$1.98^{+0.14}_{-0.12}$ kpc for G15.03-0.68 (in the M17 region), and $8.0^{+4.0}_{-2.0}$ kpc for G27.36-0.16. Both G12.89+0.49 and G15.03-0.68 are located in the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm.

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arXiv2010

A preliminary distance to W 75N in the Cygnus X star-forming region

Cygnus X is one of the closest giant molecular cloud complexes and therefore an extensively studied region of ongoing high mass star formation. However, the distance to this region has been a long-standing issue, since sources at galactic longitude of ~80 degrees could be in the Local Arm nearby (1-2 kpc), in the Perseus Arm at ~5 kpc, or even in the outer arm (~10 kpc). We use combined observations of the EVN plus two Japanese stations to measure very accurate parallaxes of methanol masers in five star-forming regions in Cygnus X to understand if they belong to one large star-forming complex or if they are separate entities located at different distances. Here we report our preliminary result for W75N based on six epochs of VLBI observations: we find that W75N is at a distance of 1.32^{+0.11}_{-0.09} kpc, which is significantly closer than the reported values in the literature (1.5-2 kpc).

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arXiv2010

The expansion of SN 2008iz in M82

We present first results from the ongoing radio monitoring of SN 2008iz in M82. The VLBI images reveal a shell-like structure with circular symmetry, which expands in a self-similar way. There is strong evidence of a compact component with a steep spectrum at the center of the shell. The expansion curve obtained from our VLBI observations is marginally decelerated (m = 0.89) and can be modeled simultaneously with the available radio light curves. While the results of this simultaneous fitting are not conclusive (i.e. different combinations of values of the magnetic field, CSM density profile, and electron energy distribution, provide fits to the available data with similar quality), additional observations should allow a more robust and detailed modeling.

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arXiv2010

Methanol and water masers in IRAS 20126+4104: The distance, the disk, and the jet

IRAS 20126+4104 is one of the best candidates for a high-mass (proto)star surrounded by an accretion disk. Such a fact may be used to set constraints on theories of high-mass star formation, but requires confirmation that the mass and luminosity of IRAS 20126+4104 are indeed typical of a B0.5 star, which in turn requires an accurate estimate of the distance. We used the Very Long Baseline Array and the European VLBI Network to observe the 22.2 GHz water and 6.7 GHz methanol masers in IRAS 20126+4104 at a number of epochs suitably distributed in time. The absolute positions of the maser features were established with respect to reference quasars, which allowed us to derive absolute proper motions. From the parallax of the water masers we obtain a distance of 1.64 \pm 0.05 kpc, which is very similar to the value adopted so far in the literature (1.7 kpc) and confirms that IRAS 20126+4104 is a high-mass (proto)star. From the methanol masers we derive the component in the plane of the sky of the systemic velocity of the disk+star system (-16 km/s in right-ascension and +7.6 km/s in declination). Accurate knowledge of the distance and systemic velocity allows us to improve on the model fit to the water maser jet presented in a previous study. Finally, we identify two groups of methanol maser features, one undergoing rotation in the disk and possibly distributed along a narrow ring centered on the star, the other characterised by relative proper motions indicating that the features are moving away from the disk, perpendicular to it. We speculate that the latter group might be tracing the disk material marginally entrained by the jet.

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arXiv2010

VLA observations of water masers towards 6.7 GHz methanol maser sources

22 GHz water and 6.7 GHz methanol masers are usually thought as signposts of early stages of high-mass star formation but little is known about their associations and the physical environments they occur in. The aim was to obtain accurate positions and morphologies of the water maser emission and relate them to the methanol maser emission recently mapped with Very Long Baseline Interferometry. A sample of 31 methanol maser sources was searched for 22 GHz water masers using the VLA and observed in the 6.7 GHz methanol maser line with the 32 m Torun dish simultaneously. Water maser clusters were detected towards 27 sites finding 15 new sources. The detection rate of water maser emission associated with methanol sources was as high as 71%. In a large number of objects (18/21) the structure of water maser is well aligned with that of the extended emission at 4.5 $μ$m confirming the origin of water emission from outflows. The sources with methanol emission with ring-like morphologies, which likely trace a circumstellar disk/torus, either do not show associated water masers or the distribution of water maser spots is orthogonal to the major axis of the ring. The two maser species are generally powered by the same high-mass young stellar object but probe different parts of its environment. The morphology of water and methanol maser emission in a minority of sources is consistent with a scenario that 6.7 GHz methanol masers trace a disc/torus around a protostar while the associated 22 GHz water masers arise in outflows. The majority of sources in which methanol maser emission is associated with the water maser appears to trace outflows. The two types of associations might be related to different evolutionary phases.

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arXiv2010

The Megamaser Cosmology Project. III. Accurate Masses of Seven Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galaxies with Circumnuclear Megamaser Disks

Observations of H$_2$O masers from circumnuclear disks in active galaxies for the Megamaser Cosmology Project allow accurate measurement of the mass of supermassive black holes (BH) in these galaxies. We present the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) images and kinematics of water maser emission in six active galaxies: NGC~1194, NGC~2273, NGC~2960 (Mrk~1419), NGC~4388, NGC~6264 and NGC~6323. We use the Keplerian rotation curves of these six megamaser galaxies, plus a seventh previously published, to determine accurate enclosed masses within the central $\sim0.3$ pc of these galaxies, smaller than the radius of the sphere of influence of the central mass in all cases. We also set lower limits to the central mass densities of between 0.12 and 60 $\times 10^{10} M_{\odot}$~pc$^{-3}$. For six of the seven disks, the high central densities rule out clusters of stars or stellar remnants as the central objects, and this result further supports our assumption that the enclosed mass can be attributed predominantly to a supermassive black hole. The seven BHs have masses ranging between 0.76 and 6.5$\times$10$^7 M_{\odot}$. The BH mass errors are $\approx11$\%, dominated by the uncertainty of the Hubble constant. We compare the megamaser BH mass determination with other BH mass measurement techniques. The BH mass based on virial estimation in four galaxies is consistent with the megamaser BH mass given the latest empirical value of $\langle f \rangle$, but the virial mass uncertainty is much greater. MCP observations continue and we expect to obtain more maser BH masses in the future.

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arXiv2010

Trigonometric Parallax of W51 Main/South

We report measurement of the trigonometric parallax of W51 Main/South using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). We measure a value of 0.185 +/- 0.010 mas, corresponding to a distance of 5.41 (+0.31/-0.28) kpc. W51 Main/South is a well-known massive star-forming region near the tangent point of the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Milky Way. Our distance to W51 yields an estimate of the distance to the Galactic center of Ro = 8.3 +/- 0.46 (statistical) +/- 1.0 (systematic) kpc by simple geometry. Combining the parallax and proper motion measurements for W51, we obtained the full-space motion of this massive star forming region. We find W51 is in a nearly circular orbit about the Galactic center. The H2O masers used for our parallax measurements trace four powerful bipolar outflows within a 0.4 pc size region, some of which are associated with dusty molecular hot cores and/or hyper- or ultra-compact HII regions.

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arXiv2010

Precise Black Hole Masses From Megamaser Disks: Black Hole-Bulge Relations at Low Mass

The black hole (BH)-bulge correlations have greatly influenced the last decade of effort to understand galaxy evolution. Current knowledge of these correlations is limited predominantly to high BH masses (M_BH> 10^8 M_sun) that can be measured using direct stellar, gas, and maser kinematics. These objects, however, do not represent the demographics of more typical L< L* galaxies. This study transcends prior limitations to probe BHs that are an order of magnitude lower in mass, using BH mass measurements derived from the dynamics of H_2O megamasers in circumnuclear disks. The masers trace the Keplerian rotation of circumnuclear molecular disks starting at radii of a few tenths of a pc from the central BH. Modeling of the rotation curves, presented by Kuo et al. (2010), yields BH masses with exquisite precision. We present stellar velocity dispersion measurements for a sample of nine megamaser disk galaxies based on long-slit observations using the B&C spectrograph on the Dupont telescope and the DIS spectrograph on the 3.5m telescope at Apache Point. We also perform bulge-to-disk decomposition of a subset of five of these galaxies with SDSS imaging. The maser galaxies as a group fall below the M_BH-sigma* relation defined by elliptical galaxies. We show, now with very precise BH mass measurements, that the low-scatter power-law relation between M_BH and sigma* seen in elliptical galaxies is not universal. The elliptical galaxy M_BH-sigma* relation cannot be used to derive the BH mass function at low mass or the zeropoint for active BH masses. The processes (perhaps BH self-regulation or minor merging) that operate at higher mass have not effectively established an M_BH-sigma* relation in this low-mass regime.

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arXiv2010

The Megamaser Cosmology Project. II. The Angular-Diameter Distance to UGC 3789

The Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP) aims to determine H0 by measuring angular-diameter distances to galaxies in the Hubble flow using observations of water vapor megamasers in the circumnuclear accretion disks of active galaxies. The technique is based only on geometry and determines H0 in one step, independent of standard candles and the extragalactic distance ladder. In Paper I we presented a VLBI map of the maser emission from the Seyfert 2 galaxy UGC 3789. The map reveals an edge-on, sub-parsec disk in Keplerian rotation, analogous to the megamaser disk in NGC 4258. Here we present 3.2 years of monthly GBT observations of the megamaser disk in UGC 3789. We use these observations to measure the centripetal accelerations of both the systemic and high-velocity maser components. The measured accelerations suggest that maser emission lines near the systemic velocity originate on the front side of the accretion disk, primarily from segments of two narrow rings. Adopting a two-ring model for the systemic features, we determine the angular-diameter distance to UGC 3789 to be 49.9 +/- 7.0 Mpc. This is the most accurate geometric distance yet obtained to a galaxy in the Hubble flow. Based on this distance, we determine H0 = 69 +/- 11 km/s/Mpc. We also measure the mass of the central black hole to be 1.09 x 10^7 solar masses +/- 14%. With additional observations the uncertainty in the distance to this galaxy can be reduced to under 10%. Observations of megamaser disks in other galaxies will further reduce the uncertainty in H0 as measured by the MCP.

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arXiv2010

VLBI observations of SN 2008iz: I. Expansion velocity and limits on anisotropic expansion

We present observations of the recently discovered supernova 2008iz in M82 with the VLBI High Sensitivity Array at 22 GHz, the Very Large Array at frequencies of 1.4, 4.8, 8.4, 22 and 43 GHz, and the Chandra X-ray observatory. The supernova was clearly detected on two VLBI images, separated by 11 months. The source shows a ring-like morphology and expands with a velocity of ~23000 km/s. The most likely explosion date is in mid February 2008. The measured expansion speed is a factor of ~2 higher than expected under the assumption that synchrotron self-absorption dominates the light curve at the peak, indicating that this absorption mechanism may not be important for the radio emission. We find no evidence for an asymmetric explosion. The VLA spectrum shows a broken power law, indicating that the source was still optically thick at 1.4 GHz in April 2009. Finally, we report upper limits on the X-ray emission from SN 2008iz and a second radio transient recently discovered by MERLIN observations.

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arXiv2009

An Extremely Top-Heavy IMF in the Galactic Center Stellar Disks

We present new observations of the nuclear star cluster in the central parsec of the Galaxy with the adaptive optics assisted, integral field spectrograph SINFONI on the ESO/VLT. Our work allows the spectroscopic detection of early and late type stars to m_K >= 16, more than 2 magnitudes deeper than our previous data sets. Our observations result in a total sample of 177 bona fide early-type stars. We find that most of these Wolf Rayet (WR), O- and B- stars reside in two strongly warped disks between 0.8" and 12" from SgrA*, as well as a central compact concentration (the S-star cluster) centered on SgrA*. The later type B stars (m_K>15) in the radial interval between 0.8" and 12" seem to be in a more isotropic distribution outside the disks. The observed dearth of late type stars in the central few arcseconds is puzzling, even when allowing for stellar collisions. The stellar mass function of the disk stars is extremely top heavy with a best fit power law of dN/dm ~ m^(-0.45+/-0.3). Since at least the WR/O-stars were formed in situ in a single star formation event ~6 Myrs ago, this mass function probably reflects the initial mass function (IMF). The mass functions of the S-stars inside 0.8" and of the early-type stars at distances beyond 12" are compatible with a standard Salpeter/Kroupa IMF (best fit power law of dN/dm ~ m^(-2.15+/-0.3)).

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arXiv2009

Trigonometric Parallaxes of 6.7 GHz Methanol Masers

Emission from the 6.7 GHz methanol maser transition is very strong, is relatively stable, has small internal motions, and is observed toward numerous massive star-forming regions in the Galaxy. Our goal is to perform high-precision astrometry using this maser transition to obtain accurate distances to their host regions. Eight strong masers were observed during five epochs of VLBI observations with the European VLBI Network between 2006 June, and 2008 March. We report trigonometric parallaxes for five star-forming regions, with accuracies as good as $\sim22 \mathrmμ$as. Distances to these sources are $2.57^{+0.34}_{-0.27}$ kpc for ON 1, $0.776^{+0.104}_{-0.083}$ kpc for L 1206, $0.929^{+0.034}_{-0.033}$ kpc for L 1287, $2.38^{+0.13}_{-0.12}$ kpc for NGC 281-W, and $1.59^{+0.07}_{-0.06}$ kpc for S 255. The distances and proper motions yield the full space motions of the star-forming regions hosting the masers, and we find that these regions lag circular rotation on average by $\sim$17 km s$^{-1}$, a value comparable to those found recently by similar studies.

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arXiv2009

Trigonometric Parallaxes of Massive Star-Forming Regions: VII. G9.62+0.20 and the Expanding 3 KPC-ARM

We report a trigonometric parallax of 12 GHz methanol masers associated with the massive star forming region G9.62+0.20, corresponding to a distance of 5.2+-0.6 kpc. With a local standard of rest velocity of about 2 km/s, the region's kinematic distances of 0.5 and 16 kpc differ greatly from the distance derived here. Our measurement of the peculiar motion of the star forming region shows a very large deviation from a circular Galactic orbit: 41 km/s radially outward from the Galactic center and 60 km/s counter to Galactic rotation. The combination of its radial velocity and distance places G9.62+0.20 in the inner region of the Galaxy close to the Expanding Near 3 kpc-Arm, where the bulge/bar potential has strong gravitational influence. We also map the distribution of 12 GHz methanol masers, locate them with respect to a hypercompact H II region, and compare our data with the periodic flare phenomenon reported previously for this source.

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