arXiv subjects

S. M. Dougherty

Publications and source records attributed to S. M. Dougherty.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Radio emission from Colliding-Wind Binaries: Observations and Models

We have developed radiative transfer models of the radio emission from colliding-wind binaries (CWB) based on a hydrodynamical treatment of the wind-collision region (WCR). The archetype of CWB systems is the 7.9-yr period binary WR140, which exhibits dramatic variations at radio wavelengths. High-resolution radio observations of WR140 permit a determination of several system parameters, particularly orbit inclination and distance, that are essential for any models of this system. A model fit to data at orbital phase 0.9 is shown, and some short comings of our model described.

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arXiv2005

The colliding-wind binary WR140: the particle acceleration laboratory

WR+O star binary systems exhibit synchrotron emission arising from relativistic electrons accelerated where the wind of the WR star and that of its massive binary companion collide - the wind-collision region (WCR). These ``colliding-wind'' binaries (CWB), provide an excellent laboratory for the study of particle acceleration, with the same physical processes as observed in SNRs, but at much higher mass, photon and magnetic energy densities. WR140 is the best studied CWB, and high resolution radio observations permit a determination of several system parameters, particularly orbit inclination and distance, that are essential constraints for newly developed models of CWBs. We show a model fit to the radio data at orbital phase 0.9, and show how these models may be used to predict the high energy emission from WR140.

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arXiv2005

The Large Adaptive Reflector concept

Cost effective, new antenna technology is required to build the large collecting area being planned for the next generation of radio telescopes. The Large Adaptive Reflector (LAR) is a novel concept being developed in Canada to meet this challenge. A prototype with a 200-350m diameter reflector, operating up to 2 GHz with a bandwidth of 750 MHz is planned. With a collecting area up to ~10% of the planned SKA, and an array feed capable of imaging a 0.3 deg^2 field-of-view, the prototype would address a number of the most compelling questions in modern astrophysics.

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arXiv2005

Radio emission models of Colliding-Wind Binary Systems - Inclusion of IC cooling

Radio emission models of colliding wind binaries (CWBs) have been discussed by Dougherty et al. (2003). We extend these models by considering the temporal and spatial evolution of the energy distribution of relativistic electrons as they advect downstream from their shock acceleration site. The energy spectrum evolves significantly due to the strength of inverse-Compton (IC) cooling in these systems, and a full numerical evaluation of the synchrotron emission and absorption coefficients is made. We have demonstrated that the geometry of the WCR and the streamlines of the flow within it lead to a spatially dependent break frequency in the synchrotron emission. We therefore do not observe a single, sharp break in the synchrotron spectrum integrated over the WCR, but rather a steepening of the synchrotron spectrum towards higher frequencies. We also observe that emission from the wind-collision region (WCR) may appear brightest near the shocks, since the impact of IC cooling on the non-thermal electron distribution is greatest near the contact discontinuity (CD). We show that the thermal emission from a CWB can mimic a thermal plus non-thermal composite spectrum if the thermal emission from the WCR becomes comparable to that from the unshocked winds, and obtain a number of insights relevant to models of closer systems such as WR140. Finally, we apply our new models to the very wide system WR147. The acceleration of non-thermal electrons appears to be very efficient in our models of WR147, and we suggest that the shock structure may be modified by feedback from the accelerated particles. (Abridged).

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arXiv2005

Non-thermal X-ray and Gamma-ray Emission from the Colliding Wind Binary WR140

WR140 is the archetype long-period colliding wind binary (CWB) system, and is well known for dramatic variations in its synchrotron emission during its 7.9-yr, highly eccentric orbit. This emission is thought to arise from relativistic electrons accelerated at the global shocks bounding the wind-collision region (WCR). The presence of non-thermal electrons and ions should also give rise to X-ray and gamma-ray emission from several separate mechanisms, including inverse-Compton cooling, relativistic bremsstrahlung, and pion decay. We describe new calculations of this emission and make some preliminary predictions for the new generation of gamma-ray observatories. We determine that WR140 will likely require several Megaseconds of observation before detection with INTEGRAL, but should be a reasonably strong source for GLAST.

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arXiv2005

The Colliding Winds of WR146: Seeing the Works

WR146 is a WC6+O8 colliding-wind binary (CWB) system with thermal emission from the stellar winds of the two stars, and bright non-thermal emission from the wind-collision region (WCR) where the winds collide. We present high resolution radio observations from 1.4 to 43 GHz that give one of the best quality radio spectra of any CWB to date. Observations at 22 GHz now span 8 years, and reveal the proper motion of the system, allowing comparison of multi-epoch data. VLBI observations show the location of the WCR relative to the stellar components, from which the wind momentum ratio can be shown to be 0.06+/-0.15. The radio spectrum and the spatial distribution of emission are modelled, and we determine the contribution of both stellar winds and the WCR to the observed emission. We show that our current models fail to account for the high frequency spectrum of WR146, and also produce too much emission far from the stagnation point of the wind collision.

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arXiv2005

High resolution radio observations of the colliding-wind binary WR140

Milli-arcsecond resolution Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the archetype WR+O star colliding-wind binary (CWB) system WR140 are presented for 23 epochs between orbital phases 0.74 and 0.97. At 8.4 GHz, the emission in the wind-collision region (WCR) is clearly resolved as a bow-shaped arc that rotates as the orbit progresses. We interpret this rotation as due to the O star moving from SE to approximately E of the WR star, which leads to solutions for the orbit inclination of 122+/-5 deg, the longitude of the ascending node of 353+/-3 deg, and an orbit semi-major axis of 9.0+/-0.5 mas. The distance to WR140 is determined to be 1.85+/-0.16 kpc, which requires the O star to be a supergiant. The inclination implies the mass of the WR and O star to be 20+/-4 and 54+/-10 solar masses respectively. We determine a wind-momentum ratio of 0.22, with an expected half-opening angle for the WCR of 63 deg, consistent with 65+/-10 deg derived from the VLBA observations. Total flux measurements from Very Large Array (VLA) observations show the radio emission from WR140 is very closely the same from one orbit to the next, pointing strongly toward emission, absorption and cooling mechanism(s) that are controlled largely by the orbital motion. The synchrotron spectra evolve dramatically through the orbital phases observed, exhibiting both optically thin and optically thick emission. We discuss a number of absorption and cooling mechanisms that may determine the evolution of the synchrotron spectrum with orbital phase.

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arXiv2004

Radio emission from WR140

Milliarcsecond resolution Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the archetype WR+O star colliding-wind binary (CWB) system WR140 have been obtained at 23 epochs between orbital phases 0.74 to 0.97. The emission in the wind-collision region (WCR) is resolved as a bow-shaped arc which rotates as the orbital phase progresses. This rotation provides for the first time the inclination of the orbit (122+/-5 degrees), the longitude of the ascending node (353+/-3 degrees), and the orbit semi-major axis (9.0+/-0.5 mas). The implied distance is 1.85+/-0.16 kpc, which requires the O star to be a supergiant, and leads to a wind-momentum ratio of 0.22. Quasi-simultaneous Very Large Array (VLA) observations show the synchrotron spectra evolve dramatically through the orbital phases observed, exhibiting both optically thin and optically thick emission. The optically thin emission maintains a spectral index of -0.5, as expected from diffusive shock acceleration.

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arXiv2004

X-ray and radio emission from colliding stellar winds

The collision of the hypersonic winds in early-type binaries produces shock heated gas, which radiates thermal X-ray emission, and relativistic electrons, which emit nonthermal radio emission. We review our current understanding of the emission in these spectral regions and discuss models which have been developed for the interpretation of this emission. Physical processes which affect the resulting emission are reviewed and ideas for the future are noted.

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arXiv2004

The VSOP 5 GHz AGN Survey II. Data Calibration and Imaging

The VSOP mission is a Japanese-led project to study radio sources with sub-milliarcsecond angular resolution using an orbiting 8-m telescope, HALCA and global arrays of Earth-based telescopes. Approximately 25% of the observing time has been devoted to a survey of compact AGN at 5 GHz which are stronger than 1 Jy -- the VSOP AGN Survey. This paper, the second in a series, describes the data calibration, source detection, self-calibration, imaging and modeling, and gives examples illustrating the problems specific to space VLBI. The VSOP Survey web-site which contains all results and calibrated data is described.

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arXiv2003

Radio emission models of Colliding-Wind Binary Systems

We present calculations of the spatial and spectral distribution of the radio emission from a wide WR+OB colliding-wind binary system based on high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations and solutions to the radiative transfer equation. We account for both thermal and synchrotron radio emission, free-free absorption in both the unshocked stellar wind envelopes and the shocked gas, synchrotron self-absorption, and the Razin effect. The applicability of these calculations to modelling radio images and spectra of colliding-wind systems is demonstrated with models of the radio emission from the wide WR+OB binary WR147. Its synchrotron spectrum follows a power-law between 5 and 15 GHz but turns down to below this at lower and higher frequencies. We find that while free-free opacity from the circum-binary stellar winds can potentially account for the low-frequency turnover, models that also include a combination of synchrotron self-absorption and Razin effect are favoured. We argue that the high-frequency turn down is a consequence of inverse-Compton cooling. We present our resulting spectra and intensity distributions, along with simulated MERLIN observations of these intensity distributions. From these we argue that the inclination of the WR147 system to the plane of the sky is low. We summarise by considering extensions of the current model that are important for models of the emission from closer colliding wind binaries, in particular the dramatically varying radio emission of WR140.

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arXiv2000

Space-VLBI observations of OH maser OH34.26+0.15: low interstellar scattering

We report on the first space-VLBI observations of the OH34.26+0.15 maser in two main line OH transitions at 1665 and 1667 MHz. The observations involved the space radiotelescope on board the Japanese satellite HALCA and an array of ground radio telescopes. The map of the maser region and images of individual maser spots were produced with an angular resolution of 1 milliarcsec which is several times higher than the angular resolution available on the ground. The maser spots were only partly resolved and a lower limit to the brightness temperature 6x10^{12} K was obtained. The maser seems to be located in the direction of low interstellar scattering, an order of magnitude lower than the scattering of a nearby extragalactic source and pulsar.

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arXiv2000

ISO spectroscopy of circumstellar dust in the Herbig Ae systems AB Aur and HD 163296

Using both the Short- and Long-wavelength Spectrometers on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), we have obtained infrared spectra of the Herbig Ae systems AB Aur and HD 163296. In addition, we obtained ground-based N band images of HD 163296. Our results can be summarized as follows: (1) The main dust components in AB Aur are amorphous silicates, iron oxide and PAHs; (2) The circumstellar dust in HD 163296 consists of amorphous silicates, iron oxide, water ice and a small fraction of crystalline silicates; (3) The infrared fluxes of HD 163296 are dominated by solid state features; (4) The colour temperature of the underlying continuum is much cooler in HD 163296 than in AB Aur, pointing to the existence of a population of very large (mm sized) dust grains in HD 163296; (5) The composition and degree of crystallization of circumstellar dust are poorly correlated with the age of the central star. The processes of crystallization and grain growth are also not necessarily coupled. This means that either the evolution of circumstellar dust in protoplanetary disks happens very rapidly (within a few Myr), or that this evolution is governed by factors other than stellar mass and age.

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arXiv1998

Discovery of extended radio emission in the young cluster Wd1

We present 10 micron, ISO-SWS and Australia Telescope Compact Array observations of the region in the cluster Wd1 in Ara centred on the B[e] star Ara C. An ISO-SWS spectrum reveals emission from highly ionised species in the vicinity of the star, suggesting a secondary source of excitation in the region. We find strong radio emission at both 3.5cm and 6.3cm, with a total spatial extent of over 20 arcsec. The emission is found to be concentrated in two discrete structures, separated by 14''. The westerly source is resolved, with a spectral index indicative of thermal emission. The easterly source is clearly extended and nonthermal (synchrotron) in nature. Positionally, the B[e] star is found to coincide with the more compact radio source, while the southerly lobe of the extended source is coincident with Ara A, an M2 I star. Observation of the region at 10micron reveals strong emission with an almost identical spatial distribution to the radio emission. Ara C is found to have an extreme radio luminosity in comparison to prior radio observations of hot stars such as O and B supergiants and Wolf-Rayet stars, given the estimated distance to the cluster. An origin in a detatched shell of material around the central star is therefore suggested; however given the spatial extent of the emission, such a shell must be relatively young (10^3 yrs). The extended non thermal emission associated with the M star Ara A is unexpected; to the best of our knowledge this is a unique phenomenon. SAX (2-10keV) observations show no evidence of X-ray emission, which might be expected if a compact companion were present.

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