arXiv subjects

S. Mohamed

Publications and source records attributed to S. Mohamed.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

ALMA observations of the variable 12CO/13CO ratio around the asymptotic giant branch star R Sculptoris

[abridged] The 12CO/13CO ratio is often used as a measure of the 12C/13C ratio in the circumstellar environment, carrying important information about the stellar nucleosynthesis. External processes can change the 12CO and 13CO abundances, and spatially resolved studies of the 12CO/13CO ratio are needed to quantify the effect of these processes on the globally determined values. Additionally, such studies provide important information on the conditions in the circumstellar environment. The detached-shell source R Scl, displaying CO emission from recent mass loss, in a binary-induced spiral structure as well as in a clumpy shell produced during a thermal pulse, provides a unique laboratory for studying the differences in CO isotope abundances throughout its recent evolution. We observed both the 12CO(J=3-2) and the 13CO(J=3-2) line using ALMA. We find significant variations in the 12CO/13CO intensity ratios and consequently in the abundance ratios. The average CO isotope abundance ratio is at least a factor three lower in the shell (~19) than that in the present-day (<300 years) mass loss (>60). Additionally, variations in the ratio of more than an order of magnitude are found in the shell itself. We attribute these variations to the competition between selective dissociation and isotope fractionation in the shell, of which large parts cannot be warmer than ~35 K. However, we also find that the 12CO/13CO ratio in the present-day mass loss is significantly higher than the 12C/13C ratio determined in the stellar photosphere from molecular tracers (~19). The origin of this discrepancy is still unclear, but we speculate that it is due to an embedded source of UV-radiation that is primarily photo-dissociating 13CO. This radiation source could be the hitherto hidden companion. Alternatively, the UV-radiation could originate from an active chromosphere of R Scl itself....

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

Unexpectedly large mass loss during the thermal pulse cycle of the red giant R Sculptoris!

The asymptotic giant branch star R Sculptoris is surrounded by a detached shell of dust and gas. The shell originates from a thermal pulse during which the star undergoes a brief period of increased mass loss. It has hitherto been impossible to constrain observationally the timescales and mass-loss properties during and after a thermal pulse - parameters that determine the lifetime on the asymptotic giant branch and the amount of elements returned by the star. Here we report observations of CO emission from the circumstellar envelope and shell around R Sculptoris with an angular resolution of 1.3 arcsec. What was hitherto thought to be only a thin, spherical shell with a clumpy structure, is revealed to contain a spiral structure. Spiral structures associated with circumstellar envelopes have been seen previously, from which it was concluded that the systems must be binaries. Using the data, combined with hydrodynamic simulations, we conclude that R Sculptoris is a binary system that underwent a thermal pulse approximately 1800 years ago, lasting approximately 200 years. About 0.003 Msun of mass was ejected at a velocity of 14.3 km s-1 and at a rate approximately 30 times higher than the prepulse mass-loss rate. This shows that approximately 3 times more mass is returned to the interstellar medium during and immediately after a pulse than previously thought.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

3D Simulations of Betelgeuse's Bow Shock

Betelgeuse, the bright, cool red supergiant in Orion, is moving supersonically relative to the local interstellar medium. The star emits a powerful stellar wind which collides with this medium, forming a cometary structure, a bow shock, pointing in the direction of motion. We present the first 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the formation and evolution of Betelgeuse's bow shock. The models include realistic low temperature cooling and cover a range of plausible interstellar medium densities and stellar velocities between 0.3 - 1.9 cm-3 and 28 - 73 km/s. We show that the flow dynamics and morphology of the bow shock differ substantially due to the preferential growth of Rayleigh-Taylor or Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the models. The former dominate the models with slow stellar velocities resulting in a clumpy bow shock sub-structure, whereas the latter produce a smoother, more layered sub-structure in the fast models. If the mass in the bow shock shell is low, as seems to be implied by the AKARI luminosities (~0.003 Msun), then Betelgeuse's bow shock is very young and is unlikely to have reached a steady state. The circular nature of the bow shock shell is consistent with this conclusion. Thus, our results suggest that Betelgeuse entered the red supergiant phase only recently.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2011

Herschel's view into Mira's head

Herschel's PACS instrument observed the environment of the binary system Mira Ceti in the 70 and 160 micron bands. These images reveal bright structures shaped as five broken arcs and fainter filaments in the ejected material of Mira's primary star. The overall shape of the IR emission around Mira deviates significantly from the expected alignment with Mira's exceptionally high space velocity. The observed broken arcs are neither connected to each other nor are they of a circular shape; they stretch over angular ranges of 80 to 100 degrees. By comparing Herschel and GALEX data, we found evidence for the disruption of the IR arcs by the fast outflow visible in both Halpha and the far UV. Radial intensity profiles are derived, which place the arcs at distances of 6-85" (550 - 8000 AU) from the binary. Mira's IR environment appears to be shaped by the complex interaction of Mira's wind with its companion, the bipolar jet, and the ISM.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2007

An Adaptive Strategy for the Classification of G-Protein Coupled Receptors

One of the major problems in computational biology is the inability of existing classification models to incorporate expanding and new domain knowledge. This problem of static classification models is addressed in this paper by the introduction of incremental learning for problems in bioinformatics. Many machine learning tools have been applied to this problem using static machine learning structures such as neural networks or support vector machines that are unable to accommodate new information into their existing models. We utilize the fuzzy ARTMAP as an alternate machine learning system that has the ability of incrementally learning new data as it becomes available. The fuzzy ARTMAP is found to be comparable to many of the widespread machine learning systems. The use of an evolutionary strategy in the selection and combination of individual classifiers into an ensemble system, coupled with the incremental learning ability of the fuzzy ARTMAP is proven to be suitable as a pattern classifier. The algorithm presented is tested using data from the G-Coupled Protein Receptors Database and shows good accuracy of 83%. The system presented is also generally applicable, and can be used in problems in genomics and proteomics.

cs.AI↗