arXiv subjects

Sean W. J. Colgan

Publications and source records attributed to Sean W. J. Colgan.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Spitzer Observations of M83 and the Hot Star, H II Region Connection

We have undertaken a program to observe emission lines of SIV 10.5, NeII 12.8, NeIII 15.6, & SIII 18.7 um in a number of extragalactic HII regions with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We report our results for the nearly face-on spiral galaxy M83. The nebulae selected cover a wide range of galactocentric radii (R_G). The observations were made with the Infrared Spectrograph in the short wavelength, high dispersion configuration. The above set of 4 lines is observed cospatially, thus permitting a reliable comparison of the fluxes. From the measured fluxes, we determine the ionic abundance ratios including Ne++/Ne+, S3+/S++, and S++/Ne+ and find that there is a correlation of increasingly higher ionization with larger R_G. By sampling the dominant ionization states of Ne and S for HII regions, Ne/S ~ (Ne+ + Ne++)/(S++ + S3+). Our findings of ratios that exceed the benchmark Orion value are more likely due to other effects than a true gradient in Ne/S. Both Ne and S are primary elements produced in alpha- chain reactions. It is expected that Ne/S remains relatively constant throughout a galaxy. This type of observation and method of analysis has the potential for accurate measurements of Ne/S, particularly for HII regions with lower metallicity & higher ionization than those here, such as those in M33. Our observations may also be used to test the predicted ionizing spectral energy distribution of various stellar atmosphere models. We compare the fractional ionization ratios / & / vs. / with predictions made from our photoionization models using several state-of-the-art stellar atmosphere model grids. A second paper using Spitzer observations of HII regions in the galaxy M33 will follow.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS Polarization Measurements of OMC-1

We present 2micron polarization measurements of positions in the BN region of the Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC-1) made with NICMOS Camera 2 (0.2'' resolution) on HST. Our results are as follows: BN is sim 29% polarized by dichroic absorption and appears to be the illuminating source for most of the nebulosity to its north and up to sim 5'' to its south. Although the stars are probably all polarized by dichroic absorption, there are a number of compact, but non-point-source, objects that could be polarized by a combination of both dichroic absorption and local scattering of star light. We identify several candidate YSOs, including an approximately edge-on bipolar YSO 8.7'' east of BN, and a deeply-embedded variable star. Additional strongly polarized sources are IRc2-B, IRc2-D, and IRc7, all of which are obviously self-luminous at mid-infrared wavelengths and may be YSOs. None of these is a reflection nebula illuminated by a star located near radio source I, as was previously suggested. Other IRc sources are clearly reflection nebulae: IRc3 appears to be illuminated by IRc2-B or a combination of the IRc2 sources, and IRc4 and IRc5 appear to be illuminated by an unseen star in the vicinity of radio source I, or by Star n or IRc2-A. Trends in the magnetic field direction are inferred from the polarization of the 26 stars that are bright enough to be seen as NICMOS point sources. The most polarized star has a polarization position angle different from its neighbors by sim 40^o, but in agreement with the grain alignment inferred from millimeter polarization measurements of the cold dust cloud in the southern part of OMC-1.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

On the Measurement of Elemental Abundance Ratios in Inner Galaxy H II Regions

Although variations in elemental abundance ratios in the Milky Way Galaxy certainly exist, details remain uncertain, particularly in the inner Galaxy, where stars and H II regions in the Galactic plane are obscured optically. In this paper we revisit two previously studied, inner Galaxy H II regions: G333.6-0.2 and W43. We observed three new positions in G333.6-0.2 with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and reobserved the central position with the Infrared Space Observatory's Long Wavelength Spectrometer in far-infrared lines of S++, N++, N+, and O++. We also added the N+ lines at 122 and 205 micron to the suite of lines measured in W43 by Simpson et al. (1995). The measured electron densities range from ~40 to over 4000 cm-3 in a single H II region, indicating that abundance analyses must consider density variations, since the critical densities of the observed lines range from 40 to 9000 cm-3. We propose a method to handle density variations and make new estimates of the S/H and N/H abundance ratios. We find that our sulfur abundance estimates for G333.6-0.2 and W43 agree with the S/H abundance ratios expected for the S/H abundance gradient previously reported by Simpson et al. The estimated N/H, S/H, and N/S ratios are the most reliable because of their small corrections for unseen ionization states (< 10%). We compute models of the two H II regions to estimate corrections for the other unseen ionization states. We discuss these predictions and conclude that only a few of the latest models adequately reproduce H II region observations, including the well-known, relatively-large observed Ne++/O++ ratios in low- and moderate-excitation H II regions.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

HST NICMOS Observations of the Polarization of NGC 1068

We have observed the polarized light at 2 micron in the center of NGC 1068 with HST NICMOS Camera 2. The nucleus is dominated by a bright, unresolved source, polarized at a level of 6.0 pm 1.2% with a position angle of 122degr pm 1.5degr. There are two polarized lobes extending up to 8'' northeast and southwest of the nucleus. The polarized flux in both lobes is quite clumpy, with the maximum polarization occurring in the southwest lobe at a level of 17% when smoothed to 0.23'' resolution. The perpendiculars to the polarization vectors in these two lobes point back to the intense unresolved nuclear source to within one 0.076'' Camera 2 pixel, thereby confirming that this is the illuminating source of the scattered light and therefore the probable AGN central engine. Whereas the polarization of the nucleus is probably caused by dichroic absorption, the polarization in the lobes is almost certainly caused by scattering, with very little contribution from dichroic absorption. Features in the polarized lobes include a gap at a distance of about 1'' from the nucleus toward the southwest lobe and a ``knot'' of emission about 5'' northeast of the nucleus. Both features had been discussed by ground-based observers, but they are much better defined with the high spatial resolution of NICMOS. The northeast knot may be the side of a molecular cloud that is facing the nucleus, which cloud may be preventing the expansion of the northeast radio lobe at the head of the radio synchrotron-radiation-emitting jet. We also report the presence of two ghosts in the Camera 2 polarizers. These had not been detected previously (Hines et al. 2000) because they are relatively faint and require observations of a source with a large dynamic range.

astro-ph↗