arXiv subjects

Tadashi Nakajima

Publications and source records attributed to Tadashi Nakajima.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Evaluation of the Vertical Scale Height of L dwarfs in the Galactic Thin Disk

Using the data release 1 of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program covering about 130 square degrees at high galactic latitudes, we have obtained L dwarf counts based on the selection criteria on colors, limiting magnitude and PSF morphology using $i$, $z$, and $y$ bands. 3665 L dwarfs brighter than $z=24$ have been detected by these criteria. The surface number counts obtained differentially in $z$ magnitude are compared with predictions of an exponential disk model to estimate the thin-disk scale height in the vicinity of the Sun. In the exponential disk model, we first fix the local luminosity function (LLF) to the mean LLF of Cruz et al. (2007) and derive the best fit scale height of 260 pc. However this fit appears to be poor. We then allow the LLF to vary along with the scale height. We use the LLF of Cruz et al. as a starting point. The best-fit model is found for the vertical scale height of 380 pc. However the $χ^2$ minimum is rather broad and the 90% confidence interval is between 320 and 520 pc. We investigate another model by varying the scale height and the density of the brightest magnitude bin, while other magnitude bins are fixed to the mean LLF of Cruz et al.. We find an equally good fit with the two free parameters and the best-fit scale height is again 380 pc, but the 90% confidence interval is between 340 and 420 pc.

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arXiv2016

Carbon-to-Oxygen Ratios in M dwarfs and Solar-type stars

Initial C/O ratios of circumstellar disks have been obtained in solar-type stars by differential photospheric abundance analysis with respect to the Sun. We present C/O ratios of M dwarfs obtained by absolute abundance analysis derived from CO and H2O spectra in the K-band. We compare the distributions of C/O ratios in M dwarfs and solar-type stars using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The C/O distribution of M dwarfs is consistent with low frequency of high C/O ratios in solar-type stars.

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arXiv2015

Near infrared spectroscopy of M dwarfs. III. Carbon and oxygen abundances in late M dwarfs including the dusty rapid rotator 2MASSI J1835379+325954

Carbon and oxygen abundances of eight late M dwarfs are determined based on the near IR spectra of medium resolution. Seven objects with T_eff above 2600K are analyzed with the dust-free models. The M8.5 dwarf 2MASSI J1835379+325954 whose T_eff is 2275K is analyzed by the dusty model, in which the surface temperature is higher by about 600K due to the blanketing effect of the dust, and C and O abundances are higher by 0.25 and 0.15dex, respectively, compared to the analysis by the dust-free model. Once dust forms in the photosphere, the dust works as a kind of thermostat and temperatures of the surface layers remain nearly the same as the condensation temperatures of the dust grains. For this reason, the temperatures of the surface layers of the dusty dwarfs are not sensitive to the fundamental parameters including T_eff. Also, 2MASS J1835379 +325954 is a rapid rotator, for which its EWs are thought to remain unchanged by the rotational broadening. This is, however, true only when the true continuum is well defined. Otherwise, the pseudo-continuum level depends on the rotational velocity and hence the EWs as well. For this reason, the derived abundances depend on the rotational velocity assumed: For the values of V_rot*sin(i)=37.6 and 44.0km/s available in the literature, the derived C and O abundances differ by 0.23 and 0.14dex, respectively, and we find that the higher value provides a better account of the observed spectrum. The resulting C and O abundances in our late M dwarfs show no systematic difference from our results for the early and middle M dwarfs, and confirm the higher O/C ratio at the lower metallicity. In late M dwarfs, CO and H2O remain as excellent abundance indicators of C and O, respectively, except for additional uncertainty due to the complexity associated with the dust formation in the latest M dwarfs.

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arXiv2015

Physical Properties of Gliese 229B Based on Newly Determined Carbon and Oxygen Abundances of Gliese 229A

Recently Tsuji & Nakajima (2914) and Tsuji, Nakajima & Takeda (2015) have developed a method of molecular line spectroscopy of M dwarfs with which Carbon and oxygen abundances are derived respectively from CO and H2O lines in the K band. They applied this method to Gl229A, the primary star of the brown dwarf companion, Gl229B. The derived abundances of Gl229A are logAc=-3.27+/-0.07 and logAo=-3.10+/-0.02, which are close to the classical values of the solar abundances of carbon and oxygen. We generate model spectra of Gl229B for the metallicity of Gl229A as well as for the classical solar metallicity. We find that the differences of the resulting spectra are not so large for the differences of the metallicity of 0.1 dex or so, but we now discuss the spectrum of Gl229B on the basis of the reliable metallicity. From the literature, the lower limit to the age of Gl229A is found to be 0.3Gyr. From the kinematics of Gl229A, we evaluate the upper limit to the age of Gl229A to be 3.0Gyr. The observed and model spectra are compared and goodness of fit is obtained in the range of model parameters, 750<Teff<1000K, and 4.5<logg<5.5. Among the candidates that satisfy the age constraint, the best combinations of model parameters are (Teff,logg)=(800K,47.5) and (850K,5.0), while acceptable combinations are (750K,4.75),(850K,4.75) and (900K,5.0).

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arXiv2015

Near Infrared Spectroscopy of M Dwarfs. I. CO Molecule as an Abundance Indicator of Carbon

Based on the near infrared spectra of 42 M dwarfs, carbon abundances are determined from the ro-vibrational lines of CO 2-0 band. We use Teff values based on the angular diameters if available or apply a logTeff - M3.4 (the absolute magnitude at 3.4 micron based on the WISE W1 flux and the Hipparcos parallax) relation to estimate Teff values of objects for which angular diameters are unknown. Also, we discuss briefly the HR diagram of low mass stars. On the observed spectrum of M dwarf, the continuum is depressed by the numerous weak lines of H2O and only the depressed continuum or the pseudo- continuum can be seen. On the theoretical spectrum of M dwarfs, we find that the pseudo-continuum can be evaluated accurately thanks to the recent H2O line database. Then quantitative analysis of the spectrum of M dwarf can be done by referring to the pseudo-continua both on the observed and theoretical spectra. Since the basic principle of the spectroscopic analysis should be the same whether the true- or pseudo-continuum is referred to, the difficulty related to the continuum in cool stars can in principle be overcome. Then, the numerous CO lines can be excellent abundance indicators of carbon, since almost all the carbon atoms are in stable CO molecules whose abundance remains almost unchanged for the changes of physical condition in the photosphere and, somewhat unexpectedly, carbon abundances in late-type stars can best be determined in M dwarfs rather than in solar type stars. The resulting C/Fe ratios for most M dwarfs are nearly constant at about the solar value based on the classical high carbon abundance rather than on the recently revised lower value. This result implies that the solar carbon abundance is atypical for its metallicity among the stellar objects in the solar neighborhood if the downward revised solar carbon abundance is correct.

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arXiv2014

Near Infrared Spectroscopy of M Dwarfs. II. H2O Molecule as an Abundance Indicator of Oxygen

Based on the near infrared spectra (R~20000) of M dwarfs, oxygen abundances are determined from the ro-vibrational lines of H2O. Although H2O lines in M dwarfs are badly blended each other and the continuum levels are depressed appreciably by the collective effect of numerous H2O lines themselves, quantitative analysis of H2O lines has been carried out by referring to the pseudo-continua both on the observed and theoretical spectra. For this purpose, the pseudo-continuum on the theoretical spectrum has been evaluated by the use of the recent high-precision H2O line-list. Then, we propose a simple and flexible method of analyzing equivalent widths (EWs) of blended features by the use of a mini curve-of-growth (CG), which is a small portion of the usual CG around the observed EW. The mini CG is generated by using the theoretical EWs evaluated from the synthetic spectrum by exactly the same way as the EWs are measured from the observed spectrum. The observed EW is converted to the abundance by the use of the mini CG, and the process is repeated for all the observed EWs line-by-line or blend-by-blend. In cool M dwarfs, almost all the oxygen atoms left after CO formation are in stable H2O molecules, which suffer little change for the uncertainties due to imperfect modelling of the photospheres. Then the numerous H2O lines are excellent abundance indicators of oxygen. The oxygen abundances are determined to be logAo between -3.5 and -3.0 in 38 M dwarfs. The resulting O/C ratios plotted against logAc appear to be systematically smaller in the carbon-rich M dwarfs, showing the different formation histories of oxygen and carbon in the chemical evolution of the Galactic disk. Also, O/Fe ratios in most M dwarfs are closer to the solar O/Fe ratio based on the classical high oxygen abundance rather than on the recently downward revised low value.

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arXiv2010

Overdensity of i'-Dropout Galaxies in the Subaru Deep Field: A Candidate Protocluster at z ~ 6

We investigate the sky distribution of z ~ 6 Lyman break galaxies selected as i'-dropouts having i' - z' > 1.45 down to z' < 26.5 in the Subaru Deep Field (SDF). We discover 37 i'-dropouts clustered in a projected comoving 21.6 x 21.6 Mpc^2 region at z = 6, showing a local density excess. Carrying out follow-up spectroscopy, we identify four of them as Lyman-alpha emitters at z = 5.92, 6.01, 6.03 and 6.03 (spread over a distance of 46.6 Mpc). The number density of the cluster itself in SDF is ~ 2.2 x 10^{-7} Mpc^{-3}, smaller than those of protoclusters (i.e., forming galaxy clusters) at z ~ 2-5.7. Also, the structure shows ~4-21 times larger galaxy number density than those of z ~ 6 galaxies in a general field. It has a mass of M ~ 1.5^{+1.8}_{-0.5} x 10^{15}M_sun, comparable to those of z ~ 0-5 protoclusters. Since the contamination of our sample by interlopers is estimated to be quite low, 5.9%, most of the other unconfirmed i'-dropouts in the overdense region can be also z ~ 6 galaxies. Hence, it could be a candidate forming cluster at z ~ 6, representing a progenitor of galaxy clusters seen in the recent-day Universe.

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arXiv2006

An Interpretation of Flat Density Cores of Clusters of Galaxies by Degeneracy Pressure of Fermionic Dark Matter: A Case Study of Abell 1689

Flat density cores have been obtained for a limited number of clusters of galaxies by strong gravitational lensing. This paper explores the possibility that the degeneracy pressure of fermionic dark matter accounts for the flat top density profiles. This is a case study of A1689 for which the density profile has been obtained from the inner region out to 1Mpc by the combination of strong and weak lensing. In the case that the dark matter consists of the mixture of degenerate relic neutrinos and collisionless cold dark matter particles, the acceptable mass range for relic neutrinos is between 1 and 2 eV, if the ratio of the two kinds of dark matter particles is fixed to its cosmic value.

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arXiv2006

Dynamical Stability of Cusps and Cores: Implication to the Centers of Galaxies and Cluster of Galaxies

We study the stability of a spherically symmetric density profile. We analyze the case of a collisionless system with a power-law profile given by rho propto r^-alpha, in the Newtonian regime using the Jeans equation. The Jeans equation is mathematically identical to the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium as long as p_J = rho sigma^2 is regarded as the pressure counterpart for ordinary gas, where sigma is the local velocity dispersion. Since a self-gravitating collisionless system is at best metastable, if it is treated statistical mechanically, the dynamical equilibrium described by the Jeans equation will have a shorter life time than the thermodynamically stable equilibrium for ordinary gas. Here we take a heuristic approach, using the pressure counterpart, p_J. From the requirement that p_J > 0 or the normalcy of the formal EOS, p_J = p_J(rho) obtained by eliminating r, we find the following heuristic stability criterion. For 0 < alpha < 1, p_J < 0, the density profile is unstable. We interpret this profile to be a transient one evolving toward a flat-top profile, which seems to be the final product with absolute stability. For 1<alpha <3, the profile is dynamically stable. It is an interesting coincidence that dark matter halo profiles obtained by cosmological N-body simulations, fall into this category. For 3<alpha, p_J<0. We suspect that such a steep profile is in the process of collapsing toward r=0.

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arXiv2006

Zenith-Distance Dependence of Chromatic Shear Effect: A Limiting Factor for an Extreme Adaptive Optics System

Consider a perfect AO system with a very fine wavefront sampling interval and a very small actuator interval. If this AO system senses wavefront at a wavelength, lambda_{WFS}, and does science imaging at another wavelength, lambda_{SCI}, the light paths through the turbulent atmosphere at these two wavelengths are slightly different for a finite zenith distance, z. The error in wavefront reconstruction of the science channel associated with this non-common path effect, or so-called chromatic shear, is uncorrectable and sets an upper bound of the system performance. We evaluate the wavefront variance, sigma^2(lambda_{WFS},lambda_{SCI},z) for a typical seeing condition at Mauna Kea and find that this effect is not negligible at a large z. If we require that the Strehl ratio be greater than 99 or 95%, z must be less than about 50 or 60 deg respectively, for the combination of visible wavefront sensing and infrared science imaging.

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arXiv2005

Fully Degenerate Self-Gravitating Fermionic Dark Matter: Implications to the Density Profile of the Cluster of Galaxies A1689, and the Mass Hierarchy of Black Holes

Equilibrium configurations of weakly interacting fully degenerate fermionic dark matter are considered at various scales in the Universe. We treat the general situations for the gravity from Newtonian to general relativity and the degeneracy from nonrelativistic to relativistic. A dimensionless equilibrium configuration is specified by a single parameter regardless of particle properties, the Fermi velocity at the center, and the scalings of mass and length are specified by the rest mass and statistical weight of the dark matter particle. We focus our attention to the flat-top nature of the mass column density profile of the cluster of galaxies, A1689, recently reported by Broadhurst et al. using gravitational lensing. We convert the column density profile to a volume density profile assuming spherical symmetry and derive a 3D encircled mass profile of A1689, which is compared with the model profiles of degenerate fermion structures. The flat-top profile is reproduced. The corresponding fermion mass ranges from 2 eV to 30 eV depending on the actual scale of the degenerate structure. If massive neutrinos are the dominant dark matter, the rest mass will be about 4.7 or 2.3 eV respectively for Majorana or Dirac neutrinos. The mass and size of the degenerate structure are $10^{14}M_\odot$ and 100 kpc for Majorana neutrinos, and 5$\times10^{14}M_\odot$ and 300 kpc for Dirac neutrinos. If we identify the fermions as heavier sterile neutrinos, they yield the characteristic mass hierarchy of black holes; giant black hole at the center of a galaxy and the intermediate mass black holes. Thus we propose the possibility that the mass hierarchy of fermions determines that of black holes in the Universe.

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arXiv2004

Dust in the Photospheric Environment II. Effect on the Near Infrared Spectra of L and T Dwarfs

We report an attempt to interpret the spectra of L and T dwarfs with the use of the Unified Cloudy Model (UCM). For this purpose, we extend the grid of the UCMs to the cases of log g = 4.5 and 5.5. The dust column density relative to the gas column density in the observable photosphere is larger at the higher gravities, and molecular line intensity is generally smaller at the higher gravities. The overall spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are f_{J} < f_{H} < f_{K} in middle and late L dwarfs, f_{J} < f_{H} > f_{K} in early T dwarfs (L/T transition objects), and finally f_{J} > f_{H} > f_{K} in middle and late T dwarfs, where f_{J}, f_{H}, and f_{K} are the peak fluxes at J, H, and K bands, respectively, in f_{nu} unit. This tendency is the opposite to what is expected for the temperature effect, but can be accounted for as the effect of thin dust clouds formed deep in the photosphere together with the effect of the gaseous opacities including H_2 (CIA), H_2O, CH_4, and K I. Although the UCMs are semi-empirical models based on a simple assumption that thin dust clouds form in the region of T_{cr} < T < T_{cond} (T_{cr} = 1800K is an only empirical parameter while T_{cond} about 2000K is fixed by the thermodynamical data), the major observations including the overall SEDs as well as the strengths of the major spectral features are consistently accounted for throughout L and T dwarfs. In view of the formidable complexities of the cloud formation, we hope that our UCM can be of some use as a guide for future modelings of the ultracool dwarfs as well as for interpretation of observed data of L and T dwarfs.

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arXiv2004

Spectral Classification and Effective Temperatures of L and T Dwarfs Based of Near-Infrared Spectra

We have obtained near-infrared spectra of L dwarfs, L/T transition objects and T dwarfs using Subaru. Resulting spectra are examined in detail to see their dependence on the spectral types. We have obtained bolometric luminosities of the objects with known parallaxes in our sample, first by integrating the spectra and second by K band bolometric correction. We derive the relation between effective temperature and spectral type.

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arXiv2003

Transition from L to T Dwarfs on the Color-Magnitude Diagram

The color-magnitude (CM) diagram of cool dwarfs and brown dwarfs based on the recent astrometry data is compared with the CM diagram transformed from the theoretical evolutionary tracks via the unified cloudy models (UCMs) of L and T dwarfs. A reasonable agreement between the models and observations is shown for the whole regime of ultracool dwarfs covering L and T dwarfs, and this is achieved, for the first time, with the use of a single grid of self-consistent nongray model photospheres accommodating dust cloud (UCMs with T_eff between 700 and 2600 K). A distinct brightening at the J band in the early T dwarfs revealed by the recent parallax measurements is explained as a natural consequence of the migration of the thin dust cloud to the inner region of the photosphere and should not necessarily be evidence for Burgasser et al.'s proposition that the dust cloud breaks up in the L/T dwarf transition. Also, the rapid bluing from the late L to the early T dwarfs is a direct result of the transition of the thin dust cloud from the optically thin (tau < 1) to thick (tau > 1) regimes while L_bol and T_eff} lower only slightly. Thus, the theoretical evolutionary models, the cloudy models of the photospheres (UCMs), and the observed fundamental stellar parameters aqre brought into a consistent picture of the newly defined L and T dwarfs.

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arXiv2001

H and K Band Methane Features in an L Dwarf, 2MASS 0920+35

We have obtained near-infrared spectra of three L dwarfs discovered by 2MASS, 1506+13 (L3), 1507-16 (L5), and 0920+35 (L6.5). From the comparison of the H and K band spectra of these L dwarfs, we have found the presence of methane absorption in 0920+35. This implies that detectable methane absorption in the H and K bands, usually considered the signature of a T dwarf, can be present in objects classified optically as late L. Methane detection in L dwarfs is consistent with the presence of a dust layer deep in the atmosphere as the unified model of Tsuji suggests.

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arXiv2001

Sensitivity of a Ground-Based Infrared Interferometer for Aperture Synthesis Imaging

Sensitivity limits of ground-based infrared interferometers using aperture synthesis are presented. The motivation of this analysis is to compare an interferometer composed of multiple large telescopes and a single giant telescope with adaptive optics. In deriving these limits, perfect wavefront correction by adaptive optics and perfect cophasing by fringe tracking are assumed. We consider the case in which n beams are pairwise combined at n(n-1)/2 detectors and the case in which all the n beams are combined at a single detector. As a case study, we compare the point-source sensitivities of interferometers composed of nine 10-m diameter telescopes and a 30-m diameter single telescope with adaptive optics between 1 and 10 microns.

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arXiv2000

Sensitivity of an Imaging Space Infrared Interferometer

We study the sensitivities of space infrared interferometers. We formulate the signal-to-noise ratios of infrared images obtained by aperture synthesis in the presence of source shot noise, background shot noise and detector read noise. We consider the case in which n beams are pairwise combined at n(n-1)/2 detectors, and the case in which all the n beams are combined at a single detector. We apply the results to future missions, Terrestrial Planet Finder and Darwin. We also discuss the potential of a far-infrared interferometer for a deep galaxy survey.

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arXiv1999

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Cool Brown Dwarf, SDSS 1624+00

Using the Subaru Telescope, we have obtained multiple near-infrared spectra of the cool brown dwarf, SDSS 1624+00, in search of spectral variability in an 80 minute time span. We have found the suspected variability of water vapor absorption throughout the observations, which requires confirmation by a longer time baseline. After coadding the spectra, we have obtained a high-quality spectrum covering 1.05 to 1.8 um. Three kinds of spectral indicators, the water vapor bands, methane band, and KI lines in J band, suggest that SDSS 1624+00 is warmer and dustier than Gl 229B.

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