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Tom Ray

Publications and source records attributed to Tom Ray.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2010

Brown Dwarf Jets: Investigating the Universality of Jet Launching Mechanisms at the Lowest Masses

Recently it has become apparent that proto-stellar-like outflow activity extends to the brown dwarf (BD) mass regime. While the presence of accretion appears to be the common ingredient in all objects known to drive jets fundamental questions remain unanswered. The more prominent being the exact mechanism by which jets are launched, and whether this mechanism remains universal among such a diversity of sources and scales. To address these questions we have been investigating outflow activity in a sample of protostellar objects that differ considerably in mass and mass accretion rate. Central to this is our study of brown dwarf jets. To date Classical T Tauri stars (CTTS) have offered us the best touchstone for decoding the launching mechanism. Here we shall summarise what is understood so far of BD jets and the important constraints observations can place on models. We will focus on the comparison between jets driven by objects with central mass < 0.1M \odot and those driven by CTTSs. In particular we wish to understand how the the ratio of the mass outflow to accretion rate compares to what has been measured for CTTSs.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2010

The 2008 Outburst in the Young Stellar System Z CMa: The First Detection of Twin Jets

The Z CMa binary is understood to undergo both FU Orionis (FUOR) and EX Orionis (EXOR) type outbursts. While the SE component has been spectro- scopically identified as an FUOR, the NW component, a Herbig Be star, is the source of the EXOR outbursts. The system has been identified as the source of a large outflow, however, previous studies have failed to identify the driver. Here we present adaptive optics (AO) assisted [FeII] spectro-images which reveal for the first time the presence of two jets. Observations made using OSIRIS at the Keck Observatory show the Herbig Be star to be the source of the parsec-scale outflow, which within 2'' of the source shows signs of wiggling and the FUOR to '' be driving a ~ 0.4 jet. The wiggling of the Herbig Be star's jet is evidence for an additional companion which could in fact be generating the EXOR outbursts, the last of which began in 2008 (Grankin & Artemenko 2009). Indeed the dy- namical scale of the wiggling corresponds to a time-scale of 4-8 years which is in agreement with the time-scale of these outbursts. The spectro-images also show a bow-shock shaped feature and possible associated knots. The origin of this structure is as of yet unclear. Finally interesting low velocity structure is also observed. One possibility is that it originates in a wide-angle outflow launched from a circumbinary disk.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2006

Toward Resolving the Outflow Engine: An Observational Perspective

Jets from young stars represent one of the most striking signposts of star formation. The phenomenon has been researched for over two decades and there is now general agreement that such jets are generated as a by-product of accretion; most likely by the accretion disk itself. Thus they mimic what occurs in more exotic objects such as active galactic nuclei and micro-quasars. The precise mechanism for their production however remains a mystery. To a large degree, progress is hampered observationally by the embedded nature of many jet sources as well as a lack of spatial resolution: Crude estimates, as well as more sophisticated models, nevertheless suggest that jets are accelerated and focused on scales of a few AU at most. It is only in the past few years however that we have begun to probe such scales in detail using classical T Tauri stars as touchstones. Application of adaptive optics, data provided by the HST, use of specialised techniques such as spectro-astrometry, and the development of spectral diagnostic tools, are beginning to reveal conditions in the jet launch zone. This has helped enormously to constrain models. Further improvements in the quality of the observational data are expected when the new generation of interferometers come on-line. Here we review some of the most dramatic findings in this area since Protostars and Planets~IV including indications for jet rotation, i.e. that they transport angular momentum. We will also show how measurements, such as those of width and the velocity field close to the source, suggest jets are initially launched as warm magneto-centrifugal disk winds. (abridged)

astro-ph↗
arXiv2003

Parsec-Scale Herbig-Haro Outflows from Intermediate Mass Stars

While there are many parsec-scale Herbig-Haro (HH) outflows known to be driven by low-mass young stars, few are associated with their intermediate mass counterparts. Here we present the discovery of five such bipolar outflows. Of these, LkHalpha 198, 1548C27 IRS1, LkHalpha 233 and LkHalpha 234 were previously known to possess small-scale HH flows, while no such activity was observed before near IRAS 19395+2313. The largest of the newly discovered outflows are seen in the vicinity of LkHalpha 234 and 1548C27 IRS1, and stretch (in projection) 8pc and 7.5pc respectively. LkHalpha 233 which was previously known to power a spectroscopically detected small-scale (< 10'') jet is now seen to drive a 3pc outflow and LkHalpha 198 is shown here to power a 2pc outflow. Two HH objects in the vicinity of IRAS 19395+2313 lead us to suggest that it may also be responsible for a 5pc outflow. In total, 27 new HH objects/complexes were discovered. Examination of these parsec-scale outflows show that they have similar lengths, morphologies, and dynamical timescales as those from low-mass sources. Many appear to have blown out of the parent cloud, suggesting that their total lengths are much greater than optically observed. The degree of collimation of these outflows is similar to those from low-mass sources suggesting that the transition to more poorly-collimated outflows must occur at higher masses than the sources observed here.

astro-ph↗