No Arabic abstract
The unprecedented quality of the observations available from the Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array (ALMA) calls for analysis methods making the best of them. Reconstructing in space the morphology and kinematics of radio sources is an underdetermined problem that requires imposing additional constraints for its solution. The hypothesis of rotational invariance about a well-defined star axis, which is a good approximation to the description of the gas envelopes of many evolved stars and protostars, is particularly efficient in this role. In the first part of the article, a systematic use of simulated observations allows for identifying the main problems and for constructing quantities aimed at solving them. In particular the evaluation of the orientation of the star axis in space and the differentiation between expansion along the star axis and rotation about it are given special attention. The use of polar rather than Cartesian sky coordinates is shown to better match the morphology and kinematics of actual stars. The radial dependence of the gas density and temperature and the possible presence of velocity gradients are briefly considered. In the second part, the results obtained in the first part are applied to a few stars taken as examples with the aim of evaluating their usefulness when applied to concrete cases. A third part takes stock of what precedes and formulates some guidelines for modelling the radio emission of axisymmetric radio sources, limited however to the mathematics and geometry of the problem, physics considerations being ignored.
Observations of 12CO(3-2) emission of the circumbinary envelope of Mira Ceti, made by ALMA are analysed. The observed Doppler velocity distribution is made of three components: a blue-shifted south-eastern arc, which can be described as a ring in slow radial expansion, ~1.7 km/s, making an angle of ~50 deg with the plane of the sky and born some 2000 years ago; a few arcs, probably born at the same epoch as the blue-shifted arc, all sharing Doppler velocities red-shifted by approximately 3 +/- 2 km/s with respect to the main star; the third, central region dominated by the circumbinary envelope, displaying two outflows in the south-western and north-eastern hemispheres. At short distances from the star, up to ~1.5, these hemispheres display very different morphologies: the south-western outflow covers a broad solid angle, expands radially at a rate between 5 and 10 km/s and is slightly red shifted; the north-eastern outflow consists of two arms, both blue-shifted, bracketing a broad dark region where emission is suppressed. At distances between ~1.5 and ~2.5 the asymmetry between the two hemispheres is significantly smaller and detached arcs, particularly spectacular in the north-eastern hemisphere are present. Close to the stars, we observe a mass of gas surrounding Mira B, with a size of a few tens of AU, and having Doppler velocities with respect to Mira B reaching +/-1.5 km/s, which we interpret as gas flowing from Mira A toward Mira B.
Hybrid morphology radio sources (HyMoRS) are a rare group of radio galaxies in which differing Fanaroff & Riley morphologies (FR I/II) are observed for each of the two lobes. While they potentially provide insights into the formation of lobe structure, particle acceleration, and the FR dichotomy, previous work on HyMoRS has mainly been limited to low-resolution studies, searches for new candidates, and milliarcsecond-scale VLBI observations of the core region. In this paper, we use new multi-array configuration Very Large Array (VLA) observations between 1 and 8 GHz to determine the morphology of HyMoRS on arcsecond scales and perform the first well-resolved spectral study of these unusual sources. We find that while the apparent FR I lobe is centre-brightened, this is the result of a compact acceleration region resembling a hotspot with a spectrum more consistent with an FR II (strong-flavour) jet. We find that the spectra of the apparent FR I lobes are not similar to their classical counterparts and are likely the result of line-of-sight mixing of plasma across a range of spectral ages. We consider possible mechanisms that could lead to the formation of HyMoRS under such conditions, including environment asymmetry and restarted sources, concluding through the use of simple modelling that HyMoRS are the result of orientation effects on intrinsically FR II sources with lobes non-parallel to the inner jet.
We analyse ALMA observations of the 12CO(3-2) emission of the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of the Mira variable binary star W Aql. These provide, for the first time, spatially resolved Doppler velocity spectra of the CSE up to angular distances to the central star of ~ 5 (meaning some 2000 AU). The exploratory nature of the observations (only five minutes in each of two different configurations) does not allow for a detailed modelling of the properties of the CSE but provides important qualitative information on its morphology and kinematics. Emission is found to be enhanced along an axis moving from east/west to north-east/south-west when the angular distance from the central star projected on the plane of the sky increases from zero to four arcseconds. In parallel, the Doppler velocity distribution displays asymmetry along an axis moving from east/west to north-west/south-east. The results are discussed in the context of earlier observations, in particular of the dust morphology.
Observations of the $^{12}$CO(3-2) emission of the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of the variable star $pi^1$ Gru using the compact array (ACA) of the ALMA observatory have been recently made accessible to the public. An analysis of the morphology and kinematics of the CSE is presented with a result very similar to that obtained earlier for $^{12}$CO(2-1) emission by Chiu et al. (2006) using the Sub-Millimeter Array. A quantitative comparison is made using their flared disk model. A new model is presented that provides a significantly better description of the data, using radial winds and smooth evolutions of the radio emission and wind velocity from the stellar equator to the poles.
We present new ATCA 21-cm line observations of the neutral hydrogen in the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A. We image in detail (with a resolution down to 7, ~100pc) the distribution of HI along the dust lane. Our data have better velocity resolution and better sensitivity than previous observations. The HI extends for a total of ~15kpc. The data, combined with a titled-ring model of the disk, allow to conclude that the kinematics of the HI is that of a regularly rotating, highly warped structure down to the nuclear scale. The parameters (in particular the inclination) of our model are somewhat different from some of the previously proposed models but consistent with what was recently derived from stellar light in a central ring. The model nicely describes also the morphology of the dust lane as observed with Spitzer. There are no indications that large-scale anomalies in the kinematics exist that could be related to supplying material for the AGN. Large-scale radial motions do exist, but these are only present at larger radii r>6kpc). This unsettled gas is mainly part of a tail/arm like structure. The relatively regular kinematics of the gas in this structure suggests that it is in the process of settling down into the main disk. The presence of this structure further supports the merger/interaction origin of the HI in Cen A. From the structure and kinematics we estimate a timescale of 1.6-3.2*10^{8}yr since the merging event. No bar structure is needed to describe the kinematics of the HI. The comparison of the timescale derived from the large-scale HI structure and those of the radio structure together with the relative regularity of the HI down to the sub-kpc regions does not suggest a one-to-one correspondence between the merger and the phase of radio activity. Interestingly, the radial motions of the outer regions are such that the projected velocities are redshifted compared to the regular orbits. This means that the blueshifted absorption discovered earlier and discussed in our previous paper cannot be caused by out-moving gas at large radius projected onto the centre. Therefore, the interpretation of the blueshifted absorption, together with at least a fraction of the redshifted nuclear absorption, as evidence for a regular inner disk, still holds. Finally, we also report the discovery of two unresolved clouds detected at 5.2 and 11kpc away (in projection) from the HI disk. They are likely an other example of left-over of the merger that brought the HI gas.