No Arabic abstract
We report VLBA observations of maser emission from the rotationally excited doublet Pi 1/2, J=1/2 state of OH at 4765 MHz. We made phase-referenced observations of W3(OH) at both 4765 MHz and 1720 MHz and found emission in three fields within a about 2000 AU diameter region and verified that in two of the three fields, 4765 MHz and 1720 MHz emission arise from the same position to within about 4 mas (about 5 AU diameter emission regions along an approximately N-S arc with linear extent about 500 AU. In addition, we carried out phase-referenced observations of 4765 MHz emission from K3-50. We searched for the 4765 MHz line in W49 (without phase referencing) and W75N (phase-referenced to the strongest 4765 MHz maser feature in DR21EX); we were unable to detect these sources with the VLBA. For 2 1/2 years (including the dates of the VLBA observations), we carried out monitoring observations of 4765 MHz emission with the VLA. Constraints on models for maser emission at 1720 MHz and 4765 MHz are derived from the observations. These observations are then briefly compared with existing models.
Astrometric accuracy of complex modern VLBI arrays cannot be calculated analytically. We study the astrometric accuracy of phase-referenced VLBI observations for the VLBA, EVN and global VLBI array by simulating VLBI data for targets at declinations -25$^circ$, 0$^circ$, 25$^circ$, 50$^circ$, 75$^circ$ and 85$^circ$. The systematic error components considered in this study are calibrator position, station coordinate, Earth orientation and troposphere parameter uncertainties. We provide complete tables of the astrometric accuracies of these arrays for a source separation of 1$^circ$ either along the right ascension axis or along the declination axis. Astrometric accuracy is 50microas at mid declination and is 300microas at low (-25$^circ$) and high (85$^circ$) declinations for the VLBA and EVN. In extending our simulations to source separations of 0.5$^circ$ and 2$^circ$, we establish the formula for the astrometric accuracy of the VLBA: Delta = (Delta_1$^circ$-14)*d+ 14 (microas) where Delta_1$^circ$ is the astrometric accuracy for a separation d=1$^circ$ provided in our tables for various declinations and conditions of the wet troposphere. We argue that this formula is also valid for the astrometric accuracy of the EVN and global VLBI array.
We present results of spectral line observations of the ground state transitions of hydroxyl(OH) toward supernova remnant IC 443 carried out with the Green Bank Telescope. At a spatial resolution of 7.2 arcminutes we detect weak, extended OH(1720 MHz) maser emission with OH(1667/5,1612 MHz) absorption along the southern extent of the remnant, where no bright compact maser sources have been observed previously. These newly detected SNR-type masers are coincident with known molecular clumps and a ridge of shocked molecular hydrogen indicative of the SNR shock front interacting with the adjacent molecular cloud. Simultaneous observation of all four ground-state transitions of OH permits us to fit physical conditions of the shocked gas at the interaction site. A simple two-component model for the line profiles yields the physical parameters for detected regions of maser emission including excitation temperature, OH column density and filling factor. Observed line profiles suggest the shock is largely propagating toward the line-of-sight in the region of these newly identified weak masers. The implications of shock geometry and physical parameters in producing extended OH maser emission in SNRs are explored. We also present VLA radio continuum observations at 330 MHz for comparison with OH line observations of the remnant.
We present the first maps of 4765-MHz OH masers in two star-forming regions Cepheus A and W75N, made with Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network. In Cep A the emission has an arc-like structure of size 40 mas with a clear velocity gradient, and lies at the edge of H II region 3b Over a period of 8 weeks the maser diminished in intensity by a factor of 7 but its structure remained stable. This structure coincides with a newly mapped 1720-MHz maser in Cep A within the positional error, and matches it in velocity. The 1720-MHz line exhibits Zeeman splitting that corresponds to a magnetic field strength of -17.3 mG. In W75N the excited 4765-MHz OH maser has a linear structure of size 45 mas with a well defined velocity gradient, and lies at the edge of H II region VLA 1. This structure coincides in position and velocity with the 1720-MHz masers. We conclude that in both sources the 4765-MHz emission coexists with 1720-MHz emission in the same volume of gas. In such a case the physical conditions in these regions are tightly constrained by the maser-pumping models.
Jets and outflows are ubiquitous phenomena in astrophysics, found in our Galaxy in diverse environments, from the formation of stars to late-type stellar objects. We present observations conducted with the 305m Arecibo Telescope of the pre-planetary nebula CRL 618 (Westbrook Nebula) - a well studied late-type star that has developed bipolar jets. The observations resulted in the first detection of 4765 MHz OH in a late-type stellar object. The line was narrow (FWHM ~ 0.6 km/s) and ~40 km/s blueshifted with respect to the systemic velocity, which suggests association with the expanding jets/bullets in CRL 618. We also report non-detection at Arecibo of any other OH transition between 1 and 9 GHz. The non-detections were obtained during the observations in 2008, when the 4765 MHz OH line was first discovered, and also in 2015 when the 4765 MHz OH line was not detected. Our data indicate that the 4765 MHz OH line was a variable maser. Modeling of the 4765 MHz OH detection and non-detection of the other transitions is consistent with the physical conditions expected in CRL 618. The 4765 MHz OH maser could originate from dissociation of H2O by shocks after sublimation of icy objects in this dying carbon-rich stellar system, although other alternatives such as OH in an oxygen-rich circumstellar region associated with a binary companion are also possible.
On this paper, we present simultaneous VLBA observations of the J=1-0 and J=2-1 rotational lines in the v=1 and v=2 vibrationally excited states of SiO (at 7 and 3 mm wavelengths). We have mapped these four maser lines in the circumstellar envelopes of three AGB stars: IRC +10011, Chi Cyg and TX Cam. We study the relative spatial distribution between these maser lines. In particular, for the two v=1 transitions, we found that the J=1-0 and J=2-1 maser spot distributions are unalike, challenging all the current theoretical pumping mechanisms for SiO masers (which predict quite similar distribution for maser lines in the same vibrational excited state).