No Arabic abstract
Deep and wide-field optical photometric observations along with multiwavelength archival datasets have been employed to study the physical properties of the cluster NGC 6910. The study also examines the impact of massive stars to their environment. The age, distance and reddening of the cluster are estimated to be $sim$4.5 Myr, $1.72pm0.08$ kpc, and $ E(B-V)_{min}= 0.95$ mag, respectively. The mass function slope ($Gamma = -0.74pm0.15$ in the cluster region is found to be flatter than the Salpeter value (-1.35), indicating the presence of excess number of massive stars. The cluster also shows mass segregation towards the central region due to their formation processes. The distribution of warm dust emission is investigated towards the central region of the cluster, showing the signature of the impact of massive stars within the cluster region. Radio continuum clumps powered by massive B-type stars (age range $sim$ 0.07-0.12 Myr) are traced, which are located away from the center of the stellar cluster NGC 6910 (age $sim$ 4.5 Myr). Based on the values of different pressure components exerted by massive stars, the photoionized gas associated with the cluster is found to be the dominant feedback mechanism in the cluster. Overall, the massive stars in the cluster might have triggered the birth of young massive B-type stars in the cluster. This argument is supported with evidence of the observed age gradient between the cluster and the powering sources of the radio clumps.
[Abridged] Protoplanetary disks have been studied extensively, both physically and chemically, to understand the environment in which planets form. However, the first steps of planet formation are likely to occur already when the protostar and disk are still embedded in their natal envelope. The initial conditions for planet formation may thus be provided by these young embedded disks, of which the physical and chemical structure is poorly characterized. We aim to constrain the midplane temperature structure, one of the critical unknowns, of the embedded disk around L1527. In particular, we set out to determine whether there is an extended cold outer region where CO is frozen out, as is the case for Class II disks. We use archival ALMA data to directly observe the midplane of the near edge-on L1527 disk. Optically thick $^{13}$CO ($J=2-1$) and C$^{18}$O ($J=2-1$) emission is observed throughout the disk and inner envelope, while N$_2$D$^+ (J=3-2$), which can only be abundant when CO is frozen out, is not detected. Both CO isotopologues have brightness temperatures $gtrsim$ 25 K along the midplane. Disk and envelope emission can be disentangled kinematically, because the largest velocities are reached in the disk. A power law radial temperature profile constructed using the highest midplane temperature at these velocities suggest that the temperature is above 20 K out to at least 75 AU, and possibly throughout the entire 125 AU disk. Radiative transfer models show that a model without CO freeze-out in the disk matches the C$^{18}$O observations better than a model with the CO snowline at $sim$70 AU. In addition, there is no evidence for a large (order of magnitude) depletion of CO. The disk around L1527 is likely to be warm enough to have CO present in the gas phase throughout the disk, suggesting that young embedded disks can indeed be warmer than the more evolved Class II disks.
Planets form in disks around young stars. The planet formation process may start when the protostar and disk are still deeply embedded within their infalling envelope. However, unlike more evolved protoplanetary disks, the physical and chemical structure of these young embedded disks are still poorly constrained. We have analyzed ALMA data for $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O and N$_2$D$^+$ to constrain the temperature structure, one of the critical unknowns, in the disk around L1527. The spatial distribution of $^{13}$CO and C$^{18}$O, together with the kinetic temperature derived from the optically thick $^{13}$CO emission and the non-detection of N$_2$D$^+$, suggest that this disk is warm enough ($gtrsim$ 20 K) to prevent CO freeze-out.
Asteroseismology offers the possibility of probing stellar interiors and testing evolutionary and seismic models. Precise photometry and spectroscopy obtained during multi-site campaigns on young open clusters allows discovering rich samples of pulsating stars and using them in a simultaneous seismic modelling called ensemble asteroseismology. The aim of this study is to obtain the age of the open cluster NGC 6910 by means of ensemble asteroseismology of the early-type pulsating members, to derive their stellar parameters, and to classify the excited modes. We used time-series analysis, performed photometric and spectroscopic mode identification, and calculated grids of evolutionary and seismic models to apply the procedure of ensemble asteroseismology for nine pulsating members of NGC 6910. With two iterations of the procedure of ensemble asteroseismology applied to nine pulsating stars we derived an age of 10.6$^{+0.9}_{-0.8}$ Myr for NGC 6910. Of the nine pulsating stars examined in the paper, eight are $beta$ Cep stars, including three that are hybrid $beta$ Cep and slowly pulsating B-type (SPB) pulsators, and one is an SPB star. Interestingly, the least massive $beta$ Cep star, NGC 6910-38, has a mass of about 5.6 M$_odot$. The present theory does not predict unstable $p$ modes in B-type stars with such a low mass. The $g$ modes with relatively high frequencies ($>3.5$ d$^{-1}$), observed in three members of the cluster, are also stable according to seismic modelling. Both findings pose a challenge for theoretical calculations and prompt a revision of the opacities. The procedure of ensemble asteroseismology was found to be successful for NGC 6910 and $chi$ Per on the basis of pulsating B-type stars and can therefore be applied to other young open clusters that are rich in such stars.
This chapter presents a review on the latest advances in the computation of physical conditions and chemical abundances of elements present in photoionized gas H II regions and planetary nebulae). The arrival of highly sensitive spectrographs attached to large telescopes and the development of more sophisticated and detailed atomic data calculations and ionization correction factors have helped to raise the number of ionic species studied in photoionized nebulae in the last years, as well as to reduce the uncertainties in the computed abundances. Special attention will be given to the detection of very faint lines such as heavy-element recombination lines of C, N and O in H II regions and planetary nebulae, and collisionally excited lines of neutron-capture elements (Z >30) in planetary nebulae.
As a result of the variability survey in Chi Persei and NGC6910, the number of Beta Cep stars that are members of these two open clusters is increased to twenty stars, nine in NGC6910 and eleven in Chi Persei. We compare pulsational properties, in particular the frequency spectra, of Beta Cep stars in both clusters and explain the differences in terms of the global parameters of the clusters. We also indicate that the more complicated pattern of the variability among B type stars in Chi Persei is very likely caused by higher rotational velocities of stars in this cluster. We conclude that the sample of pulsating stars in the two open clusters constitutes a very good starting point for the ensemble asteroseismology of Beta Cep-type stars and maybe also for other B-type pulsators.