Anders Winnberg

Long-term Evolution of the Outgassing of Comet Hale-Bopp From Radio Observations

C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) has been observed on a regular basis since August 1995 at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths using IRAM, JCMT, CSO and SEST radio telescopes. The production rates of eight molecular species (CO, HCN, CH3OH, H2CO,H2S, CS, CH3CN,HNC) have been monitored as a function of heliocentric distance(rh from 7 AU pre-perihelion to 4 AU post-perihelion. As comet Hale-Bopp approached and receded from the Sun, these species displayed different behaviours. Far from the Sun, the most volatile species were found in general relatively more abundant in the coma. In comparison to other species, HNC, H2CO and CS showed a much steeper increase of the production rate with decreasing rh. Less than 1.5 AU from the Sun, the relative abundances were fairly stable and approached those found in other comets near 1 AU.The kinetic temperature of the coma, estimated from the relative intensities of the CH3OH and CO lines, increased with decreasing rh, from about10 K at 7 AU to 110 K around perihelion. The expansion velocity of the gaseous species, derived from the line shapes, also increased with a law close torh3.

The 1995-2002 Long-Term Monitoring of Comet C/1995 O1 (HALE-BOPP) at Radio Wavelength

The bright comet Hale-Bopp provided the first opportunity to follow the outgassing rates of a number of molecular species over a large range of heliocentric distances. We present the results of our observing campaign at radio wavelengths which began in August 1995 and ended in January 2002. The observations were carried out with the telescopes of Nancay, IRAM, JCMT, CSO and, since September 1997, SEST. The lines of nine molecules (OH, CO, HCN, CH3OH, H2CO, H2S, CS, CH3CN and HNC) were monitored. CS, H2S, H2CO, CH3CN were detected up to r h = 3–4 AU from the Sun, while HCN and CH3OH were detected up to 6 AU. CO, which is the main driver of cometary activity at heliocentric distances larger than 3–4 AU, was last detected in August 2001, at r h = 14 AU.

Observations of the Circumstellar Water 110→101 and Ammonia 10→00 Lines in IRC +10216 by the Odin Satellite

Submillimeter lines of H2O and NH3 have been detected in the carbon star IRC +10216 (CW Leo) with the Odin submillimeter satellite. The detection of the J = 110 → 101 557 GHz line of ortho-H2O confirms the earlier detection in the same source with SWAS. The detection of the JK = 10 → 00 572 GHz line represents the first observation of the ground-state rotational transition of NH3 in a stellar envelope. By fitting a molecular line transfer model to the observed lines, we derive an ortho-H2O abundance of 2.4 × 10-6, which is consistent with estimates from the SWAS observation. The derived ortho-NH3 abundance of 1 × 10-6 relative to H2 is significantly higher than those derived from 24 GHz inversion transitions and is slightly higher than those from vibrational transitions in the infrared band. The high H2O and NH3 abundances in the carbon-rich star IRC +10216 underscore shortcomings in the conventional gas-phase LTE and non-LTE chemical models.

Longest continuous ground‐based measurements of mesospheric CO

The longest continuous series of ground-based measurements of mesospheric CO is presented. The continuous data cover the period September 2000 to September 2002. Sporadic measurements from 1988 and 1989 are also reported. The results show a large CO accumulation in the winter mesosphere, which is consistent with generally accepted ideas about the seasonally-varying mean meridional circulation. Comparison of the observations with simulations by the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) indicate that the model can reproduce the observed seasonal cycle as well as much of its variability, although calculated columns amounts are smaller than the largest values seen in the data.

The 22 GHz radio-aeronomy receiver at Onsala Space Observatory

We present a radiometer system for regular long-term measurements of water vapour in the middle atmosphere. To be able to do continuous and long-term measurements a simple, robust, reliable and automatic system is needed. Our system therefore is based on a stable, uncooled, HEMT amplifier frontend and on a digital spectrometer backend. In order to minimise reflections in the frontend transmission line, which distort the signal due to standing waves, we have designed a corrugated receiver horn, which combines good characteristics (low return loss and sidelobes) and narrow beamwidth to simplify the receiver optics. In order to make the radiometer system as simple as possible, we use the sky as the calibration cold load. This is possible since we use the observed brightness temperatures of an already existing broadband dual-channel 21.0/31.4-GHz radiometer, at the observation site, to estimate the brightness temperature of the sky at . However, we have developed a calibration method, which makes it possible to estimate the sky brightness temperature even if we cannot use the dual-channel radiometer. Despite new measurements, which became available in recent years, the determination of middle atmospheric water vapour distribution still remains a challenge due to the fact that there is a large dispersion among the different measurement methods and data sets, which are obtained on a sparse and sporadic basis. This is the reason why several instruments similar to ours currently are developed in Europe.

The detection of class I methanol masers towards regions of low-mass star formation

Six young bipolar outflows in regions of low-intermediate-mass star formation were observed in the 70-61A+, 80-71A+, and 5−1-40E methanol lines at 44, 95, and 84 GHz, respectively. Narrow features were detected towards NGC 1333-IRS4A, HH 25MMS, and L1157-B1. The flux densities of the detected lines are not higher than 11 Jy, which is much lower than the flux densities of strong maser lines in regions of high-mass star formation. Analysis shows that the narrow features are most likely masers.

Production and Kinematics of CO in Comet 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at Large Post-Perihelion Distances

Production and Kinematics of CO in Comet 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at Large Post-Perihelion Distances

An SiO Maser Search off the Galactic Plane

We searched for the SiO J = 1 -0, v = 1 and 2 maser lines at similar to 43 GHz in 277 2MASS/MSX/IRAS sources off the Galactic plane (vertical bar b vertical bar greater than or similar to 3 degrees), which resulted in 119 (112 new) detections. Among the new detections, two are very faint objects with MSX 12 mu m flux densities below 2 Jy. These are likely to be O-rich AGB-stars associated with dwarf-galaxy tidal tails. The sample also includes medium bright MSX objects at moderately high galactic latitudes (3 degrees < vertical bar b vertical bar < 5 degrees) and in the TRAS gap at higher latitudes. A signature of a warp of the inner Galactic disk is found for a disk subsample. This warp appears relatively strongly in the area of 0 degrees < l < 45 degrees and 3 degrees < vertical bar b vertical bar < 5 degrees. We also found a group of stars that does not follow to the Galactic rotation. This feature appears in the Galactic disk at l similar to 27 degrees, and extends more than 15 degrees in the galactic latitude, like a stream of tidal debris from a dwarf galaxy.

Parameters of Warm Molecular Clouds from Methyl Acetylene Observations

The results of a survey of 63 Galactic star-forming regions in the 6K–5K and 5K–4K methyl acetylene lines at 102.5 and 85.5 GHz are presented. Fourty-three sources were detected at 102.5 GHz, and twenty-five at 85.5 GHz. Emission was detected toward molecular clouds with kinetic temperatures of 20–60 K (so-called “warm clouds”). The CH3CCH abundances in these clouds are about several ×10−9. Five sources (NGC 2264, G30.8-0.1, G34.26+0.15, DR 21(OH), S140) were mapped using the maximum-entropy method. The sizes of the mapped clouds fall in the range 0.1–1.7 pc, and the clouds have virial masses of 90–6200 M⊙ and densities between 6×104 and 6×105 cm−3. The CH3CCH sources coincide spatially with the CO and CS sources. Chemical-evolution simulations show that the typical methyl acetylene abundances in the observed clouds correspond to ages of ≈6×104 years.

The detection of new methanol masers in the 5−1–40E line

Forty-eight objects were detected in the 5−1–40E methanol line at 84.5 GHz during a survey of Class I maser sources. Narrow maser features were found in 14 of these. Broad quasi-thermal lines were detected toward other sources. One of the objects with narrow features at 84.5 GHz, the young bipolar outflow L1157, was also observed in the 80–71A+ line at 95.2 GHz; a narrow line was detected at this frequency. Analysis showed that the broad lines are usually inverted. The quasi-thermal profiles imply that there are no more than a few line opacities. These results confirm the plausibility of models in which compact Class I masers appear in extended sources as a result of a preferential velocity field.