Ch. E. Woodward

Thermal Emission From The Dust Coma Of Comet Hale-Bopp And The Composition Of The Silicate Grains

Abstract The dust coma of comet Hale-Bopp was observed in the thermal infrared over a wide range in solar heating (R = 4.9–0.9 AU) and over the full wavelength range from 3 μm to 160 μm. Unusual early activity produced an extensive coma containing small warm refractory grains; already at 4.9 AU, the 10 μm silicate emission feature was strong and the color temperature was 30% above the equilibrium blackbody temperature. Near perihelion the high color temperature, strong silicate feature, and high albedo indicated a smaller mean grain size than in other comets. The 8–13 μm spectra revealed a silicate emission feature similar in shape to that seen in P/Halley and several new and long period comets. Detailed spectral structure in the feature was consistent over time and with different instruments; the main peaks occur at 9.3, 10.0 and 11.2 μm. These peaks can be identified with olivine and pyroxene minerals, linking the comet dust to the anhydrous chondritic aggregate interplanetary dust particles. Spectra at 16–40 μm taken with the ISO SWS displayed pronounced emission peaks due to Mg-rich crystalline olivine, consistent with the 11.2 μm peak.

The peculiar infrared temporal development of Nova Vulpeculae 1987 (QV Vulpeculae)

The paper reports 1.25-19.5-micron IR photometry and optical/IR spectroscopy of Nova QV Vul (1987) from November 1987 through September 1989. The measurements show that an optically thick carbon dust shell formed within 83 d of the outburst, and that the spectral signatures of four types of astrophysical grains appeared at various times during a 2-yr period following the eruption. Carbon, SiC, and hydrocarbons formed first; oxygen-rich silicates formed later. It is suggested that the carbon dust components formed in fast-moving polar flumes, and that the silicates formed in a slow-moving equatorial ring. Mass estimates from the IR photometry and optical spectroscopy confirm that grain condensation in both the slow and fast ejecta of QV Vul is consistent with constraints established by previous observations of other dusty novae. It is concluded that the condensible elements in these grains were present in approximately solar abundance.

The infrared coronal lines of recent novae

IR coronal line emissions are reported in the novae V1819 Cyg and V827 Her; high-resolution near-IR spectra of coronal line emission in the nova QU Vul have also been obtained, increasing the number of known IR coronal line novae from two to four. Each of the four is found to be characterized by approximately the same Si VI/Si VII line-intensity ratio, which indicates a common coronal-zone electron temperature of 300,000 K. The coronal-line novae are noted to possess a remarkably similar near-IR spectrum, suggesting that their coronal line emission will only occasionally be observed at optical wavelengths. 51 refs.

A near-infrared survey of the OMC2 region

We present an unbiased survey at 1.25-2.2 micrometers of a 0.025 sq. deg. region surrounding the core of Orion Molecular Cloud 2 (OMC-2). Analysis of the source counts and colors indicates that the majority of the sources brighter than K = +13 are not field stars. They must be members of a young association or associations within the survey area. The K band luminosity function (corrected for field star contamination using model calculations) exhibits a drop in counts at magnitudes fainter than K = +13 (approximately 0.15 solar luminosity). This is most easily explained by assuming that the association(s) are young. The lowest mass stars simply have not yet reached the main sequence. The distribution of colors across the region shows moderate correlation with molecular gas, but both reddened and unreddened stars are present along most lines of sight. Considerable reflection nebulosity is present in the region of the core cluster of OMC2 itself. Of particular interest are the thin streamers emanating from the star J9, which may be the remnant of a bipolar nebula produced by the star in the recent past.

The Infrared Spectrum of the Optically Thin Dust Shell of V705 Cassiopeiae (Nova Cassiopeiae 1993)

We report 1.25 to 18 mm infrared photometry spectroscopy of the optically thin dust shell of V705 Cassiopeiae (Nova Cas 1993) between 330 and 418 days after the outburst. The measurements show that the dust shell, which had been optically thick until at least day2131, now shows the spectral signatures of optically thin astrophysical silicate grains at 10 and 20 mm and hydrocarbons at 3.2‐3.4 and 11.3 mm. The 1‐8 mm continuum which is due to carbon dust is still present, although it no longer has a blackbody spectral energy distribution. We estimate mass of silicate grains required to produce the observed visual extinction and conclude that the condensible elements in the silicate grains may be overabundant with respect to hydrogen. Subject headings: circumstellar matter—dust, extinction—infrared: stars —stars: individual (V705 Cassiopeiae)