The candidates for Class I methanol masers

The collisional excitation of methanol molecule in non-dissociative magnetohydro-dynamic shock waves is considered. All essential chemical processes that determine methanol abundance in the gas are taken into account in the shock model. The large velocity gradient approximation is used in the calculations of energy level populations of the molecule. We calculate the optical depth for inverted methanol transitions, and present the list of candidates for Class I methanol masers that have collisional pumping mechanism.

Estimation of physical conditions in star formation region S255IR-SMA1

The physical conditions were estimated from the methanol radio lines observed at 0.8 mm with IRAM30m in the star-forming region S255IR-SMA1. In the approximation of a large velocity gradient (LVG), the values of the gas kinetic temperature (170 K), the number density of molecular hydrogen (3×106 cm−3), the specific column density of methanol (2×1012 cm−3s), the relative abundance of methanol (10−7) and the filling factor (10 %). The parameter values are typical for hot dense cores. It is shown that the S255IR-SMA1 object is significantly inhomogeneous within the diagram (7.5 ).

The abundance of S- and Si-bearing molecules in O-rich circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars

Aims. We aim to determine the abundances of SiO, CS, SiS, SO, and SO2 in a large sample of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) envelopes covering a wide range of mass loss rates to investigate the potential role that these molecules could play in the formation of dust in these environments. Methods. We surveyed a sample of 30 oxygen-rich AGB stars in the λ 2 mm band using the IRAM 30m telescope. We performed excitation and radiative transfer calculations based on the large velocity gradient method to model the observed lines of the molecules and to derive their fractional abundances in the observed envelopes. Results. We detected SiO in all 30 targeted envelopes, as well as CS, SiS, SO, and SO2 in 18, 13, 26, and 19 sources, respectively. Remarkably, SiS is not detected in any envelope with a mass loss rate below 10−6 M⊙ yr−1, whereas it is detected in all envelopes with mass loss rates above that threshold. From a comparison with a previous, similar study on C-rich sources, it becomes evident that the fractional abundances of CS and SiS show a marked differentiation between C-rich and O-rich sources, being two orders of magnitude and one order of magnitude more abundant in C-rich sources, respectively, while the fractional abundance of SiO turns out to be insensitive to the C/O ratio. The abundance of SiO in O-rich envelopes behaves similarly to C-rich sources, that is, the denser the envelope the lower its abundance. A similar trend, albeit less clear than for SiO, is observed for SO in O-rich sources. Conclusions. The marked dependence of CS and SiS abundances on the C/O ratio indicates that these two molecules form more efficiently in C- than O-rich envelopes. The decline in the abundance of SiO with increasing envelope density and the tentative one for SO indicate that SiO and possibly SO act as gas-phase precursors of dust in circumstellar envelopes around O-rich AGB stars.

Numerical Simulation on Saffman Force Controlled Inclusions Removal during the ESR Process

Electroslag remelting (ESR) is an effective method for removing nonmetallic inclusions from steels or alloys. The main stage of inclusion removal during ESR is the aggregation of liquid metal film (LMF) to form droplets at the consumable electrode tip. In this study, a lab-level ESR experiment was carried out. The number and size of inclusions at the characteristic position of the electrode were quantitatively counted. The number of inclusions in the center position of LMF were larger than that in other regions. To elucidate these phenomena, a two-dimensional mathematical model was established to study the migration of inclusions in LMF. The results indicate that due to the large velocity gradient in LMF, the Saffman force is strong enough to offset the buoyant force and drag the inclusions toward the slag/LMF interface (SFI), where the inclusions will be dissolved in the SFI region by the molten slag. This study demonstrates that the Saffman force plays a key role in the removal of nonmetallic inclusions in LMF during the ESR process.

Effect of the Fish-Bone Dam Angle on the Flow Mechanisms of a Fish-Bone Type Dividing Dike

Fish-bone type dividing dikes are river engineering structures used for river training and to protect a mid-channel bar from scour. The flow characteristics around fish-bone type dividing dikes are very complicated, especially near its fish-bone dam. To understand the flow and scour processes associated with fish-bone dams, this paper conducts a numerical simulation of flow characteristics for different fish-bone dam angles. Based on the Yudaizhou fish-bone type dividing dike of the Dongliu Waterway, a 3-D numerical model is established via Flow-3D to simulate the flow characteristics around a fish-bone type dividing dike, which is verified by flume experiments. Based on the results, the effects of different fish-bone dam angles on water level and velocity distribution are investigated. With increasing fish-bone dam angle, the longitudinal and lateral gradients of the water level gradually decreased, and the variation degree of the longitudinal velocity also decreased; however, the variation degree of the lateral velocity increased. Vortex areas formed around the fish-bone dam and the downstream zone of the dike. A large velocity gradient was found around the dike, and the downstream vortex area decreased with increasing fish-bone dam angle.

Investigation of amino acetonitrile (NH2CH2CN) — a precursor of glycine, in the interstellar medium

Known values of rotational and centrifugal distortion constants, in conjunction with electric dipole moment, have been used to calculate energies for the ground rotational levels, ground vibrational state, and ground electronic state of amino acetonitrile (NH2CH2CN), which is of interest for studies of life in the universe. Probabilities for radiative transitions between the rotational levels are also calculated. Such transition probabilities are used in conjunction with scaled values for the collisional rate coefficients for large velocity gradient calculations. A line 110–111 at 450.31 MHz is found to show anomalous absorption. Two observed lines 909–808 at 80.947 GHz and 120,12–110,11 at 107.283 GHz, and another nine lines, 918–817, 716–615, 817–716, 919–818, 1019–918, 808–707, 100,10–909, 110,11–100,10, and 707–606, are found to show emission features. There are several other observed lines, which are found weaker than these 11 lines. These 10 additional lines may help in the identification of amino acetonitrile in the interstellar medium.

Molecules in the Cep E-mm jet: evidence for shock-driven photochemistry?

ABSTRACT The chemical composition of protostellar jets and its origin are still badly understood. More observational constraints are needed to make progress. With that objective, we have carried out a systematic search for molecular species in the jet of Cep E-mm, a template for intermediate-mass Class 0 protostars, associated with a luminous, high-velocity outflow. We made use of an unbiased spectral line survey in the range 72–350 GHz obtained with the IRAM 30-m telescope, complementary observations of the CO J = 3–2 transition with the JCMT, and observations at 1 arcsec angular resolution of the CO J = 2–1 transition with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. In addition to CO, we have detected rotational transitions from SiO, SO, H2CO, CS, HCO+, and HCN. A strong chemical differentiation is observed in the southern and northern lobes of the jet. Radiative transfer analysis in the large velocity gradient approximation yields typical molecular abundances of the order of 10−8 for all molecular species other than CO. Overall, the jets exhibit an unusual chemical composition, as CS, SO, and H2CO are found to be the most abundant species, with a typical abundance of (3–4)× 10−8. The transverse size of the CO jet emission estimated from interferometric observations is about 1000 au, suggesting that we are detecting emission from a turbulent layer of gas entrained by the jet in its propagation and not the jet itself. We propose that some molecular species could be the signatures of the specific photochemistry driven by the UV radiation field generated in the turbulent envelope.

The molecular gas properties in the gravitationally lensed merger HATLAS J142935.3–002836

ABSTRACT Follow-up observations of (sub-)mm-selected gravitationally lensed systems have allowed a more detailed study of the dust-enshrouded phase of star formation up to very early cosmic times. Here, the case of the gravitationally lensed merger in HATLAS J142935.3–002836 (also known as H1429−0028; zlens = 0.218, zbkg = 1.027) is revisited following recent developments in the literature and new Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) observations targeting two carbon monoxide (CO) rotational transitions Jup = 3 and 6. We show that the line profiles comprise three distinct velocity components, where the fainter high velocity one is less magnified and more compact. The modelling of the observed spectral line energy distribution of CO Jup = 2–6 and [C i] 3P1−3P0 assumes a large velocity gradient scenario, where the analysis is based on four statistical approaches. Since the detected gas and dust emission comes exclusively from only one of the two merging components (the one oriented north–south, NS), we are only able to determine upper limits for the companion. The molecular gas in the NS component in H1429−0028 is found to have a temperature of ∼70 K, a volume density of log (n[cm−3]) ∼ 3.7, to be expanding at ∼10 km s−1 pc−1, and amounts to ${M_{\rm H_2} = 4_{-2}^{+3} \times 10^9\,{\rm M}_\odot }$. The CO to H2 conversion factor is estimated to be $\alpha _{\rm CO} = 0.4_{-0.2}^{+0.3}\,$ M⊙/(K km s−1 pc2). The NS galaxy is expected to have a factor of ≳10× more gas than its companion (${M_{\rm H_2}}\lesssim 3\times 10^8$ M⊙). Nevertheless, the total amount of molecular gas in the system comprises only up to 15 per cent (1σ upper limit) of the total (dynamical) mass.

ALMA reveals a pseudo-disc in a proto-brown dwarf

ABSTRACT We present the observational evidence of a pseudo-disc around the proto-brown dwarf Mayrit 1701117, the driving source of the large-scale HH 1165 jet. Our analysis is based on Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 12CO (2–1) line and 1.37 mm continuum observations at an angular resolution of ∼0.4 arcsec. The pseudo-disc is a bright feature in the CO position–velocity diagram, elongated in a direction perpendicular to the jet axis, with a total (gas+dust) mass of ∼0.02 M$\odot$, size of 165–192 au, and a velocity spread of ±2 km s−1. The large velocity gradient is a combination of infalling and rotational motions, indicating a contribution from a pseudo-disc and an unresolved inner Keplerian disc. There is weak emission detected in the H2CO (3–2) and N2D+ (3–2) lines. H2CO emission likely probes the inner Keplerian disc where CO is expected to be frozen, while N2D+ possibly originates from an enhanced clump at the outer edge of the pseudo-disc. We have considered various models (core collapse, disc fragmentation, circumbinary disc) that can fit both the observed CO spectrum and the position–velocity offsets. The observed morphology, velocity structure, and the physical dimensions of the pseudo-disc are consistent with the predictions from the core collapse simulations for brown dwarf formation. From the best model fit, we can constrain the age of the proto-brown dwarf system to be ∼30 000–40 000 yr. A comparison of the H2 column density derived from the CO line and 1.37 mm continuum emission indicates that only about 2 per cent of the CO is depleted from the gas phase.