The origin of the Galactic center diffuse X-ray emission (GCDX) is still under intense investigation. We have found a clear excess in a longitudinal GCDX profile over a stellar number density profile in the nuclear bulge region, suggesting a significant contribution of diffuse, interstellar hot plasma to the GCDX. We have estimated that contributions of an old stellar population to the GCDX are about 50 % and 20 % in the nuclear stellar disk and nuclear star cluster, respectively. Our near-infrared polarimetric observations show that the GCDX region is permeated by a large scale, toroidal magnetic field. Together with observed magnetic field strengths in nearly energy equipartition, the interstellar hot plasma could be confined by the toroidal magnetic field.
Context. From stars to active galactic nuclei, many astrophysical systems are surrounded by an equatorial distribution of dusty material that are, in a number of cases, spatially unresolved even with cutting edge facilities. Aims. In this paper, we investigate if and how one can determine the unresolved and heterogeneous morphology of dust distribution around a central bright source using time-resolved polarimetric observations. Methods. We use polarized radiative transfer simulations to study a sample of circumnuclear dusty morphologies. We explore a grid of uniform, fragmented, density-strat…
Aims: In this paper, we aim to constrain the properties of dust structures in the central first parsecs of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Our goal is to study the required optical depth and composition of different dusty and ionised structures. Methods: We developed a radiative transfer code, MontAGN, optimised for polarimetric observations in the infrared. With both this code and STOKES, designed to be relevant from the hard X-ray band to near-infrared wavelengths, we investigate the polarisation emerging from a characteristic model of the AGN environment. For that purpose, we compare predicti…
Observations of star-forming regions by the current and upcoming generation of submillimeter polarimeters will shed new light on the evolution of magnetic fields over the cloud-to-core size scales involved in the early stages of the star formation process. Recent wide-area and high-sensitivity polarization observations have drawn attention to the challenges of modeling magnetic field structure of star forming regions, due to variations in dust polarization properties in the interstellar medium. However, these observations also for the first time provide sufficient information to begin to break…
Extragalactic Magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program). VII. A Tomographic View of Far-infrared and Radio Polarimetric Observations through MHD Simulations of Galaxies
The X-ray polarization degree of the molecular clouds that surround Sgr A* is expected to be greatly lowered because the polarized reflection emission is mixed with the unpolarized thermal emission that pervades the Galactic center region. Hence, this will be a challenging observation for the upcoming Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE). We aim to determine the detectability of four molecular clouds (MC) of the Sgr A complex (MC2, Bridge B2, Bridge E, and G0.11-0.11) in a realistic IXPE pointing of the Sgr A field of view. We assess the Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP) increase when…
The molecular gas in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Galaxy has been studied using infrared absorption spectra of H$_3^+$ lines at 3.5-4.0 $μ$m and CO lines near 2.34 $μ$m. In addition to the previously reported spectra of these lines toward 8 stars located within 30 pc of Sgr A$^\ast$, there are now spectra toward $\sim$30 bright stars located from 140 pc west to 120 pc east of Sgr A$^\ast$. The spectra show the presence of warm ($T\sim 200$ K) and diffuse ($n < 100 $cm$^{-3}$) gas with $N$(H$_3^+$) $\sim 3 \times 10^{15} $cm$^{-2}$ on majority of sightlines. Instead of our previous a…
We present the first mid-IR detection of the linear polarization toward the star CygOB2-12, a luminous blue hypergiant that, with Av of ~10 mag of foreground extinction, is a benchmark in the study of the properties of dust in the diffuse interstellar medium. The 8-13 micrometer spectropolarimetry, obtained with the CanariCam multi-mode camera at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), shows clear trends with wavelength characteristic of silicate grains aligned in the interstellar magnetic field. The maximum polarization, detected with 7.8 statistical significance near 10.2 micrometers, is (1.24 +…
We create the first broadband polarization spectrum of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) by compiling the 0.1 - 100 microns, 4.9 GHz and 15 GHz continuum polarization of NGC 1068 from more than 50 years of observations. Despite the diversity of instruments and apertures, the observed spectrum of linear continuum polarization has distinctive wavelength-dependent signatures that can be related to the AGN and host galaxy physics. The impact of the Big Blue bump and infrared bump, together with electron, Mie scattering, dichroism and synchrotron emission are naturally highlighted in polarization, a…
Polarimetric Imaging of Sgr A* in its Flaring State
银河系的超大质量黑洞，Sgr A *，大约每6小时产生一次红外辐射爆发，有时还伴随着能量更高的X射线。近红外光子是由非热同步加速器过程产生的，但我们仍然不完全了解这些耀斑的起源和原因，也不知道X射线是如何发射的。辐射红外线的幂律电子可以被部分冷却，因此分布可以是具有（"冷却中断"）跃迁频率的中断幂律。此外，发射区似乎相当紧凑，可能仅限于吸积盘的内边缘。在这种情况下，X射线爆发本身可能是由于这个群体中能量最高的粒子的同步加速过程。在本文中，我们研究了这一建议的几个关键特征，产生相对论正确的偏振图像的Sgr A * 的近红外和X射线耀斑发射，以确定（1）是否测量的近红外偏振分数是符合这种几何形状，（2）是否预测的X射线到近红外峰值通量证实了目前可用的多波长观测。我们还计算了X射线偏振分数和位置角（相对于近红外光子），预计在未来几年的测量。我们表明，而X射线的偏振分数和位置角是相似的同步辐射冷却发射的近红外组件，这些数量是可测量的不同时，X射线出现从散射介质。因此，很明显，X射线偏振测量学的发展将成为研究超大质量黑洞附近时空的一个重要的新工具。
Detailed Interstellar Polarimetric Properties of the Pipe Nebula at Core Scales
我们使用R波段CCD线性偏振仪收集了约12000背景场恒星在46个领域的看法对烟斗星云的整个黑暗的云的偏振特性进行调查。根据2MASS的存档数据，我们估计调查区域的总视觉反射率在0.6 < Av < 4.6的范围内。虽然观察到的偏振显示出一个有序的大尺度模式，偏振矢量几乎垂直对准云的长轴，在核心尺度上，人们看到的细节是每个核心的特征。虽然许多观测到的恒星呈现出对普通星际介质来说不寻常的偏振度，但我们的分析表明，构成烟斗星云弥漫部分的尘埃颗粒似乎与正常的银河系星际介质具有相同的性质。偏振角的二阶结构函数的估计表明，大部分的烟斗星云是磁占主导地位，湍流是次Alvenic。烟斗星云当然是一个有趣的区域，在那里可以研究低质量恒星形成的初始阶段的主要过程。
YSO search toward the boundary of the Central Molecular Zone with near-infrared polarimetry
我们使用1.4米红外巡天望远镜上的近红外偏振照相机SIRPOL对中心分子区边界进行了近红外偏振测量，测量范围为（-1.4度$\lesssim l \lesssim$ -0.3度和1.0度$\lesssim l \lesssim$ 2.9度，$|b|\lesssim$ 0.1度）。根据Stokes $Q/I-U/I$平面上的星际偏振估计，我们选取了112个本征偏振源。选定的光源比$K_S=14.5$等亮，并且具有偏振不确定性$δP<1\,%$。当使用斯皮策空间望远镜中红外数据档案中的测光时，这些独特的偏振源中的十个与年轻恒星天体的光谱能量分布很好地拟合。然而，许多来源的光谱能量分布是遭受严重星际消光的正常恒星;这些可能是乌云后面的恒星。由于独特的偏振源和年轻天体候选者的数量很少，我们无法判断它们是否在中央分子带之外衰落。文献中许多大质量的年轻天体候选者只有很小的内禀极化。这可能表明它们的质量为4-15 M $_{\rm sun}$，其固有极化预计很小。
This paper calls attention to the relevance of Raman scattering by atomic hydrogen to three optical and near/mid-infrared spectral features of HI clouds: extended red emission (ERE), diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), and the unidentified infrared bands (UIBs). DIBs, ERE, and UIBs are observed predominantly at the edge of HI clouds, are manifestly related, and remain poorly understood. Their salient properties correspond to two major characteristics of HI Raman scattering: unusual line broadenings and a concentration of the Raman scattered ultraviolet continuum in the vicinity of hydrogen's op…
The Optical -- Mid-infrared Extinction Law of the l=165 Sightline in the Galactic Plane: Diversity of Extinction Law in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium
An In-Depth View of the Mid-Infrared Properties of Point Sources and the Diffuse ISM in the SMC Giant HII Region, N66
本文利用斯皮策空间望远镜的红外光谱仪研究了低金属丰度（~0.2太阳）的巨大HII区N66的中红外点源和弥漫星际介质（ISM）。我们研究了14个有针对性的红外点源，以及光谱的扩散ISM是代表的光解离区域（PDR）和HII区域。在点源光谱，我们光谱确认，最明亮的中红外点源是一个大规模的嵌入式年轻恒星的对象，我们检测到硅酸盐的发射与两个年轻的星团，我们观察到光谱特征的一个已知的B[e]超巨星，更常见的是与赫比格Be星。在漫ISM中，我们提供了额外的证据表明，非常小的颗粒人口被光破坏的硬辐射场。11.3 μ m PAH复合物发射在点源和ISM光谱中都表现出无法解释的质心偏移，应在更高的信噪比和分辨率下进行研究。与其他地区的研究不同，6.2微米和7.7微米波段的通量是解耦的;数据点覆盖了I6.2/I11.3比值的窄带内的I7.7/I11.3 PAH比值的大范围。此外，在PAH电离中存在扩散，在辐射场相对较软的密集PDR中更中性，但在扩散ISM/PDR中电离。相比之下，PAH的尺寸分布似乎是独立的本地电离状态。对于河外低金属丰度恒星形成区尚未解决的研究很重要，我们发现来自红外亮点源的发射仅占整个区域PAH发射的20-35%。这些结果与其他具有类似硬辐射场和强辐射场的恒星形成区域进行了比较。
Discovered almost a century ago, the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) still lack convincing and comprehensive identification. Hundreds of DIBs have now been observed in the near-ultraviolet (NUV), visible and near-infrared (NIR). They are widely held to be molecular in origin, and modelling of their band profiles offers powerful constraints on molecular constants. Herschel 36, the illuminating star of the Lagoon Nebula, has been shown to possess unusually broad and asymmetric DIB profiles in the visible, and is also bright enough for NIR observation. We present here high-resolution spectrosco…
We report the SOFIA/HAWC+ band D (154$\,μ$m) and E (214$\,μ$m) polarimetric observations of the filamentary structure OMC-3 that is part of the Orion molecular cloud. The polarization pattern is uniform for both bands and parallel to the filament structure. The polarization degree decreases toward regions with high intensity for both bands, revealing a so called "polarization hole." We identified an optical depth effect in which polarized emission and extinction act as counteracting mechanisms as a potential contributor to this phenomenon. Assuming that the detected polarization is caused by t…
We report near-infrared (IR) observations of high Galactic latitude clouds to investigate diffuse Galactic light (DGL), which is starlight scattered by interstellar dust grains. The observations were performed at $1.1$ and $1.6\,\rm{μm}$ with a wide-field camera instrument, the Multi-purpose Infra-Red Imaging System (MIRIS) onboard the Korean satellite STSAT-3. The DGL brightness is measured by correlating the near-IR images with a far-IR $100\,\rm{μm}$ map of interstellar dust thermal emission. The wide-field observation of DGL provides the most accurate DGL measurement achieved to date. We a…
We present observational constraints on the stellar populations of two ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) using optical through near-infrared (NIR) spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. Our analysis is enabled by new $Spitzer$-IRAC 3.6 $μ$m and 4.5 $μ$m imaging, archival optical imaging, and the prospector fully Bayesian SED fitting framework. Our sample contains one field UDG (DGSAT I), one Virgo cluster UDG (VCC 1287), and one Virgo cluster dwarf elliptical for comparison (VCC 1122). We find that the optical--NIR colors of the three galaxies are significantly different from each other. We i…
We searched for diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in the 0.91$<λ<$1.33 $μ$m region by analyzing the near-infrared (NIR) high-resolution ($R=20,000$ and 28,000) spectra of 31 reddened early-type stars ($0.04<E(B-V)<4.58$) and an unreddened reference star. The spectra were collected using the WINERED spectrograph, which was mounted on the 1.3 m Araki telescope at Koyama Astronomical Observatory, Japan, in 2012--2016, and on the 3.58 m New Technology Telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile, in 2017--2018. We detected 54 DIBs -- 25 of which are newly detected by this study -- eight DIB candidates…
The sightline toward the luminous blue hypergiant Cyg OB2-12 is widely used in studying interstellar dust on account of its large extinction ($A_V \simeq 10$ mag) and the fact that this extinction appears to be dominated by dust typical of the diffuse interstellar medium. We present a new analysis of archival ISO-SWS and Spitzer IRS observations of Cyg OB2-12 using a model of the emission from the star and its stellar wind to determine the total extinction $A_λ$ from 2.4--37 $μ$m. In addition to the prominent 9.7 and 18 $μ$m silicate features, we robustly detect absorption features associated …
We combine new (NGC 1275, NGC 4151, and NGC 5506) and previously published (Cygnus A, Mrk 231, and NGC 1068) sub-arcsecond resolution mid-infrared (MIR; 8-13 $μ$m) imaging- and spectro-polarimetric observations of six Seyfert galaxies using CanariCam on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS. These observations reveal a diverse set of physical processes responsible for the nuclear polarization, and permit characterization of the origin of the MIR nuclear polarimetric signature of active galactic nuclei (AGN). For all radio quiet objects, we found that the nuclear polarization is low (<1 per cent)…
A first taste of MEAD (Measuring Extinction and Abundances of Dust) -- I. Diffuse Milky Way interstellar dust extinction features in JWST infrared spectra
We have studied the diffuse radiation in the surroundings of M42 using photometric data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) and infrared observations of the AKARI space telescope. The main source of the FUV diffuse emission is the starlight from the Trapezium stars scattered by dust in front of the nebula. We initially compare the diffuse FUV with the far-infrared (FIR) observations at the same locations. The FUV-IR correlations enable us to determine the type of dust contributing to this emission. We then use an existing model for studying the FUV dust scat…
We use spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting to place constraints on the stellar population properties of 29 quiescent ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) across different environments. We use the fully Bayesian routine PROSPECTOR coupled with archival data in the optical, near, and mid-infrared from Spitzer and WISE under the assumption of an exponentially declining star formation history. We recover the stellar mass, age, metallicity, dust content, star formation time scales and photometric redshifts (photo-zs) of the UDGs studied. Using the mid-infrared data, we probe the existence of dust i…
