• Brijesh Kumar

Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy

• X-ray Observations of Eight Young Open Star Clusters: I. Membership and X-ray Luminosity

We present a detailed investigation of X-ray source contents of eight young open clusters with ages between 4 to 46 Myr using archival X-ray data from XMM-NEWTON. The probable cluster memberships of the X-ray sources have been established on the basis of multi-wavelength archival data, and samples of 152 pre-main sequence (PMS) low mass (&lt; 2𝑀), 36 intermediate mass (2-10𝑀) and 16 massive (&gt; 10𝑀) stars have been generated. X-ray spectral analyses of high mass stars reveal the presence of high temperature plasma with temperature &lt; 2 keV, and mean 𝐿𝑋/𝐿bol of 10-6.9. In the case of PMS low mass stars, the plasma temperatures have been found to be in the range of 0.2 keV to 3 keV with a median value of ∼ 1.3 keV, with no significant difference in plasma temperatures during their evolution from 4 to 46 Myr. The X-ray luminosity distributions of the PMS low mass stars have been found to be similar in the young star clusters under study. This may suggest a nearly uniform X-ray activity in the PMS low mass stars of ages ∼ 4–14 Myr. These observed values of 𝐿𝑋/𝐿bol are found to have a mean value of 10-3.6 ± 0.4, which is below the X-ray saturation level. The 𝐿𝑋/𝐿bol values for the PMS low mass stars are well correlated with their bolometric luminosities, that implies its dependence on the internal structure of the low mass stars. The difference between the X-ray luminosity distributions of the intermediate mass stars and the PMS low mass stars has not been found to be statistically significant. Their 𝐿𝑋/𝐿bol values, however have been found to be significantly different from each other with a confidence level greater than 99.999% and the strength of X-ray activity in the intermediate mass stars is found to be lower compared to the low mass stars. However, the possibility of X-ray emission from the intermediate mass stars due to a low mass star in close proximity of the intermediate mass star can not be ruled out.

• X-ray Flares Observed from Six Young Stars Located in the Region of Star Clusters NGC 869 and IC 2602

We present, for the first time, an analysis of seven intense X-ray flares observed from six stars (LAV 796, LAV 1174, SHM2002 3734, 2MASS 02191082+5707324, V553 Car, V557 Car). These stars are located in the region of young open star clusters NGC 869 and IC 2602. These flares detected in the XMM-Newton data show a rapid rise (10–40 min) and a slow decay (20–90 min). The X-ray luminosities during the flares in the energy band 0.3–7.5 keV are in the range of 1029.9 to 1031.7 erg s-1. The strongest flare was observed with the ratio ∼ 13 for count rates at peak of the flare to the quiescent intensity. The maximum temperature during the flares has been found to be ∼ 100 MK. The semi-loop lengths for the flaring loops are estimated to be of the order of 1010 cm. The physical parameters of the flaring structure, the peak density, pressure and minimum magnetic field required to confine the plasma have been derived and found to be consistent with flares from pre-main sequence stars in the Orion and the Taurus-Auriga-Perseus region.

• Detection of PAH and nbL features in planetary nebulae NGC 7027 and BD $+$30$^{\circ}$ 3639 with TIRCAM2 instrument on 3.6 m DOT

High resolution infrared imaging observations of the young planetary nebulae (PNe) NGC 7027 and BD $+$30$^{\circ}$ 3639, taken with the newly installed TIFR near infrared camera-II (TIRCAM2) on 3.6 m Devasthal optical telescope (DOT), ARIES, Nainital, are being reported. The images are acquired in J, H, K,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and narrow-band L (nbL) filters. The observations show emission from warm dust and PAHs in the circumstellar shells. The imaging of the two objects are among the first observations in PAH and nbL bands using TIRCAM2 on DOT. The NGC 7027 images in all bands showsimilar elliptical morphology with $\sim$6$^{\prime\prime}$.7 and $\sim$4$^{\prime\prime}$.5 semi-major and semi-minor axes. Considering size up to 10% of peak value the nebula extends upto 800 from the central star revealing a multipolar evolution. The relatively cooler BD $+$30$^{\circ}$ 3639 shows a rectangular-ring shaped nebula. In J and H bands it shows an angular diameter of $\sim$8$^{\prime\prime}$, while a smaller $\sim$6$^{\prime\prime}$.9 size is observed in K, PAH and nbL bands. The 3.28 $\mu$m emission indicates presence of PAHs at about 6000 and 5000 AU from the central stars in NGC 7027 and BD $+$30$^{\circ}$ 3639 respectively. Analysis suggests domination of neutral PAHs in BD $+$30$^{\circ}$ 3639, while in NGC 7027 there is higher ionization and more processed PAH population.

• Observations with the 3.6-meter Devasthal optical telescope

The 3.6-meter Indo–Belgian Devasthal optical telescope (DOT) has been used for optical and nearinfrared (NIR) observations of celestial objects. The telescope has detected stars of $B=24.5 \pm 0.2$, $R = 24.6 \pm 0.12$ and $g= 25.2 \pm 0.2$ mag in exposure times of 1200, 4320 and 3600 s respectively. In one hour of exposure time, a distant galaxy of $24.3 \pm 0.2$ mag and point sources of $\sim$25 mag have been detected in the SDSS $i$ band. The NIR observations show that stars up to $J = 20\pm 0.1$, $H = 18.8 \pm 0.1$ and $K = 18.2 \pm 0.1$ mag can be detected in effective exposure times of 500, 550 and 1000 s respectively. The $nbL$ band sources brighter than $\sim$9.2 mag and strong ($\geq$0.4 Jy) $PAH$ emitting sources like Sh 2-61 can also be observed with the 3.6-meter DOT. A binary star with angular separation of 0:$''$4 has been resolved by the telescope. Sky images with sub-arcsec angular resolutions are observed with the telescope at wavelengths ranging from optical to NIR for a good fraction of observing time. The on-site performance of the telescope is found to be at par with the performance of other, similar telescopes located elsewhere in the world. Owing to the advantage of its geographicallocation, the 3.6-meter DOT can provide optical and NIR observations for a number of frontline galactic and extra-galactic astrophysical research problems, including optical follow-up of GMRT and AstroSat sources and optical transient objects.

• # Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy

Volume 43, 2022
All articles
Continuous Article Publishing mode

• # Continuous Article Publication

Posted on January 27, 2016

Since January 2016, the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy has moved to Continuous Article Publishing (CAP) mode. This means that each accepted article is being published immediately online with DOI and article citation ID with starting page number 1. Articles are also visible in Web of Science immediately. All these have helped shorten the publication time and have improved the visibility of the articles.

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019

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