1. ALMA Detection of Masers and Dasars in the Hydrogen Recombination Lines of the Planetary Nebula Mz3
- Author
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Zulema Abraham, Pedro P. B. Beaklini, Isabel Aleman, Raghvendra Sahai, Albert Zijlstra, Stavros Akras, Denise R. Gonçalves, and Toshiya Ueta
- Subjects
Planetary nebulae ,Interstellar masers ,Astrophysical masers ,Astrophysics ,QB460-466 - Abstract
The hydrogen recombination lines H30 α , H40 α , H42 α , H50 β , and H57 γ and the underlying bremsstrahlung continuum emission were detected with ALMA in the bipolar nebula Mz3. The source was not spatially resolved, but the velocity profile of the H30 α line shows clear indication of maser amplification, confirming previous reports of laser amplification in the far-infrared H recombination lines observed with Herschel Space Observatory. Comparison between the flux densities of the H50 β , H40 α , and H42 α lines show overcooling, or darkness amplification by stimulated absorption (dasar effect) at the LSR velocity of about −25 km s ^−1 , which constrains the density of the absorbing region to about 10 ^3 cm ^−3 . The H30 α line, on the other hand, presents maser lines at LSR velocities of −69 and −98 km s ^−1 , which indicates ionized gas with densities close to 10 ^7 cm ^−3 . Although the source of emission was not resolved, it was possible to find the central position of the images for each velocity interval, which resulted in a well defined position–velocity distribution.
- Published
- 2024
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