Dicke's Superradiance in Astrophysics. II. The OH 1612 MHz Line
- Creators
- Rajabi, Fereshteh
- Houde, Martin
Abstract
We apply the concept of superradiance that was introduced by Dicke in 1954 to the OH molecule 1612 MHz spectral line, which is often used for the detection of masers in the circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars. Because the detection of 1612 MHz OH masers in the outer shells of envelopes of these stars implies the existence of a population inversion and a high level of velocity coherence, and that these are two necessary requirements for superradiance, we investigate whether superradiance can also happen in these regions. Superradiance is characterized by high-intensity, spatially compact, burst-like features taking place over timescales on the order of seconds to years, depending on the size and physical conditions present in the regions harboring such sources of radiation. Our analysis suggests that superradiance provides a valid explanation for previous observations of intensity flares detected in that spectral line for the U Orionis Mira star and the IRAS 18276-1431 preplanetary nebula.
Additional Information
© 2016 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2016 January 10; revised 2016 April 6; accepted 2016 July 11; published 2016 August 31. We are grateful to P. Wolak for making his data on IRAS 18276-1431 available to us. M.H.ʼs research is funded through the NSERC Discovery Grant and the Canada Research Chair programs.Attached Files
Published - apj_828_1_57.pdf
Submitted - 1601.01718v2.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 70141
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160902-085819079
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Canada Research Chairs Program
- Created
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2016-09-02Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-11Created from EPrint's last_modified field