Revised interstellar neutral helium/hydrogen density ratios and the interstellar UV-radiation field

1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Blum ◽  
H. J. Fahr
2004 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 385-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Kamp ◽  
Fatima Sammar

The chemistry of circumstellar disks around young (a few 10 Myr) solar-type stars is mainly driven by the strong UV radiation field of the central star. As a starting point for a detailed UV radiation field, the rocket and satellite observations of the solar chromosphere are used and scaled according to the time-dependent behaviour of stellar activity. The disk chemistry as well as dust and gas temperatures are then derived self-consistently from the model. The results of these calculations can be used for the identification of the most promising gas tracers as well as for the interpretation of present and future observations.


1999 ◽  
Vol 190 ◽  
pp. 110-111
Author(s):  
M. Marx-Zimmer ◽  
F. Zimmer ◽  
U. Herbstmeier ◽  
J. M. Dickey

Despite a strong UV radiation field, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) shows a relatively large abundance of cool HI gas. Neither CO- nor [CII]-lines have been detected in most of these regions in previous surveys. The energy balance of these cool clouds, of which some are located in warm surroundings, is still an open question. The improved resolution and sensitivity of the ISO telescope compared to previous measurements offers a unique opportunity to study the heating and cooling of these clouds in the LMC. Here we present first results of an investigation of the dominant cooling line, [CII] (158 μm), toward cool HI clouds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (2) ◽  
pp. 1788-1794
Author(s):  
J Wagg ◽  
M Aravena ◽  
D Brisbin ◽  
I Valtchanov ◽  
C Carilli ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present Herschel–PACS spectroscopy of four main-sequence star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1.5. We detect [OI]63 μm line emission in BzK-21000 at z = 1.5213, and measure a line luminosity, $L_{\rm [O\, {\small I}]63\, \mu m} = (3.9\pm 0.7)\times 10^9$ L⊙. Our PDR modelling of the interstellar medium in BzK-21000 suggests a UV radiation field strength, G ∼ 320G0, and gas density, n ∼ 1800 cm−3, consistent with previous LVG modelling of the molecular CO line excitation. The other three targets in our sample are individually undetected in these data, and we perform a spectral stacking analysis which yields a detection of their average emission and an [O i]63 μm line luminosity, $L_{\rm [O\, {\small I}]63\, \mu m} = (1.1\pm 0.2)\times 10^9$ L⊙. We find that the implied luminosity ratio, $L_{\rm [O\, {\small I}]63\, \mu m}/L_{\rm IR}$, of the undetected BzK-selected star-forming galaxies broadly agrees with that of low-redshift star-forming galaxies, while BzK-21000 has a similar ratio to that of a dusty star-forming galaxy at z ∼ 6. The high [O i]63 μm line luminosities observed in BzK-21000 and the z ∼ 1−3 dusty and sub-mm luminous star-forming galaxies may be associated with extended reservoirs of low density, cool neutral gas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 622 ◽  
pp. A100 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Godard ◽  
G. Pineau des Forêts ◽  
P. Lesaffre ◽  
A. Lehmann ◽  
A. Gusdorf ◽  
...  

Context. The recent discovery of excited molecules in starburst galaxies observed with ALMA and the Herschel space telescope has highlighted the necessity to understand the relative contributions of radiative and mechanical energies in the formation of molecular lines and explore the conundrum of turbulent gas bred in the wake of galactic outflows. Aims. The goal of the paper is to present a detailed study of the propagation of low velocity (5–25 km s−1) stationary molecular shocks in environments illuminated by an external ultraviolet (UV) radiation field. In particular, we intend to show how the structure, dynamics, energetics, and chemical properties of shocks are modified by UV photons and to estimate how efficiently shocks can produce line emission. Methods. We implemented several key physico-chemical processes in the Paris-Durham shock code to improve the treatment of the radiative transfer and its impact on dust and gas particles. We propose a new integration algorithm to find the steady-state solutions of magnetohydrodynamics equations in a range of parameters in which the fluid evolves from a supersonic to a subsonic regime. We explored the resulting code over a wide range of physical conditions, which encompass diffuse interstellar clouds and hot and dense photon-dominated regions. Results. We find that C-type shock conditions cease to exist as soon as G0 > 0.2 (nH/cm−3)1/2. Such conditions trigger the emergence of another category of stationary solutions, called C*-type and CJ-type shocks, in which the shocked gas is momentarily subsonic along its trajectory. These solutions are shown to be unique for a given set of physical conditions and correspond to dissipative structures in which the gas is heated up to temperatures comprised between those found in C-type and adiabatic J-type shocks. High temperatures combined with the ambient UV field favour the production or excitation of a few molecular species to the detriment of others, hence leading to specific spectroscopic tracers such as rovibrational lines of H2 and rotational lines of CH+. Unexpectedly, the rotational lines of CH+ may carry as much as several percent of the shock kinetic energy. Conclusions. Ultraviolet photons are found to strongly modify the way the mechanical energy of interstellar shocks is processed and radiated away. In spite of what intuition dictates, a strong external UV radiation field boosts the efficiency of low velocity interstellar shocks in the production of several molecular lines which become evident tracers of turbulent dissipation.


1997 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 117-120
Author(s):  
Uwe Herbstmeier ◽  
Alexandre Wennmacher

AbstractWe report on FIR measurements of the dust component towards LVC 88+36–2, a dense neutral filament in the Local Hot Bubble. The measurements were performed with ISOPHOT, the photometer on-board ESA’s Infrared Space Observatory ISO. The dust temperature derived is about 18 K and stays constant across the filament. Limb brightening at 60μm is measured in agreement with cirrus clouds not located in the Local Hot Bubble. No evidence for an increased UV radiation field along the boundaries of the cloud is found.


2010 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 1513-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianfeng Zhang ◽  
William A. Anderson

2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. A36 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Bellomi ◽  
B. Godard ◽  
P. Hennebelle ◽  
V. Valdivia ◽  
G. Pineau des Forêts ◽  
...  

Context. The amount of data collected by spectrometers from radio to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths opens a new era where the statistical and chemical information contained in the observations can be used concomitantly to investigate the thermodynamical state and the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM). Aims. In this paper, we study the statistical properties of the HI-to-H2 transition observed in absorption in the local diffuse and multiphase ISM. Our goal is to identify the physical processes that control the probability of occurrence of any line of sight and the origins of the variations of the integrated molecular fraction from one line of sight to another. Methods. The turbulent diffuse ISM is modeled using the RAMSES code, which includes detailed treatments of the magnetohydrodynamics, the thermal evolution of the gas, and the chemistry of H2. The impacts of the UV radiation field, the mean density, the turbulent forcing, the integral scale, the magnetic field, and the gravity on the molecular content of the gas are explored through a parametric study that covers a wide range of physical conditions. The statistics of the HI-to-H2 transition are interpreted through analytical prescriptions and compared with the observations using a modified and robust version of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Results. The analysis of the observed background sources shows that the lengths of the lines of sight follow a flat distribution in logarithmic scale from ~100 pc to ~3 kpc. Without taking into account any variation of the parameters along a line of sight or from one line of sight to another, the results of one simulation, convolved with the distribution of distances of the observational sample, are able to simultaneously explain the position, the width, the dispersion, and most of the statistical properties of the HI-to-H2 transition observed in the local ISM. The tightest agreement is obtained for a neutral diffuse gas modeled over ~200 pc, with a mean density n̅H̅ = 1−2 cm−3, illuminated by the standard interstellar UV radiation field, and stirred up by a large-scale compressive turbulent forcing. Within this configuration, the 2D probability histogram of the column densities of H and H2, poetically called the kingfisher diagram, is remarkably stable and is almost unaltered by gravity, the strength of the turbulent forcing, the resolution of the simulation, or the strength of the magnetic field Bx, as long as Bx < 4 μG. The weak effect of the resolution and our analytical prescription suggest that the column densities of HI are likely built up in large-scale warm neutral medium and cold neutral medium (CNM) structures correlated in density over ~20 pc and ~10 pc, respectively, while those of H2 are built up in CNM structures between ~3 and ~10 pc. Conclusions. Combining the chemical and statistical information contained in the observations of HI and H2 sheds new light on the study of the diffuse matter. Applying this new tool to several atomic and molecular species is a promising perspective to understanding the effects of turbulence, magnetic field, thermal instability, and gravity on the formation and evolution of molecular clouds.


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