scholarly journals Time Dependence of the Ultraviolet Radiation Field in the Local Interstellar Medium

2003 ◽  
Vol 584 (2) ◽  
pp. 797-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Parravano ◽  
David J. Hollenbach ◽  
Christopher F. McKee
1996 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 261-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrick C. Bruhweiler

We are finally on the threshold of obtaining a coherent morphological and physical picture for the local interstellar medium (LISM), especially the region within 300 pc of the Sun. The EUVE is playing a special role in revealing this picture. This instrument can provide direct measurements of the the radiation field that photoionizes both hydrogen and helium. It also can yield direct measurements of the column densities of hydrogen, but especially He I and He II toward nearby white dwarfs. These observations suggest that the ionization in the Local Cloud, the cloud in which the Sun is embedded, is not in equilibrium, but in a recombination phase. Heuristic calculations imply that the the present ionization is due to the passage of shocks, at times greater than 3 × 106 years ago. The origin of these shocks are probably linked to the supernova which was responsible for the expanding nebular complex of clouds know as the Loop I supernova remnant, of which the Local Cloud is a part, extreme- UV radiation field, that which ionizes both hydrogen and helium in the LISM. Of the ISM within 300 pc, the volume appears to be predominantly filled by hot (106 K) coronal gas. This gas is laced with six largescale shell structures with diameters ~100−150 pc including the long-recognized radio loops, Loop I−IV, as well as the Orion-Eridanus and Gum Nebulae are identified. An idea that has evolved in the literature for over two decades is that the kinematically-linked OB associations representing Gould’s Belt, plus the gas and dust of Lindblad’s Ring, require that previous supernova activity and stellar winds carved out a 400–600 pc diameter cavity some 3 to 6 × 107 yr ago. This activity produced a pre-existing low density region, into which the present young loop structures have expanded. The outer boundaries of the identified expanding loop structures, inside this preexisting cavity, delineate the periphery of the the mis-named “local interstellar bubble.” Thus, this picture naturally explains some of the problems often associated with the presence of this low density region exterior to Loop I.


A new estimate of the interstellar ultraviolet radiation field is used to analyse some well established observations of interstellar Na i, Ca n, Mg i, n in £, e and 8 Ori. Four models of the interstellar medium are used and chemical abundances derived relative to that of hydrogen, obtained from Lyman a data. The scatter of the results is discussed together with the apparent anomalous abundance of calcium.


1997 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 353-362
Author(s):  
W.T. Reach ◽  
F. Boulanger

AbstractIn this contribution, we discuss some topics in the study of dust in the local interstellar medium. The spectrum of local clouds has recently been measured using ISO and COBE, confirming in general the models of excitation and cooling of dust illuminated by the the interstellar radiation field. We discuss in some detail the spatial correlation of interstellar dust and gas and the idea that infrared emission traces the total column density of the interstellar medium, with the particular application to the formation of H2. We also show that dust is present in the nearby Loop I shell, with properties similar to average, suggesting that the walls of the Local Bubble would also have relatively ‘normal’ dust content.


1997 ◽  
Vol 484 (2) ◽  
pp. 761-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Genova ◽  
John E. Beckman ◽  
Stuart Bowyer ◽  
Thomas Spicer

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-89
Author(s):  
Ulysses J. Sofia

Abstract The well measured gas-phase abundances in the low halo suggest that this region of the Galaxy has total (gas plus dust) metal abundances which are close to those in the solar neighborhood. The gas-phase abundances in the halo are generally higher than those seen in the disk, however, this affect is likely due to the destruction of dust in the halo clouds. Observations of high velocity clouds (HVCs) in the halo suggest that these clouds have metal abundances which are substantially lower than those measured for the local interstellar medium. These determinations, however, are often of lower quality than those for the low halo because of uncertainties in the hydrogen abundances along the sightlines, in the incorporation of elements into dust, and in the partial ionization of the clouds.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
J.L. Linsky, ◽  
W.B. Landsman ◽  
B.D. Savage ◽  
S.R. Heap ◽  
A.M. Smith ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 917 (2) ◽  
pp. L20
Author(s):  
N. V. Pogorelov ◽  
F. Fraternale ◽  
T. K. Kim ◽  
L. F. Burlaga ◽  
D. A. Gurnett

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Y. Welsh ◽  
R. Lallement ◽  
Randall K. Smith ◽  
Steven L. Snowden ◽  
K. D. Kuntz

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document