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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Energy deposition by X-ray photoelectrons into interstellar molecular clouds

The deposition of energy by 100-10,000 eV electrons into molecular hydrogen and helium gas of cosmic abundances and fractional ionization ranging from 10 to the -12th to 0.1 is considered. In order to account for energy deposition by both discrete and continuous degradation processes, the loss spectrum, a form of the Spencer-Fano degradation spectrum particularly suited to describing electron energy deposition in a partially ionized gas is considered. The calculated excitation and ionization yields drop as the fractional ionization increases. The dependences of these yields on fractional ionization are fitted to a form suitable for swift numerical computation.

Voit, G. M.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Radiation-induced D/H Exchange Rate Constants in Aliphatics Embedded in Water Ice

Gas-phase and solid-state chemistry in low-temperature interstellar clouds and cores leads to a D/H enhancement in interstellar ices, which is eventually inherited by comets, meteorites, and even planetary satellites. Hence, the D/H ratio has been widely used as a tracer for the origins of extraterrestrial chemistry. However, the D/H ratio can also be influenced by cosmic rays, which are ubiquitous and can penetrate even dense interstellar molecular cores. The effects of such high-energy radiation on deuterium fractionation have not been studied in a quantitative manner. In this study, we present rate constants for radiation-induced D-to-H exchange for fully deuterated small (1–2 C) hydrocarbons embedded in H2O ice at 20 K and H-to-D exchange for the protiated forms of these molecules in D2O ice at 20 K. We observed larger rate constants for H-to-D exchange in the D2O ice versus D-to-H exchange in H2O ice, which we have attributed to the greater bond strength of C–D versus C–H. We find that the H-to-D exchange rate constants are smaller for protiated methane than ethane, in agreement with bond energies from the literature. We are unable to obtain rate constants for the unsaturated and reactive hydrocarbons ethylene and acetylene. Interpretation of the rate constants suggest that D/H exchange products are formed in abundance alongside radiolysis products. We discuss how our quantitative and qualitative data can be used to interpret the D/H ratios of aliphatic compounds observed throughout space.

Ice destruction↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ionization in nearby interstellar gas

Due to dielectric recombination, neutral magnesium represents an important tracer for the warm low-density gas around the solar system. New Mg I 2852 absorption-line data from IUE are presented, including detections in a few stars within 40 pc of the sun. The absence of detectable Mg I in Alpha CMa and other stars sets limits on the combined size and electron density of the interstellar cloud which gives rise to the local interstellar wind. For a cloud radius greater than 1 pc and density of 0.1/cu cm, the local cloud has a low fractional ionization, n(e)/n(tot) less than 0.05, if magnesium is undepleted, equilibrium conditions prevail, the cloud temperature is 11,750 K, and 80 percent of the magnesium in the sightline is Mg II.

Frisch, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The velocity dispersion of the giant molecule clouds: A viscous origin

The observations of interstellar cloud motion show that the cloud velocity dispersion is nearly constant, to within a factor of 2, for clouds covering at least three orders of magnitude in mass. For example, the Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) with typical masses of approx 5 x 10 to the 5th power solar masses have a one-dimensional planar, cloud-cloud, random velocity dispersion of approx 3-7 km/s. The HI clouds, of approx. 400 solar masses each, on the other hand, have a typical one-dimensional velocity dispersion of approx 6 km/s. Clearly, the clouds are not in kinetic energy equipartion. The GMC spatial distribution in the galactic disk is not that of an isolated, 3-D system; rather, the GMCs exhibit a very thin disk (approx nearly a monolayer) distribution; with the ratio of the diameter of a typical GMC to the vertical scale-height of the GMC distribution being approx 50 pc/150 pc = 0.3. The supernova shocks, which can accelerate the low mass clouds, are extremely ineffective in accelerating the GMCs because of the much larger mass/area ratio for the GMCs. The above points suggest that the GMCs do not constitute an isolated, 3-D system - rather, they indicate that the dynamics of the GMCs is mainly determined by the fact that they are located in a differentially rotating galactic disk, and that, as for particles in planetary rings, viscosity is the primary energy input. Specifically, it is proposed that gravitational scattering of the massive clouds off each other in the differentially rotating galactic disk constitutes an effective gravitational viscosity, which causes an increase in the random kinetic energy of the GMCs at the expense of their ordered, rotational kinetic energy.

Jog, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Molecular clouds in galaxies with different Z - Fragmentation of diffuse clouds driven by opacity

Molecular clouds are formed from diffuse interstellar clouds when the external ultraviolet radiation field is prevented from penetrating into the cloud. The opacity is provided mainly by dust grains and the required column density to the cloud center is larger than about 5 x 10 to the 20th (solar Z/Z)/sq cm. This high-opacity criterion could have a significant impact on the radial trends observed in spiral galaxies, and on the distinctions between spiral and dwarf irregular galaxies.

Franco, Jose↗
NASA NTRS1988

Aerodynamic properties of fractal grains - Implications for the primordial solar nebula

Gas-grain and grain-grain interactions have a significant role in the evolution of the primordial solar nebula. There is also compelling evidence for larger grains in dense interstellar clouds than in the diffuse interstellar medium. In the usual treatments of grain collisions, where it is assumed that collisions produce compact bodies with a constant density, the gas drag decreases rapidly with size. The first step toward a quantitative analysis of the aerodynamic behavior of fractal aggregates is reported here, and it is shown that for fractals drag decreases very slowly.

Meakin, P.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Interstellar molecules and dense clouds.

Current knowledge of the interstellar medium is discussed on the basis of recent published studies. The subjects considered include optical identification of interstellar molecules, radio molecular lines, interstellar clouds, isotopic abundances, formation and disappearance of interstellar molecules, and interstellar probing techniques. Diagrams are plotted for the distribution of galactic sources exhibiting molecular lines, for hydrogen molecule, hydrogen atom and electron abundances due to ionization, for the densities, velocities and temperature of NH3 in the direction of Sagitarius B2, for the lower rotational energy levels of H2CO, and for temporal spectral variations in masing H2O clouds of the radio source W49. Future applications of the maser and of molecular microscopy in this field are visualized.

Rank, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Molecule formation in normal clouds

Some aspects of molecule formation in normal interstellar clouds, i.e., clouds having particle densities of less than 100 per cu cm, are discussed in light of recent studies. It is pointed out that, with their relatively large depletion parameter values (DPVs), CH clouds are 'young', whereas OH clouds have small DPVs and are 'old'. The theoretical reason for this is that OH, as a product of grain catalysis, persists over a much longer period of cloud evolution, whereas CH(+), CH, and CN, as products of gas-phase reaction, can be found only in 'young' clouds where depletion has not yet occurred. This may explain why OH has not been seen in radio observations of regions where CH(+), CH, and CN have been seen optically.

Aannestad, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Dust That's Worth Keeping

Images taken of interstellar space often display a colorful canvas of portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dispersed throughout the images are interstellar clouds of dust and gas--remnants ejected from stars and supernovae over billions and billions of years. For more than 40 years, astronomers have observed that interstellar dust exhibits a consistent effect at a spectral wavelength of 2,175 angstroms, the equivalent of 5.7 electronvolts in energy on the electromagnetic spectrum. At this wavelength, light from stars is absorbed by dust in the interstellar medium, blocking the stars light from reaching Earth. The 2,175-angstrom feature, which looks like a bump on spectra, is the strongest ultraviolet-visible light spectral signature of interstellar dust and is visible along nearly every observational line of sight. Scientists have sought to solve the mystery of what causes the 2,175-angstrom feature by reproducing the effect in the laboratory. They speculated a number of possibilities, including fullerenes (buckyballs), nanodiamonds, and even interstellar organisms. However, none of these materials fits the data for the unique spectral feature. Limitations in the energy and spatial resolution achievable with electron microscopes and ion microprobes--the two main instruments used to study samples of dust--have also prevented scientists from finding the answer. A collaborative effort led by Livermore physicist John Bradley and funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used a new-generation transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nanoscale ion microprobe to unlock the mystery. The Livermore group includes physicists Zu Rong Dai, Ian Hutcheon, Peter Weber, and Sasa Bajt and postdoctoral researchers Hope Ishii, Giles Graham, and Julie Smith. They collaborated with the University of California at Davis (UCD), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Washington University's Laboratory for Space Sciences in St. Louis, and NASA's Ames Research Center for their discovery. The team analyzed micrometer-size interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), each about one-tenth the diameter of a human hair. Within the particles, they found carriers of the 2,175-angstrom feature: organic carbon mixed with amorphous silicates (glass with embedded metals and sulfides, GEMS), two of the most common materials in interstellar space. Ishii says, 'Organic carbon and amorphous silicates are abundant in interstellar dust clouds, and abundant carriers are needed to account for the frequent astronomical observation of the 2,175-angstrom feature. It makes sense that this ubiquitous feature would come from common materials in interstellar space'. The group's results increase scientific understanding of the starting materials for the formation of the Sun, solar system, and life on Earth.

Interstellar matter↗
NASA NTRS1974

Model calculations for diffuse molecular clouds

A local steady-state isobaric model of the interstellar clouds is developed and applied to the OAO-3 observations. The model allows for cooling by C II fine-structure transitions and for inhomogeneities resulting from attenuations in the external radiations which heat the cloud constituents. Factors affecting the thermal properties of the clouds are emphasized; these include H and H2 balance, interstellar grain heating, electron density, and calcium equilibrium. The thermodynamic consequences of the attenuation of the ultraviolet interstellar radiation field are studied. The effect of varying the most important parameters and their allowed ranges is considered. Results indicate that the model is capable of reproducing the H2 fractional abundances and kinetic temperatures observed by OAO-3.

Glassgold, A. E.↗
NASA NTRS2005

New Large Interstellar Molecules Detected with the GBT

At present, more than 135 different molecules have been identified in interstellar clouds. The newest instrument in the interstellar molecule search arsenal is the recently commissioned Green Bank Telescope (GBT). In 2004, the large aldehydes propenal (CH2CHCHO) and propanal (CH3CH2CHO) were the first new interstellar molecules discovered with the GBT. At the same time, the GBT was used to observe interstellar glycolaldehyde (CH2OHCHO), which is the simplest possible aldehyde sugar; interstellar ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH), which is the sugar alcohol of glycolaldehyde; and interstellar methylcyanodiacetylene (CH3C5N). These new GBT observations suggest that successive atomic addition reactions are common in the formation of larger related species. The observations will be presented and discussed.

Hollis, Jan M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Diffuse cloud chemistry

The current status of models of diffuse interstellar clouds is reviewed. A detailed comparison of recent gas-phase steady-state models shows that both the physical conditions and the molecular abundances in diffuse clouds are still not fully understood. Alternative mechanisms are discussed and observational tests which may discriminate between the various models are suggested. Recent developments regarding the velocity structure of diffuse clouds are mentioned. Similarities and differences between the chemistries in diffuse clouds and those in translucent and high latitude clouds are pointed out.

Van Dishoeck, Ewine F.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Thermal evaporation of gas within galaxies by a hot intergalactic medium

High-temperature (about 100 million K) intergalactic gas interacts with cooler embedded gas within galaxies and extragalactic clouds principally by thermal evaporation. From Cowie and McKee's (1977) model for evaporation of spherical interstellar clouds in pressure balance with a hot ambient medium, solutions are obtained for oblate and prolate spheroidal symmetry. The results are applied to evaporation of gases within spiral and elliptical galaxies, and can be extended to evaporation of filamentary clouds in the interstellar medium.

Cowie, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Isotopic composition of carbonaceous-chondrite kerogen Evidence for an interstellar origin of organic matter in meteorites

Stepwise combustion has revealed systematic patterns of isotopic heterogeneity for C, H and N in the insoluble organic fraction (m-kerogen) from the Orgueil and Murray carbonaceous chondrites. Those patterns are essentially identical for both meteorites, indicating a common source of m-kerogen. The data cannot be reconciled with a single mass-fractionation process acting upon a single precursor composition. This indicates either a multi-path history of mass-dependent processing or a significant nucleogenetic contribution, or both. If mass-fractionation were the dominant process, the magnitude of the observed isotopic variability strongly suggests that ion-molecule reactions at very low temperatures, probably in interstellar clouds, were responsible. In any case, an interstellar, rather than solar nebular, origin for at least some of the meteoritic organic matter is indicated. This has interesting implications for the origin of prebiotic molecules, temperatures in the early solar system, and the isotopic compositions of volatiles accreted by the terrestrial planets.

Kerridge, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

(abstract) Reddening Measurements using CCD uvby (Stromgren) Photometry

Reddening measurements for interstellar clouds have usually relied on one of two techniques: Star counts or spectro-photometric measurements. We present preliminary results for a technique to determine the extinction using CCD uvby (Stromgren) photometry, without the need to perform special classification of the stars. The method relies on the fact that the uvby system allows two independent measurements of the reddening through the m(sub 1)and c(sub 1) indices to select the true intrensic colors for each star. Using observations from the Burrell Schmidt on Kitt Peak, we find that the technique allows reliable reddening measurements to be made down to at least V=15&supm;.

measurements↗
NASA NTRS1994

Organic Chemistry of Meteorites

Studies of the molecular structures and C,N,H-isotopic compositions of organic matter in meteorites reveal a complex history beginning in the parent interstellar cloud which spawned the solar system. Incorporation of interstellar dust and gas in the protosolar nebula followed by further thermal and aqueous processing on primordial parent bodies of carbonaceous, meteorites have produced an inventory of diverse organic compounds including classes now utilized in biochemistry. This inventory represents one possible set of reactants for chemical models for the origin of living systems on the early Earth. Evidence bearing on the history of meteoritic organic matter from astronomical observations and laboratory investigations will be reviewed and future research directions discussed.

Chang, S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Chemistry in dynamically evolving clouds

A unified model of chemical and dynamical evolution of isolated, initially diffuse and quiescent interstellar clouds is presented. The model uses a semiempirically derived dependence of the observed cloud temperatures on the visual extinction and density. Even low-mass, low-density, diffuse clouds can collapse in this model, because the inward pressure gradient force assists gravitational contraction. In contrast, previous isothermal collapse models required the low-mass diffuse clouds to be unrealistically cold before gravitational contraction could start. Theoretically predicted dependences of the column densities of various atoms and molecules, such as C and CO, on visual extinction in diffuse clouds are in accord with observations. Similarly, the predicted dependences of the fractional abundances of various chemical species (e.g., CO, H2CO, HCN, HCO(+)) on the total hydrogen density in the core of the dense clouds also agree with observations reported to date in the literature. Compared with previous models of interstellar chemistry, the present model has the potential to explain the wide spectrum of chemical and physical properties of both diffuse and dense clouds with a common formalism employing only a few simple initial conditions.

Tarafdar, S. P.↗