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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

DETECTION OF FORMAMIDE, THE SIMPLEST BUT CRUCIAL AMIDE, IN A SOLAR-TYPE PROTOSTAR

Formamide (NH{sub 2}CHO), the simplest possible amide, has recently been suggested to be a central species in the synthesis of metabolic and genetic molecules, the chemical basis of life. In this Letter, we report the first detection of formamide in a protostar, IRAS 16293-2422, which may be similar to the Sun and solar system progenitor. The data combine spectra from the millimeter and submillimeter TIMASSS survey with recent, more sensitive observations at the IRAM 30 m telescope. With an abundance relative to H{sub 2} of {approx}10{sup -10}, formamide appears as abundant in this solar-type protostar as in the two high-mass star-forming regions, Orion-KL and SgrB2, where this species has previously been detected. Given the largely different UV-illuminated environments of the three sources, the relevance of UV photolysis of interstellar ices in the synthesis of formamide is therefore questionable. Assuming that this species is formed in the gas phase via the neutral-neutral reaction between the radical NH{sub 2} and H{sub 2}CO, we predict an abundance in good agreement with the value derived from our observations. The comparison of the relative abundance [NH{sub 2}CHO]/[H{sub 2}O] in IRAS 16293-2422 and in the coma of the comet Hale-Bopp supports the similarity between interstellar and cometary chemistry. Our results thus suggest that the abundance of some cometary organic volatiles could reflect gas phase rather than grain-surface interstellar chemistry.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

CLUMPING AND THE INTERPRETATION OF kpc-SCALE MAPS OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: SMOOTH H I AND CLUMPY, VARIABLE H{sub 2} SURFACE DENSITY

Many recent models consider the structure of individual interstellar medium (ISM) clouds as a way to explain observations of large parts of galaxies. To compare such models to observations, one must understand how to translate between surface densities observed averaging over large ({approx}kpc) scales and surface densities on the scale of individual clouds ({approx}pc scale), which are treated by models. We define a ''clumping factor'' that captures this translation as the ratio of the mass-weighted surface density, which is often the quantity of physical interest, to the area-weighted surface density, which is observed. We use high spatial resolution (sub-kpc) maps of CO and H I emission from nearby galaxies to measure the clumping factor of both atomic and molecular gas. The molecular and atomic ISM exhibit dramatically different degrees of clumping. As a result, the ratio H{sub 2}/H I measured at {approx}kpc resolution cannot be trivially interpreted as a cloud-scale ratio of surface densities. H I emission appears very smooth, with a clumping factor of only {approx}1.3. Based on the scarce and heterogeneous high-resolution data available, CO emission is far more clumped with a widely variable clumping factor, median {approx}7 for our heterogeneous data. Our measurements do not provide evidence for a universal mass-weighted surface density of molecular gas, but also cannot conclusively rule out such a scenario. We suggest that a more sophisticated treatment of molecular ISM structure, one informed by high spatial resolution CO maps, is needed to link cloud-scale models to kpc-scale observations of galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

INTERSTELLAR DETECTION OF c-C{sub 3}D{sub 2}

We report the first interstellar detection of c-C{sub 3}D{sub 2}. Doubly deuterated cyclopropenylidene, a carbene, has been detected toward the starless cores TMC-1C and L1544 using the IRAM 30 m telescope. The J{sub K{sub a,K{sub c}}} = 3{sub 0,3}-2{sub 1,2}, 3{sub 1,3}-2{sub 0,2}, and 2{sub 2,1}-1{sub 1,0} transitions of this species have been observed at 3 mm in both sources. The expected 1:2 intensity ratio has been found in the 3{sub 0,3}-2{sub 1,2} and 3{sub 1,3}-2{sub 0,2} lines, belonging to the para and ortho species, respectively. We also observed lines of the main species, c-C{sub 3}H{sub 2}, singly deuterated c-C{sub 3}HD, and the species with one {sup 13}C off of the principal axis of the molecule, c-H{sup 13}CC{sub 2}H. The lines of c-C{sub 3}D{sub 2} have been observed with high signal-to-noise ratio, better than 7.5{sigma} in TMC-1C and 9{sigma} in L1544. The abundance of doubly deuterated cyclopropenylidene with respect to the normal species is found to be 0.4%-0.8% in TMC-1C and 1.2%-2.1% in L1544. The deuteration of this small hydrocarbon ring is analyzed with a comprehensive gas-grain model, the first including doubly deuterated species. The observed abundances of c-C{sub 3}D{sub 2} can be explained solely by gas-phase processes, supporting the idea that c-C{sub 3}H{sub 2} is a good indicator of gas-phase deuteration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MAGNETICALLY CONFINED INTERSTELLAR HOT PLASMA IN THE NUCLEAR BULGE OF OUR GALAXY

The origin of the Galactic center diffuse X-ray emission (GCDX) is still under intense investigation. In particular, the interpretation of the hot (kT ≈ 7 keV) component of the GCDX, characterized by the strong Fe 6.7 keV line emission, has been contentious. If the hot component originates from a truly diffuse interstellar plasma, not a collection of unresolved point sources, such plasma cannot be gravitationally bound, and its regeneration would require a huge amount of energy. Here, we show that the spatial distribution of the GCDX does not correlate with the number density distribution of an old stellar population traced by near-infrared light, strongly suggesting a significant contribution of the diffuse interstellar plasma. Contributions of the old stellar population to the GCDX are implied to be ∼50% and ∼20% in the nuclear stellar disk (NSD) and nuclear star cluster, respectively. For the NSD, a scale height of 0.°32 ± 0.°02 is obtained for the first time from the stellar number density profiles. We also show the results of the extended near-infrared polarimetric observations in the central 3° × 2° region of our Galaxy, and confirm that the GCDX region is permeated by a large scale, toroidal magnetic field (MF) as previously claimed. Together with observed MF strengths close to energy equipartition, the hot plasma could be magnetically confined, reducing the amount of energy required to sustain it.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

ORTHO-PARA SELECTION RULES IN THE GAS-PHASE CHEMISTRY OF INTERSTELLAR AMMONIA

The ortho-para chemistry of ammonia in the cold interstellar medium is investigated using a gas-phase chemical network. Branching ratios for the primary reaction chain involved in the formation and destruction of ortho- and para-NH{sub 3} were derived using angular momentum rules based on the conservation of the nuclear spin. We show that the 'anomalous' ortho-to-para ratio of ammonia ({approx}0.7) observed in various interstellar regions is in fact consistent with nuclear spin selection rules in a para-enriched H{sub 2} gas. This ratio is found to be independent of temperature in the range 5-30 K. We also predict an ortho-to-para ratio of {approx}2.3 for NH{sub 2}. We conclude that a low ortho-to-para ratio of H{sub 2} naturally drives the ortho-to-para ratios of nitrogen hydrides below the statistical values.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

ALMA FOLLOWS STREAMING OF DENSE GAS DOWN TO 40 pc FROM THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN NGC 1097

We present a kinematic analysis of the dense molecular gas in the central 200 pc of the nearby galaxy NGC 1097, based on Cycle 0 observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We use the HCN(4-3) line to trace the densest interstellar molecular gas (n{sub H{sub 2}}{approx}10{sup 8} cm{sup -3}), and quantify its kinematics, and estimate an inflow rate for the molecular gas. We find a striking similarity between the ALMA kinematic data and the analytic spiral inflow model that we have previously constructed based on ionized gas velocity fields on larger scales. We are able to follow dense gas streaming down to 40 pc distance from the supermassive black hole in this Seyfert 1 galaxy. In order to fulfill marginal stability, we deduce that the dense gas is confined to a very thin disk, and we derive a dense gas inflow rate of 0.09 M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1} at 40 pc radius. Combined with previous values from the H{alpha} and CO gas, we calculate a combined molecular and ionized gas inflow rate of {approx}0.2 M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1} at 40 pc distance from the central supermassive black hole of NGC 1097.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE ORIGIN OF THE 6.4 keV LINE EMISSION AND H{sub 2} IONIZATION IN THE DIFFUSE MOLECULAR GAS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER REGION

We investigate the origin of the diffuse 6.4 keV line emission recently detected by Suzaku and the source of H{sub 2} ionization in the diffuse molecular gas of the Galactic center (GC) region. We show that Fe atoms and H{sub 2} molecules in the diffuse interstellar medium of the GC are not ionized by the same particles. The Fe atoms are most likely ionized by X-ray photons emitted by Sgr A* during a previous period of flaring activity of the supermassive black hole. The measured longitudinal intensity distribution of the diffuse 6.4 keV line emission is best explained if the past activity of Sgr A* lasted at least several hundred years and released a mean 2-100 keV luminosity {approx}> 10{sup 38} erg s{sup -1}. The H{sub 2} molecules of the diffuse gas cannot be ionized by photons from Sgr A*, because soft photons are strongly absorbed in the interstellar gas around the central black hole. The molecular hydrogen in the GC region is most likely ionized by low-energy cosmic rays, probably protons rather than electrons, whose contribution into the diffuse 6.4 keV line emission is negligible.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

EVIDENCE FOR A SHOCK IN INTERSTELLAR PLASMA: VOYAGER 1

Voyager 1 (V1) observed electron plasma oscillations preceding a jump by a factor of 1.4 in the magnetic field intensity B near the end of 2012. The frequency of the electron plasma oscillations gives an electron density n{sub e} = 0.05 cm{sup –3}, which implies that V1 was immersed in plasma from the interstellar medium. The last day on which plasma oscillations were observed is day 332, 2012, and the jump in the B was centered on day 335, 2012 after a data gap in the wave data. The close association between the electron plasma oscillations and the jump in B suggests a causal connection, such as that frequently observed between electron plasma oscillations and interplanetary shocks at 1 AU. Based on the observed parameters and the smooth profile of B(t), the jump in B appears to be associated with a weak, subcritical, laminar, low beta, quasi-perpendicular, resistive, collisionless shock. However, the width of the jump is of the order of 10{sup 4} times that expected for such a stationary shock at 1 AU. The large width of the jump in B might be the result of differences between the structure of shocks in the interstellar medium and the plasma near 1 AU. Alternatively, the subcritical resistive shock might have decayed during a few days after producing the plasma waves, leaving a broad profile in B(t) without significantly changing ambient parameters. Another possibility is that the jump in B is a pressure wave.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

ABSORPTIONS IN THE VISIBLE OF PROTONATED PYRENE COLLISIONALLY COOLED TO 15 K

Protonated polycyclic hydrocarbons have been added to the list of suggested carriers of diffuse interstellar absorptions. To test this proposition requires laboratory spectra measured under interstellar conditions, in particular with the rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom equilibrated to low temperatures. This has been achieved for protonated pyrene with absorption bands in the visible, using an ion trap and collisional cooling to ≈15 K. A two-photon excitation-dissociation scheme was employed to record the (1) {sup 1} A' ← X {sup 1} A' electronic spectrum on around 10{sup 5} ions per duty cycle. The origin band of the absorption spectrum of this relatively large polycyclic aromatic species with 27 atoms is located at 4858.86 Å. Two further comparably intense spectral features are present at 4834.48 and 4809.32 Å. This is one of the largest protonated aromatics studied in the gas phase and compared to astronomical observations; however, it is not a carrier of known diffuse interstellar bands.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

IS VOYAGER 1 INSIDE AN INTERSTELLAR FLUX TRANSFER EVENT?

Plasma wave observations from Voyager 1 have recently shown large increases in plasma density, to about 0.1 cm{sup –3}, consistent with the density of the local interstellar medium. However, corresponding magnetic field observations continue to show the spiral magnetic field direction observed throughout the inner heliosheath. These apparently contradictory observations may be reconciled if Voyager 1 is inside an interstellar flux transfer event—similar to flux transfer events routinely seen at the Earth's magnetopause. If this were the case, Voyager 1 remains inside the heliopause and based on the Voyager 1 observations we can determine the polarity of the interstellar magnetic field for the first time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DUST SCATTERING IN TURBULENT MEDIA: CORRELATION BETWEEN THE SCATTERED LIGHT AND DUST COLUMN DENSITY

Radiative transfer models in a spherical, turbulent interstellar medium (ISM), in which the photon source is situated at the center, are calculated to investigate the correlation between the scattered light and the dust column density. The medium is modeled using fractional Brownian motion structures that are appropriate for turbulent ISM. The correlation plot between the scattered light and optical depth shows substantial scatter and deviation from simple proportionality. It was also found that the overall density contrast is smoothed out in scattered light. In other words, there is an enhancement of the dust-scattered flux in low-density regions, while the scattered flux is suppressed in high-density regions. The correlation becomes less significant as the scattering becomes closer to being isotropic and the medium becomes more turbulent. Therefore, the scattered light observed in near-infrared wavelengths would show much weaker correlation than the observations in optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. We also find that the correlation plot between scattered lights at two different wavelengths shows a tighter correlation than that of the scattered light versus the optical depth.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

THE PRESSURE OF THE STAR-FORMING INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM IN COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS

We examine the pressure of the star-forming interstellar medium (ISM) of Milky-Way-sized disk galaxies using fully cosmological SPH+N-body, high-resolution simulations. These simulations include explicit treatment of metal-line cooling in addition to dust and self-shielding, H{sub 2}-based star formation. The four simulated halos have masses ranging from a few times 10{sup 10} to nearly 10{sup 12} solar masses. Using a kinematic decomposition of these galaxies into present-day bulge and disk components, we find that the typical pressure of the star-forming ISM in the present-day bulge is higher than that in the present-day disk by an order of magnitude. We also find that the pressure of the star-forming ISM at high redshift is, on average, higher than ISM pressures at low redshift. This explains why the bulge forms at higher pressures: the disk assembles at lower redshift when the ISM exhibits lower pressure and the bulge forms at high redshift when the ISM has higher pressure. If ISM pressure and IMF variation are tied together, these results could indicate a time-dependent IMF in Milky-Way-like systems as well as a different IMF in the bulge and the disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

VARYING [C II]/[N II] LINE RATIOS IN THE INTERACTING SYSTEM BR1202-0725 AT z = 4.7

We study the properties of the interstellar medium in the interacting system BR1202-0725 at z = 4.7 via its [N II] and [C II] fine-structure line emission. This system consists of a QSO, a sub-mm galaxy (SMG), and two Lyα emitters (LAEs). Such a diversity in galaxy properties makes BR1202-0725 a unique laboratory of star formation and galaxy evolution at high redshift. We present ionized nitrogen ([N II] 205 μm) observations of this system, obtained with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We find no [N II] emission at the quasar location, but tentative [N II] line detections associated with the SMG and one of the LAEs. Together with available ionized carbon ([C II] 158 μm) Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations of this system, we find the following: the [C II]/[N II] luminosity ratio is >5.5 for the QSO and the SMG, but it is as low as ∼2 in the LAE, suggesting that, in this source, most of the [C II] emission is associated with the ionized medium (H II regions) rather than the neutral one (photon-dominated regions). This study demonstrates the importance of combined studies of multiple fine-structure lines in order to pin down the physical properties of the interstellar medium in distant galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

MAGNETIC FIELDS IN COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS OF DISK GALAXIES

Observationally, magnetic fields reach equipartition with thermal energy and cosmic rays in the interstellar medium of disk galaxies such as the Milky Way. However, thus far cosmological simulations of the formation and evolution of galaxies have usually neglected magnetic fields. We employ the moving-mesh code AREPO to follow for the first time the formation and evolution of a Milky Way-like disk galaxy in its full cosmological context while taking into account magnetic fields. We find that a prescribed tiny magnetic seed field grows exponentially by a small-scale dynamo until it saturates around z = 4 with a magnetic energy of about 10% of the kinetic energy in the center of the galaxy's main progenitor halo. By z = 2, a well-defined gaseous disk forms in which the magnetic field is further amplified by differential rotation, until it saturates at an average field strength of ∼6 μG in the disk plane. In this phase, the magnetic field is transformed from a chaotic small-scale field to an ordered large-scale field coherent on scales comparable to the disk radius. The final magnetic field strength, its radial profile, and the stellar structure of the disk compare well with observational data. A minor merger temporarily increases the magnetic field strength by about a factor of two, before it quickly decays back to its saturation value. Our results are highly insensitive to the initial seed field strength and suggest that the large-scale magnetic field in spiral galaxies can be explained as a result of the cosmic structure formation process.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

WHY ARE THE MAGNETIC FIELD DIRECTIONS MEASURED BY VOYAGER 1 ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HELIOPAUSE SO SIMILAR?

The solar wind carves a cavity in the interstellar plasma bounded by a surface, called the heliopause (HP), that separates the plasma and magnetic field of solar origin from those of interstellar origin. It is now generally accepted that in 2012 August Voyager 1 (V1) crossed that boundary. Unexpectedly, the magnetic fields on both sides of the HP, although theoretically independent of each other, were found to be similar in direction. This delayed the identification of the boundary as the HP and led to many alternative explanations. Here, we show that the Voyager 1 observations can be readily explained and, after the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) discovery of the ribbon, could even have been predicted. Our explanation relies on the fact that the Voyager 1 and undisturbed interstellar field directions (which we assume to be given by the IBEX ribbon center (RC)) share the same heliolatitude (∼34.°5) and are not far separated in longitude (difference ∼27°). Our result confirms that Voyager 1 has indeed crossed the HP and offers the first independent confirmation that the IBEX RC is in fact the direction of the undisturbed interstellar magnetic field. For Voyager 2, we predict that the difference between the inner and outer magnetic field directions at the HP will be significantly larger than that observed by Voyager 1 (∼30° instead of ∼20°), and that the outer field direction will be close to the RC.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

MILLISECOND PULSAR SCINTILLATION STUDIES WITH LOFAR: INITIAL RESULTS

High-precision timing of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) over years to decades is a promising technique for direct detection of gravitational waves at nanohertz frequencies. Time-variable, multi-path scattering in the interstellar medium is a significant source of noise for this detector, particularly as timing precision approaches 10 ns or better for MSPs in the pulsar timing array. For many MSPs, the scattering delay above 1 GHz is at the limit of detectability; therefore, we study it at lower frequencies. Using the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) radio telescope, we have analyzed short (5-20 minutes) observations of 3 MSPs in order to estimate the scattering delay at 110-190 MHz, where the number of scintles is large and, hence, the statistical uncertainty in the scattering delay is small. We used cyclic spectroscopy, still relatively novel in radio astronomy, on baseband-sampled data to achieve unprecedented frequency resolution while retaining adequate pulse-phase resolution. We detected scintillation structure in the spectra of the MSPs PSR B1257+12, PSR J1810+1744, and PSR J2317+1439 with diffractive bandwidths of 6 ± 3, 2.0 ± 0.3, and ∼7 kHz, respectively, where the estimate for PSR J2317+1439 is reliable to about a factor of two. For the brightest of the three pulsars, PSR J1810+1744, we found that the diffractive bandwidth has a power-law behavior Δν{sub d}∝ν{sup α}, where ν is the observing frequency and α = 4.5 ± 0.5, consistent with a Kolmogorov inhomogeneity spectrum. We conclude that this technique holds promise for monitoring the scattering delay of MSPs with LOFAR and other high-sensitivity, low-frequency arrays like the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

PRESSURE EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE LOCAL INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS AND THE LOCAL HOT BUBBLE

Three recent results related to the heliosphere and the local interstellar medium (ISM) have provided an improved insight into the distribution and conditions of material in the solar neighborhood. These are the measurement of the magnetic field outside of the heliosphere by Voyager 1, the improved mapping of the three-dimensional structure of neutral material surrounding the Local Cavity using extensive ISM absorption line and reddening data, and a sounding rocket flight which observed the heliospheric helium focusing cone in X-rays and provided a robust estimate of the contribution of solar wind charge exchange emission to the ROSAT All-Sky Survey 1/4 keV band data. Combining these disparate results, we show that the thermal pressure of the plasma in the Local Hot Bubble (LHB) is P/k = 10, 700 cm{sup –3} K. If the LHB is relatively free of a global magnetic field, it can easily be in pressure (thermal plus magnetic field) equilibrium with the local interstellar clouds, eliminating a long-standing discrepancy in models of the local ISM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

ANTIPROTONS PRODUCED IN SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

We present the energy spectrum of an antiproton cosmic ray (CR) component calculated on the basis of the nonlinear kinetic model of CR production in supernova remnants (SNRs). The model includes the reacceleration of antiprotons already existing in the interstellar medium as well as the creation of antiprotons in nuclear collisions of accelerated protons with gas nuclei and their subsequent acceleration by SNR shocks. It is shown that the production of antiprotons in SNRs produces a considerable effect in their resultant energy spectrum, making it essentially flatter above 10 GeV so that the spectrum at TeV energies increases by a factor of 5. The calculated antiproton spectrum is consistent with the PAMELA data, which correspond to energies below 100 GeV. As a consistency check, we have also calculated within the same model the energy spectra of secondary nuclei and show that the measured boron-to-carbon ratio is consistent with the significant SNR contribution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗