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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Photoionization of disk galaxies: An explanation of the sharp edges in the H I distribution

We have reproduced the observed radial truncation of the H I distribution in isolated spiral galaxies with a model in which extragalactic radiation photoionizes the gaseous disk. For a galactic mass distribution model that reproduces the observed rotation curves, including dark matter in the disk and halo, the vertical structure of the gas is determined self-consistently. The ionization structure and column densities of H and He ions are computed by solving the radiation transfer equation for both continuum and lines. Our model is similar to that of Maloney, and the H I structure differs by less than 10%. The radial structure of the column density of H I is found to be more sensitive to the extragalactic radiation field than to the distribution of mass. For this reason, considerable progress can be made in determining the extragalactic flux of ionizing photons, phi(sub ex), with more 21 cm observations of isolated galaxies. However, owing to the uncertainty of the radial distribution of total hydrogen at large radii, inferring the extragalactic flux by comparing the observed edges to photoionization models is somewhat subjective. We find 1 x 10(exp 4)/sq cm/s is less than or approximately phi(sub ex) is less than or approximately 5 x 10(exp 4)/sq cm/s, corresponding to 2.1 is less than or approximately iota(sub 0) is less than or approximately 10.5 x 10(exp -23) ergs/sq cm/s/Hz/sr for a 1/nu spectrum. Although somewhat higher, our inferred range of iota(sub 0) is consistent with the large range of values obtained by Kulkarni & Fall from the 'proximity effect' toward Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSOs) at approximately 0.5.

Dove, James B.↗
NASA NTRS1994

IUE Spectra and photoionization models of the Seyfert 2 glaxies NGC 7674 and I Zw 92

The physical conditions in the narrow-line regions of two Seyfert 2 galaxies, NGC 7674 and I Zw 92, are examined using IUE spectra, published optical spectra and multifrequency observations, and photoionization models. For each Seyfert galaxy, the emission-line fluxes were dereddened using the He II lambda(1640)/lambda(4686) ratio. Photoionization models were calculated using a power-law index determined from the He II lambda(4686)/H-beta ratio; the index is very similar to that obtained from a fit to the observed multifrequency continuum from the infrared to the X-rays. The models were calculated in a way that minimized the number of assumptions, and given the uncertainties in the reddening corrections, the calculated ratios match nearly all of the dereddened ratios successfully. a multicomponent model (three components with different densities and ionization parameters) was required to fit the spectrum of I Zw 92, whereas a single component was sufficient for NGC 7674. The CNO abundances are close to solar, although a reduced abundance of up to one-third solar for one or more of the heavy elements is possible. In contrast to a previous study of Mrk 3, dust inside the narrow-line region (NLR) louds was not required to fit the spectra of these two Seyfert galaxies, although the emission lines experience considerable reddening from external dust. Higher signal-to-noise spectra in the UV are essential for placing further restrictions on the reddening and physical conditions in the narrow-line regions of Seyfert galaxies.

Kraemer, Steven B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Modeling X-Ray Photoionized Plasmas: Ion Storage Ring Measurements of Low Temperature Dielectronic Recombination Rate Coefficients for L-Shell Iron

Iron L-shell ions (Fe XVII to Fe XXIV) play an important role in determining the line emission and thermal and ionization structures of photoionized gases. Existing uncertainties in the theoretical low temperature dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients for these ions significantly affects our ability to model and interpret observations of photoionized plasmas. To help address this issue, we have initiated a laboratory program to produce reliable low temperature DR rates. Here, we present some of our recent results and discuss some of their astrophysical implications.

Savin, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Theoretical Studies of Starburst Infrared Emission: Luminosity Indicators in Dusty Photoionized Environments

The luminosity of the central source in ionizing radiation is an essential parameter in a photoionized environment and is one of the most fundamental physical quantities one can measure. We outline a method of determining the luminosity for any emission-line region using only infrared data. In dusty environments, grains compete with hydrogen in absorbing continuum radiation. Grains produce infrared emission, and hydrogen produces recombination lines. We have computed a very large variety of photoionization models, using ranges of abundances, grain mixtures, ionizing continua, densities, and ionization parameters. The conditions were appropriate for such diverse objects as H(II) regions, planetary nebulae, starburst galaxies, and the narrow- and broad-line regions of active nuclei. The ratio of the total thermal grain emission relative to H-Beta (IR/H-Beta) is the primary indicator of whether the cloud behaves as a classical Stroemgren sphere (a hydrogen-bounded nebula) or whether grains absorb most of the incident continuum (a dust-bounded nebula). We find two global limits: when IR/H-Beta < 100, infrared recombination lines determine the source luminosity in ionizing photons; when IR/H-Beta >> 100, the grains act as a bolometer to measure the luminosity.

Bottorff, Mark↗
NASA NTRS2002

Interchannel Coupling in the Photoionization of Atoms and Ions in the X-Ray Range

To understand how this interchannel coupling, so important in neutral atoms, applies to positive ions, a research program has been initiated to deal with this question, i.e., a program to quantify the effects of interchannel coupling in ionic photoionization, thereby assessing existing photoionization data bases in the x-ray region. To accomplish this task, we have employed the Relativistic Random-Phase-Approximation (RRPA) methodology which includes significant aspects of electron-electron correlation, including interchannel coupling. The RRPA methodology has been found to produce excellent agreement with experiment for neutral Ne at photon energies in the 1 keV range.

Manson, Steven T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Atomic Processes in X-ray Photoionized Gas

It has long been known that photoionization and photoabsorption play a dominant role in determining the state of gas in nebulae surrounding hot stars and in active galaxies. Recent observations of X-ray spectra demonstrate that these processes are also dominant in highly ionized gas near compact objects, and also affect the transmission of X-rays from the majority of astronomical sources. This has led to new insights into the understanding of what is going on in these sources. It has also pointed out the need for a better atomic cross sections for photoionization and absorption, notably for processes involving inner shells. In this talk I will discuss these issues, what is known and where more work is needed.

Kallman, Timothy↗
NASA NTRS2007

Double Photoionization Near Threshold

The threshold region of the double-photoionization cross section is of particular interest because both ejected electrons move slowly in the Coulomb field of the residual ion. Near threshold both electrons have time to interact with each other and with the residual ion. Also, different theoretical models compete to describe the double-photoionization cross section in the threshold region. We have investigated that cross section for lithium and beryllium and have analyzed our data with respect to the latest results in the Coulomb-dipole theory. We find that our data support the idea of a Coulomb-dipole interaction.

Wehlitz, Ralf↗
NASA NTRS2011

Soft X-Ray Photoionizing Organic Matter from Comet Wild 2: Evidence for the Production of Organic Matter by Impact Processes

The Stardust mission collected both mineral and organic matter from Comet Wild 2 [1,2,3,4]. The organic matter discovered in Comet Wild 2 ranges from aromatic hydrocarbons to simple aliphatic chains and is as diverse and complex as organic matter found in carbonaceous chondrites and interplanetary dust particles.[3,5,6,7,8,9]. Compared to insoluble organic matter from carbonaceous chondrites the organic matter in Comet Wild 2 more closely resembles organic matter found in the IDPS both hydrous and anhydrous. Common processes for the formation of organic matter in space include: Fischer-Tropsch, included with this aqueous large body and moderate heating alterations; UV irradiation of ices; and; plasma formation and collisions. The Fischer-Tropsch could only occur on large bodies processes, and the production of organic matter by UV radiation is limited by the penetration depth of UV photons, on the order of a few microns or less for most organic matter, so once organic matter coats the ices it is formed from, the organic production process would stop. Also, the organic matter formed by UV irradiation would, by the nature of the process, be in-sensitive to photodissocation from UV light. The energy of soft X-rays, 280-300 eV occur within the range of extreme ultraviolet photons. During the preliminary examination period we found a particle that nearly completely photoionized when exposed to photons in the energy range 280-310eV. This particle experienced a long exposure time to the soft x-ray beam which caused almost complete mass loss so little chemical information was obtain. During the analysis of our second allocation we have discovered another particle that photoionized at these energies but the exposure time was limited and more chemical information was obtained.

Zolensky, Michael E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Photoionization Modeling of Oxygen K Absorption in the Interstellar Medium: The Chandra Grating Spectra of XTE J1817-330

We present detailed analyses of oxygen K absorption in the interstellar medium (ISM) using four high-resolution Chandra spectra towards the X-ray low-mass binary XTE J1817-330. The 11-25 A broadband is described with a simple absorption model that takes into account the pileup effect and results in an estimate of the hydrogen column density. The oxygen K-edge region (21-25 A) is fitted with the physical warmabs model, which is based on a photoionization model grid generated with the XSTAR code with the most up-to-date atomic database. This approach allows a benchmark of the atomic data which involves wavelength shifts of both the K lines and photoionization cross sections in order to fit the observed spectra accurately. As a result we obtain: a column density of N(sub H) = 1.38 +/- 0.01 x 10(exp 21) cm(exp -2); ionization parameter of log xi = .2.70 +/- 0.023; oxygen abundance of A(sub O) = 0.689(exp +0.015./-0.010); and ionization fractions of O I/O = 0.911, O II/O = 0.077, and O III/O = 0.012 that are in good agreement with previous studies. Since the oxygen abundance in warmabs is given relative to the solar standard of Grevesse and Sauval (1998), a rescaling with the revision by Asplund et al. (2009) yields A(sub O) = 0.952(exp +0.020/-0.013, a value close to solar that reinforces the new standard. We identify several atomic absorption lines.K-alpha , K-beta, and K-gamma in O I and O II; and K-alpha in O III, O VI, and O VII--last two probably residing in the neighborhood of the source rather than in the ISM. This is the first firm detection of oxygen K resonances with principal quantum numbers n greater than 2 associated to ISM cold absorption.

Gatuzz, E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Photoionization Calculations of the Radiation Force Due To Spectral Lines in AGNs

One of the main mechanisms that could drive mass outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is radiation pressure due to spectral lines. Although straightforward to understand, the actual magnitude of the radiation force is challenging to compute because the force depends on the physical conditions in the gas, as well as the strength, spectral energy distribution (SED), and geometry of the radiation field. We present results from our photoionization and radiation transfer calculations of the force multiplier, M(ξ, t), using the same radiation field to compute the gas photoionization and thermal balance. We assume low gas density (n = 104 per cu.cm) and column density (N ≤ 1017 per sq.cm), a Boltzmann distribution for the level populations, and the Sobolev approximation. Here, we describe results for two SEDs corresponding to an unobscured and obscured AGN in NGC 5548. Our main results are the following: (1) although M(ξ, t) starts to decrease with ξ for ξ gsim 1 as shown by others, this decrease in our calculations is relatively gradual and could be nonmonotonic as M(ξ, t) can increase by a factor of a few for ξ ≈ 10–1000; (2) at these same ξ for which the multiplier is higher than in previous calculations, the gas is thermally unstable by the isobaric criterion; (3) non-local thermodynamic equilibrium effects reduce M(t, ξ) by over two orders of magnitude for ξ gsim 100. The dynamical consequence of result (1) is that line driving can be important for ξ as high as 1000 when the LTE approximation holds, while result (2) provides a natural cloud formation mechanism that may account for the existence of narrow line regions. Result (3) suggests that line driving may not be important for ξ gsim 100 in tenuous plasma.

Dannen, Randall C.↗