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At least 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Calibrating column density tracers with gamma-ray observations of the ρ ophiuchi molecular cloud

Diffuse gamma-ray emission from interstellar clouds results largely from cosmic ray (CR) proton collisions with ambient gas, regardless of the gas state, temperature, or dust properties of the cloud. The interstellar medium is predominantly transparent to both CRs and gamma-rays, so GeV emission is a unique probe of the total gas column density. The gamma-ray emissivity of a cloud of known column density is then a measure of the impinging CR population and may be used to map the k-scale CR distribution in the Galaxy. To this end, we test a number of commonly used column density tracers to evaluate their effectiveness in modeling the GeV emission from the relatively quiescent, nearby ρ Ophiuchi molecular cloud. We confirm that both H i and an appropriate H{sub 2} tracer are required to reproduce the total gas column densities probed by diffuse gamma-ray emisison. We find that the optical depth at 353 GHz (τ{sub 353}) from Planck best reproduces the gamma-ray data overall, based on the test statistic across the entire region of interest, but near-infrared stellar extinction also performs very well, with smaller spatial residuals in the densest parts of the cloud.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spatial Decorrelation of Young Stars and Dense Gas as a Probe of the Star Formation–Feedback Cycle in Galaxies

The spatial decorrelation of dense molecular gas and young stars observed on ≲1 kpc scales in nearby galaxies indicates rapid dispersal of star-forming regions by stellar feedback. In this work, we explore the sensitivity of this decorrelation to different processes controlling the structure of the interstellar medium, the abundance of molecular gas, star formation, and feedback in a suite of simulations of an isolated dwarf galaxy with structural properties similar to NGC 300 that self-consistently model radiative transfer and molecular chemistry. Our fiducial simulation reproduces the magnitude of decorrelation and its scale dependence measured in NGC 300, and we show that this agreement is due to different aspects of feedback, including H 2 dissociation, gas heating by the locally variable UV field, early mechanical feedback, and supernovae. In particular, early radiative and mechanical feedback affects the correlation on ≲100 pc scales, while supernovae play a significant role on ≳ 100 pc scales. The correlation is also sensitive to the choice of the local star formation efficiency per free fall time, ϵ ff , which provides a strong observational constraint on ϵ ff when the global star formation rate is independent of its value. Finally, we explicitly show that the degree of correlation between the peaks of molecular gas and star formation density is directly related to the distribution of the lifetimes of star-forming regions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cool circumgalactic gas in galaxy clusters: connecting the DESI legacy imaging survey and SDSS DR16 Mg ιι absorbers

Herein we investigate the cool gas absorption in galaxy clusters by cross-correlating Mg II absorbers detected in quasar spectra from data release 16 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with galaxy clusters identified in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We find significant covering fractions (⁠1–5percent within r 500 , depending on the chosen redshift interval), ~4–5 times higher than around random sightlines. While the covering fraction of cool gas in clusters decreases with increasing mass of the central galaxy, the total Mg II mass within r 500 is none the less ~10 times higher than for SDSS luminous red galaxies. The Mg II covering fraction versus impact parameter is well described by a power law in the inner regions and an exponential function at larger distances. The characteristic scale of the transition between these two regimes is smaller for large equivalent width absorbers. Cross-correlating Mg II absorption with photo–z selected cluster member galaxies from DESI reveals a statistically significant connection. The median projected distance between Mg II absorbers and the nearest cluster member is ~200 kpc, compared to ~500 kpc in random mocks with the same galaxy density profiles. We do not find a correlation between Mg II strength and the star formation rate of the closest cluster neighbour. This suggests that cool gas in clusters, as traced by Mg II absorption, is: (i) associated with satellite galaxies, (ii) dominated by cold gas clouds in the intracluster medium, rather than by the interstellar medium of galaxies, and (iii) may originate in part from gas stripped from these cluster satellites in the past.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1989

The kinematics of Milky Way halo gas. I - Observations of low-ionization species

Ultraviolet interstellar line day observed with the IUE toward 70 halo stars and four extragalactic sight lines are analyzed in a study of the large-scale kinematic properties of the Milky Way halo gas. The motions of the low-ionization gas is focused on. Large systematic velocities are found, and a pronounced asymmetry in the absorption characteristics of halo gas toward the Galactic poles is indicated. In the north, substantial amounts of material are falling toward the disk at velocities up to about 120 km/s in the most extreme case. Toward the south, low-ionization material shows no extreme or systematic motions.

Danly, Laura↗
DOE OSTI2013

The PdBI arcsecond whirlpool survey (PAWS). I. A cloud-scale/multi-wavelength view of the interstellar medium in a grand-design spiral galaxy

The Plateau de Bure Interferometer Arcsecond Whirlpool Survey has mapped the molecular gas in the central ∼9 kpc of M51 in its {sup 12}CO(1-0) line emission at a cloud-scale resolution of ∼40 pc using both IRAM telescopes. We utilize this data set to quantitatively characterize the relation of molecular gas (or CO emission) to other tracers of the interstellar medium, star formation, and stellar populations of varying ages. Using two-dimensional maps, a polar cross-correlation technique and pixel-by-pixel diagrams, we find: (1) that (as expected) the distribution of the molecular gas can be linked to different components of the gravitational potential; (2) evidence for a physical link between CO line emission and radio continuum that seems not to be caused by massive stars, but rather depends on the gas density; (3) a close spatial relation between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and molecular gas emission, but no predictive power of PAH emission for the molecular gas mass; (4) that the I – H color map is an excellent predictor of the distribution (and to a lesser degree, the brightness) of CO emission; and (5) that the impact of massive (UV-intense) young star-forming regions on the bulk of the molecular gas in central ∼9 kpc cannot be significant due to a complex spatial relation between molecular gas and star-forming regions that ranges from cospatial to spatially offset to absent. The last point, in particular, highlights the importance of galactic environment—and thus the underlying gravitational potential—for the distribution of molecular gas and star formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2013

Abundances of Neutral and Ionized PAH Along The Lines-of-Sight of Diffuse and Translucent Interstellar Clouds

The spectra of neutral and ionized PAHs isolated in the gas phase at low temperature have been measured in the laboratory under conditions that mimic interstellar conditions and are compared with a set of astronomical spectra of reddened, early type stars. The comparisons of astronomical and laboratory data provide upper limits for the abundances of neutral PAH molecules and ions along specific lines-of-sight. Something that is not attainable from infrared observations. We present the characteristics of the laboratory facility (COSmIC) that was developed for this study and discuss the findings resulting from the comparison of the laboratory data with high resolution, high S/N ratio astronomical observations. COSmIC combines a supersonic jet expansion with discharge plasma and cavity ringdown spectroscopy and provides experimental conditions that closely mimic the interstellar conditions. The column densities of the individual PAH molecules and ions probed in these surveys are derived from the comparison of the laboratory data with high resolution, high S/N ratio astronomical observations. The comparisons of astronomical and laboratory data lead to clear conclusions regarding the expected abundances for PAHs in the interstellar environments probed in the surveys. Band profile comparisons between laboratory and astronomical spectra lead to information regarding the molecular structures and characteristics associated with the DIB carriers in the corresponding lines-of-sight. These quantitative surveys of neutral and ionized PAHs in the optical range open the way for quantitative searches of PAHs and complex organics in a variety of interstellar and circumstellar environments.

PAH↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Evolution of Galaxies and Clusters at High Spatial Resolution with Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS)

Stellar and black hole feedback heat and disperse surrounding cold gas clouds, launching gas flows off circumnuclear and galactic disks, producing a dynamic interstellar medium. On large scales bordering the cosmic web, feedback drives enriched gas out of galaxies and groups, seeding the intergalactic medium with heavy elements. In this way, feedback shapes galaxy evolution by shutting down star formation and ultimately curtailing the growth of structure after the peak at redshift 2–3. To understand the complex interplay between gravity and feedback, we must resolve both the key physics within galaxies and map the impact of these processes over large scales, out into the cosmic web. The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) is a proposed X-ray probe mission for the 2030s with arcsecond spatial resolution, large effective area, and low background. AXIS will untangle the interactions of winds, radiation, jets, and supernovae with the surrounding interstellar medium across the wide range of mass scales and large volumes driving galaxy evolution and trace the establishment of feedback back to the main event at cosmic noon. This white paper is part of a series commissioned for the AXIS Probe mission concept; additional AXIS white papers can be found at the AXIS website.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Role of Grain Surface Reactions in the Chemistry of Star Forming Regions

The importance of reactions at the surfaces of dust grains has long been recognized to be one of the two main chemical processes that form molecules in cold, dark interstellar clouds where simple, saturated (fully-hydrogenated) molecules such as H2 water, methanol, H2CO, H2S, ammonia and CH4 are present in quantities far too high to be consistent with their extremely low gas phase formation rates. In cold dark regions of interstellar space, dust grains provide a substrate onto which gas-phase species can accrete and react. Grains provide a "third body" or a sink for the energy released in the exothermic reactions that form chemical bonds. In essence, the surfaces of dust grains open up alternative reaction pathways to form observed molecules whose abundances cannot be explained with gas-phase chemistry alone. This concept is taken one step further in this work: instead of merely acting as a substrate onto which radicals and molecules may physically adsorb, some grains may actively participate in the reaction itself, forming chemical bonds with the accreting species. Until recently, surface chemical reactions had not been thought to be important in warm circumstellar media because adspecies rapidly desorb from grains at very low temperatures; thus, the residence times of molecules and radicals on the surface of grains at all but the lowest temperatures are far too short to allow these reactions to occur. However, if the adspecies could adsorb more strongly, via a true chemical bond with surfaces of some dust grains, then grain surface reactions will play an important role in warm circumstellar regions as well. In this work, the surface-catalyzed reaction CO + 3 H2 yields CH4 + H2O is studied in the context that it may be very effective at converting the inorganic molecule CO into the simplest organic compound, methane. H2 and CO are the most abundant molecules in space, and the reaction converting them to methane, while kinetically inhibited in the gas phase under most astrophysical conditions, is catalyzed by iron, an abundant constituent of interstellar dust. At temperatures between 600 and 1000 K, which occur in the outflows from red giants and near luminous young stars, this reaction readily proceeds in the presence of an iron catalyst. Iron is one of the more abundant elements composing interstellar dust. Its abundance relative to hydrogen is almost that of silicon, and both of these heavy elements are primarily locked up in dust at all but the hottest regions of interstellar space.

Kress, M. E.↗
DOE OSTI2015

The dust and gas content of the Crab Nebula

We have constructed mocassin photoionization plus dust radiative transfer models for the Crab Nebula core-collapse supernova (CCSN) remnant, using either smooth or clumped mass distributions, in order to determine the chemical composition and masses of the nebular gas and dust. We computed models for several different geometries suggested for the nebular matter distribution but found that the observed gas and dust spectra are relatively insensitive to these geometries, being determined mainly by the spectrum of the pulsar wind nebula which ionizes and heats the nebula. Smooth distribution models are ruled out since they require 16–49 M {sub ⊙} of gas to fit the integrated optical nebular line fluxes, whereas our clumped models require 7.0 M {sub ⊙} of gas. A global gas-phase C/O ratio of 1.65 by number is derived, along with a He/H number ratio of 1.85, neither of which can be matched by current CCSN yield predictions. A carbonaceous dust composition is favored by the observed gas-phase C/O ratio: amorphous carbon clumped model fits to the Crab’s Herschel and Spitzer infrared spectral energy distribution imply the presence of 0.18–0.27 M {sub ⊙} of dust, corresponding to a gas to dust mass ratio of 26–39. Mixed dust chemistry models can also be accommodated, comprising 0.11–0.13 M {sub ⊙} of amorphous carbon and 0.39–0.47 M {sub ⊙} of silicates. Power-law grain size distributions with mass distributions that are weighted toward the largest grain radii are derived, favoring their longer-term survival when they eventually interact with the interstellar medium. The total mass of gas plus dust in the Crab Nebula is 7.2 ± 0.5 M {sub ⊙}, consistent with a progenitor star mass of ∼9 M {sub ⊙}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Gas-Phase Synthesis of the Benzyl Radical (C 6 H 5 CH 2 )

Dicarbon ($C_2$), the simplest bare carbon molecule, is ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and in combustion flames. A gas-phase synthesis is presented of the benzyl radical ($C_6H_5CH_2$) by the crossed molecular beam reaction of dicarbon, $C_2(X^1Σ_g^+, a^3Π_u$), with 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene (isoprene; $C_5H_8$; X 1 A') accessing the triplet and singlet $C_7H_8$ potential energy surfaces (PESs) under single collision conditions. The experimental data combined with ab initio and statistical calculations reveal the underlying reaction mechanism and chemical dynamics. On the singlet and triplet surfaces, the reactions involve indirect scattering dynamics and are initiated by the barrierless addition of dicarbon to the carbon–carbon double bond of the 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene molecule. These initial addition complexes rearrange via multiple isomerization steps, leading eventually to the formation of $C_7H_7$ radical species through atomic hydrogen elimination. The benzyl radical ($C_6H_5CH_2$), the thermodynamically most stable $C_7H_7$ isomer, is determined as the major product.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Probing the Outflowing Multiphase Gas ∼1 kpc below the Galactic Center

Comparison of interstellar medium (ISM) absorption in the UV spectrum of LS 4825, a B1 Ib−II star d = 21 ± 5 kpc from the Sun toward l = 1.°67 and b = −6.°63, with ISM absorption toward an aligned foreground star at d < 7.0 ± 1.7 kpc, allows us to isolate and study gas associated with the Milky Way nuclear wind. Spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph show low-ionization absorption out to d < 7 kpc (e.g., O i, C ii, Mg ii, Si ii, Fe ii, S ii) only between 0 and 40 km s{sup −1}, while absorption at d > 7 kpc, ∼1 kpc below the Galactic plane, is complex and spans −290 to +94 km s{sup −1}. The intermediate and high ions Si iii, C iv, Si iv, and N v show extremely strong absorption with multiple components from −283 to 107 km s{sup −1}, implying that the ISM ∼1 kpc below the Galactic center has a substantial reservoir of plasma and more gas containing C iv and N v than in the Carina OB1 association at z = 0 kpc. Abundances and physical conditions are presented for many absorption components. The high ion absorption traces cooling transition temperature plasma probably driven by the outflowing hot gas, while the extraordinarily large thermal pressure, p / k ∼ 10{sup 5} cm{sup −3} K{sup −1}, in an absorption component at −114 km s{sup −1} probably arises from the ram pressure of the outflowing hot gas. The observations are consistent with a flow whose ionization structure in the high ions can be understood through a combination of nonequilibrium radiative cooling and turbulent mixing.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Gas-phase formation of the resonantly stabilized 1-indenyl (C 9 H 7 • ) radical in the interstellar medium

The 1-indenyl (C 9 H 7 • ) radical, a prototype aromatic and resonantly stabilized free radical carrying a six- and a five-membered ring, has emerged as a fundamental molecular building block of nonplanar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbonaceous nanostructures in deep space and combustion systems. However, the underlying formation mechanisms have remained elusive. Here, we reveal an unconventional low-temperature gas-phase formation of 1-indenyl via barrierless ring annulation involving reactions of atomic carbon [C( 3 P)] with styrene (C 6 H 5 C 2 H 3 ) and propargyl (C 3 H 3 • ) with phenyl (C 6 H 5 • ). Macroscopic environments like molecular clouds act as natural low-temperature laboratories, where rapid molecular mass growth to 1-indenyl and subsequently complex PAHs involving vinyl side-chained aromatics and aryl radicals can occur. These reactions may account for the formation of PAHs and their derivatives in the interstellar medium and carbonaceous chondrites and could close the gap of timescales of their production and destruction in our carbonaceous universe.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1981

A cloud/particle model of the interstellar medium - Galactic spiral structure

A cloud/particle model for gas flow in galaxies is developed that incorporates cloud-cloud collisions and supernovae as dominant local processes. Cloud-cloud collisions are the main means of dissipation. To counter this dissipation and maintain local dispersion, supernova explosions in the medium administer radial snowplow pushes to all nearby clouds. The causal link between these processes is that cloud-cloud collisions will form stars and that these stars will rapidly become supernovae. The cloud/particle model is tested and used to investigate the gas dynamics and spiral structures in galaxies where these assumptions may be reasonable. Particular attention is given to whether large-scale galactic shock waves, which are thought to underlie the regular well-delineated spiral structure in some galaxies, form and persist in a cloud-supernova dominated interstellar medium; this question is answered in the affirmative.

Levinson, F. H.↗
DOE OSTI2017

THERMODYNAMICS AND CHARGING OF INTERSTELLAR IRON NANOPARTICLES

Interstellar iron in the form of metallic iron nanoparticles may constitute a component of the interstellar dust. We compute the stability of iron nanoparticles to sublimation in the interstellar radiation field, finding that iron clusters can persist down to a radius of ≃4.5 Å, and perhaps smaller. We employ laboratory data on small iron clusters to compute the photoelectric yields as a function of grain size and the resulting grain charge distribution in various interstellar environments, finding that iron nanoparticles can acquire negative charges, particularly in regions with high gas temperatures and ionization fractions. If ≳10% of the interstellar iron is in the form of ultrasmall iron clusters, the photoelectric heating rate from dust may be increased by up to tens of percent relative to dust models with only carbonaceous and silicate grains.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

LoTSS Jellyfish Galaxies. IV. Enhanced Star Formation on the Leading Half of Cluster Galaxies and Gas Compression in IC3949

With Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO integral field spectroscopy, we present a resolved analysis of star formation for 29 jellyfish galaxies in nearby clusters, identified from radio continuum imaging taken by the Low Frequency Array. Simulations predict enhanced star formation on the "leading half" (LH) of galaxies undergoing ram pressure stripping, and in this work we report observational evidence for this elevated star formation. The dividing line (through the galaxy center) that maximizes this star formation enhancement is systematically tied to the observed direction of the ram-pressure-stripped tail, suggesting a physical connection between ram pressure and this star formation enhancement. We also present a case study on the distribution of molecular gas in one jellyfish galaxy from our sample, IC3949, using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array CO J = 1 – 0, HCN J = 1 – 0, and HCO + J = 1 – 0 observations from the ALMA MaNGA Quenching and Star Formation Survey. The H2 depletion time (as traced by CO) in IC3949 ranges from ~1 Gyr in the outskirts of the molecular gas disk to ~11 Gyr near the galaxy center. IC3949 shows a clear region of enhanced star formation on the LH of the galaxy where the average depletion time is ~2.7 Gyr, in line with the median value for the galaxy on the whole. Dense gas tracers, HCN and HCO + , are only detected at the galaxy center and on the LH of IC3949. Our results favor a scenario in which ram pressure compresses the interstellar medium, promoting the formation of molecular gas that in turn fuels a localized increase of star formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2009

Theoretical Modeling of Interstellar Chemistry

The chemistry of complex interstellar organic molecules will be described. Gas phase processes that may build large carbon-chain species in cold molecular clouds will be summarized. Catalytic reactions on grain surfaces can lead to a large variety of organic species, and models of molecule formation by atom additions to multiply-bonded molecules will be presented. The subsequent desorption of these mixed molecular ices can initiate a distinctive organic chemistry in hot molecular cores. The general ion-molecule pathways leading to even larger organics will be outlined. The predictions of this theory will be compared with observations to show how possible organic formation pathways in the interstellar medium may be constrained. In particular, the success of the theory in explaining trends in the known interstellar organics, in predicting recently-detected interstellar molecules, and, just as importantly, non-detections, will be discussed.

Charnley, Steven↗
DOE OSTI2011

DISCOVERY OF COLD, PRISTINE GAS POSSIBLY ACCRETING ONTO AN OVERDENSITY OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT REDSHIFT z {approx} 1.6

We report the discovery of large amounts of cold (T {approx} 10{sup 4} K), chemically young gas in an overdensity of galaxies at redshift z Almost-Equal-To 1.6 located in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey southern field. The gas is identified thanks to the ultra-strong Mg II {lambda}2800 absorption features it imprints onto the rest-frame UV spectra of galaxies in the background of the overdensity. There is no evidence that the optically thick gas is part of any massive galaxy (i.e., M{sub star} > 4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 9} M{sub Sun }), but rather is associated with the overdensity; less massive and fainter galaxies (25.5 mag < z < 27.5 mag) have too large an impact parameter to be causing ultra-strong absorption systems, based on our knowledge of such systems. The lack of corresponding Fe II absorption features, not detected even in co-added spectra, suggests that the gas is chemically more pristine than the interstellar medium and outflows of star-forming galaxies at similar redshift, including the galaxies of the overdensity itself, and comparable to the most metal-poor stars in the Milky Way halo. A crude estimate of the projected covering factor of the high-column-density gas (N{sub H} {approx}> 10{sup 20} cm{sup -2}) based on the observed fraction of galaxies with ultra-strong absorbers is C{sub F} Almost-Equal-To 0.04. A broad, continuum absorption profile extending to the red of the interstellar Mg II absorption line by {approx}< 2000 km s{sup -1} is possibly detected in two independent co-added spectra of galaxies belonging to the overdensity, consistent with a large-scale infall motion of the gas onto the overdensity and its galaxies. Overall, these findings provide the first tentative evidence of accretion of cold, chemically young gas onto galaxies at high redshift, possibly feeding their star formation activity. We suggest the fact that the galaxies are members of a large structure, as opposed to field galaxies, might play a significant role in our ability to detect the accreting gas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗