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At least 1,117 records · Page 62
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DOE OSTI2015

DESTRUCTION OF INTERSTELLAR DUST IN EVOLVING SUPERNOVA REMNANT SHOCK WAVES

Supernova generated shock waves are responsible for most of the destruction of dust grains in the interstellar medium (ISM). Calculations of the dust destruction timescale have so far been carried out using plane parallel steady shocks, however, that approximation breaks down when the destruction timescale becomes longer than that for the evolution of the supernova remnant (SNR) shock. In this paper we present new calculations of grain destruction in evolving, radiative SNRs. To facilitate comparison with the previous study by Jones et al., we adopt the same dust properties as in that paper. We find that the efficiencies of grain destruction are most divergent from those for a steady shock when the thermal history of a shocked gas parcel in the SNR differs significantly from that behind a steady shock. This occurs in shocks with velocities ≳200 km s{sup −1} for which the remnant is just beginning to go radiative. Assuming SNRs evolve in a warm phase dominated ISM, we find dust destruction timescales are increased by a factor of ∼2 compared to those of Jones et al., who assumed a hot gas dominated ISM. Recent estimates of supernova rates and ISM mass lead to another factor of ∼3 increase in the destruction timescales, resulting in a silicate grain destruction timescale of ∼2–3 Gyr. These increases, while not able to resolve the problem of the discrepant timescales for silicate grain destruction and creation, are an important step toward understanding the origin and evolution of dust in the ISM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

IMPULSIVE SPOT HEATING AND THERMAL EXPLOSION OF INTERSTELLAR GRAINS REVISITED

The problem of the impulsive heating of dust grains in cold, dense interstellar clouds is revisited theoretically with the aim of better understanding the leading mechanisms of the explosive desorption of icy mantles. We rigorously show that if the heating of a reactive medium occurs within a sufficiently localized spot (e.g., the heating of mantles by cosmic rays (CRs)), then the subsequent thermal evolution is characterized by a single dimensionless number λ. This number identifies a bifurcation between two distinct regimes: when λ exceeds a critical value (threshold), the heat equation exhibits the explosive solution, i.e., the thermal (chemical) explosion is triggered. Otherwise, thermal diffusion causes the deposited heat to spread over the entire grain—this regime is commonly known as whole-grain heating. The theory allows us to find a critical combination of physical parameters that govern the explosion of icy mantles due to impulsive spot heating. In particular, our calculations suggest that heavy CR species (e.g., iron ions) colliding with dust are able to trigger the explosion. Based on recently calculated local CR spectra, we estimate the expected rate of explosive desorption. The efficiency of the desorption, which in principle affects all solid species independent of their binding energy, is shown to be comparable to other CR desorption mechanisms typically considered in the literature. Also, the theory allows us to estimate the maximum abundances of reactive species that may be stored in the mantles, which provides important constraints on the available astrochemical models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

STUDYING THE INTERSTELLAR MAGNETIC FIELD FROM ANISOTROPIES IN VELOCITY CHANNELS

Turbulence in the interstellar medium is anisotropic due to the ubiquitous magnetic fields. This anisotropy depends on the strength of the magnetic field and leaves an imprint on observations of spectral line maps. We use a grid of ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations of driven turbulence and produce synthetic position–position–velocity maps to study the turbulence anisotropy in velocity channels of various resolutions. We found that the average structure function of velocity channels is aligned with the projection of the magnetic field on the plane of the sky. We also found that the degree of such anisotropy increases with the magnitude of the magnetic field. For thick velocity channels (low velocity resolution), the anisotropy is dominated by density, and the degree of anisotropy in these maps allows one to distinguish sub-Alfvénic and super-Alfvénic turbulence regimes, but it also depends strongly on the sonic Mach number. For thin channels (high velocity resolution), we find that the anisotropy depends less on the sonic Mach number. An important limitation of this technique is that it only gives a lower limit on the magnetic field strength because the anisotropy is related only to the magnetic field component on the plane of the sky. It can, and should, be used in combination with other techniques to estimate the magnetic field, such as the Fermi-Chandrasekhar method, anisotropies in centroids, Faraday rotation measurements, or direct line-of-sight determinations of the field from Zeeman effect observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

PROPERTIES OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM IN STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT z ∼ 1.4 REVEALED WITH ALMA

We conducted observations of {sup 12}CO(J = 5–4) and dust thermal continuum emission toward 20 star-forming galaxies on the main sequence at z ∼ 1.4 using ALMA to investigate the properties of the interstellar medium. The sample galaxies are chosen to trace the distributions of star-forming galaxies in diagrams of stellar mass versus star formation rate and stellar mass versus metallicity. We detected CO emission lines from 11 galaxies. The molecular gas mass is derived by adopting a metallicity-dependent CO-to-H{sub 2} conversion factor and assuming a CO(5–4)/CO(1–0) luminosity ratio of 0.23. Masses of molecular gas and its fractions (molecular gas mass/(molecular gas mass + stellar mass)) for the detected galaxies are in the ranges of (3.9–12) × 10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙} and 0.25–0.94, respectively; these values are significantly larger than those in local spiral galaxies. The molecular gas mass fraction decreases with increasing stellar mass; the relation holds for four times lower stellar mass than that covered in previous studies, and the molecular gas mass fraction decreases with increasing metallicity. Stacking analyses also show the same trends. Dust thermal emissions were clearly detected from two galaxies and marginally detected from five galaxies. Dust masses of the detected galaxies are (3.9–38) × 10{sup 7} M{sub ⊙}. We derived gas-to-dust ratios and found they are 3–4 times larger than those in local galaxies. The depletion times of molecular gas for the detected galaxies are (1.4–36) × 10{sup 8} yr while the results of the stacking analysis show ∼3 × 10{sup 8} yr. The depletion time tends to decrease with increasing stellar mass and metallicity though the trend is not so significant, which contrasts with the trends in local galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Fantastic Striations and Where to Find Them: The Origin of Magnetically Aligned Striations in Interstellar Clouds

Thin, magnetically aligned striations of relatively moderate contrast with the background are commonly observed in both atomic and molecular clouds. They are also prominent in MHD simulations with turbulent converging shocks. The simulated striations develop within a dense, stagnated sheet in the midplane of the post-shock region where magnetically induced converging flows collide. We show analytically that the secondary flows are an inevitable consequence of the jump conditions of oblique MHD shocks. They produce the stagnated, sheet-like sub-layer through a secondary shock when, roughly speaking, the Alfvénic speed in the primary converging flows is supersonic, a condition that is relatively easy to satisfy in interstellar clouds. The dense sub-layer is naturally threaded by a strong magnetic field that lies close to the plane of the sub-layer. The substantial magnetic field makes the sheet highly anisotropic, which is the key to the striation formation. Specifically, perturbations of the primary inflow that vary spatially perpendicular to the magnetic field can easily roll up the sheet around the field lines without bending them, creating corrugations that appear as magnetically aligned striations in column density maps. On the other hand, perturbations that vary spatially along the field lines curve the sub-layer and alter its orientation relative to the magnetic field locally, seeding special locations that become slanted overdense filaments and prestellar cores through enhanced mass accumulation along field lines. In our scenario, the dense sub-layer, which is unique to magnetized oblique shocks, is the birthplace for both magnetically aligned diffuse striations and massive star-forming structures.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The P( 4 S) + NH( 3 Σ – ) and N( 4 S) + PH( 3 Σ – )reactions as sources of interstellar phosphorus nitride

Phosphorus nitride (PN) is believed to be one of the major reservoirs of phosphorus in the interstellar medium (ISM). For this reason, understanding which reactions produce PN in space and predicting their rate coefficients is important for modelling the relative abundances of P-bearing species and clarifying the role of phosphorus in astrochemistry. Here, in this work, we explore the potential energy surfaces of the $\textrm{P}(^4\textrm{S}) + \textrm{NH}(^3\Sigma^-)$ and $\textrm{N}(^4\textrm{S}) + \textrm{PH}(^3\Sigma^-)$ reactions and the formation of $\textrm{H}(^2\textrm{S}) + \textrm{PN}(^1\Sigma^+)$ through high accuracy ab initio calculations and the variable reaction coordinate transition state theory (VRC-TST). We found that both reactions proceed without an activation barrier and with similar rate coefficients that can be described by a modified Arrhenius equation ( $k(T)=\alpha\!\left( T/300 \right)^{\beta} \exp\!{(\!-\!\gamma/T)})$ with $\alpha=0.93\times 10^{-10}\rm cm^3\,s^{-1}$ , $\beta=-0.18$ and $\gamma=0.24\, \rm K$ for the $\textrm{P} + \textrm{NH} \longrightarrow \textrm{H} + \textrm{PN}$ reaction and $\alpha=0.88\times 10^{-10}\rm cm^3\,s^{-1}$ , $\beta=-0.18$ and $\gamma=1.01\, \rm K$ for the $\textrm{N} + \textrm{PH} \longrightarrow \textrm{H} + \textrm{PN}$ one. Both reactions are expected to be relevant for modelling PN abundances even in the cold environments of the ISM. Given the abundance of hydrogen in space, we have also predicted rate coefficients for the destruction of PN via H + PN collisions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

CH{sup +} and SH{sup +} in the diffuse interstellar medium: Tracers of turbulent dissipation

Absorption spectroscopy performed with Herschel/HIFI against the dust continuum emission of bright galactic star-forming regions has allowed the detection of the ground-state transitions of several hydride cations, CH{sup +}, OH{sup +}, H{sub 2}O{sup +}, and SH{sup +} in the intervening diffuse medium. These hydrides, that need H{sub 2} to form but are also destroyed by H{sub 2}, appear to be most sensitive tracers of a poorly known component of the interstellar medium (ISM): molecular gas weakly shielded from UV radiation. Among them, because their formation routes are so highly endoenergic, the CH{sup +} and SH{sup +} cations are proposed to be specific tracers of turbulent dissipation occurring in diffuse gas. Their elusive origin in the diffuse ISM is therefore much more than a chemical riddle: it is rooted in the physics of the diffuse ISM, its turbulent dissipation rate and connects with the far broader issue of galaxy evolution. The Herschel/HIFI observations of CH{sup +} and SH{sup +} are compared with the predictions of chemical models that include the non-equilibrium effects of turbulent dissipation.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Interstellar laser communication: implementability criterion and optimisation conditions for the addressed signal search and sending

Using new opportunities offered by the construction of large optical telescopes, a laser radiation receiver with an iodine active quantum filter, high-energy iodine lasers with a diffraction-limited beam divergence and the discovery of exoplanets of the Earth type, including those located relatively not far from the Sun, we analyse the implementability of interstellar laser communication under the conditions, when the central spot of the diffraction pattern at the place of the laser signal reception by means of large optical telescopes can be made smaller than the orbit of the planet, and the signals come to the specified point of the orbit not synchronously with the planet motion because of the error in the determination of the distance between the Sun and the star, around which the planet chosen for communication rotates. (paper)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

SULFUR CHEMISTRY IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: THE EFFECT OF VIBRATIONAL EXCITATION OF H{sub 2} IN THE REACTION S{sup +}+H{sub 2} →SH{sup +}+H

Specific rate constants for the S{sup +}+H{sub 2} reaction are calculated using the ground quartet state potential energy surface and quasi-classical trajectories method. The calculations are performed for H{sub 2} in different vibrational states v = 0-4 and thermal conditions for rotational and translational energies. The calculations lead to slow rate constants for the H{sub 2} vibrational levels v = 0, 1, but a significant enhancement of reactivity is observed when v > 1. The inverse reaction is also studied and rate constants for v = 0 are presented. For comparison, we also recompile previous results of state-to-state rate constants of the C{sup +}+H{sub 2} for H{sub 2} in rovibrational state v, j = (0,0), (1,0), (1,1), and (2,0). The calculated rate coefficients are fitted using an improved form of the standard three-parameter Arrhenius-like equation, which is found to be very accurate in fitting rate constants over a wide range of temperatures (10-4000 K). We investigate the impact of the calculated rate coefficients on the formation of SH{sup +} in the photon-dominated region Orion Bar and find an abundance enhancement of nearly three orders of magnitude when the reaction of S{sup +} with vibrationally excited H{sub 2} is taken into account. The title reaction is thus one of the principal mechanisms in forming SH{sup +} in interstellar clouds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Laboratory optical spectroscopy of the thiophenoxy radical and its profile simulation as a diffuse interstellar band based on rotational distribution by radiation and collisions

The gas-phase optical absorption spectrum of the thiophenoxy radical (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}S), a diffuse interstellar band (DIB) candidate molecule, was observed in the discharge of thiophenol using a cavity ringdown spectrometer. The ground-state rotational constants of the thiophenoxy radical were theoretically calculated, and the excited-state rotational constants were determined from the observed rotational profile. The rotational profile of a near prolate molecule having C {sub 2v} symmetry was simulated on the basis of a rotational distribution model by radiation and collisions. Although the simulated profile did not agree with the observed DIBs, the upper limit of the column density for the thiophenoxy radical in the diffuse clouds toward HD 204827 was evaluated to be 2 × 10{sup 13} cm{sup –2}. The profile simulation indicates that rotational distribution by radiation and collisions is important to reproduce a rotational profile for a DIB candidate and that the near prolate C {sub 2v} molecule is a possible candidate for DIB with a band width variation dependent on the line of sight.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

INTERSTELLAR DUST PROPERTIES OF M51 FROM AKARI MID-INFRARED IMAGES

Using mid-infrared (MIR) images of four photometric bands of the Infrared Camera on board the AKARI satellite, S7 (7 μm), S11 (11 μm), L15 (15 μm), and L24 (24 μm), we investigate the interstellar dust properties of the nearby pair of galaxies M51 with respect to their spiral arm structure. The arm and interarm regions are defined based on a spatially filtered stellar component model image and we measure the arm/interarm contrast for each band. The contrast is lowest in the S11 image, which we interpret as meaning that among the four AKARI MIR bands, the S11 image best correlates with the spatial distribution of dust grains including colder components. On the other hand, the L24 image, with the highest contrast, traces warmer dust heated by star forming activity. The surface brightness ratio between the bands, i.e., color, is measured over the disk of the main galaxy, M51a, at 300 pc resolution. We find that the distribution of S7/S11 is smooth and traces the global spiral arm pattern well while L15/S11 and L24/S11 peak at individual H II regions. This result indicates that the ionization state of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is related to the spiral structure. Comparison with observational data and dust models also supports the importance of the variation in the PAH ionization state within the M51a disk. However, the mechanism driving this variation is not yet clear from the currently available datasets. Another suggestion from the comparison with the models is that the PAH fraction in the total dust mass is higher than previously estimated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Toward detection of AlCH{sub 2} and AlCH{sub 2}{sup +} in the interstellar medium

Highly reliable molecular properties have been computed for AlCH{sub 2} and AlCH{sub 2}{sup +} at the CCSD(T)/cc-pwCVQZ level of theory. These simple aluminum species are relevant to the chemistry of the interstellar medium (ISM) and circumstellar medium, and are proposed to form in regions where aluminum and methylene exist in appreciable concentrations because AlCH{sub 2} and AlCH{sub 2}{sup +} are thermodynamically stable with respect to dissociation. Herein, dissociation energies were computed for both species through extrapolation to the complete basis set limit using focal point analysis. For the neutral species, 86 kcal mol{sup –1} is required to heterolytically cleave the Al-C single bond, while the cationic species requires 38 kcal mol{sup –1}. To aid in identification within the ISM, the anharmonic (fundamental) frequencies, spectroscopic constants, and vibrationally averaged properties for AlCH{sub 2} and the corresponding cation are also reported.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Cosmic ray sampling of a clumpy interstellar medium

How cosmic rays sample the multi-phase interstellar medium (ISM) in starburst galaxies has important implications for many science goals, including evaluating the cosmic ray calorimeter model for these systems, predicting their neutrino fluxes, and modeling their winds. Here, we use Monte Carlo simulations to study cosmic ray sampling of a simple, two-phase ISM under conditions similar to those of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. The assumption that cosmic rays sample the mean density of the ISM in the starburst region is assessed over a multi-dimensional parameter space where we vary the number of molecular clouds, the galactic wind speed, the extent to which the magnetic field is tangled, and the cosmic ray injection mechanism. We evaluate the ratio of the emissivity from pion production in molecular clouds to the emissivity that would be observed if the cosmic rays sampled the mean density, and seek areas of parameter space where this ratio differs significantly from unity. The assumption that cosmic rays sample the mean density holds over much of parameter space; however, this assumption begins to break down for high cloud density, injection close to the clouds, and a very tangled magnetic field. We conclude by evaluating the extent to which our simulated starburst region behaves as a proton calorimeter and constructing the time-dependent spectrum of a burst of cosmic rays.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Instability of evaporation fronts in the interstellar medium

The neutral component of the interstellar medium is segregated into the cold neutral medium (CNM) and warm neutral medium (WNM) as a result of thermal instability. It was found that a plane-parallel CNM-WNM evaporation interface, across which the CNM undergoes thermal expansion, is linearly unstable to corrugational disturbances, in complete analogy with the Darrieus-Landau instability (DLI) of terrestrial flames. We perform a full linear stability analysis as well as nonlinear hydrodynamic simulations of the DLI of such evaporation fronts in the presence of thermal conduction. We find that the DLI is suppressed at short length scales by conduction. The length and time scales of the fastest growing mode are inversely proportional to the evaporation flow speed of the CNM and its square, respectively. In the nonlinear stage, the DLI saturates to a steady state where the front deforms to a finger-like shape protruding toward the WNM, without generating turbulence. The evaporation rate at nonlinear saturation is larger than the initial plane-parallel value by a factor of ∼2.4 when the equilibrium thermal pressure is 1800 k {sub B} cm{sup –3} K. The degrees of front deformation and evaporation-rate enhancement at nonlinear saturation are determined primarily by the density ratio between the CNM and WNM. We demonstrate that the Field length in the thermally unstable medium should be resolved by at least four grid points to obtain reliable numerical outcomes involving thermal instability.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Some insights into formamide formation through gas-phase reactions in the interstellar medium

We study the viability of different gas-phase ion-molecule reactions that could produce precursors of formamide in the interstellar medium. We analyze different reactions between cations containing a nitrogen atom (NH{sub 3}{sup +}, NH{sub 4}{sup +}, NH{sub 3}OH{sup +}, and NH{sub 2}OH{sup +}) and neutral molecules having one carbonyl group (H{sub 2}CO and HCOOH). First, we report a theoretical estimation of the reaction enthalpies for the proposed processes. Second, for more favorable reactions, from a thermodynamic point of view, we perform a theoretical study of the potential energy surface. In particular, the more exothermic processes correspond to the reactions of ionized and protonated hydroxylamine with formaldehyde. In addition, a neutral-neutral reaction has also been considered. The analysis of the potential energy surfaces corresponding to these reactions shows that these processes present a net activation barrier and that they cannot be considered as a source of formamide in space.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗