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At least 1,315 records · Page 73
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DOE OSTI2017

Formation Mechanisms of Naphthalene and Indene: From the Interstellar Medium to Combustion Flames

The article addresses the formation mechanisms of naphthalene and indene, which represent prototype polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) carrying two six-membered and one five- plus a six-membered ring. Theoretical studies of the relevant chemical reactions are overviewed in terms of their potential energy surfaces, rate constants, and product branching ratios; these data are compared with experimental measurements in crossed molecular beams and the pyrolytic chemical reactor emulating the extreme conditions in the interstellar medium (ISM) and the combustion-like environment, respectively. The outcome of the reactions potentially producing naphthalene and indene is shown to critically depend on temperature and pressure or collision energy and hence the reaction mechanisms and their contributions to the PAH growth can be rather different in the ISM, planetary atmospheres, and in combustion flames at different temperatures and pressures. Specifically, this paradigm is illustrated with new theoretical results for rate constants and product branching ratios for the reaction of phenyl radical with vinylacetylene. The analysis of the formation mechanisms of naphthalene and its derivatives shows that in combustion they can be produced via hydrogen-abstraction-acetylene-addition (HACA) routes, recombination of cyclopentadienyl radical with itself and with cyclopentadiene, the reaction of benzyl radical with propargyl, methylation of indenyl radical, and the reactions of phenyl radical with vinylacetylene and 1,3-butadiene. In extreme astrochemical conditions, naphthalene and dihydronaphthalene can be formed in the C 6 H 5 + vinylacetylene and C 6 H 5 + 1,3-butadiene reactions, respectively. Ethynyl-substituted naphthalenes can be produced via the ethynyl addition mechanism beginning with benzene (in dehydrogenated forms) or with styrene. The formation mechanisms of indene in combustion include the reactions of the phenyl radical with C 3 H 4 isomers allene and propyne, reaction of the benzyl radical with acetylene, and unimolecular decomposition of the 1-phenylallyl radical originating from 3-phenylpropene, a product of the C 6 H 5 + propene reaction, or from C 6 H 5 + C 3 H 5 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

First Global Images of Ion Energization in the Terrestrial Foreshock by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission provides global energetic neutral atom (ENA) observations from the heliosphere and the Earth's magnetosphere, including spatial, temporal, and energy information. IBEX views the magnetosphere from the sides and almost always perpendicular to noon-midnight plane. We report the first ENA images of the energization process in the Earth's ion foreshock and magnetosheath regions. We show ENA flux and spectral images of the dayside magnetosphere with significant energization of ENA plasma sources (above ~2.7 keV) in the region magnetically connected to the Earth's bow shock (BS) in its quasi-parallel configuration of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We also show that the ion energization increases gradually with decreasing IMF-BS angle, suggesting more efficient suprathermal ion acceleration deeper in the quasi-parallel foreshock.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Planck intermediate results: XVII. Emission of dust in the diffuse interstellar medium from the far-infrared to microwave frequencies

The dust-Hi correlation is used to characterize the emission properties of dust in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) from far infrared wavelengths to microwave frequencies. The field of this encompasses the part of the southern sky best suited to study the cosmic infrared and microwave backgrounds. We cross-correlate sky maps from Planck , the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ), and the diffuse infrared background experiment ( DIRBE ), at 17 frequencies from 23 to 3000 GHz, with the Parkes survey of the 21 cm line emission of neutral atomic hydrogen, over a contiguous area of 7500 deg 2 centred on the southern Galactic pole. We present a general methodology to study the dust-Hi correlation over the sky, including simulations to quantify uncertainties. Our analysis yields four specific results. (1) We map the temperature, submillimetre emissivity, and opacity of the dust per H-atom. The dust temperature is observed to be anti-correlated with the dust emissivity and opacity. We interpret this result as evidence of dust evolution within the diffuse ISM. The mean dust opacity is measured to be (7.1 ± 0.6) × 10 -27 cm 2 H -1 × (v/353 GHz) 1.53 ± 0.03 for 100 ≤ v ≤ 353 GHz. This is a reference value to estimate hydrogen column densities from dust emission at submillimetre and millimetre wavelengths. (2) We map the spectral index β mm of dust emission at millimetre wavelengths (defined here as v ≤ 353 GHz), and find it to be remarkably constant at β mm = 1.51 ± 0.13. We compare it with the far infrared spectral index β FIR derived from greybody fits at higher frequencies, and find a systematic difference, β mm -β FIR = -0.15, which suggests that the dust spectral energy distribution (SED) flattens at v ≤ 353 GHz. (3) We present spectral fits of the microwave emission correlated with Hi from 23 to 353 GHz, which separate dust and anomalous microwave emission (AME). We show that the flattening of the dust SED can be accounted for with an additional component with a blackbody spectrum. This additional component, which accounts for (26 ± 6)% of the dust emission at 100GHz, could represent magnetic dipole emission. Alternatively, it could account for an increasing contribution of carbon dust, or a flattening of the emissivity of amorphous silicates, at millimetre wavelengths. These interpretations make different predictions for the dust polarization SED. (4) We analyse the residuals of the dust-Hi correlation. We identify a Galactic contribution to these residuals, which we model with variations of the dust emissivity on angular scales smaller than that of our correlation analysis. This model of the residuals is used to quantify uncertainties of the CIB power spectrum in a companion Planck paper.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Planck intermediate results: XXXIII. Signature of the magnetic field geometry of interstellar filaments in dust polarization maps

Planck observations at 353 GHz provide the first fully sampled maps of the polarized dust emission towards interstellar filaments and their backgrounds (i.e., the emission observed in the surroundings of the filaments). The data allow us to determine the intrinsic polarization properties of the filaments and therefore to provide insight into the structure of their magnetic field (B). In this paper, we present the polarization maps of three nearby (several parsecs long) star-forming filaments of moderate column density (N H about 10 22 cm -2 ): Musca, B211, and L1506. These three filaments are detected above the background in dust total and polarized emission. We use the spatial information to separate Stokes I, Q, and U of the filaments from those of their backgrounds, an essential step in measuring the intrinsic polarization fraction (p) and angle (ψ) of each emission component. We find that the polarization angles in the three filaments (ψ fil ) are coherent along their lengths and not the same as in their backgrounds (ψ bg ). The differences between ψ fil and ψ bg are 12° and 54° for Musca and L1506, respectively, and only 6° in the case of B211. These differences forMusca and L1506 are larger than the dispersions of ψ, both along the filaments and in their backgrounds. The observed changes of ψ are direct evidence of variations of the orientation of the plane of the sky (POS) projection of the magnetic field. As in previous studies, we find a decrease of several per cent in p with N H from the backgrounds to the crest of the filaments. We show that the bulk of the drop in p within the filaments cannot be explained by random fluctuations of the orientation of the magnetic field because they are too small (σ ψ < 10°). We recognize the degeneracy between the dust alignment efficiency (by, e.g., radiative torques) and the structure of the B-field in causing variations in p, but we argue that the decrease in p from the backgrounds to the filaments results in part from depolarization associated with the 3D structure of the B-field: both its orientation in the POS and with respect to the POS. We do not resolve the inner structure of the filaments, but at the smallest scales accessible with Planck (~0.2 pc), the observed changes of ψ and p hold information on the magnetic field structure within filaments. Finally, they show that both the mean field and its fluctuations in the filaments are different from those of their backgrounds, which points to a coupling between the matter and the B-field in the filament formation process.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Planck intermediate results: XXXVIII. E - and B -modes of dust polarization from the magnetized filamentary structure of the interstellar medium

The quest for a B-mode imprint from primordial gravity waves on the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) requires the characterization of foreground polarization from Galactic dust. In this paper, we present a statistical study of the filamentary structure of the 353 GHz Planck Stokes maps at high Galactic latitude, relevant to the study of dust emission as a polarized foreground to the CMB. We filter the intensity and polarization maps to isolate filaments in the range of angular scales where the power asymmetry between E-modes and B-modes is observed. Using the Smoothed Hessian Major Axis Filament Finder (SMAFF), we identify 259 filaments at high Galactic latitude, with lengths larger or equal to 2° (corresponding to 3.5 pc in length for a typical distance of 100 pc). Thesefilaments show a preferred orientation parallel to the magnetic field projected onto the plane of the sky, derived from their polarization angles. We present mean maps of the filaments in Stokes I, Q, U, E, and B, computed by stacking individual images rotated to align the orientations of the filaments. Combining the stacked images and the histogram of relative orientations, we estimate the mean polarization fraction of the filaments to be 11%. Furthermore, we show that the correlation between the filaments and the magnetic field orientations may account for the E and B asymmetry and the C ℓ TE /C ℓ EE ratio, reported in the power spectra analysis of the Planck353 GHz polarization maps. Finally, future models of the dust foreground for CMB polarization studies will need to take into account the observed correlation between the dust polarization and the structure of interstellar matter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The ortho-to-para ratio of interstellar NH 2 quasi-classical trajectory calculations and new simulations

Based on recent Herschel results, the ortho-to-para ratio (OPR) of NH2 has been measured towards the following high-mass star-forming regions: W31C (G10.6-0.4), W49N (G43.2-0.1), W51 (G49.5-0.4), and G34.3+0.1. The OPR at thermal equilibrium ranges from the statistical limit of three at high temperatures to infinity as the temperature tends toward zero, unlike the case of H 2 . Depending on the position observed along the lines-of-sight, the OPR was found to lie either slightly below the high temperature limit of three (in the range 2.2–2.9) or above this limit (~3.5, ≳ 4.2, and ≳5.0). In low temperature interstellar gas, where the H 2 is para-enriched, our nearly pure gas-phase astrochemical models with nuclear-spin chemistry can account for anomalously low observed NH 2 -OPR values. In this study, we have tentatively explained OPR values larger than three by assuming that spin thermalization of NH 2 can proceed at least partially by H-atom exchange collisions with atomic hydrogen, thus increasing the OPR with decreasing temperature. In this paper, we present quasi-classical trajectory calculations of the H-exchange reaction NH 2 + H, which show the reaction to proceed without a barrier, confirming that the H-exchange will be efficient in the temperature range of interest. With the inclusion of this process, our models suggest both that OPR values below three arise in regions with temperatures ≳20–25 K, depending on time, and values above three but lower than the thermal limit arise at still lower temperatures.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Alfvenic turbulence generated by the interstellar pickup protons in the outer heliosphere

Here a self-consistent model of the interstellar pickup protons, slab component of the Alfvénic turbulence, and core solar wind protons is presented for r ≤ 1 AU along with the initial results and comparison with the Voyager 2 (V2) observations. A fraction of the pickup proton free energy, f D , which is actually released in the wave form during isotropization, is taken from the quasi-linear consideration without preexisting turbulence. Whereas we use observations to specify a strength of the large scale driving, C sh , for turbulence. Our results show that for C sh ≈ 1 - 1.5 and f D ≈ 0.7 - 1, the model slab component agrees well with the V2 observations of the total transverse magnetic fluctuations starting from ~8 AU. Finally, this finding agrees with the result by Oughton et al. [17] where they also showed that the slab component dominates the two-dimensional component at the heliocentric distances beyond ~ 10 AU. So it is likely that the slab component at low-latitudes makes up a majority of the transverse magnetic fluctuations beyond 8 - 10 AU.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Communication: Ab initio study of O{sub 4}H{sup +}: A tracer molecule in the interstellar medium?

The structure and energetics of the protonated molecular oxygen dimer calculated via ab initio methods is reported. We find structures that share analogies with the eigen and zundel forms for the protonated water dimer although the symmetrical sharing of the proton is more prevalent. Analysis of different fragmentation channels show charge transfer processes which indicate the presence of conical intersections for various states including the ground state. An accurate estimate for the proton affinity of O{sub 4} leads to a significantly larger value (5.6 eV) than for O{sub 2} (4.4 eV), implying that the reaction H{sub 3}{sup +} + O{sub 4} → O{sub 4}H{sup +} + H{sub 2} is exothermic by 28 Kcal/mol as opposed to the case of O{sub 2} which is nearly thermoneutral. This opens up the possibility of using O{sub 4}H{sup +} as a tracer molecule for oxygen in the interstellar medium.

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

Rotational excitation of the interstellar NH 2 radical by H 2

We present quantum close-coupling calculations for the rotational excitation of the interstellar amidogen radical NH 2 due to collisions with H 2 molecules. The calculations are based on a recent, high-accuracy full-dimensional NH 4 potential energy surface adapted for rigid-rotor scattering calculations. The collisional cross section calculations are performed for all transitions among the first 15 energy levels of both ortho- and para-NH 2 and for total energies up to 1500 cm -1 . Both para- and ortho-H 2 colliding partners are considered. The cross sections for collision with para- and ortho-H 2 are found to differ significantly, the magnitude of the ortho-H 2 ones being dominant. No strong propensity rules are observed but transitions with Δk c =0 are slightly favored

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Laboratory optical spectroscopy of the phenoxy radical as a candidate for diffuse interstellar bands

The gas-phase optical absorption spectrum of the B-tilde {sup 2}A{sub 2}← X-tilde {sup 2}B{sub 1} transition of a phenoxy radical (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}O), which is a candidate molecule of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), was observed in the discharge of anisole using a cavity ring-down spectrometer. The spectrum comprised four peaks having broad and asymmetric profiles, which were regarded as a vibrational progression of ∼500 cm{sup −1}. The progression was assigned to the 6a mode, and the broad and asymmetric profiles of the peaks accounted for the sequence of the 10b mode. Each component in both the progression and the sequence had a broad structure of 20–30 Å, which can be explained by a convolution of lifetime broadening and a rotational profile. Based on these assignments of the progression and the sequence, the vibronic transitions from v = 0 in the X-tilde {sup 2}B{sub 1} ground state to v{sub 6a} = 0–3 in the B-tilde {sup 2}A{sub 2} excited state were extracted to compare the laboratory bands with DIBs. Although the transitions did not agree with the observed DIBs, the upper limit of the column density for the phenoxy radical in the diffuse clouds toward HD 204827 was evaluated to be 7 × 10{sup 14} cm{sup −2}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE FRACTIONAL IONIZATION OF THE WARM NEUTRAL INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

When the neutral interstellar medium is exposed to extreme-ultraviolet and soft X-ray radiation, the argon atoms in it are far more susceptible to being ionized than the hydrogen atoms. We make use of this fact to determine the level of ionization in the nearby warm neutral medium. By analyzing Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer observations of ultraviolet spectra of 44 hot subdwarf stars a few hundred parsecs away from the Sun, we can compare column densities of Ar I to those of O I, where the relative ionization of oxygen can be used as a proxy for that of hydrogen. The measured deficiency [Ar I/O I]=-0.427{+-}0.11 dex below the expectation for a fully neutral medium implies that the electron density n(e) Almost-Equal-To 0.04 cm{sup -3} if n(H) = 0.5 cm{sup -3}. This amount of ionization is considerably larger than what we expect from primary photoionizations resulting from cosmic rays, the diffuse X-ray background, and X-ray emitting sources within the medium, along with the additional ionizations caused by energetic secondary photoelectrons, Auger electrons, and photons from helium recombinations. We favor an explanation that bursts of radiation created by previous, nearby supernova remnants that have faded by now may have elevated the ionization, and the gas has not yet recombined to a quiescent level. A different alternative is that the low-energy portion of the soft X-ray background is poorly shielded by the H I because it is frothy and has internal pockets of very hot, X-ray emitting gases.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE MICROARCSECOND STRUCTURE OF AN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS JET VIA INTERSTELLAR SCINTILLATION

We describe a new tool for studying the structure and physical characteristics of ultracompact active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets and their surroundings with {mu}as precision. This tool is based on the frequency dependence of the light curves observed for intra-day variable radio sources, where the variability is caused by interstellar scintillation. We apply this method to PKS 1257-326 to resolve the core-shift as a function of frequency on scales well below {approx}12 {mu}as. We find that the frequency dependence of the position of the scintillating component is r{proportional_to}{nu}{sup -0.1{+-}0.24} (99% confidence interval) and the frequency dependence of the size of the scintillating component is d{proportional_to}{nu}{sup -0.64{+-}0.006}. Together, these results imply that the jet opening angle increases with distance along the jet: d{proportional_to}r{sup n{sub d}} with n{sub d} > 1.8. We show that the flaring of the jet, and flat frequency dependence of the core position is broadly consistent with a model in which the jet is hydrostatically confined and traversing a steep pressure gradient in the confining medium with p{proportional_to}r{sup -n{sub p}} and n{sub p} {approx}> 7. Such steep pressure gradients have previously been suggested based on very long baseline interferometry studies of the frequency dependent core shifts in AGNs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

ON THE (NON-)ENHANCEMENT OF THE Ly{alpha} EQUIVALENT WIDTH BY A MULTIPHASE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

It has been suggested that radiative transfer effects may explain the unusually high equivalent widths (EWs) of the Ly{alpha} line, observed occasionally from starburst galaxies, especially at high redshifts. If the dust is locked up inside high-density clouds dispersed in an empty intercloud medium, the Ly{alpha} photons could scatter off of the surfaces of the clouds, effectively having their journey confined to the dustless medium. The continuum radiation, on the other hand, does not scatter, and would thus be subject to absorption inside the clouds. This scenario is routinely invoked when Ly{alpha} EWs higher than what is expected theoretically are observed, although the ideal conditions under which the results are derived usually are not considered. Here we systematically examine the relevant physical parameters in this idealized framework, testing whether any astrophysically realistic scenarios may lead to such an effect. It is found that although clumpiness indeed facilitates the escape of Ly{alpha}, it is highly unlikely that any real interstellar media should result in a preferential escape of Ly{alpha} over continuum radiation. Other possible causes are discussed, and it is concluded that the observed high EWs are more likely to be caused by cooling radiation from cold accretion and/or anisotropic escape of the Ly{alpha} radiation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

WIDE-FIELD VLBI OBSERVATIONS OF M31: A UNIQUE PROBE OF THE IONIZED INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM OF A NEARBY GALAXY

The Very Long Baseline Array was used at 1.6 GHz to observe a target field 50' in diameter including the core of M31. Novel very long baseline interferometry correlation techniques were used to observe 200 sources simultaneously, of which 16 were detected. We classify all 16 as background active galactic nuclei based on their X-ray properties and arcsecond- and mas-scale morphology. The detected sources were then analyzed for evidence of scatter-broadening due to the ionized interstellar medium (ISM) of M31. The detection of a compact background source only 0.25 kpc projected distance from M31* places a constraint on the extent of any extreme scattering region associated with the center of M31. However, the two sources closest to the core show evidence of scatter broadening consistent with that which would be seen for a compact source if it were observed through the inner disk of our Galaxy, at the inclination of M31. We interpret this as a detection of the ionized ISM of M31 along two lines of sight. With the increases in bandwidth and sensitivity envisaged for future long-baseline interferometers, this should prove to be a remarkably powerful technique for understanding the ionized ISM in external galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

REACTIVITY OF ANIONS IN INTERSTELLAR MEDIA: DETECTABILITY AND APPLICATIONS

We propose a general rule to distinguish between detectable and undetectable astronomical anions. We believe that only few anions live long enough in the interstellar medium and thus can be detected. Our method is based on quantum mechanical calculations capable of describing accurately the evolution of electronic states during chemical processes. The still not fully understood reactivity at low temperatures is discussed considering non-adiabatic effects. The role of excited states has usually been neglected in previous works which basically focused on the ground electronic state for interpretations of experimental observations. Here, we deal with unsaturated carbon chains (e.g., C{sub n} H{sup -}), which show a high density of electronic states close to their corresponding ground electronic states, complex molecular dynamics, and non-adiabatic phenomena. Our general rule shows that it is not sufficient that anions exist in the gas phase (in the laboratory) to be present in media such as astrophysical media, since formation and decomposition reactions of these anions may allow the population of anionic electronic states to autodetach, forming neutrals. For C{sub n} H, reactivity depends strongly on n, where long and short chains behave differently. Formation of linear chains is relevant.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

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 toward 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 pile-up 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 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 21} cm{sup -2}; an ionization parameter of log {xi} = -2.70 {+-} 0.023; an oxygen abundance of A{sub O}= 0.689{sup +0.015}{sub -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 results from previous studies. Since the oxygen abundance in warmabs is given relative to the solar standard of Grevesse and Sauval, a rescaling with the revision by Asplund et al. yields A{sub O}=0.952{sup +0.020}{sub -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-the 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 > 2 associated with ISM cold absorption.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A GENERALIZED POWER-LAW DIAGNOSTIC FOR INFRARED GALAXIES AT z > 1: ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AND HOT INTERSTELLAR DUST

I present a generalized power-law (PL) diagnostic which allows one to identify the presence of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in infrared (IR) galaxies at z > 1, down to flux densities at which the extragalactic IR background is mostly resolved. I derive this diagnostic from the analysis of 174 galaxies with S{sub {nu}}(24 {mu}m)>80 {mu}Jy and spectroscopic redshifts z{sub spec} > 1 in the Chandra Deep Field South, for which I study the rest-frame UV/optical/near-IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs), after subtracting a hot-dust, PL component with three possible spectral indices {alpha} = 1.3, 2.0, and 3.0. I obtain that 35% of these 24 {mu}m sources are power-law composite galaxies (PLCGs), which I define as those galaxies for which the SED fitting with stellar templates, without any previous PL subtraction, can be rejected with >2{sigma} confidence. Subtracting the PL component from the PLCG SEDs produces stellar mass correction factors <1.5 in >80% of cases. The PLCG incidence is especially high (47%) at 1.0 < z < 1.5. To unveil which PLCGs host AGNs, I conduct a combined analysis of 4 Ms X-ray data, galaxy morphologies, and a graybody modeling of the hot dust. I find that (1) 77% of all the X-ray AGNs in my 24 {mu}m sample at 1.0 < z < 1.5 are recognized by the PLCG criterion; (2) PLCGs with {alpha} = 1.3 or 2.0 have regular morphologies and T{sub dust} {approx}> 1000 K, indicating nuclear activity. Instead, PLCGs with {alpha} = 3.0 are characterized by disturbed galaxy dynamics, and a hot interstellar medium can explain their dust temperatures T{sub dust} {approx} 700-800 K. Overall, my results indicate that the fraction of AGNs among 24 {mu}m sources is between {approx}30% and 52% at 1.0 < z < 1.5.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

INTERSTELLAR PICK-UP IONS OBSERVED BETWEEN 11 AND 22 AU BY NEW HORIZONS

We report new observations by the Solar Wind Around Pluto instrument on the New Horizons spacecraft, which measures energy per charge (E/q) spectra of solar wind and interstellar pick-up ions (PUIs) between 11 AU and 22 AU from the Sun. The data provide an unprecedented look at PUIs as there have been very few measurements of PUIs beyond 10 AU. We analyzed the PUI part of the spectra by comparing them to the classic Vasyliunas and Siscoe PUI model. Our analysis indicates that PUIs are usually well-described by this distribution. We derive parameters relevant to PUI studies, such as the ionization rate normalized to 1 AU. Our result for the average ionization rate between 11 and 12 AU agrees with an independently derived average value found during the same time. Later, we find a general increase in the ionization rate, which is consistent with the increase in solar activity. We also calculate the PUI thermal pressure, which appears to be roughly consistent with previous results. Through fitting of the solar wind proton peaks in our spectra, we derive solar wind thermal pressures. Based on our analysis, we predict a ratio of PUI thermal pressure to solar wind thermal pressure just inside the termination shock to be between 100 and >1000.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗