Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PHOTOIONIZATION”

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

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,369 records · Page 76
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Variation of Ionizing Continuum: The Main Driver of Broad Absorption Line Variability

We present a statistical analysis of the variability of broad absorption lines (BALs) in quasars using the large multi-epoch spectroscopic data set of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 (SDSS DR12). We divide the sample into two groups according to the pattern of the variation of C iv BAL with respect to that of a continuum: the equivalent widths (EW) of the BAL decreases (increases) when the continuum brightens (dims) as group T1; and the variation of the EW and the continuum in the opposite relation of group T2. We find that T2 has significantly (P{sub T}<10{sup −6}, Students T Test) higher EW ratios (R) of Si iv to C iv BAL than T1. Our result agrees with the prediction of photoionization models that C{sup +3} column density increases (decreases) if there is a (or no) C{sup +3} ionization front, while R decreases with the incident continuum. We show that BAL variabilities in at least 80% of quasars are driven by the variation of an ionizing continuum, while other models that predict uncorrelated BAL and continuum variability contribute less than 20%. Considering large uncertainty in the continuum flux calibration, the latter fraction may be much smaller. When the sample is binned into different time intervals between the two observations, we find significant difference in the distribution of R between T1 and T2 in all time-bins down to ΔT<6 days, suggesting that the BAL outflow in a fraction of quasars has a recombination timescale of only a few days.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effects of Preionization in Radiative Shocks. I. Self-consistent Models

In this paper we treat the preionization problem in shocks over the velocity range 10 < v {sub s} < 1500 km s{sup −1} in a self-consistent manner. We identify four distinct classes of solutions controlled by the value of the shock-precursor parameter, Ψ=Q/v{sub s}, where Q is the ionization parameter of the UV photons escaping upstream. This parameter determines both the temperature and the degree of ionization of the gas entering the shock. In increasing velocity, the shock solution regimes are cold neutral precursors (v {sub s} ≲ 40 km s{sup −1}), warm neutral precursors (40 ≲ v {sub s} ≲ 75 km s{sup −1}), warm partly ionized precursors (75 ≲ v {sub s} ≲ 120 km s{sup −1}), and fast shocks in which the preshock gas is in photoionization equilibrium and is fully ionized. The main effect of a magnetic field is to push these velocity ranges to higher values and to limit the postshock compression. In order to facilitate comparison with observations of shocks, we provide a number of convenient scaling relationships for parameters, such as postshock temperature, compression factors, cooling lengths, and Hβ and X-ray luminosity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Characterizing the Circumgalactic Medium of Nearby Galaxies with HST/COS and HST/STIS Absorption-line Spectroscopy. II. Methods and Models

We present basic data and modeling for a survey of the cool, photoionized circumgalactic medium (CGM) of low-redshift galaxies using far-UV QSO absorption-line probes. This survey consists of “targeted” and “serendipitous” CGM subsamples, originally described in Stocke et al. (Paper I). The targeted subsample probes low-luminosity, late-type galaxies at z<0.02 with small impact parameters (〈ρ〉=71 kpc), and the serendipitous subsample probes higher luminosity galaxies at z≲0.2 with larger impact parameters (〈ρ〉=222 kpc). Hubble Space Telescope and FUSE UV spectroscopy of the absorbers and basic data for the associated galaxies, derived from ground-based imaging and spectroscopy, are presented. We find broad agreement with the COS-Halos results, but our sample shows no evidence for changing ionization parameter or hydrogen density with distance from the CGM host galaxy, probably because the COS-Halos survey probes the CGM at smaller impact parameters. We find at least two passive galaxies with H i and metal-line absorption, confirming the intriguing COS-Halos result that galaxies sometimes have cool gas halos despite no on-going star formation. Using a new methodology for fitting H i absorption complexes, we confirm the CGM cool gas mass of Paper I, but this value is significantly smaller than that found by the COS-Halos survey. We trace much of this difference to the specific values of the low-z metagalactic ionization rate assumed. After accounting for this difference, a best-value for the CGM cool gas mass is found by combining the results of both surveys to obtain log(M/M{sub ⊙})=10.5±0.3, or ∼30% of the total baryon reservoir of an L⩾L{sup ∗}, star-forming galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

CHROMOSPHERIC MODELS AND THE OXYGEN ABUNDANCE IN GIANT STARS

Realistic stellar atmospheric models of two typical metal-poor giant stars in Omega Centauri, which include a chromosphere (CHR), influence the formation of optical lines of O i: the forbidden lines (λ6300, λ6363) and the infrared triplet (λλ7771−7775). One-dimensional semi-empirical non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) models are constructed based on observed Balmer lines. A full non-LTE formulation is applied for evaluating the line strengths of O i, including photoionization by the Lyman continuum and photoexcitation by Lyα and Lyβ. Chromospheric models (CHR) yield forbidden oxygen transitions that are stronger than those in radiative/convective equilibrium (RCE) models. The triplet oxygen lines from high levels also appear stronger than those produced in an RCE model. The inferred oxygen abundance from realistic CHR models for these two stars is decreased by factors of ∼3 as compared to values derived from RCE models. A lower oxygen abundance suggests that intermediate-mass AGB stars contribute to the observed abundance pattern in globular clusters. A change in the oxygen abundance of metal-poor field giants could affect models of deep mixing episodes on the red giant branch. Changes in the oxygen abundance can impact other abundance determinations that are critical to astrophysics, including chemical tagging techniques and galactic chemical evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

AN ULTRA-FAST X-RAY DISK WIND IN THE NEUTRON STAR BINARY GX 340+0

We present a spectral analysis of a brief Chandra /HETG observation of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 340+0. The high-resolution spectrum reveals evidence of ionized absorption in the Fe K band. The strongest feature, an absorption line at approximately 6.9 keV, is required at the 5 σ level of confidence via an F -test. Photoionization modeling with XSTAR grids suggests that the line is the most prominent part of a disk wind with an apparent outflow speed of v = 0.04 c . This interpretation is preferred at the 4 σ level over a scenario in which the line is H-like Fe xxvi at a modest redshift. The wind may achieve this speed owing to its relatively low ionization, enabling driving by radiation pressure on lines; in this sense, the wind in GX 340+0 may be the stellar-mass equivalent of the flows in broad absorption line quasars. If the gas has a unity volume filling factor, the mass ouflow rate in the wind is over 10{sup −5} M {sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}, and the kinetic power is nearly 10{sup 39} erg s{sup −1} (or, 5–6 times the radiative Eddington limit for a neutron star). However, geometrical considerations—including a small volume filling factor and low covering factor—likely greatly reduce these values.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

An iron K component to the ultrafast outflow in NGC 1313 X-1

We present the detection of an absorption feature at E=8.77{sub −0.06}{sup +0.05} keV in the combined X-ray spectrum of the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 1313 X-1 observed with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR, significant at the 3σ level. If associated with blueshifted ionized iron, the implied outflow velocity is ∼0.2c for Fe xxvi, or ∼0.25c for Fe xxv. These velocities are similar to the ultrafast outflow seen in absorption recently discovered in this source at lower energies by XMM-Newton, and we therefore conclude that this is an iron component to the same outflow. Photoionization modeling marginally prefers the Fe xxv solution, but in either case the outflow properties appear to be extreme, potentially supporting a super-Eddington hypothesis for NGC 1313 X-1.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A hard ionizing spectrum in z = 3–4 Lyα emitters with intense [O III] emission: analogs of galaxies in the reionization era?

We present Keck/MOSFIRE spectra of the diagnostic nebular emission lines [O iii]λλ5007,4959, [O ii]λ3727, and Hβ for a sample of 15 redshift z≃3.1--3.7 Lyα emitters (LAEs) and Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). In conjunction with spectra from other surveys, we confirm earlier indications that LAEs have a much higher [O iii]/[O ii] line ratio than is seen in similar redshift LBGs. By comparing their distributions on a [O iii]/[O ii] versus R23 diagram, we demonstrate that this difference cannot arise solely because of their lower metallicities but most likely is due to a harder ionizing spectrum. Using measures of Hβ and recombination theory, we demonstrate, for a subset of our LAEs, that ξ{sub ion}—the number of Lyman continuum photons per UV luminosity—is indeed 0.2–0.5 dex larger than for typical LBGs at similar redshifts. Using photoionization models, we estimate the effect this would have on both [O iii]/[O ii] and R23 and conclude such a hard spectrum can only partially explain such intense line emission. The additional possibility is that such a large [O iii]/[O ii] ratio is in part due to density rather than ionization bound nebular regions, which would imply a high escape fraction of ionizing photons. We discuss how further observations could confirm this possibility. Clearly LAEs with intense [O iii] emission represent a promising analog of those z>7 sources with similarly strong lines that are thought to be an important contributor to cosmic reionization.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Discovery of Variable Hydrogen Balmer Absorption Lines with Inverse Decrement in PG 1411+442

We present new optical spectra of the well-known broad absorption line (BAL) quasar PG 1411+442, using the DBSP spectrograph at the Palomar 200 inch telescope in 2014 and 2017 and the YFOSC spectrograph at the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope in 2015. A blueshifted narrow absorption line system is clearly revealed in 2014 and 2015 consisting of hydrogen Balmer series and metastable He i lines. The velocity of these lines is similar to the centroid velocity of the UV BALs, suggesting that both originate from the outflow. The Balmer lines vary significantly between the two observations and vanished in 2017. They were also absent in the archived spectra obtained before 2001. The variation is thought to be driven by photoionization change. Besides, the absorption lines show inversed Balmer decrement, i.e., the apparent optical depths of higher-order Balmer absorption lines are larger than those of lower-order lines, which is inconsistent with the oscillator strengths of the transitions. We suggest that such anomalous line ratios can be naturally explained by the thermal structure of a background accretion disk, which allows the obscured part of the disk to contribute differently to the continuum flux at different wavelengths. High-resolution spectroscopic and photometric monitoring would be very useful to probe the structure of the accretion disk as well as the geometry and physical conditions of the outflow.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗