26,794 research outputs found
IC 5181: An S0 Galaxy with Ionized Gas on Polar Orbits
The nearby S0 galaxy IC 5181 is studied to address the origin of the ionized
gas component that orbits the galaxy on polar orbit. We perform detailed
photometric and spectroscopic observations measuring the surface brightness
distribution of the stars (I-band), ionized gas of IC 5181 (H-alpha narrow
band), the ionized-gas and stellar kinematics along both the major and minor
axis, and the corresponding line strengths of the Lick indices. We conclude
that the galaxy hosts a geometrically and kinematically decoupled component of
ionized gas. It is elongated along the galaxy minor axis and in orthogonal
rotation with respect to the galaxy disk. The result is suggesting that the gas
component is not related to the stars having an external origin. The gas was
accreted by IC 5181 on polar orbits from the surrounding environment.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, To appear in ASP Conf. Ser., Multi-Spin Galaxies,
E. Iodice and E. M. Corsini (eds.
The kinematics of the diffuse ionized gas in NGC 4666
The global properties of the interstellar medium with processes such as
infall and outflow of gas and a large scale circulation of matter and its
consequences for star formation and chemical enrichment are important for the
understanding of galaxy evolution. In this paper we studied the kinematics and
morphology of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) in the disk and in the halo of the
star forming spiral galaxy NGC 4666 to derive information about its kinematical
properties. Especially, we searched for infalling and outflowing ionized gas.
We determined surface brightness, radial velocity, and velocity dispersion of
the warm ionized gas via high spectral resolution (R ~ 9000) Fabry-P\'erot
interferometry. This allows the determination of the global velocity field and
the detection of local deviations from this verlocity field. We calculated
models of the DIG distribution and its kinematics for comparison with the
measured data. In this way we determined fundamental parameters such as the
inclination and the scale height of NGC 4666, and established the need for an
additional gas component to fit our observed data. We found individual areas,
especially along the minor axis, with gas components reaching into the halo
which we interpret as an outflowing component of the diffuse ionized gas. As
the main result of our study, we were able to determine that the vertical
structure of the DIG distribution in NGC 4666 is best modeled with two
components of ionized gas, a thick and a thin disk with 0.8 kpc and 0.2 kpc
scale height, respectively. Therefore, the enhanced star formation in NGC 4666
drives an outflow and also maintains a thick ionized gas layer reminiscent of
the Reynold's layer in the Milky Way.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, 3 table
Self-consistent Mean Field theory in weakly ionized media
We present a self-consistent mean field theory of the dynamo in 3D and
turbulent diffusion in 2D in weakly ionized gas. We find that in 3D, the
backreaction does not alter the beta effect while it suppresses the alpha
effect when the strength of a mean magnetic field exceeds a critical value.
These results suggest that a mean field dynamo operates much more efficiently
in weakly ionized gas compared to the fully ionized gas. Furthermore, we show
that in 2D, the turbulent diffusion is suppressed by back reaction when a mean
magnetic field reaches the same critical strength, with the upper bound on
turbulent diffusion given by its kinematic value. Astrophysical implications
are discussed
An H-alpha survey aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas in halos of edge-on spiral galaxies II. The H-alpha survey atlas and catalog
In this second paper on the investigation of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas
in nearby edge-on spiral galaxies we present the actual results of the
individual galaxies of our H-alpha imaging survey. A grand total of 74 galaxies
have been studied, including the 9 galaxies of a recently studied sub-sample
(Rossa & Dettmar 2000). 40.5% of all studied galaxies reveal extraplanar
diffuse ionized gas, whereas in 59.5% of the survey galaxies no extraplanar
diffuse ionized gas could be detected. The average distances of this extended
emission above the galactic midplane range from 1-2 kpc, while individual
filaments in a few galaxies reach distances of up to |z| ~ 6 kpc. In several
cases a pervasive layer of ionized gas was detected, similar to the Reynolds
layer in our Milky Way, while other galaxies reveal only extended emission
locally. The morphology of the diffuse ionized gas is discussed for each galaxy
and is compared with observations of other important ISM constituents in the
context of the disk-halo connection, in those cases where published results
were available. Furthermore, we present the distribution of extraplanar dust in
these galaxies, based on an analysis of the unsharp-masked R-band images. The
results are compared with the distribution of the diffuse ionized gas.Comment: LaTeX, 21 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, figs.
22-54 are only available in electronic form and figs. 2-11 + 17-20 are also
available at http://www.astro.rub.de/jrossa/ha-surve
Physical conditions in the gas phases of the giant HII region LMC-N11 unveiled by Herschel - I. Diffuse [CII] and [OIII] emission in LMC-N11B
(Abridged) The Magellanic Clouds provide a nearby laboratory for metal-poor
dwarf galaxies. The low dust abundance enhances the penetration of UV photons
into the interstellar medium (ISM), resulting in a relatively larger filling
factor of the ionized gas. Furthermore, there is likely a hidden molecular gas
reservoir probed by the [CII]157um line. We present Herschel/PACS maps in
several tracers, [CII], [OI]63um,145um, [NII]122um, [NIII]57um, and [OIII]88um
in the HII region N11B in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Halpha and [OIII]5007A
images were used as complementary data to investigate the effect of dust
extinction. Observations were interpreted with photoionization models to infer
the gas conditions and estimate the ionized gas contribution to the [CII]
emission. Photodissociation regions (PDRs) are probed through polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We first study the distribution and properties of
the ionized gas. We then constrain the origin of [CII]157um by comparing to
tracers of the low-excitation ionized gas and of PDRs. [OIII] is dominated by
extended emission from the high-excitation diffuse ionized gas; it is the
brightest far-infrared line, ~4 times brighter than [CII]. The extent of the
[OIII] emission suggests that the medium is rather fragmented, allowing far-UV
photons to permeate into the ISM to scales of >30pc. Furthermore, by comparing
[CII] with [NII], we find that 95% of [CII] arises in PDRs, except toward the
stellar cluster for which as much as 15% could arise in the ionized gas. We
find a remarkable correlation between [CII]+[OI] and PAH emission, with [CII]
dominating the cooling in diffuse PDRs and [OI] dominating in the densest PDRs.
The combination of [CII] and [OI] provides a proxy for the total gas cooling in
PDRs. Our results suggest that PAH emission describes better the PDR gas
heating as compared to the total infrared emission.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Fixed
inverted line ratio in Sect. 5.
HST Paschen alpha and 1.9 micron imaging of Sgr A West
We present HST/NICMOS images at 0.2" resolution of the HI Paschen Alpha (PaA)
emission line in a 70" x 90" region of the Galactic center centered on the
non-thermal radio source Sgr A*. The majority of the emission arises from
ionized gas in the mini-spiral in the central parsec. PaA emission is also seen
from 26 stellar sources, presumably early-type stars with mass-loss winds. The
new data reveal significant small-scale structure (<1"~0.04pc) in the ionized
gas of the mini-spiral; low surface brightness emission features are also seen
for the first time. Extinction, estimated from the ratio of observed PaA
emission to 6-cm continuum emission, varies from 20 to 50 mag with a median
Av=31.1 mag, in excellent agreement with earlier estimates for the stellar
sources and indepedent measurements derived using H92alpha recombination line
data. Large increases in extinction are seen along the periphery of the ionized
gas, suggesting that the ionized gas is partially extincted by dust in the
molecular clouds at the outside of the ionized regions. The small-scale,
filamentary structures in the ionized gas have a free thermal expansion time of
only ~ 3000 yrs; either magnetic fields or mass-loss winds from the hot
emission line stars may contain the ionized filaments. For both the ionized gas
and the stellar continuum, the centroids of the emission remain within ~+/- 1"
from a radius of 2" out to 40", providing further evidence that Sgr A* is
indeed at or extremely close to the dynamical center of the Galactic nucleus
stellar distribution. The 1.9 micron surface brightness increases inwards to
0.9" and then decreases or levels off closer to Sgr A*, possibly indicating the
core radius of the central stellar distribution or depletion of the late-type
stars by stellar collisions near the central black hole.Comment: 43 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables; Accepted to ApJ (9/1/03 issue
Dust in the Ionized Medium of the Galaxy: GHRS Measurements of Al III and S III
We present interstellar absorption line measurements of the ions S III and Al
III towards six stars using archival Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph data.
The ions Al III and S III trace heavily depleted and non-depleted elements,
respectively, in ionized gas. We use the photoionization code CLOUDY to derive
the ionization correction relating N(Al III)/N(S III) to the gas-phase
abundance [Al/S]_i in the ionized gas. For spectral types considered here, the
corrections are small and independent of the assumed ionization parameter.
Using the results of these photoionization models, we find [Al/S]_i = -1.0 in
the ionized gas towards three disk stars. These values of [Al/S]_i (=[Al/H]_i)
imply that Al-bearing grains are present in the ionized nebulae around these
stars. If the WIM of the Galaxy is photoionized by OB stars, our data for two
halo stars imply [Al/S]_i = -0.4 to -0.5 in the WIM and thus the presence of
dust grains containing Al in this important phase of the ISM. While
photoionization appears to be the most likely origin of the ionization for Al
III and S III, we cannot rule out confusion from the presence of hot,
collisionally ionized gas along two sightlines. We find that [Al/S]_i in the
ionized gas along the six sightlines is anti-correlated with the electron
density and average sightline neutral density. The degree of grain destruction
in the ionized medium of the Galaxy is not much higher than in the warm neutral
medium. The existence of grains in the ionized regions studied here has
important implications for the thermal balance of these regions. (Abstract
Abridged)Comment: 30 pages including 8 embedded tables and 8 embedded figures. Accepted
for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
The Multi-Phase Medium in the Interstellar Complex N44
We have obtained high-resolution HI observations of N44, one of the largest
HII complexes in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The distribution and internal
motions of the HI gas show dynamic effects of fast stellar winds and supernova
blasts. Numerous HI holes are detected, with the most prominent two
corresponding to the optically identified superbubbles Shell 1 and Shell 2. The
HI gas associated with Shell 1 shows an expansion pattern similar to that of
the ionized gas shell, but the mass and kinetic energy of the HI shell are 3--7
times those of the ionized gas shell. The total kinetic energy of the neutral
and ionized gas of Shell 1 is still more than a factor of 5 lower than expected
in a pressure-driven superbubble. It is possible that the central OB
association was formed in a molecular cloud and a visible superbubble was not
fully developed until the ambient molecular gas had been dissociated and
cleared away. This hypothesis is supported by the existence of a molecular
cloud toward N44 and the fact that the apparent dynamic age of the superbubble
Shell 1 is much shorter than the age of its OB association LH47. Accelerated HI
gas is detected at the supernova remnant 0523-679. The mass and kinetic energy
in the associated HI gas are also much higher than those in the ionized gas of
0523-679. Studies of interstellar gas dynamics using ionized gas alone are
clearly inadequate; neutral gas components must be included.Comment: 18 pages,5 figures; for "figures", see at
"http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~sek/N44.html" (4.9 MB postscript.gz) ; Appear to
ApJ, 503, 729 (Aug 20
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