Ion chemistry in the early universe: revisiting the role of HeH+ with new quantum calculations

The role of HeH+ has been newly assessed with the aid of newly calculated rates which use entirely ab initio methods, thereby allowing us to compute more accurately the relevant abundances within the global chemical network of the early universe. A comparison with the similar role of the ionic molecule LiH+ is also presented. Quantum calculations have been carried out for the gas-phase reaction of HeH+ with H atoms with our new in-house code, based on the negative imaginary potential method. Integral cross sections and reactive rate coefficients obtained under the general conditions of early universe chemistry are presented and discussed. With the new reaction rate, the abundance of HeH+ in the early universe is more than one order of magnitude larger than in previous studies. Our more accurate findings further buttress the possibility to detect cosmological signatures of HeH+.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, in pres

The formation of massive primordial stars in the presence of moderate UV backgrounds

Radiative feedback from populations II stars played a vital role in early structure formation. Particularly, photons below the Lyman limit can escape the star forming regions and produce a background ultraviolet (UV) flux which consequently may influence the pristine halos far away from the radiation sources. These photons can quench the formation of molecular hydrogen by photo-detachment of $\rm H^{-}$. In this study, we explore the impact of such UV radiation on fragmentation in massive primordial halos of a few times $\rm 10^{7}$~M${_\odot}$. To accomplish this goal, we perform high resolution cosmological simulations for two distinct halos and vary the strength of the impinging background UV field in units of $\rm J_{21}$. We further make use of sink particles to follow the evolution for 10,000 years after reaching the maximum refinement level. No vigorous fragmentation is observed in UV illuminated halos while the accretion rate changes according to the thermal properties. Our findings show that a few 100-10, 000 solar mass protostars are formed when halos are irradiated by $\rm J_{21}=10-500$ at $\rm z>10$ and suggest a strong relation between the strength of UV flux and mass of a protostar. This mode of star formation is quite different from minihalos, as higher accretion rates of about $\rm 0.01-0.1$ M$_{\odot}$/yr are observed by the end of our simulations. The resulting massive stars are the potential cradles for the formation of intermediate mass black holes at earlier cosmic times and contribute to the formation of a global X-ray background.Comment: Submitted to APJ, comments are welcome. High resolution copy is available at http://www.astro.physik.uni-goettingen.de/~mlatif/IMBHs_apj.pd

Quantum Correlation Bounds for Quantum Information Experiments Optimization: the Wigner Inequality Case

Violation of modified Wigner inequality by means binary bipartite quantum system allows the discrimination between the quantum world and the classical local-realistic one, and also ensures the security of Ekert-like quantum key distribution protocol. In this paper we study both theoretically and experimentally the bounds of quantum correlation associated to the modified Wigner's inequality finding the optimal experimental configuration for its maximal violation. We also extend this analysis to the implementation of Ekert's protocol

Formation of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in the presence of far ultraviolet radiation

Recent discoveries of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars like SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 provide increasing observational insights into the formation conditions of the first second-generation stars in the Universe, reflecting the chemical conditions after the first supernova explosion. Here, we present the first cosmological simulations with a detailed chemical network including primordial species as well as C, C$^+$, O, O$^+$, Si, Si$^+$, and Si$^{2+}$ following the formation of carbon-enhanced metal poor stars. The presence of background UV flux delays the collapse from $z=21$ to $z=15$ and cool the gas down to the CMB temperature for a metallicity of Z/Z$_\odot$=10$^{-3}$. This can potentially lead to the formation of lower mass stars. Overall, we find that the metals have a stronger effect on the collapse than the radiation, yielding a comparable thermal structure for large variations in the radiative background. We further find that radiative backgrounds are not able to delay the collapse for Z/Z$_\odot$=10$^{-2}$ or a carbon abundance as in SMSS J031300.36-670839.3.Comment: submitted to ApJ

Dark-matter halo mergers as a fertile environment for low-mass Population III star formation

While Population III stars are typically thought to be massive, pathways towards lower-mass Pop III stars may exist when the cooling of the gas is particularly enhanced. A possible route is enhanced HD cooling during the merging of dark-matter halos. The mergers can lead to a high ionization degree catalysing the formation of HD molecules and may cool the gas down to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature. In this paper, we investigate the merging of mini-halos with masses of a few 10$^5$ M$_\odot$ and explore the feasibility of this scenario. We have performed three-dimensional cosmological hydrodynamics calculations with the ENZO code, solving the thermal and chemical evolution of the gas by employing the astrochemistry package KROME. Our results show that the HD abundance is increased by two orders of magnitude compared to the no-merging case and the halo cools down to $\sim$60 K triggering fragmentation. Based on Jeans estimates the expected stellar masses are about 10 M$_\odot$. Our findings show that the merging scenario is a potential pathway for the formation of low-mass stars.Comment: Submitted to MNRA

How realistic UV spectra and X-rays suppress the abundance of direct collapse black holes

Observations of high redshift quasars at $z>6$ indicate that they harbor supermassive black holes (SMBHs) of a billion solar masses. The direct collapse scenario has emerged as the most plausible way to assemble SMBHs. The nurseries for the direct collapse black holes are massive primordial halos illuminated with an intense UV flux emitted by population II (Pop II) stars. In this study, we compute the critical value of such a flux ($J_{21}^{\rm crit}$) for realistic spectra of Pop II stars through three-dimensional cosmological simulations. We derive the dependence of $J_{21}^{\rm crit}$ on the radiation spectra, on variations from halo to halo, and on the impact of X-ray ionization. Our findings show that the value of $J_{21}^{\rm crit}$ is a few times $\rm 10^4$ and only weakly depends on the adopted radiation spectra in the range between $T_{\rm rad}=2 \times 10^4-10^5$ K. For three simulated halos of a few times $\rm 10^{7}$~M$_{\odot}$, $J_{21}^{\rm crit}$ varies from $\rm 2 \times 10^4 - 5 \times 10^4$. The impact of X-ray ionization is almost negligible and within the expected scatter of $J_{21}^{\rm crit}$ for background fluxes of $J_{\rm X,21} \leq 0.1$. The computed estimates of $J_{21}^{\rm crit}$ have profound implications for the quasar abundance at $z=10$ as it lowers the number density of black holes forming through an isothermal direct collapse by a few orders of magnitude below the observed black holes density. However, the sites with moderate amounts of $\rm H_2$ cooling may still form massive objects sufficient to be compatible with observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, comments are welcom

Effects of turbulence and rotation on protostar formation as a precursor to seed black holes

Context. The seeds of the first supermassive black holes may have resulted from the direct collapse of hot primordial gas in $\gtrsim 10^4$ K haloes, forming a supermassive or quasistar as an intermediate stage. Aims. We explore the formation of a protostar resulting from the collapse of primordial gas in the presence of a strong Lyman-Werner radiation background. Particularly, we investigate the impact of turbulence and rotation on the fragmentation behaviour of the gas cloud. We accomplish this goal by varying the initial turbulent and rotational velocities. Methods. We performed 3D adaptive mesh refinement simulations with a resolution of 64 cells per Jeans length using the ENZO code, simulating the formation of a protostar up to unprecedentedly high central densities of $10^{21}$ cm$^{-3}$, and spatial scales of a few solar radii. To achieve this goal, we employed the KROME package to improve modelling of the chemical and thermal processes. Results. We find that the physical properties of the simulated gas clouds become similar on small scales, irrespective of the initial amount of turbulence and rotation. After the highest level of refinement was reached, the simulations have been evolved for an additional ~5 freefall times. A single bound clump with a radius of $2 \times 10^{-2}$ AU and a mass of ~$7 \times 10^{-2}$ M$_{\odot}$ is formed at the end of each simulation, marking the onset of protostar formation. No strong fragmentation is observed by the end of the simulations, regardless of the initial amount of turbulence or rotation, and high accretion rates of a few solar masses per year are found. Conclusions. Given such high accretion rates, a quasistar of $10^5$ M$_{\odot}$ is expected to form within $10^5$ years.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, fixed typos, added references and clarified some details; accepted for publication in A&