Numerical modelling of the lobes of radio galaxies in cluster environments -- IV. Remnant radio galaxies

© 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We examine the remnant phase of radio galaxies using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of relativistic jets propagating through cluster environments. By switching the jets off once the lobes have reached a certain length we can study how the energy distribution between the lobes and shocked intra-cluster medium compares to that of an active source, as well as calculate synchrotron emission properties of the remnant sources. We see that as a result of disturbed cluster gas beginning to settle back into the initial cluster potential, streams of dense gas are pushed along the jet axis behind the remnant lobes, causing them to rise out of the cluster faster than they would due to buoyancy. This leads to increased adiabatic losses and a rapid dimming. The rapid decay of total flux density and surface brightness may explain the small number of remnant sources found in samples with a high flux density limit and may cause analytic models to overestimate the remnant fraction expected in sensitive surveys such as those now being carried out with LOFAR.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Synthetic 26Al emission from galactic-scale superbubble simulations

© 2019 The Author(s).Emission from the radioactive trace element 26Al has been observed throughout the Milky Way with the COMPTEL and INTEGRAL satellites. In particular the Doppler shifts measured with INTEGRAL connect 26Al with superbubbles, which may guide 26Al flows off spiral arms in the direction of Galactic rotation. In order to test this paradigm, we have performed galaxy-scale simulations of superbubbles with 26Al injection in a Milky Way-type galaxy. We produce all-sky synthetic $\gamma-$ray emission maps of the simulated galaxies. We find that the 1809keV emission from the radioactive decay of 26Al is highly variable with time and the observer's position. This allows us to estimate an additional systematic variability of 0.2dex for a star formation rate derived from 26Al for different times and measurement locations in Milky Way-type galaxies. High-latitude morphological features indicate nearby emission with correspondingly high integrated gamma-ray intensities. We demonstrate that the 26Al scale height from our simulated galaxies depends on the assumed halo gas density. We present the first synthetic 1809keV longitude-velocity diagrams from 3D hydrodynamic simulations. The line-of-sight velocities for 26Al can be significantly different from the line-of-sight velocities associated with the cold gas. Over time, 26Al velocities consistent with the INTEGRAL observations, within uncertainties, appear at any given longitude, broadly supporting previous suggestions that 26Al injected into expanding superbubbles by massive stars may be responsible for the high velocities found in the INTEGRAL observations. We discuss the effect of systematically varying the location of the superbubbles relative to the spiral arms.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Scanning Photo-Induced Impedance Microscopy - Resolution studies and polymer characterization

Scanning Photo-Induced Impedance Microscopy (SPIM) is an impedance imaging technique that is based on photocurrent measurements at field-effect structures. The material under investigation is deposited onto a semiconductor-insulator substrate. A thin metal film or an electrolyte solution with an immersed electrode serves as the gate contact. A modulated light beam focused into the space charge region of the semiconductor produces a photocurrent, which is directly related to the local impedance of the material. The absolute impedance of a polymer film can be measured by calibrating photocurrents using a known impedance in series with the sample. Depending on the wavelength of light used, charge carriers are not only generated in the focus but also throughout the bulk of the semiconductor. This can have adverse effects on the lateral resolution. Two-photon experiments were carried out to confine charge carrier generation to the spacecharge layer. The lateral resolution of SPIM is also limited by the lateral diffusion of charge carriers in the semiconductor. This problem can be solved by using thin silicon layers as semiconductor substrates. A resolution of better than 1 mu m was achieved using silicon on sapphire (SOS) substrates with a I l.Lm thick silicon layer

Dynamics and Energy Loss in Superbubbles

Martin G. H. Krause, and Roland Diehl, “Dynamics and Energy Loss in Superbubble”, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 794(2), October 2014. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.Interstellar bubbles appear to be smaller in observations than expected from calculations. Instabilities at the shell boundaries create three-dimensional (3D) effects and are probably responsible for part of this discrepancy. We investigate instabilities and dynamics in superbubbles using 3D hydrodynamics simulations with time-resolved energy input from massive stars, including supernova explosions. We find that the superbubble shells are accelerated by supernova explosions, coincident with substantial brightening in soft X-ray emission. In between the explosions, the superbubbles lose energy efficiently, approaching the momentum-conserving snowplow limit. This and enhanced radiative losses due to instabilities reduce the expansion compared to the corresponding radiative bubbles in pressure-driven snowplow models with constant energy input. We note generally good agreement with observations of superbubbles and some open issues. In particular, there are hints that the shell velocities in the X-ray-bright phases are underpredicted.Peer reviewe

Constraints on positron annihilation kinematics in the inner Galaxy

Context. The annihilation of cosmic positrons with electrons in the interstellar medium results in the strongest persistent γ-ray line signal in the sky. For the past 50 yr, this 511 keV emission - predominantly from the galactic bulge region and from a low surface-brightness disk - has puzzled observers and theoreticians. A key issue for understanding positron astrophysics is found in cosmic-ray propagation, especially at low kinetic energies (≲ 10 MeV). Aims. We want to shed light on how positrons propagate and the resulting morphology of the annihilation emission. We approach this "positron puzzle" by inferring kinematic information of the 511 keV line in the inner radian of the Galaxy. This constrains propagation scenarios and positron source populations in the Milky Way. Methods. By dissecting the positron annihilation emission as measured with INTEGRAL/SPI, we derived spectra for individual and independent regions in the sky. The centroid energies of these spectra around the 511 keV line are converted into Doppler shifts, representing the line-of-sight velocity along different galactic longitudes. This results in a longitude-velocity diagram of positron annihilation. From high-resolution spectra, we also determined Doppler-broadening from γ-ray line shape parameters to study annihilation conditions as they vary with galactic longitude. Results. We found line-of-sight velocities in the 511 keV line that are consistent with zero, as well as with galactic rotation from CO measurements (2-3 km s -1 deg -1), and measurements of radioactive 26Al (7.5-9.5 km s -1 deg -1). The velocity gradient in the inner ±30° is determined to be 4 ± 6 km s -1 deg -1. The width of the 511 keV line is constant as a function of longitude at 2.43 ± 0.14 keV, with possibly different values towards the disk. The positronium fraction is found to be 1.0 along the galactic plane. Conclusions. The weak signals in the disk leave the question open of whether positron annihilation is associated with the high velocities seen in 26Al or rather with ordinarily rotating components of the Milky Way's interstellar medium. We confirm previous results that positrons are slowed down to the 10 eV energy scale before annihilation and constrain bulk Doppler-broadening contributions to ≲ 1.25 keV in the inner radian. Consequently, the true annihilation conditions remain unclear.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Dynamo quenching due to shear flow

We provide a theory of dynamo (α effect) and momentum transport in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics. For the first time, we show that the α effect is reduced by the shear even in the absence of magnetic field. The α effect is further suppressed by magnetic fields well below equipartition (with the large-scale flow) with different scalings depending on the relative strength of shear and magnetic field. The turbulent viscosity is also found to be significantly reduced by shear and magnetic fields, with positive value. These results suggest a crucial effect of shear and magnetic field on dynamo quenching and momentum transport reduction, with important implications for laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, in particular, for the dynamics of the Sun

Energetics of positron states trapped at vacancies in solids

We report a computational first-principles study of positron trapping at vacancy defects in metals and semiconductors. The main emphasis is on the energetics of the trapping process including the interplay between the positron state and the defect's ionic structure and on the ensuing annihilation characteristics of the trapped state. For vacancies in covalent semiconductors the ion relaxation is a crucial part of the positron trapping process enabling the localization of the positron state. However, positron trapping does not strongly affect the characteristic features of the electronic structure, e.g., the ionization levels change only moderately. Also in the case of metal vacancies the positron-induced ion relaxation has a noticeable effect on the calculated positron lifetime and momentum distribution of annihilating electron-positron pairs.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review B on 17 April 2007. Revised version submitted on 6 July 200

Comparing simulated 26^{26}Al maps to gamma-ray measurements

© ESO 2019.Context. The diffuse gamma-ray emission of $^{26}{\rm Al}$ at 1.8 MeV reflects ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Milky Way, and traces massive-star feedback in the interstellar medium due to its 1 Myr radioactive lifetime. Interstellar-medium morphology and dynamics are investigated in astrophysics through 3D hydrodynamic simulations in fine detail, as only few suitable astronomical probes are available. Aims. We compare a galactic-scale hydrodynamic simulation of the Galaxy's interstellar medium, including feedback and nucleosynthesis, with gamma-ray data on $^{26}{\rm Al}$ emission in the Milky Way extracting constraints that are only weakly dependent on the particular realisation of the simulation or Galaxy structure. Methods. Due to constraints and biases in both the simulations and the gamma-ray observations, such comparisons are not straightforward. For a direct comparison, we perform maximum likelihood fits of simulated sky maps as well as observation-based maximum entropy maps to measurements with INTEGRAL/SPI. To study general morphological properties, we compare the scale heights of $^{26}{\rm Al}$ emission produced by the simulation to INTEGRAL/SPI measurements.} Results. The direct comparison shows that the simulation describes the observed inner Galaxy well, but differs significantly from the observed full-sky emission morphology. Comparing the scale height distribution, we see similarities for small scale height features and a mismatch at larger scale heights. We attribute this to the prominent foreground emission sites that are not captured by the simulation.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Efavirenz Intoxication Due to Slow Hepatic Metabolism

We describe a human immunodeficiency virus-positive woman who presented with severe psychosis while she was receiving therapy with efavirenz. Her plasma efavirenz level was excessively high. Genetic investigation showed that she was homozygous for the CYP2B6 G516T allele, resulting in slow hepatic metabolism. After the dosage of efavirenz was lowered, all neuropsychiatric symptoms subside