112 research outputs found
The Data Processing Pipeline for the Herschel-HIFI Instrument
The HIFI data processing pipeline was developed to systematically process
diagnostic, calibration and astronomical observations taken with the HIFI
science instrumentas part of the Herschel mission. The HIFI pipeline processed
data from all HIFI observing modes within the Herschel automated processing
environment, as well as, within an interactive environment. A common software
framework was developed to best support the use cases required by the
instrument teams and by the general astronomers. The HIFI pipeline was built on
top of that and was designed with a high degree of modularity. This modular
design provided the necessary flexibility and extensibility to deal with the
complexity of batch-processing eighteen different observing modes, to support
the astronomers in the interactive analysis and to cope with adjustments
necessary to improve the pipeline and the quality of the end-products. This
approach to the software development and data processing effort was arrived at
by coalescing the lessons learned from similar research based projects with the
understanding that a degree of foresight was required given the overall length
of the project. In this article, both the successes and challenges of the HIFI
software development process are presented. To support future similar projects
and retain experience gained lessons learned are extracted.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure
Diagnosing shock temperature with NH and HO profiles
In a previous study of the L1157 B1 shocked cavity, a comparison between
NH(1-) and HO(1--1) transitions showed a
striking difference in the profiles, with HO emitting at definitely higher
velocities. This behaviour was explained as a result of the high-temperature
gas-phase chemistry occurring in the postshock gas in the B1 cavity of this
outflow. If the differences in behaviour between ammonia and water are indeed a
consequence of the high gas temperatures reached during the passage of a shock,
then one should find such differences to be ubiquitous among chemically rich
outflows. In order to determine whether the difference in profiles observed
between NH and HO is unique to L1157 or a common characteristic of
chemically rich outflows, we have performed Herschel-HIFI observations of the
NH(1-0) line at 572.5 GHz in a sample of 8 bright low-mass outflow
spots already observed in the HO(1--1) line within
the WISH KP. We detected the ammonia emission at high-velocities at most of the
outflows positions. In all cases, the water emission reaches higher velocities
than NH, proving that this behaviour is not exclusive of the L1157-B1
position. Comparisons with a gas-grain chemical and shock model confirms, for
this larger sample, that the behaviour of ammonia is determined principally by
the temperature of the gas.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Societ
Mapping water in protostellar outflows with Herschel: PACS and HIFI observations of L1448-C
We investigate on the spatial and velocity distribution of H2O along the
L1448 outflow, its relationship with other tracers, and its abundance
variations, using maps of the o-H2O 1_{10}-1_{01} and 2_{12}-1_{01} transitions
taken with the Herschel-HIFI and PACS instruments, respectively. Water emission
appears clumpy, with individual peaks corresponding to shock spots along the
outflow. The bulk of the 557 GHz line is confined to radial velocities in the
range \pm 10-50 km/s but extended emission associated with the L1448-C extreme
high velocity (EHV) jet is also detected. The H2O 1_{10}-1_{01}/CO(3-2) ratio
shows strong variations as a function of velocity that likely reflect different
and changing physical conditions in the gas responsible for the emissions from
the two species. In the EHV jet, a low H2O/SiO abundance ratio is inferred,
that could indicate molecular formation from dust free gas directly ejected
from the proto-stellar wind. We derive averaged Tkin and n(H2) values of about
300-500 K and 5 10^6 cm-3 respectively, while a water abundance with respect to
H2 of the order of 0.5-1 10^{-6} along the outflow is estimated. The fairly
constant conditions found all along the outflow implies that evolutionary
effects on the timescales of outflow propagation do not play a major role in
the H2O chemistry. The results of our analysis show that the bulk of the
observed H2O lines comes from post-shocked regions where the gas, after being
heated to high temperatures, has been already cooled down to a few hundred K.
The relatively low derived abundances, however, call for some mechanism to
diminish the H2O gas in the post-shock region. Among the possible scenarios, we
favor H2O photodissociation, which requires the superposition of a low velocity
non-dissociative shock with a fast dissociative shock able to produce a FUV
field of sufficient strength.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication on Astronomy &
Astrophysic
The CHESS survey of the L1157-B1 shock: the dissociative jet shock as revealed by Herschel--PACS
Outflows generated by protostars heavily affect the kinematics and chemistry
of the hosting molecular cloud through strong shocks that enhance the abundance
of some molecules. L1157 is the prototype of chemically active outflows, and a
strong shock, called B1, is taking place in its blue lobe between the
precessing jet and the hosting cloud. We present the Herschel-PACS 55--210
micron spectra of the L1157-B1 shock, showing emission lines from CO, H2O, OH,
and [OI]. The spatial resolution of the PACS spectrometer allows us to map the
warm gas traced by far-infrared (FIR) lines with unprecedented detail. The
rotational diagram of the high-Jup CO lines indicates high-excitation
conditions (Tex ~ 210 +/- 10 K). We used a radiative transfer code to model the
hot CO gas emission observed with PACS and in the CO (13-12) and (10-9) lines
measured by Herschel-HIFI. We derive 20010^5 cm-3. The CO
emission comes from a region of about 7 arcsec located at the rear of the bow
shock where the [OI] and OH emission also originate. Comparison with shock
models shows that the bright [OI] and OH emissions trace a dissociative J-type
shock, which is also supported by a previous detection of [FeII] at the same
position. The inferred mass-flux is consistent with the "reverse" shock where
the jet is impacting on the L1157-B1 bow shock. The same shock may contribute
significantly to the high-Jup CO emission.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Excitation of the molecular gas in the nuclear region of M82
We present high resolution HIFI spectroscopy of the nucleus of the
archetypical starburst galaxy M82. Six 12CO lines, 2 13CO lines and 4
fine-structure lines are detected. Besides showing the effects of the overall
velocity structure of the nuclear region, the line profiles also indicate the
presence of multiple components with different optical depths, temperatures and
densities in the observing beam. The data have been interpreted using a grid of
PDR models. It is found that the majority of the molecular gas is in low
density (n=10^3.5 cm^-3) clouds, with column densities of N_H=10^21.5 cm^-2 and
a relatively low UV radiation field (GO = 10^2). The remaining gas is
predominantly found in clouds with higher densities (n=10^5 cm^-3) and
radiation fields (GO = 10^2.75), but somewhat lower column densities
(N_H=10^21.2 cm^-2). The highest J CO lines are dominated by a small (1%
relative surface filling) component, with an even higher density (n=10^6 cm^-3)
and UV field (GO = 10^3.25). These results show the strength of multi-component
modeling for the interpretation of the integrated properties of galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Herschel observations in the ultracompact HII region Mon R2: Water in dense Photon-dominated regions (PDRs)
Mon R2, at a distance of 830 pc, is the only ultracompact HII region (UC HII)
where the photon-dominated region (PDR) between the ionized gas and the
molecular cloud can be resolved with Herschel. HIFI observations of the
abundant compounds 13CO, C18O, o-H2-18O, HCO+, CS, CH, and NH have been used to
derive the physical and chemical conditions in the PDR, in particular the water
abundance. The 13CO, C18O, o-H2-18O, HCO+ and CS observations are well
described assuming that the emission is coming from a dense (n=5E6 cm-3,
N(H2)>1E22 cm-2) layer of molecular gas around the UC HII. Based on our
o-H2-18O observations, we estimate an o-H2O abundance of ~2E-8. This is the
average ortho-water abundance in the PDR. Additional H2-18O and/or water lines
are required to derive the water abundance profile. A lower density envelope
(n~1E5 cm-3, N(H2)=2-5E22 cm-2) is responsible for the absorption in the NH
1_1-0_2 line. The emission of the CH ground state triplet is coming from both
regions with a complex and self-absorbed profile in the main component. The
radiative transfer modeling shows that the 13CO and HCO+ line profiles are
consistent with an expansion of the molecular gas with a velocity law, v_e =0.5
x (r/Rout)^{-1} km/s, although the expansion velocity is poorly constrained by
the observations presented here.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Nitrogen hydrides in the cold envelope of IRAS16293-2422
Nitrogen is the fifth most abundant element in the Universe, yet the
gas-phase chemistry of N-bearing species remains poorly understood. Nitrogen
hydrides are key molecules of nitrogen chemistry. Their abundance ratios place
strong constraints on the production pathways and reaction rates of
nitrogen-bearing molecules. We observed the class 0 protostar IRAS16293-2422
with the heterodyne instrument HIFI, covering most of the frequency range from
0.48 to 1.78~THz at high spectral resolution. The hyperfine structure of the
amidogen radical o-NH2 is resolved and seen in absorption against the continuum
of the protostar. Several transitions of ammonia from 1.2 to 1.8~THz are also
seen in absorption. These lines trace the low-density envelope of the
protostar. Column densities and abundances are estimated for each hydride. We
find that NH:NH2:NH3=5:1:300. {Dark clouds chemical models predict steady-state
abundances of NH2 and NH3 in reasonable agreement with the present
observations, whilst that of NH is underpredicted by more than one order of
magnitude, even using updated kinetic rates. Additional modelling of the
nitrogen gas-phase chemistry in dark-cloud conditions is necessary before
having recourse to heterogen processes
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