630 research outputs found
Relativistic MHD Simulations of Jets with Toroidal Magnetic Fields
This paper presents an application of the recent relativistic HLLC
approximate Riemann solver by Mignone & Bodo to magnetized flows with vanishing
normal component of the magnetic field.
The numerical scheme is validated in two dimensions by investigating the
propagation of axisymmetric jets with toroidal magnetic fields.
The selected jet models show that the HLLC solver yields sharper resolution
of contact and shear waves and better convergence properties over the
traditional HLL approach.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
TPCI: The PLUTO-CLOUDY Interface
We present an interface between the (magneto-) hydrodynamics code PLUTO and
the plasma simulation and spectral synthesis code CLOUDY. By combining these
codes, we constructed a new photoionization hydrodynamics solver: The
PLUTO-CLOUDY Interface (TPCI), which is well suited to simulate
photoevaporative flows under strong irradiation. The code includes the
electromagnetic spectrum from X-rays to the radio range and solves the
photoionization and chemical network of the 30 lightest elements. TPCI follows
an iterative numerical scheme: First, the equilibrium state of the medium is
solved for a given radiation field by CLOUDY, resulting in a net radiative
heating or cooling. In the second step, the latter influences the (magneto-)
hydrodynamic evolution calculated by PLUTO. Here, we validated the
one-dimensional version of the code on the basis of four test problems:
Photoevaporation of a cool hydrogen cloud, cooling of coronal plasma, formation
of a Stroemgren sphere, and the evaporating atmosphere of a hot Jupiter. This
combination of an equilibrium photoionization solver with a general MHD code
provides an advanced simulation tool applicable to a variety of astrophysical
problems.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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October 1-2, 2007, Rome, Italy TV-Centric Technologies To Provide Remote Areas With Two-Way Satellite Broadband Acces
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September 24-26, 2007, Turin, Ital
A Multidimensional Relativistic Hydrodynamics Code with a General Equation of State
The ideal gas equation of state with a constant adiabatic index, although
commonly used in relativistic hydrodynamics, is a poor approximation for most
relativistic astrophysical flows. Here we propose a new general equation of
state for a multi-component relativistic gas which is consistent with the Synge
equation of state for a relativistic perfect gas and is suitable for numerical
(special) relativistic hydrodynamics. We also present a multidimensional
relativistic hydrodynamics code incorporating the proposed general equation of
state, based on the HLL scheme, which does not make use of a full
characteristic decomposition of the relativistic hydrodynamic equations. The
accuracy and robustness of this code is demonstrated in multidimensional
calculations through several highly relativistic test problems taking into
account nonvanishing tangential velocities. Results from three-dimensional
simulations of relativistic jets show that the morphology and dynamics of the
relativistic jets are significantly influenced by the different equation of
state and by different compositions of relativistic perfect gases. Our new
numerical code, combined with our proposed equation of state is very efficient
and robust, and unlike previous codes, it gives very accurate results for
thermodynamic variables in relativistic astrophysical flows.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures, accepted by ApJ
Models of the circumstellar medium of evolving, massive runaway stars moving through the Galactic plane
At least 5 per cent of the massive stars are moving supersonically through
the interstellar medium (ISM) and are expected to produce a stellar wind bow
shock. We explore how the mass loss and space velocity of massive runaway stars
affect the morphology of their bow shocks. We run two-dimensional axisymmetric
hydrodynamical simulations following the evolution of the circumstellar medium
of these stars in the Galactic plane from the main sequence to the red
supergiant phase. We find that thermal conduction is an important process
governing the shape, size and structure of the bow shocks around hot stars, and
that they have an optical luminosity mainly produced by forbidden lines, e.g.
[OIII]. The Ha emission of the bow shocks around hot stars originates from near
their contact discontinuity. The H emission of bow shocks around cool
stars originates from their forward shock, and is too faint to be observed for
the bow shocks that we simulate. The emission of optically-thin radiation
mainly comes from the shocked ISM material. All bow shock models are brighter
in the infrared, i.e. the infrared is the most appropriate waveband to search
for bow shocks. Our study suggests that the infrared emission comes from near
the contact discontinuity for bow shocks of hot stars and from the inner region
of shocked wind for bow shocks around cool stars. We predict that, in the
Galactic plane, the brightest, i.e. the most easily detectable bow shocks are
produced by high-mass stars moving with small space velocities.Comment: 22 pages, 24 figure
The Dynamics of Radiative Shock Waves: Linear and Nonlinear Evolution
The stability properties of one-dimensional radiative shocks with a power-law
cooling function of the form are the main
subject of this work. The linear analysis originally presented by Chevalier &
Imamura, is thoroughfully reviewed for several values of the cooling index
and higher overtone modes. Consistently with previous results, it is
shown that the spectrum of the linear operator consists in a series of modes
with increasing oscillation frequency. For each mode a critical value of the
cooling index, , can be defined so that modes with are unstable, while modes with
are stable. The perturbative analysis is complemented by several numerical
simulations to follow the time-dependent evolution of the system for different
values of . Particular attention is given to the comparison between
numerical and analytical results (during the early phases of the evolution) and
to the role played by different boundary conditions. It is shown that an
appropriate treatment of the lower boundary yields results that closely follow
the predicted linear behavior. During the nonlinear regime, the shock
oscillations saturate at a finite amplitude and tend to a quasi-periodic cycle.
The modes of oscillations during this phase do not necessarily coincide with
those predicted by linear theory, but may be accounted for by mode-mode
coupling.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical
Journa
Young stellar object jet models: From theory to synthetic observations
Astronomical observations, analytical solutions and numerical simulations
have provided the building blocks to formulate the current theory of young
stellar object jets. Although each approach has made great progress
independently, it is only during the last decade that significant efforts are
being made to bring the separate pieces together. Building on previous work
that combined analytical solutions and numerical simulations, we apply a
sophisticated cooling function to incorporate optically thin energy losses in
the dynamics. On the one hand, this allows a self-consistent treatment of the
jet evolution and on the other, it provides the necessary data to generate
synthetic emission maps. Firstly, analytical disk and stellar outflow solutions
are properly combined to initialize numerical two-component jet models inside
the computational box. Secondly, magneto-hydrodynamical simulations are
performed in 2.5D, following properly the ionization and recombination of a
maximum of ions. Finally, the outputs are post-processed to produce
artificial observational data. The first two-component jet simulations, based
on analytical models, that include ionization and optically thin radiation
losses demonstrate promising results for modeling specific young stellar object
outflows. The generation of synthetic emission maps provides the link to
observations, as well as the necessary feedback for the further improvement of
the available models.Comment: accepted for publication A&A, 20 pages, 11 figure
MHD modeling of coronal loops: the transition region throat
The expansion of coronal loops in the transition region may considerably
influence the diagnostics of the plasma emission measure. The cross sectional
area of the loops is expected to depend on the temperature and pressure, and
might be sensitive to the heating rate. The approach here is to study the area
response to slow changes in the coronal heating rate, and check the current
interpretation in terms of steady heating models. We study the area response
with a time-dependent 2D MHD loop model, including the description of the
expanding magnetic field, coronal heating and losses by thermal conduction and
radiation from optically thin plasma. We run a simulation for a loop 50 Mm long
and quasi-statically heated to about 4 MK. We find that the area can change
substantially with the quasi-steady heating rate, e.g. by ~40% at 0.5 MK as the
loop temperature varies between 1 and 4 MK, and, therefore, affects the
interpretation of DEM(T) curves.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publicatio
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