MHD simulations of radiative jets from young stellar objects: Halpha emission

We study the H$\alpha$ emission from jets using two-dimensional axisymmetrical simulations. We compare the emission obtained from hydrodynamic (HD) simulations with that obtained from magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations. The magnetic field is supposed to be present in the jet only, and with a toroidal configuration. The simulations have time-dependent ejection velocities and different intensities for the initial magnetic field. The results show an increase in the H$\alpha$ emission along the jet for the magnetized cases with respect to the HD case. The increase in the emission is due to a better collimation of the jet in the MHD case, and to a small increase in the shock velocity. These results could have important implications for the interpretation of the observations of jets from young stellar objects.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication by A&

Atmospheric mass loss by stellar wind from planets around main sequence M stars

We present an analytic model for the interaction between planetary atmospheres and stellar winds from main sequence M stars, with the purpose of obtaining a quick test-model that estimates the timescale for total atmospheric mass loss due to this interaction. Planets in the habitable zone of M dwarfs may be tidally locked and may have weak magnetic fields, because of this we consider the extreme case of planets with no magnetic field. The model gives the planetary atmosphere mass loss rate as a function of the stellar wind and planetary properties (mass, atmospheric pressure and orbital distance) and an entrainment efficiency coefficient $\alpha$. We use a mixing layer model to explore two different cases: a time-independent stellar mass loss and a stellar mass loss rate that decreases with time. For both cases we consider planetary masses within the range of $1\to10$ M$_{\oplus}$ and atmospheric pressures with values of 1, 5 and 10 atm. For the time dependent case, planets without magnetic field in the habitable zone of M dwarfs with initial stellar mass losses of $\leq \dot{M}_{w} < 10^{-11}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, may retain their atmospheres for at least 1 Gyr. This case may be applied to early spectral type M dwarfs (earlier than M5). Studies have shown that late type M dwarfs (later than M5) may be active for long periods of time ($\geq 4$Gyr), and because of that our model with constant stellar mass loss rate may be more accurate. For these stars most planets may have lost their atmospheres in 1 Gyr or less because most of the late type M dwarfs are expected to be active. We emphasize that our model only considers planets without magnetic fields. Clearly we must expect a higher resistance to atmospheric erosion if we include the presence of a magnetic field.Comment: Icarus, submitted. 18 pages, 6 figure

The dynamics of internal working surfaces in MHD jets

The dynamical effects of magnetic fields in models of radiative, Herbig-Haro (HH) jets have been studied in a number of papers. For example, magnetized, radiative jets from variable sources have been studied with axisymmetric and 3D numerical simulations. In this paper, we present an analytic model describing the effect of a toroidal magnetic field on the internal working surfaces that result from a variability in the ejection velocity. We find that for parameters appropriate for HH jets the forces associated with the magnetic field dominate over the gas pressure force within the working surfaces. Depending on the ram pressure radial cross section of the jet, the magnetic field can produce a strong axial pinch, or, alternatively, a broadening of the internal working surfaces. We check the validity of the analytic model with axisymmetric numerical simulations of variable, magnetized jets.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. ApJ in pres

Relation between source and temperature fluctuations in photoionized nebulae

The magnitude of the temperature fluctuations (t^2) required to explain the observed inconsistencies between metallicities inferred from recombination lines and from forbidden lines cannot be attained by steady-state equilibrium photoionization models. If on the other hand the nebular ionizing source was variable, the temperature fluctuations t^2 would be significantly larger. We investigate the time-dependent response of the nebular ionization and temperature structure when photoionized by a periodically varying source. We study how the asymptotic mean value, , behaves as a function of the period or amplitude of the source variability. We find that the temperature fluctuations occur only in the outer section of the nebula, close to the ionization front, within a zone corresponding to 8-20% of the ionized layer's thickness. We conclude that the amplitude of the exciting star variations required to achieve a = 0.025 (as in the Orion nebula) is unacceptably large. Source variability is therefore not a viable mechanism to explain the observed values of t^2. We reach a similar conclusion from studies of the temporal variability resulting from intermittent shadows behind opaque condensations. We find that photoionized nebulae are on average less massive but somewhat hotter in the case of cyclicly variable ionizing sources.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Revista Mexicana de Astronomia y Astrofisica, revised versio

HAWC response to atmospheric electricity activity

The HAWC Gamma Ray observatory consists of 300 water Cherenkov detectors (WCD) instrumented with four photo multipliers tubes (PMT) per WCD. HAWC is located between two of the highest mountains in Mexico. The high altitude (4100 m asl), the relatively short distance to the Gulf of Mexico (~100 km), the large detecting area (22 000 m$^2$) and its high sensitivity, make HAWC a good instrument to explore the acceleration of particles due to the electric fields existing inside storm clouds. In particular, the scaler system of HAWC records the output of each one of the 1200 PMTs as well as the 2, 3, and 4-fold multiplicities (logic AND in a time window of 30 ns) of each WCD with a sampling rate of 40 Hz. Using the scaler data, we have identified 20 enhancements of the observed rate during periods when storm clouds were over HAWC but without cloud-earth discharges. These enhancements can be produced by electrons with energy of tens of MeV, accelerated by the electric fields of tens of kV/m measured at the site during the storm periods. In this work, we present the recorded data, the method of analysis and our preliminary conclusions on the electron acceleration by the electric fields inside the clouds.Comment: Presented at the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2017), Bexco, Busan, Korea. See arXiv:1708.02572 for all HAWC contribution

Kinematics of Herbig-Haro Objects and Jets in the Orion Nebula

We have surveyed the inner 5' of the Orion Nebula by means of Halpha and [NII] Fabry-Perot imaging spectroscopy to present a kinematical study of the Herbig-Haro objects in the nebula. The objects studied in this work are HH 202, 203, 204, 529, 269 and other associated features. For HH 202 we find new features that, because of their high velocities (up to 100 km/seg) indicate the presence of an outflow that probably is a HH flow not catalogued previously. HH 202 could be only a part of this larger outflow. Large internal motions are found in the fainter regions of HH 203-204, as well as evidence of transverse density gradients that could account for the asymmetry in the brightness distribution of HH 204. We report for the first time a high blueshifted velocity (-118 km/seg) associated with HH 204, and show that the apex of HH 204 is indeed the zone of maximum velocity, in agreement with bow shock models. We also studied the radial velocity field of HH 269 finding features associated with the HH object. From our studies, we find kinematic evidence that suggests that HH 203-204 and HH 202 are part of a big (aprox. 0.55 pc) bipolar HH outflow.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures (in three jpg files). To be Published in Astronomical Journa