177 research outputs found
Molecular Cloud Chemistry and The Importance of Dielectronic Recombination
Dielectronic recombination (DR) of singly charged ions is a reaction pathway that is commonly neglected in chemical models of molecular clouds. In this study we include state-of-the-art DR data for He+, C+, N+, O+, Na+, and Mg+ in chemical models used to simulate dense molecular clouds, protostars, and diffuse molecular clouds. We also update the radiative recombination (RR) rate coefficients for H+, He+, C+, N+, O+, Na+, and Mg+ to the current state-of-the-art values. The new RR data have little effect on the models. However, the inclusion of DR results in significant differences in gas-grain models of dense, cold molecular clouds for the evolution of a number of surface and gas-phase species. We find differences of a factor of 2 in the abundance for 74 of the 655 species at times of 104-106 yr in this model when we include DR. Of these 74 species, 16 have at least a factor of 10 difference in abundance. We find the largest differences for species formed on the surface of dust grains. These differences are due primarily to the addition of C+ DR, which increases the neutral C abundance, thereby enhancing the accretion of C onto dust. These results may be important for the warm-up phase of molecular clouds when surface species are desorbed into the gas phase. We also note that no reliable state-of-the-art RR or DR data exist for Si+, P+, S+, Cl+, and Fe+. Modern calculations for these ions are needed to better constrain molecular cloud models
NNLO QCD predictions for the H -> WW -> l l nu nu signal at the LHC
We present a first computation of the NNLO QCD cross section at the LHC for
the production of four leptons from a Higgs boson decaying into W bosons. We
study the cross section for a Higgs boson mass Mh = 165 GeV; around this value
a Standard Model Higgs boson decays almost exclusively into W-pairs. We apply
all nominal experimental cuts on the final state leptons and the associated jet
activity and study the magnitude of higher-order effects up to NNLO on all
kinematic variables which are constrained by experimental cuts. We find that
the magnitude of the higher-order corrections varies significantly with the
signal selection cuts. As a main result we give the value of the cross section
at NNLO with all selection cuts envisaged for the search for the Higgs boson.Comment: typos corrected, version accepted in JHE
Comparing [CII], HI, and CO dynamics of nearby galaxies
The HI and CO components of the interstellar medium (ISM) are usually used to
derive the dynamical mass M_dyn of nearby galaxies. Both components become too
faint to be used as a tracer in observations of high-redshift galaxies. In
those cases, the 158 m line of atomic carbon [CII] may be the only way to
derive M_dyn. As the distribution and kinematics of the ISM tracer affects the
determination of M_dyn, it is important to quantify the relative distributions
of HI, CO and [CII]. HI and CO are well-characterised observationally, however,
for [CII] only very few measurements exist. Here we compare observations of CO,
HI, and [CII] emission of a sample of nearby galaxies, drawn from the HERACLES,
THINGS and KINGFISH surveys. We find that within R_25, the average [CII]
exponential radial profile is slightly shallower than that of the CO, but much
steeper than the HI distribution. This is also reflected in the integrated
spectrum ("global profile"), where the [CII] spectrum looks more like that of
the CO than that of the HI. For one galaxy, a spectrally resolved comparison of
integrated spectra was possible; other comparisons were limited by the
intrinsic line-widths of the galaxies and the coarse velocity resolution of the
[CII] data. Using high-spectral-resolution SOFIA [CII] data of a number of star
forming regions in two nearby galaxies, we find that their [CII] linewidths
agree better with those of the CO than the HI. As the radial extent of a given
ISM tracer is a key input in deriving M_dyn from spatially unresolved data, we
conclude that the relevant length-scale to use in determining M_dyn based on
[CII] data, is that of the well-characterised CO distribution. This length
scale is similar to that of the optical disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
Density biases and temperature relations for DESIRED HII regions
We present a first study based on the analysis of the DEep Spectra of Ionized
REgions Database (DESIRED). This is a compilation of 190 high signal-to-noise
ratio optical spectra of HII regions and other photoionized nebulae, mostly
observed with 8-10m telescopes and containing 29380 emission lines. We
find that the electron density ---- of the objects is underestimated
when [SII] and/or [OII] are
the only density indicators available. This is produced by the non-linear
density dependence of the indicators in the presence of density
inhomogeneities. The average underestimate is cm in
extragalactic HII regions, introducing systematic overestimates of ([OII]) and ([SII]) compared to ([NII]). The
high-sensitivity of [OII]
and [SII] to density makes them
more suitable for the diagnosis of the presence of high-density clumps. If
([NII]) is adopted, the density underestimate has a small impact in
the ionic abundances derived from optical spectra, being limited to up to
0.1 dex when auroral [SII] and/or [OII] lines are used. However, these
density effects are critical for the analysis of infrared fine structure lines,
such as those observed by the JWST in local star forming regions, implying
strong underestimates of the ionic abundances. We present temperature relations
between ([OIII]), ([ArIII]), ([SIII]) and
([NII]) for the extragalactic HII regions. We confirm a non-linear
dependence between ([OIII])-([NII]) due to a more rapid
increase of ([OIII]) at lower metallicities.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
A far-IR view of the starburst driven superwind in NGC 2146
NGC 2146, a nearby luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG), presents evidence for
outflows along the disk minor axis in all gas phases (ionized, neutral atomic
and molecular). We present an analysis of the multi-phase starburst driven
superwind in the central 5 kpc as traced in spatially resolved spectral line
observations, using far-IR Herschel PACS spectroscopy, to probe the effects on
the atomic and ionized gas, and optical integral field spectroscopy to examine
the ionized gas through diagnostic line ratios. We observe an increased ~250
km/s velocity dispersion in the [OI] 63 micron, [OIII] 88 micron, [NII] 122
micron and [CII] 158 micron fine-structure lines that is spatially coincident
with high excitation gas above and below the disk. We model this with a slow
~200 km/s shock and trace the superwind to the edge of our field of view 2.5
kpc above the disk. We present new SOFIA 37 micron observations to explore the
warm dust distribution, and detect no clear dust entrainment in the outflow.
The stellar kinematics appear decoupled from the regular disk rotation seen in
all gas phases, consistent with a recent merger event disrupting the system. We
consider the role of the superwind in the evolution of NGC 2146 and speculate
on the evolutionary future of the system. Our observations of NGC 2146 in the
far-IR allow an unobscured view of the wind, crucial for tracing the superwind
to the launching region at the disk center, and provide a local analog for
future ALMA observations of outflows in high redshift systems.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The Void Galaxy Survey
The Void Galaxy Survey (VGS) is a multi-wavelength program to study 60
void galaxies. Each has been selected from the deepest interior regions of
identified voids in the SDSS redshift survey on the basis of a unique geometric
technique, with no a prior selection of intrinsic properties of the void
galaxies. The project intends to study in detail the gas content, star
formation history and stellar content, as well as kinematics and dynamics of
void galaxies and their companions in a broad sample of void environments. It
involves the HI imaging of the gas distribution in each of the VGS galaxies.
Amongst its most tantalizing findings is the possible evidence for cold gas
accretion in some of the most interesting objects, amongst which are a polar
ring galaxy and a filamentary configuration of void galaxies. Here we shortly
describe the scope of the VGS and the results of the full analysis of the pilot
sample of 15 void galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. This is an extended version of a paper to appear
in "Environment and the Formation of Galaxies: 30 years later", Proceedings
of Symposium 2 of JENAM 2010, eds. I. Ferreras, A. Pasquali, ASSP, Springer.
Version with highres figures at
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~weygaert/vgs_jenam_weygaert.col.pd
Enhanced cosmic-ray flux toward zeta Persei inferred from laboratory study of H3+ - e- recombination rate
The H3+ molecular ion plays a fundamental role in interstellar chemistry, as
it initiates a network of chemical reactions that produce many interstellar
molecules. In dense clouds, the H3+ abundance is understood using a simple
chemical model, from which observations of H3+ yield valuable estimates of
cloud path length, density, and temperature. On the other hand, observations of
diffuse clouds have suggested that H3+ is considerably more abundant than
expected from the chemical models. However, diffuse cloud models have been
hampered by the uncertain values of three key parameters: the rate of H3+
destruction by electrons, the electron fraction, and the cosmic-ray ionisation
rate. Here we report a direct experimental measurement of the H3+ destruction
rate under nearly interstellar conditions. We also report the observation of
H3+ in a diffuse cloud (towards zeta Persei) where the electron fraction is
already known. Taken together, these results allow us to derive the value of
the third uncertain model parameter: we find that the cosmic-ray ionisation
rate in this sightline is forty times faster than previously assumed. If such a
high cosmic-ray flux is indeed ubiquitous in diffuse clouds, the discrepancy
between chemical models and the previous observations of H3+ can be resolved.Comment: 6 pages, Nature, in pres
Investigating the Drivers of Electron Temperature Variations in H ii Regions with Keck-KCWI and VLT-MUSE
H ii region electron temperatures are a critical ingredient in metallicity determinations, and recent observations have revealed systematic variations in the temperatures measured using different ions. We present electron temperatures (T e ) measured using the optical auroral lines ([N ii]λ5756, [O ii]λ λ7320, 7330, [S ii]λ λ4069, 4076, [O iii]λ4363, and [S iii]λ6312) for a sample of H ii regions in seven nearby galaxies. We use observations from the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies survey (PHANGS) obtained with integral field spectrographs on Keck (Keck Cosmic Web Imager) and the Very Large Telescope (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer). We compare the different T e measurements with H ii region and ISM environmental properties such as electron density, ionization parameter, molecular gas velocity dispersion, and stellar association/cluster mass and age obtained from PHANGS. We find that the temperatures from [O ii] and [S ii] are likely overestimated due to the presence of electron density inhomogeneities in H ii regions. We measure high [O iii] temperatures in a subset of regions with high molecular gas velocity dispersion and low ionization parameter, which may be explained by the presence of low-velocity shocks. In agreement with previous studies, the T e–T e between [N ii] and [S iii] temperatures have the lowest observed scatter and follow predictions from photoionization modeling, which suggests that these tracers reflect H ii region temperatures across the various ionization zones better than [O ii], [S ii], and [O iii]
Mapping dust through emission and absorption in nearby galaxies
Dust has long been identified as a barrier to measuring inherent galaxy properties. However, the link between dust and attenuation is not straightforward and depends on both the amount of dust and its distribution. Herschel imaging of nearby galaxies undertaken as part of the KINGFISH project allows us to map the dust as seen in emission with unprecedented sensitivity and similar to 1 kpc resolution. We present here new optical integral field unit spectroscopy for eight of these galaxies that provides complementary 100-200 pc scale maps of the dust attenuation through observation of the reddening in both the Balmer decrement and the stellar continuum. The stellar continuum reddening, which is systematically less than that observed in the Balmer decrement, shows no clear correlation with the dust, suggesting that the distribution of stellar reddening acts as a poor tracer of the overall dust content. The brightest H II regions are observed to be preferentially located in dusty regions, and we do find a correlation between the Balmer line reddening and the dust mass surface density for which we provide an empirical relation. Some of the high-inclination systems in our sample exhibit high extinction, but we also find evidence that unresolved variations in the dust distribution on scales smaller than 500 pc may contribute to the scatter in this relation. We caution against the use of integrated A(V) measures to infer global dust properties
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