Diffuse ionizing radiation within HH jets

Abstract

We present numerical hydrodynamical simulations of a time-dependent ejection velocity precessing jet. The parameters used in our models correspond to a high excitation Herbig-Haro object, such as HH 80/81. We have included the transfer of ionizing radiation produced within the shocked regions of the jet. The radiative transfer is computed with a ray-tracing scheme from all the cells with an emissivity above a certain threshold. We show the development of a radiative precursor, and compare the morphology with a model without the diffuse radiation. Our simulations show that the morphology of the Hα emission is affected considerably if the diffuse ionizing radiation is accounted for. The predicted Hα position-velocity diagram (i.e., spatially resolved emission line profiles) from a model with the transfer of ionizing radiation has a relatively strong component at zero velocity, corresponding to the radiative precursor. Qualitatively similar 'zero velocity components' are observed in HH 80/81 and in the jet from Sanduleak's star in the Large Magellanic Cloud.