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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
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DOE OSTI2015

A STUBBORNLY LARGE MASS OF COLD DUST IN THE EJECTA OF SUPERNOVA 1987A

We present new Herschel photometric and spectroscopic observations of Supernova 1987A, carried out in 2012. Our dedicated photometric measurements provide new 70 μm data and improved imaging quality at 100 and 160 μm compared to previous observations in 2010. Our Herschel spectra show only weak CO line emission, and provide an upper limit for the 63 μm [O I] line flux, eliminating the possibility that line contaminations distort the previously estimated dust mass. The far-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) is well fitted by thermal emission from cold dust. The newly measured 70 μm flux constrains the dust temperature, limiting it to nearly a single temperature. The far-infrared emission can be fitted by 0.5 ± 0.1 M {sub ☉} of amorphous carbon, about a factor of two larger than the current nucleosynthetic mass prediction for carbon. The observation of SiO molecules at early and late phases suggests that silicates may also have formed and we could fit the SED with a combination of 0.3 M {sub ☉} of amorphous carbon and 0.5 M {sub ☉} of silicates, totalling 0.8 M {sub ☉} of dust. Our analysis thus supports the presence of a large dust reservoir in the ejecta of SN 1987A. The inferred dust mass suggests that supernovae can be an important source of dust in the interstellar medium, from local to high-redshift galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

PROBING THE LOCAL BUBBLE WITH DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BANDS. II. THE DIB PROPERTIES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

We present a new high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopic survey of the Northern hemisphere to probe the Local Bubble and its surroundings using the λ5780 Å and λ5797 Å diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). We observed 432 sightlines to a distance of 200 pc over a duration of three years. In this study, we establish the λ5780 and λ5797 correlations with Na I, Ca II and E {sub B-V}, for both inside and outside the Local Bubble. The correlations show that among all neutral and ionized atoms, the correlation between Ca II and λ5780 is stronger than its correlation with λ5797, suggesting that λ5780 is more associated with regions where Ca{sup +} is more abundant. We study the λ5780 correlation with λ5797, which shows a tight correlation within and outside the Local Bubble. In addition, we investigate the DIB properties in UV irradiated and UV shielded regions. We find that, within and beyond the Local Bubble, λ5797 is located in denser parts of clouds, protected from UV irradiation, while λ5780 is located in the low-density regions of clouds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE ORIGIN OF THE HOT GAS IN THE GALACTIC HALO: TESTING GALACTIC FOUNTAIN MODELS' X-RAY EMISSION

We test the X-ray emission predictions of galactic fountain models against XMM-Newton measurements of the emission from the Milky Way's hot halo. These measurements are from 110 sight lines, spanning the full range of Galactic longitudes. We find that a magnetohydrodynamical simulation of a supernova-driven interstellar medium, which features a flow of hot gas from the disk to the halo, reproduces the temperature but significantly underpredicts the 0.5-2.0 keV surface brightness of the halo (by two orders of magnitude, if we compare the median predicted and observed values). This is true for versions of the model with and without an interstellar magnetic field. We consider different reasons for the discrepancy between the model predictions and the observations. We find that taking into account overionization in cooled halo plasma, which could in principle boost the predicted X-ray emission, is unlikely in practice to bring the predictions in line with the observations. We also find that including thermal conduction, which would tend to increase the surface brightnesses of interfaces between hot and cold gas, would not overcome the surface brightness shortfall. However, charge exchange emission from such interfaces, not included in the current model, may be significant. The faintness of the model may also be due to the lack of cosmic ray driving, meaning that the model may underestimate the amount of material transported from the disk to the halo. In addition, an extended hot halo of accreted material may be important, by supplying hot electrons that could boost the emission of the material driven out from the disk. Additional model predictions are needed to test the relative importance of these processes in explaining the observed halo emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Conglomeration of kilometer-sized planetesimals

We study the efficiency of forming large bodies, starting from a sea of equal-sized planetesimals. This is likely one of the earlier steps of planet formation and relevant for the formation of the asteroid belt, the Kuiper Belt, and extrasolar debris disks. Here we consider the case that the seed planetesimals do not collide frequently enough for collisions to be dynamically important (the collisionless limit), using a newly constructed conglomeration code, and by carefully comparing numerical results with analytical scalings. In the absence of collisional cooling, as large bodies grow by accreting small bodies, the velocity dispersion of the small bodies (u) is increasingly excited. Growth passes from the well-known runaway stage (when u is higher than the big bodies’ hill velocity) to the newly discovered trans-hill stage (when u and big bodies both grow, but u remains at the big bodies’ hill velocity). We find, concurring with the analytical understandings developed by Lithwick, as well as previous numerical studies, that a size spectrum dn/dR∝R{sup −4} results, and that the formation efficiency, defined as the mass fraction in bodies much larger than the initial size, is ∼ a few×R{sub ⊙}/a, or ∼10{sup −3} at the distance of the Kuiper Belt. We argue that this extreme inefficiency invalidates the conventional conglomeration model for the formation of both our Kuiper Belt and extrasolar debris disks. New theories, possibly involving direct gravitational collapse, or strong collisional cooling of small planetesimals, are required.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Resolved millimeter emission from the HD 15115 debris disk

We have used the Submillimeter Array (SMA) to make 1.3 mm observations of the debris disk surrounding HD 15115, an F-type star with a putative membership in the β Pictoris moving group. This nearly edge-on debris disk shows an extreme asymmetry in optical scattered light, with an extent almost two times larger to the west of the star than to the east (originally dubbed the “Blue Needle”). The SMA observations reveal resolved emission that we model as a circumstellar belt of thermal dust emission. This belt extends to a radius of ∼110 AU, coincident with the break in the scattered light profile convincingly seen on the western side of the disk. This outer edge location is consistent with the presence of an underlying population of dust-producing planetesimals undergoing a collisional cascade, as hypothesized in “birth ring” theory. In addition, the millimeter emission shows a ∼3σ feature aligned with the asymmetric western extension of the scattered light disk. If this millimeter extension is real, then mechanisms for asymmetry that affect only small grains, such as interactions with interstellar gas, are disfavored. This tentative feature might be explained by secular perturbations to grain orbits introduced by neutral gas drag, as previously invoked to explain asymmetric morphologies of other, similar debris disks.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

REVISITING ULYSSES OBSERVATIONS OF INTERSTELLAR HELIUM

We report the results of a comprehensive reanalysis of Ulysses observations of interstellar He atoms flowing through the solar system, the goal being to reassess the interstellar He flow vector and to search for evidence of variability in this vector. We find no evidence that the He beam seen by Ulysses changes at all from 1994-2007. The direction of flow changes by no more than ∼0.°3 and the speed by no more than ∼0.3 km s{sup –1}. A global fit to all acceptable He beam maps from 1994-2007 yields the following He flow parameters: V {sub ISM} = 26.08 ± 0.21 km s{sup –1}, λ = 75.54 ± 0.°19, β = –5.44 ± 0.°24, and T = 7260 ± 270 K; where λ and β are the ecliptic longitude and latitude direction in J2000 coordinates. The flow vector is consistent with the original analysis of the Ulysses team, but our temperature is significantly higher. The higher temperature somewhat mitigates a discrepancy that exists in the He flow parameters measured by Ulysses and the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, but does not resolve it entirely. Using a novel technique to infer photoionization loss rates directly from Ulysses data, we estimate a density of n {sub He} = 0.0196 ± 0.0033 cm{sup –3} in the interstellar medium.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON CLUSTERS AS SOURCES OF INTERSTELLAR INFRARED EMISSION

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (or PAHs) have been the subject of astrochemical research for several decades as principal sources of the interstellar aromatic infrared emission bands. PAH clusters could possibly contribute to these emission bands, but a lack of data on their infrared properties has made this hypothesis difficult to evaluate. Here we investigate homogeneous neutral PAH clusters by measuring the mid-infrared absorption spectra of the five nonlinear PAH molecules phenanthrene, chrysene, pyrene, perylene, and benzo[ghi]perylene within solid argon ice at a fixed temperature of 5 K. We attribute observed spectral shifts in their principal absorption bands as a function of argon/PAH ratio to clustering of the PAH molecules within the argon matrix. These shifts are related to the cluster structures forming in the matrix and the topology of the monomer PAH molecule. We predict that interstellar PAH molecules that are relatively large (no fewer than 50 carbon atoms per molecule) and compact will have clusters that contribute to the asymmetrically red-shaded profile of the interstellar 11.2 μm emission band.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structure of retrograde circumbinary accretion disks

We evaluate the interactions between a central equal mass binary and a surrounding retrograde circumbinary accretion disk in a three-dimensional, MHD simulation. We find (as widely expected) that the net torque expressed on a retrograde circumbinary disk by the central binary is much (more than two orders of magnitude) smaller than when the disk orbits in the prograde direction. For this reason, unlike the prograde case, there is no “gap” carved out of the retrograde disk, and accreting fluid can travel directly from the disk to the domain of the binary. For the same reason, retrograde disks do not develop the large-amplitude “lumps” generically seen near the inner edges of prograde disks. Although not directly treated in this simulation, the finite extent of accretion disks around the individual masses of the binary can lead to shocks between their outer edges and the circumbinary disk, potentially creating a photon signal modulated at the binary orbital period. The spectra of these shocks should peak in the hard X-ray band as is expected for prograde systems, but retrograde systems would not be expected to display a “notch” in the optical/UV band. Because the disk’s angular momentum is directed oppositely to that of the binary, accretion onto the binary causes a rapid increase in eccentricity. Lastly, we discuss the comparative rates of orbital evolution associated with accretion in prograde and retrograde circumbinary disks, finding that the principal contrast is that e-dot should be rather greater in the retrograde case.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

CO DIFFUSION INTO AMORPHOUS H{sub 2}O ICES

The mobility of atoms, molecules, and radicals in icy grain mantles regulates ice restructuring, desorption, and chemistry in astrophysical environments. Interstellar ices are dominated by H{sub 2}O, and diffusion on external and internal (pore) surfaces of H{sub 2}O-rich ices is therefore a key process to constrain. This study aims to quantify the diffusion kinetics and barrier of the abundant ice constituent CO into H{sub 2}O-dominated ices at low temperatures (15–23 K), by measuring the mixing rate of initially layered H{sub 2}O(:CO{sub 2})/CO ices. The mixed fraction of CO as a function of time is determined by monitoring the shape of the infrared CO stretching band. Mixing is observed at all investigated temperatures on minute timescales and can be ascribed to CO diffusion in H{sub 2}O ice pores. The diffusion coefficient and final mixed fraction depend on ice temperature, porosity, thickness, and composition. The experiments are analyzed by applying Fick’s diffusion equation under the assumption that mixing is due to CO diffusion into an immobile H{sub 2}O ice. The extracted energy barrier for CO diffusion into amorphous H{sub 2}O ice is ∼160 K. This is effectively a surface diffusion barrier. The derived barrier is low compared to current surface diffusion barriers in use in astrochemical models. Its adoption may significantly change the expected timescales for different ice processes in interstellar environments.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A NEW DETERMINATION OF THE BINDING ENERGY OF ATOMIC OXYGEN ON DUST GRAIN SURFACES: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND SIMULATIONS

The energy to desorb atomic oxygen from an interstellar dust grain surface, E{sub des}, is an important controlling parameter in gas-grain models; its value impacts the temperature range over which oxygen resides on a dust grain. However, no prior measurement has been done of the desorption energy. We report the first direct measurement of E{sub des} for atomic oxygen from dust grain analogs. The values of E{sub des} are 1660 ± 60 and 1850 ± 90 K for porous amorphous water ice and for a bare amorphous silicate film, respectively, or about twice the value previously adopted in simulations of the chemical evolution of a cloud. We use the new values to study oxygen chemistry as a function of depth in a molecular cloud. For n = 10{sup 4} cm{sup −3} and G{sub 0} = 10{sup 2} (G{sub 0} = 1 is the average local interstellar radiation field), the main result of the adoption of the higher oxygen binding energy is that H{sub 2}O can form on grains at lower visual extinction A{sub V}, closer to the cloud surface. A higher binding energy of O results in more formation of OH and H{sub 2}O on grains, which are subsequently desorbed by far-ultraviolet radiation, with consequences for gas-phase chemistry. For higher values of n and G{sub 0}, the higher binding energy can lead to a large increase in the column of H{sub 2}O but a decrease in the column of O{sub 2}.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

The pseudo-ZODI problem for edge-on planetary systems

Future direct observations of extrasolar Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone (HZ) could be hampered by a worrisome source of noise, starlight-reflecting exozodiacal dust. Mid-infrared surveys are currently underway to constrain the amount of exozodiacal dust in the HZs around nearby stars. However, at visible wavelengths another source of dust, invisible to these surveys, may dominate over exozodiacal dust. For systems observed near edge-on, a cloud of dust with face-on optical depth 10{sup −7} beyond ∼5 AU can mimic the surface brightness of a cloud of exozodiacal dust with equal optical depth if the dust grains are sufficiently forward-scattering. We posit that dust migrating inward from cold debris belts via Poynting–Robertson drag could produce this “pseudo-zodiacal” effect, potentially making it ∼50% as common as exozodiacal clouds. We place constraints on the disk radii and scattering phase function required to produce the effect.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

PULSAR TIMING ERRORS FROM ASYNCHRONOUS MULTI-FREQUENCY SAMPLING OF DISPERSION MEASURE VARIATIONS

Free electrons in the interstellar medium cause frequency-dependent delays in pulse arrival times due to both scattering and dispersion. Multi-frequency measurements are used to estimate and remove dispersion delays. In this paper, we focus on the effect of any non-simultaneity of multi-frequency observations on dispersive delay estimation and removal. Interstellar density variations combined with changes in the line of sight from pulsar and observer motions cause dispersion measure (DM) variations with an approximately power-law power spectrum, augmented in some cases by linear trends. We simulate time series, estimate the magnitude and statistical properties of timing errors that result from non-simultaneous observations, and derive prescriptions for data acquisition that are needed in order to achieve a specified timing precision. For nearby, highly stable pulsars, measurements need to be simultaneous to within about one day in order for the timing error from asynchronous DM correction to be less than about 10 ns. We discuss how timing precision improves when increasing the number of dual-frequency observations used in DM estimation for a given epoch. For a Kolmogorov wavenumber spectrum, we find about a factor of two improvement in precision timing when increasing from two to three observations but diminishing returns thereafter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Protoplanetary disk masses in the young NGC 2024 cluster

We present the results from a Submillimeter Array survey of the 887 μm continuum emission from the protoplanetary disks around 95 young stars in the young cluster NGC 2024. Emission was detected from 22 infrared sources, with flux densities from ∼5 to 330 mJy; upper limits (at 3σ) for the other 73 sources range from 3 to 24 mJy. For standard assumptions, the corresponding disk masses range from ∼0.003 to 0.2 M{sub ⊙}, with upper limits at 0.002–0.01 M{sub ⊙}. The NGC 2024 sample has a slightly more populated tail at the high end of its disk mass distribution compared to other clusters, but without more information on the nature of the sample hosts it remains unclear if this difference is statistically significant or a superficial selection effect. Unlike in the Orion Trapezium, there is no evidence for a disk mass dependence on the (projected) separation from the massive star IRS 2b in the NGC 2024 cluster. We suggest that this is due to either the cluster youth or a comparatively weaker photoionizing radiation field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE COMPLEX NORTH TRANSITION REGION OF CENTAURUS A: RADIO STRUCTURE

We present deep radio images of the inner ∼50 kpc of Centaurus A, taken with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at 90 cm. We focus on the Transition Regions between the inner galaxy—including the active nucleus, inner radio lobes, and star-forming disk—and the outer radio lobes. We detect previously unknown extended emission around the Inner Lobes, including radio emission from the star-forming disk. We find that the radio-loud part of the North Transition Region (NTR), known as the North Middle Lobe, is significantly overpressured relative to the surrounding interstellar medium. We see no evidence for a collimated flow from the active galactic nucleus through this region. Our images show that the structure identified by Morganti et al. as a possible large-scale jet appears to be part of a narrow ridge of emission within the broader, diffuse, radio-loud region. This knotty radio ridge is coincident with other striking phenomena: compact X-ray knots, ionized gas filaments, and streams of young stars. Several short-lived phenomena in the NTR, as well as the frequent re-energization required by the Outer Lobes, suggest that energy must be flowing through both Transition Regions at the present epoch. We suggest that the energy flow is in the form of a galactic wind.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

DESTRUCTION OF INTERSTELLAR DUST IN EVOLVING SUPERNOVA REMNANT SHOCK WAVES

Supernova generated shock waves are responsible for most of the destruction of dust grains in the interstellar medium (ISM). Calculations of the dust destruction timescale have so far been carried out using plane parallel steady shocks, however, that approximation breaks down when the destruction timescale becomes longer than that for the evolution of the supernova remnant (SNR) shock. In this paper we present new calculations of grain destruction in evolving, radiative SNRs. To facilitate comparison with the previous study by Jones et al., we adopt the same dust properties as in that paper. We find that the efficiencies of grain destruction are most divergent from those for a steady shock when the thermal history of a shocked gas parcel in the SNR differs significantly from that behind a steady shock. This occurs in shocks with velocities ≳200 km s{sup −1} for which the remnant is just beginning to go radiative. Assuming SNRs evolve in a warm phase dominated ISM, we find dust destruction timescales are increased by a factor of ∼2 compared to those of Jones et al., who assumed a hot gas dominated ISM. Recent estimates of supernova rates and ISM mass lead to another factor of ∼3 increase in the destruction timescales, resulting in a silicate grain destruction timescale of ∼2–3 Gyr. These increases, while not able to resolve the problem of the discrepant timescales for silicate grain destruction and creation, are an important step toward understanding the origin and evolution of dust in the ISM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY OF POTENTIAL SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS

We examine three supernova remnants in the SMC, IKT 5 (supernova remnant (SNR) 0047-73.5), IKT 25 (SNR 0104-72.3), and DEM S 128 (SNR 0103-72.4), which are designated as Type Ia in the literature due to their spectra and morphology. This is troublesome because of their asymmetry, a trait not usually associated with young Type Ia remnants. We present Chandra X-ray Observatory data on these three remnants and perform a maximum likelihood analysis on their spectra. We find that the X-ray emission is dominated by interactions with the interstellar medium. In spite of this, we find a significant Fe overabundance in all three remnants. Through examination of radio, optical, and infrared data, we conclude that these three remnants are likely not Type Ia SNRs. We detect potential point sources that may be members of the progenitor systems of both DEM S 128 and IKT 5, which could suggest these could be Fe-rich core-collapse remnants.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

GAS PHASE SYNTHESIS OF (ISO)QUINOLINE AND ITS ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF NUCLEOBASES IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

Nitrogen-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) have been proposed to play a key role in the astrochemical evolution of the interstellar medium, yet the formation mechanisms of even their simplest prototypes—quinoline and isoquinoline—remain elusive. Here, we reveal a novel concept that under high temperature conditions representing circumstellar envelopes of carbon stars, (iso)quinoline can be synthesized via the reaction of pyridyl radicals with two acetylene molecules. The facile gas phase formation of (iso)quinoline in circumstellar envelopes defines a hitherto elusive reaction class synthesizing aromatic structures with embedded nitrogen atoms that are essential building blocks in contemporary biological-structural motifs. Once ejected from circumstellar shells and incorporated into icy interstellar grains in cold molecular clouds, these NPAHs can be functionalized by photo processing forming nucleobase-type structures as sampled in the Murchison meteorite.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

SIMULATIONS OF A DYNAMIC SOLAR CYCLE AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE INTERSTELLAR BOUNDARY EXPLORER RIBBON AND GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED ENERGETIC NEUTRAL ATOM FLUX

Since 2009, observations by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) have vastly improved our understanding of the interaction between the solar wind (SW) and local interstellar medium through direct measurements of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), which inform us about the heliospheric conditions that produced them. An enhanced feature of flux in the sky, the so-called IBEX ribbon, was not predicted by any global models before the first IBEX observations. A dominating theory of the origin of the ribbon, although still under debate, is a secondary charge-exchange process involving secondary ENAs originating from outside the heliopause. According to this mechanism, the evolution of the solar cycle should be visible in the ribbon flux. Therefore, in this paper we simulate a fully time-dependent ribbon flux, as well as globally distributed flux from the inner heliosheath (IHS), using time-dependent SW parameters from Sokół et al. as boundary conditions for our time-dependent heliosphere simulation. After post-processing the results to compute H ENA fluxes, our results show that the secondary ENA ribbon indeed should be time dependent, evolving with a period of approximately 11 yr, with differences depending on the energy and direction. Our results for the IHS flux show little periodic change with the 11 yr solar cycle, but rather with short-term fluctuations in the background plasma. While the secondary ENA mechanism appears to emulate several key characteristics of the observed IBEX ribbon, it appears that our simulation does not yet include all of the relevant physics that produces the observed ribbon.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗