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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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NASA NTRS2001

Chemical and Isotopic Analysis of Trace Organic Matter on Meteorites and Interstellar Dust Using a Laser Microprobe Instrument

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of considerable interest today because they are ubiquitous on Earth and in the interstellar medium (ISM). In fact, about 20% of cosmic carbon in the galaxy is estimated to be in the form of PAHs. Investigation of these species has obvious uses for determining the cosmochemistry of the solar system. Work in this laboratory has focused on four main areas: 1) Mapping the spatial distribution of PAHs in a variety of meteoritic samples and comparing this distribution with mineralogical features of the meteorite to determine whether a correlation exists between the two. 2) Developing a method for detection of fullerenes in extraterrestrial samples using microprobe Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectroscopy and utilizing this technique to investigate fullerene presence, while exploring the possibility of spatially mapping the fullerene distribution in these samples through in situ detection. 3) Investigating a possible formation pathway for meteoritic and ancient terrestrial kerogen involving the photochemical reactions of PAHs with alkanes under prebiotic and astrophysically relevant conditions. 4) Studying reaction pathways and identifying the photoproducts generated during the photochemical evolution of PAH-containing interstellar ice analogs as part of an ongoing collaboration with researchers at the Astrochemistry Lab at NASA Ames. All areas involve elucidation of the solar system formation and chemistry using microprobe Laser Desorption Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometry. A brief description of microprobe Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectroscopy, which allows selective investigation of subattomole levels of organic species on the surface of a sample at 10-40 micrometer spatial resolution, is given.

Zare, Richard N.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Can Cooling and Heating Functions Be Modeled with Homogeneous Radiation Fields?

Abstract Cooling and heating functions describe how radiative processes impact the thermal state of a gas as a function of its temperature and other physical properties. In a most general case the functions depend on the detailed distributions of ionic species and on the radiation spectrum. Hence, these functions may vary on a very wide range of spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we explore cooling and heating functions between 5 ≤ z ≤ 10 in simulated galaxies from the Cosmic Reionization On Computers project. We compare three functions: (1) the actual cooling and heating rates of hydrodynamic cells as a function of cell temperature, (2) the median cooling and heating functions computed using median interstellar medium (ISM) properties (median ISM), and (3) the median of the cooling and heating functions of all gas cells (instantaneous). We find that the median ISM and instantaneous approaches to finding a median cooling and heating function give identical results within the spread due to cell-to-cell variation. However, the actual cooling (heating) rates experienced by the gas at different temperatures in the simulations do not correspond to either summarized cooling (heating) functions. In other words, the thermodynamics of the gas in the simulations cannot be described by a single set of a cooling plus a heating function with a spatially constant radiation field that could be computed with common tools, such as CLOUDY.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Diagnostics of Magnetohydrodynamic Modes in the Interstellar Medium through Synchrotron Polarization Statistics

One of the biggest challenges in understanding magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is identifying the plasma mode components from observational data. Previous studies on synchrotron polarization from the interstellar medium (ISM) suggest that the dominant MHD modes can be identified via statistics of Stokes parameters, which would be crucial for studying various ISM processes such as the scattering and acceleration of cosmic rays, star formation, and dynamo. In this paper, we present a numerical study of the synchrotron polarization analysis (SPA) method through systematic investigation of the statistical properties of the Stokes parameters. We derive the theoretical basis for our method from the fundamental statistics of MHD turbulence, recognizing that the projection of the MHD modes allows us to identify the modes dominating the energy fraction from synchrotron observations. Based on the discovery, we revise the SPA method using synthetic synchrotron polarization observations obtained from 3D ideal MHD simulations with a wide range of plasma parameters and driving mechanisms, and present a modified recipe for mode identification. We propose a classification criterion based on a new SPA+ fitting procedure, which allows us to distinguish between Alfvén mode and compressible/slow mode dominated turbulence. We further propose a new method to identify fast modes by analyzing the asymmetry of the SPA+ signature and establish a new asymmetry parameter to detect the presence of fast mode turbulence. Additionally, we confirm through numerical tests that the identification of the compressible and fast modes is not affected by Faraday rotation in both the emitting plasma and the foreground.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Discovery of a Damped Lyα Absorber Originating in a Spectacular Interacting Dwarf Galaxy Pair at z = 0.026

We present the discovery of neutral gas detected in both damped Lyα absorption (DLA) and H I 21 cm emission outside of the stellar body of a galaxy, the first such detection in the literature. A joint analysis between the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey and the MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey reveals an H I bridge connecting two interacting dwarf galaxies (log (M star /M ⊙ ) = 8.5 ± 0.2) that host a z = 0.026 DLA with log[N(H I )/cm –2 ] = 20.60 ± 0.05 toward the QSO J2339–5523 (z QSO = 1.35). At impact parameters of d = 6 and 33 kpc, the dwarf galaxies have no companions more luminous than ≈0.05L * within at least Δv = ±300 km s –1 and d ≈ 350 kpc. The H I 21 cm emission is spatially coincident with the DLA at the 2σ–3σ level per spectral channel over several adjacent beams. However, H I 21 cm absorption is not detected against the radio-bright QSO; if the background UV and radio sources are spatially aligned, the gas is either warm or clumpy (with a spin temperature to covering factor ratio T s /f c > 1880 K). Observations with VLT-MUSE demonstrate that the α-element abundance of the ionized interstellar medium (ISM) is consistent with the DLA (≈10% solar), suggesting that the neutral gas envelope is perturbed ISM gas. This study showcases the impact of dwarf–dwarf interactions on the physical and chemical state of neutral gas outside of star-forming regions. In the SKA era, joint UV and H I 21 cm analyses will be critical for connecting the cosmic neutral gas content to galaxy environments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2001

The AstroBiology Explorer (ABE) MIDEX Mission Concept: Exploring the Links Between the Interstellar Medium and Meteorites

Infrared spectroscopy in the 2.5-16 micron range is a principle means by which organic compounds can be detected and identified in space via their vibrational transitions. Ground-based, airborne, and spaceborne IR spectral studies have already demonstrated that a significant fraction of the carbon in the interstellar medium (ISM) resides in the form of complex organic molecular species. Furthermore, the presence of D-enriched organics in meteorites suggests that a portion of these materials survives incorporation into protosolar nebulae. Unfortunately, neither the distribution of these materials nor their genetic and evolutionary relationships with each other or their environments are well understood. The Astrobiology Explorer (ABE) is a MIDEX mission concept currently under study at NASA's Ames Research Center in collaboration with Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation. ABE will conduct IR spectroscopic observations to address outstanding important problems in astrobiology, astrochemistry, and astrophysics. The core observational program would make fundamental scientific progress in understanding (1) the evolution of ices and organic matter in dense molecular clouds and young forming stellar systems, (2) the chemical evolution of organic molecules in the ISM as they transition from AGB outflows to planetary nebulae to the general diffuse ISM to HII regions and dense clouds, (3) the distribution of organics in the diffuse ISM, (4) the nature of organics in the Solar System (in comets, asteroids, satellites), and (5) the nature and distribution of organics in local galaxies. In addition, ABE will attempt to detect and quantify deuterium enrichments in a select set of these materials and environments. This should assist both with understanding the chemical processes that occur in these environments and with establishing any links that exist between interstellar and meteoritic organics.

Sandford, Scott A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

A multishock model for the density variance of anisotropic, highly magnetized, supersonic turbulence

ABSTRACT Shocks form the basis of our understanding for the density and velocity statistics of supersonic turbulent flows, such as those found in the cool interstellar medium (ISM). The variance of the density field, $\sigma ^2_{\rho /\rho _0}$, is of particular interest for molecular clouds (MCs), the birthplaces of stars in the Universe. The density variance may be used to infer underlying physical processes in an MC, and parametrizes the star formation (SF) rate of a cloud. However, models for $\sigma ^2_{\rho /\rho _0}$ all share a common feature – the variance is assumed to be isotropic. This assumption does not hold when a trans-/sub-Alfvénic mean magnetic field, ${B}_0$, is present in the cloud, which observations suggest is relevant for some MCs. We develop an anisotropic model for $\sigma _{\rho /\rho _0}^2$, using contributions from hydrodynamical and fast magnetosonic shocks that propagate orthogonal to each other. Our model predicts an upper bound for $\sigma _{\rho /\rho _0}^2$ in the high Mach number $(\mathcal {M})$ limit as small-scale density fluctuations become suppressed by the strong ${B}_0$. The model reduces to the isotropic $\sigma _{\rho /\rho _0}^2\!-\!\mathcal {M}$ relation in the hydrodynamical limit. To validate our model, we calculate $\sigma _{\rho /\rho _0}^2$ from 12 high-resolution, three-dimensional, supersonic, sub-Alfvénic magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) turbulence simulations and find good agreement with our theory. We discuss how the two MHD shocks may be the bimodally oriented overdensities observed in some MCs and the implications for SF theory in the presence of a sub-Alfvénic ${B}_0$. By creating an anisotropic, supersonic density fluctuation model, this study paves the way for SF theory in the highly anisotropic regime of interstellar turbulence.

Beattie, James R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cosmic-Ray Feedback on Bistable Interstellar Medium Turbulence

Abstract While cosmic rays ( E ≳ 1 GeV) are well coupled to a galaxy’s interstellar medium (ISM) at scales of L > 100 pc, adjusting stratification and driving outflows, their impact on small scales is less clear. Based on calculations of the cosmic-ray diffusion coefficient from observations of the grammage in the Milky Way, cosmic rays have little time to dynamically impact the ISM on those small scales. Using numerical simulations, we explore how more complex cosmic-ray transport could allow cosmic rays to couple to the ISM on small scales. We create a two-zone model of cosmic-ray transport, with the cosmic-ray diffusion coefficient set at the estimated Milky Way value in cold gas but smaller in warm gas. We compare this model to simulations with a constant diffusion coefficient. Quicker diffusion through cold gas allows more cold gas to form compared to a simulation with a constant, small diffusion coefficient. However, slower diffusion in warm gas allows cosmic rays to take energy from the turbulent cascade anisotropically. This cosmic-ray energization comes at the expense of turbulent energy which would otherwise be lost during radiative cooling. Finally, we show our two-zone model is capable of matching observational estimates of the grammage for some transport paths through the simulation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Formation of phosphorus monoxide through the $$\mathbf {P}(^{4}S)+\mathbf {O}_{\mathbf {2}}(^{3}\Sigma ^{-})\rightarrow \mathbf {O}(^{3}P)+\mathbf {PO}(^{2}\Pi )$$ reaction

Phosphorus is a key and vital element for a diverse set of important biological molecules, being indispensable for life as we know. A deeper comprehension of its role in astrochemistry and atmospheric chemistry may aid in finding answers to how this element became available on Earth. The PO molecule is one of the main reservoirs of phosphorus in the interstellar medium (ISM), and a better understanding of the mechanisms and rate coefficients for its formation in the ISM is important for modelling its abundances. Here in this work, we perform multireference configuration interaction calculations on the formation of PO via the P( 4 S) + O 2 (3 Σ - ) reaction, analyzing its potential energy surface and rate coefficients for the global reaction on both doublet and quartet states. We also perform DFT (M06-2X) and CCSD(T) calculations, in order to compare the results. We found that the OPO system possesses a high multiconfigurational character, making DFT and CCSD methodologies not suitable for its potential energy landscape calculation. The rate coefficients have been calculated using the master equation system solver (MESS) package, and the results compared to recent experimental data. It is shown that the quartet state contributes for temperatures higher than 700K. The computed rate coefficient can be described by a modified Arrhenius equation [α(T/300) β exp (-γ/T)] with α = 1.44 x 10 -12 cm 3 s -1 , β= -1.66 and γ= 704 K.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Planck 2018 results XII. Galactic astrophysics using polarized dust emission

Observations of the submillimetre emission from Galactic dust, in both total intensity I and polarization, have received tremendous interest thanks to the Planck full-sky maps. In this paper we make use of such full-sky maps of dust polarized emission produced from the third public release of Planck data. As the basis for expanding on astrophysical studies of the polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust, we present full-sky maps of the dust polarization fraction p, polarization angle ψ, and dispersion function of polarization angles S . The joint distribution (one-point statistics) of p and NH confirms that the mean and maximum polarization fractions decrease with increasing NH. The uncertainty on the maximum observed polarization fraction, pmax = 22.0 -1.4 +3.5% at 353 GHz and 80' resolution, is dominated by the uncertainty on the Galactic emission zero level in total intensity, in particular towards diffuse lines of sight at high Galactic latitudes. Furthermore, the inverse behaviour between p and S found earlier is seen to be present at high latitudes. This follows the S ∝ p -1 relationship expected from models of the polarized sky (including numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamical turbulence) that include effects from only the topology of the turbulent magnetic field, but otherwise have uniform alignment and dust properties. Thus, the statistical properties of p, ψ, and S for the most part reflect the structure of the Galactic magnetic field. Nevertheless, we search for potential signatures of varying grain alignment and dust properties. First, we analyse the product map S × p, looking for residual trends. While the polarization fraction p decreases by a factor of 3-4 between NH = 10 20 cm -2 and NH = 2 x 10 22 cm -2 , out of the Galactic plane, this product S × p only decreases by about 25%. Because S is independent of the grain alignment efficiency, this demonstrates that the systematic decrease in p with N H is determined mostly by the magnetic-field structure and not by a drop in grain alignment. This systematic trend is observed both in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) and in molecular clouds of the Gould Belt. Second, we look for a dependence of polarization properties on the dust temperature, as we would expect from the radiative alignment torque (RAT) theory. We find no systematic trend of S × p with the dust temperature T d , whether in the diffuse ISM or in the molecular clouds of the Gould Belt. In the diffuse ISM, lines of sight with high polarization fraction p and low polarization angle dispersion S tend, on the contrary, to have colder dust than lines of sight with low p and high S . We also compare the Planck thermal dust polarization with starlight polarization data in the visible at high Galactic latitudes. The agreement in polarization angles is remarkable, and is consistent with what we expect from the noise and the observed dispersion of polarization angles in the visible on the scale of the Planck beam. The two polarization emission-to-extinction ratios, R P/p and R S/V , which primarily characterize dust optical properties, have only a weak dependence on the column density, and converge towards the values previously determined for translucent lines of sight. We also determine an upper limit for the polarization fraction in extinction, p V /E(B - V), of 13% at high Galactic latitude, compatible with the polarization fraction p ≈ 20% observed at 353 GHz. Taken together, these results provide strong constraints for models of Galactic dust in diffuse gas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Study of the GeV to TeV morphology of the γ Cygni SNR (G 78.2+2.1) with MAGIC and Fermi-LAT

Context: Diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) is the most promising mechanism that accelerates Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) in the shocks of supernova remnants (SNRs). It is based on particles scattering caused by turbulence ahead and behind the shock. The turbulence upstream is supposedly generated by the CRs, but this process is not well understood. The dominant mechanism may depend on the evolutionary state of the shock and can be studied via the CRs escaping upstream into the interstellar medium (ISM). Aims: Previous observations of the γ Cygni SNR showed a difference in morphology between GeV and TeV energies. Since this SNR has the right age and is at the evolutionary stage for a significant fraction of CRs to escape, our aim is to understand γ-ray emission in the vicinity of the γ Cygni SNR. Methods: We observed the region of the γ Cygni SNR with the MAGIC Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes between 2015 May and 2017 September recording 87 h of good-quality data. Additionally, we analysed Fermi-LAT data to study the energy dependence of the morphology as well as the energy spectrum in the GeV to TeV range. The energy spectra and morphology were compared against theoretical predictions, which include a detailed derivation of the CR escape process and their γ-ray generation. Results: The MAGIC and Fermi-LAT data allowed us to identify three emission regions that can be associated with the SNR and that dominate at different energies. Our hadronic emission model accounts well for the morphology and energy spectrum of all source components. It constrains the time-dependence of the maximum energy of the CRs at the shock, the time-dependence of the level of turbulence, and the diffusion coefficient immediately outside the SNR shock. Further, while in agreement with the standard picture of DSA, the time-dependence of the maximum energy was found to be steeper than predicted, and the level of turbulence was found to change over the lifetime of the SNR.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

CF + excitation in the interstellar medium

The detection of CF + in interstellar clouds potentially allows astronomers to infer the elemental fluorine abundance and the ionization fraction in ultraviolet-illuminated molecular gas. Because local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) conditions are hardly fulfilled in the interstellar medium (ISM), the accurate determination of the CF + abundance requires one to model its non-LTE excitation via both radiative and collisional processes. Here, we report quantum calculations of rate coefficients for the rotational excitation of CF + in collisions with para- and ortho-H 2 (for temperatures up to 150 K). As an application, we present non-LTE excitation models that reveal population inversion in physical conditions typical of ISM photodissociation regions (PDRs). We successfully applied these models to fit the CF + emission lines previously observed toward the Orion Bar and Horsehead PDRs. The radiative transfer models achieved with these new rate coefficients allow the use of CF + as a powerful probe to study molecular clouds exposed to strong stellar radiation fields.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The miniJPAS survey: A search for extreme emission-line galaxies

Context. Galaxies with extreme emission lines (EELGs) may play a key role in the evolution of the Universe, as well as in our understanding of the star formation process itself. For this reason an accurate determination of their spatial density and fundamental properties in different epochs of the Universe will constitute a unique perspective towards a comprehensive picture of the interplay between star formation and mass assembly in galaxies. In addition to this, EELGs are also interesting in order to explain the reionization of the Universe, since their interstellar medium (ISM) could be leaking ionizing photons, and thus they could be low z, analogous of extreme galaxies at high z . Aims. This paper presents a method to obtain a census of EELGs over a large area of the sky by detecting galaxies with rest-frame equivalent widths ≥300 Å in the emission lines [O II]λλ3727,3729Å, [O III]λ5007Å, and Hα. For this, we aim to use the J-PAS survey, which will image an area of ≈8000 deg 2 with 56 narrow band filters in the optical. As a pilot study, we present a methodology designed to select EELGs on the miniJPAS images, which use the same filter dataset as J-PAS, and thus will be exportable to this larger survey. Methods. We make use of the miniJPAS survey data, conceived as a proof of concept of J-PAS, and covering an area of ≈1 deg 2 . Objects were detected in the r SDSS images and selected by imposing a condition on the flux in a given narrow-band J-PAS filter with respect to the contiguous ones, which is analogous to requiring an observed equivalent width larger than 300 Å in a certain emission line within the filter bandwidth. The selected sources were then classified as galaxies or quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) after a comparison of their miniJPAS fluxes with those of a spectral database of objects known to present strong emission lines. This comparison also provided a redshift for each source, which turned out to be consistent with the spectroscopic redshifts when available (|Δz/(1 + z spec )| ≤ 0.01). Results. The selected candidates were found to show a compact appearance in the optical images, some of them even being classified as point-like sources according to their stellarity index. After discarding sources classified as QSOs, a total of 17 sources turned out to exhibit EW 0 ≥ 300 Å in at least one emission line, thus constituting our final list of EELGs. Our counts are fairly consistent with those of other samples of EELGs in the literature, although there are some differences, which were expected due to biases resulting from different selection criteria.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lyman continuum leaker candidates among highly ionised, low-redshift dwarf galaxies selected from He II

Contemporary research suggests that the reionisation of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the early Universe was predominantly realised by star-forming (proto-)galaxies (SFGs). Due to observational constraints, our knowledge on the origins of sufficient amounts of ionising Lyman continuum (LyC) photons and the mechanisms facilitating their transport into the IGM remains sparse. Recent efforts have thus focussed on the study of local analogues to these high-redshift objects. We aim to acquire a set of very low-redshift SFGs that exhibit signs of a hard radiation field being present. A subsequent analysis of their emission line properties is intended to shed light on how the conditions prevalent in these objects compare to those predicted to be present in early SFGs that are thought to be LyC emitters (LCEs). We used archival spectroscopic SDSS DR12 data to select a sample of low-redshift He II 4686 emitters and restricted it to a set of SFGs with an emission line diagnostic sensitive to the presence of an active galactic nucleus, which serves as our only selection criterion. We performed a population spectral synthesis with FADO to reconstruct these galaxies’ star-formation histories (SFHs). Utilising the spectroscopic information at hand, we constrained the predominant ionisation mechanisms in these galaxies and inferred information on interstellar medium (ISM) conditions relevant for the escape of LyC radiation. Our final sample consists of eighteen ionised, metal-poor galaxies (IMPs). These low-mass (6.2 ≤ log(M * /M ⊙ ) ≤ 8.8), low-metallicity (7.54 ≤log(O/H) + 12 ≤ 8.13) dwarf galaxies appear to be predominantly ionised by stellar sources. We find large [OIII] 5007/[OII] 3727 ratios and [SII] 6717,6731/Hα deficiencies, which provide strong indications for these galaxies to be LCEs. At least 40% of these objects are candidates for featuring cosmologically significant LyC escape fractions ≳10%. The IMPs’ SFHs exhibit strong similarities and almost all galaxies appear to contain an old (> 1 Gyr) stellar component, while also harbouring a young, two-stage (~10 Myr and < 1 Myr) starburst, which we speculate might be related to LyC escape. The properties of the compact emission line galaxies presented here align well with those observed in many local LCEs. In fact, our sample may prove as an extension to the rather small catalogue of local LCEs, as the extreme ISM conditions we find are assumed to facilitate LyC leakage. Notably, all of our eighteen candidates are significantly closer (z < 0.1) than most established LCEs. If the inferred LyC photon loss is genuine, this demonstrates that selecting SFGs from He II 4686 is a powerful selection criterion in the search for LCEs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantum scattering of HC 5 N and para -H 2 on a new potential energy surface

In the interstellar medium (ISM), non-local thermodynamic equilibrium situations are common due to low density, and one needs to consider the effect of molecular collisions in order to interpret the observations. Among the species detected in the ISM, cyanopolyynes, with the general molecular formula HC 2n+1 N (n = 1, 2, …), are characterized by large dipole moments and small rotational constants and constitute an indispensable class of candidates for the sensitive tracers of local density and temperature. We present a study of the collisional (de-) excitation of HC 5 N by para -H 2 (p-H 2 ) in its ground rotational state, namely HC 5 N ( j 1 ) + H 2 ( j 2 = 0) → HC 5 N (j$_1^′$) + H2 (j$_2^′$ = 0), where j 1 (or j$_1^′$) and j 2 (or j$_2^′$) denote the initial (or final) rotational quantum numbers of HC 5 N and H 2 , respectively. We performed the quantum scattering calculations at low collision energy using a new four-dimensional ab initio potential energy surface. In the regime where p-H 2 remains in its rotational ground state, converged cross sections did not require including excited rotational states of p-H 2 in the rotational basis. State-to-state cross sections were computed by means of the quantum-mechanical close-coupling (CC) method and the coupled states (CS) approximation, and rate coefficients for the first 61 levels of HC 5 N were computed for the first time up to 20 K with the CC approach and up to 50 K with the CS method. CC and CS results were found to agree well at temperatures up to 20 K. Finally, these data should allow a more accurate derivation of the HC 5 N abundance in molecular clouds.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Constraining the local pulsar population with the cosmic-ray positron fraction

Observations of the TeV halos associated with nearby pulsars indicate that these objects inject significant fluxes of very high-energy electron-positrons pairs into the interstellar medium (ISM), thereby likely providing the dominant contribution to the cosmic-ray positron flux. In this paper, we use the cosmic-ray positron fraction as measured by the AMS-02 Collaboration to constrain the characteristics of the local pulsar population. For reasonable model parameters, we find that we can obtain good agreement with the measured positron fraction up to energies of E e ~ 300 GeV. At higher energies, the positron fraction is dominated by a small number of pulsars, making it difficult to reliably predict the shape of the expected positron fraction. The low-energy positron spectrum supports the conclusion that pulsars typically transfer approximately η ~ 5–20% of their total spindown power into the production of very high-energy electron-positron pairs, producing a spectrum of such particles with a hard spectral index, α ~ 1.5–1.7. Such pulsars typically spindown on a timescale on the order of τ ~ 10 4 years. Our best fits were obtained for models in which the radio and gamma-ray beams from pulsars are detectable to 28% and 62% of surrounding observers, respectively.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Non-LTE modelling of cyanoacetylene: evidence for isomer-specific excitation

ABSTRACT Cyanoacetylene molecules are widespread in the interstellar medium (ISM) and several of its isomers have been detected in cold molecular clouds and circumstellar gas. Accurate estimates of the abundance ratio of cyanoacetylene isomers may provide deep insight into their environment. Such knowledge requires rigorous modelling of the emission spectra based on non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) radiative transfer calculations. To this end, we computed excitation cross-sections of HC2NC and HNC3 induced by collision with para- and ortho-H2, using a quantum mechanical close-coupling method. Then, by thermally averaging these data, we derived rate coefficients for the first 31 low-lying rotational levels of each isomer for temperatures up to 80 K. For the para-H2 collider, the propensity rules are in favour of rotational transitions involving Δj1 = 2 for both isomers, while for the ortho-H2 collider, Δj1 = 2 and Δj1 = 1 rotational transitions are favoured for HC2NC and HNC3, respectively. A comparison of rate coefficients for the HC3N isomers shows differences up to an order of magnitude, especially at low temperatures. Finally, we performed non-LTE radiative transfer calculations to assess the impact of such variations in the analysis of observations. Our simulation suggests that the lack of collisional data specific to each isomer could lead to errors up to a factor of 2–3 in the excitation temperatures. We expect that these data could help in better understanding the cyanoacetylene chemistry and constraining the nitrogen chemistry in the ISM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Alignment of the magnetic field in star-forming regions and why it might be difficult to observe

ABSTRACT Magnetic fields are an important component of the interstellar medium (ISM) and exhibit strongly varying field strengths and a non-trivial correlation with the gas density. Its dynamical impact varies between individual regions of the ISM and correlates with the orientation of the field with respect to the gas structures. Using high-resolution magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of the ISM, we explore the connection between the orientation of the field and the dynamical state of the gas. We find that the onset of gravitational instability in molecular gas above a density of $\rho \sim 10^{-21}\, \mathrm{g\, cm}^{-3}$$(n\sim 400\, \mathrm{cm}^{-3})$ coincides with an alignment of the magnetic field lines and the gas flow. At this transition, the gradient of the density changes from mainly perpendicular to preferentially parallel to the field lines. A connection between the three-dimensional alignment and projected two-dimensional observables is non-trivial, because of a large dispersion of the magnetic field orientation along the line of sight. The turbulent correlation lengths can be small compared to the typical integration lengths. As a consequence, the small-scale signal of the orientation can sensitively depend on the line of sight or the dynamical state of the cloud can fluctuate stochastically or be completely averaged out. With higher spatial resolution more small-scale structures are resolved, which aggravates the link between magneto-hydrodynamical quantities and projected observables.

Girichidis, Philipp (ORCID:0000000293009914)↗
DOE OSTI2022

The driving mode of shock-driven turbulence

Turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) is crucial in the process of star formation. Shocks produced by supernova explosions, jets, radiation from massive stars, or galactic spiral-arm dynamics are amongst the most common drivers of turbulence in the ISM. However, it is not fully understood how shocks drive turbulence, in particular whether shock driving is a more solenoidal (rotational, divergence-free) or a more compressive (potential, curl-free) mode of driving turbulence. The mode of turbulence driving has profound consequences for star formation, with compressive driving producing three times larger density dispersion, and an order of magnitude higher star formation rate than solenoidal driving. Here, we use hydrodynamical simulations of a shock inducing turbulent motions in a structured, multiphase medium. This is done in the context of a laser-induced shock, propagating into a foam material, in preparation for an experiment to be performed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Specifically, we analyse the density and velocity distributions in the shocked turbulent medium, and measure the turbulence driving parameter $b=(\sigma _{\rho /\langle \rho \rangle }^{2\Gamma }-1)^{1/2}(1-\sigma _{\rho /\langle \rho \rangle }^{-2})^{-1/2}\mathcal {M}^{-1}\Gamma ^{-1/2}$, with the density dispersion σρ/<ρ>, the turbulent Mach number $\mathcal {M}$, and the polytropic exponent Γ. Purely solenoidal and purely compressive driving correspond to b ~ 1/3 and b ~ 1, respectively. As a result, using simulations in which a shock is driven into a multiphase medium with structures of different sizes and Γ < 1, we find b ~ 1 for all cases, showing that shock-driven turbulence is consistent with strongly compressive driving.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗