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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 19 records

Near L-edge Single and Multiple Photoionization of Doubly Charged Iron Ions

Using the photon-ion merged-beams technique at a synchrotron light source, we have measured relative cross sections for single and up to five-fold photoionization of Fe 2+ ions in the energy range of 690-920 eV. This range contains thresholds and resonances associated with ionization and excitation of 2p and 2s electrons. Calculations were performed to simulate the total absorption spectra. The theoretical results show very good agreement with the experimental data, if overall energy shifts of up to 2.5 eV are applied to the calculated resonance positions and assumptions are made about the initial experimental population of the various levels of the Fe 2+ ([Ar]3d 6 ) ground configuration. Furthermore, we performed extensive calculations of the Auger cascades that result when an electron is removed from the 2p subshell of Fe 2+ . These computations lead to a better agreement with the measured product-charge-state distributions as compared to earlier work. We conclude that the L-shell absorption features of low-charged iron ions are useful for identifying gas-phase iron in the interstellar medium and for discriminating against the various forms of condensed-phase iron bound to composite interstellar dust grains.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Effect of Bars on the Ionized ISM: Optical Emission Lines from Milky Way Analogs

Gas interior to the bar of the Milky Way has recently been shown to be the closest example of a low-ionization (nuclear) emission region (LI(N)ER) in the universe. To better understand the nature of this gas, a sample of face-on galaxies with integral field spectroscopy is used to study the ionized gas conditions of 240 barred and 250 nonbarred galaxies, focusing on those that are most similar to the Milky Way. Strong optical line emission of [N ii] λ6584, Hα, [O iii] λ5007, and Hβ are used to diagnose the dominant ionization mechanisms of gas across galaxies and the Galaxy via Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagrams. Barred galaxies show a strong suppression of star formation and an increase in composite and LI(N)ER-like spectra in their inner regions when compared with similar nonbarred counterparts. This effect is lessened in galaxies of very low (log 10 (M * /M ⊙ ) ≲ 10.4) or very high (log 10 (M * /M ⊙ ) ≳ 11.1) total stellar mass. Bar masks from Galaxy Zoo:3D show the bar's nonaxisymmetric effect on the ionized gas and help predict the face-on distribution of ionized gas conditions near the bar of the Milky Way.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Magnetic Misalignment of Interstellar Dust Filaments

We present evidence for scale-independent misalignment of interstellar dust filaments and magnetic fields. We estimate the misalignment by comparing millimeter-wave dust-polarization measurements from Planck with filamentary structures identified in neutral-hydrogen (H I ) measurements from H I 4PI. We find that the misalignment angle displays a scale independence (harmonic coherence) for features larger than the H I 4PI beamwidth (16$\acute{.}$2). We additionally find a spatial coherence on angular scales of ${ \mathcal O }(1^\circ )$. We present several misalignment estimators formed from the auto- and cross-spectra of dust-polarization and H I -based maps, and we also introduce a map-space estimator. Applied to large regions of the high-Galactic-latitude sky, we find a global misalignment angle of ~2°, which is robust to a variety of masking choices. By dividing the sky into small regions, we show that the misalignment angle correlates with the parity-violating TB cross-spectrum measured in the Planck dust maps. The misalignment paradigm also predicts a dust EB signal, which is of relevance in the search for cosmic birefringence but as yet undetected; the measurements of EB are noisier than those of TB, and our correlations of EB with misalignment angle are found to be weaker and less robust to masking choices. We also introduce an H I -based dust-polarization template constructed from the Hessian matrix of the H I intensity, which is found to correlate more strongly than previous templates with Planck dust B modes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the H I Content of MaNGA Major Merger Pairs

The role of H I content in galaxy interactions is still under debate. To study the H I content of galaxy pairs at different merging stages, we compile a sample of 66 major-merger galaxy pairs and 433 control galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) MaNGA IFU survey. In this study, we adopt kinematic asymmetry as a new effective indicator to describe the merging stage of galaxy pairs. With archival data from the HI-MaNGA survey and new observations from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we investigate the differences in H I gas fraction (f H I ), star formation rate (SFR), and H I star formation efficiency (SFE H I ) between the pair and control samples. Our results suggest that the H I gas fraction of major-merger pairs on average is marginally decreased by ~15% relative to isolated galaxies, implying mild H I depletion during galaxy interactions. Compared to isolated galaxies, pre-passage paired galaxies have similar f H I , SFR, and SFE H I , while pairs during the pericentric passage have weakly decreased f H I (–0.10 ± 0.05 dex), significantly enhanced SFR (0.42 ± 0.11 dex), and SFE H I (0.48 ± 0.12 dex). When approaching the apocenter, paired galaxies show marginally decreased f H I (–0.05 ± 0.04 dex), comparable SFR (0.04 ± 0.06 dex), and SFE H I (0.08 ± 0.08 dex). We propose that the marginally detected H i depletion may originate from the gas consumption in fueling the enhanced H2 reservoir of galaxy pairs. In addition, new FAST observations also reveal a H I absorber (N H I ~ 4.7 × 10 21 cm –2 ), which may suggest gas infalling and the triggering of active galactic nuclei activity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Role of H I in Regulating the Size Growth of Local Galaxies

We study the role of atomic hydrogen (H I ) in regulating the size growth of local galaxies. The size of a galaxy, $D$ $r$,25 , is characterized by the diameter at which the r-band surface brightness reaches ${\mu }_{{\rm{r}}}=25.0\,\mathrm{mag}\,{\mathrm{arcsec}}^{-2}$. We find that the positions of galaxies in the size ($D$ $r$,25 )-stellar-mass ($M$*) plane strongly depend on their H I -to-stellar-mass ratio ($M$ H I /$M$*). In the H I -rich regime, galaxies that are richer in H I tend to have larger sizes. Such a trend is not seen in the H I –poor regime, suggesting that size growth is barely affected by the H I content when it has decreased to a sufficiently low level. An investigation of the relations between size, $M$ H I /$M$*, and star formation rate (SFR) suggests that size is more intrinsically linked with $M$ H I /$M$*, rather than SFR. We further examine the H i-to-stellar-disk size ratio ($D$ H I /$D$ $r$,25 ) of galaxies and find that at log($M$ H I /$M$*) > -0.7, $D$ H I /$D$ $r$,25 is weakly correlated with $M$*. These findings support a picture in which the H I -rich galaxies live in an inside-out disk-growing phase regulated by gas accretion and star formation. In conclusion, the angular momentum of the accreted materials is probably the key parameter in shaping the size of a H I -rich galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Ultrafast studies of elusive chemical reactions in the gas phase

The chemical composition of the interstellar medium and planetary atmospheres is constantly in flux as atoms and molecules collide and interact with high-energy particles such as electrons, protons, and photons. These transformative processes ultimately lead to the coalescence of molecules and eventually the birth of stars. Our understanding of these chemical ecosystems relies on models that synthesize data from gas-phase experiments, providing insights into reaction cross sections. This Review examines efforts to delve into the fundamental bond-forming and bond-breaking dynamics that occur during bimolecular and electron-initiated reactions. Furthermore, these experiments involve clever approaches to establish a time reference and the collision geometry necessary for tracking atomic motion with femtosecond time resolution. Findings from these efforts enhance present models and improve predictions for molecule-molecule and electron-molecule collisions.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

A Catalog of Holes and Shells in the Interstellar Medium of the LITTLE THINGS Dwarf Galaxies

We present a catalog of holes and shells in the neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) of 41 gas-rich dwarf galaxies in LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey). We analyzed their properties as part of an investigation into the relation between star formation and structures and kinematics in the H i of small galaxies. We confirmed 306 holes between 38 pc (our resolution limit) and 2.3 kpc, with expansion velocities up to 30 km s{sup −1}. The global star formation rates (SFRs) measured by Hα and far-UV (FUV) emission are consistent with those estimated from the energy required to create the cataloged holes in our sample. Although we found no obvious correlation between global SFRs and the H i surface and volume porosities of our sample, two of the four galaxies with the lowest porosity and the two galaxies with the highest porosity have no recent star formation as measured by Hα and FUV emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Detecting rare neutral atomic-carbon absorbers with a deep neural network

ABSTRACT C i absorbers play an important role as indicators for exploring the presence of cold gas in the interstellar medium of galaxies. However, the current data base of C i absorbers is very limited due to their weak absorption feature and rarity. Here, we report results from a search of C i λλ1560, 1656 absorption lines using Mg ii absorbers as signposts with modified deep learning algorithms, which provides a very quick way to search for weak C i absorber candidates. A total of 107 C i absorbers were detected, which nearly doubles the size of previously known samples. In addition, we found 17 C i absorbers to be associated with 2175 Å dust absorbers (2DAs), i.e. about 16 per cent C i absorbers are associated with 2DAs. Comparing the average dust depletion patterns of C i absorbers with those of damped Lyman α absorbers (DLAs), Mg ii absorbers, Ca ii absorbers, and 2175 Å dust absorbers (2DAs) shows that C i absorbers generally have environments with more dust than DLAs, Mg ii, and Ca ii absorbers, but similar to dust in 2DAs. Similarity between the dust depletion pattern of C i absorbers to that of the warm disc in the Milky Way indicates that C i absorption clouds are possibly associated with disc components in distant galaxies. Therefore, C i absorbers are confirmed to be excellent probes to trace cold gas and dust in the Universe.

Ge, Jian↗

Unconventional gas-phase preparation of the prototype polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon naphthalene (C 10 H 8 ) via the reaction of benzyl (C 7 H 7 ) and propargyl (C 3 H 3 ) radicals coupled with hydrogen-atom assisted isomerization

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and in meteorites such as Murchison and Allende and signify the missing link between resonantly stabilized free radicals and carbonaceous nanoparticles (soot particles, interstellar grains). However, the predicted lifetime of interstellar PAHs of some 108 years imply that PAHs should not exist in extraterrestrial environments suggesting that key mechanisms of their formation are elusive. Exploiting a microchemical reactor and coupling these data with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and kinetic modeling, we reveal through an isomer selective product detection that the reaction of the resonantly stabilized benzyl (C 7 H 7 ) and the propargyl (C 3 H 3 ) synthesizes the simplest representative of PAHs – the 10π Hückel aromatic naphthalene (C 10 H 8 ) molecule – via the novel Propargyl Addition–BenzAnnulation (PABA) mechanism. The gas-phase preparation of naphthalene affords a versatile concept of the reaction of combustion and astronomically abundant propargyl radicals with aromatic radicals carrying the radical center at the methylene moiety (aromatic-CH 2 ) as a previously passed over source of aromatics in high temperature environments thus bringing us closer to an understanding of the aromatic universe we live in.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Gas-phase formation of the resonantly stabilized 1-indenyl (C 9 H 7 • ) radical in the interstellar medium

The 1-indenyl (C 9 H 7 • ) radical, a prototype aromatic and resonantly stabilized free radical carrying a six- and a five-membered ring, has emerged as a fundamental molecular building block of nonplanar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbonaceous nanostructures in deep space and combustion systems. However, the underlying formation mechanisms have remained elusive. Here, we reveal an unconventional low-temperature gas-phase formation of 1-indenyl via barrierless ring annulation involving reactions of atomic carbon [C( 3 P)] with styrene (C 6 H 5 C 2 H 3 ) and propargyl (C 3 H 3 • ) with phenyl (C 6 H 5 • ). Macroscopic environments like molecular clouds act as natural low-temperature laboratories, where rapid molecular mass growth to 1-indenyl and subsequently complex PAHs involving vinyl side-chained aromatics and aryl radicals can occur. These reactions may account for the formation of PAHs and their derivatives in the interstellar medium and carbonaceous chondrites and could close the gap of timescales of their production and destruction in our carbonaceous universe.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Gamma-Ray Emission from Galaxies Hosting Molecular Outflows

Many star-forming galaxies and those hosting active galactic nuclei show evidence of massive outflows of material in a variety of phases including ionized, neutral atomic, and molecular. Molecular outflows in particular have been the focus of recent interest as they may be responsible for removing gas from the galaxy, thereby suppressing star formation. As material is ejected from the cores of galaxies, interactions of the outflowing material with the interstellar medium can accelerate cosmic rays and produce high-energy gamma rays. In this work, we search for gamma-ray emission from a sample of local galaxies known to host molecular outflows using data collected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. We employ a stacking technique in order to search for and characterize the average gamma-ray emission properties of the sample. Gamma-ray emission is detected from the galaxies in our sample at the 4.4σ level with a power-law photon index of Γ ≈ 2 in the 1–800 GeV energy range. The emission is found to correlate with tracers of star formation activity, namely the 8–1000 μm infrared luminosity. We also find that the observed signal can be predominantly attributed to H II galaxies hosting energy-driven outflows. While we do not find evidence suggesting that the outflows are accelerating charged particles directly, galaxies with molecular outflows may produce more gamma rays than galaxies without outflows. In particular, the set consisting of gamma-ray-detected galaxies with molecular outflows are nearly perfect calorimeters and may be future targets for searches of high-energy neutrinos.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Molecular Gas Ring Hidden in the Sombrero Galaxy

We present Herschel, ALMA, and MUSE observations of the molecular ring of Messier 104, also known as the Sombrero galaxy. These previously unpublished archival data shed new light on the content of the interstellar medium of M104. In particular, molecular hydrogen measured by CO emission and dust measured by far-infrared light are uniformly distributed along the ring. The ionized gas revealed by Hα and [C II] emission is distributed in knots along the ring. Despite being classified as an SAa galaxy, M104 displays features typical of early-type galaxies. We therefore compared its [C II] and dust emission to a sample of early-type galaxies observed with Herschel and SOFIA. The [C II]/FIR ratio of M104 is much lower than that of typical star-forming galaxies and is instead much more similar to that of early-type galaxies. By classifying regions using optical emission line diagnostics, we also find that regions classified as H II lie closer to star-forming galaxies in the [C II]/FIR diagram than those classified as low-ionization emission regions. The good match between [C II] and Hα emission, in conjunction with the lack of correlation between CO emission and star formation, suggests that there is very limited active star formation along the ring and that most of the [C II] emission is from ionized and neutral atomic gas rather than molecular gas. From the total intensity of the CO line, we estimate a molecular hydrogen mass of 0.9 × 10 9 M ⊙ , a value intermediate between those of early-type galaxies and the content of the molecular ring of our galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Study of the Cosmic Rays and Interstellar Medium in Local H I Clouds Using Fermi -LAT Gamma-Ray Observations

An accurate estimate of the interstellar gas density distribution is crucial to understanding the interstellar medium (ISM) and Galactic cosmic rays (CRs). To comprehend the ISM and CRs in a local environment, a study of the diffuse $γ$-ray emission in a midlatitude region of the third quadrant was performed. Specifically, the $γ$-ray data in the 0.1–25.6 GeV energy range of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and other interstellar gas tracers such as the HI4PI survey data and the Planck dust thermal emission model were used, and the northern and southern regions were analyzed separately. The variation of the dust emission D em with the total neutral gas column density N H was studied in high dust temperature areas, and the N H /D em ratio was calibrated using $γ$-ray data under the assumption of a uniform CR intensity in the studied regions. The measured integrated $γ$-ray emissivities above 100 MeV are (1.58 ± 0.04) x 10 -26 photons s -1 sr -1 H-atom-1 and (1.59 ± 0.02) x 10-26 photons s-1 sr-1 H-atom -1 in the northern and southern regions, respectively, supporting the existence of a uniform CR intensity in the vicinity of the solar system. While most of the gas can be interpreted to be H I with a spin temperature of T S = 125 K or higher, an area dominated by optically thick H I with T S ~ 40 K was identified.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Collisional Excitation and Non-LTE Modeling of Interstellar Chiral Propylene Oxide

Abstract The first set of theoretical rotational cross sections for propylene oxide (CH 3 CHCH 2 O) colliding with cold He atoms has been obtained at the full quantum level using a high-accuracy potential energy surface. By scaling the collision reduced mass, rotational rate coefficients for collisions with para-H 2 are deduced in the temperature range 5–30 K. These collisional coefficients are combined with radiative data in a non-LTE radiative transfer model in order to reproduce observations of propylene oxide made toward the Sagittarius B2(N) molecular cloud with the Green Bank and Parkes radio telescopes. The three detected absorption lines are found to probe the cold (∼10 K) and translucent ( n H ∼ 2000 cm −3 ) gas in the outer edges of the extended Sgr B2(N) envelope. The derived column density for propylene oxide is N tot ∼ 3 × 10 12 cm −2 , corresponding to a fractional abundance relative to total hydrogen of ∼2.5 × 10 −11 . The present results are expected to help our understanding of the chemistry of propylene oxide, including a potential enantiomeric excess, in the cold interstellar medium.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Directed Gas-Phase Formation of the 1-Cyanovinyl Radical (H 2 CCCN, X 2 A′) in the Interstellar Medium

The formation pathways to nitrogen-containing molecules and radicals are crucial to the understanding of the carbon–nitrogen chemistry in interstellar and atmospheric environments. While over 65 nitrogen-containing neutral species have been observed in deep space to date, their formation mechanisms─in particular, those of radical species─remain largely speculative. The crossed molecular beam technique in conjunction with electronic structure and statistical calculations was utilized to offer a detailed overview of the fundamental pathways in the gas-phase bimolecular reaction of ground-state atomic carbon (C, 3 P) with acetonitrile-d 3 (CD 3 CN, X 1 A 1 ) under single-collision conditions leading to the formation of the 1-cyanovinyl radical (D 2 CCCN, X 2 A′) coupled with deuterium atom loss. Here, the indirect reaction was initiated by barrierless carbon-atom addition, with the most probable route involving carbon addition across the carbon–nitrogen nitrile triple bond of acetonitrile, forming a three-membered ring intermediate followed by ring-opening and unimolecular decomposition via atomic deuterium loss from the C3 carbon atom. The reaction was overall exoergic, and intermediates and transition states lie lower in energy than the separated reactants, unlocking the reaction of carbon with acetonitrile in low-temperature environments such as cold molecular clouds, e.g., Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC-1), and planetary atmospheres, e.g., Saturn’s moon Titan. In these environments, the 1-cyanovinyl radical may act as a building block for cyano-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and N-heterocycles, thus furthering our understanding of the complex carbon–nitrogen chemistry in deep space.

Chemical reactions↗

Plasma Properties in the Earth's Magnetosheath Near the Subsolar Magnetopause: Implications for Geocoronal Density Estimates

Combined in situ ion measurements and remote sensing of energetic neutral atoms are used to determine the geocoronal Hydrogen density at large (∼10 R E ) distances from the Earth. This method for determining the geocoronal density requires global magnetospheric modeling. Observations in the Earth's subsolar magnetosheath from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission are used to determine the accuracy of using global models to predict the geocoronal density. On average, gas dynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models and observations are in reasonable agreement, with differences <25%. In addition, the MHD model subsolar magnetopause is about 0.5 R E sunward of the observed location. However, variations around averages are large (up to a factor of 2), indicating that global models introduce relatively large uncertainties in geocoronal density estimates. Finally, the critical ion flux in the Interstellar Boundary Explorer IBEX‐Hi energy range is often minimally affected by fluctuations of a factor of 2 in the density.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Size distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in space: an old new light on the 11.2/3.3 μm intensity ratio

The intensity ratio of the 11.2/3.3 μm emission bands is considered to be a reliable tracer of the size distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the interstellar medium (ISM). This paper describes the validation of the calculated intrinsic infrared (IR) spectra of PAHs that underlie the interpretation of the observed ratio. The comparison of harmonic calculations from the NASA Ames PAH IR spectroscopic database to gas-phase experimental absorption IR spectra reveals a consistent underestimation of the 11.2/3.3 μm intensity ratio by 34%. IR spectra based on higher level anharmonic calculations, on the other hand, are in very good agreement with the experiments. While there are indications that the 11.2/3.3 μm ratio increases systematically for PAHs in the relevant size range when using a larger basis set, it is unfortunately not yet possible to reliably calculate anharmonic spectra for large PAHs. Based on these considerations, we have adjusted the intrinsic ratio of these modes and incorporated this in an interstellar PAH emission model. This corrected model implies that typical PAH sizes in reflection nebulae such as NGC 7023 – previously inferred to be in the range of 50 to 70 carbon atoms per PAH are actually in the range of 40 to 55 carbon atoms. The higher limit of this range is close to the size of the C 60 fullerene (also detected in reflection nebulae), which would be in line with the hypothesis that, under appropriate conditions, large PAHs are converted into the more stable fullerenes in the ISM.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

From the laboratory to space: unveiling isomeric diversity of C 5 H 2 in the reaction of tricarbon (C 3 , X 1 Σ g + ) with the vinyl radical (C 2 H 3 , X 2 A′)

By connecting laboratory dynamics with cosmic observables, this work highlights the critical role of reactions between highly reactive species in shaping the molecular inventory of the interstellar medium and opens new windows into the spectroscopically elusive corners of astrochemical complexity. The gas phase formation of distinct C 5 H 2 isomers is explored through the bimolecular reaction of tricarbon (C 3 , X 1 Σ + g ) with the vinyl radical (C 2 H 3 , X 2 A′) at a collision energy of 44 ± 1 kJ mol −1 employing the crossed molecular beam technique augmented by electronic structure and Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) calculations. This barrierless and exoergic reaction follows indirect dynamics and is initiated by the addition of tricarbon to the radical center of the vinyl radical forming a Cs symmetric doublet collisional complex (CCCCHCH 2 ). Subsequent low-barrier isomerization steps culminate in the resonantly stabilized 2,4-pentadiynyl-1 radical (CHCCCCH 2 ), which decomposes via atomic hydrogen loss. Statistical calculations identify linear, triplet pentadiynylidene (p2, X 3 Σ − g ) as the dominant product, while singlet carbenes ethynylcyclopropenylidene (p1, X 1 A′), pentatetraenylidene (p3, X 1 A 1 ), and ethynylpropadienylidene (p4, X 1 A′) are formed with lower branching ratios. The least stable isomer, 2-cyclopropen-1-ylidenethenylidene (‘eiffelene’; p5, X 1 A 1 ), remains thermodynamically feasible, but exhibits negligible branching ratios. Two isomers detected in TMC-1 to date (p1 and p3) possess significant dipole moments making them amenable to radio telescopic observations, whereas linear pentadiynylidene (p2; D ∞h ) is only traceable via infrared spectroscopy or through its cyanopentadiynylidene derivative (HCCCCCCN). This study highlights the isomer diversity accessed in the low temperature hydrocarbon chemistry of barrierless and exoergic bimolecular reactions involving two unstable, reactants in cold molecular clouds.

Medvedkov, Iakov A. [University of Hawai'i at Mano↗