Search results for "Interstellar cloud"
showing 10 items of 10 documents
A KInetic Database for Astrochemistry (KIDA)
2012
We present a novel chemical database for gas-phase astrochemistry. Named the KInetic Database for Astrochemistry (KIDA), this database consists of gas-phase reactions with rate coefficients and uncertainties that will be vetted to the greatest extent possible. Submissions of measured and calculated rate coefficients are welcome, and will be studied by experts before inclusion into the database. Besides providing kinetic information for the interstellar medium, KIDA is planned to contain such data for planetary atmospheres and for circumstellar envelopes. Each year, a subset of the reactions in the database (kida.uva) will be provided as a network for the simulation of the chemistry of dense…
Spatial identification of the overionized plasma in W49B
2010
Recent Suzaku X-ray observations of the ejecta-dominated supernova remnant W49B have shown that in the global spectrum there is a clear indication for the presence of overionized plasma whose physical origin is still under debate. In order to ascertain the physical origin of such a rapidly cooling plasma, we focus on the study of its spatial localization within the X-ray emitting ejecta. We confirm the presence of a saw-edged excess (interpreted as a strong radiative recombination continuum) in the global spectrum above 8 keV, emerging above the ionization-equilibrium model. We produce a hardness ratio map to determine where the plasma is overionized and we perform a spectral analysis of th…
Revealing Atom-Radical Reactivity at Low Temperature Through the N + OH Reaction
2011
International audience; More than 100 reactions between stable molecules and free radicals have been shown to remain rapid at low temperatures. In contrast, reactions between two unstable radicals have received much less attention due to the added complexity of producing and measuring excess radical concentrations. We performed kinetic experiments on the barrierless N(4S) + OH(2Π) → H(2S) + NO(2Π) reaction in a supersonic flow (Laval nozzle) reactor. We used a microwave-discharge method to generate atomic nitrogen and a relative-rate method to follow the reaction kinetics. The measured rates agreed well with the results of exact and approximate quantum mechanical calculations. These results…
The X-ray emission of the supernova remnant W49B observed withXMM-Newton
2006
In the framework of the study of supernova remnants and their complex interaction with the interstellar medium, we report on an XMM-Newton EPIC observation of the Galactic supernova remnant W49B. We investigate the spatial distribution of the chemical and physical properties of the plasma, so as to get important constraints on the physical scenario, on the dynamics of the supernova explosion, and on the interaction of the supernova remnant with the ambient interstellar clouds. We present line images, equivalent width maps, and a spatially resolved spectral analysis of a set of homogeneous regions. The X-ray spectrum of W49B is characterized by strong K emission lines from Si, S, Ar, Ca and …
SOFT X-RAY IRRADIATION OF PURE CARBON MONOXIDE INTERSTELLAR ICE ANALOGUES
2012
There is an increasing evidence for the existence of large organic molecules in the interstellar and circumstellar medium. Very few among such species are readily formed in conventional gas-phase chemistry under typical conditions of interstellar clouds. Attention has therefore focused on interstellar ices as a potential source of these relatively complex species. Laboratory experiments show that irradiation of interstellar ice analogues by fast particles or ultraviolet radiation can induce significant chemical complexity. However, stars are sources of intense X-rays at almost every stage of their formation and evolution. Such radiation may thus provide chemical changes in regions where ult…
Multi-phase interstellar clouds in the Vela SNR resolved with XMM-Newton
2005
XMM-Newton spatial/spectral resolution and high effective area allow to deepen our knowledge about the shocks in Supernova Remnants and their interaction with the interstellar medium. We present the analysis of an EPIC observation of the northern rim of the Vela SNR and we compare the X-ray and optical morphology of the emission. We derive a description of the internal structure of the shocked interstellar clouds, arguing that the transmitted shock model is compatible with our data. We also suggest that thermal conduction between clouds and inter-cloud medium is very efficient and produces the evaporation of the clouds in the interstellar medium. � 2005 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Al…
Jet propagation through inhomogeneous media and shock ionization
2021
In this contribution we present the first numerical simulations of a relativistic outflow propagating through the inner hundreds of parsecs of its host galaxy, including atomic and ionised hydrogen, and the cooling effects of ionisation. Our results are preliminary, but we observe efficient shock ionization of atomic hydrogen in interstellar clouds. The mean density of the interstellar medium in these initial simulations is lower than that expected in typical galaxies, which makes cooling times longer and thus no recombination is observed inside the shocked region. The velocities achieved by the shocked gas in the simulations are in agreement with observational results, although with a wide…
The importance of magnetic-field-oriented thermal conduction in the interaction of SNR shocks with interstellar clouds
2008
We explore the importance of magnetic-field-oriented thermal conduction in the interaction of supernova remnant (SNR) shocks with radiative gas clouds and in determining the mass and energy exchange between the clouds and the hot surrounding medium. We perform 2.5D MHD simulations of a shock impacting on an isolated gas cloud, including anisotropic thermal conduction and radiative cooling; we consider the representative case of a Mach 50 shock impacting on a cloud ten-fold denser than the ambient medium. We consider different configurations of the ambient magnetic field and compare MHD models with or without the thermal conduction. The efficiency of the thermal conduction in the presence of…
Actinides in the Source of Cosmic Rays and the Present Interstellar Medium
2003
The abundances of the actinide elements in the cosmic rays can provide critical constraints on the major sites of their acceleration. Using recent calculations of the r-process yields in core collapse supernovae, we have determined the actinide abundances averaged over various assumed time intervals for their supernova generation and their cosmic-ray acceleration. Using standard Galactic chemical evolution models, we have also determined the expected actinide abundances in the present interstellar medium. From these two components, we have calculated the U/Th and other actinide abundances expected in the supernova-active cores of superbubbles, as a function of their ages and mean metallicit…
3-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Interaction of a Supernova Remnant Shock with an Isolated Cloud
2006
We report on a computational key-project in astrophysics. The project is aimed at studying the interaction of a supernova shock wave with interstellar clouds. We describe the numerical code used, namely FLASH, a multi-dimensional astrophysical hydrodynamics code for parallel computers developed at the FLASH center (The University of Chicago); our team collaborates with, and contributes to, the FLASH project. We discuss the resources required for the whole project, the I/O management, the performance and the scalability of the code on IBM/Sp4 at CINECA. Finally, we present a selection of results. © 2005 IEEE.