Janet P. Simpson

Far-infrared lines from H II regions: Abundance variations in the galaxy

Far-infrared lines of (N III) (57 microns), (O III) (52, 88 microns), (Ne III) (36 microns), and (S III) (19, 33 microns) have been measured in the H II regions G1.13 - 0.11, W31B, G23.95 + 0.15, G25.38 - 0.18, G29.96 - 0.02, W43, W51e, S156, S158, NGC 3576, NGC 3603, and G298.22-0.34. These observations were made with the facility Cryogenic Grating Spectrometer on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory to examine variations in abundances throughout the Galaxy. Previously published observations of G0.095 + 0.012, G333.60 - 0.21, G45.13 + 0.14A, K3-50, and M17 are also discussed. The giant H II region 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was observed for comparison. Fluxes for (Ne II) (12.8 microns), (S IV) (10.5 microns), and the radio free-free continuum were collected from the literature for those sources. Electron densities were estimated from FIR line-pair ratios, and ionic abundances were estimated from the FIR line and radio fluxes. The excitation was estimated from the O(2+)/S(2+) ratio. Corrections for unseen ionization stages were calculated with the use of constnat-density H II region models. The validity and range of applicability of such semiempirical ionization correction schemes are discussed. The abundances with respect to hydrogen exhibit gradients with R(sub G) comparable to those previously measured for our Galaxy and for other galaxies. The overall gradients are d (log N/H)/dR = -0.10 +/- 0.02 dex/kpc, d(log Ne/H)/dR = -0.08 +/- 0.02 dex/kpc and d(log S/H)/dR = 0.07 +/- 0.02 dex/kpc. Compared to the Orion Nebula, the intermediate R(sub G) H II regions with 6 is less than R(sub G) is less than 11 kpc have similar or lower S/H and N/O ratios. The N/O ratios in the inner Galaxy are more than twice those observed in the Orion Nebula and intermediate R(sub G) H II regions. In fact, all the abundance ratios are as well or better fitted by a step fit with two levels than by a linear gradient. As has been noted in previous studies, the N/O ratio estimated from infrared observations of the doubly ionized N and O lines in H II regions is larger than the ratio estimated from optical observations of the singly ionized N and O lines. The Ne(2+)/O(2+) ratio is observed to be essentially constant over a wide range of excitation. This contradicts predictions of model H II regions calculated with the use of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) model stellar atmospheres. We conclude that these stellar atmospheres significantly underestimate the actual emergent fluxes for energies greater than 41 eV.

Abundance Gradients in the Galaxy

Six H II regions at galactocentric distances of R = 10-15 kpc have been observed in the far-IR emission lines of [O III] (52 ?m, 88 ?m), [N III] (57 ?m), and [S III] (19 ?m) using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. These observations have been combined with Very Large Array radio continuum observations of these sources to determine the abundances of O++, N++, and S++ relative to hydrogen. In addition, eight of the most recent sets of measurements of ionic line strengths in H II regions have been reanalyzed in order to attempt to reconcile differences in optical versus far-IR abundance determinations. We have in total 168 sets of observations of 117 H II regions in our analysis. The new analysis included updating the atomic constants (transition probabilities and collision cross sections), recalculation of some of the physical conditions in the H II regions (ne and Te), and the use of new photoionization models to determine stellar effective temperatures of the exciting stars. We also use the most recent data available for the distances for these objects, although for most we still rely on kinematic distance determinations. Our analysis finds little indication of differences between optical and infrared observations of the nitrogen abundances, but some differences are seen in the oxygen and sulfur abundances. A very significant offset continues to be seen between optical and infrared measurements of the N/O abundance ratio.

Nebular properties from far-infrared spectrosopy

We describe a semiempirical methodology-based on measurements of far-infrared (FIR) lines-that yields information on electron densities in regions where various ionic species exist, effective temperatures (T(sub eff)) for stars ionizing H II regions, and gas-phase heavy element abundances. Although this capability has long been available via optical data, the special features of FIR lines-relative insensitivity to extinction and electron temperature variations-extend the analysis ability. Several line ratios serve as diagnostics of electron density, N(sub e), probing different ionization conditions and different density regimes. The more N(sub e)-diagnostic observations made, the more reliable will be the deciphering of the actual variation in density throughout a nebula. A method to estimate T(sub eff) from the FIR (N III)/(N II) line ratio requires that the nebula be ionization bounded and that substantially all of the flux from the revevant lines be observed. However, to estimate T(sub eff) by a second method that uses the ratio of FIR (S III)/(O III) lines, an ionization-bounded nebula is a sufficient, but not necessary, condition. These restrictions are unnecessary for estimating densities and heavy element abundances. We show that a fairly general determination of metallicity, via the S/H ratio, may be made for H II regions with observations of just two lines-(S III) 19 micron and a hydrogen recombination line (or appropriate substitute). These techniques are applied to recent FIR data for the G333.6-0.2 H II region, including application to the recently measured (N II) 122 and 205 micron lines.

Far-Infrared Abundance Measurements in the Outer Galaxy

Five H II regions at large distances from the center of the Galaxy (R = 13-17 kpc) have been observed in the far-IR emission lines of [O III] (52 and 88 μm), [N III] (57 μm), and [S III] (19 μm) using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. These observations have been combined with Very Large Array radio continuum observations of these sources to determine the abundances of O++, N++, and S++ relative to hydrogen. A simple ionization correction scheme has been used to determine the total abundances of nitrogen and sulfur relative to hydrogen, as well as the relative abundance N/O. For the two sources in common with previous optical studies (S127 and S128), we find good agreement between the far-infrared and optical determinations of N/H, S/H, and N/O. Our results from the outer Galaxy have been combined with previous far-infrared results to determine the abundance gradient of these elements in the Milky Way over a range of Galactocentric radii from R = 0 to R = 17 kpc. Our results are consistent with a gradient of log N/H = -0.111 ± 0.012 dex kpc-1 and a gradient of log S/H = -0.079 ± 0.009 dex kpc-1. Our method is not able to determine independently the abundances of both S and O, although other evidence suggests that the O/S ratio is approximately constant. While these results differ from recent optical studies, which suggest that these abundance gradients flatten in the outer Galaxy, we do not yet have sufficient data to rule out such a change in the gradient. The log N/O data are better fitted by a two-step function with a value of -0.50 ± 0.02 for R 6.2 kpc. Both of these values are consistent with secondary production of nitrogen. However, the outer Galaxy oxygen abundances are in the low abundance regime where nitrogen is expected to be produced by primary processes.

Detection of the [N II] 122 and 205 micron lines : densities in G333.6-0.2

Measurements of the G333.6-0.2 H II region which include the first detection of the N II 122 micron forbidden line in an astronomical force and the first measurement of the N II 205 micron forbidden line in a discrete source are presented. Also considered are fine structure lines of forbidden S III, forbidden Fe III, forbidden Si II, forbidden Ne III, forbidden O III, forbidden N III, forbidden O I, and forbidden C II from 19 to 206 microns. It is concluded that the N II 122 and 205 microns forbidden line pair in a discrete astronomical source was detected for the first time. The emission in transitions is produced largely by low-ioninzation, low-density material not easily probed by other lines. Other FIR line pairs generally originate in higher density regions closer to the exciting force.

On the Measurement of Elemental Abundance Ratios in Inner Galaxy H II Regions

Although variations in elemental abundance ratios in the Milky Way certainly exist, details remain uncertain, particularly in the inner Galaxy, where stars and H II regions in the Galactic plane are obscured optically. In this paper we revisit two previously studied, inner Galaxy H II regions: G333.6-0.2 and W43. We observed three new positions in G333.6-0.2 with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and reobserved the central position with the Infrared Space Observatorys Long Wavelength Spectrometer in far-infrared lines of S++, N++, N+, and O++. We also added the N+ lines at 122 and 205 μm to the suite of lines measured in W43 by Simpson and coworkers. The measured electron densities range from ~40 to over 4000 cm-3 in a single H II region, indicating that abundance analyses must consider density variations, since the critical densities of the observed lines range from 40 to 9000 cm-3. We propose a method to handle density variations and make new estimates of the S/H and N/H abundance ratios. We find that our sulfur abundance estimates for G333.6-0.2 and W43 agree with the S/H abundance ratios expected for the S/H abundance gradient previously reported by Simpson and coworkers, with the S/H values revised to be smaller as a result of changes in collisional excitation cross sections. The estimated N/H, S/H, and N/S ratios are the most reliable because of their small corrections for unseen ionization states (10%). The estimated N/S ratios for the two sources are smaller than what would be calculated from the N/H and S/H ratios in our previous paper. We compute models of the two H II regions to estimate corrections for the other unseen ionization states. We find, with large uncertainties, that oxygen does not have a high abundance, with the result that the N/O ratio is as high (~0.35) as previously reported. The reasons for the uncertainty in the ionization corrections for oxygen are both the nonuniqueness of the H II region models and the sensitivity of these models to different input atomic data and stellar atmosphere models. We discuss these predictions and conclude that only a few of the latest models adequately reproduce H II region observations, including the well-known, relatively large observed Ne++/O++ ratios in low- and moderate-excitation H II regions.

Spitzer observations of M83 and the hot star, H ii region connection

We have undertaken a programme to observe emission lines of [Siv] 10.51, [NeII] 12.81, [Ne III] 15.56, and [S III] 18.71 μm in a number of extragalactic HII regions with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Here we report our results for the nearly face-on spiral galaxy M83. A subsequent paper will present our data and analysis for another substantially face-on spiral galaxy M33. The nebulae selected cover a wide range of galactocentric radii (R G ). The observations were made with the infrared spectrograph in the short wavelength, high dispersion configuration. The above set of four lines is observed cospatially, thus permitting a reliable comparison of the fluxes. From the measured fluxes, we determine the ionic abundance ratios including Ne ++ /Ne + , S 3+ /S ++ and S ++ /Ne + and find that there is a correlation of increasingly higher ionization with larger R G . By sampling the dominant ionization states of Ne and S for Hit II regions, we can approximate the Ne/S ratio by (Ne + + Ne ++ )/(S ++ + S 3+ ). Our findings of ratios that significantly exceed the benchmark Orion Nebula value, as well as a decrease in this ratio with increasing R G , are more likely due to other effects than a true gradient in Ne/S. Two effects that will tend to lower these high estimates and to flatten the gradient are first, the method does not account for the presence of S + and second, S but not Ne is incorporated into grains. Both Ne and S are primary elements produced in α-chain reactions, following C and O burning in stars, making their yields depend very little on the stellar metallicity. Thus, it is expected that Ne/S remains relatively constant throughout a galaxy. We stress that this type of observation and method of analysis does have the potential for accurate measurements of Ne/S, particularly for H II regions that have lower metallicity and higher ionization than those here, such as those in M33. Our observations may also be used to test the predicted ionizing spectral energy distribution (SED) of various stellar atmosphere models. We compare the ratio of fractional ionizations / and / versus / with predictions made from our photoionization models using several of the state-of-the-art stellar atmosphere model grids. The overall best fit appears to be the nebular models using the supergiant stellar atmosphere models of Pauldrach, Hoffmann & Lennon and Sternberg, Hoffmann & Pauldrach. This result is not sensitive to the electron density and temperature range expected for these M83 nebulae. Considerable computational effort has gone into the comparison between data and models, although not all parameter studies have yet been performed on an ultimate level (e.g. in the present paper the stellar atmosphere model abundances have been fixed to solar values). A future paper, with the benefit of more observational data, will continue these studies to further discriminate how the ionic ratios depend on the SED and the other nebular parameters.

Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of Planetary Nebulae with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory

We present new far-infrared line observations of the planetary nebulae (PNs) NGC 7027, NGC 7009, and NGC 6210 obtained with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO). The bulk of our data are for NGC 7027 and NGC 7009, including [Ne V] 24 μm, [O IV] 26 μm, [O III] (52, 88) μm, and [N III] 57 μm. Our data for [O III] (52, 88) and [N III] 57 in NGC 7027 represent the first measurements of these lines in this source. The large [O III] 52/88 μm flux ratio implies an electron density (cm-3) of log Ne[O III] = 4.19, the largest Ne ever inferred from these lines. We derive N++/O++ = 0.394 ± 0.062 for NGC 7027 and 0.179 ± 0.043 for NGC 6210. We are able to infer the O+3/O++ ionic ratio from our data. As gauged by this ionic ratio, NGC 7027 is substantially higher ionization than is NGC 7009, consistent with our observation that the former produces copious [Ne V] emission while the latter does not. These data help characterize the stellar ionizing radiation field. From our [O IV] and [O III] fluxes, we are able to show that O++ is by far the dominant oxygen ion in NGC 7009. As a result, the O/H abundance inferred using these data tends to corroborate the value found from UV/optical, collisionally excited lines. We determined accurate rest wavelengths for the [Ne V] 2s22p23P1 → 2s22p23P0 (λrest = 24.316 ± 0.008 μm) and [O IV] 2s -->22p -->2P -->03/2→2s -->22p -->2P -->01/2 (λrest = 25.887 ± 0.007 μm) transitions from observations of one or both of the bright PNs NGC 7027 and NGC 7009. Our [O IV] value, to the best of our knowledge, is the most accurate direct determination of this λrest prior to the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). These new KAO data will be beneficial for comparison with the ISO observations of these PNs.

A Spitzer Space Telescope survey of massive young stellar objects in the G333.2−0.4 giant molecular cloud

The G333 giant molecular cloud contains a few star clusters and Hii regions, plus a number of condensations currently forming stars. We have mapped thirteen of these sources with the appearance of young stellar objects (YSOs) with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph in the Short-Low, Short-High, and Long-High modules (5-36 µm). We use these spectra plus available photometry and images to characterize the YSOs. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of all sources peak between 35 and 110 µm, thereby showing their young age. The objects are divided into two groups: YSOs associated with extended emission in IRAC band 2 at 4.5 µm (‘outflow sources’) and YSOs that have extended emission in all IRAC bands peaking at the longest wavelengths (‘red sources’). The two groups of objects have distinctly different spectra: All the YSOs associated with outflows show evidence of massive envelopes surrounding the protostar because the spectra show deep silicate absorption features and absorption by ices at 6.0, 6.8, and 15.2 µm. We identify these YSOs with massive envelopes cool enough to contain ice-coated grains as the ‘bloated’ protostars in the models of Hosokawa et al. All spectral maps show ionized forbidden lines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission features. For four of the red sources, these lines are concentrated to the centres of the maps, from which we infer that these YSOs are the source of ionizing photons. Both types of objects show evidence of shocks, with most of the outflow sources showing a line of neutral sulphur in the outflows and two of the red sources showing the more highly excited [Neiii] and [Siv] lines in outflow regions at some distance from the YSOs. The 4.5 µm emission seen in the IRAC band 2 images of the outflow sources is not due to H2 lines, which are too faint in the 5 – 10 µm wavelength region to be as strong as is needed to account for the IRAC band 2 emission.

Aligned grains and inferred toroidal magnetic fields in the envelopes of massive young stellar objects

Massive young stellar objects (YSOs), like low-mass YSOs, are thought to be surrounded by optically thick envelopes and/or discs and are observed to have associated regions that produce polarized light at near-infrared wavelengths. These polarized regions are thought to be lower-density outflows along the polar axes of the YSO envelopes. Using the 0.2-arcsec spatial resolution of the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer on the Hubble Space Telescope we are examining the structure of the envelopes and outflow regions of massive YSOs in star-forming regions within a few kpc of the Sun. Here we report on 2-µm polarimetry of Mon R2-IRS3, S140-IRS1, and AFGL 2591. All three sources contain YSOs with highly-polarized monopolar outflows, with Mon R2-IRS3 containing at least two YSOs in a small cluster. The central stars of all four YSOs are also polarized, with position angles perpendicular to the directions of the outflows. We infer that this polarization is due to scattering and absorption by aligned grains. We have modelled our observations of S140-IRS1 and AFGL 2591 as light scattered and absorbed both by spherical grains and by elongated grains that are aligned by magnetic fields. Models that best reproduce the observations have a substantial toroidal component to the magnetic field in the equatorial plane. Moreover, the toroidal magnetic field in the model that best fits AFGL 2591 extends a large fraction of the height of the model cavity, which is 10 5 au. We conclude that the massive YSOs in this study all show evidence of the presence of a substantial toroidal magnetic field.