Jonathan D. Slavin

Turbulent mixing layers in the interstellar medium of galaxies

We propose that turbulent mixing layers are common in the interstellar medium (ISM). Injection of kinetic energy into the ISM by supernovae and stellar winds, in combination with density and temperature inhomogeneities, results in shear flows. Such flows will become turbulent due to the high Reynolds number (low viscosity) of the ISM plasma. These turbulent boundary layers will be particularly interesting where the shear flow occurs at boundaries of hot (approximately 10(exp 6) K) and cold or warm (10(exp 2) - 10(exp 4) K) gas. Mixing will occur in such layers producing intermediate-temperature gas at T is approximately equal to 10(exp 5.0) - 10(exp 5.5) that radiates strongly in the optical, ultraviolet, and EUV. We have modeled these layers under the assumptions of rapid mixing down to the atomic level and steady flow. By including the effects of non-equilibrium ionization and self-photoionization of the gas as it cools after mixing, we predict the intensities of numerous optical, infrared, and ultraviolet emission lines, as well as absorption column densities of C 4, N 5, Si 4, and O 6.

The Ionization of Nearby Interstellar Gas

We present new calculations of the photoionization of interstellar matter within ~5 pc of the Sun (which we refer to as the complex of local interstellar clouds, or CLIC) by directly observed radiation sources, including nearby hot stars and the diffuse emission of the soft X-ray background (SXRB). In addition, we model the important, unobserved extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) emission both from the hot gas responsible for the SXRB and from a possible evaporative boundary between the CLIC and the hot gas. We carry out radiative transfer calculations and show that these radiation sources can provide the ionization and heating of the cloud required to match a variety of observations. The ionization predicted in our models shows good agreement with pickup ion results, interstellar absorption-line data toward CMa, and EUV opacity measurements of nearby white dwarf stars. Including the radiation from the conductive boundary improves agreement with data on the temperature and electron density in the cloud. The presence of dust in the cloud, or at least depleted abundances, is necessary to maintain the heating/cooling balance and reach the observed temperature. Using the column density observations as inputs, we derive the gas-phase abundances of C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, and Fe. Based on these inferred depletions, it appears that silicate and iron dust exists in the CLIC, while carbonaceous dust has been destroyed. In addition, we find evidence that the Ne abundance in the CLIC is larger than solar.

Completing the evolution of supernova remnants and their bubbles

The filling fraction of hot gas in the ISM is reexamined with new calculations of the very long term evolution of SNRs and their fossil hot bubbles. Results are presented of a 1D numerical solution of the evolution of an SNR in a homogeneous medium with a nonthermal pressure corresponding to a 5-micro-G magnetic field and density of 0.2/cu cm. Comparison is made with a control simulation having no magnetic field pressure. It is found that the evolutions, once they have become radiative, differ in several significant ways, while both differ appreciably from qualitative pictures presented in the past. Over most of the evolution of either case, the hot bubble in the interior occupies only a small fraction of the shocked volume, the remainder in a thick shell of slightly compressed material. Column densities and radial distributions of O VI, N V, C IV, and Si IV as well as examples of absorption profiles for their strong UV lines are presented.

The Boundary Conditions of the Heliosphere: Photoionization Models Constrained by Interstellar and In Situ Data

Context. The boundary conditions of the heliosphere are set by the ionization, density, and composition of inflowing interstellar matter. Aims. Our aim is to constrain the properties of the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) at the heliosphere, which requires radiative transfer ionization models. Methods. We modeled the background interstellar radiation field using observed stellar FUV and EUV emission and the diffuse soft X-ray background. We also modeled the emission from the boundary between the LIC and the hot Local Bubble plasma, assuming that the cloud is evaporating because of thermal conduction. We created a grid of models covering a plausible range of LIC and Local Bubble properties, and used the modeled radiation field as input to radiative transfer/thermal equilibrium calculations using the Cloudy code. Data from in situ observations of He 0 , pickup ions and anomalous cosmic rays in the heliosphere, as well as from – –

Evolution of Supernova Remnant Bubbles in a Warm Diffuse Medium: Survey of Results from One-dimensional Models and Their Impact on Estimates of Interstellar Porosity

With straightforward modeling of the late evolution of supernova remnants, including a modest nonthermal contribution to the pressure in the preshock (ambient) gas, we demonstrate that in the solar neighborhood: 1. the porosity induced by the remnant population in a warm intercloud medium (n∼0.15 cm −3 ) would not be large (q≤0.2), and 2. the slowly cooling supernova remnant bubbles harbor large populations of the high-stage ions (O VI, N V, and C IV at least), sufficient to explain their mean densities in the galactic plane (though a comparable contribution may derive from OB association bubbles)

On the determination of the cosmic infrared background radiation from the high-energy spectrum of extragalactic gamma-ray sources

In a recent paper Stecker, De Jager, & Salamon have suggested using the observed approximately MeV to TeV spectra of extragalactic gamma-ray sources as probes of the local density of the cosmic infrared background radiation (CIBR) and have subsequently claimed a first possible measurement of the CIBR from the analysis of the gamma-ray spectrum of Mrk 421 (De Jager, Stecker, & Salamon). The CIBR from normal galaxies consists of two components: a stellar emission component (CIBRs), and a thermal dust emission component (CIBRd). Photons with energies in the approximately 0.1-2 TeV range interact primarily with the CIBRs, whereas interactions with CIBRd dominate the absorption of photons in the approximately 2-100 TeV energy range. SDS 92 and DSS94 considered only the interaction of the gamma-rays with the dust emission component of the CIBR. We present here an improved analysis of the absorption of extragalactic TeV gamma rays by the CIBR, taking the dual nature of its origin into account. Applying the analysis to the observed gamma-ray spectrum of Mrk 421, a BL Lac object at z = 0.031, we find agreement with DSS94 tentative evidence for absorption by the CINRs. Our analysis therefore limits the detection of the CIBR to the approximately 15-40 micron wavelength regime which, considering the uncertainties in the highest energy (greater than 4 TeV) data and ion the possibility of absorption inside the source, many turn out to be an upper limit on its energy density. At shorter wavelengths (lambda approximately = 1-15 microns), where the gamma-ray interactions are dominated by the CIBRs, our analysis definitely yields only an upper limit on the energy density of the CIBR. In contrast, DSS94 have claimed a possible first measurement of the CIBR over the entire 1-120 micron wavelength region. The upper limit on the CIBRs and tentative detection of the CIBRd are consistent with normal galaxies contributing most of the energy to the CIBR, and constrain the contribution of some exotic sources. With careful modeling of infrared foreground emissions, these constraints on the CIBR are above the values measurable by the DIRBE experiment on board the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite.

Spitzer Observations of the Young Core-Collapse Supernova Remnant 1E0102-72.3: Infrared Ejecta Emission and Dust Formation

We present Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph and Infrared Array Camera observations of the young supernova remnant E0102 (SNR 1E0102-7219) in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The infrared spectra show strong lines of Ne and O, with the [Ne II] line at 12.8 μm having a large velocity dispersion of 2000-4500 km s^(–1) indicative of fast-moving ejecta. Unlike the young Galactic SNR Cas A, E0102 lacks emission from Ar and Fe. Diagnostics of the observed [Ne III] line pairs imply that [Ne III] emitting ejecta have a low temperature of 650 K, while [Ne V] line pairs imply that the infrared [Ne V] emitting ejecta have a high density of ~10^4 cm^(–3). We have calculated radiative shock models for various velocity ranges including the effects of photoionization. The shock model indicates that the [Ne V] lines come mainly from the cooling zone, which is hot and dense, whereas [Ne II] and [Ne III] come mainly from the photoionization zone, which has a low temperature of 400-1000 K. We estimate an infrared-emitting Ne ejecta mass of 0.04 M_⊙ from the infrared observations, and discuss implications for the progenitor mass. The spectra also have a dust continuum feature peaking at 18 μm that coincides spatially with the ejecta, providing evidence that dust formed in the expanding ejecta. The 18 μm peak dust feature is fitted by a mixture of MgSiO_3 and Si dust grains, while the rest of the continuum requires either carbon or Al2O3 grains. We measure the total dust mass formed within the ejecta of E0102 to be ~0.014 M_⊙. The dust mass in E0102 is thus a factor of a few smaller than that in Cas A. The composition of the dust is also different, showing relatively less silicate and likely no Fe-bearing dust, as is suggested by the absence of Fe-emitting ejecta.

The Chemical Composition and Gas-to-Dust Mass Ratio of Nearby Interstellar Matter

We use recent results on interstellar gas toward nearby stars and interstellar by-products within the solar system to select among the equilibrium radiative transfer models of the nearest interstellar material presented in Slavin & Frisch. For the assumption that O/H - 400 parts per million, models 2 and 8 are found to yield good fits to available data on interstellar material inside and outside of the heliosphere, with the exception of the Ne abundance in the pickup ion and anomalous cosmic-ray populations. For these models, the interstellar medium (ISM) at the entry point to the heliosphere has n(H(sup 0)) = 0.202-0.208/cu cm, n(He(sup 0) = 0.0137-0.0152/cu cm, and ionizations X(H) = 0.29-0.30, X(He) = 0.47-0.51. These best models suggest that the chemical composition of the nearby ISM is approx.60%-70% subsolar if S is undepleted. Both H(0) and H(+) need to be included when evaluating abundances of ions found in warm diffuse clouds. Models 2 and 8 yield an H filtration factor of approx.0.46. Gas-to-dust mass ratios for the ISM toward epsilon CMa are R(sub gd) = 178-183 for solar abundances of Holweger or R(sub gd) = 611-657 for an interstellar abundance standard 70% solar. Direct observations of dust grains in the solar system by Ulysses and Galileo yield R(sub gd) appr0x. 115 for models 2 and 8, supporting earlier results (Frisch and coworkers). If the local ISM abundances are subsolar, then gas and dust are decoupled over small spatial scales. The inferred variation in R(sub gd) over parsec length scales is consistent with the fact that the ISM near the Sun is part of a dynamically active cluster of cloudlets flowing away from the Sco-Cen association. Observations toward stars within approx.500 pc show that R(sub gd) correlates with the percentage of the dust mass that is carried by iron, suggesting that an Fe-rich grain core (by mass) remains after grain destruction. Evidently large dust grains (>10(exp -13) g) and small dust grains (<10(exp -13) g) are not well mixed over parsec length spatial scales in the ISM. It also appears that very small C-dominated dust grains have been destroyed in the ISM within several parsecs of the Sun, since C appears to be essentially undepleted. However, if gas-dust coupling breaks down over the cloud lifetime, the missing mass arguments applied here to determine R(sub gd) and dust grain mineralogy are not appropriate.

A re-evaluation of dust processing in supernova shock waves

Context. There is a long-standing and large discrepancy between the timescale for dust formation around evolved stars and the rapid dust destruction timescale in interstellar shocks. Aims. We use our latest estimates for dust processing to re-evaluate the dust destruction efficiency in supernova triggered shock waves, estimate the dust lifetime, and calculate the emission and extinction from shocked dust. Methods. We modelled the sputtering and fragmentation of grains in interstellar shocks for shock velocities between 50 km s −1 and 200 km s −1 . We constrained the dust destruction using our recent dust model. Finally, we coupled our code to the DustEM code in order to estimate the emission and extinction from the dust post-shock. Results. Carbonaceous grains are quickly destroyed, even in a 50 km s −1 shock, leading to a shorter lifetime than in previous studies. Silicate grains appear to be more resilient, but the new destruction lifetime that we find is similar to previous studies and short compared to the dust injection timescale. Conclusions. The calculated fraction of elements locked in grains is not compatible with the observed values and therefore implies the re-formation of dust in the dense regions of the interstellar medium. Better modelling of the silicate sputtering together with hydrodynamical simulations of interstellar shocks, appears to reduce the silicate destruction and may close the destruction-formation timescale gap.

Shock Processing of Large Grains in the Interstellar Medium

There is a growing body of evidence for the existence of large (>0.25 μm) dust grains in the interstellar medium (ISM). Large presolar grains have been found in meteors and have been directly detected flowing into the solar system from the ISM by the Ulysses and Galileo spacecraft. While extending the grain size distribution to grains of this size presents problems in accounting for elemental abundances (and they have thus been left out of standard grain models, such as that of Mathis and coworkers) their presence may have important consequences for the evolution of dust in the ISM. We present the results of calculations of the processing of large grains in shocks, including all known destruction mechanisms. We break from earlier techniques in that we explicitly follow the trajectories of the grains rather than assuming tight coupling with the gas. As the grains traverse the shock they are subject to magnetic and drag forces and different environments for charging, as well as thermal and nonthermal sputtering, vaporization, and shattering. We find markedly different behaviors for different combinations of shock speed and grain size. The fate of the grains can be described as coupled, reflected, or escaped, with the degree of grain destruction dependent on the type of trajectory followed. Grains reflected into the preshock gas are accelerated to high speeds before being destroyed, possibly creating the seeds for cosmic-ray acceleration. Grains that escape, on the other hand, suffer little destruction and may act as a reservoir of material that is decoupled from the gas.