arXiv subjects

Ahmad Nemer

Publications and source records attributed to Ahmad Nemer.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Danger Zone: Establishing Buffers for Enhanced Classification in BPT Diagrams

This study utilizes unsupervised machine learning, specifically the uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) algorithm, to classify optical spectra originating from star-forming regions, Seyferts, and low-ionization (nuclear) emission-line regions (LI(N)ERs) based on their line ratios. Typically, the ionization source of a region is determined from intensity ratio of different combinations of pairs of spectral lines. However, using current boundary definitions, $\sim10$\% of spectra change classes between diagnostic diagrams. We apply the machine learning technique to $\sim$1.3 million optical spectra from 6,439 galaxies observed in the MaNGA survey. By training UMAP on consistently classified data, we can classify these ``ambiguous'' spectra, and delineate boundary zones where such ambiguities arise. Furthermore, we identify physically interesting subsets within the ambiguous spectra. Future work will incorporate additional parameters, such as alternative emission line ratios and velocity dispersions, to enhance classification accuracy.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

SDSS-V LVM: Resolving Physical Conditions in the Trifid Nebula

The chemical abundance of the interstellar medium sets the initial conditions for star formation and provides a probe of chemical galaxy evolution models. However, unresolved inhomogeneities in the electron temperature can lead to a systematic underestimation of the abundances. We aim to directly test this effect. We use the SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper to spatially map the physical conditions of the Trifid Nebula (M 20), a Galactic H II region ionized by a single mid-type O star, at 0.24 pc resolution. We exploit various emission lines (e.g., Hydrogen recombination lines and collisionally excited lines, including also faint auroral lines) and compute spatially resolved maps of [O II] and [S II] electron densities; [N II], [O II], [S II], [S III] electron temperatures; and the ionic oxygen abundances. We find internal variations of electron density that result from the ionization front, along with a negative radial gradient. However, we do not find strong gradients or structures in the electron temperature and the total oxygen abundance, making the Trifid Nebula a relatively homogeneous H II region at the observed spatial scale. We compare these spatially resolved properties with equivalent integrated measurements of the Trifid Nebula and find no significant variations between integrated and spatially resolved conditions. This isolated H II region, ionized by a single O-star, represents a test case of an ideal Strömgren sphere. The physical conditions in the Trifid Nebula behave as expected, with no significant differences between integrated and resolved measurements.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Photoevaporation from Inner Protoplanetary Disks Confronted with Observations

The decades-long explorations on the dispersal of protoplanetary disks involve many debates about photoevaporation versus magnetized wind launching mechanisms. This letter argues that the observed winds originating from the inner disk ($R\lesssim 0.3$ AU) cannot be explained by the photoevaporative mechanism. Energy conservation requires the presumed photoevaporative winds to be heated to $\gtrsim 10^5$ K when launched from inner disks. However, due to efficient thermal accommodation with dust grains and cooling processes at high densities, X-ray irradiation at energies above 1 keV cannot efficiently launch winds in the first place because of its high penetration. Some studies claiming X-ray wind launching have oversimplified the thermochemical couplings. Furthermore, heating the gas to escape velocity will over-ionize it, suppressing the species responsible for observed forbidden lines (e.g., [OI] 6300 $Å$ ). Confirmed by semi-analytic integrations of thermochemical fluid structures, such high ionizations contradict the observed emission of neutral and singly-ionized atoms from the winds originating from the inner disks.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Analyzing the Abundance Discrepancy Problem in HII Regions with Photoionization Modeling

Understanding the complex ionization structure and chemical composition of \hii\ regions poses a significant challenge in astrophysics. The abundance discrepancy problem, characterized by inconsistencies between abundances derived from recombination lines (RLs) and collisionally excited lines (CELs), has long been a puzzle in the field. In this theoretical study, we present novel photoionization models that incorporate temperature, density, and chemical inhomogeneities within a single cloud to comprehensively address this discrepancy. By accounting for the intricate interplay between ionization, excitation, and chemistry, our models successfully reproduce both observed RLs and CELs with with an average difference between our models and the observations of 25% -- within uncertainties inherent in Galactic archival long-slit and new SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper observations. Through comparisons between generic inhomogeneous model predictions and observations, demonstrating the ability of our theoretical framework to analyze the abundance discrepancy problem within \hii\ regions. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating spatially resolved temperature, density, and chemical structures when interpreting the physical processes governing emission line spectra in these astrophysical environments.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A closer look at the origin of LINER emission and its connection to evolved stars with a machine learning classification scheme

Identifying the dominant ionizing sources in galaxies is essential for understanding their formation and evolution. Traditionally, spectra are classified based on their dominant ionizing source using strong emission lines and Baldwin, Phillips, \& Terlevich (BPT) diagrams. The ionizing source is traditionally determined by the emission line ratios using the BPT diagrams. Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Regions (LINERs) are a class of ionizing mechanisms that is observationally identified but with a poorly understood origin, unlike the case of star forming regions and active galactic nuclei (AGN). LINERs, typically found in early-type galaxies, are often associated with low-luminosity AGN activity but may also be powered by aging stellar populations, particularly post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (p-AGB) stars. In this study, we employ a machine-learning-based encoder, Spender, to analyze the full MaNGA IFU spectra and identify key spectral features of LINERs. By examining the continuum and line emission of these spaxels, our approach aims to uncover hidden patterns and better understand the dominant ionizing sources. We show in this work that the neural network-based encoder was able identify LINER sources from the stellar continuum alone. The characteristics of the stellar population underlying LINER regions are consistent with evolved low mass stars implying that the source driving LINER emission is probably p-AGB stars rather than AGN activity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Constraining Protoplanetary Disk Winds from Forbidden Line Profiles with Simulation-based Inference

Protoplanetary disks are the sites of vigorous hydrodynamic processes, such as accretion and outflows, and ultimately establish the conditions for the formation of planets. The properties of disk outflows are often inferred through analysis of forbidden emission lines. These lines contain multiple overlapping components, tracing different emission regions with different processes that excite them: a high-velocity component (tracing a jet), a broad low-velocity component (tracing inner disk wind), and a narrow low-velocity component (tracing outer disk wind). They are also heavily contaminated by background spectral features. All of these challenges call into question the traditional approach of fitting Gaussian components to the line profiles, and cloud the physical interpretation of those components. We introduce a novel statistical technique to analyze emission lines in protoplanetary disks. Simulation-Based Inference is a computationally efficient machine learning technique that produces posterior distributions of the parameters (e.g. magnetic field, radiation sources, geometry) of a representative wind model when given a spectrum, without any prior assumption about line shapes (e.g.symmetry). In this pathfinder study, we demonstrate that this technique indeed accurately recovers the parameters from simulated spectra without noise and background. A following work will deal with the analysis of observed spectra.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

Line profiles of forbidden emission lines and what they can tell us about protoplanetary disk winds

Emission in forbidden lines of oxygen, neon, and other species are commonly used to trace winds from protoplanetary disks. Using Cloudy, we calculate such emission for parametrized wind models of the magnetothermal type, following Bai et al. (2016). These models share characteristics with both photoevaporative and magnetocentrifugal winds, which can be regarded as end members, and are favored by recent theoretical research. Both broad and narrow low-velocity components of the lines can be produced with plausible wind parameters, something that traditional wind models have difficulty with. Line luminosities, blueshifts, and widths, as well as trends of these with accretion luminosity and disk inclination, are in general accord with observations

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

High-resolution [O I] line spectral mapping of TW Hya supportive of a magnetothermal wind

Disk winds are thought to play a critical role in the evolution and dispersal of protoplanetary disks. A primary diagnostic of this physics is emission from the wind, especially in the low-velocity component of the [O I] $\lambda6300$ line. However, the interpretation of the line is usually based on spectroscopy alone, which leads to confusion between magnetohydrodynamic winds and photoevaporative winds. Here we report that in high-resolution spectral mapping of TW Hya by the multi-unit spectroscopic explorer at the Very Large Telescope, 80% of the [O I] emission is confined to within 1 AU radially from the star. A generic model of a magnetothermal wind produces [O I] emission at the base of the wind that broadly matches the flux and the observed spatial and spectral profiles. The emission at large radii is much fainter that predicted from models of photoevaporation, perhaps because the magnetothermal wind partially shields the outer disk from energetic radiation from the central star. This result calls into question the previously assessed importance of photoevaporation in disk dispersal predicted by models.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

Solar oxygen abundance

Motivated by the controversy over the surface metallicity of the Sun, we present a re-analysis of the solar photospheric oxygen (O) abundance. New atomic models of O and Ni are used to perform Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (NLTE) calculations with 1D hydrostatic (MARCS) and 3D hydrodynamical (Stagger and Bifrost) models. The Bifrost 3D MHD simulations are used to quantify the influence of the chromosphere. We compare the 3D NLTE line profiles with new high-resolution, R = 700 000, spatially-resolved spectra of the Sun obtained using the IAG FTS instrument. We find that the O I lines at 777 nm yield the abundance of log A(O) = 8.74 +/- 0.03 dex, which depends on the choice of the H-impact collisional data and oscillator strengths. The forbidden [O I] line at 630 nm is less model-dependent, as it forms nearly in LTE and is only weakly sensitive to convection. However, the oscillator strength for this transition is more uncertain than for the 777 nm lines. Modelled in 3D NLTE with the Ni I blend, the 630 nm line yields an abundance of log A(O) = 8.77 +/- 0.05 dex. We compare our results with previous estimates in the literature and draw a conclusion on the most likely value of the solar photospheric O abundance, which we estimate at log A(O) = 8.75 +/- 0.03 dex.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

The role of FUV Pumping in exciting the [Oi] lines in Protostellar Disks and Winds

We use Cloudy to re-examine excitation of [Oi] 6300 A and [Oi] 5577 A in the X-ray driven photo-evaporative wind models of Owen and collaborators, and in more recent magnetothermal models by Wang et al. We find that, at the measured accretion luminosities, the FUV radiation would populate the upper levels of the oxygen atom which would eventually contribute to the [Oi] lines. FUV pumping competes with collisions as an excitation mechanism of the [Oi] lines, and they each originate from a distinct region in the protostellar disk environment depending on the specifics of the hydrodynamical model that the simulation was based on. Consequently, the line strengths and shapes of [Oi] 6300 A and[Oi] 5577 A would be affected by the inclusion of FUV pumping in the radiation transport simulations.

astro-ph.SR↗