arXiv subjects

Carl Heiles

Publications and source records attributed to Carl Heiles.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Parsec-scale magnetic fields in Arp 220

We present the first very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) detections of Zeeman splitting in another galaxy. We used Arecibo Observatory, the Green Bank Telescope, and the Very Long Baseline Array to perform dual-polarization observations of OH maser lines in the merging galaxy Arp 220. We measured magnetic fields of $\sim$1-5 mG associated with three roughly parsec-sized clouds in the nuclear regions of Arp 220. Our measured magnetic fields have comparable strengths and the same direction as features at the same velocity identified in previous Zeeman observations with Arecibo alone. The agreement between single dish and VLBI results provides critical validation of previous Zeeman splitting observations of OH megamasers that used a single large dish. The measured magnetic field strengths indicate that magnetic energy densities are comparable to gravitational energy in OH maser clouds. We also compare our total intensity results to previously published VLBI observations of OH megamasers in Arp 220. We find evidence for changes in both structure and amplitude of the OH maser lines that are most easily explained by variability intrinsic to the masing region, rather than variability produced by interstellar scintillation. Our results demonstrate the potential for using high-sensitivity VLBI to study magnetic fields on small spatial scales in extragalactic systems.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Autonomous Gaussian Decomposition

We present a new algorithm, named Autonomous Gaussian Decomposition (AGD), for automatically decomposing spectra into Gaussian components. AGD uses derivative spectroscopy and machine learning to provide optimized guesses for the number of Gaussian components in the data, and also their locations, widths, and amplitudes. We test AGD and find that it produces results comparable to human-derived solutions on 21cm absorption spectra from the 21cm SPectral line Observations of Neutral Gas with the EVLA (21-SPONGE) survey. We use AGD with Monte Carlo methods to derive the HI line completeness as a function of peak optical depth and velocity width for the 21-SPONGE data, and also show that the results of AGD are stable against varying observational noise intensity. The autonomy and computational efficiency of the method over traditional manual Gaussian fits allow for truly unbiased comparisons between observations and simulations, and for the ability to scale up and interpret the very large data volumes from the upcoming Square Kilometer Array and pathfinder telescopes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

Kompaneets Model Fitting of the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble

Winds and supernovae from OB associations create large cavities in the interstellar medium referred to as superbubbles. The Orion molecular clouds are the nearest high mass star-forming region and have created a highly elongated, 20 degree x 45 degree, superbubble. We fit Kompaneets models to the Orion-Eridanus superbubble and find that a model where the Eridanus side of the superbubble is oriented away from the Sun provides a marginal fit. Because this model requires an unusually small scaleheight of 40 pc and has the superbubble inclined 35 degrees from the normal to the Galactic plane, we propose that this model should be treated as a general framework for modelling the Orion-Eridanus superbubble, with a secondary physical mechanism not included in the Kompaneets model required to fully account for the orientation and elongation of the superbubble.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Cold and warm atomic gas around the Perseus molecular cloud I: Basic Properties

(Abridged) Using the Arecibo Observatory we have obtained neutral hydrogen (HI) absorption and emission spectral pairs in the direction of 26 background radio continuum sources in the vicinity of the Perseus molecular cloud. Strong absorption lines were detected in all cases allowing us to estimate spin temperature (T_s) and optical depth for 107 individual Gaussian components along these lines of sight. Basic properties of individual HI clouds (spin temperature, optical depth, and the column density of the cold and warm neutral medium, CNM and WNM) in and around Perseus are very similar to those found for random interstellar lines of sight sampled by the Millennium HI survey. This suggests that the neutral gas found in and around molecular clouds is not atypical. However, lines of sight in the vicinity of Perseus have on average a higher total HI column density and the CNM fraction, suggesting an enhanced amount of cold HI relative to an average interstellar field. Our estimated optical depth and spin temperature are in stark contrast with the recent attempt at using Planck data to estimate properties of the optically thick HI. Only ~15% of lines of sight in our study have a column density weighted average spin temperature lower than 50 K, in comparison with >85% of Planck's sky coverage. The observed CNM fraction is inversely proportional to the optical-depth weighted average spin temperature, in excellent agreement with the recent numerical simulations by Kim et al. While the CNM fraction is on average higher around Perseus relative to a random interstellar field, it is generally low, 10-50%. This suggests that extended WNM envelopes around molecular clouds, and/or significant mixing of CNM and WNM throughout molecular clouds, are present and should be considered in the models of molecule and star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

TADPOL: A 1.3 mm Survey of Dust Polarization in Star-forming Cores and Regions

We present λ1.3 mm CARMA observations of dust polarization toward 30 star-forming cores and 8 star-forming regions from the TADPOL survey. We show maps of all sources, and compare the ~2.5" resolution TADPOL maps with ~20" resolution polarization maps from single-dish submillimeter telescopes. Here we do not attempt to interpret the detailed B-field morphology of each object. Rather, we use average B-field orientations to derive conclusions in a statistical sense from the ensemble of sources, bearing in mind that these average orientations can be quite uncertain. We discuss three main findings: (1) A subset of the sources have consistent magnetic field (B-field) orientations between large (~20") and small (~2.5") scales. Those same sources also tend to have higher fractional polarizations than the sources with inconsistent large-to-small-scale fields. We interpret this to mean that in at least some cases B-fields play a role in regulating the infall of material all the way down to the ~1000 AU scales of protostellar envelopes. (2) Outflows appear to be randomly aligned with B-fields; although, in sources with low polarization fractions there is a hint that outflows are preferentially perpendicular to small-scale B-fields, which suggests that in these sources the fields have been wrapped up by envelope rotation. (3) Finally, even at ~2.5" resolution we see the so-called "polarization hole" effect, where the fractional polarization drops significantly near the total intensity peak. All data are publicly available in the electronic edition of this article.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

The Origin of Ionized Filaments Within the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble

The Orion-Eridanus superbubble, formed by the nearby Orion high mass star-forming region, contains multiple bright H$α$ filaments on the Eridanus side of the superbubble. We examine the implications of the H$α$ brightnesses and sizes of these filaments, the Eridanus filaments. We find that either the filaments must be highly elongated along the line of sight or they cannot be equilibrium structures illuminated solely by the Orion star-forming region. The Eridanus filaments may, instead, have formed when the Orion-Eridanus superbubble encountered and compressed a pre-existing, ionized gas cloud, such that the filaments are now out of equilibrium and slowly recombining.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

The Role of Magnetic Fields in Starburst Galaxies as Revealed by OH Megamasers

We present estimates of magnetic field strengths in the interstellar media of starburst galaxies derived from measurements of Zeeman splitting associated with OH megamasers. The results for eight galaxies with Zeeman detections suggest that the magnetic energy density in the interstellar medium of starburst galaxies is comparable to their hydrostatic gas pressure, as in the Milky Way. We discuss the significant uncertainties in this conclusion, and possible measurements that could reduce these uncertainties. We also compare the Zeeman splitting derived magnetic field estimates to magnetic field strengths estimated using synchrotron fluxes and assuming that the magnetic field and cosmic rays have comparable energy densities, known as the "minimum energy" argument. We find that the minimum energy argument systematically underestimates magnetic fields in starburst galaxies, and that the conditions that would be required to produce agreement between the minimum energy estimate and the Zeeman derived estimate of interstellar medium magnetic fields are implausible. The conclusion that magnetic fields in starburst galaxies exceed the minimum energy magnetic fields is consistent with starburst galaxies adhering to the linearity of the FIR-radio correlation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Excitation temperature of the warm neutral medium as a new probe of the Lyman-α radiation field

We use the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to conduct a high-sensitivity survey of neutral hydrogen (HI) absorption in the Milky Way. In combination with corresponding HI emission spectra obtained mostly with the Arecibo Observatory, we detect a widespread warm neutral medium (WNM) component with excitation temperature = 7200 (+1800,-1200) K (68% confidence). This temperature lies above theoretical predictions based on collisional excitation alone, implying that Ly-α scattering, the most probable additional source of excitation, is more important in the interstellar medium (ISM) than previously assumed. Our results demonstrate that HI absorption can be used to constrain the Ly-α radiation field, a critical quantity for studying the energy balance in the ISM and intergalactic medium yet notoriously difficult to model because of its complicated radiative transfer, in and around galaxies nearby and at high redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Characterizing the Turbulent Properties of the Starless Molecular Cloud MBM16

We investigate turbulent properties of the non-star-forming, translucent molecular cloud, MBM16 by applying the statistical technique of a two-dimensional spatial power spectrum (SPS) on the neutral hydrogen (HI) observations obtained by the Galactic Arecibo L-Band Feed Array HI (GALFA-HI) survey. The SPS, calculated over the range of spatial scales from 0.1 to 17 pc, is well represented with a single power-law function, with a slope ranging from -3.3 to -3.7 and being consistent over the velocity range of MBM16 for a fixed velocity channel thickness. However, the slope varies significantly with the velocity slice thickness, suggesting that both velocity and density contribute to HI intensity fluctuations. By using this variation we estimate the slope of 3D density fluctuations in MBM16 to be -3.7\pm0.2. This is significantly steeper than what has been found for HI in the Milky Way plane, the Small Magellanic Cloud, or the Magellanic Bridge, suggesting that interstellar turbulence in MBM16 is driven on scales >17 pc and that the lack of stellar feedback could be responsible for the steep power spectrum.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Constraints on OH Megamaser Excitation from a Survey of OH Satellite Lines

We report the results of a full-Stokes survey of all four 18 cm OH lines in 77 OH megamasers (OHMs) using the Arecibo Observatory. This is the first survey of OHMs that included observations of the OH satellite lines; only 4 of the 77 OHMs have existing satellite line observations in the literature. In 5 sources, satellite line emission is detected, with 3 of the 5 sources re-detections of previously published sources. The 2 sources with new detections of satellite line emission are IRAS F10173+0829, which was detected at 1720 MHz, and IRAS F15107+0724, for which both the 1612 MHz and 1720 MHz lines were detected. In IRAS F15107+0724, the satellite lines are partially conjugate, as 1720 MHz absorption and 1612 MHz emission have the same structure at some velocities within the source, along with additional broader 1612 MHz emission. This is the first observed example of conjugate satellite lines in an OHM. In the remaining sources, no satellite line emission is observed. The detections and upper limits are generally consistent with models of OHM emission in which all of the 18 cm OH lines have the same excitation temperature. There is no evidence for a significant population of strong satellite line emitters among OHMs.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Misalignment of Magnetic Fields and Outflows in Protostellar Cores

We present results of 1.3 mm dust polarization observations toward 16 nearby, low-mass protostars, mapped with ~2.5" resolution at CARMA. The results show that magnetic fields in protostellar cores on scales of ~1000 AU are not tightly aligned with outflows from the protostars. Rather, the data are consistent with scenarios where outflows and magnetic fields are preferentially misaligned (perpendicular), or where they are randomly aligned. If one assumes that outflows emerge along the rotation axes of circumstellar disks, and that the outflows have not disrupted the fields in the surrounding material, then our results imply that the disks are not aligned with the fields in the cores from which they formed.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

An Arecibo Survey for Zeeman Splitting in OH Megamaser Galaxies

We present the results of a comprehensive survey using the Arecibo Observatory for Zeeman splitting of OH lines in OH megamasers (OHMs). A total of seventy-seven sources were observed with the Arecibo telescope. Of these, maser emission could not be detected for eight sources, and two sources were only ambiguously detected. Another twenty-seven sources were detected at low signal-to-noise ratios or with interference that prevented placing any useful limits on the presence of magnetic fields. In twenty-six sources, it was possible to place upper limits on the magnitude of magnetic fields, typically between 10-30 mG. For fourteen sources, the Stokes V spectra exhibit features consistent with Zeeman splitting. Eleven of these fourteen are new detections, and the remaining three are re-detections of Stokes V detections in Robishaw et al. (2008). Among confident new detections, we derive magnetic fields associated with maser regions with magnitudes ranging from 6.1-27.6 mG. The distribution of magnetic field strengths suggests the magnetic fields in OH masing clouds in OHMs are larger than those in Galactic OH masers. The results are consistent with magnetic fields playing a dynamically important role in OH masing clouds in OHMs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

Primary Beam and Dish Surface Characterization at the Allen Telescope Array by Radio Holography

The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is a cm-wave interferometer in California, comprising 42 antenna elements with 6-m diameter dishes. We characterize the antenna optical accuracy using two-antenna interferometry and radio holography. The distortion of each telescope relative to the average is small, with RMS differences of 1 percent of beam peak value. Holography provides images of dish illumination pattern, allowing characterization of as-built mirror surfaces. The ATA dishes can experience mm-scale distortions across -2 meter lengths due to mounting stresses or solar radiation. Experimental RMS errors are 0.7 mm at night and 3 mm under worst case solar illumination. For frequencies 4, 10, and 15 GHz, the nighttime values indicate sensitivity losses of 1, 10 and 20 percent, respectively. The ATA.s exceptional wide-bandwidth permits observations over a continuous range 0.5 to 11.2 GHz, and future retrofits may increase this range to 15 GHz. Beam patterns show a slowly varying focus frequency dependence. We probe the antenna optical gain and beam pattern stability as a function of focus and observation frequency, concluding that ATA can produce high fidelity images over a decade of simultaneous observation frequencies. In the day, the antenna sensitivity and pointing accuracy are affected. We find that at frequencies greater than 5 GHz, daytime observations greater than 5 GHz will suffer some sensitivity loss and it may be necessary to make antenna pointing corrections on a 1 to 2 hourly basis.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2012

A High Resolution Study of the HI-H2 Transition across the Perseus Molecular Cloud

To investigate the fundamental principles of H2 formation in a giant molecular cloud (GMC), we derive the HI and H2 surface density (Sigma_HI and Sigma_H2) images of the Perseus molecular cloud on sub-pc scales (~0.4 pc). We use the far-infrared data from the Improved Reprocessing of the IRAS Survey and the V-band extinction image provided by the COMPLETE Survey to estimate the dust column density image of Perseus. In combination with the HI data from the Galactic Arecibo L-band Feed Array HI Survey and an estimate of the local dust-to-gas ratio, we then derive the Sigma_H2 distribution across Perseus. We find a relatively uniform Sigma_HI ~ 6-8 Msun pc^-2 for both dark and star-forming regions, suggesting a minimum HI surface density required to shield H2 against photodissociation. As a result, a remarkably tight and consistent relation is found between Sigma_H2/Sigma_HI and Sigma_HI+Sigma_H2. The transition between the HI- and H2-dominated regions occurs at N(HI)+2N(H2) ~ (8-14) x 10^20 cm^-2. Our findings are consistent with predictions for H2 formation in equilibrium, suggesting that turbulence may not be of primary importance for H2 formation. However, the importance of a warm neutral medium for H2 shielding, an internal radiation field, and the timescale of H2 formation still remain as open questions. We also compare H2 and CO distributions and estimate the fraction of "CO-dark" gas, f_DG ~ 0.3. While significant spatial variations of f_DG are found, we do not find a clear correlation with the mean V-band extinction.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

The Remarkable High Pressure of the Local Leo Cold Cloud

Using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope, we have obtained high-resolution ultraviolet spectra of the C I absorption toward two stars behind the Local Leo Cold Cloud (LLCC). At a distance (~20 pc) that places it well inside the Local Bubble, the LLCC is the nearest example of the coldest known (T~20 K) diffuse interstellar clouds. The STIS measurements of the C I fine-structure excitation toward HD 85259 and HD 83023 indicate that the thermal gas pressure of the LLCC is much greater than that of the warm clouds in the Local Bubble. The mean LLCC pressure measured toward these two stars (60,000 cm$^{-3}$ K) implies an H I density of ~3000 cm$^{-3}$ and a cloud thickness of ~200 AU at the 20 K cloud temperature. Such a thin, cold, dense structure could arise at the collision interface between converging flows of warm gas. However, the measured LLCC pressure is appreciably higher than that expected in the colliding cloud interpretation given the velocity and column density constraints on warm clouds in the HD 85259 and HD 83023 sightlines. Additional STIS measurements of the Zn II, Ni II, and Cr II column densities toward HD 85259 indicate that the LLCC has a modest "warm cloud" dust depletion pattern consistent with its low dust-to-gas ratio determined from H I 21 cm and 100 micron observations. In support of the inferred sheet-like geometry for the LLCC, a multi-epoch comparison of the Na I absorption toward a high-proper-motion background star reveals a 40% column density variation indicative of LLCC Na I structure on a scale of ~50 AU.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2011

The Local Leo Cold Cloud and New Limits on a Local Hot Bubble

We present a multi-wavelength study of the local Leo cold cloud (LLCC), a very nearby, very cold cloud in the interstellar medium. Through stellar absorption studies we find that the LLCC is between 11.3 pc and 24.3 pc away, making it the closest known cold neutral medium cloud and well within the boundaries of the local cavity. Observations of the cloud in the 21-cm HI line reveal that the LLCC is very cold, with temperatures ranging from 15 K to 30 K, and is best fit with a model composed of two colliding components. The cloud has associated 100 micron thermal dust emission, pointing to a somewhat low dust-to-gas ratio of 48 x 10^-22 MJy sr^-1 cm^2. We find that the LLCC is too far away to be generated by the collision among the nearby complex of local interstellar clouds, but that the small relative velocities indicate that the LLCC is somehow related to these clouds. We use the LLCC to conduct a shadowing experiment in 1/4 keV X-rays, allowing us to differentiate between different possible origins for the observed soft X-ray background. We find that a local hot bubble model alone cannot account for the low-latitude soft X-ray background, but that isotropic emission from solar wind charge exchange does reproduce our data. In a combined local hot bubble and solar wind charge exchange scenario, we rule out emission from a local hot bubble with an 1/4 keV emissivity greater than 1.1 Snowdens / pc at 3 sigma, 4 times lower than previous estimates. This result dramatically changes our perspective on our local interstellar medium.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2011

Spectral Polarization of the Redshifted 21 cm Absorption Line Toward 3C 286

A re-analysis of the Stokes-parameter spectra obtained of the z=0.692 21 cm absorption line toward 3C 286 shows that our original claimed detection of Zeeman splitting by a line-of-sight magnetic field, B_los = 87 microgauss is incorrect. Because of an insidious software error, what we reported as Stokes V is actually Stokes U: the revised Stokes V spectrum indicates a 3-sigma upper limit of B_los < 17 microgauss. The correct analysis reveals an absorption feature in fractional polarization that is offset in velocity from the Stokes I spectrum by -1.9 km/s. The polarization position-angle spectrum shows a dip that is also significantly offset from the Stokes I feature, but at a velocity that differs slightly from the absorption feature in fractional polarization. We model the absorption feature with 3 velocity components against the core-jet structure of 3C 286. Our chisquare minimization fitting results in components with differing (1) ratios of H I column density to spin temperature, (2) velocity centroids, and (3) velocity dispersions. The change in polarization position angle with frequency implies incomplete coverage of the background jet source by the absorber. It also implies a spatial variation of the polarization position angle across the jet source, which is observed at frequencies higher than the 839.4 MHz absorption frequency. The multi-component structure of the gas is best understood in terms of components with spatial scales of ~100 pc comprised of hundreds of low-temperature (T < 200 K) clouds with linear dimensions of about 1 pc.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

The GALFA-HI Survey: Data Release 1

We present the Galactic Arecibo L-Band Feed Array HI (GALFA-HI) survey, and its first full data release (DR1). GALFA-HI is a high resolution (~ 4'), large area (13000 deg^2), high spectral resolution (0.18 km/s), wide band (-700 < v_LSR < +700 km/s) survey of the Galactic interstellar medium in the 21-cm line hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen conducted at Arecibo Observatory. Typical noise levels are 80 mK RMS in an integrated 1 km/s channel. GALFA-HI is a dramatic step forward in high-resolution, large-area Galactic HI surveys, and we compare GALFA-HI to past, present, and future Galactic HI surveys. We describe in detail new techniques we have developed to reduce these data in the presence of fixed pattern noise, gain variation, and inconsistent beam shapes, and we show how we have largely mitigated these effects. We present our first full data release, covering 7520 square degrees of sky and representing 3046 hours of integration time, and discuss the details of these data.

astro-ph.GA↗