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Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino

Publications and source records attributed to Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2004

3-D numerical simulations of rotating jets: The case of the DG Tau microjet

We here present results of three-dimensional Smoothed Particle hydro and magnetohydrodynamics simulations of rotating jets, also including the effects of radiative cooling, precession and velocity variability. Using initial conditions and parameters which are particularly suitable for the DG Tau microjet, we have been able to approximately reproduce its complex knotty morphology and kinematics. We have also obtained radial velocity maps which are in good agreement with the data obtained by Bacciotti et al., thus indicating that their interpretation that the DG Tau microjet is rotating is correct. Finally, we have found that a magnetic field of the order of ~ 0.5 mG is sufficient to collimate the jet against the lateral expansion that is caused by the centrifugal forces.

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arXiv2004

Astrophysical Jets and Outflows

Highly collimated supersonic jets and less collimated outflows are observed to emerge from a wide variety of astrophysical objects. They are seen in young stellar objects (YSOs), proto-planetary nebulae, compact objects (like galactic black holes or microquasars, and X-ray binary stars), and in the nuclei of active galaxies (AGNs). Despite their different physical scales (in size, velocity, and amount of energy transported), they have strong morphological similarities. What physics do they share? These systems either hydrodynamic or magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) in nature and are, as such, governed by non-linear equations. While theoretical models helped us to understand the basic physics of these objects, numerical simulations have been allowing us to go beyond the one-dimensional, steady-state approach extracting vital information. In this lecture, the formation, structure, and evolution of the jets are reviewed with the help of observational information, MHD and purely hydrodynamical modeling, and numerical simulations. Possible applications of the models particularly to YSOs and AGN jets are addressed.

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arXiv2001

Three-dimensional MHD simulations of Radiatively cooling, Pulsed Jets

(Abridged) We here investigate, by means of fully 3-D Smoothed Particle Magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations, the effects of magnetic fields on overdense, radiatively cooling, pulsed jets, using different initial magnetic field topologies and strengths ($B \simeq 260 μ$G-0). The relative differences that have been previously detected in 2-D simulations involving distinct magnetic field configurations are diminished in the 3-D flows. While the presence of toroidal magnetic components can modify the morphology close to the jet head inhibiting its fragmentation in the early jet evolution, as previously reported in the literature, the impact of the pulsed-induced internal knots causes the appearance of a complex morphology at the jet head (as required by the observations of H-H jets) even in the MHD jet models with toroidal components. The detailed structure and emission properties of the internal working surfaces can be also significantly altered by the presence of magnetic fields. The increase of the magnetic field strength improves the jet collimation, and amplifies the density (by factors up to 1.4, and 4) and the Hα$ intensity (by factors up to 4, and 5) behind the knots of jets with helical field and $β\simeq 1-0.1$ (respectively), relative to a non magnetic jet. As a consequence, the corresponding $I_{[SII]}}/I_{H}α}$ ratio (which is frequently used to determine the excitation level of HH objects) can be decreased in the MHD models with toroidal components relative to non-magnetic calculations. We also find that the helical mode of the K-H instability can be triggered in MHD models with helical magnetic fields, causing some jet wiggling. No evidence for the formation of the nose cones is found in the 3-D flows, nor even in the $β\simeq 0.1$ case.

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arXiv2001

Constraints on the Acceleration of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays in Accretion-Induced Collapse Pulsars

(Abridged) We have recently proposed that the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) observed above the GZK limit could be mostly protons accelerated in reconnection sites just above the magnetosphere of newborn millisecond pulsars originated by accretion induced collapse (AIC-pulsars). Although the expected rate of AIC sources in our own Galaxy is very small, our estimates have shown that the observed total flux of UHECRs could be obtained from the integrated contribution from AIC-pulsars of the whole distribution of galaxies located within a distance which is unaffected by the GZK cutoff ($\sim 50 $ Mpc). We presently examine the potential acceleration mechanisms in the magnetic reconnection site and find that first-order Fermi acceleration cannot provide sufficient efficiency (due to synchrotron losses). This leaves the one-shot acceleration via an induced electric field within the reconnection region as the only viable process for UHECR acceleration. We formulate the constraints on both the magnetic field topology and strength in order to accelerate the particles and allow them to freely escape from the system. Under fast reconnection, we find that AIC-pulsars with surface B-fields $10^{12} $ G $< B_{\star} \lesssim $ $10^{15}$ G and spin periods 1 ms $\lesssim P_{\star} < $ 60 ms, are able to accelerate particles to energies $\geq 10^{20} $ eV, but the magnetic field just above the Alfvén surface must be predominantly toroidal for the particles to be allowed to escape from the acceleration zone without being deflected. Synchrotron losses bring potentially important constraints on the B-field geometry of $any$ UHECR accelerators involving compact sources with strong magnetic fields.

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arXiv2001

On the Influence of Magnetic Fields on the Structure of Protostellar Jets

We here present the first results of fully three-dimensional (3-D) MHD simulations of radiative cooling pulsed (time-variable) jets for a set of parameters which are suitable for protostellar outflows. Considering different initial magnetic field topologies in approximate $equipartition$ with the thermal gas, i.e., (i) a longitudinal, and (ii) a helical field, both of which permeating the jet and the ambient medium; and (iii) a purely toroidal field permeating only the jet, we find that the overall morphology of the pulsed jet is not very much affected by the presence of the different magnetic field geometries in comparison to a nonmagnetic calculation. Instead, the magnetic fields tend to affect essentially the detailed structure and emission properties behind the shocks at the head and at the pulse-induced internal knots, particularly for the helical and toroidal geometries. In these cases, we find, for example, that the $H_α$ emissivity behind the internal knots can be about three to four times larger than that of the purely hydrodynamical jet. We also find that some features, like the nose cones that often develop at the jet head in 2-D calculations involving toroidal magnetic fields, are smoothed out or absent in the 3-D calculations.

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arXiv2001

The Effects of Magnetic Fields on Radiative Cooling Jets

We here review the results of recent studies of magnetic field effects on the structure and evolution of overdense, radiative cooling, steady and pulsed jets which were carried out with the help of fully three-dimensional MHD simulations. Three initial magnetic field topologies are considered: (i) a helical and (ii) a longitudinal field, both of which permeate the jet and the ambient medium, and (iii) a pure toroidal field in the jet. Using a set of parameters which is particularly suitable for protostellar jets, we examine the emission structure of the internal knots and the leading working surface and compare with a nonmagnetic baseline and also with 2-D MHD calculations.

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arXiv2000

The deceleration of Giant Herbig-Haro Flows

It has been recently discovered that spatially separated Herbig-Haro objects, once considered unrelated, are linked within a chain that may extend for parsecs in either direction of the embedded protostar forming a "giant Herbig-Haro jet". Presently, several dozen of these giant flows have been detected and the best documented example, the HH~34 system, shows a systematic velocity decrease with distance on either side of the source. In this paper, we have modeled giant jets by performing fully three-dimensional simulations of overdense, radiatively cooling jets modulated with long-period (P $\sim$ several hundred years) and large amplitude sinusoidal velocity variability at injection ($Δv \sim$ mean jet flow velocity). Allowing them to travel over a distance well beyond the source, we have found that multiple travelling pulses develop and their velocity indeed falls off smoothly and systematically with distance. This deceleration is fastest if the jet is pressure-confined, in which case the falloff in velocity is roughly consistent with the observations. The deceleration occurs as momentum is transferred by gas expelled sideways from the traveling pulses. The simulation of a pressure-confined, steady-state jet with similar initial conditions to those of the pulsed jet shows that the flow in this case experiences $acceleration$. This result is thus an additional indication that the primary source of deceleration in the giant flows $cannot$ be attributed to braking of the jet head against the external medium.

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arXiv2000

Magnetic field effects on the thermonuclear combustion front of Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs

The explosion of a type Ia supernova starts in a white dwarf as a laminar deflagration at the center of the star and soon several hydrodynamic instabilities, in particular, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, begin to act. A cellular stationary combustion and a turbulent combustion regime are rapidly achieved by the flame and maintained up to the end of the so-called flamelet regime when the transition to detonation is believed to occur. The burning velocity at these regimes is well described by the fractal model of combustion. Using a semi-analytic approach, we describe the effect of magnetic fields on the fractalization of the front considering a white dwarf with a nearly dipolar magnetic field. We find an intrinsic asymmetry on the velocity field that may be maintained up to the free expansion phase of the remnant. Considering the strongest values inferred for a white dwarf's magnetic fields with strengths up to $10^{8}-10^{9}$ G at the surface and assuming that the field near the centre is roughly 10 times greater, asymmetries in the velocity field higher than $10-20 %$ are produced between the magnetic polar and the equatorial axis of the remnant which may be related to the asymmetries found from recent spectropolarimetric observations of very young SN Ia remnants. Dependence of the asymmetry with white dwarf composition is also analyzed.

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arXiv1999

Three-Dimensional Simulations of Jet/Cloud Interactions: Structure and Kinematics of the Deflected Jets

We report the results of three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of interactions of overdense, radiatively cooling and adiabatic jets with dense, compact clouds in frontal and off-axis collisions. Calculated for a set of parameters which are particularly appropriate to protostellar jets, our results indicate that the interaction produces important transient and permanent effects in the jet morphology. During the interaction, a weak chain of internal knots develops along the deflected beam and the velocity field initially has a complex structure that later evolves to a more uniform distribution. The impact also decreases the beam collimation. This morphology and kinematics is very similar to that observed in systems like the HH110 jet which has been previously proposed to be the deflected part of the HH270 jet. Our simulations also reveal the formation of a head-neck structure at the region of impact which resembles the HH 110 knot A located where the deflectio n is believed to occur. Although very transient, the interactions examined here leave important signatures. The left-overs of the cloud and the knots that are produced in the deflected beam are deposited into the working surface and contribute to enrich the knotty pattern commonly observed in HH objects. Also, the collision may partially destroy the shell at the head producing remarkable asymmetries. A jet undergoing many transient interactions with compact clumps along its propagation and life- time may inject a considerable amount of shocked jet material sideways into the surrounding ambient medium and this may provide a powerful process for momentum transfer and turbulent mixing with the ambient medium (short abs.).

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arXiv1999

Origin and Propagation of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

The existence of cosmic ray particles up to the ultra-high energy limit (> 10^20 eV) is now beyond any doubt. The detection of cosmic particles with such energies imposes a challenge for the comprehension of their sources and nature. On one side, particles with such high energies are difficult to be produced by any astrophysical source. On the other side, the interactions of these particles with photons of the cosmic microwave background cause substantial losses of energy which constraint the maximum distances that the particles are able to travel from the sources to the detectors. Aiming to help to elucidate the problem of UHECR source identification, we have performed 3-D simulations of particle trajectories propagated through the stochastic intergalactic and an extended Galactic halo magnetic fields. Going further, we have also performed simulations of proton and Fe nuclei through the spiral Galactic magnetic field (GMF) and built full-sky maps of their arrival direction distribution in both the detector (after deflection in the GMF) and just outside the Galaxy. In this work we summarize the main results of these investigations.

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arXiv1998

Magnetic Field Effects on the Structure and Evolution of Overdense Radiatively Cooling Jets

We investigate the effect of magnetic fields on the propagation dynamics and morphology of overdense, radiatively cooling, supermagnetosonic jets, with the help of fully three-dimensional SPMHD simulations. Evaluated for a set of parameters which are mainly suitable for protostellar jets (with density ratios between the jet and the ambient medium 3-10, and ambient Mach number ~ 24), these simulations are also compared with baseline non-magnetic and adiabatic calculations. We find that, after amplification by compression and re-orientation in nonparallel shocks at the working surface, the magnetic field that is carried backward with the shocked gas into the cocoon improves the jet collimation relative to the purely hydrodynamic (HD) systems. Low-amplitude, approximately equally spaced internal shocks (which are absent in the HD systems) are produced by MHD K-H reflection pinch modes. The longitudinal field geometry also excites non-axisymmetric helical modes which cause some beam wiggling. The strength and amount of these modes are, however, reduced (by ~ twice) in the presence of radiative cooling relative to the adiabatic cases. Besides, a large density ratio between the jet and the ambient medium also reduces, in general, the number of the internal shocks. As a consequence, the weakness of the induced internal shocks makes it doubtful that the magnetic pinches could produce by themselves the bright knots observed in the overdense, radiatively cooling protostellar jets.

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arXiv1997

Magnetic Field Effects on the Head Structure of Protostellar Jets

We present the results of 3-D SPMHD numerical simulations of supermagnetosonic, overdense, radiatively cooling jets. Two initial magnetic configurations are considered: (i) a helical and (ii) a longitudinal field. We find that magnetic fields have important effects on the dynamics and structure of radiative cooling jets, especially at the head. The presence of a helical field suppresses the formation of the clumpy structure which is found to develop at the head of purely hydrodynamical jets. On the other hand, a cooling jet embedded in a longitudinal magnetic field retains clumpy morphology at its head. This fragmented structure resembles the knotty pattern commonly observed in HH objects behind the bow shocks of HH jets. This suggests that a strong (equipartition) helical magnetic field configuration is ruled out at the jet head. Therefore, if strong magnetic fields are present, they are probably predominantly longitudinal in those regions. In both magnetic configurations, we find that the confining pressure of the cocoon is able to excite short-wavelength MHD K-H pinch modes that drive low-amplitude internal shocks along the beam. These shocks are not strong however, and it likely that they could only play a secondary role in the formation of the bright knots observed in HH jets.

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arXiv1997

Deflection of ultra high energy cosmic rays by the galactic magnetic field: from the sources to the detector

We report the results of 3D simulations of the trajectories of ultra-high energy protons and Fe nuclei (with energies $E = 4 \times 10^{19}$ and $2.5 \times 10^{20} eV$) propagating through the galactic magnetic field from the sources to the detector. A uniform distribution of anti-particles is backtracked from the detector, at the Earth, to the halo of the Galaxy. We assume an axisymmetric, large scale spiral magnetic field permeating both the disc and the halo. A normal field component to the galactic plane ($B_z$) is also included in part of the simulations. We find that the presence of a large scale galactic magnetic field does not generally affect the arrival directions of the protons, although the inclusion of a $B_z$ component may cause significant deflection of the lower energy protons ($E = 4 \times 10^{19} $ eV). Error boxes larger than or equal to $\sim 5^{\circ}$ are most expected in this case. On the other hand, in the case of heavy nuclei, the arrival direction of the particles is strongly dependent on the coordinates of the particle source. The deflection may be high enough ($> 20^{\circ}$) as to make extremely difficult any identification of the sources unless the real magnetic field configuration is accurately determined. Moreover, not every incoming particle direction is allowed between a given source and the detector. This generates sky patches which are virtually unobservable from the Earth. In the particular case of the UHE events of Yakutsk, Fly's Eye, and Akeno, they come from locations for which the deflection caused by the assumed magnetic field is not significant.

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arXiv1996

Non-Diffusive Propagation of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

We report the results of 3-D simulations of non-diffusive propagation of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) (E > 10^{20} eV) through the intergalactic and extended halo media. We quantify the expected angular and temporal correlations between the events and the sources, and the temporal delay between protons and gamma-ray counterparts with a common origin for both halo and extragalactic origins. It is shown that the proposed UHECR-supergalactic plane source associations require either extremely high values of the halo magnetic field over as much as 100 kpc length scale or a very large correlation length for the IGM, even for the largest possible values of the intergalactic magnetic field. It can be stated that the UHECR seem to point to the sources even more strongly than previously believed. The simulations also show that the calculated time delays between UHE protons and gamma-ray counterparts do not match the claimed GRB-UHECR associations for either cosmological or extended halo distance scales.

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arXiv1996

3-D Simulations of Protostellar Jets in Stratified Ambient Media

We present fully three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of radiative cooling jets propagating into stratified isothermal ambient media with power-law density and pressure distributions. The parameters used are mainly suitable for protostellar jets but results applicable to extragalactic jets are also presented. Comparisons are made with previous simulations of jets through homogeneous media. We find that for radiative cooling jets propagating into regions where the ambient medium has an increasing density (and pressure) gradient, the ambient gas tends to compress the cold, low-pressure cocoon of shocked material that surrounds the beam and destroy the bow shock-like structure at the head. The compressing medium collimates the jet and promotes the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities which cause beam focusing, wiggling and the formation of internal traveling shocks, $close$ $to$ $the$ $head$, via pinching along the beam. This remarkably resembles the structure of some observed systems (e.g. Haro 6-5B northern and HH 24G jets). These effects are larger for jets with smaller density ratio between jet and environment $η$ (tested for $η$=1, 3, and 10) and larger Mach number $M_a=v_j/c_a$ (tested for $M_a=$12 and 24, where $v_j$ is the jet velocity and $c_a$ the ambient sound speed). In an ambient medium of decreasing density (and pressure), the beam is poorly collimated and relaxes, becoming faint. This could explain ''invisible'' jet sections, like the gap between the parent source and collimated beam (e.g., in HH30 jet). Although, on average, jets propagating into an increasing (decreasing) density environment are decelerated (accelerated) by the increasing (decreasing) ram pressure of the ambient medium, we find that their propagation velocities have an oscillating pattern.

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arXiv1995

Protostellar Jets: The Best Laboratories for Investigating Astrophysical Jets

Highly collimated supersonic jets are observed to emerge from a wide variety of astrophysical objects, ranging from Active Nuclei of Galaxies (AGN's) to Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) within our own Galaxy. Despite their different physical scales (in size, velocity, and amount of energy transported), they have strong morphological similarities. Thanks to the proximity and relatively small timescales, which permit direct observations of evolutionary changes, YSO jets are, perhaps, the best laboratories for cosmic jet investigation. In this lecture, the formation, structure, and evolution of the YSO jets are reviewed with the help of observational information, MHD and purely hydrodynamical modeling, and numerical simulations. Possible applications of the models to AGN jets are also addressed.

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