arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Garrelt Mellema.
Energy released by a small fraction of the baryons in the universe, which condensed out of while the IGM was cold, dark, and neutral,reheated and reionized it, exposing gas clouds within it to the glare of ionizing radiation. The first gas dynamical simulations of the photoevaporation of an intergalactic cloud by a quasar, including radiative transfer, are presented, along with a few observational diagnostics.
We study the evolution of dense neutral clumps located in the outer parts of planetary nebulae. These clumps will be photo-ionized by the ionizing radiation from the central star and change their structure in the process. The main effect of the ionization process is the setting up of a photo-evaporation flow and a shock running through the clump. Once this shock has moved through the entire clump it starts to accelerate because of the `rocket effect'. This continues until the entire clump has been photo-ionized. We present an analytic model for the shock and accelerating phases and also the results of numerical simulations which include detailed microphysics. We find a good match between the analytic description and the numerical results and use the numerical results to produce some of the clump's observational characteristics at different phases of its evolution. We compare the results with the properties of the fast moving low ionization knots (ansae or FLIERs) seen in a number of planetary nebulae. We find that the models match many of the kinematic and emission properties of FLIERs.
We present the results of numerical hydrodynamic models for the collimation of outflows from young stellar objects. We show that the presence of a toroidal environment can lead to efficient formation of jets and bipolar outflows from initially uncollimated central winds. The interaction between the wind and the environment leads to two types of collimation, one which is dominated by radiative cooling effects, and one which works when cooling is less efficient. We describe the two types of jets as they appear in the simulations and we suggest a description for the long term evolution of these structures in more realistic time-dependent wind sources.
Using a radiation-hydrodynamics code I follow the formation of planetary nebulae around stars of different mass. Because a more massive central star evolves much faster than a lower mass one, it is to be expected that this will affect the formation of the PN. For the stars I use the evolutionary tracks for remnants with masses of 0.605 M0 and 0.836 M0, taken from Bloecker (1995). The AGB wind is assumed to be concentrated in a thin disk, which in models without evolving stars leads to the formation of a bipolar nebula. I find that in the case of the 0.836 M0 remnant the nebula indeed acquires a bipolar shape, whereas for the 0.605 M0 remnant the shape is more elliptical. The reason for this is the time it takes to ionize the AGB material; if this happens sufficiently slowly the density distribution in the AGB wind will be smoothed out, leading to more elliptical shapes. If it happens quickly, the original density distribution (in this case a thin disk) is hardly affected. This result suggests that lower mass central stars will less easily produce bipolar nebulae, which is supported by observations.
We explore the physics of time-dependent hydrodynamic collimation of jets from Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). Using parameters appropriate to YSOs we have carried out high resolution hydrodynamic simulations modeling the interaction of a central wind with an environment characterized by a moderate opening angle toroidal density distribution. The results show that the the wind/environment interaction produces strongly collimated supersonic jets. The jet is composed of shocked wind gas. Using analytical models of wind blown bubble evolution we show that the scenario studied here should be applicable to YSOs and can, in principle, initiate collimation on the correct scales (R ~ 100 AU). The simulations reveal a number of time-dependent non-linear features not anticipated in previous analytical studies including: a prolate wind shock; a chimney of cold swept-up ambient material dragged into the bubble cavity; a plug of dense material between the jet and bow shocks. We find that the collimation of the jet occurs through both de Laval nozzles and focusing of the wind via the prolate wind shock. Using an analytical model for shock focusing we demonstrate that a prolate wind shock can, by itself, produce highly collimated supersonic jets.
This paper reports the results of the numerical study of the formation of aspherical Planetary Nebulae through the Generalised Interacting Winds Model, taking into account the effects caused by the evolving central star and fast wind. The results show for the first time that aspherical nebulae do form within the required time scale. Consideration of the development of the nebula shows that in the early stages it is the ionization of the aspherical AGB wind that contributes considerably to the shaping of the nebula. Furthermore the passing through of the ionization front may modifies the density distribution in the slow wind, leading to the formation of a surrounding envelope, and sometimes a different morphology for the nebula than was to be expected from the initial conditions. I consider how the different phases of ionization fronts and wind swept bubbles can be observationally distinguished.
We present a numerical method to solve the equations of general relativistic hydrodynamics in a given external gravitational field. The method is based on a generalization of Roe's approximate Riemann solver for the non relativistic Euler equations in Cartesian coordinates. The new method is applied to a set of standard test problems for general relativistic hydrodynamics, and is shown to perform well in comparison to existing numerical schemes. In contrast to existing explicit methods the present method can cope with strong relativistic shocks. By-products are: the characteristic form of the general relativistic Euler equations, a numerical method for special relativity that can deal with strong discontinuities, a numerical scheme for the integration of the Euler equations in an arbitrary coordinate system, possibly under the influence of (external) gravity, and a novel method to incorporate source terms in numerical schemes.
This paper looks into various aspects brought to light by numerical work on the generalized interacting winds model for planetary nebulae. First, a detailed comparison between radiative and non-radiative models is made, showing that one's naive expectations of the effects of radiative heating and cooling are not always true. Secondly, we consider the evolution of the slow wind after it has gotten ionized. It is found that the initial aspherical density distribution is smoothed out after ionization, thus requiring the aspherical nebula to be formed within the first few thousand years of PN evolution. Thirdly, the nature of the flow in the hot bubble is investigated. Both one and two-dimensional numerical models show strong signs of instabilities or turbulent flow in the hot bubble. Although observationally hard to prove or disprove this turbulent structure is critically examined. It is found that although the turbulence is not a numerical artifact, the full three-dimensional picture will most definitely differ from what is found in two dimensions. The implications for the interpretation of the models are discussed. Finally, the issue of the soft X-ray emission from PNe is considered. It is found that soft X-rays originate mainly from the thin interface between the hot bubble and the actual nebula.
The status of numerical hydrodynamical models for Planetary Nebulae is reviewed. Since all of the numerical work is based on the interacting winds model, we start with a description of this model and give an overview of the early analytical and numerical models. Subsequently we address the numerical models which include radiation effects, first of all the ones which neglect any effects of stellar evolution. These `constant environment' models are shown to closely match typical observed nebulae, both in images and kinematic data. This shows that the basic generalized interacting winds model gives a good description of the situation in aspherical PNe. Next we discuss models that do include the effects of stellar and fast wind evolution. This introduces several new effects, the most important of which are the formation of a surrounding attached envelope, and the modification of the expansion of the nebula, which helps in creating aspherical PNe very early on in their evolution. The ionization of the slow wind also leads to a gradual smoothing out of its aspherical character, working against aspherical PNe forming in later stages. Finally we discuss some applications of the model to nebular problems.
Using a radiation-gasdynamics code the evolution of spherical planetary nebulae is followed, while taking into account the evolution of central star and the fast wind. These models show the importance of ionization fronts for the structure of planetary nebulae, especially for the so called multiple shell nebulae (MSPNe). It is shown that the outer shell is formed by the ionization front while the inner shell is swept-up by the fast wind. These models explain the emission profiles of the outer shells as well as their various kinematic properties. Because they are shaped by the ionization front these outer shells only give indirect information on the AGB mass loss history. The models indicate that typical MSPN structures point to mass loss variations during the AGB phase. The ionization also leads to a stalling of the expansion of the nebula, leading to nebulae with expansion ages lower than their evolutionary age. Values for ionized mass and Zanstra temperatures are derived from the models.
We present the results of two-dimensional radiation-gasdynamic simulations of aspherical Planetary Nebulae (PNe) evolution. These simulations were constructed using the Generalized Interacting Stellar Winds (GISW) scenario of Balick (1987) where a fast, tenuous wind from the central star expands into a toroidal, slow, dense wind. We demonstrate that the GISW model can produce a wide range of aspherical flow patterns. We have constructed self-consistent synthetic observations of the models from forbidden line emissivities used in the energy loss term. We present integrated intensity and long-slit spectrum, (Position-Velocity) maps of the models projected at different angles on the sky. These synthetic observations are compared with real intensity and Position-Velocity maps of PNe. We find that there is a very good match between the synthetic and real observations in terms of morphologies, kinematics, and physical conditions. From the results of these simulations we conclude that the GISW scenario can account for most, if not all, PNe morphologies, thus confirming Balick's (1987) conjecture.