arXiv subjects

J. Christopher Howk

Publications and source records attributed to J. Christopher Howk.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

Ionization Properties and Elemental Abundances in Damped Ly alpha Systems

We analyze extant data of Al++, Al+ and other low ions with the aim of studying the ionization properties of Damped Ly alpha systems (DLAs) from the analysis of the ratio R(Al++/Al+) = N(Al++)/N(Al+). We find good correlations logN(Al+)-logN(Si+) and logN(Al+)-logN(Fe+) that we use to indirectly estimate N(Al+) from N(Si+) and/or N(Fe+) measurements. In this way we determine the ratio R(Al++/Al+) for a sample of 20 DLAs. Contrary to common belief, the ratio can attain relatively high values (up to 0.6), suggesting that gas of intermediate ionization state plays an important role in DLAs. On the other hand, the lack of any trend between abundance ratios, such as Si/H and Si/Fe, and R(Al++/Al+) indicates that abundances are not severely influenced by ionization effects. We find a logR(Al++/Al+) - logN(H I) anticorrelation that we use, in conjunction with idealized photoionization equilibrium calculations, to constrain the ionization properties and to predict ionization corrections in DLAs. We consider two possible origins for the species of low and intermediate ionization state: (1) neutral regions devoid of Al++ and/or (2) partially ionized, (Al++)-bearing regions. The logR(Al++/Al+) - logN(H I) anticorrelation can be naturally explained in terms of a two-region model with a soft, stellar-type ionizing radiation field. We present abundance ionization corrections for 14 elements of astrophysical interest derived with different types of ionizing spectra. For most of these elements the corrections are generally below measurements errors, contrary to the predictions of recent models presented in the literature. We briefly discuss the potential effects of inaccuracies of the Al recombination rates used in the photoionization calculations.

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arXiv2000

FUSE Observations of Atomic Abundances and Molecular Hydrogen in the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream

We present Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer observations of the atomic and molecular absorption in high velocity cloud HVC 287.5+22.5+240, which lies in front of the ultraviolet-bright nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3783. We detect H2, N I, N II, Si II, and Fe II absorption and set limits on the amount of absorption due to P III, Ar I, and Fe III. We extend the earlier metallicity and dust-depletion measurements made by Lu and collaborators by examining the relative gas-phase abundances of Si, P, S, and Fe. Corrections to the derived gas-phase abundances due to ionized gas in the HVC are less than 15%. The HVC has a metallicity of 0.2-0.4 solar, similar to that of the Small Magellanic Cloud. The relative abundance pattern for the elements studied resembles that of warm gas in the SMC, which supports the idea that this HVC is part of the tidally stripped Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream. The abundance pattern implies that the HVC contains dust grains that have been processed significantly. It is likely that the grain mantles have been modified or stripped back to expose the grain cores. We have identified more than 30 lines of H2 arising in the HVC from rotational levels J = 0 to J = 3. Synthetic spectra and a curve-of-growth fit to these lines with b = 12 km/sec indicate that log N(H2) = 16.80+/-0.10 and f(H2) = 2N(H2)/[N(H I)+2N(H2)] = 0.0016. From an analysis of the H2 rotational populations, we find an absorption rate (at 1000 A) that is less than one-tenth the average value in the solar neighborhood. The presence of molecular gas in the HVC requires that either the H2 formed in situ or that molecules formed within the SMC survived tidal stripping. We favor the latter possibility because of the long formation time derived for molecules in this HVC.

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arXiv2000

Empirical Verification of the Fe II Oscillator Strengths in the FUSE Bandpass

We report empirical determinations of atomic oscillator strengths, or f-values, for 11 ground-state transitions of Fe II in the wavelength range 1050 to 1150 Ang. We use ultraviolet absorption line observations of interstellar material towards stars in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds taken with Copernicus, the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on-board the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. We derive absolute oscillator strengths by a combination of the apparent optical depth, component fitting, and curve-of-growth fitting techniques. Our derived oscillator strengths are generally in excellent agreement with recent theoretical calculations by Raassen & Uylings using the orthogonal operator technique. However, we identify three of the eleven transitions studied here whose f-values seem to be incompatible with these calculations, by as much as a factor of two. We suggest revisions to these f-values based upon our analysis.

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arXiv2000

The Abundance of Interstellar Boron

We use new Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and archival Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) observations to study interstellar B II 1362 and O I 1355 absorption along seven sightlines. Our new column density measurements, combined with measurements of four sightlines from the literature, allow us to study the relative B/O abundances over a wide range of interstellar environments. We measure sightline-integrated relative gas-phase abundances in the range [B/O] = -1.00 to -0.17, and our data show the B/O abundances are anticorrelated with average sightline densities over the range log ~ -1.3 to +0.7. Detailed comparisons of the B II and O I line shapes show that the B/O ratio is significantly higher in warm interstellar clouds than in cool clouds. These results are consistent with the incorporation of boron into dust grains in the diffuse ISM. Since boron is likely incorporated into grains, we derive a lower limit to the present-day total (gas+dust) interstellar boron abundance of B/H > (2.5+/-0.9)x10^-10. The effects of dust depletion and ionization differences from element to element will make it very difficult to reliably determine 11B/10B along most interstellar sightlines.

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arXiv1999

Background and Scattered Light Subtraction in the High-Resolution Echelle Modes of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

We present a simple, effective approach for estimating the on-order backgrounds of spectra taken with the highest-resolution modes of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on-board the Hubble Space Telescope. Our scheme for determining the on-order background spectrum uses polynomial fits to the inter-order scattered light visible in the two-dimensional STIS MAMA images. We present a suite of high-resolution STIS spectra to demonstrate that our background subtraction routine produces the correct overall zero point, as judged by the small residual flux levels in the centers of strongly-saturated interstellar absorption lines. Although there are multiple sources of background light in STIS echelle mode data, this simple approach works very well for wavelengths longward of Lyman-alpha. At shorter wavelengths, the smaller order separation and generally lower signal-to-noise ratios of the data can reduce the effectiveness of our background estimation procedure. Slight artifacts in the background-subtracted spectrum can be seen in some cases, particularly at wavelengths <1300 Ang. Most of these are caused by echelle scattering of strong spectral features into the inter-order light. We discuss the limitations of high-resolution STIS data in light of the uncertainties associated with our background subtraction procedure. We compare our background-subtracted STIS spectra with GHRS Ech-A observations of the DA white dwarf G191-B2B and GHRS first-order G160M observations of the early-type star HD 218915. We find no significant differences between the GHRS data and the STIS data reduced with our method in either case.

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arXiv1999

Stagnation and Infall of Dense Clumps in the Stellar Wind of tau Scorpii

Observations of the B0.2V star tau Scorpii have revealed unusual stellar wind characteristics: red-shifted absorption in the far-ultraviolet O VI resonance doublet up to +250 km/s, and extremely hard X-ray emission implying gas at temperatures in excess of 10^7 K. We describe a phenomenological model to explain these properties. We assume the wind of tau Sco consists of two components: ambient gas in which denser clumps are embedded. The clumps are optically thick in the UV resonance lines primarily responsible for accelerating the ambient wind. The reduced acceleration causes the clumps to slow and even infall, all the while being confined by the ram pressure of the outflowing ambient wind. We calculate detailed trajectories of the clumps in the ambient stellar wind, accounting for a line radiation driving force and the momentum deposited by the ambient wind in the form of drag. We show these clumps will fall back towards the star with velocities of several hundred km/sec for a broad range of initial conditions. The infalling clumps produce X-ray emitting plasmas with temperatures in excess of (1-6)x10^7 K in bow shocks at their leading edge. The infalling material explains the peculiar red-shifted absorption wings seen in the O VI doublet. The required mass loss in clumps is 3% - 30% ofthe total mass loss rate. The model developed here can be generally applied to line-driven outflows with clumps or density irregularities. (Abstract Abridged)

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arXiv1999

The Multiphase Halo of NGC 891: WIYN H-alpha and BVI Imaging

We present new, deep optical images (BVI+H-alpha) of the interstellar medium (ISM) far above the plane of NGC 891. These sub-arcsecond images give a direct visual view of two physically distinct ``phases'' of the thick interstellar disk of this galaxy. A dense phase of the thick disk ISM is observed in our BVI images as highly-structured dust-bearing clouds viewed against the stellar light of the galaxy. These structures are traceable to heights |z|=2 kpc from the midplane. Very few highly-structured dust features are present at |z|>2 kpc. The more prominent dust structures have gas masses in excess of 10^5 solar masses, each having visual extinctions well in excess of unity. A warm ionized phase of the high-z ISM is observed through its well-studied H-alpha emission. Our images of the well-studied diffuse ionized medium, to date the highest-resolution observations of this phase of the ISM in NGC 891, show it is relatively smoothly distributed with some filamentary structure superposed on this smooth background. There is little correspondence between the H-alpha emitting material and the absorbing dust structures. These two phases of the multiphase high-z ISM are physically distinct. The H-alpha emission is being heavily extincted in many places by the dense dust-bearing medium. Our H-alpha observations show evidence for several discrete H II regions at large distances from the midplane (to |z|=2 kpc). The presence of these H II regions in the thick disk of NGC 891 suggests that on-going star formation may be present in some of the dense, high-z clouds visible in our images. (Abstract Abridged)

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arXiv1999

Extraplanar Dust in Spiral Galaxies: Observations and Implications

Recent optical and submillimeter observations have begun to probe the existence of dust grains in the halos of spiral galaxies. I review our own work in this area which employs high-resolution optical images of edge-on spiral galaxies to trace high-z dust in absorption against the background stellar light of the galaxies. We have found that a substantial fraction of such galaxies (>50%) show extensive webs of dust-bearing clouds to heights z>2 kpc. Extraplanar dust in galaxies is statistically correlated with extraplanar diffuse ionized gas, though there is no evidence for a direct, physical relationship between these two phases of the high-z interstellar medium. The dense high-z clouds individually have masses estimated to be >10^5} to 10^6 solar masses. The detailed properties of the observed dust structures suggest the clouds seen in our images may represent the dense phase of a multiphase ISM at high-z. Such dense clouds can have an important effect on the observed light distribution in spiral galaxies. I discuss the effects such high-z dust can have on quantitative measures of the vertical structure of stars and ionized gas in edge-on systems.

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arXiv1999

Modeling the Warm Ionized Interstellar Medium and Its Impact on Elemental Abundance Studies

We present model calculations of ionization fractions for elements in the warm (log T = 4), low-density photoionized interstellar medium (WIM) of the Milky Way. We model the WIM as a combination of overlapping low-excitation H II regions having n(HII)/n(H) > 0.8. Our standard model incorporates an intrinsic elemental abundance pattern similar to that found for warm neutral clouds in the Galaxy and includes the effects of interstellar dust grains. The radiation field is characterized by an ionizing spectrum of a star with T ~ 35,000 K and an ionization parameter log(q) ~ -4.0. The emergent emission line strengths are in agreement with the observed ratios of [SII]/Halpha, [NII]/Halpha, [SII]/[NII], [OI]/Halpha, [OIII]/Halpha, and He I/Halpha in the Galactic WIM. Although the forbidden emission-line intensities depend strongly upon the input model parameters, the ionization fractions of the 20 elements studied in this work are robust over a wide range of physical conditions considered in the models. These ionization fractions have direct relevance to absorption-line determinations of the elemental abundances in the warm neutral and ionized gases in the Milky Way and other late-type galaxies. We demonstrate a method for estimating the WIM contributions to the observed column densities of singly and doubly ionized atoms used to derive abundances in the warm neutral gas. We apply this approach to study the gas-phase abundances of the warm interstellar clouds toward the halo star HD 93521.

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arXiv1999

Ionized Gas in Damped Lyman-alpha Systems and Its Effects on Elemental Abundance Studies

Recent high-resolution observations of metal absorption lines in high-redshift damped Ly-alpha systems have shown that Al III, a tracer of moderately-ionized gas, very often has a velocity structure indistinguishable from that of low-ionization gas. Regions of ionized and neutral hydrogen in these systems are likely cospatial. The higher-ionization Si IV and C IV absorption shows a much weaker or non-existent correlation with the low ionization material, implying that the regions traced by Al III are photoionized by a soft (stellar) spectrum, by a hard (power law) spectrum with a very low ionization parameter, or a combination of both. We discuss the ionization of the damped Ly-alpha systems and use photoionization equilibrium models to make quantitative estimates of its effects on abundance studies in these systems. We show that ionization effects may be large enough to account for the observed dispersion in absolute metal abundances in damped Ly-alpha systems, causing systematically higher abundances in lower column density systems. The observed Si^+/Fe^+ and Zn^+/Cr^+ ratios may systematically overestimate the intrinsic Si/Fe and Zn/Cr ratios, respectively, if ionized gas is present in these systems, thereby mimicking the effects of alpha-element enrichment or dust depletion.

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arXiv1999

Abundances and Physical Conditions in the Warm Neutral Medium Towards mu Columbae

We present ultraviolet interstellar absorption line measurements for the sightline towards the O9.5 V star mu Columbae obtained with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. These archival data represent the most complete GHRS interstellar absorption line measurements for any line of sight towards an early-type star. The 3.5 km/s resolution of the instrument allow us to accurately derive the gas-phase column densities of many important ionic species in the diffuse warm neutral medium using a combination of apparent column density and component fitting techniques, and we study in detail the contamination from ionized gas along this sightline. The low-velocity material shows gas-phase abundance patterns similar to the warm cloud (cloud A) towards the disk star zeta Oph, while the component at v = +20.1 km/s shows gas-phase abundances similar to those found in warm halo clouds. We find the velocity-integrated gas-phase abundances of Zn, P, and S relative to H along this sightline are indistinguishable from solar system abundances. We discuss the implications of our gas-phase abundance measurements for the composition of interstellar dust. The relative ionic column density ratios of the intermediate velocity components show the imprint both of elemental incorporation into grains and (photo)ionization. The components at v = -30 and -48 km/s along this sightline likely trace shocked gas with very low hydrogen column densities. Appendices include a new derivation of the GHRS instrumental line spread function, and a new very accurate determination of the total H I column along this sightline. (Abridged)

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arXiv1999

A Search for Extraplanar Dust in Nearby Edge-On Spirals

We present high resolution BV images of 12 edge-on spiral galaxies observed with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. These images were obtained to search for extraplanar (|z| > 0.4 kpc) absorbing dust structures similar to those previously found in NGC 891 (Howk & Savage 1997). Our imaged galaxies include a sample of seven massive L_*-like spiral galaxies within D<25 Mpc that have inclinations i > 87 deg from the plane of the sky. We find that five of these seven systems show extraplanar dust, visible as highly-structured absorbing clouds against the background stellar light of the galaxies. The more prominent structures are estimated to have associated gas masses >10^5 M_sun; the implied potential energies are > 10^(52) ergs. All of the galaxies in our sample that show detectable halpha emission at large z also show extraplanar dust structures. None of those galaxies for which extraplanar halpha searches were negative show evidence for extensive high-z dust. The existence of extraplanar dust is a common property of massive spiral galaxies. We discuss several mechanisms for shaping the observed dust features, emphasizing the possibility that these dusty clouds represent the dense phase of a multiphase medium at high-z in spiral galaxies. The correlation between high-z dust and extraplanar Halpha emission may simply suggest that both trace the high-z interstellar medium in its various forms (or phases), the existence of which may ultimately be driven by vigorous star formation in the underlying disk. (Abstract abridged)

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arXiv1998

Extraplanar Dust and Star Formation in Nearby Edge-On Galaxies

We present high-resolution (<0.7") ground-based images of the edge-on spiral galaxies NGC 891 (D=9.5 Mpc) and NGC 4013 (D=17 Mpc) acquired with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. These BVI + H-alpha images reveal complex webs of dusty interstellar material far above the midplanes of both galaxies (0.5 < |z| < 2 kpc) as discussed previously by Howk & Savage (1997). The dusty high-z clouds, visible in absorption against the background stellar light of the galaxies, have widths 50-100 pc and lengths 100-400 pc. An analysis of their absorbing properties suggests they have A_V > 0.5 - 2.0. If Milky Way gas-to-dust relationships are appropriate, then these structures have gaseous column densities N_H > 10(21) cm(-2), with very large masses (>10(5) - 10(6) solar masses) and gravitational potential energies (> 10(51) - 10(52) ergs relative to z=0). The estimated column densities suggest molecular gas may be present, and with the estimated masses allows for the possibility of star formation in these dusty clouds. Recent star formation is the likely cause of the discrete H II regions, in some cases associated with relatively blue continuum sources, observed at heights 0.6 < |z| < 0.8 kpc above the disks of these galaxies. The presence of early-type stars at high-z in these galaxies may be related to the extraplanar dust structures seen in our images.

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arXiv1998

Dust in the Ionized Medium of the Galaxy: GHRS Measurements of Al III and S III

We present interstellar absorption line measurements of the ions S III and Al III towards six stars using archival Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph data. The ions Al III and S III trace heavily depleted and non-depleted elements, respectively, in ionized gas. We use the photoionization code CLOUDY to derive the ionization correction relating N(Al III)/N(S III) to the gas-phase abundance [Al/S]_i in the ionized gas. For spectral types considered here, the corrections are small and independent of the assumed ionization parameter. Using the results of these photoionization models, we find [Al/S]_i = -1.0 in the ionized gas towards three disk stars. These values of [Al/S]_i (=[Al/H]_i) imply that Al-bearing grains are present in the ionized nebulae around these stars. If the WIM of the Galaxy is photoionized by OB stars, our data for two halo stars imply [Al/S]_i = -0.4 to -0.5 in the WIM and thus the presence of dust grains containing Al in this important phase of the ISM. While photoionization appears to be the most likely origin of the ionization for Al III and S III, we cannot rule out confusion from the presence of hot, collisionally ionized gas along two sightlines. We find that [Al/S]_i in the ionized gas along the six sightlines is anti-correlated with the electron density and average sightline neutral density. The degree of grain destruction in the ionized medium of the Galaxy is not much higher than in the warm neutral medium. The existence of grains in the ionized regions studied here has important implications for the thermal balance of these regions. (Abstract Abridged)

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arXiv1997

Extraplanar Dust in the Edge-On Spiral NGC 891

We present high-resolution (<0.65") optical broad-band images of the edge-on Sb galaxy NGC 891 obtained with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. These BVR images reveal a complex network of hundreds of dust absorbing structures far from the mid-plane of the galaxy. The dust structures have a wide range of morphologies and are clearly visible to |z|<1.5 kpc from the mid-plane. In this paper we discuss the general characteristics of the population of absorbing structures, as well as physical properties of 12 individual features. These 12 structures are characterised by N_H >10^21 cm^-2, with masses estimated to be more than 2x10^5 - 5x10^6 solar masses, assuming Galactic gas-to-dust relationships. The gravitational potential energies of the individual dust structures, given their observed heights and derived masses, lie in the range of 20-200x10^51 ergs. Rough number counts of extraplanar dust features suggest the mass of high-z gas associated with extraplanar dust in NGC 891 likely exceeds 2x10^8 solar masses, or ~2% of the total neutral ISM mass of the galaxy. We discuss several mechanisms which may produce high-z dust structures such as those seen in the images presented here. It is not yet known which of these mechanisms are primarily responsible for the extensive extraplanar dust structures seen in our images. The data presented are part of a larger program to search for and characterize off-plane dust structures in edge-on systems. (Abstract Abridged)

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