arXiv subjects

J. M. Pittard

Publications and source records attributed to J. M. Pittard.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

First spatially resolved Na I and He I transitions towards an MYSO. Finding new tracers for the gaseous star/disc interface

With steady observational advances, the formation of massive stars is being understood in more detail. Numerical models are converging on a scenario where accretion discs play a key role. Direct observational evidence of such discs at a few au scales is scarce, due to the rarity of such objects and the observational challenges, including the lack of adequate diagnostic lines in the near-IR. We present the analysis of K-band spectro-interferometric observations toward the Massive Young Stellar Object IRAS 13481-6124, which is known to host an accreting dusty disc. Using GRAVITY on the VLTI, we trace the crucial au-scales of the warm inner interface between the star and the accretion dusty disc. We detect and spatially resolve the Na I doublet and He I transitions towards an object of this class for the first time. The new observations in combination with our geometric models allowed us to probe the smallest au-scales of accretion/ejection around an MYSO. We find that Na I originates in the disc at smaller radii than the dust disc and is more compact than any of the other spatially resolved diagnostics (Br$γ$, He I, and CO). Our findings suggest that Na I can be a new powerful diagnostic line in tracing the warm star/disc accreting interface of forming (massive) stars, while the similarities between He I and Br$γ$ point towards an accretion/ejection origin of He I

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arXiv2022

An exploration of dust grain growth within WCd systems using an advected scalar dust model

Dust production is one of the more curious phenomena observed in massive binary systems with interacting winds. The high temperatures, UV photon flux and violent shocks should destroy any dust grains that condense. However, in some extreme cases dust production yields of approximately 30% of the total mass loss rate of the stellar winds have been observed. In order to better understand this phenomenon a parameter space exploration was performed using a series of numerical models of dust producing carbon phase Wolf-Rayet (WCd) systems. These models incorporated a passive scalar dust model simulating dust growth, destruction and radiative cooling. We find that reasonable dust yields were produced by these simulations. Significant changes in the dust yield were caused by changing the mass loss rates of the stars, with a greater mass loss rate contributing to increased dust yields. Similarly, a close orbit between the stars also resulted in higher dust yields. Finally, a high velocity wind shear, which induces Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities and wind mixing, drastically increases the dust yields.

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arXiv2022

Exploring dust growth in the episodic WCd system WR140

The wind collision region (WCR) in a colliding wind binary (CWB) is a particularly violent place, as such, it is surprising that it is also a region where significant quantities of interstellar dust can form. In extreme cases, approximately 30% of the total mass loss rate of a system can be converted into dust. These regions are poorly understood, as observation and simulation of these systems are difficult. In our previous paper we simulated dust growth in CWB systems using an advected scalar model and found our model to be suitable for qualitative study. For this paper we simulated the periodic dust forming CWB (WCd) system WR140 with our dust model, to determine how dust growth changes over the systems periastron passage. We found that dust production increases significantly at periastron passage, which is consistent with IR emission of the surrounding dusty shell. We also find that the dust production rate of the system decreases rapidly as the stars recede from each other, though the rate of decrease is significantly lower than the rate of increase during periastron passage. This was found to be due to strong cooling and its associated thermal instabilities, resulting in cool, high-density pockets of gas in the WCR where dust forms. The WCR also shows a degree of hysteresis, resulting in a radiative post-shock flow even when the stars are separated enough for the region to behave adiabatically.

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arXiv2022

Momentum and energy injection by a wind-blown bubble into an inhomogeneous interstellar medium

We investigate the effect of mass-loading from embedded clouds on the evolution of wind-blown bubbles. We use 1D hydrodynamical calculations and assume that the clouds are numerous enough that they can be treated in the continuous limit, and that rapid mixing occurs so that the injected mass quickly merges with the global flow. The destruction of embedded clouds adds mass into the bubble, increasing its density. Mass-loading increases the temperature of the unshocked stellar wind due to the frictional drag, and reduces the temperature of the hot shocked gas as the available thermal energy is shared between more particles. Mass-loading may increase or decrease the volume-averaged bubble pressure. Mass-loaded bubbles are smaller, have less retained energy and lower radial momentum, but in all cases examined are still able to do significant $PdV$ work on the swept-up gas. In this latter respect, the bubbles more closely resemble energy-conserving bubbles than the momentum-conserving-like behaviour of ``quenched'' bubbles.

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arXiv2022

Shocking interactions of supernova remnants with atomic and molecular clouds -- the interplay between shocks, thermal instability and gravity in the large cloud regime

Using the adaptive mesh refinement code MG, we perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations of a supernova-cloud interaction in the "large cloud regime". The cloud is initially atomic and evolving due to the thermal instability (TI) and gravity. We study interactions in a "pre-TI" and "post-TI" stage when cold and dense clumps are present, and compare these results to idealised shock-cloud scenarios in the "small cloud regime", and a scenario without shocks. On aggregate, the supernova disruption is significantly weaker than that from an idealised shock due to the supernova impact being instantaneous, and not continuous. In both supernova-cloud interactions, we observe two shocks impact the cloud, followed by the development of a weak 10 km s$^{-1}$ upstream flow on the cloud interface, and a global ambient pressure drop. When the cloud is still atomic, it expands due to this drop. Additionally, the TI is triggered at the front of the cloud, causing the formation of a cap-like structure with clumps embedded inside. The upstream flow converges in this region, resulting in a lobe-like cloud morphology. When the cloud is molecular, the transmitted shock disrupts the inter-clump material and causes the clumps' outer envelopes to expand slightly and form tail-like morphologies. These effects are less pronounced than those in our shock-cloud scenarios, and more pronounced that those in our un-shocked scenario. After 3.5 Myrs, the effects from the supernova decay and the cloud returns to an almost indistinguishable state from an un-shocked cloud, in spite of the global ambient pressure drop. In neither supernova-cloud scenario do we see any local gravitational collapse.

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arXiv2021

How D-type HII region expansion depends on numerical resolution

We investigate the resolution dependence of HII regions expanding past their Strömgren spheres. We find that their structure and size, and the radial momentum that they attain at a given time, is in good agreement with analytical expectations if the Strömgren radius is resolved with $dr \leq 0.3\,R_{\rm st}$. If this is not satisfied, the radial momentum may be over- or under-estimated by factors up to 10 or more. Our work has significance for the amount of radial momentum that a HII region can impart to the ambient medium in numerical simulations, and thus on the relative importance of ionizing feedback from massive stars.

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arXiv2021

How to inflate a wind-blown bubble

Stellar winds are one of several ways that massive stars can affect the star formation process on local and galactic scales. In this paper we investigate the numerical resolution needed to inflate an energy-driven stellar wind bubble in an external medium. We find that the radius of the wind injection region, $r_{\rm inj}$, must be below a maximum value, $r_{\rm inj,max}$, in order for a bubble to be produced, but must be significantly below this value if the bubble properties are to closely agree with analytical predictions. The final bubble momentum is within 25 per cent of the value from a higher resolution reference model if $χ= r_{\rm inj}/r_{\rm inj,max}$ = 0.1. Our work has significance for the amount of radial momentum that a wind-blown bubble can impart to the ambient medium in simulations, and thus on the relative importance of stellar wind feedback.

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arXiv2021

Particle acceleration and non-thermal emission in colliding-wind binary systems

We present a model for the creation of non-thermal particles via diffusive shock acceleration in a colliding-wind binary. Our model accounts for the oblique nature of the global shocks bounding the wind-wind collision region and the finite velocity of the scattering centres to the gas. It also includes magnetic field amplification by the cosmic ray induced streaming instability and the dynamical back reaction of the amplified field. We assume that the injection of the ions and electrons is independent of the shock obliquity and that the scattering centres move relative to the fluid at the Alfvén velocity (resulting in steeper non-thermal particle distributions). We find that the Mach number, Alfvénic Mach number, and transverse field strength vary strongly along and between the shocks, resulting in significant and non-linear variations in the particle acceleration efficiency and shock nature (turbulent vs. non-turbulent). We find much reduced compression ratios at the oblique shocks in most of our models compared to our earlier work, though total gas compression ratios that exceed 20 can still be obtained in certain situations. We also investigate the dependence of the non-thermal emission on the stellar separation and determine when emission from secondary electrons becomes important. We finish by applying our model to WR 146, one of the brightest colliding wind binaries in the radio band. We are able to match the observed radio emission and find that roughly 30 per cent of the wind power at the shocks is channelled into non-thermal particles.

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arXiv2020

Interactions of a shock with a molecular cloud at various stages of its evolution due to thermal instability and gravity

Using the adaptive mesh refinement code MG, we perform hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of a shock with a molecular cloud evolving due to thermal instability and gravity. To explore the relative importance of these processes, three case studies are presented. The first follows the formation of a molecular cloud out of an initially quiescent atomic medium due to the effects of thermal instability and gravity. The second case introduces a shock whilst the cloud is still in the warm atomic phase, and the third scenario introduces a shock once the molecular cloud has formed. The shocks accelerate the global collapse of the clouds with both experiencing local gravitational collapse prior to this. When the cloud is still atomic, the evolution is shock dominated and structures form due to dynamical instabilities within a radiatively cooled shell. While the transmitted shock can potentially trigger the thermal instability, this is prevented as material is shocked multiple times on the order of a cloud crushing time-scale. When the cloud is molecular, the post-shock flow is directed via the pre-existing structure through low-density regions in the inter-clump medium. The clumps are accelerated and deformed as the flow induces clump-clump collisions and mergers that collapse under gravity. For a limited period, both shocked cases show a mixture of Kolmogorov and Burgers turbulence-like velocity and logarithmic density power spectra, and strongly varying density spectra. The clouds presented in this work provide realistic conditions that will be used in future feedback studies.

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arXiv2020

Striations, integrals, hourglasses and collapse -- thermal instability driven magnetic simulations of molecular clouds

The MHD version of the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code, MG, has been employed to study the interaction of thermal instability, magnetic fields and gravity through 3D simulations of the formation of collapsing cold clumps on the scale of a few parsecs, inside a larger molecular cloud. The diffuse atomic initial condition consists of a stationary, thermally unstable, spherical cloud in pressure equilibrium with lower density surroundings and threaded by a uniform magnetic field. This cloud was seeded with 10% density perturbations at the finest initial grid level around n=1.1 cm^{-3} and evolved with self-gravity included from the outset. Several cloud diameters were considered (100 pc, 200 pc and 400 pc) equating to several cloud masses (17,000 Msun, 136,000 Msun and 1.1x10^6 Msun). Low-density magnetic-field-aligned striations were observed as the clouds collapse along the field lines into disc-like structures. The induced flow along field lines leads to oscillations of the sheet about the gravitational minimum and an integral-shaped appearance. When magnetically supercritical, the clouds then collapse and generate hourglass magnetic field configurations with strongly intensified magnetic fields, reproducing observational behaviour. Resimulation of a region of the highest mass cloud at higher resolution forms gravitationally-bound collapsing clumps within the sheet that contain clump-frame supersonic (M~5) and super-Alfvenic (M_A~4) velocities. Observationally realistic density and velocity power spectra of the cloud and densest clump are obtained. Future work will use these realistic initial conditions to study individual star and cluster feedback.

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arXiv2020

Colliding-wind binary systems: Diffusive shock acceleration and non-thermal emission

We present a model for the non-thermal emission from a colliding-wind binary. Relativistic protons and electrons are assumed to be accelerated through diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) at the global shocks bounding the wind-wind collision region. The non-linear effects of the back-reaction due to the cosmic ray pressure on the particle acceleration process and the cooling of the non-thermal particles as they flow downstream from the shocks are included. We explore how the non-thermal particle distribution and the keV-GeV emission changes with the stellar separation and the viewing angle of the system, and with the momentum ratio of the winds. We confirm earlier findings that DSA is very efficient when magnetic field amplification is not included, leading to significantly modified shocks. We also find that the non-thermal flux scales with the binary separation in a complicated way and that the anisotropic inverse Compton emission shows only a moderate variation with viewing angle due to the spatial extent of the wind-wind collision.

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arXiv2020

COBRaS: The e-MERLIN 21 cm Legacy survey of Cygnus OB2

The role of massive stars is central to an understanding of galactic ecology. It is important to establish the details of how massive stars provide radiative, chemical, and mechanical feedback in galaxies. Central to these issues is an understanding of the evolution of massive stars, and the critical role of mass loss via strongly structured winds and stellar binarity. Ultimately, massive stellar clusters shape the structure and energetics of galaxies. We aim to conduct high-resolution, deep field mapping at 21cm of the core of the massive Cygnus OB2 association and to characterise the properties of the massive stars and colliding winds at this waveband. We used seven stations of the e-MERLIN radio facility, with its upgraded bandwidth and enhanced sensitivity to conduct a 21cm census of Cygnus OB2. Based on 42 hours of observations, seven overlapping pointings were employed over multiple epochs during 2014 resulting in 1 sigma sensitivities down to ~21microJy and a resolution of ~180mas. A total of 61 sources are detected at 21cm over a ~0.48deg x 0.48deg region centred on the heart of the Cyg OB2 association. Of these 61 sources, 33 are detected for the first time. We detect a number of previously identified sources including four massive stellar binary systems, two YSOs, and several known X-ray and radio sources. We also detect the LBV candidate (possible binary system) and blue hypergiant (BHG) star of Cyg OB2 #12. The 21cm observations secured in the COBRaS Legacy project provide data to constrain conditions in the outer wind regions of massive stars; determine the non-thermal properties of massive interacting binaries; examine evidence for transient sources, including those associated with young stellar objects; and provide unidentified sources that merit follow-up observations. The 21cm data are of lasting value and will serve in combination with other key surveys of Cyg OB2.

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arXiv2020

Search for non-thermal X-ray emission in the colliding wind binary Cyg OB2 #8A

Cyg OB2 #8a is a massive O-type binary displaying strong non-thermal radio emission. Owing to the compactness of this binary, emission of non-thermal X-ray photons via inverse Compton scattering is expected. We first revised the orbital solution for Cyg OB2 #8a using new optical spectra. We then reduced and analysed X-ray spectra obtained with XMM-Newton, Swift, INTEGRAL, and NuSTAR. The analysis of the XMM-Newton and Swift data allows us to better characterise the X-ray emission from the stellar winds and colliding winds region at energies below 10 keV. We confirm the variation of the broad-band light curve of Cyg OB2 #8a along the orbit with, for the first time, the observation of the maximum emission around phase 0.8. The minimum ratio of the X-ray to bolometric flux of Cyg OB2 #8a remains well above the level expected for single O-type stars, indicating that the colliding wind region is not disrupted during the periastron passage. The analysis of the full set of publicly available INTEGRAL observations allows us to refine the upper limit on the non-thermal X-ray flux of the Cyg OB2 region between 20 and 200 keV. Two NuSTAR observations (phases 0.028 and 0.085) allow us to study the Cyg OB2 #8a spectrum up to 30 keV. These data do not provide evidence of the presence of non-thermal X-rays, but bring more stringent constraints on the flux of a putative non-thermal component. Finally, we computed, thanks to a new dedicated model, the anisotropic inverse Compton emission generated in the wind shock region. The theoretical non-thermal emission appears to be compatible with observational limits and the kinetic luminosity computed from these models is in good agreement with the unabsorbed flux observed below 10 keV.

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arXiv2019

The isothermal evolution of a shock-filament interaction

Studies of filamentary structures that are prevalent throughout the interstellar medium are of great significance to a number of astrophysical fields. Here, we present 3D hydrodynamic simulations of shock-filament interactions where the equation of state has been softened to become almost isothermal. We investigate the effect of such an isothermal regime on the interaction (where both the shock and filament are isothermal), and we examine how the nature of the interaction changes when the orientation of the filament, the shock Mach number, and the filament density contrast are varied. We find that only sideways-oriented filaments with a density contrast of $10^2$ form a three-rolled structure, dissimilar to the results of a previous study. Moreover, the angle of orientation of the filament plays a large role in the evolution of the filament morphology: the greater the angle of orientation, the longer and less turbulent the wake. Turbulent stripping of filament material leading to fragmentation of the core occurs in most filaments; however, filaments orientated at an angle of $85^{\circ}$ to the shock front do not fragment and are longer-lived. In addition, values of the drag time are influenced by the filament length, with longer filaments being accelerated faster than shorter ones. Furthermore, filaments in an isothermal regime exhibit faster acceleration than those struck by an adiabatic shock. Finally, we find that the drag and mixing times of the filament increase as the angle of orientation of the filament is increased.

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arXiv2019

Sheets, filaments and clumps - high resolution simulations of how the thermal instability can form molecular clouds

This paper describes 3D simulations of the formation of collapsing cold clumps via thermal instability inside a larger cloud complex. The initial condition was a diffuse atomic, stationary, thermally unstable, 200pc diameter spherical cloud in pressure equilibrium with low density surroundings. This was seeded with 10% density perturbations at the finest initial grid level (0.29pc) around n_H = 1.1cm^{-3} and evolved with self-gravity included. No magnetic field was imposed. Resimulations at a higher resolution of a region extracted from this simulation (down to 0.039pc), show that the thermal instability forms sheets, then filaments and finally clumps. The width of the filaments increases over time, in one particular case from 0.26 to 0.56pc. Thereafter clumps with sizes of around 5pc grow at the intersections of filaments. 21 distinct clumps, with properties similar to those observed in molecular clouds, are found by using the FellWalker algorithm to find minima in the gravitational potential. Not all of these are gravitationally bound, but the convergent nature of the flow and increasing central density suggest they are likely to form stars. Further simulation of the most massive clump shows the gravitational collapse to a density >10^6 cm^{-3}. These results provide realistic initial conditions that can be used to study feedback in individual clumps, interacting clumps and the entire molecular cloud complex.

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arXiv2018

A comparison of shock-cloud and wind-cloud interactions: effect of increased cloud density contrast on cloud evolution

The similarities, or otherwise, of a shock or wind interacting with a cloud of density contras t$ χ= 10$ were explored in a previous paper. Here, we investigate such interactions with clouds of higher density contrast. We compare the adiabatic hydrodynamic interaction of a Mach 10 shock with a spherical cloud of $χ= 10^{3}$ with that of a cloud embedded in a wind with identical parameters to the post-shock flow. We find that initially there are only minor morphological differences between the shock-cloud and wind-cloud interactions, compared to when $χ= 10$. However, once the transmitted shock exits the cloud, the development of a turbulent wake and fragmentation of the cloud differs between the two simulations. On increasing the wind Mach number, we note the development of a thin, smooth tail of cloud material, which is then disrupted by the fragmentation of the cloud core and subsequent `mass-loading' of the flow. We find that the normalized cloud mixing time ($t_{mix}$) is shorter at higher $χ$. However, a strong Mach number dependence on tmix and the normalized cloud drag time, $t'_{drag}$, is not observed. Mach-number-dependent values of $t_{mix}$ and $t'_{drag}$ from comparable shock-cloud interactions converge towards the Mach-number-independent time-scales of the wind-cloud simulations. We find that high $χ$ clouds can be accelerated up to 80-90 per cent of the wind velocity and travel large distances before being significantly mixed. However, complete mixing is not achieved in our simulations and at late times the flow remains perturbed.

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arXiv2018

Colliding Stellar Winds Structure and X-ray Emission

We investigate the structure and X-ray emission from the colliding stellar winds in massive star binaries. We find that the opening angle of the contact discontinuity (CD) is overestimated by several formulae in the literature at very small values of the wind momentum ratio. We find also that the shocks in the primary (dominant) and secondary winds flare by approx 20 degrees compared to the CD, and that the entire secondary wind is shocked when the wind momentum ratio < 0.02. Analytical expressions for the opening angles of the shocks, and the fraction of each wind that is shocked, are provided. We find that the X-ray luminosity scales with the wind momentum ratio, and that the spectrum softens slightly as the wind momentum ratio decreases.

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arXiv2018

A new mechanical stellar wind feedback model for the Rosette Nebula

The famous Rosette Nebula has an evacuated central cavity formed from the stellar winds ejected from the 2-6 million-year-old co-distant and co-moving central star cluster NGC 2244. However, with upper age estimates of less than 110,000 years, the central cavity is too young compared to NGC 2244 and existing models do not reproduce its properties. A new proper motion study herein using Gaia data reveals the ejection of the most massive star in the Rosette, HD46223, from NGC 2244 occurred 1.73 (+0.34,-0.25)Myr (1$σ$ uncertainty) in the past. Assuming this ejection was at the birth of the most massive stars in NGC 2244, including the dominant centrally positioned HD46150, the age is set for the famous ionised region at more than ten times that derived for the cavity. Here, we are able to reproduce the structure of the Rosette Nebula, through simulation of mechanical stellar feedback from a 40M$_{\odot}$ star in a thin sheet-like molecular cloud. We form the 135,000M$_{\odot}$ cloud from thermally-unstable diffuse interstellar medium under the influence of a realistic background magnetic field with thermal/magnetic pressure equilibrium. Properties derived from a snapshot of the simulation at 1.5Myr, including cavity size, stellar age, magnetic field and resulting inclination to the line of sight, match those derived from observations. An elegant explanation is thus provided for the stark contrast in age estimates based on realistic diffuse ISM properties, molecular cloud formation and stellar wind feedback.

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