arXiv subjects

Lucia Härer

Publications and source records attributed to Lucia Härer.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A cosmic-ray loaded nascent outflow driven by a massive star cluster

Cosmic rays are widely held to drive outflows from star-forming galaxies and profoundly influence galaxy evolution. Direct evidence for cosmic-ray carrying outflows is however lacking. At the same time there is increasing awareness of the importance of massive star clusters in the acceleration of cosmic rays in galaxies. Here we report on the discovery of a nascent outflow driven by the massive star cluster Westerlund 1. Giga-electronvolt gamma-ray emission coincident with a cavity visible in atomic hydrogen traces the emergence of a population of relativistic electrons out of the Galactic Disc. The emission is offset from tera-electronvolt gamma-ray radiation surrounding the cluster, but connects to it smoothly spectrally and spatially. The implied energy density of co-accelerated protons and nuclei, assuming standard non-thermal electron/proton injection efficiencies, is at least an order of magnitude higher than that in the general interstellar medium. These particles therefore have the potential to dynamically influence the outflow. This discovery suggests that cosmic-ray loaded outflows may be a common feature of young massive star clusters, with implications for the transport of cosmic rays into the halo of the Galaxy.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

How interacting winds shape the mechanical feedback of massive star clusters over millions of years

In recent years, massive star cluster environments have proved to be bright sources of very-high energy gamma-rays, in particular young clusters which are powered by the winds interacting in their cores. In order to understand how these winds can accelerate particles up to very-high energies, it is necessary to model their interactions from small (sub-pc) to large (10s of pc) scales over several millions of years. A key open question concerns the structure and properties of the resulting wind termination shock. By performing 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of clustered winds embedded in a superbubble cavity, we demonstrate that the dynamics of stellar wind interactions and the resulting shock structure solely depends on the density and pressure of the cavity. This implies that the initial conditions of the simulation can be tuned in order to simulate star clusters of arbitrary age at a reduced computational cost. This novel method is validated using a toy cluster hosting 30 identical stars. We discuss the properties of the resulting cluster-wind termination shock under various assumptions. In particular, we are able for the first time to obtain a fully decoupled spherical wind termination shock for a 5 Myr old cluster. We further show that radiative cooling increases the sphericity of the shock. In general, the morphology of the outflow depends on the number of dominant stars, on the power of the stars sitting at the edge of the cluster core, and on the compactness of the cluster. We additionally show how a semi-analytical model can be used in order to estimate key morphological properties of the outflow without relying on large-scale simulations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Stellar-wind feedback and magnetic fields around young compact star clusters: 3D MHD simulations

Context: The environments of young star clusters are shaped by the interactions of the powerful winds of massive stars, and their feedback on the cluster birth cloud. Several such clusters show diffuse gamma-ray emission on the degree scale, which hints at ongoing particle acceleration. Aims: To date, particle acceleration and transport in star-cluster environments are not well understood. A characterisation of magnetic fields and flow structures is necessary to progress toward physical models. Previous work has largely focused on 100 pc scale feedback or detailed modelling of wind interaction of just a few stars. We aim to bridge this gap. We focus in particular on compact clusters to study collective effects arising from stellar-wind interaction. Objects in this class include Westerlund 1 and R136. Methods: We perform 3D ideal-MHD simulations of compact, young, massive star clusters. Stellar winds are injected kinetically for 46 individual very massive stars (M > 40 Msun), distributed in a spherical region of radius 0.6 - 1 pc. We include a sub-population of five magnetic stars with increased dipole field strengths of 0.1 - 1 kG. We study the evolving superbubble over several 100 kyrs. Results: The bulk flow and magnetic fields show an intricate, non-uniform morphology, which is critically impacted by the relative position of individual stars. The cluster wind terminates in a strong shock, which is non-spherical and, like the flow, has non-uniform properties. The magnetic field is both composed of highly tangled sections and coherent quasi-radial field-line bundles. Steep particle spectra in the TeV domain arise naturally from the variation of magnetic field magnitude over the cluster-wind termination shock. This finding is consistent with gamma-ray observations. The scenario of PeV particle acceleration at the cluster-wind termination shock is deemed unlikely.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Hydrodynamic simulation of Cygnus OB2: the absence of a cluster wind termination shock

We perform a large-scale hydrodynamic simulation of a massive star cluster whose stellar population mimics that of the Cygnus OB2 association. The main-sequence stars are first simulated during 1.6 Myr, until a quasi-stationary state is reached. At this time the three Wolf-Rayet stars observed in Cygnus OB2 are added to the simulation, which continues to 2 Myr. Using a high-resolution grid in the centre of the domain, we can resolve the most massive stars individually, which allows us to probe the kinetic structures at small (parsec) scales. We find that, although the cluster excavates a spherical "superbubble" cavity, the stellar population is too loosely distributed to blow a large-scale cluster wind termination shock, and that collective effects from wind-wind interactions are much less efficient than usually assumed. This challenges our understanding of the ultra-high energy emission observed from the region.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

On the inefficiency of particle re-acceleration mechanisms in the cores of massive stellar clusters

We consider scenarios for non-thermal particle acceleration and re-acceleration in the central cores of compact massive star clusters, aided by insights from high resolution hydrodynamic simulations. We show that i) particles are unlikely to interact with many shocks during their lifetimes in the core; ii) colliding flows do not produce hard spectra; iii) turbulent re-acceleration in the core is suppressed. Inefficient re-acceleration mechanisms are not expected to produce hard components nor to increase the maximum energy within the cores of massive star clusters. Models in which the observed ultra-high energy gamma rays originate in the core of massive stellar clusters are thus disfavoured.

astro-ph.HE↗