arXiv subjects

Michael D. Smith

Publications and source records attributed to Michael D. Smith.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Unique Spectroscopy and Imaging of Mars with JWST

In this document, we summarize the main capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for performing observations of Mars. The distinctive vantage point of JWST at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2) will allow sampling the full observable disk, permitting the study of short-term phenomena, diurnal processes (across the East-West axis) and latitudinal processes between the hemispheres (including seasonal effects) with excellent spatial resolutions (0.07 arcsec at 2 μm). Spectroscopic observations will be achievable in the 0.7-5 μm spectral region with NIRSpec at a maximum resolving power of 2700, and with 8000 in the 1-1.25 μm range. Imaging will be attainable with NIRCam at 4.3 μm and with two narrow filters near 2 μm, while the nightside will be accessible with several filters in the 0.5 to 2 μm. Such a powerful suite of instruments will be a major asset for the exploration and characterization of Mars. Some science cases include the mapping of the water D/H ratio, investigations of the Martian mesosphere via the characterization of the non-LTE CO$_2$ emission at 4.3 μm, studies of chemical transport via observations of the O$_2$ nightglow at 1.27 μm, high cadence mapping of the variability dust and water ice clouds, and sensitive searches for trace species and hydrated features on the Martian surface. In-flight characterization of the instruments may allow for additional science opportunities.

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arXiv2014

Molecular jets in the DR21/W75N high-mass star-forming region

Molecular jets have been discovered in large numbers, spread throughout star formation regions. They can usually be traced back to embedded driving protostars. We here investigate a squadron of such molecular hydrogen jets in the DR21/W75N region through echelle spectroscopy of the near infrared v=1-0 S(1) emission line centred at 2.122 microns. We detect 79 components, a number of which possess radial velocities in excess of 80 km/s. The majority of the components exhibit blue shifts.The regions closer to DR21 exhibit more blueshifted components suggesting that extinction is important across individual flows and is higher near DR21. We provide a classification scheme for the resulting collection of position-velocity diagrams, including other published data. One prominent class is associated with pairs of shocks well separated in radial velocity. We use hydrodynamic simulations with molecular cooling and chemistry to show that these are associated with Mach discs and bow shocks. We also employ a steady-state bow shock model to interpret other revealing position-velocity diagrams. We consider mechanisms which can generate vibrationally-excited hydrogen molecules moving at speeds well beyond the breakdown speed permitted for shock excitation. We conclude that the molecules have formed within the jets well before being excited by internal shocks triggered by impacts with the ambient clouds. We also note the relatively high number of high blueshifted radial velocity components and argue that these must be associated with high-density molecular jets from Class 0 protostars which are obscured unless we are selectively viewing within a conical cavity containing the jet.

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arXiv2014

Collective outflow from a small multiple stellar system

The formation of high-mass stars is usually accompanied by powerful protostellar outflows. Such high-mass outflows are not simply scaled-up versions of their lower-mass counterparts, since observations suggest that the collimation degree degrades with stellar mass. Theoretically, the origins of massive outflows remain open to question because radiative feedback and fragmentation of the accretion flow around the most massive stars, with M > 15 M_Sun, may impede the driving of magnetic disk winds. We here present a three-dimensional simulation of the early stages of core fragmentation and massive star formation that includes a subgrid-scale model for protostellar outflows. We find that stars that form in a common accretion flow tend to have aligned outflow axes, so that the individual jets of multiple stars can combine to form a collective outflow. We compare our simulation to observations with synthetic H_2 and CO observations and find that the morphology and kinematics of such a collective outflow resembles some observed massive outflows, such as Cepheus A and DR 21. We finally compare physical quantities derived from simulated observations of our models to the actual values in the models to examine the reliability of standard methods for deriving physical quantities, demonstrating that those methods indeed recover the actual values to within a factor of 2-3.

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arXiv2014

Dust aerosol, clouds, and the atmospheric optical depth record over 5 Mars years of the Mars Exploration Rover mission

Dust aerosol plays a fundamental role in the behavior and evolution of the Martian atmosphere. The first five Mars years of Mars Exploration Rover data provide an unprecedented record of the dust load at two sites. This record is useful for characterization of the atmosphere at the sites and as ground truth for orbital observations. Atmospheric extinction optical depths have been derived from solar images after calibration and correction for time-varying dust that has accumulated on the camera windows. The record includes local, regional, and globally extensive dust storms. Comparison with contemporaneous thermal infrared data suggests significant variation in the size of the dust aerosols, with a 1 μm effective radius during northern summer and a 2 μm effective radius at the onset of a dust lifting event. The solar longitude (LS) 20-136° period is also characterized by the presence of cirriform clouds at the Opportunity site, especially near LS=50 and 115°. In addition to water ice clouds, a water ice haze may also be present, and carbon dioxide clouds may be present early in the season. Variations in dust opacity are important to the energy balance of each site, and work with seasonal variations in insolation to control dust devil frequency at the Spirit site.

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arXiv2013

Evolutionary tracks of massive stars during formation

A model for massive stars is constructed by piecing together evolutionary algorithms for the protostellar structure, the environment, the inflow and the radiation feedback. We investigate specified accretion histories of constant, decelerating and accelerating forms and consider both hot and cold accretion, identified with spherical free-fall and disk accretion, respectively. Diagnostic tools for the interpretation of the phases of massive star formation and testing the evolutionary models are then developed. Evolutionary tracks able to fit Herschel Space Telescope data require the generated stars to be three to four times less massive than in previous interpretations, thus being consistent with clump star formation efficiencies of $10 -- 15\%$. However, for these cold Hershel clumps, the bolometric temperature is not a good diagnostic to differentiate between accretion models. We also find that neither spherical nor disk accretion can explain the high radio luminosities of many protostars. Nevertheless, we discover a solution in which the extreme ultraviolet flux needed to explain the radio emission is produced if the accretion flow is via free-fall on to hot spots covering less than $10\%$ of the surface area. Moreover, the protostar must be compact, and so has formed through cold accretion. We show that these conclusions are independent of the imposed accretion history. This suggests that massive stars form via gas accretion through disks which, in the phase before the star bloats, download their mass via magnetic flux tubes on to the protostar.

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arXiv2013

V2494 Cyg: A unique FU Ori type object in the Cygnus OB7 complex

A photometric and spectral study of the variable star V2494 Cyg in the L 1003 dark cloud is presented. The brightness of the star, formerly known as HH 381 IRS, increased by 2.5 mag in R (probably in the 1980s) and since then has remained nearly constant. Since the brightness increase, V2494 Cyg has illuminated a bipolar cometary nebula. The stellar spectrum has several features typical of the FU Ori type, plus it exhibits very strong Halpha and forbidden emission lines with high-velocity components. These emission lines originate in the HH jet near the star. The kinematic age of the jet is consistent with it forming at the time of the outburst leading to the luminosity increase. V2494 Cyg also produces a rather extended outflow; it is the first known FUor with both an observed outburst and a parsec-sized HH flow. The nebula, illuminated by V2494 Cyg, possesses similar morphological and spectral characteristics to Hubble's Variable Nebula (R Monocerotis/NGC 2261).

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arXiv2009

A General Catalogue of Molecular Hydrogen Emission-Line Objects (MHOs) in Outflows from Young Stars

We present a catalogue of Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) in outflows from young stars, most of which are embedded. All objects are identified in the near-infrared lines of molecular hydrogen, all reside in the Milky Way, and all are associated with jets or molecular outflows from young stars. Objects in both low and high-mass star forming regions are included. This catalogue complements the existing database of Herbig-Haro objects; indeed, for completeness, HH objects that are detected in H2 emission are included in the MHO catalogue.

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arXiv2009

An improvement to the volcano-scan algorithm for atmospheric correction of CRISM and OMEGA spectral data

The observations of Mars by the CRISM and OMEGA hyperspectral imaging spectrometers require correction for photometric, atmospheric and thermal effects prior to the interpretation of possible mineralogical features in the spectra. Here, we report on a simple, yet non-trivial, adaptation to the commonly-used volcano-scan correction technique for atmospheric CO_2, which allows for the improved detection of minerals with intrinsic absorption bands at wavelengths between 1.9-2.1 $μ$m. This volcano-scan technique removes the absorption bands of CO_2 by ensuring that the Lambert albedo is the same at two wavelengths: 1.890 $μ$m and 2.011 $μ$m, with the first wavelength outside the CO_2 gas bands and the second wavelength deep inside the CO_2 gas bands. Our adaptation to the volcano-scan technique moves the first wavelength from 1.890 $μ$m to be instead within the gas bands at 1.980 $μ$m, and for CRISM data, our adaptation shifts the second wavelength slightly, to 2.007 $μ$m. We also report on our efforts to account for a slight ~0.001 $μ$m shift in wavelengths due to thermal effects in the CRISM instrument.

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arXiv2008

NEAR-IR Spectroscopy of Young Stars in the Braid Nebula Star Formation Region in Cygnus Ob7

We present 1.4 to 2.5 um integral field spectroscopy of 16 stars in the Braid Nebula star formation region in Cygnus OB7. These data forms one aspect of a large-scale multi-wavelength survey aimed at determining an unbiased estimate of the number, mass distribution, and evolutionary state of the young stars within this one square degree area of the previously poorly studied Lynds 1003 molecular cloud. Our new spectroscopic data, when combined with 2MASS near-IR photometry, provide evidence of membership of many of these objects in the regions pre-main sequence population. We discuss both the characteristics of the young stars found in the region and the level of star forming activity present.

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arXiv2005

The influence of the Mach number on the stability of radiative shocks

We study the stability properties of hydrodynamic shocks with finite Mach numbers. The linear analysis supplements previous analyses which took the strong shock limit. We derive the linearised equations for a general specific heat ratio as well as temperature and density power-law cooling functions, corresponding to a range of conditions relevant to interstellar atomic and molecular cooling processes. Boundary conditions corresponding to a return to the upstream temperature ($R$ = 1) and to a cold wall ($R$ = 0) are investigated. We find that for Mach number $M > 5$, the strong shock overstability limits are not significantly modified. For $M < 3$, however, shocks are considerably more stable for most cases. In general, as the shock weakens, the critical values of the temperature power-law index (below which shocks are overstable) are reduced for the overtones more than for the fundamental, which signifies a change in basic behaviour. In the $R$ = 0 scenario, however, we find that the overstability regime and growth rate of the fundamental mode are increased when cooling is under local thermodynamic equilibrium. We provide a possible explanation for the results in terms of a stabilising influence provided downstream but a destabilising effect associated with the shock front. We conclude that the regime of overstability for interstellar atomic shocks is well represented by the strong shock limit unless the upstream gas is hot. Although molecular shocks can be overstable to overtones, the magnetic field provides a significant stabilising influence.

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arXiv2005

An unbiased search for the signatures of protostars in the rho Ophiuchi Molecular Cloud. II. Millimetre continuum observations

We have performed a 1 square degree 1.2mm dust continuum survey in the rho Oph molecular cloud. We detect a number of previously unknown sources, ranging from extended cores over compact, starless cores to envelopes surrounding young stellar objects of Class 0, Class I, and Class II type. We analyse the mass distribution, spatial distribution and the potential equilibrium of the cores. For the inner regions, the survey results are consistent with the findings of previous narrower surveys. The core mass function resembles the stellar initial mass function, with the core mass function shifted by a factor of two to higher masses (for the chosen opacity and temperature). In addition, we find no statistical variation in the core mass function between the crowded inner regions and those in more isolated fields except for the absence of the most massive cores in the extended cloud. The inner region contains compacter cores. This is interpreted as due to a medium of higher mean pressure although strong pressure variations are evident in each region. The cores display a hierarchical spatial distribution with no preferred separation scale length. However, the frequency distribution of nearest neighbours displays two peaks, one of which at 5000AU can be the result of core fragmentation. The orientations of the major axes of cores are consistent with an isotropic distribution. In contrast, the relative orientations of core pairs are preferentially in the NW-SE direction on all separation scales. These results are consistent with core production and evolution in a turbulent environment. We report a new low-mass Class 0 object and its CO outflow.

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arXiv2005

A stability analysis of radiative shocks in the presence of a transverse magnetic field

Radiative shock waves may be subject to a global thermal instability in which the cooling layer and shock front undergo growing resonant oscillations. For strong hydrodynamic shocks, the presence of the overstability depends on the temperature and density indices of power-law cooling functions and the specific heat ratio, $α$, $β$ and $γ$, respectively. Here, we investigate the stabilising influence of a transverse magnetic field by introducing the shock Alfvén number, $M_a$ as a fourth parameter. We thus investigate the stability criteria for both molecular and atomic shocks under a wide range of conditions. In particular, we find that all molecular shocks in which the cooling increases with the temperature ($α> 0$) are stabilised to the first four modes if $M_a < 20$ ($β= 2$). For $α= -0.5$, the first overtone remains stable only for $M_a < 8$. We conclude that molecular shocks in the interstellar medium are probably stabilised by a transverse magnetic field unless exceptional circumstances arise in which the cooling strongly increases as the gas cools.

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arXiv2005

The near-infrared excitation of the HH211 protostellar outflow

The protostellar outflow HH211 is of considerable interest since it is extremely young and highly collimated. Here, we explore the outflow through imaging and spectroscopy in the near-infrared to determine if there are further diagnostic signatures of youth. We confirm the detection of a near-infrared continuum of unknown origin. We propose that it is emitted by the driving millimeter source, escapes the core through tunnels, and illuminates features aligning the outflow. Narrow-band flux measurements of these features contain an unusually large amount of continuum emission. [Fe II] emission has been detected and is restricted to isolated condensations. However, the characteristics of vibrational excitation of molecular hydrogen resemble those of older molecular outflows. We attempt to model the ordered structure of the western outflow as a series of shocks, finding that bow shocks with J-type dissociative apices and C-type flanks are consistent. Moreover, essentially the same conditions are predicted for all three bows except for a systematic reduction in speed and density with distance from the driving source. We find increased K-band extinctions in the bright regions as high as 2.9 magnitudes and suggest that the bow shocks become visible where the outflow impacts on dense clumps of cloud material. We propose that the outflow is carved out by episodes of pulsating jets. The jets, driven by central explosive events, are responsible for excavating a central tunnel through which radiation temporarily penetrates.

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arXiv2004

Hydrodynamic simulations of molecular outflows driven by slow-precessing protostellar jets

We present hydrodynamic simulations of molecular outflows driven by jets with a long period of precession, motivated by observations of arc-like features and S-symmetry in outflows associated with young stars. We simulate images of not only H2 vibrational and CO rotational emission lines, but also of atomic emission. The density cross section displays a jaw-like cavity, independent of precession rate. In molecular hydrogen, however, we find ordered chains of bow shocks and meandering streamers which contrast with the chaotic structure produced by jets in rapid precession. A feature particularly dominant in atomic emission is a stagnant point in the flow that remains near the inlet and alters shape and brightness as the jet skims by. Under the present conditions, slow jet precession yields a relatively high fraction of mass accelerated to high speeds, as also attested to in simulated CO line profiles. Many outflow structures, characterised by HH222 (continuous ribbon), HH240 (asymmetric chains of bow shocks) and RNO43N (protruding cavities), are probably related to the slow precession model.

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arXiv2003

Simulations of Evolving or Outbursting Molecular Protostellar Jets

The kinematic and radiative power of molecular jets is expected to change as a protostar undergoes permanent or episodal changes in the rate at which it accretes. We study here the consequences of evolving jet power on the spatial and velocity structure, as well as the fluxes, of molecular emission from the bipolar outflow. We consider a jet of rapidly increasing density and a jet in which the mass input is abruptly cut off. We perform three dimensional hydrodynamic simulations with atomic and molecular cooling and chemistry. In this work, highly collimated and sheared jets are assumed. We find that position-velocity diagrams, velocity-channel maps and the relative H$_2$ and CO fluxes are potentially the best indicators of the evolutionary stage. In particular, the velocity width of the CO lines may prove most reliable although the often-quoted mass-velocity power-law index is probably not. We demonstrate how the relative H$_2$ 1--0 S(1) and CO J=1--0 fluxes evolve and apply this to interpret the phase of several outflows.

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arXiv2002

Hydrodynamical simulations of the decay of high-speed molecular turbulence. I. Dense molecular regions

We present the results from three dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of decaying high-speed turbulence in dense molecular clouds. We compare our results, which include a detailed cooling function, molecular hydrogen chemistry and a limited C and O chemistry, to those previously obtained for decaying isothermal turbulence. After an initial phase of shock formation, power-law decay regimes are uncovered, as in the isothermal case. We find that the turbulence decays faster than in the isothermal case because the average Mach number remains higher, due to the radiative cooling. The total thermal energy, initially raised by the introduction of turbulence, decays only a little slower than the kinetic energy. We discover that molecule reformation, as the fast turbulence decays, is several times faster than that predicted for a non-turbulent medium. This is caused by moderate speed shocks which sweep through a large fraction of the volume, compressing the gas and dust. Through reformation, the molecular density and molecular column appear as complex patterns of filaments, clumps and some diffuse structure. In contrast, the molecular fraction has a wider distribution of highly distorted clumps and copious diffuse structure, so that density and molecular density are almost identically distributed during the reformation phase. We conclude that molecules form in swept-up clumps but effectively mix throughout via subsequent expansions and compressions.

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arXiv2000

The distribution of shock waves in driven supersonic turbulence

Supersonic turbulence generates distributions of shock waves. Here, we analyse the shock waves in three-dimensional numerical simulations of uniformly driven supersonic turbulence, with and without magnetohydrodynamics and self-gravity. We can identify the nature of the turbulence by measuring the distribution of the shock strengths. We find that uniformly driven turbulence possesses a power law distribution of fast shocks with the number of shocks inversely proportional to the square root of the shock jump speed. A tail of high speed shocks steeper than Gaussian results from the random superposition of driving waves which decay rapidly. The energy is dissipated by a small range of fast shocks. These results contrast with the exponential distribution and slow shock dissipation associated with decaying turbulence. A strong magnetic field enhances the shock number transverse to the field direction at the expense of parallel shocks. A simulation with self-gravity demonstrates the development of a number of highly dissipative accretion shocks. Finally, we examine the dynamics to demonstrate how the power-law behaviour arises.

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arXiv2000

The shock waves in decaying supersonic turbulence

We here analyse numerical simulations of supersonic, hypersonic and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence that is free to decay. Our goals are to understand the dynamics of the decay and the characteristic properties of the shock waves produced. This will be useful for interpretation of observations of both motions in molecular clouds and sources of non-thermal radiation. We find that decaying hypersonic turbulence possesses an exponential tail of fast shocks and an exponential decay in time, i.e. the number of shocks is proportional to t exp (-ktv) for shock velocity jump v and mean initial wavenumber k. In contrast to the velocity gradients, the velocity Probability Distribution Function remains Gaussian with a more complex decay law. The energy is dissipated not by fast shocks but by a large number of low Mach number shocks. The power loss peaks near a low-speed turn-over in an exponential distribution. An analytical extension of the mapping closure technique is able to predict the basic decay features. Our analytic description of the distribution of shock strengths should prove useful for direct modeling of observable emission. We note that an exponential distribution of shocks such as we find will, in general, generate very low excitation shock signatures.

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