arXiv subjects

Mohsen Shadmehri

Publications and source records attributed to Mohsen Shadmehri.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Multicomponent theory of buoyancy instabilities in magnetized astrophysical plasmas: MHD analysis revisited

We develop a theory of buoyancy instabilities of the electron-ion plasma with the heat flux based on not the MHD equations, but using the multicomponent plasma approach. We investigate a geometry in which the background magnetic field, gravity, and stratification are directed along one axis. No simplifications usual for the MHD-approach in studying these instabilities are used. The background electron thermal flux and collisions between electrons and ions are included. We derive the simple dispersion relation, which shows that the thermal flux perturbation generally stabilizes an instability. There is a narrow region of the temperature gradient, where an instability is possible. This result contradicts to a conclusion obtained in the MHD-approach. We show that the reason of this contradiction is the simplified assumptions used in the MHD analysis of buoyancy instabilities and the role of the longitudinal electric field perturbation, which is not captured by the MHD equations. Our dispersion relation also shows that a medium with the electron thermal flux can be unstable, if the temperature gradient of ions and electrons have the opposite signs. The results obtained can be applied to ICM and clusters of galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2010

The IMF of stellar clusters: effects of accretion and feedback

(abridged) We develop a model which describes the coevolution of the mass function of dense cores and of the IMF in a protocluster clump. In the model, cores injected in the clump evolve under the effect of gas accretion. Accretion onto the cores follows a time-dependent accretion rate that describes accretion in a turbulent medium. Once the accretion timescales of cores exceed their contraction timescales, they are turned into stars. We include the effect of feedback by the newly formed massive stars through their stellar winds. A fraction of the wind's energy is assumed to counter gravity and disperse the gas from the protocluster and as a consequence, quench further star formation. The latter effect sets the final IMF of the cluster. We apply our model to a clump that is expected to resemble the progenitor clump of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). Our model is able to reproduce both the shape and normalization of the ONC's IMF and the mass function of dense cores in Orion. The complex features of the ONC's IMF,i.e., a shallow slope in the mass range ~0.3-2.5 Msol,a steeper slope in the mass range ~2.5-12 Msol, and a nearly flat tail at the high mass end are reproduced. The model predicts a 'rapid' star formation process with an age spread for the stars of 2.3 10^5 yr which is consistent with the fact that 80% of the ONC's stars have ages of <=0.3 Myr. The model predicts a primordial mass segregation with the most massive stars being born in the region between 2-4 times the core radius of the cluster. In parallel, the model also reproduces, simultaneously, the mass function of dense cores in Orion. We study the effects of varying the model parameters on the resulting IMF and show that the IMF of stellar clusters is expected to show significant variations, provided variations in the clumps and cores properties exist.

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arXiv2009

Thermal instability in ionized plasma

We study magnetothermal instability in the ionized plasmas including the effects of Ohmic, ambipolar and Hall diffusion. Magnetic field in the single fluid approximation does not allow transverse thermal condensations, however, non-ideal effects highly diminish the stabilizing role of the magnetic field in thermally unstable plasmas. Therefore, enhanced growth rate of thermal condensation modes in the presence of the diffusion mechanisms speed up the rate of structure formation.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Thermal instability with the effect of cosmic-ray diffusion

We study dynamical effects of cosmics rays (CRs) on the thermal instability in the linear regime. CRs and the thermal plasma are treated as two different interacting fluids, in which CRs can diffuse along the magnetic field lines. We show that growth rate of the magnetothermal condensation mode is reduced because of the existence of CRs and this stabilizing effect depends on the diffusion coefficient and the ratio of the CRs pressure to gas pressure. Thus, a slower rate of structure formation via thermal instability is predicted when CRs are considered.

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arXiv2009

Magneto-thermal condensation modes including the effects of charged dust particles

We study thermal instability in a magnetized and partially ionized plasma with charged dust particles. Our linear analysis shows that the growth rate of the unstable modes in the presence of dust particles strongly depends on the ratio of the cooling rate and the modified dust-cyclotron frequency. If the cooling rate is less than the modified dust-cyclotron frequency, then growth rate of the condensation modes does not modify due to the existence of the charged dust particles. But when the cooling rate is greater than (or comparable to) the modified dust-cyclotron frequency, the growth rate of unstable modes increases because of the dust particles. Also, wavenumber of the perturbations corresponding to the maximum growth rate shifts to the smaller values (larger wavelengths) as the cooling rate becomes larger than the modified dust-cyclotron frequency. We show that growth rate of the condensation modes increases with the electrical charge of the dust particles.

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arXiv2009

The influence of winds on the time-dependent behavior of self-gravitating accretion discs

We study effects of winds on the time evolution of isothermal, self-gravitating accretion discs by adopting a radius dependent mass loss rate because of the existence of the wind. Our similarity and semi-analytical solution describes time evolution of the system in the slow accretion limit. The disc structure is distinct in the inner and outer parts, irrespective of the existence of the wind. We show that existence of wind will lead to a reduction of the surface density in the inner and outer parts of the disc in comparison to a no-wind solution. Also, the radial velocity significantly increases in the outer part of the disc, however, the accretion rate decreases due to the reduced surface density in comparison to the no-wind solution. In the inner part of the disc, mass loss due to the wind is negligible according to our solution. But the radial size of this no-wind inner region becomes smaller for stronger winds.

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arXiv2008

Hot accretion with outflow and thermal conduction

We present self-similar solutions for advection -dominated accretion flows with thermal conduction in the presence of outflows. Possible effects of outflows on the accretion flow are parametrized and a saturated form of thermal conduction, as is appropriate for the weakly-collisional regime of interest, is included in our model. While the cooling effect of outflows is noticeable, thermal conduction provides an extra heating source. In comparison to accretion flows without winds, we show that the disc rotates faster and becomes cooler because of the angular momentum and energy flux which are taking away by the winds. But thermal conduction opposes the effects of winds and not only decreases the rotational velocity, but increases the temperature. However, reduction of the surface density and the enhanced accretion velocity are amplified by both of the winds and the thermal conduction. We find that for stronger outflows, a higher level of saturated thermal conduction is needed to significantly modify the physical profiles of the accretion flow.

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arXiv2008

The role of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in dusty and partially ionized outflows

We investigate the linear theory of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the interface between a partially ionized dusty outflow and the ambient material analytically. We model the interaction as a multifluid system in a planar geometry. The unstable modes are independent from the charge polarity of the dust particles. Although our results show a stabilizing effect for charged dust particles, the growth time scale of the growing modes gradually becomes independent of the mass or charge of the dust particles when the magnetic field strength increases. We show that growth time scale decreases with increasing the magnetic field. Also, as the mass of the dust particles increases, the growth time scale of the unstable mode increases.

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arXiv2008

Thin accretion disc with a corona in a central magnetic field

We study the steady-state structure of an accretion disc with a corona surrounding a central, rotating, magnetized star. We assume that the magneto-rotational instability is the dominant mechanism of angular momentum transport inside the disc and is responsible for producing magnetic tubes above the disc. In our model, a fraction of the dissipated energy inside the disc is transported to the corona via these magnetic tubes. This energy exchange from the disc to the corona which depends on the disc physical properties is modified because of the magnetic interaction between the stellar magnetic field and the accretion disc. According to our fully analytical solutions for such a system, the existence of a corona not only increases the surface density but reduces the temperature of the accretion disc. Also, the presence of a corona enhances the ratio of gas pressure to the total pressure. Our solutions show that when the strength of the magnetic field of the central neutron star is large or the star is rotating fast enough, profiles of the physical variables of the disc significantly modify due to the existence of a corona.

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arXiv2008

Dynamics of charged dust particles in protoplanetary discs

We study the effect of an imposed magnetic field on the motion of charged dust particles in magnetically active regions of a protoplanetary disc. Assuming a power law structure for the vertical and the toroidal components of the magnetic field for the regions beyond magnetically dead region of the disc, the radial and the vertical velocities of the charged particles, in the asymptotic case of small particles, are calculated analytically. While grains with radii smaller than a critical radius significantly are affected by the magnetic force, motion of the particles with larger radii is independent of the magnetic field. The critical radius depends on the magnetic geometry and the charge of the grains. Assuming that a grain particle has one elementary charge and the physical properties of the disc correspond to a minimum-mass solar nebula, we show that only micron-sized grains are affected by the magnetic force. Also, charge polarity determines direction of the radial velocity. For such small particles, both the radial and the vertical velocities increase due to the magnetic force.

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arXiv2007

Primordial Mass Segregation in Starburst Stellar Clusters

We present a model to explain the mass segregation and shallow mass functions observed in the central parts of dense and young starburst stellar clusters. The model assumes that the initial pre-stellar cores mass function resulting from the turbulent fragmentation of the proto-cluster cloud is significantly altered by the cores coalescence before they collapse to form stars. With appropriate, yet realistic parameters, this model based on the competition between cores coalescence and collapse reproduces the mass spectra of the well studied Arches cluster. Namely, the slopes at the intermediate and high mass ends are reproduced, as well as the peculiar bump observed at 6 M_sol. This coalescence-collapse process occurs on short timescale of the order of one fourth the free fall time of the proto-cluster cloud (i.e., a few 10^{4} years), suggesting that mass segregation in Arches and similar clusters is primordial. The best fitting model implies the total mass of the Arches cluster is 1.45 10^{5} M_sol, which is slightly higher than the often quoted, but completeness affected, observational value of a few 10^{4} M_sol. The derived star formation efficiency is ~30 percent which implies that the Arches cluster is likely to be gravitationally bound.

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arXiv2007

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a weakly ionized layer

We study the linear theory of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a layer of ions and neutrals with finite thickness. In the short wavelength limit the thickness of the layer has a negligible effect on the growing modes. However, perturbations with wavelength comparable to layer's thickness are significantly affected by the thickness of the layer. We show that the thickness of the layer has a stabilizing effect on the two dominant growing modes. Transition between the modes not only depends on the magnetic strength, but also on the thickness of the layer.

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arXiv2007

Formation and Collapse of Quiescent Cloud Cores Induced by Dynamic Compressions

(Abridged) We present numerical hydrodynamical simulations of the formation, evolution and gravitational collapse of isothermal molecular cloud cores. A compressive wave is set up in a constant sub-Jeans density distribution of radius r = 1 pc. As the wave travels through the simulation grid, a shock-bounded spherical shell is formed. The inner shock of this shell reaches and bounces off the center, leaving behind a central core with an initially almost uniform density distribution, surrounded by an envelope consisting of the material in the shock-bounded shell, with a power-law density profile that at late times approaches a logarithmic slope of -2 even in non-collapsing cases. The resulting density structure resembles a quiescent core of radius < 0.1 pc, with a Bonnor-Ebert-like (BE-like) profile, although it has significant dynamical differences: it is initially non-self-gravitating and confined by the ram pressure of the infalling material, and consequently, growing continuously in mass and size. With the appropriate parameters, the core mass eventually reaches an effective Jeans mass, at which time the core begins to collapse. Thus, there is necessarily a time delay between the appearance of the core and the onset of its collapse, but this is not due to the dissipation of its internal turbulence as it is often believed. These results suggest that pre-stellar cores may approximate Bonnor-Ebert structures which are however of variable mass and may or may not experience gravitational collapse, in qualitative agreement with the large observed frequency of cores with BE-like profiles.

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arXiv2007

The Origin of the Arches Stellar Cluster Mass Function

We investigate the time evolution of the mass distribution of pre-stellar cores (PSCs) and their transition to the initial stellar mass function (IMF) in the central parts of a molecular cloud (MC) under the assumption that the coalescence of cores is important. Our aim is to explain the observed shallow IMF in dense stellar clusters such as the Arches cluster. The initial distributions of PSCs at various distances from the MC center are those of gravitationally unstable cores resulting from the gravo-turbulent fragmentation of the MC. As time evolves, there is a competition between the PSCs rates of coalescence and collapse. Whenever the local rate of collapse is larger than the rate of coalescence in a given mass bin, cores are collapsed into stars. With appropriate parameters, we find that the coalescence-collapse model reproduces very well all the observed characteristics of the Arches stellar cluster IMF; Namely, the slopes at high and low mass ends and the peculiar bump observed at ~5-6 M_sol. Our results suggest that today's IMF of the Arches cluster is very similar to the primordial one and is prior to the dynamical effects of mass segregation becoming important

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Gravitational instability of discs with dissipative corona around supermassive black holes

We study the dynamical structure of a self-gravitating disc with corona around a super-massive black hole. Assuming that the magneto-rotational-instability (MRI) responsible for generating the turbulent stresses inside the disc is also the source for a magnetically dominated corona, a fraction of the power released when the disc matter accretes is transported to and dissipated in the corona. This has major effect on the structure of the disc and its gravitational (in)stability according to our analytical and self-consistent solutions. We determine the radius where the disc crosses the inner radius of gravitational instability and forms the first stars. Not only the location of this radius which may extend to very large distances from the central black hole, but also the mass of the first stars highly depends on the input parameters, notably the viscous coefficient, mass of the central object and the accretion rate. For accretion discs around quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) and the Galactic center, we determine the self-gravitating radius and the mass of the first clumps. Comparing the cases with a corona and without a corona for typical discs around QSOs or the Galactic center, when the viscosity coefficient is around 0.3, we show that the self-gravitating radius decreases by a factor of approximately 2, but the mass of the fragments increases with more or less the same factor. Existence of a corona implies a more gravitationally unstable disc according to our results. The effect of a corona on the instability of the disc is more effective when the viscosity coefficient increases.

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arXiv2007

The Virial Balance of Clumps and Cores in Molecular Clouds

We study the instantaneous virial balance of clumps and cores (CCs) in 3D simulations of driven, MHD, isothermal molecular clouds (MCs). The models represent a range of magnetic field strengths in MCs from subcritical to non-magnetic regimes. We identify CCs at different density thresholds, and for each object, we calculate all the terms that enter the Eulerian form of the virial theorem (EVT). A CC is considered gravitationally bound when the gravitational term in the EVT is larger than the amount for the system to be virialized, which is more stringent than the condition that it be large enough to make the total volume energy negative. We also calculate, quantities commonly used in the observations to indicate the state of gravitational boundedness of CCs such as the Jeans number J_c, the mass-to magnetic flux ratio mu_c, and the virial parameter alpha_vir. Our results show that: a) CCs are dynamical out-of-equilibrium structures. b) The surface energies are of the same order than their volume counterparts c) CCs are either in the process of being compressed or dispersed by the velocity field. Yet, not all CCs that have a compressive net kinetic energy are gravitationally bound. d) There is no 1-to-1 correspondence between the state of gravitational boundedness of a CC as described by the virial analysis or as implied by the classical indicators. In general, in the virial analysis, we observe that only the inner regions of the objects are gravitationally bound, whereas J_c, alpha_vir, and mu_c estimates tend to show that they are more gravitationally bound at the lowest threshold levels and more magnetically supercritical. g) We observe, in the non-magnetic simulation, the existence of a bound core with structural and dynamical properties that resemble those of the Bok globule Barnard 68 (B68).

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arXiv2005

A class of self-gravitating, magnetized accretion disks

The steady-state structure of self-gravitating, magnetized accretion disks is studied using a set of self-similar solutions which are appropriate in the outer regions. The disk is assumed to be isothermal and the magnetic field outside of the disk is treated in a phenomenological way. However, the internal field is determined self-consistently. The behaviour of the solutions are investigated by changing the input parameters of the model, i.e. mass accretion rate, coefficients of viscosity and resistivity, and the magnetic field configuration.

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arXiv2005

The effects of thermal conduction on the hot accretion flows

Thermal conduction has been suggested as a possible mechanism by which sufficient extra heating is provided in radiation-dominated accretion flows. We consider the extreme case in which the generated energy due to the viscosity and the energy transported by a saturated form of thermal conduction are balanced by the advection cooling. For the steady-state structure of such accretion flows a set of self-similar solution are presented. Based on these solutions while the radial and the rotational velocities are both sub-Keplerian, increasing the level of thermal conduction has the effects of decreasing the rotational velocity, but increasing the radial velocity. Conduction provides extra heating and the temperature of the gas increases with thermal conduction.

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