arXiv subjects

P. Hartigan

Publications and source records attributed to P. Hartigan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

PROJECT-J: JWST observations of HH46~IRS and its outflow. Overview and first results

We present the first results of the JWST program PROJECT-J (PROtostellar JEts Cradle Tested with JWST ), designed to study the Class I source HH46 IRS and its outflow through NIRSpec and MIRI spectroscopy (1.66 to 28 micron). The data provide line-images (~ 6.6" in length with NIRSpec, and up to 20" with MIRI) revealing unprecedented details within the jet, the molecular outflow and the cavity. We detect, for the first time, the red-shifted jet within ~ 90 au from the source. Dozens of shock-excited forbidden lines are observed, including highly ionized species such as [Ne III] 15.5 micron, suggesting that the gas is excited by high velocity (> 80 km/s) shocks in a relatively high density medium. Images of H2 lines at different excitations outline a complex molecular flow, where a bright cavity, molecular shells, and a jet-driven bow-shock interact with and are shaped by the ambient conditions. Additional NIRCam 2 micron images resolve the HH46 IRS ~ 110 au binary system and suggest that the large asymmetries observed between the jet and the H2 wide angle emission could be due to two separate outflows being driven by the two sources. The spectra of the unresolved binary show deep ice bands and plenty of gaseous lines in absorption, likely originating in a cold envelope or disk. In conclusion, JWST has unraveled for the first time the origin of the HH46 IRS complex outflow demonstrating its capability to investigate embedded regions around young stars, which remain elusive even at near-IR wavelengths.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

PDRs4All VI: Probing the Photochemical Evolution of PAHs in the Orion Bar Using Machine Learning Techniques

[Abridged] JWST observations of the Orion Bar have shown the incredible richness of PAH bands and their variation on small scales. We aim to probe the photochemical evolution of PAHs across the key zones of the photodissociation region (PDR) that is the Orion Bar using unsupervised machine learning. We use NIRSpec and MIRI IFU data from the JWST ERS Program PDRs4All. We lever bisecting k-means clustering to generate detailed spatial maps of the spectral variability in several wavelength regions. We discuss the variations in the cluster profiles and connect them to the local physical conditions. We interpret these variations with respect to the key zones: the HII region, the atomic PDR zone, and the three dissociation fronts. The PAH emission exhibits spectral variation that depends strongly on spatial position in the PDR. We find the 8.6um band to behave differently than all other bands which vary systematically with one another. We find uniform variation in the 3.4-3.6um bands and 3.4/3.3 intensity ratio. We attribute the carrier of the 3.4-3.6um bands to a single side group attached to very similarly sized PAHs. Cluster profiles reveal a transition between characteristic profiles classes of the 11.2um feature from the atomic to the molecular PDR zone. We find the carriers of each of the profile classes to be independent, and reason the latter to be PAH clusters existing solely deep in the molecular PDR. Clustering also reveals a connection between the 11.2 and 6.2um bands; and that clusters generated from variation in the 10.9-11.63um region can be used to recover those in the 5.95-6.6um region. Clustering is a powerful tool for characterizing PAH variability on both spatial and spectral scales. For individual bands as well as global spectral behaviours, we find UV-processing to be the most important driver of the evolution of PAHs and their spectral signatures in the Orion Bar.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Young stellar objects, accretion disks, and their variability with Rubin Observatory LSST

Vera C. Rubin Observatory, through the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), will allow us to derive a panchromatic view of variability in young stellar objects (YSOs) across all relevant timescales. Indeed, both short-term variability (on timescales of hours to days) and long-term variability (months to years), predominantly driven by the dynamics of accretion processes in disk-hosting YSOs, can be explored by taking advantage of the multi-band filters option available in Rubin LSST, in particular the $u,g,r,i$ filters that enable us to discriminate between photospheric stellar properties and accretion signatures. The homogeneity and depth of sky coverage that will be achieved with LSST will provide us with a unique opportunity to characterize the time evolution of disk accretion as a function of age and varying environmental conditions (e.g. field crowdedness, massive neighbors, metallicity), by targeting different star-forming regions. In this contribution to the Rubin LSST Survey Strategy Focus Issue, we discuss how implementing a dense observing cadence to explore short-term variability in YSOs represents a key complementary effort to the Wide-Fast-Deep observing mode that will be used to survey the sky over the full duration of the main survey ($\approx$10 years). The combination of these two modes will be vital to investigate the connection between the inner disk dynamics and longer-term eruptive variability behaviors, such as those observed on EXor objects.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

Perpendicular subcritical shock structure in a collisional plasma experiment

We present a study of perpendicular subcritical shocks in a collisional laboratory plasma. Shocks are produced by placing obstacles into the super-magnetosonic outflow from an inverse wire array z-pinch. We demonstrate the existence of subcritical shocks in this regime and find that secondary shocks form in the downstream. Detailed measurements of the subcritical shock structure confirm the absence of a hydrodynamic jump. We calculate the classical (Spitzer) resistive diffusion length and show that it is approximately equal to the shock width. We measure little heating across the shock (< 10 % of the ion kinetic energy) which is consistent with an absence of viscous dissipation.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

Proper Motions and Shock Wave Dynamics in the HH 7-11 Stellar Jet

We have used the Hubble Space Telescope to acquire new broad-band and narrow-band images of the optical line emission and red continuum associated with the HH 7-11 stellar jet in the NGC 1333 star formation region. Combining the new narrow-band images of H$α$, [O~I] $λ$6300 and [S II] $λ$6716 allows us to measure electron densities and excitations at each point in the outflow with the spatial resolution of HST, while the I-band image traces out the boundary of the cavity evacuated by the outflow. Comparing these images with those taken $\sim$ 20 years ago yields high precision proper motions for all the HH objects in the outflow. HH 11 is a bullet-like clump, and emerges from the exciting source SVS 13A towards the Earth at 24 degrees to line of sight. In contrast, HH 8 and HH 10 consist of two rings of shocked gas that show no bulk proper motions even though the emitting gas is blueshifted. The HH 8 rings are expanding with time. These shocks mark places where ambient material located along the path of the jet redirects the outflow. HH 7 consists of multiple shells, and emits strongly in H$_2$ in what appears to be a terminal bow shock for the outflow, implying that the jet has yet to fully break out of its nascent cloud core. The jet largely fragments into clumps by the time it reaches HH 7. As in the case of HH 110, deflection from ambient material plays a key role in producing observable shock waves in the HH 7-11 outflow.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

Simulating Radiative Magnetohydrodynamical Flows with AstroBEAR: Implementation and Applications of Non-equilibrium Cooling

Radiative cooling plays a crucial role in the dynamics of many astrophysical flows, and is particularly important in the dense shocked gas within Herbig-Haro (HH) objects and stellar jets. Simulating cooling processes accurately is necessary to compare numerical simulations with existing and planned observations of HH objects, such as those from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. In this paper we discuss a new, non-equilibrium cooling scheme we have implemented into the 3-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code AstroBEAR. The new cooling function includes ionization, recombination, and excitation of all the important atomic species that cool below 10000 K. We tested the routine by comparing its predictions with those from the well-tested 1-D Cox-Raymond shock code (Raymond 1979). The results show thatAstroBEAR accurately tracks the ionization fraction, temperature, and other MHD variables for all low-velocity (.90 km/s) magnetized radiative shock waves. The new routine allows us to predict synthetic emission maps in all the bright forbidden and permitted lines observed in stellar jets, including Hα, [NII], [OI], and [SII]. We present an example as to how these synthetic maps facilitate a direct comparison with narrowband images of HH objects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

When Shock Waves Collide

Supersonic outflows from objects as varied as stellar jets, massive stars and novae often exhibit multiple shock waves that overlap one another. When the intersection angle between two shock waves exceeds a critical value, the system reconfigures its geometry to create a normal shock known as a Mach stem where the shocks meet. Mach stems are important for interpreting emission-line images of shocked gas because a normal shock produces higher postshock temperatures and therefore a higher-excitation spectrum than an oblique one does. In this paper we summarize the results of a series of numerical simulations and laboratory experiments designed to quantify how Mach stems behave in supersonic plasmas that are the norm in astrophysical flows. The experiments test analytical predictions for critical angles where Mach stems should form, and quantify how Mach stems grow and decay as intersection angles between the incident shock and a surface change. While small Mach stems are destroyed by surface irregularities and subcritical angles, larger ones persist in these situations, and can regrow if the intersection angle changes to become more favorable. The experimental and numerical results show that although Mach stems occur only over a limited range of intersection angles and size scales, within these ranges they are relatively robust, and hence are a viable explanation for variable bright knots observed in HST images at the intersections of some bow shocks in stellar jets.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2016

The Shock Dynamics of Heterogeneous YSO Jets: 3-D Simulations Meet Multi-Epoch Observations

High resolution observations of Young Stellar Object (YSO) jets show them to be composed of many small-scale knots or clumps. In this paper we report results of 3-D numerical simulations designed to study how such clumps interact and create morphologies and kinematic patterns seen in emission line observations. Our simulations focus on clump scale dynamics by imposing velocity differences between spherical, over-dense regions which then lead to the formation of bow shocks as faster clumps overtake slower material. We show that much of the spatial structure apparent in emission line images of jets arises from the dynamics and interactions of these bow shocks. Our simulations show a variety of time-dependent features, including bright knots associated with Mach stems where the shocks intersect, a "frothy" emission structure that arises from the presence of the Non-linear Thin Shell Instability (NTSI) along the surfaces of the bow shocks, and the merging and fragmentation of clumps. Our simulations use a new non-equilibrium cooling method to produce synthetic emission maps in H$α$ and [S II]. These are directly compared with multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of Herbig-Haro (HH) jets. We find excellent agreement between features seen in the simulations and the observations in terms of both proper motion and morphologies. Thus we conclude that YSO jets may be dominated by heterogeneous structures and that interactions between these structures and the shocks they produce can account for many details of YSO jet evolution.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Bow shock fragmentation driven by a thermal instability in laboratory-astrophysics experiments

The role of radiative cooling during the evolution of a bow shock was studied in laboratory-astrophysics experiments that are scalable to bow shocks present in jets from young stellar objects. The laboratory bow shock is formed during the collision of two counter-streaming, supersonic plasma jets produced by an opposing pair of radial foil Z-pinches driven by the current pulse from the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator. The jets have different flow velocities in the laboratory frame and the experiments are driven over many times the characteristic cooling time-scale. The initially smooth bow shock rapidly develops small-scale non-uniformities over temporal and spatial scales that are consistent with a thermal instability triggered by strong radiative cooling in the shock. The growth of these perturbations eventually results in a global fragmentation of the bow shock front. The formation of a thermal instability is supported by analysis of the plasma cooling function calculated for the experimental conditions with the radiative packages ABAKO/RAPCAL.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

A New Diagnostic of Magnetic Field Strengths in Radiatively-Cooled Shocks

We show that it is possible to measure Alfvénic Mach numbers, defined as the shock velocity in the flow divided by the Alfvén velocity, for low-velocity (V$_{shock}$ $\lesssim$ 100 km$\,$s$^{-1}$) radiative shocks. The method combines observations of bright forbidden lines with a measure of the size of the cooling zone, the latter typically obtained from spatial separation between the Balmer emission lines and the forbidden lines. Because magnetic fields become compressed as gas in the postshock region cools, even relatively weak preshock magnetic fields can be detected with this method. We derive analytical formulae that explain how the spatial separations relate to emission-line ratios, and compute a large grid of radiatively-cooled shock models to develop diagnostic diagrams that can be used to derive Alfvénic Mach numbers in flows. Applying the method to existing data for a bright knot in the HH 111 jet, we obtain a relatively low Alfvénic Mach number of $\sim$ 2, indicative of a magnetized jet that has super-magnetosonic velocity perturbations within it.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

A Survey of Irradiated Pillars, Globules, and Jets in the Carina Nebul

We present wide-field, deep narrowband H$_2$, Br$γ$, H$α$, [S II], [O III], and broadband I and K-band images of the Carina star formation region. The new images provide a large-scale overview of all the H$_2$ and Br$γ$ emission present in over a square degree centered on this signature star forming complex. By comparing these images with archival HST and Spitzer images we observe how intense UV radiation from O and B stars affects star formation in molecular clouds. We use the images to locate new candidate outflows and identify the principal shock waves and irradiated interfaces within dozens of distinct areas of star-forming activity. Shocked molecular gas in jets traces the parts of the flow that are most shielded from the intense UV radiation. Combining the H$_2$ and optical images gives a more complete view of the jets, which are sometimes only visible in H$_2$. The Carina region hosts several compact young clusters, and the gas within these clusters is affected by radiation from both the cluster stars and the massive stars nearby. The Carina Nebula is ideal for studying the physics of young H II regions and PDR's, as it contains multiple examples of walls and irradiated pillars at various stages of development. Some of the pillars have detached from their host molecular clouds to form proplyds. Fluorescent H$_2$ outlines the interfaces between the ionized and molecular gas, and after removing continuum, we detect spatial offsets between the Br$γ$ and H$_2$ emission along the irradiated interfaces. These spatial offsets can be used to test current models of PDRs once synthetic maps of these lines become available.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Jets and Outflows From Star to Cloud: Observations Confront Theory

In this review we focus on the role jets and outflows play in the star and planet formation process. Our essential question can be posed as follows: are jets/outflows merely an epiphenomenon associated with star formation or do they play an important role in mediating the physics of assembling stars both individually and globally? We address this question by reviewing the current state of observations and their key points of contact with theory. Our review of jet/outflow phenomena is organized into three length-scale domains: Source and Disk Scales ($0.1-10^2$ au) where the connection with protostellar and disk evolution theories is paramount; Envelope Scales ($10^2-10^5$ au) where the chemistry and propagation shed further light on the jet launching process, its variability and its impact on the infalling envelope; Parent Cloud Scales ($10^5-10^6$ au) where global momentum injection into cluster/cloud environments become relevant. Issues of feedback are of particular importance on the smallest scales where planet formation regions in a disk may be impacted by the presence of disk winds, irradiation by jet shocks or shielding by the winds. Feedback on envelope scales may determine the final stellar mass (core-to-star efficiency) and envelope dissipation. Feedback also plays an important role on the larger scales with outflows contributing to turbulent support within clusters including alteration of cluster star formation efficiencies (feedback on larger scales currently appears unlikely). A particularly novel dimension of our review is that we consider results on jet dynamics from the emerging field of High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics (HEDLA). HEDLA is now providing direct insights into the 3-D dynamics of fully magnetized, hypersonic, radiative outflows.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Irradiated Interfaces in the Ara OB1, Carina, Eagle Nebula, and Cyg OB2 Massive Star Formation Regions

Regions of massive star formation offer some of the best and most easily-observed examples of radiation hydrodynamics. Boundaries where fully-ionized H II regions transition to neutral/molecular photodissociation regions (PDRs) are of particular interest because marked temperature and density contrasts across the boundaries lead to evaporative flows and fluid dynamical instabilities that can evolve into spectacular pillar-like structures. When detached from their parent clouds, pillars become ionized globules that often harbor one or more young stars. H2 molecules at the interface between a PDR and an H II region absorb ultraviolet light from massive stars, and the resulting fluoresced infrared emission lines are an ideal way to trace this boundary independent of obscuring dust. This paper presents H2 images of four regions of massive star formation that illustrate different types of PDR boundaries. The Ara OB1 star formation region contains a striking long wall that has several wavy structures which are present in H2, but the emission is not particularly bright because the ambient UV fluxes are relatively low. In contrast, the Carina star formation region shows strong H2 fluorescence both along curved walls and at the edges of spectacular pillars that in some cases have become detached from their parent clouds. The less-spectacular but more well-known Eagle Nebula has two regions that have strong fluorescence in addition to its pillars. While somewhat older than the other regions, Cyg OB2 has the highest number of massive stars of the regions surveyed and contains many isolated, fluoresced globules that have head-tail morphologies which point towards the sources of ionizing radiation. These images provide a collection of potential astrophysical analogs that may relate to ablated interfaces observed in laser experiments of radiation hydrodynamics.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2011

Fluid Dynamics of Stellar Jets in Real Time: Third Epoch HST Images of HH 1, HH 34, and HH 47

We present new, third-epoch HST H-alpha and [S II] images of three HH jets (HH 1 and 2, HH 34, and HH 47) and compare these images with those from the previous epochs. The high-spatial resolution, coupled with a time-series whose cadence is of order both the hydrodynamical and radiative cooling timescales of the flow allows us to follow the hydrodynamical/magnetohydrodynamical evolution of an astrophysical plasma system in which ionization and radiative cooling play significant roles. Cooling zones behind the shocks are resolved, so it is possible to identify which way material flows through a given shock wave. The images show that heterogeneity is paramount in these jets, with clumps dominating the morphologies of both bow shocks and their Mach disks. This clumpiness exists on scales smaller than the jet widths and determines the behavior of many of the features in the jets. Evidence also exists for considerable shear as jets interact with their surrounding molecular clouds, and in several cases we observe shock waves as they form and fade where material emerges from the source and as it proceeds along the beam of the jet. Fine-structure within two extended bow shocks may result from Mach stems that form at the intersection points of oblique shocks within these clumpy objects. Taken together, these observations represent the most significant foray thus far into the time domain for stellar jets, and comprise one of the richest data sets in existence for comparing the behavior of a complex astrophysical plasma flows with numerical simulations and laboratory experiments.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Laboratory Experiments, Numerical Simulations, and Astronomical Observations of Deflected Supersonic Jets: Application to HH 110

Collimated supersonic flows in laboratory experiments behave in a similar manner to astrophysical jets provided that radiation, viscosity, and thermal conductivity are unimportant in the laboratory jets, and that the experimental and astrophysical jets share similar dimensionless parameters such as the Mach number and the ratio of the density between the jet and the ambient medium. Laboratory jets can be studied for a variety of initial conditions, arbitrary viewing angles, and different times, attributes especially helpful for interpreting astronomical images where the viewing angle and initial conditions are fixed and the time domain is limited. Experiments are also a powerful way to test numerical fluid codes in a parameter range where the codes must perform well. In this paper we combine images from a series of laboratory experiments of deflected supersonic jets with numerical simulations and new spectral observations of an astrophysical example, the young stellar jet HH 110. The experiments provide key insights into how deflected jets evolve in 3-D, particularly within working surfaces where multiple subsonic shells and filaments form, and along the interface where shocked jet material penetrates into and destroys the obstacle along its path. The experiments also underscore the importance of the viewing angle in determining what an observer will see. The simulations match the experiments so well that we can use the simulated velocity maps to compare the dynamics in the experiment with those implied by the astronomical spectra. The experiments support a model where the observed shock structures in HH 110 form as a result of a pulsed driving source rather than from weak shocks that may arise in the supersonic shear layer between the Mach disk and bow shock of the jet's working surface.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Adaptive Optics Echelle Spectroscopy of [Fe II] 1.644 um in the RW Aur Jet: A Narrow Slice Down the Axis of the Flow

We present new adaptive optics echelle spectra of the near-infrared [Fe II] lines in the redshifted and blueshifted jets from the T Tauri star RW Aur. The spectra have an unprecedented combination of high spatial and spectral resolution that makes it possible to trace the dynamics of the flow to a projected distance of only 10 AU from the source. As noted by previous studies, the redshifted flow is much slower than its fainter blueshifted counterpart. Our observations clearly show that both the radial velocities and the emission line widths are larger closer to the source on both sides of the jet. The line widths are 20% - 30% of the jet velocity on both sides of the flow, significantly larger than would be produced by a divergent constant velocity flow. The observed line widths could arise from a layered velocity structure in the jet or from magnetic waves. A bright knot in the redshifted jet has no concomitant increase in line width, implying that it is not heated by a bow shock. Alternate heating mechanisms include planar shocks, ambipolar diffusion and magnetic reconnection.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2008

A Young Planet Search in Visible and IR Light: DN Tau, V836 Tau, and V827 Tau

In searches for low-mass companions to late-type stars, correlation between radial velocity variations and line bisector slope changes indicates contamination by large starspots. Two young stars demonstrate that this test is not sufficient to rule out starspots as a cause of radial velocity variations. As part of our survey for substellar companions to T Tauri stars, we identified the ~2 Myr old planet host candidates DN Tau and V836 Tau. In both cases, visible light radial velocity modulation appears periodic and is uncorrelated with line bisector span variations, suggesting close companions of several M_Jup in these systems. However, high-resolution, infrared spectroscopy shows that starspots cause the radial velocity variations. We also report unambiguous results for V827 Tau, identified as a spotted star on the basis of both visible light and infrared spectroscopy. Our results suggest that infrared follow up observations are critical for determining the source of radial velocity modulation in young, spotted stars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Magnetic Fields in Stellar Jets

Although several lines of evidence suggest that jets from young stars are driven magnetically from accretion disks, existing observations of field strengths in the bow shocks of these flows imply that magnetic fields play only a minor role in the dynamics at these locations. To investigate this apparent discrepancy we performed numerical simulations of expanding magnetized jets with stochastically variable input velocities with the AstroBEAR MHD code. Because the magnetic field B is proportional to the density n within compression and rarefaction regions, the magnetic signal speed drops in rarefactions and increases in the compressed areas of velocity-variable flows. In contrast, B ~ n^0.5 for a steady-state conical flow with a toroidal field, so the Alfven speed in that case is constant along the entire jet. The simulations show that the combined effects of shocks, rarefactions, and divergent flow cause magnetic fields to scale with density as an intermediate power 1 > p > 0.5. Because p > 0.5, the Alfven speed in rarefactions decreases on average as the jet propagates away from the star. This behavior is extremely important to the flow dynamics because it means that a typical Alfven velocity in the jet close to the star is significantly larger than it is in the rarefactions ahead of bow shocks at larger distances, the one place where the field is a measurable quantity. We find that the observed values of weak fields at large distances are consistent with strong fields required to drive the observed mass loss close to the star. For a typical stellar jet the crossover point inside which velocity perturbations of 30 - 40 km/s no longer produce shocks is ~ 300 AU from the source.

astro-ph↗