arXiv subjects

Thomas Pino

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Pino.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

PDRs4All XXII. Near-Infrared continuum in the Orion Bar

Conspicuous excess emission is present in the near-infrared (NIR) region in various objects, including reflection nebulae, planetary nebulae, and nearby galaxies. However, the spatial distribution and spectral shape of the excess emission remain poorly understood. We studied the NIR continuum emission spectroscopically and obtained its spatial distribution relative to the aromatic infrared band (AIB) at 3.3um in the Orion Bar prototypical photodissociation region (PDR). We aim to characterize its spectral shape and discuss its origin. We employed 3D spectroscopic data of the Orion Bar taken with the integrated field unit of NIRSpec on JWST from the Early Release Science program "PDRs4All." Contribution from the foreground ionized gas was estimated using the Cloudy code and subtracted. The observed regions were divided into nine physically distinct regions and an average spectrum was derived for each region. The nine regions, including the ionized gas, atomic PDR, and molecular PDR, clearly show remaining continuum in the region 1--4.5um. The continuum at wavelengths longer than 2.7um shows good correlations with the 3.3um AIB, while the correlation of the continuum at 1.2um is not significant. We further find that the NIR continuum in the Orion Bar can be approximated by a summation of two blackbodies. The low-temperature component correlates with the AIB well, while the high-temperature component does not. The average spectra also show absorption features at 3.0 and 4.27um, which are attributed to the presence in the spectra of water ice and CO2 ice. We discuss possible origins of the NIR continuum, among which recurrent fluorescence from carbon clusters better explains the observed low-temperature component. The presence of ice species suggests a contribution from a deeper layer of the PDR along the line of sight producing characteristic ice absorption features.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Mechanochemical synthesis of Aromatic Infrared Band carriers. The top-down chemistry of interstellar carbonaceous dust grain analogues

Interstellar space hosts nanometre- to micron-sized dust grains. The carbonaceous-rich component of these grain populations emits in infrared bands, observed remotely for decades with telescopes and satellites. They are a key ingredient of astrochemical dust evolution. The precise carriers for most of these bands are still unknown and not well reproduced in the laboratory. In this work, we show the high-energy mechanochemical synthesis of disordered aromatic and aliphatic analogues provides interstellar relevant dust particles. The mechanochemical milling of carbon-based solids under a hydrogen atmosphere produces particles with a spectroscopic match to astrophysical observations of aromatic infrared band (AIB) emission. The H/C ratio for the analogues that best reproduce these astronomical infrared observations lies in the 5$\pm$2% range. This value is much lower than diffuse interstellar hydrogenated amorphous carbons, another Galactic dust grain component observed in absorption, and it most probably provides a constraint on the hydrogenation degree of the most aromatic carbonaceous dust grain carriers. A broad band, observed in AIBs, in the 7.4-8.3 $μ$m range is correlated to the hydrogen content, and thus the structural evolution in the analogues produced. The mechanochemical process can be seen as an experimental reactor to stimulate local energetic chemical reactions. It introduces bond disorder and hydrogen chemical attachment on the produced defects, with an effect similar to the interstellar space very localised chemical reactions with solids. From the vantage point of astrophysics, these laboratory interstellar dust analogues will be used to predict dust grain evolution under simulated interstellar conditions, including harsh radiative environments. Such interstellar analogues offer an opportunity to derive a global view on the cycling of matter in other star forming systems.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Simulating the structural diversity of carbon clusters across the planar to fullerene transition

Together with the second generation REBO reactive potential, replica-exchange molecular dynamics simulations coupled with systematic quenching were used to generate a broad set of isomers for neutral C$_n$ clusters with $n=24$, 42, and 60. All the minima were sorted in energy and analyzed using order parameters to monitor the evolution of their structural and chemical properties. The structural diversity measured by the fluctuations in these various indicators is found to increase significantly with energy, the number of carbon rings, especially 6-membered, exhibiting a monotonic decrease in favor of low-coordinated chains and branched structures. A systematic statistical analysis between the various parameters indicates that energetic stability is mainly driven by the amount of sp$^2$ hybridization, more than any geometrical parameter. The astrophysical relevance of these results is discussed in the light of the recent detection of C$_{60}$ and C$_{60}^+$ fullerenes in the interstellar medium.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2017

Polyaromatic disordered carbon grains as carriers of the UV bump: FUV to mid-infrared spectroscopy of laboratory analogs

A multiwavelength study of laboratory carbons with varying degrees of hydrogenation and sp$^2$ hybridization is required to characterize the structure of the carbonaceous carriers of interstellar and circumstellar extinction. Analogs to carbonaceous interstellar dust encountered in various phases of the interstellar medium have been prepared in the laboratory. Thin films have been measured in transmission in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV; 120 - 210 nm) within the atmospheric pressure experiment (APEX) chamber of the DISCO beam line at the SOLEIL synchrotron radiation facility. Spectra of these films were further measured through the UV-Vis (210 nm - 1 $μ$m) and in the mid-infrared (3 - 15 $μ$m). Tauc optical gaps, E$_g$, are derived from the visible spectra. The major spectral features are fitted through the VUV to the mid infrared to obtain positions, full-widths at half maximum (FWHM), and integrated intensities. These are plotted against the position of the $π$-$π^*$ electronic transitions peak. Unidentified or overlapping features in the UV are identified by correlations with complementary infrared data. A correlation between the optical gap and position of the $π$-$π^*$ electronic transitions peak is found. The latter is also correlated to the position of the sp$^3$ carbon defect band at ~8 $μ$m, the aromatic C=C stretching mode position at ~6 $μ$m, and the H/C ratio. Our study suggests that carriers of the interstellar UV bump should exhibit infrared bands akin to the A/B classes of the aromatic infrared bands, while the circumstellar bump carriers should exhibit bands corresponding to the B/C classes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Coulomb explosion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons induced by heavy cosmic rays: carbon chains production rates

Cosmic Rays (CR) process the matter of the Interstellar Medium. Such energetic processing not only modifies the interstellar matter but also injects chemical species in the gas phase. In this work, we study the effect of the CR on the astrophysical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). For events in which many electrons are stripped out from the PAH by interaction with a heavy cosmic ray particle, coulomb explosion takes place and carbon chains are produced. The fragments production rates of carbon chains are of particular interest for astrophysical models. We computed PAH multi-ionization cross sections with an Independent Atom and Electron collisional model. We introduced and used a model to predict the fragmentation pattern for the coulomb explosion. Experimental measurements on small hydrocarbons, C$_{60}$ and PAHs were used to set confidence intervals on the calculations results. The carbon chains production rates were calculated using different CR fluxes and elemental compositions, to account for the variations expected in various astrophysical environments. A range of PAH sizes and compactness were also explored. The PAH lifetime with respect to a standard interstellar CR flux (corresponding to an H$_2$ ionization rate of $ζ\approx$ 6.10$^{-17}$s$^{-1}$) is found to be in the order of a few billion years. The production rates of interstellar carbon chains containing around 5-15 carbon atoms are in the order of few to many tens of percent of the H$_2$ ionization rate $ζ$. The exact rate value relies on the nature of the PAH and on the CR composition. In diffuse medium, with ten percent of the available cosmic carbon locked in PAHs, this process leads to carbon chain fractional abundances at steady state, in the range of $10^{-15}$-$10^{-14}$, with a confidence interval of about one order of magnitude. It reaches $10^{-13}$ in quiescent dense clouds.

astro-ph.GA↗