Shock waves propagation in the turbulent interplanetary plasma

Effect of turbulence on interplanetary shock waves propagation is considered. It is shown that background turbulence results in the additional shock wave deceleration which may be comparable with the deceleration due to plasma sweeping. The turbulent deceleration is connected with the energy losses due to the strong turbulence amplification behind the moving shock front.     

Laboratory Observation of Secondary Shock Formation Ahead of a Strongly Radiative Blast Wave

We have previously reported the experimental discovery of a second shock forming ahead of a radiative shock propagating in Xe. The initial shock is spherical, radiative, with a high Mach number, and it sends a supersonic radiative heat wave far ahead of itself. The heat wave rapidly slows to a transonic regime and when its Mach number drops to two with respect to the downstream plasma, the heat wave drives a second shock ahead of itself to satisfy mass and momentum conservation in the heat wave reference frame. We now show experimental data from a range of mixtures of Xe and N₂, gradually changing the properties of the initial shock and the environment into which the shock moves and radiates (the radiative conductivity and the heat capacity). We have successfully observed second shock formation over the entire range from 100% Xe mass fraction to 100% N₂. The formation radius of the second shock as a function of Xe mass fraction is consistent with an analytical estimate.     

Shock modelling of Planetary Nebulae

The kinematics of Planetary Nebulae are analyzed in terms of the solutions to the equations of hydrodynamic equilibrium developed by J. Cantó. We apply our analysis to the Planetary Nebulae NGC 6905 and NGC 6537. A detailed spectroscopic study of these objects reveals the existence of high nuclear velocities, together with complex kinematic structures and unusual emission line intensities. Shock ionization clearly plays a key role in these nebulae. Remarkably good agreement is obtained when comparing the synthetic maps and spectra resulting from the shock solutions with the observational data.     

The deflection of jets by clouds

The role of collisions between extragalactic jets and dense clouds in determining the appearance of high-redshift radio galaxies is discussed and investigated through numerical hydrodynamic simulations in three dimensions. The code has the facility to track jet material separately from ambient material. This allows us to use simplifying assumptions to calculate synthetic radio images. The results indicate that the most powerful radio sources are likely to be observed during or shortly after an interaction, and that such interactions can explain both the radio structures and the spatial association between optical and radio light found in powerful radio galaxies. In some cases such a scenario may provide an alternative explanation of jet properties to mechanisms based on variations in the source or fluid-dynamical instabilities.This author is supported by a PPARC research studentship     

Diagnostics of supernova remnant shock waves

Fairly simple models can explain the emission from non-radiative shock waves in supernova remnants. This talk reviews some of the more robust diagnostics of shock parameters and some of the implications for the physics of collisionless shock waves in interstellar gas. The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope observed several non-radiative shocks during the ASTRO-2 mission, and the spectra have interesting implications for the physics of collisionless shocks.     

The observational study of Herbig-Haro shock waves

We review the basic shock properties and the origin and the geometry of Herbig-Haro (H-H) shock waves. We first discuss different aspects of “normal” H-H objects which are connected with working surfaces (including internal working surfaces) of jets from young stellar objects. The emphasis is on unsolved problems of the H-H shock waves and not on the problems of the jet. We study the line flux ratios of high excitation H-H objects (high velocity shocks) and low excitation HH objects (low velocity shocks) and carry out a comparison with theoretical predictions in both cases. We emphasize an unexplained deficit of higher ions (especially OIII and SIII, but also various other ions) in high excitation objects. This lets the line flux ratios of HH objects appear as if their shock velocities are almost never above 100 km s^?1, while other shock diagnostics (position-velocity diagrams, integrated line profiles, distributions of fluxes along the axis of the bow shock, etc.) definitely indicate higher shock velocities. Some aspects of the spectrum interpretation of the very low velocity shocks (like HH7) are explained quite well by the theory. A basic unsolved problem is, however, the explanation of the CI lines whose flux is up to a factor 10 times stronger than predicted for any model. Obviously we are very far from correctly predicting the ionization of C in shock models. In the last chapter we discuss, as one example of a very unusual HH-object, HH255 (Burnham's nebula). Detailed line fluxes in the immediate environment of T Tauri (the source of HH255) have shown that HH255 has a shock wave spectrum and is definitely an HH object. In the very narrow region between 3″ and 4″ S of T Tauri we find a sharp peak of the velocity dispersion, the centroid velocity, and N_e. In the same region there is an almost discontinous increase in ionization. Between 4″ and 10″ S (corresponding to 600-1600 a.u.) of T Tauri (the source of HH255) the ionization remains high but the centroid velocity is zero (with respect to T Tauri) and the velocity dispersion is very small. This result is completely surprising for a shock wave which according to the flux ratios must have ～90 km s^?1-1 shock velocity. Why should a cooling region of a shock have a centroid velocity of ～0 km s^?1 over a large range of distance from the stellar source? At present the geometry of the HH255 is enigmatic.     

A distribution function calculation of the H α profiles of SNR filaments

In shocked media of high preshock ionisation, the lack of thermal contact between atoms in the neutral component of the gas can prevent the formation of a thermal equilibrium independent of the ionic component. The behaviour of the neutral gas in such a shock is dominated by the atomic processes driven by the postshock ionic component.A transport equation for the velocity distribution of the neutral gas is explicitly solved under the physical conditions of a 1D ionic shock transition. The resulting distributions are used to calculate predicted H line emission from such a system.     

Density Measurements of Shock Compressed Matter Using Short Pulse Laser Diagnostics

In this paper, experimental results on X-ray and proton radiography of shock compressed matter are presented. It has been performed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) using three long pulse beams to generate a shock wave in a multi-layer foil and a short pulse beam to create either an X-ray or protons source for a transverse radiography. Depending on the probe material (aluminium or carbon foam) a Molybdenum Kα source or a proton beam are used. Density data of the shocked aluminium, in the multimagabar regime are presented.     

H2 fluorescence in HH 7 and DR 21

We present evidence for Ly pumping of the Lyman band system of molecular hydrogen in Herbig-Haro 7 and the bipolar outflow DR 21. For this study we have measured several vibrational-rotational emission lines of H₂ whose energy levels are widely spaced and ranging from 6000 (v = 1) to 25000 Kelvin (v = 4). We show that the near-infrared H₂ emission from the shocked gas in HH 7 can be well described by a bow C-type shock. The enhanced emission observed from the higher energy levels (v > 3) can be well modelled by employing the Ly pumping mechanism.In the DR 21 outflow the multi-line study showed that different physical conditions exist in the eastern and western emission lobes. The higher H₂ line ratios measured in the eastern lobe suggests a higher Ly pump rate which may be locally produced in the fast bowshocks. The FUV radiation field emanating from the central HII regions may in addition be exciting the Lyman and Werner bands of H₂ in the molecular lobes.We show that the observed H₂ emission can be interpreted in terms of a simple model consisting of a C-type bowshock, which produces the low excitation H₂ emission, and a FUV radiation field with enough Ly line radiation to produce the high excitation H₂ emission through fluorescence.     

Identification of low frequency waves in the vicinity of the terrestrial bow shock

In this paper, methods for the determination of the wave mode for low frequency waves based on observed differences in phase are reviewed. Examples, using measurements made in the terrestrial foreshock and magnetosheath, are used to illustrate the application of these methods. The use of advance methods such as NARMAX modelling or genetic algorithms to identify the plasma wave mode is also discussed.     

Grain destruction in interstellar shock waves

Interstellar shock waves can erode and destroy grains present in the shocked gas, primarily as the result of sputtering and grain-grain collisions. Uncertainties in current estimates of sputtering yields are reviewed. Results are presented for the simple case of sputtering of fast grains being stopped in cold gas. An upper limit is derived for sputtering of refractory grains in C-type MHD shocks: shock speedsv _s 50 km s^–1 are required for return of more than 30% of the silicate to the gas phase. Sputtering can also be important for removing molecular ice mantles from grains in two-fluid MHD shock waves in molecular gas. Recent estimates of refractory grain lifetimes against destruction in shock waves are summarized, and the implications of these short lifetimes are discussed.     

Molecular mixing layers in stellar outflows

High velocity jets from young stars interact with the surrounding molecular environment and molecular outflows quite possibly are the result. This interaction can take place through the formation of a turbulent mixing layer. Models have been constructed (following Cant/'o and Raga) of a plane mixing layer in the boundary between a high velocity, atomic wind (i.e., the stellar jet) and a stationary, molecular environment, computed considering a detailed chemical network.The chemical composition of the mixing layer initially corresponds to the direct mixture of the (atomic) jet and (molecular) environmental material. However, we find that the mixing layer is hot (with temperatures exceeding 10⁴ K), and the surprising only partial dissociation of H₂ means that a number of molecules are either created or survive in the high velocity gas. This contrasts with the slower, cooler flows that have tended to be termed a molecular outflow.The emission from such atomic jet/molecular environment mixing layers is dominated by emission in the rotational and vibrational lines of H₂. As a result of the high temperatures and velocities (ranging from zero to the jet velocity) of these mixing layers, the predicted H₂ emission line spectrum has interesting characteristics.     

Photoionising shocks in SNRs and AGN

A high velocity radiative shock, or one moving into high-metallicity gas, provides an efficient means to generate a strong local UV photon field. The optical emission from the shock and precursor region is dominated by the photoionised gas, rather than by the cooling region, and the total optical + UV emission scales as the mechanical energy flux through the shock. In this paper, such models are applied to oxygen-rich supernova remnants and AGN. For AGN, the degree of magnetic support in the post-shock gas is an important parameter. LINER and cooling flow spectra can be understood as resulting from high velocity shocks without precursors, while Seyfert 1.5–2 galaxy emission line ratios result from high velocity shocks with their photoionised precursor HII regions. This model explains the problem of the high electron temperatures observed in both classes of object.     

Shock surfing acceleration

Analytical and numerical analysis identify shock surfing acceleration as an ideal pre-energization mechanism for the slow pick-up ions at quasiperpendicular shocks. After gaining sufficient energy by shock surfing, pick-up ions undergo diffusive acceleration to reach their observed energies. Energetic ions upstream of the cometary bow shock, acceleration of solar energetic particles by magnetosonic waves in corona, ion enhancement in interplanetary shocks, generation of anomalous cosmic rays from interstellar pick-up ions at the termination shock are some of the cases where shock surfing acceleration apply. Inclusion of the lower-hybrid wave turbulence into the laminar model of shock surfing can explain the preferential acceleration of heavier particles as observed by Voyager at the termination shock. At relativistic energies, unlimited acceleration of ions is theoretically possible; because for sufficiently strong shocks main limitation of the mechanism, caused by the escape of accelerated particles downstream of the shock during acceleration no longer exists.     

Composite models (shock and photoionization) for the interpretation of AGN spectra

AGN spectra are investigated by comparing model calculations with observations. Line intensity ratios show that the emitting gas is heated by shocks. Therefore, composite models which consistently account for both shocks, accompanying the radial motion of the gaseous clouds, and a photoionizing radiation flux are used. Liners are ambiguous objects between AGN and Starburst galaxies, therefore, power-law or black body radiations are considered in the models, depending on the characteristics of the line spectra. The SUMA code is used.The results show that shocks definitively play an important role, even if a photoionizing flux is generally present. Particularly, the heterogeneous nature of the objects, which are classified as Liners, is confirmed.     

平行激波加速离子的数值研究

伴随耀斑和日冕物质抛射共生的日冕和行星际快激波作为一种粒子加速机制一直是理论研究关注的热点课题.在准平行激波传播条件下,首先建立数值求解一维输运方程的方法,然后探讨加速离子分布与激波和背景等离子参数之间的关系.取扩散系数分别为常数和能量的函数、有限自由逃逸边界的计算结果表明:(1)随着加速时间的增大,高能粒子近似呈双幂律分布,低能端(3～10 MeV)谱指数逐渐从10.2减小到2.4,能谱逐渐变硬,粒子被激波加速后能量逐渐增大;(2)随着激波压缩比从2增大到4,相同时间同一能量范围的粒子能谱谱指数逐渐从3.2减小到2.2,能谱逐渐变硬,表明激波强度的增大使得加速效率增大;(3)上下游逃逸边界由5减小到2后,粒子能谱的谱指数由2.4增大到3.3,粒子的加速效率减小;(4)当粒子注入能量增大时,粒子能谱的谱指数由2.4减小到0.9,加速效率增大;(5)当扩散系数与能量成正比时,粒子能谱指数由2.2增大到4.3,能谱变软.     

Flows and shocks in active galaxies and their nuclei

Observations of active galactic nuclei imply that shocks must be an essential and important part of their structure. We outline the basic observations, and discuss those features which must be addressed by any physical model of active nuclei. These features, in particular the observed spectrum of strong emission and absorption lines, lead naturally to the conclusion that shocks are present. The velocity widths of these lines, which range from hundreds to many thousands of kilometres per second, are most readily explained by models in which shocks play an important role in the generation of cool gas. The extreme parameters of the shocks in and around active nuclei provide a unique application for the physics discussed in this meeting.     

Simulations of the wardle instability of c-type shock waves

C-type shocks in the partially ionized ISM are modelled by numerical simulations. Under certain conditions the shocks are subject to the Wardle instability, which initially makes the shock front rippled, then in the non-linear stage can produce density variations in both the ion and neutral fluids. A systematic search in the numerically accessible parameter space is done to determine the wave vector k_max and the growth rates _max of the fastest growing modes. The neutral Alfvén number, and the angle _sbetween the shock normal and the upstream magnetic field determine the strength and obliqueness of the shock, as well as the dimensionless parameters of the fastest growing mode. The results confirm and extend Wardle's linear analysis.The non-linear evolution shows saturation of the instability and the formation of high density regions that detach from the shock front with the downstream flow. Numerical difficulties are partially solved by an implicit treatment of the ion-neutral friction terms, but strong shocks still can not be modelled efficiently. A fully implicit method for the ions and the magnetic field is used to model C-type shocks with low fractional ionization and high ion Alfvén speed.     

Proper motion measurements in various young stellar object jets in Taurus

We present proper motion measurements for a number of knots in the jets and bow shocks of the outflows from DG Tau, DG Tau B, T Tau, CoKu Tau 1, FS Tau, and FS Tau B in the nearby Taurus-Auriga star forming region. From these measurements and the available radial velocity data we derive tangential velocities, spatial velocities, angles of the outflows with respect to the plane of the sky, and in a couple of cases the pattern motions of the knots relative to the flow speed.