Cometary and bipolar ultracompact HII regions

Mass-loaded models can explain how a cometary morphology, ultracompact H II region can arise around a stationary star. The star is located in a density gradient in the mass-loading sources. Continuous mass-loss from the clumps embedded in the ionized gas allows the region to remain compact. The wind and radiation field from the central star set up a fully supersonic flow that is bounded by a recombination front. We develop the models further by calculating the velocity and density structure in detail for a variety of viewing angles, mass-loading laws and density scaleheights. The results are compared with observational work, and the agreements and differences are highlighted.
We extend this model to show how a massive star located in a dense molecular ridge can give rise to a bipolar or ring morphology, depending on the viewing angle.     

Gemini GMOS/integral field unit spectroscopy of NGC 1569 – II. Mapping the roots of the galactic outflow

We present a set of four Gemini-North Multi-Object Spectrograph/integral field unit (IFU) observations of the central disturbed regions of the dwarf irregular starburst galaxy NGC 1569, surrounding the well-known superstar clusters A and B. This continues on directly from a companion paper, in which we describe the data reduction and analysis techniques employed and present the analysis of one of the IFU pointings. By decomposing the emission-line profiles across the IFU fields, we map out the properties of each individual component identified and identify a number of relationships and correlations that allow us to investigate in detail the state of the ionized interstellar medium (ISM). Our observations support and expand on the main findings from the analysis of the first IFU position, where we conclude that a broad (≲400 km s⁻¹) component underlying the bright nebular emission lines is produced in a turbulent mixing layer on the surface of cool gas knots, set up by the impact of the fast-flowing cluster winds. We discuss the kinematic, electron-density and excitation maps of each region in detail and compare our results to previous studies. Our analysis reveals a very complex environment with many overlapping and superimposed components, including dissolving gas knots, rapidly expanding shocked shells and embedded ionizing sources, but no evidence for organized bulk motions. We conclude that the four IFU positions presented here lie well within the starburst region where energy is injected, and, from the lack of substantial ordered gas flows, within the quasi-hydrostatic zone of the wind interior to the sonic point. The net outflow occurs at radii beyond 100–200 pc, but our data imply that mass-loading of the hot ISM is active even at the roots of the wind.     

Alfvén wave plasma turbulence during solar wind-comet interaction

The large differences in drift velocities between the solar wind protons and the picked-up ions of cometary origin cause the Alfvén waves (among others) to become unstable and generate turbulence. A self-consistent treatment of such instabilities has to take into account that these cometary ions affect the solar wind plasma in a decisive way. With the help of a previously developed formalism one finds the correct Alfvén instability criterion, which is here nondispersive, in contrast to recent calculations where the cometary ions are treated as a low-density, high-speed, and non-neutral beam through an otherwise undisturbed solar wind. The true bulk speed of the combined solar wind plus cometary ion plasma clearly shows the mass-loading and deceleration of the solar wind near the cometary nucleus, indicating a bow shock. The instability criterion is also used to determine the region upstream where the Alfvén waves can be unstable, based upon recent observations near comet Halley.     

Truncated Collimated Flows in Abell 30, Abell 78 and the Honeycomb Nebula

Localised collimated flows of ionized gas are found in two hydrogen deficient planetary nebulae, Abell 30 and Abell 78 as well as in the Honeycomb complex of interlocking shells in halo of 30 Dor in the Large Magellanic Cloud. One common feature of these flows, in seemingly disparate objects, is that they all terminate at around the same difference in radial velocity (with respect to that of the systemic radial velocity). A possible explanation involves high speed flows being decelerated by mass-loading. In Abell 30 and 78, mass is injected by clumps embedded in the fast wind. In the Honeycomb nebula, a supernova blast wave has pierced an old dense shell wall which adds mass to the post-shock flow via a boundary layer. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Interaction of the Galilean Moons with their plasma environments

The Galilean moons, especially Io, affect not just their local environment but also the Jovian ionosphere at the ends of the flux tubes connected to the moons. Moreover, the mass added to the magnetosphere by Io affects much of the rest of the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is energized by this mass-loading, powering the aurora, accelerating radiation belt particles, and generating radio emissions. This review examines how the mass-loading affects the magnetosphere and ionosphere; the differences in the interactions of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto; and some of the kinetic phenomena associated with the interaction.     

XMM–Newton X-ray observations of the Wolf–Rayet binary system WR 147

We present results of an ≈20-ks X-ray observation of the Wolf–Rayet (WR) binary system WR 147 obtained with XMM–Newton . Previous studies have shown that this system consists of a nitrogen-type WN8 star plus an OB companion whose winds are interacting to produce a colliding wind shock. X-ray spectra from the pn and MOS detectors confirm the high extinction reported from infrared studies and reveal hot plasma including the first detection of the Fe Kα line complex at 6.67 keV. Spectral fits with a constant-temperature plane-parallel shock model give a shock temperature   kT _shock= 2.7  keV (   T _shock≈ 31  MK), close to but slightly hotter than the maximum temperature predicted for a colliding wind shock. Optically thin plasma models suggest even higher temperatures, which are not yet ruled out. The X-ray spectra are harder than can be accounted for using 2D numerical colliding wind shock models based on nominal mass-loss parameters. Possible explanations include: (i) underestimates of the terminal wind speeds or wind abundances, (ii) overly simplistic colliding wind models or (iii) the presence of other X-ray emission mechanisms besides colliding wind shocks. Further improvement of the numerical models to include potentially important physics such as non-equilibrium ionization will be needed to rigorously test the colliding wind interpretation.     

Modelling forbidden line emission profiles from colliding wind binaries

This paper presents calculations for forbidden emission-line profile shapes arising from colliding wind binaries. The main application is for systems involving a Wolf–Rayet (WR) star and an OB star companion. The WR wind is assumed to dominate the forbidden line emission. The colliding wind interaction is treated as an Archimedean spiral with an inner boundary. Under the assumptions of the model, the major findings are as follows. (i) The redistribution of the WR wind as a result of the wind collision is not flux conservative but typically produces an excess of line emission; however, this excess is modest at around the 10 per cent level. (ii) Deviations from a flat-toped profile shape for a spherical wind are greatest for viewing inclinations that are more nearly face-on to the orbital plane. At intermediate viewing inclinations, profiles display only mild deviations from a flat-toped shape. (iii) The profile shape can be used to constrain the colliding wind bow shock opening angle. (iv) Structure in the line profile tends to be suppressed in binaries of shorter periods. (v) Obtaining data for multiple forbidden lines is important since different lines probe different characteristic radial scales. Our models are discussed in relation to Infrared Space Observatory data for WR 147 and γ Vel (WR 11). The lines for WR 147 are probably not accurate enough to draw firm conclusions. For γ Vel, individual line morphologies are broadly reproducible but not simultaneously so for the claimed wind and orbital parameters. Overall, the effort demonstrates how lines that are sensitive to the large-scale wind can help to deduce binary system properties and provide new tests of numerical simulations.     

Modelling interaction of relativistic and non-relativistic winds in binary system PSR B1259−63/SS2883 – I. Hydrodynamical limit

In this paper, we present a detailed hydrodynamical study of the properties of the flow produced by the collision of a pulsar wind with the surrounding in a binary system. This work is the first attempt to simulate interaction of the ultrarelativistic flow (pulsar wind) with the non-relativistic stellar wind. Obtained results show that the wind collision could result in the formation of an 'unclosed' (at spatial scales comparable to the binary system size) pulsar wind termination shock even when the stellar wind ram pressure exceeds significantly the pulsar wind kinetic pressure. Moreover, the post-shock flow propagates in a rather narrow region, with very high bulk Lorentz factor (γ∼ 100). This flow acceleration is related to adiabatic losses which are purely hydrodynamical effects. Interestingly, in this particular case, no magnetic field is required for formation of the ultrarelativistic bulk outflow. The obtained results provide a new interpretation for the orbital variability of radio, X-ray and gamma-ray signals detected from binary pulsar system PSR B1259−63/SS2883.     

Modelling the spectra of colliding winds in the Wolf–Rayet WC7+O binaries WR 42 and WR 79

We have obtained complete phase coverage of the WC7+O binaries WR 42 = HD 97152 and WR 79 = HD 152270 with high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), moderate-resolution spectra. Remarkable orbital phase-locked profile variations of the C  iii λ 5696 line are observed and interpreted as arising from colliding wind effects. Within this scenario, we have modelled the spectra using a purely geometrical model that assumes a cone-shaped wind–wind interaction region which partially wraps around the O star. Such modelling holds the exciting promise of revealing a number of interesting parameters for WR+O binaries, such as the orbital inclination, the streaming velocity of material in the interaction region and the ratio of wind momentum flux. Knowledge of these parameters in turn leads to the possibility of a better understanding of WR star masses, mass-loss rates and wind region characteristics.     

Spectropolarimetric modelling of hot star wind structure

A short overview is given of some recent progress in the theory of spectropolarimetry as a diagnostic of axisymmetric hot star wind density and velocity structure, covering the inferences possible from broad band polarimetry, from polarimetric light curves and simultaneous absorption line data, and from spectropolarimetric line profiles. Recent work on joint spectro-, photo-, and polari-metric study of the properties of wind inhomogeneities is also summarised. One of the most important conclusions is that the blobs necessary in WR winds to produce narrow emission line features cannot also produce polarimetric light curve features unless they originate in enhanced mass loss sources at the stellar surface rather than solely in density redistribution processes, such as turbulence, in the wind itself.     

Semi-analytic simulations of galactic winds: volume filling factor, ejection of metals and parameter study

We present a semi-analytic treatment of galactic winds within high-resolution, large-scale cosmological N -body simulations of a Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) universe. The evolution of winds is investigated by following the expansion of supernova-driven superbubbles around the several hundred thousand galaxies that form in an approximately spherical region of space with diameter 52  h ⁻¹ Mpc and mean density close to the mean density of the universe. We focus our attention on the impact of winds on the diffuse intergalactic medium. Initial conditions for mass loss at the base of winds are taken from Shu, Mo & Mao. Results are presented for the volume filling factor and the mass fraction of the intergalactic medium (IGM) affected by winds, and their dependence on the model parameters is carefully investigated. The mass-loading efficiency of bubbles is a key factor to determine the evolution of winds and their global impact on the IGM: the higher the mass loading, the later the IGM is enriched with metals. Galaxies with 10⁹ < M _★ < 10¹⁰ M_⊙ are responsible for most of the metals ejected into the IGM at   z = 3  , while galaxies with   M _★ < 10⁹ M_⊙   give a non-negligible contribution only at higher redshifts, when larger galaxies have not yet assembled. We find a higher mean IGM metallicity than Lyα forest observations suggest, and we argue that the discrepancy may be explained by the high temperatures of a large fraction of the metals in winds, which may not leave detectable imprints in absorption in the Lyα forest.     

The departure of η Carinae from axisymmetry and the binary hypothesis

I argue that the large-scale departure from axisymmetry of the η Carinae nebula can be explained by the binary star model of η Carinae. The companion diverts the wind blown by the primary star, by accreting from the wind and possibly by blowing its own collimated fast wind (CFW). The effect of these processes depends on the orbital separation, and hence on the orbital phase of the eccentric orbit. The variation of the mass outflow from the binary system with the orbital phase leads to a large-scale departure from axisymmetry along the equatorial plane, as is observed in η Carinae. I further speculate that such a companion may have accreted a large fraction of the mass that was expelled in the Great Eruption of 1850 and the Lesser Eruption of 1890. The accretion process was likely to form an accretion disc, with the formation of a CFW, or jets, on the two sides of the accretion disc. The CFW may have played a crucial role in the formation of the two lobes.     

X-ray emission by a shocked fast wind from the central stars of planetary nebulae

We calculate the X-ray emission from the shocked fast wind blown by the central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe) and compare with observations. Using spherically symmetric self-similar solutions, we calculate the flow structure and X-ray temperature for a fast wind slamming into a previously ejected slow wind. We find that the observed X-ray emission of six PNe can be accounted for by shocked wind segments that were expelled during the early-PN phase, if the fast wind speed is moderate,   v ₂∼ 400–600 km s⁻¹  , and the mass-loss rate is a few times  10⁻⁷ M_⊙ yr⁻¹  . We find, as proposed previously, that the morphology of the X-ray emission is in the form of a narrow ring inner to the optical bright part of the nebula. The bipolar X-ray morphology of several observed PNe, which indicates an important role of jets, rather than a spherical fast wind, cannot be explained by the flow studied here.     

X-ray emission from planetary nebulae calculated by 1D spherical numerical simulations

We calculate the X-ray emission from both constant and time-evolving shocked fast winds blown by the central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe) and compare our calculations with observations. Using spherically symmetric numerical simulations with radiative cooling, we calculate the flow structure and the X-ray temperature and luminosity of the hot bubble formed by the shocked fast wind. We find that a constant fast wind gives results that are very close to those obtained from the self-similar solution. We show that in order for a fast shocked wind to explain the observed X-ray properties of PNe, rapid evolution of the wind is essential. More specifically, the mass-loss rate of the fast wind should be high early on when the speed is  ∼300–700 km s⁻¹  , and then it needs to drop drastically by the time the PN age reaches ∼1000 yr. This implies that the central star has a very short pre-PN (post-asymptotic giant branch) phase.     

Repetitive structure in the stellar wind of HD 93843: a normal O-type star

We present the results from a 28-day IUE time-series campaign monitoring the stellar wind of the O5-type giant HD 93843. The principal aim was to study variability in the wind of a star with a normal projected rotation velocity. Systematic changes are identified, amidst continuous line-profile variability, in the absorption troughs of the Si  iv and N  v resonance lines. The patterns observed have characteristic time-scales of several days and are mimicked by fluctuations (of several 100 km s⁻¹) in the blue wings of the saturated C  iv P Cygni profile.   Fourier analysis provides support for the repeatability of wind structures in HD 93843 on a 7.1-d 'period'. Power at this frequency is evident only at intermediate and high velocities (i.e., above ∼0.3 of the terminal velocity). The long modulation time-scale suggests that changes in the star itself probably provide the physical source for triggering the onset of wind structure. Unfortunately the rotational, photometric, pulsational and magnetic properties of HD 93843 are too poorly constrained or known to permit a more detailed interpretation of the 7.1-d wind modulation in terms of potential inhomogeneities at the stellar surface. Nevertheless, our study demonstrates that the incidence of cyclic, possibly regular, stellar-wind variability is not restricted to rapid rotators. Comparisons with other OB stars which have exhibited repetitive wind changes on 'periods' of several days suggest that the time-dependent UV properties of HD 93843 are more akin to those of the O4-type supergiant ζ Puppis.     

Shock breakout in Type Ibc supernovae and application to GRB 060218/SN 2006aj

Recently, a soft blackbody component was observed in the early X-ray afterglow of GRB 060218, which was interpreted as shock breakout from the thick wind of the progenitor Wolf–Rayet (WR) star of the underlying Type Ic supernova 2006aj. In this paper, we present a simple model for computing the characteristic quantities (including energy, temperature and time duration) for the transient event from the shock breakout in Type Ibc supernovae produced by the core-collapse of WR stars surrounded by dense winds. In contrast to the case of a star without a strong wind, the shock breakout occurs in the wind region rather than inside the star, caused by the large optical depth in the wind. We find that, for the case of a WR star with a dense wind, the total energy of the radiation generated by the supernova shock breakout is larger than that in the case of the same star without a wind by a factor of >10. The temperature can be either hotter or colder, depending on the wind parameters. The time duration is larger caused by the increase in the effective radius of the star due to the presence of a thick wind. Then, we apply the model to GRB 060218/SN 2006aj. We show that, to explain both the temperature and the total energy of the blackbody component observed in GRB 060218 by the shock breakout, the progenitor WR star has to have an unrealistically large core radius (the radius at optical depth of 20), larger than 100 R_⊙. In spite of this disappointing result, our model is expected to have important applications to the observations on Type Ibc supernovae in which the detection of shock breakout will provide important clues to the progenitors of Type Ibc supernovae.     

太阳风离子尺度湍流与太阳风加热

太阳风源自太阳大气,在行星际空间传播过程中被持续加热,然而究竟是何种能量加热了太阳风至今未研究清楚.太阳风普遍处于湍动状态,其湍动能量被认为是加热太阳风的重要能源.然而,太阳风湍流通过何种载体、基于何种微观物理机制加热了太阳风尚不明确,这是相关研究的关键问题.将回顾人类对太阳风加热问题的研究历史,着重介绍近年来我国学者在太阳风离子尺度湍流与加热方面取得的研究进展,展望未来在太阳风加热研究中有待解决的科学问题和可能的研究方向.     

Cylindrical Jet—Wind interaction Model of Gamma—Ray Burst Afterglows

Observations on relativistic jets in radio galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and "microquasars" revealed that many of these outflows are cylindrical, not conical. So it is worthwhile to investigate the evolution of cylindrical jets in gamma-ray bursts. We discuss afterglows from cylindrical jets in a wind environment. Numerical results as well as analytic solutions in some special cases are presented. Our light curves are steeper compared to those in the homogeneous interstellar medium case, carefully considered by Cheng, Huang & Lu. We conclude that some afterglows, used to be interpreted as isotropic fireballs in a wind environment, can be fitted as well by cylindrical jets interacting with a wind.     

The impact of accretion disc winds on the X-ray spectrum of AGN – I. xscort

The accretion disc in active galactic nucleus (AGN) is expected to produce strong outflows, in particular an ultraviolet (UV)-line-driven wind. Several observed spectral features, including the soft X-ray excess, have been associated with the accretion disc wind. However, current spectral models of the X-ray spectrum of AGN observed through an accretion disc wind, known to provide a good fit to the observed X-ray data, are ad hoc in their treatment of the outflow velocity and density of the wind material. In order to address these limitations we adopt a numerical computational method that links a series of radiative transfer calculations, incorporating the effect of a global velocity field in a self-consistent manner { xstar Simulation Chain for Outflows with Radiative Transfer ( xscort )}. We present a series of example spectra from the xscort code that allow us to examine the shape of AGN X-ray spectra seen through a smooth wind with terminal velocity of 0.3 c , as appropriate for a UV-line-driven wind. We calculate spectra for a range of different acceleration laws, density distributions, total column densities and ionization parameters, but all these have sharp features that contrast strongly with both the previous 'smeared absorption' models, and with the observed smoothness of the soft X-ray excess. This rules out absorption in a radiatively driven accretion disc wind as the origin of the soft X-ray excess, though a larger terminal velocity, possibly associated with material in a magnetically driven outflow/jet, may allow outflow models to recover a smooth excess.     

Polar Coronal Holes During Solar Cycles 22 and 23

Data from the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on Ulysses and synoptic maps from Kitt Peak are used to analyze the polar coronal holes of solar activity cycles 22 and 23 (from 1990 to end of 2003). In the beginning of the declining phase of solar cycles 22 and 23, the north polar coronal holes (PCHs) appear about one year earlier than the ones in the south polar region. The solar wind velocity and the solar wind ionic charge composition exhibit a characteristic dependence on the solar wind source position within a PCH. From the center toward the boundary of a young PCH, the solar wind velocity decreases, coinciding with a shift of the ionic charge composition toward higher charge states. However, for an old PCH, the ionic charge composition does not show any obvious change, although the latitude evolution of the velocity is similar to that of a young PCH.