Cosmic rays (CR) play an important role in dense molecular cores, affecting their thermal and dynamical evolution and initiating the chemistry. Several studies have shown that the formation of protostellar discs in collapsing clouds is severely hampered by the braking torque exerted by the entrained magnetic field on the infalling gas, as long as the field remains frozen to the gas. We examine the possibility that the concentration and twisting of the field lines in the inner region of collapse can produce a significant reduction of the ionisation fraction. To check whether the CR ionisation rate (CRir) can fall below the critical value required to maintain good coupling, we first study the propagation of CRs in a model of a static magnetised cloud varying the relative strength of the toroidal/poloidal components and the mass-to-flux ratio. We then follow the path of CRs using realistic magnetic field configurations generated by numerical simulations of a rotating collapsing core. We find that an increment of the toroidal component of the magnetic field, or, in general, a more twisted configuration of the field lines, results in a decrease in the CR flux. This is mainly due to the magnetic mirroring effect that is stronger where larger variations in the field direction are present. In particular, we find a decrease of the CRir below 10^-18 s-1 in the central 300-400 AU, where density is higher than about 10^9 cm-3. This very low value of the CRir is attained in the cases of intermediate and low magnetisation (mass-to-flux ratio lambda=5 and 17, respectively) and for toroidal fields larger than about 40% of the total field. Magnetic field effects can significantly reduce the ionisation fraction in collapsing clouds. We provide a handy fitting formula to compute approximately the attenuation of the CRir in a molecular cloud as a function of the density and the magnetic configuration.
CHemical Evolution in MassIve star-forming COres (CHEMICO). II. Molecular ions, electron fraction, and cosmic-ray ionisation rate
INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri(意大利国家天体物理研究所-阿尔切特里天体物理天文台);Observatoire de Paris(巴黎天文台);PSL Research University(巴黎文理研究大学);CNRS(法国国家科学研究中心);Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam(阿姆斯特丹自由大学)
Complex organic molecules and cosmic ray ionisation rate towards the massive protostar Cepheus A HW2
Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen(哥本哈根大学尼尔斯·玻尔研究所);Chalmers University of Technology(查尔姆斯理工大学);University of Duisburg-Essen(杜伊斯堡-埃森大学);Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik(马克斯·普朗克地外物理学研究所);Universität Heidelberg(海德堡大学);University of Virginia(弗吉尼亚大学)
研究宇宙射线对复杂有机分子形成的影响,通过高灵敏度光谱观测Cepheus A HW2,发现电离率增强,验证了宇宙射线在高质星形成环境中的作用。
Can diffuse X-rays be important in driving photoionisation in molecular clouds?
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics(马克斯·普朗克地外物理研究所);Physics Department, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology(以色列理工学院物理系);Faculty of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen(杜伊斯堡-埃森大学物理学院);INAF–Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri(意大利国家天体物理研究所阿切特里天文台)
Low cosmic-ray ionisation at parsec scales in G035.39-00.33
University of Vienna(维也纳大学);European Southern Observatory (ESO)(欧洲南方天文台);Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE)(马克斯·普朗克地外物理学研究所);Max Planck Institute for Astronomy(马克斯·普朗克天文学研究所);Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)(毫米波射电天文学研究所);INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri(意大利国家天体物理研究所阿切特里天文台);Universität zu Köln(科隆大学);University of Oslo(奥斯陆大学);Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université(巴黎天文台,PSL研究大学,法国国家科学研究中心,索邦大学);Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC/INTA)(天体生物学中心);Chalmers University of Technology(查尔姆斯理工大学);University of Virginia(弗吉尼亚大学)
Production of atomic hydrogen by cosmic rays in dark clouds
在21厘米的光谱线上,以吸收凹陷的形式检测到的少量氢原子的存在,是乌云的一个众所周知的特征。在分子云致密区测得的氢原子丰度只能用宇宙射线引起的H $_2$的离解来解释。我们希望利用宇宙射线低能光谱特性的最新发展和它们在分子云中传播的模拟进展,评估银河系宇宙射线在原子氢形成中的作用。我们建立了星际宇宙射线进入云的衰减模型,并计算了由于与宇宙射线质子和电子以及快速氢原子碰撞而产生的分子氢的解离速率。我们将我们的结果与现有的观测结果进行比较。宇宙射线的离解速率完全由初级电离碰撞中产生的次级电子决定。这些次级粒子构成了柱密度高于$\sim10^{21}$ cm $^{-2}$的原子氢的唯一来源。我们还发现,解离速率随柱密度降低,而解离和电离速率之间的比率在约0.6和0.7之间变化。通过与观测结果的比较,我们得出结论,一个相对平坦的星际宇宙射线质子谱,如最近的旅行者1号数据所建议的那样,只能为观测到的原子氢分数提供一个下限。需要一个增强的低能质子光谱来解释大多数观测结果。我们的发现表明,对宇宙射线分解的分子氢的仔细描述可以解释暗云中原子氢的丰度。在高密度下准确描述这一过程对于理解恒星形成区域的化学演化至关重要。
The Star Formation Factory revisited I. The impact of metallicity on collapsing star-forming clouds
Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences(捷克科学院天文研究所);Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University(查理大学数学物理学院);Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Óptica y Electrónica(国家天体物理学、光学和电子研究所)