Analysis of interstellar absorption lines observed in high-resolution {\em HST} spectra of nearby stars provides temperatures, turbulent velocities, and kinetic properties of warm interstellar clouds. Previous studies identified 15 warm partially ionized clouds within about 10~pc of the Sun and measured their mean thermal and kinematic properties. A new analysis of 100 interstellar velocity components reveals a wide range of temperatures and turbulent velocities within the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) and other nearby clouds. These variations appear to be random with Gaussian distributions. We find no trends of these properties with stellar distance, angle from the Galactic Center, the main source of EUV radiation (the star $ε$~CMa), the center of the LIC, or the direction of inflowing interstellar matter into the heliosphere. The spatial scale for temperature variations in the LIC is likely smaller than 5,100~au, a distance that the Sun will traverse in 1,000 years. Essentially all velocity components align with known warm clouds. We find that within 4~pc of the Sun, space is completely filled with partially ionized clouds, but at larger distances space is only partially filled with partially ionized clouds, indicating that fully ionized inter-cloud gas fills the voids. We find that the neutral hydrogen number density in the LIC and likely other warm clouds in the CLIC is about 0.10~cm$^{-3}$ rather than the 0.20~cm$^{-3}$ density that may be representative of only the immediate environment of the LIC. The 3,000--12,000~K temperature range for the gas is consistent with the predictions of theoretical models of the WNM and WIM, but the high degree of inhomogeneity within clouds argues against simple theoretical models. Finally, we find evidence for a shock in the sight line to the star AD~Leo.
I review (1) Physics of Star Formation & Open Questions; (2) Structure & Dynamics of Star-Forming Clouds & Young Clusters; (3) Star Formation Rates: Observations & Theoretical Implications.
Stars and planets are formed inside dense interstellar molecular clouds, by processes imprinted on the 3-dimensional (3D) morphology of the clouds. Determining the 3D structure of interstellar clouds remains challenging, due to projection effects and difficulties measuring their extent along the line of sight. We report the detection of normal vibrational modes in the isolated interstellar cloud Musca, allowing determination of the 3D physical dimensions of the cloud. Musca is found to be vibrating globally, with the characteristic modes of a sheet viewed edge-on, not a filament as previously …
We present a general parameter study, in which the abundance of interstellar argonium (ArH$^+$) is predicted using a model for the physics and chemistry of diffuse interstellar gas clouds. Results have been obtained as a function of UV radiation field, cosmic-ray ionization rate, and cloud extinction. No single set of cloud parameters provides an acceptable fit to the typical ArH$^+$, OH$^+$ and $\rm H_2O^+$ abundances observed in diffuse clouds within the Galactic disk. Instead, the observed abundances suggest that ArH$^+$ resides primarily in a separate population of small clouds of total vi…
Clustering and dynamics of nano-sized particles (nano dust) is investigated using high-resolution ($1024^3$) simulations of compressible isothermal hydrodynamic turbulence, intended to mimic the conditions inside cold molecular clouds in the interstellar medium. Nano-sized grains may cluster in a turbulent flow (small-scale clustering), which increases the local grain density significantly. Together with the increased interaction rate due to turbulent motions, aggregation of interstellar nano-dust may be plausible.
From integral field data we extract the optical spectra of 20 shocked clouds in the supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Using self-consistent shock modelling, we derive the shock velocity, pre-shock cloud density and shock ram pressure in these clouds. We show that the [Fe X] and [Fe XIV] emission arises in faster, partially radiative shocks moving through the lower density gas near the periphery of the clouds. In these shocks dust has been effectively destroyed, while in the slower cloud shocks the dust destruction is incomplete until the recombination zone of the sho…
A continuous supersonic flow reactor has been used to measure rate constants for the C + NH3 reaction over the temperature range 50 to 296 K. C atoms were created by the pulsed laser photolysis of CBr4. The kinetics of the title reaction were followed directly by vacuum ultra-violet laser induced fluorescence (VUV LIF) of C loss and through H formation. The experiments show unambiguously that the reaction is rapid at 296 K, becoming faster at lower temperatures, reaching a value of 1.8 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at 50 K. As this reaction is not currently included in astrochemical networks, its i…
It is well known that the dust properties of the diffuse interstellar medium exhibit variations towards different sight-lines on a large scale. We have investigated the variability of the dust characteristics on a small scale, and from cloud-to-cloud. We use low-resolution spectro-polarimetric data obtained in the context of the Large Interstellar Polarisation Survey (LIPS) towards 59 sight-lines in the Southern Hemisphere, and we fit these data using a dust model composed of silicate and carbon particles with sizes from the molecular to the sub-micrometre domain. Large (> 6 nm) silicates of p…
We use deep adaptive mesh refinement simulations of isothermal self-gravitating supersonic turbulence to study the imprints of gravity on the mass density distribution in molecular clouds. The simulations show that the density distribution in self-gravitating clouds develops an extended power-law tail at high densities on top of the usual lognormal. We associate the origin of the tail with self-similar collapse solutions and predict the power index values in the range from -7/4 to -3/2 that agree with both simulations and observations of star-forming molecular clouds.
Molecular clouds, the birthplaces of stars in galaxies, form dynamically from the diffuse atomic gas of the interstellar medium (ISM). The ISM is also threaded by magnetic fields which have a large impact on its dynamics. In particular, star forming regions must be magnetically supercrit- ical in order to accomodate gas clumps which can collapse under their own weight. Based on a parameter study of three dimensional magneto-hydrodyamical (MHD) simulations, we show that the long-standing problem of how such supercritical regions are generated is still an open issue.
We introduce a new method for observationally estimating the fraction of momentum density ($ρ{\mathbf{v}}$) power contained in solenoidal modes (for which $\nabla \cdot ρ{\mathbf{v}} = 0$) in molecular clouds. The method is successfully tested with numerical simulations of supersonic turbulence that produce the full range of possible solenoidal/compressible fractions. At present the method assumes statistical isotropy, and does not account for anisotropies caused by (e.g.) magnetic fields. We also introduce a framework for statistically describing density--velocity correlations in turbulent cl…
Molecular hydrogen clouds are a key component of the interstellar medium because they are the birthplaces for stars. They are embedded in atomic gas that pervades the interstellar space. However, the details of how molecular clouds assemble from and interact with the atomic gas are still largely unknown. As a result of new observations of the 158~$μ$m line of ionized carbon CII in the Cygnus region within the FEEDBACK program on SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), we present compelling evidence that CII unveils dynamic interactions between cloud ensembles. This process is…
We have obtained high resolution optical spectroscopy of 10 reddened O-type stars with UVES at VLT to search for interstellar bands of the naphthalene cation (C$_{10}$H$_{8}$$^+$) in the intervening clouds. No absorption features were detected near the laboratory strongest band of this cation at 6707 Åexcept for star HD 125241 (O9 I). Additional bands in the optical spectrum of this star appear to be consistent with other transitions of this cation. Under the assumption that the bands are caused by naphthalene cations we derive a column density N$_{Np^+}$ = (1.2$\pm$ 0.3) x 10 $^{13}$ cm$^{-2}…
Interstellar dark clouds are the sites of star formation. Their main component, dihydrogen, exists under two states, ortho and para. H2 is supposed to form in the ortho:para ratio (OPR) of 3:1 and to subsequently decay to almost pure para-H2 (OPR <= 0.001). Only if the H2 OPR is low enough, will deuteration enrichment, as observed in the cores of these clouds, be efficient. The second condition for strong deuteration enrichment is the local disappearance of CO, which freezes out onto grains in the core formation process. We show that this latter condition does not apply to DCO+, which, therefo…
Cosmic-ray (CR) induced heating of whole interstellar grains is an important desorption mechanism for grain surface molecules in interstellar molecular clouds. This study aims to provide a detailed temperature spectra for such CR-induced heating. For this, olivine grains with radius of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 microns shielded by interstellar gas with isotropic column densities characteristic to dark cores were considered. The accumulation of an ice mantle of increasing thickness was taken into account. The CR energy spectra was obtained for these column densities for 32 cosmic-ray constituents. We c…
Interstellar objects (ISOs), the parent population of 1I/Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, are abundant in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way. This means that the interstellar medium, including molecular cloud regions, has three components: gas, dust, and ISOs. From the observational constraints for the field density of ISOs drifting in the solar neighbourhood, we infer a typical molecular cloud of 10 pc diameter contains some 10$^{18}$ ISOs. At typical sizes ranging from hundreds of metres to tens of km, ISOs are entirely decoupled from the gas dynamics in these molecular clouds. Here we address…
Context. Insight into the conditions that drive the physics and chemistry in interstellar clouds is gained from determining the abundance and charge state of their components. Aims. We propose an evaluation of the C60:C60+ ratio in diffuse and translucent interstellar clouds that exploits electronic absorption bands so as not to rely on ambiguous IR emission measurements. Methods. The ratio is determined by analyzing archival spectra and literature data. Information on the cation population is obtained from published characteristics of the main diffuse interstellar bands attributed to C60+ and…
The form of depleted sulphur in dense clouds is still unknown. Until now, only two molecules, OCS and SO2, have been detected in interstellar ices but cannot account for the elemental abundance of sulphur observed in diffuse medium. Chemical models suggest that solid H2S is the main form of sulphur in denser sources but observational constraints exist that infirm this hypothesis. We have used the Nautilus gas-grain code in which new chemical reactions have been added, based on recent experiments of H2S ice irradiation with UV photons and high energy protons. In particular, we included the new …
This paper reviews past research and new studies underway of the local interstellar environment and its changing influence on the heliosphere. The size, shape, and physical properties of the heliosphere outside of the heliopause are determined by the surrounding environment - now the outer region of the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC). Analysis of high-resolution HST spectra led to a kinematic model with many interstellar clouds. This analysis identified fifteen clouds located within about 10 pc of the Sun and their mean temperatures, turbulence, and velocity vectors. With the increasing number…
Aims: We offer a new, simpler picture of the local interstellar medium, made of a single continuous cloud enveloping the Sun. This new outlook enables the description of a diffuse cloud from within and brings to light some unexpected properties. Methods: We re-examine the kinematics and abundances of the local interstellar gas, as revealed by the published results for the ultraviolet absorption lines of MgII, FeII, and HI. Results: In contrast to previous representations, our new picture of the local interstellar medium consists of a single, monolithic cloud that surrounds the Sun in all direc…
In order to understand the origin of observed molecular cloud properties, it is critical to understand how clouds interact with their environments during their formation, growth, and collapse. It has been suggested that accretion-driven turbulence can maintain clouds in a highly turbulent state, preventing runaway collapse, and explaining the observed non-thermal velocity dispersions. We present 3D, AMR, MHD simulations of a kiloparsec-scale, stratified, supernova-driven, self-gravitating, interstellar medium, including diffuse heating and radiative cooling. These simulations model the formati…
The diffuse interstellar medium is dynamic, and its chemistry and evolution is determined by shock fronts as well as photodissociation. Shocks are implied by the supersonic motions and velocity dispersion often statistically called "turbulence". We compare models of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shocks, with speeds typical of cloud motions through the ISM (3-25 km/s) and densities typical of cold neutral gas (~ 100 cm-3), to archival observations of the atomic hydrogen 21-cm line for gas kinematics, far-infrared emission for dust mass, and mid-infrared emission for high-resolution morphology, to i…
The question, what is the role of freeze-out of chemical species in determining the molecular abundances in the interstellar gas is a matter of debate. We investigate a theoretical case of a dense interstellar molecular cloud core by time-dependent modelling of chemical kinetics, where grain surface reactions deliberately are not included. That means, the gas-phase and solid-phase abundances are influenced by gas reactions, accretion on grains, and desorption, only. We compare the results to a reference model, where no accretion occurs and only gas-phase reactions are included. We can trace th…
High obscuration of background stars behind dark clouds precludes the detection of optical diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and hence our knowledge of DIB carriers in these environments. Taking advantage of the reduced obscuration of star-light in the near-infrared (NIR) we used one of the strongest NIR DIBs at 15273 AA to probe the presence and properties of its carrier throughout the nearby interstellar dark cloud Barnard 68. Equivalent widths (EW) have been measured for different ranges of visual extinction AV, using VLT-KMOS H-band (1.46-1.85 micron) moderate-resolution (R = 4000) spectra…
Formation of interstellar clouds as a consequence of thermal instability is studied using two-dimensional two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We consider the situation of converging, supersonic flows of warm neutral medium in the interstellar medium that generate a shocked slab of thermally unstable gas in which clouds form. We found, as speculated in paper I, that in the shocked slab magnetic pressure dominates thermal pressure and the thermal instability grows in the isochorically cooling, thermally unstable slab that leads formation of HI clouds whose number density is typically n < …
On its journey through the Galaxy, the Sun passes through diverse regions of the interstellar medium. High-resolution spectroscopic measurements of interstellar absorption lines in spectra of nearby stars show absorption components from more than a dozen warm partially ionized clouds within 15 pc of the Sun. The two nearest clouds - the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) and Galactic (G) cloud - move toward each other. Their bulk heliocentric velocities can be compared with the interstellar neutral helium flow velocity obtained from space-based experiments. We combine recent results from Ulysses, …
Electric dipole emission arising from PAHs is often invoked to explain the anomalous microwave emission (AME). This assignation is based on an observed tight correlation between the mid-IR emission of PAHs and the AME; and a good agreement between models of spinning dust and the broadband AME spectrum. So far often detected at large scale in the diffuse interstellar medium, the AME has recently been studied in detail in well-known dense molecular clouds with the help of Planck data. While much attention has been given to the physics of spinning dust emission, the impact of varying local physic…
Using the Planck far-infrared and Arecibo GALFA 21-cm line surveys, we identified a set of isolated interstellar clouds (approximately degree-sized on the sky and comprising 100 solar masses) and assessed the ratio of gas mass to dust mass. Significant variations of the gas-to-dust ratio are found both from cloud to cloud and within regions of individual clouds; within the clouds, the atomic gas per unit dust decreases by more than a factor of 3 compared to the standard gas-to-dust ratio. Three hypotheses are considered. First, the apparently low gas-to-dust ratio could be due to molecular gas…
We reanalyzed interstellar Cl I and Cl II spectra acquired with the Copernicus satellite. The directions for this study come from those of Crenny & Federman and sample the transition from atomic to molecular rich clouds where the unique chemistry leading to molecules containing chlorine is initiated. Our profile syntheses relied on up-to-date laboratory oscillator strengths and component structures derived from published high-resolution measurements of K I absorption that were supplemented with Ca II and Na I D results. We obtain self-consistent results for the Cl I lines at 1088, 1097, and 13…
Recent observations of neutral Galactic interstellar medium showed that filamentary structures of HI clouds are aligned with the interstellar magnetic field. Many interesting applications are proposed based on the alignment such as measurement of magnetic field strength through the Chandrasekhar-Fermi method and removal of polarized foreground dust emissions for the detection of inflationary polarized emission in the cosmic microwave background radiation. However, the physical origin of the alignment remains to be explained. To understand the alignment mechanism, we examine formation of HI clo…
Here, we show that the detection of Borisov implies that interstellar objects outnumber Solar system objects in the Oort cloud, whereas the reverse is true near the Sun due to the stronger gravitational focusing of bound objects. This hypothesis can be tested with stellar occultation surveys of the Oort cloud. Furthermore, we demonstrate that $\sim 1 \%$ of carbon and oxygen in the Milky Way Galaxy may be locked in interstellar objects, saturating the heavy element budget of the minimum mass Solar nebula model.
We present new Very Large Array 6cm H2CO observations toward four extragalactic radio continuum sources (B0212+735, 3C111, NRAO150, BL Lac) to explore the structure of foreground Galactic clouds as revealed by absorption variability. This project adds a new epoch in the monitoring observations of the sources reported by Marscher and collaborators in the mid 1990's. Our new observations confirm the monotonic increase in H$_2$CO absorption strength toward NRAO150. We do not detect significant variability of our 2009 spectra with respect to the 1994 spectra of 3C111, B0212+735 and BL Lac; however…
We have investigated the degree to which turbulence in the Very Local Interstellar Clouds resembles the highly-studied turbulence in the solar corona and the solar wind. The turbulence diagnostics for the Local Clouds are the absorption line widths measured along 32 lines of sight to nearby stars, yielding measurements for 53 absorption components (Redfield and Linsky 2004). We have tested whether the Local Cloud turbulence has the following properties of turbulence in the solar corona or the solar wind: (a) velocity fluctuations mainly perpendicular to the average magnetic field, (b) a temper…
With the 30-m IRAM radio telescope, we observed several massive star forming regions at wavelengths of 3-4 and 2 mm. The temperature of the gas in the sources was estimated from the lines of CH$_{3}$CCH and from the transitions of the NH$_3$ molecule obtained during observations at the 100-m radio telescope in Effelsberg. As a result, a correlation between the integrated intensity ratios of the $J=1-0$ transitions of H$^{13}$CN and HN$^{13}$C and the kinetic temperature has been obtained. The obtained results allow us to propose the use of the intensity ratio H$^{13}$CN-HN$^{13}$C as a possibl…
In order to investigate the origin of the interstellar turbulence, detailed observations in the CO J=1--0 and 3--2 lines have been carried out in an interacting region of a molecular cloud with an HII region. As a result, several 1,000 to 10,000 AU scale cloudlets with small velocity dispersion are detected, whose systemic velocities have a relatively large scatter of a few km/s. It is suggested that the cloud is composed of small-scale dense and cold structures and their overlapping effect makes it appear to be a turbulent entity as a whole. This picture strongly supports the two-phase model …
Many chemical models of dense interstellar clouds predict that the majority of gas-phase elemental nitrogen should be present as N2, with an abundance approximately five orders of magnitude less than that of hydrogen. As a homonuclear diatomic molecule, N2 is difficult to detect spectroscopically through infrared or millimetre-wavelength transitions so its abundance is often inferred indirectly through its reaction product N2H+. Two main formation mechanisms each involving two radical-radical reactions are the source of N2 in such environments. Here we report measurements of the low temperatur…
{It is well established that the atomic interstellar hydrogen is filling the galaxies and constitutes the building blocks of molecular clouds.} {To understand the formation and the evolution of molecular clouds, it is necessary to investigate the dynamics of turbulent and thermally bistable as well as barotropic flows.} {We perform high resolution 3-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of 2-phase, isothermal and polytropic flows.} {We compare the density PDF and Mach number density relation in the various simulations and conclude that 2-phase flows behave rather differently than polytropic f…
We present the first science results from the Sub-orbital Local Interstellar Cloud Experiment (SLICE): moderate resolution 1020-1070A spectroscopy of four sightlines through the local interstellar medium. High signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra of eta Uma, alpha Vir, delta Sco, and zeta Oph were obtained during a 21 April 2013 rocket flight. The SLICE observations constrain the density, molecular photoexcitation rates, and physical conditions present in the interstellar material towards delta Sco and zeta Oph. Our spectra indicate a factor of two lower total N(H2) than previously reported for delta…
We offer a new, more inclusive, picture of the local interstellar medium, where it is composed of a single, monolithic cloud that surrounds the Sun in all directions. Our study of velocities based on Mg II and Fe II ultraviolet absorption lines indicates that the cloud has an average motion consistent with the velocity vector of gas impacting the heliosphere and does not behave like a rigid body: gas within the cloud is being differentially decelerated in the direction of motion, and the cloud is expanding in directions perpendicular to this flow, much like the squashing of a balloon. The oute…
We report cosmic ray ionization rates towards ten reddened stars studied within the framework of the EDIBLES (ESO Diffuse Interstellar Bands Large Exploration Survey) program, using the VLT-UVES. For each sightline, between 2 and 10 individual rotational lines of OH$^+$ have been detected in its (0,0) and (1,0) $A^3Π-X^3Σ^-$ electronic band system. This allows constraining of OH$^+$ column densities towards different objects. Results are also presented for 28 additional sightlines for which only one or rather weak signals are found. An analysis of these data makes it possible to derive the pri…
We follow numerically the nonlinear evolution of the Parker instability in the presence of phase transitions from a warm to a cold HI interstellar medium in two spatial dimensions. The nonlinear evolution of the system favors modes that allow the magnetic field lines to cross the galactic plane. Cold HI clouds form with typical masses ~= 10^5 M_sun, mean densities ~= 20 cm^-3, mean magnetic field strengths ~= 4.3 muG (rms field strengths ~= 6.4 muG), mass-to-flux ratios ~= 0.1 - 0.3 relative to critical, temperatures ~= 50 K, (two-dimensional) turbulent velocity dispersions ~= 1.6 km s^-1, and…
We report the detection of absorption from interstellar C_2 and C_3 toward the moderately reddened star Sk 143, located in the near 'wing' region of the SMC, in optical spectra obtained with the ESO VLT/UVES. These detections of C_2 (rotational levels J=0-8) and C_3 (J=0-12) absorption in the SMC are the first beyond our Galaxy. The total abundances of C_2 and C_3 (relative to H_2) are similar to those found in diffuse Galactic molecular clouds -- as previously found for CH and CN -- despite the significantly lower average metallicity of the SMC. Analysis of the rotational excitation of C_2 yi…
We present an analysis of interstellar H2 toward HD 37903, which is a hot, B 1.5 V star located in the NGC 2023 reflection nebula. Meyer et al. (2001) have used a rich spectrum of vibrationally excited H2 observed by the HST to calculate a model of the interstellar cloud toward HD 37903. We extend Mayer's analysis by including the v"=0 vibrational level observed by the FUSE satellite. The T01 temperature should not be interpreted as a rotational temperature, but rather as a temperature of thermal equilibrium between the ortho and para H2. The ortho to para H2 ratio is lower for collisionally p…
Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) trace warm neutral and weakly-ionized diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). Here we present a dedicated, high signal-to-noise spectroscopic study of two of the strongest DIBs, at 5780 and 5797 Å, in optical spectra of 666 early-type stars in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, along with measurements of the atomic Na\,{\sc i}\,D and Ca\,{\sc ii}\,K lines. The resulting maps show for the first time the distribution of DIB carriers across large swathes of galaxies, as well as the foreground Milky Way ISM. We confirm the association of the 5797 Å DIB with neutral…
We carried out synthetic observations of a theoretical model of interstellar carbon in CO, C I and C II including H2 formation. The theoretical model based on numerical simulations of H I gas converging at a velocity of 20 km/s by Inoue & Inutsuka (2012) is employed in the present study. The gas model, which is fairy realistic and consistent with the observations of the local gas located at high b, is turbulent and inhomogeneous with magnetic field. We focus on the evolution of the rare species, CO, C I and C II from 0.3 Myr to 9 Myr since the converging flows collided. In the early phase with…
Ultraviolet and optical spectra of interstellar gas along the lines of sight to nearby stars have been interpreted by Redfield & Linsky (2008) and previous studies as a set of discrete warm, partially ionized clouds each with a different flow vector, temperature, and metal depletion. Recently, Gry & Jenkins (2014) have proposed a fundamentally different model consisting of a single cloud with nonrigid flows filling space out to 9 parsecs from the Sun that they propose better describes the local ISM. Here we test these fundamentally different morphological models against the spatially unbiased …
The elemental depletion of interstellar sulfur from the gas phase has been a recurring challenge for astrochemical models. Observations show that sulfur remains relatively non-depleted with respect to its cosmic value throughout the diffuse and translucent stages of an interstellar molecular cloud, but its gas-phase constituents cannot account for this cosmic value towards higher-density environments. We have attempted to address this issue by modeling the evolution of an interstellar cloud from its pristine state as a diffuse atomic cloud to a molecular environment of much higher density, usi…
We discuss several sets of Ti II absorption-line data, which probe a variety of interstellar environments in our Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. Comparisons of high-resolution (FWHM ~ 1.3-1.5 km/s) Ti II spectra of Galactic targets with corresponding high-resolution spectra of Na I, K I, and Ca II reveal both similarities and differences in the detailed structure of the absorption-line profiles -- reflecting component-to-component differences in the ionization and depletion behaviour of those species. Moderate-resolution (FWHM ~ 3.4-4.5 km/s) spectra of more heavily reddened Galactic star…
Using integral field data we extract the optical spectra of shocked interstellar clouds in Kepler's supernova remnant located in the inner regions of our Galaxy, as well as in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), NGC6822 and IC 1613. Using self-consistent shock modelling, we make a new determination of the chemical composition of the interstellar medium (ISM) in N, O, Ne, S, Cl and Ar in these galaxies and obtain accurate estimates of the fraction of refractory grains destroyed in the shock. By comparing our derived abundances with those obtained in recent works …
We describe the interface between the outer heliosphere and the local interstellar medium (LISM) surrounding the Sun. The components of the inner LISM are the four partially ionized clouds [the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), G cloud, Blue cloud, and Aql cloud] that are in contact with the outer heliosphere, and ionized gas produced by EUV radiation primarily from $ε$~CMa. We construct the three-dimensional shape of the LIC based on interstellar line absorption along 62 sightlines and show that in the direction of $ε$~CMa, $β$~CMa, and Sirius~B the neutral hydrogen column density from the cent…
Interstellar extinction is investigated in a 1.5 square degree area in the direction of the reflection nebula NGC 7023 at l = 104.1 deg, b = +14.2 deg. The study is based on photometric classification and the determination of interstellar extinctions and distances of 480 stars down to V = 16.5 mag from photometry in the Vilnius seven-color system published in Paper I (2008). The investigated area is divided into five smaller subareas with slightly different dependence of the extinction on distance. The distribution of reddened stars is in accordance with the presence of two dust clouds at 282 …
We numerically examine the influence of the viscosity on the relaxation process of localized clouds in thermally unstable two-phase media, which are locally heated by cosmic ray and cooled by radiation. Pulselike stationary solutions of the media are numerically obtained by a shooting method. In one-dimensional direct numerical simulations, localized clouds are formed during the two-phase separation and sustained extraordinarily. Such long-lived clouds have been recently observed in interstellar media. We demonstrate that the balance of the viscosity with a pressure gradient remarkably suppres…
The review contains an analysis of the observed and model curves of the interstellar extinction and polarization. The observations mainly give information on dust in diffuse and translucent interstellar clouds. The features of various dust grain models including spherical/non-spherical, homogeneous/inhomogeneous particles are discussed. A special attention is devoted to the analysis of the grain size distributions, alignment mechanisms and magnetic field structure in interstellar clouds. It is concluded that the interpretation of interstellar extinction and polarization is not yet complete.
This paper tries to establish whether there are variations of the central wavelengths or the profile shapes of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and whether these variations are caused by different physical parameters of translucent clouds. For this purpose we used spectra of two stars seen through two different single clouds: HD34078 (AE Aur) \& HD73882 acquired using two different instruments: the MIKE spectrograph, fed with the 6.5 m Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, and the UVES, fed with the 8 m Kueyen telescope at the Paranal observatory. The wavelength displacements of the…
Magnetic fields, while ubiquitous in many astrophysical environments, are challenging to measure observationally. Based on the properties of anisotropy of eddies in magnetized turbulence, the Velocity Gradient Technique is a method synergistic to dust polarimetry that is capable of tracing plane-of-the-sky magnetic field, measuring the magnetization of interstellar media and estimating the fraction of gravitational collapsing gas in molecular clouds using spectral line observations. In this paper, we apply this technique to five low-mass star-forming molecular clouds in the Gould Belt and comp…
For the first time, we report a unified microscopic-macroscopic Monte Carlo simulation of gas-grain chemistry in cold interstellar clouds in which both the gas-phase and the grain surface chemistry are simulated by a stochastic technique. The surface chemistry is simulated with a microscopic Monte Carlo method in which the chemistry occurs on an initially flat surface. The surface chemical network consists of 29 reactions initiated by the accreting species H, O, C, and CO. Four different models are run with diverse but homogeneous physical conditions including temperature, gas density, and dif…
