scholarly journals Precise Measurements of CH Maser Emission and Its Abundance in Translucent Clouds

2021 ◽  
Vol 257 (2) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Ningyu Tang ◽  
Di Li ◽  
Gan Luo ◽  
Carl Heiles ◽  
Sheng-Li Qin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Column Density ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Local Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Excitation Temperature ◽  
Hyperfine Transitions ◽  
Visible Wavelengths ◽  
Log Normal ◽  
Log Normal Distribution

Abstract We present high-sensitivity CH 9 cm ON/OFF observations toward 18 extragalactic continuum sources that have been detected with OH 18 cm absorption in the Millennium survey with the Arecibo telescope. CH emission was detected toward 6 of the 18 sources. The excitation temperature of CH has been derived directly through analyzing all detected ON and OFF velocity components. The excitation temperature of CH 3335 MHz transition ranges from −54.5 to −0.4 K and roughly follows a log-normal distribution peaking within [−5, 0] K, which implies overestimation by 20% to more than 10 times during calculating CH column density by assuming the conventional value of −60 or −10 K. Furthermore, the column density of CH would be underestimated by a factor of 1.32 ± 0.03 when adopting local thermal equilibrium assumption instead of using the CH three hyperfine transitions. We found a correlation between the column density of CH and OH following log N(CH) = (1.80 ± 0.49) and log N(OH −11.59 ± 6.87. The linear correlation between the column density of CH and H2 is consistent with that derived from visible wavelengths studies, confirming that CH is one of the best tracers of H2 components in diffuse molecular gas.

scholarly journals CO-to-H2 conversion and spectral column density in molecular clouds: the variability of the XCO factor

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (2) ◽  
pp. 1851-1861
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Sofue ◽  
Mikito Kohno
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Conversion Factor ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Local Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Line Intensities ◽  
Empirical Constants ◽  
Spectral Conversion

ABSTRACT Analysing the Galactic plane CO survey with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope, we compared the spectral column density (SCD) of $N_{\rm H_2}$ calculated for the 12CO (J = 1–0) line using the current conversion factor $X_{\rm ^{12}CO}$ to that for the 13CO (J = 1–0) line under the LTE (local thermal equilibrium) assumption in the M16 and W43 regions. Here, SCD is defined by $\mathrm{d}N_{\rm H_2}/\mathrm{d}v$ with $N_{\rm H_2}$ and v being the column density and radial velocity, respectively. It is found that the $X_{\rm ^{12}CO}$ method significantly underestimates the H2 density in a cloud or region, where SCD exceeds a critical value (∼3 × 1021 [H2 cm−2 (km s−1)−1]), but overestimates in lower SCD regions. We point out that the actual CO-to-H2 conversion factor varies with the H2 column density or with the CO line intensity: it increases in the inner and opaque parts of molecular clouds, whereas it decreases in the low-density envelopes. However, in so far as the current $X_{^{12}{\rm CO}}$ is used combined with the integrated 12CO intensity averaged over an entire cloud, it yields a consistent value with that calculated using the 13CO intensity by LTE. Based on the analysis, we propose a new CO-to-H2 conversion relation, $N_{\rm H_2}^* = \int X^*_{\rm CO} (T_{\rm B}) T_{\rm B}\ \mathrm{d}v$, where $X^*_{\rm CO} (T_{\rm B})=(T_{\rm B}/T_{\rm B}^*)^\beta X_{\rm ^{12}CO}$ is the modified spectral conversion factor as a function of the brightness temperature, TB, of the 12CO (J = 1–0) line, and β ∼ 1–2 and $T_{\rm B}^*=12\!-\!16$ K are empirical constants obtained by fitting to the observed data. The formula corrects for the over/underestimation of the column density at low/high CO line intensities, and is applicable to molecular clouds with TB ≥ 1 K (12CO (J = 1–0) line rms noise in the data) from envelope to cores at sub-parsec scales (spatial resolution).

scholarly journals Atomic and molecular gas properties during cloud formation

2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. A68 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Syed ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
H. Beuther ◽  
J. D. Soler ◽  
M. R. Rugel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Column Density ◽  
Emission Spectra ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Neutral Medium ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Density Peaks ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Log Normal

Context. Molecular clouds, which harbor the birthplaces of stars, form out of the atomic phase of the interstellar medium (ISM). To understand this transition process, it is crucial to investigate the spatial and kinematic relationships between atomic and molecular gas. Aims. We aim to characterize the atomic and molecular phases of the ISM and set their physical properties into the context of cloud formation processes. Methods. We studied the cold neutral medium (CNM) by means of H I self-absorption (HISA) toward the giant molecular filament GMF20.0-17.9 (distance = 3.5 kpc, length ~170 pc) and compared our results with molecular gas traced by 13CO emission. We fitted baselines of HISA features to H I emission spectra using first and second order polynomial functions. Results. The CNM identified by this method spatially correlates with the morphology of the molecular gas toward the western region. However, no spatial correlation between HISA and 13CO is evident toward the eastern part of the filament. The distribution of HISA peak velocities and line widths agrees well with 13CO within the whole filament. The column densities of the CNM probed by HISA are on the order of 1020 cm−2 while those of molecular hydrogen traced by 13CO are an order of magnitude higher. The column density probability density functions (N-PDFs) of HISA (CNM) and H I emission (tracing both the CNM and the warm neutral medium, WNM) have a log-normal shape for all parts of the filament, indicative of turbulent motions as the main driver for these structures. The H2 N-PDFs show a broad log-normal distribution with a power-law tail suggesting the onset of gravitational contraction. The saturation of H I column density is observed at ~25 M⊙ pc−2. Conclusions. We conjecture that different evolutionary stages are evident within the filament. In the eastern region, we witness the onset of molecular cloud formation out of the atomic gas reservoir while the western part is more evolved, as it reveals pronounced H2 column density peaks and signs of active star formation.

scholarly journals Detection of Interstellar Thioformaldehyde

1973 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
MW Sinclair ◽  
N Fourikis ◽  
JC Ribes ◽  
BJ Robinson ◽  
RD Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Molecular Species ◽  
Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Column Density ◽  
Half Width ◽  
Excitation Temperature ◽  
Rotational Excitation ◽  
Absorption Profile ◽  
Peak Absorption

The 211 +-212 transition of thioformaldehyde (HCHS) has been observed in absorption in the direction of SagittariusB2. For a rest frequency of 3139� 38 MHz the peak absorption occurs at a radial velocity of 60 � 4 km s -1. The half-width of the absorption profile is equivalent to 20 kms-1 and the column density of HCHS is greater than 1016 molecules cm - 2. Comparison with the 211 +-212 absorption of formaldehyde (HCHO) at 15 GHz allows the relative abundance of the two molecular species to be computed as a function of the rotational excitation temperature. For thermal equilibrium the strength of the 110-111 absorption in SgrB2 by thioformaldehyde predicted from the 211+-212 HCHS observations is considerably greater than the limits set by a number of observers for the 110-111 transition at 1046 MHz.

scholarly journals A Universal Model for the Log-Normal Distribution of Elasticity in Polymeric Gels and Its Relevance to Mechanical Signature of Biological Tissues

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Arnaud Millet
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Modulus ◽  
Normal Distribution ◽  
Biological Tissues ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Polymeric Gels ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Clear Explanation ◽  
Log Normal ◽  
Log Normal Distribution

The mechanosensitivity of cells has recently been identified as a process that could greatly influence a cell’s fate. To understand the interaction between cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix, the characterization of the mechanical properties of natural polymeric gels is needed. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is one of the leading tools used to characterize mechanically biological tissues. It appears that the elasticity (elastic modulus) values obtained by AFM presents a log-normal distribution. Despite its ubiquity, the log-normal distribution concerning the elastic modulus of biological tissues does not have a clear explanation. In this paper, we propose a physical mechanism based on the weak universality of critical exponents in the percolation process leading to gelation. Following this, we discuss the relevance of this model for mechanical signatures of biological tissues.

scholarly journals Extreme geomagnetic activities: a statistical study

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryuho Kataoka
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Storms ◽  
Magnetic Observatory ◽  
Statistical Distributions ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sudden Commencements ◽  
The One ◽  
Log Normal ◽  
Geomagnetic Activities ◽  
Log Normal Distribution

Abstract Statistical distributions are investigated for magnetic storms, sudden commencements (SCs), and substorms to identify the possible amplitude of the one in 100-year and 1000-year events from a limited data set of less than 100 years. The lists of magnetic storms and SCs are provided from Kakioka Magnetic Observatory, while the lists of substorms are obtained from SuperMAG. It is found that majorities of events essentially follow the log-normal distribution, as expected from the random output from a complex system. However, it is uncertain that large-amplitude events follow the same log-normal distributions, and rather follow the power-law distributions. Based on the statistical distributions, the probable amplitudes of the 100-year (1000-year) events can be estimated for magnetic storms, SCs, and substorms as approximately 750 nT (1100 nT), 230 nT (450 nT), and 5000 nT (6200 nT), respectively. The possible origin to cause the statistical distributions is also discussed, consulting the other space weather phenomena such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar energetic particles.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document