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Register a new userDestruction and multiple ionization of PAHs by X-rays in circumnuclear regions of AGNs
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The infrared signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are observed in a variety of astrophysical objects, including the circumnuclear medium of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). These are sources of highly energetic photons (0.2 to 10 keV), exposing the PAHs to a harsh environment. In this work, we examined experimentally the photoionization and photostability of naphthalene (C$_{10}$H$_{8}$), anthracene (C$_{14}$H$_{10}$), 2-methyl-anthracene (C$_{14}$H$_{9}$CH$_{3}$) and pyrene (C$_{16}$H$_{10}$) upon interaction with photons of 275, 310 and 2500 eV. The measurements were performed at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory using time-of-flight mass-spectrometry (TOF-MS). We determined the absolute photoionization and photodissociation cross sections as a function of the incident photon energy; the production rates of singly, doubly and triply charged ions; and the molecular half-lives in regions surrounding AGNs. Even considering moderate X-ray optical depth values ($tau = 4.45$) due to attenuation by the dusty torus, the half-lives are not long enough to account for PAH detection. Our results suggest that a more sophisticated interplay between PAHs and dust grains should be present in order to circumvent molecular destruction. We could not see any significant difference in the half-life values by increasing the size of the PAH carbon backbone, N$_C$, from 10 to 16. However, we show that the multiple photoionization rates are significantly greater than the single ones, irrespective of the AGN source. We suggest that an enrichment of multiply charged ions caused by X-rays can occur in AGNs.
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We study the PAH emission from protoplanetary disks. First, we discuss the dependence of the PAH band ratios on the hardness of the absorbed photons and the temperature of the stars. We show that the photon energy together with a varying degree of the PAH hydrogenation accounts for most of the observed PAH band ratios without the need to change the ionization degree of the molecules. We present an accurate treatment of stochastic heated grains in a vectorized three dimensional Monte Carlo dust radiative transfer code. The program is verified against results using ray tracing techniques. Disk models are presented for T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars. Particular attention is given to the photo-dissociation of the molecules. We consider beside PAH destruction also the survival of the molecules by vertical mixing within the disk. By applying typical X-ray luminosities the model accounts for the low PAH detection probability observed in T Tauri and the high PAH detection statistics found in Herbig Ae disks. Spherical halos above the disks are considered. We show that halos reduce the observed PAH band-to-continuum ratios when observed at high inclination. Finally, mid-IR images of disks around Herbig Ae disks are presented. We show that they are easier to resolve when PAH emission dominate.
At the free-electron laser FLASH, multiple ionization of neon atoms was quantitatively investigated at 93.0 eV and 90.5 eV photon energy. For ion charge states up to 6+, we compare the respective absolute photoionization yields with results from a minimal model and an elaborate description. Both approaches are based on rate equations and take into acccout a Gaussian spatial intensity distribution of the laser beam. From the comparison we conclude, that photoionization up to a charge of 5+ can be described by the minimal model. For higher charges, the experimental ionization yields systematically exceed the elaborate rate based prediction.
The generation of infrared (IR) radiation and the observed IR intensity distribution at wavelengths of 8, 24, and 100 micron in the ionized hydrogen region around a young, massive star is investigated. The evolution of the HII region is treated using a self-consistent chemical-dynamical model in which three dust populations are included -- large silicate grains, small graphite grains, and polycyclic, aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A radiative transfer model taking into account stochastic heating of small grains and macromolecules is used to model the IR spectral energy distribution. The computational results are compared with Spitzer and Herschel observations of the RCW 120 nebula. The contributions of collisions with gas particles and the radiation field of the star to stochastic heating of small grains are investigated. It is shown that a model with a homogeneous PAH content cannot reproduce the ring-like IR-intensity distribution at 8 micron. A model in which PAHs are destroyed in the ionized region provides a means to explain this intensity distribution. This model is in agreement with observations for realistic characteristic destruction times for the PAHs.
We present a rather elaborate theoretical model describing the dynamics of Neon under radiation of photon energies $sim 93$ eV and pulse duration in the range of 15 fs, within the framework of Lowest non-vanishing Order of Perturbation Theory (LOPT), cast in terms of rate equations. Our model includes sequential as well as direct multiple ionization channels from the 2s and 2p atomic shells, including aspects of fine structure, whereas the stochastic nature of SASE-FEL light pulses is also taken into account. Our predictions for the ionization yields of the different ionic species are in excellent agreement with the related experimental observations at FLASH.
Sources of X-rays such as active galactic nuclei and X-ray binaries are often variable by orders of magnitude in luminosity over timescales of years. During and after these flares the surrounding gas is out of chemical and thermal equilibrium. We introduce a new implementation of X-ray radiative transfer coupled to a time-dependent chemical network for use in 3D magnetohydrodynamical simulations. A static fractal molecular cloud is irradiated with X-rays of different intensity, and the chemical and thermal evolution of the cloud are studied. For a simulated $10^5$ M$_odot$ fractal cloud an X-ray flux $<0.01$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ allows the cloud to remain molecular, whereas most of the CO and H$_2$ are destroyed for a flux of $>1$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The effects of an X-ray flare, which suddenly increases the X-ray flux by $10^5 times$ are then studied. A cloud exposed to a bright flare has 99% of its CO destroyed in 10-20 years, whereas it takes $>10^3$ years for 99% of the H$_2$ to be destroyed. CO is primarily destroyed by locally generated far-UV emission from collisions between non-thermal electrons and H$_2$; He$^+$ only becomes an important destruction agent when the CO abundance is already very small. After the flare is over, CO re-forms and approaches its equilibrium abundance after $10^3-10^5$ years. This implies that molecular clouds close to Sgr A$^*$ in the Galactic Centre may still be out of chemical equilibrium, and we predict the existence of clouds near flaring X-ray sources in which CO has been mostly destroyed but H is fully molecular.
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