Spatially Resolved H2 Line Ratios in the HH7 Bow Shock

Details Spatially Resolved H2 Line Ratios in the HH7 Bow Shock Spatially Resolved H2 Line Ratios in the HH7 Bow Shock

Jan 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21725123p&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #251.23; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We have obtained K-band spectra, at R 5,000 and 0.3 arc-second angular resolution, of the HH7 bow shock, using the Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) at Gemini North. The spectra include H2 lines covering a wide range of upper state energy levels, from 6,000 K to 25,000 K. We have measured the strengths of the rovibrational H2 lines 1-0 S(0) through S(2) and Q(1) through Q(4); 2-1 S(0) through S(3); 3-2 S(0) through S(3); and 4-3 S(3) and S(4). The H2 line intensity ratios will be used to determine the excitation temperature at different positions in the bow shock. Continuous shock (C-shock) models with ionized gas and magnetic mediation tend to predict that the temperature is constant through much of a shocked gas column and thus that the excitation temperature at each position will be independent of which line ratios are used to calculate it, but will vary with location in the bow shock. In the jump shock (J-shock) scenario, in which the gas is heated very suddenly and begins to cool immediately, the excitation temperature varies through the post-shock gas and line ratios depend on the line pair chosen. In this case one would expect to observe the same variation in excitation at all locations. Previous observations of shocks in a number of molecular clouds seem to support the J-shock behavior, but this may be a product of insufficient angular resolution, with previous observations unable to resolve separate shock fronts. Our angular resolution over the 3 x 3 arc-second field of view positioned along the bow shock of HH7 is an improvement by a factor of five over previous observations.

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