Molecular Spectral Line Profiles Research Articles

Theoretical analysis of mid-infrared molecular spectral line profiles with transversal relaxation in an intense optical field

Nonlinear effects by intense optical field on mid-infrared spectral lines (∼3  μm) are discussed. Recent development of intense mid-infrared coherent radiation makes nonlinear mid-infrared spectroscopy possible. In the mid-infrared region, the transversal relaxation process is important compared to the visible or near-infrared region. In the analysis, a two-energy-state system is discussed. The intense pump beam scattering spectral lines (Mollow triplet) and the absorption spectral lines of the probe beam with the intense pump beam are calculated.

STARLESS CLOUD CORE L1517B IN ENVELOPE EXPANSION WITH CORE COLLAPSE

Various spectral emission lines from star-forming molecular cloud core L1517B manifest red asymmetric double-peaked profiles with stronger red peaks and weaker blue peaks, in contrast to the oft-observed blue-skewed molecular spectral line profiles with blue peaks stronger than red peaks. Invoking a spherically symmetric general polytropic hydrodynamic shock model for the envelope expansion with core collapse (EECC) phase, we show the radial flow velocity, mass density and temperature structures of self-similar evolution for L1517B in a dynamically consistent manner. By prescribing simple radial profiles of abundance distribution for pertinent molecules, we perform molecular excitation and radiative transfer calculations using the publicly available RATRAN code set for the spherically symmetric case. Our computational results show that the EECC model reproduces molecular spectral line profiles in sensible agreement with observational data of IRAM, FCRAO and Effelsberg 100 m telescopes for L1517B. We also report spatially resolved observations of optically thick line HCO+(1-0) using the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) 13.7 m telescope at Delingha in China and the relevant fitting results. Hyperfine line structures of NH3 and N2H+ transitions are also fitted to consistently reveal the dynamics of central core collapse. As a consistent model check, radial profiles of 1.2 mm and 0.85 mm dust continua observed by IRAM 30 m telescope and SCUBA, respectively, are also fitted numerically using the same EECC model that produces the molecular line profiles. L1517B is likely undergoing an EECC shock phase. For future observational tests, we also predict several molecular line profiles with spatial distributions, radial profile of sub-millimeter continuum at wavelength 0.45mm, as well as the radial profiles of the column density and visual extinction for L1517B.

Forming protostars in molecular clouds with shocked envelope expansion and core collapse

Spectral observations of molecular line profiles reveal the so-called ‘blue profiles’ for double-peaked molecular spectral lines with stronger blue and weaker red peaks as notable features for star-forming cloud core collapses under the self-gravity. In contrast, ∼25–30 per cent of observed molecular spectral line profiles in star-forming clouds or cores also show the so-called double-peaked ‘red profiles’ with red peaks stronger than blue peaks. Gao & Lou show that these unexplained ‘red profiles’ can be signatures of global self-similar dynamics for envelope expansion with core collapse (EECC) within star-forming molecular clouds or cores. We demonstrate here that spatially resolved ‘red profiles’ of HCO+ (J= 1–0) and CS (J= 2–1) molecular transitions from the low-mass star-forming cloud core FeSt 1−457 together with its radial profile of column density inferred from dust extinction observations appear to reveal a self-similar hydrodynamic shock phase for global EECC. Observed spectral profiles of C18O (J= 1–0) are also fitted by the same EECC model. For further observational tests, the spatially resolved profiles of molecular transitions HCO+ (J= 3–2) and CS (J= 3–2) as well as the radial profiles of (sub)millimetre continuum emissions at three wavelengths of 1.2, 0.85 and 0.45 mm from FeSt 1−457 are also predicted.

Detectability of giant planets in protoplanetary disks by CO emission lines

In this paper we intend to provide an indirect method to detect Jovian planets by studying near infrared emission spectra originating in the protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars. Our idea is to investigate whether a massive planet could induce any observable effect on the spectral lines emerging in the disks atmosphere. As a tracer molecule we propose CO, which is excited in the ro-vibrational fundamental band in the disk atmosphere to a distance of ~2-3 AU (depending on the stellar mass) where terrestrial planets are thought to form. The synthetic molecular spectral line profiles were calculated by an own developed semi-analytical double layer disk model. 2D gas dynamics were incorporated in the calculation of synthetic spectral lines. We demonstrate that a massive planet embedded in a protoplanetary disk strongly influences the originally circular Keplerian gas dynamics. The perturbed motion of the gas can be detected by comparing the CO line profiles in emission, which is emerge from planet-bearing to those of planet-free disk models. The planet signal has two major characteristics: a permanent line profile asymmetry, and short timescale variability correlated with the orbital phase of the giant planet. We have found that the strength of the asymmetry depends on the physical parameters of the star-planet-disk system, such as the disk inclination angle, the planetary and stellar masses, the orbital distance, and the size of the disk inner cavity. The permanent line profile asymmetry is caused by a disk in an eccentric state in the gap opened by the giant planet. However, the variable component is a consequence of the local dynamical perturbation by the orbiting giant planet. We show that a forming giant planet, still embedded in the protoplanetary disk, can be detected using contemporary or future high-resolution near-IR spectrographs like VLT/CRIRES and ELT/METIS.

The Damping Rates of Embedded Oscillating Starless Cores

In a previous paper we demonstrated that nonradial hydrodynamic oscillations of a thermally supported (Bonnor-Ebert) sphere embedded in a low-density, high-temperature medium persist for many periods. The predicted column density variations and molecular spectral line profiles are similar to those observed in the Bok globule B68, suggesting that the motions in some starless cores may be oscillating perturbations on a thermally supported equilibrium structure. Such oscillations can produce molecular line maps which mimic rotation, collapse, or expansion and, thus, could make determining the dynamical state from such observations alone difficult. However, while B68 is embedded in a very hot, low-density medium, many starless cores are not, having interior/exterior density contrasts closer to unity. In this paper we investigate the oscillation damping rate as a function of the exterior density. For concreteness we use the same interior model employed by Broderick et al., with varying models for the exterior gas. We also develop a simple analytical formalism, based on the linear perturbation analysis of the oscillations, which predicts the contribution to the damping rates due to the excitation of sound waves in the external medium. We find that the damping rate of oscillations on globules in dense molecular environments is always many periods, corresponding to hundreds of thousands of years and persisting over the inferred lifetimes of the globules.

Oscillating Starless Cores: Nonlinear Regime

In a previous paper, we modeled the oscillations of a thermally supported (Bonnor-Ebert) sphere as nonradial, linear perturbations following a standard analysis developed for stellar pulsations. The predicted column density variations and molecular spectral line profiles are similar to those observed in the Bok globule B68, suggesting that the motions in some starless cores may be oscillating perturbations on a thermally supported equilibrium structure. However, the linear analysis is unable to address several questions, among them the stability and lifetime of the perturbations. In this paper, we simulate the oscillations using a three-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic code. We find that the oscillations are damped predominantly by nonlinear mode coupling, and the damping timescale is typically many oscillation periods, corresponding to a few million years, and persisting over the inferred lifetime of globules.

Oscillations of Starless Cores

If the split, asymmetric molecular spectral line profiles that are seen in many starless cores are interpreted as indicative of global collapse or expansion of the core then one possible implication is that most starless cores have short lifetimes on the order of the collapse or sound crossing time scale. An alternative interpretation of the line profiles as indicative of perturbations on an underlying equilibrium structure leads to the opposite implication, that many cores have long lifetimes. While evidence suggests that some cores are collapsing on a free-fall time scale, we show that observations of some other starless cores can be reproduced by a model of non-radial oscillations about the equilibrium configuration of a pressure-bounded, thermally-supported sphere (Bonnor-Ebert sphere). We model the oscillations as linear perturbations following a standard analysis developed for stellar pulsations and compare the column densities and molecular spectral line profiles predicted from a particular model to observations of the Bok globule B68.