Strong Emission Lines Research Articles

Erratum: UV and X-ray observations of the neutron star LMXB EXO 0748−676 in its quiescent state

The accretion behaviour in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) at low luminosities, especially at <E34 erg/s, is not well known. This is an important regime to study to obtain a complete understanding of the accretion process in LMXBs, and to determine if systems that host neutron stars with accretion-heated crusts can be used probe the physics of dense matter (which requires their quiescent thermal emission to be uncontaminated by residual accretion). Here we examine ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray data obtained when EXO 0748-676, a crust-cooling source, was in quiescence. Our Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy observations do not detect the far-UV continuum emission, but do reveal one strong emission line, Civ. The line is relatively broad (>3500 km/s), which could indicate that it results from an outflow such as a pulsar wind. By studying several epochs of X-ray and near-UV data obtained with XMM-Newton, we find no clear indication that the emission in the two wavebands is connected. Moreover, the luminosity ratio of Lx/Luv >100 is much higher than that observed from neutron star LMXBs that exhibit low-level accretion in quiescence. Taken together, this suggests that the UV and X-ray emission of EXO 0748-676 may have different origins, and that thermal emission from crust-cooling of the neutron star, rather than ongoing low-level accretion, may be dominating the observed quiescent X-ray flux evolution of this LMXB.

The effect of emission lines on the performance of photometric redshift estimation algorithms

ABSTRACT We investigate the effect of strong emission line galaxies on the performance of empirical photometric redshift estimation methods. In order to artificially control the contribution of photometric error and emission lines to total flux, we develop a PCA-based stochastic mock catalogue generation technique that allows for generating infinite signal-to-noise ratio model spectra with realistic emission lines on top of theoretical stellar continua. Instead of running the computationally expensive stellar population synthesis and nebular emission codes, our algorithm generates realistic spectra with a statistical approach, and – as an alternative to attempting to constrain the priors on input model parameters – works by matching output observational parameters. Hence, it can be used to match the luminosity, colour, emission line and photometric error distribution of any photometric sample with sufficient flux-calibrated spectroscopic follow-up. We test three simple empirical photometric estimation methods and compare the results with and without photometric noise and strong emission lines. While photometric noise clearly dominates the uncertainty of photometric redshift estimates, the key findings are that emission lines play a significant role in resolving colour space degeneracies and good spectroscopic coverage of the entire colour space is necessary to achieve good results with empirical photo-z methods. Template-fitting methods, on the other hand, must use a template set with sufficient variation in emission line strengths and ratios, or even better, first estimate the redshift empirically and fit the colours with templates at the best-fit redshift to calculate the K-correction and various physical parameters.

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: reconciling strong emission line metallicity diagnostics using metallicity gradients

ABSTRACT We measure the gas-phase metallicity gradients of 248 galaxies selected from Data Release 2 of the SAMI Galaxy Survey. We demonstrate that there are large systematic discrepancies between the metallicity gradients derived using common strong emission line metallicity diagnostics. We determine which pairs of diagnostics have Spearman’s rank coefficients greater than 0.6 and provide linear conversions to allow the accurate comparison of metallicity gradients derived using different strong emission line diagnostics. For galaxies within the mass range 8.5 &amp;lt; log (M/M⊙) &amp;lt; 11.0, we find discrepancies of up to 0.11 dex/Re between seven popular diagnostics in the metallicity gradient–mass relation. We find a suggestion of a break in the metallicity gradient–mass relation, where the slope shifts from negative to positive, occurs between 9.5 &amp;lt; log (M/M⊙) &amp;lt; 10.5 for the seven chosen diagnostics. Applying our conversions to the metallicity gradient–mass relation, we reduce the maximum dispersion from 0.11 dex/Re to 0.02 dex/Re. These conversions provide the most accurate method of converting metallicity gradients when key emission lines are unavailable. We find that diagnostics that share common sets of emission line ratios agree best, and that diagnostics calibrated through the electron temperature provide more consistent results compared to those calibrated through photoionization models.

A spectroscopic study of the low redshift dwarf galaxy SDSS J134326.99+431118.7 to calculate star formation rate

We present a spectroscopic study of an interacting emission-line dwarf galaxy SDSS J134326.99+431118.7. We analyzed eight-strong emission lines of wavelength in a range of 3902.1Å to 6619.1Å. Among them, the strongest emission line is OIII, with an intensity of 1043.6 x 10-17 erg/s/cm2/Å. These characteristic lines show a perfect Gaussian fit with a coefficient of regression greater than 98%, where the derived full width half maximum (FWHM) is less than 3.8 Å. The line ratio between Ha and Hb, (Ha/ Hb), is 2.73. This suggests that the galaxy is a starburst galaxy. Star Formation Rate (SFR) of the galaxy derived from Ha emission line flux is 0.019 and emission line metallicity derived from flux ratio between NII and Ha is 7.85 dex. These morphological and physical properties of SDSSJ134326.99+431118.7 are very similar to those of a typical Blue Compact Dwarf (BCD) galaxy. We conclude that we have presented another evidence of forming a BCD-type galaxy through a merger.&#x0D; BIBECHANA 18 (2021) 100-107

MusE GAs FLOw and wind (MEGAFLOW) VII. A NOEMA pilot program to probe molecular gas in galaxies with measured circumgalactic gas flows

ABSTRACT We present a pilot program using IRAM’s NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) to probe the molecular gas reservoirs of six $z$ = 0.6–1.1 star-forming galaxies whose circumgalactic medium has been observed in absorption along quasar lines of sight as part of the MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) survey and for which we have estimates of either the accretion or the outflow rate. This program is motivated by testing the quasi-equilibrium model and the compaction scenario describing the evolution of galaxies along the main sequence of star formation, which imply tight relations between the gas content, the star formation activity, and the amount of gas flowing in and out. We report individual carbon monoxide CO(4-3), CO(3-2), and dust continuum upper limits, as well as stacked CO detections over the whole sample and the three galaxies identified with outflows. The resulting molecular gas fractions and depletion times are compatible with published scaling relations established within a mass-selected sample, indicating that galaxies selected through their absorption follow similar relations on average. We further detect the dust continuum of three of the quasars and a strong emission line in one of them, which we identify as CO(4-3). Extending the sample to more galaxies and deeper observations will enable us to quantify how the molecular gas fraction and depletion time depend on the inflow and ouflow rates.

GLACE survey: Galaxy activity in ZwCl0024+1652 cluster from strong optical emission lines

ABSTRACT Although ZwCl0024+1652 galaxy cluster at z ∼ 0.4 has been thoroughly analysed, it lacks a comprehensive study of star formation and nuclear activity of its members. With GaLAxy Cluster Evolution (GLACE) survey, a total of 174 H α emission-line galaxies (ELGs) were detected, most of them having [N ii]. We reduced and analysed a set of [O iii] and H β tunable filter (TF) observations within GLACE survey. Using H α priors, we identified [O iii] and H β in 35 (∼20 per cent) and 59 (∼34 per cent) sources, respectively, with 21 of them having both emission lines, and 20 having in addition [N ii]. Applying BPT-NII diagnostic diagram, we classified these ELGs into 40 per cent star-forming (SF), 55 per cent composites, and 5 per cent LINERs. Star formation rate (SFR) measured through extinction corrected H α fluxes increases with stellar mass (M*), attaining its peak at $\mathrm{\mathit{ M}}_{*}\sim 10^{9.8}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$. We observed that the cluster centre to ∼ 1.3 Mpc is devoid of SF galaxies and AGN. Our results suggest that the star formation efficiency declines as the local density increases in the cluster medium. Moreover, the SF and AGN fractions drop sharply towards high-density environments. We observed a strong decline in SF fraction in high M*, confirming that star formation is highly suppressed in high-mass cluster galaxies. Finally, we determined that SFR correlates with M* while specific SFR (sSFR) anticorrelates with M*, both for cluster and field. This work shows the importance and strength of TF observations when studying ELGs in clusters at higher redshifts. We provide with this paper a catalogue of ELGs with H β and/or [O iii] lines in ZwCl0024+1652 cluster.

A facile two-step synthesis of an efficient narrow-band red-emitting K2NbF7:Mn4+ phosphor for warm white LEDs and its thermal quenching behavior

Mn4+-doped fluoride phosphors exhibit narrow red line emission under blue light excitation. Such phosphors can improve the color rendering index (CRI) and reduce the color temperature of white LEDs. In this study, a series of K2NbF7:Mn4+ red phosphors were successfully synthesized by a facile two-step synthesis. The structure, composition, morphology and spectral properties were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The obtained K2NbF7:Mn4+ can emit multiple sharp emission peaks in the range of 600–650 nm under excitation of ~371 nm or ~471 nm. In particular, this phosphor has a strong zero phonon line (ZPL) emission at 620 nm and an internal quantum efficiency (IQE) ~82%. The effects of Mn4+ doping amount, hydrothermal reaction temperature and HF concentration on spectral properties were discussed and the optimal synthesis conditions were obtained. The thermal quenching behavior of K2NbF7:Mn4+ red phosphor was studied and the activated energy was determined to be 0.66 eV. The fabricated white light-emitting diode (w-LED) with a low correlated color temperature (CCT) at 3426 K and a high luminous efficiency of 134.4 lm/W was obtained by using the K2NbF7:Mn4+, which indicates that K2NbF7:Mn4+ could be a potential red component for warm w-LEDs.

UV and X-ray observations of the neutron star LMXB EXO 0748–676 in its quiescent state

ABSTRACT The accretion behaviour in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) at low luminosities, especially at &amp;lt;1034 erg s−1, is not well known. This is an important regime to study to obtain a complete understanding of the accretion process in LMXBs, and to determine if systems that host neutron stars with accretion-heated crusts can be used probe the physics of dense matter (which requires their quiescent thermal emission to be uncontaminated by residual accretion). Here, we examine ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray data obtained when EXO 0748–676, a crust-cooling source, was in quiescence. Our Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy observations do not detect the far-UV continuum emission, but do reveal one strong emission line, C iv. The line is relatively broad (≳3500 km s−1), which could indicate that it results from an outflow such as a pulsar wind. By studying several epochs of X-ray and near-UV data obtained with XMM–Newton, we find no clear indication that the emission in the two wavebands is connected. Moreover, the luminosity ratio of LX/LUV ≳ 100 is much higher than that observed from neutron star LMXBs that exhibit low-level accretion in quiescence. Taken together, this suggests that the UV and X-ray emission of EXO 0748–676 may have different origins, and that thermal emission from crust-cooling of the neutron star, rather than ongoing low-level accretion, may be dominating the observed quiescent X-ray flux evolution of this LMXB.

Reconciling escape fractions and observed line emission in Lyman-continuum-leaking galaxies

Context. Finding and elucidating the properties of Lyman-continuum(LyC)-emitting galaxies is an important step in improving our understanding of cosmic reionization. Aims. Although the z ∼ 0.3 − 0.4 LyC emitters found recently show strong optical emission lines, no consistent quantitative photoionization model taking into account the escape of ionizing photons and inhomogenous interstellar medium (ISM) geometry of these galaxies has yet been constructed. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent these emission lines can be used to distinguish LyC emitters. Methods. To address these questions we construct one- and two-zone photoionization models accounting for the observed LyC escape, which we compare to the observed emission line measurements. The main diagnostics used include lines of [O III], [O II], and [O I] plus sulfur lines ([S II], [S III]) and a nitrogen line ([N II]), which probe regions of different ionization in the ISM. Results. We find that single (one-zone) density-bounded photoionization models cannot reproduce the emission lines of the LyC leakers, as pointed out by earlier studies, because they systematically underpredict the lines of species of low ionization potential, such as [O I] and [S II]. Introducing a two-zone model, with differing ionization parameter and a variable covering fraction and where one of the zones is density-bounded, we show that the observed emission line ratios of the LyC emitters are well reproduced. Furthermore, our model yields LyC escape fractions, which are in fair agreement with the observations and independent measurements. The [O I] λ6300 excess, which is observed in some LyC leakers, can be naturally explained in this model, for example by emission from low-ionization and low-filling-factor gas. LyC emitters with a high escape fraction (fesc ≳ 38%) are deficient both in [O I] λ6300 and in [S II] λλ6716,6731. We also confirm that a [S II] λλ6716,6731 deficiency can be used to select LyC emitter candidates, as suggested earlier. Finally, we find indications for a possible dichotomy in terms of escape mechanisms for LyC photons between galaxies with relatively low (fesc ≲ 10%) and higher escape fractions. Conclusions. We conclude that two-zone photoionization models are sufficient and required to explain the observed emission line properties of z ∼ 0.3 − 0.4 LyC emitters. This is in agreement with UV absorption line studies, which also show the co-existence of regions with high hydrogen column density (i.e., no escape of ionizing photons) and density-bounded or very low column density regions responsible for the observed escape of LyC radiation. These simple but consistent models provide a first step towards the use of optical emission lines and their ratios as quantitative diagnostics of LyC escape from galaxies.

Clumping in the Winds of Wolf–Rayet Stars

Abstract We attempt to determine the driver for clumping in hot-star winds by extending the measure of the spectral variability level of Galactic Wolf–Rayet stars to by far the hottest known among them, the WN2 star WR 2 and the WO2 stars WR 102 and WR 142. These three stars have T ⋆ = 140 and 200 kK, the last two being well above the bulk of WR stars with T ⋆ ∼ 40–120 kK. This full temperature range for WR stars is much broader than that of their O-star progenitors (∼30–50 kK), so is better suited to look for any temperature dependence of wind clumping. We have obtained multiple observations with high signal-to-noise, moderate-resolution spectroscopy in search of small-scale variability in the strong emission lines from the dense winds of these three extreme stars, and find a very low-level of variability in both stars. Temperature and terminal velocity are correlated, so faster winds show a lower variability, though this trend goes against any predictions made involving Line Deshadowing Instability (LDI) only, implying that instabilities intrinsic to LDI are not the main source of wind clumping. Instead, it could be taken as support for the suggestion that clumps are caused by a subsurface convection zone (SSCZ) at T ∼ 170 kK, since such an SSCZ would have little opportunity to operate under the hydrostatic surface of these hottest WR stars. It is still possible, however, that an SSCZ-related driver could interact with nonlinear line instability effects to enhance or possibly even produce clumps.

Dust and star formation in the centre of NGC 3311

Context. NGC 3311 is the central galaxy of the Hydra I galaxy cluster. It has a hot interstellar medium and hosts a central dust lane with emission lines. These dust lanes are frequent in elliptical galaxies, but the case of NGC 3311 might be particularly interesting for problems of dust lifetime and the role of cool gas in the central parts. Aims. We aim to use archival HST images and MUSE data to investigate the central dust structure of NGC 3311. Methods. We used the tool PyParadise to model the stellar population and extract the emission lines. Results. The HST/ACS colour map reveals the known dust structures, but also blue spots, which are places of strong line emission. A dusty “mini-jet” emanates from the centre. The distribution of the emission line gas matches the dust silhouette almost exactly. Close to the brightest Hα emission, the ratio [NII]/Hα resembles that of HII-regions; in the outer parts, [NII] gets stronger and is similar to LINERLow-ionization nuclear emission-line region -like spectra. The gas kinematics is consistent with that of a rotating disc. The Doppler shifts of the strongest line emissions, which indicate the areas of highest star formation activity, smoothly fit into the disc symmetry. The metallicity is supersolar. The presence of neutral gas is indicated by the fit residuals of the stellar NaI D absorption line, which we interpret as interstellar absorption. We estimate the mass of the neutral gas to be of the order of the X-ray mass. The dynamical mass infers a stellar population of intermediate age, whose globular clusters have already been identified. Conclusions. Our findings can be harmonised in a scenario in which the star formation is triggered by the accretion of cold gas onto a pre-existing gas/dust disc or ring. Newly produced dust then contributes to the longevity of the dust.

The effects of star formation history in the SFR–M* relation of H ii galaxies

ABSTRACT We discuss the implications of assuming different star formation histories (SFH) in the relation between star formation rate (SFR) and mass derived by the spectral energy distribution fitting (SED). Our analysis focuses on a sample of H ii galaxies, dwarf starburst galaxies spectroscopically selected through their strong narrow emission lines in SDSS DR13 at z &amp;lt; 0.4, cross-matched with photometric catalogues from GALEX, SDSS, UKIDSS, and WISE. We modelled and fitted the SEDs with the code CIGALE adopting different descriptions of SFH. By adding information from different independent studies, we find that H ii galaxies are best described by episodic SFHs including an old (10 Gyr), an intermediate age (100−1000 Myr) and a recent population with ages &amp;lt; 10 Myr. H ii galaxies agree with the SFR−M* relation from local star-forming galaxies, and only lie above such relation when the current SFR is adopted as opposed to the average over the entire SFH. The SFR−M* demonstrated not to be a good tool to provide additional information about the SFH of H ii galaxies, as different SFH present a similar behaviour with a spread of &amp;lt;0.1 dex.

Imagery and UV Spectroscopy of the LMC Supernova Remnant N103B Using HST

Abstract We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Wide Field Camera 3 multiband imagery of N103B, which is the remnant of a SN Ia in the Large Magellanic Cloud, as well as HST/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) ultraviolet spectroscopy of the brightest radiatively shocked region. The images show a wide range of morphology and relative emission-line intensities, from smooth Balmer-line dominated collisionless shocks that are due to the primary blast wave to clumpy radiative shock filaments that are due to secondary shocks in density enhancements. The COS data show strong FUV line emissions, despite a moderately high extinction along this line of sight. We use the COS data with previous optical spectra to constrain the shock conditions, we refine the abundance analysis, and we find abundances that are typical of the local interstellar medium within the uncertainties. Under an assumption that the material being shocked was shed from the pre-supernova system, this finding places constraints on any significant enrichment in that material, and thus on the non-degenerate star in what was presumably a single-degenerate SN Ia.

The Outburst of the Young Star Gaia19bey

Abstract We report photometry and spectroscopy of the outburst of the young stellar object Gaia19bey. We have established the outburst light curve with archival Gaia “G,” ATLAS “Orange,” Zwicky Transient Facility r-band, and Pan-STARRS “rizy”-filter photometry, showing an outburst of ~4 yr duration, longer than typical EX Lupi objects but shorter than FU Orionis objects. Its pre-outburst spectral energy distribution shows a flat far-infrared spectrum, confirming the early evolutionary state of Gaia19bey and its similarity to other deeply embedded young stars experiencing outbursts. A lower limit to the peak outburst luminosity is ~182 at an assumed distance of 1.4 kpc, the minimum plausible distance. Infrared and optical spectroscopy near maximum light show an emission line spectrum, including H i lines, strong red Ca ii emission, other metal emission lines, infrared CO bandhead emission, and a strong infrared continuum. Toward the end of the outburst, the emission lines have all but disappeared and the spectrum has changed into an almost pure continuum spectrum. This indicates a cessation of magnetospheric accretion activity. The near-infrared colors have become redder as Gaia19bey has faded, indicating a cooling of the continuum component. Near the end of the outburst, the only remaining strong emission lines are forbidden shock-excited emission lines. Adaptive optics integral-field spectroscopy shows the H2 1–0 S(1) emission with the morphology of an outflow cavity and the extended emission in the [Fe ii] line at 1644 nm with the morphology of an edge-on disk. However, we do not detect any large-scale jet from Gaia19bey.

Precision radial velocity measurements by the forward-modeling technique in the near-infrared

Abstract Precision radial velocity (RV) measurements in the near-infrared are a powerful tool to detect and characterize exoplanets around low-mass stars or young stars with higher magnetic activity. However, the presence of strong telluric absorption lines and emission lines in the near-infrared that significantly vary in time can prevent extraction of RV information from these spectra by classical techniques, which ignore or mask the telluric lines. We present a methodology and pipeline to derive precision RVs from near-infrared spectra using a forward-modeling technique. We applied this to spectra with a wide wavelength coverage (Y, J, and H bands, simultaneously), taken by the InfraRed Doppler (IRD) spectrograph on the Subaru 8.2 m telescope. Our pipeline extracts the instantaneous instrumental profile of the spectrograph for each spectral segment, based on a reference spectrum of the laser-frequency comb that is injected into the spectrograph simultaneously with the stellar light. These profiles are used to derive the intrinsic stellar template spectrum, which is free from instrumental broadening and telluric features, as well as model and fit individual observed spectra in the RV analysis. Implementing a series of numerical simulations using theoretical spectra that mimic IRD data, we test the pipeline and show that IRD can achieve &amp;lt;2 m s−1 precision for slowly rotating mid-to-late M dwarfs with a signal-to-noise ratio ≳100 per pixel at 1000 nm. Dependences of RV precision on various stellar parameters (e.g., Teff, vsin i, [Fe/H]) and the impact of telluric-line blendings on the RV accuracy are discussed through the mock spectra analyses. We also apply the RV-analysis pipeline to the observed spectra of GJ 699 and TRAPPIST-1, demonstrating that the spectrograph and the pipeline are capable of an RV accuracy of &amp;lt;3 m s−1 at least on a time-scale of a few months.

High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the stellar wind in Vela X-1 during a flare

Context. We present a ~130 ks observation of the prototypical wind-accreting, high-mass X-ray binary Vela X-1 collected with XMM-Newton at orbital phases between 0.12 and 0.28. A strong flare took place during the observation that allows us to investigate the reaction of the clumpy stellar wind to the increased X-ray irradiation. Aims. To examine the wind’s reaction to the flare, we performed both time-averaged and time-resolved analyses of the RGS spectrum and examined potential spectral changes. Methods. We focused on the high-resolution XMM-Newton RGS spectra and divided the observation into pre-flare, flare, and post-flare phases. We modeled the time-averaged and time-resolved spectra with phenomenological components and with the self-consistent photoionization models calculated via CLOUDY and XSTAR in the pre-flare phase, where strong emission lines due to resonant transitions of highly ionized ions are seen. Results. In the spectra, we find emission lines corresponding to K-shell transitions in highly charged ions of oxygen, neon, magnesium, and silicon as well as radiative recombination continua (RRC) of oxygen. Additionally, we observe potential absorption lines of magnesium at a lower ionization stage and features identified as iron L lines. The CLOUDY and XSTAR photoionization models provide contradictory results, either pointing towards uncertainties in theory or possibly a more complex multi-phase plasma, or both. Conclusions. We are able to demonstrate the existence of a plethora of variable narrow features, including the firm detection of oxygen lines and RRC that RGS enables to observe in this source for the first time. We show that Vela X-1 is an ideal source for future high-resolution missions, such as XRISM and Athena.

Ultradense Gas at the Dusty Torus Scale in a Partially Obscured Quasar

Abstract We present detailed studies of the partially obscured quasar 2MASS J151653.23+190048.2 with continuous broadband spectrophotometry from near-infrared (NIR) through optical to ultraviolet (UV). The NIR and optical spectra show strong broad emission lines, while the UV spectrum is dominated by a set of rich intermediate-width emission lines (IELs). These IELs, unshifted with respect to the quasar systemic velocity measured by narrow emission lines, share a common profile of about 1900 in FWHM, in contrast to the Balmer and Paschen broad emission lines of FWHM ∼6300 observed in the optical and NIR. The intermediate width of these lines indicates that the emitting gas may come from the dusty torus region. However, the observed peculiar IEL intensity ratios, such as N v λ1240/Lyα, indicate that the emitting gas has a very high density, up to . Such a high density is unusual for gas around the dusty torus region, except that we consider mechanisms such as shocks that can produce local ultradense gas. We speculate that these emission lines could originate from the shock region, possibly induced by the quasar outflow colliding with the inner wall of the dusty torus. If true, this may give us an opportunity to peep at the quasar outflows at the scale of the dusty torus that have so far been elusive due to the limited resolving powers of existing facilities.

Blue Optical Observations of Narrow Bipolar Events by ASIM Suggest Corona Streamer Activity in Thunderstorms

AbstractWhile narrow bipolar events (NBEs) could be related with lightning initiation, their intrinsic physics remains in question. Here we report on optical measurements by the Atmosphere‐Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on the International Space Station (ISS) of blue flashes associated with NBEs. They are observed in a narrow blue band centered at 337 nm, with no simultaneous activity at 777.4 nm, considered a strong lightning emission line. From radio waves measured from the ground, we find that 7 of 10 single‐pulse blue events can be identified as positive NBEs. The source altitudes estimated from optical and radio signals agree and indicate that the sources of the blue flashes are located between∼8.5 and∼14 km, in a cloud reaching 14–15 km altitude. The observations suggest that single‐pulse blue flashes are from cold ionization waves, so‐called streamers, and that positive NBEs are corona discharges formed by many streamers.

Near-infrared [Fe II] and H2 Line Mapping of the Supernova Remnant IC 443 with the IRSF/SIRIUS

Abstract We investigate properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) interacting with shocks around the Galactic supernova remnant IC 443, using the results of near-infrared [Fe ii] and H2 line mapping with the InfraRed Survey Facility/Simultaneous Infrared Imager for Unbiased Survey. In the present study, we newly performed H2 1–0 S(1) and 2–1 S(1) line mapping with the narrowband filters tuned for these lines, covering the entire remnant ( 30 ′ × 35 ′ ). Combined with an [Fe ii] line map, our result shows that the H2 line emission is significantly detected in the southern region, while the [Fe ii] line emission is detected all over the remnant, suggesting that slow and fast shocks propagate through the southern region and the entire remnant, respectively. In particular, the H2 line emission is relatively strong compared to the [Fe ii] line emission in the southwestern region, where TeV γ-ray emission is detected. As the strong H2 line emission indicates the dominance of the dense ISM, this result supports the scenario that the γ-ray emission is likely to be produced through a heavy interaction between cosmic-ray protons and the dense ISM in the southwestern shell. We also find that the H2 and [Fe ii] line emissions show an anti-correlated spatial distribution in the same region, suggesting the presence of the clumpy ISM. Such a clumpy morphology of the ISM around IC 443 may assist cosmic-ray protons to efficiently interact with large amounts of the ISM protons.

The Effect of Bars on the Ionized ISM: Optical Emission Lines from Milky Way Analogs

Abstract Gas interior to the bar of the Milky Way has recently been shown to be the closest example of a low-ionization (nuclear) emission region (LI(N)ER) in the universe. To better understand the nature of this gas, a sample of face-on galaxies with integral field spectroscopy is used to study the ionized gas conditions of 240 barred and 250 nonbarred galaxies, focusing on those that are most similar to the Milky Way. Strong optical line emission of [N ii] λ6584, Hα, [O iii] λ5007, and Hβ are used to diagnose the dominant ionization mechanisms of gas across galaxies and the Galaxy via Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich diagrams. Barred galaxies show a strong suppression of star formation and an increase in composite and LI(N)ER-like spectra in their inner regions when compared with similar nonbarred counterparts. This effect is lessened in galaxies of very low ( ) or very high ( ) total stellar mass. Bar masks from Galaxy Zoo:3D show the bar’s nonaxisymmetric effect on the ionized gas and help predict the face-on distribution of ionized gas conditions near the bar of the Milky Way.