Excitation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Emission: Dependence on Size Distribution, Ionization, and Starlight Spectrum and Intensity

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Autori principali: Draine, B. T., Li, Aigen, Hensley, Brandon S., Hunt, L. K., Sandstrom, K., Smith, J. -D. T.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2020
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author Draine, B. T.
Li, Aigen
Hensley, Brandon S.
Hunt, L. K.
Sandstrom, K.
Smith, J. -D. T.
author_facet Draine, B. T.
Li, Aigen
Hensley, Brandon S.
Hunt, L. K.
Sandstrom, K.
Smith, J. -D. T.
contents Using physical models, we study the sensitivity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission spectra to the character of the illuminating starlight, to the PAH size distribution, and to the PAH charge distribution. Starlight models considered range from the emission from a 3 Myr-old starburst, rich in far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation, to the FUV-poor spectrum of the very old population of the M31 bulge. A wide range of starlight intensities is considered. The effects of reddening in dusty clouds are investigated for different starlight spectra. For a fixed PAH abundance parameter $q_{\rm PAH}$ (the fraction of the total dust mass in PAHs with $<10^3$ C atoms), the fraction of the IR power appearing in the PAH emission features can vary by a factor of two as the starlight spectrum varies from FUV-poor (M31 bulge) to FUV-rich (young starburst). We show how $q_{\rm PAH}$ can be measured from the strength of the 7.7$μ$m emission. The fractional power in the 17$μ$m feature can be suppressed by high starlight intensities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2011_07046
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Excitation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Emission: Dependence on Size Distribution, Ionization, and Starlight Spectrum and Intensity
Draine, B. T.
Li, Aigen
Hensley, Brandon S.
Hunt, L. K.
Sandstrom, K.
Smith, J. -D. T.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Using physical models, we study the sensitivity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission spectra to the character of the illuminating starlight, to the PAH size distribution, and to the PAH charge distribution. Starlight models considered range from the emission from a 3 Myr-old starburst, rich in far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation, to the FUV-poor spectrum of the very old population of the M31 bulge. A wide range of starlight intensities is considered. The effects of reddening in dusty clouds are investigated for different starlight spectra. For a fixed PAH abundance parameter $q_{\rm PAH}$ (the fraction of the total dust mass in PAHs with $<10^3$ C atoms), the fraction of the IR power appearing in the PAH emission features can vary by a factor of two as the starlight spectrum varies from FUV-poor (M31 bulge) to FUV-rich (young starburst). We show how $q_{\rm PAH}$ can be measured from the strength of the 7.7$μ$m emission. The fractional power in the 17$μ$m feature can be suppressed by high starlight intensities.
title Excitation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Emission: Dependence on Size Distribution, Ionization, and Starlight Spectrum and Intensity
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.07046