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Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Series

2009

ISM: individual: Orion Bar

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physics

Rotationally Warm Molecular Hydrogen In The Orion Bar, Gargi Shaw, Gary J. Ferland, W. J. Henney, P. C. Stancil, N. P. Abel, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, P. A. Van Hoof Aug 2009

Rotationally Warm Molecular Hydrogen In The Orion Bar, Gargi Shaw, Gary J. Ferland, W. J. Henney, P. C. Stancil, N. P. Abel, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, P. A. Van Hoof

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Orion Bar is one of the nearest and best-studied photodissociation or photon-dominated regions (PDRs). Observations reveal the presence of H2 lines from vibrationally or rotationally excited upper levels that suggest warm gas temperatures (400-700 K). However, standard models of PDRs are unable to reproduce such warm rotational temperatures. In this paper, we attempt to explain these observations with new comprehensive models which extend from the H+ region through the Bar and include the magnetic field in the equation of state. We adopt the model parameters from our previous paper which successfully reproduced a wide variety of spectral …


Orion's Bar: Physical Conditions Across The Definitive H+/H0/H2 Interface, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland, G. Shaw, S. Heathcote Mar 2009

Orion's Bar: Physical Conditions Across The Definitive H+/H0/H2 Interface, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland, G. Shaw, S. Heathcote

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Previous work has shown the Orion Bar to be an interface between ionized and molecular gas, viewed roughly edge-on, which is excited by the light from the Trapezium cluster. Much of the emission from any star-forming region will originate from such interfaces, so the Bar serves as a foundation test of any emission model. Here we combine X-ray, optical, infrared (IR), and radio data sets to derive emission spectra along the transition from H+ to H0 to H2 regions. We then reproduce the spectra of these layers with a simulation that simultaneously accounts for the detailed microphysics …