Related papers: Cosmic-ray ionization of molecular clouds
We explore the effects of the expected higher cosmic ray (CR) ionization rates $\zeta_{\rm CR}$ on the abundances of carbon monoxide (CO), atomic carbon (C), and ionized carbon (C$^+$) in the H$_2$ clouds of star-forming galaxies. The study…
The model is constructed of the propagation of gamma-ray burst radiation through a dense molecular cloud. The main processes of the interaction of the radiation with the interstellar gas are taken into account in the simulations: the…
Cosmic-ray energy densities in central regions of starburst galaxies, as inferred from radio and gamma-ray measurements of, respectively, non-thermal synchrotron and neutral pion decay emission, are typically U_p = O(100)eV/cm3, i.e.…
We present astrochemical photo-dissociation region models in which cosmic ray attenuation has been fully coupled to the chemical evolution of the gas. We model the astrochemical impact of cosmic rays, including those accelerated by…
A significant correlation between the annual cosmic ray flux and the amount of low clouds has recently been found for the past 20 years. However, of the physical explanations suggested, none has been quantitatively verified in the…
Cosmic rays (CRs) can significantly impact dense molecular clouds in galaxies, heating the interstellar medium (ISM) and altering its chemistry, ionization, and thermal properties. Their influence is particularly relevant in environments…
We investigate the propagation of ultra-high energy cosmic ray nuclei (A = 1-56) from cosmologically distant sources through the cosmic radiation backgrounds. Various models for the injected composition and spectrum and of the cosmic…
Cosmic rays fill up the entire volume of galaxies, providing an important source of heating and ionisation of the interstellar medium, and may play a significant role in the regulation of star formation and galactic evolution. Diffuse…
The chemistry of shielded molecular gas is primarily driven by energetic, charged particles dubbed cosmic rays (CRs), in particular those with energies under 1 GeV. CRs ionize molecular hydrogen and helium, the latter of which contributes…
Understanding the cosmic ray (CR) ionization rate is crucial in order to simulate the dynamics of, and interpret the chemical species observed in molecular clouds. Calculating the CR ionization rate requires both accurate knowledge of the…
We investigate numerically the contribution to the cosmic gamma-ray background from cosmic-rays ions and electrons accelerated at intergalactic shocks associated with cosmological structure formation. We show that the kinetic energy of…
The physics of energetic particle propagation in magnetised environments plays a crucial role in both the processes of acceleration and transport of cosmic rays. Recent theoretical developments in the field of cosmic ray research have been…
We investigate the diffusion of cosmic rays into molecular cloud complexes. Using the cosmic-ray diffusion formalism of Protheroe, et al. (2008), we examine how cosmic rays diffuse into clouds exhibiting different density structures,…
In diffuse interstellar clouds the chemistry that leads to the formation of the oxygen bearing ions OH+, H2O+, and H3O+ begins with the ionization of atomic hydrogen by cosmic rays, and continues through subsequent hydrogen abstraction…
Optically dense clouds in the interstellar medium composed predominantly of molecular hydrogen, known as molecular clouds, are sensitive to energy injection in the form of photon absorption, cosmic-ray scattering, and dark matter (DM)…
Context. Ionization plays a central role in the gas-phase chemistry of molecular clouds. Since ions are coupled with magnetic fields, which can in turn counteract gravitational collapse, it is of paramount importance to measure their…
We construct a family of models for the evolution of energetic particles in the starburst galaxy M82 and compare them to observations to test the calorimeter assumption that all cosmic ray energy is radiated in the starburst region.…
We demonstrate for the first time that Galactic cosmic rays with energies as high as 1e10 eV can trigger a cascade of low-energy (< 20 eV) secondary electrons that could be a significant contributor to the interstellar synthesis of…
Context: It has been proposed that H$_2$ near-infrared lines may be excited by cosmic rays and allow for a determination of the cosmic-ray ionization rate in dense gas. One-dimensional models show that measuring both the H$_2$ gas column…
The role of feedback from massive stars is believed to be a key element in the evolution of molecular clouds. We use high-resolution 3D SPH simulations to explore the dynamical effects of a single O7 star located at the centre of a…