Related papers: Nonthermal element abundances at astrophysical sho…
Elemental abundances are key to our understanding of star formation and evolution in the Galactic center. Previous work on this topic has been based on infrared (IR) observations, but X-ray observations have the potential of constraining…
Cold cores are an early step of star formation, characterized by densities > 10$^4$ cm$^{-3}$, low temperatures (< 15 K), and very low external UV radiation. We investigate the physico-chemical processes at play to tracing the origin of…
Low-metallicity environments are subject to inefficient cooling. They also have low dust-to-gas ratios and therefore less efficient photoelectric (PE) heating than in solar-neighbourhood conditions, where PE heating is one of the most…
A rapidly growing amount of evidences, mostly coming from the recent gamma-ray observations of Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs), is seriously challenging our understanding of how particles are accelerated at fast shocks. The cosmic-ray…
We perform kinetic simulations of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs) expanding into a uniform interstellar medium (ISM). Bohm-like diffusion assumed, and simple models for Alfvenic drift and dissipation…
This contribution is a brief introduction to nonthermal effects related to modifications of the interatomic potential upon ultrafast excitation of the electronic system of solids, primarily focusing on the swift heavy ion track problem. We…
Particles crossing repeatedly the surface of a shock wave can be energized by first order Fermi acceleration. The linear theory is successful in describing the acceleration process as long as the pressure of the accelerated particles…
We investigate the process of Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) of particles with mass number to charge number ratios $A/Q > 1$, e.g., partially-ionized heavy ions. To this end, we introduce helium- and carbon-like ions at solar abundances…
In this paper we present computations of the integrated metal-ion column densities produced in the post-shock cooling layers behind fast, radiative shock-waves. For this purpose, we have constructed a new shock code that calculates the…
A distinct low energy cosmic-ray component has been proposed to explain the essentially constant Be/Fe ratio at low metallicities. Atomic collisions of such low energy ions produce characteristic nonthermal X-ray emission. In this paper, we…
Context. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are the most abundant elements throughout the universe, after hydrogen and helium. Studying these elements in low-metallicity stars can provide crucial information on the chemical composition in the…
The theory of diffusive particle acceleration explains the spectral properties of the cosmic rays below energies of approx. 10^6 GeV as produced at strong shocks in supernova remnants (SNR's). To supply the observed flux of cosmic rays, a…
In this paper, we present preliminary results illustrating the effect of cosmic rays on solid-phase chemistry in models of both TMC-1 and several sources with physical conditions identical to TMC-1 except for hypothetically enhanced…
Up to 90% of the chemical reactions during star formation occurs on ice surfaces, probably including the formation of complex organics. Only the most abundant ice species are however observed directly by infrared spectroscopy. This study…
Understanding the heating of electrons to quasi-thermal energies at collisionless shocks has broad implications for plasma astrophysics. It directly impacts the interpretation of X-ray spectra from shocks, is important for understanding how…
Most studies of GeV Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) nuclei assume a steady state/continuous distribution for the sources of cosmic rays, but this distribution is actually discrete in time and in space. The current progress in our understanding…
Galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs) are thought to be accelerated in strong shocks induced by massive star winds and supernova explosions sweeping across the interstellar medium. But the phase of the interstellar medium from which the CRs are…
The typical amount of molecular hydrogen (${\rm H_2}$) in interstellar ices is not known, but significant freeze-out of ${\rm H_2}$ on dust grains is not expected. However, chemical models ubiquitously predict large amounts of $\rm H_2$…
The mechanism of diffusive Fermi acceleration at collisionless plasma shock waves is widely invoked in astrophysics to explain the appearance of non-thermal particle populations in a variety of environments, including sites of cosmic ray…
Aim: To determine whether or not gas-phase chemical models with homogeneous and time-independent physical conditions explain the many observed molecular abundances in astrophysical sources, it is crucial to estimate the uncertainties in the…