TY - JOUR
T1 - The Validity of 21 cm Spin Temperature as a Kinetic Temperature Indicator in Atomic and Molecular Gas
AU - Shaw, Gargi
AU - Ferland, G. J.
AU - Hubeny, I.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..
PY - 2017/7/10
Y1 - 2017/7/10
N2 - The gas kinetic temperature (T K) of various interstellar environments is often inferred from observations that can deduce level populations of atoms, ions, or molecules using spectral line observations; H i 21 cm is perhaps the most widely used, and has a long history. Usually the H i 21 cm line is assumed to be in thermal equilibrium and the populations are given by the Boltzmann distribution. A variety of processes, many involving Lyα, can affect the 21 cm line. Here we show how this is treated in the spectral simulation code Cloudy, and present numerical simulations of environments where this temperature indicator is used, with a detailed treatment of the physical processes that determine level populations within H0. We discuss situations where this temperature indicator traces T K, cases where it fails, as well as the effects of Lyα pumping on the 21 cm spin temperature. We also show that the Lyα excitation temperature rarely traces the gas kinetic temperature.
AB - The gas kinetic temperature (T K) of various interstellar environments is often inferred from observations that can deduce level populations of atoms, ions, or molecules using spectral line observations; H i 21 cm is perhaps the most widely used, and has a long history. Usually the H i 21 cm line is assumed to be in thermal equilibrium and the populations are given by the Boltzmann distribution. A variety of processes, many involving Lyα, can affect the 21 cm line. Here we show how this is treated in the spectral simulation code Cloudy, and present numerical simulations of environments where this temperature indicator is used, with a detailed treatment of the physical processes that determine level populations within H0. We discuss situations where this temperature indicator traces T K, cases where it fails, as well as the effects of Lyα pumping on the 21 cm spin temperature. We also show that the Lyα excitation temperature rarely traces the gas kinetic temperature.
KW - ISM: clouds
KW - radiative transfer
KW - radio lines: galaxies
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U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aa7747
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aa7747
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85025065158
VL - 843
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
SN - 0004-637X
IS - 2
M1 - 149
ER -