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Title: Spatially-Resolved Temperature and Density Structures of Nearby HII Regions
Authors: Yifei Jin et al.
First Author’s Institution: Australian National University
Status: Published in ApJ
Despite playing a fundamental role in shaping the emission-line spectra of HII regions, the assumptions about electron temperature and density that are used in most photoionization codes are oversimplified and quite far from reality. In today’s article, the authors analyzed the detailed electron temperature and density structures of four HII regions to show — spoiler alert! — that the prevailing assumptions are not physically realistic.
For Real
Photoionization, a key process in astrophysics, is the physical mechanism that converts electrically neutral atoms (or molecules) into ions through interactions with energetic photons. This phenomenon plays a crucial role in determining the characteristics of HII regions, where intense ultraviolet photons from massive stars lead to the ionization of the surrounding hydrogen gas.
Much of our knowledge about objects in the universe comes from spectroscopy (here is Astrobites’s Guide to Spectroscopy and Spectral Lines). The spectra of HII regions are dominated by emission lines that trace the characteristics of the emitting gas. Among the physical quantities influencing the emission-line spectra of HII regions are the electron temperature and density. These parameters serve as crucial diagnostics for determining the metallicities of the interstellar medium.
Reality Check
Figure 1: Diagram illustrating an idealized or simplified spherical HII region. [Kerry Hensley/AAS Nova]
- the nature of the central star
- the physical conditions of the ionized nebula
- the chemical abundances that characterize the nebula
Photoionization codes tend to underestimate the complexity of the internal nebular structures of HII regions by assuming an isothermal condition (constant temperature) or a uniform electron density distribution across the extent of these regions. Additionally, in most models, the nebular geometry is assumed to be spherically symmetric, a simplification that often does not align with the real objects — as is evident if you compare the HII-region diagram in Figure 1 with the images from observations of the four HII regions studied in the article in Figure 2!
What’s Real vs. The Models
The authors of today’s article utilized integral field unit data from the Wide-Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) on the Australian National University 2.3-meter telescope to analyze the detailed temperature and density structures of four HII regions in the Magellanic Clouds (Figure 2). Integral field unit instruments enable simultaneous imaging and spectroscopy observations, generating a spatially resolved data product called a data cube that contains spectral information at each spatial pixel (spaxel). This article represents the first investigation into the nebular internal structures with a sample of extragalactic HII regions using integral field unit data with a high spatial resolution.
Figure 2: Integrated-flux (in erg s-1 cm-2) images of the four HII regions with relative positions (in arcseconds), showcasing the different nebular morphologies. [Adapted from Jin et al. 2023]
Figure 3 compares the radial profiles of the temperature- and density-sensitive line ratios between the observed and modeled values derived from the best-fit models (those with minimal χ2 values) for all four HII regions. The models predict that the density-sensitive [O II] and [S II] line ratios increase (top row) and remain flat (bottom row), respectively, with the distance from the center of the nebula. On the other hand, the observational data show a decreasing trend for [O II] line ratios, while [S II] ratios increase. Meanwhile, the observed radial profiles of the temperature-sensitive [O III] line ratios are flat (middle row) for all four regions, but the models predict decreasing profiles. These discrepancies suggest that none of the simple HII-region models is able to reproduce the observed electron temperature and density structures.
Figure 3: The [O II], [O III], and [S II] line ratios as functions of normalized radius of the nebula with 0.0 being the center of the nebula. The yellow points represent the values from the observational data and the red dashed lines show the modeled radial distribution. [Adapted from Jin et al. 2023]
Let’s Be Real
Real HII regions exhibit notable radial variations in electron temperatures and densities, challenging the isothermal and/or constant density assumptions in photoionization codes. Codes like MAPPINGS V require assumptions about the shape of HII regions as input. Today’s authors have demonstrated in their article the pressing need to model realistic HII regions for accurate nebula modeling, emphasizing the importance of considering the arbitrary geometries inherent in these regions. As our understanding advances, the demand for a more realistic modeling approach grows. Ongoing developments in three-dimensional photoionization codes with Monte Carlo radiative transfer techniques (for more reading about the basic principle of this technique, this page is a good start) hold the promise of a new era in astrophysical simulations, providing a more physically realistic portrayal of these fascinating objects!
Original astrobite edited by Roel Lefever.
About the author, Janette Suherli:
Janette is a PhD student at University of Manitoba in Winnipeg (Winterpeg!), Canada. Her research focuses on the utilization of integral field spectroscopy for the studies of supernova remnants and their compact objects in the optical. She grew up in Indonesia where it is summer all year round! Before pursuing her PhD in astrophysics, Janette worked as a data analyst for a big Indonesian tech company, combating credit card fraud.