Chapter 18 - Interstellar Medium - Michael K

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Michael K. Rulison
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edu/mrulison/)
Professor of Physics
Chapter 18: Interstellar Medium

When one looks up into the night sky we only see stars and the occasional planet. Most of outer space is
empty, meaning that the density of atoms is much lower than even the best vacuums in our labs. Deep
imaging of the skies showed that there are numerous regions where interstellar matter, in the form of
gas and dust, collects to form clouds and nebula. Since these clouds are diffuse, they are difficult to see
with the naked eye.
The first indication that there was interstellar gas and dust was dark lanes in the Milky Way. Since we
live in a disk galaxy, then looking outward we see a band of light in the sky which, if magnified, breaks
down into the many stars in our Galaxy. A deep photo of the Milky Way shows that there are dark
regions or lanes.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/milky_way_dark-1xoe2to.gif)
We understand now that there is gas and dust blocking the starlight which produces these dark lanes,
such as the CoalSack Nebula. In fact, most of our Galaxy is blocked from our view bypatches of gas and
dust.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/astronomy- (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/astronomy-
web-lecture-notes/chapter-18-interstellar- web-lecture-notes/chapter-18-interstellar-
medium/coalsack/) medium/milkyway_gleason_big/)
Coalsack Nebula Patches of smoke and gas
Interstellar Extinction:
Astrophotograph in the 19th century showed that the dark lanes or holes in the Milky Way did not have
sharp edges. That, in fact, detail studies of star clusters at various distances from us showed that the
intensity of light from remote stars is reduced as it passes through the sparse material of the
interstellar medium. Herschel tried to use star counts to measure the size of the Galaxy and where our
position is within it. His result was the diagram below, but what he really discovered was that
interstellar extinction limits our line of sight.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/herschel-
21ci3fy.gif)
Not only is the intensity of the light decreased, called interstellar extinction, it is also reddened, called
interstellar reddening. The blue component of light is more easily scattered than the red component
(which is why the sky is blue during the day, scattered sunlight). Thus, light from remote stars has part
of its blue component scattered before it reaches the Earth.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/interstellar_reddening-26wxcr2.gif)
Maps of interstellar reddening demonstrated that the interstellar medium composed mostly of
hydrogen and helium gas (99%) and traces of dust. Dust, in an interstellar sense, is very small (few
microns in size) particles of carbon and silicon. Dust is fragile because it can be broken down by UV
photons, but is very important in dark nebula as sites for the formation of molecules.
Neutral Hydrogen:
Most of the interstellar medium is in the form of neutral hydrogen gas (HI). The typical densities of
neutral hydrogen in the Galaxy is one atom per cubic centimeter. This gas is cold and the electron is
usually in its ground state. However, protons and electrons can have spin. This spin produces a
magnetic field such that when the spins are aligned the ground state has a slightly higher energy then
when the spins are opposed. This is called hyperfine splitting of the ground state for hydrogen and
results in the emission of 21 cm radio waves from HI clouds.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/21cm_radiation-1i8t100.gif)
The spins of the electron can be changed by collisions with other hydrogen atoms, although this is very
rare because the densities are so low, or the transition can happen naturally after a few million years.
On the other hand, there are billions and billions of hydrogen atoms in the typical cloud of gas. So the
result is that 21 cm is a strong measure of the amount of HI gas in the Galaxy.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/hi_spiral-
2dyy2ek.gif)
A scan of our Milky Way galaxy at 21 cm shows that the distribution of neutral hydrogen is
concentrated in the spiral arms. The Sun is marked as the yellow arrow, Galactic center is a blue dot.
Notice how there is a cone of avoidance behind the Galactic center due to confusion in the HI signal.
Interstellar Molecules:
Atoms can bond together to form molecules. The most common atoms in the Universe are H, He, C, N,
O, thus we have the expectation that the most common molecules are made from these atoms.
However, the bonds between molecules is very weak (look how easy it is to breakdown water) and
interstellar space is full of UV and x-ray photons which can break these bonds. So interstellar molecules
are only found in the dark centers of dense nebula of gas and dust.
Just as electrons orbit around the nucleus in quantized energy states, atoms can rotate around each
other, also in quantized speeds. Changes in the rotation, by collisions or interactions, will emit photons.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/molecular_radiation-1jj1vi4.gif)
Radiation from interstellar molecules is a good tracer of the dense, thick regions of the interstellar
medium. These dense regions are usually the sites of protostar formation and collapse of large clouds
of gas to form into star clusters.
Interstellar Dust:
Interstellar dust is produced in the envelopes around red supergiant stars. Stellar winds and the
planetary nebula phase eject this dust into the interstellar medium. Dust particles are mostly carbon
and silicate grains that are a few microns in size. Although small, they completely absorb any light that
strikes them and are heated by collisions with gas molecules. They will be warmed to the ambient
temperature of the surrounding region and re-radiate that energy in the far infrared.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/interstellar_dust-2n6yty2.gif)
Although solid objects, dust grains are not immune to destruction. Collisions with high speed gas
particles, UV photons and other grains will breakdown dust grains. For this reason, dust is only found
in the cores of dark nebula where they are shielded from destructive effects.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/sputtering-
tc48pz.gif)
Dust grains serve as sites for the formation of molecules and organic compounds. Their cold surfaces
act as catalysts by allowing atoms to stick to them so there there is time for a second atom to land,
interact, and form a molecule. Collections of dust and molecular gases are called molecular clouds.
Dark Nebula:
We divide the interstellar medium into three types dependent on their temperature (called the phase of
the interstellar medium): cold (10s K), warm (100 to 1000s K), hot (millions K). The colder a cloud of
gas, the more of its output emission is in the long wavelengths; radio and microwave. Hot regions of
interstellar gas are bright in their own optical emission.
Note also that the various temperatures determine the type of matter that will exist. Cold temperatures
are suitable to the formation of molecules. Warmer temperatures will find only atoms, such as neutral
hydrogen. Under higher temperatures, atoms become ionized (HII regions). The coldest regions of
space are the dark nebula.
Some dark nebula are found through star counts, such as the Coalsack. Others are visible because an
emission nebula is behind them, so they are illuminated from behind, such as the Horse Head Nebula
shown below. This happens often because the same gas that is associated with the dark nebula can also
be heated by nearby stars to glow as an emission nebula.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/horse_head_nebula-
wy4ioc.gif)
The Horse Head Nebula is several tens of parsecs across and would envelop the local neighborhood of
stars around our solar system. Stars seen in the image are foreground stars since the nebula is opaque.
Some dark nebula are surrounded by emission regions, giving the impression that the dark cores are
being dissolved by the hotter gas as in the Eagle Nebula shown below.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/hst_eagle-
1w1tbkz.jpg)
A great deal of information is contained in the above image, the irregular shape of the dark regions, the
hot vapor off the edges heated by nearby stars, the straight rays of dissolved gas. This nebula indicates
that the interaction between dark nebula and bright, hot gas is dynamic and ongoing.
Molecular Clouds:
Often in the centers of dark nebula are dense concentrations of gas and dust called molecular clouds.
They are called molecular because the temperatures are so low (only a few 10s K) that H2 and CO can
form on the surface of dust grains. Dense gas makes for instability to gravity, and large pieces of the
cloud can collapse to form protostars. Thus, molecular clouds are important as nurseries for young
star clusters.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/molecular_cloud-1k7v2mi.gif)
Molecular clouds are probed with far infrared and sub-millimeter telescopes to study the conditions
that lead to star formation and the details of protostar evolution. As the young stars evolve and heat the
leftover gas, the molecular cloud will be destroyed and turned into a HII region such as the Orion
Nebula.
A perspective plot of the location of molecular clouds towards the center of the Galaxy is shown below.
The location of the Sagittarius and Scutum spiral arms are clearly outlined.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/mw_molecular-2dwahz5.gif)
There are many processes that go on inside a molecular cloud that can enhance or inhibit the
formation of stars. For example, turbulence in the core of a cloud would compress some regions and
enhance star formation. Magnetic fields would retard the collapse of a cloud and slow down the
production of new stars.
Re ection Nebula:
Often there is found a blue haze around bright, hot stars. This haze is called a reflection nebula and is
caused by scattering of blue light off a background cloud of dust. The most famous is the Pleiades, a
cluster of young stars in front of a dust cloud.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/reflection_nebula-1rkx243.gif)
medium/ngc7023/) medium/m45/)
Reflection Nebula Pleiades
Remember that only the blue component of a stars light is scattered, so the reflection will look bluer
than the original star.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/prob_20-
1cbociq.gif)
Masers:
Near regions of star formation are often found powerful sources of microwave radiation, called OH or
H2 masers. The radiation from newborn stars causes collisions with the molecules and `pumps them
into excited energy states. Some of these energy states are meta-stable, meaning that they will only
transition downward when stimulated by a passing photon. The electromagnetic field of the passing
photon causes the excited electron to transition downward emitting another photon of the same energy
and wavelength. This is the process behind the laser.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/laser-
1dlhzqm.gif)
If many molecules in the cloud are pumped to their excited states, then one photon can cause a
downward transition of billions of molecules. The released radiation would have a particular
wavelength signature instead of being spread out in a thermal spectrum.
HII regions:
Once stars are formed in the center of a molecular cloud, the stars will emit large amounts of UV
radiation and heat the cloud. The gas will ionize and become an HII region, a region of ionized
hydrogen (HII) surrounded by cooler, neutral hydrogen (HI).
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/hii_region-
1dpjwyl.gif)
The largest example of an HII region in the sky is the Orion Nebula.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/hst_orion_nebula-27sek0a.jpg)
The size of the HII region is directly proportional to the number of UV photons emitted to ionize the
gas. You can increase the number of UV photons by either have large mass stars or simply more stars.
The glow from an HII region is the recombination of ionized hydrogen, so the size of an HII region is
simply the point in space where the rate of recombination equals the rate of photoionization from the
central stars. This region is called a Stromgren sphere and is a useful method of calculating the number
of hot O and B stars that are produced in the Galaxy by measuring the sizes of HII regions (i.e. the
current star formation rate).
Also found in bright HII regions are new stars, and with them supernova. Supernova explosions over
thousands of years will send shock waves back into the molecular cloud where the they were born
from. This will cause compression in the cloud and enhance the formation of even more new stars as
shown below.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/sn_induced_sf-1gaqz9m.gif)
The style of star formation will lead to the spiral patterns we see in galaxies, where star formation
travels along the dense clouds found in the spiral arms.
Planetary Nebula:
Hotter and more compact than HII regions are planetary nebula, which got their names cause they look
like distant fuzzy planets in old telescopes. Since planetary nebula are the ejected envelopes of AGB
stars, the regions around them are empty, unlike the dense clouds around HII regions. The planetary
nebula are heated solely from the interior AGB core. Thus, planetary nebula offer a unique chance to
watch the interaction of radiation and low density gas.
Most planetary nebula are spherically symmetric shells with some icicle shapes on the inner edge of
the outrushing shell, such as IC 3568. The green color is from emission lines of oxygen. If the original
star was rotating, then a disk can form with holes along the long axis for radiation to escape, such as
NGC 6826, NGC 7009 and NGC 3918. `Fliers develop where there is a leak of UV light.
medium/ic3568/) medium/ic3568_cartoon/)
IC 3568 IC 3568
medium/ngc6826/) medium/ngc6826_cartoon/)
NGC 6826 NGC 6826
NGC 7009 NGC 7009
NGC 3918 NGC 3918
Often a reminant disk shell or old solar system will form a disk near the star. In this case, the
expanding gas moves faster out the poles of the solar system to develop a dumbbell shape as inHubble
5. The strangest case is where the core star has a hotspot not aligned with the rotation axis. This hotspot
could be ejected charged particles which are falling back onto the magnetic poles of the stars. The
result is a beam or jet of UV radiation which will paint helix shaped wobbles on the planetary nebula,
as in NGC 5307.
medium/hubble5/) medium/hubble5_cartoon/)
Hubble 5 Hubble 5
NGC 5307 NGC 5307
Supernova Remnants:
The most violent, and therefore hottest, ejection of gas into the interstellar medium is from supernova
explosions. Many thin, arc-like nebula are found through out the Galaxy that are remnants of
expanding shells of gas moving away from dead supernova at supersonic velocities. One such
supernova remnant is the Cygnus Loop shown below.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/CygnusLoop-209d7qk.jpg)
Supersonic motion is always accompanied by a shock wave that compresses the medium in front of it.
This compression causes the gas to heat and glow. The most recent supernova near the Earth was in
1024 B.C. and its remnant is seen as the Crab Nebula shown below. In the center of the Crab Nebula is a
fast rotating pulsar.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/crab-
1uxsuck.jpg)
The shock wave from a supernova sweeps up matter in front of it and continues to heat this gas.
Because supernova remnants are so hot, they emit a great deal of their energy in the x-ray region of the
spectrum, shown in the x-ray picture of Cas A below.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/cas_a-
q0rry5.gif)
Notice that although the shock wave starts out as a symmetric explosion, the supernova remnant
develops structure and asymmetry. This is due to the fact that the density distribution of the interstellar
medium is lumpy. The supernova remnant expands fastest in directions where the density is low. When
pockets of dense gas are swept up, they radiate strongly and are visible as bright spots. So as a
supernova remnant ages, it appears less round and regular.
As millions of years pass, the supernova remnant slows down and merges with the interstellar
medium. All the heavy elements produced in the original supernova explosion are mixed into newly
forming molecular clouds enhancing the number of heavy elements in future stars and solar systems.
A supernova remnant is a major source of energy for the interstellar medium. The region behind the
shock wave is low in density, but very hot. Since its density is low, it cools at a very slow pace. The
lumpy, foam-like nature to the interstellar medium is tracing the past history of supernovae. If the
interstellar medium is dense, or the past supernova rate is small, then the interstellar medium has
isolated bubbles of hot gas. If the interstellar medium is thin, or the supernova rate is high, then the
interstellar medium becomes filled with connect bubbles or tunnels of hot gas.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/supernova_rate-17phr2s.gif)
Cosmic Rays:
During both the day and night there is a continual shower of high speed particles into the Earths
atmosphere called cosmic rays (see end of chapter). Most of these cosmic rays are protons and helium
nuclei that have been accelerated to relativistic velocities (close to the speed of light). When cosmic rays
collide with atoms in the Earths atmosphere all their energy is converted back into matter (E=mc2) as a
shower of particles that rains down to the Earths surface.
Cosmic ray showers are usually discovered with a cosmic ray detector, a large array of simply mirrors
and phototubes to catch the Cerenkov radiation from the incoming particles. These array of detectors
have shown that the cosmic rays arrive to the Earth from isotropic directions, meaning that there is no
particular source to be deduced from their collisions with the Earths atmosphere. A lack of a preferred
direction implies that cosmic rays are deflected by the Galaxys magnetic field and, thus, lose their
orientation after many deflections over time.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/m
rulison/files/2016/07/cosmic_t
ele-1kwu0e3.jpg)
Cosmic Ray Detector
We can make some deductions about cosmic rays based on their frequency and energies. Since their
energies and speeds are so high, they easily escape from the Galaxys gravitational field. Since there are
large numbers of cosmic rays seen everyday, this implies that they must be replenished at a steady rate.
The only source in the Galaxy to produce particles at these energies are supernova explosions.
Cosmic Ray
A cosmic ray is a high-speed particleeither an atomic nucleus or an electronthat travels throughout

the Milky Way Galaxy, including the solar system. Some of these particles originate from the Sun, but
most come from sources outside the solar system and are known as galactic cosmic rays (GCRs).
Cosmic-ray particles that arrive at the top of the Earths atmosphere are termed primaries; their
collisions with atmospheric nuclei give rise to secondaries.
About 85 percent of the GCRs are protons (nuclei of hydrogen atoms), with approximately 12 percent
consisting of alpha particles (helium nuclei). The remainder are electrons and nuclei of heavier atoms.
Because most cosmic-ray primaries are strongly influenced by the Earths magnetic field and the
interplanetary magnetic field, most of those detected near the Earth have kinetic energies in excess of
about 1 GeV (gigaelectron volts, or one billion electron volts). This energy corresponds to speeds
greater than about 87 percent the speed of light. The number of particles drops rapidly with increasing
energy, but individual particles with energies as high as 1020 eV have been detected.
Because of their deflection by magnetic fields, primary GCRs follow convoluted paths and arrive at the
top of the Earths atmosphere nearly uniformly from all directions. Consequently, identification of
cosmic-ray sources cannot be based on direction of arrival but rather must be inferred from their
abundances (or charge spectrum). This can be done by comparing cosmic-ray abundances with those
deduced spectroscopically for stars and interstellar regions. The relative abundances of different
elements among cosmic-ray nuclei have been well studied for particles with energies from roughly 100
MeV (megaelectron volts, or one million electron volts) to several tens of GeV. Isotopic abundances
have been measured for the more abundant elements as well. From such data it has been possible to
reconstruct much of the history of cosmic-ray particles journey through the Milky Way Galaxy. The
light elements lithium, beryllium, and boron are rare throughout the universe but are surprisingly
abundant among the primary GCRs. It is accepted that these light nuclei are produced when heavier
primaries (e.g., carbon and oxygen) are fragmented during collisions with the thin interstellar gas
composed mostly of hydrogen. The GCRs would have to have been traveling for about 10 million years
to produce enough interstellar collisions to yield the observed number of light nuclei. The time scale
for this travel is based in part on the observation of such radioactive fragments as beryllium-10. This
radionuclide has a half-life of 1.6 million years, and the number of such particles that can survive to be
detected on Earth depends on their total travel time.
After correcting for interstellar fragmentation, one finds that the composition of the inferred source is
similar in some ways to general solar-system matter; however, too little hydrogen and helium are
present, and significant differences exist among certain isotopes. It is thought that the cosmic rays
represent a mixture of interstellar material enriched with matter from evolved stars, such as
supernovas and perhaps Wolf-Rayet stars.
In collisions between primary cosmic rays and interstellar hydrogen, charged mesons (mostly pions)
are produced. These pions have half-lives of about two hundred-millionths of a second and decay
through muons to produce electrons and neutrinos. The electrons travel along spiral paths in the
galactic magnetic field and so generate synchrotron radiation (q.v.), which is detected by radio
telescopes. There is general agreement between the radio observations and calculated intensities.
Synchrotron radiation has been detected from supernova remnants such as the Crab Nebula,
confirming their identification as potential cosmic-ray sources. Interstellar cosmic-ray collisions also
yield neutral pions, which decay quickly to produce high-energy gamma rays. Gamma-ray surveys
(conducted by Earth-orbiting satellites) indicate that cosmic rays are strongly concentrated in the disk
of the Milky Way Galaxy with a much smaller percentage in the surrounding halo. The measured
intensity of the gamma rays is in general agreement with calculated values.
With an average life of 10 million years, GCRs must be replenished at an average power level of about
1041 ergs per second. Supernova explosions can supply this much power as they occur about every 50
years in the galaxy. Details of the processes involved in cosmic-ray production and acceleration remain
unclear, but it appears that particle acceleration can be accomplished by expanding shock waves from
supernovas.
A small anisotropy has been detected among the highest energy particlesi.e., those with energies
above about 1018 eV. The galactic magnetic field is not strong enough to confine such energetic primary
particles within the galaxy, and it is thought that they are the only significant extragalactic component
among cosmic rays. These extremely high energy particles are so rare that they can be detected only
through the extensive air showers (EAS) that they produce in the atmosphere. An extensive air shower
may consist of billions of secondaries (mostly electrons and muons) that arrive at ground level over
areas of many square kilometers.
Energetic particles emerge from solar flares where they have been accelerated by strong magnetic
fields. Most of these particles are protons, with a decreasing number of helium and heavier nuclei.
Observations of the helium-oxygen ratio among energetic solar particles have contributed significantly
to solar studies, because the Suns helium abundance is difficult to estimate by means of conventional
spectroscopy. The energy spectrum of solar particles, as compared with that of galactic cosmic rays,
generally decreases more rapidly with increasing energy, but there is great variability in the shape of
the spectrum from one solar-flare event to another, and the energy spectrum rarely extends above
about 10 GeV.
Cosmic-ray studies have been carried out from far below the Earths surface to outer space. Pioneering
studies were conducted atop mountains where only secondary particles were detectable. Some
secondary muons have such high energies that they are able to penetrate the Earth to depths of more
than 3.2 km (2 miles). To study primary cosmic rays directly, high-altitude balloons (typically reaching
altitudes of 37 km [about 120,000 feet]) have been extensively used. Rockets can reach greater heights
but with smaller payloads and for only a few minutes. Cosmic-ray observations also have been made
from Earth-orbiting satellites and from long-range probes.
From the early 1930s to the 1950s, cosmic rays played a critical role in the scientific study of the atomic
nucleus and its components, for they were the only source of high-energy particles. Short-lived
subatomic particles were discovered through cosmic-ray collisions. The field of particle physics was in
fact established as a result of such discoveries, beginning with those of the positron and the muon.
Even with the advent of powerful particle accelerators in the 1950s, investigators in the field have
continued to study cosmic rays, albeit on a more limited scale, because they contain particles with
energies far beyond those attainable under laboratory conditions.
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Chapter 18: Interstellar Medium

Cosmic Ray Detector

A cosmic ray is a high-speed particleeither an atomic nucleus or an electronthat travels throughout

This site is maintained by the author as authorized by Oglethorpe Universitys communication

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