Abstract
An original spectroscopic diagnostic technique has been recently developed that allows to estimate in a model-independent way the ionization fraction x e and the average excitation temperature in the beam of Herbig-Haro jets (Bacciotti, Chiuderi and Oliva 1995). The procedure is based on the fact that in the low excitation conditions present in this region the ionization state of oxygen and nitrogen can be assumed to be regulated by charge exchange with atomic hydrogen. The application of this technique to long-slit spectra of several well-known stellar jets indicates that the hydrogen ionization fraction x e starts from 0.2–0.4 at the beginning of the flow and gently decreases along the whole jet or along sections of it as a result of time-dependent recombination. The average temperature stays almost constant, ranging from 4500 to 7000 K. The momentum transfer rates evaluated with the derived total number densities (n H ~ 103 – 104 cm-3) give support to the picture in which the jet is responsible for the acceleration of a surrounding molecular outflow.
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Bacciotti, F. (1997). The Ionization State along the Beam of Herbig-Haro Jets. In: Reipurth, B., Bertout, C. (eds) Herbig-Haro Flows and the Birth of Low Mass Stars. International Astronomical Union / Union Astronomique Internationale, vol 182. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5608-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5608-0_7
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