ASTR 402T
Week 6 Questions
You will need 2 copies of your answers, which can be written+photocopied or typed+printed.
Please turn in one copy to me at the start of the tutorial meeting.
Also, please email me your python codes (you don’t need to print them).
PART A
1.
a. Explain in detail why the intensity ratios of density-indicating pairs like [S II]
λλ6717/6731 and [O II] λλ3729/3726, in fact do allow us to calculate the nebular
density.
b. Consider the density-indicating pairs [O II] λλ3729, 3726 (ncrit = 1.2 x 103 cm-3, 4.1
x 103 cm-3) and [Ar IV] λλ4711, 4740 (ncrit = 1.5 x 104 cm-3, 1.3 x 105 cm-3). In what
density regimes are the [O II] and the [Ar IV] pairs useful and why?
c. Consider two lines from the same ion that originate from closely spaced upper
energy levels (levels “2” and “3”, separated by DE=0.03 eV). One line has A21 =
10-2 s-1 and q21 = 10-5 cm3 s-1. The other line has A31 = 10-4 s-1 and q31 = 10-7 cm3 s-
1
. Could the ratio of these two lines be a density diagnostic? Why/why not?
2. Explain in detail why the intensity ratios of temperature-indicating pairs like [O III]
λλ4363/5007 and [N II] λλ5755/6584, in fact do allow us to calculate the temperature.
Draw and label the energy level diagrams showing these transitions.
3. Consider the observational sequence of low-redshift star-forming galaxies (not AGN) on
the BPT diagram below. The galaxies are color-coded by their metallicity (O/H
abundance ratio), with metal-rich (high O) galaxies located to the bottom-right of the
star-forming sequence (low [O III]/Hb, high [N II]/Ha) and colored red and metal-poor
(low O) galaxies located in the upper-left (high [O III]/Hb, low [N II]/Ha) and colored
blue.
a. Look first at the behavior with respect to [O III]/Hb. At first, as you decrease
metallicity, [O III]/Hb increases steeply, but with further decreases in metallicity
it remains approximately constant and only increases slightly. Ignore any
changes in the properties of stars with metallicity and think only about what
happens to nebular gas as you decrease metallicity. Why does the behavior of [O
III]/Hb with metallicity make sense?
b. Now think about [N II]/Ha, which shows a steady decrease with decreasing
metallicity. Galaxies with lower O abundances also have lower N abundances.
Stars with low metallicities also tend to have slightly higher temperatures
(although they’re not as extreme UV emitters as the AGN). How do these facts
explain the behavior of metallicity and [N II]/Ha ratios on the graph?
4. We often evaluate the ionization parameter U at r=RS, the Strömgren radius.
a. Plug the equation for RS into the equation for U and simplify. As usual, you may
assume that ne=np=nH in an ionized region.
b. How did U depend on density in the original expression for U? How does it
depend on density now? Why does this new dependence of U on ne make sense
(i.e., what happens physically as you increase the density)?
PART B
5. Determining the Gas Temperature and Density in Planetary Nebulae
a. Do the python exercise
([Link]
VFhB98N1zpJxYwQKH?usp=sharing). You will need the 5 data tables for the
planetary nebulae available on GLOW. Record your final temperatures and
densities and print out your code.
b. What did you notice about the spectra? Were any lines difficult to measure or
difficult to detect?
c. Are the [N II] temperatures typically higher or lower than the [O III]
temperatures? Why does this result make sense?
d. Compare the temperatures and densities derived from [O III] and [S II] separately
with the temperatures and densities derived from the two lines simultaneously.
Do the measurements differ? By a lot or a little? Why does this make sense?
e. At roughly what density would you expect to see a significant effect on the [O III]
temperature between the separate and simultaneous methods? Why? (Assume
you used a density diagnostic that’s appropriate for this density regime. For the
separate temperature determination, assume you set ne = 100 cm-3).
f. Consider the plot below, showing the [S II] density diagnostic. Of the 5 nebulae,
which one(s) do you think have the most well-constrained densities and why?
g. Imagine you observed a 6th planetary nebula, with a density of 10 cm-3. Do you
think you could measure its density? Why or why not?
Review Question
1. Consider two gas clouds with the same density and composition. The only difference
between the two clouds is that one cloud is an H II region ionized by an O star and the
other is a planetary nebula ionized by a much hotter white dwarf star.
a. How do the clouds’ Strömgren radii compare? Why?
b. How do the clouds’ Ha luminosities compare? Why?
c. How do the clouds’ O++/H abundances compare? Why?
d. How do the clouds’ temperatures compare? Why?
e. How do the clouds’ [O III] 5007/Ha emission line ratios compare? Why?