Abstract

The optical filaments found in many cooling flows in galaxy clusters consist of low-density (∼103 cm−3) cool (∼103 K) gas surrounded by significant amounts of cosmic-ray and magnetic field energy. Their spectra show anomalously strong low-ionization and molecular emission lines when compared with Galactic molecular clouds exposed to ionizing radiation such as the Orion complex. Previous studies have shown that the spectra cannot be produced by O-star photoionization. Here, we calculate the physical conditions in dusty gas that is well shielded from external sources of ionizing photons and is energized either by cosmic rays or dissipative magnetohydrodynamics waves. Strong molecular hydrogen lines, with relative intensities similar to those observed, are produced. Selection effects introduced by the microphysics produce a correlation between the H2 line upper level energy and the population temperature. These selection effects allow a purely collisional gas to produce H2emission that masquerades as starlight-pumped H2 but with intensities that are far stronger. This physics may find application to any environment where a broad range of gas densities or heating rates occur.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2008

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 386, issue 1, p. L72 -L76 .

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2008 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00463.x

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