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The mappings III library of fast radiative shock models

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    Abstract

    We present a new library of fully radiative shock models calculated with the MAPPINGS III shock and photoionization code. The library consists of grids of models with shock velocities in the range vs = 100-1000 km s -1 and magnetic parameters B/n1/2 of 10-4 to 10 μG cm3/2 for five different atomic abundance sets and for a preshock density of 1.0 cm-3. In addition, solar abundance model grids have been calculated for densities of 0.01,0.1, 10, 100, and 1000 cm -3 with the same range in vs and B/n1/2. Each model includes components of both the radiative shock and its photoionized precursor, ionized by the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray radiation generated in the radiative gas. We present the details of the ionization structure, the column densities, and the luminosities of the shock and its precursor. Emission-line ratio predictions are separately given for the shock and its precursor as well as for the composite shock+precursor structure to facilitate comparison with observations in cases in which the shock and its precursor are not resolved. Emission-line ratio grids for shock and shock+precursor are presented on standard line ratio diagnostic diagrams, and we compare these grids to observations of radio galaxies and a sample of AGNs and starforming galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This library is available online, along with a suite of tools to enable the analysis of the shocks and the easy creation of emission line ratio diagnostic diagrams. These models represent a significant increase in parameter space coverage over previously available models and, therefore, provide a unique tool in the diagnosis of emission by shocks.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)20-55
    Number of pages36
    JournalAstrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
    Volume178
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Sept 2008

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