The critical velocity effect as a cause for the Hαemission from the Magellanic stream

Abstract

Observations show significant Hα-emissions in the Galactic halo near the edges of cold gas clouds of the Magellanic Stream. The source for the ionization of the cold gas is still a widely open question. In our paper we discuss the critical velocity effect as a possible explanation for the observed Hα-emission. The critical velocity effect can yield a fast ionization of cold gas if this neutral gas passes through a magnetized plasma under suitable conditions. We show that for parameters that are typical for the Magellanic Stream the critical velocity effect has to be considered as a possible ionization source of high relevance.

9 pages, 2 figures. accepted, to appear in The Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (1)

• The Magellanic Stream and the density of coronal gas in the Galactic halo

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Highly-Ionized High-Velocity Gas in the Vicinity of the Galaxy
• Complex C: A Low-Metallicity High-Velocity Cloud Plunging into the Milky Way
• Highly Ionized Gas Surrounding High Velocity Cloud Complex C
• Exploring the Origin and Fate of the Magellanic Stream with Ultraviolet and Optical Absorption
• The small-scale structure of the Magellanic Stream
• The large-scale ionization cones in the Galaxy
• The Magellanic Stream: break up and accretion onto the hot Galactic corona
• On the Critical Ionization Velocity Effect in Interstellar Space and Possible Detection of Related Continuum Emission