Simulated CII observations for SPICA/SAFARI

TL;DR

This paper combines MHD simulations and PDR modeling to predict CII 158 micron line emissions in the interstellar medium, aiding future observations with SPICA/SAFARI.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach integrating 3D MHD simulations with PDR code to forecast CII line intensities for SPICA/SAFARI observations.

Findings

Predicted CII emission intensities for simulated ISM structures.

Estimated mapping times for different sky areas.

Demonstrated the impact of turbulence and magnetic fields on CII emission.

Abstract

We investigate the case of CII 158 micron observations for SPICA/SAFARI using a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulation of the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) and the Meudon PDR code. The MHD simulation consists of two converging flows of warm gas (10,000 K) within a cubic box 50 pc in length. The interplay of thermal instability, magnetic field and self-gravity leads to the formation of cold, dense clumps within a warm, turbulent interclump medium. We sample several clumps along a line of sight through the simulated cube and use them as input density profiles in the Meudon PDR code. This allows us to derive intensity predictions for the CII 158 micron line and provide time estimates for the mapping of a given sky area.