Heating by dissipation of sound waves in the interstellar gas

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how sound wave dissipation heats interstellar gas, affecting its thermochemical equilibrium and ionization states, with implications for high velocity clouds.

Contribution

It introduces a model incorporating sound wave dissipation effects into interstellar gas heating, revealing new equilibrium states and their dependence on gas parameters and wave properties.

Findings

Sound wave dissipation significantly alters temperature ranges for equilibrium.

A new lower ionization, higher pressure equilibrium state emerges.

Implications for the thermodynamics of high velocity clouds are discussed.

Abstract

The equilibrium resulting in a recombining plasma with arbitrary metallicity Z, heated by a mean radiation field E as well as by sound waves dissipation due to thermal conduction, dynamic and bulk viscosity is analyzed. Generally, the heating by acoustic waves dissipation induces drastic changes in the range of temperature where the thermochemical equilibrium may exist. An additional equilibrium state appears which is characterized by a lower ionization and higher gas pressure than the equilibrium resulting when the wave dissipation is neglected. The above effects are sensibly to the values of the gas parameters as well as the wavelength and intensity of the acoustic waves. Implications in the interstellar gas, in particular, in the high velocity clouds are outlined.