The Effects of Charge Transfer on the Thermal Equilibrium of Photoionized Nebulae

Abstract

Charge transfer can affect both the ionization and thermal balance of astrophysical plasmas. Using the most recent rate coefficients and energy defects, we calculate the heating/cooling rates for charge transfer reactions between hydrogen and elements up to Z=30. We incorporate these values into the photoionization code CLOUDY. Results from models approximating a wide range of astrophysical objects and conditions suggest that charge transfer can make a significant contribution to the heating near the H ionization front, particularly in objects with a hard ionizing continuum or enhanced abundances. Charge transfer heating can also be important in regimes in which the usual heating/cooling agents are suppressed, such as the emission-line clouds near quasars. We list those reactions that are most important for determining the thermal balance, in the hopes of facilitating improved atomic data.