Molecular clumps photoevaporation in ionized regions

Understand

We study the photoevaporation of molecular clumps exposed to a UV radiation field including hydrogen-ionizing photons ($h\nu > 13.6$ eV) produced by massive stars or quasars.

• We follow the propagation and collision of shock waves inside clumps and take into account self-shielding effects, determining the evolution of clump size and density with time.
• The structure of the ionization-photodissociation region (iPDR) is obtained for different initial clump masses ($M=0.01 - 10^4\,{\rm M}_\odot$) and impinging fluxes ($G_0=10^2 - 10^5$ in units of the Habing flux).
• The cases of molecular clumps engulfed in the HII region of an OB star and clumps carried within quasar outflows are treated separately.