EFFECTS OF THE DIFFUSE IONIZING RADIATION ON THE STRUCTURE OF HII REGIONS

Problem of the diffuse radiation (DFR) transfer is solved exactly for pure hydrogen nebulae of uniform density, and accuracies of the on-the-spot (OTS) approximation are critically examined. For different values of density and spectral types of the central star, we have calculated the degree of ionization and the kinetic temperature of electrons as functions of distance from the central star, and compared them with the corresponding results of the OTS approximation. At most locations inside an HII region. the DFR ionizes considerable amount of hydrogen; therefore, the OTS approximation under-estimates the size of ionized regions. The exact treatment of the DFR transfer results in an about 10 to 20 percent increase in the classical $Str{\ddot{o}}mgren$ radius. The OTS approximation overestimates the local heating rate by raising the density of neutral hydogens. Consequently, it predicts higher values for the local electron temperature. The OTS approximation also exaggerates the dependence of electron temperature on density. When the hydrogen density is changed from $10/cm^3$ to $10^3/cm^3$ with an 06.5V star, the OTS approximation shows an about 3,000 K difference in the electron temperature, while the exact treatment of the DFR-transfer reduces the difference to about 1,000 K. The OTS approximation fails to demonstrate the brightening of the electron temperature close to the ionization boundary.