scholarly journals 9. A 21-cm. study of the Orion region

1957 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
T. K. Menon

An analysis of the profiles of the 21-cm. radiation from neutral hydrogen promises to be of great importance for a study of the internal motions of specific regions of the Galaxy. The two factors which influence the shape of the profiles are the velocity distribution and the density distribution of the neutral hydrogen atoms in the line of sight. The velocity distribution is essentially determined by three factors (1) galactic rotation, (2) the random motions of the gases, and (3) local peculiar motions as, for example, expansion. In the plane of the Galaxy in any specific direction the isolation of a region of particular interest is made difficult because of the superposition of the radiation along the entire line of sight. Hence regions at intermediate galactic latitudes are more suitable for study of internal motions than regions on or near the galactic equator. Also, for the study of peculiar motions, regions with small galactic rotation terms have the distinct advantage that any prevailing preferential motion will be clearly indicated by the profiles. The Orion region satisfies most of the above requirements. The galactic latitude of the section under consideration falls between − 10° and − 25°, and at the mean galactic longitude of 170° the galactic rotation term in radial velocity amounts to 7 km./sec. at a distance of 500 parsecs. Moreover the Orion region contains many features of considerable interest like the Orion Nebula, the Orion Association, the great arc of ionized hydrogen and many smaller H II regions. The great arc of Barnard (1895) [1] forms part of an almost elliptical ring of emission nebulosity with dimensions 14 × 12°. At the distance of 500 parsecs for the Orion Association these dimensions are of the order of 120 × 105 parsecs. It is of interest to note that the major axis of this ellipse is parallel to the galactic equator. This ellipticity could presumably be caused by galactic rotation, by a galactic magnetic field with lines of force along the spiral arms, or by the rotation of the whole mass itself. Further investigation is necessary to decide which of the above effects is most important.

1970 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 281-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward B. Jenkins

Absorption at the Lyman-α transition from interstellar neutral hydrogen has been observed in the ultraviolet spectra of 18 nearby O and B stars. Radiation damping is the dominant cause of line broadening, which makes the derived line-of-sight column densities proportional to the square of the observed equivalent widths. An average hydrogen density on the order of 0.1 atom cm−3 has been found for most of the stars observed so far. This is in contrast to the findings from surveys of 21-cm radio emission, which suggest 0.7 atom cm−3 exists in the local region of the Galaxy. Several effects which might introduce uncertainties into the Lyman-α measurements are considered, but none seems to be able to produce enough error to explain the disagreement with the 21-cm data. The possibility that small-scale irregularities in the interstellar gas could give significantly lower values at Lyman-α is explored. However, a quantitative treatment of the factor of ten discrepancy in Orion indicates the only reasonable explanation requires the 21-cm flux to come primarily from small, dense, hot clouds which are well separated from each other. The existence of such clouds, however, poses serious theoretical difficulties.


1989 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 416-423
Author(s):  
Bart P. Wakker

For almost three decades neutral hydrogen moving at velocities unexplicable by galactic rotation has been observed. These so-called high-velocity clouds (HVCs) have been invoked as evidence for infall of neutral gas to the galaxy, as manifestations of a galactic fountain, as energy source for the formation of supershells, etc. No general consensus about their origin has presently been reached. However, it is becoming clear that no single model will suffice to explain all HVCs. A number of clouds may consist of material streaming toward the galactic center, as Mirabel (this conference) has advocated for several years, though their origin still remains unclear. A better understanding is mainly hampered by the fact that the distance remains unknown. An overview of the current status of the distance problem is given by van Woerden elsewhere in this volume.


1965 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Akabane ◽  
FJ Kerr

It has long been realized that 21 cm absorption studies can provide information about the distance of unidentified radio sources. When the radiation from a continuum source is absorbed by neutral hydrogen clouds in the foreground, an observation of the radial velocity range over which the absorption occurs indicates the position of the source in relation to the various hydrogen features along the line of sight. Whenever absorption effects can be seen, we can immediately tell whether the source concerned is galactic or extragalactic; if it is galactic, we can then place limits on its distance.


1974 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 599-616
Author(s):  
R. D. Davies

A review is given of the observations of neutral hydrogen high velocity clouds (|ν| > 80 km s−1) in and near the Galaxy. The positive and negative clouds are seen to have different distributions in the sky, following roughly the velocity pattern of galactic rotation. A characteristic of the majority of the clouds is their distribution in elongated bands or strings. The various theories of origin of HVCs are discussed; the possible role of the tidal interactions between the Magellanic Clouds and the Galaxy is emphasized. Tests are suggested to distinguish between the Oort theory of the infall of intergalactic material and theories which envisage the HVCs as originating in the outermost spiral structure.


2009 ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Srdjan Samurovic

In this paper we analyze the measurements of the absorption line-strength Lick indices in the early-type galaxy IC 1459. We use the long-slit spectra of the elliptical galaxy IC 1459 from which its kinematics had previously been extracted to calculate the Lick indices for the observed spectral region (Mg2, Fe5270, Fe5335 and H?). We apply the usual procedure and correct the indices to the Lick spectral resolution and for the zero velocity dispersion. The procedure applied in this paper also corrects to non-Gaussian line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) observed in this galaxy, especially in its outer parts. The findings of Kuntschner (2004) were tested and it is shown that the departures from the Gaussian LOSVD may indeed cause erroneous determinations of the Lick indices. The impact of the introduction of non-Gaussian LOSVD differs for different indices. For the galaxy IC 1459 it is shown that the iron indices are especially sensitive when the correction due to anistropies is introduced: the corrections for Fe5270 and Fe5335 are ~10 and ~19 percent larger, respectively, than the corrections obtained in case of a pure Gaussian. The corrections for Mg2 index are shown to be negligible and the corrections of the H? index due to anisotropies are also small (below ~ 4 per cent at most).


1985 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 325-328
Author(s):  
E. Maurice ◽  
A. Ardeberg ◽  
H. Lindgren

Observation of absorption lines produced by interstellar gas is a straight-forward way to determine column densities and velocities along the line of sight of interstellar clouds. In practice, peculiar motions often mask galactic rotation and/or cause line blending. We have made a study of absorption lines of interstellar sodium covering a substantial part of the Galaxy at extremely high spectral resolution.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (03) ◽  
pp. 1850031 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hernández-Almada ◽  
Miguel A. García-Aspeitia

In this paper, we search for the correlations between the intrinsic properties of galaxies and the Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) under the scheme of a scalar field dark matter (SFDM) at the temperature of condensation greater than zero. According to this paradigm the BEC is distributed in several states. Based on the galactic rotation curves collected in SPARC dataset, we observe that the SFDM parameters present a weak correlation with the most of the galaxy properties, having only a correlation with those related to neutral hydrogen emissions. In addition, we found evidence to the support of self-interaction between the different BEC states proposing that, in future studies, the crossed terms in SFDM equations must be considered. Finally, we find a null correlation with galaxy distances giving support to the nonhierarchy of SFDM formation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 27-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.P. Wakker

This contribution describes high-velocity clouds (HVCs), neutral hydrogen moving with velocities inexplicable by differential galactic rotation. They have been invoked as evidence for infall of gas to the Galaxy, as manifestations of a galactic fountain, as energy source for the formation of supershells, etc. It is becoming clear that a single model will not suffice to explain all HVCs. A better understanding is mainly hampered by the fact that the distance remains unknown. Many aspects to the study of HVCs will be discussed here.


1964 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 158-160
Author(s):  
H. F. Weaver

In an earlier article* it was pointed out that the galactic radial motions ΔE (R, l) of the very young stars did not show the uniformity of motion to be expected from a smooth regular expansion of the Galaxy. Instead, the very young stars were found to show large-scale regional peculiar motions; these regional peculiar motions are displayed in Figure 1. In addition to regional peculiar motions and the space distribution of stars, Figure 1 also shows the spiral structure delineated by neutral hydrogen gas. As is customary in such diagrams, the space distribution of gas and the space distribution of the stars are not in good agreement. As various investigators have mentioned, stars and gas appear to define different spiral arms. However, such a conclusion is not warranted by data such as those employed in construction of Figure 1. In Figure 1 (as is invariably the case in earlier published diagrams of the same sort) two distance scales have been employed in the construction of the diagram. The distances of the stars have been derived from photometric data; the distances of concentrations of neutral hydrogen gas have been derived from measured hydrogen gas radial velocities and a galactic rotation curve. It should therefore come as no surprise if there are disagreements between hydrogen spiral arms and star spiral arms. Any regional peculiar motion of a gas concentration directly becomes an error in the inferred distance of the gas concentration.


1967 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 239-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Kerr

A review is given of information on the galactic-centre region obtained from recent observations of the 21-cm line from neutral hydrogen, the 18-cm group of OH lines, a hydrogen recombination line at 6 cm wavelength, and the continuum emission from ionized hydrogen.Both inward and outward motions are important in this region, in addition to rotation. Several types of observation indicate the presence of material in features inclined to the galactic plane. The relationship between the H and OH concentrations is not yet clear, but a rough picture of the central region can be proposed.


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