scholarly journals Masers as probes of massive star formation in the nuclear disk

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S242) ◽  
pp. 366-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Yusef-Zadeh ◽  
R. G. Arendt ◽  
C. O. Heinke ◽  
J. L. Hinz ◽  
J. W. Hewitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Supernova Remnants ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Methanol Masers ◽  
Low Efficiency

AbstractOH(1720 MHz) and methanol masers are now recognized to be excellent probes of the interactions of supernova remnants with molecular clouds and tracers of massive star formation, respectively. To better understand the nature of star formation activity in the central region of the Galaxy, we have used these two classes of masers combined with the IRAC and MIPS data to study prominent sites of ongoing star formation in the nuclear disk. The nuclear disk is characterized by massive GMCs with elevated gas temperatures, compared to their dust temperatures. We note an association between methanol masers and a class of mid-infrared “green sources”. These highly embedded YSOs show enhanced 4.5μm emission due to excited molecular lines.The distribution of methanol masers and supernova remnants suggest a low efficiency of star formation (with the exception of Sgr B2), which we believe is due to an enhanced flux of cosmic ray electrons impacting molecular clouds in the nuclear disk. We also highlight the importance of cosmic rays in their ability to heat molecular clouds, and thus increase the gas temperature.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Models of Nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy

1971 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 179-222
Author(s):  
J. W. Truran ◽  
A.G.W. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Heavy Elements ◽  
Core Material ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Galaxy

AbstractA model of the galaxy is constructed and evolved in which the integrated influence of stellar and supernova nucleosynthesis on the composition of the interstellar gas is traced numerically. Our detailed assumptions concerning the character of the matter released from evolving stars and supernovae are guided by the results of recent stellar evolutionary calculations and hydrodynamic studies of supernova events. Stars of main sequence mass in the range 4 ≤ M ≤ 8 M⊙ are assumed to give rise to supernova events, leaving remnants we identify with neutron stars and pulsars and forming both the carbon-to-iron nuclei and the r-process heavy elements in the explosive ejection of the core material. For more massive stars, we assume the core implosion will result in the formation of a Schwarzschild singularity, that is, a black hole or ‘collapsar’. The straightforward assumptions (1) that the gas content of the galaxy decreases exponentially with time to its present level of ~ 5 % and (2) that the luminosity function characteristic of young clusters and the solar neighborhood is appropriate throughout galactic history, lead to the prediction that ≈ 20% of the unevolved stars of approximately one solar mass (M⊙) in the galaxy today should have metal compositions Z ≲ 0.1 Z⊙. As Schmidt has argued from similar reasoning, this is quite inconsistent with current observations; an early generation dominated by more massive stars – which would by now have evolved – is suggested by this difficulty. Many of these massive stars, according to our assumptions, will end their lives as collapsed black hole remnants. It is difficult to visualize an epoch of massive star formation in the collapsing gas cloud which formed our galaxy which would enrich the gas rapidly enough to account for the level of heavy element abundances in halo population stars; we have therefore proposed a stage of star formation which is entirely pregalactic in character. We suggest that the Jeans’ length-sized initial condensations in the expanding universe discussed by Peebles and Dicke may provide the appropriate setting for this first generation of stars. Guided by these considerations, and by the need for a substantial quantity of ‘unseen’ mass to bind our local group of galaxies, we have constructed a model of the galaxy in which this violent early phase of massive star formation produces both (1) approximately 25 % of the level of heavy elements observed in the solar system and (2) an enormous unseen mass in the form of black holes. The implications of our model for other features of the galaxy, including supernova nucleosynthesis, the cosmic ray production of the light elements, and cosmochronology, are discussed in detail.

scholarly journals Molecular Clouds and Star Formation at Large R

1991 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 121-130
Author(s):  
J. Brand ◽  
J.G.A. Wouterloot
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Density Wave ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Volume Density ◽  
Kinetic Temperature ◽  
Galactocentric Distance ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Cosmic Ray Flux

In the outer Galaxy (defined here as those parts of our system with galactocentric radii R>R0) the HI gas density (Wouterloot et al., 1990), the cosmic ray flux (Bloemen et al, 1984) and the metallicity (Shaver et al., 1983) are lower than in the inner parts. Also, the effect of a spiral density wave is much reduced in the outer parts of the Galaxy due to corotation. This changing environment might be expected to have its influence on the formation of molecular clouds and on star formation within them. In fact, some differences with respect to the inner Galaxy have been found: the ratio of HI to H2 surface density is increasing from about 5 near the Sun to about 100 at R≈20kpc (Wouterloot et al., 1990). Because of the “flaring” of the gaseous disk, the scale height of both the atomic and the molecular gas increases by about a factor of 3 between R0 and 2R0 (Wouterloot et al., 1990), so the mean volume density of both constituents decreases even more rapidly than their surface densities. The size of HII regions decreases significantly with increasing galactocentric distance (Fich and Blitz, 1984), probably due to the fact that outer Galaxy clouds are less massive (see section 3.3), and therefore form fewer O-type stars than their inner Galaxy counter parts. There are indications that the cloud kinetic temperature is lower by a few degrees (Mead and Kutner, 1988), although it is not clear to what extent this is caused by beam dilution.

Twinkle little stars: Massive stars are quenched in strong magnetic fields

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (A30) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Fatemeh S. Tabatabaei ◽  
M. Almudena Prieto ◽  
Juan A. Fernández-Ontiveros
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Radio Continuum ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Formation Efficiency

AbstractThe role of the magnetic fields in the formation and quenching of stars with different mass is unknown. We studied the energy balance and the star formation efficiency in a sample of molecular clouds in the central kpc region of NGC 1097, known to be highly magnetized. Combining the full polarization VLA/radio continuum observations with the HST/Hα, Paα and the SMA/CO lines observations, we separated the thermal and non-thermal synchrotron emission and compared the magnetic, turbulent, and thermal pressures. Most of the molecular clouds are magnetically supported against gravitational collapse needed to form cores of massive stars. The massive star formation efficiency of the clouds also drops with the magnetic field strength, while it is uncorrelated with turbulence (Tabatabaei et al. 2018). The inefficiency of the massive star formation and the low-mass stellar population in the center of NGC 1097 can be explained in the following steps: I) Magnetic fields supporting the molecular clouds prevent the collapse of gas to densities needed to form massive stars. II) These clouds can then be fragmented into smaller pieces due to e.g., stellar feedback, non-linear perturbations and instabilities leading to local, small-scale diffusion of the magnetic fields. III) Self-gravity overcomes and the smaller clouds seed the cores of the low-mass stars.

scholarly journals The elephant in the room: the importance of the details of massive star formation in molecular clouds

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (2) ◽  
pp. 2970-2975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Y Grudić ◽  
Philip F Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Giant Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
Average Mass ◽  
Sampling Schemes

Abstract Most simulations of galaxies and massive giant molecular clouds (GMCs) cannot explicitly resolve the formation (or predict the main-sequence masses) of individual stars. So they must use some prescription for the amount of feedback from an assumed population of massive stars (e.g. sampling the initial mass function, IMF). We perform a methods study of simulations of a star-forming GMC with stellar feedback from UV radiation, varying only the prescription for determining the luminosity of each stellar mass element formed (according to different IMF sampling schemes). We show that different prescriptions can lead to widely varying (factor of ∼3) star formation efficiencies (on GMC scales) even though the average mass-to-light ratios agree. Discreteness of sources is important: radiative feedback from fewer, more-luminous sources has a greater effect for a given total luminosity. These differences can dominate over other, more widely recognized differences between similar literature GMC-scale studies (e.g. numerical methods, cloud initial conditions, presence of magnetic fields). Moreover the differences in these methods are not purely numerical: some make different implicit assumptions about the nature of massive star formation, and this remains deeply uncertain in star formation theory.

scholarly journals Massive star formation in 100,000 years from turbulent and pressurized molecular clouds

Nature ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 416 (6876) ◽  
pp. 59-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher F. McKee ◽  
Jonathan C. Tan
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Massive Star Formation

scholarly journals A review of H2CO 6cm masers in the Galaxy

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S242) ◽  
pp. 110-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Araya ◽  
P. Hofner ◽  
W. M. Goss
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Large Array ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
Very Large Array ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Green Bank Telescope

AbstractWe present a review of the field of formaldehyde (H2CO) 6cm masers in the Galaxy. Previous to our ongoing work, H2CO 6cm masers had been detected in the Galaxy only toward three regions: NGC7538 IRS1, Sgr B2, and G29.96–0.02. Current efforts by our group using the Very Large Array, Arecibo, and the Green Bank Telescope have resulted in the detection of four new H2CO 6cm maser regions. We discuss the characteristics of the known H2CO masers and the association of H2CO 6cm masers with very young regions of massive star formation. We also review the current ideas on the pumping mechanism for H2CO 6cm masers.

scholarly journals A MERLIN study of 6 GHz excited OH & 6.7 GHz methanol masers in ON1

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S242) ◽  
pp. 188-189
Author(s):  
James A. Green ◽  
A. M. S. Richards ◽  
H. Flood ◽  
W. H. T. Vlemmings ◽  
R. J. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Cross Correlation ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Zeeman Splitting ◽  
Massive Star Formation ◽  
Star Formation Region ◽  
Formation Region ◽  
Methanol Masers ◽  
Field Strengths

AbstractMERLIN observations of 6.668-GHz Methanol and 6.035-GHz OH emission from the known massive star-formation region ON1 are presented. Maser components are found to lie at the southern edge of the UCHII with consistent polarization angles across the strongest features. Zeeman splitting of OH shows magnetic field strengths between +0.4 to −5.3 mG and from cross-correlation a tentative methanol magnetic field of −18mG is detected.

scholarly journals GIANT MOLECULAR CLOUDS AND MASSIVE STAR FORMATION IN THE SOUTHERN MILKY WAY

2014 ◽  
Vol 212 (1) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. García ◽  
L. Bronfman ◽  
Lars-Åke Nyman ◽  
T. M. Dame ◽  
A. Luna
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Giant Molecular Clouds ◽  
Massive Star Formation
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