Structure of the Milky Way: View from the Southern Hemisphere

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S336) ◽  
pp. 154-157
Author(s):  
Lucas J. Hyland ◽  
Simon P. Ellingsen ◽  
Mark J. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Spiral Structure ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Spiral Arms ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Trigonometric Parallax

AbstractThe exclusive association of Class II methanol masers with high mass star formation regions and in turn spiral arms, makes them ideal tracers of spiral structure. The bright and compact nature of masers also makes them good sources for Very Long Baseline Interferometry, with their fluxes visible on some of the longest terrestrial baselines. The success of the BeSSeL (Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy) project has demonstrated the use of masers in large scale high–precision trigonometric parallax surveys. This survey was then able to precisely map the spiral arms visible from the Northern Hemisphere and recalculate the fundamental Milky Way parameters R0 and θ0. The majority of the Milky Way is visible from the Southern Hemisphere and at the present time the Australian LBA (Long Baseline Array) is the only Southern Hemisphere array capable of taking high–precision trigonometric parallax data. We present the progress–to–date of the Southern Hemisphere experiment. We will also unveil a new broadband Southern Hemisphere array, capable of much faster parallax turnaround and atmospheric calibration.

scholarly journals The local spiral structure of the Milky Way

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. e1600878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Xu ◽  
Mark Reid ◽  
Thomas Dame ◽  
Karl Menten ◽  
Nobuyuki Sakai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Spiral Structure ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Great Distance ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Distance Measurements ◽  
Spiral Arms ◽  
Long Baseline

The nature of the spiral structure of the Milky Way has long been debated. Only in the last decade have astronomers been able to accurately measure distances to a substantial number of high-mass star-forming regions, the classic tracers of spiral structure in galaxies. We report distance measurements at radio wavelengths using the Very Long Baseline Array for eight regions of massive star formation near the Local spiral arm of the Milky Way. Combined with previous measurements, these observations reveal that the Local Arm is larger than previously thought, and both its pitch angle and star formation rate are comparable to those of the Galaxy’s major spiral arms, such as Sagittarius and Perseus. Toward the constellation Cygnus, sources in the Local Arm extend for a great distance along our line of sight and roughly along the solar orbit. Because of this orientation, these sources cluster both on the sky and in velocity to form the complex and long enigmatic Cygnus X region. We also identify a spur that branches between the Local and Sagittarius spiral arms.

scholarly journals Molecular Gas Kinematics and High-Mass Star Formation in the Spiral Arms of the Milky Way

2004 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 143-144
Author(s):  
A. Luna ◽  
L. Carrasco ◽  
L. Ortega ◽  
L. Bronfman ◽  
O. Yam
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Rigid Body ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Stellar System ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Rotational Line ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Spiral Arms

AbstractWe study the kinematic of the molecular gas using observations of the rotational line 12CO(J=1→0), and also the star formation traced by Ultra-Compact HII regions in the IV galactic quadrant (270° ≤ l ≤ 360°). Our results show that there is a connection between 1) high-mass star formation in the spiral arms of the Milky Way, 2) molecular gas of high column density, and 3) the large-scale rigid-body-like motion of the gas. The large-scale rigid-body-like motions observed in the arms imply that there is less angular momentum to dissipate in the formation processes of stellar systems. We show a multiple stellar system under study, embedded in its parent molecular cloud in the Carina arm region.

scholarly journals The Spiral Structure in the Solar Neighborhood

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Hou
Keyword(s):  
Spiral Structure ◽  
Open Clusters ◽  
Solar Neighborhood ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Giant Molecular Clouds ◽  
Star Formation Region ◽  
Spiral Arms ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Better Than

The spiral structure in the solar neighborhood is an important issue in astronomy. In the past few years, there has been significant progress in observation. The distances for a large number of good spiral tracers, i.e., giant molecular clouds, high-mass star-formation region masers, HII regions, O-type stars, and young open clusters, have been accurately estimated, making it possible to depict the detailed properties of nearby spiral arms. In this work, we first give an overview about the research status for the Galaxy’s spiral structure based on different types of tracers. Then the objects with distance uncertainties better than 15% and <0.5 kpc are collected and combined together to depict the spiral structure in the solar neighborhood. Five segments related with the Perseus, Local, Sagittarius-Carina, Scutum-Centaurus, and Norma arms are traced. With the large dataset, the parameters of the nearby arm segments are fitted and updated. Besides the dominant spiral arms, some substructures probably related to arm spurs or feathers are also noticed and discussed.

scholarly journals Anomalous peculiar motions of high-mass young stars in the Scutum spiral arm

2019 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
pp. A123 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Immer ◽  
J. Li ◽  
L. H. Quiroga-Nuñez ◽  
M. J. Reid ◽  
B. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spiral Structure ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Trigonometric Parallax ◽  
Motion Measurements ◽  
Methanol Masers ◽  
Galactic Longitude ◽  
Spiral Arm

We present trigonometric parallax and proper motion measurements toward 22 GHz water and 6.7 GHz methanol masers in 16 high-mass star-forming regions. These sources are all located in the Scutum spiral arm of the Milky Way. The observations were conducted as part of the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy (BeSSeL) survey. A combination of 14 sources from a forthcoming study and 14 sources from the literature, we now have a sample of 44 sources in the Scutum spiral arm, covering a Galactic longitude range from 0° to 33°. A group of 16 sources shows large peculiar motions of which 13 are oriented toward the inner Galaxy. A likely explanation for these high peculiar motions is the combined gravitational potential of the spiral arm and the Galactic bar.

scholarly journals Parallax of Star-forming Region G027.22+0.14

2022 ◽  
Vol 163 (2) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
S. B. Bian ◽  
Y. Xu ◽  
J. J. Li ◽  
Y. W. Wu ◽  
B. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proper Motion ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Proper Motions ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Trigonometric Parallax ◽  
Peculiar Motion ◽  
Very Long Baseline Array ◽  
Lower Luminosity

Abstract Using the Very Long Baseline Array, we measured the trigonometric parallax and proper motions toward a 6.7 GHz methanol maser in the distant high-mass star-forming region G027.22+0.14. The distance of this source is determined to be 6.3 − 0.5 + 0.6 kpc. Combining its Galactic coordinates, radial velocity, and proper motion, we assign G027.22+0.14 to the far portion of the Norma arm. The low peculiar motion and lower luminosity of G027.22+0.14 support the conjecture by Immer et al. that low-luminosity sources tend to have low peculiar motions.

scholarly journals GASTON: Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2. Evidence for the mass growth of star-forming clumps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Rigby ◽  
N Peretto ◽  
R Adam ◽  
P Ade ◽  
M Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Mass Growth ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Compact Source

Abstract Determining the mechanism by which high-mass stars are formed is essential for our understanding of the energy budget and chemical evolution of galaxies. By using the New IRAM KIDs Array 2 (NIKA2) camera on the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope, we have conducted high-sensitivity and large-scale mapping of a fraction of the Galactic plane in order to search for signatures of the transition between the high- and low-mass star-forming modes. Here, we present the first results from the Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 (GASTON) project, a Large Programme at the IRAM 30-m telescope which is mapping ≈2 deg2 of the inner Galactic plane (GP), centred on ℓ = 23${_{.}^{\circ}}$9, b = 0${_{.}^{\circ}}$05, as well as targets in Taurus and Ophiuchus in 1.15 and 2.00 mm continuum wavebands. In this paper we present the first of the GASTON GP data taken, and present initial science results. We conduct an extraction of structures from the 1.15 mm maps using a dendrogram analysis and, by comparison to the compact source catalogues from Herschel survey data, we identify a population of 321 previously-undetected clumps. Approximately 80 per cent of these new clumps are 70 μm-quiet, and may be considered as starless candidates. We find that this new population of clumps are less massive and cooler, on average, than clumps that have already been identified. Further, by classifying the full sample of clumps based upon their infrared-bright fraction – an indicator of evolutionary stage – we find evidence for clump mass growth, supporting models of clump-fed high-mass star formation.

scholarly journals Combination of CN(1-0), HCN(1-0), and HNC(1-0): A possible indicator for a high-mass star formation sequence in the Milky Way

2015 ◽  
Vol 576 ◽  
pp. A131 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. H. Han ◽  
J. J. Zhou ◽  
J. Z. Wang ◽  
J. Esimbek ◽  
J. S. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star

scholarly journals The spiral structure of our Milky Way

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S292) ◽  
pp. 106-106
Author(s):  
L. G. Hou ◽  
J. L. Han
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Spiral Structure ◽  
Hii Regions ◽  
Giant Molecular Clouds ◽  
Constant Weight ◽  
Spiral Arms ◽  
Flat Rotation Curve ◽  
Methanol Masers ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Excitation Parameters

AbstractThe spiral structure of our Milky Way has not yet been well outlined. HII regions, giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and 6.7-GHz methanol masers are primary tracers for spiral arms. We collect and update the database of these tracers which has been used in Hou et al. (2009) for the spiral arms.The new database consists of ∼ 2000 HII regions, ∼ 1300 GMCs and ∼ 800 methanol masers (6.7 GHz). If the photometric or trigonometric distance for any tracer is available from the literature, we will adopt it. Otherwise, we have to use the kinematic distance. We modify the VLSR according to the newly determined solar motions (U0 = 10.27 km s−1, V0 = 15.32 km s−1 and W0 = 7.74 km s−1, Schönrich et al. 2010), then calculate the kinematic distances with a flat rotation curve (R0 = 8.3 kpc, θ0 = 239 km s−1, Brunthaler et al. 2011). Very important step is that we weight tracers according to the excitation parameters of HII regions or the masses of GMCs, and a constant weight for masers. All three kinds of tracers are used together to outline the spiral structure (Fig. 1). A contour and gray map is constructed after we made a Gaussian extension for the tracers with the amplitude of weighting parameter.

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