scholarly journals FOREST unbiased Galactic plane imaging survey with the Nobeyama 45 m telescope (FUGIN). VII. Molecular fraction of H i clouds

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Nakanishi ◽  
Shinji Fujita ◽  
Kengo Tachihara ◽  
Natsuko Izumi ◽  
Mitsuhiro Matsuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Data Cube ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Neutral Medium ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Galactocentric Distance ◽  
Very Large Array ◽  
Gas Formation ◽  
Receiver System

ABSTRACT We analyze molecular-gas formation in neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) clouds using the latest CO data, obtained from the FOREST (four-beam receiver system on the 45 m telescope) unbiased Galactic plane imaging survey with the Nobeyama 45 m telescope, and using H i data taken from the Very Large Array Galactic plane survey. We applied a dendrogram algorithm to the H i data cube to identify H i clouds, and we calculated the H i mass and molecular-gas mass by summing the CO line intensity within each H i cloud. On the basis of the results, we created a catalog of 5737 identified H i clouds with local standard of rest (LSR) velocity of VLSR ≤ −20 km s−1 in galactic longitude and latitude ranges of 20° ≤ l ≤ 50° and −1° ≤ b ≤ 1°, respectively. We found that most of the H i clouds are distributed within a Galactocentric distance of 16 kpc, and most of them are in the cold neutral medium phase. In addition, we determined that the high-mass end of the H i mass function is fitted well with a power-law function with an index of 2.3. Although two sequences of self-gravitating and diffuse clouds are expected to appear in the M tot–$M_{\,{\rm H}_2}$ diagram according to previous works based on a plane-parallel model, the observational data show only a single sequence with large scattering within these two sequences. This implies that most of the clouds are mixtures of these two types of clouds. Moreover, we suggest the following scenario of molecular-gas formation: an H i-dominant cloud evolved with increasing H2 mass along a path of $M_{\,{\rm H}_2} \propto M_{\,\rm tot}^2$ by collecting diffuse gas before reaching and moving along the curves of the two sequences.

scholarly journals CHIMPS: physical properties of molecular clumps across the inner Galaxy

2019 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
pp. A58 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Rigby ◽  
T. J. T. Moore ◽  
D. J. Eden ◽  
J. S. Urquhart ◽  
S. E. Ragan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Continuum Emission ◽  
High Angular Resolution ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Excitation Temperature ◽  
Galactocentric Distance

The latest generation of high-angular-resolution unbiased Galactic plane surveys in molecular-gas tracers are enabling the interiors of molecular clouds to be studied across a range of environments. The CO Heterodyne Inner Milky Way Plane Survey (CHIMPS) simultaneously mapped a sector of the inner Galactic plane, within 27.8° ≲ ℓ ≲ 46.2° and |b|≤ 0°.5, in 13CO (3–2) and C18O (3–2) at an angular resolution of 15 arcsec. The combination of the CHIMPS data with 12CO (3–2) data from the CO High Resolution Survey (COHRS) has enabled us to perform a voxel-by-voxel local-thermodynamic-equilibrium (LTE) analysis, determining the excitation temperature, optical depth, and column density of 13CO at each ℓ, b, v position. Distances to discrete sources identified by FELLWALKER in the 13CO (3–2) emission maps were determined, allowing the calculation of numerous physical properties of the sources, and we present the first source catalogues in this paper. We find that, in terms of size and density, the CHIMPS sources represent an intermediate population between large-scale molecular clouds identified by CO and dense clumps seen in thermal dust continuum emission, and therefore represent the bulk transition from the diffuse to the dense phase of molecular gas. We do not find any significant systematic variations in the masses, column densities, virial parameters, mean excitation temperature, or the turbulent pressure over the range of Galactocentric distance probed, but we do find a shallow increase in the mean volume density with increasing Galactocentric distance. We find that inter-arm clumps have significantly narrower linewidths, and lower virial parameters and excitation temperatures than clumps located in spiral arms. When considering the most reliable distance-limited subsamples, the largest variations occur on the clump-to-clump scale, echoing similar recent studies that suggest that the star-forming process is largely insensitive to the Galactic-scale environment, at least within the inner disc.

scholarly journals Dense cores and star formation in the giant molecular cloud Vela C

2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A110 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Massi ◽  
A. Weiss ◽  
D. Elia ◽  
T. Csengeri ◽  
E. Schisano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Cloud ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Ancillary Data ◽  
Core Mass ◽  
Giant Molecular Cloud

Context. The Vela Molecular Ridge is one of the nearest (700 pc) giant molecular cloud (GMC) complexes hosting intermediate-mass (up to early B, late O stars) star formation, and is located in the outer Galaxy, inside the Galactic plane. Vela C is one of the GMCs making up the Vela Molecular Ridge, and exhibits both sub-regions of robust and sub-regions of more quiescent star formation activity, with both low- and intermediate(high)-mass star formation in progress. Aims. We aim to study the individual and global properties of dense dust cores in Vela C, and aim to search for spatial variations in these properties which could be related to different environmental properties and/or evolutionary stages in the various sub-regions of Vela C. Methods. We mapped the submillimetre (345 GHz) emission from vela C with LABOCA (beam size ~19′′2, spatial resolution ~0.07 pc at 700 pc) at the APEX telescope. We used the clump-finding algorithm CuTEx to identify the compact submillimetre sources. We also used SIMBA (250 GHz) observations, and Herschel and WISE ancillary data. The association with WISE red sources allowed the protostellar and starless cores to be separated, whereas the Herschel dataset allowed the dust temperature to be derived for a fraction of cores. The protostellar and starless core mass functions (CMFs) were constructed following two different approaches, achieving a mass completeness limit of 3.7 M⊙. Results. We retrieved 549 submillimetre cores, 316 of which are starless and mostly gravitationally bound (therefore prestellar in nature). Both the protostellar and the starless CMFs are consistent with the shape of a Salpeter initial mass function in the high-mass part of the distribution. Clustering of cores at scales of 1–6 pc is also found, hinting at fractionation of magnetised, turbulent gas.

scholarly journals FOREST Unbiased Galactic Plane Imaging Survey with the Nobeyama 45 m telescope (FUGIN). V. Dense gas mass fraction of molecular gas in the Galactic plane

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazufumi Torii ◽  
Shinji Fujita ◽  
Atsushi Nishimura ◽  
Kazuki Tokuda ◽  
Mikito Kohno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Galactic Rotation ◽  
Dense Gas ◽  
Gas Formation ◽  
Star Formation In Galaxies ◽  
Fractional Mass

Abstract Recent observations of the nearby Galactic molecular clouds indicate that the dense gas in molecular clouds has quasi-universal properties on star formation, and observational studies of extra-galaxies have shown a galactic-scale correlation between the star formation rate (SFR) and the surface density of molecular gas. To reach a comprehensive understanding of both properties, it is important to quantify the fractional mass of dense gas in molecular clouds, fDG. In particular, for the Milky Way (MW) there are no previous studies resolving fDG disk over a scale of several kpc. In this study, fDG was measured over 5 kpc in the first quadrant of the MW, based on the CO J = 1–0 data in l = 10°–50° obtained as part of the FOREST Unbiased Galactic plane Imaging survey with the Nobeyama 45 m telescope (FUGIN) project. The total molecular mass was measured using 12CO, and the dense gas mass was estimated using C18O. The fractional masses, including fDG, in the region within ±30% of the distances to the tangential points of the Galactic rotation (e.g., the Galactic Bar, Far-3 kpc Arm, Norma Arm, Scutum Arm, Sagittarius Arm, and inter-arm regions) were measured. As a result, an averaged fDG of $2.9^{+2.6}_{-2.6}$% was obtained for the entirety of the target region. This low value suggests that dense gas formation is the primary factor in inefficient star formation in galaxies. It was also found that fDG shows large variations depending on the structures in the MW disk. In the Galactic arms, fDG was estimated to be ∼4%–5%, while in the bar and inter-arm regions it was as small as ∼0.1%–0.4%. These results indicate that the formation/destruction processes of the dense gas and their timescales are different for different regions in the MW, leading to differences in Star formation efficiencies.

scholarly journals Massive Star Formation Throughout the Galactic Disk

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (H15) ◽  
pp. 798-798
Author(s):  
Stan Kurtz
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Young Stellar Objects ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Ionized Gas ◽  
Stellar Objects ◽  
Infrared Spectral

AbstractHigh-mass star formation is manifestly a phenomenon of the Galactic Plane. The process begins with pre-stellar cores, evolves to proto-stellar objects, and culminates in massive main-sequence stars. Because massive young stellar objects are deeply embedded, the radio, sub-mm, and far/mid-infrared spectral windows are the most revealing. Galactic plane surveys at these wavelengths trace hot and cold molecular gas, interstellar masers, warm dust, and ionized gas that are present during star formation.

scholarly journals Molecular gas in the outer disks of galaxies

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S321) ◽  
pp. 217-219
Author(s):  
Jonathan Braine
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Current Data ◽  
High Angular Resolution ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Galactocentric Distance ◽  
Outer Disk ◽  
Solar Metallicity

AbstractMolecular gas has still only been detected beyond the R25 radius in a few galaxies. Is this due to the low H2 content or to the difficulty of using Carbon Monoxide (CO) to trace H2? Similarly, star formation (SF) decreases sharply in the outer disks of spirals although HI is often plentiful; is the decrease in SF because there is little H2 or because the SF is very inefficient in the outer disk environment?Existing observations suggest that while outer disk clouds tend to be smaller (steeper mass function), their CO brightness temperature is only slightly lower than in the inner disk, at least when observed with sufficiently high angular resolution. In near-solar metallicity galaxies (Z ⩾ 0.5Zsol), the CO does not become intrinsically difficult to detect when H2 is present, even in the outer disk. While more observations of CO or other means of tracing H2 in the outer disks are necessary, current data tend to show that the SF rate per unit H2 remains approximately constant with galactocentric distance, indicating that the star formation proceeds normally but the transformation of HI into H2 is very slow in the outer disk.

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 On the emergent system mass function: the contest between accretion and fragmentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (2) ◽  
pp. 1697-1707
Author(s):  
Paul C Clark ◽  
Anthony P Whitworth
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Mass Distribution ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
High Mass ◽  
New Model ◽  
System Formation ◽  
Low Mass

ABSTRACT We propose a new model for the evolution of a star cluster’s system mass function (SMF). The model involves both turbulent fragmentation and competitive accretion. Turbulent fragmentation creates low-mass seed proto-systems (i.e. single and multiple protostars). Some of these low-mass seed proto-systems then grow by competitive accretion to produce the high-mass power-law tail of the SMF. Turbulent fragmentation is relatively inefficient, in the sense that the creation of low-mass seed proto-systems only consumes a fraction, ${\sim }23{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ (at most ${\sim }50{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$), of the mass available for star formation. The remaining mass is consumed by competitive accretion. Provided the accretion rate on to a proto-system is approximately proportional to its mass (dm/dt ∝ m), the SMF develops a power-law tail at high masses with the Salpeter slope (∼−2.3). If the rate of supply of mass accelerates, the rate of proto-system formation also accelerates, as appears to be observed in many clusters. However, even if the rate of supply of mass decreases, or ceases and then resumes, the SMF evolves homologously, retaining the same overall shape, and the high-mass power-law tail simply extends to ever higher masses until the supply of gas runs out completely. The Chabrier SMF can be reproduced very accurately if the seed proto-systems have an approximately lognormal mass distribution with median mass ${\sim } 0.11 \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ and logarithmic standard deviation $\sigma _{\log _{10}({M/M}_\odot)}\sim 0.47$).

scholarly journals The radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy 1H 0323+342 in a galaxy merger

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (2) ◽  
pp. 1757-1765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihiro Doi ◽  
Motoki Kino ◽  
Nozomu Kawakatu ◽  
Kazuhiro Hada
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Linear Structure ◽  
Seyfert Galaxies ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Narrow Line

ABSTRACT The supermassive black holes (SMBHs) of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) are at the lower end of the mass function of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and reside preferentially in late-type host galaxies with pseudobulges, which are thought to be formed by internal secular evolution. On the other hand, the population of radio-loud NLS1s presents a challenge for the relativistic jet paradigm, which states that powerful radio jets are associated exclusively with very high mass SMBHs in elliptical hosts, which are built up through galaxy mergers. We investigated distorted radio structures associated with the nearest gamma-ray-emitting, radio-loud NLS1, 1H 0323+342. This provides supporting evidence for the merger hypothesis based on past optical/near-infrared observations of its host galaxy. The anomalous radio morphology consists of two different structures: the inner curved structure of the currently active jet and an outer linear structure of low-brightness relics. Such coexistence might be indicative of the stage of an established black hole binary with precession before the black holes coalesce in the galaxy merger process. 1H 0323+342 and other radio-loud NLS1s under galaxy interactions may be extreme objects on the evolutionary path from radio-quiet NLS1s to normal Seyfert galaxies with larger SMBHs in classical bulges through mergers and merger-induced jet phases.

scholarly journals Mapping the 13CO/C18O abundance ratio in the massive star-forming region G29.96−0.02

2018 ◽  
Vol 617 ◽  
pp. A14 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Paron ◽  
M. B. Areal ◽  
M. E. Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Abundance Ratio ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Local Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Mass Star ◽  
Galactocentric Distance ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Molecular Abundances

Aims. Estimating molecular abundances ratios from directly measuring the emission of the molecules toward a variety of interstellar environments is indeed very useful to advance our understanding of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy, and hence of the physical processes related to the chemistry. It is necessary to increase the sample of molecular clouds, located at different distances, in which the behavior of molecular abundance ratios, such as the 13CO/C18O ratio, is studied in detail. Methods. We selected the well-studied high-mass star-forming region G29.96−0.02, located at a distance of about 6.2 kpc, which is an ideal laboratory to perform this type of study. To study the 13CO/C18O abundance ratio (X13∕18) toward this region, we used 12CO J = 3–2 data obtained from the CO High-Resolution Survey, 13CO and C18O J = 3–2 data from the 13CO/C18O (J = 3–2) Heterodyne Inner Milky Way Plane Survey, and 13CO and C18O J = 2–1 data retrieved from the CDS database that were observed with the IRAM 30 m telescope. The distribution of column densities and X13∕18 throughout the extension of the analyzed molecular cloud was studied based on local thermal equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE methods. Results. Values of X13∕18 between 1.5 and 10.5, with an average of about 5, were found throughout the studied region, showing that in addition to the dependency of X13∕18 and the galactocentric distance, the local physical conditions may strongly affect this abundance ratio. We found that correlating the X13∕18 map with the location of the ionized gas and dark clouds allows us to suggest in which regions the far-UV radiation stalls in dense gaseous components, and in which regions it escapes and selectively photodissociates the C18O isotope. The non-LTE analysis shows that the molecular gas has very different physical conditions, not only spatially throughout the cloud, but also along the line of sight. This type of study may represent a tool for indirectly estimating (from molecular line observations) the degree of photodissociation in molecular clouds, which is indeed useful to study the chemistry in the interstellar medium.

scholarly journals Correlations between H α equivalent width and galaxy properties at z = 0.47: Physical or selection-driven?

2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (4) ◽  
pp. 5115-5133
Author(s):  
A A Khostovan ◽  
S Malhotra ◽  
J E Rhoads ◽  
S Harish ◽  
C Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Equivalent Width ◽  
Luminosity Function ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Selection Effects ◽  
Star Formation Activity ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Stellar Masses

ABSTRACT The H α equivalent width (EW) is an observational proxy for specific star formation rate (sSFR) and a tracer of episodic, bursty star-formation activity. Previous assessments show that the H α EW strongly anticorrelates with stellar mass as M−0.25 similar to the sSFR – stellar mass relation. However, such a correlation could be driven or even formed by selection effects. In this study, we investigate how H α EW distributions correlate with physical properties of galaxies and how selection biases could alter such correlations using a z = 0.47 narrow-band-selected sample of 1572 H α emitters from the Ly α Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization (LAGER) survey as our observational case study. The sample covers a 3 deg2 area of COSMOS with a survey comoving volume of 1.1 × 105 Mpc3. We assume an intrinsic EW distribution to form mock samples of H α emitters and propagate the selection criteria to match observations, giving us control on how selection biases can affect the underlying results. We find that H α EW intrinsically correlates with stellar mass as W0∝M−0.16 ± 0.03 and decreases by a factor of ∼3 from 107 M⊙ to 1010 M⊙, while not correcting for selection effects steepens the correlation as M−0.25 ± 0.04. We find low-mass H α emitters to be ∼320 times more likely to have rest-frame EW>200 Å compared to high-mass H α emitters. Combining the intrinsic W0–stellar mass correlation with an observed stellar mass function correctly reproduces the observed H α luminosity function, while not correcting for selection effects underestimates the number of bright emitters. This suggests that the W0–stellar mass correlation when corrected for selection effects is physically significant and reproduces three statistical distributions of galaxy populations (line luminosity function, stellar mass function, EW distribution). At lower stellar masses, we find there are more high-EW outliers compared to high stellar masses, even after we take into account selection effects. Our results suggest that high sSFR outliers indicative of bursty star formation activity are intrinsically more prevalent in low-mass H α emitters and not a byproduct of selection effects.

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