700 research outputs found
Initial phases of massive star formation in high infrared extinction clouds. II. Infall and onset of star formation
The onset of massive star formation is not well understood because of
observational and theoretical difficulties. To find the dense and cold clumps
where massive star formation can take place, we compiled a sample of high
infrared extinction clouds, which were observed previously by us in the 1.2 mm
continuum emission and ammonia. We try to understand the star-formation stages
of the clumps in these high extinction clouds by studying the infall and
outflow properties, the presence of a young stellar object (YSO), and the level
of the CO depletion through a molecular line survey with the IRAM 30m and APEX
12m telescopes. Moreover, we want to know if the cloud morphology, quantified
through the column density contrast between the clump and the clouds, has an
impact on the star formation occurring inside it. We find that the HCO+(1-0)
line is the most sensitive for detecting infalling motions. SiO, an outflow
tracer, was mostly detected toward sources with infall, indicating that infall
is accompanied by collimated outflows. The presence of YSOs within a clump
depends mostly on its column density; no signs of YSOs were found below 4E22
cm-2. Star formation is on the verge of beginning in clouds that have a low
column density contrast; infall is not yet present in the majority of the
clumps. The first signs of ongoing star formation are broadly observed in
clouds where the column density contrast between the clump and the cloud is
higher than two; most clumps show infall and outflow. Finally, the most evolved
clumps are in clouds that have a column density contrast higher than three;
almost all clumps have a YSO, and in many clumps, the infall has already
halted. Hence, the cloud morphology, based on the column density contrast
between the cloud and the clumps, seems to have a direct connection with the
evolutionary stage of the objects forming inside
Widespread HCN maser emission in carbon-rich evolved stars
Context. HCN is a major constituent of the circumstellar envelopes of
carbon-rich evolved stars, and rotational lines from within its vibrationally
excited states probe parts of these regions closest to the stellar surface. A
number of such lines are known to show maser action. Historically, in one of
them, the 177 GHz line in the -doubled bending mode has
been found to show relatively strong maser action, with results only published
for a single object, the archetypical high-mass loss asymptotic giant branch
(AGB) star IRC+10216. Aims. To examine how common 177 GHz HCN maser emission
is, we conducted an exploratory survey for this line toward a select sample of
carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars that are observable from the southern
hemisphere. Methods. We used the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment 12 meter
submillimeter Telescope (APEX) equipped with a new receiver to simultaneously
observe three HCN rotational transitions, the and -doublet components, and the line from
the (0,0,0) ground state. Results. The maser line is
detected toward 11 of 13 observed sources, which all show emission in the
(0,0,0) transition. In most of the sources, the peak intensity of the
line rivals that of the (0,0,0) line; in two sources,
it is even stronger. Except for the object with the highest mass-loss rate,
IRC+10216, the line covers a smaller velocity range
than the (0,0,0) line. Conclusions. Maser emission in the 177 GHz
line of HCN appears to be common in
carbon-rich AGB stars. (Abbreviated)Comment: 12 pages (including appendix), 3 figures / Astronomy & Astrophysics
(in press
APEX telescope observations of new molecular ions
Hydrides are key ingredients of interstellar chemistry since they are the
initial products of chemical networks that lead to the formation of more
complex molecules. The fundamental rotational transitions of light hydrides
fall into the submillimeter wavelength range. Using the APEX telescope, we
observed the long sought hydrides SH+ and OH+ in absorption against the strong
continuum source Sagittarius B2(M). Both, absorption from Galactic center gas
as well as from diffuse clouds in intervening spiral arms over a large velocity
range is observed. The detected absorption of a continuous velocity range on
the line of sight shows these hydrides to be an abundant component of diffuse
clouds. In addition, we used the strongest submillimeter dust continuum sources
in the inner Galaxy to serve as background candles for a systematic census of
these hydrides in diffuse clouds and massive star forming regions of our Galaxy
and initial results of this survey are presented.Comment: To appear in Spectroscopy of Molecular Ions in the Laboratory and in
Space (SMILES 2010), AIP Conference Proceedings, in pres
Physical conditions in the Protoplanetary Nebula CRL 618 derived from observations of vibrationally excited HCCCN
We used the Effelsberg 100m and IRAM 30m telescopes to observe vibrationally
excited cyanoacetylene (HCCCN) in several rotational transitions toward the
proto-planetary nebula CRL618. Lines from 9 different vibrationally excited
states with energies ranging up to 1600 K above ground were detected. The lines
show P Cygni profiles indicating that the HCCCN emission originates from an
expanding and accelerating molecular envelope. The HCCCN rotational temperature
varies with velocity, peaks at 520 K, 3 km/s blue-shifted from the systemic
velocity and decreases with higher blueshift of the gas. The column density of
the absorbing HCCCN is 3-6 x 1E17 cm^2. We modeled spectra based on spherical
models of the expanding envelope which provide an excellent fit to the
observations, and discuss the implications of the models. Additionally, lines
from 13C substituted cyanoacetylene were observed. They can be used to
constrain the 12C/13C ratio in this source to 10+-2.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Ap
Stellar clusters in the inner Galaxy and their correlation with cold dust emission
Stars are born within dense clumps of giant molecular clouds, constituting
young stellar agglomerates known as embedded clusters, which only evolve into
bound open clusters under special conditions. We statistically study all
embedded clusters (ECs) and open clusters (OCs) known so far in the inner
Galaxy, investigating particularly their interaction with the surrounding
molecular environment and the differences in their evolution. We first compiled
a merged list of 3904 clusters from optical and infrared clusters catalogs in
the literature, including 75 new (mostly embedded) clusters discovered by us in
the GLIMPSE survey. From this list, 695 clusters are within the Galactic range
|l| < 60 deg and |b| < 1.5 deg covered by the ATLASGAL survey, which was used
to search for correlations with submm dust continuum emission tracing dense
molecular gas. We defined an evolutionary sequence of five morphological types:
deeply embedded cluster (EC1), partially embedded cluster (EC2), emerging open
cluster (OC0), OC still associated with a submm clump in the vicinity (OC1),
and OC without correlation with ATLASGAL emission (OC2). Together with this
process, we performed a thorough literature survey of these 695 clusters,
compiling a considerable number of physical and observational properties in a
catalog that is publicly available. We found that an OC defined observationally
as OC0, OC1, or OC2 and confirmed as a real cluster is equivalent to the
physical concept of OC (a bound exposed cluster) for ages in excess of ~16 Myr.
Some observed OCs younger than this limit can actually be unbound associations.
We found that our OC and EC samples are roughly complete up to ~1 kpc and ~1.8
kpc from the Sun, respectively, beyond which the completeness decays
exponentially. Using available age estimates for a few ECs, we derived an upper
limit of 3 Myr for the duration of the embedded phase... (Abridged)Comment: 39 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A on Sept 16,
2013. The catalog will be available at the CDS after official publication of
the articl
Hot gas and dust in a protostellar cluster near W3(OH
We used the IRAM Interferometer to obtain sub-arcsecond resolution
observations of the high-mass star-forming region W3(OH) and its surroundings
at a frequency of 220 GHz. With the improved angular resolution, we distinguish
3 peaks in the thermal dust continuum emission originating from the hot core
region about 6 arcsec (0.06 pc) east of W3(OH). The dust emission peaks are
coincident with known radio continuum sources, one of which is of non-thermal
nature. The latter source is also at the center of expansion of a powerful
bipolar outflow observed in water maser emission. We determine the hot core
mass to be 15 solar masses based on the integrated dust continuum emission.
Simultaneously many molecular lines are detected allowing the analysis of the
temperature structure and the distribution of complex organic molecules in the
hot core. From HNCO lines, spanning a wide range of excitation, two 200 K
temperature peaks are found coincident with dust continuum emission peaks
suggesting embedded heating sources within them.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Ammonia from cold high-mass clumps discovered in the inner Galactic disk by the ATLASGAL survey
The APEX Telescope Large Area Survey: The Galaxy (ATLASGAL) is an unbiased
continuum survey of the inner Galactic disk at 870 \mu m. It covers +/- 60 deg
in Galactic longitude and aims to find all massive clumps at various stages of
high-mass star formation in the inner Galaxy, particularly the earliest
evolutionary phases. We aim to determine properties such as the gas kinetic
temperature and dynamics of new massive cold clumps found by ATLASGAL. Most
importantly, we derived their kinematical distances from the measured line
velocities. We observed the ammonia (J,K) = (1,1) to (3,3) inversion
transitions toward 862 clumps of a flux-limited sample of submm clumps detected
by ATLASGAL and extracted 13CO (1-0) spectra from the Galactic Ring Survey
(GRS). We determined distances for a subsample located at the tangential points
(71 sources) and for 277 clumps whose near/far distance ambiguity is resolved.
Most ATLASGAL clumps are cold with rotational temperatures from 10-30 K. They
have a wide range of NH3 linewidths, which by far exceeds the thermal
linewidth, as well as a broad distribution of high column densities with an NH3
abundance in the range of 5 to 30 * 10^{-8}. We found an enhancement of clumps
at Galactocentric radii of 4.5 and 6 kpc. The high detection rate (87%)
confirms ammonia as an excellent probe of the molecular content of the massive,
cold clumps revealed by ATLASGAL. A clear trend of increasing rotational
temperatures and linewidths with evolutionary stage is seen for source samples
ranging from 24 \mu m dark clumps to clumps with embedded HII regions. The
survey provides the largest ammonia sample of high-mass star forming clumps and
thus presents an important repository for the characterization of statistical
properties of the clumps and the selection of subsamples for detailed,
high-resolution follow-up studies
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