Small-area molecular clouds without shielding

Using the IRAM 30m telescope two molecular structures have been detected which cover very small areas, FWHM<1'. The clouds have velocities of v_lsr~5kms and linewidth of dv~0.8km/s; thus they belong most likely to the Milky Way. Applying standard conversion factors one finds that even at the upper distance limit of 2200pc the structures are low mass objects (M=(1-6)x10^{-4}(d/100pc)^2Msun) which are not gravitationally virialized. HI 21cm line data towards the clouds show no prominent HI clouds. The total HI column densities for both structures are below N(HI)<2.1x10^{20}cm^{-2}, corresponding to A_V<0.2mag, assuming a standard gas-to-dust ratio. IRAS 100micron data towards the structures show also only low emission, consistent with low extinction. Unless there is unseen cold dust associated with the structures this shielding is too low for the structures to survive the interstellar radiation field for a long time. The detection of 2 such structures in a rather limited sample of observations suggests that they could be a rather common feature in the interstellar medium, however, so far not recognized as such due to the weakness of their lines and their small extent.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics (Letters

Observations of CO in the Magellanic irregular galaxy NGC 55

The content of molecular gas in galaxies, mainly H2, is one of the key observations necessary for the understanding of star formation processes and history. As the CO molecule is the most widely distributed molecule after H2 and has easily observable mm lines, it is used as a tracer for the molecular gas. CO was detected towards the direction where the H alpha and 6 cm radio continuum emission is strongest (Hummel et al. 1986). Here, researchers present the Gaussian line parameters in tabular form. The distribution of CO corresponds well with the intense HI cloud near the bar of NGC 55. The extent of the CO cloud is about 975 pc perpendicular to the major axis. As the radio continuum and the H alpha emission also peaks in this region, it is most probably associated with the star forming region in NGC 55. Assuming that the molecular gas is in virial equilibrium, researchers derive a mass of about 8 times 10(exp 7) solar magnitude. The molecular mass found indicates that the conversion factor for the molecular mass in Irr galaxies as inferred from CO line emission is indeed higher by up to a factor of 20 compared to the canonical value for the Galaxy

Molecular hydrogen as baryonic dark matter

High-angular resolution CO observations of small-area molecular structures (SAMS) are presented. The feature-less structures seen in the single-dish measurements break up into several smaller clumps in the interferometer map. At an adopted distance of 100pc their sizes are of order a few hundred AU, some of which are still unresolved at an angular resolution of about 3". The clumps have a fractal structure with a fractal index between 1.7 and 2.0. Their kinetic temperature is between 7K and 18K. Adopting standard conversion factors masses are about 1/10 Jupiter-masses for individual clumps and densities are higher than 20000cm^{-3}. The clumps are highly overpressured and it is unknown what creates or maintains such structures.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letter

Molecular gas in blue compact dwarf galaxies

Blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDGs) are currently undergoing strong bursts of star formation. Nevertheless, only a few of them have been clearly detected in CO, which is thought to trace the "fuel" of star formation: H_2. In this paper, we present a deep search for CO J=1-->0 and J=2-->1 emission lines in a sample of 8 BCDGs and two companions. Only 2 of them (Haro 2 and UM 465) are detected. For the other galaxies we have obtained more stringent upper limits on the CO luminosity than published values. We could not confirm the previously reported ``detection'' of CO for the galaxies UM 456 and UM 462. We analyze a possible relation between metallicity, CO luminosity, and absolute blue magnitude of the galaxies. We use previously determined relations between X = N(H_2)/I_CO and the metallicity to derive molecular cloud masses or upper limits for them. With these ``global'' X_CO values we find that for those galaxies which we detect in CO, the molecular gas mass is similar to the HI mass, whereas for the non-detections, the upper limits on the molecular gas masses are significantly lower than the HI mass. Using an LVG (Large Velocity Gradient) model we show that X_CO depends not only on metallicity, but also on other physical parameters such as volume density and kinetic temperature, which rises the question on the validity of ``global'' X_CO factors.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to be published on MNRA

Visualisierung der Keplergesetze mit einem Potenzialmodell

In diesem Poster wird ein Potenzial-Modell mit variabler Oberfläche vorgestellt, mit dem sich Gravitationsfelder verschiedener Stärke einfach simulieren lassen. Mit Hilfe eines Objekterkennungsprogramms wird untersucht, inwieweit die Bewegung einer Kugel auf der Modelloberfläche tatsächlich der eines Planeten um die Sonne entspricht. Es zeigt sich, dass die Bahnen der Kugeln sich allenfalls in modifizierter Form mit den Keplergesetzen beschreiben lassen

The Discovery of a Molecular Complex in the Tidal Arms near NGC 3077

We present the discovery of a giant molecular complex (r=350 pc, M_ vir=10^7 M_sun) in the tidal arms south-east of NGC 3077, a member of the M 81 triplet. The complex is clearly detected in the 12CO (J=1-0) transition at five independent positions. The position relative to NGC 3077, the systemic velocity (v_hel=14km/s) and the cloud averaged line width (15km/s) indicate that the object is not related to Galactic cirrus but is extragalactic. The tidal HI arm where the molecular complex is located has an total HI mass of M_HI=3x10^8 M_sun. This tidal material was presumably stripped off the outer parts of NGC 3077 during the closest encounter with M 81, about 3x10^8 years ago. After the complex detected along a torn-out spiral arm of M 81 by Brouillet et al., it is the second of its kind reported so far. Based on published optical observations, we have no evidence for on--going star formation in the newly detected molecular complex. Since the system has all the ingredients to form stars in the future, we speculate that it might eventually resemble the young dwarf galaxies in the M 81 group.Comment: 12 pages (including 3 figures), accepted for publication in the ApJ Letter

Formation of Structure in Molecular Clouds: A Case Study

Molecular clouds (MCs) are highly structured and ``turbulent''. Colliding gas streams of atomic hydrogen have been suggested as a possible source of MCs, imprinting the filamentary structure as a consequence of dynamical and thermal instabilities. We present a 2D numerical analysis of MC formation via converging HI flows. Even with modest flow speeds and completely uniform inflows, non-linear density perturbations as possible precursors of MCs arise. Thus, we suggest that MCs are inevitably formed with substantial structure, e.g., strong density and velocity fluctuations, which provide the initial conditions for subsequent gravitational collapse and star formation in a variety of galactic and extragalactic environments.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, resubmitted to ApJ

An unbiased deep search for small-area molecular structures

Context. Small-area molecular structures (SAMS) resembling those clumpuscules, proposed by Pfenniger and Combes (1994) as candidate for baryonic dark matter, have recently been detected (Heithausen 2002, 2004) in an area where the shielding is too low for them to survive for a long time. Aims. To study the frequency of occurence of such structures I present the results of an unbiased deep search for molecular clumpuscules. Methods. The area surrounding these structures has been surveyed using the FCRAO 14m telescope in the CO (1 → 0) transition. The field covered is 20 ′ by 20 ′. The resulting rms of the data is only 0.04 K in a 0.127 kms −1 wide channel. Also, high-angular resolution observations of the 13 CO and C 18 O (J = 1 → 0) transitions were obtained with the IRAM Plateau-de-Bure Interferometer. Results. 3 new SAMS have been detected. The structures have very low intensities which makes it impossible to detect them in large scale CO surveys conducted to map the molecular gas of the Milky way. They move with a similar radial velocity as the surrounding HI gas. The clouds follow the same size-linewidth relation as found for giant molecular clouds or Galactic cirrus clouds. The observations clearly show that most of the large linewidths observed at low angular resolution is caused by a large velocity difference among the clumps seen at highest angular resolution