74 research outputs found
Testing the Disk-Locking Paradigm: An Association Between U-V Excess and Rotation in NGC 2264
We present some results from a UVI photometric study of a field in the young
open cluster NGC 2264 aimed, in part, at testing whether accretion in pre-main
sequence stars is linked to rotation. We confirm that U-V excess is well
correlated with H-alpha equivalent width for the stars in our sample. We show
that for the more massive stars in the cluster sample (roughly 0.4-1.2 M_sun)
there is also a significant association between U-V excess and rotation, in the
sense that slow rotators are more likely to show excess U-band emission and
variability. This constitutes significant new evidence in support of the
disk-locking paradigm.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter
A First Look at the Auriga-California Giant Molecular Cloud With Herschel and the CSO: Census of the Young Stellar Objects and the Dense Gas
We have mapped the Auriga/California molecular cloud with the Herschel PACS
and SPIRE cameras and the Bolocam 1.1 mm camera on the Caltech Submillimeter
Observatory (CSO) with the eventual goal of quantifying the star formation and
cloud structure in this Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) that is comparable in size
and mass to the Orion GMC, but which appears to be forming far fewer stars. We
have tabulated 60 compact 70/160um sources that are likely pre-main-sequence
objects and correlated those with Spitzer and WISE mid-IR sources. At 1.1 mm we
find 18 cold, compact sources and discuss their properties. The most important
result from this part of our study is that we find a modest number of
additional compact young objects beyond those identified at shorter wavelengths
with Spitzer. We also describe the dust column density and temperature
structure derived from our photometric maps. The column density peaks at a few
x 10^22 cm^-2 (N_H2) and is distributed in a clear filamentary structure along
which nearly all the pre-main-sequence objects are found. We compare the YSO
surface density to the gas column density and find a strong non-linear
correlation between them. The dust temperature in the densest parts of the
filaments drops to ~10K from values ~ 14--15K in the low density parts of the
cloud. We also derive the cumulative mass fraction and probability density
function of material in the cloud which we compare with similar data on other
star-forming clouds.Comment: in press Astrophysical Journal, 201
From high-mass starless cores to high-mass protostellar objects
Aims: Our aim is to understand the evolutionary sequence of high-mass star
formation from the earliest evolutionary stage of high-mass starless cores, via
high-mass cores with embedded low- to intermediate-mass objects, to finally
high-mass protostellar objects. Methods: Herschel far-infrared PACS and SPIRE
observations are combined with existing data at longer and shorter wavelengths
to characterize the spectral and physical evolution of massive star-forming
regions. Results: The new Herschel images spectacularly show the evolution of
the youngest and cold high-mass star-forming regions from mid-infrared shadows
on the Wien-side of the spectral energy distribution (SED), via structures
almost lost in the background emission around 100mum, to strong emission
sources at the Rayleigh-Jeans tail. Fits of the SEDs for four exemplary regions
covering evolutionary stages from high-mass starless cores to high-mass
protostellar objects reveal that the youngest regions can be fitted by
single-component black-bodies with temperatures on the order of 17K. More
evolved regions show mid-infrared excess emission from an additional warmer
component, which however barely contributes to the total luminosities for the
youngest regions. Exceptionally low values of the ratio between bolometric and
submm luminosity additionally support the youth of the infrared-dark sources.
Conclusions: The Herschel observations reveal the spectral and physical
properties of young high-mass star-forming regions in detail. The data clearly
outline the evolutionary sequence in the images and SEDs. Future work on larger
samples as well as incorporating full radiative transfer calculations will
characterize the physical nature at the onset of massive star formation in even
more depth.Comment: 4 pages, A&A Herschel special issu
Dissecting a hot molecular core: The case of G31.41+0.31
We made a detailed observational analysis of a well known hot molecular core
lying in the high-mass star-forming region G31.41+0.31. This core is believed
to contain deeply embedded massive stars and presents a velocity gradient that
has been interpreted either as rotation or as expansion, depending on the
authors. Our aim was to shed light on this question and possibly prepare the
ground for higher resolution ALMA observations which could directly detect
circumstellar disks around the embedded massive stars. Observations at
sub-arcsecond resolution were performed with the Submillimeter Array in methyl
cyanide, a typical hot molecular core tracer, and 12CO and 13CO, well known
outflow tracers. We also obtained sensitive continuum maps at 1.3 mm. Our
findings confirm the existence of a sharp velocity gradient across the core,
but cannot confirm the existence of a bipolar outflow perpendicular to it. The
improved angular resolution and sampling of the uv plane allow us to attain
higher quality channel maps of the CH3CN lines with respect to previous studies
and thus significantly improve our knowledge of the structure and kinematics of
the hot molecular core. While no conclusive argument can rule out any of the
two interpretations (rotation or expansion) proposed to explain the velocity
gradient observed in the core, in our opinion the observational evidence
collected so far indicates the rotating toroid as the most likely scenario. The
outflow hypothesis appears less plausible, because the dynamical time scale is
too short compared to that needed to form species such as CH3CN, and the mass
loss and momentum rates estimated from our measurements appear too high.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, in pres
The high-mass disk candidates NGC7538IRS1 and NGC7538S
Context: The nature of embedded accretion disks around forming high-mass
stars is one of the missing puzzle pieces for a general understanding of the
formation of the most massive and luminous stars. Methods: Using the Plateau de
Bure Interferometer at 1.36mm wavelengths in its most extended configuration we
probe the dust and gas emission at ~0.3",corresponding to linear resolution
elements of ~800AU. Results: NGC7538IRS1 remains a single compact and massive
gas core with extraordinarily high column densities, corresponding to visual
extinctions on the order of 10^5mag, and average densities within the central
2000AU of ~2.1x10^9cm^-3 that have not been measured before. We identify a
velocity gradient across in northeast-southwest direction that is consistent
with the mid-infrared emission, but we do not find a gradient that corresponds
to the proposed CH3OH maser disk. The spectral line data toward NGC7538IRS1
reveal strong blue- and red-shifted absorption toward the mm continuum peak
position. The red-shifted absorption allows us to estimate high infall rates on
the order of 10^-2 Msun/yr. Although we cannot prove that the gas will be
accreted in the end, the data are consistent with ongoing star formation
activity in a scaled-up low-mass star formation scenario. Compared to that,
NGC7538S fragments in a hierarchical fashion into several sub-sources. While
the kinematics of the main mm peak are dominated by the accompanying jet, we
find rotational signatures from a secondary peak. Furthermore, strong spectral
line differences exist between the sub-sources which is indicative of different
evolutionary stages within the same large-scale gas clump.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, accepted for A&
SMA Observations of the Hot Molecular Core IRAS 18566+0408
We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) observations toward the high-mass star-forming region IRAS 18566+0408. Observations at the 1.3 mm continuum and in several molecular line transitions were performed in the compact (2ʺ4 angular resolution) and very-extended (~0ʺ4 angular resolution) configurations. The continuum emission from the compact configuration shows a dust core of 150 M ⊙, while the very-extended configuration reveals a dense (2.6 × 107 cm−3) and compact (~4000 au) condensation of 8 M ⊙. We detect 31 molecular transitions from 14 species including CO isotopologues, SO, CH3OH, OCS, and CH3CN. Using the different k-ladders of the CH3CN line, we derive a rotational temperature at the location of the continuum peak of 240 K. The 12CO(2–1), 13CO(2–1), and SO(65–54) lines reveal a molecular outflow at PA ~ 135° centered at the continuum peak. The extended 12CO(2–1) emission has been recovered with the IRAM 30 m telescope observations. Using the combined data set, we derive an outflow mass of 16.8 M ⊙. The chemically rich spectrum and the high rotational temperature confirm that IRAS 18566+0408 is harboring a hot molecular core. We find no clear velocity gradient that could suggest the presence of a rotational disk-like structure, even at the high-resolution observations obtained with the very-extended configuration
Rotational Structure and Outflow in the Infrared Dark Cloud 18223-3
We examine an Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) at high spatial resolution as a
means to study rotation, outflow, and infall at the onset of massive star
formation. Submillimeter Array observations combined with IRAM 30 meter data in
12CO(2--1) reveal the outflow orientation in the IRDC 18223-3 region, and PdBI
3 mm observations confirm this orientation in other molecular species. The
implication of the outflow's presence is that an accretion disk is feeding it,
so using high density tracers such as C18O, N2H+, and CH3OH, we looked for
indications of a velocity gradient perpendicular to the outflow direction.
Surprisingly, this gradient turns out to be most apparent in CH3OH. The large
size (28,000 AU) of the flattened rotating object detected indicates that this
velocity gradient cannot be due solely to a disk, but rather from inward
spiraling gas within which a Keplerian disk likely exists. From the outflow
parameters, we derive properties of the source such as an outflow dynamical age
of ~37,000 years, outflow mass of ~13 M_sun, and outflow energy of ~1.7 x 10^46
erg. While the outflow mass and energy are clearly consistent with a high-mass
star forming region, the outflow dynamical age indicates a slightly more
evolved evolutionary stage than previous spectral energy distribution (SED)
modeling indicates. The calculated outflow properties reveal that this is truly
a massive star in the making. We also present a model of the observed methanol
velocity gradient. The rotational signatures can be modeled via rotationally
infalling gas. These data present evidence for one of the youngest known
outflow/infall/disk systems in massive star formation. A tentative evolutionary
picture for massive disks is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Figures 2,3,6,
and 9 are available at higher resolution by email or in the journal
publicatio
Herschel Gould Belt Survey Observations of Dense Cores in the Cepheus Flare Clouds
We present Herschel SPIRE and PACS maps of the Cepheus Flare clouds L1157, L1172, L1228, L1241, and L1251, observed by the Herschel Gould Belt Survey of nearby star-forming molecular clouds. Through modified blackbody fits to the SPIRE and PACS data, we determine typical cloud column densities of (0.5–1.0) × 1021 cm‑2 and typical cloud temperatures of 14–15 K. Using the getsources identification algorithm, we extract 832 dense cores from the SPIRE and PACS data at 160–500 μm. From placement in a mass versus size diagram, we consider 303 to be candidate prestellar cores, and 178 of these to be "robust" prestellar cores. From an independent extraction of sources at 70 μm, we consider 25 of the 832 dense cores to be protostellar. The distribution of background column densities coincident with candidate prestellar cores peaks at (2–4) × 1021 cm‑2. About half of the candidate prestellar cores in Cepheus may have formed as a result of the widespread fragmentation expected to occur within filaments of "transcritical" line mass. The lognormal robust prestellar core mass function (CMF) drawn from all five Cepheus clouds peaks at 0.56 M⊙ and has a width of ∼0.5 dex, similar to that of Aquila's CMF. Indeed, the width of Cepheus's aggregate CMF is similar to the stellar system initial mass function (IMF). The similarity of CMF widths in different clouds and the system IMF suggests a common, possibly turbulent origin for seeding the fluctuations that evolve into prestellar cores and stars
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