47 research outputs found
A Young GMC Formed at the Interface of Two Colliding Supershells: Observations Meet Simulations
Dense, star-forming gas is believed to form at the stagnation points of
large-scale ISM flows, but observational examples of this process in action are
rare. We here present a giant molecular cloud (GMC) sandwiched between two
colliding Milky Way supershells, which we argue shows strong evidence of having
formed from material accumulated at the collision zone. Combining 12CO, 13CO
and C18O(J=1-0) data with new high-resolution, 3D hydrodynamical simulations of
colliding supershells, we discuss the origin and nature of the GMC
(G288.5+1.5), favoring a scenario in which the cloud was partially seeded by
pre-existing denser material, but assembled into its current form by the action
of the shells. This assembly includes the production of some new molecular gas.
The GMC is well interpreted as non-self-gravitating, despite its high mass (MH2
~ 1.7 x 10^5 Msol), and is likely pressure confined by the colliding flows,
implying that self-gravity was not a necessary ingredient for its formation.
Much of the molecular gas is relatively diffuse, and the cloud as a whole shows
little evidence of star formation activity, supporting a scenario in which it
is young and recently formed. Drip-like formations along its lower edge may be
explained by fluid dynamical instabilities in the cooled gas.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Witnessing the fragmentation of a filament into prestellar cores in Orion B/NGC 2024
Recent Herschel observations of nearby clouds have shown that filamentary
structures are ubiquitous and that most prestellar cores form in filaments.
Probing the density () and velocity () structure of filaments is crucial
for the understanding of the star formation process. To characterize both the
and the field of a fragmenting filament, we mapped NGC2024. 13CO, C18O,
and H13CO+ trace the filament seen in the data. The radial profile
from the data shows ~0.081 pc, which is similar to the
Herschel findings. The from 13CO and C18O are broader, while the
from H13CO+ is narrower, than from Herschel. These results
suggest that 13CO and C18O trace only the outer part of the filament and H13CO+
only the inner part. The H13CO+ map reveals gradients along
both filament axis, as well as oscillations with a period ~0.2 pc
along the major axis. Comparison between the and the distribution shows
a tentative /4 shift in H13CO+ or C18O. This /4 shift is not
simultaneously observed for all cores in any single tracer but is tentatively
seen in either H13CO+ or C18O. We produced a toy model taking into account a
transverse gradient, a longitudinal gradient, and a longitudinal
oscillation mode caused by fragmentation. Examination of synthetic data shows
that the oscillation component produces an oscillation pattern in the velocity
structure function (VSF) of the model. The H13CO+ VSF shows an oscillation
pattern, suggesting that our observations are partly tracing core-forming
motions and fragmentation. We also found that the mean corresponds
to the effective in the filament. This is consistent with a scenario
in which higher-mass cores form in higher line-mass filaments.Comment: accepted in A&
The width of Herschel filaments varies with distance
Context. Filamentary structures in nearby molecular clouds have been found to exhibit a characteristic width of 0.1 pc, as observed in dust emission. Understanding the origin of this universal width has become a topic of central importance in the study of molecular cloud structure and the early stages of star formation. Aims. We investigate how the recovered widths of filaments depend on the distance from the observer by using previously published results from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey. Methods. We obtained updated estimates on the distances to nearby molecular clouds observed with Herschel by using recent results based on 3D dust extinction mapping and Gaia. We examined the widths of filaments from individual clouds separately, as opposed to treating them as a single population. We used these per-cloud filament widths to search for signs of variation amongst the clouds of the previously published study. Results. We find a significant dependence of the mean per-cloud filament width with distance. The distribution of mean filament widths for nearby clouds is incompatible with that of farther away clouds. The mean per-cloud widths scale with distance approximately as 4-5 times the beam size. We examine the effects of resolution by performing a convergence study of a filament profile in the Herschel image of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. We find that resolution can severely affect the shapes of radial profiles over the observed range of distances. Conclusions. We conclude that the data are inconsistent with 0.1 pc being the universal characteristic width of filaments
The width of Herschel filaments varies with distance
Funding: This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 851435). R.J.S. gratefully acknowledges an STFC Ernest Rutherford fellowship (grant ST/N00485X/1).Context. Filamentary structures in nearby molecular clouds have been found to exhibit a characteristic width of 0.1 pc, as observed in dust emission. Understanding the origin of this universal width has become a topic of central importance in the study of molecular cloud structure and the early stages of star formation. Aims. We investigate how the recovered widths of filaments depend on the distance from the observer by using previously published results from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey. Methods. We obtained updated estimates on the distances to nearby molecular clouds observed with Herschel by using recent results based on 3D dust extinction mapping and Gaia. We examined the widths of filaments from individual clouds separately, as opposed to treating them as a single population. We used these per-cloud filament widths to search for signs of variation amongst the clouds of the previously published study. Results. We find a significant dependence of the mean per-cloud filament width with distance. The distribution of mean filament widths for nearby clouds is incompatible with that of farther away clouds. The mean per-cloud widths scale with distance approximately as 4−5 times the beam size. We examine the effects of resolution by performing a convergence study of a filament profile in the Herschel image of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. We find that resolution can severely affect the shapes of radial profiles over the observed range of distances. Conclusions. We conclude that the data are inconsistent with 0.1 pc being the universal characteristic width of filaments.Peer reviewe
Stellar feedback efficiencies: supernovae versus stellar winds
The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 456(1): 710-730, February 2016, DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2699, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of MNRAS.Stellar winds and supernova (SN) explosions of massive stars (`stellar feedback') create bubbles in the interstellar medium (ISM) and insert newly produced heavy elements and kinetic energy into their surroundings, possibly driving turbulence. Most of this energy is thermalized and immediately removed from the ISM by radiative cooling. The rest is available for driving ISM dynamics. In this work we estimate the amount of feedback energy retained as kinetic energy when the bubble walls have decelerated to the sound speed of the ambient medium. We show that the feedback of the most massive star outweighs the feedback from less massive stars. For a giant molecular cloud (GMC) mass of 105 M⊙ (as e.g. found in the Orion GMCs) and a star formation efficiency of 8 per cent the initial mass function predicts a most massive star of approximately 60 M⊙. For this stellar evolution model we test the dependence of the retained kinetic energy of the cold GMC gas on the inclusion of stellar winds. In our model winds insert 2.34 times the energy of an SN and create stellar wind bubbles serving as pressure reservoirs. We find that during the pressure-driven phases of the bubble evolution radiative losses peak near the contact discontinuity (CD), and thus the retained energy depends critically on the scales of the mixing processes across the CD. Taking into account the winds of massive stars increases the amount of kinetic energy deposited in the cold ISM from 0.1 per cent to a few per cent of the feedback energy.Peer reviewe
Extragalactic magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program). VI. The magnetic fields in the multi-phase interstellar medium of the Antennae galaxies
Mergers are thought to be a fundamental channel for galaxy growth, perturbing
the gas dynamics and the magnetic fields (B-fields) in the interstellar medium
(ISM). However, the mechanisms that amplify and dissipate B-fields during a
merger remain unclear. We characterize the morphology of the ordered B-fields
in the multi-phase ISM of the closest merger of two spiral galaxies, the
Antennae galaxies. We compare the inferred B-fields using m thermal
dust and cm radio synchrotron emission polarimetric observations. We find
that the m B-fields are more ordered across the Antennae galaxies than
the cm B-fields. The turbulent-to-ordered m B-field increases at
the galaxy cores and star-forming regions. The relic spiral arm has an ordered
spiral m B-field, while the cm B-field is radial. The m
B-field may be dominated by turbulent dynamos with high CO(1-0) velocity
dispersion driven by star-forming regions, while the cm B-field is
cospatial with high HI velocity dispersion driven by galaxy interaction. This
result shows the dissociation between the warm gas mainly disturbed by the
merger, and the dense gas still following the dynamics of the relic spiral arm.
We find a kpc scale ordered B-field connecting the two galaxies. The
base of the tidal tail is cospatial with the HI and CO(1-0) emission and
has compressed and/or sheared m and cm B-fields driven by the
merger. We suggest that amplify B-fields, with respect to the rest of the
system and other spiral galaxies, may be supporting the gas flow between both
galaxies and the tidal tail.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Extragalactic magnetism with SOFIA (SALSA Legacy Program) -- V: First results on the magnetic field orientation of galaxies
We present the analysis of the magnetic field (-field) structure of
galaxies measured with far-infrared (FIR) and radio (3 and 6 cm) polarimetric
observations. We use the first data release of the Survey on extragALactic
magnetiSm with SOFIA (SALSA) of 14 nearby ( Mpc) galaxies with resolved (5
arcsec-18 arcsec; pc-- kpc) imaging polarimetric observations using
HAWC+/SOFIA from to \um. We compute the magnetic pitch angle
() profiles as a function of the galactrocentric radius. We introduce
a new magnetic alignment parameter () to estimate the
disordered-to-ordered -field ratio in spiral -fields. We find FIR and
radio wavelengths to not generally trace the same -field morphology in
galaxies. The profiles tend to be more ordered with galactocentric
radius in radio () than in FIR
(). For spiral galaxies, FIR -fields
are \% more turbulent than the radio -fields. For starburst galaxies,
we find that FIR polarization is a better tracer of the -fields along the
galactic outflows than radio polarization. Our results suggest that the
-fields associated with dense, dusty, turbulent star-forming regions, those
traced at FIR, are less ordered than warmer, less-dense regions, those traced
at radio, of the interstellar medium. The FIR -fields seem to be more
sensitive to the activity of the star-forming regions and the morphology of the
molecular clouds within a vertical height of few hundred pc in the disk of
spiral galaxies than the radio -fields.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figure
Giant Molecular clouds: what are they made from, and how do they get there?
We analyse the results of four simulations of isolated galaxies: two with a
rigid spiral potential of fixed pattern speed, but with different degrees of
star-formation induced feedback, one with an axisymmetric galactic potential
and one with a `live' self-gravitating stellar component. Since we use a
Lagrangian method we are able to select gas that lies within giant molecular
clouds (GMCs) at a particular timeframe, and to then study the properties of
this gas at earlier and later times. We find that gas which forms GMCs is not
typical of the interstellar medium at least 50 Myr before the clouds form and
reaches mean densities within an order of magnitude of mean cloud densities by
around 10 Myr before. The gas in GMCs takes at least 50 Myr to return to
typical ISM gas after dispersal by stellar feedback, and in some cases the gas
is never fully recycled. We also present a study of the two-dimensional,
vertically-averaged velocity fields within the ISM. We show that the velocity
fields corresponding to the shortest timescales (that is, those timescales
closest to the immediate formation and dissipation of the clouds) can be
readily understood in terms of the various cloud formation and dissipation
mechanisms. Properties of the flow patterns can be used to distinguish the
processes which drive converging flows (e.g.\ spiral shocks, supernovae) and
thus molecular cloud formation, and we note that such properties may be
detectable with future observations of nearby galaxies.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Bright-Moon Sky as a Wide-Field Linear Polarimetric Flat Source for Calibration
Next-generation wide-field optical polarimeters like the Wide-Area Linear
Optical Polarimeters (WALOPs) have a field of view (FoV) of tens of arcminutes.
For efficient and accurate calibration of these instruments, wide-field
polarimetric flat sources will be essential. Currently, no established
wide-field polarimetric standard or flat sources exist. This paper tests the
feasibility of using the polarized sky patches of the size of around ten-by-ten
arcminutes, at a distance of up to 20 degrees from the Moon, on bright-Moon
nights as a wide-field linear polarimetric flat source. We observed 19 patches
of the sky adjacent to the bright-Moon with the RoboPol instrument in the
SDSS-r broadband filter. These were observed on five nights within two days of
the full-Moon across two RoboPol observing seasons. We find that for 18 of the
19 patches, the uniformity in the measured normalized Stokes parameters and
is within 0.2 %, with 12 patches exhibiting uniformity within 0.07 % or
better for both and simultaneously, making them reliable and stable
wide-field linear polarization flats. We demonstrate that the sky on
bright-Moon nights is an excellent wide-field linear polarization flat source.
Various combinations of the normalized Stokes parameters and can be
obtained by choosing suitable locations of the sky patch with respect to the
MoonComment: 8 pages including appendix, 6 figures and 3 tables. Submitted to
Astronomy and Astrophysics for review. Comments are welcom
Starlight-polarization-based tomography of the magnetized ISM: Pasiphae's line-of-sight inversion method
We present the first Bayesian method for tomographic decomposition of the
plane-of-sky orientation of the magnetic field with the use of stellar
polarimetry and distance. This standalone tomographic inversion method presents
an important step forward in reconstructing the magnetized interstellar medium
(ISM) in 3D within dusty regions. We develop a model in which the polarization
signal from the magnetized and dusty ISM is described by thin layers at various
distances. Our modeling makes it possible to infer the mean polarization
(amplitude and orientation) induced by individual dusty clouds and to account
for the turbulence-induced scatter in a generic way. We present a likelihood
function that explicitly accounts for uncertainties in polarization and
parallax. We develop a framework for reconstructing the magnetized ISM through
the maximization of the log-likelihood using a nested sampling method. We test
our Bayesian inversion method on mock data taking into account realistic
uncertainties from and as expected for the optical polarization survey
PASIPHAE according to the currently planned observing strategy. We demonstrate
that our method is effective in recovering the cloud properties as soon as the
polarization induced by a cloud to its background stars is higher than , for the adopted survey exposure time and level of systematic
uncertainty. Our method makes it possible to recover not only the mean
polarization properties but also to characterize the intrinsic scatter, thus
opening ways to characterize ISM turbulence and the magnetic field strength.
Finally, we apply our method to an existing dataset of starlight polarization
with known line-of-sight decomposition, demonstrating agreement with previous
results and an improved quantification of uncertainties in cloud properties.Comment: 28 pages, including 2 appendices, submitted to A&