2,099 research outputs found
Evolution of column density distributions within Orion~A
We compare the structure of star-forming molecular clouds in different
regions of Orion A to determine how the column density probability distribution
function (N-PDF) varies with environmental conditions such as the fraction of
young protostars. A correlation between the N-PDF slope and Class 0 protostar
fraction has been previously observed in a low-mass star-formation region
(Perseus) by Sadavoy; here we test if a similar correlation is observed in a
high-mass star-forming region. We use Herschel data to derive a column density
map of Orion A. We use the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey catalog for accurate
identification and classification of the Orion A young stellar object (YSO)
content, including the short-lived Class 0 protostars (with a 0.14 Myr
lifetime). We divide Orion A into eight independent 13.5 pc regions; in
each region we fit the N-PDF distribution with a power-law, and we measure the
fraction of Class 0 protostars. We use a maximum likelihood method to measure
the N-PDF power-law index without binning. We find that the Class 0 fraction is
higher in regions with flatter column density distributions. We test the
effects of incompleteness, YSO misclassification, resolution, and pixel-scale.
We show that these effects cannot account for the observed trend. Our
observations demonstrate an association between the slope of the power-law
N-PDF and the Class 0 fractions within Orion A. Various interpretations are
discussed including timescales based on the Class 0 protostar fraction assuming
a constant star-formation rate. The observed relation suggests that the N-PDF
can be related to an "evolutionary state" of the gas. If universal, such a
relation permits an evaluation of the evolutionary state from the N-PDF
power-law index at much greater distances than those accesible with protostar
counts. (abridged)Comment: A&A Letter, accepte
Dust-temperature of an isolated star-forming cloud: Herschel observations of the Bok globule CB244
We present Herschel observations of the isolated, low-mass star-forming Bok
globule CB244. It contains two cold sources, a low-mass Class 0 protostar and a
starless core, which is likely to be prestellar in nature, separated by 90
arcsec (~ 18000 AU). The Herschel data sample the peak of the Planck spectrum
for these sources, and are therefore ideal for dust-temperature and column
density modeling. With these data and a near-IR extinction map, the MIPS 70
micron mosaic, the SCUBA 850 micron map, and the IRAM 1.3 mm map, we model the
dust-temperature and column density of CB244 and present the first measured
dust-temperature map of an entire star-forming molecular cloud. We find that
the column-averaged dust-temperature near the protostar is ~ 17.7 K, while for
the starless core it is ~ 10.6K, and that the effect of external heating causes
the cloud dust-temperature to rise to ~ 17 K where the hydrogen column density
drops below 10^21 cm^-2. The total hydrogen mass of CB244 (assuming a distance
of 200 pc) is 15 +/- 5 M_sun. The mass of the protostellar core is 1.6 +/- 0.1
M_sun and the mass of the starless core is 5 +/- 2 M_sun, indicating that ~ 45%
of the mass in the globule is participating in the star-formation process.Comment: Accepted for A&A Herschel Special Issue; 5 pages, 2 figure
The structured environments of embedded star-forming cores. PACS and SPIRE mapping of the enigmatic outflow source UYSO 1
The intermediate-mass star-forming core UYSO 1 has previously been found to
exhibit intriguing features. While deeply embedded and previously only
identified by means of its (sub-)millimeter emission, it drives two powerful,
dynamically young, molecular outflows. Although the process of star formation
has obviously started, the chemical composition is still pristine. We present
Herschel PACS and SPIRE continuum data of this presumably very young region.
The now complete coverage of the spectral energy peak allows us to precisely
constrain the elevated temperature of 26 - 28 K for the main bulge of gas
associated with UYSO1, which is located at the interface between the hot HII
region Sh 2-297 and the cold dark nebula LDN 1657A. Furthermore, the data
identify cooler compact far-infrared sources of just a few solar masses, hidden
in this neighbouring dark cloud.Comment: accepted contribution for the forthcoming Herschel Special Issue of
A&A, 5 pages (will appear as 4-page letter in the journal), 6 figure file
Line Profiles of Cores within Clusters. III. What is the most reliable tracer of core collapse in dense clusters?
Recent observational and theoretical investigations have emphasised the
importance of filamentary networks within molecular clouds as sites of star
formation. Since such environments are more complex than those of isolated
cores, it is essential to understand how the observed line profiles from
collapsing cores with non-spherical geometry are affected by filaments. In this
study, we investigate line profile asymmetries by performing radiative transfer
calculations on hydrodynamic models of three collapsing cores that are embedded
in filaments. We compare the results to those that are expected for isolated
cores. We model the five lowest rotational transition line (J = 1-0, 2-1, 3-2,
4-3, and 5-4) of both optically thick (HCN, HCO) as well as optically thin
(NH, HCO) molecules using constant abundance laws. We find
that less than 50% of simulated (1-0) transition lines show blue infall
asymmetries due to obscuration by the surrounding filament. However, the
fraction of collapsing cores that have a blue asymmetric emission line profile
rises to 90% when observed in the (4-3) transition. Since the densest gas
towards the collapsing core can excite higher rotational states, upper level
transitions are more likely to produce blue asymmetric emission profiles. We
conclude that even in irregular, embedded cores one can trace infalling gas
motions with blue asymmetric line profiles of optically thick lines by
observing higher transitions. The best tracer of collapse motions of our sample
is the (4-3) transition of HCN, but the (3-2) and (5-4) transitions of both HCN
and HCO are also good tracers.Comment: accepted by MNRAS; 13 pages, 16 figures, 6 table
The Nature of the Variable Galactic Center Source IRS16SW
We report measurements of the light curve of the variable Galactic Center
source IRS16SW. The light curve is not consistent with an eclipsing binary or
any other obvious variable star. The source may be an example of a high mass
variable predicted theoretically but not observed previously.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. Accepted by Ap
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