213 research outputs found
Infrared Classification of Galactic Objects
Unbiased analysis shows that IRAS data reliably differentiate between the
early and late stages of stellar evolution because objects at these stages
clearly segregate in infrared color-color diagrams. Structure in these diagrams
is primarily controlled by the density distribution of circumstellar dust. The
density profile around older objects is the steepest, declining as ,
while young objects have profiles that vary as and flatter. The
different density profiles reflect the different dynamics that govern the
different environments. Our analysis also shows that high mass star formation
is strongly concentrated within \about 5 kpc around the Galactic center, in
support of other studies.Comment: 11 pages, 3 Postscript figures (included), uses aaspp4.sty. To appear
in Astrophysical Journal Letter
The Radial Extent and Warp of the Ionized Galactic Disk. II. A Likelihood Analysis of Radio-Wave Scattering Toward the Anticenter
We use radio-wave scattering data to constrain the distribution of ionized
gas in the outer Galaxy. Like previous models, our model for the H II disk
includes parameters for the radial scale length and scale height of the H II,
but we allow the H II disk to warp and flare. Our model also includes the
Perseus arm. We use a likelihood analysis on 11 extragalactic sources and 7
pulsars. Scattering in the Perseus arm is no more than 60% of the level
contributed by spiral arms in the inner Galaxy, equivalent to a 1 GHz
scattering diameter of 1.5 mas. Our analysis favors an unwarped, nonflaring
disk with a 1 kpc scale height, though this may reflect the non-uniform and
coarse coverage provided by the available data. The lack of a warp indicates
that VLBI observations near 1 GHz with an orbiting station having baseline
lengths of a few Earth diameters will not be affected by interstellar
scattering at Galactic latitudes |b| ~ 15 degrees. The radial scale length is
15--20 kpc, but the data cannot distinguish between a gradual decrease in the
electron density and a truncated distribution. We favor a truncated one,
because we associate the scattering with massive star formation, which is also
truncated near 20 kpc. The distribution of electron density turbulence
decreases more rapidly with Galactocentric distance than does the hydrogen
distribution. Alternate ionizing and turbulent agents---the intergalactic
ionizing flux and satellite galaxies passing through the disk---do not
contribute significantly to scattering. We cannot exclude the possibility that
a largely ionized, but quiescent disk extends to >~ 100 kpc, similar to that
for some Ly-alpha absorbers.Comment: 34 pages, LaTeX2e with AASTeX aaspp4 macro, 9 figures in 9 PostScript
files, accepted for publication in Ap
Molecular gas and stars in the translucent cloud MBM 18 (LDN 1569)
Seven of ten candidate H-alpha emission-line stars found in an objective
grism survey of a 1 square degree region in MBM 18, were observed
spectroscopically. Four of these have weak H-alpha emission, and 6 out of 7
have spectral types M1-M4V. One star is of type F7-G1V, and has H-alpha in
absorption. The spectra of three of the M-stars may show an absorption line of
LiI, although none of these is an unambiguous detection. For the six M-stars a
good fit is obtained with pre-main-sequence isochrones indicating ages between
7.5 and 15Myr. The molecular cloud mass, derived from the integrated 12CO(1-0)
emission, is 160Mo (for a distance of 120pc), much smaller than the virial mass
(10^3Mo), and the cloud is not gravitationally bound. Nor are the individual
clumps we identified through a clump-finding routine. Considering the relative
weakness or absence of the H-alpha emission, the absence of other emission
lines, and the lack of clear LiI absorption, the targets are not T Tauri stars.
With ages between 7.5 and 15Myr they are old enough to explain the lack of
lithium in their spectra. Based on the derived distances (60-250pc), some of
the stars may lie inside the molecular cloud (120-150pc). From the fact that
the cloud as a whole, as well as the individual clumps, are not gravitationally
bound, in combination with the ages of the stars we conclude that it is not
likely that (these) stars were formed in MBM 18.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (20 pages
A star cluster at the edge of the Galaxy
We study stars and molecular gas in the direction of IRAS06145+1455 (WB89-789) through NIR (JHK), molecular line-, and dust continuum observations. The kinematic distance of the associated molecular cloud is 11.9 kpc. With a galactocentric distance of about 20.2 kpc, this object is at the edge of the (molecular) disk of the Galaxy. The near-IR data show the presence of an (embedded) cluster of about 60 stars, with a radius ca. 1.3 pc and an average stellar surface density of ca. 12 pc^{-2}. We find at least 14 stars with NIR-excess, 3 of which are possibly Class I objects. The cluster is embedded in a 1000 Mo molecular/dust core, from which a molecular outflow originates. The temperature of most of the outflowing gas is < 40 K, and the total mass of the swept-up material is < 10 Mo. Near the center of the flow, indications of much higher temperatures are found, probably due to shocks. A spectrum of one of the probable cluster members shows a tentative likeness to that of a K3III-star (with an age of at least 20 Myr). If correct, this would confirm the kinematic distance. This cluster is the furthest one from the Galactic center yet detected. The combination of old and recent activity implies that star formation has been going on for at least 20 Myr, which is difficult to understand considering the location of this object, where external triggers are either absent or weak, compared to the inner Galaxy. This suggests that once star formation is occurring, later generations of stars may form through the effect of the first generation of stars on the (remnants of) the original molecular cloud
Star Formation in the Most Distant Molecular Cloud in the Extreme Outer Galaxy: A Laboratory of Star Formation in an Early Epoch of the Galaxy's Formation
We report the discovery of active star formation in Digel's Cloud 2, which is
one of the most distant giant molecular clouds known in the extreme outer
Galaxy (EOG). At the probable Galactic radius of ~20 kpc, Cloud 2 has a quite
different environment from that in the solar neighborhood, including lower
metallicity, much lower gas density, and small or no perturbation from spiral
arms. With new wide-field near-infrared (NIR) imaging that covers the entire
Cloud 2, we discovered two young embedded star clusters located in the two
dense cores of the cloud. Using our NIR and 12CO data as well as HI, radio
continuum, and IRAS data in the archives, we discuss the detailed star
formation processes in this unique environment. We show clear evidences of a
sequential star formation triggered by the nearby huge supernova remnant, GSH
138-01-94. The two embedded clusters show a distinct morphology difference: the
one in the northern molecular cloud core is a loose association with
isolated-mode star formation, while the other in the southern molecular cloud
core is a dense cluster with cluster-mode star formation. We propose that high
compression by the combination of the SNR shell and an adjacent shell caused
the dense cluster formation in the southern core. Along with the low
metallicity range of the EOG, we suggest that EOG could be an excellent
laboratory for the study of star formation processes, such as those triggered
by supernovae, that occured during an early epoch of the Galaxy's formation. In
particular, the study of the EOG may shed light on the origin and role of the
thick disk, whose metallicity range matches with that of the EOG well.Comment: Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal (18 pages, 9 figures; a version
w/full-resolution color figures is available at
http://www.ioa.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~naoto/papers/apj.cl2_quirc/ms2p_final.pdf
Clumpy outer Galaxy molecular clouds and the steepening of the IMF
We report the results of high-resolution (~0.2 pc) CO(1-0) and CS(2-1)
observations of the central regions of three star-forming molecular clouds in
the far-outer Galaxy (~16 kpc from the Galactic Center): WB89 85 (Sh 2-127),
WB89 380, and WB89 437. We used the BIMA array in combination with IRAM 30-m
and NRAO 12-m observations. The GMC's in which the regions are embedded were
studied by means of KOSMA 3-m CO(2-1) observations. The properties the CO and
CS clumps are analyzed and compared with newly derived results of previously
published single-dish measurements of local clouds (OrionB South and Rosette).
We find that the slopes of the clump mass distributions (-1.28 and -1.49, for
WB89 85 and WB89 380, respectively) are somewhat less steep than found for most
local clouds, but similar to those of clouds which have been analyzed with the
same clumpfind program. We investigate the clump stability by using the virial
theorem, including all possible contributions (gravity, turbulence, magnetic
fields, and pressure due to the interclump gas). It appears that under
reasonable assumptions a combination of these forces would render most clumps
stable. Comparing only gravity and turbulence, we find that in the far-outer
Galaxy clouds, these forces are in equilibium (virial parameter alpha~1) for
clumps down to the lowest masses found (a few Msol). For clumps in the local
clouds alpha~1 only for clumps with masses larger than a few tens of Msol. Thus
it appears that in these outer Galaxy clumps gravity is the dominant force down
to a much lower mass than in local clouds, implying that gravitational collapse
and star formation may occur more readily even in the smallest clumps. Although
there are some caveats, due to the inhomogeneity of the data used, this might
explain the apparently steeper IMF found in the outer Galaxy.Comment: 29 pages, including 9 tables, 21 figures. Accepted for Astron.
Astrop
A possible far-ultraviolet flux-dependent core mass function in NGC 6357
To derive the properties of the dense cores in the galactic star-forming
complex NGC6357 and to investigate the effects of an intense far-UV radiation
field on their properties, we mapped the region at 450 and 850 micron, and in
the CO(3-2) line with the JCMT. We also made use of the Herschel Hi-GAL data at
70 and 160 micron. We used Gaussclumps to retrieve 686 compact cores embedded
in the diffuse sub-mm emission and constructed their SED from 70 to 850 micron,
from which we derived mass and temperature. The estimated mass completeness
limit is ~5Mo. We divided the observed area in an 'active' region, exposed to
the far-UV radiation from the more massive members of three star clusters (411
cores), and a 'quiescent' region, less affected by far-UV radiation (275
cores). We also attempted to select a sample of pre-stellar cores based on
cross-correlation with 70 micron emission and red WISE point sources. Most of
the cores above the mass completeness limit are likely to be gravitationally
bound. The fraction of gas in dense cores is very low, 1.4%. We found a
mass-size relation log(M/Mo) ~ (2.0-2.4) x log (D/arcsec), depending on the
precise selection of the sample. The temperature distributions in the two
sub-regions are clearly different, peaking at ~25K in the quiescent region and
at ~35K in the active region. The core mass functions are different as well, at
a 2sigma level, consistent with a Salpeter IMF in the quiescent region and
flatter than that in the active region. The dense cores lying close to the HII
regions are consistent with pre-existing cores being gradually engulfed by a
PDR and photoevaporating. We attribute the different global properties of dense
cores in the two sub-regions to the influence of the far-UV radiation field.Comment: 16 pages, 18 figures, 3 tables (1 only at CDS); accepted by Astronomy
& Astrophysic
HI power spectrum of the spiral galaxy NGC628
We have measured the HI power spectrum of the nearly face-on spiral galaxy
NGC628 (M74) using a visibility based estimator. The power spectrum is well
fitted by a power law , with over the
length scale . The slope is found to be
independent of the width of the velocity channel. This value of the slope is a
little more than one in excess of what has been seen at considerably smaller
length scales in the Milky-Way, Small Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Large Magellanic
Cloud (SMC) and the dwarf galaxy DDO210. We interpret this difference as
indicating a transition from three dimensional turbulence at small scales to
two dimensional turbulence in the plane of the galaxy's disk at length scales
larger than galaxy's HI scale height.
The slope measured here is similar to that found at large scales in the LMC.
Our analysis also places an upper limit to the galaxy's scale height at $800\
{\rm pc}$ .Comment: 4 Pages, 2 Figures, 1 Table. Accepted for Publication in MNRAS
LETTER
- âŠ