5,937 research outputs found
Revealing the dynamics of Class 0 protostellar discs with ALMA
We present synthetic ALMA observations of Keplerian, protostellar discs in
the Class 0 stage studying the emission of molecular tracers like CO,
CO, HCO, HCO, NH, and HCO. We model the
emission of discs around low- and intermediate-mass protostars. We show that
under optimal observing conditions ALMA is able to detect the discs already in
the earliest stage of protostellar evolution, although the emission is often
concentrated to the innermost 50 AU. Therefore, a resolution of a few 0.1"
might be too low to detect Keplerian discs around Class 0 objects. We also
demonstrate that under optimal conditions for edge-on discs Keplerian rotation
signatures are recognisable, from which protostellar masses can be inferred.
For this we here introduce a new approach, which allows us to determine
protostellar masses with higher fidelity than before. Furthermore, we show that
it is possible to reveal Keplerian rotation even for strongly inclined discs
and that ALMA should be able to detect possible signs of fragmentation in
face-on discs. In order to give some guidance for future ALMA observations, we
investigate the influence of varying observing conditions and source distances.
We show that it is possible to probe Keplerian rotation in inclined discs with
an observing time of 2 h and a resolution of 0.1", even in the case of moderate
weather conditions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that under optimal conditions,
Keplerian discs around intermediate-mass protostars should be detectable up to
kpc-distances.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA
Probing the massive star forming environment - a multiwavelength investigation of the filamentary IRDC G333.73+0.37
We present a multiwavelength study of the filamentary infrared dark cloud
(IRDC) G333.73+0.37. The region contains two distinct mid-infrared sources S1
and S2 connected by dark lanes of gas and dust. Cold dust emission from the
IRDC is detected at seven wavelength bands and we have identified 10 high
density clumps in the region. The physical properties of the clumps such as
temperature: 14.3-22.3 K and mass: 87-1530 M_sun are determined by fitting a
modified blackbody to the spectral energy distribution of each clump between
160 micron and 1.2 mm. The total mass of the IRDC is estimated to be $~4700
M_sun. The molecular line emission towards S1 reveals signatures of
protostellar activity. Low frequency radio emission at 1300 and 610 MHz is
detected towards S1 (shell-like) and S2 (compact morphology), confirming the
presence of newly formed massive stars in the IRDC. Photometric analysis of
near and mid-infrared point sources unveil the young stellar object population
associated with the cloud. Fragmentation analysis indicates that the filament
is supercritical. We observe a velocity gradient along the filament, that is
likely to be associated with accretion flows within the filament rather than
rotation. Based on various age estimates obtained for objects in different
evolutionary stages, we attempt to set a limit to the current age of this
cloud.Comment: 26 pages, 20 figures, accepted by Ap
High resolution observations of Cen A: Yellow and red supergiants in a region of jet-induced star formation?
We present the analysis of near infrared (NIR), adaptive optics (AO) Subaru
and archived HST imaging data of a region near the northern middle lobe (NML)
of the Centaurus A (Cen A) jet, at a distance of kpc north-east (NE)
from the center of NGC5128. Low-pass filtering of the NIR images reveals strong
-- above the background mean -- signal at the expected position of
the brightest star in the equivalent HST field. Statistical analysis of the NIR
background noise suggests that the probability to observe signal at
the same position, in three independent measurements due to stochastic
background fluctuations alone is negligible () and, therefore,
that this signal should reflect the detection of the NIR counterparts of the
brightest HST star. An extensive photometric analysis of this star yields
, visual-NIR, and NIR colors expected from a yellow supergiant (YSG) with
an estimated age Myr. Furthermore, the second and third
brighter HST stars are, likely, also supergiants in Cen A, with estimated ages
Myr and Myr, respectively. The ages of
these three supergiants are in good agreement with the ages of the young
massive stars that were previously found in the vicinity and are thought to
have formed during the later phases of the jet-HI cloud interaction that
appears to drive the star formation (SF) in the region for the past
Myr.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
Chemical Segregation in Hot Cores With Disk Candidates: An investigation with ALMA
In the study of high-mass star formation, hot cores are empirically defined
stages where chemically rich emission is detected toward a massive YSO. It is
unknown whether the physical origin of this emission is a disk, inner envelope,
or outflow cavity wall and whether the hot core stage is common to all massive
stars. We investigate the chemical make up of several hot molecular cores to
determine physical and chemical structure. We use high spectral and spatial
resolution Cycle 0 ALMA observations to determine how this stage fits into the
formation sequence of a high mass star. We observed the G35.20-0.74N and
G35.03+0.35 hot cores at 350 GHz. We analyzed spectra and maps from four
continuum peaks (A, B1, B2 and B3) in G35.20, separated by 1000-2000 AU, and
one continuum peak in G35.03. We made all possible line identifications across
8 GHz of spectral windows of molecular emission lines and determined column
densities and temperatures for as many as 35 species assuming local
thermodynamic equilibrium. In comparing the spectra of the four peaks, we find
each has a distinct chemical composition expressed in over 400 different
transitions. In G35.20, B1 and B2 contain oxygen- and sulfur-bearing organic
and inorganic species but few nitrogen-bearing species whereas A and B3 are
strong sources of O, S, and N-bearing species (especially those with the
CN-bond). CHDCN is clearly detected in A and B3 with D/H ratios of 8 and
13, respectively, but is much weaker at B1 and undetected at B2. No
deuterated species are detected in G35.03, but similar molecular abundances to
G35.20 were found in other species. We also find co-spatial emission of HNCO
and NHCHO in both sources indicating a strong chemical link between the two
species. The chemical segregation between N-bearing organic species and others
in G35.20 suggests the presence of multiple protostars, surrounded by a disk or
torus.Comment: 14 pages with 13 figures main text, 54 pages appendi
A study on subarcsecond scales of the ammonia and continuum emission toward the G16.59-0.05 high-mass star-forming region
We wish to investigate the structure, velocity field, and stellar content of
the G16.59-0.05 high-mass star-forming region, where previous studies have
established the presence of two almost perpendicular (NE-SW and SE-NW), massive
outflows, and a rotating disk traced by methanol maser emission. We performed
Very Large Array observations of the radio continuum and ammonia line emission,
complemented by COMICS/Subaru and Hi-GAL/Herschel images in the mid- and
far-infrared (IR). Our centimeter continuum maps reveal a collimated radio jet
that is oriented E-W and centered on the methanol maser disk, placed at the SE
border of a compact molecular core. The spectral index of the jet is negative,
indicating non-thermal emission over most of the jet, except the peak close to
the maser disk, where thermal free-free emission is observed. We find that the
ammonia emission presents a bipolar structure consistent (on a smaller scale)
in direction and velocity with that of the NE-SW bipolar outflow detected in
previous CO observations. After analyzing our previous N2H+(1-0) observations
again, we conclude that two scenarios are possible. In one case both the radio
jet and the ammonia emission would trace the root of the large-scale CO bipolar
outflow. The different orientation of the jet and the ammonia flow could be
explained by precession and/or a non-isotropic density distribution around the
star. In the other case, the N2H+(1-0) and ammonia bipolarity is interpreted as
two overlapping clumps moving with different velocities along the line of
sight. The ammonia gas also seems to undergo rotation consistent with the maser
disk. Our IR images complemented by archival data allow us to derive a
bolometric luminosity of about 10^4 L_sun and to conclude that most of the
luminosity is due to the young stellar object associated with the maser disk.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, published in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Evolution and excitation conditions of outflows in high-mass star-forming regions
Theoretical models suggest that massive stars form via disk-mediated
accretion, with bipolar outflows playing a fundamental role. A recent study
toward massive molecular outflows has revealed a decrease of the SiO line
intensity as the object evolves. The present study aims at characterizing the
variation of the molecular outflow properties with time, and at studying the
SiO excitation conditions in outflows associated with massive YSOs. We used the
IRAM30m telescope to map 14 massive star-forming regions in the SiO(2-1),
SiO(5-4) and HCO+(1-0) outflow lines, and in several dense gas and hot core
tracers. Hi-GAL data was used to improve the spectral energy distributions and
the L/M ratio, which is believed to be a good indicator of the evolutionary
stage of the YSO. We detect SiO and HCO+ outflow emission in all the sources,
and bipolar structures in six of them. The outflow parameters are similar to
those found toward other massive YSOs. We find an increase of the HCO+ outflow
energetics as the object evolve, and a decrease of the SiO abundance with time,
from 10^(-8) to 10^(-9). The SiO(5-4) to (2-1) line ratio is found to be low at
the ambient gas velocity, and increases as we move to high velocities,
indicating that the excitation conditions of the SiO change with the velocity
of the gas (with larger densities and/or temperatures for the high-velocity gas
component). The properties of the SiO and HCO+ outflow emission suggest a
scenario in which SiO is largely enhanced in the first evolutionary stages,
probably due to strong shocks produced by the protostellar jet. As the object
evolves, the power of the jet would decrease and so does the SiO abundance.
During this process, however, the material surrounding the protostar would have
been been swept up by the jet, and the outflow activity, traced by entrained
molecular material (HCO+), would increase with time.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures and 5 tables (plus 2 figures and 3 tables in the
appendix). Accepted for publication in A&A. [Abstract modified to fit the
arXiv requirements.
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