35 research outputs found
The "True" Column Density Distribution in Star-Forming Molecular Clouds
We use the COMPLETE Survey's observations of the Perseus star-forming region
to assess and intercompare three methods for measuring column density in
molecular clouds: extinction mapping (NIR); thermal emission mapping (FIR); and
mapping the intensity of CO isotopologues. The structures shown by all three
tracers are morphologically similar, but important differences exist.
Dust-based measures give similar, log-normal, distributions for the full
Perseus region, once careful calibration corrections are made. We also compare
dust- and gas-based column density distributions for physically-meaningful
sub-regions of Perseus, and we find significant variations in the distributions
for those regions. Even though we have used 12CO data to estimate excitation
temperatures, and we have corrected for opacity, the 13CO maps seem unable to
give column distributions that consistently resemble those from dust measures.
We have edited out the effects of the shell around the B-star HD 278942. In
that shell's interior and in the parts where it overlaps the molecular cloud,
there appears to be a dearth of 13CO, likely due either to 13CO not yet having
had time to form in this young structure, and/or destruction of 13CO in the
molecular cloud. We conclude that the use of either dust or gas measures of
column density without extreme attention to calibration and artifacts is more
perilous than even experts might normally admit. And, the use of 13CO to trace
total column density in detail, even after proper calibration, is unavoidably
limited in utility due to threshold, depletion, and opacity effects. If one's
main aim is to map column density, then dust extinction seems the best probe.
Linear fits amongst column density tracers are given, quantifying the inherent
uncertainties in using one tracer (when compared with others). [abridged]Comment: Accepted in ApJ. 13 pages, 6 color figures. It includes small changes
to improve clarity. For a version with high-resolution figures see
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/COMPLETE/papers/Goodman_ColumnDensity.pd
Infall/Expansion Velocities in the Low-Mass Dense Cores L492, L694-2, and L1521F: Dependence on Position and Molecular Tracer
Although surveys of infall motions in dense cores have been carried out for
years, few surveys have focused on mapping infall across cores using multiple
spectral line observations. To fill this gap, we present IRAM 30-m Telescope
maps of N2H+(1-0), DCO+(2-1), DCO+(3-2), and HCO+(3-2) emission towards two
prestellar cores (L492 and L694-2) and one protostellar core (L1521F). We find
that the measured infall velocity varies with position across each core and
choice of molecular line, likely as a result of radial variations in core
chemistry and dynamics. Line-of-sight infall speeds estimated from DCO+(2-1)
line profiles can decrease by 40-50 m/s when observing at a radial offset >=
0.04 pc from the core's dust continuum emission peak. Median infall speeds
calculated from all observed positions across a core can also vary by as much
as 65 m/s depending on the transition. These results show that while
single-pointing, single-transition surveys of core infall velocities may be
good indicators of whether a core is either contracting or expanding, the
magnitude of the velocities they measure are significantly impacted by the
choice of molecular line, proximity to the core center, and core evolutionary
state.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
A Sub-arcsecond Survey Toward Class 0 Protostars in Perseus: Searching for Signatures of Protostellar Disks
We present a CARMA 1.3 mm continuum survey toward 9 Class 0 protostars in the
Perseus molecular cloud at 0.3 (70 AU) resolution. This
study approximately doubles the number of Class 0 protostars observed with
spatial resolutions 100 AU at millimeter wavelengths, enabling the presence
of protostellar disks and proto-binary systems to be probed. We detect
flattened structures with radii 100 AU around 2 sources (L1448 IRS2 and
Per-emb-14) and these sources may be strong disk candidates.
Marginally-resolved structures with position angles within 30 of
perpendicular to the outflow are found toward 3 protostars (L1448 IRS3C, IRAS
03282+3035, and L1448C) and are considered disk candidates. Two others (L1448
IRS3B and IRAS 03292+3039) have resolved structure, possibly indicative of
massive inner envelopes or disks; L1448 IRS3B also has a companion separated by
0.9 (210 AU). IC348-MMS does not have well-resolved
structure and the candidate first hydrostatic core L1451-MMS is marginally
resolved on 1 scales. The strong disk candidate sources were
followed-up with CO () observations, detecting velocity
gradients consistent with rotation, but it is unclear if the rotation is
Keplerian. We compare the observed visibility amplitudes to radiative transfer
models, finding that visibility amplitude ratios suggest a compact component
(possibly a disk) is necessary for 5 of 9 Class 0 sources; envelopes alone may
explain the other 4 systems. We conclude that there is evidence for the
formation of large disks in the Class 0 phase with a range of radii and masses
dependent upon their initial formation conditions.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 58 pages, 19 Figures, 5 Table
The COMPLETE Nature of the Warm Dust Ring in Perseus
The Perseus molecular cloud complex is a ~30pc long chain of molecular clouds
most well-known for the two star-forming clusters NGC1333 and IC348 and the
well-studied outflow source in B5. However, when studied at mid- to
far-infrared wavelengths the region is dominated by a ~10pc diameter shell of
warm dust, likely generated by an HII region caused by the early B-star
HD278942. Using a revised calibration technique the COMPLETE team has produced
high-sensitivity temperature and column-density maps of the Perseus region from
IRAS Sky Survey Atlas (ISSA) 60 and 100um data. In this paper, we combine the
ISSA based dust-emission maps with other observations collected as part of the
COMPLETE Survey, along with archival H-alpha and MSX observations. Molecular
line observations from FCRAO and extinction maps constructed by applying the
NICER method to the 2MASS catalog provide independent estimates of the ``true''
column-density of the shell. H-alpha emission in the region of the shell
confirms that it is most likely an HII region located behind the cloud complex,
and 8um data from MSX indicates that the shell may be interacting with the
cloud. Finally, the two polarisation components previously seen towards
background stars in the region can be explained by the association of the
stronger component with the shell. If confirmed, this would be the first
observation of a parsec-scale swept-up magnetic field.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. Figures have been compressed - full resolution
version available at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/COMPLETE/results.htm
An ALMA Search for Substructure, Fragmentation, and Hidden Protostars in Starless Cores in Chamaeleon I
We present an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 106 GHz
(Band 3) continuum survey of the complete population of dense cores in the
Chamaeleon I molecular cloud. We detect a total of 24 continuum sources in 19
different target fields. All previously known Class 0 and Class I protostars in
Chamaeleon I are detected, whereas all of the 56 starless cores in our sample
are undetected. We show that the Spitzer+Herschel census of protostars in
Chamaeleon I is complete, with the rate at which protostellar cores have been
misclassified as starless cores calculated as <1/56, or < 2%. We use synthetic
observations to show that starless cores collapsing following the turbulent
fragmentation scenario are detectable by our ALMA observations when their
central densities exceed ~10^8 cm^-3, with the exact density dependent on the
viewing geometry. Bonnor-Ebert spheres, on the other hand, remain undetected to
central densities at least as high as 10^10 cm^-3. Our starless core
non-detections are used to infer that either the star formation rate is
declining in Chamaeleon I and most of the starless cores are not collapsing,
matching the findings of previous studies, or that the evolution of starless
cores are more accurately described by models that develop less substructure
than predicted by the turbulent fragmentation scenario, such as Bonnor-Ebert
spheres. We outline future work necessary to distinguish between these two
possibilities.Comment: Accepted by Ap
The COMPLETE Survey of Star-Forming Regions: Phase I Data
We present an overview of data available for the Ophiuchus and Perseus
molecular clouds from ``Phase I'' of the COMPLETE Survey of Star-Forming
Regions. This survey provides a range of data complementary to the Spitzer
Legacy Program ``From Molecular Cores to Planet Forming Disks.'' Phase I
includes: Extinction maps derived from 2MASS near-infrared data using the NICER
algorithm; extinction and temperature maps derived from IRAS 60 and 100um
emission; HI maps of atomic gas; 12CO and 13CO maps of molecular gas; and
submillimetre continuum images of emission from dust in dense cores. Not
unexpectedly, the morphology of the regions appears quite different depending
on the column-density tracer which is used, with IRAS tracing mainly warmer
dust and CO being biased by chemical, excitation and optical depth effects.
Histograms of column-density distribution are presented, showing that
extinction as derived from 2MASS/NICER gives the closest match to a log-normal
distribution as is predicted by numerical simulations. All the data presented
in this paper, and links to more detailed publications on their implications
are publically available at the COMPLETE website.Comment: Accepted by AJ. Full resolution version available from:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/COMPLETE/papers/complete_phase1.pd
Detection of a Bipolar Molecular Outflow Driven by a Candidate First Hydrostatic Core
We present new 230 GHz Submillimeter Array observations of the candidate
first hydrostatic core Per-Bolo 58. We report the detection of a 1.3 mm
continuum source and a bipolar molecular outflow, both centered on the position
of the candidate first hydrostatic core. The continuum detection has a total
flux density of 26.6 +/- 4.0 mJy, from which we calculate a total (gas and
dust) mass of 0.11 +/- 0.05 Msun and a mean number density of 2.0 +/- 1.6 X
10^7 cm-3. There is some evidence for the existence of an unresolved component
in the continuum detection, but longer-baseline observations are required in
order to confirm the presence of this component and determine whether its
origin lies in a circumstellar disk or in the dense inner envelope. The bipolar
molecular outflow is observed along a nearly due east-west axis. The outflow is
slow (characteristic velocity of 2.9 km/s), shows a jet-like morphology
(opening semi-angles ~8 degrees for both lobes), and extends to the edges of
the primary beam. We calculate the kinematic and dynamic properties of the
outflow in the standard manner and compare them to several other protostars and
candidate first hydrostatic cores with similarly low luminosities. We discuss
the evidence both in support of and against the possibility that Per-Bolo 58 is
a first hydrostatic core, and we outline future work needed to further evaluate
the evolutionary status of this object.Comment: 11 Pages, 6 Figures, 4 Tables. Accepted by Ap
STAR FORMATION LAWS IN BOTH GALACTIC MASSIVE CLUMPS AND EXTERNAL GALAXIES : EXTENSIVE STUDY WITH DUST CONINUUM, HCN (4-3), AND CS (7-6)
We observed 146 Galactic clumps in HCN (4-3) and CS (7-6) with the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment 10 m telescope. A tight linear relationship between star formation rate and gas mass traced by dust continuum emission was found for both Galactic clumps and the high redshift (z > 1) star forming galaxies (SFGs), indicating a constant gas depletion time of similar to 100 Myr for molecular gas in both Galactic clumps and high z SFGs. However, low z galaxies do not follow this relation and seem to have a longer global gas depletion time. The correlations between total infrared luminosities (L-TIR) and molecular line luminosities (L-mol') of HCN (4-3) and CS (7-6) are tight and sublinear extending down to clumps with L-TIR similar to 10(3) L-circle dot. These correlations become linear when extended to external galaxies. A bimodal behavior in the L-TIR-L-mol' correlations was found for clumps with different dust temperature, luminosity-to-mass ratio, and sigma(line)/sigma(vir). Such bimodal behavior may be due to evolutionary effects. The slopes of L-TIR-L-mol' correlations become more shallow as clumps evolve. We compared our results with lower J transition lines in Wu et al. (2010). The correlations between clump masses and line luminosities are close to linear for low effective excitation density tracers but become sublinear for high effective excitation density tracers for clumps with L-TIR larger than L-TIR similar to 10(4.5) L-circle dot. High effective excitation density tracers cannot linearly trace the total clump masses, leading to a sublinear correlations for both M-clump-L-mol' and L-TIR-L-mol' relations.Peer reviewe
An Overview of the 2014 ALMA Long Baseline Campaign
A major goal of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is to
make accurate images with resolutions of tens of milliarcseconds, which at
submillimeter (submm) wavelengths requires baselines up to ~15 km. To develop
and test this capability, a Long Baseline Campaign (LBC) was carried out from
September to late November 2014, culminating in end-to-end observations,
calibrations, and imaging of selected Science Verification (SV) targets. This
paper presents an overview of the campaign and its main results, including an
investigation of the short-term coherence properties and systematic phase
errors over the long baselines at the ALMA site, a summary of the SV targets
and observations, and recommendations for science observing strategies at long
baselines. Deep ALMA images of the quasar 3C138 at 97 and 241 GHz are also
compared to VLA 43 GHz results, demonstrating an agreement at a level of a few
percent. As a result of the extensive program of LBC testing, the highly
successful SV imaging at long baselines achieved angular resolutions as fine as
19 mas at ~350 GHz. Observing with ALMA on baselines of up to 15 km is now
possible, and opens up new parameter space for submm astronomy.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal Letters; this version with small changes to
affiliation