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Description
We present the results of a Green Bank Telescope survey of NH_3_(1,1), (2,2), (3,3) lines toward 631 Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) sources at a range of Galactic longitudes in the inner Galaxy. We have detected the NH_3_(1,1) line toward 72% of our targets (456), demonstrating that the high column density features identified in the BGPS and other continuum surveys accurately predict the presence of dense gas. We have determined kinematic distances and resolved the distance ambiguity for all BGPS sources detected in NH_3_. The BGPS sources trace the locations of the Scutum and Sagittarius spiral arms, with the number of sources peaking between R_Gal_~4 and 5kpc. We measure the physical properties of each source and find that depending on the distance, BGPS sources are primarily clumps, with some cores and clouds. Forty-eight percent of our sample should be forming stars (including massive stars) with high efficiency, and 87% contain subregions that should be efficiently forming stars. Indeed, we find that 67% of the sample exhibit signs of star formation activity based on an association with a mid-infrared source.
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