We present a catalogue of Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) in outflows from young stars, most of which are deeply embedded. All objects are identified in the near-infrared lines of molecular hydrogen, all reside in the Milky Way, and all are associated with jets or molecular outflows. Objects in both low and high-mass star forming regions are included. This catalogue complements the existing database of Herbig-Haro objects; indeed, for completeness, HH objects that are detected in H_2_ emission are included in the MHO catalogue.
The [CII] 158um FIR fine-structure line is one of the most important cooling lines of the star-forming ISM. It is used as a tracer of star formation efficiency in external galaxies and to study feedback effects in parental clouds. High spectral resolution observations have shown complex structures in the line profiles of the [CII] emission. To determine whether the complex profiles observed in [^12^CII] are due to individual velocity components along the line-of-sight or due to self-absorption, one has to compare the [^12^CII] and isotopic [^13^CII] line profiles. Deep integrations with the SOFIA/upGREAT 7-pixel array receiver in the sources M43, Horsehead PDR, Monoceros R2 and M17 SW allow to detect with high S/N the optically thin [^13^CII] and simultaneously the [^12^CII] emission lines. We first derive the [^12^CII] optical depth and the [CII] column density from a single component model. However, the complex line profiles observed require a double layer model with an emitting background and an absorbing foreground. A multi-component velocity fit allows to derive the physical conditions of the [CII] gas: column density and excitation temperature. We find moderate to high [^12^CII] optical depths in all four sources, and self-absorption of [^12^CII] in Mon R2 and M17 SW. The high column density of the warm background emission corresponds to an equivalent Av of up to 41mag. The foreground absorption requires substantial column densities of cold and dense [CII] gas, with an equivalent Av ranging up to about 13mag. The column density of the warm background material requires multiple PDR surfaces stacked along the line of sight and in velocity. The substantial column density of dense and cold foreground [CII] gas detected in absorption cannot be explained with any known scenario and we can only speculate about its origin.
We present the results of a narrow-band near-infrared imaging survey for Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) toward 26 regions containing high-mass protostellar candidates and massive molecular outflows. We have detected a total of 236 MHOs, 156 of which are new detections, in 22 out of the 26 regions. We use H_2_2.12{mu}m/H_2_2.25{mu}m flux ratios, together with morphology, to separate the signatures of fluorescence associated with photo- dissociation regions (PDRs) from shocks associated with outflows in order to identify the MHOs. PDRs have typical low flux ratios of ~1.5-3, while the vast majority of MHOs display flux ratios typical of C-type shocks (~6-20). A few MHOs exhibit flux ratios consistent with expected values for J-type shocks (~3-4), but these are located in regions that may be contaminated with fluorescent emission. Some previously reported MHOs have low flux ratios, and are likely parts of PDRs rather than shocks indicative of outflows. We identify a total of 36 outflows across the 22 target regions where MHOs were detected. In over half these regions, MHO arrangements and fluorescent structures trace features present in CO outflow maps, suggesting that the CO emission traces a combination of dynamical effects, which may include gas entrained in expanding PDRs as well as bipolar outflows. Where possible, we link MHO complexes to distinct outflows and identify candidate driving sources.
New radiotelescopes, such as the very sensitive ALMA, will enable the detection of interstellar molecules in much lower concentrations than previously possible. A successful identification of an interstellar molecule requires that laboratory microwave and millimeter-wave spectra are investigated. Several cyanopolyynes and alkynylcarbonitriles have already been detected in the interstellar medium (ISM). Cyanoacetylene (HCCCN) is abundant in the ISM and its methyl derivative, 2-butynenitrile (CH3CCCN), is also present. The next derivative, ethyl cyanoacetylene, (2-pentynenitrile C_2_H_5_CCCN) may also be present in interstellar space. We report the rotational spectrum of the ethyl cyanoacetylene (C_2_H_5_CCCN). This is hoped to facilitate identifying gaseous ethyl cyanoacetylene in the ISM.
Results of a comprehensive, new, ground-based mid-infrared imaging survey of the young stellar population of the {rho} Ophiuchi cloud are presented. Data were acquired at the Palomar 5m and at the Keck 10m telescopes with the MIRLIN (Mid-InfraRed Large-well Imager) and LWS (Long Wavelength Spectrometer centered at 12.5{mu}m) instruments, at 0.5" and 0.25" resolutions, respectively. Of 172 survey objects, 85 were detected. Among the 22 multiple systems observed, 15 were resolved and their individual component fluxes determined.
We investigate the use of mid-infrared (MIR) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) bands, the continuum, and emission lines as probes of star formation (SF) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in a sample of 100 "normal" and local (z~0.1) emission-line galaxies. The MIR spectra were obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph as part of the Spitzer-SDSS-GALEX Spectroscopic Survey (SSGSS), which includes multi-wavelength photometry from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared and optical spectroscopy. The continuum and features were extracted using PAHFIT, a decomposition code which we find to yield PAH equivalent widths (EWs) up to ~30 times larger than the commonly used spline methods. Despite the lack of extreme objects in our sample (such as strong AGNs, low-metallicity galaxies, or ULIRGs), we find significant variations in PAH, continuum, and emission-line properties, and systematic trends between these MIR properties and optically derived physical properties, such as age, metallicity, and radiation field hardness. We revisit the diagnostic diagram relating PAH EWs and [NeII]12.8um/[OIV]25.9um line ratios and find it to be in much better agreement with the standard optical SF/AGN classification than when spline decompositions are used, while also potentially revealing obscured AGNs.
We present two wide-field (~5'x3.5'), diffraction-limited ({lambda}/D~0.5" at 10{mu}m), broadband 10 and 20{mu}m images of the Orion Nebula, plus six 7-13{mu}m narrowband images of the BN/KL complex taken at the 3.8m UKIRT telescope with the MPIA MAX camera.
High-mass stars are formed within massive molecular clumps, where a large number of stars form close together. The evolution of the clumps with different masses and luminosities is mainly regulated by their high-mass stellar content and the formation of such objects is still not well understood. In this work, we characterise the mid-J CO emission in a statistical sample of 99 clumps (TOP100) selected from the ATLASGAL survey that are representative of the Galactic proto-cluster population. High-spatial resolution APEX-CHAMP+ maps of the CO (6-5) and CO (7-6) transitions were obtained and combined with additional single-pointing APEX-FLASH+ spectra of the CO (4-3) line. The data were convolved to a common angular resolution of 13.4". We analysed the line profiles by fitting the spectra with up to three Gaussian components, classified as narrow or broad, and computed CO line luminosities for each transition. Additionally, we defined a distance-limited sample of 72 sources within 5kpc to check the robustness of our analysis against beam dilution effects. We have studied the correlations of the line luminosities and profiles for the three CO transitions with the clump properties and investigate if and how they change as a function of the evolution. All sources were detected above 3-{sigma} in all three CO transitions and most of the sources exhibit broad CO emission likely associated with molecular outflows. We find that the extension of the mid-J CO emission is correlated with the size of the dust emission traced by the Herschel-PACS 70um maps. The CO line luminosity (LCO) is correlated with the luminosity and mass of the clumps. However, it does not correlate with the luminosity-to-mass ratio. The dependency of the CO luminosity with the properties of the clumps is steeper for higher-J transitions. Our data seem to exclude that this trend is biased by self-absorption features in the CO emission, but rather suggest that different J transitions arise from different regions of the inner envelope. Moreover, high-mass clumps show similar trends in CO luminosity as lower mass clumps, but are systematically offset towards larger values, suggesting that higher column density and (or) temperature (of unresolved) CO emitters are found inside high-mass clumps.
This study presents a catalog of 8107 molecular clouds that covers the entire Galactic plane and includes 98% of the ^12^CO emission observed within b+/-5^{deg}^. The catalog was produced using a hierarchical cluster identification method applied to the result of a Gaussian decomposition of the Dame+ (2001ApJ...547..792D) data. The total H_2_ mass in the catalog is 1.2x10^9^M_{sun}_, in agreement with previous estimates. We find that 30% of the sight lines intersect only a single cloud, with another 25% intersecting only two clouds. The most probable cloud size is R~30pc. We find that M{propto}R^2.2+/-0.2^, with no correlation between the cloud surface density, {Sigma}, and R. In contrast with the general idea, we find a rather large range of values of {Sigma}, from 2 to 300M_{sun}_/pc^2^, and a systematic decrease with increasing Galactic radius, R_gal_. The cloud velocity dispersion and the normalization {sigma}_0_={sigma}_v_/R^1/2^ both decrease systematically with R_gal_. When studied over the whole Galactic disk, there is a large dispersion in the line width-size relation and a significantly better correlation between {sigma}_v_ and {Sigma}R. The normalization of this correlation is constant to better than a factor of two for R_gal_<20kpc. This relation is used to disentangle the ambiguity between near and far kinematic distances. We report a strong variation of the turbulent energy injection rate. In the outer Galaxy it may be maintained by accretion through the disk and/or onto the clouds, but neither source can drive the 100 times higher cloud-averaged injection rate in the inner Galaxy.
Citizen science has helped astronomers comb through large data sets to identify patterns and objects that are not easily found through automated processes. The Milky Way Project (MWP), a citizen science initiative on the Zooniverse platform, presents internet users with infrared (IR) images from Spitzer Space Telescope Galactic plane surveys. MWP volunteers make classification drawings on the images to identify targeted classes of astronomical objects. We present the MWP second data release (DR2) and an updated data reduction pipeline written in Python. We aggregate 3 million classifications made by MWP volunteers during the years 2012-2017 to produce the DR2 catalogue, which contains 2600 IR bubbles and 599 candidate bow-shock driving stars. The reliability of bubble identifications, as assessed by comparison to visual identifications by trained experts and scoring by a machine-learning algorithm, is found to be a significant improvement over DR1. We assess the reliability of IR bow shocks via comparison to expert identifications and the colours of candidate bow-shock driving stars in the 2MASS point-source catalogue. We hence identify highly-reliable subsets of 1394 DR2 bubbles and 453 bow-shock driving stars. Uncertainties on object coordinates and bubble size/shape parameters are included in the DR2 catalog. Compared with DR1, the DR2 bubbles catalogue provides more accurate shapes and sizes. The DR2 catalogue identifies 311 new bow shock driving star candidates, including three associated with the giant HII regions NGC 3603 and RCW 49.