| 1. |
- Henshaw, Jonathan D., et al.
(författare)
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Ubiquitous velocity fluctuations throughout the molecular interstellar medium
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 4:11, s. 1064-1071
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The density structure of the interstellar medium determines where stars form and release energy, momentum and heavy elements, driving galaxy evolution1–4. Density variations are seeded and amplified by gas motion, but the exact nature of this motion is unknown across spatial scales and galactic environments5. Although dense star-forming gas probably emerges from a combination of instabilities6,7, convergent flows8 and turbulence9, establishing the precise origin is challenging because it requires gas motion to be quantified over many orders of magnitude in spatial scale. Here we measure10–12 the motion of molecular gas in the Milky Way and in nearby galaxy NGC 4321, assembling observations that span a spatial dynamic range 10−1–103 pc. We detect ubiquitous velocity fluctuations across all spatial scales and galactic environments. Statistical analysis of these fluctuations indicates how star-forming gas is assembled. We discover oscillatory gas flows with wavelengths ranging from 0.3–400 pc. These flows are coupled to regularly spaced density enhancements that probably form via gravitational instabilities13,14. We also identify stochastic and scale-free velocity and density fluctuations, consistent with the structure generated in turbulent flows9. Our results demonstrate that the structure of the interstellar medium cannot be considered in isolation. Instead, its formation and evolution are controlled by nested, interdependent flows of matter covering many orders of magnitude in spatial scale.
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| 2. |
- Kalinova, V, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the link between inner gravitational potential and star-formation quenching in CALIFA galaxies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 665
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has been suggested that gravitational potential can have a significant role in suppressing star formation in nearby galaxies. To establish observational constraints on this scenario, we investigated the connection between the dynamics - taking the circular velocity curves (CVCs) as a proxy for the inner gravitational potential - and star formation quenching in 215 non-active galaxies across the Hubble sequence from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey. Our results show that galaxies with similar CVCs tend to have a certain star-formation quenching pattern. To explore these findings in more details, we constructed kiloparsec (kpc) resolved relations of the equivalent width of the H alpha (W-H alpha) versus the amplitude (V-c) and shape (beta = dln V-c/d ln R) of the circular velocity at given radii. We find that the W-H alpha V-c is a declining relationship, where the retired regions of the galaxies (the ones with W-H alpha values of below 3 angstrom) tend to have higher V-c. Concurrently, W-H alpha-beta is a bimodal relationship, which is characterised by two peaks: concentration of the star forming regions at a positive beta (rising CVC) and a second concentration of the retired regions with a negative beta (declining CVC). Our results show that both the amplitude of the CVC - driven by the mass of the galaxies - and its shape - which reflects the internal structure of the galaxies - play an important role in the quenching history of a galaxy.
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| 3. |
- Pandhi, A., et al.
(författare)
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Alignment of dense molecular core morphology and velocity gradients with ambient magnetic fields
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 525:1, s. 364-392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies of dense core morphologies and their orientations with respect to gas flows and the local magnetic field have been limited to only a small sample of cores with spectroscopic data. Leveraging the Green Bank Ammonia Survey alongside existing sub-millimeter continuum observations and Planck dust polarization, we produce a cross-matched catalogue of 399 dense cores with estimates of core morphology, size, mass, specific angular momentum, and magnetic field orientation. Of the 399 cores, 329 exhibit 2D v(LSR) maps that are well fit with a linear gradient, consistent with rotation projected on the sky. We find a best-fit specific angular momentum and core size relationship of J/M & PROP; R-1.82 & PLUSMN; 0.10, suggesting that core velocity gradients originate from a combination of solid body rotation and turbulent motions. Most cores have no preferred orientation between the axis of core elongation, velocity gradient direction, and the ambient magnetic field orientation, favouring a triaxial and weakly magnetized origin. We find, however, strong evidence for a preferred anti-alignment between the core elongation axis and magnetic field for protostellar cores, revealing a change in orientation from starless and prestellar populations that may result from gravitational contraction in a magnetically-regulated (but not dominant) environment. We also find marginal evidence for anti-alignment between the core velocity gradient and magnetic field orientation in the L1228 and L1251 regions of Cepheus, suggesting a preferred orientation with respect to magnetic fields may be more prevalent in regions with locally ordered fields.
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| 4. |
- Braine, J., et al.
(författare)
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Cool gas and dust in M33: Results from the HERschel M33 Extended Survey (HERM33ES)
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518:Article Number: L69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present an analysis of the first space-based far-IR-submm observations of M33, which measure the emission from the cool dust and resolve the giant molecular cloud complexes. With roughly half-solar abundances, M33 is a first step towards young low-metallicity galaxies where the submm may be able to provide an alternative to CO mapping to measure their H-2 content. In this Letter, we measure the dust emission cross-section sigma using SPIRE and recent CO and HI observations; a variation in s is present from a near-solar neighborhood cross-section to about half-solar with the maximum being south of the nucleus. Calculating the total H column density from the measured dust temperature and cross-section, and then subtracting the HI column, yields a morphology similar to that observed in CO. The H-2/HI mass ratio decreases from about unity to well below 10% and is about 15% averaged over the optical disk. The single most important observation to reduce the potentially large systematic errors is to complete the CO mapping of M33.
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| 5. |
- Kramer, C., et al.
(författare)
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PACS and SPIRE photometer maps of M33: First results of the HERschel M33 Extended Survey (HERM33ES)
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518:Article Number: L67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Within the framework of the HERM33ES key program, we are studying the star forming interstellar medium in the nearby, metal-poor spiral galaxy M33, exploiting the high resolution and sensitivity of Herschel. Aims. We use PACS and SPIRE maps at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 mu m wavelength, to study the variation of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with galacto-centric distance. Methods. Detailed SED modeling is performed using azimuthally averaged fluxes in elliptical rings of 2 kpc width, out to 8 kpc galacto-centric distance. Simple isothermal and two-component grey body models, with fixed dust emissivity index, are fitted to the SEDs between 24 mu m and 500 mu m using also MIPS/Spitzer data, to derive first estimates of the dust physical conditions. Results. The far-infrared and submillimeter maps reveal the branched, knotted spiral structure of M33. An underlying diffuse disk is seen in all SPIRE maps (250-500 mu m). Two component fits to the SEDs agree better than isothermal models with the observed, total and radially averaged flux densities. The two component model, with beta fixed at 1.5, best fits the global and the radial SEDs. The cold dust component clearly dominates; the relative mass of the warm component is less than 0.3% for all the fits. The temperature of the warm component is not well constrained and is found to be about 60 K +/- 10 K. The temperature of the cold component drops significantly from similar to 24 K in the inner 2 kpc radius to 13 K beyond 6 kpc radial distance, for the best fitting model. The gas-to-dust ratio for beta = 1.5, averaged over the galaxy, is higher than the solar value by a factor of 1.5 and is roughly in agreement with the subsolar metallicity of M33.
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| 6. |
- Svoboda, B. E., et al.
(författare)
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THE BOLOCAM GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY. XIV. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES of MASSIVE STARLESS and STAR-FORMING CLUMPS
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 822:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We sort 4683 molecular clouds between 10° < ℓ < 65° from the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey based on observational diagnostics of star formation activity: compact 70 μm sources, mid-IR color-selected YSOs, H2O and CH3OH masers, and UCH ii regions. We also present a combined NH3-derived gas kinetic temperature and H2O maser catalog for 1788 clumps from our own GBT 100 m observations and from the literature. We identify a subsample of 2223 (47.5%) starless clump candidates (SCCs), the largest and most robust sample identified from a blind survey to date. Distributions of flux density, flux concentration, solid angle, kinetic temperature, column density, radius, and mass show strong (>1 dex) progressions when sorted by star formation indicator. The median SCC is marginally subvirial (α ∼ 0.7) with >75% of clumps with known distance being gravitationally bound (α < 2). These samples show a statistically significant increase in the median clump mass of ΔM ∼ 170-370 M o from the starless candidates to clumps associated with protostars. This trend could be due to (i) mass growth of the clumps at M o Myr-1 for an average freefall 0.8 Myr timescale, (ii) a systematic factor of two increase in dust opacity from starless to protostellar phases, and/or (iii) a variation in the ratio of starless to protostellar clump lifetime that scales as ∼M -0.4. By comparing to the observed number of CH3OH maser containing clumps, we estimate the phase lifetime of massive (M > 103 M o) starless clumps to be 0.37 ± 0.08 Myr (M/103 M o)-1; the majority (M < 450 M o) have phase lifetimes longer than their average freefall time. © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Boquien, M., et al.
(författare)
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Measuring star formation with resolved observations: the test case of M 33
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 578
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Measuring star formation on a local scale is important to constrain star formation laws. It is not clear yet, however, whether and how the measure of star formation is affected by the spatial scale at which a galaxy is observed. Aims. We wish to understand the impact of the resolution on the determination of the spatially resolved star formation rate (SFR) and other directly associated physical parameters such as the attenuation. Methods. We carried out a multi-scale, pixel-by-pixel study of the nearby galaxy M33. Assembling FUV, H alpha, 8 mu m, 24 mu m, 70 mu m, and 100 mu m maps, we have systematically compared the emission in individual bands with various SFR estimators from a resolution of 33 pc to 2084 pc. Results. There are strong, scale-dependent, discrepancies of up to a factor 3 between monochromatic SFR estimators and H alpha + 24 mu m. The scaling factors between individual IR bands and the SFR show a strong dependence on the spatial scale and on the intensity of star formation. Finally, strong variations of the differential reddening between the nebular emission and the stellar continuum are seen, depending on the specific SFR (sSFR) and on the resolution. At the finest spatial scales, there is little differential reddening at high sSFR. The differential reddening increases with decreasing sSFR. At the coarsest spatial scales the differential reddening is compatible with the canonical value found for starburst galaxies. Conclusions. Our results confirm that monochromatic estimators of the SFR are unreliable at scales smaller than 1 kpc. Furthermore, the extension of local calibrations to high-redshift galaxies presents non-trivial challenges because the properties of these systems may be poorly known.
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| 8. |
- Buchbender, C., et al.
(författare)
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Dense gas in M 33 (HerM33es)
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 549, s. 17-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. We aim to better understand the emission of molecular tracers of the diffuse and dense gas in giant molecular clouds and the influence that metallicity, optical extinction, density, far-UV field, and star formation rate have on these tracers.Methods. Using the IRAM 30 m telescope, we detected HCN, HCO+, 12CO, and 13CO in six GMCs along the major axis of M 33 at a resolution of ~114 pc and out to a radial distance of 3.4 kpc. Optical, far-infrared, and submillimeter data from Herschel and other observatories complement these observations. To interpret the observed molecular line emission, we created two grids of models of photon-dominated regions, one for solar and one for M 33-type subsolar metallicity.Results. The observed HCO+/HCN line ratios range between 1.1 and 2.5. Similarly high ratios have been observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The HCN/CO ratio varies between 0.4% and 2.9% in the disk of M 33. The 12CO/13CO line ratio varies between 9 and 15 similar to variations found in the diffuse gas and the centers of GMCs of the Milky Way. Stacking of all spectra allowed HNC and C2H to be detected. The resulting HCO+/HNC and HCN/HNC ratios of ~8 and 6, respectively, lie at the high end of ratios observed in a large set of (ultra-)luminous infrared galaxies. HCN abundances are lower in the subsolar metallicity PDR models, while HCO+ abundances are enhanced. For HCN this effect is more pronounced at low optical extinctions. The observed HCO+/HCN and HCN/CO line ratios are naturally explained by subsolar PDR models of low optical extinctions between 4 and 10 mag and of moderate densities of n 3 × 103–3 × 104 cm-3, while the FUV field strength only has a small effect on the modeled line ratios. The line ratios are almost equally well reproduced by the solar-metallicity models, indicating that variations in metallicity only play a minor role in influencing these line ratios.
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| 9. |
- Schinnerer, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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PHANGS-JWST First Results : Rapid Evolution of Star Formation in the Central Molecular Gas Ring of NGC 1365
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large-scale bars can fuel galaxy centers with molecular gas, often leading to the development of dense ringlike structures where intense star formation occurs, forming a very different environment compared to galactic disks. We pair ∼0.″3 (30 pc) resolution new JWST/MIRI imaging with archival ALMA CO(2-1) mapping of the central ∼5 kpc of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 to investigate the physical mechanisms responsible for this extreme star formation. The molecular gas morphology is resolved into two well-known bright bar lanes that surround a smooth dynamically cold gas disk (R gal ∼ 475 pc) reminiscent of non-star-forming disks in early-type galaxies and likely fed by gas inflow triggered by stellar feedback in the lanes. The lanes host a large number of JWST-identified massive young star clusters. We find some evidence for temporal star formation evolution along the ring. The complex kinematics in the gas lanes reveal strong streaming motions and may be consistent with convergence of gas streamlines expected there. Indeed, the extreme line widths are found to be the result of inter-“cloud” motion between gas peaks; ScousePy decomposition reveals multiple components with line widths of 〈σ CO,scouse〉 ≈ 19 km s−1 and surface densities of 〈 Σ H 2 , scouse 〉 ≈ 800 M ⊙ pc − 2 , similar to the properties observed throughout the rest of the central molecular gas structure. Tailored hydrodynamical simulations exhibit many of the observed properties and imply that the observed structures are transient and highly time-variable. From our study of NGC 1365, we conclude that it is predominantly the high gas inflow triggered by the bar that is setting the star formation in its CMZ.
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| 10. |
- Thilker, David A., et al.
(författare)
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PHANGS–JWST First Results : The Dust Filament Network of NGC 628 and Its Relation to Star Formation Activity
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PHANGS–JWST mid-infrared (MIR) imaging of nearby spiral galaxies has revealed ubiquitous filaments of dust emission in intricate detail. We present a pilot study to systematically map the dust filament network (DFN) at multiple scales between 25 and 400 pc in NGC 628. MIRI images at 7.7, 10, 11.3, and 21 μm of NGC 628 are used to generate maps of the filaments in emission, while PHANGS–HST B-band imaging yields maps of dust attenuation features. We quantify the correspondence between filaments traced by MIR thermal continuum/polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission and filaments detected via extinction/scattering of visible light; the fraction of MIR flux contained in the DFN; and the fraction of H ii regions, young star clusters, and associations within the DFN. We examine the dependence of these quantities on the physical scale at which the DFN is extracted. With our highest-resolution DFN maps (25 pc filament width), we find that filaments in emission and attenuation are cospatial in 40% of sight lines, often exhibiting detailed morphological agreement; that ∼30% of the MIR flux is associated with the DFN; and that 75%–80% of the star formation in H ii regions and 60% of the mass in star clusters younger than 5 Myr are contained within the DFN. However, the DFN at this scale is anticorrelated with looser associations of stars younger than 5 Myr identified using PHANGS–HST near-UV imaging. We discuss the impact of these findings on studies of star formation and the interstellar medium, and the broad range of new investigations enabled by multiscale maps of the DFN.
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