| 1. |
- van Gelder, M. L., et al.
(författare)
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VLT/X-shooter spectroscopy of massive young stellar objects in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 636
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The process of massive star (M >= 8 M-circle dot) formation is still poorly understood. Observations of massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) are challenging due to their rarity, short formation timescale, large distances, and high circumstellar extinction. Here, we present the results of a spectroscopic analysis of a population of MYSOs in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We took advantage of the spectral resolution and wavelength coverage of X-shooter (300-2500 nm), which is mounted on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope, to detect characteristic spectral features in a dozen MYSO candidates near 30 Doradus, the largest starburst region in the Local Group hosting the most massive stars known. The X-shooter spectra are strongly contaminated by nebular emission. We used a scaling method to subtract the nebular contamination from our objects. We detect H alpha, beta, [OI] 630.0 nm, CaII, infrared triplet [FeII] 1643.5 nm, fluorescent FeII 1687.8 nm, H-2 2121.8 nm, Br gamma, and CO bandhead emission in the spectra of multiple candidates. This leads to the spectroscopic confirmation of ten candidates as bona fide MYSOs. We compared our observations with photometric observations from the literature and find all MYSOs to have a strong near-infrared excess. We computed lower limits to the brightness and luminosity of the MYSO candidates, confirming the near-infrared excess and the massive nature of the objects. No clear correlation is seen between the Br gamma luminosity and metallicity. Combining our sample with other LMC samples results in a combined detection rate of disk features, such as fluorescent FeII and CO bandheads, which is consistent with the Galactic rate (40%). Most of our MYSOs show outflow features.
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| 2. |
- Perotti, G., et al.
(författare)
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Linking ice and gas in the Coronet cluster in Corona Australis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 678
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. During the journey from the cloud to the disc, the chemical composition of the protostellar envelope material can be either preserved or processed to varying degrees depending on the surrounding physical environment. Aims. This works aims to constrain the interplay of solid (ice) and gaseous methanol (CH3OH) in the outer regions of protostellar envelopes located in the Coronet cluster in Corona Australis (CrA), and assess the importance of irradiation by the Herbig Ae/Be star R CrA. CH3OH is a prime test case as it predominantly forms as a consequence of the solid-gas interplay (hydrogenation of condensed CO molecules onto the grain surfaces) and it plays an important role in future complex molecular processing. Methods. We present 1.3 mm Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) observations towards the envelopes of four low-mass protostars in the Coronet cluster. Eighteen molecular transitions of seven species were identified. We calculated CH3OH gas-to-ice ratios in this strongly irradiated cluster and compared them with ratios determined towards protostars located in less irradiated regions such as Serpens SVS 4 in Serpens Main and the Barnard 35A cloud in the λ Orionis region. Results. The CH3OH gas-to-ice ratios in the Coronet cluster vary by one order of magnitude (from 1.2 × 10-4 to 3.1 × 10-3) which is similar to less irradiated regions as found in previous studies. We find that the CH3OH gas-to-ice ratios estimated in these three regions are remarkably similar despite the different UV radiation field intensities and formation histories. Conclusions. This result suggests that the overall CH3OH chemistry in the outer regions of low-mass envelopes is relatively independent of variations in the physical conditions and hence that it is set during the prestellar stage.
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| 3. |
- Sewiło, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Complex Organic Molecules in Star-Forming Regions of the Magellanic Clouds
- 2019
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Ingår i: ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2472-3452. ; 3:10, s. 2088-2109
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC), gas-rich dwarf companions of the Milky Way, are the nearest laboratories for detailed studies on the formation and survival of complex organic molecules (COMs) under metal-poor conditions. To date, only methanol, methyl formate, and dimethyl ether have been detected in these galaxies-all three toward two hot cores in the N113 star-forming region in the LMC, the only extragalactic sources exhibiting complex hot-core chemistry. We describe a small and diverse sample of the LMC and SMC sources associated with COMs or hot-core chemistry, and compare the observations to theoretical model predictions. Theoretical models accounting for the physical conditions and metallicity of hot molecular cores in the Magellanic Clouds have been able to broadly account for the existing observations, but they fail to reproduce the dimethyl ether abundance by more than an order of magnitude. We discuss future prospects for research in the field of complex chemistry in the low-metallicity environment. The detection of COMs in the Magellanic Clouds has important implications for astrobiology. The metallicity of the Magellanic Clouds is similar to that of galaxies in the earlier epochs of the universe; thus, the presence of COMs in the LMC and SMC indicates that a similar prebiotic chemistry leading to the emergence of life, as it happened on Earth, is possible in low-metallicity systems in the earlier universe.
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