• HCN (1-0) opacity of outflowing gas in Arp 220W

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Context. We present our findings for the HCN/H13CN 1-0 line ratio in the molecular outflow of Arp 220 west based on high-resolution ALMA data. Aims. Molecular gas masses in the outflowing gas of galaxies driven by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or starbursts are important parameters for understanding the feedback of these latter two phenomena and star-formation quenching. The conversion factor of line luminosities to masses is related to the optical depth of the molecular lines. Methods. Using H13CN 1-0, the isotopic line of HCN 1-0, to obtain the line ratio of HCN/H13CN 1-0 is an ideal way to derive the optical depth of HCN 1-0 in outflowing gas. Results. With the nondetection of H13CN 1-0 in the outflowing gas, a 3{\sigma} lower limit of HCN/H13CN 1-0 line ratio is obtained, which is at least three times higher than that found in the whole of the whole system of Arp 220. The high HCN/H13CN 1-0 line ratio indicates low opacity of HCN 1-0 in the outflowing gas, even though the upper limit of HCN 1-0 opacity obtained here is still not good enough to draw any robust conclusions if HCN 1-0 is optically thin. A lower conversion factor of HCN 1-0 luminosity to dense gas mass in the outflowing gas should be used than that used for the host galaxy of Arp 220.

  • Deuterated ammonia in Galactic massive star-forming regions

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present sensitive observations of NH2D at 110.153599 GHz toward 50 Galactic massive star-forming regions with IRAM 30-m telescope. The NH2D transition is detected toward 36 objects, yielding a detection rate of 72%. Column densities of NH2D, HC3N and C18O for each source are derived by assuming local thermal equilibrium conditions with a fixed excitation temperature. The deuterium ratio of NH$_3$, defined as the abundance ratio of NH2D to NH3, for 19 sources is also obtained with the information of NH3 from the literature. The range of deuterium fractionation bends to be large in the late-stage star-forming regions in this work, with the value from 0.043 to 0.0006. The highest deuterium ratio of NH3 is 0.043 in G081.75+00.78 (DR21). We also find that the deuterium ratio of NH3 increases with the Galactocentric distances and decreases with the line width.

  • Spatial distribution of HOCN around Sagittarius B2

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: HOCN and HNCO abundance ratio in molecular gas can tell us the information of their formation mechanism. We performed high-sensitivity mapping observations of HOCN, HNCO, and HNC$^{18}$O lines around Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) with IRAM 30m telescope at 3-mm wavelength. HNCO 4$_{04}$-3$_{03}$ and HOCN 4$_{04}$-3$_{03}$ are used to obtain the abundance ratio of HNCO to HOCN. The ratio of HNCO 4$_{04}$-3$_{03}$ to HNC$^{18}$O 4$_{04}$-3$_{03}$ is used to calculate the optical depth of HNCO 4$_{04}$-3$_{03}$. The abundance ratio of HOCN and HNCO is observed to range from 0.4% to 0.7% toward most positions, which agrees well with the gas-grain model. However, the relative abundance of HOCN is observed to be enhanced toward the direction of Sgr B2 (S), with HOCN to HNCO abundance ratio of $\sim$ 0.9%. The reason for that still needs further investigation.Based on the intensity ratio of HNCO and HNC$^{18}$O lines, we updated the isotopic ratio of $^{16}$O/$^{18}$O to be 296 $\pm$ 54 in Sgr B2.

  • Widespread subsonic turbulence in Ophiuchus North 1

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Supersonic motions are common in molecular clouds. (Sub)sonic turbulence is usually detected toward dense cores and filaments. However, it remains unknown whether (sub)sonic motions at larger scales ($\gtrsim$1~pc) can be present in different environments or not. Located at a distance of about 110 pc, Ophiuchus North 1 (Oph N1) is one of the nearest molecular clouds that allows in-depth investigation of its turbulence properties by large-scale mapping observations of single-dish telescopes. We carried out the $^{12}$CO ($J=1-0$) and C$^{18}$O ($J=1-0$) imaging observations toward Oph N1 with the Purple Mountain Observatory 13.7 m telescope. The observations have an angular resolution of $\sim$55\arcsec (i.e., 0.03~pc). Most of the whole C$^{18}$O emitting regions have Mach numbers of $\lesssim$1, demonstrating the large-scale (sub)sonic turbulence across Oph N1. Based on the polarization measurements, we estimate the magnetic field strength of the plane-of-sky component to be $\gtrsim$9~$\mu$G. We infer that Oph N1 is globally sub-Alfv{\'e}nic, and is supported against gravity mainly by the magnetic field. The steep velocity structure function can be caused by the expansion of the Sh~2-27 H{\scriptsize II} region or the dissipative range of incompressible turbulence. Our observations reveal a surprising case of clouds characterised by widespread subsonic turbulence and steep size-linewidth relationship. This cloud is magnetized where ion-neutral friction should play an important role.

  • Non-detection of Broad Hydrogen Radio Recombination Lines in Circinus Galaxy

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The line widths of broad line regions (BLRs) of AGNs are key parameters for understanding the central super massive black holes (SMBHs). However, due to obscuration from dusty torus, optical recombination lines from BLRs in type II AGNs can not be directly detected. Radio recombination lines (RRLs), with low extinction, can be ideal tracers to probe emission from BLRs in type II AGNs. We performed RRL observations for H35$\alpha$ and H36$\alpha$ toward the center of Circinus galaxy with ALMA. Narrow components of H35$\alpha$ and H36$\alpha$, which are thought to be mainly from star forming regions around the nuclear region, are detected. However, only upper limits are obtained for broad H35$\alpha$ and H36$\alpha$. Since Circinus galaxy is one of the nearest AGN, non-detection of broad RRLs in Circinus galaxy at this band tells us that it is hopeless to detect broad RRL emission in local AGNs with current facilities. Submillimetre RRLs, with flux densities that are dozens of times higher than those at the millimetre level, could be the tools to directly detect BLRs in type II AGNs with ALMA, once its backend frequency coverage has been upgraded to several times better than its current capabilities.

  • Non-detection of Broad Hydrogen Radio Recombination Lines in Circinus Galaxy

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The line widths of broad line regions (BLRs) of AGNs are key parameters for understanding the central super massive black holes (SMBHs). However, due to obscuration from dusty torus, optical recombination lines from BLRs in type II AGNs can not be directly detected. Radio recombination lines (RRLs), with low extinction, can be ideal tracers to probe emission from BLRs in type II AGNs. We performed RRL observations for H35$\alpha$ and H36$\alpha$ toward the center of Circinus galaxy with ALMA. Narrow components of H35$\alpha$ and H36$\alpha$, which are thought to be mainly from star forming regions around the nuclear region, are detected. However, only upper limits are obtained for broad H35$\alpha$ and H36$\alpha$. Since Circinus galaxy is one of the nearest AGN, non-detection of broad RRLs in Circinus galaxy at this band tells us that it is hopeless to detect broad RRL emission in local AGNs with current facilities. Submillimetre RRLs, with flux densities that are dozens of times higher than those at the millimetre level, could be the tools to directly detect BLRs in type II AGNs with ALMA, once its backend frequency coverage has been upgraded to several times better than its current capabilities.

  • Discovery of a New Molecular Bubble-Outflow Structure in the Taurus B18 Cloud

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Star formation can produce bubbles and outflows, as a result of stellar feedback. Outflows and bubbles inject momentum and energy into the surrounding interstellar medium, and so are related to the overall energy balance of the molecular cloud. Molecular bubbles can be resolved by higher-resolution radio telescopes to quantify the effect of star formation on molecular clouds. We report here the identification of a new molecular bubble with an outflow, and an Herbig Haro object, HH319, located at the bubble center. Multi-wavelength data have been utilized to study its spatial structure, energy injection, and dynamical timescale. This bubble has a kinetic energy of $\rm 5.8 \times 10^{43}$ erg within the smallest radius of a bubble in Taurus, 0.077 pc. The bubble formed $\sim$70,000 years ago. According to the proper motion velocities of protostars from $Gaia$ EDR3, the T Tauri binary stars (FY Tau and FZ Tau) at the southwest edge of the bubble may have produced the outflow-bubble structure. This is an unusual new structure found in low- and intermediate-mass star formation regions. Only a bubble in Orion A, driven by V380 Ori, has a similar structure. The bubble-outflow structure provides additional observational evidence for the theory of stellar wind from T Tauri stars. It enhances our understanding of how stellar feedback acts on molecular clouds.

  • Properties of dense molecular gas along the major axis of M 82

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Dense gas is important for galaxy evolution and star formation. Optically-thin dense-gas tracers, such as isotopologues of HCN, HCO+, etc., are very helpful to diagnose excitation conditions of dense molecular gas. However, previous studies of optically-thin dense-gas tracers were mostly focusing on average properties of galaxies as a whole, due to limited sensitivity and angular resolution. M82, a nearby prototype starburst galaxy, offers a unique case for spatially-resolved studies with single-dish telescopes. With the IRAM 30-m telescope, we observed the J = 1 - 0 transition of H13CN, HC15N, H13CO+, HN13C, H15NC, and SiO J = 2 - 1, HC3N J= 10 - 9, H2CO J = 2 - 1 toward five positions along the major axis of M82. The intensity ratios of I(HCN)/I(H13CN) and I(HCO+)/I(H13CO+) show a significant spatial variation along the major axis, with lower values in the central region than those on the disk, indicating higher optical depths in the central region. The optical depths of HCO+ lines are found to be systematically higher than those of HCN lines at all positions. Futhermore, we find that the 14N/15N ratios have an increasing gradient from the center to the outer disk.

  • Convergent Filaments Contracting Towards an Intermediate-mass Prestellar Core

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Filamentary structures are closely associated with star-forming cores, but their detailed physical connections are still not clear. We studied the dense gas in the region of OMC-3 MMS-7 in Orion A molecular cloud using the molecular lines observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The ALMA N$_2$H$^+$ (1-0) emission has revealed three dense filaments intersected at the center, coincident with the central core MMS-7, which has a mass of $3.6\,M_\odot$. The filaments and cores are embedded in a parental clump with total mass of $29\,M_\odot$. The N$_2$H$^+$ velocity field exhibits a noticeable increasing trend along the filaments towards the central core MMS-7 with a scale of $v-v_{\rm lsr} \simeq 1.5$ ${\rm km\, s^{-1}}$ over a spatial range of $\sim$20 arcsec ($8\times 10^3$ AU), corresponding to a gradient of $40\,{\rm km\, s^{-1}}\,{\rm pc}^{-1}$. This feature is most likely to indicate an infall motion towards the center. The derived infall rate ($8\times 10^{-5}\,M_\odot$ year$^{-1}$) and timescale ($3.6\times 10^5$ years) are much lower than that in a spherical free-fall collapse and more consistent with the contraction of filament structures. The filaments also exhibit a possible fragmentation, but it does not seem to largely interrupt the gas structure or the infall motion towards the center. MMS-7 thus provides an example of filamentary infall into an individual prestellar core. The filament contraction could be less intense but more steady than the global spherical collapse, and may help generate an intermediate- or even high-mass star.

  • The ALMaQUEST Survey XV: The Dependence of the Molecular-to-Atomic Gas Ratios on Resolved Optical Diagnostics

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2024-03-30

    摘要: The atomic-to-molecular gas conversion is a critical step in the baryon cycle of galaxies, which sets the initial conditions for subsequent star formation and influences the multi-phase interstellar medium. We compiled a sample of 94 nearby galaxies with observations of multi-phase gas contents by utilizing public H I, CO, and optical IFU data from the MaNGA survey together with new FAST H I observations. In agreement with previous results, our sample shows that the global molecular-to-atomic gas ratio ($R_{\rm mol} \equiv$ log $M_{\rm H_2}/M_{\rm H\ I}$) is correlated with the global stellar mass surface density $\mu_*$ with a Kendall's $\tau$ coefficient of 0.25 and $p < 10^{-3}$, less tightly but still correlated with stellar mass and NUV$-$ r color, and not related to the specific star formation rate (sSFR). The cold gas distribution and kinematics inferred from the H I and CO global profile asymmetry and shape do not significantly rely on $R_{\rm mol}$. Thanks to the availability of kpc-scale observations of MaNGA, we decompose galaxies into H II, composite, and AGN-dominated regions by using the BPT diagrams. With increasing $R_{\rm mol}$, the fraction of H II regions within 1.5 effective radius decreases slightly; the density distribution in the spatially resolved BPT diagram also changes significantly, suggesting changes in metallicity and ionization states. Galaxies with high $R_{\rm mol}$ tend to have high oxygen abundance, both at one effective radius with a Kendall's $\tau$ coefficient of 0.37 ($p < 10^{-3}$) and their central regions. Among all parameters investigated here, the oxygen abundance at one effective radius has the strongest relation with global $R_{\rm mol}$, but the dependence of gas conversion on gas distribution and galaxy ionization states is weak.