No Arabic abstract
Aims. The HIFI instrument onboard Herschel has allowed high spectral resolution and sensitive observations of ground-state transi- tions of three molecular ions: the methylidyne cation CH+, its isotopologue 13CH+, and sulfanylium SH+. Because of their unique chemical properties, a comparative analysis of these cations provides essential clues to the link between the chemistry and dynamics of the diffuse interstellar medium. Methods. The CH+, 13CH+, and SH+ lines are observed in absorption towards the distant high-mass star-forming regions (SFRs) DR21(OH), G34.3+0.1, W31C, W33A, W49N, and W51, and towards two sources close to the Galactic centre, SgrB2(N) and SgrA*+50. All sight lines sample the diffuse interstellar matter along pathlengths of several kiloparsecs across the Galactic Plane. In order to compare the velocity structure of each species, the observed line profiles were deconvolved from the hyperfine structure of the SH+ transition and the CH+, 13CH+, and SH+ spectra were independently decomposed into Gaussian velocity components. To analyse the chemical composition of the foreground gas, all spectra were divided, in a second step, into velocity intervals over which the CH+, 13CH+, and SH+ column densities and abundances were derived. Results. SH+ is detected along all observed lines of sight, with a velocity structure close to that of CH+ and 13CH+. The linewidth distributions of the CH+, SH+, and 13CH+ Gaussian components are found to be similar. These distributions have the same mean (<deltau{psion}> ~ 4.2 km s-1) and standard deviation (sigma(deltau{psion}) ~ 1.5 km s-1). This mean value is also close to that of the linewidth distribution of the CH+ visible transitions detected in the solar neighbourhood. We show that the lack of absorption components narrower than 2 km s-1 is not an artefact caused by noise: the CH+, 13CH+, and SH+ line profiles are therefore statistically broader than those of most species detected in absorption in diffuse interstellar gas (e. g. HCO+, CH, or CN). The SH+/CH+ column density ratio observed in the components located away from the Galactic centre spans two orders of magnitude and correlates with the CH+ abundance. Conversely, the ratio observed in the components close to the Galactic centre varies over less than one order of magnitude with no apparent correlation with the CH+ abundance. The observed dynamical and chemical properties of SH+ and CH+ are proposed to trace the ubiquitous process of turbulent dissipation, in shocks or shears, in the diffuse ISM and the specific environment of the Galactic centre regions.
Aims. The comparative study of several molecular species at the origin of the gas phase chemistry in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) is a key input in unraveling the coupled chemical and dynamical evolution of the ISM. Methods. The lowest rotational lines of HCO+, HCN, HNC, and CN were observed at the IRAM-30m telescope in absorption against the lambda 3 mm and lambda 1.3 mm continuum emission of massive star-forming regions in the Galactic plane. The absorption lines probe the gas over kiloparsecs along these lines of sight. The excitation temperatures of HCO+ are inferred from the comparison of the absorptions in the two lowest transitions. The spectra of all molecular species on the same line of sight are decomposed into Gaussian velocity components. Most appear in all the spectra of a given line of sight. For each component, we derived the central opacity, the velocity dispersion, and computed the molecular column density. We compared our results to the predictions of UV-dominated chemical models of photodissociation regions (PDR models) and to those of non-equilibrium models in which the chemistry is driven by the dissipation of turbulent energy (TDR models). Results. The molecular column densities of all the velocity components span up to two orders of magnitude. Those of CN, HCN, and HNC are linearly correlated with each other with mean ratios N(HCN)/N(HNC) = 4.8 $pm$ 1.3 and N(CN)/N(HNC) = 34 $pm$ 12, and more loosely correlated with those of HCO+, N(HNC)/N(HCO+) = 0.5 $pm$ 0.3, N(HCN)/N(HCO+) = 1.9 $pm$ 0.9, and N(CN)/N(HCO+) = 18 $pm$ 9. These ratios are similar to those inferred from observations of high Galactic latitude lines of sight, suggesting that the gas sampled by absorption lines in the Galactic plane has the same chemical properties as that in the Solar neighbourhood. The FWHM of the Gaussian velocity components span the range 0.3 to 3 km s-1 and those of the HCO+ lines are found to be 30% broader than those of CN-bearing molecules. The PDR models fail to reproduce simultaneously the observed abundances of the CN-bearing species and HCO+, even for high-density material (100 cm-3 < nH < 104 cm-3). The TDR models, in turn, are able to reproduce the observed abundances and abundance ratios of all the analysed molecules for the moderate gas densities (30 cm-3 < nH < 200 cm-3) and the turbulent energy observed in the diffuse interstellar medium. Conclusions. Intermittent turbulent dissipation appears to be a promising driver of the gas phase chemistry of the diffuse and translucent gas throughout the Galaxy. The details of the dissipation mechanisms still need to be investigated.
We investigate star forming scaling relations using Bayesian inference on a comprehensive data sample of low- (z<0.1) and high-redshift (1<z<5) star forming regions. This full data set spans a wide range of host galaxy stellar mass ($M_{*} sim10^6-10^{11} M_{odot}$) and clump star formation rates (SFR $ sim10^{-5}-10^2 M_odot yr^{-1}$). We fit the power-law relationship between the size (r$_{Halpha}$) and luminosity (L$_{Halpha}$) of the star forming clumps using the Bayesian statistical modeling tool Stan that makes use of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling techniques. Trends in the scaling relationship are explored for the full sample and subsets based on redshift and selection effects between samples. In our investigation we find no evidence of redshift evolution of the size-luminosity scaling relationship, nor a difference in slope between lensed and unlensed data. There is evidence of a break in the scaling relationship between high and low star formation rate surface density ($Sigma_{SFR}$) clumps. The size-luminosity power law fit results are L$_{Halpha}sim$ r$_{Halpha}^{2.8}$ and L$_{Halpha}sim$ r$_{Halpha}^{1.7}$ for low and high $Sigma_{SFR}$ clumps, respectively. We present a model where star forming clumps form at locations of gravitational instability and produce an ionized region represented by the Str{o}mgren radius. A radius smaller than the scale height of the disk results in a scaling relationship of $L propto r^3$ (high $Sigma_{SFR}$ clumps), and a scaling of $L propto r^2$ (low $Sigma_{SFR}$ clumps) if the radius is larger than the disk scale height.
We have measured trigonometric parallaxes for four water masers associated with distant massive young stars in the inner regions of the Galaxy using the VLBA as part of the BeSSeL Survey. G026.50$+$0.28. is located at the near end of the Galactic bar, perhaps at the origin of the Norma spiral arm. G020.77$-$0.05 is in the Galactic Center region and is likely associated with a far-side extension of the Scutum arm. G019.60$-$0.23 and G020.08$-$0.13 are likely associated and lie well past the Galactic Center. These sources appear to be in the Sagittarius spiral arm, but an association with the Perseus arm cannot be ruled out.
We present the study of deuteration of cyanoacetylene (HC$_3$N) towards a sample of 28 high-mass star-forming cores divided into different evolutionary stages, from starless to evolved protostellar cores. We report for the first time the detection of DC$_3$N towards 15 high-mass cores. The abundance ratios of DC$_3$N with respect HC$_3$N range in the interval 0.003$-$0.022, lower than those found in low-mas protostars and dark clouds. No significant trend with the evolutionary stage, or with the kinetic temperature of the region, has been found. We compare the level of deuteration of HC$_3$N with those of other molecules towards the same sample, finding weak correlation with species formed only or predominantly in gas phase (N$_2$H$^+$ and HNC, respectively), and no correlation with species formed only or predominantly on dust grains (CH$_3$OH and NH$_3$, respectively). We also present a single-dish map of DC$_3$N towards the protocluster IRAS 05358+3543, which shows that DC$_3$N traces an extended envelope ($sim$0.37 pc) and peaks towards two cold condensations separated from the positions of the protostars and the dust continuum. The observations presented in this work suggest that deuteration of HC$_3$N is produced in the gas of the cold outer parts of massive star-forming clumps, giving us an estimate of the deuteration factor prior to the formation of denser gas.
(Abridged) We study the response of the gas to energetic processes associated with high-mass star formation and compare it with studies on low- and intermediate-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) using the same methods. The far-IR line emission and absorption of CO, H$_2$O, OH, and [OI] reveals the excitation and the relative contribution of different species to the gas cooling budget. Herschel-PACS spectra covering 55-190 um are analyzed for ten high-mass star forming regions of various luminosities and evolutionary stages at spatial scales of ~10^4 AU. Radiative transfer models are used to determine the contribution of the envelope to the far-IR CO emission. The close environments of high-mass YSOs show strong far-IR emission from molecules, atoms, and ions. Water is detected in all 10 objects even up to high excitation lines. CO lines from J=14-13 up to typically 29-28 show a single temperature component, Trot~300 K. Typical H$_2$O temperatures are Trot~250 K, while OH has Trot~80 K. Far-IR line cooling is dominated by CO (~75 %) and to a smaller extent by OI (~20 %), which increases for the most evolved sources. H$_2$O is less important as a coolant for high-mass sources because many lines are in absorption. Emission from the envelope is responsible for ~45-85 % of the total CO luminosity in high-mass sources compared with only ~10 % for low-mass YSOs. The highest-J lines originate most likely from shocks, based on the strong correlation of CO and H$_2$O with physical parameters of the sources from low- to high-masses. Excitation of warm CO is very similar for all mass regimes, whereas H$_2$O temperatures are ~100 K higher for high-mass sources than the low-mass YSOs. Molecular cooling is ~4 times more important than cooling by [OI]. The total far-IR line luminosity is about 10$^{-3}$ and 10$^{-5}$ times lower than the dust luminosity for the low- and high-mass YSOs.