No Arabic abstract
With the aim of investigating the presence of molecular and dust clumps linked to two star forming regions identified in the expanding molecular envelope of the stellar wind bubble RCW78, we analyzed the distribution of the molecular gas and cold dust. To accomplish this study we performed dust continuum observations at 870 mu m and 13CO(2-1) line observations with the APEX telescope, using LABOCA and SHeFI-1 instruments, respectively, and analyzed Herschel images at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 mu m. These observations allowed us to identify cold dust clumps linked to region B (named the Southern clump) and region C (clumps 1 and 2) and an elongated Filament. Molecular gas was clearly detected linked to the Southern clump and the Filament. The velocity of the molecular gas is compatible with the location of the dense gas in the expanding envelope of RCW78. We estimate dust temperatures and total masses for the dust condensations from the emissions at different wavelengths in the far-IR and from the molecular line using LTE and the virial theorem. Masses obtained through different methods agree within a factor of 2-6. CC-diagrams and SED analysis of young stellar objects confirmed the presence of intermediate and low mass YSOs in the dust regions, indicating that moderate star formation is present. In particular, a cluster of IR sources was identified inside the Southern clump. The IRAC image at 8 mu m revealed the existence of an infrared dust bubble of 16 arcsec in radius probably linked to the O-type star HD117797 located at 4 kpc. The distribution of the near and mid infrared emission indicate that warm dust is associated with the bubble.
The far-IR range is a critical wavelength range to characterize the physical and chemical processes that transform the interstellar material into stars and planets. Objects in the earliest phases of stellar and planet evolution release most of their energy at these long wavelengths. In this contribution we briefly summarise some of the most relevant scientific advances achieved by the Herschel Space Observatory in the field. We also anticipate those that will be made possible by the large increase in sensitivity of SPICA cooled telescope. It is concluded that only through sensitive far-IR observations much beyond Herschel capabilities we will be able to constrain the mass, the energy budget and the water content of hundreds of protostars and planet-forming disks.
With the aim of studying the properties of Galactic IR bubbles and their impact in massive star formation, we present a study of the IR bubble S169, associated with the massive star forming region IRAS12326-6245. We used CO(2-1),$^{13}$CO(2-1), C$^{18}$O(2-1), HCN(3-2), and HCO+(3-2) line data obtained with the APEX telescope to study the properties of the molecular gas in the nebula and the IRAS source . To analyze the properties and distribution of the dust, we used IRAC-GLIMPSE, Herschel, and ATLASGAL data. The properties of the ionized gas were studied using images obtained from the SUMSS survey and SuperCOSMOS database. In our search for stellar and protostellar objects in the region, we used IR and optical point source calalogs. The new APEX observations allowed us to identify three molecular components associated with the nebula, namely: at $-$39 km/s (component A), $-$25 km/s (component B), and $-$17 km/s (component C). Six molecular condensations (MC1 to MC6) were identified in component A, with MC3 (the densest and more massive one) being the molecular counterpart of IRAS12326-6245. For this source, we estimated an H$_2$ column density up to 8$times$10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. To explain the morphology and velocity of components A, B, and C, we propose a simple model consisting of a partially complete semisphere-like structure expanding at ~ 12 km/s. The introduction of this model has led to a discussion about the distance to both S169 and IRAS12326-6245, which was estimated to be ~ 2 kpc. Several candidate YSOs were identified, projected mostly onto the molecular condensations MC3, MC4, and MC5, which indicates that the star-formation process is very active at the borders of the nebula. A comparison between observable and modeled parameters was not enough to discern whether the collect-and-collapse mechanism is acting at the edge of S169.
Star-formation in the outer Galaxy is thought to be different from the inner Galaxy, as it is subject to different environmental parameters such as metallicity, interstellar radiation field, or mass surface density that all change with Galactocentric radius. We therefore aimed at getting a more detailed view on the structure of the outer Galaxy, determining physical properties for a large number of star forming clumps and understanding star-formation outside the Solar circle. We use pointed $^{12}$CO(2-1) observations conducted with the APEX telescope to determine the velocity components towards 830 dust clumps identified from 250 $mu$m Herschel/Hi-GAL SPIRE emission maps in the outer Galaxy between $225deg<ell<260deg$. We determined kinematic distances from the velocity components, in order to analyze the structure of the outer Galaxy and to estimate physical properties such as dust temperatures, bolometric luminosities, clump masses, and H2 column densities for 611 clumps. We find the CO clouds to be strongly correlated with the highest column density parts of the Hi emission distribution, spanning a web of bridges, spurs and blobs of star forming regions between the larger complexes, unveiling the complex three-dimensional structure of the outer Galaxy in unprecedented detail. Using the physical properties of the clumps, we find an upper limit of 6% (40 sources) to be able to form high-mass stars. This is supported by the fact that only 2 methanol Class II masers or 34 known or candidate Hii regions are found in the whole survey area, indicating an even lower fraction to be able to form high-mass stars in the outer Galaxy. We fail to find any correlation of the physical parameters of the identified (potential) star forming regions with the expanding supershell, indicating that although the shell organizes the interstellar material into clumps, their properties are unaffected.
The determination of accurate distances to star-forming regions are discussed in the broader historical context of astronomical distance measurements. We summarize recent results for regions within 1 kpc and present perspectives for the near and more distance future.
We model the dynamical evolution of star forming regions with a wide range of initial properties. We follow the evolution of the regions substructure using the Q-parameter, we search for dynamical mass segregation using the Lambda_MSR technique, and we also quantify the evolution of local density around stars as a function of mass using the Sigma_LDR method. The amount of dynamical mass segregation measured by Lambda_MSR is generally only significant for subvirial and virialised, substructured regions - which usually evolve to form bound clusters. The Sigma_LDR method shows that massive stars attain higher local densities than the median value in all regions, even those that are supervirial and evolve to form (unbound) associations. We also introduce the Q-Sigma_LDR plot, which describes the evolution of spatial structure as a function of mass-weighted local density in a star forming region. Initially dense (>1000 stars pc^{-2}), bound regions always have Q >1, Sigma_LDR > 2 after 5Myr, whereas dense unbound regions always have Q < 1, Sigma_LDR > 2 after 5Myr. Less dense regions (<100 stars pc^{-2}) do not usually exhibit Sigma_LDR > 2 values, and if relatively high local density around massive stars arises purely from dynamics, then the Q-Sigma_LDR plot can be used to estimate the initial density of a star forming region.