Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userHerschel-Planck dust optical depth and column density maps - II. Perseus
94
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
We present optical depth and temperature maps of the Perseus molecular cloud, obtained combining dust emission data from the Herschel and Planck satellites and 2MASS/NIR dust extinction maps. The maps have a resolution of 36 arcsec in the Herschel regions, and of 5 arcmin elsewhere. The dynamic range of the optical depth map ranges from $1times10^{-2}, mathrm{mag}$ up to $20 ,mathrm{mag}$ in the equivalent K band extinction. We also evaluate the ratio between the $2.2 ,mathrm{mu m}$ extinction coefficient and the $850 ,mathrm{mu m}$ opacity. The value we obtain is close to the one found in the Orion B molecular cloud. We show that the cumulative and the differential area function of the data (which is proportional to the probability distribution function of the cloud column density) follow power laws with index respectively $simeq -2$, and $simeq -3$. We use WISE data to improve current YSO catalogues based mostly on emph{Spitzer} data and we build an up-to-date selection of Class~I/0 objects. Using this selection, we evaluate the local Schmidt law, $Sigma_{mathrm{YSO}} propto Sigma_{mathrm{gas}}^{beta}$, showing that $beta=2.4 pm 0.6$. Finally, we show that the area-extinction relation is important for determining the star formation rate in the cloud, which is in agreement with other recent works.
rate research
Read More
We present high-resolution, high dynamic range column-density and color-temperature maps of the Orion complex using a combination of Planck dust-emission maps, Herschel dust-emission maps, and 2MASS NIR dust-extinction maps. The column-density maps combine the robustness of the 2MASS NIR extinction maps with the resolution and coverage of the Herschel and Planck dust-emission maps and constitute the highest dynamic range column-density maps ever constructed for the entire Orion complex, covering $0.01 , mathrm{mag} < A_K < 30 ,mathrm{mag}$, or $2 times 10^{20} , mathrm{cm}^{-2} < N < 5 times 10^{23} ,mathrm{cm}^{-2}$. We determined the ratio of the 2.2 microns extinction coefficient to the 850 microns opacity and found that the values obtained for both Orion A and B are significantly lower than the predictions of standard dust models, but agree with newer models that incorporate icy silicate-graphite conglomerates for the grain population. We show that the cloud projected pdf, over a large range of column densities, can be well fitted by a simple power law. Moreover, we considered the local Schmidt-law for star formation, and confirm earlier results, showing that the protostar surface density $Sigma_*$ follows a simple law $Sigma_* propto Sigma_{gas}^beta$, with $beta sim 2$.
Sub-millimetre dust emission is an important tracer of density N of dense interstellar clouds. One has to combine surface brightness information at different spatial resolutions, and specific methods are needed to derive N at a resolution higher than the lowest resolution of the observations. Some methods have been discussed in the literature, including a method (in the following, method B) that constructs the N estimate in stages, where the smallest spatial scales being derived only use the shortest wavelength maps. We propose simple model fitting as a flexible way to estimate high-resolution column density maps. Our goal is to evaluate the accuracy of this procedure and to determine whether it is a viable alternative for making these maps. The new method consists of model maps of column density (or intensity at a reference wavelength) and colour temperature. The model is fitted using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, comparing model predictions with observations at their native resolution. We analyse simulated surface brightness maps and compare its accuracy with method B and the results that would be obtained using high-resolution observations without noise. The new method is able to produce reliable column density estimates at a resolution significantly higher than the lowest resolution of the input maps. Compared to method B, it is relatively resilient against the effects of noise. The method is computationally more demanding, but is feasible even in the analysis of large Herschel maps. The proposed empirical modelling method E is demonstrated to be a good alternative for calculating high-resolution column density maps, even with considerable super-resolution. Both methods E and B include the potential for further improvements, e.g., in the form of better a priori constraints.
Lopsidedness of the gaseous disk of spiral galaxies is a common phenomenon in disk morphology, profile and kinematics. Simultaneously, the asymmetry of a galaxys stellar disk, in combination with other morphological parameters, has seen extensive use as an indication of recent merger or interaction in galaxy samples. Quantified morphology of stellar spiral disks is one avenue to determine the merger rate over much of the age of the Universe. In this paper, we measure the quantitative morphology parameters for the HI column density maps from the Westerbork observations of neutral Hydrogen in Irregular and SPiral galaxies (WHISP). These are Concentration, Asymmetry, Smoothness, Gini, M20, and one addition of our own, the Gini parameter of the second order moment (GM). Our aim is to determine if lopsided or interacting disks can be identified with these parameters. Our sample of 141 HI maps have all previous classifications on their lopsidedness and interaction. We find that the Asymmetry, M20, and our new GM parameter correlate only weakly with the previous morphological lopsidedness quantification. These three parameters may be used to compute a probability that an HI disk is morphologically lopsided but not unequivocally to determine it. However, we do find that that the question whether or not an HI disk is interacting can be settled well using morphological parameters. Parameter cuts from the literature do not translate from ultraviolet to HI directly but new selection criteria using combinations of Asymmetry and M20 or Concentration and M20, work very well. We suggest that future all-sky HI surveys may use these parameters of the column density maps to determine the merger fraction and hence rate in the local Universe with a high degree of accuracy.
Sub-millimetre dust emission is often used to derive the column density N of dense interstellar clouds. The observations consist of data at several wavelengths but of variable resolution. We examine two procedures that been proposed for the estimation of high resolution N maps. Method A uses a low-resolution temperature map combined with higher resolution intensity data while Method B combines N estimates from different wavelength ranges. Our aim is to determine the accuracy of the methods relative to the true column densities and the estimates obtainable with radiative transfer modelling. We use magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations and radiative transfer calculations to simulate sub-millimetre observations at the wavelengths of the Herschel Space Observatory. The observations are analysed with the methods and the results compared to the true values and to the results from radiative transfer modelling of observations. Both methods A and B give relatively reliable column density estimates at the resolution of 250um data while also making use of the longer wavelengths. For high signal-to-noise data, the results of Method B are better correlated with the true column density, while Method A is less sensitive to noise. When the cloud has internal heating, results of Method B are consistent with those that would be obtained with high-resolution data. Because of line-of-sight temperature variations, these underestimate the true column density and, because of a favourable cancellation of errors, Method A can sometimes give more correct values. Radiative transfer modelling, even with very simple 3D cloud models, can provide better results. However, the complexity of the models required for improvements increases rapidly with the complexity and opacity of the clouds.
We construct an all-sky map of the apparent temperature and optical depth of thermal dust emission using the Planck-HFI and IRAS data. The optical depth maps are correlated to tracers of the atomic and molecular gas. The correlation is linear in the lowest column density regions at high galactic latitudes. At high NH, the correlation is consistent with that of the lowest NH. In the intermediate NH range, we observe departure from linearity, with the dust optical depth in excess to the correlation. We attribute this excess emission to thermal emission by dust associated with a Dark-Gas phase, undetected in the available HI and CO measurements. We show the 2D spatial distribution of the Dark-Gas in the solar neighborhood and show that it extends around known molecular regions traced by CO. The average dust emissivity in the HI phase in the solar neighborhood follows roughly a power law distribution with beta = 1.8 all the way down to 3 mm, although the SED flattens slightly in the millimetre. The threshold for the existence of the Dark-Gas is found at NH = (8.0pm 0.58) 10^{20} Hcm-2. Assuming the same dust emissivity at high frequencies for the dust in the atomic and molecular phases leads to an average XCO = (2.54pm0.13) 10^{20} H2cm-2/(K km s-1). The mass of Dark-Gas is found to be 28% of the atomic gas and 118% of the CO emitting gas in the solar neighborhood. A possible origin for the Dark-Gas is the existence of a dark molecular phase, where H2 survives photodissociation but CO does not. The observed transition for the onset of this phase in the solar neighborhood (AV = 0.4 mag) appears consistent with recent theoretical predictions. We also discuss the possibility that up to half of the Dark-Gas could be in atomic form, due to optical depth effects in the HI measurements.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
