No Arabic abstract
Using wide-field $^{13}$CO ($J=1-0$) data taken with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope, we investigate cloud structures of the infrared dark cloud complex in M17 with SCIMES. In total, we identified 118 clouds that contain 11 large clouds with radii larger than 1 pc. The clouds are mainly distributed in the two representative velocity ranges of 10 $-$ 20 km s$^{-1}$ and 30 $-$ 40 km s$^{-1}$. By comparing with the ATLASGAL catalog, we found that the majority of the $^{13}$CO clouds with 10 $-$ 20 km s$^{-1}$ and 30 $-$ 40 km s$^{-1}$ are likely located at distances of 2 kpc (Sagittarius arm) and 3 kpc (Scutum arm), respectively. Analyzing the spatial configuration of the identified clouds and their velocity structures, we attempt to reveal the origin of the cloud structure in this region. Here we discuss three possibilities: (1) overlapping with different velocities, (2) cloud oscillation, and (3) cloud-cloud collision. From the position-velocity diagrams, we found spatially-extended faint emission between $sim$ 20 km s$^{-1}$ and $sim$ 35 km s$^{-1}$, which is mainly distributed in the spatially-overlapped areas of the clouds. We also found that in some areas where clouds with different velocities overlapped, the magnetic field orientation changes abruptly. The distribution of the diffuse emission in the position-position-velocity space and the bending magnetic fields appear to favor the cloud-cloud collision scenario compared to other scenarios. In the cloud-cloud collision scenario, we propose that two $sim$35 km s$^{-1}$ foreground clouds are colliding with clouds at $sim$20 km s$^{-1}$ with a relative velocity of 15 km s$^{-1}$. These clouds may be substructures of two larger clouds having velocities of $sim$ 35 km s$^{-1}$ ($gtrsim 10^3 $ M$_{odot}$) and $sim$ 20 km s$^{-1}$ ($gtrsim 10^4 $ M$_{odot}$), respectively.
We present a catalog of 840 X-ray sources and first results from a 100 ks Chandra X-ray Observatory imaging study of the filamentary infrared dark cloud G014.225$-$00.506, which forms the central regions of a larger cloud complex known as the M17 southwest extension (M17 SWex). In addition to the rich population of protostars and young stellar objects with dusty circumstellar disks revealed by Spitzer Space Telescope archival data, we discover a population of X-ray-emitting, intermediate-mass pre--main-sequence stars (IMPS) that lack infrared excess emission from circumstellar disks. We model the infrared spectral energy distributions of this source population to measure its mass function and place new constraints on the inner dust disk destruction timescales for 2-8 $M_{odot}$ stars. We also place a lower limit on the star formation rate (SFR) and find that it is quite high ($dot{M}ge 0.007~M_{odot}$ yr$^{-1}$), equivalent to several Orion Nebula Clusters in G14.225$-$0.506 alone, and likely accelerating. The cloud complex has not produced a population of massive, O-type stars commensurate with its SFR. This absence of very massive (${ge}20~M_{odot}$) stars suggests that either (1) M17 SWex is an example of a distributed mode of star formation that will produce a large OB association dominated by intermediate-mass stars but relatively few massive clusters, or (2) the massive cores are still in the process of accreting sufficient mass to form massive clusters hosting O stars.
We performed a search of cloud-cloud collision (CCC) sites in the Sagittarius A molecular cloud (SgrAMC) based on the survey observations using the Nobeyama 45-m telescope in the C$^{32}$S $J=1-0$ and SiO $v=0~J=2-1$ emission lines. We found candidates being abundant in shocked molecular gas in the Galactic Center Arc (GCA). One of them, M0.014-0.054, is located in the mapping area of our previous ALMA mosaic observation. We explored the structure and kinematics of M0.014-0.054 in the C$^{32}$S $J=2-1$, C$^{34}$S $J=2-1$, SiO $v=0~J=2-1$, H$^{13}$CO$^+ J=1-0$, and SO $N,J=2,2-1,1$ emission lines and fainter emission lines. M0.014-0.054 is likely formed by the CCC between the vertical molecular filaments (VP) of the GCA, and other molecular filaments along Galactic longitude. The bridging features between these colliding filaments on the PV diagram are found, which are the characteristics expected in CCC sites. We also found continuum compact objects in M0.014-0.054, which have no counterpart in the H42$alpha$ recombination line. They are detected in the SO emission line, and would be Hot Molecular Core (HMC)s. Because the LTE mass of one HMC is larger than the virial mass, it is bound gravitationally. This is also detected in the CCS emission line. The embedded star would be too young to ionize the surrounding molecular cloud. The VP is traced by poloidal magnetic field. Because the strength of the magnetic field is estimated to be $sim m$Gauss using the CF method, the VP is supported against fragmentation. The star formation in the HMC of M0.014-0.054 is likely induced by the CCC between the stable filaments, which may be a common mechanism in the SgrAMC.
We performed a search of star-forming sites influenced by external factors, such as SNRs, HII regions, and cloud-cloud collisions, to understand the star-forming activity in the Galactic center region using the NRO Galactic Center Survey in SiO $v=0, J=2-1$, H$^{13}$CO$^+ J=1-0$, and CS $J=1-0$ emission lines obtained by the Nobeyama 45-m telescope. We found a half-shell like feature (HSF) with a high integrated line intensity ratio of $ int T_{ mathrm B}$(SiO $v=0, J=2-1$)$dv$/$ int T_{ mathrm B}$(H$^{13}$CO$^+ J=1-0$)$dv sim6-8$ in the 50 km s$^{-1}$ molecular cloud, which is a most conspicuous molecular cloud in the region and harbors an active star-forming site seen as several compact HII regions. The high ratio in the HSF indicates that the cloud contains huge shocked molecular gas. The HSF is also seen as a half-shell feature in the position-velocity diagram. A hypothesis explaining the chemical and kinetic properties of the HSF is that the feature is originated by a cloud-cloud collision (CCC). We analyzed the CS $J=1-0$ emission line data obtained by Nobeyama Millimeter Array to reveal the relation between the HSF and the molecular cloud cores in the cloud. We made a cumulative core mass function (CMF) of the molecular cloud cores within the HSF. The CMF in the CCC region is not truncated at least up to $ sim2500M_ odot$ although the CMF of the non-CCC region reaches the upper limit of $ sim1500M_ odot$. Most massive molecular cores with $M_{ mathrm{gas}}>750 M_{ odot}$ are located only around the ridge of the HSF and adjoin the compact HII region. These may be a sign of massive star formation induced by CCC in the Galactic center region.
We present $^{12}$CO $J=$1--0, $^{13}$CO $J=$1--0 and C$^{18}$O $J=$1--0 images of the M17 giant molecular clouds obtained as part of FUGIN (FOREST Ultra-wide Galactic Plane Survey InNobeyama) project. The observations cover the entire area of M17 SW and M17 N clouds at the highest angular resolution ($sim$19$$) to date which corresponds to $sim$ 0.15 pc at the distance of 2.0 kpc. We find that the region consists of four different velocity components: very low velocity (VLV) clump, low velocity component (LVC), main velocity component (MVC), and high velocity component (HVC). The LVC and the HVC have cavities. UV photons radiated from NGC 6618 cluster penetrate into the N cloud up to $sim$ 5 pc through the cavities and interact with molecular gas. This interaction is correlated with the distribution of YSOs in the N cloud. The LVC and the HVC are distributed complementary after that the HVC is displaced by 0.8 pc toward the east-southeast direction, suggesting that collision of the LVC and the HVC create the cavities in both clouds. The collision velocity and timescale are estimated to be 9.9 km s$^{-1}$ and $1.1 times 10^{5}$ yr, respectively. The high collision velocity can provide the mass accretion rate up to 10$^{-3}$ $M_{solar}$ yr$^{-1}$, and the high column density ($4 times 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$) might result in massive cluster formation. The scenario of cloud-cloud collision likely well explains the stellar population and its formation history of NGC 6618 cluster proposed by Hoffmeister et al. (2008).
In previous contributions, we have presented an analytical model describing the evolution of molecular clouds (MCs) undergoing hierarchical gravitational contraction. The clouds evolution is characterized by an initial increase in its mass, density, and star formation rate (SFR) and efficiency (SFE) as it contracts, followed by a decrease of these quantities as newly formed massive stars begin to disrupt the cloud. The main parameter of the model is the maximum mass reached by the cloud during its evolution. Thus, specifying the instantaneous mass and some other variable completely determines the clouds evolutionary stage. We apply the model to interpret the observed scatter in SFEs of the cloud sample compiled by Lada et al. as an evolutionary effect so that, although clouds such as California and Orion A have similar masses, they are in very different evolutionary stages, causing their very different observed SFRs and SFEs. The model predicts that the California cloud will eventually reach a significantly larger total mass than the Orion A cloud. Next, we apply the model to derive estimated ages of the clouds since the time when approximately 25% of their mass had become molecular. We find ages from $sim 1.5$ to 27 Myr, with the most inactive clouds being the youngest. Further predictions of the model are that clouds with very low SFEs should have massive atomic envelopes constituting the majority of their gravitational mass, and that low-mass clouds ($M sim 10^3$-$10^4 , M_odot$) end their lives with a mini-burst of star formation, reaching SFRs $sim 300$-$500, M_odot$ Myr$^{-1}$. By this time, they have contracted to become compact ($sim 1$ pc) massive star-forming clumps, in general embedded within larger GMCs.