We report the discovery and constrain the physical conditions of the interstellar medium of the highest-redshift millimeter-selected dusty star-forming galaxy to date, SPT-S J031132−5823.4 (hereafter ...SPT0311−58), at . SPT0311−58 was discovered via its 1.4 mm thermal dust continuum emission in the South Pole Telescope (SPT)-SZ survey. The spectroscopic redshift was determined through an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 3 mm frequency scan that detected CO(6-5), CO(7-6), and (2-1), and subsequently was confirmed by detections of CO(3-2) with the Australia Telescope Compact Array and with APEX. We constrain the properties of the ISM in SPT0311−58 with a radiative transfer analysis of the dust continuum photometry and the CO and line emission. This allows us to determine the gas content without ad hoc assumptions about gas mass scaling factors. SPT0311−58 is extremely massive, with an intrinsic gas mass of . Its large mass and intense star formation is very rare for a source well into the epoch of reionization.
We compile and analyze approximately 200 trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions of molecular masers associated with very young high-mass stars. Most of the measurements come from the BeSSeL ...Survey using the VLBA and the Japanese VERA project. These measurements strongly suggest that the Milky Way is a four-arm spiral, with some extra arm segments and spurs. Fitting log-periodic spirals to the locations of the masers, allowing for "kinks" in the spirals and using well-established arm tangencies in the fourth Galactic quadrant, allows us to significantly expand our view of the structure of the Milky Way. We present an updated model for its spiral structure and incorporate it into our previously published parallax-based distance-estimation program for sources associated with spiral arms. Modeling the three-dimensional space motions yields estimates of the distance to the Galactic center, , the circular rotation speed at the Sun's position, km s−1, and the nature of the rotation curve. Our data strongly constrain the full circular velocity of the Sun, km s−1, and its angular velocity, km s−1 kpc-1. Transforming the measured space motions to a Galactocentric frame which rotates with the Galaxy, we find non-circular velocity components typically 10 km s−1. However, near the Galactic bar and in a portion of the Perseus arm we find significantly larger non-circular motions. Young high-mass stars within 7 kpc of the Galactic center have a scale height of only 19 pc, and thus are well suited to define the Galactic plane. We find that the orientation of the plane is consistent with the IAU-defined plane to within 0 1, and that the Sun is offset toward the north Galactic pole by pc. Accounting for this offset places the central supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, in the midplane of the Galaxy. The measured motions perpendicular to the plane of the Galaxy limit precession of the plane to 4 km s−1 at the radius of the Sun. Using our improved Galactic parameters, we predict the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar to be at a distance of 6.54 0.24 kpc, assuming its orbital decay from gravitational radiation follows general relativity.
We present subkiloparsec-scale mapping of the 870 m ALMA continuum emission in six luminous (LIR ∼ 5 × 1012 L ) submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) from the ALESS survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field ...South. Our high-fidelity 0 07-resolution imaging (∼500 pc) reveals robust evidence for structures with deconvolved sizes of 0.5-1 kpc embedded within (dominant) exponential dust disks. The large-scale morphologies of the structures within some of the galaxies show clear curvature and/or clump-like structures bracketing elongated nuclear emission, suggestive of bars, star-forming rings, and spiral arms. In this interpretation, the ratio of the "ring" and "bar" radii (1.9 0.3) agrees with that measured for such features in local galaxies. These potential spiral/ring/bar structures would be consistent with the idea of tidal disturbances, with their detailed properties implying flat inner rotation curves and Toomre-unstable disks (Q < 1). The inferred one-dimensional velocity dispersions ( r 70-160 km s−1) are marginally consistent with the limits implied if the sizes of the largest structures are comparable to the Jeans length. We create maps of the star formation rate density ( SFR) on ∼500 pc scales and show that the SMGs are able to sustain a given (galaxy-averaged) SFR over much larger physical scales than local (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies. However, on 500 pc scales, they do not exceed the Eddington limit set by radiation pressure on dust. If confirmed by kinematics, the potential presence of nonaxisymmetric structures would provide a means for net angular momentum loss and efficient star formation, helping to explain the very high star formation rates measured in SMGs.
ABSTRACT The spiral arms of the Milky Way are being accurately located for the first time via trigonometric parallaxes of massive star-forming regions with the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy Survey, ...using the Very Long Baseline Array and the European VLBI Network, and with the Japanese VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry project. Here we describe a computer program that leverages these results to significantly improve the accuracy and reliability of distance estimates to other sources that are known to follow spiral structure. Using a Bayesian approach, sources are assigned to arms based on their (l, b, v) coordinates with respect to arm signatures seen in CO and H i surveys. A source's kinematic distance, displacement from the plane, and proximity to individual parallax sources are also considered in generating a full distance probability density function. Using this program to estimate distances to large numbers of star-forming regions, we generate a realistic visualization of the Milky Way's spiral structure as seen from the northern hemisphere.
By matching infrared-selected, massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) and compact H ii regions in the Red MSX Source survey to massive clumps found in the submillimetre ATLASGAL (APEX Telescope Large ...Area Survey of the Galaxy) survey, we have identified ∼1000 embedded young massive stars between 280° < ℓ < 350° and 10° < ℓ < 60° with | b | < 1
$_{.}^{\circ}$
5. Combined with an existing sample of radio-selected methanol masers and compact H ii regions, the result is a catalogue of ∼1700 massive stars embedded within ∼1300 clumps located across the inner Galaxy, containing three observationally distinct subsamples, methanol-maser, MYSO and H ii-region associations, covering the most important tracers of massive star formation, thought to represent key stages of evolution. We find that massive star formation is strongly correlated with the regions of highest column density in spherical, centrally condensed clumps. We find no significant differences between the three samples in clump structure or the relative location of the embedded stars, which suggests that the structure of a clump is set before the onset of star formation, and changes little as the embedded object evolves towards the main sequence. There is a strong linear correlation between clump mass and bolometric luminosity, with the most massive stars forming in the most massive clumps. We find that the MYSO and H ii-region subsamples are likely to cover a similar range of evolutionary stages and that the majority are near the end of their main accretion phase. We find few infrared-bright MYSOs associated with the most massive clumps, probably due to very short pre-main-sequence lifetimes in the most luminous sources.
ABSTRACT We present high-resolution (0 16) 870 m Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) imaging of 16 luminous ( ) submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) from the ALESS survey of the Extended ...Chandra Deep Field South. This dust imaging traces the dust-obscured star formation in these galaxies on ∼1.3 kpc scales. The emission has a median effective radius of Re = 0 24 0 02, corresponding to a typical physical size of 1.8 0.2 kpc. We derive a median Sérsic index of n = 0.9 0.2, implying that the dust emission is remarkably disk-like at the current resolution and sensitivity. We use different weighting schemes with the visibilities to search for clumps on 0 12 (∼1.0 kpc) scales, but we find no significant evidence for clumping in the majority of cases. Indeed, we demonstrate using simulations that the observed morphologies are generally consistent with smooth exponential disks, suggesting that caution should be exercised when identifying candidate clumps in even moderate signal-to-noise ratio interferometric data. We compare our maps to comparable-resolution Hubble Space Telescope -band images, finding that the stellar morphologies appear significantly more extended and disturbed, and suggesting that major mergers may be responsible for driving the formation of the compact dust disks we observe. The stark contrast between the obscured and unobscured morphologies may also have implications for SED fitting routines that assume the dust is co-located with the optical/near-IR continuum emission. Finally, we discuss the potential of the current bursts of star formation to transform the observed galaxy sizes and light profiles, showing that the descendants of these SMGs are expected to have stellar masses, effective radii, and gas surface densities consistent with the most compact massive ( 1-2 × 1011 ) early-type galaxies observed locally.
Aims.Our current knowledge of high-mass star formation is mainly based on follow-up studies of bright sources found by IRAS, and is thus biased against its earliest phases, inconspicuous at infrared ...wavelengths. We therefore started searching, in an unbiased way and in the closest high-mass star-forming complexes, for the high-mass analogs of low-mass pre-stellar cores and class 0 protostars. Methods.We have made an extensive 1.2 mm continuum mosaicing study of the Cygnus X molecular cloud complex using the MAMBO cameras at the IRAM 30 m telescope. The $\sim 3^{\circ^2}$ imaged areas cover all the high-column density (AV ≥ 15 mag) clouds of this nearby (~1.7 kpc) cloud complex actively forming OB stars. We then compared our millimeter maps with mid-infrared images, and have made SiO(2-1) follow-up observations of the best candidate progenitors of high-mass stars. Results.Our complete study of Cygnus X with ~0.09 pc resolution provides, for the first time, an unbiased census of massive young stellar objects. We discover 129 massive dense cores (FWHM size ~0.1 pc, $M_{1.2~mm}$ = 4-950 $\mbox{$M_\odot$}$, volume-averaged density ~105 cm-3), among which ~42 are probable precursors of high-mass stars. A large fraction of the Cygnus X dense cores (2/3 of the sample) remain undetected by the MSX satellite, regardless of the mass range considered. Among the most massive (≥40 $\mbox{$M_\odot$}$) cores, infrared-quiet objects are driving powerful outflows traced by SiO emission. Our study qualifies 17 cores as good candidates for hosting massive infrared-quiet protostars, while up to 25 cores potentially host high-luminosity infrared protostars. We fail to discover the high-mass analogs of pre-stellar dense cores (~0.1 pc, > 104 cm-3) in Cygnus X, but find several massive starless clumps (~ 0.8 pc, 7 $\times$ 103 cm-3) that might be gravitationally bound. Conclusions.Since our sample is derived from a single molecular complex and covers every embedded phase of high-mass star formation, it gives the first statistical estimates of their lifetime. In contrast to what is found for low-mass class 0 and class I phases, the infrared-quiet protostellar phase of high-mass stars may last as long as their better-known high-luminosity infrared phase. The statistical lifetimes of high-mass protostars and pre-stellar cores (~ 3 $\times$ 104 yr and < 103 yr) in Cygnus X are one and two order(s) of magnitude smaller, respectively, than what is found in nearby, low-mass star-forming regions. We therefore propose that high-mass pre-stellar and protostellar cores are in a highly dynamic state, as expected in a molecular cloud where turbulent processes dominate.
We have measured the distance to the massive star-forming region W3OH in the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way to be 1.95 ± 0.04 kiloparsecs (5.86 x10¹⁶ km). This distance was determined by ...triangulation, with Earth's orbit as one segment of a triangle, using the Very Long Baseline Array. This resolves the long-standing problem that there is a discrepancy of a factor of 2 between different techniques used to determine distances. The reason for the discrepancy is that this portion of the Perseus arm has anomalous motions. The orientation of the anomalous motion agrees with spiral density-wave theory, but the magnitude of the motion is somewhat larger than most models predict.
We derive photometric redshifts from 17-band optical to mid-infrared photometry of 78 robust radio, 24-μm and Spitzer IRAC counterparts to 72 of the 126 submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) selected at 870 ...μm by LABOCA observations in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (ECDF-S). We test the photometric redshifts of the SMGs against the extensive archival spectroscopy in the ECDF-S. The median photometric redshift of identified SMGs is z= 2.2 ± 0.1, the standard deviation is σ
z
= 0.9 and we identify 11 (∼15 per cent) high-redshift (z≥ 3) SMGs. A statistical analysis of sources in the error circles of unidentified SMGs identifies a population of possible counterparts with a redshift distribution peaking at z= 2.5 ± 0.2, which likely comprises ∼60 per cent of the unidentified SMGs. This confirms that the bulk of the undetected SMGs are coeval with those detected in the radio/mid-infrared. We conclude that at most ∼15 per cent of all the SMGs are below the flux limits of our IRAC observations and thus may lie at z≳ 3 and hence at most ∼30 per cent of all SMGs have z≳ 3. We estimate that the full S
870 μm > 4 mJy SMG population has a median redshift of 2.5 ± 0.5. In contrast to previous suggestions, we find no significant correlation between submillimetre flux and redshift. The median stellar mass of the SMGs derived from spectral energy distribution fitting is (9.1 ± 0.5) × 1010 M⊙ although we caution that the uncertainty in the star formation histories results in a factor of ∼5 uncertainty in these stellar masses. Using a single temperature modified blackbody fit with β= 1.5, the median characteristic dust temperature of SMGs is 37.4 ± 1.4 K. The infrared luminosity function shows that SMGs at z= 2-3 typically have higher far-infrared luminosities and luminosity density than those at z= 1-2. This is mirrored in the evolution of the star formation rate density (SFRD) for SMGs which peaks at z∼ 2. The maximum contribution of bright SMGs to the global SFRD (∼5 per cent for SMGs with S
870 μm≳ 4 mJy or ∼50 per cent extrapolated to SMGs with S
870 μm > 1 mJy) also occurs at z∼ 2.
Context. Class I methanol masers are thought to be tracers of interstellar shock waves. However, they have received relatively little attention mostly as a consequence of their low luminosities ...compared to other maser transitions. This situation has changed recently and Class I methanol masers are now routinely used as signposts of outflow activity especially in high extinction regions. The recent detection of polarisation in Class I lines now makes it possible to obtain direct observational information about magnetic fields in interstellar shocks. Aims. We make use of newly calculated collisional rate coefficients for methanol to investigate the excitation of Class I methanol masers and to reconcile the observed Class I methanol maser properties with model results. Methods. We performed large velocity gradient calculations with a plane-parallel slab geometry appropriate for shocks to compute the pump and loss rates which regulate the interactions of the different maser systems with the maser reservoir. We study the dependence of the pump rate coefficient, the maser loss rate, and the inversion efficiency of the pumping scheme of several Class I masers on the physics of the emitting gas. Results. We predict inversion in all transitions where maser emission is observed. Bright Class I methanol masers are mainly high-temperature (>100 K) high-density (n(H2) ~ 107−108 cm-3) structures with methanol maser emission measures, ξ, corresponding to high methanol abundances close to the limits set by collisional quenching. Our model predictions reproduce reasonably well most of the observed properties of Class I methanol masers. Class I masers in the 25 GHz series are the most sensitive to the density of the medium and mase at higher densities than other lines. Moreover, even at high density and high methanol abundances, their luminosity is predicted to be lower than that of the 44 GHz and 36 GHz masers. Our model predictions also reflect the observational result that the 44 GHz line is almost always stronger than the 36 GHz maser. By comparison between observed isotropic photon luminosities and our model predictions, we infer maser beam solid angles of roughly 10-3 steradian. Conclusions. We find that the Class I masers can reasonably be separated into three families: the (J + 1)-1−J0-E type series, the (J + 1)0−J1-A type, and the J2−J1-E lines at 25 GHz. The 25 GHz lines behave in a different fashion from the other masers as they are only inverted at high densities above 106 cm-3 in contrast to other Class I masers. Therefore, the detection of maser activity in all three families is a clear indication of high densities.
PDF
