Molecular line observations of infrared dark clouds. II. physical conditions

Gibson, David, Plume, René, Bergin, Edwin, Ragan, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4164-5588 and Evans, Natalie 2009. Molecular line observations of infrared dark clouds. II. physical conditions. Astrophysical Journal 705 (1) , pp. 123-134. 10.1088/0004-637X/705/1/123

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Abstract

Using a source selection biased toward high-mass star-forming regions, we used a large velocity gradient code to calculate the H2 densities and CS column densities for a sample of Midcourse Space Experiment 8 μm infrared dark cores. Our average H2 density and CS column density were 1.14 × 106cm-3 and 1.21 × 1013 cm-2, respectively. In addition, we have calculated the Jeans mass and Virial mass for each core to get a better understanding of their gravitational stability. We found that core masses calculated from observations of N2H+ J = 1→0 and C18O J = 1→0 by Ragan et al. (Paper I) were sufficient for collapse, though most regions are likely to form protoclusters. We have explored the star-forming properties of the molecular gas within our sample and find some diversity which extends the range of infrared dark clouds from the very massive clouds that will create large clusters, to clouds that are similar to some of our local counterparts (e.g., Serpens, Ophiuchus).

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Publisher:	American Astronomical Society
ISSN:	0004-637X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 November 2017
Date of Acceptance:	24 August 2009
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 07:52
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/106494

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