The radial dependence of the mass-spectrum and lifetime of molecular clouds in our galaxy

In this paper we describe the galactic radial distribution of several parameters of interstellar molecules and clouds deduced from observed data at b = 0°, l = 20°–40°, and the cloud mass spectrum in different regions divided according to the several parameters. Comparison with spiral arm regions shows the following: 1) The clouds are not arm tracers; they are long-lived objects. 2) Larger and hotter clouds do not show any concentration towards the arms, while smaller clouds are continuously distributed in the inner galactic region. 3) The cloud mass spectrum does not depend on the molecular density or the surface number density of clouds; this is a new difficulty for both theories of cloud formation by gravitational collapse and by collisional growth. 4)The cloud lifetimes deduced from the different mass spectra for various regions fluctuate about the mean value, 2 (+9) yr, by less than 20%.     

Molecular clouds and the formation of open clusters

Using analytical approximations of the mass spectra of molecular clouds and stellar systems including open clusters and associations a relation between the final star formation efficiency (final SFE) and the initial cloud mass is derived. The dependence of the SFE on cloud mass is estimated for two cases of molecular cloud destruction by stellar winds in spherical geometry. The result of growing SFE with rising cloud mass does not agree with current observations and the above relation. A decrease of the SFE is expected if the fraction of high-mass stars grows with increasing mass of the cloud.     

Predicting the properties of binary stellar systems: the evolution of accreting protobinary systems

We investigate the formation of binary stellar systems. We consider a model where a 'seed' protobinary system forms, via fragmentation, within a collapsing molecular cloud core and evolves to its final mass by accreting material from an infalling gaseous envelope. This accretion alters the mass ratio and orbit of the binary, and is largely responsible for forming the circumstellar and/or circumbinary discs.
Given this model for binary formation, we predict the properties of binary systems and how they depend on the initial conditions within the molecular cloud core. We predict that there should be a continuous trend such that closer binaries are more likely to have equal-mass components and are more likely to have circumbinary discs than wider systems. Comparing our results with observations, we find that the observed mass-ratio distributions of binaries and the frequency of circumbinary discs as a function of separation are most easily reproduced if the progenitor molecular cloud cores have radial density profiles between uniform and 1/ r (e.g., Gaussian) with near-uniform rotation. This is in good agreement with the observed properties of pre-stellar cores. Conversely, we find that the observed properties of binaries cannot be reproduced if the cloud cores are in solid-body rotation and have initial density profiles which are strongly centrally condensed. Finally, in agreement with the radial-velocity searches for extrasolar planets, we find that it is very difficult to form a brown dwarf companion to a solar-type star with a separation ≲10 au, but that the frequency of brown dwarf companions should increase with larger separations or lower mass primaries.     

On penetration depth of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 fragments into the Jovian atmosphere

The actual penetration depth of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 fragments into the Jovian atmosphere is still an open question. From fundamental equations of meteoric physics with variable cross-section, a new analytic model of energy release of the fragments is presented. In use of reasonable parameters, a series of results are calculated for different initial mass of the fragments. The results show that the largest fragment explodes above pressure levels of 3 bars and does not penetrate into the H₂O cloud layer of the Jovian atmosphere, and that airburst of smaller fragments occur even above the upper cloud layer.     

The origin of the initial mass function and its dependence on the mean Jeans mass in molecular clouds

We investigate the dependence of stellar properties on the mean thermal Jeans mass in molecular clouds. We compare the results from the two largest hydrodynamical simulations of star formation to resolve the fragmentation process down to the opacity limit, the first of which was reported by Bate, Bonnell & Bromm. The initial conditions of the two calculations are identical except for the radii of the clouds, which are chosen so that the mean densities and mean thermal Jeans masses of the clouds differ by factors of 9 and 3, respectively.
We find that the denser cloud, with the lower mean thermal Jeans mass, produces a higher proportion of brown dwarfs and has a lower characteristic (median) mass of the stars and brown dwarfs. This dependence of the initial mass function (IMF) on the density of the cloud may explain the observation that the Taurus star-forming region appears to be deficient in brown dwarfs when compared with the Orion Trapezium cluster. The new calculation also produces wide binaries (separations >20 au), one of which is a wide binary brown dwarf system.
Based on the hydrodynamical calculations, we develop a simple accretion/ejection model for the origin of the IMF. In the model, all stars and brown dwarfs begin with the same mass (set by the opacity limit for fragmentation) and grow in mass until their accretion is terminated stochastically by their ejection from the cloud through dynamically interactions. The model predicts that the main variation of the IMF in different star-forming environments should be in the location of the peak (due to variations in the mean thermal Jeans mass of the cloud) and in the substellar regime. However, the slope of the IMF at high masses may depend on the dispersion in the accretion rates of protostars.     

Radio Observations of Sgr B2

1 INTRODUCTIONFor the behavior of a molecular cloud in subsonic collision with another, Mao et al. (1992)have obtained simplified one-dimension traveling wave solutions for a plane-parallel s1ab. Chang-ing the sign in the transformation of variables in their case, we have the fOllowing results,1 rP = 2 l W op -- 1, (1)1 r =v = -- j W -- ry 1. (2)2 {V(N M)' 2z 2t -- W 1. (2)In Eq. (1), p increases with increasing t. Instability is expected to occur in strongly perturbedmolecular…     

Star formation in the LMC: Comparative CCD observations of young stellar populations in two giant molecular clouds

This work deals with a CCD imaging study at optical and near‐infrared wavelength oftwo giant molecular clouds (plus a control field) in the southern region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one ofwhich shows multiple signs of star formation, whereas the other does not. The observational data from VLT FORS2 (R band) and NTT SOFI (Ks band) have been analyzed to derive luminosity functions and color‐magnitude diagrams. The young stellar content of these two giant molecular clouds is compared and confirmed to be different, in the sense that the apparently “starless” cloud has so far formed only low‐luminosity, low‐mass stars (fainter than m_Ks ∽ 16.5 mag, not seen by 2MASS), while the other cloud has formed both faint low‐mass and luminous high‐mass stars. The surface density excess oflow‐luminosity stars (∽2 per square arcmin) in the “starless” cloud with respect to the control field is about 20% whereas the excess is about a factor of 3 in the known star‐forming cloud. The difference may be explained theoretically by the gravo‐turbulent evolution of giant molecular clouds, one being younger and less centrally concentrated than the other (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Role of Giant Molecular Clouds in the Evolution of the Oort Comet Cloud

We estimated the gravitational influence of giant molecular clouds passing near the Solar system on the orbital evolution of Oort cloud comets. We performed a comparative analysis of the accuracies of the following two methods of allowance for the perturbations from giant molecular clouds: the impulse approximation and numerical integration. The impulse approximation yields fairly accurate estimates of the change in the energy of Oort cloud comets and the probability of their ejection under the influence of a molecular cloud if the path of the Solar system does not cross its boundary and if the molecular cloud may be treated as a point perturbing mass. The comet survival probability in the Oort cloud depends significantly on the internal structure of the perturbing molecular cloud and the impact parameter of the encounter. The most massive injection of comets into the planetary region and their ejection from the Oort cloud take place if the Solar system passes through a giant molecular cloud composed of several high-mass condensations. In this case, most of the comets injected into the planetary region were initially comets of the inner Oort cloud (a 10^–4 AU) with high orbital eccentricities.     

A Study on the CO Isotopic Lines of the Star Forming Region AFGL 5157

By the mapping observations simultaneously at the ¹²CO (J=1-0), ¹³CO (J=1-0), and C¹⁸O (J=1-0) lines on the area of 24’×24’ (12 pc×12 pc) of the star forming region AFGL 5157, we have obtained the distribution and averaged physical parameters for the respective ¹³CO and C¹⁸O cores of this molecu- lar cloud. At the edge of the molecular cloud, the isotopic abundance ratio is X [(¹³CO)/(C¹⁸O)] ≈ 10, close to the ratio of a giant molecular cloud. The viral masses of the ¹³CO and C¹⁸O cores are less than the masses of the molecu-lar cloud cores, so the molecular cloud cores are gravitationally unstable, and the C¹⁸O molecular cloud core is more easy to collapse. The column density distributions of the C¹⁸O molecular cloud core in the northeast and southwest directions are, respectively, 1.1 × 10²³× z^−0.43 and 4.6 × 10²⁵× z^−0.58, where z is the distance from the center of the molecular cloud core. The high velocity molecular out?ow has been con?rmed from our ¹²CO spectra, the mass loss rate of the out?ow has been estimated, and the mass-velocity relation of the out?ow is ?tted by a power-law function of m ∝ v^−1.8. The star formation rate of the ¹³CO molecular cloud core is as high as 23%, probably, under the in?uence of     

Determination of physical parameters of NGC 2023 using the hyperfine NH3 spectrum

An improved approach is given for deriving the physical parameters of a molecular cloud by its NH₃ rotation-inversion hyperfine spectra. The optical depth τ₀(1, 1) of NH₃ (1,1) is obtained by considering the blending effect of the magnetic hyperfine spectral lines, the (1-1) excitation temperature T_ex (1, 1) is calculated by a two level model, the effect of different collision rate and the thermalization of the (1, 1) inversion lines are discussed, the rotation temperature T_R ( 2, 1) between the NH₃ levels (2, 2) and (1, 1) and the column density N( 1, 1) of the NH₃ (1, 1) inversion level are derived, the results of the total column density from different assumptions for the abundance ratio of ortho-NH₃ and para-NH₃ are also discussed.

This approach is used for the molecular cloud NGC 2023 by using the relevant observed data and its optical depth and other physical parameters are obtained.     

A SCUBA survey of L1689 – the dog that didn't bark

We present submillimetre data for the L1689 cloud in the ρ Ophiuchi molecular cloud complex. We detect a number of starless and pre-stellar cores and protostellar envelopes. We also detect a number of filaments for the first time in the submillimetre continuum that are parallel both to each other, and to filaments observed in the neighbouring L1688 cloud. These filaments are also seen in the ¹³CO observations of L1689. The filaments contain all of the star-formation activity in the cloud. L1689 lies next to the well-studied L1688 cloud that contains the ρ Oph-A core. L1688 has a much more active star-formation history than L1689 despite their apparent similarity in ¹³CO data. Hence, we label L1689 as the dog that didn't bark. We endeavour to explain this apparent anomaly by comparing the total mass of each cloud that is currently in the form of dense material such as pre-stellar cores. We note firstly that L1688 is more massive than L1689, but we also find that when normalized to the total mass of each cloud, the L1689 cloud has a much lower percentage of mass in dense cores than L1688. We attribute this to the hypothesis of Loren that the star formation in the ρ Ophiuchi complex is being affected and probably dominated by the external influence of the nearby Upper Scorpius OB association and predominantly by σ Sco. L1689 is further from σ Sco and is therefore less active. The influence of σ Sco appears none the less to have created the filaments that we observe in L1689.     

Submillimetre co rotational lines from dense cores in molecular clouds

A simple, spherically-symmetric, centrally-condensed model is constructed for a dense core in a molecular cloud. Optical depths and peak brightness temperatures are calculated for the 10 lowest rotational transitions of carbon monoxide. The cloud, using parameters given by observation for dark condensations in molecular clouds, turns out to be optically thin in these transitions, which allows the maximum density and density distribution to be estimated.     

暗星云L134的稳定性及热特性

利用暗星云L134的光学观测及分子谱线观测的结果,估算了它的某些基本物理参数,讨论了该星云的稳定性及能量问题。 发现在L134的演化过程中,热压力及转动在制约其自引力坍缩中起一定作用,但不是重要因素,而磁场的支撑作用可能是比较重要的,L134不是在自由下落时间尺度t_(ff)上引力坍缩,而可能是在一个比较长的双极扩散时间尺度t_D上收缩。 本文还计算了L134的冷却率及加热率,表明引力克服热压力作功不是暗星云L134的有效加热源;宇宙线是L134的一个加热源,它能提供所需能量的～20％;磁场通过双极扩散释放能量可能为L134提供了一个重要的加热源。     

Binary formation with different metallicities: dependence on initial conditions

The fragmentation process in collapsing clouds with various metallicities is studied using three-dimensional nested-grid hydrodynamics. Initial clouds are specified by three parameters: cloud metallicity, initial rotation energy and initial cloud shape. For different combinations of these parameters, we calculate 480 models in total and study cloud evolution, fragmentation conditions, orbital separation and binary frequency. For the cloud to fragment during collapse, the initial angular momentum must be higher than a threshold value, which decreases with decreasing metallicity. Although the exact fragmentation conditions depend also on the initial cloud shape, this dependence is only modest. Our results indicate a higher binary frequency in lower metallicity gas. In particular, with the same median rotation parameter as in the solar neighbourhood, a majority of stars are born as members of binary/multiple systems for  <10⁻⁴ Z_⊙  . With initial mass  <0.1 M_⊙  , if fragments are ejected in embryo from the host clouds by multibody interaction, they evolve to substellar-mass objects. This provides a formation channel for low-mass stars in zero- or low-metallicity environments.     

Bipolar molecular outflow in IRAS 17233-3606

The high-mass star-forming region IRAS 17333-3606 has been mapped in the ¹³CO (J = 2–1) and C¹⁸O (J = 2–1) lines in the submillimeter wavelength range using the APEX (Chile) radio telescope. The analysis of the low-velocity part of the molecular outflow has been carried out, and the main parameters of the outflow have been determined. We have used a novel approach for calculating parameters of the low-velocity part of bipolar molecular outflows in molecular clouds. The approach excludes the influence of the surrounding cloud on the parameters of the outflow. The mass of the low-velocity part is much greater than that of the high-velocity part of the molecular outflow, while their energies are comparable. The core of the young stellar object is significantly deformed by the impact of the bipolar outflow.     

Mass spectrum of the system of inhomogeneous intergalactic clouds

The possible influence of the internal structure of inter galactic clouds on their asymptotic mass spectrum n(m, t→ ∞) is investigated by numerically solving the Smoluchovski equation. Allowance for internal structure (inhomogeneity, fractality) leads to a relationship between cloud mass and radius of the type m oc R^k; values of the parameter k from the range [1.5, 3] were used in the calculations. Values of the slope q(k) of the asymptotic mass spectrum are obtained for different sections of the spectrum and different initial conditions n(m, t = 0). It is shown that the slope of the asymptotic spectrum depends strongly on the parameter k, which characterizes the degree of inhomogeneity of the mass distribution in the clouds. A self-consistent estimate of the fractal dimension of intergalactic clouds is obtained, improving the value found earlier. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 535–544, October-December, 1997.     

NH3 observations of the molecular cloud NGC 2023

We observed the molecular cloud NGC 2023 in the NH₃ rotation-inversion lines NH₃(1.1) and NH₃(2.2). The hyperfine structures shown in these lines can be advantageously used to derive the physical parameters of the cloud. We re-confirm that the star HD 37903 is the unique exciting source of the cloud and heated dust is the exciting medium. Analysis leads to the conclusion that the star is located on the periphery of the cloud, as in Zuckerman's “blister” model. If HD 37003 originated in NGC 2023, then the star will have existed long enough to blow away the molecular cloud to a distance of 0.1 pc. There may exist clumps of relatively high density in the cloud.