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NASA NTRS2013

ERRATUM: FERMI Large Area Telescope Study of Cosmic-Rays and the Interstellar Medium in Nearby Molecular Clouds

In the published version of the paper, errors were made in calculating the exposure time due to an analysis mistake. While they do not affect gas emissivities of the R CrA and Cepheus & Polaris flare regions significantly (the differences are within the systematic uncertainty), that of the Chamaeleon region is increased by approx.20%. Although we claimed a difference of ∼50% in gas emissivity among these molecular cloud regions in the original paper, it is decreased to ∼30% (comparable to the sum of the statistical and systematic uncertainties) in the revised analysis. Therefore, our conclusion of the original paper, that a small variation (approx. 20%) of the CR density in the solar neighborhood exists, is not supported by the data if we take these uncertainties into account. On the other hand, the obtained XCO and XAv values, and the masses of gas calculated from them are not changed significantly (the differences are within the statistical errors). Errors and corrections in the original paper are summarized below. 1. In the Abstract (lines 5-6) and Section 3 (lines 4-5 in the 3rd paragraph) in the original paper, the gamma -ray emissivity above 250 MeV for the Chamaeleon region should be (7.2 +/- 0.1stat +/- 1.0sys) × 10(exp −27) photons/s/sr/H-atom, not (5.9 +/-0.1stat +0.9−1.0sys) × 10(exp −27) photons/s/sr/H-atom. 2. In the Abstract (lines 8-10), "Whereas the energy dependences of the emissivities agree well with that predicted from direct CR observations at the Earth, the measured emissivities from 250 MeV to 10 GeV indicate a variation of the CR density by approx.20% in the neighborhood of the solar system, even if we consider the systematic uncertainties." should be changed to "The energy dependences of the emissivities agree well with that predicted from direct CR observations at the Earth. Although the measured emissivities from 250 MeV to 10 GeV differ by approx.30% among these molecular cloud regions, the difference is not significant if we take the systematic uncertainty into account." 3. Table 1 and Figure 13, which show gas emissivities and spectra for the Chamaeleon region in the original paper, should be changed to the Table 1 and Figure 1 as shown below. 4. Figure 16, which compares Hi gas emissivities among several regions in the original paper, should be changed to Figure 2 as shown below. 5. The text from the line 13 to the last one in the first paragraph of Section 4.1, "The spectral shapes for the three regions..., indicating a difference of the CR density between the Chamaeleon and the others as shown in Figure 16." should be changed to the paragraph that follows. "The shaded area of each spectrum indicates the systematic uncertainty as described in Section 3. We note that the systematic uncertainty of the LAT effective area (5% at 100 MeV and 20% at 10 GeV; Rando et al. 2009) does not affect the relative value of emissivities. The effect of unresolved point sources is small; we have verified that the obtained emissivities are almost unaffected by decreasing the threshold for point sources from TS = 100 to TS = 50. We also confirmed that the residual excess of photons around (l = 280deg to 288deg, b = −20deg to −12deg; see the bottom panel of Figure 8) in the Chamaeleon region does not affect the local Hi emissivity very much. Thus the total systematic uncertainty is reasonably expressed by the shaded area shown in Fig. 1.

emissivities↗
NASA NTRS1985

Far-infrared spectroscopy of galaxies - The 158 micron C(+) line and the energy balance of molecular clouds

Observations of the 158 microns fine-structure line of C(+) toward the nuclei of six gas-rich galaxies are presented. The observations are compared with observations of the CO J = 1-0 and H I 21 cm lines, observations of far-IR continuum emission, and observations of forbidden C II emission with the Galaxy. The forbidden C II line comes from dense, warm gas in UV-illuminated photodissociation regions at the surfaces of molecular clouds. This line is probably optically thin in all but the brightest of galactic sources. The variation of forbidden C II brightness from source to source and its ratio to the integrated infrared continuum intensity agree well with the theoretical prediction that UV absorption by dust controls the C(+) column density. The forbidden C II line is a tracer of molecular clouds, especially those near intense sources of UV radiation.

Crawford, M. K.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A search for T Tauri stars in high-latitude molecular clouds. 2: The IRAS Faint Source Survey catalog

We present a catalog of infrared point sources from the IRAS Faint Source Survey at Galactic latitudes the absolute magnitude of b is greater than or equal to 30 deg. The aim of this paper is to provide a list of possible star-forming sites at high Galactic latitudes in order to address the question of whether or not the translucent molecular clouds (which are most easily identified at high latitudes) are capable of star formation. The primary list of sources has 12, 25, 60, and 100 micron fluxes within the range typical of pre-main-sequence or T Tauri stars. A secondary list has the same range of 12, 25, and 60 micron fluxes, but only upper limits at 100 microns. A total of 127 candidates from the first category and 65 candidates from the second category are identified and their positions and infrared spectral characteristics tabulated. Although the colors and fluxes of these sources are typical of T Tauri or pre-main-sequence stars and YSOs, extragalactic sources and planetary nebulae sometimes have similar colors. These lists provide a starting point for optical spectroscopy or other techniques to positively identify these objects. We can determine an upper limit to the star forming efficiency of high-latitude molecular clouds assuming all the candidates in our sample are pre-main sequence stars of one solar mass. The upper limit of a few tenths of 1% is less than the star-forming efficiency of local dark cloud complexes such as the Taurus-Auriga or rho Ophiuchus clouds.

Magnani, Loris↗
NASA NTRS1984

The cyanopolyynes as a chemical clock for molecular clouds

A new method is proposed for determining the ages of molecular clouds. The method utilizes the properties of the long-chain organic molecules known as the cyanopolyynes (HC/2k + 1/N, k = 0, 1, 2, 3 ...), which are found in a variety of clouds. The observed regular abundance decline of these molecules as a function of chain length suggests that they are formed sequentially. If so, the age of the cloud can be read off as the time to grow the longest chain present. Although the creation process for the chains is still unknown, the age can be obtained from knowledge of the chain destruction mechanism. Destruction is probably due to adsorption onto the surfaces of interstellar grains. Using the known properties of grains, the age can be obtained from the cloud density and the abundance ratios of the cyanopolyynes. As a first application, minimum ages for the four dark clouds B335, TMC-1, TMC-2, and L183 are obtained. These minimum ages are 1.3 x 10 to the 6th yr, 9.7 x 10 to the 5th yr, 3.4 x 10 to the 5th yr, and 3.3 x 10 to the 5th yr, respectively. In each case, the ages are greater than or equal to the cloud's free-fall collapse time. These four clouds are therefore either in a state of hydrostatic balance or have only recently begun to collapse, following an earlier period of hydrostatic support.

Stahler, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Heating and cooling of molecular clouds and their surfaces

Some of the basic mechanisms of heating molecular clouds and their surfaces are reviewed, including cosmic rays, ambipolar diffusion, radiation, and shock waves. Cooling by fine structure transitions of atoms and ions as well as by vibrational and rotational transitions of interstellar molecules is discussed. A theoretical application of these processes is made to the observations of warm CO and vibrationally excited H2.

Hollenbach, David↗
NASA NTRS1994

Molecular clouds in the extreme outer galaxy

We present observation of 11 molecular clouds with kinematic Galactocentric distances of 18-28 kpc. The most distant is approximately 10 kpc farther from the Galactic center than any previously known and apparently lies beyond the edge of the optical disk. All are associated with much larger H I concentrations, with typical offsets of approximately 40 pc from the H I peaks. CO observations with the CfA 1.2 m and National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 12 m telescopes indicate typical sizes of 20-40 pc, velocity widths of 1-3 km/s, and kinetic temperatures of 10-25 K. They apparently have lower CO luminosities than clouds near the solar circle with similar properties. Some may have associated infrared sources, but owing to the great distances of the clouds, the only general conclusion that can be made about star formation is that stars earlier than B1 are absent. The apparent scarcity of clouds like these indicates that their contribution to the mass of the ISM beyond R = 18 kpc is not significant.

Digel, S.↗
NASA NTRS2011

On the Formation of Interstellar Water Ice: Constraints from a Search for Hydrogen Peroxide Ice in Molecular Clouds

Recent surface chemistry experiments have shown that the hydrogenation of molecular oxygen on interstellar dust grains is a plausible formation mechanism, via hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), for the production of water (H2O) ice mantles in the dense interstellar medium. Theoretical chemistry models also predict the formation of a significant abundance of H2O2 ice in grain mantles by this route. At their upper limits, the predicted and experimental abundances are sufficiently high that H2O2 should be detectable in molecular cloud ice spectra. To investigate this further, laboratory spectra have been obtained for H2O2/H2O ice films between 2.5 and 200 micron, from 10 to 180 K, containing 3%, 30%, and 97% H2O2 ice. Integrated absorbances for all the absorption features in low-temperature H2O2 ice have been derived from these spectra. For identifying H2O2 ice, the key results are the presence of unique features near 3.5, 7.0, and 11.3 micron. Comparing the laboratory spectra with the spectra of a group of 24 protostars and field stars, all of which have strong H2O ice absorption bands, no absorption features are found that can definitely be identified with H2O2 ice. In the absence of definite H2O2 features, the H2O2 abundance is constrained by its possible contribution to the weak absorption feature near 3.47 micron found on the long-wavelength wing of the 3 micron H2O ice band. This gives an average upper limit for H2O2, as a percentage of H2O, of 9% +/- 4%. This is a strong constraint on parameters for surface chemistry experiments and dense cloud chemistry models.

Smith, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1998

On the Stability and Evolution of Isolated Molecular Clouds

We present the results of three dimensional hydrodynamic models of evolving, isolated, low mass, quiescent clouds and Bok gobules, where the interstellar radiation field plays an important role in the thermal and chemical evolution, and thermal pressure provides dominant support against gravitational collapse.

pressure chemical evolution interstellar radiation↗
NASA NTRS1981

The molecular cloud associated with NGC 7538

CO maps and preliminary H2S and H2CO data for the molecular cloud associated with NGC 7538 are used to compare the molecular distributions with those of ionized, neutral, and molecular hydrogen and dust. South of the H II regions is a ridge of high (C-13)O column density with cold, self-absorbed H I just beyond it. A dense clump within the ridge is found adjacent to the H II region in the southeast, and a lower density region of expanding gas is seen next to the H II region in the southwest. NGC 7538 is the first region which appears to show observational evidence for a molecular dissociation wave.

Dickel, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Fragmentation of molecular clouds

Fragmentation is generally considered to be the initial process that a molecular cloud must undergo before stars can form. Yet its role in determining the final mass spectrum remains obscure. It appears that gravitational fragmentation, considered as a unique process, is unsatisfactory. Both fragmentation and complementary physical processes are, therefore, discussed. One of the principle aims of the discussion is to indicate how stars of solar mass (and more generally, how the initial mass spectrum of stars) can form. Attention is given to the evidence for fragmentation, opacity-limited fragmentation, magnetic flux-limited fragmentation, fragmentation induced by molecule formation and excitation, protostellar heat input, fragment coalescence, accretion, binary formation, and probabilistic theories.

Silk, J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Molecular outflows in the Monoceros OB1 molecular cloud

Observations of J = 1-0 emission from CO in nine suspected molecular outflows in the Monoceros OB1 molecular cloud are presented. It is found that, if the five sources which are confirmed to be outflows conserve momentum as they evolve, they will sweep up at least 0.6 percent of the mass of the entire cloud before coming into pressure equilibrium with the ambient gas. This number indicates that it should take at most 160 episodes of similar outflow activity in order to sweep up the bulk of the Mon OB1 cloud to highly supersonic speeds.

Margulis, Michael↗
NASA NTRS1988

A catalog of small, optically selected molecular clouds - Optical, infrared, and millimeter properties

A catalog of small, optically selected molecular clouds is presented. The relevant selection criteria were small angular size, large central opacity, and freedom from connecting opaque material. The mean ellipticity of the clouds in the catalog is 2.0, with a maximum ellipticity of 7. The position angle of the clouds is uncorrelated with the direction of the Galactic plane. About 60 percent of the cataloged clouds have associated IRAS Point Source Catalog (PSC) sources in their cores or envelopes. The likelihood of a detection of a PSC source is some 6.1 times higher for the core regions of the clouds than for the envelopes, indicating a strong association of FIR sources and Bok globules. Of a sample of 97 of the clouds observed in the J = 2-1 line of (C-12)O, 70 percent have cold gas kinetic temperatures and approximately sonic line widths. The remaining 30 percent are about equally divided between those clouds likely to be radiatively heated by nearby stars and those undergoing active protostellar collapse or outflows with no bulk gas heating.

Clemens, Dan P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Molecular clouds and the large-scale structure of the galaxy

The application of molecular radio astronomy to the study of the large-scale structure of the Galaxy is reviewed and the distribution and characteristic properties of the Galactic population of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), derived primarily from analysis of the Columbia CO survey, and their relation to tracers of Population 1 and major spiral features are described. The properties of the local molecular interstellar gas are summarized. The CO observing programs currently underway with the Center for Astrophysics 1.2 m radio telescope are described, with an emphasis on projects relevant to future comparison with high-energy gamma-ray observations. Several areas are discussed in which high-energy gamma-ray observations by the EGRET (Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope) experiment aboard the Gamma Ray Observatory will directly complement radio studies of the Milky Way, with the prospect of significant progress on fundamental issues related to the structure and content of the Galaxy.

Thaddeus, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1986

IRAS observations of giant molecular clouds in the Milky Way

The IRAS data base has been used to study infrared radiation from molecular clouds in our galaxy. The sample of clouds was restricted to those with reliably determined molecular masses from large area, multi-isotope CO maps. They were normalized to X(CO-13)= 2x10 to the -6. Flux densities at 60 microns and 100 microns were determined by integrating the flux density within rectangles drawn on the sky flux plates after subtracting a suitable background. The rectangles were chosen to be coextensive with the areas mapped in CO. Color corrections were made and luminosites calculated by assuming the optical depths were proportional to frequency. The flux densities were converted to dust masses with a value for 4a rho/3Q = .04 g/cm at 100 microns.

Mozurkewich, D.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Cold Atomic Hydrogen, Narrow Self-Absorption, and the Age of Molecular Clouds

This viewgraph presentation reviews the history, and current work on HI and its importance in star formation. Through many observations of HI Narrow Self Absorption (HINSA) the conclusions are drawn and presented. Local molecular clouds have HI well-mixed with molecular constituents This HI is cold, quiescent, and must be well-shielded from the UV radiation field The density and fractional abundance (wrt H2) of the cold HI are close to steady state values The time required to convert these starless clouds from purely HI initial state to observed present composition is a few to ten million years This timescale is a lower limit - if dense clouds being swept up from lower density regions by shocks, the time to accumulate material to get A(sub v) is approximately 1 and provide required shielding may be comparable or longer

star formation↗
NASA NTRS1987

A hard X-ray source in the nearest molecular cloud

The previous unidentified hard X-ray source H 0253 + 193 is coincident with Lynds 1457, a dark nebula at high galactic latitude (l = 159 deg, b = -34 deg). The Einstein IPC position coincides with the peak in the CO map obtained by Hobbs, Blitz, and Magnani (1986). Using interstellar Na I absorption, these authors determined a distance to the cloud of 65 pc, making this the nearest known molecular cloud. The X-ray source can be explained as an embedded T Tauri star with a 2-10 keV luminosity of 1 x 10 to the 31st erg/s.

Halpern, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Filamentary structure in the Orion molecular cloud

A large scale 13CO map (containing 33,000 spectra) of the giant molecular cloud located in the southern part of Orion is presented which contains the Orion Nebula, NGC1977, and the LI641 dark cloud complex. The overall structure of the cloud is filamentary, with individual features having a length up to 40 times their width. This morphology may result from the effects of star formation in the region or embedded magnetic fields in the cloud. We suggest a simple picture for the evolution of the Orion-A cloud and the formation of the major filament. A rotating proto-cloud (counter rotating with respect to the galaxy) contians a b-field aligned with the galaxtic plane. The northern protion of this cloud collapsed first, perhaps triggered by the pressure of the Ori I OB association. The magnetic field combined with the anisotropic pressure produced by the OB-association breaks the symmetry of the pancake instability, a filament rather than a disc is produced. The growth of instabilities in the filament formed sub-condensations which are recent sites of star formation.

Bally, J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Polarization of far-infrared radiation from molecular clouds

The paper reports measurements of the polarization of far-infrared emission from dust in nine molecular clouds. Detections were obtained in Mon R2, in the Kleinmann-Low (KL) nebula in Orion, and in Sgr A. Upper limits were set for six other clouds. A comparison of the 100 micron polarization of KL with that previously measured at 270 microns provides new evidence that the polarization is due to emission from magnetically aligned dust grains. Comparing the results for Orion with measurements at optical wavelengths, it is inferred that the magnetic field direction in the outer parts of the Orion cloud is the same as that in the dense core. This direction is nearly perpendicular to the ridge of molecular emission and is parallel to both the molecular outflow in KL and the axis of rotation of the cloud core. In Mon R2, the field direction which the measurements imply does not agree withthat derived from 0.9-2.2 micron polarimetry. The discrepancy is attributed to scattering in the near-infrared. In Orion and Sgr A, where comparisons are possible, the measurements are in good agreement with 10 micron polarization measurements.

Novak, G.↗