HOW MANY INFRARED DARK CLOUDS CAN FORM MASSIVE STARS AND CLUSTERS?
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
- Caltech Astronomy Department, 1200 East California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
We present a new assessment of the ability of Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) to form massive stars and clusters. This is done by comparison with an empirical mass-size threshold for massive star formation (MSF). We establish m(r)>870 M {sub sun}(r/pc){sup 1.33} as a novel approximate MSF limit, based on clouds with and without MSF. Many IRDCs, if not most, fall short of this threshold. Without significant evolution, such clouds are unlikely MSF candidates. This provides a first quantitative assessment of the small number of IRDCs evolving toward MSF. IRDCs below this limit might still form stars and clusters of up to intermediate mass, though (like, e.g., the Ophiuchus and Perseus Molecular Clouds). Nevertheless, a major fraction of the mass contained in IRDCs might reside in few 10{sup 2} clouds sustaining MSF.
- OSTI ID:
- 21452725
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 723, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L7; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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