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Title: GALACTIC H{sub 2}CO DENSITOMETRY. I. PILOT SURVEY OF ULTRACOMPACT H II REGIONS AND METHODOLOGY

Abstract

We present a pilot survey of 21 lines of sight toward ultracompact H II (UCH II) regions and three toward continuum-free lines of sight in the formaldehyde (H{sub 2}CO) 1{sub 10}-1{sub 11} (6 cm) and 2{sub 11}-2{sub 12} (2 cm) transitions, using the H{sub 2}CO centimeter lines as a molecular gas densitometer. Using Arecibo and Green Bank beam-matched observations, we measure the density of 51 detected H{sub 2}CO line pairs and present upper limits on density for an additional 24 detected 1{sub 10}-1{sub 11} lines. We analyze the systematic uncertainties in the H{sub 2}CO densitometer, achieving H{sub 2} density measurements with accuracies {approx}0.1-0.3 dex. The densities measured are not correlated with distance, implying that it is possible to make accurate density measurements throughout the galaxy without a distance bias. We confirm that UCH II regions are associated with, and possibly embedded in, gas at densities n(H{sub 2}) {approx}> 10{sup 5} cm{sup -3}. The densities measured in line-of-sight molecular clouds suggest that they consist of low volume filling factor (f {approx} 10{sup -2}) gas at high (n(H{sub 2}) > 10{sup 4} cm{sup -3}) density, which is inconsistent with purely supersonic turbulence and requires high-density clumping greater than typically observed in gravoturbulentmore » simulations. We observe complex line morphologies that indicate density variations with velocity around UCH II regions, and we classify a subset of the UCH II molecular envelopes as collapsing or expanding. We compare these measurements to Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey 1.1 mm observations, and note that most UCH II regions have 1.1 mm emission consisting of significant (5%-70%) free-free emission and are therefore not necessarily dominated by optically thin dust emission as is often assumed when computing clump masses. A comparison of our data with the Mangum et al. starburst sample shows that the area filling factor of dense (n(H{sub 2}) {approx} 10{sup 5} cm{sup -3}) molecular gas in typical starburst galaxies is {approx}< 0.01, but in extreme starburst galaxies like Arp 220, is {approx}0.1, suggesting that Arp 220 is physically similar to an oversized UCH II region.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado 389 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0389 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21578218
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 736; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/149; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; DENSITOMETERS; DENSITY; EMISSION; FORMALDEHYDE; GALAXIES; HYDROGEN; ALDEHYDES; ELEMENTS; MEASURING INSTRUMENTS; NONMETALS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; PHOTOMETERS; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Citation Formats

Ginsburg, Adam, Darling, Jeremy, Battersby, Cara, Zeiger, Ben, and Bally, John. GALACTIC H{sub 2}CO DENSITOMETRY. I. PILOT SURVEY OF ULTRACOMPACT H II REGIONS AND METHODOLOGY. United States: N. p., 2011. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/149.
Ginsburg, Adam, Darling, Jeremy, Battersby, Cara, Zeiger, Ben, & Bally, John. GALACTIC H{sub 2}CO DENSITOMETRY. I. PILOT SURVEY OF ULTRACOMPACT H II REGIONS AND METHODOLOGY. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/149
Ginsburg, Adam, Darling, Jeremy, Battersby, Cara, Zeiger, Ben, and Bally, John. 2011. "GALACTIC H{sub 2}CO DENSITOMETRY. I. PILOT SURVEY OF ULTRACOMPACT H II REGIONS AND METHODOLOGY". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/149.
@article{osti_21578218,
title = {GALACTIC H{sub 2}CO DENSITOMETRY. I. PILOT SURVEY OF ULTRACOMPACT H II REGIONS AND METHODOLOGY},
author = {Ginsburg, Adam and Darling, Jeremy and Battersby, Cara and Zeiger, Ben and Bally, John},
abstractNote = {We present a pilot survey of 21 lines of sight toward ultracompact H II (UCH II) regions and three toward continuum-free lines of sight in the formaldehyde (H{sub 2}CO) 1{sub 10}-1{sub 11} (6 cm) and 2{sub 11}-2{sub 12} (2 cm) transitions, using the H{sub 2}CO centimeter lines as a molecular gas densitometer. Using Arecibo and Green Bank beam-matched observations, we measure the density of 51 detected H{sub 2}CO line pairs and present upper limits on density for an additional 24 detected 1{sub 10}-1{sub 11} lines. We analyze the systematic uncertainties in the H{sub 2}CO densitometer, achieving H{sub 2} density measurements with accuracies {approx}0.1-0.3 dex. The densities measured are not correlated with distance, implying that it is possible to make accurate density measurements throughout the galaxy without a distance bias. We confirm that UCH II regions are associated with, and possibly embedded in, gas at densities n(H{sub 2}) {approx}> 10{sup 5} cm{sup -3}. The densities measured in line-of-sight molecular clouds suggest that they consist of low volume filling factor (f {approx} 10{sup -2}) gas at high (n(H{sub 2}) > 10{sup 4} cm{sup -3}) density, which is inconsistent with purely supersonic turbulence and requires high-density clumping greater than typically observed in gravoturbulent simulations. We observe complex line morphologies that indicate density variations with velocity around UCH II regions, and we classify a subset of the UCH II molecular envelopes as collapsing or expanding. We compare these measurements to Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey 1.1 mm observations, and note that most UCH II regions have 1.1 mm emission consisting of significant (5%-70%) free-free emission and are therefore not necessarily dominated by optically thin dust emission as is often assumed when computing clump masses. A comparison of our data with the Mangum et al. starburst sample shows that the area filling factor of dense (n(H{sub 2}) {approx} 10{sup 5} cm{sup -3}) molecular gas in typical starburst galaxies is {approx}< 0.01, but in extreme starburst galaxies like Arp 220, is {approx}0.1, suggesting that Arp 220 is physically similar to an oversized UCH II region.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/149},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21578218}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 2,
volume = 736,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011},
month = {Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011}
}