GALACTIC STRUCTURE BASED ON THE ATLASGAL 870 {mu}m SURVEY

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/747/1/43· OSTI ID:22016318

Beuther, H; Tackenberg, J; Linz, H; Henning, Th ^[1]; Schuller, F; Schilke, P ^[2]; Wyrowski, F; Menten, K ^[3]; Robitaille, T P ^[4]; Walmsley, C M ^[5]; Bronfman, L ^[6]; Motte, F; Nguyen-Luong, Q ^[7]; Bontemps, S ^[8]

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1. Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany)
2. 1st Physikalisches Institut, University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Strasse 77, D-50937 Koeln (Germany)
3. Max-Planck-Institute for Radiostronomy, Auf dem Huegel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
4. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
5. Osservatori Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze (Italy)
6. Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile)
7. Laboratoire AIM, CEA/IRFU - CNRS/INSU - Universit Paris Diderot, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)
8. OASU, Universite de Bordeaux, 2 rue del'Observatoire, B.P. 89, F-33271 Floirac (France)

The ATLASGAL 870 {mu}m continuum survey conducted with the APEX telescope is the first one covering the whole inner Galactic plane (60 Degree-Sign > l > -60 Degree-Sign and b < {+-}1.{sup 0}5) in submillimeter (submm) continuum emission tracing the cold dust of dense and young star-forming regions. Here, we present the overall distribution of sources within our Galactic disk. The submm continuum emission is confined to a narrow range around the Galactic plane, but shifted on average by {approx}0.07 deg below the plane. Source number counts show strong enhancements toward the Galactic center, the spiral arms, and toward prominent star-forming regions. Comparing the distribution of ATLASGAL dust continuum emission to that of young intermediate- to high-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) derived from Spitzer data, we find similarities as well as differences. In particular, the distribution of submm dust continuum emission is significantly more confined to the plane than the YSO distribution (FWHM of 0.7 and 1.1 deg, corresponding to mean physical scale heights of approximately 46 and 80 pc, respectively). While this difference may partly be caused by the large extinction from the dense submm cores, gradual dispersal of stellar distributions after their birth could also contribute to this effect. Compared to other tracers of Galactic structure, the ATLASGAL data are strongly confined to a narrow latitude strip around the Galactic plane.

• OSTI ID: 22016318
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 747; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
DUSTS
GALAXIES
MASS
PHOTON EMISSION
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
TELESCOPES