From gas to stars in energetic environments: dense gas clumps in the 30 Doradus region within the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Physics Department, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg (Germany)
- Astronomy Department, University of Illinois, 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
- Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
We present parsec-scale interferometric maps of HCN(1-0) and HCO{sup +}(1-0) emission from dense gas in the star-forming region 30 Doradus, obtained using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. This extreme star-forming region, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), is characterized by a very intense ultraviolet ionizing radiation field and sub-solar metallicity, both of which are expected to impact molecular cloud structure. We detect 13 bright, dense clumps within the 30 Doradus-10 giant molecular cloud. Some of the clumps are aligned along a filamentary structure with a characteristic spacing that is consistent with formation via varicose fluid instability. Our analysis shows that the filament is gravitationally unstable and collapsing to form stars. There is a good correlation between HCO{sup +} emission in the filament and signatures of recent star formation activity including H{sub 2}O masers and young stellar objects (YSOs). YSOs seem to continue along the same direction of the filament toward the massive compact star cluster R136 in the southwest. We present detailed comparisons of clump properties (masses, linewidths, and sizes) in 30Dor-10 to those in other star forming regions of the LMC (N159, N113, N105, and N44). Our analysis shows that the 30Dor-10 clumps have similar masses but wider linewidths and similar HCN/HCO{sup +} (1-0) line ratios as clumps detected in other LMC star-forming regions. Our results suggest that the dense molecular gas clumps in the interior of 30Dor-10 are well shielded against the intense ionizing field that is present in the 30 Doradus region.
- OSTI ID:
- 22365009
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 793, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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