Millimeter wave aperture synthesis observations of W3(OH)

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:6423620

Turner, J L

The author presents 88-GHz aperture synthesis maps of the HCN molecular and continuum emission from the compact HII region W3(OH). The observations were made with the Hat Creek millimeter interferometer of the University of California, Berkeley. The resolution achieved in the maps is 1.2''. The maps reveal an HCN emission feature near the position of the water masers in W3(OH), which are located 7'' east of the main continuum source. The emission feature has a peak flux density of 0.9 Jy, corresponding to a brightness temperature of 85/sup 0/K. The linewidth of the feature is 33 km/s. The molecular mass implied by the HCN emission is greater than 6 M/sub 0/. There are also HCN emission and absorption features toward the main continuum source. The emission features appear on the north and south of the continuum peak, at velocities of -44 km/s and -36 km/s, respectively. The HCN absorption feature is centered at -48 dm/s. The implications of the discovery of a high brightness HCN clump is discussed. The lack of observable radio continuum or infrared emission, in conjunction with the very high luminosity of the source, suggest that the HCN clump may represent a cocoon surrounding the youngest stellar object yet observed.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6423620
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640103* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Quasi-Stellar
Radio
& X-Ray Sources-- (-1987)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ABSORPTION SPECTRA
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
CYANIDES
EMISSION SPECTRA
H2 REGIONS
HYDROCYANIC ACID
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
INTERFEROMETERS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MICROWAVE SPECTRA
MOLECULES
SPECTRA