A CO LINE AND INFRARED CONTINUUM STUDY OF THE ACTIVE STAR-FORMING COMPLEX W51

Journal Article · Wed Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/190/1/58· OSTI ID:21454955

Kang, Miju; Lee, Youngung; Choi, Minho ^[1]; Bieging, John H; Kulesa, Craig A

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1. International Center for Astrophysics, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 838 Daedeokdaero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)

We present the results of an extensive observational study of the active star-forming complex W51 that was observed in the J = 2 - 1 transition of the {sup 12}CO and {sup 13}CO molecules over a 1.{sup 0}25 x 1.{sup 0}00 region with the University of Arizona Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope. We use a statistical equilibrium code to estimate physical properties of the molecular gas. We compare the molecular cloud morphology with the distribution of infrared (IR) and radio continuum sources and find associations between molecular clouds and young stellar objects (YSOs) listed in Spitzer IR catalogs. The ratios of CO lines associated with H II regions are different from the ratios outside the active star-forming regions. We present evidence of star formation triggered by the expansion of the H II regions and by cloud-cloud collisions. We estimate that about 1% of the cloud mass is currently in YSOs.

• OSTI ID: 21454955
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, Vol. 190, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/190/1/58; ISSN 0067-0049
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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