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An H I Mosaic of the Small Magellanic Cloud

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

L. Staveley-Smith ,
R. J. Sault ,
D. McConnell ,
M. J. Kesteven ,
D. Hatzidimitriou ,
K.C. Freeman  and
M. A. Dopita
L. Staveley-Smith
Affiliation:
Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia [email protected]
R. J. Sault
Affiliation:
Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia [email protected]
D. McConnell
Affiliation:
Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia [email protected]
M. J. Kesteven
Affiliation:
Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia [email protected]
D. Hatzidimitriou
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Crete, 714.09 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
K.C. Freeman
Affiliation:
Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Weston Creek PO, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia
M. A. Dopita
Affiliation:
Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Weston Creek PO, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia
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Abstract

This paper describes the first results from a 20 deg2 mosaic of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in the λ21-cm line of neutral hydrogen. The mosaic consists of 320 separate pointings with the 375-m array of the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The angular resolution is 1′· 5 (26 pc, for a distance of 60 kpc) and the velocity resolution is l·6kms−1. The images reveal a structure of remarkable complexity, with much of the spatial power contained in high-brightness temperature compact knots and filaments. Numerous wind-blown ‘bubbles’ and ‘supershells’ are evident in the data, both inside and outside the stellar confines of the SMC. Some high-density H I regions are seen to correlate with Hα regions, indicating sites of current star formation. However, many high-column-density H I regions are devoid of optical emission and may represent regions of future star formation. These regions may be under-abundant in diffuse molecular gas due to the high radiation field and low metallicity of the SMC.

Keywords

galaxiesSmall Magellanic CloudgalaxiesISMgalaxiesirregularradio linesgalaxies
Type
Extragalactic
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , April 1995 , pp. 13 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1995

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