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Sub-Millimeter Spectral Line Observations in Very Dense Regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2017

Neal J. Evans II
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy and Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Lee G. Mundy
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy and Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
John H. Davis
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy and Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Paul Vanden Bout
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy and Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, USA

Abstract

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In a search for very high density (n ≳ 107 cm−3) regions, the Millimeter Wave Observatory 5-m telescope was used to observe several submillimeter lines. The regions studied were Orion A, M17, S140, and NGC2024. The lines were CS(J=7-6), H2CO(JK-1K1=515→414), and HCN(J=4-3). These data are combined with data at millimeter wavelengths to derive the volume density and the results are compared to those deduced from millimeter lines alone (Snell et al. 1984). In NGC2024, higher densities (≳ 107 cm−3) are clearly indicated by the sub-mm lines than were derived by Snell et al. In M17, derived densities are also higher, but uncertainties overlap the Snell et al. solutions. The range of densities derived from CS and HCN are consistent. The sub-millimeter lines of these species appear to be good probes of the highest densities present in regions of active star formation.

Type
I. Star Forming Processes in the Solar Neighborhood
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1987