Issue |
A&A
Volume 533, September 2011
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A94 | |
Number of page(s) | 9 | |
Section | Interstellar and circumstellar matter | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117315 | |
Published online | 07 September 2011 |
Filaments and ridges in Vela C revealed by Herschel: from low-mass to high-mass star-forming sites⋆,⋆⋆
1
Laboratoire AIM, CEA/IRFU CNRS/INSU Université Paris Diderot,
CEA-Saclay, 91191
Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex,
France
e-mail: tracey.hill@cea.fr
2
Université de Bordeaux, OASU, Bordeaux, France
3
Laboratoire dAstrophysique de Marseille UMR6110, CNRS, Université
de Provence, 38 rue F.
Joliot-Curie, 13388
Marseille,
France
4
Université de Toulouse, UPS, CESR, 9 avenue du colonel Roche, 31028
Toulouse Cedex 4 ; CNRS, UMR 5187,
31028
Toulouse,
France
5
National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics, University of Victoria, Department of Physics and
Astronomy, Victoria,
Canada
6
INAF-Istituto Fisica Spazio Interplanetario,
via Fosso del Cavaliere 100,
00133
Roma,
Italy
7
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma,
via di Frascati 33,
00040
Monte Porzio Catone,
Italy
8
School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University,
Queens Buildings,
The Parade, Cardiff, CF243 AA, UK
9
Herschel Science Centre, ESAC,
Spain
10
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of
Toronto, Toronto,
ON, M5S 3H8, Canada
11
Institut dAstrophysique de Paris, and Université Pierre et Marie
Curie (UPMC), UMR 7095 CNRS, 98bis
boulevard Arago, 75014
Paris,
France
12
ESO, Karl
Schwarzschild str. 2, 85748
Garching bei Munchen,
Germany
13
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, OX11
0NL, UK
14
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open
University, Milton
Keynes, UK
15
Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster
University, Hamilton,
ON, L8S 4M1, Canada
Received: 22 May 2011
Accepted: 29 July 2011
We present the first Herschel PACS and SPIRE results of the Vela C molecular complex in the far-infrared and submillimetre regimes at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm, spanning the peak of emission of cold prestellar or protostellar cores. Column density and multi-resolution analysis (MRA) differentiates the Vela C complex into five distinct sub-regions. Each sub-region displays differences in their column density and temperature probability distribution functions (PDFs), in particular, the PDFs of the “Centre-Ridge” and “South-Nest” sub-regions appear in stark contrast to each other. The Centre-Ridge displays a bimodal temperature PDF representative of hot gas surrounding the HII region RCW 36 and the cold neighbouring filaments, whilst the South-Nest is dominated by cold filamentary structure. The column density PDF of the Centre-Ridge is flatter than the South-Nest, with a high column density tail, consistent with formation through large-scale flows, and regulation by self-gravity. At small to intermediate scales MRA indicates the Centre-Ridge to be twice as concentrated as the South-Nest, whilst on larger scales, a greater portion of the gas in the South-Nest is dominated by turbulence than in the Centre-Ridge. In Vela C, high-mass stars appear to be preferentially forming in ridges, i.e., dominant high column density filaments.
Key words: dust, extinction / stars: early-type / ISM: structure / stars: protostars / ISM: individual objects: Vela C
Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.
Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
© ESO, 2011
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