Interaction between the Supernova Remnant W44 and the Infrared Dark Cloud G034.77-00.55: shock induced star formation?

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cosentino, G., Jiménez-Serra, I., Barnes, A. T., Tan, J. C., Fontani, F., Caselli, P., Henshaw, J. D., Law, C. Y., Viti, S., Fedriani, R., Hsu, C. -J., Gorai, P., Zeng, S., De Simone, M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912196117659648
author Cosentino, G.
Jiménez-Serra, I.
Barnes, A. T.
Tan, J. C.
Fontani, F.
Caselli, P.
Henshaw, J. D.
Law, C. Y.
Viti, S.
Fedriani, R.
Hsu, C. -J.
Gorai, P.
Zeng, S.
De Simone, M.
author_facet Cosentino, G.
Jiménez-Serra, I.
Barnes, A. T.
Tan, J. C.
Fontani, F.
Caselli, P.
Henshaw, J. D.
Law, C. Y.
Viti, S.
Fedriani, R.
Hsu, C. -J.
Gorai, P.
Zeng, S.
De Simone, M.
contents How Supernova Remnant (SNR) shocks impact nearby molecular clouds is still poorly observationally constrained. It is unclear if SNRs can positively or negatively affect clouds star formation potential. We have studied the dense gas morphology and kinematics toward the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G034.77-00.55, shock-interacting with the SNR W44, to identify evidence of early stage star formation induced by the shock. We have used high-angular resolution N2H+(1-0) images across G034.77-00.55, obtained with ALMA. N2H+ is a well known tracer of dense and cold material, optimal to identify gas with the highest potential to harbour star formation. The N2H+ emission is distributed into two elongated structures, one toward the dense ridge at the edge of the source and one toward the inner cloud. Both elongations are spatially associated with well-defined mass-surface density features. The velocities of the gas in the two structures i.e., 38-41 km s-1 and 41-43 km s-1 are consistent with the lowest velocities of the J- and C-type parts of the SNR-driven shock, respectively. A third velocity component is present at 43-45.5 km s-1. The dense gas shows a fragmented morphology with core-like fragments of scales consistent with the Jeans lengths, masses $\sim$1-20 M$_{\odot}$, densities (n(H$_2$)$\geq$10$^5$ cm$^{-3}$) sufficient to host star formation in free-fall time scales (few 10$^4$ yr) and with virial parameters that hint toward possible collapse. The W44 driven shock may have swept up the encountered material which is now seen as a dense ridge, almost detached from the main cloud, and an elongation within the inner cloud, well constrained in both N2H+ emission and mass surface density. This shock compressed material may have then fragmented into cores that are either in a starless or pre-stellar stage. Additional observations are needed to confirm this scenario and the nature of the cores.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_16459
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Interaction between the Supernova Remnant W44 and the Infrared Dark Cloud G034.77-00.55: shock induced star formation?
Cosentino, G.
Jiménez-Serra, I.
Barnes, A. T.
Tan, J. C.
Fontani, F.
Caselli, P.
Henshaw, J. D.
Law, C. Y.
Viti, S.
Fedriani, R.
Hsu, C. -J.
Gorai, P.
Zeng, S.
De Simone, M.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
How Supernova Remnant (SNR) shocks impact nearby molecular clouds is still poorly observationally constrained. It is unclear if SNRs can positively or negatively affect clouds star formation potential. We have studied the dense gas morphology and kinematics toward the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G034.77-00.55, shock-interacting with the SNR W44, to identify evidence of early stage star formation induced by the shock. We have used high-angular resolution N2H+(1-0) images across G034.77-00.55, obtained with ALMA. N2H+ is a well known tracer of dense and cold material, optimal to identify gas with the highest potential to harbour star formation. The N2H+ emission is distributed into two elongated structures, one toward the dense ridge at the edge of the source and one toward the inner cloud. Both elongations are spatially associated with well-defined mass-surface density features. The velocities of the gas in the two structures i.e., 38-41 km s-1 and 41-43 km s-1 are consistent with the lowest velocities of the J- and C-type parts of the SNR-driven shock, respectively. A third velocity component is present at 43-45.5 km s-1. The dense gas shows a fragmented morphology with core-like fragments of scales consistent with the Jeans lengths, masses $\sim$1-20 M$_{\odot}$, densities (n(H$_2$)$\geq$10$^5$ cm$^{-3}$) sufficient to host star formation in free-fall time scales (few 10$^4$ yr) and with virial parameters that hint toward possible collapse. The W44 driven shock may have swept up the encountered material which is now seen as a dense ridge, almost detached from the main cloud, and an elongation within the inner cloud, well constrained in both N2H+ emission and mass surface density. This shock compressed material may have then fragmented into cores that are either in a starless or pre-stellar stage. Additional observations are needed to confirm this scenario and the nature of the cores.
title Interaction between the Supernova Remnant W44 and the Infrared Dark Cloud G034.77-00.55: shock induced star formation?
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.16459