Far-infrared emission of molecular clouds

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (33) References (42) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Far-infrared emission of molecular clouds. Ryter, C. E. ; Puget, J. L. Abstract The far-IR power released by interstellar matter on a galactic scale is evaluated using available IR observations of massive molecular clouds and of the diffuse galactic radiation along with the distribution of interstellar matter deduced from 2.6-mm CO observations. An IR luminosity that is normalized per hydrogen atom is defined, an interstellar-grain model is outlined, and an attempt is made to relate the far-IR brightness of the 'cold' envelope of nine IR sources to the column density of that envelope. An average normalized IR luminosity of approximately 2.1 by 10 to the -30th power W per H atom is obtained for these sources, and the average value for the whole Galaxy is suggested to be of the same order of magnitude. It is concluded that the galactic plane should exhibit a color temperature of the order of 23 K and that most molecular clouds are associated with very powerful sources, the most likely being newly formed stars within the clouds. A global star-formation rate per unit mass of interstellar matter is computed and compared with rates derived from star counts. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: August 1977 DOI: 10.1086/155412 Bibcode: 1977ApJ...215..775R Keywords: Far Infrared Radiation; Hydrogen Clouds; Infrared Astronomy; Interstellar Gas; Stellar Evolution; Carbon Monoxide; Cosmic Dust; Galactic Radiation; Gas Density; H Lines; Radiant Flux Density; Star Formation Rate; Stellar Luminosity; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |