Large-scale Velocity Gradients Research Articles

Observational Evidence of the Merging of Filaments and Hub Formation in G083.097+03.270

We uncover a hub–filament system correlated with massive young stellar associations in G083.097+03.270. Diagnosed with simultaneous 12CO, 13CO, and C18O line observations, the region is found to host two distinct and elongated filaments having separate velocity components, interacting spatially and kinematically, that appear to have seeded the formation of a dense hub at the intersection. A large velocity spread at the hub, in addition to a clear bridging feature connecting the filaments in velocity, indicate the merging of filaments. Along the filament axis, the velocity gradient reveals a global gas motion with an increasing velocity dispersion inward to the hub signifying turbulence. Altogether, the clustering of Class I sources, a high excitation temperature, a high column density, and the presence of a massive outflow at the central hub suggest enhanced star formation. We propose that the merging of large-scale filaments and velocity gradients along filaments are the driving factors in the mass accumulation process at the hub that have sequentially led to the massive star formation. With two giant filaments merging to coincide with a hub therein with ongoing star formation, this site serves as a benchmark for the “filaments to clusters” star-forming paradigm.

Direct Observational Evidence of the Multi-scale, Dynamical Mass Accretion Toward a High-mass Star-forming Hub-filament System

There is growing evidence that high-mass star formation and hub-filament systems (HFS) are intricately linked. The gas kinematics along the filaments and the forming high-mass star(s) in the central hub are in excellent agreement with the new generation of global hierarchical high-mass star formation models. In this paper, we present an observational investigation of a typical HFS cloud, G310.142+0.758 (G310 hereafter), which reveals unambiguous evidence of mass inflow from the cloud scale via the filaments onto the forming protostar(s) at the hub conforming with the model predictions. Continuum and molecular line data from the ATOMS and MALT90 surveys that cover different spatial scales are used. Three filaments (with a total mass of 5.7 ± 1.1 × 103 M ⊙) are identified converging toward the central hub region where several signposts of high-mass star formation have been observed. The hub region contains a massive clump (1280 ± 260 M ⊙) harboring a central massive core. Additionally, five outflow lobes are associated with the central massive core implying a forming cluster. The observed large-scale, smooth, and coherent velocity gradients from the cloud down to the core scale, and the signatures of infall motion seen in the central massive clump and core, clearly unveil a nearly continuous, multi-scale mass accretion/transfer process at a similar mass infall rate of ∼10−3 M ⊙ yr−1 over all scales, feeding the central forming high-mass protostar(s) in the G310 HFS cloud.

Gravitational collapse and accretion flows in the hub filament system G323.46-0.08

We studied the hub-filament system G323.46-0.08 based on archival molecular line data from the SEDIGISM 13CO survey and infrared data from the GLIMPSE, MIPS, and Hi-GAL surveys. G323.46-0.08 consists of three filaments, F-north, F-west, and F-south, that converge toward the central high-mass clump AGAL 323.459-0.079. F-west and Part1 of the F-south show clear large-scale velocity gradients 0.28 and 0.44 km s−1 pc−1, respectively. They seem to be channeling materials into AGAL 323.459-0.079. The minimum accretion rate was estimated to be 1216 M⊙ Myr−1. A characteristic V-shape appears around AGAL323.459-0.079 in the PV diagram, which traces the accelerated gas motions under gravitational collapse. This has also been supported by model fitting results. All three filaments are supercritical and they have fragmented into many dense clumps. The seesaw patterns near most dense clumps in the PV diagram suggests that mass accretion also occurs along the filament toward the clumps. Our results show that filamentary accretion flows appear to be an important mechanism for supplying the materials necessary to form the central high-mass clump AGAL 323.459-0.079 and to propel the star forming activity taking place therein.

The molecular environment of the solar-type protostar IRAS 16293–2422

Context. Studying the physical and chemical processes leading to the formation of low-mass stars is crucial for understanding the origin of our Sun and the Solar System. In particular, analyzing the emission and absorption lines from molecules to derive their spatial distribution in the envelopes of young stellar objects is a fundamental tool to obtain information on the kinematics and chemistry at the very early stages of star formation. Aims. In this work we aim to examine in detail the spatial structures and molecular abundances of material surrounding the very well-known low-mass binary protostar IRAS 16293-2422 and the prestellar core 16293E, which are embedded in the Lynds 1689 N dark cloud. This analysis is performed to obtain information on the physical and chemical properties of these young objects and their interaction with the molecular outflows present across the region. Methods. We have used the LAsMA heterodyne array installed on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 meter submillimeter telescope to image a region of about 0.12 × 0.12 pc2 around IRAS 16293-2422 and 16293E and to study their molecular environment covering 45.6 GHz in a frequency range from 277 GHz to 375 GHz. We have also used the APEX FLASH+ receiver to observe and search for molecular lines in a frequency range between 476 GHz to 493 GHz. Results. We have identified 144 transitions from 36 molecular species, including isotopologues. This is the first time that such a large number of species have been mapped at large scales simultaneously in this region. The maps reveal the envelope to have a complex morphology around the cloud cores and the emission peaks known as E1, E2, W1, W2, and HE2, including the outflow structure arising from IRAS 16293-2422. Using several transitions of para-H2CO, we have derived new lower limits for the kinetic temperatures toward IRAS 16293-2422 and the surrounding emission peaks. Based on these temperatures, new column densities for all detected species were derived around the cloud cores and all emission peaks using the radiative transfer codes CLASS-Weeds, CASSIS, and RADEX. We derived H2 volume densities in Lynds 1689 N based on ortho-H2CO transitions with different upper level energies, varying between 5 × 106 cm−3 and 63 K at IRAS 16293-2422 to values on the order of 1 × 106 cm−3 and 35 K at the other emission peaks. Conclusions. Our new observations further confirm the scenario of an outflow arising from IRAS 16293-2422 interacting with the prestellar core 16293E. This is inferred from the velocity and linewidth gradient shown by several deuterated species closer to the outflow-core interaction region in 16293E. We observe a large-scale velocity gradient across the molecular cloud which coincides with the rotation of the envelope around IRAS 16293-2422 reported previously in the literature. A comparison with JCMT SCUBA-2 450 μm dust continuum maps and our data suggests that emission peak W2 may be related to a colder dust source rather than a shocked region. The newly derived column densities and temperatures for different species, combined with the molecular spatial distribution in all sources, indicate clear chemical differences between the protostellar source, the prestellar core and the shocked positions as a result of the diverse physical conditions at different locations in this region.

Separating large-scale superposition and modulation in turbulent channels

The presence of very-large-scale motions in wall-bounded turbulent flows is commonly associated with their footprint in the form of the superposition of the large scales at the wall and the additional amplitude modulation of small-scale near-wall turbulence. These two phenomena are currently understood to be interlinked, with the superposed large-scale velocity gradient causing the modulation of small-scale activity in the proximity of the wall. To challenge this idea, we devise a numerical strategy that selectively suppresses either superposition or amplitude modulation, in an effort to isolate and study the remaining phenomenon. Results from our direct numerical simulations indicate that a positive correlation between the amplitude of the small scales in the near-wall region and the large-scale signal in the outer flow persists even when near-wall large-scale motions are suppressed – i.e. in absence of superposition. Clearly, this kind of correlation cannot be caused by the near-wall large-scale velocity or its gradients, as both are absent. Conversely, when modulation is blocked, the near-wall footprints of the large scales seem to disappear. This study has been carried out on channel flows at friction Reynolds number $Re_\tau =1000$ in both standard simulation domains and minimal streamwise units (MSUs), where the streamwise fluctuation energy is enhanced. The consistency of the results obtained by the two approaches suggests that MSUs can capture correctly this kind of scale interaction at a much reduced cost.

Formation of hub–filament structure triggered by a cloud–cloud collision in the W33 complex

ABSTRACT Hub–filament systems are suggested to be the birth cradles of high-mass stars and clusters, but the formation of hub–filament structure is still unclear. Using FUGIN 13CO (1–0), C18O (1–0) and SEDIGISM 13CO (2–1) survey data, we investigate the formation of hub–filament structure in the W33 complex. The W33 complex consists of two colliding clouds, called W33-blue and W33-red. We decompose the velocity structures in W33-blue by fitting multiple velocity components and find a continuous and monotonic velocity field. Virial parameters of Dendrogram structures suggest the dominance of gravity in W33-blue. The strong positive correlation between velocity dispersion and column density indicates that the non-thermal motions in W33-blue may originate from gravitationally driven collapse. These signatures suggest that the filamentary structures in W33-blue result from the gravitational collapse of a compressed layer. However, the large-scale velocity gradient in W33-blue may originate mainly from cloud–cloud collision and feedback of active star formation, instead of filament-rooted longitudinal inflow. From the results observed above, we argue that cloud–cloud collision triggers the formation of hub–filament structures in the W33 complex. Meanwhile, the appearance of multiple-scale hub–filament structures in W33-blue is likely an imprint of the transition from a compressed layer to a hub–filament system.

Turbulent Prandtl number from isotropically forced turbulence

Turbulent motions enhance the diffusion of large-scale flows and temperature gradients. Such diffusion is often parameterized by coefficients of turbulent viscosity ( $\nu _{t}$ ) and turbulent thermal diffusivity ( $\chi _{t}$ ) that are analogous to their microscopic counterparts. We compute the turbulent diffusion coefficients by imposing sinusoidal large-scale velocity and temperature gradients on a turbulent flow and measuring the response of the system. We also confirm our results using experiments where the imposed gradients are allowed to decay. To achieve this, we use weakly compressible three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of isotropically forced homogeneous turbulence. We find that the turbulent viscosity and thermal diffusion, as well as their ratio the turbulent Prandtl number, $\textit {Pr}_{t} = \nu _{t}/\chi _{t}$ , approach asymptotic values at sufficiently high Reynolds and Péclet numbers. We also do not find a significant dependence of $\textit {Pr}_{t}$ on the microscopic Prandtl number $\textit {Pr} = \nu /\chi$ . These findings are in stark contrast to results from the $k{-}\epsilon$ model, which suggests that $\textit {Pr}_{t}$ increases monotonically with decreasing $\textit {Pr}$ . The current results are relevant for the ongoing debate on, for example, the nature of the turbulent flows in the very-low- $\textit {Pr}$ regimes of stellar convection zones.

ALMA Data Cubes and Continuum Maps of the Irradiated Western Wall in Carina

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the continuum and line emission of 12CO, 13CO, C18O, and [C i] for a portion of the G287.38-0.62 (Car 1-E) region in the Carina star-forming complex. The new data record how a molecular cloud responds on subarcsecond scales when subjected to a powerful radiation front, and provide insights into the overall process of star formation within regions that contain the most-massive young stars. The maps show several molecular clouds superpose upon the line of sight, including a portion of the Western Wall, a highly irradiated cloud situated near the young star cluster Trumpler 14. In agreement with theory, there is a clear progression from fluoresced H2, to [C i], to C18O with distance into the photodissociation region (PDR) front. Emission from optically thick 12CO extends across the region, while 13CO, [C i] and especially C18O are more optically thin, and concentrate into clumps and filaments closer to the PDR interface. Within the Western Wall cloud itself we identify 254 distinct core-sized clumps in our data cube of C18O. The mass distribution of these objects is similar to that of the stellar initial mass function. Aside from a large-scale velocity gradient, the clump radial velocities lack any spatial coherence size. There is no direct evidence for triggering of star formation in the Western Wall in that its C18O clumps and continuum cores appear starless, with no pillars present. However, the densest portion of the cloud lies closest to the PDR, and the C18O emission is flattened along the radiation front.

Cloud-cloud collision as origin of the G31.41+0.31 massive protocluster

The G31.41+0.31 (G31) hot molecular core (HMC) is a high-mass protocluster showing accelerated infall and rotational spin-up that is well studied at high-angular resolution. To complement the accurate view of the small scale in G31, we traced the kinematics of the large-scale material by carrying out N2H+ (1–0) observations with the Institute de Radioastronomie Millimétrique 30m telescope of an area of ∼6 × 6 arcmin2 around the HMC. The N2H+ observations have revealed a large-scale (5 pc) hub-filament system (HFS) composed of at least four filamentary arms and a NNE–SSW velocity gradient (∼0.4 km s−1 pc−1) between the northern and southern filaments. The linewidth increases toward the hub at the center of the HFS reaching values of 2.5–3 km s−1 in the central 1 pc. The origin of the large-scale velocity gradient is likely a cloud-cloud collision. In this scenario, the filaments in G31 would have formed by compression resulting from the collision, and the rotation of the HMC observed at scales of 1000 au would have been induced by shear caused by the cloud-cloud collision at scales of a few parsecs. We conclude that G31 represents a HFS in a compressed layer with an orthogonal orientation to the plane of the sky, and it represents a benchmark for the filaments-to-clusters paradigm of star formation.

On eddy transport in the ocean. Part I: The diffusion tensor

This study provides an interpretation of isopycnal eddy transport for mass and passive tracers in double-gyre eddy-resolving oceanic circulation. This paper focuses on a transport/diffusion tensor representation of the eddy tracer flux, and a companion paper will focus on advective eddy-induced tracer and mass transports. We use a spatial filter to separate the large and small scales, which leads to results distinct from those obtained via a temporal Reynolds eddy decomposition. To work towards a parameterisation, we relate the eddy tracer flux to the large-scale tracer gradient via the transport tensor K. The symmetric part of K is the diffusion tensor, S, which parameterises diffusive fluxes and whose mixing properties are determined by the signs of its eigenvalues. The eigenvalues of S are robustly of opposite sign (polar) and thus quantify filamentation of the tracer via both up- and down-gradient fluxes. Given the prevalence of polar eigenvalues – which are also obtained for Reynolds eddy fluxes – representing their associated effects should be a target of future eddy tracer transport closures. Given the inherent inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the eddy-induced transport, we argue that a full transport tensor is better suited to this task than scalar coefficients or diagonal tensors. The diffusion axis, which represents the direction of preferential mixing, tends to align with the large-scale velocity vector and contours of large-scale relative vorticity and layer thickness. Strong shears can inhibit this alignment. We show that the large-scale velocity gradient matrix may be suitable for parameterising the transport tensor, in particular at depth. Furthermore, since entries of K and S exhibit probabilistic distributions when conditioned on certain large-scale flow features, we suggest that a stochastic closure for the eddy transport would be most suitable.

Deciphering the Lyman α blob 1 with deep MUSE observations

Context. Lyman α blobs (LABs) are large-scale radio-quiet Lyman α (Lyα) nebula at high-z that occur predominantly in overdense proto-cluster regions. In particular, there is the prototypical SSA22a-LAB1 at z = 3.1, which has become an observational reference for LABs across the electromagnetic spectrum. Aims. We want to understand the powering mechanisms that drive the LAB so that we may gain empirical insights into the galaxy-formation processes within a rare dense environment at high-z. Thus, we need to infer the distribution, the dynamics, and the ionisation state of LAB 1’s Lyα emitting gas. Methods. LAB 1 was observed for 17.2 h with the VLT/MUSE integral-field spectrograph. We produced optimally extracted narrow band images, in Lyαλ1216, He IIλ1640, and we tried to detect C IVλ1549 emission. By utilising a moment-based analysis, we mapped the kinematics and the line profile characteristics of the blob. We also linked the inferences from the line profile analysis to previous results from imaging polarimetry. Results. We map Lyα emission from the blob down to surface-brightness limits of ≈6 × 10−19 erg s−1 cm−2 arcsec−2. At this depth, we reveal a bridge between LAB 1 and its northern neighbour LAB 8, as well as a shell-like filament towards the south of LAB 1. The complexity and morphology of the Lyα profile vary strongly throughout the blob. Despite the complexity, we find a coherent large-scale east-west velocity gradient of ∼1000 km s−1 that is aligned perpendicular to the major axis of the blob. Moreover, we observe a negative correlation of Lyα polarisation fraction with Lyα line width and a positive correlation with absolute line-of-sight velocity. Finally, we reveal He II emission in three distinct regions within the blob, however, we can only provide upper limits for C IV. Conclusions. Various gas excitation mechanisms are at play in LAB 1: ionising radiation and feedback effects dominate near the embedded galaxies, while Lyα scattering contributes at larger distances. However, He II/Lyα ratios combined with upper limits on C IV/Lyα are not able to discriminate between active galactic nucleus ionisation and feedback- driven shocks. The alignment of the angular momentum vector parallel to the morphological principal axis appears to be at odds with the predicted norm for high-mass halos, but this most likely reflects that LAB 1 resides at a node of multiple intersecting filaments of the cosmic web. LAB 1 can thus be thought of as a progenitor of a present-day massive elliptical within a galaxy cluster.

Edge collapse and subsequent longitudinal accretion in filament S242

Filament S242 is 25 pc long with massive clumps and YSO clusters concentrated in its end regions; it is considered a good example of edge collapse. We mapped this filament in the 12CO(1–0) and 13CO(1–0) lines. A large-scale velocity gradient along filament S242 has been detected; the relative velocity between the two end-clumps is ~3 km s−1, indicating an approaching motion between them. These signatures are consistent with the filament S242 being formed through the collapse of a single elongated entity, where an effect known as “gravitational focusing” drives the ends of the filament to collapse (edge collapse). Based on this picture, we estimate a collapse timescale of ~4.2 Myr, which is the time needed for a finite and elongated entity evolving to the observed filament S242. For the whole filament, we find that increases in surface densities lead to increases in velocity dispersion, which can be consistently explained as the result of self-gravity. We also calculated the contribution of longitudinal collapse to the observed velocity dispersion and found it to be the dominant effect in driving the gas motion near the end-clumps. We propose that our filament S242 is formed through a two-stage collapse model, where the edge collapse of a truncated filament is followed by a stage of longitudinal accretion toward the dense end-clumps.

Iterative PIV interrogation for complex wall-bounded flows

The strategy of the iterative PIV algorithm is discussed with the aim of investigating transitional wall-bounded flows. It is proposed to start the algorithm with a coarse prediction of the large-scale tangential velocity gradient to eliminate its negative effect. A window correlation with image deformation technique is then iteratively conducted to capture the fluctuating flow structures. Synthetic particles are created based on the DNS result of a typical hypersonic transitional boundary layers to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. Effects of several parameters, including the mean tangential displacement gradient, particle diameter, particle density and background noise on the level on the evaluation, are systematically investigated. Four methods to initially predict the near-wall flow are compared, including the directly-used window correlation with image deformation (WC) (Scarano 2002 Meas. Sci. Technol. 13 R1–19), the WC method with static particles added in the solid region (Zhu et al 2013 Meas. Sci. Technol. 24 125302), the image gradiometry method (Nguyen et al 2009 Proc. 6th Int. Symp. on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena (Seoul, Korea, 2009)) and the newly-proposed joint-translation-shear correlation method method. The results show that, compared with the other three approaches, the performance of the new method is greatly enhanced for evaluating the dynamical flow properties, even if the displacement gradient is very high. Finally, experimental data on artificially disturbed boundary layers from a low-speed and a high-Mach-number wind tunnel are used to evaluate the new method, which is able to evaluate the mean and instantaneous velocity fields in both cases.

A Technique for Removing Large-scale Variations in Regularly and Irregularly Spaced Data

Abstract In many astrophysical systems, smooth large-scale variations coexist with small-scale fluctuations. For example, a large-scale velocity or density gradient can exist in molecular clouds that have small-scale fluctuations by turbulence. In redshifted 21 cm observations, we also have two types of signals—the Galactic foreground emissions that change smoothly and the redshifted 21 cm signals that fluctuate fast in frequency space. In many cases, the large-scale variations make it difficult to extract information on small-scale fluctuations. We propose a simple technique to remove smooth large-scale variations. Our technique relies on multi-point structure functions and can obtain the magnitudes of small-scale fluctuations. It can also be used to design filters that can remove large-scale variations and retrieve small-scale data. We discuss how to apply our technique to irregularly spaced data, such as rotation measure observations toward extragalactic radio point sources.

Small-scale structure and energy transfer in homogeneous turbulence

We use high-resolution velocity measurements in a jet-stirred zero-mean-flow facility to investigate the topology and energy transfer properties of homogeneous turbulence over the Reynolds number range$Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}\approx 300$–500. The probability distributions of the enstrophy and strain-rate fields show long tails associated with the most intense events, while the weaker events behave as random variables. The high-enstrophy and high-strain structures are shaped as tube-like and sheet-like objects, respectively, the latter often wrapped around the former. Both types of structures have thickness that scales in Kolmogorov units, and display self-similar topology over a wide range of scales. The small-scale turbulence activity is found to be strongly correlated with the large-scale activity, suggesting that the phenomenon of amplitude modulation (previously observed in advection-dominated shear flows) is not limited to specific production mechanisms. Observing the significant variations in spatially averaged enstrophy, we heuristically define hyperactive and sleeping states of the flow: these also correspond to, respectively, high and low levels of large-scale velocity gradients. Moreover, the hyperactive and sleeping states contribute very differently to the inter-scale energy flux, characterized via the nonlinear transfer term in the Kármán–Howarth–Monin equation. While the energy cascades to smaller scales along the jet-axis direction, a weaker but sizable inverse transfer is observed along the transverse direction; a behaviour so far only observed in spatially developing flows. The hyperactive states are characterized by very intense energy transfers, while the sleeping states account for weaker fluxes, largely directed from small to large scales. This implies that the form of energy cascade depends on the presence (or absence) of intense turbulent structures. These results are at odds with the classic concept of the energy cascade between adjacent scales, but are compatible with the view of a cascade in physical space.

TheGaia-ESO Survey: dynamics of ionized and neutral gas in the Lagoon nebula (M 8)

We present a spectroscopic study of the dynamics of the ionized and neutral gas throughout the Lagoon nebula (M8), using VLT/FLAMES data from the Gaia-ESO Survey. We explore the connections between the nebular gas and the stellar population of the associated star cluster NGC6530. We characterize through spectral fitting emission lines of H-alpha, [N II] and [S II] doublets, [O III], and absorption lines of sodium D doublet, using data from the FLAMES/Giraffe and UVES spectrographs, on more than 1000 sightlines towards the entire face of the Lagoon nebula. Gas temperatures are derived from line-width comparisons, densities from the [S II] doublet ratio, and ionization parameter from H-alpha/[N II] ratio. Although doubly-peaked emission profiles are rarely found, line asymmetries often imply multiple velocity components along the line of sight. This is especially true for the sodium absorption, and for the [O III] lines. Spatial maps for density and ionization are derived, and compared to other known properties of the nebula and of its massive stars 9 Sgr, Herschel 36 and HD 165052 which are confirmed to provide most of the ionizing flux. The detailed velocity fields across the nebula show several expanding shells, related to the cluster NGC6530, the O stars 9 Sgr and Herschel 36, and the massive protostar M8East-IR. The origins of kinematical expansion and ionization of the NGC6530 shell appear to be different. We are able to put constrains on the line-of-sight (relative or absolute) distances between some of these objects and the molecular cloud. The large obscuring band running through the middle of the nebula is being compressed by both sides, which might explain its enhanced density. We also find an unexplained large-scale velocity gradient across the entire nebula. At larger distances, the transition from ionized to neutral gas is studied using the sodium lines.

Response approach to the squeezed-limit bispectrum: application to the correlation of quasar and Lyman-α forest power spectrum

The squeezed-limit bispectrum, which is generated by nonlinear gravitational evolution as well as inflationary physics, measures the correlation of three wavenumbers, in the configuration where one wavenumber is much smaller than the other two. Since the squeezed-limit bispectrum encodes the impact of a large-scale fluctuation on the small-scale power spectrum, it can be understood as how the small-scale power spectrum ``responds'' to the large-scale fluctuation. Viewed in this way, the squeezed-limit bispectrum can be calculated using the response approach even in the cases which do not submit to perturbative treatment. To illustrate this point, we apply this approach to the cross-correlation between the large-scale quasar density field and small-scale Lyman-α forest flux power spectrum. In particular, using separate universe simulations which implement changes in the large-scale density, velocity gradient, and primordial power spectrum amplitude, we measure how the Lyman-α forest flux power spectrum responds to the local, long-wavelength quasar overdensity, and equivalently their squeezed-limit bispectrum. We perform a Fisher forecast for the ability of future experiments to constrain local non-Gaussianity using the bispectrum of quasars and the Lyman-α forest. Combining with quasar and Lyman-α forest power spectra to constrain the biases, we find that for DESI the expected 1−σ constraint is err[fNL]∼60. Ability for DESI to measure fNL through this channel is limited primarily by the aliasing and instrumental noise of the Lyman-α forest flux power spectrum. The combination of response approach and separate universe simulations provides a novel technique to explore the constraints from the squeezed-limit bispectrum between different observables.

The Musca cloud: A 6 pc-long velocity-coherent, sonic filament

Filaments play a central role in the molecular clouds' evolution, but their internal dynamical properties remain poorly characterized. To further explore the physical state of these structures, we have investigated the kinematic properties of the Musca cloud. We have sampled the main axis of this filamentary cloud in $^{13}$CO and C$^{18}$O (2--1) lines using APEX observations. The different line profiles in Musca shows that this cloud presents a continuous and quiescent velocity field along its $\sim$6.5 pc of length. With an internal gas kinematics dominated by thermal motions (i.e., $\sigma_{NT}/c_s\lesssim1$) and large-scale velocity gradients, these results reveal Musca as the longest velocity-coherent, sonic-like object identified so far in the ISM. The transonic properties of Musca present a clear departure from the predicted supersonic velocity dispersions expected in the Larson's velocity dispersion-size relationship, and constitute the first observational evidence of a filament fully decoupled from the turbulent regime over multi-parsec scales.

Scale interactions in a mixing layer – the role of the large-scale gradients

The interaction between the large and the small scales of turbulence is investigated in a mixing layer, at a Reynolds number based on the Taylor microscale ($Re_{{\it\lambda}}$) of $250$, via direct numerical simulations. The analysis is performed in physical space, and the local vorticity root-mean-square (r.m.s.) is taken as a measure of the small-scale activity. It is found that positive large-scale velocity fluctuations correspond to large vorticity r.m.s. on the low-speed side of the mixing layer, whereas, they correspond to low vorticity r.m.s. on the high-speed side. The relationship between large and small scales thus depends on position if the vorticity r.m.s. is correlated with the large-scale velocity fluctuations. On the contrary, the correlation coefficient is nearly constant throughout the mixing layer and close to unity if the vorticity r.m.s. is correlated with the large-scale velocity gradients. Therefore, the small-scale activity appears closely related to large-scale gradients, while the correlation between the small-scale activity and the large-scale velocity fluctuations is shown to reflect a property of the large scales. Furthermore, the vorticity from unfiltered (small scales) and from low pass filtered (large scales) velocity fields tend to be aligned when examined within vortical tubes. These results provide evidence for the so-called ‘scale invariance’ (Meneveau & Katz, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., vol. 32, 2000, pp. 1–32), and suggest that some of the large-scale characteristics are not lost at the small scales, at least at the Reynolds number achieved in the present simulation.

THE ARIZONA RADIO OBSERVATORY CO MAPPING SURVEY OF GALACTIC MOLECULAR CLOUDS. IV. THE NGC 1333 CLOUD IN PERSEUS IN CO J = 2-1 AND 13 CO J = 2-1

We mapped the NGC 1333 section of the Perseus Molecular Cloud in the J = 2-1 emission lines of 12CO and 13CO over a 50' × 60' region (3.4 × 4.1 pc at the cloud distance of 235 pc), using the Arizona Radio Observatory Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope. The angular resolution is 38'' (0.04 pc) and velocity resolution is 0.3 km s–1. We compare our velocity moment maps with known positions of young stellar objects (YSOs) and (sub)millimeter dust continuum emission. The CO emission is brightest at the center of the cluster of YSOs, but is detected over the full extent of the mapped region at ≥10 × rms. The morphology of the CO channel maps shows a kinematically complex structure, with many elongated features extending from the YSO cluster outward by ~1 pc. One notable feature appears as a narrow serpentine structure that curves and doubles back, with a total length of ~3 pc. The 13CO velocity channel maps show evidence for many low-density cavities surrounded by partial shell-like structures, consistent with previous studies. Maps of the velocity moments show localized effects of bipolar outflows from embedded YSOs, as well as a large-scale velocity gradient around the central core of YSOs, suggestive of large-scale turbulent cloud motions determining the location of current star formation. The CO/13CO intensity ratios show the distribution of the CO opacity, which exhibits a complex kinematic structure. Identified YSOs are located mainly at the positions of greatest CO opacity. The maps are available for download as FITS files.