Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m Research Articles

MILLIMETER-WAVE MOLECULAR LINE OBSERVATIONS OF THE TORNADO NEBULA

We report the results of millimeter-wave molecular line observations of the Tornado Nebula (G357.7--0.1), which is a bright radio source behind the Galactic Center region. A 15'x15' area was mapped in the J=1--0 lines of CO, 13CO, and HCO+ with the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m telescope. The VLA archival data of OH at 1720 MHz were also reanalyzed. We found two molecular clouds with separate velocities, V_LSR=-14 km/s and +5 km/s. These clouds show rough spatial anti-correlation. Both clouds are associated with OH 1720 MHz emissions in the area overlapping with the Tornado Nebula. The spatial and velocity coincidence indicates violent interaction between the clouds and the Tornado nebula. Modestly excited gas prefers the position of the Tornado "head" in the -14 km/s cloud, also suggesting the interaction. Virial analysis shows that the +5 km/s cloud is more tightly bound by self-gravity than the -14 km/s cloud. We propose a formation scenario for the Tornado Nebula; the +5 km/s cloud collided into the -14 km/s cloud, generating a high-density layer behind the shock front, which activates a putative compact object by Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion to eject a pair of bipolar jets.

Influence of shear motion on evolution of molecular clouds in the spiral galaxy M 51

Abstract We have investigated the dynamics of the molecular gas and the evolution of giant molecular associations (GMAs) in the spiral galaxy M 51 with the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m telescope. The velocity components of the molecular gas perpendicular and parallel to the spiral arms are derived at each spiral phase from the distribution of the line-of-sight velocity of the CO gas. In addition, the shear motion in the galactic disk is determined from the velocity vectors at each spiral phase. It is revealed that the distributions of the shear strength and of GMAs are anti-correlated. GMAs exist only in the area of the weak shear strength and further on the upstream side of the high shear strength. GMAs and most giant molecular clouds (GMCs) exist in the regions where the shear critical surface density is smaller than the gravitational critical surface density, indicating that they can stably grow by self-gravity and the collisional agglomeration of small clouds without being destroyed by shear motion. These factors indicate that the shear motion is an important factor in evolution of GMCs and GMAs.

Development of a Smooth Taper Double-Ridge Waveguide Orthomode Transducer for a New 100 GHz Band Z-Machine Receiver for the NRO 45-m Radio Telescope

ABSTRACTA smooth taper double-ridge waveguide orthomode transducer (OMT) has been designed for the new 100 GHz band receiver system on the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) 45-m radio telescope. The OMT consists of a smooth taper double-ridge waveguide followed by a Bøifot type junction with a main arm and two side arms. The main arm output is a smoothed tapered transformer followed by an E-plane bend and an oval waveguide. This design facilitates the fabrication of the OMT using split blocks machined on a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. The OMT shows a return loss of better than 18 dB, a polarization isolation of better than 28 dB, and an insertion loss of less than 0.5 dB across the 74–116 GHz, and also demonstrated the excellent performance on the NRO 45-m radio telescope.

STRUCTURAL VARIATION OF MOLECULAR GAS IN THE SAGITTARIUS ARM AND INTERARM REGIONS

We have carried out survey observations toward the Galactic plane at l~38 deg in the 12CO and 13CO J=1-0 lines using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m telescope. A wide area (0.8 x 0.8 deg) was mapped with high spatial resolution (17"). The line of sight samples the gas in both the Sagittarius arm and the inter-arm regions. The present observations reveal how the structure and physical conditions vary across a spiral arm. We classify the molecular gas in the line of sight into two distinct components based on its appearance: the bright and compact B component and the fainter and diffuse (i.e., more extended) D component. The B component is predominantly seen at the spiral arm velocities, while the D component dominates at the inter-arm velocities and is also found at the spiral arm velocities. We introduce the brightness distribution function and the brightness distribution index (BDI, which indicates the dominance of the B component) in order to quantify the map's appearance. The radial velocities of BDI peaks coincide with those of high 12CO J=3-2/12CO J=1-0 intensity ratio (i.e., warm gas) and H II regions, and tend to be offset from the line brightness peaks at lower velocities (i.e., presumably downstream side of the arm). Our observations reveal that the gas structure at small scales changes across a spiral arm: bright and spatially confined structures develop in a spiral arm, leading to star formation at downstream side, while extended emission dominates in the inter-arm region.

Sagittarius A Molecular Cloud Complex in H13CO+ and Thermal SiO Emission Lines

Abstract We present results of a high-resolution wide-field mapping observation of the Sagittarius A (Sgr A) molecular cloud complex in H$^{13}$CO$^+$$J$$=$ 1–0 and thermal SiO $J$$=$ 2–1 emission lines with the 25-beam receiver of the 100 GHz band operating on the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m telescope. The mapping area covers a 0$^\circ\!\!\!.$5 $\times$ 0$^\circ\!\!\!.$5 area involving several named molecular clouds, for example GCM$-$0.02$-$0.07, GCM$-$0.13$-$0.08, GCM 0.11$-$0.11, the Sickle molecular cloud, the Arched filaments molecular cloud, and so on. The data have an effective angular resolution of 26$''$. The H$^{13}$CO$^+$ emission line is a famous tracer of molecular gas mass because the line is optically thin, even in the Galactic center region, and is not emphasized by shock. The emission line presents a clumpy distribution of the molecular cloud. The averaged fractional abundance in the Sgr A complex is $N$(H$^{13}$CO$^+$)$/N_{\mathrm{H_2}}$$\simeq$ (1.8$\ \pm\ $0.4) $\times$ 10$^{-11}$, comparing the LTE mass and the virial theorem mass. The SiO emission line is a famous and reliable tracer of shocked molecular gas. We find many molecular clouds that are remarkable only in the SiO emission line. Such molecular clouds have a large velocity width of up to 60 km s$^{-1}$. The brightness temperature ratio is up to $T_{\mathrm{B}}$(SiO)$/T_{\mathrm{B}}$(H$^{13}$CO$^+$) $\lesssim$ 8. The features are dominated by shock SiO-enriched gas. In such clouds, the ratio of the fractional abundance of SiO and H$^{13}$CO$^+$ molecules is $X$(SiO)$/X$(H$^{13}$CO$^+$) $\sim$ 100. The features are presumably made by supernova remnants. We found a prototypical example in GCM$-$0.02$-$0.07. It has two distinct structures. One is a ridge-like structure contacting with the Sgr A East shell; another is an expanding shell-like structure. There is a wide-velocity width ridge of SiO-enriched gas in GCM 0.11$-$0.11, which is adjacent to Vertical filaments. This suggests that the collision with the molecular cloud accelerates relativistic electrons, which illuminate the Vertical filaments–Polarized Plumes complex.

NRO legacy project: M 33 all disk survey of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) with NRO-45m and ASTE-10m telescopes

We present the results of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) M 33 All Disk (30′ × 30′, or 7.3 kpc × 7.3 kpc) Survey of Giant Molecular Clouds (NRO MAGiC) based on 12 CO(J = 1–0) observations using the NRO 45-m telescope and 12 CO(J = 3–2) observations using the ASTE 10-m telescope. The spatial resolution of the resultant 12 CO(J = 1–0) map is 193, corresponding to 81 pc, which is sufficient to identify each Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) in the disk. We found clumpy structures with a typical spatial scale of ~100 pc, corresponding to GMCs, and no diffuse, smoothly distributed component of molecular gas at this sensitivity. We obtained a map of the molecular fraction, f mol = ΣH2 /(ΣHi + ΣH2 ), at a 100-pc resolution. This is the first f mol map covering an entire galaxy with a GMC-scale resolution. The correlation between f mol and gas surface density shows two distinct sequences. The presence of two correlation sequences can be explained by differences in metallicity, i.e. , higher (~2-fold) metallicity in the central region (r , increased scale height toward the outer disk.

On-The-Fly Observing System of the Nobeyama 45-m and ASTE 10-m Telescopes

Abstract We have developed a spectral line On-The-Fly (OTF) observing mode for the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m and the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment 10-m telescopes. Sets of digital autocorrelation spectrometers are available for OTF with heterodyne receivers mounted on the telescopes, including the focal-plane 5$\times$5 array receiver, BEARS, on the 45-m. During OTF observations, the antenna is continuously driven to cover the mapped region rapidly, resulting in a high observing efficiency and accuracy. Pointing of the antenna and readouts from the spectrometer are recorded as fast as 0.1s. In this paper we report on improvements made to the software and instruments, requirements and optimization of observing parameters, the data-reduction process, and verification of the system. It is confirmed that, using optimal parameters, the OTF is about twice as efficient as the conventional position-switch observing method.

Laboratory microwave spectroscopy of the linear C3H and C3D radicals and related astronomical observation

Laboratory observations of rotational spectral lines of the C{sub 3}H and C3D radicals in their ground and vibrationally excited states are compared with astronomical observations with the Nobeyama Radio Observatory's 45-m radio telescope carried out toward IRC + 10216 in May 1988. The C{sub 3}H radical is found to have an extremely low vibrationally excited state, nu4(2Sigma mu), caused by the Renner-Teller effect in the nu4 (CCH bending) state. The radio telescope observations failed to detect the lines of the vibrationally excited C3H at the rms noise level of 24 mK. The upper limit to the column density of the nu4(2Sigma mu) is estimated to be 3 x 10 to the 12th/sq cm. 27 refs.