Sites Of Recent Star Formation Research Articles

Star formation in two irradiated globules around Cygnus OB2

Context. The ultraviolet irradiation and the action of stellar winds of newly formed massive stars on their parental molecular environment often produces isolated or small clouds, some of which become sites of star formation themselves. Aims. We investigate the young stellar populations associated with DR 18 and ECX 6-21, which are two isolated globules irradiated by the O-type stars of the Cygnus OB2 association. Both are HII regions containing obvious tracers of recent and ongoing star formation. We also study smaller isolated molecular structures in their surroundings. Methods. We combined near-infrared broad- and narrow-band imaging with broad-band imaging in the visible and with archive images obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We used the joint photometry to select young stellar objects (YSOs), simultaneously estimating their intrinsic properties and classifying them according to the characteristics of their infrared excess. We also present low-resolution visible spectroscopy of selected sources. Results. We reproduce previous findings of an extended population of YSOs around both globules, dominated by the more evolved classes, associated with the general Cygnus OB2 population. Both globules contain their own embedded populations, with a higher fraction of the less-evolved classes. Masses and temperatures are estimated under the assumption of a common age of 1 Myr, which has been found to appropriately represent the general Cygnus OB2 YSO population but is most probably an overestimate for both globules, especially ECX 6-21. The early-B star responsible for the erosion of DR 18 is found to be part of a small aggregate of intermediate-mass stars still embedded in the cloud, which probably contains a second site of recent star formation, also with intermediate-mass stars. We confirm the two main star forming sites embedded in ECX 6-21 described in previous works, with the southern site being more evolved than the northern site. We also discuss the small globule ECX 6-21-W (=G79.8 + 1.2), and propose that its non thermal radio spectrum is due to synchrotron emission from an embedded jet, whose existence is suggested by our observations. Conclusions. The extreme youth of some of the YSOs suggests that star formation in both globules started after they became externally irradiated. The populations of both globules are not found to be particularly rich, but they contain stars with estimated masses similar or above that of the Sun in numbers that hint at some differences with respect to the star formation process taking place in more quiescent regions where low-mass stars dominate, which deeper observations may confirm.

Black-hole-triggered star formation in the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10.

Black-hole-driven outflows have been observed in some dwarf galaxies with active galactic nuclei1, and probably play a role in heating and expelling gas (thereby suppressing star formation), as they do in larger galaxies2. The extent to which black-hole outflows can trigger star formation in dwarf galaxies is unclear, because work in this area has previously focused on massive galaxies and the observational evidence is scarce3-5. Henize 2-10 is a dwarf starburst galaxy previously reported to have a central massive black hole6-9, although that interpretation has been disputed because some aspects of the observational evidence are also consistent with a supernova remnant10,11. At a distance of approximately 9 Mpc, it presents an opportunity to resolve the central region and to determine if there is evidence for a black-hole outflow influencing star formation. Here we report optical observations of Henize 2-10 with a linear resolution of a few parsecs. We find an approximately 150-pc-long ionized filament connecting the region of the black hole with a site of recent star formation. Spectroscopy reveals a sinusoid-like position-velocity structure that is well described by a simple precessing bipolar outflow. We conclude that this black-hole outflow triggered the star formation.

Regulating Star Formation in Nearby Dusty Galaxies: Low Photoelectric Efficiencies in the Most Compact Systems

Abstract Star formation in galaxies is regulated by heating and cooling in the interstellar medium (ISM). In particular, the processing of molecular gas into stars will depend strongly on the ratio of gas heating to gas cooling in the neutral gas around sites of recent star formation. In this work, we combine mid-infrared (mid-IR) observations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the dominant heating mechanism of gas in the ISM, with [C ii], [O i], and [Si ii] fine-structure emission, the strongest cooling channels in dense, neutral gas. The ratio of IR cooling line emission to PAH emission measures the photoelectric efficiency, a property of the ISM which dictates how much energy carried by ultraviolet photons gets transferred into the gas. We find that star-forming, IR-luminous galaxies in the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey with high IR surface densities have low photoelectric efficiencies. These systems also have, on average, higher ratios of radiation field strength to gas densities, and larger average dust grain size distributions. The data support a scenario in which the most compact galaxies have more young star-forming regions per unit area that exhibit less efficient gas heating. These conditions may be more common at high z, and may help explain the higher star formation rates at cosmic noon. We make predictions on how this can be investigated with the James Webb Space Telescope.

A new class of fossil fragments from the hierarchical assembly of the Galactic bulge

The formation and evolutionary processes of galaxy bulges are still unclear, and the presence of young stars in the bulge of the Milky Way is largely debated. We recently demonstrated that Terzan 5, in the Galactic bulge, is a complex stellar system hosting stars with very different ages and a striking chemical similarity to the field population. This indicates that its progenitor was likely one of the giant structures that are thought to generate bulges through coalescence. Here we show that another globular cluster-like system in the bulge (Liller 1) hosts two distinct stellar populations with remarkably different ages: only 1-3 Gyr for the youngest, 12 Gyr for the oldest, which is impressively similar to the old component of Terzan 5. This discovery classifies Liller 1 and Terzan 5 as sites of recent star formation in the Galactic bulge and provides clear observational proof that the hierarchical assembly of primordial massive structures contributed to the formation of the Milky Way spheroid.

Young stellar population and star formation history ofW4 HII region/Cluster Complex

The HII region/cluster complex has been a subject of numerous investigations to study the feedback effect of massive stars on their surroundings. Massive stars not only alter the morphology of the parental molecular clouds, but also influence star formation, circumstellar disks and the mass function of low-mass stars in their vicinity. However, most of the studies of low-mass stellar content of the HII regions are limited only to the nearby regions. We study the star formation in the W4 HII region using deep optical observations obtained with the archival data from Canada - France - Hawaii Telescope, Two-Micron All Sky Survey, Spitzer, Herschel and Chandra. We investigate the spatial distribution of young stellar objects in the region, their association with the remnant molecular clouds, and search for the clustering to establish the sites of recent star formation. Our analysis suggests that the influence of massive stars on circumstellar disks is significant only to their immediate neighborhood. The spatial correlation of the young stars with the distribution of gas and dust of the complex indicate that the clusters would have formed in a large filamentary cloud. The observing facilities at the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), providing high-resolution spectral and imaging capabilities, will fulfill the major objectives in the study of HII regions.

MICROWAVE CONTINUUM EMISSION AND DENSE GAS TRACERS IN NGC 3627: COMBINING JANSKY VLA AND ALMA OBSERVATIONS

We present Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) Ka band (33 GHz) and Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Band 3 (94.5 GHz) continuum images covering the nucleus and two extranuclear star-forming regions within the nearby galaxy NGC 3627 (M 66), observed as part of the Star Formation in Radio Survey (SFRS). Both images achieve an angular resolution of $\lesssim$2\arcsec, allowing us to map the radio spectral indices and estimate thermal radio fractions at a linear resolution of $\lesssim$90 pc at the distance of NGC 3627. The thermal fraction at 33 GHz reaches unity at and around the peaks of each HII region; we additionally observed the spectral index between 33 and 94.5 GHz to become both increasingly negative and positive away from the peaks of the HII regions, indicating an increase of non-thermal extended emission from diffusing cosmic-ray electrons and the possible presence of cold dust, respectively. While the ALMA observations were optimized for collecting continuum data, they also detected line emission from the $J=1\rightarrow0$ transitions of HCN and HCO$^{+}$. The peaks of dense molecular gas traced by these two spectral lines are spatially offset from the peaks of the 33 and 94.5 GHz continuum emission for the case of the extranuclear star-forming regions, indicating that our data reach an angular resolution at which one can spatially distinguish sites of recent star formation from the sites of future star formation. Finally, we find trends of decreasing dense gas fraction and velocity dispersion with increasing star formation efficiency among the three regions observed, indicating that the dynamical state of the dense gas, rather than its abundance, plays a more significant role in the star formation process.

DISCOVERY OF A POSSIBLY SINGLE BLUE SUPERGIANT STAR IN THE INTRA-CLUSTER REGION OF VIRGO CLUSTER OF GALAXIES

IC 3418 is a dwarf irregular galaxy falling into the Virgo cluster, and a 17 kpc long trail is seen behind the galaxy, which is considered to have formed due to ram pressure stripping. The trail contains compact knots and diffuse blobs of ultraviolet and blue optical emission and, thus, it is a clear site of recent star formation but in an unusual environment, surrounded by a million degree intra-cluster medium. We report on our optical spectroscopy of a compact source in the trail, SDSS J122952.66+112227.8, and show that the optical spectrum is dominated by emission from a massive blue supergiant star. If confirmed, our report would mark the farthest star with spectroscopic observation. We interpret that a massive O-type star formed in situ in the trail has evolved recently out of the main sequence into this blue supergiant phase, and now lacks any detectable spectral sign of its associated HII region. We argue that turbulence within the ram pressure striped gaseous trail may play a dominant role for the star formation within such trails.

Hydrogen volume densities in nearby galaxies – I. An automated approach

Using a simple model of photodissociated atomic hydrogen on a galactic scale, it is possible to derive total hydrogen volume densities. These densities, obtained through a combination of atomic hydrogen, far-ultraviolet and metallicity data, provide an independent probe of the combined atomic and molecular hydrogen gas in galactic disks. We present a new, flexible and fully automated procedure using this simple model. This automated method will allow us to take full advantage of a host of available data on galaxies in order to calculate total hydrogen volume densities of giant molecular clouds surrounding sites of recent star formation. So far this was only possible on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis using by-eye analysis of candidate photodissociation regions. We test the automated method by adopting different models for the dust-to-gas ratio and comparing the resulting densities for M74, including a new metallicity map of M74 produced by integral field spectroscopy. We test the procedure against previously published M83 volume densities based on the same method and find no significant differences. The range of total hydrogen volume densities obtained for M74 is approximately 5-700 cm-3 . Different dust-to-gas ratio models do not result in measurably different densities. The cloud densities presented here add M74 to the list of galaxies analyzed using the assumption of photodissociated atomic hydrogen occurring near sites of recent star formation and further solidify the method. For the first time, full metallicity maps were included in the analysis as opposed to metallicity gradients. The results will need to be compared to other tracers of the interstellar medium and photodissociation regions, such as CO and CII, in order to test our basic assumptions, specifically, our assumption that the HI we detect originates in photodissociation regions.

Young stellar populations in the local group: an HST and GALEX comprehensive study

The study of the stellar constituents of star-forming sites in a wide variety of conditions yields the key to interpreting wide-field UV-optical imaging of extended nearby galaxies, and of distant galaxies. We obtained six-band imaging (from far-UV to I) with HST-WFPC2 of 67 sites of recent star formation in eight Local Group galaxies. HST pointings were selected from GALEX wide-field FUV imaging, which traces the young stellar populations. The HST observations were optimized to characterize the hottest, most massive stars in these regions. From the HST photometry, analyzed with stellar model colors, we derived the physical parameters of the massive stars in each field, and of the extinction by interstellar dust. The HST results are used to interpret GALEX UV measurements of SF across the entire galaxies. Our comprehensive photometric study at HST resolution (sub-pc scale in these galaxies) also provides an ideal selection of targets for follow-up spectroscopy with large ground-based telescopes, and in the UV with HST- or WSO-class telescopes, to clarify the influence of metallicity on the properties and the evolution of massive stars.

A Chandra and Spitzer census of the young star cluster in the reflection nebula NGC 7129

The reflection nebula NGC 7129 has long been known to be a site of recent star formation as evidenced, e.g., by the presence of deeply embedded protostars and HH objects. However, studies of the stellar population produced in the star formation process have remained rudimentary. At a presumed age of ~3 Myr, NGC7129 is in the critical range where disks around young stars disappear. We make use of Chandra X-ray and Spitzer and 2MASS IR imaging observations to identify the pre-main sequence stars in NGC7129. We define a sample of Young Stellar Objects based on color-color diagrams composed from IR photometry between 1.6 and 8 mu, from 2MASS and Spitzer, and based on X-ray detected sources from a Chandra observation. This sample is composed of 26 Class II and 25 Class III candidates. The sample is estimated to be complete down to ~ 0.5 solar masses. The most restricted and least biased sub-sample of pre-main sequence stars is composed of lightly absorbed (A_V < 5 mag) stars in the cluster core. This sample comprises 7 Class II and 14 Class III sources, it has a disk fraction of 33^{+24}_{-19} %, and a median X-ray luminosity of log (L_x) [erg/s] = 30.3. Despite the various uncertainties related to the sample selection, absorption, mass distribution, distance and, consequently, the computation of disk fraction and X-ray luminosities, the data yield consistent results. In particular, we confirm the age of ~3 Myr for the NGC7129 cluster. The derived disk fraction is similar to that of sigma Orionis, smaller than that of Cha I (~2 Myr), and larger than that of Upper Sco (5 Myr). The X-ray luminosity function is similar to that of NGC 2264 (2 Myr) but fainter than that of the Orion Nebula Cluster (1 Myr).

THE STELLAR ANCESTRY OF SUPERNOVAE IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS. I. THE MOST RECENT SUPERNOVAE IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

We use the star formation history map of the Large Magellanic Cloud recently published by Harris & Zaritsky to study the sites of the eight smallest (and presumably youngest) supernova remnants in the Cloud: SN 1987A, N158A, N49, and N63A (core collapse remnants), 0509 67.5, 0519 69.0, N103B, and DEM L71 (Type Ia remnants). The local star formation histories provide unique insights into the nature of the supernova progenitors, which we compare with the properties of the supernova explosions derived from the remnants themselves and from supernova light echoes. We find that all the core collapse supernovae that we have studied are associated with vigorous star formation in the recent past. In the case of SN 1987A, the time of the last peak of star formation (12 Myr) matches the lifetime of a star with the known mass of its blue supergiant progenitor (� 20M⊙). More recent peaks of star formation can lead to supernovae with more massive progenitors, which opens the possibility of a Type Ib/c origin for SNRs N158A and N63A. Stars more massive than 21.5M⊙ are very scarce around SNR N49, implying that the magnetar SGR 0526 66 in this SNR was either formed elsewhere or came from a progenitor with a mass well below the 30M⊙ threshold suggested in the literature. Three of our four Ia SNRs are associated with old, metal poor stellar populations. This includes SNR 0509 67.5, which is known to have been originated by an extremely bright Type Ia event, and yet is located very far away from any sites of recent star formation, in a population with a mean age of 7.9 Gyr. The Type Ia SNR N103B, on the other hand, is associated with recent star formation, and might have had a relatively younger and more massive progenitor with substantial mass loss before the explosion. We discuss these results in the context of our present understanding of core collapse and Type Ia supernova progenitors.

A Chandra Catalog of X‐Ray Sources in the Central 150 pc of the Galaxy

We present the catalog of X-ray sources detected in a shallow Chandra survey of the inner 2° × 08 of the Galaxy and in two deeper observations of the Radio Arches and Sgr B2. The catalog contains 1352 objects that are highly absorbed (NH 4 × 1022 cm-2) and are therefore likely to lie near the Galactic center (D ≈ 8 kpc), and 549 less absorbed sources that lie within 6 kpc of Earth. On the basis of the inferred luminosities of the X-ray sources and the expected numbers of various classes of objects, we suggest that the sources with LX 1033 ergs s-1 that comprise ≈90% of the catalog are cataclysmic variables and that the ≈100 brighter objects are accreting neutron stars and black holes, young isolated pulsars, and Wolf-Rayet and O (WR/O) stars in colliding-wind binaries. We find that the spatial distribution of X-ray sources matches that of the old stellar population observed in the infrared, which supports our suggestion that most of the X-ray sources are old cataclysmic variables. However, we find that there is an apparent excess of ≈10 bright sources in the Radio Arches region. That region is already known to be the site of recent star formation, so we suggest that the bright sources in this region are young high-mass X-ray binaries, pulsars, or WR/O star binaries. We briefly discuss some astrophysical questions that this catalog can be used to address.

PAH emission variations within the resolved starbursts of NGC 253 and NGC 1808

In order to better characterise the usefulness of PAH emission as a tracer of star formation, we have undertaken a programme of 3 µm narrowband imaging of a sample of nearby template galaxies covering a wide range of metallicity, star formation activity, and nuclear activity. In the present paper we present first results of this programme: high spatial resolution images of PAH feature emission and the adjacent continuum emission from the central regions of the nearby starburst galax- ies NGC 253 and NGC 1808, taken with ISAAC at the VLT-UT1. Globally, the feature emission is seen to peak on the central starburst regions of both sources. On smaller scales, however, we see no general spatial correlation or anti-correlation between the PAH feature emission and the location of sites of recent star formation, suggesting that the degree to which PAH feature emission traces starburst activity is more complicated than previously hypothesized based on results from data with lower spatial resolution. We do find spatial correlations, though, when we consider the feature-to-continuum ratio, which is low at the positions of known super star clusters in NGC 1808 as well as at the position of the IR peak in NGC 253. We take this to imply a decrease in the efficiency of PAH emission induced by the star formation, caused either by mechanical energy input into the ISM, photoionisation of the PAH molecules, or photodissociation of the PAH molecules. All three hypotheses are dis- cussed. In addition, for the first time we present observations of PAH feature emission in the superwind of a starbursting system (NGC 253), providing strong support that winds are heavily mass-loaded and entrain substantial amounts of ambient ISM. We have also found a plausible connection between observed NaD absorption, H2, and PAHs above the plane of NGC 253. This observation has important implications for enriching galaxy halos and possibly the intergalactic medium with small dust grains.

Initial Results from the Spitzer Young Stellar Cluster Survey

We report initial results from IRAC observations of four young stellar clusters. These regions are part of a larger Spitzer Space Telescope survey of 31 young stellar groups and clusters within 1 kpc of the Sun. In each of the four clusters, there are between 39 and 85 objects with colors inconsistent with reddened stellar photospheres. We identify these objects as young stars with significant emission from circumstellar dust. Applying an analysis developed in a companion paper, we classify these objects as either pre-main-sequence stars with disks (Class II) or protostellar objects (Class I). These show that the sites of recent star formation are distributed over multiparsec size scales. In two clusters, Cepheus C and S140, we find protostars embedded in filamentary dark clouds seen against diffuse emission in the IRAC bands.

Millimetre observations of the IRAS 18162−2048 outflow: evidence for cloud disruption around an intermediate-mass protostar

In order to study the morphology and the dynamics of the molecular outflow associated with IRAS 18162−2048, a wide area of ∼95 arcmin 2 around the source has been mapped by means of CO and 13 CO (1‐0) lines, and has been complemented by a map of a smaller region surrounding the high-mass object using the C 18 O (1‐0) and CH3OH (2k‐1k) and (3k‐2k) transitions. The lines profile reveals the presence of several velocity components among which two major line components at 11.9 and 12.8 km s −1 have been detected in all the tracers. Simple morphological and energetic considerations led us to interpret the observations in a relatively straightforward scenario in which the powerful jet ejected by IRAS 18162−2048 sets a big portion of the surrounding molecular cloud into motion. The energy and momentum deposited by the flow break the cloud apart, shifting the northern region to a blue velocity and the southern region to a red velocity, and giving rise to a giant outflow. We calculated the physical parameters of the outflow, which make the IRAS 18162−2048 outflow one of the most massive (M = 570 M� ) and energetic (K > 10 46 erg) known. Despite the intrinsic difficulties in giving a precise value of the age and of the inclination angle of the flow, we used different methods to derive a reliable estimate. Our data show evidence in favour of a small inclination angle (<50 ◦ ) and of a maximum outflow age of ∼10 6 yr. C 18 O and CH3OH trace the dense core surrounding IRAS 18162−2048 and show an elongated emission in the direction perpendicular to the outflow axis. Besides the peak emission associated with the IRAS source, we found another peak at the position RA(B1950) = 18 h 16 m 20. s 2, Dec.(B1950) =− 20 ◦ 49 � 18 �� which coincides with a red near-infrared source. We provided evidence that this second peak may be surrounded by a flattened rotating structure, suggesting that the newly discovered infrared source can be another site of recent star formation in this region. Our analysis suggest that the powerful wind/outflow from the luminous stars within the young cluster embedded in the GGD 27 nebula is tearing apart the parental molecular cloud. IRAS 18162−2048 appears to be in the act of clearing the surrounding material on the verge of becoming an optically revealed young stellar cluster, similar to those associated with Herbig Be stars.

Star formation in the Vela molecular clouds

We present the latest results from a sensitive (K ∼ 18 mag) near-infrared (JHK) imaging survey of IRAS selected young stellar objects associated with the Vela molecular ridge. These enlarge the sample of 12 fields, previously studied, adding 10 sites of recent star formation. The spectral energy distributions derived from near-infrared and 1.3-mm photometry allowed to identify at least 5 Class I sources. Their bolometric luminosities indicate that they are protostellar objects of intermediate mass (∼2-10 M� ). Herbig Ae/Be stars and compact UCHII regions could account for the far infrared emission towards some of the remaining fields. The most luminous IRAS sources have also been found associated with young embedded star clusters. The physical properties of the clusters have been determined and used to improve on the statistical relationships already suggested by our previous work. They have sizes of >0.1 pc and volume densities of 10 3 -10 4 stars pc −3 . Where identified, the Class I sources tend to lie near the centre of the clusters and it is confirmed that the most massive ones are associated with the richest clusters. The less luminous Class I sources (∼10 2 L� ) are found either isolated or within small groups of young stellar objects. It is proposed to use the relationship between the bolometric luminosity of the IRAS sources and the total number of cluster members as a test of the initial mass function at the highest masses.

Activity and Kinematics of Late M, L, and T Dwarfs

The kinematics of late M and certainly L dwarfs indicate that they have a mean age of no more than a few Gyr. This result does not rule out a mix of young brown dwarfs and ZAMS stars. Relative Hα emission strengths begin to decline in the late M dwarfs, even though about 100% of the M7-8 dwarfs show the weaker emission. Both the frequency and likely strength of this emission declines with spectral type among the L's and T's. A larger sample of late M and L dwarfs, which may provide more definitive tests of the kinematic and activity properties, is being assembled from our NStars project.Two unusual objects, one an M9.5e and the other a T6e, show persistent Hα emission at least an order of magnitude stronger than their counterparts of similar spectral type. If these are hypothesized to be very young stellar objects (≲10 Myr) like some observed in Rho Oph, Sigma Ori and Taurus – evolutionary models would require them to have very low masses: In particular, for an entity to fade to a late T dwarf temperature and luminosity within 10 Myr, its mass should be no more than several Jupiters. This seems implausible for an isolated object not near any obvious site of recent star formation. However, our attempt to show that the emission might be due to accretion in a binary system was unsuccessful.

Dust outflows from quiescent spiral disks

We have conducted a search for chimneys'' in a sample of 10 highly-inclined spiral galaxies ( $i=86-90^{\circ}$) which we had previously observed in the H$\alpha$ emission line (Rand 1996). We have procured B-band CCD images for this purpose and employed unsharp-masking techniques to accentuate the structure of the dust lane. A scattering+absorption radiation transfer model enabled us to separate 5 galaxies from the sample which are sufficiently inclined ( $i>87^{\circ}$) for us to reliably identify and quantify dust clouds residing at over 2 scale-heights above the disk. Three of these galaxies possess numerous curvi-linear chimney structures stretching up to 2 kpc from the midplane and the fraction of total galactic dust contained in such structures is of order 1%. Optical extinction offers a lower limit to the amount of dust contained in the extraplanar layer but, by examining the transparent submm thermal emission from NGC 891, we fix an upper limit of 5%. Our results are consistent with a similar recent study by Howk & Savage (1999) which indicates that about half of quiescent spiral disks possess detectable dust chimneys. We have compared our optical images with the corresponding H$\alpha$ emission-line radiation. We do not find a detailed spatial correspondance between dust chimneys and either sites of recent star-formation or the extraplanar diffuse ionized gas. This is somewhat surprising given that FIR-bright galaxies, such as M 82, are known to entrain dust at the working surface of the starburst-driven outflow (traced in H$\alpha$). It is possible a global correlation exists, with disks experiencing overall higher rates of star-formation also possessing the greatest number of chimneys. This may indicate a timescale difference between the two phenomena with the H$\alpha$ phase lasting $\sim 10^{6}$ yr but chimneys requiring $\sim 10^{7}$ yr to form. Additionally, we have investigated the edge-on disk NGC 55 which, being ten times closer than galaxies in our main sample, allows us to examine in greater spatial detail the relationship between chimneys and recent star-formation. Our discussion touches upon high latitude dust and supershells observed in the Milky Way. We rule out quiescent disks as prolific sources of intergalactic grains and metals but note that the rate at which dust is expelled from the main dust layer is comparable to the rate at which it is produced by disk stars (suggesting that it may be an important regulatory process).

The Spectacular Ionized Interstellar Medium of NGC 55

We present deep Halpha+[NII], [SII] (6716,6731A) and [OII] (3726,3729A) images of the highly inclined, actively star--forming SBm galaxy NGC 55, located in the nearby Sculptor Group. Due to its proximity, NGC 55 provides a unique opportunity to study the disk--halo interface in a late--type galaxy with unprecedented spatial resolution. Our images reveal a spectacular variety of ionized gas features, ranging from giant HII region complexes, to supergiant filamentary and shell features, to patches of very faint diffuse emission. Many of these features protrude well above the plane of the galaxy, including a very faint fragmented shell of emission which is visible at 2.6 kpc above the disk. We identify candidate `chimneys' extending out of the disk, which could be the conduits into the halo for hot gas around disk star-forming regions, and could also provide low-density paths for the passage of UV photons from the disk to the halo. Several of the identified chimneys are `capped' with clumps of ionized gas, one of which, located at 1.5 kpc above the disk plane, appears to be the site of recent star formation. Emission--line ratios ([OII]/Halpha+[NII], [SII]/Halpha+[NII]) constrain the ionization mechanism of the gas, and our images allow the first measurement of [OII]/Halpha+[NII] in extra-planar diffuse ionized gas. The diffuse gas is characterized by emission--line ratios which are enhanced on average by a factor of two compared to those of bright HII regions. Each line ratio increases in value smoothly from the cores of HII regions, through the haloes of HII regions, into the diffuse ionized gas. Such a continuous trend is predicted by models in which the diffuse gas is ionized by photons produced by massive stars in HII regions.

DISTRIBUTION OF SUPERNOVAE RELATIVE TO SPIRAL ARMS AND H II REGIONS

ABSTRACT We have studied the association of supernovae in spiral galaxies with sites of recent star formation--spiral arms and H II regions. It is shown that supernovae (SNe) of Types Ia, Ib and II exhibit concentration to spiral arms and their distributions over the distance to the nearest spiral arm to not differ significantly. This result is confirmed by a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test comparison with the distance distributions, expected if SNe are distributed randomly inside the model galaxy. SNe of Types Ib and II show a strong concentration towards H II regions, while distribution of SNe Ia can be explained by chance superposition. All studied distributions of SNe Ib and II show striking similarity, which suggests that their progenitors are massive stars with similar ages and initial masses. The association of SNe Ia with spiral arms suggests that their progenitors in spiral galaxies are likely to be intermediate mass stars.