arXiv subjects

Akihiko Hirota

Publications and source records attributed to Akihiko Hirota.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Molecular Gas and Star Formation Properties in the Central and Bar Regions of NGC 6946

In this work, we investigate the molecular gas and star formation properties in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 6946 using multiple molecular lines and star formation tracers. High-resolution image (100 pc) of $^{13}$CO (1-0) is created by single dish NRO45 and interferometer CARMA for the inner 2 kpc disk, which includes the central region (nuclear ring and bar) and the offset ridges of the primary bar. Single dish HCN (1-0) observations were also made to constrain the amount of dense gas. Physical properties of molecular gas are inferred by (1) the Large Velocity Gradient (LVG) calculations using our observations and archival $^{12}$CO (1-0), $^{12}$CO(2-1) data, (2) dense gas fraction suggested by HCN to $^{12}$CO (1-0) luminosity ratio, and (3) infrared color. The results show that the molecular gas in the central region is warmer and denser than that of the offset ridges. Dense gas fraction of the central region is similar with that of LIRGs/ULIRGs, while the offset ridges are close to the global average of normal galaxies. The coolest and least dense region is found in a spiral-like structure, which was misunderstood to be part of the southern primary bar in previous low-resolution observations. Star formation efficiency (SFE) changes by ~ 5 times in the inner disk. The variation of SFE agrees with the prediction in terms of star formation regulated by galactic bar. We find a consistency between star-forming region and the temperature inferred by the infrared color, suggesting that the distribution of sub-kpc scale temperature is driven by star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Wide-field 12CO (J = 1-0) Imaging of the Nearby Barred Galaxy M83 with NMA and Nobeyema 45-m telescope: Molecular Gas Kinematics and Star Formation Along the Bar

We present the results of the wide-field $^{12}$CO (1--0) observations of the nearby barred galaxy M83 carried out with the Nobeyama Millimeter Array (NMA). The interferometric data are combined with the data obtained with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope to recover the total-flux. The target fields of the observations cover the molecular bar and part of the spiral arms, with a spatial resolution of ~110 pc x 260 pc. By exploiting the resolution and sensitivity to extended CO emission, the impact of the galactic structures on the molecular gas content is investigated in terms of the gas kinematics and the star formation. By inspecting the gas kinematics, the pattern speed of the bar is estimated to be 57.4 $\pm$ 2.8 km s$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-1}$, which places the corotation radius to be about 1.7 times the semi-major radius of the bar. Within the observed field, HII regions brighter than 10$^{37.6}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in Hα luminosity are found to be preferentially located downstream of the CO emitting regions. Azimuthal angular offsets between molecular gas and star forming (SF) calculated with the angular cross-correlation method confirm the trend. By comparing with a cloud orbit model based on the derived pattern speed, the angular offsets are found to be in accordance with a time delay of about 10 Myr. Finally, to test whether the arm/bar promote star formation efficiency (SFE $\equiv$ Star Formation Rate (SFR)/H$_2$ mass), SFR is derived with the diffuse-background-subtracted H{alpha} and 24μm images. The arm-to-interarm ratio of the SFE is found to lie in the range of 2 to 5, while it is ~1 if no background-removal is performed. The CO-SF offsets and the enhancement of the SFE in the arm/bar found in the inner region of M83 are in agreement with the predictions of the classical galactic shock model.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Enhancement of CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) Ratios and Star Formation Efficiencies in Supergiant HII Regions

We present evidence that super giant HII regions (GHRs) and other disk regions of the nearby spiral galaxy, M33, occupy distinct locations in the correlation between molecular gas, $Σ_{\rm H_2}$, and the star formation rate surface density, $Σ_{\rm SFR}$. This result is based on wide field and high sensitivity CO(3-2) observations at 100 pc resolution. Star formation efficiencies (SFE), defined as $Σ_{\rm SFR}$/$Σ_{\rm H_2}$, in GHRs are found to be about 1 dex higher than in other disk regions. The CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) integrated intensity ratio is also higher than the average over the disk. Such high SFE and CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) can reach the values found in starburst galaxies, which suggests that GHRs may be the elements building up a larger scale starburst region. Three possible contributions to high SFEs in GHR are investigated: (1) the $I_{CO}$-$N({\rm H_2})$ conversion factor, (2) the dense gas fraction traced by CO(3-2)/CO(1-0), and (3) the initial mass function (IMF). We conclude that these starburst-like properties in GHRs can be interpreted by a combination of both a top-heavy IMF and a high dense gas fraction, but not by changes in the $I_{CO}$-$N({\rm H_2})$ conversion factor.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Environmental Dependence of Star Formation Law in the Disk and Center of IC 342

The Kennicutt-Schmidt (K--S) law in IC 342 is examined using the 12CO-to-H2 conversion factor (Xco,v), which depends on the metallicity and CO intensity. Additionally, an optically thin 13CO (1-0) is also independently used to analyze the K--S law. Xco,v is two to three times lower than the Galactic standard Xco in the galactic center and approximately two times higher than Xco at the disk. The surface densities of molecular gas (Sigma_H2) derived from 12CO and 13CO are consistent at the environment in a high-Sigma_H2 region. By comparing the K-S law in the disk and the central regions of IC 342, we found that the power law index of K-S law (N) increases toward the central region. Furthermore, the dependence of N on Sigma_H2 is observed. Specifically, N increases with Sigma_H2. The derived N in this work and previous observations are consistent with the implication that star formation is likely triggered by gravitational instability in the disk (low-Sigma_H2 region) of IC 342 and both gravitational instability and cloud-cloud collisions in the central region (high-Sigma_H2 regime). In addition, the increasing N toward the high-Sigma_H2 domain also matches the theoretical prediction regarding the properties of giant molecular clouds. The results of IC 342 are supported by the same analysis of other nearby galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

NRO M33 All-Disk Survey of Giant Molecular Clouds (NRO MAGiC): II. Dense Gas Formation within Giant Molecular Clouds in M33

We report the results of our observations of the 12CO (J=1-0) and 12CO (J=3-2) line emission of 74 major giant molecular clouds (GMCs) within the galactocentric distance of 5.1 kpc in the Local Group galaxy M33. The observations have been conducted as part of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory M33 All-disk survey of Giant Molecular Clouds project (NRO MAGiC). The spatial resolutions are 80 pc for 12CO (J=1-0) and 100 pc for 12CO (J=3-2). We detect 12CO (J=3-2) emission of 65 GMCs successfully. Furthermore, we find that the correlation between the surface density of the star formation rate, which is derived from a linear combination of Halpha and 24um emissions, and the 12CO (J=3-2) integrated intensity still holds at this scale. This result show that the star-forming activity is closely associated with warm and dense gases that are traced with the 12CO (J=3-2) line, even in the scale of GMCs. We also find that the GMCs with a high star-forming activity tend to show a high integrated intensity ratio (R3-2/1-0). Moreover, we also observe a mass-dependent trend of R3-2/1-0 for the GMCs with a low star-forming activity. From these results, we speculate that the R3-2/1-0 values of the GMCs with a low star-forming activity mainly depend on the dense gas fraction and not on the temperature, and therefore, the dense gas fraction increases with the mass of GMCs, at least in the GMCs with a low star-forming activity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

GMC Evolutions in the Nearby Spiral Galaxy M33

We present a Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) catalog toward M33, containing 71 GMCs in total, based on wide field and high sensitivity CO(J=3-2) observations with a spatial resolution of 100 pc using the ASTE 10 m telescope. Employing archival optical data, we identify 75 young stellar groups (YSGs) from the excess of the surface stellar density, and estimate their ages by comparing with stellar evolution models. A spatial comparison among the GMCs, YSGs, and HII regions enable us to classify GMCs into four categories: Type A showing no sign of massive star formation (SF), Type B being associated only with HII regions, Type C with both HII regions and <10 Myr-old YSGs and Type-D with both HII regions and 10--30 Myr YSGs. Out of 65 GMCs (discarding those at the edges of the observed fields), 1 (1%), 13 (20%), 29 (45%), and 22 (34%) are Types A, B, C, and D, respectively. We interpret these categories as stages in a GMC evolutionary sequence. Assuming that the timescale for each evolutionary stage is proportional to the number of GMCs, the lifetime of a GMC with a mass >10^5 Mo is estimated to be 20--40 Myr. In addition, we find that the dense gas fraction as traced by the CO(J=3-2)/CO(J=1-0) ratio is enhanced around SF regions. This confirms a scenario where dense gas is preferentially formed around previously generated stars, and will be the fuel for the next stellar generation. In this way, massive SF gradually propagates in a GMC until gas is exhausted.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Giant Molecular Clouds in the Spiral Arm of IC 342

We present results of 12CO (1--0) and 13CO (1--0) observations of the northeastern spiral arm segment of IC 342 with a ~50pc resolution carried out with the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. Zero-spacing components were recovered by combining with the existing data taken with the Nobeyama 45m telescope. The objective of this study is to investigate the variation of cloud properties across the spiral arm with a resolution comparable to the size of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). The observations cover a 1 kpc times 1.5 kpc region located ~2 kpc away from the galactic center, where a giant molecular association is located at trailing side and associated star forming regions at leading side. The spiral arm segment was resolved into a number of clouds whose size, temperature and surface mass density are comparable to typical GMCs in the Galaxy. Twenty-six clouds were identified from the combined data cube and the identified clouds followed the line width-size relation of the Galactic GMCs. The identified GMCs were divided into two categories according to whether they are associated with star formation activity or not. Comparison between both categories indicated that the active GMCs are more massive, have smaller line width, and are closer to virial equilibrium compared to the quiescent GMCs. These variations of the GMC properties suggest that dissipation of excess kinetic energy of GMC is a required condition for the onset of massive star formation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

NRO M33 All Disk Survey of Giant Molecular Clouds (NRO MAGiC): I. HI to H_2 Transition

We present the results of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) M33 All Disk (30'x30' or 7.3 kpc x 7.3 kpc) Survey of Giant Molecular Clouds (NRO MAGiC) based on 12CO (1-0) observations using the NRO 45-m telescope. The spatial resolution of the resultant map is 19".3, 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. Closer inspection of the CO and HI maps suggests that not every CO emission is associated with local HI peaks, particularly in the inner portion of the disk (r < 2 kpc), although most of CO emission is located at the local HI peaks in the outer radii. We found that most uncovered GMCs are accompanied by massive star-forming regions, although the star formation rates (SFRs) vary widely from cloud to cloud. The azimuthally averaged H{\sc i} gas surface density exhibits a flat radial distribution. However, the CO radial distribution shows a significant enhancement within the central 1-2 kpc region, which is very similar to that of the SFR. We obtained a map of the molecular fraction, f_mol = Sigma_H_2/(Sigma_HI+Sigma_H_2, at a 100-pc resolution. This is the first f_mol map covering an entire galaxy with a GMC-scale resolution. We find that f_mol tends to be high near the center. 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< 1.5 kpc) than in the outer parts. Alternatively, differences in scale height can also account for the two sequences, i.e., increased scale height toward the outer disk.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2010

Breakdown of Kennicutt-Schmidt Law at GMC Scales in M33

We have mapped the northern area (30'\times 20') of a local group spiral galaxy M33 in 12CO(1-0) line with the 45-m telescope at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. Along with Halpha and Spitzer 24-micron data, we have investigated the relationship between the surface density of molecular gas mass and that of star formation rate (SFR) in an external galaxy (Kennicutt-Schmidt law) with the highest spatial resolution (~80pc) to date, which is comparable to scales of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). At positions where CO is significantly detected, the SFR surface density exhibits a wide range of over four orders of magnitude, from Sigma{SFR}<10^{-10} to ~10^{-6} M_solar yr^{-1}pc^{-2}, whereas the Sigma_{H2} values are mostly within 10-40 M_solar pc^{-2}. The surface density of gas and that of SFR correlate well at a ~1-kpc resolution, but the correlation becomes looser with higher resolution and breaks down at GMC scales. The scatter of the Sigma_{SFR}-Sigma_{H2} relationship in the ~80-pc resolution results from the variety of star forming activity among GMCs, which is attributed to the various evolutionary stages of GMCs and to the drift of young clusters from their parent GMCs. This result shows that the Kennicutt-Schmidt law is valid only in scales larger than that of GMCs, when we average the spatial offset between GMCs and star forming regions, and their various evolutionary stages.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2010

Breakdown of Kennicutt-Schmidt Law at GMC Scales in M33

We have mapped the northern area (30' times 20') of a local group spiral galaxy M33 in 12CO(J=1-0) line with the 45-m telescope at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. Along with Halpha and Spitzer 24-micron data, we have investigated the relationship between the surface density of molecular gas mass and that of star formation rate (SFR) in an external galaxy (Kennicutt-Schmidt law) with the highest spatial resolution (~80pc) to date, which is comparable to scales of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). At positions where CO is significantly detected, the SFR surface density exhibits a wide range of over four orders of magnitude, from Sigma(SFR)<10^{-10} to ~10^{-6}M_solar yr^{-1} pc^{-2}, whereas the Sigma(H2) values are mostly within 10 to 40 M_solar pc^{-2}. The surface density of gas and that of SFR correlate well at a 1-kpc resolution, but the correlation becomes looser with higher resolution and breaks down at GMC scales. The scatter of the Sigma(SFR)-Sigma(H2) relationship in the 80-pc resolution results from the variety of star forming activity among GMCs, which is attributed to the various evolutionary stages of GMCs and to the drift of young clusters from their parent GMCs. This result shows that the Kennicutt-Schmidt law is valid only in scales larger than that of GMCs, when we average the spatial offset between GMCs and star forming regions, and their various evolutionary stages.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2006

Environmental Effects on Gaseous Disks of the Virgo Spiral Galaxies

We found high molecular fractions ($f_{\rm mol}$; ratio of the molecular to total gas surface densities) in three of five Virgo spiral galaxies in spite of their low total gas column density, based on $^{12}$CO$(J=1-0)$ observations with the Nobeyama 45 m telescope equipped with a multi-beam receiver, BEARS. We interpret this as a result of environmental effects. Combining the CO data with HI data, the relationship between the surface density of the total gas (HI plus H$_2$) and $f_{\rm mol}$ indicates that the three galaxies near the cluster center have larger $f_{\rm mol}$ values than expected for field galaxies, while the others show normal $f_{\rm mol}$. The large $f_{\rm mol}$ is interpreted as being due either to effective HI gas stripping, even in the inner disks, or to large ISM pressure induced by the high ICM pressure and/or ram pressure, although the possibility of an unusually high metallicity cannot be ruled out.

astro-ph↗