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Chao Ou

Publications and source records attributed to Chao Ou.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

The gas kinematics in 70 {\mu}m dark molecular clumps with ammonia

We present the investigation of the gas kinematics and assess the evolutionary stages of dense cores embedded in four infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) using the NH$_3$(1,1) and NH$_3$(2,2) lines obtained from the VLA and GBT observations. There is no 1.3 cm continuum emission counterpart in 1.3 mm continuum emission revealed by the SMA toward these IRDCs. The low production rate $N_{\rm uv} \sim 10^{44}$ s$^{-1}$ of Lyman continuum photons, indicates that the four IRDCs are in very early evolutionary stages, in which free--free emission is still absent. We have identified 61 dense cores at the size scale of $\sim$0.1 pc using the inner satellite groups of NH$_3$(1,1) line. Among them, 38 dense cores exhibit a single velocity component, while 23 dense cores show multiple velocity components. We find that the nonthermal velocity dispersion ($\sigma_{\mathrm{non}}$) increases with increasing radial distance from the center of dense core within the inner 0.1 pc toward eight dense cores, indicating that the turbulence is likely dissipated toward the center of these dense cores. In addition, two dense cores in AGAL031.024+00.262 and one core in AGAL024.314+00.086 exhibit nearly sonic motions on a small scale of 0.01 pc. The weakening of nonthermal support against gravity suggests that these dense cores are close to gravitational collapse or are already collapsing. Conversely, there are seven dense cores in AGAL031.024+00.262 showing a decrease in $\sigma_{\mathrm{non}}$ with increasing radial distance from the center. By comparing this trends with the outflow revealed by CO J=2-1 line, we find that these cores are likely associated with embedded star formation activities. Higher angular resolution observations on sub-parsec scales are essential to reveal the transition from thermal to nonthermal-dominated regions, especially in dense cores associated with multiple velocity components.

astro-ph.GA

The evolution of C4H and c-C3H2 in molecular cores

Linear C4H and cyclic c-C3H2, as small unsaturated hydrocarbons, are the key precursors to complex organic molecules and are critical components of the interstellar medium. We present on-the-fly mapping observations of C4H 9-8 lines, c-C3H2 2-1, H13CO+ 1-0, and H42 toward a sample of 22 massive star-forming regions using the IRAM 30m telescope. Our aim is to further explore the evolution of these carbon-chain molecules by combining observational results obtained in cold cores. We employed H13CO+ 1-0 and H42 as tracers to probe the positions of molecular cloud cores and ionised hydrogen regions (HII regions), respectively. One chemical model in particular, which includes gas, dust grain surface, and icy mantle phases for C4H and c-C3H2 molecules, was used to make comparisons with observed abundances. From mapping observations targeting 31 regions across 22 sources, C4H 9-8 (J = 19/2-17/2) and C4H 9-8 (J = 17/2-15/2) were detected in only 17 regions, while H13CO+ 1-0 and c-C3H2 2-1 were successfully detected in all 31 regions. We find that the emission of C4H 9-8 and c-C3H2 2-1 is concentrated at the edges of H42 emission regions. The C4H/H13CO+ and c-C3H2/H13CO+ relative abundance ratios range from 0.17 to 1.77 and 1.42 to 6.69, respectively, with a median C4H/c-C3H2 ratio of 0.13. By combining the observational results of cold cores, we find that C4H/H13CO+ and c-C3H2/H13CO+ ratios show a strong decreasing trend as molecular cores evolve. The decreasing trends in C4H/H13CO+ and c-C3H2/H13CO+ ratios imply that small unsaturated hydrocarbons can be consumed and converted into other organic molecules during the evolution of molecular cores. The spatial concentration of C4H and c-C3H2 emission at the edges of H42 regions further supports their role as precursors in the chemical pathways that lead to complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium.

astro-ph.GA

CH3CCH as a thermometer in warm molecular gas

Kinetic temperature is a fundamental parameter in molecular clouds. Symmetric top molecules, such as NH$_3$ and CH$_3$CCH, are often used as thermometers. However, at high temperatures, NH$_3$(2,2) can be collisionally excited to NH$_3$(2,1) and rapidly decay to NH$_3$(1,1), which can lead to an underestimation of the kinetic temperature when using rotation temperatures derived from NH$_3$(1,1) and NH$_3$(2,2). In contrast, CH$_3$CCH is a symmetric top molecule with lower critical densities of its rotational levels than those of NH$_3$, which can be thermalized close to the kinetic temperature at relatively low densities of about 10$^{4}$ cm$^{-3}$. To compare the rotation temperatures derived from NH$_3$(1,1)$\&$(2,2) and CH$_3$CCH rotational levels in warm molecular gas, we used observational data toward 55 massive star-forming regions obtained with Yebes 40m and TMRT 65m. Our results show that rotation temperatures derived from NH$_3$(1,1)$\&$(2,2) are systematically lower than those from CH$_3$CCH 5-4. This suggests that CH$_3$CCH rotational lines with the same $J$+1$\rightarrow$$J$ quantum number may be a more reliable thermometer than NH$_3$(1,1)$\&$(2,2) in warm molecular gas located in the surroundings of massive young stellar objects or, more generally, in massive star-forming regions.

astro-ph.GA

DCO$^+$ and DCN 1-0 survey toward a sample of Planck cold clumps

Deuterated molecules can be used to study the physical conditions and the astro-chemical evolution of molecular clouds. large-sample surveys for deuterated molecules are needed to understand the enhancement of deuterated molecules from diffuse molecular gas to cold cores. A single-pointing survey toward the 559 Planck cold clumps of the Early Cold Core Catalogue (ECC) has been conducted using the Arizona Radio Observatory 12-meter telescope, focusing on the $J$=1-0 transitions of DCO$^+$ and DCN. The survey included observations of 309 cores for DCO$^+$ and DCN 1-0 simultaneously, followed by 71 of these cores where DCO$^+$ 1-0 was detected for H$^{13}$CO$^+$ and H$^{13}$CN 1-0 simultaneously, aiming to determine the deuterated fraction ($D_{\rm frac}$). Additionally, 250 cores were observed for DCO$^+$, DCN, H$^{13}$CO$^+$ and H$^{13}$CN 1-0 simultaneously. Among the 309 sources, DCO$^+$ and DCN 1-0 were detected in 79 and 11 sources, with a detection rates of 25.6 % and 3.6 % respectively. In the 250 sources observed for all four species, DCO$^+$, DCN, H$^{13}$CO$^+$ and H$^{13}$CN 1-0 were detected in 58, 9, 57 and 13 sources, with a detection rate of 23.2 %, 3.6 %, 22.8 % and 5.2 % respectively. The $D_{\rm frac}$(HCO$^+$) values in 112 sources range from 0.89 % to 7.4 % with a median value of 3.1 %, while $D_{\rm frac}$(HCN) values in 11 sources range from 1.5 % to 5.5 % with a median value of 2.3 %. The line widths of DCO$^+$ and H$^{13}$CO$^+$ 1-0 detections are mostly within 1 km s$^{-1}$. The similarity in $D_{\rm frac}$ values between HCO$^+$ and HCN indicates that the higher detection rate of DCO$^+$ 1-0 compared with DCN 1-0 is due to the lower critical density of DCO$^+$ 1-0. We suggest that the enhancement of DCO$^+$ and DCN likely begins in the early diffuse stage of the molecular cloud, rather than during the cold core formation stage.

astro-ph.GA

$^{14}$N$/^{15}$N abundance ratio toward massive star-forming regions with different Galactic distances

The abundance ratio of $^{14}$N$/^{15}$N is, in principle, a powerful tool for tracing stellar nucleosynthesis. This work aims to measure and analyze ($^{14}$N/$^{15}$N)$\times$($^{13}$C/$^{12}$C) and $^{14}$N$/^{15}$N abundance ratios in massive star-forming regions across a range of galactocentric distances to provide constraints on galactic chemical evolution (GCE) models. We present H$^{13}$CN and HC$^{15}$N J=2-1 results toward 51massive star-forming regions obtained with the Institut de Radioastronomie Millim\'etrique (IRAM) 30 meter telescope.\ We used these results to derive ($^{14}$N/$^{15}$N)$\times$($^{13}$C/$^{12}$C) abundance ratios as well as $^{14}$N$/^{15}$N ratios using the double isotope method. We find an overall decreasing trend in the ($^{14}$N/$^{15}$N)$\times$($^{13}$C/$^{12}$C) abundance ratio and an increasing trend in the $^{14}$N$/^{15}$N ratio with increasing galactocentric distance ($D_{\rm GC}$), which provides a good constraint for the GCE model based on high signal to noise ratio measurements. While the predicted ($^{14}$N/$^{15}$N)$\times$($^{13}$C/$^{12}$C) ratios between 6 and 12 kpc determined using current GCE models are consistent with our observational results, the ratios from models for $D_{\rm GC}$ less than 6 kpc are significantly higher than the observational results, which indicates GCE models for $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N and/or $^{13}$C/$^{12}$C ratios need to be updated for at least this range.

astro-ph.GA

Dense Outflowing Molecular Gas in Massive Star-forming Regions

Dense outflowing gas, traced by transitions of molecules with large dipole moment, is important for understanding mass loss and feedback of massive star formation. HCN 3-2 and HCO$^+$ 3-2 are good tracers of dense outflowing molecular gas, which are closely related to active star formation. In this study, we present on-the-fly (OTF) mapping observations of HCN 3-2 and HCO$^+$ 3-2 toward a sample of 33 massive star-forming regions using the 10-m Submillimeter Telescope (SMT). With the spatial distribution of line wings of HCO$^+$ 3-2 and HCN 3-2, outflows are detected in 25 sources, resulting in a detection rate of 76$\%$. The optically thin H$^{13}$CN and H$^{13}$CO$^+$ 3-2 lines are used to identify line wings as outflows and estimate core mass. The mass $M_{out}$, momentum $P_{out}$, kinetic energy $E_{K}$, force $F_{out}$ and mass loss rate $\dot M_{out}$ of outflow and core mass, are obtained for each source. A sublinear tight correlation is found between the mass of dense molecular outflow and core mass, with an index of $\sim$ 0.8 and a correlation coefficient of 0.88.

astro-ph.GA

$^{18}$O$/^{17}$O abundance ratio toward a sample of massive star forming regions with parallax distances

The $^{18}$O$/^{17}$O abundance ratio is, in principle, a powerful tool to estimate the relative contributions of massive stars and low- to intermediate-mass stars to the chemical enrichment of galaxies. We present $^{18}$O$/^{17}$O ratios derived from simultaneous observations of C$^{18}$O and C$^{17}$O 1-0 toward fifty-one massive star forming regions with the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30 meter telescope. Simultaneous observations of HC$^{18}$O$^{+}$ 1-0 and HC$^{17}$O$^{+}$ 1-0 with the Yebes 40m telescope toward five sources from this sample were also done to test the consistency of $^{18}$O$/^{17}$O ratios derived from different isotopic pairs. From our improved measurements, resulting in smaller errors than previous work in the literature, we obtain a clear trend of increasing $^{18}$O$/^{17}$O ratio with increasing galactocentric distance (D$_{GC}$), which provides a significant constraint on Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) models. Current GCE models have to be improved in order to explain the observed C$^{18}$O/C$^{17}$O 1-0 gradient.

astro-ph.GA