arXiv subjects

D. Paradis

Publications and source records attributed to D. Paradis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tracing grain growth in the forming prestellar core L1506C with 3D modeling of Herschel, IRAM, and CFHT observations

In the early phases of star formation, properties of prestellar cores are commonly inferred from observations of thermal dust emission and thus depend on dust properties, which must be carefully characterized. Our target, L1506C, is part of the filament L1506 in the Taurus molecular cloud. The spectral energy distributions over the whole spectral range (from 160 {\mu}m to 2 mm), built from Herschel PACS and SPIRE and IRAM-NIKA2 data, have been fitted with a modified blackbody. These data were also modelled using the 3D radiative transfer code SOC and the latest THEMIS 2 dust model using extinction observations from WIRCam at CFHT and from Spitzer as additional constraints. The MBB modeling reveals that L1506C is fragmented into two low density cores with masses smaller than their Jeans masses. The dust color temperature and the emissivity spectral index show clear anti-correlation and change in grain properties. Grains more evolved than the diffuse interstellar medium are needed to model the densest part showing that grain growth already occurs at very early stage of star formation, even before the onset of gravitational collapse.

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arXiv2026

Spatially-resolved interstellar dust properties in the face-on spiral galaxy M 99 as observed by NIKA2

Large dust grains in thermal equilibrium dominate the far-infrared and contribute to the millimetre continuum of star-forming galaxies, but constraining their properties is difficult due to free-free and synchrotron contamination. We study spatial variations in the dust spectral index, mass, and grain properties in the nearby face-on spiral galaxy M 99. We use new 1.15 and 2 mm continuum observations from NIKA2 on the IRAM 30 m telescope (IMEGIN Guaranteed Time Large Programme) combined with multiwavelength data from UV to radio. The infrared-to-radio SED is decomposed into dust, free-free, and synchrotron components using the hierarchical Bayesian code HerBIE. Dust is modelled via a modified blackbody (MBB) with variable millimetre spectral index beta and the THEMIS dust model with fixed beta. We perform spatially-resolved analysis at scales ~1.75 kpc (~25''), covering the centre, spiral arms, and inter-arm regions. MBB fits reveal beta variations from ~1.6-1.7 in diffuse regions to ~2.3-2.5 in dense star-forming areas, likely due to grain coagulation and changes in silicate-to-carbonaceous ratios. Dust masses from variable beta are up to ~4x higher than fixed-beta models, which systematically bias dust-to-stellar and dust-to-gas ratios. The small grain fraction rises from ~10% in the centre to ~15% in the diffuse disc, anti-correlated with the interstellar radiation field; gas-phase metallicity plays a minor role within 8 kpc. Synchrotron spectral index ranges from ~0.6-0.7 in star-forming regions to ~1.2 in the diffuse medium, consistent with cosmic-ray electron ageing.

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arXiv2026

Resolved ISM properties and scaling relations in the barred galaxy NGC 3627: constraints from NIKA2 observations

We investigate the interplay between star formation, interstellar medium (ISM) components, and dust properties in NGC 3627 using new NIKA2 1.15 and 2 mm observations from the IMEGIN Large Program. Our goal is to analyze dust and radio emission, decompose contributions in the millimeter-centimeter regime, and explore ISM properties within the galaxy. We perform spectral energy distribution fitting, at both global and spatial scales, using the THEMIS dust model within the HerBIE code, applied to data from 3.4 $\mu$m to 6 cm. We decompose emission into dust, free-free, and synchrotron components, and examine correlations with gas surface density and star formation activity. Additionally, we analyze the small dust grain fraction and its variation across the galaxy. We find $\sim$10% radio emission at 2 mm, peaking at 18% in the southern bar-end, which hosts the highest star formation activity. However, an isolated star-forming region beyond this bar-end is the most efficient, as indicated by its elevated dust production efficiency and effective yield, predicted by our simplistic dust evolution model. The 160 $\mu$m emission shows the strongest correlation with molecular gas, while 1.15 mm better traces the dust mass surface density. Small grains, which make up $\sim$13% of dust mass (2 $\times$ 10$^{7}$ M$_{\odot}$), are depleted in intense radiation fields, with a notable deficit in the southern tidal tail. ISM properties and chemical evolution indicate that dynamical processes, such as bar-driven gas flows and tidal interactions, are crucial in shaping the galactic structure, influencing star formation efficiency, and dust distribution.

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arXiv2025

Far-infrared to centimeter emission of very nearby galaxies with archival data

Compared to the well-studied infrared and radio domains, galaxy emission in the millimeter (mm) - centimeter (cm) range has been less observed. In this domain, galaxy emission consists of thermal dust, free-free and synchrotron emissions with a possible additional contribution from anomalous microwave emission (AME) peaking near 1 cm.The aim of this study is to accurately characterize the integrated spectral energy distribution (SED) of galaxies in the mm-cm range. We used COBE-DIRBE, IRAS, Planck, and WMAP all-sky surveys, brought to the same resolution of $1^\circ$, to cover 18 photometric bands from 97$\mu$m to 1.3 cm. Given the low angular resolution and mixing with foreground and background emission that hampers the detection of the galaxy, our sample consists of 6 of the brightest, nearby galaxies: LMC, SMC, M31, M33, NGC 253 and NGC 4945. We subtract Milky Way dust emission, distant unresolved galaxies, and foreground point sources in the fields. We fit each integrated SED with a model of thermal dust, free-free, synchrotron, AME and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature fluctuations. The integrated SEDs of our sample of galaxies are well fitted by the model within the uncertainties, although degeneracies between the different components contributing to the mm-cm emission complicate the estimation of their individual contributions. We do not clearly detect AME in any of our target galaxies, and AME emissivity upper limits are weak compared to Galactic standards, suggesting that the signal of AME might be diluted at the scale of a whole galaxy. We infer positive CMB fluctuations in the background of 5 out of our 6 galaxies. This effect might be related to the degeneracy between the dust emissivity index and CMB fluctuations in the background, or linked to the specific spatial distribution of CMB fluctuations coupled with the low resolution and small number statistics.

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arXiv2024

Inferring the dust emission at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths using neural networks

The Planck mission provided all-sky dust emission maps in the submm to mm range at an angular resolution of 5'. In addition, some specific sources can be observed at long wavelengths and higher resolution using ground-based telescopes. These observations are limited to small scales and require extensive data processing before they become available for scientific analysis. They also suffer from extended emission filtering. At present, we are still unable to fully understand the emissivity variations observed in different astrophysical environments at long wavelengths. It is therefore challenging to estimate any dust emission in the submm-mm at a better resolution than the 5' from Planck. In this analysis, based on supervised deep learning algorithms, we produced dust emission predictions in the two Planck bands centered at 850 mic and 1.38 mm, at the Herschel resolution (37''). Herschel data of Galactic environments, ranging from 160 to 500 mic and smoothed to 5', were used to train the neural network. Then, using Herschel data only, the model was applied to predict dust emission maps at 37''. The neural network is capable of reproducing dust emission maps of various Galactic environments. Remarkably, it also performs well for nearby extragalactic environments. This could indicate that large dust grains have similar properties in both our Galaxy and nearby galaxies, or at least that their spectral behaviors are comparable in Galactic and extragalactic environments. We provide dust emission prediction maps at 850 mic and 1.38 mm at the 37'' of several surveys: Hi-GAL, Gould Belt, Cold Cores, HERITAGE, Helga, HerM33es, KINGFISH, and VNGS. The ratio of these two wavelength brightness bands reveals a derived emissivity spectral index statistically close to 1 for all the surveys, which favors the hypothesis of a flattened dust emission spectrum for wavelengths larger than 850 mic.

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arXiv2024

Interpreting Millimeter Emission from IMEGIN galaxies NGC 2146 and NGC 2976

The millimeter continuum emission from galaxies provides important information about cold dust, its distribution, heating, and role in their InterStellar Medium (ISM). This emission also carries an unknown portion of the free-free and synchrotron radiation. The IRAM 30m Guaranteed Time Large Project, Interpreting Millimeter Emission of Galaxies with IRAM and NIKA2 (IMEGIN) provides a unique opportunity to study the origin of the millimeter emission on angular resolutions of <18" in a sample of nearby galaxies. As a pilot study, we present millimeter observations of two IMEGIN galaxies, NGC 2146 (starburst) and NGC 2976 (peculiar dwarf) at 1.15 mm and 2 mm. Combined with the data taken with Spitzer, Herschel, Plank, WSRT, and the 100m Effelsberg telescopes, we model the infrared-to-radio Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of these galaxies, both globally and at resolved scales, using a Bayesian approach to 1) dissect different components of the millimeter emission, 2) investigate the physical properties of dust, and 3) explore correlations between millimeter emission, gas, and Star Formation Rate (SFR). We find that cold dust is responsible for most of the 1.15 mm emission in both galaxies and at 2 mm in NGC 2976. The free-free emission emits more importantly in NGC 2146 at 2 mm. The cold dust emissivity index is flatter in the dwarf galaxy ($\beta = 1.3\pm 0.1$) compared to the starburst galaxy ($\beta = 1.7\pm 0.1$). Mapping the dust-to-gas ratio, we find that it changes between 0.004 and 0.01 with a mean of $0.006\pm0.001$ in the dwarf galaxy. In addition, no global balance holds between the formation and dissociation of H$_2$ in this galaxy. We find tight correlations between the millimeter emission and both the SFR and molecular gas mass in both galaxies.

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arXiv2023

IAS/CEA Evolution of Dust in Nearby Galaxies (ICED): the spatially-resolved dust properties of NGC4254

We present the first preliminary results of the project \textit{ICED}, focusing on the face-on galaxy NGC4254. We use the millimetre maps observed with NIKA2 at IRAM-30m, as part of the IMEGIN Guaranteed Time Large Program, and of a wide collection of ancillary data (multi-wavelength photometry and gas phase spectral lines) that are publicly available. We derive the global and local properties of interstellar dust grains through infrared-to-radio spectral energy distribution fitting, using the hierarchical Bayesian code HerBIE, which includes the grain properties of the state-of-the-art dust model, THEMIS. Our method allows us to get the following dust parameters: dust mass, average interstellar radiation field, and fraction of small grains. Also, it is effective in retrieving the intrinsic correlations between dust parameters and interstellar medium properties. We find an evident anti-correlation between the interstellar radiation field and the fraction of small grains in the centre of NGC4254, meaning that, at strong radiation field intensities, very small amorphous carbon grains are efficiently destroyed by the ultra-violet photons coming from newly formed stars, through photo-desorption and sublimation. We observe a flattening of the anti-correlation at larger radial distances, which may be driven by the steep metallicity gradient measured in NGC4254.

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arXiv2023

Exploring the interstellar medium of NGC 891 at millimeter wavelengths using the NIKA2 camera

In the framework of the IMEGIN Large Program, we used the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30-m telescope to observe the edge-on galaxy NGC 891 at 1.15 mm and 2 mm and at a FWHM of 11.1" and 17.6", respectively. Multiwavelength data enriched with the new NIKA2 observations fitted by the HerBIE SED code (coupled with the THEMIS dust model) were used to constrain the physical properties of the ISM. Emission originating from the diffuse dust disk is detected at all wavelengths from mid-IR to mm, while mid-IR observations reveal warm dust emission from compact HII regions. Indications of mm excess emission have also been found in the outer parts of the galactic disk. Furthermore, our SED fitting analysis constrained the mass fraction of the small (< 15 Angstrom) dust grains. We found that small grains constitute 9.5% of the total dust mass in the galactic plane, but this fraction increases up to ~ 20% at large distances (|z| > 3 kpc) from the galactic plane.

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arXiv2023

Constraining Millimeter Dust Emission in Nearby Galaxies with NIKA2: the case of NGC2146 and NGC2976

This study presents the first millimeter continuum mapping observations of two nearby galaxies, the starburst spiral galaxy NGC2146 and the dwarf galaxy NGC2976, at 1.15 mm and 2 mm using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30m telescope, as part of the Guaranteed Time Large Project IMEGIN. These observations provide robust resolved information about the physical properties of dust in nearby galaxies by constraining their FIR-radio SED in the millimeter domain. After subtracting the contribution from the CO line emission, the SEDs are modeled spatially using a Bayesian approach. Maps of dust mass surface density, temperature, emissivity index, and thermal radio component of the galaxies are presented, allowing for a study of the relations between the dust properties and star formation activity (using observations at 24$\mu$m as a tracer). We report that dust temperature is correlated with star formation rate in both galaxies. The effect of star formation activity on dust temperature is stronger in NGC2976, an indication of the thinner interstellar medium of dwarf galaxies. Moreover, an anti-correlation trend is reported between the dust emissivity index and temperature in both galaxies.

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arXiv2023

The stratification of ISM properties in the edge-on galaxy NGC 891 revealed by NIKA2

As the millimeter wavelength range remains a largely unexplored spectral region for galaxies, the IMEGIN large program aims to map the millimeter continuum emission of 22 nearby galaxies at 1.15 and 2 mm. Using the high-resolution maps produced by the NIKA2 camera, we explore the existence of very cold dust and take possible contamination by free-free and synchrotron emission into account. We study the IR-to-radio emission coming from different regions along the galactic plane and at large vertical distances. New observations of NGC 891, using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30m telescope, along with a suite of observations at other wavelengths were used to perform a multiwavelength study of the spectral energy distribution in the interstellar medium in this galaxy. This analysis was performed globally and locally, using the advanced hierarchical Bayesian fitting code, HerBIE, coupled with the THEMIS dust model. Our dust modeling is able to reproduce the near-IR to millimeter emission of NGC 891, with the exception of an excess at a level of 25% obtained by the NIKA2 observations in the outermost parts of the disk. The radio continuum and thermal dust emission are distributed differently in the disk and galaxy halo. Different dusty environments are also revealed by a multiwavelength investigation of the emission features. Our detailed decomposition at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths shows that emission at 1 mm is purely originated by dust. Radio components become progressively important with increasing wavelengths. Finally, we find that emission arising from small dust grains accounts for ~ 9.5% of the total dust mass, reaching up to 20% at large galactic latitudes. Shock waves in the outflows that shatter the dust grains might explain this higher fraction of small grains in the halo.

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arXiv2023

Toward a better understanding of the mid-infrared emission in the LMC

In this paper we aim to constrain for the first time the dust emission in the mid-to-far infrared domain, in the LMC, with the use of the Spitzer IRS and MIPS SED data, combined with Herschel data. We also consider UV extinction predictions derived from modeling. We selected 10 regions observed as part of the SAGE-Spec program, to probe dust properties in various environments (diffuse, molecular and ionized regions). All data were smoothed to the 40arcsec angular resolution. The SEDs were modeled with DustEM models, using the standard Mathis RF, as well as three additional RFs, with stellar clusters ages ranging from 4 Myr to 600 Myr. Standard dust models used to reproduce the Galactic diffuse medium are clearly not able to reproduce the dust emission in the MIR wavelength domain. This analysis evidences the need of adjusting parameters describing the dust size distribution and shows a clear distinct behavior according to the type of environments. In addition, whereas the small grain emission always seems to be negligible at long wavelengths in our Galaxy, the contribution of this small dust component could be more important than expected, in the submm-mm range, in the LMC averaged SED. Properties of the small dust component of the LMC are clearly different from those of our Galaxy. Its abundance, significantly enhanced, could be the result of large grains shattering due to strong shocks or turbulence. In addition, this grain component in the LMC systematically shows smaller grain size in the ionized regions compared to the diffuse medium. Predictions of extinction curves show significantly distinct behaviors depending on the dust models but also from one region to another. Comparison of model predictions with the LMC mean extinction curve shows that no model gives satisfactory agreement using the Mathis radiation field while using a harder radiation field tends to improve the agreement

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arXiv2022

Low-temperature optical constants of amorphous silicate dust analogues

Cosmic dust models are key ingredients in advancing our understanding of astronomical environments as diverse as interstellar clouds in galaxies, circumstellar envelopes around evolved and young stars, and protoplanetary disks. Such models consist of several dust populations, each with different compositions and size distributions. They may also consider different grain shapes, although most models assume spherical grains. All include a component of silicate dust. The absorption and emission properties of these dust components are calculated from the optical constants of each dust material which have various experimental, phenomenological, and theoretical origins depending on the model. We aim to provide the community with new sets of optical constants for amorphous silicate dust analogues at low temperatures. The analogues consist of four Mg-rich silicate samples of stoichiometry ranging from enstatite to olivine, and of eight samples of Mg and Fe rich silicates with a pyroxene stoichiometry and differing magnesium and iron content. We calculated the optical constants from transmission measurements using the Kramers-Kronig relations, assuming that the grains are small compared to the wavelength and prolate in shape with axis ratios of 1.5 and 2 for the Mg and Fe rich samples, respectively. New optical constants for silicate dust analogues were calculated over the wavelength range from 5 to 800-1000 microns, depending on the sample, and at temperatures of 10, 30, 100, 200, and 300 K.We determined the uncertainties on the derived optical constants based on the assumptions used to calculate them. To facilitate the use of these data in cosmic dust models, we provide optical constants extrapolated outside the measured spectral range into the UV-NIR and mm-cm wavelength ranges, as well as formulae that can be used to interpolate them at any temperature in the range 10 - 300 K.

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arXiv2019

Revisiting the dust properties in the molecular clouds of the Large Magellanic Cloud

In this present analysis we investigate the dust properties associated with the different gas phases (including the ionized phase this time) of the LMC molecular clouds at 1$^{\prime}$ angular resolution (four times greater than a previous analysis) and with a larger spectral coverage range thanks to Herschel data. We also ensure the robustness of our results in the framework of various dust models. We performed a decomposition of the dust emission in the infrared (3.6 $\mic$ to 500 $\mic$) associated with the atomic, molecular, and ionized gas phases in the molecular clouds of the LMC. The resulting spectral energy distributions were fitted with four distinct dust models. We then analyzed the model parameters such as the intensity of the radiation field and the relative dust abundances, as well as the slope of the emission spectra at long wavelengths. This work allows dust models to be compared with infrared data in various environments for the first time, which reveals important differences between the models at short wavelengths in terms of data fitting (mainly in the PAH bands). In addition, this analysis points out distinct results according to the gas phases, such as dust composition directly affecting the dust temperature and the dust emissivity in the submm, and different dust emission in the near-infrared (NIR). We observe direct evidence of dust property evolution from the diffuse to the dense medium in a large sample of molecular clouds in the LMC. In addition, the differences in the dust component abundances between the gas phases could indicate different origins of grain formation. We also point out the presence of a NIR-continuum in all gas phases, with an enhancement in the ionized gas. We favor the hypothesis of an additional dust component as the carrier of this continuum.

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arXiv2017

Galactic Cold Cores. VIII. Filament formation and evolution: Filament properties in context with evolutionary models

Filaments are key for star formation models. As part of the study carried out by the Herschel GCC Programme, here we study the filament properties presented in GCC.VII in context with theoretical models of filament formation and evolution. A conservative sample of filaments at a distance D<500pc was extracted with the Getfilaments algorithm. Their physical structure was quantified according to two main components: the central (Gaussian) region (core component), and the power-law like region dominating the filament column density profile at larger radii (wing component). The properties and behaviour of these components relative to the total linear mass density of the filament and its environmental column density were compared with theoretical models describing the evolution of filaments under gravity-dominated conditions. The feasibility of a transition to supercritical state by accretion is dependent on the combined effect of filament intrinsic properties and environmental conditions. Reasonably self-gravitating (high Mline-core) filaments in dense environments (av\sim3mag) can become supercritical in timescales of t\sim1Myr by accreting mass at constant or decreasing width. The trend of increasing Mline-tot (Mline-core and Mline-wing), and ridge Av with background also indicates that the precursors of star-forming filaments evolve coevally with their environment. The simultaneous increase of environment and filament Av explains the association between dense environments and high Mline-core values, and argues against filaments remaining in constant single-pressure equilibrium states. The simultaneous growth of filament and background in locations with efficient mass assembly, predicted in numerical models of collapsing clouds, presents a suitable scenario for the fulfillment of the combined filament mass-environment criterium that is in quantitative agreement with Herschel observations.

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arXiv2017

Low temperature MIR to submillimeter mass absorption coefficient of interstellar dust analogues I: Mg-rich glassy silicates

A wealth of data from the Herschel and Planck satellites and now from ALMA, revealing cold dust thermal emission, is available for astronomical environments ranging from interstellar clouds, cold clumps, circumstellar envelops, and protoplanetary disks. The interpretation of these observations relies on the understanding and modeling of cold dust emission and on the knowledge of the dust optical properties. The aim of this work is to provide astronomers with a set of spectroscopic data of realistic interstellar dust analogues that can be used to interpret the observations. Glassy silicates of mean composition (1-x)MgO - xSiO2 with x = 0.35, 0.40 and 0.50 were synthesized. The mass absorption coefficient (MAC) of the samples was measured in the spectral domain 30 - 1000 $μ$m for grain temperature in the range 300 K - 10 K and at room temperature in the 5 - 40 $μ$m domain. We find that the MAC of all samples varies with the grains temperature. In the FIR/submm, and above 30K, the MAC value at a given wavelength increases with the temperature as thermally activated absorption processes appear. The studied materials exhibit different and complex behaviors at long wavelengths (lambda $\geq$ 200 to 700 $μ$m depending on the samples) and the MAC cannot be approximated by a single power law in $λ^{-β}$. These behaviors are attributed to the amorphous nature of dust and to the amount and nature of the defects within this amorphous structure. Above 20 $μ$m, the measured MAC are much higher than the MAC calculated from interstellar silicate dust models indicating that the analogues measured in this study are more emissive than the silicates in cosmic dust models. This has important astrophysical implications because masses are overestimated by the models. Moreover, constraints on elemental abundance of heavy elements in cosmic dust models are relaxed

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arXiv2016

Star formation towards the Galactic HII region RCW120

The expansion of HII regions can trigger the formation of stars. An overdensity of young stellar objects (YSOs) is observed at the edges of HII regions but the mechanisms that give rise to this phenomenon are not clearly identified. Moreover, it is difficult to establish a causal link between HII-region expansion and the star formation observed at the edges of these regions. A clear age gradient observed in the spatial distribution of young sources in the surrounding might be a strong argument in favor of triggering. We have observed the Galactic HII region RCW120 with herschel PACS and SPIRE photometers at 70, 100, 160, 250, 350 and 500$μ$m. We produced temperature and H$_2$ column density maps and use the getsources algorithm to detect compact sources and measure their fluxes at herschel wavelengths. We have complemented these fluxes with existing infrared data. Fitting their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with a modified blackbody model, we derived their envelope dust temperature and envelope mass. We computed their bolometric luminosities and discuss their evolutionary stages. The herschel data, with their unique sampling of the far infrared domain, have allowed us to characterize the properties of compact sources observed towards RCW120 for the first time. We have also been able to determine the envelope temperature, envelope mass and evolutionary stage of these sources. Using these properties we have shown that the density of the condensations that host star formation is a key parameter of the star-formation history, irrespective of their projected distance to the ionizing stars.

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arXiv2016

An analysis of star formation with Herschel in the Hi-GAL Survey. II. The tips of the Galactic bar

We present the physical and evolutionary properties of prestellar and protostellar clumps in the Herschel Infrared GALactic plane survey (Hi-GAL) in two large areas centered in the Galactic plane and covering the tips of the long Galactic bar at the intersection with the spiral arms. The areas fall in the longitude ranges 19 < l < 33 and 340 < l < 350, while latitude is -1 < b < 1. Newly formed high mass stars and prestellar objects are identified and their properties derived and compared. A study is also presented on five giant molecular complexes at the further edge of the bar. The star-formation rate was estimated from the quantity of proto-stars expected to form during the collapse of massive turbulent clumps into star clusters. This new method was developed by applying a Monte Carlo procedure to an evolutionary model of turbulent cores and takes into account the wide multiplicity of sources produced during the collapse. The star-formation rate density values at the tips are 1.2 +- 0.3 10-3 Msol/yr/kpc2 and 1.5+-0.3 10-3 Msol/yr/kpc2 in the first and fourth quadrant, respectively. The same values estimated on the entire field of view, that is including the tips of the bar and background and foreground regions, are 0.9+-0.2 10-3 Msol/yr/kpc2 and 0.8+-0.2 10-3 Msol/yr/kpc2. The conversion efficiency is approximately 0.8% in the first quadrant and 0.5% in the fourth quadrant, and does not show a significant difference in proximity of the bar. The star forming regions identified through CO contours at the further edge of the bar show star-formation rate densities larger than the surrounding regions but their conversion efficiencies are comparable. Our results suggest that the star-formation activity at the bar is due to a large amount of dust and molecular material rather than being due to a triggering process.

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arXiv2016

Hi-GAL, the Herschel infrared Galactic Plane Survey: photometric maps and compact source catalogues. First data release for Inner Milky Way: +68°> l > -70°

(Abridged) We present the first public release of high-quality data products (DR1) from Hi-GAL, the {\em Herschel} infrared Galactic Plane Survey. Hi-GAL is the keystone of a suite of continuum Galactic Plane surveys from the near-IR to the radio, and covers five wavebands at 70, 160, 250, 350 and 500 micron, encompassing the peak of the spectral energy distribution of cold dust for 8 < T < 50K. This first Hi-GAL data release covers the inner Milky Way in the longitude range 68° > l > -70° in a |b|<1° latitude strip. Photometric maps have been produced with the ROMAGAL pipeline, that optimally capitalizes on the excellent sensitivity and stability of the bolometer arrays of the {\em Herschel} PACS and SPIRE photometric cameras, to deliver images of exquisite quality and dynamical range, absolutely calibrated with {\em Planck} and {\em IRAS}, and recovering extended emission at all wavelengths and all spatial scales. The compact source catalogues have been generated with the CuTEx algorithm, specifically developed to optimize source detection and extraction in the extreme conditions of intense and spatially varying background that are found in the Galactic Plane in the thermal infrared. Hi-GAL DR1 images will be accessible via a dedicated web-based image cutout service. The DR1 Compact Source Catalogues are delivered as single-band photometric lists containing, in addition to source position, peak and integrated flux and source sizes, a variety of parameters useful to assess the quality and reliability of the extracted sources, caveats and hints to help this assessment are provided. Flux completeness limits in all bands are determined from extensive synthetic source experiments and depend on the specific line of sight along the Galactic Plane. Hi-GAL DR1 catalogues contain 123210, 308509, 280685, 160972 and 85460 compact sources in the five bands, respectively.

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