arXiv subjects

Isabelle Ristorcelli

Publications and source records attributed to Isabelle Ristorcelli.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Multi-scale analysis of the Monoceros OB 1 star-forming region: II. Colliding filaments in the Monoceros OB1 molecular cloud

We started a multi-scale analysis of G202.3+2.5, an intertwined filamentary region of Monoceros OB1. In Paper I, we examined the distributions of dense cores and protostars and found enhanced star formation (SF) activity in the junction region of the filaments. In this second paper, we aim to unveil the connections between the core and filament evolutions, and between the filament dynamics and the global evolution of the cloud. We characterise the gas dynamics and energy balance using Herschel and WISE observations and molecular tracers observed with the IRAM 30m and TRAO 14m telescopes. The velocity field of the cloud is examined and velocity-coherent structures are put in perspective with the cloud environment. Two main velocity components (VCs) are revealed, well separated in the north and merged around the location of intense N2H+ emission where Paper I found the peak of SF activity. The relative position of the two VCs along the sightline, and the velocity gradient in N2H+ emission imply that the VCs have been undergoing collision for ~10^5 yrs. The dense gas where N2H+ is detected is interpreted as the compressed region between the two filaments, which corresponds to a high mass inflow rate of ~1e-3 Msun/yr and possibly leads to an increase in its SF efficiency. We identify a protostar in the junction region that possibly powers two crossed intermittent outflows. We show that the HII region around the nearby cluster NCG 2264 is still expanding and its role in the collision is examined. However, we cannot rule out the idea that the collision arises mostly from the global collapse of the cloud. The (sub-)filament-scale observables examined in this paper reveal a collision between G202.3+2.5 sub-structures and its probable role in feeding the cores in the junction region. One must now characterise the cloud morphology, its fragmentation, and magnetic field, all at high resolution.

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arXiv2019

Multi-scale analysis of the Monoceros OB 1 star-forming region: I. The dense core population

Current theories and models attempt to explain star formation globally, from core scales to giant molecular cloud scales. A multi-scale observational characterisation of an entire molecular complex is necessary to constrain them. We investigate star formation in G202.3+2.5, a ~10x3 pc sub-region of the Monoceros OB1 cloud with a complex morphology harbouring interconnected filamentary structures. We aim to connect the evolution of cores and filaments in G202.3+2.5 with the global evolution of the cloud and to identify the engines of the cloud dynamics. In this first paper, the star formation activity is evaluated by surveying the distributions of dense cores and protostars, and their evolutionary state, as characterised using both infrared observations from the Herschel and WISE telescopes and molecular line observations with the IRAM 30-m telescope. We find ongoing star formation in the whole cloud, with a local peak in star formation activity around the centre of G202.3+2.5 where a chain of massive cores (10-50 Msun) forms a massive ridge (>150 Msun). All evolutionary stages from starless cores to Class II protostars are found in G202.3+2.5, including a possibly starless, large column density (8x10^{22} cm-2), and massive (52 Msun) core. All the core-scale observables examined in this paper point to an enhanced star formation activity centred on the junction between the three main branches of the ramified structure of G202.3+2.5. This suggests that the increased star-formation activity results from the convergence of these branches. To further investigate the origin of this enhancement, it is now necessary to extend the analysis to larger scales, in order to examine the relationship between cores, filaments and their environment. We address these points through the analysis of the dynamics of G202.3+2.5 in a joint paper.

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arXiv2019

Synthetic observations of dust emission and polarisation of Galactic cold clumps

The Planck Catalogue of Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCC) contains over 13000 sources detected based on their cold dust signature. They are believed to consist of a mixture of quiescent, pre-stellar, and already star-forming objects. We extracted PGCC-type objects from cloud simulations and examined their physical and polarisation properties. The comparison with the PGCC catalogue helps to characterise the PGCC sample and provides valuable tests for numerical simulations of interstellar medium. We used several MHD snapshots to define the density field of our models. Sub-millimetre images of the surface brightness and polarisation were obtained with radiative transfer calculations. We examined the statistics of synthetic cold clump catalogues and examined the variations of the clump polarisation fraction p. The clump sizes, aspect ratios, and temperatures in the synthetic catalogue are similar to the PGCC. The fluxes and column densities are smaller by a factor of a few. Rather than with an increased dust opacity, this could be explained by increasing the average column density of the models by a factor of two to three, close to N(H2)= 10^22 cm-2. When the line of sight is parallel to the mean magnetic field, the polarisation fraction tends to increase towards the clump centres, contrary to observations. When the field is perpendicular, the polarisation fraction tends to decrease towards the clumps, but the drop in $p$ is small (e.g. from p~8% to p~7%). Magnetic field geometry reduces the polarisation fraction in the simulated clumps by only Δp~1% on average. The larger drop seen towards the actual PGCC clumps suggests some loss of grain alignment in the dense medium, such as predicted by the radiative torque mechanism. The statistical study is not able to quantify dust opacity changes at the scale of the PGCC clumps.

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arXiv2019

Galactic continuum surveys with the new 850 micron MKID camera at the EAO/JCMT 15-m telescope

This white paper gives a brief summary of Galactic continuum surveys with the next generation 850 micron camera at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in the next decade. This new camera will have mapping speeds at least 10-20 times faster than the present SCUBA-2 camera, and will enable deep (<10 mJy/beam) and extensive continuum surveys such as a wider (-5 deg.<l<240 deg., |b|<2-5 deg.) Galactic Plane survey, a larger Gould Belt survey, and a follow-up survey of all Planck compact objects visible from the northern hemisphere. These surveys will provide a complete census of molecular clouds, filaments, and dense cores across the Galaxy, vital for studying star formation in various environments.

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arXiv2018

Dust polarisation studies on MHD simulations of molecular clouds: methods comparison for the relative orientations analysis

Context. Polarized dust emission can be used as a probe for magnetic fields at different scales. In particular, the analysis of the relative orientation between the density structures and the magnetic field projected on the plane of the sky can provide information on the role of magnetic fields in shaping the structure of molecular clouds. Aims. The relative orientation has been investigated using different methods. Our goal is to explicitly compare two of them: the Rolling Hough Transform (RHT) and the gradient technique. Methods. We have applied the RHT method and the gradient technique to two regions, identified in surface brightness maps at 353 GHz generated via MHD simulations post-processed using radiative transfer modelling. For both methods we have derived the relative orientation between the magnetic field and the density structures, to which we have applied two different statistics, the histogram of relative orientation (HRO) statistic and the projected Rayleigh statistic (PRS). Results. The samples of pixels selected by each method are substantially different. When the methods are applied to the same pixel selection, the results in terms of relative orientation as a function of column density are consistent between each other. When each method is applied to its own pixel selection, the differences are apparent. In Region 1, the RHT method roughly reproduces the observed trend of the relative orientation becoming more perpendicular for increasing column density, while the gradient method, applied at the same resolution as RHT, gives the opposite trend, with the relative orientation moving towards a more parallel alignment. In Region 2, the situation is reversed. The inconsistent results, which are due to the different pixel selections operated by the methods and to the intrinsic differences between them, provide complementary valuable information. Abridged.

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arXiv2018

Dust spectrum and polarisation at 850 um in the massive IRDC G035.39-00.33

The dust sub-millimetre polarisation of star-forming clouds carries information on dust and the role of magnetic fields in cloud evolution. With observations of a dense filamentary cloud G035.39-00.33, we aim to characterise the dust emission properties and the variations of the polarisation fraction. JCMT SCUBA-2/POL-2 data at 850um are combined with Planck 850um (353GHz) data to map polarisation fractions. With previous SCUBA-2 observations (450um and 850um) and Herschel data, the column densities are determined via modified blackbody fits and via radiative transfer modelling. Models are constructed to examine how the polarisation angles and fractions depend on potential magnetic field geometries and grain alignment. POL-2 data show clear changes in the magnetic field orientation. The filament has a peak column density of N(H2)~7 10^22 cm-2, a minimum dust temperature of T~12 K, and a mass of some 4300Msun for the area N(H2)> 5 10^21 cm-2. The estimated average value of the dust opacity spectral index is beta ~ 1.9. The ratio of sub-millimetre and J band optical depths is tau(250 um)/tau(J) ~ 2.5 10^-3, more than four times the typical values for diffuse medium. The polarisation fraction decreases as a function of column density to p ~ 1% in the central filament. Because of noise, the observed decrease of p(N) is significant only at N(H2)>2 10^22 cm-2. The observations suggest that the grain alignment is not constant. Although the data can be explained with a complete loss of alignment at densities above ~ 10^4 cm-3 or using the predictions of radiative torques alignment, the uncertainty of the field geometry and the spatial filtering of the SCUBA-2 data prevent strong conclusions. G035.39-00.33 shows strong signs of dust evolution and the low polarisation fraction is suggestive of a loss of polarised emission from its densest parts.

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arXiv2017

Herschel and SCUBA-2 observations of dust emission in a sample of Planck cold clumps

Analysis of all-sky Planck submillimetre observations and the IRAS 100um data has led to the detection of a population of Galactic cold clumps. The clumps can be used to study star formation and dust properties in a wide range of Galactic environments. Our aim is to measure dust spectral energy distribution (SED) variations as a function of the spatial scale and the wavelength. We examine the SEDs at large scales using IRAS, Planck, and Herschel data. At smaller scales, we compare with JCMT/SCUBA-2 850um maps with Herschel data that are filtered using the SCUBA-2 pipeline. Clumps are extracted using the Fellwalker method and their spectra are modelled as modified blackbody functions. According to IRAS and Planck data, most fields have dust colour temperatures T_C ~ 14-18K and opacity spectral index values of beta=1.5-1.9. The clumps/cores identified in SCUBA-2 maps have T~ 13K and similar beta values. There are some indications of the dust emission spectrum becoming flatter at wavelengths longer than 500um. In fits involving Planck data, the significance is limited by the uncertainty of the corrections for CO line contamination. The fits to the SPIRE data give a median beta value slightly above 1.8. In the joint SPIRE and SCUBA-2 850um fits the value decreases to beta ~1.6. Most of the observed T-beta anticorrelation can be explained by noise. The typical submillimetre opacity spectral index beta of cold clumps is found to be ~1.7. This is above the values of diffuse clouds but lower than in some previous studies of dense clumps. There is only tentative evidence of T-beta anticorrelation and beta decreasing at millimetre wavelengths.

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arXiv2016

Astrochemical Properties of Planck Cold Clumps

We observed thirteen Planck cold clumps with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope/SCUBA-2 and with the Nobeyama 45 m radio telescope. The N$_2$H$^+$ distribution obtained with the Nobeyama telescope is quite similar to SCUBA-2 dust distribution. The 82 GHz HC$_3$N, 82 GHz CCS, and 94 GHz CCS emission are often distributed differently with respect to the N$_2$H$^+$ emission. The CCS emission, which is known to be abundant in starless molecular cloud cores, is often very clumpy in the observed targets. We made deep single-pointing observations in DNC, HN$^{13}$C, N$_2$D$^+$, cyclic-C$_3$H$_2$ toward nine clumps. The detection rate of N$_2$D$^+$ is 50\%. Furthermore, we observed the NH$_3$ emission toward 15 Planck cold clumps to estimate the kinetic temperature, and confirmed that most of targets are cold ($\lesssim$ 20 K). In two of the starless clumps observe, the CCS emission is distributed as it surrounds the N$_2$H$^+$ core (chemically evolved gas), which resembles the case of L1544, a prestellar core showing collapse. In addition, we detected both DNC and N$_2$D$^+$. These two clumps are most likely on the verge of star formation. We introduce the Chemical Evolution Factor (CEF) for starless cores to describe the chemical evolutionary stage, and analyze the observed Planck cold clumps.

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arXiv2016

Star formation laws in both Galactic massive clumps and external galaxies: An extensive study with dust continuum, HCN (4-3), and CS (7-6)

We observed 146 Galactic clumps in HCN (4-3) and CS (7-6) with the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE) 10-m telescope. A tight linear relationship between star formation rate and gas mass traced by dust continuum emission was found for both Galactic clumps and the high redshift (z>1) star forming galaxies (SFGs), indicating a constant gas depletion time of ~100 Myr for molecular gas in both Galactic clumps and high z SFGs. However, low z galaxies do not follow this relation and seem to have a longer global gas depletion time. The correlations between total infrared luminosities (L_TIR) and molecular line luminosities (L'_mol) of HCN (4-3) and CS (7-6) are tight and sublinear extending down to clumps with LTIR~10^{3} L_sun. These correlations become linear when extended to external galaxies. A bimodal behavior in the LTIR--L'mol correlations was found for clumps with different dust temperature, luminosity-to-mass ratio, and sigmaline/sigmavir. Such bimodal behavior may be due to evolutionary effects. The slopes of LTIR--L'mol correlations become more shallow as clumps evolve. We compared our results with lower J transition lines in wu et al. (2010). The correlations between clump masses and line luminosities are close to linear for low effective excitation density tracers but become sublinear for high effective excitation density tracers for clumps with LTIR larger than LTIR~10^4.5 Lsun. High effective excitation density tracers cannot linearly trace the total clump masses, leading to a sublinear correlations for both Mclump-L'mol and LTIR-L'mol relations.

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arXiv2015

Planck cold clumps in the $λ$ Orionis complex: I. Discovery of an extremely young Class 0 protostellar object and a proto-brown dwarf candidate in a bright rimmed clump PGCC G192.32-11.88

We are performing a series of observations with ground-based telescopes toward Planck Galactic cold clumps (PGCCs) in the $λ$ Orionis complex in order to systematically investigate the effects of stellar feedback. In the particular case of PGCC G192.32-11.88, we discovered an extremely young Class 0 protostellar object (G192N) and a proto-brown dwarf candidate (G192S). G192N and G192S are located in a gravitationally bound bright-rimmed clump. The velocity and temperature gradients seen in line emission of CO isotopologues indicate that PGCC G192.32-11.88 is externally heated and compressed. G192N probably has the lowest bolometric luminosity ($\sim0.8$ L$_{\sun}$) and accretion rate (6.3$\times10^{-7}$ M$_{\sun}$~yr$^{-1}$) when compared with other young Class 0 sources (e.g. PACS Bright Red sources (PBRs)) in the Orion complex. It has slightly larger internal luminosity ($0.21\pm0.01$ L$_{\sun}$) and outflow velocity ($\sim$14 km~s$^{-1}$) than the predictions of first hydrostatic cores (FHSCs). G192N might be among the youngest Class 0 sources, which are slightly more evolved than a FHSC. Considering its low internal luminosity ($0.08\pm0.01$ L$_{\odot}$) and accretion rate (2.8$\times10^{-8}$ M$_{\sun}$~yr$^{-1}$), G192S is an ideal proto-brown dwarf candidate. The star formation efficiency ($\sim$0.3\%-0.4\%) and core formation efficiency ($\sim$1\%) in PGCC G192.32-11.88 are significantly smaller than in other giant molecular clouds or filaments, indicating that the star formation therein is greatly suppressed due to stellar feedback.

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arXiv2014

Follow-up observations toward Planck cold clumps with ground-based radio telescopes

The physical and chemical properties of prestellar cores, especially massive ones, are still far from being well understood due to the lack of a large sample. The low dust temperature ($<$14 K) of Planck cold clumps makes them promising candidates for prestellar objects or for sources at the very initial stages of protostellar collapse. We have been conducting a series of observations toward Planck cold clumps (PCCs) with ground-based radio telescopes. In general, when compared with other star forming samples (e.g. infrared dark clouds), PCCs are more quiescent, suggesting that most of them may be in the earliest phase of star formation. However, some PCCs are associated with protostars and molecular outflows, indicating that not all PCCs are in a prestellar phase. We have identified hundreds of starless dense clumps from the mapping survey with the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) 13.7-m telescope. Follow-up observations suggest that these dense clumps are ideal targets to search for prestellar objects.

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arXiv2014

Dust properties inside molecular clouds from coreshine modeling and observations

Context. Using observations to deduce dust properties, grain size distribution, and physical conditions in molecular clouds is a highly degenerate problem. Aims. The coreshine phenomenon, a scattering process at 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m that dominates absorption, has revealed its ability to explore the densest parts of clouds. We want to use this effect to constrain the dust parameters. The goal is to investigate to what extent grain growth (at constant dust mass) inside molecular clouds is able to explain the coreshine observations. We aim to find dust models that can explain a sample of Spitzer coreshine data. We also look at the consistency with near-infrared data we obtained for a few clouds. Methods. We selected four regions with a very high occurrence of coreshine cases: Taurus-Perseus, Cepheus, Chameleon and L183/L134. We built a grid of dust models and investigated the key parameters to reproduce the general trend of surface bright- nesses and intensity ratios of both coreshine and near-infrared observations with the help of a 3D Monte-Carlo radiative transfer code. The grid parameters allow to investigate the effect of coagulation upon spherical grains up to 5 $μ$m in size derived from the DustEm diffuse interstellar medium grains. Fluffiness (porosity or fractal degree), ices, and a handful of classical grain size distributions were also tested. We used the near- and mostly mid-infrared intensity ratios as strong discriminants between dust models. Results. The determination of the background field intensity at each wavelength is a key issue. In particular, an especially strong background field explains why we do not see coreshine in the Galactic plane at 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m. For starless cores, where detected, the observed 4.5 $μ$m / 3.6 $μ$m coreshine intensity ratio is always lower than $\sim$0.5 which is also what we find in the models for the Taurus-Perseus and L183 directions. Embedded sources can lead to higher fluxes (up to four times greater than the strongest starless core fluxes) and higher coreshine ratios (from 0.5 to 1.1 in our selected sample). Normal interstellar radiation field conditions are sufficient to find suitable grain models at all wavelengths for starless cores. The standard interstellar grains are not able to reproduce observations and, due to the multi-wavelength approach, only a few grain types meet the criteria set by the data. Porosity does not affect the flux ratios while the fractal dimension helps to explain coreshine ratios but does not seem able to reproduce near-infrared observations without a mix of other grain types. Conclusions. Combined near- and mid-infrared wavelengths confirm the potential to reveal the nature and size distribution of dust grains. Careful assessment of the environmental parameters (interstellar and background fields, embedded or nearby reddened sources) is required to validate this new diagnostic.

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arXiv2013

Variation in dust properties in a dense filament of the Taurus molecular complex (L1506)

We observed the L1506 filament, which is located in the Taurus molecular complex, with the Herschel PACS and SPIRE instruments. Our aim is to prove the variation in grain properties along the entire length of the filament. In particular, we want to determine above which gas density this variation arises and what changes in the grain optical properties/size distribution are required. We use the 3D radiative transfer code CRT, coupled to the dust emission and extinction code DustEM, to model the emission and extinction of the dense filament. We test a range of optical properties and size distributions for the grains: dust of the diffuse interstellar medium (interstellar PAHs and amorphous carbons and silicates) and both compact and fluffy aggregates. We find that the grain opacity has to increase across the filament to fit simultaneously the near-IR extinction and Herschel emission profiles of L1506. We interpret this change to be a consequence of the coagulation of dust grains to form fluffy aggregates. Grains similar to those in the diffuse medium have to be present in the outer layers of the cloud, whereas aggregates must prevail above gas densities of a few 1000 H/cm3. This corresponds to line-of-sights with visual extinction in the V band of the order of 2 to 3. The dust opacity at 250 microns is raised by a factor of 1.8 to 2.2, while the grain average size is increased by a factor of 5. These exact numbers depend naturally on the dust model chosen to fit the data. Our findings agree with the constraints given by the study of the gas molecular lines. Using a simple approach, we show that the aggregates may have time to form inside the filament within the cloud lifetime. Our model also characterises the density structure of the filament, showing that the filament width is not constant along L1506 but instead varies by a factor of the order of 4.

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arXiv2009

L1506: a prestellar core in the making

Exploring the structure and dynamics of cold starless clouds is necessary to understand the different steps leading to the formation of protostars. Because clouds evolve slowly, many of them must be studied in detail to pick up different moments of a cloud's lifetime. We study here L1506C in the Taurus region, a core with interesting dust properties which have been evidenced with the PRONAOS balloon-borne telescope. To trace the mass content of L1506C and its kinematics, we mapped the dust emission, and the line emission of two key species, C18O and N2H+ (plus 13CO and C17O). This cloud shows peculiar features: i) a large envelope traced solely by 13CO holding a much smaller core with a strong C18O depletion in its center despite a low maximum opacity (Av~20 mag), ii) extremely narrow C18O lines indicating a low, non-measurable turbulence, iii) contraction traced by C18O itself (plus rotation), iv) unexpectedly, the kinematical signature from the external envelope is opposite to the core one: the 13CO and C18O velocity gradients have opposite directions and opposite profiles (C18O blue peaked, 13CO red peaked). The core is large (r = 3E4 AU) and not very dense (n(H2) ? 5E4 cm-3 or less). This core is therefore not prestellar yet. All these facts suggest that the core is kinematically detached from its envelope and in the process of forming a prestellar core. This is the first time that the dynamical formation of a prestellar core is witnessed. The extremely low turbulence could be the reason for the strong depletion of this core despite its relatively low density and opacity in contrast with undepleted cores such as L1521E which shows a turbulence at least 4 times as high.

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