arXiv subjects

Jiancheng Feng

Publications and source records attributed to Jiancheng Feng.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

CO Structures with Narrow Lines in Nearby Quiescent Regions

Using CO data from Phase I of the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (MWISP) survey, we present a systematic study of molecular structures with narrow lines. We identify 57 CO structures, most of which exhibit low densities and subsonic/transonic turbulence. Among them, structures with large projected areas and diffuse, sheet-like geometries are identified as veil clouds. The low LSR velocities and the concentration of these CO structures toward both the Galactic center (e.g., Ophiuchus, Aquila) and anticenter (e.g., Cepheus, Taurus) regions suggest a local origin for the sample, as supported by distance measurements of about 200--300pc for a subset with relatively large angular extents. These nearby structures likely arise from large-scale compression driven by past supernova activity within the Local Bubble. The observed low-velocity-dispersion emission may trace quiescent regions where turbulence has decayed due to a lack of sustained energy injection. For diffuse veil clouds with an assumed magnetic field of ~10uG, ion-neutral friction may provide an additional mechanism for turbulent dissipation on sub-parsec scales corresponding to their thickness of 0.1--0.3pc. Tracing the atomic-to-molecular transition, veil clouds provide a unique window into the diffuse, quiescent precursor state of dense gas. They likely represent a widespread but previously overlooked component of the Galactic molecular gas reservoir, with significant implications for cloud formation and evolution, the total mass budget and spatial distribution of molecular gas, and the initial conditions of star formation as a related consequence.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Transient protostellar cores in high mass star forming regions revealed by time-resolved synthetic imaging of dust emission

The connection between dense gas cores and their infant protostars is key to understanding how stars form in molecular clouds. In this paper we investigate the properties, persistence, and protostellar content of cores that would be identified by a dendrogram analysis of 1.3 mm ALMA images. We use a time series of synthetic images produced by post-processing a simulation of star formation in a massive globally collapsing clump, with polaris to calculate dust radiative transfer and CASA to generate synthetic ALMA data. Identifying sinks in the simulation with protostars, we find that most dendrogram-identified cores do not contain any protostars, with many cores being transient features associated with clumpy flow along feeder filaments. Cores with protostars generally host <4, and protostellar mass is not strongly correlated with the mass of the parent cores due to their transience and shifting boundaries. Calculating observationally-relevant intensity-weighted average temperatures for all cores, we find that even at early times the core temperature distribution spans tens of Kelvin, and its width increases with time. The 1.3 mm peak and integrated intensity of the brightest mm core do not increase monotonically as the most massive associated protostar grows, indicating it cannot be assumed that brighter mm sources host more massive protostars. Leveraging the time domain, we test observational properties that have been proposed as potential evolutionary indicators and find that only the total 1.3 mm flux density of the region, the total 1.3 mm flux density in cores, and the number of cores show strong, statistically significant correlation with time.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Large-field CO(1-0) observations toward the Galactic historical supernova remnants: shocked molecular clouds toward the Crab Nebula

Using the PMO 13.7m telescope, we present large-field and high-sensitivity CO(1-0) line observations toward the Crab Nebula, in order to better understand the interstellar gas environment of this well-known historical supernova remnant. The CO observations show molecular clouds toward the Crab Nebula at a velocity range from about 0 to 16 km/s. After checking the CO spectra, we find shocked signatures in the clouds extending at a velocity of roughly [5, 11] km/s. These shocked molecular clouds, with an angular distance of about 0.4-0.5 degree toward the Crab Nebula, are located at the shell of a bubble discovered in the GALFA-HI (and HI4PI) images at the same velocity range. The dimension of the bubble is roughly 2.3$\times$2.6 degree and the expansion velocity is about 5 km/s. The kinetic energy referred from the shocked molecular clouds (roughly 3.5$\times$10$^{51}$ erg), together with the HI bubble, support the picture that the Crab Nebula belongs to a typical core-collapse supernova remnant. Nevertheless, due to the large uncertainty in the distance measurement, further observations are needed to verify the physical association between the shocked molecular clouds and the Crab Nebula.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Magnetically Aligned Striations in the L914 Filamentary Cloud

We present CO ($J = 1-0$) multi-line observations toward the L914 dark cloud in the vicinity of the Cygnus X region, using the 13.7 m millimeter telescope of the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO). The CO observations reveal in the L914 cloud a long filament with an angular length of $\sim 3.\!\!^\circ 6$, corresponding to approximately $\rm 50~pc$ at the measured distance of $\sim\rm 760~pc$. Furthermore, a group of hair-like striations are discovered in the two subregions of the L914 cloud, which are connected with the dense ridge of the filament. These striations display quasi-periodic characteristics in both the CO intensity images and position-velocity diagrams. Two of the striations also show increasing velocity gradients and dispersions toward the dense ridge, which could be fitted by accretion flows under gravity. Based on the $Planck$ 353 GHz dust polarization data, we find that the striations are well aligned with the magnetic fields. Moreover, both the striations and magnetic fields are perpendicular to the dense ridge, which constructs a bimodal configuration. Using the classic method, we estimate the strength of magnetic field, and further evaluate the relative importance of gravity, turbulence and magnetic field, and find that the L914 cloud is strongly magnetized. Our results suggest that magnetic fields play an important role in the formation of filamentary structures by channelling the material along the striations toward the dense ridge. The comparison between the observations and simulations suggests that striations could be a product of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) process.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

On the evolution of the observed Mass-to-Length relationship for star-forming filaments

The interstellar medium is threaded by a hierarchy of filaments from large scales (~ 100 pc) to small scales (~ 0.1pc). The masses and lengths of these nested structures may reveal important constraints for cloud formation and evolution, but it is difficult to investigate from an evolutionary perspective using single observations. In this work, we extract simulated molecular clouds from the Cloud Factory galactic-scale ISM suite in combination with 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code POLARIS to investigate how filamentary structure evolves over time. We produce synthetic dust continuum observations in three regions with a series of snapshots and use the Filfinder algorithm to identify filaments in the dust derived column density maps. When the synthetic filaments mass and length are plotted on an M-L plot, we see a scaling relation of $L\propto M^{0.45}$ similar to that seen in observations, and find that the filaments are thermally supercritical. Projection effects systematically affect the masses and lengths measured for the filaments, and are particularly severe in crowded regions. In the filament Mass-Length (M-L) diagram we identify three main evolutionary mechanisms: accretion, segmentation, and dispersal. In particular we find that the filaments typically evolve from smaller to larger masses in the observational M-L plane, indicating the dominant role of accretion in filament evolution. Moreover, we find a potential correlation between line mass and filament growth rate. Once filaments are actively star forming they then segment into smaller sections, or are dispersed by internal or external forces.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The Cassiopeia Filament: A Blown Spur of the Local Arm

We present wide-field and high-sensitivity CO(1-0) molecular line observations toward the Cassiopeia region, using the 13.7m millimeter telescope of the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO). The CO observations reveal a large-scale highly filamentary molecular cloud within the Galactic region of 132\fdg0\,$\geq$\,$l$\,$\geq$\,122\fdg0 and -1\fdg0\,$\leq$\,$b$\,$\leq$\,3\fdg0 and the velocity range from approximately +1 to +4 km/s. The measured length of the large-scale filament, referred to as the Cassiopeia Filament, is about 390 pc. The observed properties of the Cassiopeia Filament, such as length, column density, and velocity gradient, are consistent with those synthetic large-scale filaments in the inter-arm regions. Based on its observed properties and location on the Galactic plane, we suggest that the Cassiopeia Filament is a spur of the Local arm, which is formed due to the galactic shear. The western end of the Cassiopeia Filament shows a giant arc-like molecular gas shell, which is extending in the velocity range from roughly -1 to +7 km/s. Finger-like structures, with systematic velocity gradients, are detected in the shell. The CO kinematics suggest that the large shell is expanding at a velocity of ~6.5 km/s. Both the shell and finger-like structures outline a giant bubble with a radius of ~16 pc, which is likely produced by stellar wind from the progenitor star of a supernova remnant. The observed spectral linewidths suggest that the whole Cassiopeia Filament was quiescent initially until its west part was blown by stellar wind and became supersonically turbulent.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

CO(J = 1-0) Observations toward the Filamentary Cloud in the Galactic Region of $153.60^{\circ} \leqslant l \leqslant 156.50^{\circ}$ and $1.85^{\circ} \leqslant b \leqslant 3.50^{\circ}$

We present observations of $J$=1-0 transition lines of ${ }^{12} \mathrm{CO}$, ${ }^{13} \mathrm{CO}$, and $\mathrm{C}^{18} \mathrm{O}$ towards the Galactic region of $153.60^{\circ} \leqslant l \leqslant 156.50^{\circ}$ and $1.85^{\circ} \leqslant b \leqslant 3.50^{\circ}$, using the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) 13.7 m millimeter telescope. Based on the \tht data, one main filament and five sub-filaments are found together as a network structure in the velocity interval of $[-42.5, -30.0] \,\mathrm{km} \mathrm{\,s}^{-1}$. The kinematic distance of this molecular cloud (MC) is estimated to be $\sim4.5 \mathrm{\,kpc}$. The median length, width, excitation temperature, line mass of these filaments are $\sim49 \mathrm{\,pc}$, $\sim2.9 \mathrm{\,pc}$, $\sim8.9 \mathrm{\,K}$, and $\sim39 \,M_{\odot} \mathrm{pc}^{-1}$, respectively. The velocity structures along these filaments exhibit oscillatory patterns, which are likely caused by the fragmentation or accretion process along these filaments. The maximum accretion rate is estimated to be as high as $\sim700 \,M_{\odot} \mathrm{pc}^{-1}$. A total of $\sim162$ \tht clumps and $\sim 103$ young stellar objects (YSOs) are identified in this region. Most of the clumps are in gravitationally bound states. Three \hii regions (G154.359+2.606, SH2-211, SH2-212) are found to be located in the apexes of the filaments. Intense star forming activities are found along the entire filamentary cloud. The observed results may help us to better understand the link between filaments and massive star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Feedback from $γ$~Cassiopeiae: Large Expanding Cavity, Accelerating Cometary Globules, and Peculiar X-ray Emission

We present wide-field multi-wavelength observations of $γ$ Cassiopeiae (or $γ$~Cas for short) in order to study its feedback toward the interstellar environment. A large expanding cavity is discovered toward $γ$~Cas in the neutral hydrogen (HI) images at a systemic velocity of about -10 km/s. The measured dimension of the cavity is roughly 2.0 deg $\times$ 1.4 deg (or 6.0 pc $\times$ 4.2 pc at a distance of 168 pc), while the expansion velocity is about 5.0$\pm$0.5 km/s. The CO observations reveal systematic velocity gradients in IC63 (about 20 km/s/pc) and IC59 (about 30 km/s/pc), two cometary globules illuminated by $γ$~Cas, proving fast acceleration of the globules under stellar radiation pressure. The gas kinematics indicate that the cavity is opened by strong stellar wind, which has high potential to lead to the peculiar X-ray emission observed in $γ$~Cas. Our result favors a recent new scenario that emphasizes the roles of stellar wind and binarity in the X-ray emission of the $γ$~Cas stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

A wide-field CO survey towards the California Molecular Filament

We present the survey of $^{12}$CO/$^{13}$CO/C$^{18}$O (J=1-0) toward the California Molecular Cloud (CMC) within the region of 161.75$^{\circ} \leqslant l \leqslant$ 167.75$^{\circ}$,-9.5$^{\circ} \leqslant b \leqslant $-7.5$^{\circ}$, using the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) 13.7 m millimeter telescope. Adopting a distance of 470 pc, the mass of the observed molecular cloud estimated from $^{12}$CO, $^{13}$CO, and C$^{18}$O is about 2.59$\times$10$^{4}$ M$_\odot$, 0.85$\times$10$^{4}$ M$_\odot$, and 0.09$\times$10$^{4}$ M$_\odot$, respectively. A large-scale continuous filament extending about 72 pc is revealed from the $^{13}$CO images. A systematic velocity gradient perpendicular to the major axis appears and is measured to be $\sim$ 0.82 km s$^{-1}$ pc$^{-1}$. The kinematics along the filament shows an oscillation pattern with a fragmentation wavelength of $\sim$ 2.3 pc and velocity amplitude of $\sim$ 0.92 km s$^{-1}$, which may be related with core-forming flows. Furthermore, assuming an inclination angle to the plane of the sky of 45$^{\circ}$, the estimated average accretion rate is $\sim$ 101 M$_\odot$ Myr$^{-1}$ for the cluster LkH$α$ 101 and $\sim$ 21 M$_\odot$ Myr$^{-1}$ for the other regions. In the C$^{18}$O observations, the large-scale filament could be resolved into multiple substructures and their dynamics are consistent with the scenario of filament formation from converging flows. Approximately 225 C$^{18}$O cores are extracted, of which 181 are starless cores. Roughly 37$\%$ (67/181) of the starless cores have $α_{\text{vir}}$ less than 1. Twenty outflow candidates are identified along the filament. Our results indicate active early-phase star formation along the large-scale filament in the CMC region.

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