arXiv subjects

Jonathan B. Foster

Publications and source records attributed to Jonathan B. Foster.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

IN-SYNC. V. Stellar kinematics and dynamics in the Orion A Molecular Cloud

The kinematics and dynamics of young stellar populations enable us to test theories of star formation. With this aim, we continue our analysis of the SDSS-III/APOGEE IN-SYNC survey, a high resolution near infrared spectroscopic survey of young clusters. We focus on the Orion A star-forming region, for which IN-SYNC obtained spectra of $\sim2700$ stars. In Paper IV we used these data to study the young stellar population. Here we study the kinematic properties through radial velocities ($v_r$). The young stellar population remains kinematically associated with the molecular gas, following a $\sim10\:{\rm{km\:s}}^{-1}$ gradient along filament. However, near the center of the region, the $v_r$ distribution is slightly blueshifted and asymmetric; we suggest that this population, which is older, is slightly in foreground. We find evidence for kinematic subclustering, detecting statistically significant groupings of co-located stars with coherent motions. These are mostly in the lower-density regions of the cloud, while the ONC radial velocities are smoothly distributed, consistent with it being an older, more dynamically evolved cluster. The velocity dispersion $σ_v$ varies along the filament. The ONC appears virialized, or just slightly supervirial, consistent with an old dynamical age. Here there is also some evidence for on-going expansion, from a $v_r$--extinction correlation. In the southern filament, $σ_v$ is $\sim2$--$3$ times larger than virial in the L1641N region, where we infer a superposition along the line of sight of stellar sub-populations, detached from the gas. On the contrary, $σ_v$ decreases towards L1641S, where the population is again in agreement with a virial state.

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arXiv2017

IN-SYNC VI. Identification and Radial Velocity Extraction for 100+ Double-Lined Spectroscopic Binaries in the APOGEE/IN-SYNC Fields

We present radial velocity measurements for 70 high confidence, and 34 potential binary systems in fields containing the Perseus Molecular Cloud, Pleiades, NGC 2264, and the Orion A star forming region. 18 of these systems have been previously identified as binaries in the literature. Candidate double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2s) are identified by analyzing the cross-correlation functions (CCFs) computed during the reduction of each APOGEE spectrum. We identify sources whose CCFs are well fit as the sum of two Lorentzians as likely binaries, and provide an initial characterization of the system based on the radial velocities indicated by that dual fit. For systems observed over several epochs, we present mass ratios and systemic velocities; for two systems with observations on eight or more epochs, and which meet our criteria for robust orbital coverage, we derive initial orbital parameters. The distribution of mass ratios for multi-epoch sources in our sample peaks at q=1, but with a significant tail toward lower q values. Tables reporting radial velocities, systemic velocities, and mass ratios are provided online. We discuss future improvements to the radial velocity extraction method we employ, as well as limitations imposed by the number of epochs currently available in the APOGEE database. The Appendix contains brief notes from the literature on each system in the sample, and more extensive notes for select sources of interest.

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arXiv2016

Linking Dense Gas from the Milky Way to External Galaxies

In a survey of 65 galaxies, Gao & Solomon (2004) found a tight linear relation between the infrared luminosity ($L_{\rm{IR}}$, a proxy for the star formation rate) and the HCN(1-0) luminosity ($L_{\rm{HCN}}$). Wu et al. (2005, 2010) found that this relation extends from these galaxies to the much less luminous Galactic molecular high-mass star-forming clumps ($\sim$1 pc scales), and posited that there exists a characteristic ratio $L_{\rm{IR}}$ /$L_{\rm{HCN}}$ for high-mass star-forming clumps. The Gao-Solomon relation for galaxies could then be explained as a summation of large numbers of high-mass star-forming clumps, resulting in the same $L_{\rm{IR}}$ /$L_{\rm{HCN}}$ ratio for galaxies. We test this explanation and other possible origins of the Gao-Solomon relation using high-density tracers (including HCN(1-0), N$_2$H$^+$(1-0), HCO$^+$(1-0), HNC(1-0), HC$_3$N(10-9), and C$_2$H(1-0)) for $\sim$300 Galactic clumps from the Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) survey. The MALT90 data show that the Gao-Solomon relation in galaxies cannot be satisfactorily explained by the blending of large numbers of high-mass clumps in the telescope beam. Not only do the clumps have a large scatter in the $L_{\rm{IR}}$/$L_{\rm{HCN}}$ ratio, but also far too many high-mass clumps are required to account for the Galactic IR and HCN luminosities. We suggest that the scatter in the $L_{\rm{IR}}$/$L_{\rm{HCN}}$ ratio converges to the scatter of the Gao-Solomon relation at some size-scale $\gtrsim$1 kpc. We suggest that the Gao-Solomon relation could instead result from of a universal large-scale star formation efficiency, initial mass function, core mass function, and clump mass function.

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arXiv2015

IN-SYNC IV - The Young Stellar Population in the Orion A Molecular Cloud

We present the results of the SDSS APOGEE INfrared Spectroscopy of Young Nebulous Clusters program (IN-SYNC) survey of the Orion A molecular cloud. This survey obtained high resolution near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy of about 2700 young pre-main sequence stars throughout the region, acquired across five distinct fields spanning 6deg field of view (FOV). With these spectra, we have measured accurate stellar parameters (T_eff, log g, v sin i) and extinctions, and placed the sources in the Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram (HRD). We have also extracted radial velocities for the kinematic characterization of the population. We compare our measurements with literature results for a sub-sample of targets in order to assess the performances and accuracy of the survey. Source extinction shows evidence for dust grains that are larger than those in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM): we estimate an average R_V=5.5 in the region. Importantly, we find a clear correlation between HRD inferred ages and spectroscopic surface-gravity inferred ages. This clearly indicates a real spread of stellar radii at fixed temperature, and together with additional correlations with extinction and with disk presence, strongly suggests a real spread of ages large than a few Myr. Focussing on the young population around NGC1980 iota Ori, which has previously been suggested to be a separate, foreground, older cluster, we confirm its older (5Myr) age and low A_V, but considering that its radial velocity distribution is indistinguishable from the Orion A's population, we suggest that NGC1980 is part of Orion A's star formation activity. Based on their stellar parameters and kinematic properties, we identify 383 new candidate members of Orion A, most of which are diskless sources in areas of the region poorly studied by previous works.

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arXiv2015

IN-SYNC III: The dynamical state of IC 348 - A super-virial velocity dispersion and a puzzling sign of convergence

Most field stars will have encountered the highest stellar density and hence the largest number of interactions in their birth environment. Yet the stellar dynamics during this crucial phase are poorly understood. Here we analyze the radial velocities measured for 152 out of 380 observed stars in the 2-6 Myr old star cluster IC 348 as part of the SDSS-III APOGEE. The radial velocity distribution of these stars is fitted with one or two Gaussians, convolved with the measurement uncertainties including binary orbital motions. Including a second Gaussian improves the fit; the high-velocity outliers that are best fit by this second component may either (1) be contaminants from the nearby Perseus OB2 association, (2) be a halo of ejected or dispersing stars from IC 348, or (3) reflect that IC 348 has not relaxed to a Gaussian velocity distribution. We measure a velocity dispersion for IC 348 of $0.72 \pm 0.07$ km s$^{-1}$ (or $0.64 \pm 0.08$ km s$^{-1}$ if two Gaussians are fitted), which implies a supervirial state, unless the gas contributes more to the gravitational potential than expected. No evidence is found for a dependence of this velocity dispersion on distance from the cluster center or stellar mass. We also find that stars with lower extinction (in the front of the cloud) tend to be redshifted compared with stars with somewhat higher extinction (towards the back of the cloud). This data suggests that the stars in IC 348 are converging along the line of sight. We show that this correlation between radial velocity and extinction is unlikely to be spuriously caused by the small cluster rotation of $0.024 \pm 0.013$ km s$^{-1}$ arcmin$^{-1}$ or by correlations between the radial velocities of neighboring stars. This signature, if confirmed, will be the first detection of line-of-sight convergence in a star cluster(...)

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arXiv2015

ALMA Observations of the IRDC Clump G34.43+00.24 MM3: DNC/HNC Ratio

We have observed the clump G34.43+00.24 MM3 associated with an infrared dark cloud in DNC $J$=3--2, HN$^{13}$C $J$=3--2, and N$_2$H$^+$ $J$=3--2 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The N$_2$H$^+$ emission is found to be relatively weak near the hot core and the outflows, and its distribution is clearly anti-correlated with the CS emission. This result indicates that a young outflow is interacting with cold ambient gas. The HN$^{13}$C emission is compact and mostly emanates from the hot core, whereas the DNC emission is extended around the hot core. Thus, the DNC and HN$^{13}$C emission traces warm regions near the protostar differently. The DNC emission is stronger than the HN$^{13}$C emission toward most parts of this clump. The DNC/HNC abundance ratio averaged within a $15^{\prime\prime} \times 15^{\prime\prime}$ area around the phase center is higher than 0.06. This ratio is much higher than the value obtained by the previous single-dish observations of DNC and HN$^{13}$C $J$=1--0 ($\sim$0.003). It seems likely that the DNC and HNC emission observed with the single-dish telescope traces lower density envelopes, while that observed with ALMA traces higher density and highly deuterated regions. We have compared the observational results with chemical-model results in order to investigate the behavior of DNC and HNC in the dense cores. Taking these results into account, we suggest that the low DNC/HNC ratio in the high-mass sources obtained by the single-dish observations are at least partly due to the low filling factor of the high density regions.

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arXiv2015

Interferometric Observations of High-Mass Star-Forming Clumps with Unusual N2H+/HCO+ Line Ratios

The Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) survey has detected high-mass star-forming clumps with anomalous N$_2$H$^+$/HCO$^+$(1-0) integrated intensity ratios that are either unusually high ("N$_2$H$^+$ rich") or unusually low ("N$_2$H$^+$ poor"). With 3 mm observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we imaged two N$_2$H$^+$ rich clumps, G333.234-00.061 and G345.144-00.216, and two N$_2$H$^+$ poor clumps, G351.409+00.567 and G353.229+00.672. In these clumps, the N$_2$H$^+$ rich anomalies arise from extreme self-absorption of the HCO$^+$ line. G333.234-00.061 contains two of the most massive protostellar cores known with diameters of less than 0.1 pc, separated by a projected distance of only 0.12 pc. Unexpectedly, the higher mass core appears to be at an earlier evolutionary stage than the lower mass core, which may suggest that two different epochs of high-mass star formation can occur in close proximity. Through careful analysis of the ATCA observations and MALT90 clumps (including the G333, NGC 6334, and NGC 6357 star formation regions), we find that N$_2$H$^+$ poor anomalies arise at clump-scales and are caused by lower relative abundances of N$_2$H$^+$ due to the distinct chemistry of H II regions or photodissociation regions.

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arXiv2014

IN-SYNC II: Virial Stars from Sub-Virial Cores -- The Velocity Dispersion of Embedded Pre-Main-Sequence Stars in NGC 1333

The initial velocity dispersion of newborn stars is a major unconstrained aspect of star formation theory. Using near-infrared spectra obtained with the APOGEE spectrograph, we show that the velocity dispersion of young (1-2 Myr) stars in NGC 1333 is 0.92+/-0.12 km/s after correcting for measurement uncertainties and the effect of binaries. This velocity dispersion is consistent with the virial velocity of the region and the diffuse gas velocity dispersion, but significantly larger than the velocity dispersion of the dense, star-forming cores, which have a sub-virial velocity dispersion of 0.5 km/s. Since the NGC 1333 cluster is dynamically young and deeply embedded, this measurement provides a strong constraint on the initial velocity dispersion of newly-formed stars. We propose that the difference in velocity dispersion between stars and dense cores may be due to the influence of a 70 micro-Gauss magnetic field acting on the dense cores, or be the signature of a cluster with initial sub-structure undergoing global collapse.

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arXiv2014

ALMA Observations of the IRDC Clump G34.43+00.24 MM3: 278 GHz Class I Methanol Masers

We have observed a molecular clump (MM3) associated with the infrared dark cloud G34.43+00.24 in the CH3OH J_K=9_{-1}--8_0 E, 5_0-4_0 E, and 5_{-1}-4_{-1} E lines at sub-arcsecond resolution by using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. By comparing the CH3OH J_K=9_{-1}-8_0 E emission with the CH3OH 5_0-4_0 E and 5_{-1}-4_{-1} E emission, we have found that the CH3OH J_K=9_{-1}-8_0 E emission is masing. We have clearly shown that the CH3OH J_K=9_{-1}-8_0 masers arise from the post shocked gas in the interacting regions between the outflows and ambient dense gas. Toward the strongest peak of the CH3OH maser emission, SiO J=6-5 emission is very weak. This indicates that the CH3OH maser emission traces relatively old shocks or weak shocks.

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arXiv2014

Distributed Low-Mass Star Formation in the IRDC G34.43+00.24

We have used deep near-infrared observations with adaptive optics to discover a distributed population of low-mass protostars within the filamentary Infrared Dark Cloud G34.43+00.24. We use maps of dust emission at multiple wavelengths to determine the column density structure of the cloud. In combination with an empirically-verified model of the magnitude distribution of background stars, this column density map allows us to reliably determine overdensities of red sources that are due to embedded protostars in the cloud. We also identify protostars through their extended emission in K-band which comes from excited H2 in protostellar outflows or reflection nebulosity. We find a population of distributed low-mass protostars, suggesting that low-mass protostars may form earlier than, or contemporaneously with, high-mass protostars in such a filament. The low-mass protostellar population may also produce the narrow linewidth SiO emission observed in some clouds without high-mass protostars. Finally, we use a molecular line map of the cloud to determine the virial parameter per unit length along the filament and find that the highest mass protostars form in the most bound portion of the filament, as suggested by theoretical models.

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arXiv2014

IN-SYNC I: Homogeneous Stellar Parameters from High Resolution APOGEE Spectra for Thousands of Pre-main Sequence Star

Over two years 8,859 high-resolution H-band spectra of 3,493 young (1 - 10 Myr) stars were gathered by the multi-object spectrograph of the APOGEE project as part of the IN-SYNC ancillary program of that SDSS-III survey. Here we present the forward modeling approach used to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, radial velocities, rotational velocities, and H-band veiling from these near-infrared spectra. We discuss in detail the statistical and systematic uncertainties in these stellar parameters. In addition we present accurate extinctions by measuring the E(J-H) of these young stars with respect to the single-star photometric locus in the Pleiades. Finally we identify an intrinsic stellar radius spread of about 25% for late-type stars in IC 348 using three (nearly) independent measures of stellar radius, namely the extinction-corrected J-band magnitude, the surface gravity and the $R \sin i$ from the rotational velocities and literature rotation periods. We exclude that this spread is caused by uncertainties in the stellar parameters by showing that the three estimators of stellar radius are correlated, so that brighter stars tend to have lower surface gravities and larger $R \sin i$ than fainter stars at the same effective temperature. Tables providing the spectral and photometric parameters for the Pleiades and IC 348 have been provided online.

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arXiv2013

Chemical Evolution in High-Mass Star-Forming Regions: Results from the MALT90 Survey

The chemical changes of high-mass star-forming regions provide a potential method for classifying their evolutionary stages and, ultimately, ages. In this study, we search for correlations between molecular abundances and the evolutionary stages of dense molecular clumps associated with high-mass star formation. We use the molecular line maps from Year 1 of the Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) Survey. The survey mapped several hundred individual star-forming clumps chosen from the ATLASGAL survey to span the complete range of evolution, from prestellar to protostellar to H II regions. The evolutionary stage of each clump is classified using the Spitzer GLIMPSE/MIPSGAL mid-IR surveys. Where possible, we determine the dust temperatures and H2 column densities for each clump from Herschel Hi-GAL continuum data. From MALT90 data, we measure the integrated intensities of the N2H+, HCO+, HCN and HNC (1-0) lines, and derive the column densities and abundances of N2H+ and HCO+. The Herschel dust temperatures increase as a function of the IR-based Spitzer evolutionary classification scheme, with the youngest clumps being the coldest, which gives confidence that this classification method provides a reliable way to assign evolutionary stages to clumps. Both N2H+ and HCO+ abundances increase as a function of evolutionary stage, whereas the N2H+ (1-0) to HCO+ (1-0) integrated intensity ratios show no discernable trend. The HCN (1-0) to HNC(1-0) integrated intensity ratios show marginal evidence of an increase as the clumps evolve.

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arXiv2013

ALMA Observations of the IRDC Clump G34.43+00.24 MM3: Hot Core and Molecular Outflows

We have observed a cluster forming clump (MM3) associated with the infrared dark cloud G34.43+00.24 in the 1.3 mm continuum and the CH3OH, CS, 13CS, SiO, CH3CH2CN, and HCOOCH3 lines with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and in K-band with the Keck telescope. We have found a young outflow toward the center of this clump in the SiO, CS, and CH3OH lines. This outflow is likely driven by a protostar embedded in a hot core, which is traced by the CH3CH2CN, HCOOCH3, 13CS, and high excitation CH3OH lines. The size of the hot core is about 800 x 300 AU in spite of its low mass (<1.1 M_sun), suggesting a high accretion rate or the presence of multiple star system harboring a few hot corinos. The outflow is highly collimated, and the dynamical timescale is estimated to be less than 740 yr. In addition, we have also detected extended emission of SiO, CS, and CH3OH, which is not associated with the hot core and the outflow. This emission may be related to past star formation activity in the clump. Although G34.43+00.24 MM3 is surrounded by a dark feature in infrared, it has already experienced active formation of low-mass stars in an early stage of clump evolution.

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arXiv2013

Characterization of the MALT90 Survey and the Mopra Telescope at 90 GHz

We characterize the Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) Survey and the Mopra telescope at 90 GHz. We combine repeated position-switched observations of the source G300.968+01.145 with a map of the same source in order to estimate the pointing reliability of the position-switched observations and, by extension, the MALT90 survey; we estimate our pointing uncertainty to be 8 arcseconds. We model the two strongest sources of systematic gain variability as functions of elevation and time-of-day and quantify the remaining absolute flux uncertainty. Corrections based on these two variables reduce the scatter in repeated observations from 12-25% down to 10-17%. We find no evidence for intrinsic source variability in G300.968+01.145. For certain applications, the corrections described herein will be integral for improving the absolute flux calibration of MALT90 maps and other observations using the Mopra telescope at 90 GHz.

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arXiv2013

Distinct Chemical Regions in the "Prestellar" Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G028.23-00.19

We have observed the IRDC G028.23-00.19 at 3.3 mm using CARMA. In its center, the IRDC hosts one of the most massive (~1520 Msun) quiescent, cold (12 K) clumps known (MM1). The low temperature, high NH_2D abundance, narrow molecular line widths, and absence of embedded IR sources (from 3.6 to 70 mu) indicate that the clump is likely prestellar. Strong SiO emission with broad line widths (6-9 km s^-1) and high abundances (0.8-4 x 10^-9) is detected in the northern and southern regions of the IRDC, unassociated with MM1. We suggest that SiO is released to the gas phase from the dust grains through shocks produced by outflows from undetected intermediate-mass stars or clusters of low-mass stars deeply embedded in the IRDC. A weaker SiO component with narrow line widths (~2 km s^-1) and low abundances (4.3 x 10^-11) is detected in the center-west region, consistent with either a "subcloud-subcloud" collision or an unresolved population of a few low-mass stars. We report widespread CH_3OH emission throughout the whole IRDC and the first detection of extended narrow methanol emission (~2 km s^-1) in a cold, massive prestellar clump (MM1). We suggest that the most likely mechanism releasing methanol into the gas phase in such a cold region is the exothermicity of grain-surface reactions. HN^13C reveals that the IRDC is actually composed of two distinct substructures ("subclouds") separated in velocity space by ~1.4 km s^-1. The narrow SiO component arises where the subclouds overlap. The spatial distribution of C_2H resembles that of NH_2D, which suggests that C_2H also traces cold gas in this IRDC.

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arXiv2013

SMA Observations of Class 0 Protostars: A High-Angular Resolution Survey of Protostellar Binary Systems

We present high angular resolution 1.3 mm and 850 um dust continuum data obtained with the Submillimeter Array toward 33 Class 0 protostars in nearby clouds (distance < 500 pc), which represents so far the largest survey toward protostellar binary/multiple systems. The median angular resolution in the survey is 2.5 arcsec, while the median linear resolution is approximately 600 AU. Compact dust continuum emission is observed from all sources in the sample. Twenty-one sources in the sample show signatures of binarity/multiplicity, with separations ranging from 50 to 5000 AU. The numbers of singles, binaries, triples, and quadruples in the sample are 12, 14, 5, and 2, respectively. The derived multiplicity frequency (MF) and companion star fraction (CSF) for Class 0 protostars are 0.64+/-0.08 and 0.91+/-0.05, respectively, with no correction for completeness. The derived MF and CSF in this survey are approximately two times higher than the values found in the binary surveys toward Class I YSOs, and approximately three (for MF) and four (for CSF) times larger than the values found among MS stars, with a similar range of separations. Furthermore, the observed fraction of high order multiple systems to binary systems in Class 0 protostars (0.50+/-0.09) is also larger than the fractions found in Class I YSOs (0.31+/-0.07) and MS stars (< 0.2). These results suggest that binary properties evolve as protostars evolve, as predicted by numerical simulations. The distribution of separations for Class 0 protostellar binary systems shows a general trend in which companion star fraction increases with decreasing companion separation. We find that 67%+/-8% of the protobinary systems have circumstellar mass ratios below 0.5, implying that unequal-mass systems are preferred in the process of binary star formation. We suggest an empirical sequential fragmentation picture for binary star formation.

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arXiv2013

The Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz Survey (MALT90) and ALMA

ALMA will revolutionize our understanding of star formation within our galaxy, but before we can use ALMA we need to know where to look. The Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) Survey is a large international project to map the molecular line emission of over 2,000 dense clumps in the Galactic plane. MALT90 serves as a pathfinder for ALMA, providing a large public database of dense molecular clumps associated with high-mass star formation. In this proceedings, we describe the survey parameters and share early science highlights from the survey, including (1) a comparison between galactic and extragalactic star formation relations, (2) chemical trends in MALT90 clumps, (3) the distribution of high-mass star formation in the Milky Way, and (4) a discussion of the Brick, the target of successful ALMA Cycle 0 and Cycle 1 proposals.

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arXiv2012

Evidence for Grain Growth in Molecular Clouds: A Bayesian Examination of the Extinction Law in Perseus

We investigate the shape of the extinction law in two 1-degree square fields of the Perseus Molecular Cloud complex. We combine deep red-optical (r, i, and z-band) observations obtained using Megacam on the MMT with UKIDSS near-infrared (J, H, and K-band) data to measure the colours of background stars. We develop a new hierarchical Bayesian statistical model, including measurement error, intrinsic colour variation, spectral type, and dust reddening, to simultaneously infer parameters for individual stars and characteristics of the population. We implement an efficient MCMC algorithm utilising generalised Gibbs sampling to compute coherent probabilistic inferences. We find a strong correlation between the extinction (Av) and the slope of the extinction law (parameterized by Rv). Because the majority of the extinction toward our stars comes from the Perseus molecular cloud, we interpret this correlation as evidence of grain growth at moderate optical depths. The extinction law changes from the diffuse value of Rv = 3 to the dense cloud value of Rv = 5 as the column density rises from Av = 2 mags to Av = 10 mags. This relationship is similar for the two regions in our study, despite their different physical conditions, suggesting that dust grain growth is a fairly universal process.

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