Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey

Jenny K. Calahan; Yancy L. Shirley; Brian E. Svoboda; Elizabeth A. Ivanov; Jonathan R. Schmid; Anna Pulley; Jennifer Lautenbach; Nicole Zawadzki; Christopher Bullivant; Claire W. Cook; Laurin Gray; Andrew Henrici; Massimo Pascale; Carter Bosse; Quadry Chance; Sarah Choi; Marina Dunn; Ramon Jaime-Frias; Ian Kearsley; Joseph Kelledy; Collin Lewin; Qasim Mahmood; Scott McKinley; Adriana M. Mitchell; Daniel R. Robinson

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea

Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey

Jenny K. Calahan, Yancy L. Shirley, Brian E. Svoboda, Elizabeth A. Ivanov, Jonathan R. Schmid, Anna Pulley, Jennifer Lautenbach, Nicole Zawadzki, Christopher Bullivant, Claire W. Cook, Laurin Gray, Andrew Henrici, Massimo Pascale, Carter Bosse, Quadry Chance, Sarah Choi, Marina Dunn, Ramon Jaime-Frias, Ian Kearsley, Joseph KelledyCollin Lewin, Qasim Mahmood, Scott McKinley, Adriana M. Mitchell, Daniel R. Robinson

Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent Galactic plane surveys of dust continuum emission at long wavelengths have identified a population of dense, massive clumps with no evidence for ongoing star formation. These massive starless clump candidates are excellent sites to search for the initial phases of massive star formation before the feedback from massive star formation affects the clump. In this study, we search for the spectroscopic signature of inflowing gas toward starless clumps, some of which are massive enough to form a massive star. We observed 101 starless clump candidates identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) in HCO+ J=1-0 using the 12 m Arizona Radio Observatory telescope. We find a small blue excess of E = (N_blue -N_red) N_total = 0.03 for the complete survey. We identified six clumps that are good candidates for inflow motion and used a radiative transfer model to calculate mass inflow rates that range from 500 to 2000 M_OMyr^-1. If the observed line profiles are indeed due to large-scale inflow motions, then these clumps will typically double their mass on a freefall time. Our survey finds that massive BGPS starless clump candidates with inflow signatures in HCO+ J=1-0 are rare throughout our Galaxy.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	63
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	862
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea
State	Published - Jul 20 2018

Keywords

ISM: clouds
ISM: molecules
ISM: structure
stars: formation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

Access to Document

10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea

Cite this

Calahan, J. K., Shirley, Y. L., Svoboda, B. E., Ivanov, E. A., Schmid, J. R., Pulley, A., Lautenbach, J., Zawadzki, N., Bullivant, C., Cook, C. W., Gray, L., Henrici, A., Pascale, M., Bosse, C., Chance, Q., Choi, S., Dunn, M., Jaime-Frias, R., Kearsley, I., ... Robinson, D. R. (2018). Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey. Astrophysical Journal, 862(1), [63]. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea

Calahan, JK, Shirley, YL, Svoboda, BE, Ivanov, EA, Schmid, JR, Pulley, A, Lautenbach, J, Zawadzki, N, Bullivant, C, Cook, CW, Gray, L, Henrici, A, Pascale, M, Bosse, C, Chance, Q, Choi, S, Dunn, M, Jaime-Frias, R, Kearsley, I, Kelledy, J, Lewin, C, Mahmood, Q, McKinley, S, Mitchell, AM & Robinson, DR 2018, 'Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 862, no. 1, 63. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea

@article{e86cc83bbd3944ce8a4518861739fafb,

title = "Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey",

abstract = "Recent Galactic plane surveys of dust continuum emission at long wavelengths have identified a population of dense, massive clumps with no evidence for ongoing star formation. These massive starless clump candidates are excellent sites to search for the initial phases of massive star formation before the feedback from massive star formation affects the clump. In this study, we search for the spectroscopic signature of inflowing gas toward starless clumps, some of which are massive enough to form a massive star. We observed 101 starless clump candidates identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) in HCO+ J=1-0 using the 12 m Arizona Radio Observatory telescope. We find a small blue excess of E = (Nblue -Nred) Ntotal = 0.03 for the complete survey. We identified six clumps that are good candidates for inflow motion and used a radiative transfer model to calculate mass inflow rates that range from 500 to 2000 MOMyr-1. If the observed line profiles are indeed due to large-scale inflow motions, then these clumps will typically double their mass on a freefall time. Our survey finds that massive BGPS starless clump candidates with inflow signatures in HCO+ J=1-0 are rare throughout our Galaxy.",

keywords = "ISM: clouds, ISM: molecules, ISM: structure, stars: formation",

author = "Calahan, {Jenny K.} and Shirley, {Yancy L.} and Svoboda, {Brian E.} and Ivanov, {Elizabeth A.} and Schmid, {Jonathan R.} and Anna Pulley and Jennifer Lautenbach and Nicole Zawadzki and Christopher Bullivant and Cook, {Claire W.} and Laurin Gray and Andrew Henrici and Massimo Pascale and Carter Bosse and Quadry Chance and Sarah Choi and Marina Dunn and Ramon Jaime-Frias and Ian Kearsley and Joseph Kelledy and Collin Lewin and Qasim Mahmood and Scott McKinley and Mitchell, {Adriana M.} and Robinson, {Daniel R.}",

note = "Funding Information: We sincerely thank the staff and operators of the Arizona Radio Observatory. J.K.C., B.E.S., and Y.L.S. are supported in part by NSF grant AST-1410190. B.E.S. is also supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant no.DGE- 114395. J.K.C. thanks the Arizona NASA Space Grant Consortium for internship support. Facility: ARO:12m. Software:ds9, GILDAS CLASS. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.",

year = "2018",

month = jul,

day = "20",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "862",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey

AU - Calahan, Jenny K.

AU - Shirley, Yancy L.

AU - Svoboda, Brian E.

AU - Ivanov, Elizabeth A.

AU - Schmid, Jonathan R.

AU - Pulley, Anna

AU - Lautenbach, Jennifer

AU - Zawadzki, Nicole

AU - Bullivant, Christopher

AU - Cook, Claire W.

AU - Gray, Laurin

AU - Henrici, Andrew

AU - Pascale, Massimo

AU - Bosse, Carter

AU - Chance, Quadry

AU - Choi, Sarah

AU - Dunn, Marina

AU - Jaime-Frias, Ramon

AU - Kearsley, Ian

AU - Kelledy, Joseph

AU - Lewin, Collin

AU - Mahmood, Qasim

AU - McKinley, Scott

AU - Mitchell, Adriana M.

AU - Robinson, Daniel R.

N1 - Funding Information: We sincerely thank the staff and operators of the Arizona Radio Observatory. J.K.C., B.E.S., and Y.L.S. are supported in part by NSF grant AST-1410190. B.E.S. is also supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant no.DGE- 114395. J.K.C. thanks the Arizona NASA Space Grant Consortium for internship support. Facility: ARO:12m. Software:ds9, GILDAS CLASS. Publisher Copyright: © 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

PY - 2018/7/20

Y1 - 2018/7/20

N2 - Recent Galactic plane surveys of dust continuum emission at long wavelengths have identified a population of dense, massive clumps with no evidence for ongoing star formation. These massive starless clump candidates are excellent sites to search for the initial phases of massive star formation before the feedback from massive star formation affects the clump. In this study, we search for the spectroscopic signature of inflowing gas toward starless clumps, some of which are massive enough to form a massive star. We observed 101 starless clump candidates identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) in HCO+ J=1-0 using the 12 m Arizona Radio Observatory telescope. We find a small blue excess of E = (Nblue -Nred) Ntotal = 0.03 for the complete survey. We identified six clumps that are good candidates for inflow motion and used a radiative transfer model to calculate mass inflow rates that range from 500 to 2000 MOMyr-1. If the observed line profiles are indeed due to large-scale inflow motions, then these clumps will typically double their mass on a freefall time. Our survey finds that massive BGPS starless clump candidates with inflow signatures in HCO+ J=1-0 are rare throughout our Galaxy.

AB - Recent Galactic plane surveys of dust continuum emission at long wavelengths have identified a population of dense, massive clumps with no evidence for ongoing star formation. These massive starless clump candidates are excellent sites to search for the initial phases of massive star formation before the feedback from massive star formation affects the clump. In this study, we search for the spectroscopic signature of inflowing gas toward starless clumps, some of which are massive enough to form a massive star. We observed 101 starless clump candidates identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) in HCO+ J=1-0 using the 12 m Arizona Radio Observatory telescope. We find a small blue excess of E = (Nblue -Nred) Ntotal = 0.03 for the complete survey. We identified six clumps that are good candidates for inflow motion and used a radiative transfer model to calculate mass inflow rates that range from 500 to 2000 MOMyr-1. If the observed line profiles are indeed due to large-scale inflow motions, then these clumps will typically double their mass on a freefall time. Our survey finds that massive BGPS starless clump candidates with inflow signatures in HCO+ J=1-0 are rare throughout our Galaxy.

KW - ISM: clouds

KW - ISM: molecules

KW - ISM: structure

KW - stars: formation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050728716&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85050728716&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aabfea

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85050728716

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 862

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 1

M1 - 63

ER -

Searching for Inflow toward Massive Starless Clump Candidates Identified in the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this