• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.57.1-57.1
• /
• 2016

Methanol ($CH_3OH$) is a key species in the formation of complex organic molecules. We report the first detection of solid $CH_3OH$ in a line of sight toward the Galactic center (GC) region, based on L-band spectra taken with the Subaru telescope, aided by L'-band imaging data and moderate-resolution spectra from NASA/IRTF. It is found toward a background star, ~8000 AU in projected distance from a newly discovered massive young stellar object (YSO). This YSO also exhibits a strong $CO_2$ ice absorption band at ${\sim}15{\mu}m$ in Spitzer/IRS data, which has a prominent long-wavelength wing. It confirms that a high $CH_3OH$ abundance is responsible for the broad $15{\mu}m$ $CO_2$ ice absorption towards massive YSOs in the GC. Clearly, $CH_3OH$ formation in ices is efficient in the GC region, as it is in star-forming regions in the Galactic disk. We discuss implications of our result on the astrochemical processes in the hostile GC molecular clouds.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.39.2-39.2
• /
• 2017

Stars form through the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds. However, the rate at which a star gains most of its mass and the physics that drives the main phase of stellar growth is still unclear. The typical luminosity of observed protostars is smaller than what expected from the Shu's inside-out collapse model, which predicts a constant mass accretion rate. The episodic accretion model has been suggested as a solution of this luminosity problem. The JCMT Transient survey is a long term monitoring program using JCMT/SCUBA-2 to detect accretion variability of protostars in the eight nearby star-forming regions. Recently, we found a rise of the 850 micron flux at a clump in the Serpens main region at the rate of ~17% relative to the mean flux over previous observations. The submm clump is associated with a class I protostar, EC53, which has been reported as a binary system with a periodic variability. In this talk, we will provide a brief overview of the JCMT Transient Survey project, present the detection of the variable source, and discuss about follow-up observations.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.9-17
• /
• 2006

In an attempt to investigate star formation activity and statistical properties of clumps of high Galactic latitude clouds (HLCs), we mapped the Polaris Flare region, PF121.3+25.5, in $^{12}CO\;and\;^{13}CO$ J = 1 - 0 using SRAO 6-m telescope and also observed its 12 $^{13}CO$ peak positions in CS J = 2 - 1 with TRAO 14-m telescope. $^{13}CO$ integrated intensity map shows clearly its clumpy structure and the locations of clumps well agree with $^{12}CO$morphology. CS line is not detected toward the 12 $^{13}CO$ peak positions, so we can conclude there are no dense $(\sim10^4\;cm^{-3})$ in this region. We decomposed 105 clumps from $^{13}CO$ map using GAUSSCLUMPS algorithm. The mass of clumps ranges from $7.8\;M_{\odot}\;to\;7.4{\times}10^{-2}\;M_{\odot}$ with a total mass of $66.4\;M_{\odot}$ The mass spectrum follows a power law, dN/dM ${\propto}\;M^{-\alpha}$ with a power index of ${\alpha}=1.91{\pm}0.13$. The virial masses of clumps are in the range of $10{\sim}100M_{LTE}$ and so these clumps are considered to be gravitationally unbound.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.103-105
• /
• 2015

The 22 m diameter Mopra telescope in Australia is being used to undertake an improved survey of the CO J = 1-0 line at 3mm along the 4th quadrant of the Galaxy, achieving an order of magnitude better spatial and spectral resolution (i.e. 0.6 and 0.1 km/s) than the Dame et al. (2001) survey that is publically available for the Southern Galactic plane. Furthermore, the Mopra CO survey includes the four principal isotopologues of the CO molecule (i.e. $^{12}CO$, $^{13}CO$, $C^{18}O$ and $C^{17}O$). The survey makes use of an 8 GHz-wide spectrometer and a fast mode of on-the-fly mapping developed for the Mopra telescope, where the cycle time has been reduced to just 1/4 of a second. 38 square degrees of the Galaxy, from $l=306-344^{\circ}$, $b=0{\pm}5^{\circ}$ have currently been surveyed, together with additional 9 sq. deg. regions around the Carina complex and the Central Molecular Zone. We present new results from the survey (see also Burton et al., 2013, 2014). The Mopra CO data are being made publically available as they are published; for the latest release see the project website at www.phys.unsw.edu.au/mopraco.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.79-82
• /
• 2015

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 a 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.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.125-138
• /
• 2005

S152 is a small bright emission nebula located in the Perseus arm. Its optical diameter corresponds to 1.5 pc for an adopted distance 3.5 kpc. However, S152 is a part of a giant molecular cloud complex, which consists of several dense cores, containing active star-forming sites, and well aligned arm-like features. We analyzed the FCRAO $^{12}CO(J=\;1{\to}0)$ Outer Galaxy Survey data in this region to study the kinematical structure of this region, which resembles a big "scorpion". We found that there exist three different velocity components, about -54.5, -50.4, -48.8 km $s^{-1}$, depending on the position of the "scorpion". There also exist velocity gradients of 0.21 km $s^{-1}pc^{-1}$ and 0.16 km $s^{-1}pc^{-1}$ through the whole extent of the "scorpion". Interestingly, these two velocity gradients show an opposite direction with each other. It is likely that the velocity structure of this region may result from the mergence of different gas clouds, and the interaction with the SNR 109.1-1.0 occurred later, mostly at the region around the "head of the scorpion" only.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.57-57
• /
• 2010

We report the discovery of a bright mid-infrared (MIR) source with prominent crystalline silicate emission using the space telescope AKARI and Spitzer. This source, IRAS 15099-5856, has a spectacular morphology with a bright central compact source (CCS) surrounded by knots, spurs, and several extended (~4') arc-like filaments. The source is seen only in infrared at ${\geq}10{\mu}m$. The Spitzer MIR spectrum of the CCS shows prominent emission features from Mg-rich crystalline silicates and strong [Ne II] 12.88 ${\mu}m$ and several other faint ionic lines. We model the MIR spectrum as thermal emission from several independent dust components and compare their properties to those of the Herbig Be star HD 100546 which shows very similar MIR spectrum. Our molecular line observations reveal two molecular clouds around the source, but no associated dense molecular cores. We discuss two possible origins for IRAS 15099-5856; a deeply embedded massive young stellar object on the other side of the Galaxy and a disrupted, protoplanetary disk being photoevaporated by the UV radiation from the nearby O star Muzzio 10.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.195-200
• /
• 2012

We show how the rotation emission from isolated interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) can explain the so-called anomalous microwave emission (AME). AME has been discovered in the last decade as microwave interstellar emission (10 to 70 GHz) that is in excess compared to the classical emission processes: thermal dust, free-free and synchrotron. The PAHs are the interstellar planar nano-carbons responsible for the near infrared emission bands in the 3 to 15 micron range. Theoretical studies show that under the physical conditions of the interstellar medium (radiation and density) the PAHs adopt supra-thermal rotation velocities, and consequently they are responsible for emission in the microwave range. The first results from the PLANCK mission unexpectedly showed that the AME is not only emitted by specific galactic interstellar clouds, but it is present throughout the galactic plane, and is particularly strong in the cold molecular gas. The comparison of theory and observations shows that the measured emission is fully consistent with rotation emission from interstellar PAHs. We draw the main lines of our PLANCK-AKARI collaborative program which intends to progress on this question by direct comparison of the near infrared (AKARI) and microwave (PLANCK) emissions of the galactic plane.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.105-110
• /
• 2002

We present the results of VLA $NH_3$ (1,1) and (2,2) line observations of the young-stellar object (YSO) IRAS 19550+3248. The integrated intensity map of the $NH_3$ (1,1) line shows that there are two ammonia cores in this region; core A which is associated with the YSO, and core B which is diffuse and located at the northeast of core A. Core A is compact and elongated along the east-west direction (0.07 pc$\times$0.05 pc) roughly perpendicular to the molecular outflow axis. Core B is diffuse and extended (0.18 pc$\times$0.07 pc). $NH_3$ (2,2) line is detected only toward core A, which indicates that it is hotter (~ 15 K), presumably due to the heating by the YSO. The $NH_3$ (1,1) line toward core A is wide (${\Delta}v{\ge} 3 km s^{-l}$) and appears to have an anomalous intensity ratio of the inner satellite hyperfine lines. The large line width may be attributed to the embedded YSO, but the hyperfine anomaly is difficult to explain. We compare the results of $NH_3$ observations with those of previous CS observations and find that the CS emission is detected only toward core A and is much more extended than the $NH_3$ emission.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.34.1-34.1
• /
• 2013

Interstellar ices (e.g., $H_2O$, $CO_2$, and CO ices) are formed on the surface of dust grains in dense molecular clouds. In a near-infrared spectrum, we can observe deep absorption features particularly due to $H_2O$ ice at $3.05{\mu}m$ and $CO_2$ ice at $4.27{\mu}m$. These interstellar ices have many pieces of information on the interstellar environment. Among various ices, $CO_2$ ice is one of the most important ones as a probe of the interstellar environment. That is because $CO_2$ ice is a secondary product unlike $H_2O$ and CO ices which are primarily formed on dust grains. Past studies for $CO_2$ ice in nearby galaxies were performed only for the galactic center in a few galaxies. In order to utilize the information from $CO_2$ ice effectively, it is valuable to perform mapping observations of ices on a galactic scale. With AKARI, we obtain the spatially-resolved near-infrared ($2.5-5.0{\mu}m$) spectra for the central ~1 kpc region of the nearby starburst galaxy M 82. These spectra clearly show the absorption features due to interstellar $H_2O$ and $CO_2$ ices, and we created their column density maps. As a result, we find that the spatial distribution of $H_2O$ ice is significantly different from that of $CO_2$ ice; $H_2O$ ice is widely distributed, while $CO_2$ ice is concentrated near the galactic center. Our result for the first time reveals spatial variations in $CO_2/H_2O$ ice abundance ratio on a galactic scale, suggesting that the ice-forming interstellar environment changes within a galaxy. In this presentation, we discuss the cause of the variations in the ice abundance ratio.