ALBERT

Description: M82 is an irregular (Type II) galaxy located at a distance of approximately 3.5 Mpc. Its unusual appearance and high luminosity, particularly in the infrared, has led many astronomers to classify it as a starburst galaxy. This interpretation is supported by the observation of a large number of radio continuum sources within the central arcminute of the galaxy. These sources are thought to be associated with supernova remnants. The starburst in the central region of the galaxy is believed to have been triggered by tidal interaction with either M81 or the HI cloud surrounding the M81 group. High angular resolution CO-12 J=1 to 0 maps by Nakai (1984) and Lo et al. (1987) indicate the existence of a 400 to 450 pc rotating ring of molecular material about the central region of M82. Red- and blue-shifted absorption components of the HI and OH lines measured by Weliachew et al. (1984) provided the first evidence for the presence of the ring. Many astronomers, each using a different angular resolution, have compared CO-12 J=1 to 0, J=2 to 1, and J=3 to 2 emission and concluded that a large fraction of the CO emission is optically thin. Additional observations suggest that the molecular material toward the center of M82 is clumpy and dense. Unlike the lower rotational transitions of CO, CS is excited only at relatively high densities, n sub H sub 2 greater than or equal to 10(exp 4) cm(-3). It is in clouds with these densities that stars are expected to form. This makes CS an excellent probe of star formation regions. Researchers observed the CS J=2 to 1 transition (97.981 GHz) toward 52 positions in M82 using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 12 m telescope.

Description: The energetic activity in the nuclear barred region of NGC 253 is attributable to a burst of star formation. NGC 253 is in many ways a twin of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82; the strong non-thermal radio continuum, high far-infrared luminosity, and bright molecular emission of the central 1 Kpc parallel the morphology of the M82 starburst. Furthermore, the filamentary low ionization optical emission and extended x ray emission along the minor axis in NGC 253 is similar to a scaled down version of the well developed galactic bipolar wind in M82. The infrared luminosity of NGC 253, 3(exp 10) solar luminosity, is comparable to M82 but is emitted from a smaller region (Telesco and Harper 1980). This suggests that the NGC 253 starburst may be more intense and at an earlier evolutionary stage than M82. However, the presence of a non-stellar AGN in NGC 253 may complicate the comparison (Turner and Ho, 1985). Researchers used the Hat Creek millimeter interferometer to map emission from the J = 1 to 0 transitions of HCN and HCO(+) as well as 3 mm continuum emission, toward the nuclear region of NGC 253. The HCO(+) and continuum observations are sensitive to spatial scales from 6 to 45 seconds. The 2 minute field of view comfortably includes the entire starburst region (about 40 seconds; 650 pc). Because the longer baseline HCN observations are not yet complete, they are only sensitive to spatial scales from 15 to 45 seconds.

Description: The J = 4-3 transition of HCO(+) was observed in the core of NGC 2024. The findings indicate a possibly expanding torus centered around the FIR 6 continuum source and an E-W ridge below the ionization front. The presence of HCO(+) J = 4-3 emission from the torus and E-W ridge suggests relatively high gas densities in these regions. The relatively strong intensity of the observed HCO(+) J = 4-3 emission toward the FIR source suggests that the emission originates from relatively warm and dense gas. Continuum radiation transport modeling of the core shows that submillimeter and millimeter continuum observations of the cores can be reproduced under the assumption that the cores are externally heated objects without internal heating sources. This requires a factor of about 250 enhancement of the external radiation field intensity compared to the standard Galactic radiation field. This enhancement is consistent with the stellar luminosities required to explain the observed FIR continuum emission from the region.

Description: Results are presented of observations of 1.3- and 0.8-mm continuum emission toward the cores of three Galactic center molecular clouds with ongoing massive star formation, Sagittarius B2, C, and D, which were made in order to study possible variations in the high-mass star formation rate per unit mass between the Galactic center and the disk. The luminosity-to-mass ratio, based on the mass estimates derived from the millimeter continuum emission, is used as a tracer of the high-mass star formation rate in GMC cores. The magnitude of errors involved in using millimeter continuum emission for determining the core mass is estimated through radiative transfer modeling. It is inferred from the present millimeter data, along with previously published far-infrared data, that the Sgr C and D cores are very similar in terms of mean dust optical depth and temperature. The luminosity-to-mass ratios derived for the Sgr C and D cores are found to be consistent with those of typical disk GMC cores with comparable far-infrared luminosities.